# Official Puro Match/DVD Discussion Thread (NO SPOILERS)



## Blasko

First, mah doods. 

And Sasaki/Kobashi is massively over rated.


----------



## antoniomare007

> And Sasaki/Kobashi is massively over rated.


AMEN!!!



some G-1 matches are already on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/passione2002

Edit: Goto vs Nakamura was really fun, exelent crowd heat and in ring action


----------



## Blasko

I liked Kobashi/Kenskay the firs time, but I was very new to Puro and have only seen very little of both men.

After watching it again, after seeing both men regularly and getting use to their movesets and such, the entire match left me WTF. Kboashi doing lucha threw me into a loop.

Akiyama vs Kobashi during Departure is worse. Just a total bomb throwing no sell fest. Props to Akiyama, though. How he didn't break ANY ribs is beyond me.

Though, I sympathize with how these matches are booked. They want to put on a 'huge' Kobashi match and that's what they did.


----------



## straightedge015

I much prefer Kawada vs. Sasaki over Kobashi/Sasaki as the epic Tokyo Dome slugfest. Kobashi/Akiyama is awesome if you can get over the no selling. It might be damnedest heavyweight spotfest I've ever seen.


----------



## -GP-

Seabs said:


> *8. Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA - October 29th 2006 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
> _****3/4+_​


That's exactly how i feel about that match. 
Probably my favourite modern match and so close to the full five that it hurts, but my minor OCD just can't get past that botch at the end.
Silly, i know.


----------



## McQueen

I must be the only one who wasn't blown away by that match then. And *Seabs* i'm pretty dissipointed in your rating for #19 since I felt that was one of if not the best tag match of 2007 but then again it is your rating.

But i'm still calling you out therefore you are wrong because me ego and e-cred is the strongest force in the universe behind Hulkamania and male pattern baldness.

And ironic that someone makes a Puro discussion thread while i'm taking a break from watching it, but fear not the day will come when Andy3000 and I speak at length about our love for Dicks. Dicks we in fact cannot get enough of.

Dick Togo and Dick Murdoch of course.


----------



## KingKicks

Good idea making this thread Seabs. I did find it weird posting about Puro in a thread about Indies.

That set looks fantastic, I actually think I have 75% of those matches on my hard drive that I need to get around to watching.



-GP- said:


> That's exactly how i feel about that match.
> Probably my favourite modern match and so close to the full five that it hurts, but my minor OCD just can't get past that botch at the end.
> Silly, i know.


I haven't seen the match since 2006, what was the botch again?


----------



## -GP-

Benjo™ said:


> I haven't seen the match since 2006, what was the botch again?


If i recall correctly, finishing stretch, KENTA has to catch Marufuji off the top rope for a GTS, doesn't quite work, so they do a quick punch-kick thing and visibly repeat the spot for a near fall.
It's not a big deal, but you know that if they got it the match would've been even better, so the full five feels a bit...wrong.
And i actually like the match so much i feel bad for not going 5* on it... 



McQueen said:


> I must be the only one who wasn't blown away by that match then.


Nah, there were plenty of people over at puroresufan i believe that considered it the most overrated match ever.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah the spot where KENTA drops Marafuji after he comes off the top rope is slightly botched. I'm in the same boat as GP on it. I tossed between going the full 5 or not but for whatever reason I restrained from it. It's a fucking amazing match though.*


----------



## mob1993

The botches aside it's still one of my favorite matches from the past couple of years.


----------



## -GP-

Botches on their own aren't a problem. 
Marufuji damn near killing himself on that rail actually made the match immensely better.
It's the whole "let's repeat it and hope nobody notices" that takes away from it.


----------



## FITZ

If the spot is good enough and they mess it up I have no problem with them going for it again. I mean if I were in a fight and I thought this move would really hurt the guy I was fighting and I messed up it up the first time I would probably go for it a second time. 

Watching ROH Invades Japan from IVP and it's been pretty good so far. The Danielson/Kenta match I'm watching right now is pretty insane. They work really well together and can be so damn stiff at times. I don't know the exact date of the match though as it isn't listed on IVP.


----------



## Derek

It's from December of 06. It was the same show that Misawa took the title off of Marufuji (which happened because of the miserable attendance for Marufuji vs. KENTA)


----------



## Yeah1993

This is the perfect thread to ask what everyone thinks the best puro match ever is (I go Misawa/Kobashi V Taue/Kawada 9/6/95- and I know you do too Eric, so you don't have bother answering :side


----------



## WillTheBloody

Yeah1993 said:


> This is the perfect thread to ask what everyone thinks the best puro match ever is (I go Misawa/Kobashi V Taue/Kawada 9/6/95- and I know you do too Eric, so you don't have bother answering :side


Than me makes three, you see.

...

I mean it's my favorite, too.


----------



## McQueen

It shouldn't even be debateable that its the greatest match ever. A couple matches come close to that level of greatness but that one single match is the culmination of years of booking and all 4 men were on their A games throughout. Which is even more amazing concidering how hard they all worked and still went for the majority of an hour.

Plus Taue is better than everyone.


----------



## Derek

I'm not ready to say which match I think is best, but in my mind the tag match and 6/3/94 are the frontrunners.


----------



## McQueen

Top 5 ever IMO

Misawa/Kobashi vs HDA 6/5/95
Misawa vs Kawada 6/3/94
Hart vs Austin - WM 13
Flair vs Steamboat III '89
Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Can-Ams - 5/25/92 

IMO


----------



## Blasko

No love for joshi, tbh


----------



## McQueen

Big love for Joshi Jay, just not top 5 love.


----------



## Blasko

You're just massively sexist. 

Or gay. 







btw, since Eric doesn't watch Puro no mo, I declare myself UP IN THIS MOTHER FUCKER. 

tbh.


----------



## erikstans07

who's this Eric you guys speak of?


----------



## Blasko

McQueen.


----------



## volcanic

Seabs said:


> *17. Akira Taue vs. Yuji Nagata - June 6th 2003 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
> _***1/2_


_

what?! that's seriously underrating that match by a full star. it's easily top 3 of Taue's NOAH run. 

there's another tag match involving Nagata that belongs on that set that I would give a solid ****.5 to._


----------



## seabs

*I wasn't really feeling it tbh. Flow wasn't great imo. Taue/Kobashi is better than it in every way.*


----------



## Blasko

Taue had the entire Buddokan Hall MELTING for whatever he did. Great match, **** 1/4.

Sad fact is that 25 NOAH set didn't have any TAKEOVER. Shibata can be trash alone, but his tags with KENTA were incredible.

Shibata was a far better pairing for KENTA, much better then Marufuji.


----------



## Derek

Ladies and gentlemen (okay, we all know that no ladies visit this section) I give you the NOSAWA BOM-BA-YE Screwjob


----------



## Blasko

Fucking love you, man.

Oh, Bob Sapp and Takayama vs. Naoya Ogawa and Josh "The Pussy" Barnett is BY FAR the worse match of the year. 5 minutes in and I just gave up. 

I once believe it was impossible to Takayama to work light. He was hitting so light, I was laughing.


----------



## Derek

I didn't even bother watching since I saw Naoya Ogawa was in it.


----------



## Blasko

N. Ogawa is decent when he wants to be. 

Over paid, tho.


----------



## Derek

Never been impressed by him.

Yoshinari is the better Ogawa. Oshit.


----------



## Blasko

Now you're just abusing you Smod powers.


----------



## seabs

*Jumbo Tsuruta, Masanobu Fuchi, & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, & Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 19.10.1990*
_Incredible match. The pacing is what I loved most about this. 25 minutes in and I checked the timer on my video and I was amazed because what felt like only 10 minutes was actually 25. Tke Kawada/Taue hatred is great with the suplex and body slam on the floor and the stiffness between them. The Jumbo/Misawa feud doesn't really get going in the match until the end but then it gets awesome and the last 5-8 minutes are just absolutely incredible stuff. Awesomeness._

*****3/4*


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

*NOAH Jr. Tag Finals - Summer Navigation (07/25/2009)*

*Kentaro Shiga, Bryan Danielson & Roderick Strong vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Genba Hirayanagi & Kikutaro*
Nothing special at all and definitely not the point where DragStrong should have ended on this card. **1/4

*Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Akihiko Ito*
Nakajima vs. Ito was damn interesting, would love to see the two guys 1on1 again. ***1/2

*Takeshi Rikio & Mohammed Yone vs. Akira Taue & Takuma Sano*
Typical NOAH midcard booking, but it was fine. **1/2

*Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Takashi Sugiura vs. Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito*
Same here, took a lot of minutes of the show but another better match of the show. ***1/2

*Jr. Heavyweight Tag League III - Semi Final 1st
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori*
Good decision to let KENTA & Ishimori lose, the 3rd final would have been too much. ****

*Jr. Heavyweight Tag League III - Semi Final 2nd
Atsushi Aoki & Kota Ibushi vs. Ricky Marvin & Eddie Edwards*
***3/4 stars for a good match, it was just too short like every tag league (semi) final.

*Shuhei Taniguchi Rush 10 Match Series 5th
Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Go Shiozaki*
solid, period! ***1/4

*Jr. Heavyweight Tag League III - Final
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Atsushi Aoki & Kota Ibushi*
Crowd could have been more into it imo, but still great main event. ***3/4
_
*Every tag league match deserved more time, I don't understand why they had to book Rikio/Yone vs. Taue/Sano on this show. Anyway, a great event although and definitely one of my NOAH fave shows this year. The Jr. tags were really sweet and I should stop writing before I repeat myself.*_​


----------



## McQueen

Derek said:


> Never been impressed by him.
> 
> Yoshinari is the better Ogawa. Oshit.


I agree sadly. The only way I could handle N. Ogawa was if he was tagging with Hash, but in fairness Hash was the fucking man.

Edit: And I still watch Puro Jay, its my Indy love thats just about died save PWG, wXw, and if they ever release another DVD I still love the FIP.


----------



## Blasko

I'm still UP in this bitch.


----------



## McQueen

You best bend over Jay.

Someone needs to make me a Taue banner by the way.


----------



## Blasko

I'm not like that anymore. 

<3


----------



## McQueen

<3


----------



## Blasko

tbf, I only keep track on NOAH. Even then, it's not as much as I use to. 

BJW is rarely upped from what I can see and nothing there, Minus Miyamoto/Takashi, doesn't interest me.


----------



## Derek

Luchador Mistico defeated Tiger Mask IV to become the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight.

So now instead of a lazy Jr. Heavyweight champ, its a soft hitting flippy Jr. heavyweight champ. 

Oh, and the G1 ends tomorrow. Semis are Tanahashi vs. Nakamura and Makabe vs. Sugiura.


----------



## seabs

*Well at least that lame ass Tiger Mask isn't champ anymore. Not that the new one is much better.*


----------



## Yeah1993

I watched Muta Vs Shinzaki from Battle Formation 1996. I'd go ****, maybe higher, Shinzaki's bleed was amazing.


----------



## seabs

*NOAH 25/7*

*Aoki/Ibushi vs Marvin/Edwards*
_***3/4_

*Kanemaru/Suzuki vs KENTA/Ishimori*
_****_

*Aoki/Ibushi vs Kanemaru/Suzuki*
_***3/4_

*NJPW 20/6*

*Taguchi/Devitt vs Milano/Taichi*
_***3/4_

*Shiozaki vs Okada*
_***1/4_

*Goto vs Sugiura*
_**3/4_

*Tanahashi vs Nakanishi*
_***1/2_

*NJPW 20/7*

*Tiger Mask IV vs Kanemoto*
_**3/4_

*Taguchi/Devitt vs Milano/Taichi*
_***1/2_

*Tanahashi vs Sugiura*
_****_​


----------



## FITZ

Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda in a best two out of three falls match ( 1/24/94) All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling

First off this match might have had the most streamers thrown into the ring before the match than I've ever seen. Just wanted to point that out before I started reviewing my first Women's puro match. Now Yamada had her name on her attire so I knew who she was and her partner was obviously Toyota but I wasn't able to figure out who was who on the other team. 

I was really impressed with this one as it was an incredible mix of mat wrestling, high flying, and some stiff suplexes. 

I even liked the way that simple moves like the Boston Crab (though I'm sure it has a different name in Japan) were executed. The way that they would sit on the head of their opponent, putting a ton of pressure, of the neck and wrenched back on the legs would put Chirs Jericho to shame. Some of the stuff they did like this really shows why Women's wrestling can be so great. I mean some of the positions that they ended up in would have killed just about any man short of a gymnist. 

The spots weren't just there for the sake of being spots either. Risks were really only taken when there was a good chance of taking someone out of the match. 

Some great psychology and overall just a fine piece of wrestling. I wouldn't say I'm as high as the ****1/2 that it says this match is on the back of the box (I'm assuming it's a Meltzer rating) but not by much.
****

Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta 1/24/1994
All Japan Women's Wrestling

I can't belive how stiff this match was. It was on the same show as the match I just reviewed but they couldn't be more different. I've some of just about every type of wrestling and this wa some of the stiffest stuff that I've ever seen. I mean you could hear the impact of some of these shots and it was almost painful to watch. 

Something happened tto Hotta's hand as it looked like there was a fairly large cut on it. I wouldn't be shocked at all if it came from from hitting Kong. Let's just put it this way, this took place in 1994, it was a women's match and there was a piledriver through a table in the first 3 minutes. After a good amount of stiff back and forth action Kong really took over and this is where the match went from stiff fest to a great wrestling match that told an incredible story. 

Kong began to work the hand of Hotta, it was a mess at this point and the ref stopped the match so that she could get it tapped up. Kong grabbed the mic and said something (a taunt I would imagine or something along those lines) and Hotta stood up, ripped the tape off her hand and threw it at Kong. It was one of those moments were the story telling was able to overcome the language barrier. I don't understand Japanese, I have no clue what Kong or what the announcers were saying yet I completley understood what they were doing and why. 

I think that they both shared either a finisher or a signature move of a Powerbomb variation where you cross your oppoent's arms before you lift her as there some huge reactions when either of them attmepted one. 

Hotta hand her hand worked on quite a bit but she just kept fighting back. She went for it all when she attempted a Liger Bomb (I think that's what it's called when you set up something like the Pedigree and instead flip your opponent over) off the top rope but Kong reversed it and landed on top of her. Now Kong is a large women and it was like they both jumped off the top rope and Kong landed on top of Hotta for the win. 

What an amazing brutal match. I first thought this was just going to be a really stiff match but I was really happy to see some of the best storytelling that I've seen in quite some time. This time I agree with the rating on the back of the case....
****1/2 

These were the first 2 matches on a best of 1994 set from Highspots (I got it on ebay for the great price of $3) and it looks like it's going to be an incredible set). 

This was also the first time that I've ever seen All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling and I was really impressed. 2 insane matches and they took place on the same card. Next time I go and make an order on IVP videos I might have to add a few discs off this stuff to my order.


----------



## Blasko

taylorfitz said:


> Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta 1/24/1994
> All Japan Women's Wrestling
> 
> I can't belive how stiff this match was. It was on the same show as the match I just reviewed but they couldn't be more different. I've some of just about every type of wrestling and this wa some of the stiffest stuff that I've ever seen. I mean you could hear the impact of some of these shots and it was almost painful to watch.
> 
> Something happened tto Hotta's hand as it looked like there was a fairly large cut on it. I wouldn't be shocked at all if it came from from hitting Kong. Let's just put it this way, this took place in 1994, it was a women's match and there was a piledriver through a table in the first 3 minutes. After a good amount of stiff back and forth action Kong really took over and this is where the match went from stiff fest to a great wrestling match that told an incredible story.
> 
> Kong began to work the hand of Hotta, it was a mess at this point and the ref stopped the match so that she could get it tapped up. Kong grabbed the mic and said something (a taunt I would imagine or something along those lines) and Hotta stood up, ripped the tape off her hand and threw it at Kong. It was one of those moments were the story telling was able to overcome the language barrier. I don't understand Japanese, I have no clue what Kong or what the announcers were saying yet I completley understood what they were doing and why.
> 
> I think that they both shared either a finisher or a signature move of a Powerbomb variation where you cross your oppoent's arms before you lift her as there some huge reactions when either of them attmepted one.
> 
> Hotta hand her hand worked on quite a bit but she just kept fighting back. She went for it all when she attempted a Liger Bomb (I think that's what it's called when you set up something like the Pedigree and instead flip your opponent over) off the top rope but Kong reversed it and landed on top of her. Now Kong is a large women and it was like they both jumped off the top rope and Kong landed on top of Hotta for the win.
> 
> What an amazing brutal match. I first thought this was just going to be a really stiff match but I was really happy to see some of the best storytelling that I've seen in quite some time. This time I agree with the rating on the back of the case....
> ****1/2
> 
> These were the first 2 matches on a best of 1994 set from Highspots (I got it on ebay for the great price of $3) and it looks like it's going to be an incredible set).
> 
> This was also the first time that I've ever seen All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling and I was really impressed. 2 insane matches and they took place on the same card. Next time I go and make an order on IVP videos I might have to add a few discs off this stuff to my order.


 In short. 

*AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!!!*


----------



## FITZ

Yeah :lmao

That pretty much some the match up. I take it you enjoyed the match too?


----------



## Blasko

One of my favorite Joshi matches. I cringed like a little bitch the entire match. 

Just brutal.


----------



## FITZ

I seriously have no idea what happened to Hotta's hand though. I can't imagine that she would have bladed the palm of her hand but I didn't notice anything other than some very stiff hits that she delivered. 

And these 2 have some sort of rivalry going at the time or did they just go out and have such a brutal match for the sake of having one?


----------



## Rescueme0909

Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta 1/24/1994
All Japan Women's Wrestling was great but I enjoyed Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto - AJW "Dream Slam 1" (4/2/93) more then any other Joshi match.


----------



## volcanic

that Kong/Hotta match is frightening. seriously, nothing from Hansen or Kawada I've seen tops this in terms of sheer impact. the 4 piledrivers in the first 5 minutes, the stomping on the bloodied hand, the repeated attempts to cave one another's face in with kicks, it was nothing short of fucking disgusting. 4 and a 1/4.


----------



## McQueen

I love those matches.


----------



## Spartanlax

Someone please point me to where I can watch these amazing Joshi matches from Dreamslam and whatnot. I've looked on a bunch of sites and can't find downloads nor purchases.


----------



## Maxx Hero

I was just gonna say that I could not find them either. I have never been able to ever get into Joshi or even any womens stuff, but the intensity you are describing sounds like something I could enjoy.


----------



## seabs

*I'll try and upload some of the Joshi classic matches I've got in the next few days when I'm not busy. Haven't got many but I've got a couple of the ones that WON gave 5*.

While I'm on it check out the HUSTLE 6 man tag from 27/08. Very good match and really fun too.*


----------



## FITZ

Maxx Hero said:


> I was just gonna say that I could not find them either. I have never been able to ever get into Joshi or even any womens stuff, but the intensity you are describing sounds like something I could enjoy.


Well the match that I saw was just as brutal as anything I've ever seen from a men's match. Just look at it as a match and not a women's match. 

As far as finding the stuff goes good luck. I've pretty much had to get all my Puro stuff from IVP or ebay.


----------



## Sephiroth

Does anyone know if DGUSA is shown in Japan? I was wondering that today. Hopefully since the stuff they did on the 1st PPV was a fuckton better than anything I've seen from them in a few years.


----------



## seabs

*I'd imagine so at some point after the premiere in US. ROH matches with NOAH talent get shown on Samurai TV so probably.*


----------



## Sephiroth

Did IVP ever make a new comp for Misawa since he passed away? I don't have any of his NOAH matches on one comp, just select shows.


----------



## KingCannabis

Sephiroth said:


> Did IVP ever make a new comp for Misawa since he passed away? I don't have any of his NOAH matches on one comp, just select shows.


What's IVP? I noticed that IVP is in the first post of this thread as well. Is that a site like highspots or what?


----------



## Maxx Hero

IVP videos is the top site for puro DVD's and lucha too. The have a MASSIVE catalog, and even better, it is only $2.99 a disc. Definatly worth checking out. I have never had a problem with them.


----------



## KingCannabis

Maxx Hero said:


> IVP videos is the top site for puro DVD's and lucha too. The have a MASSIVE catalog, and even better, it is only $2.99 a disc. Definatly worth checking out. I have never had a problem with them.


Ah ok, yeah I've heard of them before. Just looked them up on google, been browsing their site for a bit, wow, I'm definitely gonna try and order some shit from here. So do the discs come in DVD hard cases with match listing or are they just discs in little small plastic sleeves?


----------



## KingKicks

Some of the DVD's are available in hard cases with custom cover art but usually they just come in plastic sleeves.


----------



## seabs

*The hard cases with custom cover art cost more though. Not really worth the extra charge. 

They've always been good delivering with me, it's just a shame they take so long to travel all around the world to me.*


----------



## Devildude

Aw shucks. I'm extremely tempted to buy both AJW Dreamslams from IVP now it's been brought to my attention.


----------



## Yeah1993

IVP sounds like something I should be ordering (& oredering & ordering....) from. They have some really good stuff. I think this is where I'll buy AAA's Where World's Collide.


----------



## Derek

Depends on how old the footage is.

I have some comps from them where footage is VHS quality, but newer stuff is high quality.


----------



## FITZ

Do they just bootleg the stuff? Never really thought of it even though I've made a few purchases from them before. 

And one of my orders took over 3 weeks before I got it. Really cheap but you just need to wait for the stuff to arrive.


----------



## Derek

Not really sure what they do, and its never taken that long for something from them to get to me. Longest was a couple weeks.


----------



## seabs

*I live in England and it usually takes a good 5-6 weeks to get over here. Will obviously be quicker to US.*


----------



## FITZ

Derek said:


> Not really sure what they do, and its never taken that long for something from them to get to me. Longest was a couple weeks.



I was really surprised by it too as it was my second order with them and the first order got to my house really quickly. Might have been because half of my order was right off their top sellers on the site list I guess. 

My next show that I really want to see is the FMW show with Megumi Kudo vs Combat Toyoda is the barbed wire match. Besides that match, which I think I've seen before but it was off youtube, the rest of the card looked really strong as well.


----------



## McQueen

I'm pretty sure the guy at IVP gets commercial tapes via internet tape traders and then just converts them on DVR's. Sometimes some of the older stuff is in pretty shit quality unless they've been remastered. Can't really blame the guy but i'm not going to complain for the prices he offers stuff anyways.

Oh and if any of you ever happen to get Dreamslam 1 on any form of commercial tape either shoot an email to whomever your ordering it from about if the long ass promotional shit (interviews and whatnot) is on the tape if it doesn't say. I know I have no use for an hour + of women answering questions in Japanese.


----------



## Halfnelson

Yeah I've got the version with the press conference and the interviews on it, it just kept going on and on..

Only place I buy puro dvds is IVP and he's definitely reliable, and as everyone has mentioned his prices are great.

*AJPW 30.08.2009*

Hayashi vs Kondo ****1/4

Kojima, KAI & H. Yamato vs Kobashi, Kikuchi & A. Ito ***1/4

Takayama vs Suwama ****

Mutoh & Funaki vs Chono & Suzuki ***1/2


----------



## FITZ

Kenta Kobashi vs. Minoru Suzuki 1/8/2005

I don't believe I had ever seen Suzuki wrestle up until this match, always good to see someone new. 

Really enjoyed the beginning where Suzuki was made to look really strong when it came to mixing things up on the mat with Kobashi and aggresivley went after his arm. After that Kobashi took control of the match and locked Suzuki into a headlock for what seemed like a really long time. Suzuki tried everything to get out of the hold and after a few minutes he managed to get lose of Kobashi, only to get the shit chopped out of him in the corner. 

Suzuki than then went after the arm again when he was able to apply a nasty arm bar as he grabbed Kobashi's arm when he was sitting on the top rope and fell backwards, draping himself and Kobashi's arm over the top rope. What followed was some really nice arm work and you could see that Kobashi was really in pain from the arm work but also that he was getting really pissed off at times, epically when Suzuki would do something heelish like when he flat out slapped Kobashi in the face. 

Kobashi kept fighting after all the arm work and managed to get Minoru in a sleeper, which got an incredible pop and he followed that with a suplex where it looked like Suzuki came pretty damn close to landing right on his head. It didn't keep Suzuki down long as he quickly regain control of the match by apply his own sleeper.

Kobashi had a few false comeback where we would see him hit a suplex or chop only to fall victim to another arm hold. After a few of these instances he did manage to get Suzuki under control as he seemed to have Suzuki knocked out with a lariat towards the end of the match. But Suzuki just kept on fighting even when he could barley stand. I loved the ending of the match where Suzuki was running in near empty but managed to look right at Kobashi and slap him in the face. Kobashi followed with another brutal lariat for the win. 

Really good mat wrestling with some great stiffness and scary looking suplexes. I would have liked it a lot more if Kobashi had got in a little more offense during the course of the match. Would have preferred a better job of selling the arm at the end of the match as well but it was still a great match. 
***3/4


----------



## McQueen

Suzuki is really entertaining but you can see all the holes in his game if he has to work a long match. That Kobashi match is maybe the one exception (that isn't a tag) that it isn't such a huge problem.

Speaking of which from an entertainment standpoint MiSu/SUWA was the greatest combination ever. Man I miss SUWA.


----------



## FITZ

I know what you mean he didn't give me the impression as someone who I would want to see wrestle in an hour long match. 

I think I'm getting ready to place a pretty big order with IVP. Want to get a real good variety and stop getting shows just because they have American wrestlers that I know or Kenta Kobashi. Right now it's looking a little something like this:

Joshi for Dummies (5 Disc Set)
A British Classic Wrestling disc
A Best of Battle Arts disc
Something from DDT
A BJPW show
A Dragon Gate show
Best of AJPW Triple Crown V1. It has the first Unification matches so it's some pretty old school stuff
Hardcore Ladies 5/14/2008
And a Best of Bret Hart comp. 

Anything that I need to add to help expand my horizons?

And do you guys think there will be another sale coming up soon? Don't know when the last one ended and I really don't feel like waiting over a month to actually place the order.


----------



## Maxx Hero

That order needs more BattlArts. That is all 

I would suggest the 6.30.07 show for Dragon Gate and the 4.28.08 for Big Japan.


----------



## seabs

*Minoru is awesome to watch. I love that match with Kobashi too. Bit higher than you on it though. Speaking of Suzuki, the Suzuki/Funaki exchanges in the tag with Muta and Chono from the 30/08 All Japan show are awesome.*


----------



## McQueen

Bret Hart didn't really do anything of note in Japan to be honest, so that is probably skippable.


----------



## FITZ

McQueen said:


> Bret Hart didn't really do anything of note in Japan to be honest, so that is probably skippable.


The set I was looking at had him in a bunch of tag matches with the British Bulldogs and one match where he teamed with Hulk Hogan in 1984. Thought it looked pretty interesting.


----------



## McQueen

Its probably not bad i'm saying just don't expect anything really great because i've seen some of those matches and they were mostly at "decent" levels.

Owen Hart however was fantastic in Japan.


----------



## Yeah1993

I just watched a match between AInoki and The Destroyer from 1971. Bloody excellent, ****3/4. Although it seems every good match I've watched today have had a strange or unneeded finish (4 matches).


----------



## McQueen

It the motherfucking Destroyer, its impossible for that guy not to own. And the fact Inoki was in the match is probably explaination enough for a screwy finish.


----------



## Yeah1993

It wasn't that bad of a finish, Beyer had Inoki in the Figure-Four and they both rolled out of the ring and never got back in. Didn't hurt the match really.


----------



## McQueen

What I mean is Inoki was one of those guys who really protected his image in terms of cleanly losing. In fact he was probably the one guy who was worse than Hogan about it.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah I knew that, I was just saying the finish wasn't horrible.

I heard that Inoki only lost like 40 singles matches when he begun New Japan.


----------



## Sephiroth

The Chin didn't need to lose cleanly. Just being in the ring with The Chin is enough of a rub.


----------



## FITZ

ROH Invades Japan Volume 1

*Austin Aries and Roderick Strong vs. Naruki Doi and Yoshino
*
No idea when exactly this match took place but it happened at a Wresltejam in Dragon Gate. 

Good fast paced stuff where we saw the Japanese team work as the heels as they attempted to isolate Aries for a good period of time. You had the often criticized excessive interference from the heels and even some interference from the faces as well. Things also completely broke down at the end as I don't recall seeing a single tag during the last 5 minutes of the match. 

That being said none of it bothered me at all as this match was a lot of to watch. Some really nice spots and really fast paced. The match went a little under 14 minutes and there wasn't a dull moment. We saw Aries get the pin on Yoshino after hitting the 450 Splash.
***1/4

*Rocky Romero vs. Mushiking Terry*

Joined in prgress but I don't you miss anything that important to the match. First few minutes were a nice mix of technical wrestling a them kicking each other really hard. 

Some nice spots and everything but it was just kind of hard to get into. Ended up being an entertaining but rather average match. The ending was nice with a few false finsishes after some rough looking suplexes and ended with Mushiking Terry winning with an armdrag variation off the top rope.
**3/4 I'm sure I'm on the low end on this.

*Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA for the ROH World Title*

Really good, stiff and quick match. I liked how KENTA took it right to the much bigger guy and never seemed to back down. We some really impressive suplexes from both guys, in fact the match came to an end a little after the 9 minute mark when Morishima hit KENTA with a big lariot into a side suplex. 

They fit everything they needed to into this one. You can't do much better in 9 minutes as this was one awesome match. Would have liked a little more variation in Morishima's offense though.
***1/2

*Brian Danielson vs KENTA
*
An incredible match between two of the best workers out there right now. I loved how seamlessly they were able to go from wrestling a technical masterpiece to Danielson hitting as stiff a lariot as I've seen to than having Dragon jumping off the top rope, over the guardrail on the floor. It really had me thinking, "Is there anything they can't do?"

They had some great technical wrestling and a really exciting ending that saw Daneilson go for the Cattle Mutilation a few times but fell victim to what I thought was a GTS from KENTA for the win. 

The match was about 25 minutes long and it felt like it was 15 minutes long tops. Really enjoy seeing these two work together as they have amazing chemistry. 
****1/4

*Jack Evans, Matt Sydal, BxB Hulk, and Jushin Liger vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Magnitude Kishiwada, and Kevin Steen
*
Really like the mix of Japanese and American talent in the match as all the matches before this had been ROH talent against Japanese talent. Very nice to see a mix. 

This was pretty much a wild and out of control match that had non stop action. Amazing stuff and I really liked how the Japanese crowd was really into the match. Usually the Japanese fans just piss me off but they were pretty good in this match. It had some great moments too such as seeing Sydal and Yohsino in the ring together and more spots than you could ask for. 18 minutes of pure fun and awesomeness.
***3/4

*Nigel McGuinness & Doug Williams vs. Rikio & Kawabata
*
Another quick match but still very good. Frequent tags kept things very interesting and for a match that was barley over the 9 minute mark they had a great finishing sequence that saw Rikio and Kawabata take a good deal of punishment before when of them (no idea who was who) fell victim to a rolling German Suplex from Doug Williams.

Another good match on this set. I feel like they could have been able to have a great match if they had been allowed 5 more minutes or so but this is another example of how you can still have a very good short match.
***

*The Briscoe Brothers vs. Ricky Marvin & Kotaro Suzuki for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles*

A true roller coaster of a match. Much better than a lot of the U.S. stuff that I have seen from the Briscoes as this match had a very nice pace to it where we would see some nice mat work followed by some incredible spots and they would go back to the mat.

This match had as many big spots as a lot of the Briscoe matches that I've seen before but the big difference was that they avoided the overkill ending by spacing them out so well. There were a lot moments where I was shocked at how impressive some of the stuff they did looked.

Marvin and Suzuki are a team that was easily able to match high flying skills with the Briscoes and they went and put on an incredible match. One of the best tag matches that I've seen in a while.
****1/2

*Chris Hero & Doug Williams vs. Yoshinori Ota & Mohammed Yone*

15 of really good wrestling. Nothing was too flashy except for the brutal swinging reverse DDT (I guess that's what you would call it) from Hero at the end to get the win which was pretty awesome as it looked like Ota landed right on his head. 

Another awesome match that just showcased some great wrestling. 
***3/4

Overall a fantistic DVD and since it came from IVP that means it only cost me $3 so it's really hard to go wrong at such a low price. 

I mean you have 2 matches over 4 stars and the rest were 3 or higher except for one match which was clipped anyways. Good mix of Dragon Gate and NOAH matches. Highly recommended.


----------



## Derek

**1/2 at most for Nigel/Williams vs. Rikioh & Kawabata. Kawabata was the one who got pinned as Rikioh is a former GHC Heavyweight champion, so he'll rarely ever get pinned, especially not to mid-card gaijin.

***-***1/4 For Hero & Doug vs. Ota & Yone.

I used to love Briscoes vs. Ricky & Kotaro but the last time I watched it I had to turn it off because of all the damn flippy moves from both teams. 

KENTA/Morishima is one of the best under 10 minutes matches you'll ever see.


----------



## FITZ

Derek said:


> **1/2 at most for Nigel/Williams vs. Rikioh & Kawabata. Kawabata was the one who got pinned as Rikioh is a former GHC Heavyweight champion, so he'll rarely ever get pinned, especially not to mid-card gaijin.
> 
> ***-***1/4 For Hero & Doug vs. Ota & Yone.
> 
> I used to love Briscoes vs. Ricky & Kotaro but the last time I watched it I had to turn it off because of all the damn flippy moves from both teams.
> 
> KENTA/Morishima is one of the best under 10 minutes matches you'll ever see.


There were a lot of flippy moves but I still had the impression that I was watching a wrestling match so that alone was enough to make me love it.


----------



## Blasko

I miss Shima being awesome...


----------



## Derek

We all do


And your sig makes me want to turn them off altogether.


----------



## Maxx Hero

Seconded in regard to the sig.


----------



## Sephiroth

Firsted in regards to having a bukkake fest on her face with Blasko, McQueen, Derek, GP, Mystery, Aaron, Spartan, Platt, Seabs, David, erickstanz, KingCrash, PaiMei, MAVSFAN and Benjo. 

Other Wrestling parties can't be topped.

(P.S., if the girl isn't available, we can just use John Mercer instead)


----------



## Derek

Not a fan of the bukkake.


----------



## Yeah1993

Can someone tell me how many Liger/Sano matches there are? I think I'll finally check them all out.


----------



## seabs

*3 iirc. The last one is a true classic.*


----------



## Derek

The last one is fucking brutal, but is definitely worth checking out. Sano does everything he can to destory Liger and Liger sells like a god.


----------



## Sephiroth

Is the final Lyger/Sano match from 1994? I want to say it was at a tournament, but J Cup and BOSJ were before it. When and where was it?


----------



## Derek

I'm talking about their match in '90.

Now that I think about it, I think they did have another match several years later.


----------



## Yeah1993

Apparantly they've had 6:

-2nd August 1984
-13th July 1989
-10th August 1989
-20th September 1989
-31st January 1990
-9th October 1995


----------



## Sephiroth

You're forgetting *Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (8/4/94) *


----------



## Yeah1993

Awesome. I'll take any match between those two I can get.


----------



## Maxx Hero

So last night I had a date with a Japanese foreign exchange student. She didn't know who Misawa was. I was very sad.


----------



## FITZ

Maxx Hero said:


> So last night I had a date with a Japanese foreign exchange student. She didn't know who Misawa was. I was very sad.


No second date?

I just watched *Dynamite Kid vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - Jr. Title (2/5/1980) *and it was pretty awesome. If I didn't know the date of this match I would say that there was no chance in hell it happened in 1980. I really hope I can get around to watching more of him as I have a bunch of his matches on DVD with Tiger Mask.


----------



## Sephiroth

taylorfitz said:


> No second date?
> 
> I just watched *Dynamite Kid vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - Jr. Title (2/5/1980) *and it was pretty awesome. If I didn't know the date of this match I would say that there was no chance in hell it happened in 1980. I really hope I can get around to watching more of him as I have a bunch of his matches on DVD with Tiger Mask.


Yeah, DK just totally turned the perception of juniors on its head. Truly some awesome and groundbreaking stuff. Plus he'd go on to inspire Chris Benoit and in turn Davey Richards. It's just too bad that he is confined to a wheelchair and pretty much most WWE/F fans don't give two shits about him.


----------



## McQueen

The '95 Sano/Liger match was pretty awesome but not on the level of the '89/90 ones. Haven't seen the '84 match.


----------



## McQueen

Just checked the great ones site for the first time in forever. Anyone seen this assumingly epic match up?



> Bret Kikuhart vs Shawn Antonio Honda Michaels, NOSAWA Bom-Ba-Ye 7/9/09. Honda makes this.


----------



## WillTheBloody

Shawn Antonio Honda's pyro is my favorite moment in all of wrestling this year. Seriously.


----------



## seabs

*Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - AJPW 25.05.1992*

_I dare you to try and find any match with a crowd quite like this. Fuck me. From the moment the bell rings and Kobashi starts laying in with chops the crowd just go ape shit and gobble up absolutely everything Kobashi & Kikuchi throw at them. You know when Kikuchi's dropkicks at the get go make the crowd go fucking crazy you're gonna be in for a rollercoatser of a ride and you best make sure you've got your seatbelt on for this ride.

Can-ams are fucking awesome in this one too btw. Obviously the focus is all around the crowd with the babyface team of Kobashi and Kikuchi but Kroffat and Furnas play up to the crowd just as well as the heels in the situation. It's almost like Kroffat and Furnas are Al Qaeda leaders who have decided to invade All Japan and are gonna fucking blow everyone inside the arena up if they win. There power is immense and it's a beaty to watch but for such big powerful men they have another fucking weapon of mass destruction. These fuckers have bloody agility too. The iranians can fuck off with their nuclear weapons. They could probably invade this arena and the crowd would laugh them out of the front door where they came in shortly before Kobashi chops the skin completely off their chests. Your nuclear missiles and weapons of mass destruction aint got nothing on Can-ams destructive combination of immense power and decieving agility though.

And thus when the Japaneese crowd realise that two terrorists have invaded they suddenly realise that if their boys dont win then they're all gonna die and that aint what they want. It doesn't matter how much the two terrorists in the blue trunks hold their heroes back they just erupt for every moment of offense from Kobashi and Kikuchi. If anyone ever decides to publish a wrestling dictionary and they need a definition for the phrase marking the fuck out, just put All Japan 25/05/1992 or if you publish it in America change it to All Japan 5/25/1992 for their little minds that dont realise nearly every other country uses the correct date format.

They make the crowd at Mania 18 for Rock/Hogan sound like an empty arena match and if you compare the size of the two crowds that's quite the statement but it can be backed up. I don't think any combination of letters can really do justice for how amazing this is not only for the crowd but for the quality of the match too. I could try though. AGJKLMPQINFKGRPMWBOEMGPWGN!!!

As awesome as the crowd is though, the quality of the match backs it up just as much and is just incredible. If I go back to using Rock/Hogan as an example again, the crowd there made an alright match into a really good one. The crowd in this case made an awesome match into an all time classic. Even if it had a pretty average crowd the wrestling was still more than good enough to make it a genuinly brilliant wrestling match.

If ya want me stick a star rating on this heroes of japan vs terrorists war then really it's impossible to say how much I enjoyed it but apparently if I slap a ***** on it, it means I pretty much I enjoyed the fuck out of that shit, so ...._

*******


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Not enough Dick Togo in this thread. Pretty sure I was high as a kite when I wrote this a couple months ago. If you don't like cussin', then I advise you work the scroll bar like a motherfucker:


Jushin Liger v Dick Togo (NJPW Skydiving J, British Jr. Heavyweight Title, 6/17/96)

OH, FUCK YEAH! This ROCKED! Like, seriously rocked! Like, rocked harder than a garden shed in a hurricane! Or something! Dick MOTHERFUCKING Togo is king of all rudo junior heavyweights and Liger is pretty much all around king of junior heavyweights – Hell, king of wrestlers of all weights – and that nifty little match-up on paper makes for a fucking WHIP ASS little match-up in execution, I’ll tell ya. No, really, I’M TELLIN’ YA! 

The main theme of this is Dick’s desire to out-dickhead Liger, but you just DO NOT FUCK with Jushin Liger – he WILL fucking kill you. Togo ain’t no candyass, though, and takes all of his hefty little frame and puts it to good use – throwing it at Liger like a big ol’ ball of ass-kicking, goatee-sporting jelly, hitting the PHAT ASS tope that puts any tope from any wrestler not name Hijo Del Santo to shame before DDT’ing king Jush’ right on the concrete. This is the first reason why McMahon can suck it for turning Togo into a lackey for a guy that hacks off pornstars’ dicks, and the second reason is the positively rib-crumbling double stomp off the second rope that should by all rights kill a motherfucker. Liger chimes in with reason number 765 as to why he’s the ruler of the farking universe by selling the ribs like the fucking KING that he always is, doing that whole eyeballs-popping-out-of-the-sockets sell that he manages to do so well despite wearing a friggin’ mask. Liger transitions into his run on offence by hitting the monkey flip that Togo takes so nicely before breaking his head with a Koppo kick and a hellish release German suplex. Then he slam dunks him with a powerbomb that’s almost Benoit levels of stiffness and everybody is reminded of the simple fact they should’ve already known beforehand anyway – do not fuck with Jushin Thunder Liger. 

Liger’s whole stretch on offence here is just IMMACULATE in the way he blends his selling together with the general theme of dickheadedness since nobody out-dicks Liger with the throwback to Liger/Samurai from the ’92 BOSJ final in that Liger is asserting himself here as he did then, only this time he’s proving the point that he’s more surly and badass and fucking tremendous than the surliest most badass bully on the motherfucking continent of anywhere. Back then he was pissed off beyond imagine; now he’s obviously grown because he can still whoop a fool’s ass, but he takes the time to bust out a freaking Hogan hand-clasp-to-the-ear pose just to ram home the point of “I’m Jushin Liger – I’m better than whoever the fuck I say I’m better than.” 

He really works the arm like a fiend here, ripping and tearing at it and throwing it into stuff like it belonged to someone that pissed him off. Togo screams like a man that needs some sweet mercy (which is how it fucking SHOULD be done, baby) so Liger gives him a reprieve by letting him keep his arm for a couple minutes while he ties him up in the corner and gives him a running Koppo kick to the cranium. “I done told you, boy; I am not to be fucked with!” Liger absolutely knocks the SHIT out of Togo with a single palm thrust that is to be rewound and re-watched several times in order to really comprehend the level of chin-splitting force behind it, and Liger sells the damn hand in this subtle little way that is reason number 766 as to why he rules all that is good in life. 

He goes back to trying to take Togo’s arm home with him, but Dick manages to work himself an opening and goes up top, only Liger gives him another palm thrust that’s even MORE unconscionable than the last one and it sends him flying to the floor. Liger hits a big time plancha and then poses some more like a cocky dick before killing Togo with a fisherman buster. I’ll point out here that Liger’s constant going back to the limb-work (in this case, the arm) is what really pushes him over the great/super-great threshold more often than not, because the junior heavyweight style is based around either dives (pre-1996) or skull-mashing moves (post-1996) that it leaves the participants susceptible to blowing off limb-work or just dropping it in favour of hitting highspots. Liger manages to get everything in as effectively as possible and come Hell or high water is gonna make his opponents look like a million bucks in doing it. 

Togo manages to find himself a breather again by backdropping Liger out to the floor, then hitting a BOSS as all Hell Tope con Hilo from inside the ring to the floor that lands him right on Liger’s fuggin’ head! Dick Togo is a stout little man that will crush a regular man’s skull by landing on it from ten feet in the air and don’t you forget it! Liger proves YET AGAIN why he’s better than everything ever by catching Togo attempting a running Hurricanrana or something off the apron by killing the bejeebers out of him with a powerbomb on the floor. Liger’s dickhead instincts tell him that he should mock the Michinoku Pro pee head by going back into the ring to play to the crowd before stepping back out and purposefully dragging Togo off the mats onto the exposed concrete so he can kill even MORE of the bejeebers out of him with an even more hellish powerbomb. Then he FLAIR STRUTS! 

Togo’s just about dead enough for Liger’s tastes and seems content to finish things with a Kimura, but Togo reaches the ropes and that prompts Liger to lay another beatdown with a German suplex, which Dick reverses by kicking Liger in the grapes as he transitions into a powerbomb and two PHAT ASS top rope sentons. No dice on the nearfall so he goes for another which Liger moves out of the way of – saving his already demolished ribs in the process – and goes up top himself where he hits a missile dropkick to the injured arm Togo’s holding onto the middle rope with, which is just a GREAT spot. Togo reaches the ropes to break the cross-arm-breaker, but the advantage he managed to carve himself out through the low blow is slipping fast, and it would seem even faster when Liger gears up for the running Shotei (palm thrust) lariat. Togo manages to hang in there by dropping Liger on his face with a drop toe hold before scoring a nearfall with a La Majistral cradle, but now Liger is REALLY pissed and goes about murdering Togo with two fisherman busters – one from the top rope. Togo sells the top rope buster really awesomely by landing like a sack a potatoes, kinda going limp as soon as he hits the canvas as if he might actually be dead. Liger puts this baby out to pasture by smashing Togo’s teeth down his WWF-bound throat the good ol’ Shotei lariat way, and I’m thinking that’s maybe my favourite signature strike ever in wrestling because it looks just INCREDIBLY sore and hurty since it catches whoever’s taking it right in the fuggin’ jaw at about 300 miles a minute. 

This wasn’t ever going to be anything short of good, so I’m not really sure why I’m surprised at just how good it was, but there ya go; proof that even the highest of expectations can be crushed by a Shotei lariat and a fat man Tope con Hilo. Liger’s the best ever, Togo’s INSANELY underrated, and if you’re only familiar with his pathetic run in the States (Vince McMahon and his cretinous bookers can blow me sideways for jobbing the entire Kaientai DX stable out to the fucking Oddities, btw. The FUCKING ODDITIES! GOLGA, fer chrissakes!), then you need to check this out in jig time. This is a whole big bunch of fucking bossiness and YOU WANT ALLLLL OF IT! Cross my heart. ****1/4

See ya in another 6 months.


----------



## WillTheBloody

6 MONTHS!?!? Goddamn you, Andy! Great read, as usual.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Seabs said:


> *I live in England and it usually takes a good 5-6 weeks to get over here. Will obviously be quicker to US.*


That long? Shit, it usually gets to me in a fortnight. Honestly don't remember having to wait any longer than 20 days to get an order. Might depend on how iften you order, or used to order. Last year I practically made an order every couple weeks. And I'm talking 10 discs a pop or something. Haven't bought anything from IVP in ages, though (been using SlamBamJam since I've been buying Lucha), so who knows how long it'd take if I made one now.



WillTheBloody said:


> 6 MONTHS!?!? Goddamn you, Andy! Great read, as usual.


Back a little earlier than I thought .

Kenta Kobashi v Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH, 4/25/04)
- Last 15 minutes might be the best 15 minutes of any match this decade. I've watched this three times in the last year or so, and the first ten minute spell always seems a little... pedestrian, I guess, but really, that final quarter hour is just *that* good. There's always a sort of mini-story going on in all the big NOAH singles matches of the era, especially during Kobashi's title reign, where you've got one guy's signature strike going up against the other guy's. It was Kobashi's chops against Misawa's elbows in 3/1/03; it was Kobashi's chops against Akiyama's knees in 7/10/04; here it's still Kobashi's chops, but he's stacking them up against pretty much _all_ of Takayama's strikes. He'll kick you, knee you, elbow you, and straight up closed-fist-punch you right square in the face. He's also quite the big son of a bitch that's not afraid to heel it up, which is why I dig him a helluva lot. Things pick up big time when Takayama decides he's had enough of this chopping bullshit and goes about trying to rip Kobashi's arm off. Kobashi sells it as well as you'd think. There's a really great moment out on the floor where Kobashi gets whipped into the guard rail and rushes right out so he can murder Tak with a lariat. Problem is, his chopping arm is his lariat arm, so he basically does as much damage to himself as he does to Takayama. Then he tries crawl back into the ring, but Tak ain't havin' none of that shit and goes about dropping him with a German on the floor. Kobashi's holding onto the rope and struggling on the apron while Takayama WILL NOT be denied his German suplex. Eventually he gets it, Kobashi lands on his head, and at this point people start to think "So, he's working with one arm, just got landed on his head, and has the knees of an 87 year old woman. Shit, he might actually lose this time!" Finishing stretch is as good as you'd expect, full of white hot death and all that good stuff. Kobashi hitting multiple lariats with the bad wing will no doubt grind some peoples' gears, but Hell, it's Kobashi -- you gotta know he's gonna "fight through the pain" and use all the fighting spirit his crazy ass can muster. Besides, he sells it well enough in a "this is gonna hurt you more than me" kinda way, and Takayama's too preoccupied with dropping him on his head and punching him in the face to go back to the arm anyway, so I'm not about to complain. And I'm the kinda guy that usuall would. Finish is perfect. The reaction to Kobashi pumping his fist and signalling for the moonsault is insane. I'd probably put this in my top 15 of the decade. It's no wonder why Takayama is practically a brainbuster away from being a drolling mess these days. ****1/2


Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa v KENTA & Naomuchi Marufuji (NOAH, 4/25/04)
- Ogawa is such a piece a shit. You know that guy that walks around the club slapping girls' asses because he's buddies with the bouncers and knows that they've got his back, for some reason, should someone try to punch him in his smug little face? The kinda guy that makes you wonder how the fuck such an insufferable little jackass comes to have friends like that, or better yet, why they haven't dropped him themselves already? Well, _that's_ Ogawa. He's all cocky and generally acts like a douchebag right out the gate here, spitting water at Marufuji, poking their eyes, slapping them, and standing on them after Misawa drops them with some elbows. It's basically an extended squash for the first twenty minutes, with the young guys getting their shots in but eventually being floored by Misawa's trusty ol' elbow. All roads lead back to the elbow, folks. Ogawa picks his spots to come in, mostly when there's easy pickings, and goes about being a little shithead in his own way. He's actually quite great in that sense, but, as strange as it sounds, he needed to stooge some more. I know, I know, the idea of anybody other than SUWA stooging in the land of eternal stoicness that is NOAH probably sounds a little cooky, but he's pretty much the closest thing to being NOAH's answer to Bobby Eaton that you're likely to get, so why not go all the way with it? All of his bullshit and shenanigans through the match was just begging for a big revenge spot from the youngsters... but it never really came. Still, the lil' juniors wind up looking as good as one could hope for by the end, even in defeat (there was no way they were pinning the tag champs at this stage, let's be honest), and Marufuji even kicks out of Misawa's running elbow smash for a terrific nearfall. Naturally he dies after an Emerald Flowsion, but kicking out of everything the champs could throw at him -- and ditto for KENTA, btw -- beforehand put them over about as effectively as possible without them actually winning. As a totally pointless aside, Marufuji looks eerily like a girl I used to go to school with. It's completely shattered my world, because I saw her again a couple weeks ago and she looks legit *smoking*. Now I'll never be able to remember her the same way again. Not sure what that says about me, actually. ****1/4


----------



## seabs

*I'm a fucking massive fan of the tag match, more than most.*


----------



## ROHFan4Life

Im curious on whether any of these matches are worth a look.

Dragon Gate "Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival" Dream Gate vs. Brave Gate Title Match: Doi vs. CIMA
Sasaki & Kenta Kobashi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Tenryu from I believe the first K. Office Main Event
7/20/09 IWGP Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Takashi Sugiura 
8/30/09 - KO-D Openweight Title : HARASHIMA vs. Kota Ibushi
Dragon Gate Summer Adventure Tag league III: 8/26/09
YAMATO & Shingo Takagi vs. Nakajima & Mochizuki


----------



## Maxx Hero

I would say no to all of those matches, but I am a wrestling snob and don't watch much under ****, so take it as it's worth. They all have there moments, but nothing is a must see.


----------



## Blasko

Are you fucking high?

Sasaki & Kobashi vs Nakajima & Tenryu is PHENOMENAL.


----------



## antoniomare007

has anybody seen the 1993-1994 Tenryu/Hashimoto match series??

i'm interested in watching those matches but haven't been able to find them


btw, good lord Blasko, what's with that disturbing sig? xD


----------



## volcanic

ROHFan4Life said:


> Sasaki & Kenta Kobashi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Tenryu from I believe the first K. Office Main Event


does a match involving Kobashi vs. Tenryu ever suck? no. very worthwhile.


----------



## Yeah1993

Just watched Kawada Vs Misawa 3rd June 1994.

It was kinda the greatest match I've ever seen. Officially at #1 for me.


----------



## Sephiroth

Yeah1993 said:


> Just watched Kawada Vs Misawa 3rd June 1994.
> 
> It was kinda the greatest match I've ever seen. Officially at #1 for me.


 This makes me happy.

You should check out some of the epic tags between those two with their partners Taue and Kobashi, respectively. 6/9/95 is one you need to see if you loved 6/3/94


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I seem to be one of the only people around that prefers both the '96 and '93 Tag League finals to 6/9/95. Prefer 6/3/94 and Kobashi/Misawa from 1/97 as well. Been a long ass time since I watched any of them, though.


----------



## -GP-

McQueen said:


> Just checked the great ones site for the first time in forever. Anyone seen this assumingly epic match up?


Shawn screwed Shawn. That is all.



antoniomare007 said:


> btw, good lord Blasko, what's with that disturbing sig? xD


I motion that Blasko removes that sig on the grounds that it kills any and all Puro-induced boners :no:


----------



## Blasko

Don't hate, brah.


----------



## Derek

The picture size is over the limits. I'm going to have to ask you to remove it.


----------



## Blasko

:side:


----------



## Derek

Thank you sir.

*Akira Taue & Keiji Mutoh vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kenta Kobashi 9.27.2009*

This match was about as good as you could expect from guys who's bodies are as beat down as these men. Takayama can still go, but he's nowhere near his prime. Taue is the company president, and will never be in a main event postition again, but he gives a nice effort for this match,as it is highly important. Kobashi and Mutoh both have bad knees, so its amazing they can still walk, let alone wrestle.

Things I enjoyed:
-Mutoh getting pissed at Kobashi chopping him, so he grabs a chair at ringside, but Taue talks him out of it.
-Ref Kyohei Wada refusing to count Takayama's foot-on-chest pin
-Mutoh getting pissed at the choping again and grabbing the same chair at ringside before the ref makes him put it back.
-Taue's attempt at the Shinning Wizard and Mutoh's expression upon seeing it.


----------



## Yeah1993

> You should check out some of the epic tags between those two with their partners Taue and Kobashi, respectively. 6/9/95 is one you need to see if you loved 6/3/94


June 9th '95 I have as 4th best match ever so far. The best tag match I've seen bar none.



> The picture size is over the limits. I'm going to have to ask you to remove it.


THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU


----------



## volcanic

4/20/91 > ALL of those matches, singles or tag.


----------



## Sephiroth

This thread doesn't have enough gaijin~! Specifically Brody (besides Blasko's avy) or Hansen. Has any foreigner done more or been as legendary as Hansen (besides Mil Mascaras or The Funks, right? or not...)? I'd honestly like to know because I can't think of another guy except maybe Gordy or Williams. I just love his series of matches with Kobashi. 

7/29/93 is just one of the best matches I''ve ever seen and easily in my top 5 matches ever.


----------



## Rescueme0909

Kawada vs Misawa is my favorite of all time, I find the tag match tad overrated


----------



## Yeah1993

VADER should be brought into this thread too. 

Hansen & Brody are one of my all time favourite teams. The match they've have with The Funks are awesome (espeically 8/12/1984).


----------



## Sephiroth

I totally forgot about Vader. I like his matches, but I can't ever get over his eyeball popping out. It just really grosses me out.


----------



## volcanic

Joe Malenko & the Fantastics deserve some love. check out Malenko/Kikuchi vs. the Fantastics from the same show as the famous Jumbo/Misawa rematch.


----------



## Blasko

Best part from the tag is Mutoh CLOBBERING Kobashi with the Shining Wizard. 

I thought he was knocked out, but Kobashi sold it like a pro.


----------



## antoniomare007

Mutoh was the MVP on that tag imo. Exept the botched dropkick at the beginning, everything he did was spot on and made the match better.


> Has any foreigner done more or been as legendary as Hansen (besides Mil Mascaras or The Funks, right? or not...)?


Destroyer, Abby...

although Hansen, Brody and the Funks had better matches


----------



## Yeah1993

Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid Series:

21/4/1981: ****3/4
1/1/1982: ****1/4
28/1/1982: ****1/2
23/7/1982: ****3/4
5/8/1982: ****1/2
30/8/1982: ****1/4
21/4/1983: ****3/4

Take away Steamboat/Flair and this is most likely my favourite set of matches by two individuals in the same match (I know that made no sense, but you know what I mean).

This should be changed to the "Official Puro/Lucha Match/DVD Discussion Thread". That way I could discuss the four and three quarter awesomeness that is Psicosis/Rey Jr 22/9/95.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'd say Funk or Hansen were the most consistently great gaijin ever. Williams were pretty great as well, as was Gordy, but Funk and Hansen were pretty amazing.

Used to be a big Brody fan as well. Don't find him to be much more than a sack a garbage most of the time now.


----------



## -GP-

Andy3000 said:


> Used to be a big Brody fan as well. Don't find him to be much more than a sack a garbage most of the time now.


Brace yourself for the shitstorm Andy...


----------



## Maxx Hero

I have to agree with Andy3000 though. Brody doesn't hold a candle to Funk imho.


----------



## antoniomare007

very few people are at the same level of Funk though


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I can't think of a single time in his entire career that Funk was shit. Not even in 2006 when he could barely stand up. I honestly think his run in Japan annihiliates Brody's, who had far more shit than great (not necessarily bad _matches_, but bad performances. Hansen or a Funk brother should get most of the credit for the good matches). 

There's times where I still like Brody a lot, but he's either wrestling with Hansen or wrestling against Terry when that happens. Sometimes both. Can't think of any great Brody match where he's actually been the best guy in there. The '81 RWTL final is a match I adore, but both Funks and Jimmy freakin' Snuka were outworking him. Brody can work a crazy brawl really well (I hear his '86 run in World Class is very good), but he can't -- or rather _won't_ -- sell worth a shit unless he's in there with the top natives or fellow top gaijin. Hell, there's a match from January '85 in St.Louis and he's sandbagging Ric Flair for 20 minutes. The NWA champ.

Watch the match with Brody and Hansen against Steamboat and Youngblood from the '82 tag league. Steamboat and Youngblood were the top tag team in the top territory in the states, and Brody's treating everything they do as if Scott McGhee and Barry Horowitz are the ones throwing knife edge chops and cross bodies. The fact the match doesn't only turn out good but actually fucking *great* says a Hell of a lot about Stan motherfucking Hansen and his ability to carry that team.


----------



## Maxx Hero

antoniomare007 said:


> very few people are at the same level of Funk though


My point, so why then does everyone build Brody up like he is?


----------



## WillTheBloody

I don't even understand the comparison to be honest. I haven't fleshed out this idea at all, but here goes anyway. They're like Batman and Superman: Brody is Bats, using fear and the illusion of invincibility to get over, where Terry's like Superman in that I always genuinely believed that nothing could mow him down, plus I respected him a helluva lot more than Bruiser. I enjoy both for a lot of different reasons, but they are NOT on the same level and shouldn't be compared.

I've been staring at this paragraph I wrote for ten minutes and I can't tell if it makes any sense or not, I really can't.


----------



## Maxx Hero

Perfect sense. Currently waiting for McQueen to raise hell with his opinion.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

WillTheBloody said:


> I don't even understand the comparison to be honest. I haven't fleshed out this idea at all, but here goes anyway. They're like Batman and Superman: Brody is Bats, using fear and the illusion of invincibility to get over, where Terry's like Superman in that I always genuinely believed that nothing could mow him down, plus I respected him a helluva lot more than Bruiser. I enjoy both for a lot of different reasons, but they are NOT on the same level and shouldn't be compared.
> 
> I've been staring at this paragraph I wrote for ten minutes and I can't tell if it makes any sense or not, I really can't.


I'll give that comparison 8/10. Not as good as your Dragon Gate/Cops comparison way back when, but pretty apt nonetheless.


Watched Misawa/Kobashi from 3/1/03 a couple days ago. I've never loved this like so many people do, but this time I enjoyed it a lot more. So much so that I'd probably say it's a top 25 match for the decade. That tiger suplex off the ramp was 100% batshit fucking insane. Still prefer about 10 match from NOAH alone, but I can see why someone would call it the match of the decade.


----------



## Yeah1993

Maxx Hero said:


> Perfect sense. Currently waiting for McQueen to raise hell with his opinion.


I almost certain Eric thinks Funk is the greatest of all time. 

Terry is very easily arguably top 10, and Brody's (lack of) selling is the only thing that puts me off from him. He's still awesome. Mostly tagged with Hansen or Snuka though. Mostly Hansen. 

I just don't understand why guys like Bruiser want to 'protect their image' by not selling, yet they get so much flack for not selling anyway. Feels kinds reverse psychological.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> I just don't understand why guys like Bruiser want to 'protect their image' by not selling, yet they get so much flack for not selling anyway. Feels kinds reverse psychological.


He was protecting his spot on the card, and there weren't millions and millions of people on the internet talking about "selling da leg" back in 1985. He was the biggest money maker in Japan at the time. The people that were complaing about selling were probably the people that weren't paying money to see him, therefore, he couldn't really give a fuck.

Can't say I fault him for being "business smart". Still, it doesn't mean I have to enjoy it 25 years after the fact .


----------



## antoniomare007

Andy3000 said:


> but I can see why someone would call it the match of the decade.


what i really can't see is why some people call the 03' match their best when 1/20/97 is way better 


yo Andy, have you seen Great Sasuke/Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus/Shinjiro Ohtani tag league finals? if so, you know where could i find it?


----------



## Sephiroth

antoniomare007 said:


> what i really can't see is why some people call the 03' match their best when 1/20/97 is way better
> 
> 
> yo Andy, have you seen Great Sasuke/Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus/Shinjiro Ohtani tag league finals? if so, you know where could i find it?


I know a place...nevermind, he doesn't have it on there for some reason. Maybe a Benoit ban?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

antoniomare007 said:


> yo Andy, have you seen Great Sasuke/Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus/Shinjiro Ohtani tag league finals? if so, you know where could i find it?


Yeah, I've seen it. Watched it not too long ago, actually. No idea if it's online anywhere, though. I watched it on an Eddie Guerrero comp. After D-Man removed it from his site, I haven't seen it online since. I'd upload it (along with plenty of Dick Togo. Motherfuckers need more Dick in their lives), but DVD Shrink won't work on my computer.

EDIT: If it's where I'm thinking, then yeah, all Benoit got scrubbed.


----------



## Maxx Hero

Andy3000 said:


> I'll give that comparison 8/10. Not as good as your *Dragon Gate/Cops* comparison way back when, but pretty apt nonetheless.


I think I can see where this is going, but I would like to here more regardless.

Also, the new DDT Campground wrestling was the greatest hour of WTF am I watching ever.


----------



## Yeah1993

The site has a no-Benoit thing going?

Anyway, watched RVD Vs Kroffat from 9th June 1995 (same night as you-know-fucking-what) and it was better than anything Van Dam ever did in WWE. Kroffat played the 'even though the Japanese don't like it I'll spit at RVD and push the ref' heel and they did boo him. Great and high-risk.

Whoever's ordered from IVP, do they uselessly clip matches without telling you, or is every clipped match mentioned on the site?


----------



## antoniomare007

damn, i knew DD could had it but when i didn't find it i never thought on a Benoit ban...silly me.

thanks for the info anyway guys


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> The site has a no-Benoit thing going?
> 
> Anyway, watched RVD Vs Kroffat from 9th June 1995 (same night as you-know-fucking-what) and it was better than anything Van Dam ever did in WWE. Kroffat played the 'even though the Japanese don't like it I'll spit at RVD and push the ref' heel and they did boo him. Great and high-risk.
> 
> Whoever's ordered from IVP, do they uselessly clip matches without telling you, or is every clipped match mentioned on the site?


It's not always stated, but it's not IVP that do the clipping anyway - it's the promotion. Sometimes that's so they can fit it onto TV. 

I mean, if you're ordering an episode of Japan TV from, say, June 1997 and there's 8 or 9 matches on it with the disc running 2 hours, you can expect stuff to be chopped up. I've ordered a ton of Japan TV over the years, and a lot of it features clipped up stuff. New Japan always loved to clip their juniors stuff to shit on TV blocks, so you usually had to wait until they were released on commercial tapes before you got full versions (an example is Liger v Ohtani from 2/9/97. Match went 27 minutes and was clipped down to around 20 on TV, but was released in full at some point in the future, either on a TV special or a commercial tape).

If it's a PPV (the actual PPV, not the TV "recap"), then everything will be in full.

If it's a "best of" disc, then some will be clipped, and some will be full. There's a best of Eddie Guerrero disc there that has the full Liger/Black Tiger match from the '96 BOSJ tourney, but it also has a clipped version of the Benoit/Black Tiger match from earlier in the tourney as well. 

Best advice I can give is to look at the amout of matches on the disc and compare it to how long the disc runs. 4 matches on a two hour disc is usually a good bet for complete matches. 8 or 9 means something is gonna be clipped.


Btw, download this and watch it:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/n3pr3i

It's Cicloncito Ramirez v Damiancito El Guerrero from CMLL (1/7/97). They're minis, but I watched it this morning and it's probably the best match I've ever seen. I'd put it ahead of 6/3/94 and Flair/Steamboat from Clash VI as the best singles match ever. Don't expect too many people here to agree with that, but it kicks the hinder off Misterio/Psicosis from 9/22/95 and I know you loved that. I've never seen any US pro-wrestler work the mat like these two. Not even CLOSE. Damiancito El Guerrero look just about the best wrestler in the history of anything. So yeah, watch it.


----------



## Yeah1993

Like NWA, eh? 




> It's Cicloncito Ramirez v Damiancito El Guerrero from CMLL (1/7/97). They're minis, but I watched it this morning and it's probably the best match I've ever seen. I'd put it ahead of 6/3/94 and Flair/Steamboat from Clash VI as the best singles match ever. Don't expect too many people here to agree with that, but it kicks the hinder off Misterio/Psicosis from 9/22/95 and I know you loved that. I've never seen any US pro-wrestler work the mat like these two. Not even CLOSE. Damiancito El Guerrero look just about the best wrestler in the history of anything. So yeah, watch it.


Your pretty much the man for that link. I'm not expecting to agree with you at all as far as 22/9/94, Clash VI and 3/6/94 go, but still looking forward to it.


----------



## -GP-

Andy3000 said:


> Btw, download this and watch it:
> 
> http://www.sendspace.com/file/n3pr3i
> 
> It's Cicloncito Ramirez v Damiancito El Guerrero from CMLL (1/7/97). They're minis, but I watched it this morning and it's probably the best match I've ever seen. I'd put it ahead of 6/3/94 and Flair/Steamboat from Clash VI as the best singles match ever. Don't expect too many people here to agree with that, but it kicks the hinder off Misterio/Psicosis from 9/22/95 and I know you loved that. I've never seen any US pro-wrestler work the mat like these two. Not even CLOSE. Damiancito El Guerrero look just about the best wrestler in the history of anything. So yeah, watch it.


Good stuff.

I've always had a thing for the lucha "2 Out of 3 Falls" thing.
Not sure why. Maybe it's because i don't watch lucha very often, or it's because i'm a major submission mark (which work really well with 2/3 falls since you can realistically submit a fall without being done for) but i've always felt it gave a match much more...i'm not sure "legitimacy" is the word i'm looking for here but i'll go with that and hope it makes sense.
Must be why i've always liked "World of Sport" rules too...


Also, Cicloncito (which my non-existent Spanish have me believe is "Little Hurricane") is a kick-ass name.

Also also, that backwards overhead springboard into a 'rana thingy in the first fall...damn...


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> Your pretty much the man for that link. I'm not expecting to agree with you at all as far as 22/9/94, Clash VI and 3/6/94 go, but still looking forward to it.


I'm drunk. What's 9/22/94?



-GP- said:


> Good stuff.I've always had a thing for the lucha "2 Out of 3 Falls" thing.
> Not sure why. Maybe it's because i don't watch lucha very often, or it's because i'm a major submission mark (which work really well with 2/3 falls since you can realistically submit a fall without being done for) but i've always felt it gave a match much more...i'm not sure "legitimacy" is the word i'm looking for here but i'll go with that and hope it makes sense.
> Must be why i've always liked "World of Sport" rules too...
> 
> 
> Also, Cicloncito (which my non-existent Spanish have me believe is "Little Hurricane") is a kick-ass name.
> 
> Also also, that backwards overhead springboard into a 'rana thingy in the first fall...damn...


Yeah, it's "little hurricane". He's a mini of Ciclon Ramirez. Mascarita Magica is a mini of Mascara Magica. Pierrothito is a mini of Pierroth. They're all minis of a full sized wrestler. Could've explained that better if I wasn't ploughed, but there ya go.

I'll also agree with youn on the mat work point. Lucha mat work, when you find what you know works for you, is sublime. 

Here's the link for a trios match from OCtober later in the year (10/3/97), btw. It;s also amazing.

http://www.sendspace.com/file/msasoz

Damiancito and Cicloncito TEAR it up yet again.


----------



## Yeah1993

That was good, like fucking good, like so fucking good it makes you scared good, like so fiucking damn frightening scary awesomely amazingly good. Whoever doesn't download that should. Bloody now. Best Lucha match I've seen edging out 22/9/95 and EHDSanto/Panther from 9th Apr. 2000. Unfortunately I haven't seen a full EHDS/Octagon Vs LGLocos match, but even the clip I saw was awesome.

I can't name 15 matches I've seen that are better (than Cicloncito/Guerrero). I wouldn't call it better than Clash VI or 3/6/94, but as said I put it one spot above 22/9/95. I've never seen stuff like that. It makes great matches like Sting/Vader, The Rock/Austin and Benoit/HHH/Michaels look like piles of ant crap. My complete bias for Mankind/Michaels and Sayama/Dynamite (23/4/81) is probably the only reason I'd put those two above it as far as ****3/4 go.

I love 2/3 Falls too, the only problem is I can pretty much tell who's going to win the second fall after the first fall finishes, but considering the second fall is ususally around 5 minutes it's not a match-killer or anything.

EDIT: Sorry, I meant 22/9/9*5*, which is Rey Jr/Psicosis. But as I said though I thought Cicloncito/DEGuerrero was better.

Thanks a bundle for that other think. I'll watch that by tomorrow.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Glad you enjoyed it. The mat work in the first fall really is amzing. Damiancito El Guerrero is a fucking *tremendous* wrestler.

FWIW, I watched the When Worlds Collide match on an Eddie set not too long ago, and the 1/7/97 match DESTROYS it. Like, completely. The 10/3/97 trios match is far, FAR better than it as well.

If you want to see a really great Gringos Locos tag, watch the 11/5/93 match when they go up against Santito and Octagon. Smokes the Worlds Collide tag, IMO. I think Eddie is the best wrestler ever, so when I say I think a match smokes one of his most highly pimped matches, you should get an idea of how good I think the other match in question is.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah1993 said:


> I almost certain Eric thinks Funk is the greatest of all time.
> 
> Terry is very easily arguably top 10, and Brody's (lack of) selling is the only thing that puts me off from him. He's still awesome. Mostly tagged with Hansen or Snuka though. Mostly Hansen.
> 
> I just don't understand why guys like Bruiser want to 'protect their image' by not selling, yet they get so much flack for not selling anyway. Feels kinds reverse psychological.


I do believe Terry is the Greatest of all time. Guys like Misawa or Flair may have a better catalog of matches but in terms of the little things that make a match give you genuine emotions, no one matches Terry Funk.

I kinda get where Bruiser was going with the whole sandbvagging people issue. The man understood part of his image was being larger than life and seemingly unstoppable. He short changed a lot of people in the ring (but knew well enough to make top guys he respected like Baba look great) but you can't argue the fact that much like Hogan he will have a lasting influence in the sport.

Sorry I haven't been around much but i've been in a bit of a funk (no pun intended given my first issue of the post) with Wrasslin and been boning up on MMA instead but i've been feeling to call to get back to my Puro roots.

Sephy you want to talk about a underpraised Great Gaijin. Dan MOTHERFUCKIN' Kroffat. Sure the excellent Can-Ams vs Kobashi/Kikuchi match gets a load of praise (as it should) but i've yet to see a bad outing by Kroffat/LaFon be it in Japan or his shorrt WWF run. Was the guy a main eventer? No, but he was a damn fine hand.


----------



## -GP-

McQueen said:


> [...]
> been boning up on MMA instead
> [...]


Been watching the textbook examples of technique and endurance that were the first 3 fights of TUF...? :side:


The thing with Brody is that i don't think anybody would put him over Funk in the first place, so it's not a very fair comparison to use.
I'm also fairly confident that despite all the Brody love around here, most people don't _really_ love him in a wrestler sense as much as they do in a character sense. 

It's a bit like going, "Here's this crazy son of a bitch with his wild hair who kicks people's asses and is called 'Bruiser'. How awesome is that?".
Not to say he couldn't bring it in the ring, just that his overall image very much accentuated that.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

-GP- said:


> *The thing with Brody is that i don't think anybody would put him over Funk in the first place, so it's not a very fair comparison to use.*
> I'm also fairly confident that despite all the Brody love around here, most people don't _really_ love him in a wrestler sense as much as they do in a character sense.
> 
> It's a bit like going, "Here's this crazy son of a bitch with his wild hair who kicks people's asses and is called 'Bruiser'. How awesome is that?".
> Not to say he couldn't bring it in the ring, just that his overall image very much accentuated that.


You'd probably be surprised at the amount of people that call Brody the best brawler ever. That talking point means people tend to put him over guys like Funk and Hansen by default. I doubt anybody would call Brody a better all-around wrestler than either guy, though, so you've got a point.


----------



## seabs

*NJPW Jr. Tag League 1994

Damn, I never realised the great D had a Benoit ban on his site. Makes sense now seeing as I never actually see any Benoit stuff now thinking about it. btw both Benoit/Ohtani vs Sasuke/Eddie matches from the tag league are brilliant.*


----------



## Kapone89

Hey Andy, i'm just throwing this out here, where did you find those Cicloncito and Damiancito El Guerrero matches?


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *NJPW Jr. Tag League 1994
> *


*

:faint:*


----------



## McQueen

-GP- said:


> Been watching the textbook examples of technique and endurance that were the first 3 fights of TUF...? :side:


Nah, i've only seen TUF about 3 times and that was because Spike was running a marathon of season 2 the other week. I don't really give a shit about the Heavyweight Division aside from Minotauro anyways.

Damn Andy now i'm gonna need to watch some more Lucha. And seeing as he's a hot topic these days did Goodhelmet ever finish that Funk set he was making?


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Andy3000 said:


> Btw, download this and watch it:
> 
> http://www.sendspace.com/file/n3pr3i
> 
> It's Cicloncito Ramirez v Damiancito El Guerrero from CMLL (1/7/97). They're minis, but I watched it this morning and it's probably the best match I've ever seen. I'd put it ahead of 6/3/94 and Flair/Steamboat from Clash VI as the best singles match ever. Don't expect too many people here to agree with that, but it kicks the hinder off Misterio/Psicosis from 9/22/95 and I know you loved that. I've never seen any US pro-wrestler work the mat like these two. Not even CLOSE. Damiancito El Guerrero look just about the best wrestler in the history of anything. So yeah, watch it.


I downloaded and watched this yesterday, absolutely awesome stuff, and I've never been a fan of Lucha matches! I don't think as highly of it as Andy (though tbh how many people here will?  ), but I did love it a hell of a lot. ****1/4, and I can't wait to watch that trios match that Andy posted too .

McQueen, I asked Andy the same thing the other day, and he said:

"Funk set is his next release after the New Japan one. So it should drop in the next month after he ships out the first batch of New Japan."


----------



## McQueen

Excellent. Now he has about 55 different sets I want. :no:


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

I know the feeling lol...

Even though I still have plenty of sets to get through, I still have the urge to buy more. Damn Goodhelmet and his awesome DVD comps...


----------



## Yeah1993

> I downloaded and watched this yesterday, absolutely awesome stuff, and I've never been a fan of Lucha matches!


WATCH 22/9/95~! While you're at it watch EHDSanto/Blue Panther 9th April 2000. I go ****3/4 on Cicloncito/Guerrero by the way.

Seabs, you need some kind of award or something. Seriously...


----------



## McQueen

*Seabs* deserves nothing for not being a Takayama fan. Finding that out ruined *Seabs* for me tbh.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Yeah1993 said:


> *WATCH 22/9/95~!* While you're at it watch EHDSanto/Blue Panther 9th April 2000. I go ****3/4 on Cicloncito/Guerrero by the way.
> 
> Seabs, you need some kind of award or something. Seriously...


Ummm... a promotion/list of guys involved might be a little more helpful .

The only other Lucha stuff I plan to watch in the near future is that trios match Andy posted, and the Los Gringos Locos set I just got today.


----------



## Yeah1993

Whoops.  It's Rey Mysterio Jr vs Psicosis in AAA. Watched the trios match yesterday and it was fantastic.


----------



## KingCannabis

What are other people's ratings for the 9/27 tag match between Kobashi/Takayama & Taue/Mutoh? I'd give it ***3/4 if not ****. I really enjoyed the hell out of that match.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

McQueen said:


> Excellent. Now he has about 55 different sets I want. :no:


He's releasing a Liger set before the year's out. Could be as early as November. I marked like a fruit when he told me that.


----------



## antoniomare007

man, Jrs Super League 1994 was superb. It was worth the wait, although Ohtani was supposed to be the center of attention (in the finals), Back Tiger Eddie stole the show on both Korakuen and Sumo Hall matches

again, thanks Seabs.



> What are other people's ratings for the 9/27 tag match between Kobashi/Takayama & Taue/Mutoh? I'd give it ***3/4 if not ****. I really enjoyed the hell out of that match.


i don't really like star ratings, but that sounds about right. Incredibly fun match


----------



## Sephiroth

McQueen said:


> *Seabs* deserves nothing for not being a Takayama fan. Finding that out ruined *Seabs* for me tbh.


He at least likes Takayama's hair right? Girls have lost their virginity just for looking at it.


----------



## McQueen

Takayama dies his hair like that because he's a huge (no pun intended) Rod Stewart fan so you know Big Tak is rollin in the vagjayjay.


----------



## Blasko

Also takes away from the post DON FUCKING FYRE face job.


----------



## McQueen

Good call. I want an extreme Don Frye makeover myself.


----------



## Blasko

Fallowed by a stroke?


----------



## McQueen

I could pass on that.


----------



## Sephiroth

Does Takayama really dye his hair for that reason? I always thought it indirectly had something to do with Hogan.

Oh and whoa, Kojima is Triple Crown and Nakamura is IWGP champ again...how were the matches?


----------



## Derek

I didn't know Takayama was a Rod Stewart fan. 

And I haven't seen either title match except for some short clips from the triple crown match on YouTube.


----------



## Sephiroth

I swear I heard it was because he was going to be the Hulk Hogan of Japan, hence the hair


----------



## volcanic

KingTaker said:


> What are other people's ratings for the 9/27 tag match between Kobashi/Takayama & Taue/Mutoh? I'd give it ***3/4 if not ****. I really enjoyed the hell out of that match.


*** 1.2 at best. hate to say it, but those guys are just too broken down to really go anymore. Mutoh worked the best during the match, and THAT's saying something.

the 6-man and the Team Sasuke/Team Tenryu matches from that show, on the other hand...


----------



## seabs

McQueen said:


> *Seabs* deserves nothing for not being a Takayama fan. Finding that out ruined *Seabs* for me tbh.


*You're always gonna hold that against me now aren't ya. 

Andy, which of the Sasuke/Eddie vs Benoit/Ohtani matches do ya prefer from the tag league? (assuming you've seen them both of course)*


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Seabs said:


> *Andy, which of the Sasuke/Eddie vs Benoit/Ohtani matches do ya prefer from the tag league? (assuming you've seen them both of course)*


The final. This is what I said about them a few months ago when I re-watched them:

Black Tiger & Great Sasuke v Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Ohtani (NJPW, 10/9/94)
- Man, Eddie and Benoit are so much fun in this. It starts out relatively civilised, but when it gets to the point where Benoit and Ohtani finally manage to take the match by the scruff of the neck and let loose on Sasuke (who plays face in peril for a while rather than Ohtani, which is somewhat surprising given that Ohtani was the lowest on the totem pole at this stage, and he also came in with taped up ribs -- ready made FIP if there ever was one), Eddie becomes a man on a mission to save his partner, constantly coming in and breaking up pins and submission. Benoit gets a little annoyed at first, but when Eddie persists on breaking his shit up, Benoit gets royally pissed and it becomes a mini war between the two. Sasuke's practically dead through all of this and the match would've been over had Eddie not been as tenacious a pest as he had been, so the end seems all but inevitable. Of course, keeping Guerrero away is hardly an easy job, and it requires Benoit and Ohtani to shift their focus from Sasuke - the legal man - to Eddie. That gives Sasuke time to recover, and he manages to catch Benoit out with a victory roll for the win. Great match. ***3/4


Black Tiger & Great Sasuke v Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Ohtani (New Japan 10/18/94)
- This is the rematch from the above bout, and this time it's the final of the New Japan junior tag league. Eddie is fucking wonderful in this. He doesn't do much different from the last match, but he turns everything up a notch, and it may be my favourite 'guy on the apron' performance from any wrestler ever. At the start he goes fucking BUCK WILD on Benoit and Ohtani, leathering the piss out of them with chairs. When Eddie's launching Benoit into the 14th row in the first 30 seconds, you know you're in for some good shit. They both don't like each other very much, and Benoit, like in the last match, gets more and more pissed with Eddie's crap as the match goes on, because Eddie keeps sticking his nose in. In return, Eddie gets more and more pissed the more and more pissed Benoit gets which means he finds more and more aggressive ways to break stuff up as things progress. They play off each other quite splendidly, if I do say so. To begin with he'll come in and break up a submission by poking someone in the eye, but then he'll get pissed off at some point and break up a pin by kicking a 60 yarder on a motherfucker's head. There's one moment where he totally murders Ohtani with a powerbomb and when he tries to pick him up Ohtani goes limp, so Eddie mocks the kid and flips Benoit off, presumably because he's tagging with this scrub. Finishing stretch is where they go Hell on wheels like you'd expect, and it plays off the last match nicely because this time Ohtani and Benoit decide against trying to keep Eddie away so they can pin Sasuke, instead focussing on keeping Sasuke away so they can go about putting down Eddie. That proves to be easier than the other way around, but Eddie sure as shit isn't going down without a fight. Finish is botched pretty badly as Ohtani tries to hit a headscissors on Eddie who's on Benoit's shoulders, but it's fluffed and comes off looking like Eddie powerbombs him. I almost wish Eddie had called an audible and decided to run with that, because a powerbomb counter to a doomsday device headscissors would've been fucking great, but Ohtani picks him up and hits his Dragon Suplex for the win anyway. Still, everything else was great. Fantastic match. ****1/4


----------



## seabs

*Same ratings (and thoughts) expect I'm **** on the 1st one.*


----------



## antoniomare007

*Holy Demon Army vs Jun Akiyama & KENTA*


We need more Kawada in NOAH. Nuff' said


----------



## KingCannabis

antoniomare007 said:


> *Holy Demon Army vs Jun Akiyama & KENTA*
> 
> 
> We need more Kawada in NOAH. Nuff' said


Agreed. Kawada needs to do a run in NOAH like Tenryu did in 2005. Shiozaki/Kawada needs to happen dammit!


----------



## Blasko

The reunion tag was AMAZING.

Easily my favorite match of the year. Kawadaand KENTA going at it made me squeal like a little girl. 

I really hope Kawada does more NOAH shows. They need a big draw like him. And there's a TON of stuff they can do with him.








And that Gamengiri was SIIIIIIIIIIIICK.


----------



## antoniomare007

> And that Gamengiri was SIIIIIIIIIIIICK.


:agree:

someone should make a gif :side:


----------



## KingCannabis

Bruiser Blasko said:


> And that Gamengiri was SIIIIIIIIIIIICK.


Damn right it was, definitely one of the best I've ever seen. Great seeing Kawada in NOAH again and the interaction with KENTA was great but there definitely wasn't enough of it. I was marking pretty much all throughout the match and especially when Kawada hit that badass Gamengiri. The commentator marked out too, lol.


----------



## Halfnelson

*Kobashi & Takayama vs Mutoh & Taue* ****

Probably the best match these four could have at this stage. Really liked Kobashi and Mutoh trying to kill each other at the start instead of the whole mutual respect deal we sometimes get in first meetings. People have pointed out mistakes but I find it easy to overlook those when the match is so fun.

*Kawada & Taue vs Akiyama & KENTA* ****1/2

Definitely one of my favourite puro matches this year. I'm a huge fan of KENTA but I especially like when he takes on heavyweights, and Kawada-KENTA didn't disappoint. NOAH have got to get Kawada for more shows.


----------



## volcanic

Halfnelson said:


> *Kawada & Taue vs Akiyama & KENTA*


**** 1/4.

had it's slow parts, but it didn't go on too long and the barely mobile Taue kept his time to a minimum. I hadn't seen a recent Kawada match in a while and I was impressed with what he's still got. Akiyama even looked better than usual. just great to see overall.

and:

MORE KAWADA/KENTA, PLEASE.


----------



## ROHFan4Life

Need some opinions on these:
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - 2/11/07 K.O.
SHINGO vs. BxB Hulk - DG Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 08, Open the Dream Gate Title
KENTA & Ishimori vs Kanemaru & Suzuki - NTV Cup Jr. Heaviweight Tag League 09
Misawa & Akiyama vs Hayabusa & Shinzaki - AJPW - Real World Tag League, 11/27/97


----------



## KingCannabis

Between the December 23rd 2000 match and the July 2004 match for Kobashi|Akiyama, which do yall prefer and what is everyone's ratings for the two matches?

I've got both matches at ****3/4 but overall, I think I prefer their December 2000 match.


----------



## McQueen

Even though the 2004 Dome match is overkill city I still have it at a full ***** on account of it being the culmination of Akiyama (and STERNESS) trying to prove he is the man of the next generation by taking it to Kobashi (and BURNING), and Kobashi just saying "Nuh uh, ain't happenin son" then proceeding to chop and headdrop Akiyama into oblivion.


----------



## seabs

*****3/4 on both of them. If I had to choose I'd probs say the 2000 match. Ask me again next week and I'll probably say the 04 match though.*


----------



## Spartanlax

McQueen said:


> Even though the 2004 Dome match is overkill city I still have it at a full ***** on account of it being the culmination of Akiyama (and STERNESS) trying to prove he is the man of the next generation by taking it to Kobashi (and BURNING), and Kobashi just saying "Nuh uh, ain't happenin son" then proceeding to chop and headdrop Akiyama into oblivion.


Fully agreed. Talk about throwin' BOMBS at each other, just ridiculously awesome.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

'04. Haven't seen the '00 match since... since before 2004 :$. Should probably watch it again soon.

Another one: Kobashi/Misawa from 3/1/03 or Kobashi/Akiyama from 7/10/04?


----------



## KingCannabis

Andy3000 said:


> Another one: Kobashi/Misawa from 3/1/03 or Kobashi/Akiyama from 7/10/04?


Definitely Misawa/Kobashi from 2003. I actually have that one at a full ***** and it's probably my favorite match of this decade.


----------



## seabs

*I would have said Akiyama until about a month ago when I watched the Misawa Dome match and I prefer that one now.*


----------



## McQueen

NOAH has only run two Dome shows *Seabs* and the Misawa/Kobashi '03 show wasn't one of them.


----------



## Eddie99

Good, i search this DVD.


----------



## Halfnelson

Andy3000 said:


> '04. Haven't seen the '00 match since... since before 2004 :$. Should probably watch it again soon.
> 
> Another one: Kobashi/Misawa from 3/1/03 or Kobashi/Akiyama from 7/10/04?


Those are my two favourite matches of the decade and I always go back and forth with which one I prefer. At the moment it's the Akiyama match, both are easy five stars for me though.

Speaking of Kobashi how do you guys rank his GHC title defences?

I'd go..

vs Akiyama *****
vs Takayama ****3/4
vs Nagata ****1/2
vs Honda ****1/4

A few others I'd have at four stars like the two Rikio matches, the Suzuki match and maybe the Ogawa one. I'd have to rewatch to be sure. Not sure if many people like the Honda match as much as me. Pretty amazing reign though.

On another note Kawada faces Tanaka in two weeks, which could be awesome.


----------



## seabs

McQueen said:


> NOAH has only run two Dome shows *Seabs* and the Misawa/Kobashi '03 show wasn't one of them.


*I was thinking of the Akiyama match lol. *


----------



## Sephiroth

No love for Kobashi/Kenskay from Destiny 05?


----------



## seabs

*is from me. and the tag later that year too.*


----------



## McQueen

The Kensuke Office/Gobashi tag is the 2005 MOTY IMO. Better than Joe/Kobashi, Strong/Danielson II or the Unbreakable 3 way.


----------



## Sephiroth

Best match of the year or not, my favorite is Aries/Punk from DbD3 for 05.

I've gone off topic


----------



## volcanic

Halfnelson said:


> Speaking of Kobashi how do you guys rank his GHC title defences?


vs Nagata: ****3/4

vs Takayama: ****1/2
vs Akiyama: ****1/2

vs Honda: ****1/4

vs Suzuki: ****
vs Saito(!): ****
vs: Taue: ****

vs Chono: ***3/4

vs Ogawa: ***1/4


----------



## volcanic

top 5 matches from 2005:

NOAH Kobashi & Shiosaki vs. Nakajima & Sasaki - 11/5/05
ROH Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong - SCoH
NOAH KENTA vs. SUWA - 9/18/05 
NOAH Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki - 7/18/05
ROH KENTA vs. Low Ki - Final Battle


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

The 11/5/05 tag is my MOTD.

Re-watched the 7/16/06 Morishima/Rikio v KENTAFuji 30 min. draw a few weeks ago and loved that a Hell of a lot too. Two meat mowers beating up two boot-licking pansies = good times.


----------



## Blasko

I'm really liking my sig.

You all should too.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Agreed. By the way, Suzuki has the best haircut ever period!


----------



## seabs

*Suzuki is nothing short of awesome, period.*


----------



## Derek

The best part is, he can simply choke out anybody who doesn't like him.


----------



## Yeah1993

Watched Liger Vs Sasuke from July 8, and holy hell. I thought I liked the J-Cup match, but this one was even better. ***** with ease. 

Speaking of the '94 J-Cup, I loved the Pegasus/Sasuke final, nearly went five for it too.


----------



## McQueen

I love the nods to Dyno/Tiger Mask in the J Cup final and the Liger/Sasuke follow up is pure gold.

MiSu is awesome if hes in a shorter match. If he goes over 10-15 by himself its terrible most of the time.


----------



## SaviorBeeRad™

I should watch this stuff if I'm bored of WWE stuff huh? I think I really need a 5* to get me back into wrestling the WWE has been so bad tbh.


----------



## Blasko

McQueen said:


> MiSu is awesome if hes in a shorter match. If he goes over 10-15 by himself its terrible most of the time.


 His charisma saves it.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

I accidentally started watching the Super J Cup '94 today for the first time ever. 
Really good tournament so far (stopped after the first round), here are my ratings.


NJPW Super J Cup '94

*Round 1:
Dean Malenko vs. Gedo*
**1/2

*Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Super Delfin*
***1/4

*Black Tiger vs. TAKA Michinoku*
***1/4

*El Samurai vs. Motegi*
***

****** Casas vs. Ricky Fuji*
**

*Jushin Lyger vs. Hayabusa*
***1/2​


----------



## McQueen

My favorite full show ever. Shame Malenko lost to Gedo though.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Yeah right, Malenko/Delfin for this night would have been the better decision.


----------



## McQueen

Nah that prick Delfin had to destroy young lion Ohtani with his death move.

DELFIN CLUTCH!


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

I meant Malenko/Delfin for the next round, so Ohtani/Delfin would have happened anyway


----------



## KingCannabis

Does anyone have any idea when the September 26th All Japan show will air or anything? Haven't been able to find it online at all. I really want to see the Triple Crown match between Takayama/Kojima.


----------



## Sephiroth

Can't find it either. The guy I usually get puro stuff from doesn't have it and _neither does that certain man who has that certain website..._


----------



## Yeah1993

J-Cup 1994:

-Gedo/Malenko- ***
-Delfin/Otani- **1/2
-Michinoku/B.Tiger- ***1/2 (Best squash-type match ever)
-Motegi/El Samurai- ***
-Fuji/Casas- **3/4
-Hayabusa/Liger- ***
-Gedo/Delfin- ***1/4
-B.Tiger/Pegasus- ***1/2
-Sasuke/El Samurai- ***1/2
-Liger/Fuji- ***
-Pegasus/Gedo- **3/4 (FINALLY that fucker Gedo lost...)
-Liger/Sasuke- ****3/4 (Probably five without the the Sasuke botch a few seconds before the end)
-Sasuke/Pegasus- ****3/4 (Almost five as said before)


----------



## Sephiroth

Yeah1993 said:


> -Liger/Sasuke- ****3/4 (Probably five without the the Sasuke botch a few seconds before the end)


I personally think the botch makes the match better. Besides, they play off it well and Lyger throws in a golf clap. What's not to love?


----------



## Yeah1993

I didn't mean to try and make it sound like it was Mankind/Michaels-ending bad, but I didn't at all think it made the match better. I have a 'problem' rating matches ***** with any kind of interrupted-kinda finish.

Actually I did think they did a great job of covering it up with Sasuke doing the Hurricanrana, making it look like Liger was too distracted with clapping & laughing to concentrate.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I rambled incoherently on that match earlier in the week, actually. Again, if you're not a fan of cursing, work the scroll bar yesterday:


Y’know, I think this might actually be better than the final. Granted, it’s been a long ass time since I saw Pegasus/Sasuke, but this baby holds up better than most New Japan junior heavyweight matches of the era. Sasuke’s technically fine and everything here – minus a few selling issues – hitting all of his stuff nicely and at the right time, but Liger’s just 100% grade-A awesome. He’s in pissed off Liger mode so he spends the first half of the match torturing Sasuke like the Japanese indy scrub that he is, stretching him to shit for fun. Sasuke’s not the best seller in the world, but Liger’s smart enough to know this and not focus entirely on one body part, instead choosing to make Sasuke squeal by ripping at any limb that might be available at the time. He’ll also take the time to let him up so he can kick him in the fucking head. At one point I think he actually knocks him the fuck out legit with a Koppo kick. It was TOO fucking MANLY! 

They transition into the extended finishing stretch with a Sasuke Quebrada and this is where Sasuke gets to show everyone that he is INSANE. Crowd are fucking amped for all of it. Sasuke hits a somersault plancha from the top to the floor and then tries to kill Liger with a RIDICULOUS powerbomb that lands him right on the back of his head. It’s a Razor’s Edge style powerbomb so it’s all high-angled and shit. Nasty. Commentator’s reaction is priceless, I’ll tell ya. Sasuke tries to get freaky with a senton, but Liger moves and breaks his face with a Shotei. I love how Liger always sells the hand after he’s just used it to Shotei someone’s teeth down their throat. Then he gives him a nice receipt for the powerbomb with a Ligerbomb, and I’m convinced Sasuke straight up refuses to take a powerbomb of any variation if it doesn’t land him on his head. GREAT nearfall for that, then an even GREATER nearfall for a Liger top rope Hurricanrana and then an EVEN GREATER nearfall for Sasuke hooking Liger’s legs and trying a quick cradle. 

Crowd are legit out of their minds at this point, and I’m surprised they can take any more after Sasuke kicks out of a release German that lands him – yet again – on the back of his noggin. When Sasuke kicks out of a fisherman buster you can just FEEL Liger’s frustration – he’s spent all this time dropping the fool on his head and torturing him on the mat and he’s STILL kicking out of everything he throws at him. He even borrows a page from Sasuke's playbook and takes to the air with a plancha from the top out to the floor. He put Sasuke there with a suplex from inside the ring, btw. Just trying to give you an idea of how much shit this poor Sasuke fella’s been hit with. 

End seems almost inevitable for the future senator when Liger fucking CRUSHES his skull with a Koppo kick that was just TOO rewind-worthy for any sane man to handle. Sasuke practically popping right up is a little annoying, but it leads to the finish which is perhaps the best example of why Liger’s such a fucking KING as Sasuke goes for his springboard Hurricanrana and ends up slipping on the rope and falling flat on his fuggin’ face. A lesser man in Liger’s position would’ve buckled, but Liger mocks him by APPLAUDING the son of a bitch for managing to wipe himself out. Of course, his cockiness comes back to bite him in the ass as Sasuke catches him off guard with a regular Hurricanrana and hooks the legs for the huge upset. 

Golly this was fucking great. You’re probably sick of me riding Liger’s cock every time I review one of his matches, but the guy really does rule it hefty in this. Like I said, Sasuke’s technically fine and everything, and he should be given credit for not caving after botching his finisher the way he did too, but there just aren’t too many guys that could beat the everloving shit out of someone and have that person come back and pin them without making either guy look weak in the slightest. Crowd are suitably THUNDEROUS afterwards. Liger even goes ahead and gives Sasuke a pat on the back for his troubles. They have a fucking superduper rematch in July of ’94 that is even better than this, and it features even more Liger-killing-some-poor-dummy spots than this. I’ll ramble about that next time. Oh yeah, GET ALL THIS! ****1/2


----------



## KingCannabis

Has anyone here ever seen the December '99 match between Mutoh & Tenryu? Tenryu wins the IWGP Championship in that match and as a big Tenryu mark, I want to see this pretty badly but have had no luck whatsoever finding this match anywhere! If anyone has seen it, is it any good? Be nice if someone here could hook me up with the download link!


----------



## antoniomare007

some Tenryu matches in New Japan are a bitch to find, don't know why. I'm still looking his loss against Hashimoto.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> You’re probably sick of me riding Liger’s cock every time I review one of his matches,


Um, nup.

By the way, what does everyone think of his BOSJ match with El Samurai, I reaally liked it, but I didn't feel the 'five-ness' that Meltzer did. ****1/2.


----------



## McQueen

KingTaker said:


> Has anyone here ever seen the December '99 match between Mutoh & Tenryu? Tenryu wins the IWGP Championship in that match and as a big Tenryu mark, I want to see this pretty badly but have had no luck whatsoever finding this match anywhere! If anyone has seen it, is it any good? Be nice if someone here could hook me up with the download link!


Never saw it personally but i've heard it was terrible. Mutoh in '99 was not at his best.\

However if you haven't seen it find the AJPW Triple Crown match they had in 2001, its awesome. (Also believe W.O. named it MOTY)


----------



## Derek

Yeah1993 said:


> Um, nup.
> 
> By the way, what does everyone think of his BOSJ match with El Samurai, I reaally liked it, but I didn't feel the 'five-ness' that Meltzer did. ****1/2.


Five stars from Meltzer? You might be thinking of Kanemoto/El Samurai BoSJ 97, which Meltzer gave 5 stars to.

I actually put that match up on youtube and its a fucking great match. Kanemoto is full of venom and Samurai plays his role perfectly in the match.


----------



## McQueen

The Hurricanrana spot is one of the most amazing spots i've ever seen but yeah the real awesomeness of that match is both men being perfect in their respective roles.


----------



## Yeah1993

Derek said:


> Five stars from Meltzer? You might be thinking of Kanemoto/El Samurai BoSJ 97, which Meltzer gave 5 stars to.


I could've swore I heard it got five, but I'm not 100% sure. Kanemoto/El Samurai is one of those matches that I've had planned to watch for months, but never got around to it. I'm loadingup on Liger & Misawa at the moment, but I will get to it.


----------



## McQueen

I'm pretty positive Meltzer only gave Samurai/Liger **** 3/4. Still an awesome match obviously.


----------



## Halfnelson

For anyone interested IVP just updated with some new stuff including a KENTA in 09 four disc set which covers everything he was involved in this year. Definitely getting this in my next order.

They've also got thirteen discs covering the entire Misawa-Jumbo fued. Probably pick up a couple of those next time too, even though I've seen a lot of the stuff already.


----------



## Maxx Hero

Just watched *GoBashi vs. Kensuke Office ******

Ths is only the second time I have ever given he full rating. This match was perfect. I would not change a thing. Every wrestling fan should watch this and every wrestler should emulate it. Everybodynot only played their role but they stayed in it, which is super refreshing. The match had great direction and all in all was AWESOME. Good luck finding a better match ever. My life is complete now. Bye.


----------



## Spartanlax

Yeah, GoBashi vs KO is pretty much the definition of awesome. It's why I love wrestling.


----------



## McQueen

Halfnelson said:


> For anyone interested IVP just updated with some new stuff including a KENTA in 09 four disc set which covers everything he was involved in this year. Definitely getting this in my next order.
> 
> They've also got thirteen discs covering the entire Misawa-Jumbo fued. Probably pick up a couple of those next time too, even though I've seen a lot of the stuff already.


OH MY GOD!

Not KENTA, fuck KENTA when I can gets me some Jumbo vs Misawa, especially since my Jumbo folder on my laptop is all but lost.

GoBashi vs KO is pretty much match of the last 15 years.


----------



## Yeah1993

Halfnelson said:


> They've also got thirteen discs covering the entire Misawa-Jumbo fued. Probably pick up a couple of those next time too, even though I've seen a lot of the stuff already.


I think I am going to piss my pants.


----------



## McQueen

I pissed my pants first Yeah1993


----------



## KidRed

Do IVP ship to the UK?


----------



## Platt

Yup..


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Can anyone tell me some good matches of Takashi Sugiura?

I've seen everything this year and his older matches vs. KENTA (GHC Jr. win, don't know if there was a rematch?), 
Otsuka and hundreds of random tags ...


----------



## seabs

*Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura - 28.04.2007

Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takashi Sugiura - 05.06.2005

Both great tag matches. His match vs Tanahashi from New Japan this year is really good too if you havent seen.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Spoiler: result



Toshiaki Kawada is your NNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWW Zero1 World Heavyweight Champion.













His match against Tanaka was taped for SamuraiTV so it's only a matter of time before it hits the net 

edit: passione2002R has it on youtube


----------



## Yeah1993

McQueen said:


> I pissed my pants first Yeah1993


I vomited first.

Looking at this SlamBamJam place and it looks awesome. Another place to get Lucha. WOOHOO.


----------



## McQueen

I ordered that whole Jumbo vs Misawa sets as well as The Best of the Russian Grappling God Volk Han and BattlARTS! Gonna OD on shoot style I think.


----------



## Maxx Hero

I wish I had money for that 17 disc BattlArts set...when it comes to having a product and sticking to it no one beats BattlArts. They do what they do and they do it so well.


----------



## Blasko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ87TIjXhkQ

Takayama pretty much does a sick, unnecessary finish.

He's fucking crazy for doing this post stroke.


----------



## Spartanlax

People think Necro is stiff with his punches? Takayama is a freak of nature. Love that man.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Takayama > Falcon Fighter.

Great match btw, the "Avalanche Exploder Brainbuster" was ...


----------



## Derek

Sometimes I wonder why we don't have more Takayama appreciation threads. The closing minutes of that match were amazing, awesome finish.

Takayama's punches are vicious, but his knees are lethal.


----------



## Blasko

That headbutt caused me to CRINGE.


----------



## Derek

Some New Japan news:

Takashi Iizuka attack Togi makabe when he was in a car and pummeled him to a bloody pulp after the last show. A stunt done to further their feud.

Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson won the tag league and will get the next title shot at Team 3D, possibly at the dome.

Oh, and Jushin Liger announced that next month we'll see the return of 
THE SUPER F'N J-CUP


----------



## McQueen

Be interesting to see whos in the J Cup.


----------



## seabs

*I'll wait until I see who's in it before I get excited.*


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Great News, IBUSHI IBUSHI IBUSHI IBUSHI IBUSHI


----------



## ecw445

Tiger Mask, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddie Guerrero, La Parka, Blue Panther & Psicosis - AAA ****3/4
Awesome stuff!


----------



## seancarleton77

Nakajima is wrestling the Michigan & Mississauga ROH shows and I'll be at the latter show!


----------



## Yeah1993

ecw445 said:


> Tiger Mask, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddie Guerrero, La Parka, Blue Panther & Psicosis - AAA ****3/4
> Awesome stuff!


From TripleMania II-B right? I gave that ****1/2 and I plan on rewatching it soon. Amazing stuff. There's a an awesome six man from 14th of Nov on YT that I gave ****1/2 too.


----------



## Blasko

I'm calling Derek out on Copy Writing my old/current gimmick.

Srsly man. Don't be a dick.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

ecw445 said:


> Tiger Mask, Jushin "Thunder" Liger, El Hijo del Santo & Octagon vs. Eddie Guerrero, La Parka, Blue Panther & Psicosis - AAA ****3/4
> Awesome stuff!





Yeah1993 said:


> From TripleMania II-B right? I gave that ****1/2 and I plan on rewatching it soon. Amazing stuff. There's a an awesome six man from 14th of Nov on YT that I gave ****1/2 too.


If you dug that _that_ much, you should check out the 3/16/95 AAA trios match (Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis & Blue Panther v Santito, Octagon & Rey Misterio Jr.). The Triplemania match is alright, but the 3/16 match is a classic Lucha trios match. Probably my favourite match in the promotion's history.

And you people need to watch more Yoshiaki Fujiwara.


----------



## Derek

New Japan update:

Nakamura will be defending the title against Nagata next month. 

Right now the main event for the 1.4 Tokyo Dome show appears to be Nakamura vs. Josh Barnett. Nakamura is wanting to bring back the original IWGP title, which at the moment is being worn by the Inoki Genome's Barnett.


----------



## McQueen

Juice Barnett has the IWGP title? *sigh*


----------



## Derek

Yeah. Not a fan of this either.

And rumor was that he was going to face Ogawa, but more likely than not Ogawa didn't want to lose to Nakamura, so they went with Barnett instead.


----------



## McQueen

Ogawa? I'd rather see Barnett.


----------



## antoniomare007

me too but the Ogawa match is a bigger draw, so i can't blame New Japan for thinking in that direction.

with Kawada vs Goto also being rumored for the Dome i wonder what are the plans for Tanahashi.


----------



## Sephiroth

I hope Tanahashi has another nude photo shoot...in the middle of the ring. I would buy that Dome PPV.


----------



## Derek

Unless they end the feud early, we'll probably see Tanahashi vs. Tajiri.

And Team 3D defending the belts against Bernard and Anderson is also believed to happen at the dome.


----------



## antoniomare007

idk Derek, Tanahashi faces Tajiri in Aichi and will have a bunch of tag matches against him in the upcoming tour so i would guess that that feud ends in December.


----------



## Derek

I forgot he was facing him in Aichi, so looks like that feud will end.

In that case, I have no idea who he will be facing. Probably an outsider, tho.


----------



## McQueen

Sephiroth said:


> I hope Tanahashi has another nude photo shoot...in the middle of the ring. I would buy that Dome PPV.


I hope Hard Gay Tenryu somehow gets involved with that segment.


----------



## antoniomare007

Nakamura vs Barnett

Tanahashi vs Ogawa

so they could give Ogawa a win before he loses against Nakamura at the next big show?

i think Tana can afford to lose and he needs to move in a different direction after being 3 years in the title picture.


----------



## McQueen

Actually i'd like to see Tanahashi face that surly old son of a bitch Tenryu now that I think of it. Book it!


----------



## Derek

Tanahashi vs. Hard Gay Tenryu.

BOOK IT!!!!


----------



## antoniomare007

Derek said:


> Tanahashi vs. Hard Gay Tenryu.
> 
> BOOK IT!!!!


Tokyo Dome =  :kiss: :faint:


----------



## McQueen

Think i'd die if that match happened and Tenryu got extentions in his hair to match and mock Tana's hairdo.

I mean literally die of laughter.


----------



## DonFuji

great compilation on this dvd, i think all matches you incluid are right.
one of the my favorites are Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA..and all the ***** matches with misawa y kobashi


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm thinking the '94 J-Cup is the best show I've ever watched. I need that on DVD. 

By the way, what's everyone's top 5 New Japan matches ever?

Oh, and I'm now in love with Vader.


----------



## McQueen

Why weren't you in love with Vader before son?

Top 5 NJPW matches ever? I need to get my hands on the best of NJPW in the 80's set.


----------



## Halfnelson

The Vader-Inoki match never gets old for me, probably wouldn't make my top 5 though. In fact I haven't seen a lot from eighties New Japan so my list is nineties heavy.

Chris Benoit vs. Great Sasuke 4/16/94
Liger vs Sano 1/31/90 
Liger vs Ohtani 2/9/97
Tenryu vs Hashimoto G1 98
Kawada & Fuchi vs Nagata & Iizuka 12/14/00

I always loved the Hashimoto-Liger match too, not sure what the general consensus is on it. My judgement might be clouded by those two being two of my favourites. 

That's pretty all over the place but I haven't seen a lot of the stuff people love from New Japan so its just from what I have seen. I've been meaning to get started on the stuff from the eighties too.


----------



## McQueen

I'd probably go with this for my top 5 as far as 1990+ goes. Need to bone up on the Inoki era.

Liger vs Sano - 1/30/90
Liger vs Sasuke II - 7/??/94 (J-Cup follow up)
Hashimoto vs Hase - 12/14/94
Ohtani vs Ultimo Dragon - J-Crown Semi Finals (8/2/96)
Kawada/Fuchi vs Nagata/Iizuka 12/14/00

Big love for The entire 94 J-Cup, Hashimoto vs Tenryu G-1 98, Hash vs Liger, Hashimoto vs Choshu 96 G-1, Vader/Inoki and the Mutoh/Chono G-1 91 Final


----------



## Yeah1993

Which Vader/Inoki are you two talking about?



McQueen said:


> Why weren't you in love with Vader before son?


Don't pressure me! :crying:



Thanks for the lists guys. 

But how dare you not know that Sasuke/Liger on the 8th of July.  That's my only New Japan five star match by the way.


----------



## McQueen

I just didn't remember the day it was but I remember the match. ***** too by the way. Vader/Inoki 1/4/96, I believe its a part of Inoki retirement countdown. Vader fucks the chin up pretty bad with a German. Its glorious to see.

Go watch Hase/Hashimoto!


----------



## Yeah1993

McQueen said:


> Vader/Inoki 1/4/96, I believe its a part of Inoki retirement countdown.


You mean that four minute match I gave 1/4?











McQueen said:


> Go watch Hase/Hashimoto!


Currently getting every Misawa match I can possibly watch into my head  Still on his Tiger Mask years.


----------



## McQueen

No, the Vader/Inoki match i'm thinking of is about 10-12 minutes long if I remember correctly.


----------



## Halfnelson

Yeah its part of Inoki's countdown, it's basically Vader destroying Inoki for the whole match. I've seen some people hate on the ending but it didn't bother me at all. Maybe check out Vader-Hansen from 2/10/90 too.

Hashimoto-Hase and the G1 with Choshu would be in my top ten. Probably Hash-Takada too.

A more recent match, well not really recent I guess, I love is the Kawada-Sasaki Dome match, one of my favourite matches from 2000.

EDIT: That Vader Inoki match is definetly longer than 4 minutes.


----------



## Yeah1993

It was probably a clip job then. Thanks. The only thing I remember liking in the match was the German Suplex:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJEjuWuBguE

I remember seeing that Kawada/Sasaki match on Yt, and neevr watching it :sad:. Will do soon.


----------



## McQueen

The Hase/Hash 93 G-1 Climax match seriously owned too. I forgot about it. Hase had a pretty great match with Chono that night too.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> By the way, what's everyone's top 5 New Japan matches ever?


Jushin Liger v Naoki Sano (1/31/90)
Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami/Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Nobuhiko Takada/Kengo Kimura v Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Kuniaki Kobayashi/Isamu Teranishi/Animal Hamaguchi (Gauntlet match 4/19/84)
Black Tiger v Wild Pegasus (6/11/96)
Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Riki Choshu (6/9/87)
Bob Backlund v Antonio Inoki (7/27/78)

No real order. Stuff like Hashimoto/Hase, Hashimoto/Fujiwara, Hashimoto/Tenryu, Liger/Samurai, Liger/Sasuke x2, Kawada-Fuchi/Nagata-Iizuka, Kawada/Sasaki, Murdoch-Adonis/Inoki-Fujinami, Inoki/Murdoch, Inoki/Fujiwara, Inoki/Robinson, Fujinami/Madea, Muta/Chono, Hashimoto/Choshu, the 3/26/86 New Japan v UWF elimination match, Sasuke/Benoit, Liger/Sano (8/10/89) etc. are all good shouts. Probably forgetting some as well. Haven't worked my way through all of the New Japan 80s set yet so there's bound to be more on that as well.


----------



## antoniomare007

any chance you could upload Fujiwara vs Choshu or the Gauntlet? :side:


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Jushin Liger v Naoki Sano (1/31/90)
> Antonio Inoki/Tatsumi Fujinami/Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Nobuhiko Takada/Kengo Kimura v Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Kuniaki Kobayashi/Isamu Teranishi/Animal Hamaguchi (Gauntlet match 4/19/84)
> Black Tiger v Wild Pegasus (6/11/96)
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Riki Choshu (6/9/87)
> Bob Backlund v Antonio Inoki (7/27/78)
> 
> No real order. Stuff like Hashimoto/Hase, Hashimoto/Fujiwara, Hashimoto/Tenryu, Liger/Samurai, Liger/Sasuke x2, Kawada-Fuchi/Nagata-Iizuka, Kawada/Sasaki, Murdoch-Adonis/Inoki-Fujinami, Inoki/Murdoch, Inoki/Fujiwara, Inoki/Robinson, Fujinami/Madea, Muta/Chono, Hashimoto/Choshu, the 3/26/86 New Japan v UWF elimination match, Sasuke/Benoit, Liger/Sano (8/10/89) etc. are all good shouts. Probably forgetting some as well. Haven't worked my way through all of the New Japan 80s set yet so there's bound to be more on that as well.



Thanks. 

Okay, now I can ask you, cause you're like almighty Memphis-knower on WF. What are your thoughts (and snowflakes, don't forget the snowflakes) for the Lawler/Idol Hair Vs Hair Cage match?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

antoniomare007 said:


> any chance you could upload Fujiwara vs Choshu or the Gauntlet? :side:


I would if I had ripping software. DVD Shrink won't work on my computer for whatever reason and when I downloaded something else to use it fucked my computer and I had to spend 4 hours trying to fix it. Haven't bothered using anything else since. 

I know Choshu/Fujiwara is online, though, because that's how I first saw it. I'll try and find a link. The gauntlet might be, but I don't know if I've seen it anywhere. Whole thing lasts 80 minutes so it'd probably be a pretty hefty file if it were in good quality.



Yeah1993 said:


> Thanks.
> 
> Okay, now I can ask you, cause you're like almighty Memphis-knower on WF. What are your thoughts (and snowflakes, don't forget the snowflakes) for the Lawler/Idol Hair Vs Hair Cage match?


Top ten match in company history, probably. Closer to top 5 if you stick to just that decade. The whole angle that's mixed in with it is pretty tremendous, especially given the outcome. The way it's done is perfect. ****1/4

The two lead-in tags where Lawler teams with Bigelow are excellent as well. Set everything up really well.


EDIT: Found a link to Choshu/Fujiwara. Could only find it on sendspace. http://www.sendspace.com/file/i5hn0b


----------



## antoniomare007

Andy>>>> 99% of Wrestling Forum

:agree:

thanks for the link.


----------



## McQueen

I'm the 1% obv even though I don't do anything for anyone.

Andy is pretty tits though


----------



## antoniomare007

you are like Giant Baba in the 90s , don't do that much in the ring but still a huge part of the company. You better not fucking die, i don't wanna see Other Wrestling go downhill like puroresu


----------



## McQueen

That might be the best complement someone has ever given me, i'm tearing up man.

Nah i've started to rewatch wrestling and have plenty of free time due to not working at the moment so i'll probably be on here more often again.


----------



## Yeah1993

Been watching the All Japan-WWF Wrestling Summit. Can't complain, good show so far. match of the Night as of yet is Mask/Hart, despite how boring it got at times.



antoniomare007 said:


> You better not fucking die, i don't wanna see Other Wrestling go downhill like puroresu


You'd have to create a new section called THE ARK and start taking the roster of Other Wrestling with you. Depleting it's talent and taking it's spot as the no. 2 section on the Forum.

Assuming you're Misawa. Oh, and I get dibs on being VADER.



McQueen said:


> i'll probably be on here more often again.


That's kinda awesome.

So is Andy, thanks for the link. I'll probably never watch it like the other 463 links I've thanked people for, but it's good to have.


----------



## northernpatriot

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could recommend some Big Japan Wrestling. IVP's got tons but I don't know where to begin.Should I order comps or just the shows, I want to order lots but don't want to end up with double matches. Thanks.


----------



## McQueen

Dele is the resident BJW fan in these parts. Ask him if you see him.


----------



## antoniomare007

holy shit that Choshu/Fujiwara match had one of the hottest crowds i've ever seen in puroresu, they where going apeshit at every big move that Fujiwara aplied. Incredible stuff.

also, finally watched
*
Lion Heart (Chris Jericho) vs Ultimo Dragon - WAR 7/7/95*

Super fun spotfest with tons of reversals, they had the fans guessing who would win for a long ass time with some great nearfalls. This is the match that Jericho mentions in his book (wich is a must read for any wrestling fan, i posted it in the wwe misc. section) and that impressed Mick Foley so much that he ended up helping Jericho to get a job in ECW.


----------



## McQueen

Fujiwara is always good. You should know this by now Antonio


----------



## antoniomare007

Never watched much of UWF so Fujiwara is one of those wrestlers that i've always wanted to see more stuff from. The same thing happens with Dick Murdoch, either i don't have the time or can't find anything to enjoy their greatness.


----------



## Yeah1993

antoniomare007 said:


> *
> Lion Heart (Chris Jericho) vs Ultimo Dragon - WAR 7/7/95*
> 
> Super fun spotfest with tons of reversals, they had the fans guessing who would win for a long ass time with some great nearfalls. This is the match that Jericho mentions in his book (wich is a must read for any wrestling fan, i posted it in the wwe misc. section) and that impressed Mick Foley so much that he ended up helping Jericho to get a job in ECW.


Loved this. Pissed off about it being JIP, but it was still something I'd watch a few times.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Fujiwara is probably a top five guy ever for me. So is Murdoch.


----------



## antoniomare007

14 of the 16 participants of the Super-J Cup have been announced:


1. Taichi (NJPW)
2. Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro)
3. GENTARO (Freedoms)
4. AKIRA
5. Jado (NJPW)
6. Gedo (NJPW)
7. Prince Devitt (NJPW)
8. Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW)
9. Fujita "Jr." Hayato (M-Pro)
10. YAMATO (Dragon Gate)
11. Atsushi Aoki (NOAH)
12. Danshoku Dino (DDT)
13. Koji Kanemoto (NJPW)
14. X
15. X
16. Jushin Thunder Liger (NJPW)

way to many New Japan wrestlers IMO, really weird that Ibushi is not in it too. One the "X" should be a CMLL wrestler


----------



## Maxx Hero

Kanemoto for the win please!


----------



## McQueen

Danshoku Dino :lmao


----------



## seabs

*Ibushi could be still be one of the 2 X's though right? omg imagine if Yoshihiko was in as well as Dino.*


----------



## Spartanlax

Well color me disappointed.


----------



## Rickey

Might be ordering the Super J Cup dvd this week, heard lots of great things about it. There's so much I want though, movies too but that's another thread.


----------



## Derek

Speaking of the Super J Cup, Here's some news about this years:

14 of the 16 participants for the Super J-Cup 5th Stage have been announced. Not exactly what everyone expected, with New Japan wrestlers the overwhelming majority and some notable absences including the highly touted Kota Ibushi. There are two remaining spots and one may be for a CMLL wrestler while speculation points to the ZERO1 junior tournament winner getting the other, but time will tell.

1. Taichi (New Japan)
2. Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro)
3. GENTARO (Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS)
4. AKIRA (Freelance)
5. Jado (CHAOS/New Japan)
6. Gedo (CHAOS/New Japan)
7. Prince Devitt (Apollo 55/New Japan)
8. Ryusuke Taguchi (Apollo 55/New Japan)
9. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (Michinoku Pro)
10. YAMATO (DRAGON GATE)
11. Atsushi Aoki (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
12. Danshoku Dino (DDT)
13. Koji Kanemoto (New Japan)
14. X
15. X
16. Jushin Thunder Liger (New Japan)



I already don't care.


----------



## Yeah1993

Check page 32 Derek :side:


----------



## Derek

God dammit.

Well, I still don't care about the damn cup this year.


----------



## Alan4L

Yeah disappointing for sure. I hope Kondo is an X.


----------



## Groovemachine

Devitt for the win! I'm a big Devitt fan these days.


----------



## Devildude

Derek said:


> 1. Taichi (New Japan)
> 2. Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro)
> 3. GENTARO (Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS)
> 4. AKIRA (Freelance)
> 5. Jado (CHAOS/New Japan)
> 6. Gedo (CHAOS/New Japan)
> 7. Prince Devitt (Apollo 55/New Japan)
> 8. Ryusuke Taguchi (Apollo 55/New Japan)
> 9. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (Michinoku Pro)
> 10. YAMATO (DRAGON GATE)
> 11. Atsushi Aoki (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
> 12. Danshoku Dino (DDT)
> 13. Koji Kanemoto (New Japan)
> 14. X
> 15. X
> 16. Jushin Thunder Liger (New Japan)


Wow, that's a pretty awful line-up considering how many far better cruiserweights they could of brought in. I almost wish they just left the J-Cup to gather dust if that's the best they could come up with.

Having said that, there's still a few matches I'd probably watch should they happen so I guess it's not a total waste.


----------



## Yeah1993

There a good Hijo del Santo set anywhere?

By 'good' I basically mean plenty of discs with no or limited JIP/clipped/completely butchered matches.


----------



## seancarleton77

Jado/Gedo should only wrestle tag matches, like the Road Warriors and the New Age Outlaws, hides the flaws.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> There a good Hijo del Santo set anywhere?
> 
> By 'good' I basically mean plenty of discs with no or limited JIP/clipped/completely butchered matches.


Goodhelmet on DVDVR released a 38 disc Santito set a couple months ago. It's not cheap, but it bags you a free Best of 80s Lucha set whenever that's released down the line.

About 90% sure there won't ever be a Santo career retrospective better than Goodhelmet's.


----------



## smitlick

Is it possible to sign up to dvdvr?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

From what I've heard from people trying to, no .

I've been there for years, but there seems to be a waiting list for new members. I know one guy who waited about 6 months. Crazy.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

DVDVR is evil for trying to bloody join...

Not sure why I bothered joining though, I buy all the sets they do from other people at considerably lower prices .


----------



## smitlick

I tried like a year ago and never received an email....


----------



## PulseGlazer

I've been trying DVDVR for a couple months now. I talk to Helmut a bit on aim though and have gotten a few sets. Absolutely unmatched.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Goodhelmet on DVDVR released a 38 disc Santito set a couple months ago. It's not cheap, but it bags you a free Best of 80s Lucha set whenever that's released down the line.
> 
> About 90% sure there won't ever be a Santo career retrospective better than Goodhelmet's.












EDIT: Looks like it'll be a bitch to try to get a hold of though :lmao


----------



## seabs

*There's normally another trader selling goodhelmet's comps, often at cheaper prices too just to let ya know seeing as DVD is difficult to join.*


----------



## Blasko

Danshoku Dino WILL save this tournament.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

PulseGlazer said:


> I've been trying DVDVR for a couple months now. I talk to Helmut a bit on aim though and have gotten a few sets. Absolutely unmatched.


His Eddie Guerrero set is by far the best career comp I've ever bought. His Dangerous Alliance set is 25 hours of sex as well (not literallly obv).


----------



## Yeah1993

Speaking of him I was looking at the '80s New Japan thing and it also looks like something I;d give my right leg for. Only seen a couple of matches on there, but the rest is Inoki, Choshu, Hansen and Fujinami. Can't lose.


----------



## PulseGlazer

Andy3000 said:


> His Eddie Guerrero set is by far the best career comp I've ever bought. His Dangerous Alliance set is 25 hours of sex as well (not literallly obv).


I usually don't want career retrospective comps. 20 discs of most guys is just too much for me. I prefer reasonably comprehensive best of's. Wish I could find someone who made those out of the crazy 38 disc comps. That said, I'm going to end up getting the Eddie set.



Yeah1993 said:


> Speaking of him I was looking at the '80s New Japan thing and it also looks like something I;d give my right leg for. Only seen a couple of matches on there, but the rest is Inoki, Choshu, Hansen and Fujinami. Can't lose.


I'm not getting the New Japan set yet, but already secured my vote for the Texas Set to come next. The Mid-South set is beyond amazing- seriously, THE BEST stuff I've ever seen. Up next for me is Memphis. 

I think I'll post a ton of Mid-South thoughts here after I'm done. Hopefully someone besides Andy is interested and checks some of it out.


----------



## New Blood

Where does one find these DVD sets? I've heard a lot about them and have searched but came up with nothing.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Yeah1993 said:


> Speaking of him I was looking at the '80s New Japan thing and it also looks like something I;d give my right leg for. Only seen a couple of matches on there, but the rest is Inoki, Choshu, Hansen and Fujinami. Can't lose.


I just recently download that comp, haven't watched anything on it yet, and probably won't get around to doing so for a couple of years with everything else I still need to sit through .


----------



## Yeah1993

PulseGlazer said:


> I think I'll post a ton of Mid-South thoughts here after I'm done. Hopefully someone besides Andy is interested and checks some of it out.


I'll read every word. If Eric's around he'll probably read it too.



bigcal said:


> I just recently download that comp, haven't watched anything on it yet, and probably won't get around to doing so for a couple of years with everything else I still need to sit through .


WATCH ANDRE/HANSEN NOW. 

Doubt you (or like anybody else in the universe) will like it as much as me, but it's by far the best I've ever seen Andre do anything. Owning that match on DVD alone would be too sweet. I've rarely had a better time watching wrestling, and I've probably never been impressed with anybody moreso than I was Andre here.


----------



## SuperDuperSonic

What's on the Eddie and Dangerous Alliance sets?


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Yeah1993 said:


> WATCH ANDRE/HANSEN NOW.
> 
> Doubt you (or like anybody else in the universe) will like it as much as me, but it's by far the best I've ever seen Andre do anything. Owning that match on DVD alone would be too sweet. I've rarely had a better time watching wrestling, and I've probably never been impressed with anybody moreso than I was Andre here.


Oh yeah, forgot that was on there, Andy convinced me to watch it when I downloaded the disc with it on . I thought it was pretty good, and since I have seen very very little of Andre, its probably the best thing I have seen him in too .



Spoiler: Dangerous Alliance listings



History Of The Dangerous Alliance (12 Discs)



Disc 1 

The Enforcers attack Barry Windham (Havoc 10/27/91) 

Bobby Eaton vs. Terry Taylor (Halloween Havoc 10/27/91)

Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes (Havoc 10/27/91)

The WCW Phantom vs. The Z-Man (Havoc 10/27/91)

The WCW Phantom Unmasks (Havoc 10/27/91)

Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham & Michael Hayes (WCWSN 11/2/91)

Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Barry Windham & Ron Simmons (Pro 11/9/91)

Rick Rude vs. Steve Armstrong (WCWSN 11/16/91)

Madusa seduces Sting (Clash 17; 11/19/91)

Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (Clash 17; 11/19/91)

Rick Rude vs. Sting (Clash 17; 11/19/91)



Disc 2

Steve Austin & Arn Anderson vs. Dustin Rhodes & Bobby Eaton (WWW 11/23/91)

Dangerous Alliance Interview (WCWSN 11/23/91)

Larry Zbyszko vs. Barry Windham (Main Event 11/24/91)

Arn Anderson, Larry Zybszko & Bobby Eaton vs. Brian Pillman, The Z-Man & Mike Graham (WWW 11/30/91)

Steve Austin vs. Michael Hayes (WWW 11/30/91)

Rick Rude & Paul E. Promo (WWW 11/30/91)

Steve Austin & Bobby Eaton vs. Brian Pillman & The Z-Man (Pro 11/30/91)

Steve Austin vs. Arachniman (WCWSN 11/30/91)

Steve Austin & Bobby Eaton vs. Fabulous Freebirds (WWW 12/7/91)

Rick Rude vs. Sting (Finish Only; Omni Thanksgiving Show) (WCWSN 12/7/91)

Bobby Eaton & Arn Anderson vs. Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (Finish Only; Omni Thanksgiving Show) (WCWSN 12/7/91)

Bobby Eaton vs. Dustin Rhodes (WCWSN 12/7/91)

Steve Austin v Arachniman (WCWSN 12/14/91)



Disc 3

Bobby Eaton vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCWSN 12/14/91)

Steve Austin vs. Big Josh (Pro 12/21/91)

Rick Rude-Sting Confrontation (Pro 12/21/91)

Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko v Brian Pillman, Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes /

Rick Rude & Paul E. Promo (Pro 12/21/91)

Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCWSN 12/21/91)

Rick Rude vs. Sting (Handheld 12/27/91)

Steve Austin vs. Scott Steiner (Handheld 12/27/91)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton v Ricky Steamboat & Dustin Rhodes (Handheld 12/27/91)

Dangerous Alliance Interview (WCWSN 12/28/91)

Dangerous Alliance - Sting & Bagwell Recap (WCWSN 12/28/91)

Steve Austin vs. Ron Simmons (WWW 1/4/92)



Disc 4

Paul E. & Rick Rude Interview /

Arn Anderson vs. Dustin Rhodes (WCWSN 1/4/92)

Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin vs. Big Josh & Van Hammer (Main Event 1/5/92)

Paul E. & Madusa Interview /

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat & Ron Simmons (WWW 1/11/92)

Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko & Rick Rude vs. Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat & Ron Simmons (WCWSN 1/11/92)

Rick Rude vs. Marcus Bagwell (WWW 1/18/92)

Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (WWW 1/18/92)

Bobby Eaton, Rick Rude & Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat, Sting & Marcus Bagwell (Pro 1/18/92)

Announcement of New Tag Champs (WCWSN 1/18/92)

Larry Zbyszko vs. Ron Simmons (WCWSN 1/18/92)

Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin vs. Sting & Marcus Bagwell (WCWSN 1/18/92)



Disc 5

Paul E. Interview (Clash 18; 1/21/92)

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham, & Ron Simmons (Clash 18; 1/21/92)

Rick Rude & Steve Austin vs. Sting & Ricky Steamboat (Clash 18; 1/21/92)

Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat (WWW 1/25/92)

Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes (Pro 1/25/92)

Arn Anderson vs. Dustin Rhodes (WCWSN 1/25/92)

Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (WCWSN 1/25/92)

Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman & The Z-Man (Main Event 1/26/92)

Dangerous Alliance receives “The Paulies” /

Rick Rude vs. Brad Armstrong (WWW 2/1/92)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. Brian Pillman & Mike Graham (WCWSN 2/1/92)

Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham (WCWSN 2/1/92)

Rick Rude vs. The Z-Man (WCWSN 2/1/92)



Disc 6

Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko Interview (Pro 2/1/92)

Bobby Eaton vs. Dustin Rhodes (Pro 2/1/92)

Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Marcus Bagwell & Sting (Pro 2/1/92)

Paul E. & Rick Rude Interview /

Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat (WWW 2/8/92)

Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Brian Pillman & & Mike Graham (Pro 2/8/92)

Paul E. & Rick Rude Interview /

Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Barry Windham (WCWSN 2/15/92)

Rick Rude vs. Brian Pillman (Pro 2/15/92)

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko & Rick Rude vs. Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat (WCWSN 2/22/92)

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko & Cactus Jack vs. Sting, Marcus Bagwell, Rick & Scott Steiner (Pro 2/22/92)

Dangerous Alliance Interview /

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Larry Zbyszko & Rick Rude vs. Ron Simmons, Big Josh, Brian Pillman & The Z-Man (WWW 2/29/02)

Arn Anderson anti-steroids promo /

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. The Z-Man & Marcus Bagwell (Pro 2/29/92)



Disc 7

Larry Zbyszko & Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes (SuperBrawl PPV 2/29/92)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (SuperBrawl PPV 2/29/92)

Rick Rude vs. Ricky Steamboat (SuperBrawl PPV 2/29/92)

Rick Rude crashes Sting's Superbrawl Party

Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham (WWW 3/7/92)

Larry Zbyszko anti-steroids promo

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Brian Pillman, The Z-Man & Marcus Bagwell (WCWSN 3/7/92)

Paul E., Rick Rude & Steve Austin Interview (WCWSN 3/7/92)

Paul E., Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko Interview /

Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (WWW 3/14/92)

Paul E Interview (WCWSN 3/14/92)

Steve Austin vs. Scott Steiner (WCWSN 3/14/92)



Disc 8

Arn Anderson vs. Ricky Steamboat (Pro 3/21/92)

Paul E. & Rick Rude Interview / Steve Austin Interview /

Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (WCWSN 3/21/92)

Bobby Eaton vs. Ricky Steamboat (WWW 4/4/92)

Steve Austin vs. The Z-Man (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 4/4/92)

Arn Anderson, Rick Rude & Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes & Ricky Steamboat (Pro 4/4/92)

Arn Anderson vs. Brad Armstrong (Main Event 4/12/92)

Larry Zbyszko vs. Nikita Koloff (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 4/18/92)

Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 4/25/92)



Disc 9

Arn Anderson vs. Big Josh (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 5/2/92)

Bobby Eaton vs. Dustin Rhodes (Power Hour 5/8/92)

Bobby Eaton vs. Dustin Rhodes (WWW 5/9/92)

Rick Rude Interview / Announcement of New Tag Champs /

Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 5/9/92)

Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff (Main Event 5/10/92)

Bobby Eaton & Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham (Power Hour 5/16/92)

Arn Anderson vs. Nikita Koloff (Power Hour 5/16/92)

Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko vs. Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff (WCWSN 5/16/92)



Disc 10

Dangerous Alliance vs. Sting’s Squadron (Wargames) (Wrestlewar 5/17/92)

Paul E. on Down With DDP /

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Larry Zbyszko vs. Dustin Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 5/23/92)

Steve Austin vs. Larry Zbyszko (WCWSN 5/30/92)

Arn Anderson vs. Barry Windham (2/3 Falls) (WCWSN 6/6/92)

Arn Anderson & Steve Austin vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (WCWSN 6/13/92)



Disc 11

NWA Tag Team Title Tournament Countdown /

Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (Main Event 6/14/92)

Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham (WWW 6/14/92)

Rick Rude & Steve Austin vs. Marcus Bagwell & Tom Zenk (Clash 19; 6/16/92)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. Barry Windham & Dustin Rhodes (Clash 19; 6/16/92)

Steve Austin vs. Brian Pillman (WWW 7/4/92)

Steve Austin vs. Michael Hayes /

Steve Austin vs. Barry Windham (Unsanctioned Match) (WCWSN 7/4/92)

Rick Rude & Steve Austin vs. Dustin Rhodes & Barry Windham (GAB 7/12/92)

Steve Austin vs. Larry Zbyszko (WCWSN 7/18/92)

Rick Rude vs. Nikita Koloff (JIP) (WWW 7/25/92)



Disc 12

Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (WCWSN 8/1/92)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. Larry Zbyszko & Brian Pillman (WCWSN 8/8/92)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. Brian Pillman & Marcus Bagwell (WWW 8/15/92)

Steve Austin vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash 20; 9/2/92)

Arn Anderson & Bobby Eaton vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (WCWSN 9/5/92)

Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton & Rick Rude vs. Sting, Rick & Scott Steiner (WWW 10/3/92)

Up Close w/ Paul E. (WCWSN 10/17/92)

Paul E. Dangerously Public Workout (WCWSN 11/14/92)

Paul E. Dangerously vs. Madusa (Clash 21; 11/18/92)





Spoiler: Eddie set listings



Disc 1
Eddy Guerrero vs. Terry Funk (NWA 5/20/89)
Eddy Guerrero, El Dandy y Javier Cruz vs. Jerry Estrada, Ary Romero y Rick Patterson (EMLL 10/8/89)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Crazy #33 (W.I.N. 11/12/89)
Tribute to Gory Guerrero/
Eddy, Mando, Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Romero, Bonzai, Negra y Crazy #33 (W.I.N. 11/26/89)
Eddy Guerrero, Mando Guerrero y Capitan Oro vs. Los Mercenaries (W.I.N. 12/3/89)
Eddy Guerrero y Mando Guerrero vs. Ku Klux Klan #1 y #2 (W.I.N. 12/17/89)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Genghis Khan (W.I.N. 12/31/89)
Eddy & Mando Guerrero vs. El Hijo Del Santo y Blue Demon Jr. (WWA 1990)
Eddy Guerrero y El Hijo Del Santo vs. Perro Aguayo y Leon Chino (WWA 1990)
Eddy Guerrero, El Hijo Del Santo y Satanico vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 9/16/90) (tracking fault)

Disc 2
Eddy, Chavo y Mando Guerrero vs. Javier Cruz, Apolo Dantes y Cachorra Mendoza (EMLL 7/12/91)
Eddy, Chavo y Mando Guerrero vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 7/26/91)
Eddy, Chavo y Mando Guerrero vs. El Satanico, MS1 y Masakre (EMLL 8/23/91)
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Benoit vs. Takayuki Iizuka & Akira Nogami (NJ HH 4/18/92)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Jushin Liger (NJ HH 4/19/92)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Koji Kanemoto (NJ HH 4/23/92)
Eddy Guerrero & ***** Casas vs. Fit Finlay & Pegasus Kid (NJ 4/30/92)

Disc 3
Eddy Guerrero, Mando Guerrero y El Fantasma vs. The Mercenaries (Los Angeles 5/30/92)
Eddy Guerrero, Villano I y Villano III vs. El Signo, Black Power y ***** Navarro (UWA 6/20/92)
La Mascara Magica, Ringo & Cachorro Mendoza vs. Javier Cruz, El Supremo I y El Hijo de Solitario (EMLL 7/26/92)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Piloto Suicida (Los Angeles 8/29/92)
La Mascara Magica, Lazertron y Blue Demon Jr. vs. La Fiera, Bestia Salvaje y Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 9/26/92)

Disc 4
Eddy Guerrero y El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. y Jerry Estrada (AAA 1/31/93)
Eddy Guerrero, Lizmark y Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis, La Parka y Heavy Metal (AAA 2/21/93)
Eddy Guerrero, El Hijo Del Santo y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 4/2/93)
Eddy Guerrero, El Hijo Del Santo y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 4/11/93)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Lightning Kid (NJ 6/5/93)

Disc 5
Eddy Guerrero vs. Jushin Liger (NJ HH 6/9/93)
Eddy Guerrero & Dean Malenko vs. Jushin Liger & Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ HH 6/10/93)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (NJ HH 6/12/93)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (NJ HH 6/14/93)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Lizmark vs. La Parka, Blue Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 7/4/93)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fishman, Fuerza Guerrera y Blue Panther (AAA 8/1/93)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 8/8/93)

Disc 6
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Fuerza Guerrera vs. Perro Aguayo, Blue Panther y Octagon (AAA 8/22/93)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Fuerza Guerrera vs. El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther (AAA 8/28/93)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Heavy Metal vs. El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther (AAA 10/22/93)
Eddy Guerrero y Love Machine vs. El Hijo Del Santo y Octagon (AAA 11/5/93)

Disc 7
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Jake the Snake vs. Perro Aguayo, Konnan y Blue Panther (AAA 11/12/93)
Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger (NJ 11/24/93)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y El Satanico vs. El Hijo Del Santo, Mascara Sagrada y Latin Lover (AAA TV 2/13/94)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Jerry Estrada vs. El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Heavy Metal (AAA 2/15/94)
Black Tiger & Villano V vs. Jushin Liger & El Samurai (NJ HH 3/5/94)
Black Tiger & Brian Blair vs. Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami (NJ 3/18/94)

Disc 8
Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger (NJ 3/21/94)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Blue Panther vs. El Hijo Del Santo, Lizmark y Tiger Mask (AAA 4/2/94)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Blue Panther vs. El Hijo Del Santo, Konnan y Tiger Mask (AAA 4/8/94)
Black Tiger vs. TAKA (Super J Cup 4/16/94)
Black Tiger vs. Chris Benoit (Super J Cup 4/16/94)
Eddy Guerrero, La Parka, Blue Panther y Psicosis vs. Jushin Liger, Octagon, Tiger Mask y El Hijo Del Santo (AAA 5/15/94)
Black Tiger & Fit Finlay vs. Taka Michinoku & Shinjiro Otani (NJ 6/8/94)

Disc 9
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko & Brad Armstrong (NJ 6/15/94)
Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 8/26/94)
Eddy Guerrero y Love Machine Interview (AAA TV 9/13/94)
Black Tiger vs. El Samurai (NJ HH 9/27/94)
Black Tiger vs. Chris Benoit (NJ HH 9/27/94)
Black Tiger & Great Sasuke vs. Chris Benoit & Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 10/9/94)
Black Tiger & Great Sasuke vs. Chris Benoit & Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 10/18/94)
Eddy Guerrero y Love Machine vs. El Hijo Del Santo y Octagon (AAA When Worlds Collide 11/6/94)

Disc 10
Eddy Guerrero , Konnan, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal vs. El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, La Parka y Latin Lover (AAA 1/6/95)
Eddy Guerrero, Psicosis y El Santo ***** vs. La Parka, Octagon y El Hijo Del Santo (AAA 2/19/95)
Eddy Guerrero, Psicosis y El Santo ***** vs. La Parka, Octagon y El Hijo Del Santo (AAA 3/2/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Too Cold Scorpio (Three Way Dance 4/8/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Hostile City Showdown 4/15/95)
Black Tiger & Dean Malenko vs. Gran Hamada & Tokimitsu Ishizawa (NJ 5/26/95)

Disc 11
Black Tiger vs. Sabu (NJ 6/12/95)
Black Tiger & Dean Malenko vs. Gran Hamada & Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 6/14/95)
Black Tiger vs. Koji Kanemoto (NJ 6/25/95)
Black Tiger vs. Dean Malenko (NJ 7/7/95)
Black Tiger vs. Chris Benoit (NJ 7/13/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (TV 7/21/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (TV 7/28/95)

Disc 12
Eddy Guerrero & Steiner Bros. vs. Dean Malenko, 2 Cold Scorpio & Cactus Jack (Wrestlepalooza 8/5/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Too Cold Scorpio (8/25/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (8/26/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 10/2/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 10/16/95)
Eddy Guerrero & Mr. JL vs. Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko (Nitro 10/23/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 11/6/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (WCWSN 11/18/95)

Disc 13
Eddy Guerrero vs. Brian Pillman (Nitro 11/20/95)
Eddy Guerrero, El Felino y Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Hector Garza, Atlantis y La Pantera (EMLL Handheld 11/25/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Ric Flair (Nitro 12/18/95)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Steven Regal (Nitro 1/8/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (WCWSN 1/20/96)
Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger (NJ 2/3/96)
Black Tiger & Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (NJ 2/15/96)
Black Tiger, El Samurai, & Gran Hamada vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, Koji Kanemoto, & Dean Malenko (NJ 2/25/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (WCWSN 3/2/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (WCWSN 3/9/96)

Disc 14
Eddy Guerrero vs. Konnan (Uncensored 3/18/96)
Eddy Guerrero & Arn Anderson vs. Ric Flair & Randy Savage (Slamboree 5/19/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Ric Flair (Nitro 5/20/96)
Black Tiger vs. Villano IV (NJ 5/28/96)
Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 6/5/96)
Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus (NJ 6/11/96)
Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger (NJ 6/12/96)

Disc 15
Black Tiger vs. Great Sasuke (NJ 6/17/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Handheld 6/28/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Psicosis (Nitro 7/8/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 7/15/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Psicosis (Nitro 7/22/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Ric Flair (Hog Wild 8/10/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. DDP (Havoc 10/27/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 10/28/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 11/18/96)

Disc 16
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 12/23/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. DDP (Starrcade 12/29/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 1/13/97) (tracking error)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Syxx (Souled Out 1/25/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 2/10/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (SuperBrawl 2/23/97)
Eddy Guerrero and Chris Jericho vs. The Faces of Fear (Nitro 2/24/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Handheld 6/28/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Nitro 7/14/97)

Disc 17
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Handheld 8/18/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 9/8/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (Fall Brawl 9/14/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Handheld 9/18/97)
El Caliente vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 9/29/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Havoc 10/26/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 11/10/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (World War 3 11/23/97)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Fit Finlay (Nitro 12/22/97)

Disc 18
Eddy Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko (Starrcade 12/28/97)
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko & Chavo Guerrero (Nitro 2/9/98)
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko & Chris Benoit (Nitro 2/16/98)
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko & Booker T (Thunder 2/26/98)
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko & Booker T (Nitro 3/2/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (Thunder 3/12/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Booker T (Uncensored 3/15/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Kaz Hayashi (Nitro 3/23/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Booker T (Thunder 3/26/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Ultimo Dragon (Slamboree 5/17/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr (GAB 6/14/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Thunder 6/18/98)
Eddy Guerrero Interview (Thunder 7/8/98)

Disc 19
Eddy Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr (Bash at the Beach 7/12/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Psichosis (Thunder 7/16/98)
Eddy Guerrero Promo (Nitro 8/17/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Brian Adams (Nitro 8/31/98)
Eddy Guerrero Promo (Nitro 9/7/98)
Eddy Guerrero – Eric Bischoff argument (Nitro 9/14/98)
Black Tiger & Chris Jericho vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (NJ 9/23/98)
Eddy Guerrero forms the LWO (Nitro 10/5/98)
Eddy Guerrero recruits El Dandy (Thunder 10/8/98)
Eddy Guerrero attempts to recruit Rey Mysterio Jr. (Thunder 10/22/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Thunder 11/5/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 11/9/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 11/16/98)
Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho vs. Dean Malenko & Chris Benoit (Hildebrand Tribute 11/29/98)

Disc 20
Eddy Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman (Nitro 11/30/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Villano V (Nitro 12/14/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Nitro 12/21/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Billy Kidman (Starrcade PPV 12/27/98)
Eddy Guerrero & Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. & Billy Kidman (Nitro 12/28/98)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Juventud Guerrera (Nitro 6/21/99)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Psichosis (Thunder 6/24/99)
Eddy Guerrero vs. La Parka (Thunder 7/1/99)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Psichosis (Nitro 7/19/99)
Eddy Guerrero & Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera & Psychosis (Thunder 7/22/99)
Eddy Guerrero, Billy Kidman & Konnan vs. Steve Regal, Dave Taylor & Chris Adams (Thunder 10/28/99)

Disc 21
The Radicals Debut (RAW 1/31/00)
Eddie Guerrero & Perry Saturn vs. New Age Outlaws (SD! 2/3/00) (Shaky)
Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, & Dean Malenko vs. Too Cool & Chyna (WM 4/2/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (RAW 4/3/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (RAW 4/10/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Essa Rios (Backlash 4/30/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (Insurrexion 5/6/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn vs. Dean Malenko (Judgment Day 5/21/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (RAW 7/3/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Perry Saturn (Fully Loaded 7/23/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. HHH (RAW 8/28/00)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chyna vs. Kurt Angle (RAW 9/4/00)

Disc 22
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (RAW 2/12/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. X-Pac (RAW 2/19/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit vs. X-Pac (No Way Out 2/25/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Jericho (RAW 3/5/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (RAW 3/12/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Test (WM 4/1/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Christian vs. Matt Hardy (Backlash 4/29/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Low-Ki (ICW 11/30/01)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Super Crazy (ROH 2/23/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. CM Punk (IWA-MS 3/1/02)

Disc 23
Eddie Guerrero vs. CM Punk (IWA-MS 3/2/02)
Eddie Guerrero, Minoru Tanaka & Black Tiger vs. Koji Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo (NJ 3/8/02)
Eddie Guerrero, Kanemoto, Black Tiger, Jado & Gedo vs. Liger, Tanaka, Samurai, Kakihara & Naruse (2/3 falls) (NJ 3/14/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD (Backlash 4/21/02)
Eddie Guerrero & Amazing Red vs. The SAT (ROH 4/27/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD (Insurrexion 5/4/02)

Disc 24
Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD (Judgment Day 5/19/02)
Eddie Guerrero + Stone Cold Karaoke (RAW 5/20/02)
Chris Benoit + Eddie Guerrero + Ric Flair (RAW 5/27/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. RVD (Ladder Match) (RAW 5/27/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Ric Flair (KOR 6/23/02)
Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit vs. Bubba & Spike Dudley (Tables Match) (Vengeance 7/21/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. The Rock (RAW 7/22/02)

Disc 25
Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & The Rock (SD! 8/1/02)
Eddie Guerrero, Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Edge, John Cena & Rey Mysterio (SD! 8/8/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (SD! 8/15/02)
Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & The Rock (SD! 8/22/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (Summerslam 8/25/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (SD! 8/29/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (Unforgiven 9/22/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (No DQ) (SD! 9/26/02)

Disc 26
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit (SD! 10/17/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Edge & Mysterio (SD! 10/24/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit (Rebellion 10/26/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (SD! 10/31/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (SD! 11/14/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit vs. Edge & Rey Mysterio (Survivor Series 11/17/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (SD! 11/21/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit (SD! 11/28/02)

Disc 27
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit & Billy Kidman (SD! 12/12/02)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Armageddon 12/15/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Edge & Kidman (SD! 12/26/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero + John Cena & B2 (SD! 12/26/02)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (SD! 2/6/03)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (Backlash 4/27/03)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Matt Hardy & Shannon Moore (SD! 5/1/03)
Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (Ladder Match) (Judgment Day 5/18/03)
Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (SD! 5/22/03)

Disc 28
Eddie Guerrero & Tajiri vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (SD! 7/3/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (Vengeance 7/27/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Tajiri (SD! 7/31/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit /
Eddie Guerrero & Rhyno vs. Chris Benoit & Tajiri (SD! 8/7/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit vs. Rhyno vs. Tajiri (Summerslam 8/24/03)
Eddie Guerrero's Homecoming (SD! 8/28/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. John Cena (SD! 8/28/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. John Cena (Parking Lot Brawl) (SD! 9/11/03)

Disc 29
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (SD! 9/18/03)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Big Show (No Mercy 10/19/03)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin (SD! 1/1/04)
Eddie & Chavo Guerrero vs. Doug & Danny Basham (SD! 1/8/04)
Eddie Guerrero + Chavo Guerrero (SD! 1/15/04)
Eddie Guerrero & Kurt Angle vs. Chavo Jr. & Chavo Guerrero Sr. (SD! 1/22/04)
Smackdown! Royal Rumble (SD! 1/29/04)

Disc 30
Eddie Guerrero + Brock Lesnar (SD! 2/5/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar (No Way Out 2/15/04)
Eddie Guerrero Celebration (SD! 2/19/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chavo Guerrero (SD! 2/19/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (WM 3/14/04)

Disc 31
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (SD! 3/18/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. HHH (Raw 3/22/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Booker T (SD! 3/25/04)
Eddie Guerrero + Kurt Angle + JBL (SD! 4/1/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. The Big Show (SD! 4/15/04)
Eddie + JBL (SD! 5/13/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL (Judgment Day 5/16/04)

Disc 32
Eddie Guerrero + JBL (SD! 6/10/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL (Bull Rope Match) (GAB 6/27/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL (Cage Match) (SD! 7/15/04)
Eddie Guerrero + Kurt Angle (SD! 8/12/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (Summerslam 8/15/04)
Eddie Guerrero + Kurt Angle (SD! 8/19/04)
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Kurt Angle & Luther Reigns (SD! 8/19/04)

Disc 33
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (2/3 falls) (SD! 9/2/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (lumberjack) (SD! 9/9/04)
Eddie Guerrero + JBL + Teddy Long (SD! 12/9/04)
Eddie Guerrero & Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio & Rob Van Dam (SD! 12/30/04)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (SD! 1/6/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. Doug & Danny Basham (No Way Out 2/20/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. John Bradshaw Layfield & Orlando Jordan (SD! 3/10/05)

Disc 34
Eddie + Chavo Guerrero (SD! 3/17/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (WM 4/3/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle (SD! 4/14/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM (SD! 4/21/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM (SD! 4/28/05)
Eddie Guerrero + Rey Mysterio (SD! 5/5/05)
Eddie Guerrero destroys Rey Mysterio (SD! 5/5/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Judgment Day 5/22/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Paul London (SD! 6/16/05)

Disc 35
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (SD! 6/23/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio vs. MNM (SD! 7/7/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit (SD! 7/21/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (GAB 7/24/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Summerslam 8/21/05)
Eddie Guerrero Cage Promo (SD! 9/1/05)

Disc 36
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio (Cage match) (SD! 9/9/05)
Eddie Guerrero + Batista (SD! 9/16/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Batista vs. MNM (SD! 9/23/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Randy Orton (SD! 10/7/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Batista (No Mercy 10/9/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Batista vs. Randy Orton & Ken Kennedy (SD! 10/21/05)
Eddie Guerrero & Batista vs. MNM (SD! 11/4/05)
Eddie Guerrero vs. Ken Kennedy (SD! 11/11/05)
Hurt (RAW 11/14/05)
Los Guerreros Vignettes



I ordered the Dangerous Alliance set last week, can't wait to get it .


----------



## Yeah1993

That Guerrero set (esp. first 16 discs) _also_ looks like something I've tear off a limb for. I'm pretty jealous of Andy right now. Bitch.


----------



## smitlick

so anyone know where i could get my hands on the Eddie set?


----------



## seabs

*The Dangerous Alliance comp is the next one I want to grab hold of after I've gone through my Memphis and Mid South comps which will likely take forever anyway lol.*


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

PulseGlazer said:


> I usually don't want career retrospective comps. 20 discs of most guys is just too much for me. I prefer reasonably comprehensive best of's. Wish I could find someone who made those out of the crazy 38 disc comps. That said, I'm going to end up getting the Eddie set.


Yeah, some guys I wouldn't want 30 something discs for and would settle for 13 or w/e. Eddie's my favourite ever, though, so I had to get my hands on that.



PulseGlazer said:


> I'm not getting the New Japan set yet, but already secured my vote for the Texas Set to come next. The Mid-South set is beyond amazing- seriously, THE BEST stuff I've ever seen. Up next for me is Memphis.
> 
> I think I'll post a ton of Mid-South thoughts here after I'm done. Hopefully someone besides Andy is interested and checks some of it out.


Agreed re: Mid-South. I've watched basically all of it (half of it twice) and it became my favourite promotion ever after about 5 discs. '85 Mid-South is my favourite year for any promotion ever.

New Japan and Memphis are excellent as well. Memphis really showed me how amazing Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee were. Lawler's a top ten guy ever for me and Dundee's in or around my top 20. Koko Ware is also stupidly underrated (Koko/Flair from '85 is fantastic). Haven't finished New Japan yet (kinda burned out on it for a while after rattling through 8 discs in like 2 weeks), but that's something for everybody as well. Seen plenty of Texas through Goodhelemt's Gordy set already, but I'm picking that up too when it drops.



Yeah1993 said:


> WATCH ANDRE/HANSEN NOW.
> 
> Doubt you (or like anybody else in the universe) will like it as much as me, but it's by far the best I've ever seen Andre do anything. Owning that match on DVD alone would be too sweet. I've rarely had a better time watching wrestling, and I've probably never been impressed with anybody moreso than I was Andre here.


I'm 80 matches into the set and that's my working number two. I'd only put the '84 gauntlet above it.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Goodhelmet on DVDVR released a 38 disc Santito set a couple months ago. It's not cheap, but it bags you a free Best of 80s Lucha set whenever that's released down the line.
> 
> About 90% sure there won't ever be a Santo career retrospective better than Goodhelmet's.


Anywhere where I can check out the match listing btw ?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> Anywhere where I can check out the match listing btw ?





Spoiler



Disc 1
El Hijo Del Santo y Atlantis vs. Fuerza Guerrera y Lobo Rubio (1984) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Black Shadow Jr. (WWA 1986) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (Mask Match) (8/31/86) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (7/18/87) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Super Astro y Blue Demon Jr. vs. All Star, Rocky Star y Fuerza Guerrera (CMLL 11/25/89) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Fuerza Guerrera vs. Rocky Star y All Star (CMLL 11/25/89) 

Disc 2
El Hijo Del Santo y All Star vs. Fuerza y Rocky Star (CMLL 12/3/89) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera (CMLL 12/10/89) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. All Star (CMLL 12/10/89) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Blue Demon Jr. vs. Mando y Eddie Guerrero (WWA 1990) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Yoshinari Asai & El Gran Hamada vs. ***** Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza
Guerrera (Trios Tournament Final) (WWA 1990) 
El Hijo Del Santo & Eddy Guerrero vs. Perro Aguayo & Leon Chino (WWA 1990) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Super Astro & Kendo vs. ***** Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera (UWF 6/4/90)

Disc 3
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera (UWF 6/7/90) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Astro de Oro y Octagon vs. Pirata Morgan, Espectro y Espectro de Ultratumba (EMLL 7/15/90) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Soloman Grundy y Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs. Cien Caras, Perro Aguayo y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (EMLL 9/9/90) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Eddy Guerrero & El Satanico vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 9/16/90) 
Hijo Del Santo vs. Brazo De Oro (Mask vs. Hair) (UWA 1/13/91) 
Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (UWA 3/1/91)

Disc 4
El Hijo Del Santo & Los Villanos vs. Los 4 Brazos (UWF 3/7/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Yoshihiro Asai & Gran Hamada vs. Los Temerarios (UWF 3/9/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Black Terry (UWF 3/10/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Yoshinari Asai y Kendo vs. Shu El Guerrero, Black Terry y Jose Luis Feliciano (UWF 3/14/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Tijuana 5/17/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo, El Hijo Del Solitario & Lizmark Jr. vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 9/29/91) 

Disc 5
El Hijo Del Santo, Misterioso y Ultimo Dragon vs. Fuerza Guerrera, La Fiera y Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 11/24/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Mascara Sagrada y El Misterioso vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Emilio Charles Jr. y La Fiera (EMLL 12/1/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Black Shadow Jr. vs. Octagon y Fuerza Guerrera (12/15/91) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Dos Caras & Gran Hamada vs. El Canek, ***** Casas & Fishman (UWA 2/1/92) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (5/14/92) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Atsushi Onita y Mil Mascaras vs. ***** Casas, Tarzan Goto y Nitron (5/15/92)

Disc 6
El Hijo Del Santo, Atsushi Onita y Tarzan Goto vs. ***** Casas, Horace Boulder y Tim Patterson (5/16/92) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo y Misterioso vs. Cien Caras, Fishman y Espanto Jr. (Los Angeles 7/4/92)
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Super Astro vs. El Hijo Del Diabolo, Fuerza Guerrera y Blue Panther (AAA 9/27/92)
El Hijo Del Santo y Eddy Guerrero vs. Espanto Jr. y Jerry Estrada (AAA 1/31/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Eddy Guerrero y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 2/7/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Eddy Guerrero y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 2/14/93) 

Disc 7
El Hijo Del Santo, Love Machine y Octagon vs. Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera y EL Espanto Jr. (AAA 5/2/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Perro Aguayo vs. Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada, Mascara Ano 2000 (AAA 5/7/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 5/23/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero vs. Fishman, Fuerza Guerrera y Blue Panther (AAA 8/1/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo y Blue Panther vs. Love Machine, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal (AAA 8/8/93)

Disc 8
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 8/13/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. Love Machine, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal (AAA 8/15/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 8/28/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. El Satanico, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal (AAA 10/1/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. Heavy Metal, Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero (AAA 10/22/93) 

Disc 9
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 10/29/93)
El Hijo Del Santo y Octagon vs. Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero (AAA 11/5/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Perro Aguayo vs. Heavy Metal, La Parka y Art Barr (AAA 11/13/93) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 12/5/93) 

Disc 10
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Jerry Estrada, Psicosis y Espanto Jr. (AAA 1/14/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Mascara Sagrada y Latin Lover vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Satanico (AAA TV 2/13/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Angel Azteca vs. Psicosis y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 2/13/94)
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Heavy Metal vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Jerry Estrada (AAA 2/15/94)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Psicosis (AAA 2/16/94) 

Disc 11
El Hijo Del Santo, Lizmark y Tiger Mask vs. Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Blue Panther (AAA 4/2/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Konnan y Tiger Mask vs. Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Blue Panther (AAA 4/8/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Heavy Metal, Konnan & Perro Aguayo vs. Jerry Estrada, La Parka, Love Machine & Psicosis (AAA 4/15/94)
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Perro Aguayo vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Black Cat (4/26/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Jushin Liger, Octagon y Tiger Mask vs. La Parka, Blue Panther, Psicosis y Eddy Guerrero (AAA 5/15/94) 

Disc 12
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis, Blue Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 7/15/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera, Jerry Estrada (AAA 7/29/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, El Mariachi, El Mexicano, Octagon vs. Blue Panther, Espanto Jr., Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis (AAA 8/19/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Latin Lover y Heavy Metal vs. Blue Panther, La Parka y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 8/26/94)
El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo y Blue Panther vs. Konan, Love Machine y Chicano Power (AAA Cup Final) (AAA 9/28/94) 

Disc 13
El Hijo Del Santo y Octagon vs. Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero (WWC 11/6/94) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Norio Honaga (Japan 11/18/94) 
El Hijo del Santo, Latin Lover y Heavy Metal vs. Espectro, Fuerza y Juventud Guerrera (AAA 12/5/94) 
El Hijo del Santo, Volador, Rey Mysterio Jr. y Octagon vs. Psicosis, Misterioso, Juventud y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 1/95)
El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka y Octagon vs. Psicosis, Eddy Guerrero y El Santo ***** (AAA 2/19/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka y Octagon vs. Psicosis, Eddy Guerrero y El Santo ***** (AAA 3/2/95) 

Disc 14
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Blue Panther, Psicosis y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 3/16/95) 
El Hijo del Santo vs. Psicosis (AAA 5/3/95) 
El Hijo del Santo, Octagon y Winners vs. Pentagon, Psicosis y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 5/17/95) 
El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, La Parka y Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Pentagon, Psicosis, Blue Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 6/18/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis (AAA 6/30/95)
El Hijo del Santo y Octagon vs. Fuerza Guerrera y Pentagon (Cage Match) (AAA 7/3/95)

Disc 15
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Mysterio Jr. y La Parka vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis, Pentagon y Jerry Estrada (AAA 7/8/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Heavy Metal, Pentagon, Psicosis (AAA 7/16/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Ultimo Dragon y Lion Heart vs. Emilio Charles Jr., El Satanico y ***** Casas (CMLL 9/8/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Ultimo Dragon y Lion Heart vs. Emilio Charles Jr., El Satanico y ***** Casas (CMLL 9/15/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 9/29/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo, El Dandy y Hector Garza vs. Blue Panther, Black Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (11/10/95) 

Disc 16
Los Angeles Commercial
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Los Angeles 11/25/95) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 12/1/95) 
MGD Commercial (2/2/96)
El Hijo Del Santo, Silver King y El Dandy vs. ***** Casas, Apolo Dantes y El Satanico (CMLL 2/2/96)
El Hijo Del Santo, Dos Caras y El Dandy vs. Blue Panther, Apolo Dantes y Emilio Charles Jr. (CMLL 2/16/96)
El Hijo Del Santo, Atlantis, El Dandy y Lizmark vs. Blue Panther, Felino, Dr. Wagner y ***** Casas (CMLL 3/15/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 4/5/96) 

Disc 17
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (WWPF 6/1/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Great Sasuke (CMLL 6/5/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Super Delphin vs. Dick Togo y Men's Teioh (M-Pro 11/8/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Super Delphin vs. TAKA Michinoku y Sho Funaki (M-Pro 11/9/96)
El Hijo Del Santo y Super Delphin vs. Dick Togo y Men's Teioh (Tournament Final) (M-Pro 11/10/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. vs. ***** Casas, El Dandy y Hector Garza (CMLL 11/22/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. vs. ***** Casas, El Dandy y Hector Garza (CMLL 11/29/96) 

Disc 18
El Hijo Del Santo vs. El Dandy vs. ***** Casas (Mask vs. Hair) (CMLL 12/6/96) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas y Super Astro (CMLL Japan 2/2/97) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL Japan 2/6/97) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Tijuana 2/21/97) 
El Hijo Del Santo and Misterioso vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. and Sr. (5/16/97) 

Disc 19
El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Dr. Wagner vs. ***** Casas, El Fiero y Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 6/6/97)
El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Dr. Wagner vs. ***** Casas, El Fiero y Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 6/13/97)
El Hijo Del Santo, Emilio Charles y Dr. Wagner vs. ***** Casas, Felino, Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 6/20/97)
El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 7/4/97)
El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje y El Satanico vs. Felino, La Fiera y Shocker (CMLL 7/18/97)

Disc 20
El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 7/25/97)
El Hijo del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Hair vs. Mask Match) (CMLL 9/19/97)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Psicosis (Promo Azteca 10/3/97)
El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Black Warrior vs. La Fiera, Felino y Atlantis (CMLL 11/1/97) 
El Hijo del Santo y Scorpio Jr. vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/7/97) 
El Hijo del Santo y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/14/97) 

Disc 21
El Hijo Del Santo y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/21/97) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Scorpio Jr. vs. La Fiera, ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/28/97) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Black Warrior vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 12/5/97)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Cien Caras vs. Psicosis, Konan y Villano V (Promo Azteca 2/13/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Charles, Satanico vs. Casas, Niebla, Shocker (CMLL 3/6/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo y La Parka vs. Psicosis y Villano 5 (Promo Azteca 3/13/98) 

Disc 22
El Hijo Del Santo, Emilio Charles Jr. y Satanico vs. Shocker, Mr. Niebla y ***** Casas (CMLL 3/23/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Black Warrior vs. ***** Casas, Atlantis y Mr. Niebla (CMLL 4/24/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, Dr. Wagner y Blue Panther vs. Atlantis, Emilio Charles Jr. y Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 5/1/98)
El Hijo Del Santo y Ultimo Dragon vs. ***** Casas y Black Warrior (M-Pro 5/22/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Felino y Super Astro vs. Blue Panther, Dr Wagner Jr. y Principle Joel (6/13/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Violencia y Karloff Lagarde Jr. vs. Shocker, Felino y Tony Rivera (CMLL 6/19/98)

Disc 23
El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Blue Panther vs. ***** Casas, Felino y La Fiera (CMLL 6/26/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas, Felino y La Fiera (CMLL 7/10/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Villano III vs. ***** Casas, Pantera y La Fiera (CMLL 7/17/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Guerrero Del Futuro vs. Felino y Blue Panther (Ruleta De La Muerte Quarterfinals) (7/17/98)
El Hijo Del Santo y Guerrero Del Futuro vs. Black Warrior y Mr. Niebla (Ruleta De La Muerte Semi-Finals) (7/17/98)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Guerrero Del Futuro (Ruleta De La Muerte Finals) (Mask vs. Mask) (7/17/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 7/31/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Black Warrior vs. ***** Casas, Atlantis y Felino (CMLL 8/7/98)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fishman (CMLL Japan 8/22/98) 

Disc 24
Torneo Cibernetico (CMLL Japan 8/24/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo & Blue Panther vs. Dr Wagner Jr. & Misterioso (8/28/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Fuerza Guerrera y Villano III vs. ***** Casas, Shocker y Felino (CMLL 9/4/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, Fuerza Guerrera y Villano III vs. ***** Casas, Atlantis y La Fiera (CMLL 9/11/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Atlantis y La Fiera vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Villano III, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 9/18/98)

Disc 25
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Felino (Monterrey 10/18/98)
El Hijo Del Santo y Shocker vs. Blue Panther y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/6/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Shocker vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. y El Satanico (CMLL 11/6/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Mr. Niebla vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Blue Panther y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/13/98) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y El Felino vs. Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/20/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/27/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Villano IV, Villano V y Silver King (CMLL 12/11/98)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Blue Panther, Dr. Wagner y Black Warrior (CMLL 12/11/98)

Disc 26
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Villano IV, Villano V y Silver King (CMLL 12/18/98)
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 2/5/99)
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 2/26/99)
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 3/12/99)
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (Mask vs. Hair) (CMLL 3/19/99)

Disc 27
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 4/2/99)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Shocker vs. Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. y Dr. Wagner Jr. (CMLL 6/11/99)
El Hijo Del Santo, Olimpico, Emilio Charles Jr. y ***** Casas vs. Black Warrior, Ultimo Guerrero, Blue Panther y Dr Wagner Jr. (9/10/99) 
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Blue Panther y Dr. Wagner Jr. (9/25/99) 
Torneo Leyenda De Plata II (CMLL 11/26/99) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi vs. Blue Panther, Kenichiro Arai & Bombero Infernal (Toryumon TV 1/3/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (Monterrey 4/9/00)

Disc 28
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Mike Quackenbush (FWA 4/15/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka, Tarzan Boy y Antifaz vs. Shocker, Bestia Salvaje, Zumbido y Blue Panther (Monterrey 5/14/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Antifaz, Mr. Niebla & Super Porky vs. Blue Panther, Zumbido, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. (Monterrey 5/21/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (Monterrey 5/28/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 10/6/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Emilio Charles Jr. vs. ***** Casas, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 10/27/00) 

Disc 29
El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka, Brazo De Plata & Villano III vs. Shocker, Blue Panther, Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Dandy (Monterrey 11/19/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL PPV 12/15/00)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Dr. Cerebro (IWRG 12/21/00) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (CMLL Japan 1/28/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Mil Mascaras vs. Arkangel de la Muerte y Blue Panther (All Japan 1/28/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Shocker, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL TV 1/30/01)

Disc 30
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Dr. Cerebro (IWRG 2/22/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Dr. Cerebro (Mask vs. Mask) (IWRG 3/1/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Villano III y Antifaz vs. Blue Panther, Bestia Salvaje y Zumbido (Monterrey 4/1/01) El Hijo Del Santo vs. Nicho El Millonario (Mask vs. Hair) (Tijuana 4/6/01) 

Disc 31
El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Tijuana 6/8/01)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Shocker (Monterrey 10/21/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Hijo Del Diablo (Tijuana 10/26/01)
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL TV 11/13/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka (Cage Match) (Tijuana 11/16/01) 

Disc 32
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Rey Mysterio Jr. y Atlantis vs. Black Tiger, Nicho, Fuerza y Juventud Guerrera (CMLL TV 11/20/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. y Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera, Nicho El Millonario, Damian 666 y Halloween (CMLL TV 12/4/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka y Lizmark Jr. vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (Monterrey 12/9/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Rey Mysterio Jr. y Hombre Sin Nombre vs. Juventud Guerrera, Nicho El Millonario, Damian 666 y Halloween (CMLL 12/14/01)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka (Monterrey 12/23/01) 
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Nicho y Juventud Guerrera (CMLL TV 1/1/02) 

Disc 33
Torneo Cibernetico (CMLL TV 4/2/02) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Mr. Niebla vs. Tarzan Boy, Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL TV 6/1/02) 
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL TV 6/15/02) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Shocker y Mascara Magica vs. Tarzan Boy, Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanaro (CMLL 6/22/02)
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Ultimo Guerrero vs. El Satanico, Dr. Wagner Jr. y Blue Demon (CMLL TV 12/8/02) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Ultimo Guerrero vs. El Satanico, Dr. Wagner Jr. y Blue Demon (CMLL TV 12/15/02) 
Anniversary of El Santo's Death (Monterrey 2/2/03)
El Hijo Del Santo - Wrestler of The Year (Monterrey 3/16/03)
El Hijo Del Santo & Damian 666 vs. Super Parka & Blue Panther (WWO 5/3/03) 

Disc 34
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Super Parka (WWO 7/18/03)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Super Parka (WWO 8/29/03)
El Hijo Del Santo & Perro Aguayo Jr. vs. La Parka & Super Parka (WWO 9/21/03) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka (Atlanta 3/28/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo (CMLL 8/13/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo y Hector Garza (LLA 8/29/04)

Disc 35
El Hijo Del Santo, Shocker y L.A. Park vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 9/3/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo Interview (LLA 9/5/04)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Perro Aguayo Jr. (LLA 9/5/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo, L.A. Park y ***** Casas vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 9/10/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Shocker vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Damian El Terrible y Hector Garza (CMLL 9/17/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (UK 10/6/04) 

Disc 36
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (UK 10/8/04) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Averno (CMLL 10/23/04)
El Hijo Del Santo y Mistico vs. Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL GDL 11/7/04)
El Hijo Del Santo, Mistico y Ultimo Dragon vs. Tarzan Boy, Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL GDL 12/11/04)
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL GDL 6/26/05) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Mistico vs. Averno y Mephisto (CMLL 10/9/05) 

Disc 37
El Hijo Del Santo vs. L.A. Park (Cage Match) (Detroit 10/29/05) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Atlantis (Leyenda de Plata Final) (CMLL 11/11/05) 
El Hijo Del Santo y Mistico vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Atlantis (GDR 11/18/05) 
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Ultimo Guerrero (11/25/05) (CMLL 11/26/05)
El Hijo Del Santo y L.A. Park vs. Mascara 2000 y Universo 2000 (CMLL GDL 12/4/05) 
El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Averno y Mephisto (CMLL 12/16/05) 

Disc 38
El Hijo Del Santo y La Mascara vs. Blue Panther y Tarzan Boy (CMLL GDL 1/1/06) 
El Hijo Del Santo, Mistico y ***** Casas vs. Atlantis, Black Warrior y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 8/4/06) El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Dos Caras Jr. vs. Hector Garza, LA Park y Mr. Aguila (CMLL 8/11/06) El Hijo Del Santo vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo (CMLL 8/25/06) 
El Hijo Del Santo Tribute (12/8/07)
El Hijo Del Santo y Blue Demon Jr. vs. Pentagon Black & Super Muneco (Todo X el Todo 12/8/07)


----------



## McQueen

Where might I find that Andy?

I need some Mid South, some lucha and something else and I need your recommendations brah.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

bigcal for Mid-South and Memphis. And DVDVR for Santo. GOODHELMET.


----------



## Spartanlax

Why would you ever want lucha?

Can someone please explain why they like lucha? Arm-drags and dives into the third-row galore. And midgets. Anything else ever happen?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Spartanlax said:


> Why would you ever want lucha?
> 
> Can someone please explain why they like lucha? Arm-drags and dives into the third-row galore. And midgets. Anything else ever happen?


LOL, that's not even close to what it is. And there's a few "midgets" matches from 1997 that are better than 90% of every wrestling match ever.


----------



## Derek

I'm not a big fan of lucha, but there are things that I can appreciate.


----------



## McQueen

I wasn't really a big fan of Lucha either Lax but listening to Andy and Cali go on about it at the other forum has me more than a little interested in seeing more of it. Plus guys like El Hijo del Santo and Dr. Wagner Jr. completely own.


----------



## WillTheBloody

Spartanlax said:


> Why would you ever want lucha?
> 
> Can someone please explain why they like lucha? Arm-drags and dives into the third-row galore. And midgets. Anything else ever happen?


More than anything else, I watch puroresu. I used to go long lengths of time where I'd just watch matches from Jumbo-->Misawa Era AJPW or epic Kobashi-ness from NOAH and find myself burned out on wrestling. As I got older, I realized that it was because I was restricting myself to one style, absorbing everything I could, and it would burn me out on wrestling completely.

When I discovered Chikara, I found it to be the absolute best way to solve this issue. Two DVDs every month or so that *A)* Provided a break from the usual consumption and *B)* In no way resembled anything else in wrestling. So my answer is that I love lucha because it _isn't_ puro. It's not about brute force or how loud you can scream or how badass you look when you no-sell three billion lariats. It's about timing, rhythm, speed, and altitude. Luchadores don't just put what they've earned up for grabs...they put up who they are, too. Their very identities. You won't find that anywhere else in wrestling.

...

But it's mainly about the midgets.



Spoiler: ¡Un Problema Minusculo!


----------



## McQueen

I never get tired of that gif.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Disc 1
> El Hijo Del Santo y Atlantis vs. Fuerza Guerrera y Lobo Rubio (1984)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Black Shadow Jr. (WWA 1986)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (Mask Match) (8/31/86)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (7/18/87)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Super Astro y Blue Demon Jr. vs. All Star, Rocky Star y Fuerza Guerrera (CMLL 11/25/89)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Fuerza Guerrera vs. Rocky Star y All Star (CMLL 11/25/89)
> 
> Disc 2
> El Hijo Del Santo y All Star vs. Fuerza y Rocky Star (CMLL 12/3/89)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera (CMLL 12/10/89)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. All Star (CMLL 12/10/89)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Blue Demon Jr. vs. Mando y Eddie Guerrero (WWA 1990)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Yoshinari Asai & El Gran Hamada vs. ***** Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza
> Guerrera (Trios Tournament Final) (WWA 1990)
> El Hijo Del Santo & Eddy Guerrero vs. Perro Aguayo & Leon Chino (WWA 1990)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Super Astro & Kendo vs. ***** Casas, Blue Panther & Fuerza Guerrera (UWF 6/4/90)
> 
> Disc 3
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fuerza Guerrera (UWF 6/7/90)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Astro de Oro y Octagon vs. Pirata Morgan, Espectro y Espectro de Ultratumba (EMLL 7/15/90)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Soloman Grundy y Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs. Cien Caras, Perro Aguayo y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (EMLL 9/9/90)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Eddy Guerrero & El Satanico vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 9/16/90)
> Hijo Del Santo vs. Brazo De Oro (Mask vs. Hair) (UWA 1/13/91)
> Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (UWA 3/1/91)
> 
> Disc 4
> El Hijo Del Santo & Los Villanos vs. Los 4 Brazos (UWF 3/7/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Yoshihiro Asai & Gran Hamada vs. Los Temerarios (UWF 3/9/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Black Terry (UWF 3/10/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Yoshinari Asai y Kendo vs. Shu El Guerrero, Black Terry y Jose Luis Feliciano (UWF 3/14/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Tijuana 5/17/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo, El Hijo Del Solitario & Lizmark Jr. vs. Los Brazos (EMLL 9/29/91)
> 
> Disc 5
> El Hijo Del Santo, Misterioso y Ultimo Dragon vs. Fuerza Guerrera, La Fiera y Emilio Charles Jr. (EMLL 11/24/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Mascara Sagrada y El Misterioso vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Emilio Charles Jr. y La Fiera (EMLL 12/1/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Black Shadow Jr. vs. Octagon y Fuerza Guerrera (12/15/91)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Dos Caras & Gran Hamada vs. El Canek, ***** Casas & Fishman (UWA 2/1/92)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. (5/14/92)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Atsushi Onita y Mil Mascaras vs. ***** Casas, Tarzan Goto y Nitron (5/15/92)
> 
> Disc 6
> El Hijo Del Santo, Atsushi Onita y Tarzan Goto vs. ***** Casas, Horace Boulder y Tim Patterson (5/16/92)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo y Misterioso vs. Cien Caras, Fishman y Espanto Jr. (Los Angeles 7/4/92)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Super Astro vs. El Hijo Del Diabolo, Fuerza Guerrera y Blue Panther (AAA 9/27/92)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Eddy Guerrero vs. Espanto Jr. y Jerry Estrada (AAA 1/31/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Eddy Guerrero y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 2/7/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Eddy Guerrero y Konnan vs. Cien Caras, Universo Dos Mil y Mascara Ano Dos Mil (AAA 2/14/93)
> 
> Disc 7
> El Hijo Del Santo, Love Machine y Octagon vs. Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera y EL Espanto Jr. (AAA 5/2/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Perro Aguayo vs. Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada, Mascara Ano 2000 (AAA 5/7/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 5/23/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero vs. Fishman, Fuerza Guerrera y Blue Panther (AAA 8/1/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo y Blue Panther vs. Love Machine, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal (AAA 8/8/93)
> 
> Disc 8
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 8/13/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. Love Machine, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal (AAA 8/15/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 8/28/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. El Satanico, Fuerza Guerrera y Heavy Metal (AAA 10/1/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Blue Panther vs. Heavy Metal, Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero (AAA 10/22/93)
> 
> Disc 9
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 10/29/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Octagon vs. Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero (AAA 11/5/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Perro Aguayo vs. Heavy Metal, La Parka y Art Barr (AAA 11/13/93)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Heavy Metal (AAA 12/5/93)
> 
> Disc 10
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Jerry Estrada, Psicosis y Espanto Jr. (AAA 1/14/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Mascara Sagrada y Latin Lover vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Satanico (AAA TV 2/13/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Angel Azteca vs. Psicosis y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 2/13/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Heavy Metal vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Jerry Estrada (AAA 2/15/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Psicosis (AAA 2/16/94)
> 
> Disc 11
> El Hijo Del Santo, Lizmark y Tiger Mask vs. Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Blue Panther (AAA 4/2/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Konnan y Tiger Mask vs. Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine y Blue Panther (AAA 4/8/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Heavy Metal, Konnan & Perro Aguayo vs. Jerry Estrada, La Parka, Love Machine & Psicosis (AAA 4/15/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Perro Aguayo vs. Love Machine, Eddy Guerrero y Black Cat (4/26/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Jushin Liger, Octagon y Tiger Mask vs. La Parka, Blue Panther, Psicosis y Eddy Guerrero (AAA 5/15/94)
> 
> Disc 12
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psicosis, Blue Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 7/15/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera, Jerry Estrada (AAA 7/29/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, El Mariachi, El Mexicano, Octagon vs. Blue Panther, Espanto Jr., Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis (AAA 8/19/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Latin Lover y Heavy Metal vs. Blue Panther, La Parka y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 8/26/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Perro Aguayo y Blue Panther vs. Konan, Love Machine y Chicano Power (AAA Cup Final) (AAA 9/28/94)
> 
> Disc 13
> El Hijo Del Santo y Octagon vs. Love Machine y Eddy Guerrero (WWC 11/6/94)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Norio Honaga (Japan 11/18/94)
> El Hijo del Santo, Latin Lover y Heavy Metal vs. Espectro, Fuerza y Juventud Guerrera (AAA 12/5/94)
> El Hijo del Santo, Volador, Rey Mysterio Jr. y Octagon vs. Psicosis, Misterioso, Juventud y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 1/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka y Octagon vs. Psicosis, Eddy Guerrero y El Santo ***** (AAA 2/19/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka y Octagon vs. Psicosis, Eddy Guerrero y El Santo ***** (AAA 3/2/95)
> 
> Disc 14
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon y Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Blue Panther, Psicosis y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 3/16/95)
> El Hijo del Santo vs. Psicosis (AAA 5/3/95)
> El Hijo del Santo, Octagon y Winners vs. Pentagon, Psicosis y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 5/17/95)
> El Hijo del Santo, Octagon, La Parka y Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Pentagon, Psicosis, Blue Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (AAA 6/18/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis (AAA 6/30/95)
> El Hijo del Santo y Octagon vs. Fuerza Guerrera y Pentagon (Cage Match) (AAA 7/3/95)
> 
> Disc 15
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Mysterio Jr. y La Parka vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Psicosis, Pentagon y Jerry Estrada (AAA 7/8/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Octagon, Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Heavy Metal, Pentagon, Psicosis (AAA 7/16/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Ultimo Dragon y Lion Heart vs. Emilio Charles Jr., El Satanico y ***** Casas (CMLL 9/8/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Ultimo Dragon y Lion Heart vs. Emilio Charles Jr., El Satanico y ***** Casas (CMLL 9/15/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 9/29/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo, El Dandy y Hector Garza vs. Blue Panther, Black Panther y Fuerza Guerrera (11/10/95)
> 
> Disc 16
> Los Angeles Commercial
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Los Angeles 11/25/95)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 12/1/95)
> MGD Commercial (2/2/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Silver King y El Dandy vs. ***** Casas, Apolo Dantes y El Satanico (CMLL 2/2/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Dos Caras y El Dandy vs. Blue Panther, Apolo Dantes y Emilio Charles Jr. (CMLL 2/16/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Atlantis, El Dandy y Lizmark vs. Blue Panther, Felino, Dr. Wagner y ***** Casas (CMLL 3/15/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 4/5/96)
> 
> Disc 17
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (WWPF 6/1/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Great Sasuke (CMLL 6/5/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Super Delphin vs. Dick Togo y Men's Teioh (M-Pro 11/8/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Super Delphin vs. TAKA Michinoku y Sho Funaki (M-Pro 11/9/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Super Delphin vs. Dick Togo y Men's Teioh (Tournament Final) (M-Pro 11/10/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. vs. ***** Casas, El Dandy y Hector Garza (CMLL 11/22/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. vs. ***** Casas, El Dandy y Hector Garza (CMLL 11/29/96)
> 
> Disc 18
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. El Dandy vs. ***** Casas (Mask vs. Hair) (CMLL 12/6/96)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas y Super Astro (CMLL Japan 2/2/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL Japan 2/6/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Tijuana 2/21/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo and Misterioso vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. and Sr. (5/16/97)
> 
> Disc 19
> El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Dr. Wagner vs. ***** Casas, El Fiero y Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 6/6/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Dr. Wagner vs. ***** Casas, El Fiero y Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 6/13/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Emilio Charles y Dr. Wagner vs. ***** Casas, Felino, Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 6/20/97)
> El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 7/4/97)
> El Hijo del Santo, Bestia Salvaje y El Satanico vs. Felino, La Fiera y Shocker (CMLL 7/18/97)
> 
> Disc 20
> El Hijo del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 7/25/97)
> El Hijo del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Hair vs. Mask Match) (CMLL 9/19/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Psicosis (Promo Azteca 10/3/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Black Warrior vs. La Fiera, Felino y Atlantis (CMLL 11/1/97)
> El Hijo del Santo y Scorpio Jr. vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/7/97)
> El Hijo del Santo y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/14/97)
> 
> Disc 21
> El Hijo Del Santo y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/21/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Scorpio Jr. vs. La Fiera, ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 11/28/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Black Warrior vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio vs. ***** Casas y Felino (CMLL 12/5/97)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Cien Caras vs. Psicosis, Konan y Villano V (Promo Azteca 2/13/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Charles, Satanico vs. Casas, Niebla, Shocker (CMLL 3/6/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y La Parka vs. Psicosis y Villano 5 (Promo Azteca 3/13/98)
> 
> Disc 22
> El Hijo Del Santo, Emilio Charles Jr. y Satanico vs. Shocker, Mr. Niebla y ***** Casas (CMLL 3/23/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Black Warrior vs. ***** Casas, Atlantis y Mr. Niebla (CMLL 4/24/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Dr. Wagner y Blue Panther vs. Atlantis, Emilio Charles Jr. y Ultimo Dragon (CMLL 5/1/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Ultimo Dragon vs. ***** Casas y Black Warrior (M-Pro 5/22/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Felino y Super Astro vs. Blue Panther, Dr Wagner Jr. y Principle Joel (6/13/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Violencia y Karloff Lagarde Jr. vs. Shocker, Felino y Tony Rivera (CMLL 6/19/98)
> 
> Disc 23
> El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Blue Panther vs. ***** Casas, Felino y La Fiera (CMLL 6/26/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas, Felino y La Fiera (CMLL 7/10/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Scorpio Jr. y Villano III vs. ***** Casas, Pantera y La Fiera (CMLL 7/17/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Guerrero Del Futuro vs. Felino y Blue Panther (Ruleta De La Muerte Quarterfinals) (7/17/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Guerrero Del Futuro vs. Black Warrior y Mr. Niebla (Ruleta De La Muerte Semi-Finals) (7/17/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Guerrero Del Futuro (Ruleta De La Muerte Finals) (Mask vs. Mask) (7/17/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 7/31/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Black Warrior vs. ***** Casas, Atlantis y Felino (CMLL 8/7/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Fishman (CMLL Japan 8/22/98)
> 
> Disc 24
> Torneo Cibernetico (CMLL Japan 8/24/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo & Blue Panther vs. Dr Wagner Jr. & Misterioso (8/28/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Fuerza Guerrera y Villano III vs. ***** Casas, Shocker y Felino (CMLL 9/4/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Fuerza Guerrera y Villano III vs. ***** Casas, Atlantis y La Fiera (CMLL 9/11/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Atlantis y La Fiera vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Villano III, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 9/18/98)
> 
> Disc 25
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Felino (Monterrey 10/18/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Shocker vs. Blue Panther y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/6/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Shocker vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. y El Satanico (CMLL 11/6/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Mr. Niebla vs. Fuerza Guerrera, Blue Panther y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/13/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y El Felino vs. Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/20/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. y Black Warrior (CMLL 11/27/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Villano IV, Villano V y Silver King (CMLL 12/11/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Blue Panther, Dr. Wagner y Black Warrior (CMLL 12/11/98)
> 
> Disc 26
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Felino vs. Villano IV, Villano V y Silver King (CMLL 12/18/98)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 2/5/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 2/26/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 3/12/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (Mask vs. Hair) (CMLL 3/19/99)
> 
> Disc 27
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 4/2/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Shocker vs. Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. y Dr. Wagner Jr. (CMLL 6/11/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Olimpico, Emilio Charles Jr. y ***** Casas vs. Black Warrior, Ultimo Guerrero, Blue Panther y Dr Wagner Jr. (9/10/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Blue Panther y Dr. Wagner Jr. (9/25/99)
> Torneo Leyenda De Plata II (CMLL 11/26/99)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi vs. Blue Panther, Kenichiro Arai & Bombero Infernal (Toryumon TV 1/3/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (Monterrey 4/9/00)
> 
> Disc 28
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Mike Quackenbush (FWA 4/15/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka, Tarzan Boy y Antifaz vs. Shocker, Bestia Salvaje, Zumbido y Blue Panther (Monterrey 5/14/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Antifaz, Mr. Niebla & Super Porky vs. Blue Panther, Zumbido, Bestia Salvaje & Scorpio Jr. (Monterrey 5/21/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (Monterrey 5/28/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 10/6/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Panther y Emilio Charles Jr. vs. ***** Casas, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL 10/27/00)
> 
> Disc 29
> El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka, Brazo De Plata & Villano III vs. Shocker, Blue Panther, Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Dandy (Monterrey 11/19/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL PPV 12/15/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Dr. Cerebro (IWRG 12/21/00)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (CMLL Japan 1/28/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Mil Mascaras vs. Arkangel de la Muerte y Blue Panther (All Japan 1/28/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Emilio Charles Jr. vs. Shocker, Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (CMLL TV 1/30/01)
> 
> Disc 30
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Dr. Cerebro (IWRG 2/22/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Dr. Cerebro (Mask vs. Mask) (IWRG 3/1/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Villano III y Antifaz vs. Blue Panther, Bestia Salvaje y Zumbido (Monterrey 4/1/01) El Hijo Del Santo vs. Nicho El Millonario (Mask vs. Hair) (Tijuana 4/6/01)
> 
> Disc 31
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. ***** Casas (Tijuana 6/8/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Shocker (Monterrey 10/21/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Hijo Del Diablo (Tijuana 10/26/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL TV 11/13/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka (Cage Match) (Tijuana 11/16/01)
> 
> Disc 32
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Rey Mysterio Jr. y Atlantis vs. Black Tiger, Nicho, Fuerza y Juventud Guerrera (CMLL TV 11/20/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. y Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera, Nicho El Millonario, Damian 666 y Halloween (CMLL TV 12/4/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo, La Parka y Lizmark Jr. vs. Emilio Charles Jr., Bestia Salvaje y Scorpio Jr. (Monterrey 12/9/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas, Rey Mysterio Jr. y Hombre Sin Nombre vs. Juventud Guerrera, Nicho El Millonario, Damian 666 y Halloween (CMLL 12/14/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka (Monterrey 12/23/01)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Nicho y Juventud Guerrera (CMLL TV 1/1/02)
> 
> Disc 33
> Torneo Cibernetico (CMLL TV 4/2/02)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Mr. Niebla vs. Tarzan Boy, Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL TV 6/1/02)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL TV 6/15/02)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Shocker y Mascara Magica vs. Tarzan Boy, Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanaro (CMLL 6/22/02)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Ultimo Guerrero vs. El Satanico, Dr. Wagner Jr. y Blue Demon (CMLL TV 12/8/02)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Ultimo Guerrero vs. El Satanico, Dr. Wagner Jr. y Blue Demon (CMLL TV 12/15/02)
> Anniversary of El Santo's Death (Monterrey 2/2/03)
> El Hijo Del Santo - Wrestler of The Year (Monterrey 3/16/03)
> El Hijo Del Santo & Damian 666 vs. Super Parka & Blue Panther (WWO 5/3/03)
> 
> Disc 34
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Super Parka (WWO 7/18/03)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Super Parka (WWO 8/29/03)
> El Hijo Del Santo & Perro Aguayo Jr. vs. La Parka & Super Parka (WWO 9/21/03)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. La Parka (Atlanta 3/28/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo (CMLL 8/13/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo y Hector Garza (LLA 8/29/04)
> 
> Disc 35
> El Hijo Del Santo, Shocker y L.A. Park vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 9/3/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo Interview (LLA 9/5/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Perro Aguayo Jr. (LLA 9/5/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo, L.A. Park y ***** Casas vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 9/10/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Shocker vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo, Damian El Terrible y Hector Garza (CMLL 9/17/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (UK 10/6/04)
> 
> Disc 36
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Blue Panther (UK 10/8/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Averno (CMLL 10/23/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Mistico vs. Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL GDL 11/7/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Mistico y Ultimo Dragon vs. Tarzan Boy, Rey Bucanero y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL GDL 12/11/04)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Rey Bucanero (CMLL GDL 6/26/05)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Mistico vs. Averno y Mephisto (CMLL 10/9/05)
> 
> Disc 37
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. L.A. Park (Cage Match) (Detroit 10/29/05)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Atlantis (Leyenda de Plata Final) (CMLL 11/11/05)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Mistico vs. Ultimo Guerrero y Atlantis (GDR 11/18/05)
> El Hijo Del Santo vs. Ultimo Guerrero (11/25/05) (CMLL 11/26/05)
> El Hijo Del Santo y L.A. Park vs. Mascara 2000 y Universo 2000 (CMLL GDL 12/4/05)
> El Hijo Del Santo y ***** Casas vs. Averno y Mephisto (CMLL 12/16/05)
> 
> Disc 38
> El Hijo Del Santo y La Mascara vs. Blue Panther y Tarzan Boy (CMLL GDL 1/1/06)
> El Hijo Del Santo, Mistico y ***** Casas vs. Atlantis, Black Warrior y Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL 8/4/06) El Hijo Del Santo, ***** Casas y Dos Caras Jr. vs. Hector Garza, LA Park y Mr. Aguila (CMLL 8/11/06) El Hijo Del Santo vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo (CMLL 8/25/06)
> El Hijo Del Santo Tribute (12/8/07)
> El Hijo Del Santo y Blue Demon Jr. vs. Pentagon Black & Super Muneco (Todo X el Todo 12/8/07)



Hell yeah.




Spartanlax said:


> Why would you ever want lucha?
> 
> Can someone please explain why they like lucha? Arm-drags and dives into the third-row galore. And midgets. Anything else ever happen?



The innovatives moves & holds are my main spark for Libre. Btw like Andy said there are a couple of matches in '97 from people at 5'4" that are better than most matches ever.




McQueen said:


> I wasn't really a big fan of Lucha either Lax but listening to Andy and Cali go on about it at the other forum has me more than a little interested in seeing more of it. Plus guys like El Hijo del Santo and Dr. Wagner Jr. completely own.


Hows that Misawa/Tsuruta stuff? ( I know it's awesome I just wanna know _how_ awesome).


----------



## WillTheBloody

*Dragon Gate Infinity #152* ~ _10/25/2009_

Naruki Doi vs. Susumu Yokosuka - _Open the Dream Gate_ - *****1/4*

I should start by saying that I was in no way a fan of Susumu Yokosuka going into this. I never really got his appeal outside of some of his cool moves: World Liner, the Avalanche Kobe version, Jumbo no Kachi-gatame. Hell, he innovated the Yokosuka Cutter. You're welcome, Chuck Palumbo. I feel his selling is in the bottom rung of DG (meaning he _doesn't_ sell...anything), as are his facial expressions. He still can't sell or emote much, but for some reason it all came together in this match.

The story goes that Yokosuka challenged Doi at a show and boldly claimed that the Muscular Bomb would not be enough to keep him down, the Muscular Bomb being Doi's world-beating finisher that, since Doi began his dominating run at King of Gate in Dec. of '08, no one has kicked out of. That list includes Shingo Takagi, Koji Kanemoto, Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizkui, Masato Yoshino, Bryan Danielson, and CIMA. Susumu would continue with his mind games on Doi by pinning WORLD-1 stablemate PAC with the Muscular Bomb during a six-man tag. Yokosuka persisted in his insults towards Doi, turning the bout into more than just another defense for Naruki Doi. To him, Yokosuka was the perfect example of a DG Veteran still not taking he and his New Generation stars seriously, much in the same way Mochizuki treats YAMATO and CIMA treats Akira Tozawa.

The match starts with a little of the sub-standard limb-work we've come to expect in DG title matches, but this time it actually makes sense. Doi works Yokosuka's arm and Susumu returns the favor by working Doi's leg. Neither guy can sustain the offense though, and neither could hit a big match-changing move on either limb, so it only slows them down a bit. Both Yokosuka's lariats and Doi's sliding kicks would suffer. I'm gonna spoiler-tag the rest, as I really feel you should watch this sucker. The last five minutes are fucking crazy. 

Here's a few links to the Infinity episode where the match takes place.

To Stream

To Download



Spoiler: Doi vs. Yokosuka - Dream Gate



- Naruki Doi once again looks like a fucking beast in this, surviving an Avalanche Exploder, Mugan, Aikata, several Jumbo no Kachis, including a few Gatame variants.

- Once again, the "Is that all you got?" Sliding Kick spot shows up here, but because of the legwork earlier, I was OK with it. Plus, with Yokosuka not respecting Doi, it adds another wrinkle and the crowd eats it up.

- Speaking of the crowd, Hakata is RED FUCKING HOT for this. They really elevate the whole thing.

- As if surviving everything Yokosuka throws at him wasn't enough, Naruki Doi attempts to put the nail in Susumu's coffin with the M-Bomb...but 'Suka reverses it in mid fucking air...HITTING A MUSCULAR BOMB OF HIS OWN. AND IT ONLY GETS FUCKING TWO! It sounds like overkilling overkill, but the crowds reaction and 'Suka's face had me in disbelief...in the best possible way. Plus, with Yokosuka using the Bomb himself, it's reasonable to assume that he worked on it and figured a counter. THE fucking counter. But when was the you saw a wrestler hit a major finisher counter and it only get 2? Doesn't that _always_ get the three? I LOVE that they used it here, where it's only the most effective near-fall I've seen all year.

- The finish is awesome. Susumu goes for that final lariat...but it's one too many. Doi counters with his V9 Clutch for three and Yokosuka is devastated. As I said before, 'Suka is never this animated. For whatever reason, in this match...he showed up. The editing post-match annoyed me, as it looked like Doi just got up and was fine. Clearly, they cut a lot of time where he rolled on the floor in pain.

- For those wondering, after the match, Doi basically said, "Fuck you fucking DG Veterans. I'm the fucking man up in this piece. Who the fuck do you think you're fucking with? I run shit around here. You just live here." OK, so some of that is from _Training Day_, but CIMA, 'Suka, and Gamma took offense, which has lead to the Generation Wars about to begin in Dragon Gate.

- Also, since this match, Susumu has lost his mind. He's now best buds with Dr. Muscle. Or something.




Say what you will about Dragon Gate and their selling (or, to some, a lack thereof), but the match rocks. Get over your DG hatred and give it a chance! DO IT OR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU I ask you kindly with no threats whatsoever!


----------



## Spartanlax

Someone show me some good lucha matches, because every time I try to watch stuff (about five times a year) the match is ONLY arm-drags and dives. It's not like I'm anti-lucha to be cool, I'm anti-lucha because the shit I've seen has not resembled anything entertaining at all.


----------



## Devildude

I fucking love your reviews Will, every single time I get sold on watching a match I haven't seen yet.

Just don't try selling me anything past wrestling matches k?


----------



## Yeah1993

Spartanlax said:


> Someone show me some good lucha matches, because every time I try to watch stuff (about five times a year) the match is ONLY arm-drags and dives. It's not like I'm anti-lucha to be cool, I'm anti-lucha because the shit I've seen has not resembled anything entertaining at all.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubr6uMqTYGg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ja9bpAELo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XTUVyaI-sw&feature=related

El Hijo del Santo vs. Blue Panther. Only one dive IIRC, but honestly I don't know how anyone could watch this match and say they hate it.


----------



## seancarleton77

There is some very good Lucha matches but I would put even WWE's style way ahead of it if we are going by what style has more great matches.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

How much Lucha have you seen? Or what are, say, the five best Lucha matches you've seen?


----------



## McQueen

Yeah1993 said:


> Hows that Misawa/Tsuruta stuff? ( I know it's awesome I just wanna know _how_ awesome).


Honestly haven't started watching it because I still have 4 more PWG shows to go and I was out of town for about a week. Its likely up next though but come on its the Jumbo/Misawa fued you know its awesome.


----------



## Halfnelson

Finally finishing up the NJPW in the nineties set I started at least six months ago.

*Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai 4/30/92 - TOSJ '92 Finals*
Amazing match. Samurai tries everything to keep Liger down including taking every shortcut he can and just pounds on him for the opening minutes. Which makes Liger's comeback even better when it does come and he destroys Samurai.Which leads to another great comeback from Samurai. Ending was really cool as well. I'm sure everyone here has seen this already but if not definitely check it out.


*Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani 8/4/96 – J-Crown Semi-Finals*
Another incredible match. Dragon is great and all but I think Ohtani makes this. His selling, opening matwork, his expressions.. everything he does is perfect. I think it's up there with his Liger matches.


----------



## McQueen

I love both of those matches. El Samurai doesn't get the credit he warrants a lot of the time because he wasn't as flashy as a lot of his contemporarys but the guy is a great worker.

I remember seeing a pretty great Samurai/Ohtani match from I believe '97 as well.


----------



## Halfnelson

There's an Ohtani-Samurai match on this set from 1-29-96 which was excellent as well. I'll look out for another one from 97. 

Been really liking Ohtani over the past few weeks. I always loved the Liger matches but I definitely underrated him.


----------



## McQueen

Actually thats probably what I was thinking of. I just remember the match was from Ohtani's prime years ('96-'98). Been a long time since I watched it.


----------



## Halfnelson

Ah okay then. It was a great match, I actually liked it more than the Kanemoto-Samurai match that Meltzer gave five stars.


----------



## Yeah1993

McQueen said:


> Honestly haven't started watching it because I still have 4 more PWG shows to go and I was out of town for about a week. Its likely up next though but come on its the Jumbo/Misawa fued you know its awesome.


Stopwasting time and send te 13 round fuckers down here  Nah I'll probably pick it up after the NJ '80s that I'll get from Cal if he ships down here







. Then again I'm probably more excited for Santo than anything else so I don't know what to get first.

Whatever happens, next year will be fun as hell from a DVD standpoint.

I love that Samurai/Liger match btw.


----------



## Oda Nobunaga

Spartanlax said:


> Someone show me some good lucha matches, because every time I try to watch stuff (about five times a year) the match is ONLY arm-drags and dives. It's not like I'm anti-lucha to be cool, I'm anti-lucha because the shit I've seen has not resembled anything entertaining at all.


Some of these are on Youtube, but ***** Casas Vs. El Hijo del Santo Vs. El Dandy in 1996 is quite a great match, as is Blue Panther Vs. Ultimo Dragon in '92. In 2000, there was a very good series of matches b/w Blue Panther and El Hijo del Santo, and in 91, Blue Panther was also involved in a good match with Atlantis, who is another unsung hero of lucha libre. Almost anything involving Blue Panther, Atlantis, ***** Casas, and the terribly underrated El Dandy is sure to be better than average. Also, a lot of AAA material from '93-'95 was decent to great shit.

I believe you're looking at lucha libre in an ignorant light. You could say the same thing for North American wrestling (primarily NWA) during the 80s, and you can very well say Puro is nothing more than a martial arts ripoff. Watching it with an open mind will no doubt lead you to like it. I like all styles of wrestling (save for hardcore, but I don't really consider it a style), and I find something entertaining in everything.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Yeah1993 said:


> Hell yeah.
> Hows that Misawa/Tsuruta stuff?


Do I tell you anything new if I say their match from June 1990 was one of the best ever? It's not just a must see. Ahead of Misawa-Kobashi and their legendary tag match against Holy Demon Army probably Misawa's best match ever.I loved it (;


----------



## McQueen

I prefer the Sept 1990 match. Not because it was a better match (because the execution was better in the June bout) but because both men took storytelling to another level, Jumbo especially.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Halfnelson said:


> There's an Ohtani-Samurai match on this set from 1-29-96 which was excellent as well. I'll look out for another one from 97.
> 
> Been really liking Ohtani over the past few weeks. I always loved the Liger matches but I definitely underrated him.


Ohtani's fucking incredible. I've always thought his run from '96-'98 (minus crying like a bitch after nearfalls in '98) was as good as any junior's run ever. Also think he's pretty much as good as Benoit was, although Benoit was great for much longer.

-----------

And El Dandy's a top 5 all-time worker.


----------



## McQueen

Who are we to doubt El Dandy!?

Don't believe i've ever actually seen the guy work.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I've got a 13 disc Dandy comp and it rocks. I'd take Dandy in 1990 over everybody in the world that year, even Jumbo.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Andy3000 said:


> I've got a 13 disc Dandy comp and it rocks. I'd take Dandy in 1990 over everybody in the world that year, even Jumbo.


Is there anyone (good) that you *DON'T* have a set for?


----------



## McQueen

FUCK YOU ANDY THATS BLASPEMY!


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

bigcal said:


> Is there anyone (good) that you *DON'T* have a set for?


Kurt Angle.

Oh, you said _good_. Okay, n/m.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Andy3000 said:


> Kurt Angle.
> 
> Oh, you said _good_. Okay, n/m.


----------



## McQueen

Did Goodhelmet ever finish that Terry Funk stuff?

(Must...control.... myself... unemployed... the urge to spend money..... too great)


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Don't think he's released it yet. He was talking about having Liger and Funk done by the end of last month, but no dice. Surely shouldn't be much longer.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Don't think he's released it yet. He was talking about having *Liger* and *Funk* done by the end of last month, but no dice. Surely shouldn't be much longer.


*No smiley can show what feeling I need to reveal*. Pretty sure I'll be putting this guys kids through college by 2013.

And yeah I've seen limited El Dandy but he was pretty damn great.


----------



## Halfnelson

Only Dandy match I've seen is Santo-***** Casas-El Dandy from 96 I think. I got that Lucha 1990s set from IVP in my last order though so I'm looking forward to seeing more Lucha.

*Kobashi vs. Kawada 7-2-89*
Pretty basic match, which is understandable considering where they were in their careers but still....it's Kobashi-Kawada.
*
Kobashi-Tsuruta vs.Hansen-Tenryu 7-15-89 *
Never get tired of this match. All the combinations are amazing, the crowd never shut up and Jumbo and Kobashi are perfect in their roles.

*Kobashi vs. Hansen 9-4-91*
Think I underrated this match last time I saw it. From the opining bell where Hansen takes Kobashi out it's all action. A lot of cool spots like Kobashi going back to the sleeper again and again and the finish is classic.


----------



## McQueen

Ah yes the tag where Tenryu spends the whole match making a young Kobashi his woman. Love that match.


----------



## Halfnelson

Kobashi trying to destroy Tenyru every time they meet in NOAH or in that Kensuke Office match makes perfect sense after seeing this.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah, those were pretty fun matches too.

Anyone ever see the Misawa/Tenryu match from 2005? Was it any good?


----------



## KingCannabis

McQueen said:


> Yeah, those were pretty fun matches too.
> 
> Anyone ever see the Misawa/Tenryu match from 2005? Was it any good?


I saw it, and it sucked. I don't quite remember how long the match was, I want to say it was around twelve minutes. I had high expectations for it, but was immensely disappointed.


----------



## McQueen

Hmm, thats not what I was hoping to hear.


----------



## Blasko

Few stiff exchanges, that's about it.

Really awkward, tbh.

It's on youtube; I posted it here somewhere...


----------



## Halfnelson

*Jumbo-Tenryu vs Choshu-Yatsu 1-28-86*

Decided to check this out after seeing it at number one in McQueen's list and it definitely didn't disappoint. Choshu's performance especially impressed me but it was cool to see Jumbo and Tenryu give such heelish performances. Crowd was crazy too especially with the last couple of near falls that Yatsu got. Also saw the Funks vs Choshu-Yatsu match from 8-31-85 which was a lot of fun as well, the Terry-Choshu interactions were awesome.

Have to add more 80's All Japan to my list of things to see.


----------



## McQueen

Check out the follow up JumboRyu vs YatShu from 2/6/86 its just as good.


----------



## Spartanlax

Is that Terry Funk set ya'll mentioned gonna be career based or just stuff in Japan? If it's his entire career I'll give my left nut if he finishes it in time to order for Christmas. A Terry Funk career set is my dream.


----------



## McQueen

I'm under the impression its a Career retrospective and i'll be on that like Andy on a random drunken bitchs couch on a Sunday morning.


----------



## Spartanlax

Awesome. And that analogy makes me want to party with the entire Other-Wrestling section. We'll get together, get drunk, and get some bitches. All the while rating the ho's under the star system. "See that slut? **3/4 in looks, ****1/2 in the bed."

I like puro wrestling. (To stay on topic.)


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Funk set is gonna be something like 30 discs so it's a career retro. Eagerly anticipating it coming out.

I also like that analogy.


----------



## Halfnelson

McQueen said:


> Check out the follow up JumboRyu vs YatShu from 2/6/86 its just as good.


That's next up for me. Probably check out the stand out stuff Ditch has up from around that time then. Or else I'll go back to that Bockwinkle-Jumbo match and watch stuff in order. Still have to get around to watching more puro from this year, I've been stuck on July for a while.

Speaking of current(or future) puro :

AJPW, 02.01.2010
Tokyo Korakuen Hall AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kaz Hayashi (c) vs. Masanobu Fuchi 

Fuchi should be a lot of fun in this.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

FUCHI~

Motherfucker's like 84.


----------



## WillTheBloody

- Just a heads up to all: *passion2002R* on youtube will be done with the uploads after this month. The theory right now is that the guy can't afford to pay for Samurai TV anymore. Really sucks...


- Also, from the ashes of HUSTLE, we get SMASH! Read on...



> A group has split from pro-wrestling organization HUSTLE, which is in very bad condition right now. This new group today announced the start of a new promotion called SMASH. This organization will hold pro-wrestling, MMA, and Kickboxing events starting from next year.
> 
> TAJIRI will be the supervisor of the pro-wrestling branch (temporary name: SMASH 2010), “Mr.Pride” Akira Shoji will be the supervisor for the MMA branch (temporary name: SMASH Fight Club), and another person will be the supervisor of the Kickboxing branch (temporary name: SMASH Grand Prix).
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: The folks behind SMASH
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The company behind this promotion is Quantum Jump Japan. I think this company was going to help HUSTLE during their current trouble but after looking closer into it and finding out HUSTLE haven’t paid some wrestlers in time, etc. they decided to pull out and start a new promotion.
> 
> The first event will be held on March 26th at Shinjuku FACE (Pro-Wrestling branch) and the combat sport branches are planned to start in April or May.


----------



## McQueen

I didn't see any obvious Yakuza members in that photo so i'm not sure how well that promotion will work.


----------



## smitlick

Caught DG Infinity 150 and was wondering why Akebono was being booked by DG? He seems a little out of place.


----------



## antoniomare007

well, the final participants of this year's J Cup have been announced: Marufuji and Ibushi

the matches are gonna be:


> Devitt vs Aoki
> Jado vs Dino
> 
> Gedo vs Ibushi
> AKIRA vs YAMATO
> 
> 
> 
> Liger vs Marufuji
> Taichi vs Tigers Mask
> 
> Kanemoto vs Fujita
> Taguchi vs GENTARO


i hope Devitt wins this


----------



## WillTheBloody

smitlick said:


> Caught DG Infinity 150 and was wondering why Akebono was being booked by DG? He seems a little out of place.


Because he's still a big deal there, and because DG can be stupid. On the bright side, he has made for some awesome comedy this year. Gamma and Yoshino showing NOFEAR~!, trying to lift him and shit, always made me laugh. And BxB Hulk trying to knock him off the apron, only to nearly knock himself out, was also awesome.

What other promotion would you see Akebono and PAC in the same ring?


----------



## Derek

Hadn't heard that about Passione, thats a shame. He's the best provider of everything and anything Puro that airs in Japan.


----------



## dele

I was thinking about this for awhile now... My new dream match:

Chocoball Mukai vs Danshoku Dino


----------



## Devildude

Well, with Marufuji and Ibushi announced for the J-Cup, I'm sort of interested again.

*NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion~”, 12/22/09 (Samurai! TV)*
_Tokyo Korakuen Hall_

1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: *Taichi* vs. Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro)
2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: *Ryusuke Taguchi* vs. GENTARO (FREEDOMS)
3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: AKIRA vs. *YAMATO* (Dragon Gate)
4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: *Jado* vs. Danshoku Dino (Dramatic Dream Team)
5. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Gedo vs. *Kota Ibushi* (Dramatic Dream Team)
6. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: *Prince Devitt* vs. Atsushi Aoki (Pro Wrestling NOAH)
7. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: *Koji Kanemoto* vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (Michinoku Pro)
8. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: *Jushin Thunder Liger* vs. Naomichi Marufuji Pro Wrestling NOAH

*NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion Final~”, 12/23/09 (SXW)*
_Tokyo Korakuen Hall_

1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Taichi vs. *Liger*
2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: YAMATO vs. *Ibushi*
3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Jado vs *Devitt*
4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Taguchi vs *Kanemoto*

Not sure what the brackets are for the Semi-Final so I can't predict them and quite honestly with Liger, Ibushi, Devitt and Kanemoto all predicted to go through, I honestly can't choose between them. I think Liger will be eliminated, but any of the other three could win it.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Tigers Mask should win. Just because.

Or Dino. Yeah, Dino.


----------



## seabs

*Liger/Marafuji and Ibushi/Devitt should be great in the first round but knocking two of them out straight away will hurt in the later rounds. Hope the winner of Ibushi/Devitt wins. 

Or Dino.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Devitt is facing Aoki though, but i see your point. Liger/Maru was booked so they can a have a strong match for the first night.


Anyways, the more i think about it, the more i convince myselft that giving the title to Sugi was the best decision ever


----------



## Devildude

:lmao

Brilliant.


----------



## Derek

I hope that chair was sterilized afterwards.

And I'm a little upset that it looks like Liger will be out in the first round. Not happy to see Ibushi/Devitt so early, as I would have liked to see them both make it to at least the 2nd day.


----------



## antoniomare007

they probably are gonna make it to the 2nd day...

Devitt should beat Aoki and Kota should beat Gedo. If anything, the are could meet in the semifinals wich is awesome as they are gonna have time for a very good match.


----------



## Burning Sword

Sugi is the man :lmao


----------



## McQueen

He is wearing a thong Derek, I have that same one. You mean you guys don't all have the Sugiura face thing too?


----------



## IIL

Does anybody have a review of past NJPW Wrestle Kingdoms ?


----------



## Derek

Check out puroresucentral.com and under 'reviews' and 'New Japan', there are reviews for all of the WK shows, as well as many other New Japan events.

I tend to agree mostly with the guys ratings, with the exception of him giving last years main event (Mutoh vs. Tanahashi) a score of 9.0, which is a 5 star rating from him. I thought the match was boring as hell for the most part, but whatever.


----------



## Blasko

Derek said:


> I tend to agree mostly with the guys ratings, with the exception of him giving last years main event (Mutoh vs. Tanahashi) a score of 9.0, which is a 5 star rating from him. I thought the match was boring as hell for the most part, but whatever.


 I never got that, either.

That match put me to sleep. Absolute snore fest.


----------



## IIL

Thank you very much, Derek.


----------



## KingCannabis

Derek said:


> Check out puroresucentral.com and under 'reviews' and 'New Japan', there are reviews for all of the WK shows, as well as many other New Japan events.
> 
> I tend to agree mostly with the guys ratings, with the exception of him giving last years main event (Mutoh vs. Tanahashi) a score of 9.0, which is a 5 star rating from him. I thought the match was boring as hell for the most part, but whatever.


Yeah, I've been going to that site for awhile now and I was just on there last night looking at reviews and stuff. I can't believe that he rates Tanahashi/Mutoh a 9.0, that match was pretty bad and boring, as alot of Mutoh's matches are nowadays. That match has got to be the one of the most overrated matches of the decade if you ask me, if not THE most overrated match of the decade.


----------



## McQueen

I didn't think it was bad or boring but I certainly didn't think it was 9.0 level match.


----------



## Derek

I didn't think it was bad either, but it was slow. The match was Mutoh targeting Tana's knees to take away his speed advantage, and then it was Tanahashi targeting Mutoh's knees because they are in such bad condition its an obvious target.

So with both men selling the leg work, and moving slower accordingly until the finishing stretch, you have a slow ass match, but with a nice little 'passing of the torch' ending.

And if this years main event in Nakamura and Takayama doesn't include multiple cringe-inducing strikes, I'll be disappointed.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Best thing Nak does is eat Takayama's knees. I'm not even screwing around when I say that.


----------



## Spartanlax

Holy shit. Just watched Backlund/Hansen from the 80s and it was phenomenal. As usual for Hansen puro matches it ends in a DQ after he goes crazy on his opponent. 5 more mins and an actual finish woulda made this a classic.

That said; someone reccomend me Backlund matches NOW.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy gave me a bunch a while back, I could post 'em here I guess (includes two INSANELY good Slaughter matches from 1981). Also heard from Cal that he had a fantastic match with Greg Valentine in '78 or '79, ans since cal recommended me the Slaughter matches, I'm taking his word for it.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Bob Backlund v Sgt. Slaughter, 1/10
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2ZHF2L2A

Bob Backlund v Sgt. Slaughter, 3/21
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Y7HPD155

And the Backlund/Valentine match is from 1979, should be in the media section on here. All 3 matches are ****3/4 IMO.

Yeah, any luck ripping that other Slaughter/Backlund match?


----------



## Yeah1993

Bob Backlund v Antonio Inoki (New Japan 7/27/78) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3A44SGR5

Bob Backlund v Antonio Inoki (New Japan 11/30/79) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G3KCONAY

Bob Backlund v Antonio Inoki (New Japan 12/6/79) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DFYV8FKH

Bob Backlund v Ken Patera (WWF - Texas Death Match - 5/19/80) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YQUL5L2C

Bob Backlund v Adrian Adonis (WWF 1/18/82) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GFU554BI

Bob Backlund v Buddy Rose (WWF 8/30/82) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=R39PSDNH

here are the other matches Andy gave me (apart from ^those two).


----------



## Spartanlax

Im a huge Adonis mark, especially pre-drag gimmick, so I'm def grabbing that one first. Thanks much you too.


----------



## McQueen

It pays to pimp Bobby B!

I need a Backlund Comp BigCal seriously!


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

I need one too lol . Still no luck finding from a UK seller... and I'm too damn cheap to import :side:.


----------



## Yeah1993

Any awesome Backlund set I can find is likely the first thing I'll get after Memphis, Jumbo/Misawa, New Japan '80s, Santito (if GH doesn't ship to Aus I'll explode something), Murdoch and Mid-South, oh and probably anything from vader. None of which I have made an attempt to get. 

So it'll be awhile until I actually get it.

EDIT: tried to upload the TDM but the thign fucked up after forever. There has to be an easier way of giving it to you :sad:


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

The only way to get it to me is to upload it somewhere lol. How big is the file?


----------



## antoniomare007

so, NOAH is moving their Global Tag League to January (with the final day being in Korakuen). No teams announced yet but...










Sugi and Taniguchi declared that they want to be in it


----------



## Devildude

antoniomare007 said:


> so, NOAH is moving their Global Tag League to January (with the final day being in Korakuen). No teams announced yet but...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sugi and Taniguchi declared that they want to be in it


D'awwwwwwww! :$

Feel the love baby.


----------



## Yeah1993

bigcal said:


> The only way to get it to me is to upload it somewhere lol. How big is the file?


92,955 KB.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Yeah1993 said:


> 92,955 KB.


That's not too big, so long as your connection doesn't die out it shouldn't really take you that long... depending on your upload connection... .

Where are you trying uploading it to?


----------



## Yeah1993

Megaupload. But yeah while I was uploading it the thing screwed up.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Maybe try another site? Or just try it again on MU?  Or even a torrent site perhaps?


----------



## Yeah1993

I'll just retry it later on.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

You'd better! Or else...


I'll cry .


----------



## McQueen

I'd buy a ticket to that.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Your cold heartedness makes me want to cry .

No, wait, it makes me proud . Not because I have anything to do with you being cold hearted, but because its always nice to know that there are other people out there like me .

Oh, and umm... Jumbo Vs Some other guy from the 80's - ****1/4. I'm sure he had a match like that with someone back then .


----------



## McQueen

Jumbo only has matches under ****'s with Mick Foley during the '91 Champions Carnival


----------



## Yeah1993

bigcal said:


> Oh, and umm... Jumbo Vs Some other guy from the 80's - ****1/4. I'm sure he had a match like that with someone back then .


Better not be talking about vs. Tenryu from '89, cos Andy will probably coem in here and threaten you until you rate it higher. Which he did to me.


----------



## Halfnelson

McQueen said:


> Jumbo only has matches under ****'s with Mick Foley during the '91 Champions Carnival


I actually kinda liked that match, even though it was short Foley still managed to take a couple of ridiculous bumps. I probably like Foley's stuff from Japan more than most though.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Andy bullies me into knocking down my rating for Angle/Lesnar SS 03 all the time, and I just call him a drunken **** and keep my rating where its at . True story :agree:.

Anyway, the match I was talking about was "Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Nick Bockwinkle - AJPW 12/12/1978"... I just confused the 70's with the 80's :side:.


----------



## McQueen

Not a bad match but the crowd is dead as fuck. The 79 match they have in Hawaii is fucking great though.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Urgh, I remember writing about the match and made a note of the crowd. They gave less of a reaction to the match that people over 10 give Cena .


----------



## Yeah1993

Calling Bockwinkel 'some guy' is awful :sad:

Don't really know how you can have that at five either, but I have the Six-Man Hell in a Cell at **1/4 so :hb:



> umbo only has matches under ****'s with Mick Foley during the '91 Champions Carnival


Tsuruta vs. Brody (All Japan unknown date of 1983): **3/4.









You said yourself this wasn't over, Queeny.


----------



## McQueen

I should drop a knee on your face but i'm not sure i've seen that match. Brody could pretty hit or miss because of some of the bullshit he pulled in the ring.


----------



## Yeah1993

Isn't any surprise to say the match was basically Brody being super-human and Jumbo trying his best to not make it look like he was fighting a statue.


----------



## Halfnelson

Yeah1993 said:


> Tsuruta vs. Brody (All Japan unknown date of 1983): **3/4.


I actually don't think I've ever rated a Brody match higher than that..


----------



## Yeah1993

Brody/Hansen vs. The Funks?


----------



## Halfnelson

At the risk of being banned from this thread I've never seen it. I always see it mentioned as being great but I've never gotten around to seeing it. Haven't seen a lot of Funk stuff from Japan either.

To be fair basically all the Brody matches I've seen have terrible endings or are as you described, him looking superhuman.

EDIT: On another note been watching the lucha 90s set I got from IVP and it's been pretty cool. Especially liked the Rey Mysterio Jr./Super Calo/Winners vs. Psicosis/Heavy Metal/Picudo match from 93.


----------



## seabs

*Brody/Hansen vs Funks is great but really overrated by some.*


----------



## Spartanlax

Hansen/Brody vs Funks was an emotional, free-for-all war. It felt REAL. With an actual ending that'd be five stars and my favorite tag match ever.


----------



## McQueen

*Seabs* fuck you.

I've actually seen what I thought was a pretty fun Brody/Jumbo match that I think is from '81. Brody actually sold his leg in that match.

Brody/Snuka vs The Funk in the '81 RWTL Finals is pretty fantastic, although a certain Lariat throwin son of a bitch from Texas being in the corner of Brody/Snuka just a day or two after jumping ship from All Japan doesn't hurt either.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Goodhelmet released part one of the Funk set. Part two drops after Christmas.

-------

DISC 1 
Terry Funk & Harley Race vs. Abe Jacobs & Mighty Zuma (Clipped Silent Film) (St. Louis 1973)
Terry Funk vs. Jerry Brisco (Clipped Silent Film) (St. Louis 1973) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (10/9/73)
Terry Funk vs. Dusty Rhodes (Bullrope Match) (Clips Only) (1974)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 Falls) (2/5/75)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (3/13/75)
Terry Funk vs. Bill Watts (Tri States 1975) 
Battle Royal (Clipped Silent Film) (St. Louis 12/5/75) 
Terry Funk vs. Jack Brisco (Clip) (12/10/75) 


DISC 2
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Jack & Jerry Brisco (Florida 1970s)
Terry Funk vs. Jack Brisco (Clipped Silent Film) (St. Louis 3/26/76) 
Terry Funk & Bob Backlund vs. Kiniski & Kirby (Clipped Silent Film) (St. Louis 1976)
Terry Funk vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/11/76) 
Terry Funk vs. Dusty Rhodes (Florida 1976) 
Terry Funk + Dusty Rhodes (Florida 1976) 
Terry Funk vs. Harley Race (Toronto 2/6/77)
Terry Funk vs. Chavo Guerrero (Clipped Silent Film) (Los Angeles 1977) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Rocky Hata (12/2/77) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Billy Robinson & Horst Hoffman (12/6/77)


DISC 3
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (12/14/77) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (12/15/77) 
Terry Funk vs. Harley Race (Clipped Silent Film) (St. Louis 4/7/78)
Terry Funk vs. Mark Lewin (Grudge Match) (Detroit 1978)
Terry Funk vs. Abdullah The Butcher (12/1/78) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza (12/5/78) 


DISC 4
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (12/9/78) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (12/15/78)
Terry Funk vs. Bob Roop (Clips) (Florida 1979) 
Dusty Rhodes vs. Harley Race /
Terry Funk + Dusty Rhodes (film clips from June 21 and 26, 1979)
Terry Funk + Dusty Rhodes (June 1979)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (7/15/79)
Terry Funk vs. Abdullah The Butcher (7/18/79) 


DISC 5
Terry Funk vs. Dusty Rhodes (Arena Clip) (Florida 9/16/79)
Terry Funk + Manny Fernandez (Florida 1979)
Terry Funk vs. Terry Taylor (Florida 1979)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (11/30/79) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras (12/7/79) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (12/13/79) 
Terry & Dory Funk + Dusty Rhodes & Wahoo McDaniel (WTBS 2/23/80)
Terry Funk Interview (WTBS 3/8/80)
Terry & Dory Funk Promo (Mid South 1980)
Terry Funk & Dick Slater vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (5/2/80) 


DISC 6
Terry Funk promo (WTBS 9/6/80)
Terry Funk & Ole Anderson + Mike Davis & Terry Taylor (Georgia 9/20/80)
Terry Funk & Ole Anderson vs. Zane Hickey & Jerry Roberts (Georgia 10/11/80)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. The Sheik & The Great Mephisto (11/28/80) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel & Jim Brunzell (12/9/80) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (12/11/80) 
Terry Funk motor oil interview (x2) (1/7/81) 
Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (No DQ) (Memphis 3/23/81)
Terry Funk + Jerry Lawler (Memphis 1981)
Terry Funk vs. Jerry Lawler (Empty Arena Match) (4/6/81) 


DISC 7
Terry Funk vs. Dory Funk Jr. (4/30/81) 
Terry Funk Promo (Memphis 5/16/81)
Terry Funk Going Crazy (Memphis 5/23/81)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Cocoa Samoa & Steve Keirn (Florida 5/30/81)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Scott Casey & Relampago Leon (Southwest 5/81) 
Terry & Dory Funk Interview (Southwest 5/81)
Terry & Dory Funk + Tully Blanchard (Southwest 6/81) 
Terry Funk Promo (7/1/81)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Mike Graham & Jerry Lawler (Arena Clip) (Florida 7/14/81)
Terry Funk vs. Tommy Gilbert (Arena Clip) (Florida 7/26/81)
Dory Funk Jr. vs. Mike Graham (Terry Funk at Ringside) (Florida 8/5/81)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Umanosuke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81) 


DISC 8
Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair (2/3 falls) (AJ 10/7/81) 
Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (11/30/81) 
Terry Funk vs. Ashura Hara (12/3/81) 
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (12/13/81)
Terry Funk + Jerry Lawler (12/26/81)
Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (All Japan)
Terry & Dory Funk + Jack & Jerry Brisco (Florida 1/82)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Jack & Jerry Brisco (Florida 2/6/82) 


DISC 9
Terry Funk & Dick Slater vs. Jerry Lawler & Don Diamond (2/20/82)
Terry Funk, Ole Anderson & Stan Hansen vs. Jobbers (Georgia 3/13/82)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Mike Graham & Steve Keirn (Florida 3/27/82)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (4/22/82) 
Dory Funk Jr. vs. David Von Erich (Finish Only) (Florida 6/15/82)
Terry Funk vs. Dusty Rhodes (Arena Clip) (Florida 7/27/82)
Terry Funk and Ivan Putski vs. Gino Hernandez and Tully Blanchard (Southwest 8/15/82)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/82) 
Terry Funk, Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Destroyer, Ron Bass & Crusher Blackwell (9/14/82) Terry vs. Bruce Walkup (Steel Cage Match) (Florida 1982)
Terry Funk + The Invader (Puerto Rico 10/16/82)
Terry Funk Promo (Puerto Rico 10/30/82)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (11/26/82) 


DISC 10
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Ricky Steamboat & Jay Youngblood (12/2/82) 
Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (12/7/82) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/9/82) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (12/13/82) 
Terry Funk, Jerry Lawler & Sweet Brown Sugar vs. Masked Mauders & Jessie Barr (1/29/83) 
Terry Funk Promo (Southwest 3/21/83) 
Terry Funk & Ted Dibiase vs. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta (4/7/83) 



DISC 11
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/20/83) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/22/83) 
Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr. & Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody & Terry Gordy (8/30/83) 
Good Bye Terry Funk (All Japan Tribute)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83) 


DISC 12
Dory Funk & Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (Finish Only) (8/26/84) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (12/8/84) 
Terry Funk, Nick Bockwinkel & Steve Regal vs. Greg Gagne, Jim Brunzell & Curt Hennig (PWUSA 2/1/85)
Terry Funk vs. Lanny Poffo (MSG 7/13/85) 
Terry Funk vs. Rick McGraw (Boston 8/3/85)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (8/23/85) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/29/85) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/31/85)


DISC 13
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Road Warriors (10/19/85) 
Terry & Dory Funk & Tiger Mask vs. Billy Robinson, Terry Gordy & Chavo Guerrero (10/21/85) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Terry Gordy & Art Crews (10/22/85) 
Terry Funk vs. Junkyard Dog (SNME 11/2/85)
Terry Funk vs. Mr. Wrestling II (MSG 11/25/85)
Terry Funk Interview (Philly 12/7/85)
Terry Funk vs. Hulk Hogan (Philly 12/7/85) 
Terry Funk vs. Hulk Hogan (Toronto 12/15/85) 
Terry Funk vs. Hulk Hogan (SNME 1/4/86)
Terry Funk vs. Pedro Morales (Boston 1/11/86) 


DISC 14
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Junkyard Dog & Tito Santana (Mania 4/7/86)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Junkyard Dog & Hulk Hogan (SNME 5/3/86)
Terry Funk Promo (Puerto Rico 9/14/86)
Terry Funk vs. Barry Windham (JIP) (Puerto Rico 9/19/86)
Terry Funk Promo (Puerto Rico 9/20/86)
Terry Funk vs. Rick Martel (Puerto Rico 9/20/86)
Terry Funk vs. Carlos Colon (Puerto Rico 9/21/86)
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Road Warriors (10/10/86) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Rick Martel & Tom Zenk (11/22/86) 
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (12/6/86) 
Terry & Dory Funk & Ron Starr vs. Invaders & Mil Mascaras (Puerto Rico 12/17/86)
Terry Funk vs. Mike Rotundo (Florida 1987)


DISC 15
Terry & Dory Funk vs. Road Warriors (Puerto Rico 9/19/87) 
Terry Funk vs. TNT (Puerto Rico 10/15/88)
Terry Funk vs. Dustin Rhodes (PWF 3/11/89)
Terry Funk Interview (PWF 1989)
Terry Funk attacks Dusty Rhodes (PWF 1989) 
Terry Funk + Dusty Rhodes Brawl (PWF 1989) 
End of Flair-Steamboat at (Wrestlewar 5/7/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 5/13/89)
Terry Funk vs. Eddie Guerrero (NWA 5/20/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 5/20/89)
Ric Flair’s Doctor / Terry Funk Interview (NWA 5/27/89)
Terry Funk + “Ric Flair” (NWA 6/3/89)
Terry Funk + Ricky Steamboat & Lex Luger (NWA 6/10/89)
Terry Funk vs. Ricky Steamboat (Clash 7; 6/14/89)
Terry Funk vs. Cougar Jay (TV 6/17/89) 
Terry Funk Interview (TV 6/24/89)
Terry Funk + Sting (CENSORED) (WWW 7/1/89)
Terry Funk vs. Ricky Santana (WWW 7/1/89)
Ric Flair Press Conference (NWA 7/1/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 7/1/89)
Danger Zone w/ Terry Funk (NWA 7/8/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 7/22/89)


DISC 16
Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair (GAB 7/23/89)
Terry Funk vs. Scott Hall (Pro 7/28/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 7/29/89)
Terry Gordy & Terry Funk vs. Sting & Dr. Death (Power Hour 8/4/89)
Terry Funk & Gary Hart Interview (NWA 8/12/89)
Terry Funk vs. Scott Hall (Pro 8/19/89)
Terry Funk + Ric Flair + Plastic Bag (Clash 9/12/89) 
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 9/16/89)
Gordon Solie Report (NWA 9/30/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 10/14/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 10/21/89)
Terry Funk & Great Muta vs. Ric Flair & Sting (Havoc 10/28/89)
Terry Funk Interview (NWA 11/4/89)
Funk’s Grill w/ Ric Flair (NWA 11/11/89)
Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair (I Quit Match) (Clash 9; 11/15/89)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (6/23/90)


----------



## smitlick

Fucking nice set. Looks like a good present for myself for christmas.


----------



## S-Mac

Looks like a fucking amazing set


----------



## Yeah1993

Discs 15 & 16 look terrific. So does 1, 3, 6, & 9. Plus 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

Eric's probably seen this and is staring in his computer screen with a blank expression on his face.


----------



## McQueen

*OH MY GOD YES!*

I just had an e-gasm. I'll probably wait till both are available though.


----------



## antoniomare007

i'm pissed as fuck because i can't get that set, i hope some someone uploads some of it in XWT classics 

i hate living in my country when it comes to shit like this


----------



## McQueen

You need a middleman. Or BigCal.


----------



## Blasko

I *was* McQueen's right hand man.


----------



## McQueen

You still are Dangerous Jay.


----------



## Blasko

You never say hi anymore, Eric.

Makes my heart weep.


----------



## McQueen

I never see you on here anymore though.


----------



## Spartanlax

Jay didn't you retire from here? Lol? <3

Anyway how do I contact the dude for the Funk set. I need it more than ROH needs direction. HEY-O.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

McQueen said:


> I'll probably wait till both are available though.


Same. Already bought enough wrestling over the last couple weeks from him, so I'll wait until both parts are out before I snap it up. Soon... in my mitts.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah i should have Memphis/Mid South/NJ 80's soon anyways, plus I still have a few WWE events and BattlARTS to watch.


----------



## Yeah1993

Spartanlax said:


> Anyway how do I contact the dude for the Funk set. I need it more than ROH needs direction. HEY-O.


PulseGazer put up the email address of GoodHelmet (guy who made it) in the Mid-South/UWF set thread on page 1.


----------



## Dark Patriot

could anyone give me an idea how long it takes to get a set of dvds from Goodhelmet?


----------



## Yeah1993

Depends on where you live I guess.


----------



## antoniomare007

HOLY SHIT!!!



> ZERO1 "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S 8 ~ NEW YEAR GIGS", 01.01.2010
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. World Heavyweight Title: Toshiaki Kawada © vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW)


*MARKS THE FUCK OUT* 


Blasko is gonna have an orgasm when he hears about this


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> HOLY SHIT!!!
> 
> 
> 
> *MARKS THE FUCK OUT*


My sentiments exactly!


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Dark Patriot said:


> could anyone give me an idea how long it takes to get a set of dvds from Goodhelmet?


Usually takes around ten days when he ships them out to me in Scotland.


----------



## Maxx Hero

So what are the chances that Kawada drops here?


----------



## Yeah1993

Anywhere where I can see what GH has made altogether? Would emailing him & asking just be the best idea?


----------



## Devildude

> NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion~”, 12/22/09 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 2,020 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> *1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Tigers Mask _Osaka Pro_ beat Taichi *(6:41)* with a ground Octopus hold.
> *2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Ryusuke Taguchi beat GENTARO _FREEDOMS_ *(10:39)* with the Dodon.
> *3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* YAMATO _Dragon Gate_ beat AKIRA *(8:13)* with a modified double kneelock.
> *4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Danshoku Dino _Dramatic Dream Team_ beat Jado *(10:14)* with a Gedo clutch.
> *5. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Gedo beat Kota Ibushi _Dramatic Dream Team_ *(14:15)* with a Gedo clutch.
> *6. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Prince Devitt beat Atsushi Aoki _Pro Wrestling NOAH_ *(10:51)* with a vertical drop DDT.
> *7. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Koji Kanemoto beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato _Michinoku Pro_ *(13:45)* with an ankle hold.
> *8. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1:* Naomichi Marufuji _Pro Wrestling NOAH_ beat Jushin Thunder Liger *(16:21)* with the Pole Shift.





> NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion Final~”, 12/23/09 (SXW)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> *1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2:* Prince Devitt vs. Danshoku Dino Dramatic Dream Team
> *2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2:* Gedo vs. YAMATO Dragon Gate
> *3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2:* Naomichi Marufuji Pro Wrestling NOAH vs. Tigers Mask Osaka Pro
> *4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2:* Koji Kanemoto vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
> *5. SUPER J-CUP - Semi Final:*
> *6. SUPER J-CUP - Semi Final:*
> *7. SUPER J-CUP - Final:*


Kota Ibushi losing in the first round is a travesty. On the other hand Marufuji beating Liger is a pleasant surprise.


----------



## seabs

*Marafuji is winning this and facing Tiger Mask at Wrestle Kingdom to make another NOAH vs New Japan match. Fuk you btw at Kota losing straight away. At least Dino got through though lol.

Devitt/YAMATO and Marafuji/Koji with Fuji and Devitt going to the final would be ideal.*


----------



## McQueen

Ibushi lost to Gedo? :lmao

Man, fuck Marufuji going over Liger.


----------



## Derek

Dino moves to day 2 but Ibushi doesn't? :lmao


Looks like Passione2002R has the show uploaded on Youtube already.


----------



## McQueen

Dino should win just for shock value.


----------



## Derek

It would be worth it just to see him try to make out with as many people as he could at the Tokyo Dome.


----------



## McQueen

I'd rather see that at the West Virgina dome again.


----------



## smitlick

NJPW Super J Cup 09 - Round 1
Jushin Liger vs Naomichi Marufuji
***1/2


----------



## Blasko

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hiloM01dRo

Holy shit, is this great or what?

Takayama is the man in this.


----------



## TheUnholyDragon

Arisa Nakajima vs. Yumiko Hotta - JWP - 12/28/2008 - *****

First match I've rated ***** since 2004, iirc. Hotta is an unstoppable bitch, and Nakajima can't so much as hurt her. A lot of this is either Hotta slapping Nakajima around effortlessly or Nakajima throwing offense which Hotta just shrugs off, making her look like an ineffectual little girl against an unstoppable monster. Which is exactly why this works. Hotta beats on Nakajima until she can't even stand, while Nakajima refuses to stop getting back up. She just keeps coming and coming and coming, trying again until she can find something that works. In the end, Hotta is just too much for her, but even after the match Nakajima just won't stop.

I really have to see the rest of this feud. I can't remember the last time I've seen a match this good.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - 5/12/09*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs TAJIRI
***1/2

*NJPW - Super J Cup 2009 Night 2*
8 Man Tag Match
**3/4

Super J Cup Final
***1/2-***3/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 156*
FIP Title Match
Davey Richards vs Masaaki Mochizuki
***1/2-***3/4
Is it unusal for Infinity shows to have Bon Jovi playing plus the song Good Girls Gone Bad?

BxB Hulk vs Susumu Yokosuka
***1/2
Think this was for the DGUSA Title but not 100%. Dont think i'll ever understand why there are always so many interferences and use of stupid weapons in most of these matches and why they no sell finishing moves... its super confusing.


----------



## Blasko

smitlick said:


> BxB Hulk vs Susumu Yokosuka
> ***1/2
> Think this was for the DGUSA Title but not 100%. Dont think i'll ever understand why there are always so many interferences and use of stupid weapons in most of these matches and why they no sell finishing moves... its super confusing.


 You just described DG with your closing sentences.


----------



## Derek

Blasko Clause said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hiloM01dRo
> 
> Holy shit, is this great or what?
> 
> Takayama is the man in this.


The best part is when you see what he's doing in the video and then you remember he's headlining the Tokyo Dome in less than a week.


----------



## smitlick

Blasko Clause said:


> You just described DG with your closing sentences.



the box the heel faction uses is just stupid...


----------



## seancarleton77

If Wrestle Kingdom was on television here I would miss the American Monday night wrestling showdown, besides the Bret Hart part, even a good TNA pay per view doesn't touch Wrestle Kingdom.


----------



## WillTheBloody

Blasko Clause said:


> You just described DG with your closing sentences.


It's even worse than you think. Near the end of the match, Hulk hit two consecutive EVOs and Yokosuka just kind of got up like he was startled awake from a nap. Hulk got his leg REALLY worked over the entire and sold none of it. I felt like screaming at the fucking television everytime Hulk would run at full speed throwing kicks and backflips only to briefly touch his leg afterwards. Hulk tried out a new finisher for some reason, and it fell absolutely flat. Like..."new wrestler on ECW winning with a reverse DDT" flat.

The good news is that the fans are starting to turn on all the nonsense. Every time Hulk started with his barrage of kicks after getting the leg worked over, the crowd was noticeably quieter. Same goes for Yokosuka and his ridiculous no-selling. It's subtle, but hopefully this means that people are tired of the no-selling, and the bullshit in singles matches will stop...or at least lessen drastically. My hopes are not high, though.


----------



## smitlick

WillTheBloody said:


> It's even worse than you think. Near the end of the match, Hulk hit two consecutive EVOs and Yokosuka just kind of got up like he was startled awake from a nap. Hulk got his leg REALLY worked over the entire and sold none of it. I felt like screaming at the fucking television everytime Hulk would run at full speed throwing kicks and backflips only to briefly touch his leg afterwards. Hulk tried out a new finisher for some reason, and it fell absolutely flat. Like..."new wrestler on ECW winning with a reverse DDT" flat.
> 
> The good news is that the fans are starting to turn on all the nonsense. Every time Hulk started with his barrage of kicks after getting the leg worked over, the crowd was noticeably quieter. Same goes for Yokosuka and his ridiculous no-selling. It's subtle, but hopefully this means that people are tired of the no-selling, and the bullshit in singles matches will stop...or at least lessen drastically. My hopes are not high, though.


exactly for like the first 10 mins Hulk sold his leg and then all of the sudden he starts doing all these flips and kicks, was fairly ridiculous.


----------



## Devildude

If you think Hulk vs Yokosuka was bad, you should probably avoid Naoki Tanizaki vs. Kzy from the 28/12 Final Gate event - it was almost as bad as Evans vs Hart from Final Battle in terms of selling, I shit you not.


----------



## WillTheBloody

Devildude said:


> If you think Hulk vs Yokosuka was bad, you should probably avoid Naoki Tanizaki vs. Kzy from the 28/12 Final Gate event - it was almost as bad as Evans vs Hart from Final Battle in terms of selling, I shit you not.


I've heard this as well. It's disappointing, as their previous PPV match was short and had good heat to it.

BTW, one thing Dragon Gate does I love that others don't is that, when wrestlers come out to confront another, they are rarely dressed for the occasion. CIMA and Gamma came out recently half-dressed in their gear. Gamma still had his tooth brush in his mouth. Tanizaki has confronted Kzy in the ring twice soaking wet wearing nothing but a towel, like someone popped in the shower and told Naoki, "Hey, Kzy's talking shit about you."


----------



## Devildude

So DDT, K-Dojo and BJW teamed up for a New Years event with the main event being this:



> 9. 108 Person Battle Royal: Jun Kasai besiegt Great Kirara mit dem Pearl Harbor Splash (85:12). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: Dark Miyako Man (2:10), Yukihiro Abe (5:30), Kaji Tomato (5:49), Oriental Dragon (Ryuji Ito) (6:13), Masked Holstein (6:34), Western Tiger (Takashi Sasaki) (10:18), Tanomusaku Toba (10:58), Taishi Takizawa (11:05), "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa (11:42), Kankuro Hoshino (11:46), Bambi (12:02), Chou-un Shiryu & Kim Nam Seok (12:50), Brahman Shu (15:52), Masashi Takeda (16:25), Kunio Toshima (16:30), Miyako Man (16:35), Takumi Tsukamoto (16:40), A. YAZAWA (Antonio Honda) (17:25), Great Kojika (17:40), Kazuki Hashimoto (17:48), Francesco Togo (19:28), Sanshiro Takagi (19:50), The Winger, Handsome JOE & Kashiwa Megane (22:30), Poison Sawada JULIE & Aku-kun (22:50), Qiball Man (26:20), Hiro Tonai (29:02), PSYCHO (29:04), Shadow WX (29:20), Shining Tiger ("Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa) (29:45), Antonio Honda (30:20), Ryuji Ito (31:10), Daisuke Sekimoto (31:40), MEN´s Teioh (32:10), MIKAMI (36:40), Gota Ihashi (36:46), Daikokubo Benkei (36:58), Madness Dragon (Shinya Ishikawa) (37:40), KUDO & Shiori Asahi (38:18), Kota Ibushi (38:30), Mobara Star Festival 7 (39:00), Shuji Ishikawa (40:30), Toru Owashi & MIYAWAKI (42:00), Randy Takuya (42:08), Shining Tiger Big Buddy (Yuji Okabayashi), Ken Ohka & Yasu Urano (42:50), Brahman Kei (45:48), Craig (46:02), Taro Peanut (46:12), Tomokazu Taniguchi (46:30), Buta Gunso (Abdullah Kobayashi) (47:00), Reconstruction Snake Human Jakaider (Poison Sawada JULIE) (47:30), Michael "CEO" Nakazawa (48:05), Yoshihito Sasaki (50:10), Ryuichi Sekine (51:40), Yotsukaida (53:18), Keisuke Ishii (54:11), Masa Takanashi (54:15), Sasaki And Gabbana (55:01), Ryuichi Kawakami (55:10), Yuichi Taniguchi (55:30), KAZMA & Yuji Hino (56:04), Pierre Saionji (Kankuro Hoshino) (57:41), Yuji Okabayashi (58:40), Yuko Miyamoto, Shawn Michaels (?) (Antonio Honda) (59:30), TAKA Michinoku (59:50), YOSHIYA (61:02), Madness Tiger (63:03), TAJIRI (63:40), MASADA (63:52), Atsuo "Malenko" Sawada & Sanshiro Takagi Binnsenn Bun (64:20), GLOBO Mask (64:30), Satoru (65:42), O.K. Revolution (Ken Ohka) (65:45), Kobe Megane (67:44), YOSHIHIKO & Abdullah Kobayashi (68:21), Yuu Yamagata (69:24), Kenny Omega (70:20), Yuki (70:51), Toru Momowashi (Toru Owashi) (71:50), Marines Mask (72:51), Hardcore Kid Kojiro (72:56), Pepe Michinoku (TAKA Michinoku) (73:03), Takashi Sasaki (76:42), Dick Togo (76:48), Daisuke Sasaki (76:52), Tomomitsu Matsunaga & London Kid (78:50), Kengo Mashimo (80:30), Atsushi Ohashi (80:35), Yuichi (80:39), Takao Soma (80:40), Boso Boy Raito (80:52), Isami Kodaka (81:40), Daigoro Kashiwa (82:40), Danshoku Dino (83:25), & Great Kirara (85:12).


Screw WWE vs TNA, screw the Dome show, those are small-time. 108-man Battle Royale's are where it's at baby!


----------



## S-Mac

Devildude said:


> So DDT, K-Dojo and BJW teamed up for a New Years event with the main event being this:
> 
> 
> 
> Screw WWE vs TNA, screw the Dome show, those are small-time. 108-man Battle Royale's are where it's at baby!


Need to watch this now


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

TheUnholyDragon said:


> Arisa Nakajima vs. Yumiko Hotta - JWP - 12/28/2008 - *****
> 
> First match I've rated ***** since 2004, iirc. Hotta is an unstoppable bitch, and Nakajima can't so much as hurt her. A lot of this is either Hotta slapping Nakajima around effortlessly or Nakajima throwing offense which Hotta just shrugs off, making her look like an ineffectual little girl against an unstoppable monster. Which is exactly why this works. Hotta beats on Nakajima until she can't even stand, while Nakajima refuses to stop getting back up. She just keeps coming and coming and coming, trying again until she can find something that works. In the end, Hotta is just too much for her, but even after the match Nakajima just won't stop.
> 
> I really have to see the rest of this feud. I can't remember the last time I've seen a match this good.


Fuckin' HOTTA. Hotta kicking the stuffing out of people is a dynamic I tend to like a lot, so I'll give this a watch. Don't think I've seen a joshi match since '06, and I had no idea this even happened. Never heard of this other chick, either. Still... Hotta.


----------



## El Gamo

*Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama - AJPW 06.12.1996 - ****3/4*
Meltzer gave this 5 stars and I can totally see why. Really awesome match which a hot crowd. All 4 guys are great but Kawada and Misawa really steal the show. I've never given a 5 star rating but this is really close to that score. If anybody hasn't seen it, this comes highly recommended.


----------



## Halfnelson

Matches announced for the next NJPW tour


> *New Japan Pro-Wrestling - "CIRCUIT 2010 NEW JAPAN ISM"*
> 
> *NJPW, 30.01.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. Prince Devitt
> 
> 
> *NJPW, 14.02.2010 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*
> 
> 1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (c) vs. Jado & Gedo
> 2. IWGP Tag Team Title: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Terrible & El Texano Jr.
> 3. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Manabu Nakanishi


I mentioned in the Dome thread that I wanted a rematch for the title between Devitt and Marufuji but I didn't expect to see it so soon, great to see it's at Korakuen too.


----------



## Devildude

> 1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. Prince Devitt
> 3. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Manabu Nakanishi


DO WANT!


> 1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (c) vs. Jado & Gedo
> 2. IWGP Tag Team Title: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Terrible & El Texano Jr.


DAMMIT NJPW!


----------



## KingKicks

Can't wait for Marufuji/Devitt. Considering how enjoyable their first match was (plus already wrestling that night), I expect this match to be even better.


----------



## FITZ

:gun:


Devildude said:


> So DDT, K-Dojo and BJW teamed up for a New Years event with the main event being this:
> 
> 
> 
> Screw WWE vs TNA, screw the Dome show, those are small-time. 108-man Battle Royale's are where it's at baby!


How many rings did they need?

And I thought WCW's old 60 man Battle Royal was a clusterfuck I can only imagine what a mess/how awesome this must have been.

Pretty sure I've said this before but I recently watched some more of Dynamite Kid and I have come to the conclusion that Dynamite Kid was doing at least half the stuff that we see in the indies today in the 80s. It's insane to think how ahead of his time he was.


----------



## Maxx Hero

I have not seen very much of Dynamite Kid, do you have an good suggestions that prove that point of yours and give me a good idea of what he is like?


----------



## El Gamo

Maxx Hero said:


> I have not seen very much of Dynamite Kid, do you have an good suggestions that prove that point of yours and give me a good idea of what he is like?


NJPW - Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask I - 21st April 1983


----------



## antoniomare007

i preffer his match with Fujinami (2/5/80)


----------



## Yeah1993

Maxx Hero said:


> I have not seen very much of Dynamite Kid, do you have an good suggestions that prove that point of yours and give me a good idea of what he is like?


Anything with Tiger Mask really. I've seen people shit on Dynamite and say he isn;t that good & stuff (as well as this series), but I love watching him.


----------



## KidRed

If you can track any of his early matches with Bret Hart (not puro I know) down, there well worth the watch. The Tiger Mask ones are too. I haven't see the match with Fujinami yet, I'll keep my eyes peeled for it.


----------



## Devildude

The second half of the Dome show is out on share in good quality finally.



> 6. Wrestle Kingdom IV Special Singles Match NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Wilderness~: Togi Makabe vs. Mohammed Yone
> 7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~ Highest sky: Tiger Mask (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji
> 8. Wrestle Kingdom IV Special Singles Match NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Radiance~: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Go Shiozaki
> 9. GHC Heavyweight Title ~ NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Blast~: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
> 10. IWGP Heavyweight Title ~ The newest, The strongest: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama


----------



## Mr.Wrestling

Devildude said:


> The second half of the Dome show is out on share in good quality finally.


Where?


----------



## mateuspfc

Mr.Wrestling said:


> Where?


Xtreme Wrestling Torrents.

http://www.xtremewrestlingtorrents.net/details.php?id=56966&hit=1


----------



## Mr.Wrestling

Awesome! Thank you so much

and registration was finally open on XWT, so definitely a big win


----------



## Derek

If you still haven't seen Nakamura/Takayama. Watch it. Now.


----------



## seabs

*Cant wait to get my exams out of the way so I can watch J Cup and Wrestle Kingdom.*


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Dynamite Kid's fucking terrible. I'd rather watch Kurt Angle.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Dynamite Kid's fucking terrible. I'd rather watch Kurt Angle.


How far are you on the New Japan comp? Ordered it w/ Mid-South from Cal and I'm so bloody excited 

Found it strange how anyone could fall asleep during Inoki/Fujinami though. I'm pretty confident I won;t see anything on there I think is better than that.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'm on disc 8. Haven't watched anything from it since November or so, though. I burned out on it after ploughing through 7 discs in the space of a couple weeks. I'll get back to it about a month before the DVDVR voting deadline probably.


----------



## Spartanlax

Andy3000 said:


> Dynamite Kid's fucking terrible. I'd rather watch Kurt Angle.


Wait are you being serious or is there a joke I'm missing?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

No, I'm serious. I don't dislike him as much as a lot of people do, either.

Tiger Mask also generally sucks unless he's in there with Gran Hamada or Yoshiaki Fujiwara.


----------



## Devildude

<snip>

Edit: Shitty upload speeds = no joshi for you. We need more superior Joshi though


----------



## Halfnelson

Just saw this on Purolove



> Kensuke Office "TAKE THE DREAM 2010 IN KORAKUEN HALL", 11.02.2010
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Takashi Okita vs. Takeshi Minamino
> 2. Takeshi Morishima , Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Yutaka Yoshie, Bear Fukuda & Go
> 3. *Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Naomichi Marufuji*


Should be pretty awesome.


----------



## seancarleton77

I love it! Kensuke Office with another Dream match.


----------



## seabs

*Shit, when I first read it elsewhere I thought it was NOAH who were doing it but Kensuke beat them to it lol. That was the only NOAH match I was looking forward to the prospect of this year with KENTA and Suzuki out for time. I guess NOAH will do a rematch between them in the exact same style as they did with KENTA and Nakajima last year. I actually think Marafuji will be a better opponent for Nakajima than KENTA was last year.*


----------



## seabs

*NJPW Super J Cup 2009*

*Night 1*

*Taichi vs Tigers Mask*
_**_

*Ryusuke Taguchi vs GENTARO*
_***_

*YAMATO vs Akira*
_***_

*Jado vs Danshoku Dino*
_Stars dont do a Dino match credit._

*Gedo vs Kota Ibushi*
_***_

*Prince Devitt vs Atsushi Aoki*
_***1/2_

*Koji Kanemato vs Fujita Hayato*
_****_

*Naomichi Marafuji vs Jushin Liger*
_***1/2_

*Night 2*

*YAMATO vs Gedo*
_**_

*Prince Devitt vs Dansoku Dino*
_God bless DDT & Dino._

*Ryusuke Taguchi vs Koji Kanemoto*
_***_

*Naomichi Marafuji vs Tigers Mask*
_*1/2_

*Prince Devitt vs YAMATO*
_***_

*Ryusuke Taguchi vs Naomichi Marafuji*
_***_

*Jushin Liger, Kota Ibushi, Akira & Taichi vs Fujita Hayato, Atsushi Aoki, Jado & GENTARO*
_**3/4_

*Naomichi Marafuji vs Prince Devitt*
_****1/4_​


----------



## Halfnelson

Some interesting NJPW news. Honda! Omega! Differ! I've read that Okada is heading to the US, probably TNA.

From Purolove


> *NJPW, 31.01.2010 (SXW)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> *
> 1. Super Strong Machine, Tiger Mask & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto, Taichi & Nobuo Yoshihashi
> 2. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tamon Honda & Kentaro Shiga
> 3. *Special Tag Match:* Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. TAJIRI & Takashi Iizuka
> 4. *Special Tag Match:* Jado & Gedo vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
> 5. Yujiro, Tetsuya Naito, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Toru Yano, Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tomohiro Ishii
> 6. *Kazuchika Okada Send-Off Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
> 7. *Special Tag Match:* Manabu Nakanishi & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Masato Tanaka


----------



## seancarleton77

^^^ Stacked show, Ibushi & Omega are going to show NJPW the best junior action since the early days of Liger, Wild Pegasus & Black Tiger!


----------



## WillTheBloody

seancarleton77 said:


> ^^^ Stacked show, Ibushi & Omega are going to show NJPW the best junior action since the early days of Liger, Wild Pegasus & Black Tiger!


Yeah, but they're facing Gedo & Jado, so get ready to fast-forward through a half-hour of crappy heel work. Hopefully we'll get a good finishing stretch.


----------



## seancarleton77

WillTheBloody said:


> Yeah, but they're facing Gedo & Jado, so get ready to fast-forward through a half-hour of crappy heel work. Hopefully we'll get a good finishing stretch.


Call me old school but I loved the Jado & Gedo vs. Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki probably 4 stars.


----------



## seabs

*Okada is going TNA for the next couple of years. Also Chono has left New Japan and is now a freelancer.*


----------



## Derek

I've read that report of Chono going freelancer is incorrect, but he is trying to undergo some changes physcially and won't be back until the summer.


----------



## Devildude

I'd forgotten that Chono even existed if I'm honest, that's how relevant he's been the last few years.


----------



## Derek

He still makes media appearances, which is where his current value is.


----------



## McQueen

Chono leaving NJPW (if true) seems like the end of an era even if realistically that era is long over anyways.


----------



## Derek

I guess I was wrong, looks like he is indeed going freelancer.


----------



## Blasko

MISTAH GEE ONE will take over THE WORLD.


----------



## stinger-splash

*Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi and Giant Baba vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue *(_AJPW 1/29/1994_) ****3/4*
Meltzer gave this one five stars. The match told a good story, but was nowhere near the full five IMO.


----------



## Halfnelson

I remember really liking that six man, one of the better Baba tags. Haven't seen it in a while though.

I've been watching a lot of the Michinoku Pro that Ditch has up over the past couple of weeks. I started to get into it a few months ago but stopped for some reason, probably to go back to All Japan. Most of the multi man matches I've seen so far have been awesome especially the two tags from October 96. Best thing I've seen so far though is the Delfin-Sasuke title vs mask match from 93. Remember seeing this a couple of years ago when I really got into Sasuke but I definitely underrated it. I especially didn't appreciate how great Delfin's preformance was, he's almost on SUWA's level of arrogance and it's really fun to watch. I'd actually put it as one of my favourite Sasuke matches.

I'm going to pick up a couple of the sets IVP have next time I make an order, have to get that match on dvd.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah they are pretty great as a set. That Sasuke/Delfin match is one of my absolute favorite matches ever. Delfin on his A game is more fun to watch then a lot of the more famous Jrs. of his era.


----------



## Yeah1993

I need to watch that again.


----------



## McQueen

Not until after you kill that weak ass bitch Leonardo.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

If you guys are talking about the Sasuke/Delfin match that I am thinking you are talking about... I thought it kinda sucked (compared to what other people seem to think, anyway).


----------



## McQueen

Were they outside?


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

I... don't remember . Its a while since I watched it, so I only remember... not really enjoying the match . This is what I wrote about it elsewhere, maybe me talking about some of the things that happened will help us all find out if it is the same match lol:



> Just watched that Great Sasuke v Super Delfin match.
> 
> I'm not sure if I faded out during the match, but did Sasuke do ANYTHING other than bounce around off or over the ropes? I seriously don't recall him doing anything else lol. I went into this with an open mind, seeing as how you guys seemed to enjoy it a great deal, but I hated it right from the get go. A dropkick out of the ring, followed up by a dive over the ropes. Already? That would be like Jeff Hardy dropkicking his opponent and immediately going for a Swanton... and actually hitting it. Surely, with it being so early in the match (the fucking beginning to be exact), Delfin could have quite easily get out of the way, you know, BECAUSE HE WASN'T FUCKING HURT?
> 
> SO Delfin starts to get control not too long after this, hitting some nice moves to wear down Sasuke. The whole "fake a dive to piss the crowd" thing didn't come off nearly as well as I was expecting based on what Viva wrote. The fans actually CLAPPED him for doing it.
> 
> The basic story of Delfin not being able to keep Sasuke down, and resorting to actually going to the ropes was a nice story, but like I said, it was basic. It annoyed me that every time Sasuke made any sort of come back, it was pretty much just a dive over the ropes or something, that looked to hurt him just as much, and considering he was already supposed to be hurting, didn't make much sense to me.
> 
> So yeah, some good stuff in the match, but certainly nothing great. *** from me.


----------



## McQueen

I think you need to rewatch that match.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

I'd rather not. Great Sasuke makes me want to kill people... don't know why, but there is just something about him that makes me hate him .


----------



## McQueen

Well supposedly hes a huge asshole in real life so maybe your onto something.


----------



## Yeah1993

I heard Sasuke kicked a guy in the head b/c he thought Sasuke was just some nut that wore a mask in public and was taking photos.

Edit; but vs. Pegasus vs. Liger x2 & vs. delfin are all fantastic. the 3-on-3 tag he had at Barely Legal '97 is like a top 5 for ECW history too.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

That IVP M-Pro set is the shit. Really, really good.

Cal does more blow than me which is why his opinion of the Sasuke/Delfin match is lies.


----------



## Blasko

Can anyone suggest me the best Satoshi Kojima match that The Site has?

Been digging his work recently.


----------



## stinger-splash

A few months ago I watches a lot of AJPW from 86 till 93. Now I've finally picked up again and I'm glad I did. These two are one of the greatest matches of all time. 

*Misawa/Kawada* (_6/3/94_) *******
GOAT? I can't believe how much punishment both guys took. Kawada's selling is just amazing. I really thought he had Misawa after that sick vicious backdrop and the two powerbombs. Amazing intensity. Just epic. 

*Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kobashi/Taue* (_5/21/94_) *******
The interactions between Kawada and Misawa reminded me of how Misawa and Jumbo used the build their feud in those classic six-man tag matches. The work on the knee of Kobashi and Kawada was amazing. The resiliancy was tremendous. In the end they just kept going. At one point I thought one wrestler would rather die than lose this match.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Andy3000 said:


> That IVP M-Pro set is the shit. Really, really good.
> 
> Cal does more blow than me which is why his opinion of the Sasuke/Delfin match is lies.


:lmao


----------



## McQueen

Its not recent and maybe not even a "good" match Jay but I really enjoyed the Kojima/Ohtani Zero-One Fire Festival '03 (might be off a year) Finals. I remember the vid quality was pretty shit though.


----------



## Halfnelson

Hajime No Blasko said:


> Can anyone suggest me the best Satoshi Kojima match that The Site has?
> 
> Been digging his work recently.


Kojima had a couple of great matches with Tenryu in 2002, the one from February is probably the better of the two. I'm sure you've seen his matches with Kawada but if not they're pretty good too.


----------



## stinger-splash

How would all of you rank the Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue matches? I just finished their 1/24/95 match, it's the one hour draw. Final twenty minutes or so were brilliant. Kobashi's selling and Kawada's facial expressions are golden.

5/21/94 - *****
1/24/95 - *****
12/3/93 - ****3/4

Their 6/9/95 is up next for me. Heard that was a pretty great match as well.


----------



## McQueen

Pretty great as in "The Best Fucking Match Ever" is more like it.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

He's lying. It's only top 5.


----------



## Yeah1993

stinger-splash said:


> Their 6/9/95 is up next for me. Heard that was a pretty great match as well.


You'd be hard pressed to find a better tag team match in the histroy of wrestling. Shit, you'd be hard pressed to find five better matches *period* in the history of wrestling.

^OMG IT'S ANDYMAN. ASK HIM QUESTIONS BEFORE HE LEAVES FOR ANOTHER 4787 WEEKS. TOP 5 FOR YOU MAN>??? ANDRE/HANSEN SNOWFLAKE???

*Ehem*


----------



## stinger-splash

Yeah I know a lot of fans call either this one or the Kawada/Miwawa 94 match the GOAT, but these other tag matches I've seen so far are damn awesome as well. 
Kawada is the fucking man. No offense, but he reminds me of Samoa Joe in 2005.


----------



## McQueen

If Kawada reminds you of Samoa Joe maybe you should watch some Tenryu.


----------



## Spartanlax

I miss old Samoa Joe. That dude was my favortie wrestler. 

Mabes his wife is a succubus and actually sucked the motivation out of him.


----------



## stinger-splash

Speaking of Joe, I just watched his match with Kobashi from ROH in 2005. Good gracious lord, the chops from Kobashi were sick. I love how Joe used the submission holds of Misawa and Kawada in the beginning. Amazing match, one of the most physical matches I've ever seen. The crowd was amazing as well. ****3/4

Misawa/Kobashi vs. Williams/Ace (3/4/95) ****3/4
Great interaction in the beginning with Williams and Misawa. Williams and Ace did a great job of playing the dirty heels, but at the same time they were vicious in the ring. The top rope german suplex/backdrop move on Misawa looked very very brutal. Final ten minutes were awesome.


----------



## Kapone89

Just found this recently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hjsd3PElkg8
pretty amazin if you ask me.


----------



## stinger-splash

More All Japan 90's....

*Misawa vs. Taue* (_AJPW 4/15/95_) *******
This was, if still needed, yet another perfect way to build the upcoming tag match. Misawa was in control for most of the time until Taue did a sick chokeslam from the apron on the floor. Until this point, Misawa had never been in that much trouble. He was desperately crawling out of the ring just to stay in the match. Once in a while he would buy himself time with elbows. Near the end it became a matter of time before Misawa took the upperhand. However it was no easy task to put Taure aside. He proved to be one though human being. After a shitload of hardhitting moves, Misawa got the win when he nailed a second consecutive tiger suplex on the neck of Taue. Awesome.

*Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue* (*AJPW 6/9/95*) *******
What else can be said about this one. Epic battle. This match was everything their other matches were and so much more. From Kawada taking out Misawa in the corner, the work on Kobashi's leg, the crowd split between Kawada and Misawa, the turning point in the match when Taue chokelammed Misawa on the outside and then Kobashi sacrificing his own body just to buy some time for Misawa. No matter what they tried, Kawada knew this was his oppurtunity and had no mercy for Misawa. The huge pop when Kawada finally pinned his rival told the entire story. The second best match of all time.


----------



## McQueen

You must be getting close to Kawada BREAKING MISAWA'S FACE. Good times ahead.


----------



## Yeah1993

> The second best match of all time.


Just out of curiosity what do you put above it?

Edit: What match was it where kawada broke his own fucking arm over Misawa's fucking head? Was it 24/1/99?


----------



## stinger-splash

Bret Hart against Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13. Although I'm not really sure. All these matches are though to rate and though to compare with NA style matches. This goes beyond a star rating IMO. In NA and hence almost everywhere we have a feud of a few months and two or three matches. The story of this series starts even back during the Misawa/Jumbo feud. To have an amazing feud (like Austin/McMahon) is one thing, but to produce so many classic encounters is just something epic. Words or ratings will never completely describe the awesomeness of this feud.


----------



## McQueen

Told you so Splash...

All Japan was the shit as far as continuity goes in Wrestling.


----------



## stinger-splash

Yeah1993 said:


> Edit: What match was it where kawada broke his own fucking arm over Misawa's fucking head? Was it 24/1/99?


Not sure, but it happened during the Champions Carnival tournament in 1995. That took place in March en April. He broke his orbital bone is the first minutes and still wrestled one heck of a match which lasted almost half an hour. Eventually he would still win the tournament.

And indeed McQueen you told me. Thanks once again to that little list you gave me a long time ago. That was pretty much the reason why I started watching AJPW. Now I can't stop watching it. 

I wish I understood Japanese, with commentary it should be even better. It's like watching Michaels/Taker without the voice of JR. I don't know if it would be the same. Anyways I always get chills when I hear those commentators shout the words 'backdroppe', 'lariattoooo', 'Tiger suplexe' or 'diving elbooow'. Awesome!


----------



## McQueen

No the match where Kawada broke his arm early in the match was the big 98 Tokyo Dome show that involves the ganso bomb.


----------



## stinger-splash

Yeah sorry of course. I was a bit confused and mentioned the match where Misawa broke a bone in his face after a stiff kick from Kawada.

In the meanwhile I'm watching some triple crown title defenses and I just finished Stan Hansen vs. Misawa (March 4, 92). Lots of restholds in the beginning until Hansen unleashed with a powerbomb, backdrop and DDT on the floor. Misawa came back with his signature elbows and gave Hansen a DDT on the floor of his own. Thrilling final minutes where Hansen almost tapped out, but he came back amazingly with a lariat out of nowhere for the win. Up next the match where Misawa won the title. ****1/4


----------



## Halfnelson

I was sure the arm break came in the January 99 match, could be mixing some of their matches together though.


----------



## McQueen

You might be right Nelson. I can't ever remember anymore.


----------



## seancarleton77

MISAWA VS KOBASHI

AJPW 20.01.1997 ***** 10/10
AJPW 31.10.1998 ***** 10/10
AJPW 11.06.1999 ****** 11/10 Makes every Misawa vs. Kawada match look mediocre by comparison
NOAH 01.03.2003 ***** 10/10


----------



## Halfnelson

McQueen said:


> You might be right Nelson. I can't ever remember anymore.


Just downloading some stuff from Ditch and he has the date for that match as 1/22/99. I usually suck with dates too, I just happened to remember that one because I like that match more than most people. Pretty amazing that Kawada worked most of it with a broken arm.


----------



## seancarleton77

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Naomichi Marufuji(c) vs. Prince Devitt (NJPW 1/30/10) ****1/4


----------



## Corey

So I thought I'd post this in here since I wouldn't have any idea where else to. I watched the Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki match back from March of 91, the one that's on the WWE Allied Powers tag teams DVD. I must say it's extremely overrated. J.D. Dunn from 411mania gave it the full 5 stars, but he must've been high off his ass. And I've seen it rated high as hell in other places. To me, it was just a collection of big moves. There was no selling, no psychology, just big move after big move. Plus, it's like 12 minutes. It was fun to watch, but nowhere near MOTYC level imo. I'd go ***3/4 - ****


----------



## seabs

*Watched it myself the other week Jack. Here's what I put about it at the time.*

*Steiners vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 21.03.1991*

_Typical Steiners match but that's always good so I'm not complaining one bit. Plenty of big throws and suplexes plus Hase & Sasaki can play Rick & Scott at their own game which makes for a really interesting mesh of styles. Hase does a good job of taking the brunt of the Steiners punishment for the majority of the match building up perfectly to the hot tag to Kensuke who comes in and again plays them at their own game with plenty of big throws between them. Looking back at I didn't think it was anything memorable or had a classic feel to it but it was just 13 minutes of really good wrestling._

****3/4+*


----------



## KingKicks

Jack Evans 187 said:


> So I thought I'd post this in here since I wouldn't have any idea where else to. I watched the Steiners vs. Hase & Sasaki match back from March of 91, the one that's on the WWE Allied Powers tag teams DVD. I must say it's extremely overrated. J.D. Dunn from 411mania gave it the full 5 stars, but he must've been high off his ass. And I've seen it rated high as hell in other places. To me, it was just a collection of big moves. There was no selling, no psychology, just big move after big move. Plus, it's like 12 minutes. It was fun to watch, but nowhere near MOTYC level imo. I'd go ***3/4 - ****


I remember thinking the same after watching it for the first time last year. Infact I watched it again recently and just stuck with ***1/2.


----------



## Corey

Well I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. It was a bit of a disappointment to be honest


----------



## McQueen

I like that match but I wouldn't call it ***** or anything. Fun sprint though.



seancarleton77 said:


> AJPW 11.06.1999 ****** 11/10 Makes every Misawa vs. Kawada match look mediocre by comparison


Get the fuck out.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I think the biggest fans of that Steiners tag are people that saw it around the time it happened. It was a LOT of people's gateway into puro at the time, similar to how the AAA When Worlds Collide Hair v Mask match was for Lucha. The shit they (Steiners, Hase and Sasaki) were doing in terms of offence was pretty insane at that point, especially if you hadn't been introduced to that sort of thing already. 

People seeing it for the first time now generally don't get the love for it, because there's a real good chance it'll be "seen it" stuff for the most part.


And the only Misawa/Kobashi match that touches 6/3/94 is the 1/20/97 match.


----------



## Blasko

McQueen said:


> Get the fuck out.


 Agreed.


----------



## stinger-splash

*Stan Hansen vs. Misawa* (_AJPW 8/22/92_) *****1/2*
Slightly better than their previous match. Same formula with a lot of restholds and once in a while high impact moves. Hansen worked on the arm of Misawa, because the elbows came always out of nowhere and he had a lot of trouble with that weapon. Same goes for Misawa, he worked on the arm of Hansen because of the Lariat (enough said). Like always they built to a climax where Misawa did a desperation elbow. Hansen sold it like Misawa's arm was made or iron. Against my odds, he got the pin after a very slow cover. Hansen did everything right but this new superman was born. Misawa could take an insane amount of punishment and his elbows were too much in the end. 

*Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue* (_AJPW 12/6/96_) *******
Five-star match number 18 is a fact. It's not like I'm pushing my ratings, but this is just one of the greatest matches I've ever seen. Even without Kobashi. Akiyama proved he was one tough SOB. I mean he took a nodowa form the apron, a nodowa/backdrop combo (sickest thing there is) and the most vicous backdrop ever at the hands of Kawada. Taue feds Misawa to Kawada and just like in the 6/9/95 match he finishes him, although once again not one-on-one. Fantastic match. Not only the end which I just described, but everyone was on tonight. The Misawa/Kawada parts are just so special...aah just watch this shit!


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I actually prefer that tag to 6/9/95 by a little.


----------



## stinger-splash

I could definitely see why. They were both awesome. I heard these two teams had two tag matches as well prior to this match. Both won by Misawa/Akiyama. I couldn't find it anywhere, but anyone who saw them? Any thoughts?


----------



## Spartanlax

I need to see both tag matches. Where's my best bet; Ditch?


----------



## Derek

FOOL! You do not say that which should not be said.


But that probably is your best bet.


----------



## seabs

Spartanlax said:


> I need to see both tag matches. Where's my best bet; Ditch?


*http://www.wrestlingforum.com/puro-media/461246-all-ajpw-won-5-matches-mu.html*


----------



## Spartanlax

Derek said:


> FOOL! You do not say that which should not be said.
> 
> 
> But that probably is your best bet.


Only those "in the know" are aware of what I mean by Ditch...it's kinda like the smarks version of kayfabe. Like if I said Pedophile Videos, everyone who needs to know would know. 

And thanks for the link Seabs.


----------



## Devildude

Halfway through the 2/14 NJPW PPV show and I have to say the Milano Collection A.T. retirement ceremony was incredibly touching even with the language barrier. Seeing Hayabusa and Ultimo Dragon be there to send him off was great too.

It's things like that, that make pro wrestling great.

Edit: 1000 posts - dedicated to Milano Collection A.T!


----------



## F5uits

It really is sad to see someone like Milano have to go because of a fluke injury, but I would much rather have the guy be able to go through the rest of his life with his sight. I always wished he had also had more time in ROH, because I feel like his character and charisma plays really well to that audience.


----------



## McQueen

Damn I didn't know Milano was retiring. Probably my favorite talent to come out of the T2P/Dragongate dojo.

Edit: Well behind SUWA who also retired... dammit.


----------



## antoniomare007

McQueen said:


> Damn I didn't know Milano was retiring. Probably my favorite talent to come out of the T2P/Dragongate dojo.
> 
> Edit: Well behind SUWA who also retired... dammit.


it's The Curse of McQueen 


anyway, haven't seen any puro this year besides Wrestle Kingdom IV, what matches are really worth a look? was Daisuke vs Kawada a good match??


----------



## seabs

*Marufuji vs Devitt and that's about all that you should make time to see from this year.*


----------



## El Gamo

antoniomare007 said:


> it's The Curse of McQueen
> 
> 
> anyway, haven't seen any puro this year besides Wrestle Kingdom IV, what matches are really worth a look? was Daisuke vs Kawada a good match??


It was pretty good, but nothing special. Worth a watch though. Sekimoto could be the guy someone like AJPW needs.


----------



## Kapone89

Devildude said:


> Halfway through the 2/14 NJPW PPV show and I have to say the Milano Collection A.T. retirement ceremony was incredibly touching even with the language barrier. Seeing Hayabusa and Ultimo Dragon be there to send him off was great too.
> 
> It's things like that, that make pro wrestling great.
> 
> Edit: 1000 posts - dedicated to Milano Collection A.T!


Have watched the show myself recently, and that has been one of the highlights so far of the show.


----------



## Kapone89

*14.02.2010 - NJPW.Circuit.2010 - New JapanISM PPV
Hardcore match - Masato Tanaka VS Hirooki Goto ***1/2-***3/4*

Goto is out of his element in this match, and Tanaka understandably dominates him. It was awesome
by the way just watching him go to work on Goto in this. Goto fights like a brave however and gives Tanaka a great deal of punishment himself. One negative though is that Goto get his leg worked over, and doesn't sell the leg work in the end. But all in all i enjoyed the match.

I wonder also if Tanaka will be doing more hardcore style matches in the future.


----------



## Martyn

The Best of Holy Demon Army : Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada :

Disc 1 :


First televised Taue/Kawada tag match 14-05-93 
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - ****+.

AJPW World Tag Titles : 20-05-93
Steve Williams© & Terry Gordy© vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada - *** 3/4 - ****.

AJPW World Tag Titles : 1-06-93
Akira Taue© & Toshiaki Kawada© vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa - **** 1/4.

AJPW World Tag Titles : 14-10-93
Akira Taue© & Toshiaki Kawada© vs. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase, Sr. - ** 1/4. 

World Tag League : 17-11-93
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas - * 3/4. 

Disc 2 :

World Tag League : 3-12-93
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa - **** 1/4+.

AJPW World Tag Titles : 21-05-94
Kenta Kobashi© & Mitsuharu Misawa© vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada - *****.

17-12-94
Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Giant Baba & Stan Hansen - ** 1/4.

AJPW World Tag Titles : 9-06-94
Kenta Kobashi© & Mitsuharu Misawa© vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada - **** 3/4.


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Marufuji vs Devitt and that's about all that you should make time to see from this year.*





El Gamo said:


> It was pretty good, but nothing special. Worth a watch though. Sekimoto could be the guy someone like AJPW needs.


thanks guys

i've always wanted to see Sekimoto in NOAH but i guess the deathmatch and indy backround don't help him


----------



## Blasko

GENTLEMEN....

BEHOLD!!!!!!


----------



## McQueen

U-Gene! MOTY i'm calling it right now.


----------



## Oda Nobunaga

U-Gene! :lmao I HAVE to see this.


----------



## Maxx Hero

> Mochizuki & Shisa will travel to ZERO1 on 2/28 to challenge for the NWA International Lightheavyweight Tag titles, held by Munenori Sawa & Ikuto Hidaka


_Credit-IheartDG_

I know a lot of people liked the first match that involved three of these four, and this should be far faster paced and I would assume even stiffer.


----------



## SuperDuperSonic

Tajiri and Eugene had a fine encounter during some 3 way tag on Raw several years back.

Shiozaki & Sugiura vs. MCAT & Nakamura - My first taste of Nakamura, and I may have a new favorite puro heel. Just fucking excellent stuff with Shiozaki playing a tremendous heavyweight badass version of Rey/Steamboat/Morton and the hot tag shit just got a fucking nuclear pop. Easily my favorite puro tag since Akiyama/Rikio vs. Sugiura/Takayama. ****1/2-****3/4


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

^^^^what's the date of for that? Haven't bothered to keep up with any current puro since, like, '08, but I might watch that.


----------



## McQueen

I think it may have been on the 1/4 show.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Wasn't 1/4. Nakamura/Takayama and Sugiura/Goto were on the 1/4 show, IIRC. Think Go wrestled Tanahashi as well.


----------



## Halfnelson

It's a NOAH match from 3/1/09, ditch has it up and it is pretty incredible, probably my second favourite tag from last year.

Watching some Vader stuff from AJPW over the past few days, his match with Misawa from October 99 is still my favourite match of his, Misawa takes a ridiculous amount of punishment in this and it's just 13 minutes of violence. I should watch some of the pimped WCW stuff again but I doubt any will top this, probably my Misawa/All Japan bias showing though.


----------



## jizzyb

I actually prefer the Tokyo Dome match, but both are excellent. Good excuse to go watch them again. I love seeing Misawa German Suplex Vader and Vader Tiger Driver to Misawa where he just throws him up in the air. They make Flair vs Vader look weak in comparison, and that was one of my favorite American matches of the 90s.


----------



## cobray

-The Tiger Driver in that match is damnn sick!! First time i thought a regular Tiger Driver could end a match


----------



## stinger-splash

Watched some 1997 triple crown matches. That means I've started with the first matches between Kobashi and Misawa. Amazing stuff, but as far as psychology goes, Misawa/Kawada is still much better.

Kobashi/Misawa - 20/1/97 - ****3/4 (great selling)
Kawada/Misawa - 6/6/97 - ***** (not close to their 94 classic, but awesome as well)
Kobashi/Misawa - 21/10/97 - ****3/4 (amazing final minutes)

Much much more to come soon. I've found tons of interesting matches.


----------



## McQueen

1/20/97 is an easy ***** in my book, you just have to take into the account of the subtltys of Kobashi game plan to take out Misawa. Probably Misawa's best match where he wasn't facing Kawada in some form and thats saying a lot.


----------



## stinger-splash

It was pretty long and I was very tired when I watched it. The selling of the arm by both men was as good as it gets. But I need to rewatch it, that's for sure. I don't know when tho because there's so much more I need to watch.

I forgot to mention I watched the match where Kawada unmasked Tiger Mask II. It's almost impossible to believe that same man beat Jumbo in the same year. I haven't seen too much of Misawa under the mask, but this was below average. Totally different from what I've seen from him later on.

And I haven't found Akiyama/Misawa singles matches. Yet I find footage of them all over on YouTube. Someone who can tell me more about their matches?


----------



## McQueen

Well Akiyama wasn't seen as being on Misawa's level in terms of being a singles opponent till right before pre-split AJPW or early NOAH. You might not have gotten to them yet of your going chronologically.

I wasn't a huge fan of Misawa as Tiger Mask either. He was too bulky for the character and obviously was much better as his own man.


----------



## Kapone89

The NOAH card for the 20.03 show has been announced
NOAH, 20.03.2010 (G+ LIVE)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 3 Way Match: Atsushi Aoki vs. Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kentaro Shiga
2. Tamon Honda & Masao Inoue vs. Akitoshi Saito & Yutaka Yoshie
3. Takuma Sano vs. Satoshi Kajiwara
4. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Okita
5. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kento Miyahara
6. Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
7. Takeshi Rikio & Mohammed Yone vs. Big Murakami & Katsumi Usuda
8. Jun Akiyama & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Yoshinari Ogawa

_Crediturolove.com_

A big WTF to match number 7.


----------



## cobray

If, and thats a big if, Murakami is somehow able to unleash Battlearts Yone, the match will be awesome


----------



## McQueen

No disrespect but Misawa is dead so why the fuck in Ogawa still in main events? Really Ogawa?

Well with any luck Takayama will crush his skull.


----------



## stinger-splash

More AJPW 90's madness...

*Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada* (_Tag League Final, 12/05/1997_) *******
Probably one of my lowest five star matches and that because of the finish. I know Akiyama took one hell of a beating like always, but this was kind of an anticlimax to such a great match. Other than that, your usual hardhitting tag match with an insane amaount of heat. Almost every match around this period of time with one of these men is automatically a good match no matter what.

*Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa* (_Triple Crown, Jan 1998_) *****1/2*
As a former tag team champion and partner of Misawa, Akiyama had established himself as one of All Japan biggest stars. I heart this wasn't his first shot at the gold, but I don't know what the previous ones are. A great 'struggle for control' match where Akiyama takes a jumpstart and does whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of Misawa. He goes as far as doing a Tiger Driver, which was not a good idea as Misawa kicks out at one and gives a salvo of elbows. Akiyama comes back however and does a combo of big moves including two of his finishers. I really thought it was over here. Once Misawa came back, Akiyama had no feul left and Misawa put him away with an elbow. Great stuff. Too many restholds in the early going prevent it from a higher rating.

Looking forward to the '98 Champions Carnival.


----------



## seancarleton77

I can tell when Marufuji is booking, ny interest tends to dip. Stick to wrestling Marufuji, you're one of the best wrestlers, and one of the worst bookers.


----------



## antoniomare007

eh, KO vs NOAH is always fun and compared to Akiyama's horrible booking, Maru's all right.

The Global League dates are out:



> BLOCK A
> - Takashi Sugiura (GHC Heavyweight Champion)
> - Takeshi Rikio
> - Takuma Sano
> - Bison Smith
> - Jun Akiyama
> - Kensuke Sasaki Image
> 
> BLOCK B
> - Naomichi Marufuji
> - Takeshi Morishima
> - Mohammed Yone
> - Akitoshi Saito
> - Yoshihiro Takayama
> - Toshiaki Kawada
> 
> Cards
> 
> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2010 IN YOKOHAMA", 28.03.2010
> Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Hall D
> 
> 1. Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue vs. Takashi Okita Image & Kento Miyahara Image
> 2. Jun Akiyama & Ricky Marvin vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Kentaro Shiga
> 3. Mohammed Yone & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima Image
> 4. Akitoshi Saito & Atsushi Aoki vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Kazushi Miyamoto
> 5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Taiji Ishimori
> 6. Global League '10 - Block A: Takeshi Rikio vs. Takuma Sano
> 7. Global League '10 - Block B: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 
> 
> Pro-Wrestling NOAH - "SPRING NAVIGATION 2010"
> 
> NOAH, 10.04.201010 (G+)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mohammed Yone
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki Image vs. Jun Akiyama
> 
> NOAH, 11.04.2010
> Zepp Nagoya
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Akitoshi Saito
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Takashi Sugiura vs. Takuma Sano
> 
> NOAH, 13.04.2010
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki Image vs. Takuma Sano
> 2. Global League '10 - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Naomichi Marufuji
> 
> NOAH, 16.04.2010
> Yonago Convention Center Big Ship
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Takeshi Morishima vs. Mohammed Yone
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Takashi Sugiura vs. Takeshi Rikio
> 
> NOAH, 17.04.2010
> Hakata Star Lane
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Takeshi Morishima vs. Akitoshi Saito
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Takashi Sugiura vs. Kensuke Sasaki Image
> 
> NOAH, 18.04.2010
> Hakata Star Lane
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Mohammed Yone
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Jun Akiyama vs. Bison Smith
> 
> NOAH, 22.04.2010
> Tottori Dome
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mohammed Yone
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki Image vs. Bison Smith
> 
> NOAH, 24.04.2010
> Sapporo Teisen Hall
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block A: Takashi Sugiura vs. Bison Smith
> 2. Global League '10 - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 
> NOAH, 25.04.2010 (G+)
> Sapporo Teisen Hall
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block A: Takuma Sano vs. Bison Smith
> 2. Global League '10 - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takeshi Morishima
> 
> NOAH, 28.04.2010
> Aomori Industrial Hall
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block A: Takeshi Rikio vs. Bison Smith
> 2. Global League '10 - Block B: Mohammed Yone vs. Akitoshi Saito
> 
> NOAH, 29.04.2010
> Sendai Industrial Exhibition Mansion Aztec Museum
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block A: Jun Akiyama vs. Takeshi Rikio
> 2. Global League '10 - Block B: Takeshi Morishima vs. Naomichi Marufuji
> 
> NOAH, 02.05.2010
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan
> 
> 1. Global League '10 - Block B: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akitoshi Saito
> 2. Global League '10 - Block A: Kensuke Sasaki Image vs. Takeshi Rikio
> 3. Global League '10 - Block B: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takeshi Morishima
> 4. Global League '10 - Block A: Takashi Sugiura vs. Jun Akiyama
> 5. Global League '10 - Finals: Block A1 vs. Block B1


some really interesting matches in there, Block B is definitely the most intriguing. 

kinda weird that such a big tournament doesn't have a semifinal.


----------



## McQueen

When is NOAH going to realize Marufuji is rediculous as a heavyweight?


----------



## Blasko

Gonna watch every Kawada match. 

I hope Marufuji does that stupid YOU RUN TO THE ROPES WHILE YOU'RE RUNNING YOU TURN AROUND AND I LARIAT YOU.

..Except get gets met with a Gamengiri.


----------



## seancarleton77

Marufuji vs. Takayama & Marfuji vs. Kawada should be the best matches of the League.


----------



## antoniomare007

McQueen said:


> When is NOAH going to realize Marufuji is rediculous as a heavyweight?


well they are desperate with all the injuries (not to mention their historic problem of never creating new heavyweight stars) and Maru is one of their bigger stars. I know his style is not _credible for a heavyweight_ but at this point we all know that Maru is more of an "Openweight" (does that even exist? lol)

at least his matches are gonna be fun to watch


----------



## McQueen

Hajime No Blasko said:


> Gonna watch every Kawada match.
> 
> I hope Marufuji does that stupid YOU RUN TO THE ROPES WHILE YOU'RE RUNNING YOU TURN AROUND AND I LARIAT YOU.
> 
> ..Except get gets met with a Gamengiri.


I was hoping for death by Kawada.


----------



## antoniomare007

*Dory & Terry Funk vs Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik - All Japan RWTL 12/15/1977*

Go watch this match, NOW!!. Amazing stuff here, the four just beat the living shit out of each other and just kept going. And the drama...man, the fucking drama in this. Abby and Sheik stabbing Terry in the arm and the japanese crowd throwing garbage to ring, then the comeback, the nearfalls - yes, it has nearfalls - and Joe Higuchi getting hit. Fuck it, maybe i'm overrating this but this is a ****3/4-***** match to me (and i'm not even a big fan of snowflakes), didn't really cared about the ending. Just freaking loved every single second of this.


----------



## McQueen

I wouldn't call it a ***** match but I generally love anything that involves Terry Funk to death. Joe Higuchi always getting nailed in old AJPW matches is always great shit.


----------



## Halfnelson

I really need to get on some of that older All Japan stuff, not a lot of current puro interests me so I'll probably start soon.

I did watch Kawada/Morishima recently though, I thought it was pretty good. Surprised Morishima dominated so much, Kawada'a comebacks were pretty great and his selling was as good as it usually is. His match with Takayama should be good, Takayama is probably my favourite wrestler from Japan this year.

EDIT: Tenryu will wrestle for Big Japan on 5/4 along with Necro and Nick Cage. Looks like Tenryu will be in a tag match against Yoshihito Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto. Don't know who his partner will be yet.


----------



## Blasko

Joe Higuchi is so fly that it's not even funny.

Oh, NICK FUCKING GAGE, Tenryu and Necro are all going to BJW.

How bad ass is that?


----------



## antoniomare007

Halfnelson said:


> Looks like Tenryu will be in a tag match against Yoshihito Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto.


:faint:




have anyone watched the 81 & 82 matches between Terry Funk and Bruiser Brody?? and more importantly, can anyone upload them


----------



## McQueen

Yes and i'm sorry I don't have the means to upload stuff.


----------



## antoniomare007

thanks anyway McQueen, did you saw them on that huge Funk comp?


----------



## McQueen

No don't have that yet. I got some Brody stuff a while back that has it on it.


----------



## carc

The Global League looks awesome, looking forward to the Kawada vs Takayam match and Sasaki vs Suiguira.

I don´t know if this belongs here, but Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori are the new AAA Tag Team Champions










Fucking awesome!!


----------



## antoniomare007

nice, lol at AAA giving Morishima his biggest push in like 2 years.



bad news: Tanahashi is injured (knee problems again) and might miss 6 months or so. 

New Japan Cup Results:


> *
> NJPW, 3/20/10 (WPW)
> Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
> 9,000 Fans - No Vacancy*
> 
> 1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai beat Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Kyosuke Mikami (5:19) when Liger used a shotei on Mikami.
> 2. Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma beat Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo (8:33) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Gedo.
> 3. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson beat Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa (12:05) when Anderson pinned Hirasawa after the Magic Killer.
> 4. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Masato Tanaka ZERO1 beat Wataru Inoue (13:05) with the Sliding D.
> 5. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Togi Makabe beat Toru Yano (14:26) with a top rope King Kong kneedrop.
> 6. New Japan Cup Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Strong Man (9:09) with the Boma Ye.
> 7. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Hirooki Goto beat Yujiro Takahashi (15:04) with the Shouten.
> 8. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Tetsuya Naito beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (23:17) with a Stardust press.
> 
> -
> *
> NJPW, 3/22/10 (Samurai! TV)
> Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium*
> 
> 1. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Hirooki Goto vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1
> 2. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 3. New Japan Cup - Final:


glad to see Naito win clean and Tanahashi not working through the injury for more than 1 match.

Tana needs to change his finisher...


----------



## Halfnelson

Not sure if anyone here follows All Japan but results from Purolove. 

*All Japan "PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 9"
March 21st, 2010
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*

1. Seiya Sanada & Hiroshi Yamato defeated Super Crazy & Yasufumi Nakanoue (8:37) with a German Suplex Hold from Sanada to Nakanoue
2. Taiyo Kea, NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA defeated René Duprée, Hate & Toshizo (7:56) with a La Magistral from NOSAWA to Hate
3. KIYOSHI & BUSHI defeated Chessman & Dark Ozz (7:17) with a Moonsault Press from KIYOSHI to Ozz
4. Masayuki Kono defeated Suwama (19:30) with a Diving Kneedrop
5. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & Minoru defeated Osamu Nishimura, Akebono & Shuji Kondo (~10:00) with a Samoan Drop from Voodoo to Kondo
6. Cage Match: Masakatsu Funaki defeated Minoru Suzuki (19:03) by KO
7. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kaz Hayashi © defeated KAI (16:23) with the Power Plant (9th defense)
8. Triple Crown: Ryota Hama defeated Satoshi Kojima © (20:20) with the Ryota Hammer - Title Change


----------



## McQueen

I've never heard of Ryota Hama is he any good or is this a facepalm worthy title change?

Not only HOLY SHIT at a cage match in All Japan but HOLY SHIT at a cage match in All Japan with Funaki & Suzuki. :shocked: Might need to see that.


----------



## Halfnelson

I hven't seen a lot of him either, I don't really follow AJPW too closely. From other forums I've read most people are pretty shocked so I guess it came out of nowhere. No one seems too upset though.

I'm looking forward to the cage match too. I've checked out everything from Funaki since his comeback and it was supposed to be pretty good. Might be a while before it turns up though.


----------



## Caponex75

Halfnelson said:


>


He looks like he is about to pass out or is constipated lol


----------



## Derek

Hama won the Triple Crown. Oh dear lord.

and it looks like Nishimura retired.

In other news, the main event for NOAH's last show was so bad that Sugiura had to apoligize for it after the match.


----------



## McQueen

Poor NOAH lol.

Nish retired? That sucks I really enjoy his throwback style.


----------



## Blasko

Hama is a fun guy to watch, does great comedy...

But he has no place being in the top dog in any company. At all.


----------



## seabs

*I've said this before but NOAH, New and All Japan really need to merge together to save themselves. Just look at how terrible each promotion has been for the last year or so now with the small exeption of Wrestle Kingdom where it was New Japan vs NOAH.*


----------



## McQueen

AJPW & NOAH need to for sure.

I mean isn't Dragongate the most successful promotion in Japan these days. Dragongate? C'mon.


----------



## Blasko

No matter how much they draw; Dragon Gate is still the shits.


----------



## seabs

*Or we can just wait for DDT to take over the world and make the world a much better place.*


----------



## antoniomare007

*Genichiro Tenryu vs. Randy Savage (4-13-90)*

Man this was all sorts of fun, in 10 minutes Savage and Sherri manage to piss everyone off so every time Tenryu conects anything the Tokyo Dome fucking explodes. Very few 10 minute matches are as entertaining as this.


----------



## seancarleton77

Seabs said:


> *I've said this before but NOAH, New and All Japan really need to merge together to save themselves. Just look at how terrible each promotion has been for the last year or so now with the small exeption of Wrestle Kingdom where it was New Japan vs NOAH.*


When you're right, you're right. This merger needs to happen, or each company will continue to get smaller.


----------



## Derek

A merger is not likely to ever happen. Waaaaaaaaaay too much politics for it to ever work.


----------



## Blasko

And no way people are going to split profits.


----------



## antoniomare007

so...

Goto won the New Japan Cup and will be facing Nakamura at Korakuen.

YAMATO ended Doi's reing


----------



## antoniomare007

confirmed, Tenryu's match at Big Japan will be...

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs Genichiro Tenryu & Yuji Okabashi


----------



## Derek

God dammit Morishima, I want to be a fan but you make it so damn hard.


----------



## seabs

*:fpalm:*


----------



## Yeah1993

Legit thought that was Bull Nakano.

:lmao


----------



## Devildude

Fucking lol, Morishima would make a tremendous ladyboy. :lmao


----------



## FITZ

Yeah1993 said:


> Legit thought that was Bull Nakano.
> 
> :lmao












There is a striking resemblance.


----------



## Maxx Hero

I marked for the new Morishima. He is gonna succeed or more likely go down in flames with 100 percent effort.


----------



## Kapone89

Remember back when NJPW announced their j-cup tag tournament?

NJPW "SUPER J TAG TOURNAMENT 1ST", 08.05.2010 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo JCB Hall

1. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Gedo & KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi & Consequences Creed
2. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Mascara Dorada & Valiente
3. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai vs. Tiger Mask & Davey Richards
4. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Jushin Thunder Liger & Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato & Taro Nohashi
5. Super J Tag Tournament - Semi Final: Gedo/KUSHIDA-Ibushi/Creed vs. Taguchi/Devitt-Dorada/Valiente
6. Super J Tag Tournament - Semi Final: Liger/Yoshihashi-Hayato/Nohashi vs. Kanemoto/Samurai-Tiger/Richards
7. Super J Tag Tournament - Final: 

_Credit: Purolove.com_

Looks very interesting, especially when it comes to the outsiders they are bringing in.


----------



## seancarleton77

^ That will be epic! Look for Davey and Kota to steal the show every time they wrestle in New Japan.


----------



## seabs

*Davey and Kanemoto in the same ring should be brilliance.*


----------



## TheAce

I just want Davey to turn on Tiger Mask and destroy him......


----------



## Caponex75

I believe we all do a little. 


I wonder if Davey is going to do his crowd killing dive. I'd pay to see him do that on some unsuspecting japs.


----------



## McQueen

I'd mark if he did that and yelled "That was for Pearl Harbor!"

And then never get booked in Japan again.


----------



## Caponex75

McQueen said:


> I'd mark if he did that and yelled "That was for Pearl Harbor!"


I'd think that make him the greatest heel Japan had ever seen.


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> I'd mark if he did that and yelled "That was for Pearl Harbor!"
> 
> And then never get booked in Japan again.


Kevin Von Erich did something like that.


----------



## smitlick

wow odd to see Creed get booked on the show... either way Davey & Ibushi in NJPW spikes my interest.


----------



## seabs

McQueen said:


> I'd mark if he did that and yelled "That was for Pearl Harbor!"
> 
> And then never get booked in Japan again.


*:lmao You dont know what I'd give to see that.*


----------



## Maxx Hero

Seabs said:


> *Davey and Kanemoto in the same ring should be brilliance.*


This is a wet dream of mine. I hope Koji gives the punk kid what he deserves.


----------



## seancarleton77

Maxx Hero said:


> This is a wet dream of mine. I hope Koji gives the punk kid what he deserves.


I hope Davey shoots on him with the goal kick ala Dynamite and knocks that old fuck's teeth out!


----------



## kwjr86

Davey's in New Japan for the 5/8 NYC Show? What a bummer.


----------



## smitlick

Oh yeah thats odd.. Maybe he'll pull a hogan?


----------



## McQueen

Or even better a Rick Rude.


----------



## seabs

*Koji Kanemoto vs El Samurai - NJPW TOSJ 97 Final*

_This is fucking awesome. Stiff strikes, intense heat, nice moves and a great story in there too. Kanemoto gets to know Samurai's boot better than it's own mother (not that a shoe has a mother but you get the jist) with the amount of times that it smacks him flush in the face and Kanemoto's kicks back to El Samurai on his chest and back are absolutely vicous. I mean you can literally feel how hard he kicks him. You can tell the difference between someone slapping their thigh when they kick someone to try and make it sound better and the genuine thud when foot meets back and on this occasion you can definitely tell how real and stiff Koji's kicks are. 

The opening section of the match is really nice with both men building up the heat for later in the match and stiffing the hell out of each other. The end is where the match goes from great to being a classic though. Koji's attitude and lack of respect for anyone is great and especially so in this match with Samurai. He makes it really easy for him to get super babyface support which is all important here. He just puts the icing on the cake by going after his mask and partially removing it. From there he fucking kills the poor guy who sells having his mask fucked over brilliantly and it's one of the best examples of getting instant babyface support and heat for Koji. The false finishes for Koji are great and the crowd proper eat them up now that Samurai has their full support and it builds even further perfectly to Samurai's comeback and eventual win. Normally after someone gets their but whupped so much in such short time I'd be a little skeptical over a quick babyface comeback but it works a treat here. Samurai gets one last rush of adrenaline and fighting spirit and fucking destroys Koji with 3 super huge moves including a top rope reverse ddt and picks up the win. Also Koji's reverse hurracarana from the top rope is incredible. 

The whole match is incredible actually. Koji being a dick is always good stuff and Samurai's part with his mask just adds that little extra that a match needs to be this good. Added to a fantastic crowd and great stiff action I fucking adored this match. Arguably one of my favourite juniors matches ever._

*****3/4*


----------



## Derek

5 stars, brah.


----------



## seancarleton77

I am pleasantly OD'ing on New Japan Juniors from all different years so I'll have a few quick reviews up starting with....

El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto NJPW '97 *****

Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai - the Best of the Super Juniors Final '92 ****1/2

Well I was at it decide to watch one of my all time favourite matches:

Yuji Nagata vs. Koji Kanemoto NJPW ****3/4

Also watched

Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto from a recent show ***3/4 can't wait for the winner to face Nakamura!

Masato Tanaka Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi G1 CLIMAX 2009 ****


----------



## seabs

*Vader vs Antonio Inoki - NJPW 04.01.1996*

_Really dug the shit out of this one which actually suprised me. Vader is fucking awesome in this one and the Inoki presence on top of it makes it quite the sceptical. Vader's got this great respect thing going for Inoki but at the same time during the match treating him like a piece of dog shit he's just stood on in his best leathers. 

The majority of the match is Vader killing Inoki with him teasing comebacks to keep the crowd hyped up. The mix of in and out ring action is really nicely done with Inoki even managing to bust Vader open on the outside. Vader is fucking brutal and annihilates Inoki on the outside just launching chairs and tables at him. There's one awesome chair throw from Vader which smacks back off the ring just missing Inoki. Vader's fucking awesome at playing the physcotic big mad man in hunt for blood and in this case it's Inoki's blood.

The crowd really come into it and make the final parts great with Inoki constantly kicking out of Vader's big moves. Seeing the fans marking the fuck out in every sense of the word when Inoki lifts his shoulder up after Vader's vader bomb and moonsault is awesome, especially as it's little japanese people jumping up and down which for some reason made it more enjoyable to me.

The finish kinda comes out of nowhere after Vader's moonsault (omg btw) and at first I was kinda like, oh ..... it's done now then. But it works really well and like the rest of the match has that feel like it could be genuine if it was really going down. Inoki busting out a simple but deadly submission hold like he did for the win makes sense and the whole finishing sequence works the crowd wonderfuly. If you get into then I'd imagine you'd love the shit out of it too like me. I forgot to mention it as well but Vader's suplex on Inoki. OHMYFUCKINGGAWD!_

******

*Great Sasuke vs Ultimo Dragon - NJPW 05.08.1996*

_Well this was a let down. All it was to me was two guys moving around the ring really fast trying to put moves in between the running around and not doing it very well. Neither one looked totally comfortable and both looked lost for the majority of the match. It just felt like an exhibition match with no real purpose. Plus both guys, Sasuke in particular looked sloppy. Sasuke's moonsaults were embarrasing tbh._

*****

*Shinya Hashimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu - NJPW 01.08.1998*

_Loved this in very similar ways to the Vader/Inoki match. Both men just go crazy on each other with chops, slaps and punches. It's got a great genuine fight feel to it but at the same time like Vader/Inoki even though both men act like they want to kill each other you can also feel the geuine respect between the two which I adored. 

For such a match that's largely strike attacks as opposed to a wrestling clinic you need a hot crowd that's into it and they got just that. They eat up everything both guys throw at them for the duration of the sprint. It works so well because both men are legit badass motherfuckers. The rest periods when both men would try and catch their breath, I really dug because it's what you do and Hashimoto's selling of it is brilliant, probably because it's so genuine how worn out he would have been with the rate he was going at Tenryu. Probably prefered Vader/Inoki slightly but both matches are great wars._

******

*Steiners vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW 21.03.1991*

_Typical Steiners match but that's always good so I'm not complaining one bit. Plenty of big throws and suplexes plus Hase & Sasaki can play Rick & Scott at their own game which makes for a really interesting mesh of styles. Hase does a good job of taking the brunt of the Steiners punishment for the majority of the match building up perfectly to the hot tag to Kensuke who comes in and again plays them at their own game with plenty of big throws between them. Looking back at I didn't think it was anything memorable or had a classic feel to it but it was just 13 minutes of really good wrestling._

****3/4+*

*Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase - NJPW 01.11.1990*

_Suprised how much I enjoyed this considering 3 of the 4 in this I'm not too bothered about (the other being Sasaki). The opening sequence and the finishing stretch are fucking hot and are what really makes this match so good. The middle portion is kinda meh and I lost attention at one point but fortunatly it's reasonably short so doesn't take away much. All 4 men go real hard at the start and get the crowd hot from the go and the crowd get really hot for them. The finish is then really hot and as the wrestlers go into another gear, the crowd move up to another gear with them. I really dug the shit out of the finishing sequence without it ever going anywhere near overkill territory. Nobody really stood out with a single performance which I actually quite liked cause it was a real group performance and as a team all 4 men made it work so well._

******


----------



## McQueen

*SEABS* did you just say you AREN'T INTERESTED IN HIROSHI HASE?

Because if you did now its really on bitch. Guy was better than Mutoh and Chono. Best wrestler never to make it past the midcard (because he's reportly too selfless).


----------



## Derek

Seabs can't handle all that Mustache.


----------



## McQueen

The thing is NO ONE CAN!


----------



## Derek

Its true.


And if anybody hadn't heard, New Japan has an official Youtube Channel, but they don't have a page for it (youtube claims that the channel doesn't exist for some reason).

But if you can find any of the videos they put up, and if you have an account, you can subscribe and if you click on your username on the upper right hand corner and click 'subscriptions' and then click the name of the channel (NJPW), you can see the last 100 videos they put up.

There are tons of great matches from all eras of New Japan, some clipped and some in full. Its pretty damn awesome.


----------



## McQueen

I don't want to make a youtube account.


----------



## antoniomare007

holys shit, that's awesome news Derek....i hope they have Hashimoto finally beating Tenryu in 94'.


Don't know if Hase was better than a motivated Mutoh, but the guy was pretty fucking great. His only IWGP title match is one of the best ever.

Also, people need to watch more Shinya Hashimoto.


----------



## McQueen

Everyone needs copious amounts of Hash. See theres my drug joke for the year.

I honestly largely think Chono can be boring unless he has the right opponent and Mutoh is so damn inconsistant that i'd definately put Hase above him, not Hashimoto though.


----------



## seabs

*I'm not trying to put Hase down. I just havent seen that much of him thats blown me away. Any matches of his you'd reccomend me to help change my mind? I definitely put him a mile ahead of Chono and Muta. They do nothing for me at all.*


----------



## McQueen

Hase vs Kawada '98 in AJ

Anything involving Hase and Hashimoto is awesome, the one shot Hase got at the IWGP might be the best title match in the belts history and the 93 G-1 match is awesome too.

Hase & Mutoh tagging is usually pretty good.

Hase vs Chono at '93 G-1 is probably Chono's 2nd best match as well


----------



## seabs

*Cheers.*


----------



## McQueen

Oh and The Man has a pretty great Hase/Sasaki singles match from 92 or 93 on his site too.


----------



## antoniomare007

that Sasaki/Hase match is kinda underrated. I agree that Hase was more consistent that Mutoh (at least from what i've seen), but i can't put The Moustache ahead of a motivated Mutoh....btw, Great Muta sucks.


yo Seabs, what's your opinion on Hashimoto?? (careful







)


----------



## Caponex75

Akiyama vs. Shibata

A fun ass brawl with some no selling but it's just all awesomesauce. Shibata: "Fuck you old fart" Akiyama: " I'M NOT PUTTING YOU OVER, YOU LITTLE FUCK". That's my match description right there.


----------



## McQueen

Shibata is pretty awesome against surly old men. Tenryu just getting pissed off at his bullshit and hitting him with a bottle might be the greatest moment in Wrestling history.


----------



## Caponex75

Never even knew that match happened. Is it on the Ditch?


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> yo Seabs, what's your opinion on Hashimoto?? (careful
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> )


*Havent seen an awful lot but I do like.*


----------



## McQueen

Caponex75 said:


> Never even knew that match happened. Is it on the Ditch?


Shibata vs Tenryu? It happened twice if i'm not mistaken. I saw it on Dailymotion.


----------



## seabs

*Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano - NJPW 31.01.1990*

_Glad that I enjoyed this just as much as I did on first watch. Was in between minds as to whether or not give it the full 5 before but now I think a proud ****3/4 is deserving of it. The match is really great and one of those matches that really shows off why Liger was one of the best juniors ever. He really gets the heat between the two wrestlers over from the get go by going at Sano with all his intensity and sets the bar high from the get go. Liger's offense, though minimal is so full on and hard it's great shit. The shining light of the match is Liger's deadbeat selling of Sano's offense which is amazing. Liger's comeback at the end is kinda a bit on the short side but it's good stuff anyway. Liger pulling out a shooting star for the finish was a nice touch too._

*****3/4*

*The Great Sasuke vs Jushin Liger - Super J Cup 1994*

_Really good fast paced high flying junior stuff but slightly on the overrated side imo. It's great but I wouldn't consider it a classic. Both men pull out all their high flying super cool moves from their arsenal to put on a show and the crowd eat it up. Sasuke is far far from a perfect wrestler and you can definitely see that. The finish is really arkward with Sasuke totally fucking up the springboard and then just going straight into a roll up finish after it. Liger kinda saves with his cocky attitude coming out after Sasuke falls flat on his face from the failed springboard only for it to get the better of him. The fucked up springboard right at the end kinda hurt the match for me though._

*****1/4*

*Wild Pegasus vs The Great Sasuke - Super J Cup 1994*

_This one is a step up on Sasuke's semi final match with Liger and definitely a better performance from him. Benoit is always solid and just does his thing in amongst Sasuke flying about the place. Sasuke pulls out all his high flying shit again which the crowd eat up yet again and makes for a great atmosphere for the final. Sasuke changing his top rope senton to the outside to a dropkick was a nice touch from his match with Liger right before it. The finish kinda came from nowhere. You'd kinda expect more a bigger finishing stretch for the final of such a big tournament but instead Pegasus just hits a big top rope move and gets the win against Sasuke's momentum. Last time I watched it I was the same rating as this time but considered giving it the full 5. Definitely wouldn't go any higher this time, lower if anything but I'll stick where I am for now._

*****3/4*


----------



## Yeah1993

NJPW's official Youtube cahnnel is one of the greatest thing I've ever seen.


----------



## Derek

It is pretty amazing. They have a 24 minute video featuring clips from 1972-2007 (ends with the ending of the 1/4/07 Dome Show).


----------



## seancarleton77

That was an incredible video, even WWE's Hall of Fame Induction videos come nowhere near that awesomeness.


----------



## antoniomare007

Satoshi Kojima is leaving All Japan. 

from the SSS boards:



> Tokyo Sports reports that Satoshi Kojima will be leaving the Company next week. Kojima, who injured his right arm during the Champion Carnival, will undergo surgery this June. Kojima is expected to Resign with the Company as soon as his Right Arm fully heals. He is still expected to finish up the last 2 shows of the current tour.





> Now as I've (Sobak) read article on TS . TS cites Kojima and Mutoh. Kojima didn't renew contract, which I assume ends at May 31st. And he has planned operation on June 2nd, so since it'll take long time to heal, he didn't want to trouble AJ with his injury (which probably means have money for nothing). So Aichi will be his last show.
> Diagnosis is ulna nerve paralysis on right elbow. Looks like he needs 3 months for recovering. He naturally becomes free when he returns.
> Satoshi says he was able to feel the growth of a young generation. He also wants to challenge some new things.





> I'd just like to say that on the Japanese blog I was translating, the reason he is not signing a new contract, is because his new contract would start June 1st. He and Mutoh met in February about Contract extensions. His arm was a known issue then. So they had him get it checked out while pulling the trigger on Hama. After getting it checked out he was diagnosed with the ulnar palsy in his arm and the Dr. recommended surgery. They(Mutoh and Koji) decided that the smart thing to do for the company was for him to just let his contract expire and take the necessary steps to heal his arm.


His future is uncertain, he could re-sing with All Japan when he is fully healed or go freelancing.


----------



## Goku

Just caught this,

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6/6/97): ***3/4*

I expected a lot more from the beginning stages. The start, I thought was great with Kawada's usual strikes and Misawa going nuts. All of a sudden, it degenerated into a 'moves on the whim' type thing. The problem was that if they weren't planning on selling the injuries, then doing the same moves over and over again on the opponent was a very bad idea. The armbar sequences by Kawada were sloppy and didn't strike up later once Misawa's neck became the focus.

A lot of brutal headthrowing though, which is to be expected I guess but they didn't do anything for me because there wasn't much thought put into building that (except for 'me mad' obv) and not enough follow up either. The ending, though I liked the idea of it came off rather flat. Kawada was out of it, so the referee didn't count the pin? Then he GOT THROWD ON HIS HEAD again and Misawa got the pin.

Just too many drivers, powerbombs and suplexes for my tastes, especially since they were all delivered in the same sequence over and over again until Kawada died. It's definitely a very good match but it's nowhere close to what they did in 94. This makes me want to watch that again.


----------



## antoniomare007

besides 3/6/94 & 6/9/95, the best exchanges between those 2 where in tags IMO. 

Still, that 97' match is different from other title matches between Kawada and Misawa 'cause that was the first time Kawada was the favorite to win the damn thing (after finally getting his 1st pin on Misawa in a singles match at the CC). It's just another chapter in Kawada's long path to beat Green Destiny for the Triple Crown. He just hits bomb after bomb because it's the only way he has been able to beat Misawa previously (tag matches, and that CC win), at this point Kawada is desperate and on some "you are gonna stay down this time!" attitude, but as always good ol' Misawa makes a comeback and beats him, again.

I also liked when he worked Misawa's arm, going back a few months when Kobashi did the same thing at 1/17/97 and was very close to beating that elbow throwing bastard.


----------



## Goku

Yeah, I remember the prior Championship Carnival match. Wasn't that like under ten minutes? Didn't really care for that either.

I get the throwing bombs argument. I see it all the time and don't really care but if they were throwing the same bombs (Not just Kawada but Misawa too), then they really could've spiced it up. It's like they went from spot A to B to C and then back to A and there was pretty much zero selling in the match (which again is quite common but that doesn't mean it isn't a problem.)


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, the Champions Carnival match was short 'cause it was inmediatly after Kobashi and Misawa had wrestle for 30 minutes. There was a 3 way tie in that years tournament and they did a "round robin" type of thing to determine the winner.

you may like the 1/22/99 match more, it's the most headrop-y match they had, but to me, it's their best singles match after 94 & 95.


----------



## Oda Nobunaga

So, can anyone direct me to Shinya Hashimoto's greatest matches? Purely for research reasons.  I've heard he was like Kawada, which is instantly win.


----------



## antoniomare007

Caesar WCWR said:


> So, can anyone direct me to Shinya Hashimoto's greatest matches? Purely for research reasons.  I've heard he was like Kawada, which is instantly win.


vs Hase G-1 Climax 93
vs Liger 94'
vs Hase 94' IWGP Title match
vs Mutoh 95' G-1 Climax Final
vs Choshu 96' G-1 Climax
vs Takada 96' IWGP Title Match
vs Yamazaki 97' IWGP Title match (his whole feud with Yamazaki is great)
vs Tanaka 02' in Zero-One
vs Kawada 04' Triple Crown Match


----------



## Halfnelson

antonio covered a lot but here's a few more Hash macthes worth checking out.

vs Regal, IWGP title New Japan 4/16/95
vs Tenryu, New Japan G-1 Climax '98( brutal match basically consisting of super stiff chops and kicks)
Hashimoto/Nagata vs Misawa/Akiyama, Zero-One 3/2/01
Hashimoto/Otsuka vs Misawa/Ogawa NOAH 1/13/01(all the Misawa-Hash exchanges are awesome)

His rematch with Tanaka was pretty good from what I remember as well.


----------



## Oda Nobunaga

Thanks, guys. Much appreciated.


----------



## McQueen

I'm gonna add in the 91 G-1 Climax semi final match between Hash and Chono and the Champion vs Champion match between Hash vs Liger as well. Otherwise a lot of his great stuff is already cover. Guy owned.


----------



## antoniomare007

i wonder why he seems to be kinda forgotten when talking about great wrestlers, same with Tenryu and Jumbo.


----------



## McQueen

I'd rather watch Jumbo, Tenryu and Hashimoto well before i'd watch HHH, HBK or Bret Hart, the so called "greats" of the WWF/E..


----------



## Goku

How is Jumbo forgotten? EVER?


----------



## KidRed

Hohenheim of Light said:


> How is Jumbo forgotten? EVER?


I have to agree. Unless you have no clue about puro at all, it's impossible to dispute him being Top 3 of all-time, or even #1.


----------



## Kapone89

*T2P 13.11.2001*

*Kentaro Mori & Taku Iwasa Vs Stevie "Brother" Tsujimoto & Masato Yoshino-***1/2-***3/4*
Great match. Just one holy shit moment after another. Really represents the T2P style well.

*Ryo Saito Vs Milano Collection A.T.***1/4-***1/2*
A bit of a squash if you ask me. Saito got in a few flurrys of offense, but the way Milano dominated him
putting him in one hold after another was amazing in it's own right.


----------



## seabs

*Takayama won NOAH's Global league, beating Akiyama in the final.

Suzuki won the triple crown from Hama and VISCERA is one half of the tag champs now.

KENTA's return is set for the 6/6 Korakuen show.*


----------



## Derek

Takayama wins? Does this mean Akiyama is now retired? (Word was that he claimed he would retire if he didn't win the Globabl League)

Hama drops the title in his first defense? To MiSu? Thats almost as shocking as Hama winning in the first place.


----------



## antoniomare007

Akiyama winning was the perfect angle, but Takayama is no that bad of a choice.

Takayama was in the Tokyo Dome main event and won the Global Tag League (and defeated Sugs last year at the Misawa Memorial show in Osaka). But still, if Akiyama does indeed retire, this desition is retarded. If he stays then he still has a win over Sugi so is not that bad.

After watching Kensuke vs Sugiura i'm waiting for NOAH to book that match with the title on the line, HUGE potential there.


Hamma was a transitional champ so Kojima could leave All Japan and have his elbow treated.

PS: wasn't a NOAH thread somewhere around here?


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm glad that Yokozuna knock-off Hama lost the strap, even more glad Kaz Hayashi the best Junior Heavyweight in the world retained, he's a beast!


----------



## seabs

*There's hardly anyone left for Kaz to beat for the title now though that he hasn't already. He'll probably just go around all the Juniors again for a second lap.*


----------



## Derek

*SHIN CHAMPION!!!!!*







acutally, a few new champs:

NJPW "WRESTLING DONTAKU 2010", 5/3/10 (WPW/PPV)
Fukuoka International Center
6,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy

0. Mitsuhide Hirasawa defeated Nobuo Yoshihashi (5:44) with a Crab Hold. 
1. Tiger Mask, AKIRA & Tomoaki Honma defeated Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo (7:56) when Tiger used the Destroy Suplex Hold on Gedo. 
2. Manabu Nakanishi defeated King Fale (8:15) with the Argentine Backbreaker.
3. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Jushin Thunder Liger defeated ***** Casas (c) (10:04) with the Air Scissors Drop - Title Switch. 
4. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Match: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito (c) and Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (12:20) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Anderson - Title Switch. 
5. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Masato Tanaka went to a Double KO (13:41). 
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi (22:40) with the Tiger Frosion (4th defense).
7. Special Singles Match: Toru Yano defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (16:57) with a Modified Emerald Frosion.
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Togi Makabe defeated Shinsuke Nakamura (c) (18:18) with the Top Rope King Kong Knee Drop - Title Switch. 


Awesome news: Makabe won the title.
Terrible news: with a win over Tanahashi, it looks like Yano could be the next challenger.


----------



## McQueen

MAKABE & MiSu new champs!

Awesome. I'd love to see them have a match at some point, prefarable only about a 10 minute match though.


----------



## antoniomare007

if it's a not a brawl, i couldn't care less about a Makabe. A Yano vs Makabe match would be fucking terrible. Still, i hope he has a good reign, Nakamura and Tanahashi can't do everything.


----------



## Derek

Makabe can be fun, Yano just flat out sucks. 

I can't see him having a terribly long reign. Probably dropping it to the G-1 winner some time in the fall.


----------



## antoniomare007

just read the worst news about today's show. Tiger Mask is gonna be Maru's next challenger


----------



## seancarleton77

Let me get this right, the top performer in New Japan lost his Title to.... Makabe!!!! What's next Marufuji losing his Junior Title to the worst Tiger Mask ever?! Fuck this company!!

Tanahashi lost????? He never loses, the man is like John Cena and Triple H combined, and he loses to a guy who should be jobbing to Nakanishi.

Let me guess Vince Russo was guest booker? 

At least 'Fuji won, hope Devitt dethrones him and they don't waste it on 'Mask.


----------



## Derek

They new that if they were ever going to put the belt on Makabe, they couldn't wait any longer. He was getting to the point where if he wasn't going to be made a serious player soon, odds are he would move back down the card. And I highly doubt that it will be a lengthy reign, so its not like he will dominate the title the way Tanahashi and Nakamura have.

The only title switch I wasn't too happy about was the Tag Title switch. No Limit should have kept the belts in that match, then drop it to Blue Justice later when their feud had been developed a bit more.

If Tiger Mask takes the title back from Marufuji, they might as well throw the belt away.


----------



## antoniomare007

Nakamura had ran out of challengers too, seems logical to me.

Tana lost because he's going to CMLL and they need to give him something to do besides chasing the Title (he's been doing that for the past 3 years). Yano is ass but who else can Tana feud with? Goto is a face and it seems as if he's gonna wrestle against Tanaka till the world ends in 2012.

i just hope they are not planning on breacking No Limit up, now that would be retarded.


----------



## seabs

*Marufuji's title defense match went 22:40 *


----------



## Oda Nobunaga

Was the Liger/Casas match any good?


----------



## Derek

Haven't heard anything in terms of quality of matches, but I'd imagine that not even Tnanahashi could carry Yano to a good match.


----------



## antoniomare007

Caesar WCWR said:


> Was the Liger/Casas match any good?


they gave Liger and Casas 10+ minutes, it had to be at least entertaining (we'll see though).

have you seen any Hashimoto matches yet?



Seabs said:


> *Marufuji's title defense match went 22:40 *


I'm tired of all these Jr. matches going so damn long too. If his match with Tiger Mask goes more than 20 minutes i'ma be :frustrate


WHERE IS BLASKO???


> DDT "RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2010 SUMMER VACATION", 25.07.2010
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. TAJIRI Image vs. Dick Togo
> *2. Handicap Match: Razor Ramon HG & Razor Ramon RG vs. Danshoku Dino*


----------



## Kapone89

Results from Big Japan's anniversary show are in

*BJW "15TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW ~DEATH & CRAZY THAT´S THE WAY OF THE BJ-WORLD~", 04.05.2010 (Samurai! TV)
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
3,354 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Daikokubo Benkei, Onryo & Ryuichi Kawakami besiegen Kikutaro, Shinobu & Atsushi Ohashi (10:52) nach einem Elbow Drop von Benkei gegen Ohashi.

2. Manami Toyota, Marcela & Ariya besiegen Aja Kong , GAMI & Bullfight Sora (13:45) nach dem Marcela Special von Marcela gegen Sora.

3. KAMIKAZE , Masayoshi Motegi & Kazuhiko Matsuzaki besiegen MEN´s Teioh, Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto (16:48) nach einer Moonsault Press von KAMIKAZE gegen Tsukamoto.

4. Hardcore Match: Abdullah Kobayashi, Shuji Ishikawa & Kankuro Hoshino besiegen Takashi Sasaki, Necro Butcher & Mototsugu Shimizu (13:45) nach dem Diving Bakachinga Elbow auf einen Stuhl von Kobayashi gegen Shimizu.

5. Shadow WX, The Winger & Minoru Fujita besiegen TAJIRI , Ryuji Yamakawa & Yuichi Taniguchi (15:35) nach einem Vertical Drop Brainbuster von WX gegen Yamakawa.

6. Japan-America Death Match Summit - Barbed Wire Treaty Death Match: Jun Kasai, Nick Gage & DJ Hyde besiegen "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa, Isami Kodaka & Masashi Takeda (17:51) nach dem Pearl Harbor Splash auf eine Razor Board von Kasai gegen Kodaka.

7. Special Tag Match: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki besiegen Genichiro Tenryu & Yuji Okabayashi (16:27) nach einer Short Range Lariat von Sekimoto gegen Okabayashi.

8. BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title, 200 Fluorescent Lighttubes Cage Death Match: Ryuji Ito besiegt Yuko Miyamoto (c) (20:44) mit einem Dragon Splash vom Käfig - Titelwechsel.*

_Crediturolove.com_

Not to happy about about Miyamoto losing the title to Ito


----------



## Kapone89

Super J tag tournament results.
NJPW "SUPER J TAG TOURNAMENT 1ST", 08.05.2010 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo JCB Hall
3,200 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Fujita "Jr." Hayato & Taro Nohashi besiegen Jushin Thunder Liger & Nobuo Yoshihashi (10:51) mit dem Helm von Hayato gegen Yoshihashi.
2. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai besiegen Davey Richards & Tama Tonga (10:50) mit einem Ankle Hold von Kanemoto gegen Tonga.
3. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Gedo & KUSHIDA besiegen Kota Ibushi & Austin Creed (13:18) mit einem Cradle von KUSHIDA gegen Creed.
4. Super J Tag Tournament - Round 1: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt besiegen Mascara Dorada & Valiente (7:59) mit dem Dodon von Taguchi gegen Dorada.
5. Togi Makabe Yuji Nagata, Hirooki Goto, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Tomohiro Ishii (16:46) mit dem King Kong Knee Drop von Takagi gegen Ishii.
6. Super J Tag Tournament - Semi Final: Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai besiegen Fujita "Jr." Hayato & Taro Nohashi (12:45) mit einem Ankle Hold von Kanemoto gegen Nohashi.
7. Super J Tag Tournament - Semi Final: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt besiegen Gedo & KUSHIDA (11:36) nach einem Vertical-Drop DDT von Devitt gegen Gedo.
8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) besiegt Tiger Mask (20:59) durch Referee Stop (4th defense).
9. Super J Tag Tournament - Final / IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (21:27) mit dem Samurai Clutch von Samurai gegen Devitt - Titelwechsel. 

Also, the best of the super juniors tournament is shaping up as well.
1. Jushin Thunder Liger
2. Koji Kanemoto
3. Tiger Mask
4. Ryusuke Taguchi
5. Prince Devitt
6. Nobuo Yoshihashi
7. Gedo
8. Fujita "Jr." Hayato (M-Pro)
9. Kota Ibushi (DDT)
10. Kenny Omega
11. KUSHIDA (SMASH)
12. La Sombra (CMLL)
13. Davey Richards
14. AKIRA
15. Tama Tonga
16. TBA

_Credit: purolove.com_

Dont like Kanemoto & Samurai as tag champs. Don't get me wrong Kanemoto can still deliver, but im not to sure about El Samurai though.
And my, that Juniors tournament looks awesome. Will definetly keep an eye on La Sombra


----------



## Devildude

> 8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) besiegt Tiger Mask (20:59) durch Referee Stop (4th defense).


Am I the only one hoping that Marufuji legit beat Tiger Mask within an inch of his life and forced the ref to stop the match?


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm so happy that Mask lost, who's next for 'Fuji!


----------



## seabs

*BOSJ matches lineup




NJPW, 30.05.2010 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taiji Ishimori 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: AKIRA vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Davey Richards 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. La Sombra 
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. KUSHIDA 


NJPW, 01.06.2010 
Zepp Sendai 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tama Tonga 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Kenny Omega 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. La Sombra 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. KUSHIDA 
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Gedo 


NJPW, 02.06.2010 
Tokorozawa Citizen Gymnasium Sub Arena 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Fujita "Jr." Hayato vs. Kenny Omega 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Tama Tonga 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. AKIRA 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Davey Richards vs. Gedo 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Kota Ibushi 


NJPW, 04.06.2010 
Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Fujita "Jr." Hayato vs. Tama Tonga 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: AKIRA vs. Taiji Ishimori 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. KUSHIDA 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: La Sombra vs. Gedo 
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tiger Mask 


NJPW, 05.06.2010 
Utsunomiya City Gymnasium 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Taiji Ishimori 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: AKIRA vs. Tama Tonga 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: La Sombra vs. Davey Richards 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Gedo 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Prince Devitt 


NJPW, 06.06.2010 
Green Dome Maebashi Sub Arena 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: AKIRA vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Davey Richards vs. KUSHIDA 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Gedo 
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kota Ibushi 
- mit Yutaka Yoshie 


NJPW, 08.06.2010 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Differ Ariake 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Kenny Omega 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Taiji Ishimori 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Gedo 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi 
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Davey Richards 


NJPW, 10.06.2010 
Toyohashi City Gymnasium #2 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Taiji Ishimori vs. Kenny Omega 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Tama Tonga 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. La Sombra 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Gedo 


NJPW, 11.06.2010 
Mie Yume Dome Ueno 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Taiji Ishimori vs. Tama Tonga 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. AKIRA 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. La Sombra 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. KUSHIDA 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Davey Richards 


NJPW, 12.06.2010 
Kyoto KBS Hall 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Taiji Ishimori vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: AKIRA vs. Kenny Omega 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Kota Ibushi vs. Davey Richards 
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Prince Devitt 
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. La Sombra 


NJPW, 13.06.2010 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Semi Final: Block A #1 vs. Block B #2 
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Semi Final: Block B #1 vs. Block A #2 
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Final:

Click to expand...

Glad that the big matches I wanna see will be on the big shows. Hope that Devitt or Ibushi wins. Block A is fucking awesome with Davey, Devitt, Ibushi and Liger all in it.

Ishimori was X btw for those who weren't aware.*


----------



## Derek

Ishimori being X seems like a bit of a let down, but since they're not bringing in anybody from All Japan or Dragon Gate, I guess thats the best we're going to get.

Cards look good. If Devitt doesn't win, I riot.





And if you haven't seen Nakamura/Makabe yet, try to find it. Its a really fun match. Better than their G1 match last year.


----------



## Devildude

> Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato
> Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Davey Richards
> 
> Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto vs. Taiji Ishimori
> Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi
> Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Davey Richards


Out of the televised matches these are the big ones I'm pumped to see. The lack of big Liger matches on the broadcasts indicates that he'll probably go through to the Semi-Finals, along with Kanemoto and Devitt (who should be winning the entire thing and then beating Marufuji for the strap). The fourth semi-finalist is pretty up in the air though - they could go with somebody proven like Ishimori, a young lion like Hayato, or even Taguchi to set up a semi-final/final with Devitt as a partner vs partner match.

Either way, it could be one of the better BOTSJ tournaments in recent history.


----------



## smitlick

*FMW - DirecTV PPV - Backdraft - May 5th, 2000*
Masato Tanaka vs Hayabusa
***1/4
*
NOAH - 5th August, 2000*
*2 out of 3 Falls Match*
Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama & Kenta Kobashi
***3/4


----------



## Devildude

Just watched the opening round matches of the NJPW Super Jr. Tag Tournament and to my amusement, Davey Richards' match was probably the worst match out of the four. I guess I've got so used to him working fantastic matches in ROH and PWG that it's pretty shocking to see him have a mediocre match. Sure, his partner was about as useful as a boat with no floor and El Samurai is a shell of his former self...not even Kanemoto could really save it.

As for the rest, Hayato and Ibushi continue to stand out of the crowd and Gedo continues to be the best wrestler in the world.






























Just kidding.


----------



## seancarleton77

Devildude said:


> Just watched the opening round matches of the NJPW Super Jr. Tag Tournament and to my amusement, Davey Richards' match was probably the worst match out of the four. I guess I've got so used to him working fantastic matches in ROH and PWG that it's pretty shocking to see him have a mediocre match. Sure, his partner was about as useful as a boat with no floor and El Samurai is a shell of his former self...not even Kanemoto could really save it.


Also that crowd was so dead they should have sent some doctors in to check their pulses, even for Japan that was pathetic!


----------



## seabs

*KENTA's return match on 6/6 is against Marufuji.*


----------



## TheAce

> Also that crowd was so dead they should have sent some doctors in to check their pulses, even for Japan that was pathetic!


Not for the Marufuji Vs Tiger Mask match.




> KENTA's return match on 6/6 is against Marufuji.


Amazing. Also thanks for the Super J Cup match ups, I was wondering about those.


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - March 31, 2006*
*Light Tube Deathmatch*
Abdullah Kobayashi vs Takashi Sasaki
***1/2
Pretty good considering im no fan at all of Kobayashi


----------



## seancarleton77

TheAce said:


> Not for the Marufuji Vs Tiger Mask match.


They were alright for that. 

The Tag League or whatever was booked like crap anyway, so why cheer.


----------



## zaqw222222

Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - AJPW 25.05.1992 - *****

Awesome Match with awesome crowd atmosphere!! One of the best matches that I have ever seen.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW 15-08-08 AJ Styles & Shinjiro Otani vs. Kurt Angle & Masahiro Chono - ***
NJPW 16-08-08 AJ Styles & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kurt Angle & Shinsuke Nakamura - * 3/4

First match was good, but second was huge disappointment...


----------



## Yeah1993

Posted this somewhere else & thought I'd throw it over here:

*Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (New Japan 23/9/81)*

Yeah here it is, possibly my favourite puro match ever. I know some would look at Andre's name on a match and think 'eh....', but this is outstanding. Like Stan Hansen....STAN HANSEN.....playing an underdog babyface (STAN. FUCKING. HANSEN. AS AN UNDERDOG BABYFACE). 

The first thing I noticed was the prescence and 'aura' of Andre, is unexplainable really, but just looking at him walk to the ring here in itself is....awesome. Then he goes ahead and walks over the top rope, and boots Hansen with one of his legs on the way in. After that, it's really nothing special at all, just chops, headbutts, punches, boots, elbows, etc. But damn, they made it seem so important, and it felt like a big-time anime monster fight or something. The way Andre was yelling, there was something about his booming voice 'AHH's that made the match feel BIG.

Andre's selling really helped the match feel big too, he would tilt backwards into the ropes and there would be like slight bounce on the ropes. It made him seem like a monster who could only taken down after being rocked back and forth after some hihg-impact move. Even then he didn't go down, which helped built to the LARIATOH near the ending (almost like that's the only thing that could take him down). Speaking of which, the double count-out was great, it built a whole 'nothing will contain these two from whooping each other' dynamic.

Found it weird how Inoki seemed to like double count-outs with the match starting again, but yeah, I didn't mind it at all because I didn't want the match to end.  And after the LARIATOH spot, Andre got knocked out of the ring and was all 'fuck it, I can't take this, I'll get my loaded elow pad'. and then the referee nearly dies when Andre Lariat's him after the ref tries to pull it off of him. Great ending, if you ask me. ^_^

I don't generally like using the term 'psychology', but there was some cool psychological stuff here also, like Andre targeting the Lariat arm for a part of the match, and Hansen shoving on a camel Clutch thing after he slammed Andre. But it was mostly a BIG FIGHT atmosphere-ish match, and the crowd dug it (they went bezerk when Hansen sammed Andre). So yeah, get it, watch it, love it, but just not as much as me, because....I dont think it's possible.... *****1/2*


----------



## McQueen

I've seen that match and it owns so much.


----------



## TheAce

Wow, I gotta check that Andre Vs Hansen match ASAP!!!


----------



## Yeah1993

v Killer Khan 1/4/82 is similar and only like 1/4 lower. IVP's Andre comp has around 5 Andre/Khan matches and I need to see them all after watching it. If the American/Australian dollar thing wasn't shit atm I'd probably get it now (+ their shipping price is a bitch). And if I hadn't ordered the Arn Anderson/Backlund discs from cal.

Don't expect to like Andre/Hansen anywhere near as much as I do, btw, but still anyone watchig it should enjoy it like hell.

Andre the Giant is the fucking man.


----------



## Spartanlax

Andre/Hansen was great as you said. Honestly, Hansen in Japan can do no wrong. And of course Andre brings the goods as well. Hansen's over as shit in Japan and is ALWAYS lookin' for a fight. All of his matches are at least "pretty damn good".


----------



## zaqw222222

Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart - TOSJ 27.04.1991 - ****

Awesome match, always been a fan of Owen Hart and Liger and they both dont disappoint.

How does others rate this match?


----------



## McQueen

Been awhile since i've watched it but about the same.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW Wrestling Kingdom II 4/01/08 in Tokyo Dome

AJ Styles, Christian Cage & Petey Williams vs. Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Prince Devitt - ** ¼
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Wataru Inoue vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels - *
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Abyss - **
Katsushi Takemura, Masato Tanaka, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Koji Kanemoto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Takashi Iizuka & Tiger Mask IV - ** ¾
Team 3D vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano - * ½
The Great Muta vs. Hirooki Goto - ** ½
IWGP TAG TEAM TITLES:
Giant Bernard © & Travis Tomko © vs. The Steiner Brothers - ** ¼
IGF IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Kurt Angle © vs. Yuji Nagata - ****
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ** ¾

Average show only because of Angle/Nagata. Rest of the show was poor... This years WK IV was a lot better.


----------



## McQueen

I thought Angle/Nagata was just a much much shittier version of Angle/Benoit from Rumble '03.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW Battle Creation 29-04-96 in Tokyo Dome:

BATTLE FORMATION OPENING MATCH
Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Othani vs. Yuji Nagata & Tokimitsu Ishizawa - *** ¼. 
IGWP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Jushin „Thunder” Liger ©[NJPW] vs. The Great Sasuke [Michinoku Pro] - *** ½+
TEAM WOLVES VS. WCW PART 1:
Hiroshi Tenzan [Team Wolves] vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage - ** ½
TEAM WOLVES VS. TEAM WCW PART 2:
Masahiro Chono vs. Lex Luger - **
HIGH GRADE 6 MEN TAG MATCH
The Road Warriors & Power Warrior vs. The Steiner Brothers & Scott Norton - *** ½
ORIENTAL DREAM MATCH
Jinsei „Hakushi” Shinzaki [Michinoku Pro] vs. The Great Muta - MOTN - *** ¾
BATTLE OF TWIN DRAGON
Genichiro Tenryu [W.A.R] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - *** ½
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Nobuhiko Takada © [UWFi] vs. Shinya Hashimoto - *** ¼

Great show, since the beginning to the end!


----------



## Yeah1993

zaqw222222 said:


> Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart - TOSJ 27.04.1991 - ****
> 
> Awesome match, always been a fan of Owen Hart and Liger and they both dont disappoint.
> 
> How does others rate this match?


Around there. Seen some go ****1/2.


----------



## Martyn

WPM Bridge of Dreams Dome Spring Full-Blown 2-04-95 in Tokyo Dome:

1. *THE 1st MATCH JWP WOMEN'S PRO-WRESTLING: -THANK YOU, GODDESS OF PRO-WRESTLING! (PURORESU-NO KAMISAMA, ARIGATOU!) -8 WOMEN TAG MATCH
Dynamite Kansai & Hikari Fukuoka & Candy Okutsu & Fusayo Nochi vs Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki & Cuty Suzuki & Hiromi Yagi - **** ½ (fantastic)
2. *THE 2nd MATCH LLPW: LADIES' ULTIMATE FIGHT [REFEREE: Nobuaki Kakuda (K-1)]
Shinobu Kandori vs. Harley Saito - n/a (some short MMA shoot)
3. *THE 3rd MATCH ALL JAPAN WOMEN'S PRO-WRESTLING: -ALL JAPAN WOMEN'S GREATEST 4 STAR PREMIUM -TAG MATCH
Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue vs. Manami Toyota & Blizzard Yuki - **** ¼ (another excellent joshi match)
4. *THE 4th MATCH GO GUNDAN: -ALIEN DEATH MATCH to determine the 1st Go Gundan Interplanetary Champion
Ryuma Go vs. Uchu Maijin Silver X - *
5. *THE 5th MATCH IWA-JAPAN: -BARBWIRE BOARD SUPER SCRAMBLE BUNKHOUSE 6 MAN TAG DEATH MATCH
Terry Funk & Shoji Nakamaki & Leatherface vs. Cactus Jack & The Headhunters (A & B) - *** ¼
6. *THE 6th MATCH HYBRID WRESTLING PANCRASE: -SINGLE MATCH
Minoru Suzuki vs. Christopher DeWeaver - n/a (another short mma shoot)
7. *THE 7th MATCH PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING FUJIWARA-GUMI: -FUJIWARA-GUMI RIVAL CONFRONTATION (TAI-KE)-TAG MATCH
Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Yuki Ishikawa vs. Don Arakawa & Carl Greco - *** (great comedy match)
8. *THE 8th MATCH MICHINOKU PURORESU: -MICHINOKU THE BEST '95 -6 MAN TAG MATCH
The Great Sasuke & SATO & Shiryu vs. Super Delfin & Gran-Naniwa & TAKA Michinoku - **** (great comedy & high flyning contest. Like modern day Chikara, but damn, its 1995!)
9. *THE 9th MATCH -CHRIS DOLMAN JAPAN RETIREMENT MATCH 1ST STAGE
Akira Meada (RINGS JAPAN) vs. Chris Dolman (RINGS HOLLAND) - n/a (another mma shoot)
10. *THE 10th MATCH U.W.F. INTERNATIONAL: -SPECIAL SIX MAN BOUT
Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara & Billy Scott vs. Gary Allbright & Kazuo Yamazaki & Gene Lydick - * ½ (UWFi rules sucks)
11. *THE 11th MATCH F.M.W: -EVIL NINJA NIGHTMARE~LAST PATH TO THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN-FINAL CHAPTER 
-NO ROPE ELECTRIFIED BARBED WIRE EXPLOSIVE MATCH
The Great Nita (Atsushi Onita) vs. Pogo Azumanga (GREAT KING) (Mister Pogo) - ½ (I like some FMW death matches, but that was poor...)
12. *THE 12th MATCH ALL JAPAN PRO.WRESTLING: [4.2 DOME SPECIAL MATCH] (TOKUDENJIAI) -6 MAN TAG MATCH
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue & Johnny Ace - *** ½+ (match was good, but I've version with no sound and thats make me annoyed...)
13. *THE 13th AND FINAL MATCH NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING: [NEW JAPAN CLIMAX] -SPECIAL SINGLE MATCH
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono - **

Total : 8/10.

Great event. I recommend it for everyone!


----------



## brandeito

does anyone know any other sites that sell puroseu other then ivp video especially ones with more recent bjpw zero 1 and ddt


----------



## SuperDuperSonic

McQueen said:


> I thought Angle/Nagata was just a much much shittier version of Angle/Benoit from Rumble '03.


It was a tribute match to Benoit, in particular that match, according to Meltzer.


----------



## McQueen

Still thought it was pretty awful.


----------



## Yeah1993

brandeito said:


> does anyone know any other sites that sell puroseu other then ivp video especially ones with more recent bjpw zero 1 and ddt


http://www.slambamjam.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SDC&Category_Code=AE03

Speaking of IVP, there starting to sell Goodhelmet's Liger comp.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III 4-01-09 in Tokyo Dome:

1. Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO
Mistico, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno, Jado & Gedo - ** ¼.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger 20th Anniversary Match
Jushin Thunder Liger & Takuma Sano Pro Wrestling vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto - * ½.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Tread on!!~: 
Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin - *** ¼.
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: 
Low Ki (c) vs. Tiger Mask IV - *** ¼. 
5. Fighting Holdings Competition: 
Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson - * ¾.
6. AWA World Heavyweight Title ~Crusade for Justice~: 
Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Masato Tanaka - *** ¾. 
7. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the invasion~: 
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama - *** ¼.
8. IWGP Tag Team Title - Hardcore Rules: 
Togi Makabe & Toru Yano (c) vs. "Team 3D" Brother Ray & Brother Devon - * ¾.
9. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the encounter~: 
Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura - ****+.
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: 
Keiji Muto (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *** ¾.

Nice show, just like this years WK IV.


----------



## KingCannabis

I have not watched the match yet, but does anyone have any comments on the Marufuji/Kawada match from last month? Have not seen anyone rate it or anything yet.


----------



## Devildude

I thought it was good, but not great. If I remember, the match was kinda disjointed since Marufuji was hitting all his usual over-the-top spots and it seemed like Kawada either didn't know 'Fuji's offense or just didn't give a damn and no-sold it anyway.

The finish was pretty fun though - I guess if I was giving snowflakes it would be around the ***1/4 - ***3/4 range from what I remember.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, it's worth a watch.


----------



## seabs

*I hated it. Kawada looked way too old and slow in there with Marufuji and his selling was really awful at the point he wasn't no selling but trying to sell incredibly poorly. Marufuji's done nothing for me since his return either. *


----------



## seancarleton77

Seabs said:


> * Marufuji's done nothing for me since his return either. *


You mean carrying Tiger Mask IV to a great match isn't a Christ worthy feat?


----------



## antoniomare007

lately it seems as if people either like Maru or really hate his work


----------



## RoninTK

*Results for June 1st, 2010!*

I will see how this goes for the time being, but I will try and post the daily results, news, and cards for many puroresu promotions here on this thread, so check back daily to see the current happenings.

*NOAH "NAVIGATION WITH BREEZE 2010", 6/1/2010
鴨池ドーム Kamoike Dome
800 Spectators​*
1. Akitoshi Saito vs. Masao Inoue
2. Takuma Sano & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin
3. Go Shiozaki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Bison Smith & Jason Jones
4. Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Kento Miyahara vs. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
5. Jun Akiyama & Atsushi Aoki vs. Keith Walker & Bobby Fish
6. Takashi Sugiura, Naomichi Marufuji & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Yutaka Yoshie & Yuto Aijima



Spoiler: 6/1 Show



1. Akitoshi Saito defeated Masao Inoue (10:23) after the Sickle of Death. 
2. Takuma Sano & Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin (15:03) after Sano pinned Marvin following the Northern Light Bomb. 
3. Go Shiozaki & Taiji Ishimori defeated Bison Smith & Jason Jones (13:56) with a La Magistral. 
4. Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Kento Miyahara defeated Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi(16:57) after Morishima pinned Hirayanagi following the Backdrop driver. 
5. Jun Akiyama & Atsushi Aoki defeated Keith Walker & Bobby Fish (16:27) after Aoki submitted Fish with a Cross Knee Hold. 
6. Takashi Sugiura, Naomichi Marufuji & Shuhei Taniguchi defeated Yoshihiro Takayama, Yutaka Yoshie & Yuto Aijima (21:34) after Taniguchi pinned Aijima with a German Suplex.


*In NOAH related news:* 
_It seems Takeshi Rikioh may be out of the June 19th NJPW show where he was set to face off against Toghi Makabe for the IWGP belt. 
It appears he is suffering from a cervical herniated disc in his lower back. No other announcement has been made at this time, but just when you thought NOAH already had enough injuries to deal with, out of nowhere, another wrestler is out of action._


*Osaka Pro-Wrestling “Osaka HAPPY WEEKDAY”, 6/1/2010
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
32 Spectators​*
1. Atsushi Kotoge vs. Kushinbo Kamen
2. Tadasuke vs. Ebessan
3. 3Way Match: Billyken Kid vs. Asian Cooger vs. Kanjyuro Matsuyama



Spoiler: 6/1 Show



1. Atsushi Kotoge defeated Kushinbo Kamen (8:51) with a Moonsault Press.
2. Tadasuke defeated Ebessan (6:15) Datsui Nakani Obie Trice.
3. 3WAY Match: Billyken Kid defeated Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Asian Cooger (12:03) after Billyken pinned Matsuyama following the Koumori Tsuri Otoshi (Cross Leg Over the shoulder belly to back piledriver).


----------



## Devildude

Looks like the NOAH injury curse isn't going to end anytime soon. If I were NOAH, I'd force KENTA to live in a bubble until he returns just in case he gets struck by lightning or something ridiculous.


----------



## Derek

Jeez, another NOAH injury? Good god. 

If Rikioh is out of the title match, it could mean he'd be replaced by.....oh dear lord........Yone.

I just had a flashback to their extremely shitty WK IV match.


----------



## antoniomare007

i read in the SSS forums that Yone challenged Makabe


----------



## RoninTK

We got into a good discussion on the fact of who could face Makabe, and yet still draw for NJPW. 



> NOAH is sort of in a lose disadvantage if they send anyone else in... They could send in Morishima, Taniguchi, and or Shiozaki, but that is going to hurt NOAH more than help them if they do it... Sano, Saito, and Yone could take the fall, but can they sell tickets not as well as the others... Akiyama and or Takayama could be a great choice, but if they have to lay down it Makabe, yet again that hurts NOAH...


The only other option would be for someone in NJ to face Makabe, but yet again most of the key players are already booked. It seems it will nonetheless be a NOAH guy against Makabe, but in the end it is all a factor of drawing power for the PPV/Ticket Sales.


----------



## Derek

Hell, the NOAH fans can't even stand Yone these days, what makes anybody think the New Japan fans will react any differently?

But if its anybody from NOAH to lose to Makabe, it might as well be the guy who has no chance of winning.


----------



## RoninTK

*NOAH and Osaka Pro Results for June 2nd, 2010!*

*NOAH "NAVIGATION with BREEZE", 6/2/2010 (Wednesday)
Kumamoto Hungnam Hall
1,600 people (full)​*
1. Akira Taue vs. Masao Inoue
2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Bobby Fish vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Jason Jones
3. Jun Akiyama, Takuma Sano & Atsushi Aoki vs. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
4. Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Taiji Ishimori
5. Bison Smith & Keith Walker vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Yuto Aijima (18:55) after Walker pinned Aijima with the Walker Bomb.
6. Go Shiozaki, Akitoshi Saito & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Takashi Okita



Spoiler: 6/2 Result



1. Akira Taue defeated Masao Inoue (9:42) with a Roll-up Pin.
2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Bobby Fish defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Jason Jones (14:26) after Fish pinned Jones with a Falcon Arrow.
3. Jun Akiyama, Takuma Sano & Atsushi Aoki defeated Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi (18:34) after Sano pinned Hirayanagi following the Northern Lights Bomb.
4. Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi defeated Yoshihiro Takayama & Taiji Ishimori (14:36) after Taniguchi pinned Ishimori with the Fisherman's Clutch to German Suplex Hold.
5. Bison Smith & Keith Walker defeated Yutaka Yoshie & Yuto Aijima (18:55) after Walker pinned Aijima with the Walker Bomb.
6. Go Shiozaki, Akitoshi Saito & Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Takashi Okita (23:54) after Shiozaki pinned Okita following a Short Arm Lariat.


*
Updated 6/6 Card:*
1. Akira Taue & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Masao Inoue & Jason Jones
2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Takuma Sano & Kento Miyahara
3. Mohammed Yone vs. Bobby Fish
4. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Tamon Honda & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
5. Yoshihiro Takayma, Akitoshi Saito & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Takashi Okita
6. *KENTA's Return Match ~ GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Match*: KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji
7. *GHC Tag Team Title Match*: Bison Smith & Keith Walker (c) vs. Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi

~ _Tamon Honda will replace Rikio in the 4th match._


*Osaka Pro-Wrestling “Osaka HAPPY WEEKDAY”, 6/2/2010
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
61 Spectators​*
1. Tigers Mask vs. Takoyakida
2. Tadasuke vs. Kuishinbo Kamen
3. 2Way Match: Billyken Kid vs. Daisuke Harada vs. Kanjuro Matsuyama



Spoiler: 6/2 Result



1. Takoyakida beat Tigers Mask (5:16) after Tigers used a Weapon Use which led to a DQ.
2. Tadasuke defeated Kuishinbo Kamen (7:27) with the 2Pac.
3. 3WAY Match: Billyken Kid defeated Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Daisuke Harada (10:44) after he pinned Matsuyama with the La Espalda.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*All Japan Pro Wrestling 全日本プロレス「ＣＲＯＳＳ　ＯＶＥＲ　２０１０」*​
*July 1st*

Shuji Kondo and Hiroshi Yamato have been given the opportunity win the All Asia Tag Team Belts as they are to go up against the current champions TARU and Big Daddy Voodoo on July 1st.







*July 2nd*

On July 2nd, Kaz Hayashi, who has been running rampant in All Japan as the unbeatable Junior Heavyweight Champion, is set for his 13th Title Defense. It has been announced that he will face none other than the the man who held the title throughout part of 2005 TAKA Michinoku!







Also announced for the July 2nd show is a new concept. I will have more news on this later as I learn more about it myself.
*<New Generation Army vs. Nonpartisan army vs. Voodoo Murders confronting six major singles matches>*
Heavyweight four players each unit ※ (a total of 12 players),single match battles.
On June 20, a public lottery will determine the card.

4 Voodoo Murders vs. 4 New Generation vs. 4 Bipartisan (non-party affiliated)

which breaks down to this...

new generation 1 vs. 3 Bipartisan
new generation 2 vs. 4 Bipartisan
Bipartisan 1 vs. 3 Voodoo
Bipartisan 2 vs. 4 Voodoo
Voodoo 1 vs. 3 New Generation
Voodoo 2 vs. 4 New Generation

*７月４日（日）July 4th, 2010.*

It has also been announced that since Mutoh & Funaki are unable to defend the titles, due to Mutoh out with injury, that the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship belts will be put on the line with Taiyo Kea and Akebono going up against the team of Suwama and Ryota Hama!







The Main event for the show has been announced that Minoru Suzuki will be defending the Triple Crown against Masayuki Kono!


----------



## seabs

*6/6 Korakuen Hall (Attendance: 2100)*

_7th Match: GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 60 min Time Limit
Bison SMITH & Keith WALKER (Champion Team) (W) vs. Takashi SUGIURA & Shuhei TANIGUCHI (Challenger Team) (L)
@27 min 43 sec. SMITH beat TANIGUCHI by BISON-TENIEL / PIN.
Team of SMITH & WALKER successfully defended their title for the first time.

6th Match: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Challenger determination Match (No Time Limit)
Naomichi MARUFUJI (W) vs. KENTA (L)
@26 min 51 sec. MARUFUJI beat KENTA by TIGER-FLOWSION / PIN.

5th Match: 6 man Tag Match 45 min Time Limit
Yoshihiro TAKAYAMA, Akitoshi SAITO & Yutaka YOSHIE (W) vs. 
Kensuke SASAKI, Takeshi MORISHIMA & Takashi OKITA (L)
@13 min 33 sec. YOSHIE beat OKITA by DIVING-BODY-PRESS / PIN.

4th Match: Tag Match 30 min Time Limit
Jun AKIYAMA & Yoshinari OGAWA (W) vs. Tamon HONDA & Yoshinobu KANEMARU (L)
@11 min 56 sec. OGAWA beat HONDA by Modified SIDE-ROLLING-CRADLE.

3rd Match: Singles Match 30 min Time Limit
Muhammad YONE (W) vs. Bobby FISH (L)
@5 min 50 sec. YONE beat FISH by KINNIKU-BUSTER /　PIN.

2nd Match Tag Match 30 min Time Limit
Taiji ISHIMORI & Ricky MARVIN (W) vs. Takuma SANO & Kento MIYAHARA (L)
@11 min 33 sec. ISHIMORI beat MIYAHARA byMEXICAN-ROLL.

1st Match: Tag Match 20 min Time Limit
Akira TAUE & Genba HIRAYANAGI (W) vs. Masao INOUE & Jason JONES (L)
@11 min 48 sec. HIRAYANAGI beat JONES by GENBA-CLUTCH._


----------



## RoninTK

*Naomichi Marufuji gets his GHC Jr Title opportunity against Yoshinobu Kanemaru on July 10th!*

Personally I am a fan of Marufuji, so for all you potential haters out there.... just keep hating the best, lol. 


On the serious not though, *do you guys think that Marufuji could add another belt with his IWGP Jr.?* 
I mean Kanemaru has had an almost non-existent reign, almost to the point that I could have forgotten they even had the title... It was cool that he won it, but he has not done much with the reign. That is why I suspect Maru to get back the title and hold it unto they have KENTA defeat him for it in a few months down the line, when KENTA is at 110%.


----------



## Maxx Hero

To be honest I didn't even remember Kanemaru picked it up? When did that happen?

I think Marufuji _could_ get a second belt, I don't see it happening here, I still think once KENTA returns they will try him as a heavyweight again.


----------



## antoniomare007

given that i want Devitt to win the BOSJ and that Maru will probably defend the IWGP Jr Title on 6/19...i hope he doesn't become a doble champion


----------



## seabs

*Maybe if he stops wrestling such damn long matches I wouldn't mind so much but atm preferably not. That being said Kanemaru has done jack shit since he got the belt and at least Marufuji would make more of a reign. NOAH has done literally nothing of interest this year though.*


----------



## RoninTK

Maxx Hero said:


> To be honest I didn't even remember Kanemaru picked it up? When did that happen?


Kanemaru won the title in a Jr. Tournament that NOAH had soon after KENTA got injured, so around the end of October of last year. 

NOAH has been in a low state since Misawa has been gone. There is no question of the company suffering at this time, with injuries abound. With that known, NOAH has not had too many junior contenders that are healthy or pushing them as a real single contenders. 
Kanemaru has only defended the title twice since winning it. I remember him facing Taiji Ishimori in March and Delirious in April, so he has not been defending the title as a real champion.

I was hoping for some more to come from NOAH after Kanemaru won, I mean they had a small Jr. Heavyweight League to crown him as champ, by beating Liger in the finals nonetheless, but that was the only height of his reign.

*I forgot to add this to my earlier post, but Daisuke Ikeda returns to NOAH on June 13th!*

Yoshihiro Takayama, Minoru Suzuki & KENTA vs. Mohammed Yone, Makoto Hashi & *Daisuke Ikeda*


----------



## Derek

With KENTA and Koataro getting injured, and Marufuji focusing on defending the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title, NOAH's junior division has been damn near dead for the past 9 months. Hell, the jr. tag titles haven't even been defended by Marvin & Ishimori since they won the titles months ago.

NOAH is in rough shape right now due to 1 major thing: Fans not getting behind new stars. They've tried making stars in Rikioh, Morishima, and Shiozaki. They all suffered from poorly booked reigns that made it hard for the fans to get behind them, and once they saw that the fans didn't care, they pulled the plug on them and they haven't been the same since.

They've been doing better with Sugiura, but if he drops the belt to Takayama, than I'm done with the comapny. I like Takayama, but if they short-change another guy, I'm done with a company that can't get its shit together.


----------



## seabs

*I miss Morishima being awesome. The only worthwile names that NOAH have made succesfully are KENTA and Marufuji. They've had great oppurtunities with other guys but either bombed with it or just never got behind it. Now all the All Japan guys are more or less done they're stuck in a rut because of the mistakes they made in previous years. Shame, I used to really enjoy NOAH.*


----------



## Nervosa

Seabs said:


> *Maybe if he stops wrestling such damn long matches I wouldn't mind so much but atm preferably not. That being said Kanemaru has done jack shit since he got the belt and at least Marufuji would make more of a reign. NOAH has done literally nothing of interest this year though.*


Have you seen Kensuke vs. Akiyama from the Tournament? Seriously, total amazing awesomeness.


----------



## Derek

Akiyama has been on fire since the start of the Global League tournament, he's got some of the old fire, but there was some confusion as at one point aparently Akiyama said that if he didn't win the Global League, he'd retire. He didn't win and he didn't retire. So who knows what is going on.

Word is that this could be Akiyama's last year, so who knows what will happen with him.


----------



## RoninTK

If anything, maybe Akiyama can pull a play out of Kojima's book and step out as a freelancer? 
I am hoping that Akiyama is not going to retire by the end of this year... I mean he still has a few years left to have a good run if he wanted one. I am all for the new generation to finally get the break they need, but I am also not wanting to see NOAH plummet to oblivion due to all the originals disappearing without giving the young the proper pushes that they need. 

Plus, I think the world still needs to see a bit more Exploders and Kicks to the Face kicks of cocky/over confident opponents, lol.


----------



## Derek

Some people speculated that he might go freelancer due to the friction between him and Nakata, but who knows if it will happen.


----------



## seabs

Nervosa said:


> Have you seen Kensuke vs. Akiyama from the Tournament? Seriously, total amazing awesomeness.


*Yeah and I didn't get the love for it at all. Was good but nothing memorable by any means.*


----------



## RoninTK

*Dragon Gate Results and News for June 10th, 2010!*

_Well with the BOSJ taking place I have really been slacking off on everything else, so here is what has been happening in Dragon Gate._

*Dragon Gate "THE GATE OF MAXIMUM", 6/5/2010 (Mon)
Aichi, House of Tsushima
800 Spectators​*
1. "K-neSuka" K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka defeated Yasushi Kanda & Kzy (11:15) after Yokosuka pinned KZy following the Mugan (Straight Jacket Gutwrench Powerbomb hold to DDT).
2. Cyber Kong defeated Naoki Tanisaki (9:21) with the Pineapple Hold.
3. Shingo Takagi defeated PAC (11:23) with the E.V.O. (yes, the E.V.O.)
4. Ryo Saito & Gamma defeated YAMATO & KAGETORA (14:02) after Gamma pinned KAGETORA following the Gamma Special.
5. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk defeated Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Anthony W. Mori (17:11) after Yoshino pinned Mori following the Lightning Spiral.

_~ It seems that Shingo and his KAMIKAZE team are up to something against WORLD-1. I think this just may just be the beginning of something more that is coming..._

*Dragon Gate "THE GATE OF MAXIMUM", 6/6/2010 (Tues)
Tsuruga, Fukui, New Sun Pier Tsuruga
650 Spectators​*
1. Ryo Saito & Gamma defeated BxB Hulk & PAC (13:37) after Saito pinned PAC following the Double Cross (Straight Jacket Piledriver).
2. Don Fujii defeated Mark Haskins (7:48) with the Triangle Scorpion.
3. Masaaki Mochizuki defeated KAGETORA (11:34) with the Twister (Brainbuster).
4. "K-neSuka" K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka defeated Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi (15:00) after K-ness submitted Horiguchi with the Aoki Hikari.
5. YAMATO, Shingo Takagi & Cyber Kong defeated Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & Naoki Tanisaki (20:43) after Shingo pinned Tanisaki following the Double Impact.


_~ CIMA claimed himself a belt in Mexico on June 6th, when he defeated Dr. Cerebro in IWRG to become the Welterweight Champion._


*Dragon Gate "THE GATE OF MAXIMUM", 6/10/2010 (Thurs)
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo​*
0. Kotoka vs. Super Shenlong (10:00) Time Limit Draw.
1. Dragon Kid's right to message Hashi's Man-boobs: Naruki Doi, PAC & Mark Haskins defeated Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid & Makoto Hashi (11:52) after PAC pinned Hashi with the 360 Shooting Star Press.
2. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii defeated Yasushi Kanda & Kenichiro Arai (6:54) after Fujii pinned Kanda with the Nice German.
3. Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk defeated Takuya Sugawara & Kzy (11:30) after Yosshino pinned Kzy following the Lightning Spiral.
4. K-ness defeated Naoki Tanisaki (11:59) following the Darkness Buster.
5. Susumu Yokosuka defeated Cyber Kong (15:11) following the Jumbo no Kachi!
6. *Open the Triangle Gate*: CIMA, Gamma & Genki Horiguchi (c) defeated YAMATO, Shingo Takagi & KAGETORA (21:53) after Horiguchi pinned KAGETORA with the Backslide from Heaven.
*WARRIORS successful V1 Defense.









_~ It seems a big battle is being set to take place between the WARRIORS, WORLD-1, and KAMIKAZE and it may be leading into the next Korakuen Hall show next month.
~ Alright for those of you who do not know the story of Dragon Kid and pretty much everyone in WORLD-1 obsession with man-boobs, it is probably better that you don't, lmao. Alright, well this match was for Dragon Kid to earn the right to touch Hashi's boobs as much as he wants. Pretty awkward stuff if you ask me, but it is all for a good laugh right . Well Kid lost and everyone else, but Kid, got to be a part of the molestation of Hashi._


----------



## Derek

Dragon Gate is fucking wierd.


----------



## Maxx Hero

While the stipulations may not always make sense, the booking is always clear and logical. Unlike about everything in the US.


----------



## Caponex75

Maxx Hero said:


> While the stipulations may not always make sense, the booking is always clear and logical. Unlike about everything in the US.


While this may be true, Dragon Gate wrestlers are fucked in the head. I don't even want to comment on those pictures. I will, however, comment on YAMATO's greatness against Mochizuki though and how everyone should see it. I dislike the DG style but YAMATO is a gift to wrestling fans. He should go to NJPW and beat Marufuji


----------



## TheAce

It's crazy to me that this was uploaded almost 5 years ago. Usually not into fan made tribute videos but..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYqUYC6LMgs

How times have changed in NOAH.......


----------



## RoninTK

There is only one Kobashi, and his matches with Misawa are some of my all time favorites. 

Speaking of Misawa, the first year anniversary after his death will be in a few more days


----------



## McQueen

Thats crazy. Doesn't seem like its been that long.


----------



## RoninTK

Not really news, but a funny nerd clash going when *Kamen Rider W* is going to be at the NJPW DOMINION show on 6/19!









This is not a joke and it seems to really be a form of cross promotion going on with the 2 properties. 
http://www.njpw.co.jp/news/article.php?nwid=12089


----------



## RoninTK

For those who maybe interested I have posted an article on the career of Misawa. 

*Remembering Mitsuharu Misawa 6/18/1962 ~ 6/13/2009*
http://www.prowrestlingponderings.com/puroresuspirit/


----------



## seabs

*Awesome looking Sumo Hall Card from DDT




DDT "RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2010 SUMMER VACATION", 25.07.2010 
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

1. Dick Togo vs. TAJIRI 
2. Handicap Match: Danshoku Dino vs. HG & RG 
3. KO-D Tag Team Title: Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa (c) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Poison Sawada JULIE 
4. Kota Ibushi vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
5. KO-D Openweight Title: Daisuke Sekimoto (c) vs. HARASHIMA

Click to expand...

Ibushi/Marufuji will interest me a lot if it goes against 'fuji's standard format of matches this year but Ibushi can generally do no wrong with me.*


----------



## RoninTK

It was announced today that *Shinsuke Nakamura will be returning from injury at the DOMINION show!* He though has a daunting task set in front of him as he will face the undefeated MMA fighter Daniel Puder, who is also a trained professional wrestler via Ohio Valley Wrestling/WWE Tough Enough.
I don't know about you guys, but I cannot see Nakamura just running through Puder like a piece of meat. Puder is pretty solid and will easily test Nakamura's MMA skills as well as his ability to take a few heavy blows.









*Prince Devitt* has also decided to cash in his *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title opportunity* against *Marufuji on the DOMINION show*. 
Will Devitt finally get the title he has been striving for years to get, or will the skill of Marufuji prove, yet again, to be too much for Devitt to handle?

















*NJPW presents "DOMINION 6.19", 6/19/2010 (Sat, 18:00)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan*​*
The card:*
1. Super Strong Machine, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga vs. Kohji Kanemoto, El Samurai & AKIRA
2. Manabu Nakanishi, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo.
3. *Special Single Match G.B.H. vs. NOAH*: Tomoaki Honma vs. Mohammed Yone
4. *Shinsuke Nakamura's Return Match*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Daniel Puder
5. *Special Singles Grudge Match*: Hirooki Goto vs. Masato Tanaka
6. *IWGP Tag Team Championship Match 3 Way Elimination Match*: "Blue Justice" Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue (c) vs. "Bad Intentions" Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. "No Limit" Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
7. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Match*: Naomichi Marufuji (c) (6th Defense) vs. Prince Devitt
8. *Special Singles Match, Loser Gets Shaved Bald*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tohru Yano
9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*: Tohgi Makabe (c) (first defense) vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH)


----------



## seabs

*There's no way Tana is going bald is there? Devitt MUST win.*


----------



## Devildude

That NJPW card looks pretty good from Match 4 onwards, here's hoping for a Devitt win.


----------



## Derek

I question them putting Toru Fucking Yano in the semi-main event of any show, but if it ends with him going bald, it'll be fine. No way Tana is losing his luscious locks.

Devitt will win the title. Fuji has had a solid reign, and there's really no point in him beating Devitt again.


----------



## McQueen

Not a YANOMANIAC I take it Derek.


----------



## RoninTK

Derek said:


> I question them putting Toru Fucking Yano in the semi-main event of any show, but if it ends with him going bald, it'll be fine. No way Tana is losing his luscious locks.
> 
> Devitt will win the title. Fuji has had a solid reign, and there's really no point in him beating Devitt again.


Actually, I am expecting Tanahashi to lose to Yano. Why? Well for one it would light a fire under Tanahashi that could push him back into title contention, and or it would set up Yano to finally get a break like Makabe.


----------



## seabs

*New Japan's heavyweights just dont interest me tbf. Goto/Tanaka has been done way too many times lately too. Havent they had a match on pretty much every major show as of late. If Tana does lose his locks then I might weep a little tear for him.*


----------



## RoninTK

Well this match is aimed at being the match to finally end the Goto-Tanaka grudge once and for all. I believe both men have beaten each other twice, and had a draw in another, so this is aiming at being the last confrontation between these 2 for a while, at least.


----------



## RoninTK

*NOAH News*

*NOAH News for June 15, 2010! “Summer Navigation Part 1″*
http://www.prowrestlingponderings.com/puroresuspirit/?p=57

First up NOAH has announced that on June 26th the *GHC Jr. Tag Team Champions, Taiji Ishimori and Ricky Marvin, will be putting their titles on the line against the team of NOSAWA Rongai (AJPW) and FUJITA (Zero1)*. On a side note this will be the first defense for the champions since winning the titles back in Mid-February.







*The Announced 6/26 card in Differ Ariake “Rusher Kimura Memorial Event”:* _(card subject to change)_
1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa
2. Bison Smith & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi
3. Keith Walker vs. Jun Akiyama
4. Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki vs. 2 New Japan Pro Wrestlers
5. Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & KENTA vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
6. *GHC Jr. Tag Title Match*: Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin (c) vs. NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA

–
~ *The Summer Navig. ‘10 Part.1 Announced Events:*
6/27/2010 ~ Hamamatsu City
6/29/2010 ~ Fuji City
7/2/2010 ~ Wakayama Center
7/3/2010 ~ Takamatsu Exhibition Hall
7/4/2010 ~ Sanpiaserizu Kochi
7/6/2010 ~ Shiojiri City Gymnasium
7/7/2010 ~ Ueda City Center
~ Announced wrestler’s to be a part of this tour:
Takayama, Sasaki, Nakajima, Smith, Walker, and Eddie Edwards.

Kentaro Shiga, Yutaka Yoshie, Takashi Okita, Kento Miyahara, and Satoshi Kajiwara.
–
*~ This is all leading up to the big event on July 10th in the Ariake Colosseum:*

As it will be the battle of the big men as *Yutaka Yoshie and Takeshi Morishima will square off one on one* in a match where only girth will prove who is the better in ring competitor.
*Naomichi Marufuji is aiming to stake claim as being the dominate Jr. Heavy in Japan*, by adding yet another championship win under his belt. He defeated KENTA at the June 6th show, and now looks at taking away the title from the current *GHC Jr. Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru*. Maru is the current New Japan IWGP Champion, and if he manges to retain at the DOMINION 6.19 show, he will go into the 7/10 show will the aim of becoming a double crown champion. Will he be able to prove his dominance in Japan, or will he be going into the GHC with a little less weight around his waist?
The Main Event for the show on the 10th will pit the current *GHC Heavyweight Champion Takashi Sugiura against the man who won the Global League a few months back Yoshihiro Takayama*. Takayama has had a mixed, but descent year so far. Will he be able to take out the Wrestling Machine and once again become GHC Heavyweight Champion?

—
~ A match that is sure to get a lot of people excited is the announcement that *Naomichi Marufuji will officially go one on one against Kota Ibushi at DDT’s upcoming event on July 25th*. This match will be a definite must see, and in my opinion should have been booked a long, long time ago.​


----------



## A Random Person

Is there any NJPW or NOAH with english announcing/commentating?


----------



## jpchicago23

Man , reading this thread has really opened my eyes to a lot of great puro matches i havent seen. I'm really into puro but semi new to it, is there a list of 100 best puro matches somewhere? I've seen a lot of the classics but i can never see enough.


----------



## Derek

A Random Person said:


> Is there any NJPW or NOAH with english announcing/commentating?


There has been some NOAH with english commentary, but they were only available on DVDs. A few matches with english commentary have surfaced before, and I did not care for them.


----------



## jpchicago23

What was the card for the previously mentioned Gobashi vs. K.O. match? I dont remember seein that


----------



## Maxx Hero

jpchicago23 said:


> What was the card for the previously mentioned Gobashi vs. K.O. match? I dont remember seein that


11.5.05...just so happens to be my personal favorite match of all time.


----------



## Devildude

*NJPW "DOMINION 6:19, 06/19/2010 (WPW / PPV)*
_Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium_
5.500 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Koji Kanemoto, El Samurai & AKIRA beat Super Strong Machine,Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga (8:48) after a La Magistral by El Samurai on Tonga.

2. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo defeating Manabu Nakanishi, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Kushida (9:42) after a Sleeper Hold by Iizuka on Kushida.

3. *GBH vs. NOAH* Special Singles Match: Mohammed Yone defeated Tomoaki Honma (8:58) with a Muscle Buster.

4. *Shinsuke Nakamura Return Match*: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Daniel Puder (4:41) with the Boma Ye.

5. *Special Singles Match*: Hirooki Goto defeated Masato Tanaka (13:39) with the Shouten Kai.

6. *IWGP Tag Team Title, 3 Way Elimination Match*: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson beat Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue (c) and Takahashi Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (18:24) - *Title change*
Nagata eliminated Naito with a backdrop hold. Anderson eliminated Inoue with the Stun Gun (18:24).

7. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Prince Devitt defeated Naomichi Marufuji (c)(20:20) with an Avalanche-Style Bloody Sunday - *title change*.

8. *Hair vs. Hair Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Toru Yano (12:54) with a Crucifix Hold.

9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Togi Makabe (c) defeated Go Shiozaki (20:40) with a top rope King Kong Kneedrop defense (1st).

_- With the victory, Goto won the series against Tanaka with the advantage of 3 to 2 wins (plus one tie gain).
- After the IWGP Title, the Jr. Tag Team Title and the Jr. Heavyweight Title now the Tag Team Title received a new design.
- In the third attempt Devitt was finally able to win against Marufuji. Previously, he was defeated by NOAH superstar in December in the final of the Super J Cup in January in an IWGP Jr. Title Match._

Credit: Purolove

Ecstatic that Devitt finally beat Marufuji and won the belt.


----------



## seabs

*Yay, Devitt and Tana both won! Really glad Devitt got the belt at last.*


----------



## Derek

Devitt finally did it! Glad to see the belt back in Shin Nihon.

Show was said to be really really good. Suprised to see Blue Justice lose the tag belts so quickly, and it looks like No Limit might be breaking up, which sucks since they were supposed to be the new franchise tag team.

Kind of weird having TAJIRI go babyface and help out Tanahashi of all people.


----------



## McQueen

Kind of weird to think Karl Anderson is successful.


----------



## Derek

I'm still trying to grasp it myself.


----------



## McQueen

Glad Marufuji lost though as I really like Devitt, and that Inoue lost too. He's boring as fuck.


----------



## Emperor DC

McQueen said:


> Kind of weird to think Karl Anderson is successful.


Bernard's awesomeness does that to a fellow. 

Honestly, best choice he could make to go to Japan. The guy has improved tons and is the best big man in the world right now. I don't think he'll ever come back to WWE or TNA, but as long as he keeps kicking ass and taking names, that's alright for me.


----------



## jpchicago23

Hey Maxx thanks for the card info that match was insane!!! The chop sequence alone is boner worthy then seeing sasakes chest three shades of purple was just brutal. Very good tag match and def. one of the best i've ever seen.


----------



## Devildude

Emperor DC said:


> Bernard's awesomeness does that to a fellow.
> 
> Honestly, best choice he could make to go to Japan. The guy has improved tons and is the best big man in the world right now. I don't think he'll ever come back to WWE or TNA, but as long as he keeps kicking ass and taking names, that's alright for me.


It's always good to see foreigners who don't make it in WWE or TNA (or just head to Japan and decide to stay there for an extended period) head over to Japan and flourish and be successful there. Plus, you get to see talent that you might not of known about (like Fergal Devitt) who you can follow with great interest.


----------



## jpchicago23

After watchin the GoBashi vs K.O. match it got me wondering what other great matches i'm missing out on. I've seen a lot of the 5 star puro matches on Meltzer's list but what are some other great matches that are maybe 4 stars or just not as popular? Any recommendations? I'm relatively new to Puro so i'm trying to expand my knowledge outside of the 5 star matches


----------



## McQueen

Have you seen Kobashi vs Takayama for the GHC in spring 2004?


----------



## jpchicago23

No i havent i'm gonna have to check that out. I'm in the process of making an order from IVP and thats where i've gotten all my puro stuff from. I was going to order the top 25 matches in Noah history and the Dean Malenko comp. Any other suggestions? I already have the super j cup and a few NJPW events from 96.


----------



## RoninTK

*Results for June 20th!*

This may be updated with more later on today, but this is all that I have so far. 
http://www.prowrestlingponderings.com/puroresuspirit/?p=123

*AJPW “CROSS OVER 2010″, 6/20/2010 (Sun)
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
1,500 Spectators​*
1. Masanobu Fuchi defeated Yasufumi Nakanoue (9:42) with a Small Package.
2. Seiya Sanada & KAI defeated René Duprée & Toshizo (9:24) after Sanada pinned Toshizo with a Tiger Suplex Hold.
_~ Well Lance Cade was to be at this event today, specifically teaming with Duprée, but it turns our he had some form of air/flight trouble and could not make it in time._
3. Captain´s Hair vs. Hair Match: Shuji Kondo (c), Hiroshi Yamato & Antonio Thomas defeated TARU, Minoru & Hate (c) (9:46) after Kondo pinned Hate following the King Kong Lariat.
_~ So now Hate head will be without hair… but I really like how TARU put Hate into the fire by making him be captain…_
4. Big Daddy Voodoo & MAZADA defeated Masakatsu Funaki & BUSHI (8:40) after Big Daddy pinned BUSHI following the Ghetto Drop (Samoan Drop).
5. Akebono defeated Ryota Hama (6:43) with a Diving Body Press.
6. Minoru Suzuki, Taiyo Kea & TAKA Michinoku (K-Dojo) defeated Suwama, Masayuki Kono & Kaz Hayashi (23:45) after TAKA made Hayashi tap out with the Dick Killer (Arm Trap Lean Back Cobra Clutch).

*Kensuke Office “TAKE THE DREAM 2010 IN SHIMIZU”, 6/20/2010
Shimizu Marine Building
851 Spectators (Overcrowded)​*
1. Go defeated Jun Nishikawa (8:40) with a Modified Camel Clutch.
2. Kikutaro & Catfish Man defeated Kentaro Shiga & CHANGO (14:20) after Catfish pinned Chango with the Catfish Clutch.
3. Hajime Ohara (SMASH), Takeshi Minamino & Manjimaru defeated Kento Miyahara, Satoshi Kajiwara & Spark Aoki (17:13) after Minamino pinned Aoki following a Death Valley Bomb.
4. *Katsuhiko Nakajima Return Match*: Go Shiozaki (NOAH) defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima (16:52) following the Go Flasher.
5. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita defeated Yutaka Yoshie & Bear Fukuda (18:52) after Sasaki pinned Fukuda following the Northern Light Bomb.

*Osaka Pro “OSAKA TAG FESTIVAL 2010″, 6/20/2010
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
185 Spectators​*
1. Hideyoshi defeated Ebessan III (7:41) with the Katanagari (Hunters Knife) (Ground Cobra Clutch).
2. Tadasuke defeated Takoyakida (7:07) following the Outkast.
3. Asian Cougar & Kanjuro Matsuyama defeated Masamune & Kuishinbo Kamen (12:31) after Matsuyama pinned Kushinbo following the Jindaiko (Tiger Lift to Facebuster).
4. *Osaka Tag Festival*: Tigers Mask & Black Buffalo [4] defeated Kengo Takai & Shigehrio Irie [0] (17:10) after Buffalo submitted Irie with an Armlock.
5. *Osaka Tag Festival*: Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2] defeated Billy Ken Kid & Yutaka [0] (25:50) after Kotoge pinned Yutaka following the Momo no Seishun Impact.


----------



## Yeah1993

jpchicago23 said:


> No i havent i'm gonna have to check that out. I'm in the process of making an order from IVP and thats where i've gotten all my puro stuff from. I was going to order the top 25 matches in Noah history and the Dean Malenko comp. Any other suggestions? I already have the super j cup and a few NJPW events from 96.


Every time i hear someone's new to puro I always recommend Jushin Liger. So yeah, him  Don;t buy a comp of him if you haven't seen much of his stuff though, I'd recommend v Naoki Sano (13/7/89, 10/8/89, 31/1/90), v Pegasus Kid (19/8/90), v The Great Sasuke (J-Cup 16/4/94, 8/7/94) to start with. If you wanna go by Meltzer then he only gave 8/7/94 ***** but the rest are really really great (Liger/Sano 31/1/90 is given five by A LOT of people). I can most likely provide a link to 8/7/94 if you want one too since it seems it's hard to find (courtesy of one Andy3000).

I can get a list of ***+ or something NOAH matches Meltzer gave if you want them, and I _had_ a list of ***-***** matches he gave to AJPW in the 90s but I'm not sure if I have it any more.


----------



## jpchicago23

Yeah those lists would be greatly appreciated. I've seen a few of Liger's matches and am pretty familiar with him. I love the match he had with Muta in 96.But yea those lists would help alot because i'm not too familiar with the great puro matches outside of the 5 star ones. I wish there was a top 100 puro match list somewhere


----------



## jpchicago23

McQueen said:


> Have you seen Kobashi vs Takayama for the GHC in spring 2004?


Thanks for the heads up on this match, what a brutal heavyweight fight. America is really missing skilled big men i like seeing heavyweights that can actually perform holds and put on a good 30+ min match


----------



## Yeah1993

http://starratingslist.blogspot.com/2009/09/noah-star-ratings-list-2000-present.html There's the NOAH list there and I think it's upadated whenever Meltzer gives another *** match & stuff. Also has his WWF/E (86- Now), NWA/WCW (86-01), TNA (ahaah tna omg), & ROH ratings. There's some chunks missing I'm sure (like there being no 2003 ROH ratings...) but yeah.

well fuck me I found the 90s list too  http://www.otherarena.com/z_jdw/ajpwlist.htm

Also... Liger/sasuke 8/7/94 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L1V33U9T


----------



## jpchicago23

Wow that's cool as hell. Thanks a lot man i appreciate it.


----------



## jpchicago23

Do you have any lists for NJPW as well?


----------



## Yeah1993

Nah unfortunately there doesn;t seem to be one around. If you write "njpw meltzer ratings" or something along those lines in google you might find the odd match here and there but there doesn;t seem to be a real big list of it.


----------



## jpchicago23

Ok thats cool. Thanks for the lists it should help me find a lot of great matches, i've mostly seen NJPW so these lists are perfect to find the stuff i'm new to.


----------



## New Blood

Here's Meltzer's Puro ratings for AJPW, NJPW, AJW and NOAH. It's still being updated. You're welcome.

http://puroratings.blogspot.com/


----------



## Yeah1993

That's pretty awesome. Thanks.


----------



## Yeah1993

double post~!

Allrighty i watched all Tiger Mask/Dynamite Kid matches again and well here:

NJPW 23/4/81 
--Didn't see this as the usual super-workrate juniors match that New Japan were putting on a lot at this time, I see it as a "show the world the dazzling actions of the superhero Tiger Mask" match, and it served it's purpose pretty well. Sayama eventually became a good wokrer (imo) by mid 82/83, but here he was kinda sucking for the most part. What he was doing wasn;t so bad at all, just copared to _how_ he was doing them. He was laying in those kicks really well up until they actually came close DKid and Dkid sold them like hed been hit with a log, when Sayama pretty much didn't even connect with 90% of them. He was really really trying to be *so* fast and dazzling that he'd fuck up and fall flat on his knees when he was supposed to do an armdrag or something. Dynamite was great as the cocky arse who'd rip at this newfound superhero's mask & ram him agaisnt the barricade & stuff. Sayama, of course, no sold the whole thing but it was still a bit of fun to watch. ***1/4

NJPW 1/1/82
--This was woeful. Tiger was ignoring almost EVERYTHING DKid was throwing at him _just_ so he could lay in some wacko move that made the crowd like him more. DKid went after the legs, knowing Sayama was a fast high-flyer, and Sayama hardly did anything apart from flop like a fish through it. Dynamite doesn;t exactly deserve too much praise in this either, I can;t for the life of me understand why he would go for a second tombstone & diving headbutt after he pulled up Tiger's pin after the first. Tiger moved out of the way and I saw guys in the crowd nodding their head with confused faces. Then Tiger picked up the win out of nowhere after he gave no offense whatsoever. Thankfully it was only like eight minutes. *3/4

NJPW 28/1/82
--This started off really well, Tiger was screwing with DK & Dk had had enough & threw the little shit straight into the metal barricade. It really looked like DK wanted an FIP segment but....Sayama looked like he didn't. I'm a fan of the guy but the way he shoves off an opponent's attempt at a move just to hit some showman-ish strike is bloody annoying. Later on though he actually got stuck in a submission for a good amount of time before turning it into some deranged counter (which are pretty cool regardless), instead of doing it within two seconds of the submission being applied. The stuff forearm and Tiger dropping Dynamite straight on his damn head after he tried to reverse a leg scossors were the other highlights after that. ***1/2 

NJPW 23/7/82
--This was really good as well. Nothing really at all in the beginning that separates it from the usual match between these two (submissions/restholds/mat work/fancy schmancy stuff/Tiger dominating DKid. And then...SUPLEX. A HUGE backdrop suplex. An AWESOME huge backdrop suplex. If Sayama moved a couple of inches upwards when taking that said suplex he would've broken his neck. I shouldn;t get a kick out of that as a decent human being side, but it was fantastic and really out-of-the-norm given the two guys in here. Nothing special outside that, but I really liked how DKid missed a top rope knee & Sayama went for a figure-four following it. ***1/2

NJPW 5/8/82
--Again, nothing really different to the series altogether, started as a quickfest (though this match the timing & execution was really good), & then it became tamer. DKid grounds TM, and that was cool, but once Tiger got in offense he was kinda crap, until DK goes straight into the barricade. TM is fine after that, grounding Dynamite the same way Dynamite grounded him. Got kinda dull considering he never changed up the offense & kept the same stuff over & over again but this is definitely watchable. ***1/4

WWF 30/8/82
--Seven minutes & it was pretty great. The first 30 seconds are an EXACT (I mean EXACT) copy of the first 30 seconds of the 23/4/81 match, and considering the US crowd had never seen that before it was fine. This was really a shorter version of that match as a whole, but this time it ws "show US what Tiger Mask is all about". Crowd were really impressed obviously. Worth watchign I'd say. ***1/4

NJPW 21/4/83
--Yeah this is the best one. The match itself was great but the feel of it was was different to the rest too. The rest felt like junior matches that were just for show, but this was like an actual big-time match that was important in the grand scheme of New Japan. Tiger was really on top of his game (well from what i've seen anyway) too, he would act like the hero they loved, but he'd still get knocked out & smashed when it called for it. He took a top roe dropkcik like he had been hit with a chair, and the crowd actually seemed worried that he wouldn;t pop up in two seconds like most of the other matches. Real snug hard-hitting stuff the whole match too, with the same big-fight feel. The dives to the outside were more about trying to put away DK instead of them just being "OoOoooOhhHHhhh CrooOowdDD CheeEErrzZ ForrR MeEeeE!!!" dives too. Oddly enough the match ended in a DQ or something weird and they took a LONG time to restart it. DK goes for Tombstone & Diving headbutt once it does restart, and then gets in a heavy headlock, only for Tiger to give him a backdrop suplex which is a couple of notches away from being the one in the 23/7/82 match. It gets to a barwl on the outsiode eventually where...there's another count-out.....and other restart. It was forgivable though given DK went bezerk cracking a bottle on the pole and threatening to stab Sayama with it, and then almost pulls of Tiger's mask and heabutted/elbowed the ref a couple of times. Ended in a count-out anyway which is odd. Great match, but five stars it isn't. ****


----------



## jpchicago23

What do some of you think are the best match or matches for the following US wrestlers in Japan:

Bruiser Brody
Vader
Dick Murdoch
Terry Funk
Stan Hansen
Rick Rude

I like all of these guys and was wondering what there best matches in Japan were


----------



## KidRed

jpchicago23 said:


> What do some of you think are the best match or matches for the following US wrestlers in Japan:
> 
> Bruiser Brody
> Vader
> Dick Murdoch
> Terry Funk
> Stan Hansen
> Rick Rude
> 
> I like all of these guys and was wondering what there best matches in Japan were


Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs. Dory and Terry Funk 12/8/84 is a great match. Should be able to find it in the Puro Media section, pretty sure Seabs posted it. Just make sure to rep and thank him if you do download it.


----------



## seabs

*



NOAH, 10.07.2010 
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum 

1. KENTA & Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi 
2. Special Singles Match: Takeshi Morishima vs. Yutaka Yoshie 
3. Special Singles Match: Go Shiozaki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 
4. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
5. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama 


NOAH "NEW NAVIGATION 2010 IN OSAKA", 24.07.2010 (PPV) 
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 

1. Special Singles Match: Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki

Click to expand...

Holy shit at the Ariake card. Devitt and Tana in NOAH is more than enough to interest me in the first NOAH card for way too long, not to mention Devitt vs KENTA~!*


----------



## Devildude

Seriously, I fucking wish NOAH and NJPW would stop all this crossover shit and just merge already.

Having said that, at least there is some crossover otherwise NOAH would be far worse off then they already are at the moment. Seconding that the Ariake card should be awesome sauce.


----------



## Derek

They aren't going to merge. At least not unless NOAH's business is so bad that they're on the verge of going under, which they are not. 

And I can't see them doing Devitt vs. KENTA ince Devitt is champion and NOAH wouldn't want to have somebody like KENTA lose to Devitt (regardless if he is IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champ) and there's no way New Japan would let their Jr. Heavyweight champ lose to an outsider if it would be a title match, and if it wasn't a title match, KENTA could win but it would set up a title match later where KENTA would lose.

Thats why they're sending Aoki. Which should be relly good. Aoki is one of my favorite guys right nw, and its a shame NOAH isn't helping him with their booking.


----------



## smitlick

Zero-One - 11/4/10 
Kintaro Kanemura & KAMIKAZE vs Steve Corino & Hartley The Bull Jackson
**1/2
Only picked it up for Jackson who's Australian

Zero-One - 5/5/10
Kintaro Kanemura vs Hartley The Bull Jackson
**3/4
I believe this was a strap match plus beforehand they show Necro Butcher in the crowd.

Zero-One - 5/5/10
Shota Takanishi & Munenori Sawa vs Amasis & Ophidian
***-***1/4
Fun tag match though i wish it hadn't of been clipped.. Surprised the Portal went over as well.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> Also... Liger/sasuke 8/7/94 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=L1V33U9T


Can't believe that link isn't dead yet. I uploaded that about two and a half years ago now. Hell, I can't believe my retarded ass actually managed to upload it in the first place.


----------



## Oda Nobunaga

Poor Go. Is he gonna job to Tanahashi again? I'd like KENTA/Tana, however.


----------



## FITZ

I just watched Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima - November 5th 2005 and it was insanely good. I'm so glad I finally started to watch my 9 disc top 25 matches of NOAH that I bought from IVP well over a year ago. 

I loved everything about this match from the insane chop battles between Sasaki and Kobashi to the crazy stuff that Shiosakie and Nakajima were doing. Not sure if I would give it 5* but it's pretty damn close.


----------



## McQueen

I call it MOTY '05.


----------



## Yeah1993

If it goes ahead of Eddie/Rey 23/6 & SantoCasas/MephistoAverno 16/12 I'm checking it asap.


----------



## seabs

*I prefer Kobashi/Sasaki slightly but I'd say **** for both of them.*


----------



## seancarleton77

Caesar WCWR said:


> Poor Go. Is he gonna job to Tanahashi again


He better not! Go has 5x the talent Tanahashi has, not that Tana isn't great. Tanahashi wins more than Triple H & Jeff Hardy combined, I think he can lose to a big star like Shiozaki.


----------



## KaijuFan

smitlick said:


> Zero-One - 5/5/10
> Shota Takanishi & Munenori Sawa vs Amasis & Ophidian
> ***-***1/4


Whoa whoa whoa, the Portal had a match in Zero-1? Is this in the puro section by chance, clipped or not?


----------



## smitlick

KaijuFan said:


> Whoa whoa whoa, the Portal had a match in Zero-1? Is this in the puro section by chance, clipped or not?


Nope don't believe it is. I got it off lennys site.


----------



## KaijuFan

Link me and you'll get a happy ending <.< >.>


----------



## jpchicago23

What's everyones favorite gaijin vs gaijin match? I've seen the Vader vs Hansen match and the Funks vs Brody/Hansen but what are some of the others that everyone likes?


----------



## McQueen

The Funks vs Hansen/Gordy (Terry's Retirement Match #1)

Forever!... Forever!... Forever!.....


----------



## Spinone

Great moment


----------



## Yeah1993

Andre the Giant v Stan Hansen (NJPW 23/9/81). Did a huge write-up of it a few pages back.


----------



## jpchicago23

yeah i'm gonna check that one out for sure.


----------



## New Blood

Been watching alot of classic puro lately.

*Rikidozen vs. The Destroyer - JWA [12/2/63]*
**** 3/4

*The Destroyer vs. Toyonobori - JWA [2/26/65]*
**** 1/2+

*Giant Baba vs. Bruno Sammartino - JWA [3/7/67]*
**** 3/4+

*Giant Baba vs. The Destroyer - JWA [3/5/69]*
*****+
One of the greatest matches I have ever seen. It's a long one but certainly not boring. Destroyer is one of the best heels that I have ever seen.


----------



## Yeah1993

Watch Inoki/THE DESTROYER 19/5/71. It's FUCKING AWESOME. THE DESTROYER in general is fucking awesome. Need to see his matches with Mil Mascaras soon.


----------



## antoniomare007

you can't go wrong with Destroyer...even his name is completely awesome.








DESTROOOOYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!


----------



## New Blood

*Takeshi Oiso vs. Tetunosuke Daigo - IWE [10/29/69]*
*** 1/2
Felt more like an exhibition match then something really great. For what it was, it was pretty fun and fast paced.


----------



## KaijuFan

antoniomare007 said:


> you can't go wrong with Destroyer...even his name is completely awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DESTROOOOYAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!











You called?


----------



## Yeah1993

Damn FortuneCity.


----------



## seabs

*Marufuji/Aoki vs Nakamura/Gedo has been added to the NOAH 24/7 Osaka show as well as Shiozaki/Sasaki . The New Japan invasion shows are looking the best NOAH cards in years.

Couldn't see this without posting it either.







*


----------



## seancarleton77

Seabs said:


> *Marufuji/Aoki vs Nakamura/Gedo has been added to the NOAH 24/7 Osaka show as well as Shiozaki/Sasaki . The New Japan invasion shows are looking the best NOAH cards in years.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *


Agreed. By the way KENTA is pimping in that get up.


----------



## Caponex75

KENTA = Cuban Drug lord


----------



## seancarleton77

KENTA is either auditioning for the new Miami Vice or Dexter season 5.


----------



## Devildude

Bwhahaha, KENTA looks like a foreign tourist just walked onto the stage and posed with three other people.

Fucking love the hat though, must be like a magnet for hot chicks.


----------



## antoniomare007

McQueen said:


> The Funks vs Hansen/Gordy (Terry's Retirement Match #1)
> 
> Forever!... Forever!... Forever!.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz8RohaIqH0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij5-vZ_WcTU


----------



## KaijuFan

Anyone know where I can get some K-Dojo dvds/footage? I was shocked that IVP didn't have anything.


----------



## Yeah1993

Try slambamjam. Make sure when you search you write "Kaientai Dojo" and not "K-Dojo", btw.

edit- IVP has some actually, but it's nothing much.


----------



## RoninTK

*AJPW News for July 2nd, 2010!*

All news from my own personal site Puroresu Spirit: http://www.prowrestlingponderings.com/puroresuspirit/ 

*AJPW “CROSS OVER 2010″, 7/2/2010 (Fri)
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
1,800 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 7/2 Results



1. New Generation vs. Voodoo Murders vs. Non-Partisan Match: Big Daddy Voodoo (VM) defeated Ryota Hama (NG) (7:10) with a Diving Body Press.
2. NG vs. VM vs. NP Match: Lance Cade (VM) defeated Taiyo Kea (NP) (6:26) following a Lariat.
3. NG vs. VM vs. NP Match: Masayuki Kono (NG) defeated Rene Dupree (VM) (5:51) following a Diving Knee Drop.
4. Captain, Hair vs. Hair Match: Minoru (c), Hate, Toshizo & MAZADA defeated Shuji Kondo, KAI, Hiroshi Yamato (c) & BUSHI (9:57) after Hate pinned Kondo with a Roll-up.
~ Yamato is now without hair 
5. NG vs. VM vs. NP Match: Masakatsu Funaki (NP) beat TARU (VM) (10:01) after TARU assaulted the referee.
6. NG vs. VM vs. NP Match: Minoru Suzuki (NP) defeated Seiya Sanada (NG) (8:31) following the Gotch Style Piledriver.
7. NG vs. VM vs. NP Match: Suwama (NG) defeated Akebono (NP) (7:27) with an Ankle Hold.
8. *AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kaz Hayashi defeated TAKA Michinoku (22:02) following the Power Plant.
* v13 Defense for Hayashi.




*The July 4th Card has been updated due to a few happenings from today’s show.*

*AJPW “CROSS OVER 2010″, 7/4/2010
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan​*
1. Masanobu Fuchi & Naofumi Nakanoue vs. TARU & Rene Dupree
2. Power Pro Mask & KAI vs. TAKA Michinoku & Antonio Thomas
3. Seiya Sanada vs. Lance Cade
4. Captain Fall Hair vs. Hair Match: Shuji Kondo (c), Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI vs. MAZADA (c), Minoru & Hate
5. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Big Daddy Voodoo
6. *AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship Match, Vacant Title*: Taiyo Kea & Akebono vs. Suwama & Ryota Hama
7. *Triple Crown Championship Match*: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Masayuki Kono

——————

*Today All Japan announced the 2010 Jr Heavyweight League!*
This year the league will be, yet again, split into 2 separate blocks, pretty much like the G1 Climax and other 2 group tournaments.

The Tournament will take place from July 25th to August 7th with the Semi’s and Final taking place on the 8/8.

12 wrestlers have been announced so far for the tournament and there are some nice additions that personally have me exited this year.

_(I may make a more detailed post on the upcoming tournament in the coming week once the official matches are announced as well so keep an eye out for that)_​
*Block A* with consist of the following talent:
1. Kaz Hayashi (2006 Winner)
2. Hiroshi Yamato
3. Super Crazy
4. Minoru
5. Antonio Thomas
6. Hikaru Satoh (DDT)

*Block B* is as follows:
1. Shuiji Kondo (2009 winner)
2. KAI (2008 Winner)
3. BUSHI
4. MAZADA
5. TAKA Michinoku (K-Dojo)
6. Jimmy Yang, yes he is finally returning to AJPW after spending the last few years in the WWE. I have been a fan of him since he debuted in WCW back in the day, and he certainly will be the Dark Horse of the tournament.


----------



## Kapone89

13 title defenses for Kaz Hayashi.
Now that is impressive, i wonder who can take the title from him.


----------



## McQueen

Antonio Thomas, why do I know that name? The Heart Throbs?


----------



## KidRed

The Jr. League in AJPW looks fun. There's a few guys in there I'm a fan of in there: Super Crazy, KAI, Satoh, Kondo, Bushi and of course Jimmy Yang (although he should use the James Yun moniker instead). Only guys in the tournament I could see possibly taking the title eventually from Hayashi though are KAI and Minoru.

Edit - Unfortunately you're right McQueen, he wa in the Hearthrobs. Had a dark match in ROH not too long ago, can't say I'm expecting much from him.


----------



## RoninTK

Yep, you are correct. He is touring with AJPW this month and or maybe longer, and so they stuck him in the tournament as the Gaijin. 



Kapone89 said:


> 13 title defenses for Kaz Hayashi.
> Now that is impressive, i wonder who can take the title from him.


I suspect this is why they are having this tournament, to build up Hayashi's next opponent. Part of me is actually suspecting BUSHI/T28 to win the tournament this year. If not BUSHI, then Yamato is my close 2nd.


----------



## KidRed

RoninTK said:


> I suspect this is why they are having this tournament, to build up Hayashi's next opponent. Part of me is actually suspecting BUSHI/T28 to win the tournament this year. If not BUSHI, then Yamato is my close 2nd.


I liked his work in IWRG, it would be great if he won the whole thing.


----------



## Kapone89

I wouldn't be surprised if KAI would become the next challenger.
Either him, or maybe we will end up with another Kondo title reign.


----------



## seabs

*Antonio Thomas touring with All Japan isn't as suprising as Alex Payne being in the same NOAH ring as Taue and Marufuji.*


----------



## KidRed

Seabs said:


> *Antonio Thomas touring with All Japan isn't as suprising as Alex Payne being in the same NOAH ring as Taue and Marufuji.*


It seems like any uncharismatic American wrestler sees Japan as they're last port of call these days. And I thought Lance Cade in AJPW would be as bad as it got.


----------



## RoninTK

Well actually I am liking the fact that Stan Hans... I mean Lance Cade is in AJPW. They are pretty much billing him as the reincarnation of Stan Hansen in the ring, and that can't hurt him one bit in my eyes.


----------



## KidRed

RoninTK said:


> Well actually I am liking the fact that Stan Hans... I mean Lance Cade is in AJPW. They are pretty much billing him as the reincarnation of Stan Hansen in the ring, and that can't hurt him one bit in my eyes.


True, but everything that made Stan Hansen special is lacking in Lance Cade.


----------



## WillTheBloody

RoninTK said:


> Well actually I am liking the fact that Stan Hans... I mean Lance Cade is in AJPW. They are pretty much billing him as the reincarnation of Stan Hansen in the ring, and that can't hurt him one bit in my eyes.


I might confuse Lance Cade with a large wooden door, but certainly not Stan "Fuck Your Neck" Hansen. What's next, "King Kong" Trevor Murdoch running around barking in fuzzy boots? Bunk, I say. BUNK!


----------



## RoninTK

WillTheBloody said:


> I might confuse Lance Cade with a large wooden door, but certainly not Stan "Fuck Your Neck" Hansen. What's next, "King Kong" Trevor Murdoch running around barking in fuzzy boots? Bunk, I say. BUNK!


I am not the main one confusing him with Stan Hansen, lol. I can't help that is where All Japan is going with him. I guess I may be one of the few who is pushing the whole Stan Hansen 2.0 here in the states, but so be it, when it is all said and done I guess I am the only person who sees any talent whatsoever in Cade. 
Well I am actually not the only one really because All Japan and Shawn Micheals do as well 

*Results from today's big All Japan Show!*
http://www.prowrestlingponderings.com/puroresuspirit/

*AJPW “CROSS OVER 2010″, 7/4/2010 (Sun)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan
3,300 Spectators​*​


Spoiler: 4th of July Results



1. TARU & Rene Dupree defeated Osamu Nishimura & Naofumi Nakanoue (11:46) after TARU kicked Nakanoue below the belt and Rolled him up.
2. Power Pro Mask (Toshiaki Kawada) & KAI defeated TAKA Michinoku & Antonio Thomas (10:33) after Power Pro pinned Thomas with a Powerbomb to Pin.
3. Lance Cade defeated Seiya Sanada (9:21) following a Lariat.
4. Captain’s Hair vs. Hair Match: Shuji Kondo (c), Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI defeated Minoru, Hate & MAZADA (c) (14:01) after Yamato pinned Hate with a German Suplex. 
~ Just like Yamato the other day, now MAZADA is without hair as well.
5. Masakatsu Funaki beat Big Daddy Voodoo (7:38) after the Voodoo Murders interfered.
6. AJPW World Unified Tag Team Championship Match: Taiyo Kea & Akebono defeated Suwama & Ryota Hama
~ Kea & Akebono are the 42nd Generation Champions.
7. AJPW Triple Crown Match: Minoru Suzuki defeated Masayuki Kono (25:49) via Referee Stoppage (Sleeper Hold).


----------



## Derek

Wait, so



Spoiler



Kawada comes back to All Japan, even if its just for the one show, and is under a mask? And in the second match? 

No suprise that MiSu retained.

And I haven't seen enough of Cade in All Japan to decide whether I like him there or not.


----------



## KidRed

Kawada? In a Mask? In the same ring as one of The Hearthrobs???? What the actual fuck? Glad MiSu retained though even if it was quite obvious, not too happy about the Tag Title change though. Oh, and Lance Cade still sucks.


----------



## Devildude

I honestly can't recall the last time I watched a recent AJPW show and by the sounds of things, that isn't going to change any time soon. I mean, masked Kawada, uncharismatic and/or talentless gaijins on their roster and _Lance fucking Cade_ being booked as Stan Hansen v2?

Perhaps TNA should partner up with AJPW in future rather than NJPW.


----------



## sXsCanadianFansXs

So I just watched Marufuji/Devitt from January and was amazed.
Does anyone have a comprehensive list of the best matches from Japan this year?

From other messageboards.. I've gathered:

KENTA/Marufuji (June 6th maybe?)
Devitt/Ibushi (BOSJ)
Richards/Ibushi (BOSJ)

Tanaka & Mochizuki vs. Hidaka & Sawa

Anything else?


----------



## seabs

*Go to my 2010 MOTYC Megapost and you'll find everything worth watching as well as a download link for it  (Might be lacking a recent update though. Blame the World Cup lol)*


----------



## RoninTK

I got a buddy who has a list that is pretty close to mine for 2010. 
The few matches that I would add would from the BOSJ and Prince Devitt and Marufuji from the DOMINION show. KENTA/Marufuji should be added to that list as well. Well pretty much just about anything from Marufuji from this year has been tops on my lists. 
Here is a link to the list: http://www.ichibanpuroresu.co.nr/


----------



## RoninTK

Just to keep the discussions alive... 

I would like to add to this list KAI vs. Hiroshi Yamato from the AJPW 5/16 (B-Banquet 262), these two men are destined for great things in the near future! Hard hitting and a pure battle, the stuff I can't ever seem to get enough of!
You can find the event here: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/puro-media/511441-ajpw-b-banquet-262-263-5-16-2010-mu.html 
(The Banquet version of the KAI vs. Yamato match is clipped, but it gets its point across)


----------



## Nervosa

sXsCanadianFansXs said:


> So I just watched Marufuji/Devitt from January and was amazed.
> Does anyone have a comprehensive list of the best matches from Japan this year?
> 
> From other messageboards.. I've gathered:
> 
> KENTA/Marufuji (June 6th maybe?)
> Devitt/Ibushi (BOSJ)
> Richards/Ibushi (BOSJ)
> 
> Tanaka & Mochizuki vs. Hidaka & Sawa
> 
> Anything else?



My MOTY so far is Nakamura/Goto. It needs to be seen, and I don't think its likely to be touched for the rest of the year in my book. 

I also really liked both Ibushi/Sekimoto and Takahashi/Sekimoto. Find anything oyu can from Seki this year. 

Also add in YAMATO/CIMA for a really good potential 'torch pass.' 

While all of the BOSJ stuff was fun, I don't consider any of it MOTY stuff.

I'm not as crazy about the new Marufuji as others seem to be, but I did enjoy his match with KENTA enough to make my list, as well.


----------



## antoniomare007

*Owen Hart vs Pegasus Kid - 4/18/91*

Handheld. No sound. Didn't matter. Almost 11 minutes of absolute greatness, incredibly crisp and fast paced, some very good nearfalls...man, it would have been awesome to hear the japanese crowd reacting to this, the fact that this was soo good in spite of that tells the whole story.


----------



## New Blood

I think I'm done with using the five star system and will just post a small review of what I thought about the matches that I watch.

*Masahiro Chono & Keiji Mutoh vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki in NJPW [11/1/90]*
Amazing crowd heat, awesome underdog face interactions and really great NJ heavyweight action. Hase & Sasaki were really a force to be reckoned with in the early 90s and this was their breakout match. One of the best tag matches of the early 90s.

*THE VERY BEST OF JOSHI FIVE DISK SET: DISK 1*
*Dynamite Kansai vs. Yumiko Hotta at Dream Slam I [4/2/93]*
Who said that women couldn’t be tough and actually wrestle? This match and the rest of the matches on this set prove that women can wrestle and wrestle well and aren’t there to be eye candy. These two go out there and just have a slugfest that rates up there in stiffness with some of the UWF-I matches that I have seen. Pride, heat, and a pace that never slows down is what makes this a must see. Oh yeah, just one of the amazing matches on what is one of the greatest shows in wrestling history.

*Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota [8/21/93]*
Work rate, work rate, work rate!! What a heated match between two Joshi wrestlers that introduced me to this wonderful side of wrestling. The working over the legs were great by both competitors, even though both forgot to sell the injuries towards the finishing stretch but that doesn’t take anything away from this great match. Explosive.

*Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong at AJW's WrestleMarinpiad II [11/14/90]*
Holy shit! Scissors, metal boxes, nun chucks, a steel cage and two big women throwing bombs at each other! If you notice the scars on Aja Kong’s arm after this match, this match is the reason. Scientific wrestling, this is not. If you love a good, knock down, drag out war, then this is it. These women start battling right from the outset, not even letting each other into the cage and Kong starts bleeding even before her entrance is over. This match holds up far better than most ECW matches that preceded this. I’m not going to spoil it, but this match has a holy shit spot towards the end that I haven’t seen much at that time period.

*Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori at Dream Slam I [4/2/93]*
One of my all time favorites and the match that got me into Joshi in the first place. Up until that point, I had never seen women wrestlers bleed or wrestle that well. Like all of the other matches on this set, these women displayed heart, skill and determination. Absolutely fantastic match that’s worthy of the 5 star rating that Dave Meltzer gave it!


----------



## antoniomare007

> *NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH 10TH ANNIVERSARY ~ SUMMER NAVIGATION 2010 PART 1", 10.07.2010 (G+ LIVE)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 5,300 Fans
> *
> 1. Shuhei Taniguchi & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Akira Taue & Masao Inoue (10:43) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Taniguchi gegen Inoue.
> 2. Bison Smith, Keith Walker, Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin besiegen Akitoshi Saito, Mohammed Yone, Kentaro Shiga & Genba Hirayanagi (11:53) nach dem Bisontenniel von Smith gegen Hirayanagi.
> 3. Kensuke Sasaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegen Jun Akiyama, Takuma Sano & Makoto Hashi (15:41) nach dem Death Roll von Nakajima gegen Hashi.
> 4. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi besiegen KENTA & Eddie Edwards (14:13) als Taguchi Edwards nach dem Black Hole Vacation pinnte.
> 5. Special Singles Match: Takeshi Morishima besiegt Yutaka Yoshie (16:09) mit einem Backdrop Suplex.
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) besiegt Naomichi Marufuji (23:20) mit dem Touch Out (3rd defense).
> 7. Special Singles Match: Go Shiozaki besiegt Hiroshi Tanahashi (20:11) mit dem Go Flasher.
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) besiegt Yoshihiro Takayama (15:49) mit einem Olympic Slam (3rd defense).


So Go gets his revenge by pinning Tanahashi, i guess if he beats Sasaki in Osaka he's the next challenger?. Good to see Sugi retain and i'm kinda surprised that Kanemaru defeated Maru, i hope this means his reing will star gaining momentum cause it has been lackluster to say the least.


----------



## McQueen

Yoshie/Morishima in a battle of the fattest? Might need to watch that.

Glad Sugi won if only because it doesn't make him look bad. Love big Taka.


----------



## brandeito

lets take a second to think about this sugiura has had the belt for 7 months and only 3 title defenses
now kanemaru bhas had his belt for 9 months and only 3 title defenses wow


----------



## antoniomare007

well, Sugs will defend it again next month....against Akiyama.


----------



## McQueen

Thats a pretty quick turnaround for Japan.


----------



## antoniomare007

i hope it was a good show, 5,000 in a 10,000 building with that card is not a good look.


----------



## daman077c

antoniomare007 said:


> i hope it was a good show, 5,000 in a 10,000 building with that card is not a good look.


Worse is the fact that the attendance was about 2,500 - 3,000 paid. fpalm


----------



## antoniomare007

damn


----------



## KidRed

daman077c said:


> Worse is the fact that the attendance was about 2,500 - 3,000 paid. fpalm


I was hoping figures might improve with KENTA's return but it doesn't look like it. Kobashi is needed back and soon, if only for his drawing power.


----------



## daman077c

KidRed said:


> I was hoping figures might improve with KENTA's return but it doesn't look like it. Kobashi is needed back and soon, if only for his drawing power.


A lot of things are needed for NOAH to right their ship; as of now, it seems to be sinking faster than All Japan, who despite losing Kojima, has been doing respectable attendances their past several shows, although their Osaka show did about 2,000 paid (They claimed 3,300). I think NOAH needs to replace Akiyama as booker. Give the book to Kobashi or Ogawa. *shrugs*


----------



## antoniomare007

KENTA is not a draw, AND he is a Junior. If anything, it was Tanahashi's involvement, the Anniversary celebration and the GHC Title Match that made me think they could do a good number (7,000-8,000 paid or something close to that).

If Akiyama vs Sugiura is indeed gonna take place next month and at the same venue, i hope this was a solid show so more people would want to see them


> I think NOAH needs to replace Akiyama as booker. Give the book to Kobashi or Ogawa. *shrugs*


Akiyama is not the booker anymore, Marufuji is.


----------



## KidRed

Although I agree KENTA is not a consistent draw, his return match against Marufuji was anticpated in Japan to boost numbers even if only temporarily. 7-8,000 is far too high of an expectation by the way, at this stage 5,000 would have been a much more realistic number while still being a success.


----------



## daman077c

Ahh, thanks for the correction. Well, Marufuji doesn't seem to be doing too good either... The whole company needs to revamp themselves. Stop doing so many random 6-man tag matches, and more singles matches. It also seems like they have no real storylines, and is just "Wrestler A wants Wrestler B's title, they face each other over the ensuing tour in random tags, and then face off on the tour climax for the title". NOAH needs to look at All Japan and New Japan, they've both got great storylines going, and they've been doing great this year.


----------



## McQueen

Seriously either All Japan and NOAH need to remerge or NOAH need to merge with Zero-1 Max and/or New Japan. I seriously doubt they can survive another 5 years.


----------



## daman077c

Well, All Japan has backing from Sanrio, which owns the massively popular Hello Kitty, so they're not going anywhere any time soon... NOAH has no real backers. NTV was backing them and giving them national TV, but they dropped them and only air them on G+, which is a pay satellite channel... They were even paying most of the rent on their Nippon Budokan shows, but even stopped doing that. Zero-One has First On Stage, who are mysterious themselves... I remember hearing rumors that most of the people in FOS are from DSE, which owned PRIDE and started HUSTLE before backing out with the yakuza controversy... So, IDK. NOAH's also burned tons of bridges with just about everyone - they practically had to beg New Japan to start working with them again, because of what Ryo Nakata (NOAH President) wanted.


----------



## RoninTK

Actually Marufuji is doing a descent job, for practically being forced into the position, but he took it with open arms. Marufuji has been putting over people as of late, and in a sense is looking to build up something more with NJPW. One of the main issues with NOAH is most of their talent are of the older age, and the young talent that they do have are Junior's through and through. I mean the strongest young heavyweight that they got is obviously Shiozaki, but he can't carry the company alone in the next 5 years. I would put Taniguchi in the hunt as well, but by the time he finally starts picking up steam he'll end being like Makabe at being a 38 year old champion. 
One thing NOAH needs to do is start searching for some actual Heavyweight contenders, otherwise the company will have to adapt to the Juniors, and I can already see the "marks" starting to throw a fit about that already...

Thinking of the real truth though, and this is a "if statement" that once Akiyama and Kobashi officially retire, that'll be a sign of things looking down for NOAH. If NOAH "would" go under I could see a lot of positives outshining the negatives, because it could do nothing but strengthen any of the other promotions that would pick up the residual talent of the split.


----------



## Corey

*All Japan Classics #9*

*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match - 2 out of 3 Falls*
Ken Mantell(c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (12/05/1974) - ***1/4 (_This started out slow, but well. Both guys applied submissions and the other showed their strength by getting out of it. It really picked up going into the 2nd fall as Tsuruta just got aggravted with Mantell and began chasing after him. I don't know Japanese, but my guess will be that the 3rd fall was thrown out due to both guys going over the top rope to the floor)_

*NWA World Heavyweight Title & PWF Heavyweight Title Match - 2 out of 3 Falls*
Shohei "Giant" Baba vs. Jack Brisco (12/05/1974) - ***3/4 (_This one started out reaaallly slow, with the first ten minutes or so being on the mat. These matches are just so much different than what you see these days you gotta appreciate them for what they are. I actually enjoyed watching Baba wrestle, it was my first time seeing him. He wasn't bad. These first two matches aren't advertised to be 2/3 falls matches on the box, so it was a little surprising after the first fall to see they were still going. Overall this was quite a good contest, pretty long as you'd expect. I really enjoyed the third fall as each guy gave it their all. The end looked a little botched, but it didn't matter in this time period)_

The Spirit vs. Samson Kutsuwada (07/19/1975) - **1/2 (_Well that was not what I saw coming. I'm not familiar with either of these two, all I know is The Spirit's in ring antics remind me of The Sheik and his voice sounds like Sgt. Slaughter. haha, good combo. Anyway the match was based around The Spirit pulling out a blade from his tights and he actually cut Samson repeatedly and headbutted him and everyone got pissed at him for it. That's about it. The guy bled like a dog though)_

*NWA World Tag Team Title Match - 2 out of 3 Falls*
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr.(c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Shohei "Giant" Baba (02/05/1975) - ****1/4 (_Another one of those unadvertised 2/3 falls matches. Which makes me wonder, were all title matches in this era in Japan automatically two out of three? Regardless, this was the best match on the disc as I anticipated and the longest, going near 30 minutes i believe. It really picks up in the 3rd fall as there were some actual nearfalls and some exciting stuff. Kinda had the same ending as the Baba/Brisco match, but loked better. Terry looked like he was wrestling before his time as he just had so much energy all the time. I'd love to see him and Jumbo go one on one. Good way to end the disc. Not a bad 4 match set, I'm sure a more educated puro fan or someone who's a fan of wrestling in the 70s will appreciate this more)_

Overall: 8/10​


----------



## seancarleton77

Marufuji has got to be the 2010 MVP of Puro, that man is everywhere! He went from a long absence in the ring to one professional wrestlings most busy men, even if you don't appreciate his style, that dude works 10x harder than even John Cena.

'Fuji or Davey will probably be the wrestler of the year, Maru is having better performances than anyone in WWE or TNA this year.


----------



## Groovemachine

Downloading the NOAH 10th anniversary summer navigation show as we speak, very excited, I'm hearing such good things. Prob gonna skip to the good stuff though, anyone know if Kenta & Edwards vs Devitt & Taguchi is any good?


----------



## daman077c

Yeah, the match is good. Maru as 2010 MVP? What the hell you smoking? Makabe is getting my vote right now.


----------



## ECW fan

Groovemachine said:


> Downloading the NOAH 10th anniversary summer navigation show as we speak, very excited, I'm hearing such good things. Prob gonna skip to the good stuff though, *anyone know if Kenta & Edwards vs Devitt & Taguchi is any good?*


I thought the tag match was excellent. Edwards really shines in that match. The show as a whole was great too.


----------



## RoninTK

daman077c said:


> Yeah, the match is good. Maru as 2010 MVP? What the hell you smoking? Makabe is getting my vote right now.


lmao, I guess you have not seen Makabe wrestler because that is funny, lol. 
I really wanted to like Makabe vs. Shiozaki, but the truth is that it was not the match I was expecting. I am not usually critical on wrestlers or matches, but as far as an (Japan) MVP goes, Marufuji is a top choice no matter which way you look at it. I would even say Devitt could make the cut as an MVP player as well, the boy got a huge pop from the New Japan fans. 
I can validly solidify that Marufuji is MVP caliber mainly because the man always brings something new to the table, especially in his match against Prince Devitt at the Dominion show. I mean his technical skills are few and far between, and he knows how to make someone look very good in the ring, ask Tiger Mask about that one. I can pretty much bet that someone will easily find something to throw against Marufuji, but you know what? I have yet to hear a single good argument to why he gets all the hate that he does. Call it jealousy, call it a bit of hatred for the man who Misawa placed under his wing.
I am actually to the point that I am ready to give up on Forums, all together, not because I no longer care, but because of all the one sided opinions about certain wrestlers. 
I myself dislike John Cena to a "T", but I will give the man credit where it is due with him being a very powerful marketing tool for the WWE. The man has charisma that is few and far between nowadays, but it is a shame he takes so much of a hit to his in-ring abilities. 
I guess you could say the exact opposite can be for Marufuji, but what he lacks "talking" to the crowd, he makes up for being able to get the fans attention by putting on a clinic in the ring. At the end of the day, I watch wrestling to see an exactly played match, not a who has the best voice contest.


----------



## daman077c

I wouldn't say I have a one-sided opinion on certain wrestlers, I think I just need to wake up and stop living in 2008 when it comes to Maru, when he was "Throw 5 billion thrust kicks, shiruani, match over." I do, however, hold a one-sided opinion when it comes to Tiger Mask IV. Robotic as fuck, anti-climatic as all hell; makes me wonder why Sayama wanted to put the mask on him in the first place.


----------



## smitlick

^^^ Im pretty sure thats a universal opinion on Tiger Mask IV


----------



## WillTheBloody

*Kobe World ~ Pro Wrestling Festival 2010*
July 11th, 2010 ~ Hyogo, Kobe World Hall

*1.* *Six-Man Opener*: Deep Drunkers vs. WORLD-1 - *****
*2.* *Comedy Handicap Match*: Abdullah/Akebono vs. Stalker/Syachihoko/Florida Express - ****
*3.* *Elimination Tag*: Doi/PAC vs. Saito/DKid vs. KAGETORA/Kong vs. TOZAWA/NOSAWA - ****3/4*
*4.* *Open the Triangle Gate*: WARRIORS© vs. Legion of Violence _(Osaka Pro)_ - ****1/4*
*5.* *Open the Twin Gate*: K-ness/Yokosuka© vs. Mochizuki/Fujii - *****1/4*
*6.* *Hair vs. Hair*: BxB Hulk vs. Shingo Takagi - *****1/2*
*7.* *Open the Dream Gate*: YAMATO© vs. Masato Yoshino - *****1/4*

Overall: *9* / *10*

Just an unbelievable effort from everybody on the card, top to bottom. Attendance was 9000+ for this event, and I guarantee it'll be even bigger next year, as this was probably the greatest World show in DG history. While Hulk/Shingo & YAMATO/Yoshino will be the talked-about contests, the Twin Gate match deserves heaps of praise. The Elimination Tag was pure fun, as was the comedy match, which was...actually funny. The opener was better than expect, but the Triangle Gate match was a bit of a letdown, not totally unexpected given the particular Osaka guys involved. I must also say that I was slightly disappointed in Hulk/Shingo...but only barely. It's still the brutal, heated, insane match you'd expect from these two with one helluva post-match segment. Overall, it's the most fun I've had watching a wrestling show this year.


----------



## Nervosa

RoninTK said:


> lmao, I guess you have not seen Makabe wrestler because that is funny, lol.
> I really wanted to like Makabe vs. Shiozaki, but the truth is that it was not the match I was expecting. I am not usually critical on wrestlers or matches, but as far as an (Japan) MVP goes, Marufuji is a top choice no matter which way you look at it. I would even say Devitt could make the cut as an MVP player as well, the boy got a huge pop from the New Japan fans.
> I can validly solidify that Marufuji is MVP caliber mainly because the man always brings something new to the table, especially in his match against Prince Devitt at the Dominion show. I mean his technical skills are few and far between, and he knows how to make someone look very good in the ring, ask Tiger Mask about that one. I can pretty much bet that someone will easily find something to throw against Marufuji, but you know what? I have yet to hear a single good argument to why he gets all the hate that he does. Call it jealousy, call it a bit of hatred for the man who Misawa placed under his wing.
> I am actually to the point that I am ready to give up on Forums, all together, not because I no longer care, but because of all the one sided opinions about certain wrestlers.
> I myself dislike John Cena to a "T", but I will give the man credit where it is due with him being a very powerful marketing tool for the WWE. The man has charisma that is few and far between nowadays, but it is a shame he takes so much of a hit to his in-ring abilities.
> I guess you could say the exact opposite can be for Marufuji, but what he lacks "talking" to the crowd, he makes up for being able to get the fans attention by putting on a clinic in the ring. At the end of the day, I watch wrestling to see an exactly played match, not a who has the best voice contest.


I really don't think you understand the reason Marufuji gets all the hate he has. It has nothing to do with his 'lack of crowd talking,' it is that he went from being a good storyteller WITH awesome spots to the modern version which just seems to throw random spots around without too much selling or coherant story in the match. My favorite match of his this year was against Liger, who actually got Marufuji to calm down a little before Fuji completely lost his mind near the finish. Marufuji needs to go back to stringing together strategies and some selling before he can be anywhere near he was in 07.

Want an MVP for 2010? Mine's YAMATO. He hasn't had as many top caliber classics like Richards has, but as far as consistency goes, look no further. Every match he has seems to be in the ****-****1/4 range, and his Mochizuki match was easily ****1/2. I wouldn't say Davey is too far behind, but I wouldn't even say Marufuji is in the running.


----------



## RoninTK

I guess I can actually see more in Marufuji than everyone else can't. I just say watch Maru/Devitt if you can't see something good in that, I guess I am alone then. 

I would put Yamato up there, but I suspect "Yoshino" will now get a bump into the category as well. 



daman077c said:


> I wouldn't say I have a one-sided opinion on certain wrestlers, I think I just need to wake up and stop living in 2008 when it comes to Maru, when he was "Throw 5 billion thrust kicks, shiruani, match over." I do, however, hold a one-sided opinion when it comes to Tiger Mask IV. Robotic as fuck, anti-climatic as all hell; makes me wonder why Sayama wanted to put the mask on him in the first place.


That is why Sayama is introducing Tiger Mask V here sometime soon  ... if I can find the flier I will post it.


----------



## daman077c

RoninTK said:


> That is why Sayama is introducing Tiger Mask V here sometime soon  ... if I can find the flier I will post it.


So there IS such a thing as a God!


----------



## antoniomare007

seancarleton77 said:


> Marufuji has got to be the 2010 MVP of Puro, that man is everywhere! He went from a long absence in the ring to one professional wrestlings most busy men, even if you don't appreciate his style, that dude works 10x harder than even John Cena.
> 
> 'Fuji or Davey will probably be the wrestler of the year, Maru is having better performances than anyone in WWE or TNA this year.


Daisuke Sekimoto.


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> Daisuke Sekimoto.


He is having a pretty impressive year but I still think Devitt & Marufuji have been the hardest workers in Japan, either one of them or even Daisuke could win the award that Tanahashi got last year.


----------



## rodrigaum18

only matches awesomes


----------



## Nervosa

So, I just want to say, Fuck Taguchi. Fuck him in the ass with the LA Raiders. 

I nominate him for Tiger Mask V, so that Tiger Mask Iv won't look so bad.

That's how awful he was in the match with Devitt against KENTA and Edwards. Edwards had a good enough performance to have the otherwise silent crowd cheering like crazy for him, KENTA and Devitt bring their usual excellence, and then Taguchi tags in and its crappy, slow, sloppy offense that I couldn't care less about. Then.............they put him over! WTF? Ruined an otherwise good match.

Also, I'm not understanding all the hype for Marufuji/Kanemoto. Slow, directionless, lost, usual 2010 MArufuji bullshit. Finish was great, especially as Kanemoto finally picked a bodypart. (I'll work his back, naa, wait, how bout his leg? O wait, that's right, all my finishers focus on the neck. Ready? Break!) But seriously, its not enough to make up for a very bad first 2/3rds of the match.


----------



## seancarleton77

Taguchi is very bland, if he didn't team with Devitt he would just be another schmuck. Taguchi is the Road Dogg of New Japan, makes Makabe look good.


----------



## RoninTK

Anyways....

Here is the actual Tiger Mask V, in all his jacked glory, lol.


----------



## seancarleton77

RoninTK said:


> Anyways....
> 
> Here is the actual Tiger Mask V, in all his jacked glory, lol.


Hopefully he wrestles like a Tiger Mask and not like a Rob Terry.


----------



## antoniomare007

found this on another forum (credit to d232009), interesting stuff..



> There's an Marufuji interview that's been going around the net. It's causing a bit of buzz since it hints the direction NOAH will be heading in the future.
> 
> In the beginning of the Interview, Marufuji said that NOAH will be going through some Drastic changes over the course of the year. Notably the recruiting of Rookies & The continuation of NOAH's feud with New Japan.
> 
> Marufuji said that he is the head trainer of the NOAH Dojo and they are on search of prospects all across Japan.
> 
> He addressed the current Feud with NJ and told the interviewer that most of the NOAH Guys (Specifically KENTA) are disappointed with NOAH losing most of the interpromotional matches. Marufuji suggested to KENTA & Maru's friend/Tag Partner Atsushi Aoki to invade New Japan. Marufuji said that if Aoki invades New Japan, it will help him gain experience and gain confidence as he believes Aoki will be a Championship Player and will be a Big part in the Future of NOAH. Marufuji said that Aoki is the best tag partner KENTA can find right now since he's currently busy with his Vice Presidential Duties.
> 
> Marufuji concluded the interview by saying that NOAH is currently facing a ton of challenges but he is optimistic that NOAH's future will be bright again and the Changes in the Promotion have already begun.


Also, results and news from today's shows in Osaka:



Spoiler: NOAH results



*NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 2ND SHOW ~ NEW NAVIGATION 2010 IN OSAKA", 7/24/10 (PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
3,500 Fans*

1. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin defeated Asian Cougar Image & Kanjuro Matsuyama Image (13:47) when Ishimori used a 450 Splash on Matsuyama.
2. Akira Taue & Masao Inoue defeated Takashi Okita Image & Kento Miyahara Image (9:59) when Inoue used a Cradle on Okita.
3. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi defeated Takuma Sano, Akitoshi Saito & Masashi Aoyagi (9:02) when Kanemaru used a Reverse Cradle on Aoyagi.
4. Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima (12:14) when Ogawa used a Backdrop Hold on Nakajima.
5. Shuhei Taniguchi "Rush" 10 Match Series 9th: Takashi Sugiura defeated Shuhei Taniguchi (15:17) with the Olympic Slam.
6. Special Tag Team Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki (18:23) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Aoki.
7. Special Singles Match: Kensuke Sasaki defeated Go Shiozaki (33:36) with the Northern Lights Bomb.
8. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & KENTA defeated Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi (22:24) when Akiyama used a Wrist Clutch Exploder on Taguchi.

- Momo No Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada) attacked Ishimori & Marvin after Match #1.
- Satoshi Kojima appeared after Match #5 and cut a promo in the ring. He told the fans in attendance that he was personally invited by NOAH Vice President Naomichi Marufuji. He said that he plans on participating on some NOAH shows in the future. Then he said that he's scouting Go Shiozaki whom he'll face in the G1 Climax. He ended the promo by wishing Marufuji good luck on his match.
- After Match #6, Marufuji challenged Satoshi Kojima to a match. Kojima accepted it quickly and shook Marufuji's hand.
- Go/Kensuke was said to be very reminiscent of the Kobashi/Kensuke match that happened 5 years ago with the Trademark Chop Battle.
- KENTA was bleeding early on and still managed to continue although he might have lost a lot of blood. The ending saw KENTA lariating Nagata through the outside with KENTA wipping his blood on Nagata's face while Akiyama dropped Taguchi with the Wrist Clutch Exploder.
- The Last 3 Matches were said to be pretty good.



horrible attendance again


----------



## Derek

About time NOAH picked up some more rookies. And Aoki getting a push makes me happy. He's the one junior in NOAH I actually like.


----------



## antoniomare007

DDT did it again!!



> *DDT "RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2010 SUMMER VACATION", 25.07.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 8,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy*
> 
> 0. KO-D Tag Team Title: Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa Image (c) defeated Jun Kasai Image & Kamui Image (16:30) when Sawa used an Octopus Hold on Kamui in the Bathroom (7th defense).
> 1. Daisuke Sasaki, Takao Soma & Kazuki Hirata defeated Shigehiro Irie, Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Akihito (11:21) when Soma used a Diving Guillotine Drop on Akihito.
> 2. UWA Trios Title, Jiyugaoka Six Man Tag Team Title & Nihonkai Six Man Tag Team Title, 3 Way Match: Great Kojika Image, Mr. #6 & Riho (c) defeated Hikaru Sato, Keisuke Ishii & YOSHIHIKO (c) & KUDO, Yasu Urano & Antonio Honda (c) (12:02) when Riho used the Kurukuru Ribbon on Honda - UWA Trios & Jiyugaoka Six Man Tag Team Title Switch, Nihonkai Six Man Tag Team Title 1st Defense.
> 3. KO-D Tag Team Title Contendership Tournament - Finals, Gauntlet Match: MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba defeated Manabu Nakanishi Image & Poison Sawada JULIE (10:39) when MIKAMI used the Volcanic Bomb on JULIE. Order of Elimination: Muscle Sakai & Jiro Hachimitsu defeated Goro Tsurumi & Tomimitsu Matsunaga (5:41) when Jiro used an Ankle Hold on Matsunaga. Toru Owashi & Yukihiro Abe defeated Muscle Sakai & Jiro Hachimitsu (2:03) when Abe used a School Boy on Sakai. MIKAMI & Tanomusaku Toba defeated Toru Owashi & Yukihiro Abe (5:14) when Toba used the La Magistral on Abe.
> 4. TAJIRI Image defeated Dick Togo (6:22) with a Cradle.
> 5. One-Year Contract War - Captain's Fall No DQ Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Michael Nakazawa (c) & Munenori Sawa Image defeated Yago Aznable (c), MA Hoshitango & Annabel Taro Image (14:05) when Nakazawa used the Firebird Splash on Yago.
> 6. Naomichi Marufuji Image defeated Kenny Omega (20:06) with a Modified Brainbuster.
> 7. Umemura Pasokon-juku Sponsored Handicap Match: Danshoku Dino defeated HG & RG (14:13) with a Cross Knee Hold on HG.
> 8. KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA defeated Daisuke Sekimoto Image (c) (24:21) with the Swandive Somato - Title Switch.
> 
> 
> - Former New Japan Ring Announcer Kero Tanaka opened the show along with Michael Nakazawa. Nakazawa was shown a footage of what happened to him on Last Year's Sumo Hall Show.
> - Kyohei Wada was the ref for some of the matches.
> - Order of entry for the Gauntlet: Matsunaga & Goro, Sakai & Hachimitsu, Owashi & Abe, MIKAMI & Toba, JULIE & Nakanishi.
> - JULIE & Nakanishi didn't get along which lead to JULIE giving Nakanishi the Poison Spell.
> - Possible reason for the TAJIRI/Togo match being short is TAJIRI's Knee Injury.
> - Kota Ibushi cut a promo after intermission and wished Omega luck.
> - Marufuji injured his arm during the match. It was taped out immediately as soon as the match ended.
> - After Match #7, Dino asked HG if he is still gonna quit wrestling. Then a VTR featuring Genichiro Tenryu was placed and urged HG to continue. After the VTR, HG told everyone that he is made for pro-wrestling and thus he is staying. Then, HG & Dino hugged and maked out.
> - It was announced at the end of the show that another Ryogoku Peter Pan will be held next year.


also, from a guy go went to the show:

"Michael Nakazawa's Space Oddity is just too hard to explain. After he won his match he seemed to launch himself into space (seen on the video screen) to finish off the alien invasion crew.

(...) At the end they announced next years show, all the DDT guys hit the ring and the crowd using their mobile phones managed to light up Sumo Hall and guide Michael Nakazawa down from space and safely back to the stage"

:lmao


----------



## seabs

*Awesome.*


----------



## Kapone89

*Freedoms 21.06.2010*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Mammoth Sasaki - ***1/2
Jun Kasai vs Necro Butcher - ***-***1/4

Also, i have to watch that DDT show once it becomes available.


----------



## WillTheBloody

A heads up for those who missed the announcement:



> The legendary *Manami Toyota* will be making her *American debut* in *Chikara Pro* on September 18th in Baltimore, MD and September 19th in Brooklyn, NY! Word right now is that she will be hand picking her opponents for both nights.


----------



## McQueen

Fuck you CHIKARA, FUCK YOU!

For making me want to watch a match from your retarded promotion for once.


----------



## antoniomare007

it was just a matter of time McQueen


----------



## McQueen

Quackenbush is going to have to pay for this.


----------



## WillTheBloody

It gets worse, McQueen. Dave Prazak posted this on the SHIMMER boards.



> Toyota is only working for CHIKARA when she is in the United States in September. We tried to put a deal together to have her appear for both SHIMMER and CHIKARA in the same trip, but her schedule would not allow for it to happen. Toyota has always dreamed of wrestling in NYC, and is also making the trip to visit with friends in that area. She will only be in the country for less than one week. The timing and circumstances meant that CHIKARA will have the exclusive honor of hosting her first match on American soil. Everyone who has the chance to head to NY to check out the CHIKARA event, show your support!


----------



## Devildude

Catching up on some puro, albeit slowly.
*
Smash 3 (5/29):*

Prince Devitt vs KUSHIDA - ****3/4*

*NJPW Dominion (6/19):*

Masato Tanaka vs Hirooki Goto - ****3/4*

Prince Devitt vs Naomichi Marufuji - *****1/2
*


----------



## antoniomare007

Marufuji is out of the G-1 (injured yesterday in his match against Kenny Omega)

Muta comes back for the big 8/29 All Japan show...he's wrestling Kenzo fucking Suzuki :lmao


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> Marufuji is out of the G-1 (injured yesterday in his match against Kenny Omega)
> 
> Muta comes back for the big 8/29 All Japan show...he's wrestling Kenzo fucking Suzuki :lmao


The hardest worker in Puro today pays for his gruelling schedule once again, that sucks.

All Japan is very hit and miss, Jr. Heavyweights = HIT Everything else = Miss.


----------



## McQueen

Kenzo isn't as bad as his WWE run suggests but he isn't great either.


----------



## daman077c

Kenzo's always been a bit meh. From his NJ stuff to when he was in World Japan and faced Kensuke Sasaki (Which was also a bit meh), he's just been like that. I say he's solid, but unspectacular.


----------



## seancarleton77

He should fit into the All Japan Heavyweight division regardless of how bad he is, they've got a handful of good heavyweights at best.


----------



## KingKicks

Watched my first Puro show since Wrestle Kingdom IV earlier today.
*Pro Wrestling NOAH 10th Anniversary Summer Navigation 2010*

Shuhei Taniguchi and Atsushi Aoki vs. Akira Taue and Masao Inoue *¾**

Bison Smith, Keith Walker, Taiji Ishimori and Ricky Marvin vs. Akitoshi Saito, Mohammad Yone, Kentaro Shiga and Genba Hirayanagi **½*

Kensuke Sasaki, Yoshinari Ogawa and Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Jun Akiyama, Takuma Sano and Makoto Hashi ****

Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KENTA and Eddie Edwards *****

Takeshi Morishima vs. Yutaka Yoshie ****

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Match*
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Naomichi Marufuji ******

Go Shiozaki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ****¼

GHC Heavyweight Title Match*
Takashi Sugiura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama *****-****¼*

*Fun show overall with the 2 title matches being the obvious highlights. I felt Shiozaki/Tanahashi didn't live up to the first match at all (though I still enjoyed it), and I can't wait to see an eventual KENTA/Devitt match.*​
Hoping to watch Kobe World 2010 sometime this week.


----------



## daman077c

seancarleton77 said:


> He should fit into the All Japan Heavyweight division regardless of how bad he is, they've got a handful of good heavyweights at best.


I wouldn't say he's bad, he's just... there.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah, i'd second that.


----------



## Horselover Fat

Benjo™ said:


> GHC Heavyweight Title Match[/B]
> Takashi Sugiura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama *****-****¼*


so is it **** or ****1/4


----------



## Zombiekid29

WCW said:


> so is it **** or ****1/4


If you were a true wrestling fan you would know.


----------



## seancarleton77

Zombiekid29 said:


> If you were a true wrestling fan you would know.


I gave it about 4 and 3 quarters, depends on the person, really.


----------



## Nervosa

seancarleton77 said:


> All Japan is very hit and miss, *Hayashi and Kondo* = HIT Everything else = Miss.


Fixed.


----------



## Corey

*NJPW 10/26/1996*

Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - ***1/4 (_Solid match, but it just felt like a collection of their big moves. There was no real selling, just move after move. First time seeing both guys, they seem kinda generic for the time period)_

Shinya Hashimoto & Scott Norton vs. Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki - **1/2 (_Just a bunch of big guys goin at it. Nothin but powerslams, lariats, sharpshooters, and Hashimoto kicks)_

The Great Muta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger - ***3/4 (_Big fan of this match. Love the slow, methodical approach Muta takes in the earlygoing and just dominates Liger while scaring the shit out of the crowd. When Muta rips Liger's mask off and he reveals the look underneath it's just an insane moment. Not a whole lot of actual wrestling, it was basically a hardcore match, but it was a lot fun with some extremely memorable moments)_​


----------



## McQueen

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Shinya Hashimoto & Scott Norton vs. Riki Choshu & Kensuke Sasaki - **1/2 (Just a bunch of big guys goin at it. Nothin but powerslams, lariats, sharpshooters, and Hashimoto kicks)


Is that a fucking complaint? Because that sounds awesome. Although yeah '96 Sasaki I can kinda see your point.


----------



## Corey

Yeah, it's a complaint. It got old. I think the end sequnce involved at least 5 straight lariats til Norton finally went off his feet. And Hashimoto just started kicking Riki in the chest at one point for a good two minutes. It wasn't too thrilling imo


----------



## McQueen

Norton is awesome, guy was like a giant keg wrestling, lariat spot sounds kinda cool. I think I need to see this match now.


----------



## Corey

Your description fits Norton to the tee. But yeah, how I'm describing it probably makes it sound better than it actually was.


----------



## McQueen

You ever see any of the Norton/Hash matches? I especially like the '95 G-1 match they had, made Norton look like the baddest mother on the planet.


----------



## Corey

Haha. No sir. Besides Muta matches and some J-Cup stuff, I'm very limited on '90s New Japan.


----------



## McQueen

I prefer Hashimoto & Hase stuff the most, and TENRYU invading NJ is always fun even though every other Heavy in WAR seems to suck. Sasaki isn't all that worth watching until 2000 (except if Hase is in with him), particularily his stuff with Kawada.

Oh and Fujiwara if you want to go back in time.


----------



## Corey

I enjoy your name dropping. I got a show from April of '96 I'm gonna watch next. Muta vs. Shinzaki and some WCW guys in there.


----------



## McQueen

I've seen that Muta/Shinzaki match. Its interesting. I hope you like attempted mid match exorcisms.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Shinzaki's a load a shit.


----------



## antoniomare007

agree on Hashimoto vs Norton matches, Hash not being the big bully is fun as hell



Jack Evans 187 said:


> Yeah, it's a complaint. It got old. I think the end sequnce involved at least 5 straight lariats til Norton finally went off his feet.* And Hashimoto just started kicking Riki in the chest at one point for a good two minutes. It wasn't too thrilling imo*


you are breaking my heart man


----------



## Corey

Hahaha. I'm telling you guys, it's not as good as you think.


----------



## McQueen

I checked the site and he didn't have it. Maybe it isn't so good because thats on paper something the D man would jump at in a heartbeat.

Oh Evans, check out Choshu/Hash from the '96 G-1 Climax opening night.


----------



## antoniomare007

that match is epic, Hash screaming "CHOOSHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU" at the end is amazing


----------



## McQueen

Yeah, I need to redownload that match.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW J-CROWN TOURNAMENT '96

IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIHT & NWA WORLD JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES
Masayoshi Motegi © vs. The Great Sasuke © - ** ½
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT & WAR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES
Jushin “Thunder” Liger © vs. Ultimo Dragon © - **
UWA WORLD WELTERWEIGHT & NWA WORLD WELTERWEIGHT TITLES
***** Casas © vs. Shinjiro Ohtani © - ** ¾
WWA WORLD JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT & WWF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES
El Samurai © vs. Gran Hamada © - **
BRITISH COMMONWEALTH JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT & WAR INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT & UWA WORLD WELTERWEIGHT & NWA WORLD WELTERWEIGHT TITLES
Ultimo Dragon © vs. Shinjiro Ohtani © - ******
IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIHT & NWA WORLD JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT & WWA WORLD JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT & WWF LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES
El Samuari © vs. The Great Sasuke © - ** ¼
J-CROWN TITLE
Ultimo Dragon vs. The Great Sasuke - ***

Average tournament, with one very good match - Dragon/Ohtani, which is one of my favorite puro jr heavyweight match from 90s. 

Whats your best jr heavyweight matches from 90s ? I watched mainly heavyweights, so I dont know many of them... and also, another question for puro experts, whats your best matches of Ohtani ? i watched only few his matches and he's damn good !


----------



## antoniomare007

*Genichiro Tenryu vs Ricky Steamboat - 2/23/84*

Kinda shocked that Ditch doesn't have it in his site, specially since it has a clean finish. Very slow build in the first half with some basic holds but it it picked up in the final minutes with some pretty good nearfalls. Nothing spectacular but worth a watch, it's fucking Tenryu vs Steamboat.


----------



## daman077c

So... I just watched the 3 hour Samurai! TV DDT Sumo Hall special... Good show, tons of stuff that was hilarious, and the announcement that they're returning to Sumo Hall next year on 7/24... So I need to start planning my pilgrimmage now.


----------



## Corey

*NJPW Battle Formation '96*

Yuji Nagata & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto - **3/4

Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - *3/4

Lex Luger vs. Masahiro Chono - **

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - ***1/4 (_Fuji gets his nose broken during the match and it's brutal to see the blood spilling from his face)_

The Great Muta vs. Jinzei Shinzaki - ***1/2 (_Another extremely bloody match with some crazy shit involved)_

Riki Choshu, Osama Nishimura, Satoshi Kojima, & Takashi Iizuka vs. Shiro Koshinaka, Akira Nogami, Akitoshi Saito, & Michiyoshi Ohara - **1/2

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
Jushin Thunder Liger(c) vs. Great Sasuke - ****

The Road Warriors & Power Warrior(Kensuke Sasaki) vs. The Steiner Brothers & Scott Norton - ***1/4 (_Surprisingly very good_)

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
Nobuhiko Takada(c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto - ***3/4 (_Short, but great. One of the loudest Japanese crowds I've ever heard)_

Overall: 8/10​


----------



## seancarleton77

Jack Evans 187 said:


> *NJPW Battle Formation '96*
> 
> Yuji Nagata & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto - **3/4
> 
> Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - *3/4
> 
> Lex Luger vs. Masahiro Chono - **
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - ***1/4 (_Fuji gets his nose broken during the match and it's brutal to see the blood spilling from his face)_
> 
> The Great Muta vs. Jinzei Shinzaki - ***1/2 (_Another extremely bloody match with some crazy shit involved)_
> 
> Riki Choshu, Osama Nishimura, Satoshi Kojima, & Takashi Iizuka vs. Shiro Koshinaka, Akira Nogami, Akitoshi Saito, & Michiyoshi Ohara - **1/2
> 
> *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
> Jushin Thunder Liger(c) vs. Great Sasuke - ****
> 
> The Road Warriors & Power Warrior(Kensuke Sasaki) vs. The Steiner Brothers & Scott Norton - ***1/4 (_Surprisingly very good_)
> 
> *IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
> Nobuhiko Takada(c) vs. Shinya Hashimoto - ***3/4 (_Short, but great. One of the loudest Japanese crowds I've ever heard)_
> 
> Overall: 8/10​


How can I get my hands on this show?


----------



## McQueen

IVP has it.

4/29/96 I think. Something like that.


----------



## Corey

Yep, 4/29/96 is correct.


----------



## McQueen

I loved the Hash/Takada match.


----------



## Corey

As did I. I didn't know who the hell Takada was, but I enjoyed watching him. Of course it could've been incredible if it went longer than 13 minutes. No complaints though.


----------



## McQueen

Takada was a guy who started off as a NJPW golden boy in the 80's but left and became a huge star in the shoot style promotion UWF-i (hell a huge star in Japan in general) so the whole angle behind that was Takada came back into the company took the belt off Mutoh and Hash was stepping in the defend New Japan's honor.


----------



## Corey

I gotcha. Makes sense as to why they were so damn loud then


----------



## McQueen

In '96 for most of the rest of the year Hash would have a series against another Shoot style guy Kazuo Yamazaki that are pretty good matches too.


----------



## antoniomare007

that match, along with Hashimoto vs Hase, is the best IWGP Title match ever. 

And that's probably the best Dome show ever for New Japan at least from what i've seen.


the Yamazaki feud is underated, awesome tags and singles matches between him and Hash.


----------



## McQueen

Out of the Dome shows i've seen I definately agree. Fuck it I feel like watching that show now (if I can find it)

Edit: It's on!!!


----------



## Martyn

I downloaded this show not so long ago from torrents (PWT). But, for me, that match wasnt that good, like everyone think (*** 1/4). In my opinion, MOTN of Battle Creation '96 is Hakushi/Muta match (*** 3/4).


----------



## antoniomare007

horrible night, went to the Stadium (as usual) but we lost our chance to reach the final of Copa Libertadores for the first time in club history....only this made me think of something else and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bnSp6i7riM&playnext=1&videos=CbryNJpM_8c&feature=sub


----------



## Devildude

> [Results] NOAH, 04.08.2010 (von Sternness am 04.08.2010)
> NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH 10TH ANNIVERSARY ~ 10 YEARS AFTER", 04.08.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 1,100 Fans
> 
> 1. Takeshi Morishima besiegt Makoto Hashi (8:36) mit einer Lariat.
> 2. Ricky Marvin & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara (15:01) nach einem Cross Armbreaker von Aoki gegen Miyahara.
> 3. Akira Taue, Mohammed Yone & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Akitoshi Saito, Tamon Honda & Shuhei Taniguchi (16:41) nach einem Diving Guillotine Drop von Yone gegen Honda.
> 4. Masao Inoue & Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegen Kentaro Shiga & Taiji Ishimori (13:50) nach einem Backslide von Kanemaru gegen Shiga.
> 5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano besiegen Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa (3:10) nach einem Everest German Suplex Hold von Takayama gegen Ogawa.
> 6. 2/3 Falls Match: Takashi Sugiura & KENTA besiegen Go Shiozaki & Takeshi Morishima (31:02).
> Morishima besiegte Sugiura mit einem Backdrop Suplex (0:55). Sugiura besiegte Shiozaki mit einem Olympic Slam (18:03). Sugiura besiegte Morishima mit einem Olympic Slam (12:04).


In other news, Prince Devitt replaces Naomichi Marufuji in the G1 Climax. Seriously, how good has the past 6 months been for Devitt?


----------



## S-Mac

I think i really need to start watching some of devitts matches from this year so far he has been on a roll.


----------



## seancarleton77

Let's go Devitt! Devitt, Shiozaki, Nakamura, Kojima, Nagata and Tanahashi = WIN Makabe = ehh and Strong machine = OH GOD NOOOO


----------



## Corey

How would you guys rank the Wrestle Kingdom shows from best to worst?


----------



## antoniomare007

Like most Dome shows, non of them are must see imo, but my list would be like this:

WK IV
WK III
WK II - WK I


----------



## Martyn

My star ratings for last three shows :

WK IV :


IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Amistad combativa~: 
Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt © vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Averno - ** 1/4
IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Hardcore Rules Match ~Victim and Greed~: 
“Team 3D” Brother Ray TNA Wrestling & Brother Devon TNA Wrestling © vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito - * 1/4
Wrestle Kingdom Special Tag Match ~Blood Stream Blue~: Yuji Nagata & Akebono vs. TAJIRI & Masato Tanaka ZERO1 - ***+
Wrestle Kingdom Special 8 Man Tag Match ~The legend never rots~: Terry Funk, Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Abdullah The Butcher, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii - ** 1/2+
Wrestle Kingdom IV Special Singles Match NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Wilderness~: Togi Makabe vs. Mohammed Yone - * 3/4
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~ Highest sky: Tiger Mask (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji - *** 3/4
Wrestle Kingdom IV Special Singles Match NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Radiance~: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Go Shiozaki - *** 3/4
GHC Heavyweight Title ~ NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Blast~: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Hirooki Goto - ****
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title ~ The newest, The strongest: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - *** 1/2+

WK III :

1. Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO
Mistico, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno, Jado & Gedo - ** 1/4
2. Jushin Thunder Liger 20th Anniversary Match
Jushin Thunder Liger & Takuma Sano Pro Wrestling vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto - * 1/2
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Tread on!!~: 
Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin - *** 1/4
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: 
Low Ki (c) vs. Tiger Mask IV - *** 1/4
5. Fighting Holdings Competition: 
Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson - * 3/4
6. AWA World Heavyweight Title ~Crusade for Justice~: 
Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Masato Tanaka - *** 3/4
7. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the invasion~: 
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama - *** 1/4
8. IWGP Tag Team Title - Hardcore Rules: 
Togi Makabe & Toru Yano (c) vs. "Team 3D" Brother Ray & Brother Devon - * 3/4
9. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the encounter~: 
Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura - ****
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: 
Keiji Muto (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *** 3/4

WK II :

AJ Styles, Christian Cage & Petey Williams vs. Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Prince Devitt - ** 1/4
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Wataru Inoue vs. "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels - *
MONSTER VS. MONSTER
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Abyss - **
ALLIANCE VS. NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
Katsushi Takemura, Masato Tanaka, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Koji Kanemoto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Takashi Iizuka & Tiger Mask IV - ** 3/4
HARDCORE
Team 3D vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano - * 1/2
Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Shuji Kondo, Taru, "Brother" Yasshi, Gedo & Jado - ** 3/4
The Great Muta vs. Hirooki Goto - ** 1/2
IWGP TAG TEAM TITLES:
Giant Bernard © & Travis Tomko © vs. The Steiner Brothers - ** 1/4
IGF IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Kurt Angle © vs. Yuji Nagata - ****
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE:
Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ** 3/4

WK III was the best edition for me. 

I haven't seen WK 2007. Does anyone here know where I can download it ?


----------



## antoniomare007

NOAH goes back to the Budokan on 9/26, Kobashi probably returns (again) on that show.


----------



## antoniomare007

*Shinya Hashimoto vs Gen'ichiro Tenryu - 2/17/94*

I've being trying to find this match for almost 2 years, finally saw it and it didn't dissapoint. This two fuckers hate each other with a passion and beat the crap of one another for 15+ minutes. So Hashimoto has been the IWGP champ for 6 months and now has to face the man that defeated him in 2 ocassions in 93' and comes from pinning Antonio Inoki at the Tokyo Dome. This is the chance for Hash to stablish himself as THE FUCKING MAN in New Japan (and the crowd knows this too)...Tenryu couldn't give two shits about that, he wants the title and put WAR on top of the puroresu world. 

just a little sample http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00tTck1la_8


----------



## Devildude

*NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH 10TH ANNIVERSARY ~ NEW NAVIGATION 2010 IN OSAKA" - 07/24/2010:*

1. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Asian Cougar & Kanjuro Matsuyama - ***3/4*
2. Akira Taue & Masao Inoue vs. Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara - ****
3. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Takuma Sano, Akitoshi Saito & Masashi Aoyagi - ***3/4*
4. Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima - ****1/4*
5. Shuhei Taniguchi "Rush" 10 Match Series 9th: Takashi Sugiura vs. Shuhei Taniguchi - ****3/4*
6. Special Tag Team Match: Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo - ****1/2*
7. Special Singles Match: Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki - *****1/2+*
8. Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & KENTA vs. Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi - ******


----------



## Martyn

Looks like one of the best puroresu shows from 2010. Thanks for these ratings.


----------



## seancarleton77

I wonder if this epic New Japan/NOAH feud continues to Wrestle Kingdom, I think it would be a great place to finish things? I am all for the talent exchange to continue, however the feud itself doesn't need to last forever.


----------



## Martyn

seancarleton77 said:


> I wonder if this epic New Japan/NOAH feud continues to Wrestle Kingdom, I think it would be a great place to finish things? I am all for the talent exchange to continue, however the feud itself doesn't need to last forever.


Yeah, because the traditional 1/4 Tokyo Dome show is the most prestigious event in Japanese wrestling right now and most important storylines should have ended there.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW 5/02/02 Tokyo Dome
Masachiro Chono vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

The first time ever meeting of the biggest puroresu stars from the 90s. I think that it'll be a classic, but that match really dissapointed me... ***

Whats your ratings for that match ?


----------



## Horselover Fat

Martyn said:


> NJPW 5/02/02 Tokyo Dome
> Masachiro Chono vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
> 
> The first time ever meeting of the biggest puroresu stars from the 90s. I think that it'll be a classic, but that match really dissapointed me... ***
> 
> Whats your ratings for that match ?


****1/4


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 2/12/00 *
KENTA, Kenta Kobashi, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Takeshi Rikio vs Jun Akiyama, Takeshi Morishima, Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
***1/2
Good match but nothing fantastic.


----------



## Devildude

I spy with my little eye...



> NOAH "NEW DEPARTURE 2010", 28.08.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> *1. Kotaro Suzuki Return Match: Kotaro Suzuki vs. KENTA*


Oh yes.


----------



## seancarleton77

Suzuki vs. KENTA = ORGASM


----------



## RoninTK

Before the contract signing that was to take place between Akiyama and Sugiura today for their title match on the 8/22. *Sugiura became very ill during his training session and was immediately rushed to the hospital.* He is currently undergoing tests to see if the issue is serious or not.

This is all the info that has been released at this time, and I personally hope all the best for Sugi.

Personally I am hoping that it is no more than a case of dehydration, but you can never tell much anymore.


----------



## antoniomare007

damn Sugi


----------



## Devildude

Bah, terrible news. I'm hoping it's just the effects from an overly tough training session but very often it tends to be far worse these days 

Here's hoping Sugi makes a speedy return.


----------



## Derek

Hope Big Boss Sugi is okay. Was looking forward to his match with Akiyama. I hope this isn't serious enough that he'll have to vacate the title.


----------



## seabs

*I'm sure it's just a case of Sugi working too hard in the heat. Great to Suzuki back too. Things finally seem to looking more positive for NOAH*


----------



## Martyn

Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs. Terry & Dory Funk Jr. (04/20/83)

Good match between awesome wrestlers. Great chemistry, nice in ring psychology, stiff moves and hot damn crowd! Current generation of wrestlers should teach from them. *** ½. 

I can't wait for their rematch! It was the first time, when I saw Brody in action. Whats in yours opinion his best matches ?


----------



## antoniomare007

my favorite Brody match is a 2/3 falls match in St. Louis against Flair, he's very hit or miss imo.


----------



## Derek

Word is Sugiura is okay and won't be missing his title match on 8/22.


WAR SUGIURA!


----------



## smitlick

*Zero-One - 11/7/2010*
Masato Tanaka vs Shawn Daivari
**3/4
Very very average match.

*DDT - 25/7/2010*
Kenny Omega vs Naomichi Marufuji
***1/2
How the fuck did Marufuji get the win...Especially after the top rope Croyts Wrath and Hadouken...


----------



## Yeah1993

Watched Hashimoto/Kawada 22/2/04 and went NUTS. Probably my #2 match that whole DECADE, top 5 at worst. never seen much mention of this, so any thoughts?


----------



## antoniomare007

i've mentioned that match as one of Hashimoto's best, it's a pretty awesome stuff, Kawada and Hash always knew how to deliver in big match situations. Go watch Tenryu vs Hashimoto 2/17/94 those two fuckers hate each other.


----------



## coug

Just watched Table vs. Stepladder from 03/19/06, forgotten gem I must say. *****3/4*


----------



## ChainGangRed

What are some of your guys favorite joshi matches?


----------



## McQueen

smitlick said:


> *Zero-One - 11/7/2010*
> Masato Tanaka vs Shawn Daivari
> **3/4
> Very very average match.
> 
> *DDT - 25/7/2010*
> Kenny Omega vs Naomichi Marufuji
> ***1/2
> How the fuck did Marufuji get the win...Especially after the top rope Croyts Wrath and Hadouken...


I like Kenny Omega but the HADOUKEN is a fucking stupid move. I'd refuse to sell it if I were a wrestler. And i'd probably respond with a Tenryu style punch to the face if he tried it anyways.



Yeah1993 said:


> Watched Hashimoto/Kawada 22/2/04 and went NUTS. Probably my #2 match that whole DECADE, top 5 at worst. never seen much mention of this, so any thoughts?


I'd say its probably Hash's best match (although the '94 IWGP defense against Hase fucking owns too) and the best post split All Japan match with ease.

Misawa vs Chono probably ** 3/4 from me, solid but not great.


----------



## Martyn

ChainGangRed said:


> What are some of your guys favorite joshi matches?


I haven't watched a lot of joshi, but my all-time favorite is :

*THE 1st MATCH JWP WOMEN'S PRO-WRESTLING: -THANK YOU, GODDESS OF PRO-WRESTLING! (PURORESU-NO KAMISAMA, ARIGATOU!) -8 WOMEN TAG MATCH
Dynamite Kansai & Hikari Fukuoka & Candy Okutsu & Fusayo Nochi vs Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki & Cuty Suzuki & Hiromi Yagi 

I rated it for **** 1/2. That match had place at WPM Bridge of Dreams Dome Spring Full-Blown 2-04-95 event, which I can recommend.

Whats yours thoughts & match star ratings for this years G1 Climax ?


----------



## jawbreaker

McQueen said:


> I like Kenny Omega but the HADOUKEN is a fucking stupid move. I'd refuse to sell it if I were a wrestler. And i'd probably respond with a Tenryu style punch to the face if he tried it anyways.


You're talking about a company where people sell for blow up dolls.


----------



## Devildude

jawbreaker said:


> You're talking about a company where people sell for blow up dolls.


It's not just DDT where Omega uses it though.

Sure, I guess you could get away with using it for PWG because the company is based on good wrestling and comedy but there's absolutely no reason for Omega using it in ROH.


----------



## jawbreaker

I agree, it's perfect for DDT and fine for PWG. And I don't think I've ever seen him use it as anything other than a transitional double palm strike in ROH except against Richards at COTC, which I agree kinda killed the match.


----------



## brandeito

does anyone else think akiyama should beat suigiura for the belt at the 8/22 show so kobashi could come back and vs akiyama for the belt


----------



## antoniomare007

I don't, there's no gain in Akiyama vs Kobashi for the title besides 1 good gate in the Budokan. They still could do that match with no title on the line and it would still draw big.

Besides, nobody knows if Kobashi is capable of a big main event singles match (it's been 4 years since his last one?). And if he only has 1 more big match in him, it should be saved for a paasing the torch kinda deal with Go Shiozaki.


----------



## WillTheBloody

I used to HATE when Omega used the Hadouken, but since he changed how he hits it, I think it's awesome now. Every time he used it in his matches at this year's BOSJ, it looked sick.


----------



## New Blood

The star ratings are not the Meltzer type of ratings, this is my Netflix ratings on whether I liked the match or not. * for hating a match and ***** for loving the match.

*Rikidozan vs. Masahiko Kimura [JWA – 12.22.1954]* ***
This is a very important match and a fascinating one to watch. A portion of the beginning is a bit of a hype package as we see both competitors preparing for the bout and the audience filing in to watch. I love how the match begins with some polite wrestling and they take their time as the original plan was for them to go to a time limit but it then quickly turns into a shoot.

*Rikidozan vs. Lou Thesz [JWA – 10.7.1957]* ****
One of, if not the most important match in the early history of puroresu. This is the match with the one-hour time limit and is the best match from these two that I’ve seen. The opening minutes of the video that I have of this match is of both men training for this match, Lou Thesz arriving in Tokyo to meet his opponent and an impressive parade in the streets of Tokyo for the father of puroresu, Rikidozan. These men were treated like royalty. This match also drew an 87 rating which is a mind-boggling rating to this day. I was a bit worried as it is 53 years old, if the match would be entertaining or not but I really enjoyed it. It’s essential viewing for anyone who wants to see historically important matches.

*Rikidozan vs. Lou Thesz [JWA – 10.13.1957]* ****
Some more great hype footage before this shorter, livelier rematch from the record breaker the week earlier. Fantastic mat work all around. There’s a surprising amount of crowd heat that is garnered by Thesz. I might like this one slightly more then their hour-long bout as this has more heat. The brawl at the end is fantastic.


----------



## New Blood

*Takeshi Sugiura vs. Hirooki Goto [NJPW - 1/4/10 Wrestle Kingdom IV]* ***
I dug this nice slug fest even though it had absolutely no selling or psychology but it doesn't matter. I had fun watching it.


----------



## antoniomare007

Results from today's big NOAH show (credit to d232009):



> *NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 3RD SHOW ~ NEW NAVIGATION 2010 IN TOKYO", 8/22/10 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum*
> 
> 1. Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga defeated Takashi Okita Image & Satoshi Kajiwara Image (9:00) when Shiga used the Shiga Sleeper on Kajiwara.
> 2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima Image & Kento Miyahara Image (10:44) when Genba used the Shoryu Genba on Miyahara.
> 3. Takeshi Morishima, Yutaka Yoshie & Akitoshi Saito defeated Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue (14:00) when Morishima used a Backdrop Suplex on Inoue.
> 4. KENTA defeated Atsushi Aoki (12:35) with the Go 2 Sleep.
> 5. Kensuke Sasaki Image defeated Shuhei Taniguchi (12:00) with the Northern Lights Bomb.
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Koji Kanemoto Image & Tiger Mask Image defeated Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin (c) (21:27) when Kanemoto used an Avalanche-Style Tiger Suplex on Marvin - Title Switch.
> 7. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima defeated Mohammed Yone (11:50) with a Lariat.
> 8. Special Singles Match - No Time Limit: Go Shiozaki defeated Shinsuke Nakamura Image (19:08) with the Space Go Flasher.
> 9. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) defeated Jun Akiyama (25:26) with an Avalanche-Style Olympic Slam (4th defense).



- The Balcony is closed but the Main Seats seem to be filled. 80% is the estimated Attendance in the first row and more people are just starting to come.
- Red Shoes Unno is the Referee for the 3rd Match.
- Atsushi Aoki should a much Rougher Style today. He was said to be very aggressive and matched KENTA move for move. He added the Head Butt to his moveset and even used a Variation of the Tornado Bomb during the match. After the match, KENTA asked Atsushi Aoki to team up with him for the Jr. Tag League. Aoki accepted it. KENTA then provoked Kotaro Suzuki, who was doing commentary. Kotaro retaliated and the two brawled in the ring.
- After Match #6, Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi challenged Tiger Mask & Kanemoto for the Jr. Tag Belts.
- After the Main Event, Go Shiozaki challenged Sugiura for the GHC Title at Next Months Budokan Hall show.



Big win for Sugi and a good reign, now Go is probably gonna win it in September. Their last match at the Budokan was a classic, so i have high hopes for the rematch.


----------



## Derek

I'd say that the time seems to be about right for Go to take the title back, even though I haven't been the biggest fan of his this year.

Sugiura has had a solid reign, the best reign in years, so its not like him losing to Go would hurt his credibility as champion.


----------



## Devildude

Looks like a solid show, hopefully getting Suzuki back and into a feud with KENTA and switching the title to Go after a very strong 2010 will improve their fortunes somewhat.


----------



## seabs

*Last 2 matches and KENTA/Aoki will probs be worth checking out. Kanemoto and TM winning the Jr tag belts seems random even if the belts mean shit. Go/Sugi should be great again next month regardless of who wins.*


----------



## McQueen

Kanemoto Image & Tiger Mask image? Whats the image all about?


----------



## jawbreaker

I was wondering that with Nakajima and the others. I figured that the results were probably c/p'd from somewhere that used an image to signify that the wrestlers worked for other companies and the images didn't transfer over.


----------



## McQueen

Thats what I was thinking too but still it seemed odd.


----------



## antoniomare007

lol, i'm way too lazy to put







and







all the time instead of just c/p


----------



## McQueen

Fair enough haha.


----------



## New Blood

*Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant [NJPW - 9/23/81]*
How does one explain this match to the unfortunate people who haven't seen this? Ditch explained it like this "Normally I try to come up with my own description of a match, but "real-life Godzilla battle" is too accurate not to use. The irresistable force versus the immovable object has never been so fully realized in a wrestling ring."


----------



## McQueen

That remains to this day one of the better New Japan matches i've seen.


----------



## Martyn

Stan Hansen vs. Andre The Giant - 23-09-81

After hearing a lot of recommendations, I finally watched that match. And yes - it was awesome. Great chemistry between one of the best gaijins ever, stiff punches, one EPIC lariat and nice cheering crowd. Finish sucks, I hate no contests, countouts, etc. ****-.


----------



## Yeah1993

Finish would have been perfect if it had a big rematch. Watch Andre/Khan 1/4/82 if you liked that btw, it's not the same level or anything, but it's kind of a similarly worked match and you won;t regret it. I gave Andre/Hansen ****1/2 fwiw.  Watched it five times this year too.


----------



## antoniomare007

Andre/Hansen may be better, but Andre's perfomance in that Khan match is a must see, so much fun.


----------



## McQueen

You non Americans putting dates backwards messes my brain up.


----------



## New Blood

Martyn said:


> Stan Hansen vs. Andre The Giant - 23-09-81
> 
> After hearing a lot of recommendations, I finally watched that match. And yes - it was awesome. Great chemistry between one of the best gaijins ever, stiff punches, one EPIC lariat and nice cheering crowd. Finish sucks, I hate no contests, countouts, etc. ****-.


Welcome to 80s wrestling. Pretty much every promotion had most of their matches end in no contests, countouts, dqs, etc. LOL.

At least it made the clean finishes that much better and exciting.


----------



## brandeito

not sure if anyone knows this but minoru suzuki lost the triple crown belt to suwama on ajpw ppv three days ago


----------



## Derek

MiSu dropped the TC already? Damn. Hopefully Suwama will have better luck this time with it than he did in his first reign.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah that was about as lackluster of a title reign concidering thats the guy who will likely end up the companies future ace.


----------



## willmason1988

what would you guys rate Jushin Liger vs Ultimo dragon from 1/04/1997...its one of my fav matches tbh


----------



## McQueen

Is that the one where Liger is decked out in the gold outfit?

If so its enjoyable but not super great or anything.


----------



## seancarleton77

Ozaki & Kansai vs Toyota/Yamada (2 out of 3 Falls) Dreamslam II = *****
Akira Hokuto vs Shinobu Kandori Dreamslam ****1/2


----------



## Devildude

Some updated New Japan lineups for the next month or so including two big PPV shows.



> NJPW "CIRCUIT 2010 G1 CLIMAX SPECIAL", 10.09.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 
> 1. Taichi vs. Kyosuke Mikami
> 2. Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. King Fale
> 3. Prince Devitt, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Davey Richards, Jado & Gedo
> 4. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & Super Strong Machine vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga
> 5. Special Tag Match: TAJIRI & KUSHIDA vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
> 6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
> 7. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima & Masato Tanaka





> NJPW "CIRCUIT 2010 G1 CLIMAX SPECIAL", 26.09.2010 (WPW/PPV)
> Kobe World Hall
> 
> 1. Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
> 2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Jado & Gedo
> 3. Special Singles Match: TAJIRI vs. Toru Yano
> 4. *Koji Kanemoto 20th Anniversary Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Davey Richards*
> 5. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
> 6. Tomoaki Honma vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tetsuya Naito
> 8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Togi Makabe (c) vs. Masato Tanaka





> NJPW "DESTRUCTION 2010", 11.10.2010 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Devitt/Taguchi or Jado/Gedo (c) vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega*
> 2. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 3. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 4. *IWGP Heavyweight Title: Makabe/Tanaka (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima*


Obviously, three huge matches stand out of those shows which should be incredible.

Edit: What the hell, I'll post the 9/3 NJPW show results too.



> NJPW "KOTETSU YAMAMOTO MEMORIAL SHOW", 03.09.2010 (Samurai! TV) (Foto)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 1,950 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> 
> 0. Kyosuke Mikami besiegt Hiromu Takahashi (7:10) mit einem Crab Hold.
> 1. Manabu Nakanishi, Tama Tonga & King Fale besiegen Riki Choshu, Taichi & Mitsuhide Hirasawa (8:27) nach einem Jackhammer von Tonga gegen Taichi.
> *2. Jado Return Match: Davey Richards, Jado & Gedo besiegen Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:50) nach einer Powerbomb von Richards gegen Kanemoto.*
> 3. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson besiegen Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (12:50) nach dem Gun Stun von Anderson gegen Ishii.
> 4. Satoshi Kojima besiegt Tomoaki Honma (10:27) mit einer Lariat.
> 5. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue besiegen Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito (15:03) nach einem Backdrop Hold von Nagata gegen Takahashi.
> 6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Masato Tanaka ZERO1 besiegen Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (15:39) nach dem Boma Ye von Nakamura gegen Goto.
> 7. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) besiegt Kenny Omega (17:29) mit dem Bloody Sunday (2nd defense).*


Oh hey, Richards just pinned Kanemoto with a fucking powerbomb. Also, Devitt/Omega should be well worth watching.


----------



## seancarleton77

Kanemoto and New Japan obviously see something in Davey Richards... because they have eyes.


----------



## McQueen

Squinty eyes. I'm not too sure they see very well at all.


----------



## smitlick

According to Gabe (hes doing the interview), Highspots are doing a shoot with Tatsumi Fujinami.


----------



## McQueen

Hopefully he talks about that time Hashimoto started to beat his ass mid match.

Probably not.


----------



## smitlick

Manami Toyota Vol 1 & 2 Compilations Just Released By Highspots.
http://www.highspots.com/product.asp?id=23924&category=416
http://www.highspots.com/product.asp?id=23925&category=416


----------



## WillTheBloody

Some matches of Davey's from his current tour have made their way to the NJPW YouTube page. They've uploaded some interesting stuff lately: No Limit vs. Shinobu & Madoka, Omega vs. Kanemoto & Devitt vs. Aoki.


----------



## smitlick

*NJPW - 19.6.2010 - Dominion WPW/PPV*

1. Koji Kanemoto, El Samurai & AKIRA vs Super Strong Machine, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga
**1/2

2. Manabu Nakanishi, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & KUSHIDA vs Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
**3/4

*3. GBH vs NOAH Special Singles Match*
Tomoaki Honma vs Mohammed Yone
**1/4

*4. Shinsuke Nakamura Return Match*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Daniel Puder
**

*5. Special Singles Match*
Hirooki Goto vs Masato Tanaka
***1/2-***3/4
*
6. IWGP Tag Team Title Three Way Elimination Match*
Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
***1/2

*7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Match*
Naomichi Marufuji vs Prince Devitt
****1/4

*8. Hair vs Hair Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano
***1/4

*9. IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Togi Makabe vs Go Shiozaki
****

LMK if i fucked up any ratings. Pretty much half asleep typing these up.​
EDIT

Some of the better matches from NOAH 26/6 - Rusher Kimura Memorial Show

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
***1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki
****

Yoshihiro Takayama, Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & KENTA
***1/2-***3/4


----------



## Devildude

NJPW Results, hot off the presses!



> NJPW [Results] New Japan, 26.09.2010 (von Sternness am 26.09.2010)
> NJPW "CIRCUIT 2010 G1 CLIMAX SPECIAL", 26.09.2010 (WPW/PPV)
> Kobe World Hall
> 
> 0. Tama Tonga & King Fale besiegen Taichi & Kyosuke Mikami (7:13) nach dem Tongan Twist von Tonga gegen Mikami.
> 1. Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask besiegen Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii (8:15) nach einem Crucifix Hold von Tiger gegen Ishii.
> 2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) besiegen Jado & Gedo (15:50) nach einem Gedo clutch von Taguchi gegen Gedo (1st defense).
> 3. Special Singles Match: TAJIRI (SMASH) besiegt Toru Yano (6:14) durch DQ.
> 4. Koji Kanemoto 20th Anniversary Match: Koji Kanemoto besiegt Davey Richards (15:19) mit einem Tiger Suplex Hold.
> 5. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) besiegen Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue (20:06) nach dem Gun Stun von Anderson gegen Inoue (2nd defense).
> 6. Satoshi Kojima besiegt Tomoaki Honma (9:10) mit einer Lariat.
> 7. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (18:07) nach dem Boma Ye von Nakamura gegen Tanahashi.
> 8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Togi Makabe (c) besiegt Masato Tanaka (ZERO-1) (18:08) mit einem King Kong Kneedrop (3rd defense).


So now the big October PPV looks a bit clearer...



> NJPW "DESTRUCTION 2010", 11.10.2010 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
> 2. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 3. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 4. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Togi Makabe (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima


As always thanks to Purolove for the results.


----------



## seabs

*Apollo 55 vs Ibushi/Omega should blow a few minds. Mine for one.*


----------



## Devildude

Indeed, the Destruction PPV is shaping up to look pretty awesome - really looking forward to Makabe/Kojima too.

The big NOAH Budokan show happened today too so results should be available by the end of the day.


----------



## brandeito

fucking bitch both kenta and go shozaki lost their title matches


----------



## Devildude

brandeito said:


> fucking bitch both kenta and go shozaki lost their title matches


Yup, here's the full results.



> NOAH "SHINY NAVIGATION 2010", 26.09.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan
> 7,200 Fans
> 
> 1. Akira Taue, Kentaro Shiga & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Takashi Okita, Satoshi Kajiwara & Jun Nishikawa (9:54) nach dem Shoryu Genba von Hirayanagi gegen Nishikawa.
> 2. Shuhei Taniguchi besiegt Kento Miyahara (8:38) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
> 3. Yutaka Yoshie besiegt Masao Inoue (11:26) mit einer Diving Body Press.
> 4. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin besiegen Yoshinari Ogawa & Bobby Fish (11:49) nach einem Cradle von Marvin gegen Fish.
> 5. Kotaro Suzuki besiegt Atsushi Aoki (16:32) mit einem Tiger Driver.
> 6. Bison Smith besiegt Mohammed Yone (7:11) durch Referee Stop (Bisontennial auf der Rampe).
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) besiegt KENTA (22:39) mit dem Touch Out (6th defense).
> 8. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (18:49) nach einem Everest German Suplex Hold von Takayama gegen Nakajima (1st defense).
> 9. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) besiegt Go Shiozaki (28:45) mit einem Olympic Slam (4th defense).


----------



## smitlick

- For the NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight day League were announced the following teams:

1. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki
2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
3. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
4. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
6. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
7. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
8. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
9. Great Sasuke & Kenbai
10. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano

The organization into 2 of block to 5 teams each is still pending.

(credit - purolove (i translated from German to English). Looks good and nice to see Strong given a chance. Hopefully NOAH send someone to ROH soon.


----------



## antoniomare007

shocked that Sugi retained.


----------



## Derek

Very suprise that Kanemaru and Sugiura retained their titles. Although, I don't mind Big Boss Suggy holding the belt a while longer.


Noah Claimed 7,200 in the Budokan, but word is that somebody there said it was closer to 5,000. And only around 3,000 were actually paid for. Very rough times for NOAH.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

I don't wanna see a second run of Go yet, imo Sugiura should retain the belt one or two times more (Sasaki or someone of NJPW?) 
and then drop it after an amazing year. Shiozaki didn't impress me as much as I thought he will in 2010, unfortunately.


----------



## antoniomare007

http://twitpic.com/2s4o9k/full

http://twitpic.com/2s4n6r/full


----------



## McQueen

Jack Evans in NOAH?


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Hopefully KENTER will stiffkick the shit out of him. :no:


----------



## McQueen

Isn't Extreme Tiger an even bigger spot monkey? I don't have a huge problem with Jack Evans its just wierd.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Mh, I mind seeing them working matches for NOAH, so it doesn't matter to me who's sucking more, tbh :E I think there are lots of better gaijins, so seeing Evans flippin' around in Japan kinda pisses me off. They won't add anything to the tournament anyway.


----------



## Derek

Those pics of the attendance is depressing.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

I have to say something about the whole situation, rather the wrestling year 2010 in general so far. It is by far weaker then 2009. Definitely. There hasn't been any BIG match I will remember in, maybe 3-6 years, like last year. Not in Japan, not in the US and now less than ever in Mexico, Europe or the UK. Last year, we had the awesome year of KENTA, who had some really great matches with the likes of Kotaro Suzuki, Nakajima, Nigel Mcguinness (I loved this one, great story telling), Richards (overrated match imo, the two major upfucks destroyed it), Akiyama, Ricky Marvin, Kensuke Office, Tyler Black, Shiozaki, the Hybrid Dolphins, Hero, Aoki and the Holy Demon Army. He was the man of the year imo and those are JUST NOAH/ROH matches of KENTA.Besides, Sugiura beat Go Shiozaki for the GHC Heavyweight title (****1/2) What do we have this year? Naomichi MaruNosell has had some solid matches, well, Sugiura's title run's awesome but there's nobody who can be considered as really OUTSTANDING. If I have to call someone the worker of the year by now, it would be Sugiura. Only because I have to. 

Did I miss any outstanding performances? If so, tell me.


----------



## McQueen

Only thing i've seen that I thought was Outstanding (but not a ***** effort) was the Mania Main Event.


----------



## brandeito

im really now wondering who their going to give the ghc jr championship to kanemaru has done nothing for me


----------



## seancarleton77

lariatooooo!!! said:


> Hopefully KENTER will stiffkick the shit out of him. :no:


I'm hoping for the same. I also want the Lucha spot monkeys to go winless in the Jr. Tag League. Then I hope Takayama comes out and starts throwing hands and knees and just breaks Jack's face... again.


----------



## smitlick

credit - purolove.com

NJPW "DESTRUCTION 2010", 11.10.2010 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tama Tonga
2. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
3. Jushin Thunder Liger Return Match: Jushin Thunder Liger, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka , Jado & Gedo
4. Special Singles Match: Toru Yano vs. TAJIRI
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
6. NJPW vs. NOAH Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Koji Kanemoto vs. Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki
7. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Togi Makabe (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima

Also Charlie Haas is booked for All Japan


----------



## seancarleton77

smitlick said:


> credit - purolove.com
> 
> NJPW "DESTRUCTION 2010", 11.10.2010 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tama Tonga
> 2. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger Return Match: Jushin Thunder Liger, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka , Jado & Gedo
> 4. Special Singles Match: Toru Yano vs. TAJIRI
> 5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
> 6. NJPW vs. NOAH Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Koji Kanemoto vs. Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki
> 7. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 8. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Togi Makabe (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima


I'm going to get this out of the way and say it now... this card on paper looks better than Death Before Dishonor VIII, Seven, the other New Japan, NOAH & All Japan cards & Wrestlemania. TNA once again doesn't even enter the show of the year conversation.


----------



## antoniomare007

that NJ vs NOAH tag is gonna be pure hatred and it's gonna be awesome.


----------



## ddog121

5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega

This match is going to rule.


----------



## McQueen

WOW that card OWNS!

Well except Nakanishi is on it. I'd rather watch paint dry but at least he is the curtain jerker.


----------



## seancarleton77

Am I the only one who HATES Genba getting pushed in NOAH? The guy is clearly Cena... before the rap gimmick, he has nothing that makes him stand out, meh wrestling, looks like twat, hits like a little girl, is not believable against guys like KENTA, Marufuji or Suzuki and barely believeable enough to last 10 minutes with Kanemaru, plus he has the most plain move set in the world, why is he over? I guess if Bob Sapp gets over it's possible for anyone to be over.

Genba = the Shane Hagadorn of Puro, now go manage superior wrestlers, Genba!


----------



## ViolenceIsGolden

Just bought the Dragon Gate Untouchable dvd. Can't wait to watch it. As somebody who still has a chance to live my dream of being a wrestler this is defeantely the kind of stuff that influences me and between Danielson vs. Naruki Doi, Davey Richards vs. Shingo, and Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino this should be an amazing watch for me. To this point the best wrestling show I've seen was Death Before Dishonor VIII which got me into Indy wrestling and I'm just glad I bought this.


----------



## Blasko

I haven't see a recent Puro match since Holy Demon Army returned. 

Seems fitting.


----------



## RoninTK

*Kensuke Office News*: Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki has been announced as the main event for the 10/16 K-O "Take The Dream 2010 in Osaka" show.

I am going to take a guess but this could be building to something between Sasaki vs. Sugiura at the 10/5 Budokan show, at the latest if not earlier? They both went to a draw in the Global League back on 4/17, so they could be building to have a rematch.

The full card is as follows: 

*Kensuke Office presents "TAKE THE DREAM 2010 IN OSAKA", 10/16/2010 (Sat) 17:00 
Location: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2*​
1. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Jun Nishikawa
2. Kikutaro & Namazu Man vs. Kuishinbo Kamen & Takoyakida
3. Takashi Okita & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Bear Fukuda & Go
4. Big "Kazunari" Murakami vs. Kento Miyahara
5. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki


*NOAH ~ GHC Title Match Update*: Takashi Sugiura will be defending his belt against Chessman in AAA tomorrow night (10/1). 







(credit: Puroresu Spirit)


----------



## McQueen

There is a Mexican Fake Sting too?


----------



## Derek

Did I see somebody bash Genba? I feel like dropping a ban hammer. Dude isn't the best in the ring, but he's got personality, which can go a looooong way when it comes to watching whatever random card NOAH throws together. And its not like they're giving him any kind of mega push. He's still technically the lowest guy on the NOAH totem pole.


Anyways, I like the Destruction Card, looks like a great card.


----------



## seancarleton77

Sasaki & Nakajima vs. Sugira & Aoki has awesome written all over it.

I bashed Genba, I think he would be a better fit in DDT, Osaka Pro or Smash. He can barely hang with Kanemaru, what's he going to do against KENTA or Marufuji? He needs to improve and keep fighting dirty.


----------



## RoninTK

*All Japan News*: AJP has made an announcement that Tiger Mask V will be wrestling for them on Oct. 11th. His opponent has not been named, but should be very soon.







*NOAH News: NTV Cup ~ Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Update*

_The official block listings have been released:_ 
*(A Block)*

KENTA & Aoki Atsushi

Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori

Satoshi Kajihara & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Kensuke Office)

The Great Sasuke & Kenbai (Michinoku Pro Wrestling)

Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong (ROH)


*(B Block)*
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi

Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki

Dick Togo and Yasu Urano (DDT)

Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada (Osaka)

Extreme Tiger & Jack Evans (AAA)

Pics and notes on the talent can be found here: http://www.pwponderings.com/puroresuspirit/?p=483


----------



## McQueen

Maybe he can crush Tiger Mask IV for us all.


----------



## seancarleton77

McQueen said:


> Maybe he can crush Tiger Mask IV for us all.


Unless.... he's WORSE *Que the suspenseful music*.


----------



## McQueen

I actually would go so far as to say I hate IV but he can stay the fuck away from the top of the NJ Jrs. division.


----------



## ExMachina

Watched...

PWG Seven: Chris Hero VS. Davey Richards (PWG Title)

*****½*

Two or three very minor botches, but the best match I've seen so far in 2010.


----------



## smitlick

Jigen the 3rd said:


> Watched...
> 
> PWG Seven: Chris Hero VS. Davey Richards (PWG Title)
> 
> *****½*
> 
> Two or three very minor botches, but the best match I've seen so far in 2010.


I think you meant to post that in the 2010 MOTYC Thread.

Also the lineup for the NTV Cup - credit Purolove.com



> NOAH, 15.10.2010
> Keio Plaza Hotel Hachioji
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano
> 3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
> 
> 
> NOAH, 17.10.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
> 
> 
> NOAH, 18.10.2010
> Oyama Municipal Bunka Center Small Hall
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Great Sasuke & Kenbai
> 
> 
> NOAH, 19.10.2010
> Fukushima National Athletic Meet Commemoration Hall
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Great Sasuke & Kenbai vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
> 
> 
> NOAH, 22.10.2010
> Asahikawa Local Industry Promotion Center
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
> 
> 
> NOAH, 23.10.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Sapporo Teisen Hall
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
> 
> 
> NOAH, 24.10.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Sapporo Teisen Hall
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Great Sasuke & Kenbai
> 
> 
> NOAH, 26.10.2010
> Niigata City Gymnasium
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Dick Togo & Yasu Urano vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
> 3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Great Sasuke & Kenbai
> 
> 
> NOAH, 27.10.2010
> Iida Worker Sports Center
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Dick Togo & Yasu Urano vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
> 
> 
> NOAH, 30.10.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Semi Final: Block A #1 vs. Block B #2
> 2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Semi Final: Block B #1 vs. Block A #2
> 3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Final:


It annoys me that we won't get the full tournament but some of the match ups look good.


*
Tokyo Gurentai - 11.6.2010*

1. Munenori Sawa vs Hikaru Sato *** 
2. *Bird vs HAGE vs Rock 'n' Roll* - Chicken Boy vs Genki Horiguchi vs Ricky Fuji **1/2
3. *"Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa 2010 Tokyo Final Match* - Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs Minoru Suzuki & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa N/A
4. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs Minoru Suzuki & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa **
5. Minoru Suzuki vs "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa *1/4
6. Dragon Kid vs FUJITA ***
7. BxB Hulk vs Darkside KIKU **3/4
8. *TOKYO DREAM GATE* - Gamma & MAZADA vs CIMA & NOSAWA Rongai ***1/4

Very very average event. Shouldn't have downloaded it tbh..


----------



## ExMachina

Yeah, I did. My bad... Wow


----------



## seabs

*Block B looks pretty bad. Block A has some intruiging matches though. KENTA/Aoki have to win so we can have them vs Kanemoto/Tiger Mask*


----------



## McQueen

DICK TOGO is on block B. Fuck You *Seabs*...

Actually no, aside from his team Block B does kinda suck. Genba/Beltholder will win that block probably.


----------



## Derek

Its either them or Kotaro/Ogawa, but I see KENTA/Aoki winning this.


----------



## McQueen

Kotaro/Ogawa is Team _Please for the love of god just fucking die already!_

Or Misawa's love boys.


----------



## Devildude

Ridiculously obvious that KENTA/Aoki will win this with Aoki pinning Kanemaru in the finals so he can claim a single title shot in the future.

KENTA/Aoki vs Kanemoto/TMIV should be good also, as long as Kanemoto and KENTA bring the hate just like KENTA/Nagata from that tag match a month or two ago.


----------



## Caponex75

KENTA/Kanemoto will be more aggressive than anything from the past two years.....it's going to feel like old man vs young clone though.


----------



## Derek

I guess it finally had to happen......


























I'm guessing he gave her a Burning Hammer that night.


----------



## McQueen

Is that his wife or daughter. :side:


----------



## seancarleton77

KENTA/Aoki is the only team worthy of winning the league. What is with NOAH's strange and sometimes outright garbage booking of late? Suzuki & Kanemaru were the best tag team in NOAH, and they break them up to team them with a couple of bums?


----------



## leglock

McQueen said:


> Is that his wife or daughter. :side:


She's 38 years old. Kobashi is 43.


----------



## McQueen

She looks pretty young but good on him.


----------



## TheAce

I have this dream where Kobashi is able to get his health in order and returns for a 1-2 year final run performing close or at the level of his old self.

During this NOAH runs an angle where Kobashi is pissed cause NOAH is a shell of it's former self and he proceeds to woop the whole roster into shape. Kobashi slowly builds a new BURNING squad and then calls out NJPW which leads to awesomeness everywhere.


----------



## Devildude

> NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING TO RUN NORTHEAST UNITED STATES
> by Mike Johnson @ 4:00 PM on 10/3/2010
> 
> New Japan Pro Wrestling will be running at least three events in the Northeastern United States in 2011, PWInsider.com has confirmed.


Oh fuck yes!


> *Jersey All Pro Wrestling* will be helping NJPW and working as local promoters for the events. JAPW used Jushin Liger earlier in the year and have plans for Liger to return shortly.


Well shit.


> The early word is that NJPW will bring over a troupe of 12 wrestlers and that the first shows aren't slated until at least May 2011.


But seriously, it's awesome that New Japan are gonna run a few places in the US, I just hope that JAPW don't fuck it up with their trademark disappointment when it comes to great-looking cards, terrible events.

I suppose a redeeming quality is that it'll come on DVD through JAPW so it'll actually be aired.


----------



## KingCrash

Well I'd figure New Japan would make the cards and Fat Frank & JAPW would just promote and get a couple guys on the card like Homicide. As long as if they get put on DVD JAPW doesn't put that crap graphic they do on theirs it should be fine. Also nice to see Liger coming back, though no idea who he would face this time (please not Dan Maff).


----------



## seancarleton77

KingCrash said:


> Well I'd figure New Japan would make the cards and Fat Frank & JAPW would just promote and get a couple guys on the card like Homicide. As long as if they get put on DVD JAPW doesn't put that crap graphic they do on theirs it should be fine. Also nice to see Liger coming back, though no idea who he would face this time (please not Dan Maff).


LAX vs. Apollo 55 would be insane!


----------



## ECW fan

I just read that NJPW will be running a show here in Philly at the ECW Arena next year. Yeah, You can bet your ass I'll be at the show. Now only if NOAH could run a show here to...


----------



## KingCrash

First list of talent for NJPW in the US is:

Prince Devitt (Yes!), Tiger Mask IV (No!), Tanahashi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Gedo & Jado


----------



## Derek

I hope TM IV gets booed out of the building.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 10th Anniversary - Summer Navigation 2010 - Part 1 - 29/6/2010*

Go Shiozaki, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs Jun Akiyama, Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue
***1/2

Only match worth bothering with off of the whole show. Bit disappointed that i even went to the trouble of downloading it.


----------



## smitlick

Some Purolove.com News

NOAH Results



> NOAH "NOAH & GEININ NEWS NETWORK PRO-WRESTLING EXPO", 06.10.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 800 Fans
> 
> 1. If Takashi Sugiura Loses, Secret Mail That Was Sent To Cabaret Girl Will Be Opened To Public: Go Shiozaki & Kensuke Sasaki besiegen Takashi Sugiura & Masao Inoue (22:18) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Inoue.
> 2. Finish Hold Restriction Match: Takuma Sano & Kotaro Suzuki besiegen Shuhei Taniguchi & Ricky Marvin (19:13) mit einem Cradle von Sano gegen Marvin.
> 3. Tanoshingo Favorite Match: KENTA besiegt Taiji Ishimori (14:49) mit einem Front Cradle.
> 4. If Genba Hirayanagi Loses, A Secret VTR Will Be Played: Yoshihiro Takayama besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (7:43) nach einem Running Knee Lift.
> 5. Battle Royal: Masao Inoue besiegt Genba Hirayanagi mit einem Cradle (12:44). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: Go Shiozaki, Akira Taue, Yoshinari Ogawa, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Sugiura, Kentaro Shiga, Atsushi Aoki, Mohammed Yone, Genba Hirayanagi.


Charlie Haas' Debut in All Japan


> AJPW, 10.10.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Osamu Nishimura vs. Masanobu Fuchi
> 2. Ryota Hama vs. Masayuki Kono
> 3. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. KENSO & René Duprée
> 4. Minoru Suzuki, Akebono & Taiyo Kea vs. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & Charlie Haas
> 5. Shuji Kondo vs. Hate
> 6. 3 Way Tag Match: KAI & Hiroshi Yamato vs. NOSAWA Rongai & BUSHI vs. Minoru & MAZADA
> 7. Suwama & Kaz Hayashi vs. Keiji Muto & Masakatsu Funaki


----------



## seancarleton77

Suwama & Hayashi vs. Mutoh & Funaki should be crazy.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 10th Anniversary - Summer Navigation 2010 Part 1 - 10/7/2010*

3. Kensuke Sasaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Jun Akiyama, Takuma Sano & Makoto Hashi
***

4. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs KENTA & Eddie Edwards
***1/2

*5. Special Singles Match* 
Takeshi Morishima vs Yutaka Yoshie
***

*6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Match*
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Naomichi Marufuji
****1/4

*7. Special Singles Match*
Go Shiozaki vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
****-****1/4

*8. GHC Heavyweight Title Match* 
Takashi Sugiura vs Yoshihiro Takayama
****


*NJPW "Circuit 2010 New Japan Soul", 11.07.2010*

*4. Special Singles Match *
Yuji Nagata vs Yujiro Takahashi
***

*5. Special Singles Match* 
Tetsuya Naito vs Karl Anderson
***

*6. Super Jr. Special Singles Match*
Koji Kanemoto vs Kenny Omega
***1/4

*7. Special Eight Man Tag Match* 
Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Gedo vs Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, TAJIRI & KUSHIDA
***1/2

*8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title* 
Prince Devitt vs Atsushi Aoki
***3/4-****


*Dragon Gate - 11.7.2010 - KOBE Puroresu Festival PPV*

*3. Elimination Tag Match*
Naruki Doi & PAC vs. Ryo Saito & Dragon Kid vs KAGETORA & Cyber Kong vs TOZAWA Kengai & NOSAWA Rongai
***1/2

*4. Open the Triangle Gate* 
CIMA, Gamma, & Genki Horiguchi vs Black Buffalo, Tigers Mask, & The Bodyguard
***1/4

*5. Open the Twin Gate* 
K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii
***3/4

*6. Hair vs Hair Match*
BxB Hulk vs Shingo Takagi
****1/2

*7. Open the Dream Gate*
YAMATO vs. Masato Yoshino
****-****1/4



EDIT

CREDIT = Purolove.com


> AJPW "ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010", 10.10.2010 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 1,800 Fans
> 
> 1. Osamu Nishimura besiegt Masanobu Fuchi (10:31) mit einem Backslide.
> 2. Shuji Kondo vs. Hate - Double Countout (1:01).
> 2a. Shuji Kondo besiegt Hate (1:55) mit der King Kong Lariat.
> 3. 3 Way Tag Match: KAI & Hiroshi Yamato besiegen NOSAWA Rongai & BUSHI and Minoru & MAZADA (13:47) nach einem Cross-Arm German Suplex Hold von Yamato gegen BUSHI.
> 4. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & Charlie Haas besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Akebono & Taiyo Kea (12:45) nach einer Diving Body Press von Voodoo gegen Akebono.
> 5. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya besiegen KENSO & René Duprée (11:12) nach einem Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold von Sanada gegen Duprée.
> 6. Masayuki Kono besiegt Ryota Hama (12:32) mit einem Giant Kneedrop.
> 7. Keiji Muto & Masakatsu Funaki besiegen Suwama & Kaz Hayashi (24:29) nach einem Figure-Four Leglock von Muto gegen Hayashi.


----------



## RoninTK

*NJPW “Destruction ’10 PPV” 10/6/2010 (Mon) (17:00)
Location: Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
8,800 Spectators (full)*​


Spoiler: 10/11 Results



1. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tama Tonga
_Winner_: Nakanishi (6:11) with an Argentine Backbreaker
2. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Iishi
_Winner_: Tiger Mask (11:32) via DQ (Ishii).
3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka, Gedo & Jado
_Winner_: Tanaka (9:55) following the Sliding D on Honma.
4. TAJIRI vs. Tohru Yano
_Winner_: TAJIRI (6:48) with a Small Package Hold.
5. *IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship Match*: “Apollo 55″ Devitt & Taguchi vs. “The Golden Lovers” Ibushi & Omega
_Winner_: Ibushi (15:05) following the Phoenix Splash on Devitt. _~ New Champions! Ibushi & Omega are the 27 Generation Champions!_






6. *NJPW vs. NOAH Tag Team Match*: Yuji Nagata & Kohji Kanemoto vs. Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki
_Winner_: Nagata (17:14) with the Backdrop Hold on Aoki.
7. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Gotoh vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
_Winner_: Gotoh (16:08) following the Shouten Kai.
8. *Special Singles Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naitoh
_Winner_: Tanahashi (19:59) with the Cloverlead Leg Lock
9. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: Tohgi Makabe (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima (G1 Climax 2010 Winner)






_Winner_: Kojima (19:12) following a Lariat.
_~ Kojima becomes the 55th Generation Champion._













Spoiler: AJP News and Results



*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″ 10/10/10 (Sun) (12:00)
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
1,800 Spectators*​
1. Osamu Nishimura vs. Masanobu Fuchi
Winner: Nishimura (10:31)
2. Shuji Kondo vs. Hate
Winner: Kondo (1:01) via Count Out.
~ Rematch: Shuji Kondo vs. Hate
Winner: Kondo (1:55) following the King Kong Lariat.
3. *Mexican Tag Team Rules (Floor Touch Tags) 3 Way Match*: KAI & Hiroshi Yamato vs. NOSAWA Rongai & BUSHI vs. Minoru & MAZADA
Winner: Yamato (13:47) with the Cross Arm German Suplex.
4. Minoru Suzuki, Taiyo Kea & Akebono vs. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & Charlie Haas.
Winner: Big Daddy (12:45) with a Diving Body Press on Akebono.
5. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. KENSO & Rene Dupree
Winner: Sanada (11:12) with a Jacknife Hold.
6. Masayuki Kono vs. Ryota Hama
Winner: Kono (12:32) following the Giant Knee Drop.
_~ Kono left Hama a bloody mess, and has officially joined up with the Voodoo Murders._
7. Suwama & Kaz Hayashi vs. Keiji Mutoh & Masakatsu Funaki
Winner: Mutoh (24:29) with the Figure Four Leglock.
==
_~ Masayuki Kono officially will be called *KONO* going forward from now._

_~ Mutoh has managed to drop weight for the most part, he looks to about 107kg’s right now. _









*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″, 10/11/2010 (Mon) 17:00
Gihu Industrial Hall
1,700 Spectators*​
1. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. Rene Dupree & Hate
_Winner_: Sanada (9:40) with a Jacknife Hold on Hate.
2. Shuji Kondo vs. Charlie Haas
_Winner_: Haas (10:56) following a T-Bone Suplex.
3. Masakatsu Funaki vs. KAI
_Winner_: Funaki (9:09) with an Ankle Hold.
4. Osamu Nishimura & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Minoru Suzuki & Tiger Mask V
_Winner_: Suzuki (17:15) following the Gotch Style Piledriver on Yamato.
5. Kaz Hayashi, Taiyo Kea & Akebono vs. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & MAZADA
_Winner_: Akebono (12:06) following a Body Press on MAZADA.
6. Suwama, Ryota Hama & BUSHI vs. KENSO, KONO & Minoru
_Winner_: KONO (20:31) following the Giant Knee Drop on BUSHI.

Behold the power of the Voodoo Murders!


----------



## seabs

*Happy with the new champs. Not a single match over 20 minutes on a puro show is really great to see in 2010 too.*


----------



## Sunglasses

Kojima wins, not a surprise. makabe failed as champion. goto could be the first challenger for kojima. Ibushi/Omega finally get their big win over apollo55, great as well. sounds like an excellent show!


----------



## Devildude

Seabs said:


> *Happy with the new champs. Not a single match over 20 minutes on a puro show is really great to see in 2010 too.*


To be fair, NJPW have been doing that pretty much all year but I know what you're saying. Absolutely agree on the new champs though.

Judging by how long the NJPW show from 26/9 is taking to surface, we might not even see this one until next year! :lmao:


----------



## antoniomare007

i hope they are building Goto for a 1/4 title match where he finally wins the Belt.

can't wait to see the Jr Tag match and the NJ/NOAH tag.


lol @ Daniel Puder in the tag league



Devildude said:


> Judging by how long the NJPW show from 26/9 is taking to surface, we might not even see this one until next year! :lmao:


PPV shows normally take longer to surface than a normal show


----------



## RoninTK

The main reason, well on my end anyways, is that I lost my source in Japan. I am working on getting another connection, but it is not going too well obviously . 
--

We are more than likely going to see Gotoh vs. Tanahashi in December to make a #1 contender for the Dome show.


----------



## Derek

No real suprises, although I guess you could say that Ibushi/Omega winning is a bit of an upset, but its not like Apollo 55 was doing much with them anyways.

Kojima wants Nakamura as his firs challenger. And as said above, we'll probably see Tanahashi vs. Gotoh to see who faces Kojima (he'll retain against Nakamura, barring some unforeseen injury) at Wrestle Kingdom. Probably will be Tanahashi, as I don't think they have confidence in the drawing power in Gotoh. 


VDMs keep getting bigger. Reaching nWo circa-97 level in size it seems like.


----------



## Caligula

Japan's been unwatchable for years but Joe Malenko coming back will make me watch the RWTL


----------



## Sunglasses

Derek said:


> Kojima wants Nakamura as his firs challenger. And as said above, we'll probably see Tanahashi vs. Gotoh to see who faces Kojima (he'll retain against Nakamura, barring some unforeseen injury) at Wrestle Kingdom. Probably will be Tanahashi, as I don't think they have confidence in the drawing power in Gotoh.


Did Kojima say that about Nakamura in his speech? A match against Tanahashi at WK would be a perfect main event. it's the climax final rematch which has always been fought in the next 2-3 month. i agree with you about gotos drawing power. maybe he gets his shot in february ..


----------



## TheAce

That NJPW show looks great, can't wait till it pops up!


----------



## RoninTK

Derek said:


> Probably will be Tanahashi, as I don't think they have confidence in the drawing power in Gotoh.


Actually there is a lot of people backing Gotoh than you think. He gets a lot of fan fair and from what I can tell he has more followers than Makabe has had. 

What I can see as a possibility at this time is a Triple Threat match, to be honest. President Sugibayashi is fully behind Gotoh and has faith in him for the good of the company, but he says that everyone that is over. Though there has not been a Triple Threat at the Dome in years it could very well be a possibility. So maybe we could see Gotoh vs. Tanahashi vs. The IWGP Champ?

*New Japan has released all the teams for their upcoming tag tournament the G1 Tag League 2010!*​
*■A ブロック Block*
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma 【G・B・H】
Hirooki Gotoh & Tama Tonga 【Ara-Tonga】
Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man 【Nippon-Mexico Muscle Orchestra】
Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue 【Blue Justice】
Super Strong Machine & King Fale 【Seigi-gun One-For-All】
Masato Tanaka & Tomohiro Ishii 【Bullet Offenders】
*■B ブロック Block*
Hiroshi Tanahshi & TAJIRI 【HighFlying-Buzzsaw】
Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson 【Bad Intentions】
Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder 【STRONG STYLE EXCHANGE】
Takashi Iizuka & Tohru Yano 【BLOODY CHAOS】
Testuya Naito & Yujiro Takahashi 【NO LIMIT】
El Terrible & El Texano Jr. 【Los Hijos del Averno】

This year we are seeing some interesting choices as for teams with the strangest coming in form of Nakamura and Puder.
Something else that I just noticed is that there is no NOAH involvement in the Tag League? Whatever the case this tournament should be aiming to build up a team to possibly face the current IWGP Tag Champs Bad Intentions. That is if they do not end up winning the tournament.
The best that can come from this is in fact building up some new teams in Japan, since they do not have any teams left that Bad Intentions has not beaten in the past.​
*Circuit 2010 NEW JAPAN TRUTH ~ G1 TAG LEAGUE ~*
■ 10/22 (Fri) 18:30 Korakuen Hall in Tokyo (SamuraiTV)
■ 10/24 (Sun) 16:00 Niigata Gymnasium
■ 10/25 (Mon) 19:00 Nyusanpia Takasaki Gunma
■ 10/26 (Tue) 19:00 Tetsu Mei Nagano Matsumoto Show Hall
■ 10/30 (Sat) 18:00 Yokkaichi, Mie Stadium
■ 10/31 (Sun) 17:00 Fukui Obama Civic Gymnasium
■ 11/01 (Mon) 19:00 Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Stadium II (SamuraiTV)
■ 11/02 (Tue) 19:00 Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium Stadium II (SamuraiTV)
■ 11/03 (Wed) 16:00 Kyouto KBS Hall
■ 11/06 (Sat) 18:00 Kuki Saitama City Gymnasium
■ 11/07 (Sun) 12:00 Tokyo Korakuen Hall (TV)


----------



## seancarleton77

If Goto isn't over then I'm a Martian. Goto will lead New Japan into the future. Goto is the right man for the job, he already has a Lex Luthor to his Superman in Shinsuke Nakamura. 

Why are Nakamura & Minoru Suzuki so much better than everyone else in Japan at playing heel, anyway?


----------



## RoninTK

There attitudes for one thing. They exude themselves as the best in the "sport". 

Nakamura is very cocky, and rightfully so since he is the youngest guy in NJPW to have this much success before 30 years old. It is also a bit of nonchalant attitude that keeps himself as a heel, especially when he was just coming into face Gotoh he was already acting like he was going to go on and get the IWGP belt. Though as you can notice he may be getting that shot even though he lost. 
Though if you want to dig deeper, Nakamura is actually a fan favorite even though he is a heel. He is popular in New Japan, but easily gets boo's when he does something like his "close fist punches". 

Minoru Suzuki just like Nakamura is a fan favorite as well, he is a solid wrestler and is popular because of so. He is very nonchalant and can come of as a bit twisted in the head at times, especially with his match against Kenta Kobashi years ago. Just laughing at his opponent's even though he is getting whooped upon.

Mainly just there attitudes make them such good characters.


----------



## smitlick

Thought i'd mention this considering Match 6

NJPW, 22.10.2010 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Super Strong Machine & King Fale vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Hiromu Takahashi
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo
3. G1 Tag League - Block B: El Terrible & El Texano Jr. vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs. Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga
5. G1 Tag League - Block A: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
6. Special Tag Match: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. James Storm & Robert Roode
7. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tetsuya Naito
8. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & TAJIRI vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder 


Also New Japan announced the Super J Tag League
New Japan Pro-Wrestling - "J SPORTS CROWN ~SUPER J TAG LEAGUE~"

Block A:
- Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai
- (Apollo 55) Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
- (CHAOS) Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
- (Tokyo Gurentai) NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
- La Sombra & Mascara Dorada

Block B:
- Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask
- (CHAOS) Jado & Gedo
- (Kowloon) Fujita "Jr." Hayato & Taro Nohashi
- Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
- AKIRA & KUSHIDA


----------



## Derek

Well, looks like New Japan might not be so concerned with Gotoh's drawing power after all. In a press conference today, President Sugabayashi said that he believes Gotoh deserves the next title shot. Kojima didn't care for the idea and said he wants Nakamura as his first opponent. Sugabayashi said he'll consider Kojima's request.

So, they'll probably fulfill Kojima's wish to face Nakamura, but Gotoh will probably be the one to face Kojima at the Dome. At least, that what I got out of it.


----------



## seabs

*Beer Money in New Japan is quite intruiging but in the ring with Bernard could actually be good. Blocks are really good for J Tag too. Davey/Romero teaming again in Japan is great. Block A should produce a load of really good matches and the Koji/Hayato tag should be great in Block B.*


----------



## RoninTK

Spoiler: AJP 10/13



*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″, 10/13/2010 (Wed) 18:30
Horishima Industrial Hall (West Exhibition Hall 1)
1,300 Spectators (overcrowded)​*
1. Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. Minoru
Winner: Minoru (6:40) with a Cross Knee Hold.
2. Kaz Hayashi vs. Hate
Winner: Hayashi (10:06) with a Small Package.
3. Shuji Kondo & Manabu Soya vs. Rene Dupree & Charlie Haas
Winner: Soya (11:32) following the Vertical Drop Despair Bomb on Dupree.
4. Ryota Hama & BUSHI vs. KENSO & KONO
Winner: KONO (11:47) following a Running Knee on BUSHI.
5. Taiyo Kea, Akebono & Osamu Nishimura vs. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & MAZADA
Winner: Nishimura (11:28) with a Backslide on MAZADA
6. Suwama, Seiya Sanada & KAI vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki & Hiroshi Yamato
Winner: KAI (21:11) with the Splash Plancha on Yamato.



Interesting Developments coming out of DG's show today. Definitely shakes things back up again!


Spoiler: DG 10/13



*Dragon Gate “GATE OF VICTORY”, 10/13/2010 (Wed) 18:30
Tokyo, Korakuen Hall​*
0. Super Shenlong vs. Kotoka
_Winner_: Draw (10:00)
1. K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Super Shisa & Dragon Kid
_Winner_: Yokosuka (12:28) with the Mugen on Shisa.
2. Super Stalker Tsuyoshi (Kikuchi) vs. Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa
_Winner_: Tsuyoshi (4:52) with the Hinotama Bomb.
3. 3 Way Match: PAC vs. Kenichiro Arai vs. YAMATO
_Winner_: YAMATO (13:28) with the Gallaria on PAC.
4. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs. Ryo Saito & Makoto Hashi
_Winner_: Fujii (13:41) with the Nice German on Hashi.
5. *Losing Unit Disbands ~ No DQ Match*: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk vs. Naoki Tanisaki, Kzy & Yasushi Kanda
_Winner_: Doi (18:45) with the V9 Clutch on Tanisaki.
6. *Open the Triangle Gate*: CIMA, Gamma & Genki Horiguchi (c) vs. Shingo Takagi, KAGETORA & Cyber Kong
_Winner_: CIMA (24:33) with the Meteora on Takagi. _~ 3rd Successful Defense for the WARRIORS.

~ Doi has defected to the Deep Drunkers, following the win it seemed DD would be no more, but Doi turned on Yoshino! After the beating on WORLD1 he told Yoshino that if he stayed with him, he would not be in the DREAM GATE title picture. In DD the sky is the limit and a new beginning. Dr. Muscle was unmasked to reveal that this whole time he was Takuya Sugawara. DD is officially no more after their loss, but with Doi in they are officially a new group. So they are with out a name for the time being._








~ K-neSuka comes out and helps WORLD1 after the match. Yoshino asks them if they are interesting in fighting together to take out the heel group and they say "yes". So it seems we will have a huge match between both groups here soon. 







_~ CIMA closed the show by stating he will accept Yoshino’s offer for a shot at the OPEN THE DREAM GATE Belt. _





Spoiler: Osaka Pro-Wres 10/13



*Osaka Pro-Wres “Osaka HAPPY WEEKDAY”, 10/13/2010 (Wed) 19:00
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
76 Spectators*

1. Miracleman vs. Takoyakida
_Winner_: Miracleman (8:12 Hurricane Driver)
2. *Heijitsu Mask’s Debut*: Atsushi Kotoge vs. Heijitsu Mask
Winner: Kotoge (11:40) with a Figure 4 Leg Lock.
_~ It should be noted that Heijitsu means “Weekdays”. I guess you could call him the every-man’s wrestler? He also resembles Tigers Mask for some odd reason just with a suit coat? Let your imagination run wild with that one._
3. *Tag Match*: Billyken Kid & Kanjyuro Matsuyama vs. Daisuke Harada & Apple Miyuki
Winner: Miyuki (13:25) with a School Boy on Matsuyama.


----------



## seancarleton77

The Jr. Tag League looks miles better the Heavy Tag League, Beer Money should make the Heavy League a lot better than it would be without them though.


----------



## Derek

seancarleton77 said:


> The Jr. Tag League looks miles better the Heavy Tag League, *Beer Money should make the Heavy League a lot better than it would be without them though.*


They aren't in the league, they're only going to be appearing on the first show of the tour.


----------



## seancarleton77

Derek said:


> They aren't in the league, they're only going to be appearing on the first show of the tour.


WOW. I have no interest in the heavy tag league now. By the way did Marufuji book this tag league?


----------



## leglock

seancarleton77 said:


> WOW. I have no interest in the heavy tag league now. By the way did Marufuji book this tag league?


Marufuji works for Pro-Wrestling NOAH. This is a New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournament.


----------



## seancarleton77

leglock said:


> Marufuji works for Pro-Wrestling NOAH. This is a New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournament.


I know. I was insulting the piss poor booking in New Japan. Besides being the best Jr. in NOAH piss poor booking is what Marufuji is known for. I don't know how you go from having what sounds like a top 5 show of the year in Destruction '10 to this atrocious Heavyweight tag league, this may even be TNA bad.


----------



## antoniomare007

NJPW Tag League it pretty irrelevant most of the time (or just plain sucks) so it's not that big of a deal.


----------



## RoninTK

seancarleton77 said:


> I know. I was insulting the piss poor booking in New Japan. Besides being the best Jr. in NOAH piss poor booking is what Marufuji is known for. I don't know how you go from having what sounds like a top 5 show of the year in Destruction '10 to this atrocious Heavyweight tag league, this may even be TNA bad.


Come on now, nothing is on that bad of a level. By the way the Super J Tag League is making up for it, lol. 

New Japan has not been known for having a lot of tag teams, especially as of late, but that is not to say they have not had a few that were descent. Bad Intentions make for a good team, NO LIMIT are good as well. Really if you look at there will be a couple good matches I can name call Tana/TAJIRI vs. NO LIMIT, Bad Intentions vs. both of the before mentioned teams. As for A Block: Blue Justice vs. Tanaka/Ishii should be good, Gotoh & Tonga will be interesting, but I foresee Tonga being the fall guy. 
New Japan has been looking for that team that can reach the success of TenKoji (Tenzan & Kojima), but that may not happen for a few more years.


----------



## smitlick

*NJPW, 19.07.2010 (WPW/PPV)*

*4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai
***1/4

*6. IWGP Tag Team Title, Dogfight*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito 
***1/2

*7. Special Singles Match - DEEP SLEEP TO LOSE*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Takashi Iizuka
***1/2-***3/4

*8. IWGP Heavyweight Title*
Togi Makabe vs Shinsuke Nakamura
****


----------



## RoninTK

*Results for Oct. 15th, 2010!*

*NOAH “Autumn Navig. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Day 1), 10/15/2010 (Fri) 19:00
Kio Plaza Hotel ~ Hachioji 5th Floor Hall
1,300 Spectators (overcrowded)​*Info on the Tag League can be found here: http://www.pwponderings.com/puroresuspirit/?p=483


Spoiler: Results 10/15



1. Masao Inoue vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
Winner: Taniguchi (9:44) with a German Suplex Hold.
2. Go Shiozaki, KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kaneamaru & Genba Hirayanagi
Winner: Shiozaki (14:03) following the Go Flasher on Hirayanagi.
3. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards vs. Kento Miyahara & Kensuke Sasaki
Winner: Strong (10:48) following the Sick Kick (They called it the Strong Kick, whatever running Single Leg Dropkick if ya want to be technical).
4. Takashi Sugiura & Makoto Hashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Winner: Takayama (14:29) following a Running Knee Lift on Hashi.
5. * NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A*: Asushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
Winner: Evans (12:41) following the 630° Splash. (TigerJack: 2 points)
6. * NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A*: Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara
Winner: Draw (30:00) (Both Teams: 1 point)
7. * NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B*: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano
Winner: Urano (12:24) following a Modified Back Drop Suplex on Ogawa. (Togo/Urano: 2 Points)



*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″, 10/15/2010 (Fri) 19:00
Goto City Municipal Stadium
1,600 Spectators (overcrowded)​*


Spoiler: Results 10/15



1. Manabu Soya vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
Winner: Soya (6:09) with a Wrench Back Boston Crab.
2. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Seiya Sanada
Winner: Funaki (7:57) with an Ankle Hold.
3. Osamu Nishimura, Taiyo Kea & Akebono vs. Big Daddy Voodoo, Rene Dupree & Charlie Haas
Winner: Akebono (12:45) with a Body Press on Dupree.
4. Kaz Hayashi & KAI vs. Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato
Winner: KAI (11:51) with the Splash Plancha on Yamato.
5. Suwama, Ryota Hama & BUSHI vs. KENSO, KONO & MAZADA
Winner: Suwama (19:16) following the Last Ride on MAZADA.


----------



## seabs

*Why the fuck does Marvin/Ishimori vs Nakajima/Kajihara have to go 30 minutes?*


----------



## antoniomare007

because you can't have a NOAH tournament without unnecessary draws


----------



## McQueen

This^


----------



## RoninTK

Seabs said:


> *Why the fuck does Marvin/Ishimori vs Nakajima/Kajihara have to go 30 minutes?*


As long as both teams looked good for the full time, I am all for draws.

-------------------------

*In other news:* it is going around that Hiroyoshi Tenzan could be returning at the 11/18 NEVER.4 show. Word was originally going around that Tenzan was to return at this years G1 Climax, but due to him not being 100% that just did not happen.


----------



## McQueen

Be nice to see the big dumb ox back.

Speaking of returns is Chono done now? I haven't heard anything about him in a long time.


----------



## antoniomare007

He became a freelancer this year (he's still in good terms with New Japan though, he even appeared as the ring announcer in the G-1 Final) but barely wrestles anymore, he's produced some shows and had I think he also has/had a TV talk show.


----------



## McQueen

Tonight at 8.

THIS IS CHONO! with Masahiro Chono.


----------



## antoniomare007

He should have an "E.R" tipe of show....Dr. Chono is the greatest thing ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ld5V7le4PQ&feature=player_embedded

either that or a Japanese version of Scrubs, Chno being the violent version of Dr. Cox


----------



## McQueen

HAND OF DISIPLINE SOLVES THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dude you hit my head, did you just hit my head!?


----------



## antoniomare007

Pacient: Dr Chono, what's your aproach on head trauma?

*Chono slaps the shit out of the pacient*

Dr Chono:


----------



## TheAce

In terms of 30 minute draws, I usually am not a fan but historically the NTV cup has produced some good ones. So I'll wait and see...

Also, bummed that ExtremelyBotchedHighSpot beat Kotege/Harada :no:


----------



## seancarleton77

TheAce said:


> In terms of 30 minute draws, I usually am not a fan but historically the NTV cup has produced some good ones. So I'll wait and see...
> 
> Also, bummed that ExtremelyBotchedHighSpot beat Kotege/Harada :no:


It's Japanese tradition, someone with no business winning always wins one or to matches.


----------



## wildpegasus

Does anyone know when Kanemoto vs Richards from NJPW will be available for viewing?


----------



## RoninTK

*Results for Oct. 16th, 2010!*



wildpegasus said:


> Does anyone know when Kanemoto vs Richards from NJPW will be available for viewing?


It'll appear sooner of later, but almost no one is able to watch anything, that is unless you actually live in Japan. There really is not that many cappers in Japan, especially ones that actually share what they cap online to others.


*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″, 10/16/2010 (Sat) 18:30
Nagasaki Peace Hall
1,250 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/16



1. KAI vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
_winner_: KAI (9:00) following the LAT.
2. Seiya Sanada & Hiroshi Yamato vs. KENSO & KONO
_winner_: KONO (8:51) following a Choke Slam on Yamato.
3. Akebono vs. Rene Dupree
_winner_: Akebono (6:22) with a Body Press.
4. Kaz Hayashi, Ryota Hama & BUSHI vs. Big Daddy Voodoo, Charlie Hass & MAZADA
_winner_: Hayashi (13:23) with a Jumping Hurricanrana on MAZADA.
5. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Manabu Soya vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Taiyo Kea & Osamu Nishimura
_winner_: Funaki (21:28) with a Backdrop Hold on Kondo.



*Kensuke Office “TAKE THE DREAM 2010 IN OSAKA”, 10/16/2010 (Sat) 17:00
Location: Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2
1,682 Spectators (packed)*​


Spoiler: 10/16



1. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Jun Nishikawa
_Winner_: Yoshie (6:17) with a Boston Crab.
2. Kikutaro & Catfish Man vs. Kuishinbo Kamen & Takoyakida
_Winner_: Kikutaro (11:09) with a Backdrop Hold on Takoyakida.
3. Takashi Okita & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Bear Fukuda & Go
_Winner_: Okita (12:28) with a Diving Body Press.
4. Big Murakami vs. Kento Miyahara
_Winner_: Murakami (11:08) following an STO.
5. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki
_Winner_: Sasaki (24:29) following the Northern Lights Bomb on Aoki.



*K-DOJO “CLUB-K 3000″, 10/16/2010 (Sat)
Chiba BlueField
45 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/16



1. Randy Takuya vs. Makoto Ooishi
_Winner_: Ooishi (8:09) with a Cross Knee Lock.
2. *3Way Match*: Shiori Asahi vs. Daigorou Kashiwa vs. Hiro Tonai
_Winner_: Asahi (7:29) following the Eclipse on Tonai.
3. Kaji Tomato & Taishi Takizawa vs. TAKA Michinoku & Ryuichi Sekine
_Winner_: Tomato (12:51) with the Redeye on Sekine.
4. Marines Mask vs. Daigorou Kashiwa
_Winner_: Marines (14:03) with the Submarine Clutch.
5. 6 Man Tag Match: Yuji Hino, Saburou Inamatsu & Bambi vs. HIROKI, Kengo Mashimo & Yuu Yamagata
_Winner_: Bambi (17:36) following a Shining Wizard on Yamagata.



*Osaka Pro-Wres “BATTLE AUTUMN 2010“, 10/16/2010 (Sat)
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
72 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/16



1. Daisuke Harada vs. Ultimate Spider Jr
_Winner_: Harada (8:31) following a Diving Elbow Drop.
2. Black Buffalo vs. Ebessan
_Winner_: Buffalo (8:21) with the Ganseki Otoshi.
3. Masamune & Shadow Phoenix vs. Tigers Mask & Tadasuke
_Winner_: Masamune (11:25) with the Honebami on Tadasuke.
4. *3WAY Match*: Kanjyuro Matsuyama vs. Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Miracleman
_Winner_: Matsuyama (9:23) with a modified La Magistral on Kamen.
5. Billyken Kid, Hideyoshi, Atsushi Kotoge & Takoyakida vs. Kuuga, Orochi, The Bodyguard & HAYATA
_Winner_: Kuuga (17:32) with the Hornet on Takoyakida.
_~ This has been an interesting feud in Osaka as of late, the heel team “JOKER” has been very dominate as of late against Billyken’s group. But it seems there is going to be a 4 on 4 match here soon to finally settle this war once and for all. More info as I can translate it. _


----------



## smitlick

NOAH 17/10 Results - credit purolove.com

NOAH "AUTUMN NAVIGATION 2010 ~ 4TH NTV CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 17.10.2010 (G+)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,100 Fans

1. Shuhei Taniguchi besiegt Satoshi Kajiwara (10:01) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
2. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Masao Inoue (11:06) mit einem Cradle Cutback.
3. Akira Taue & Mohammed Yone besiegen Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki (4:01) als Suzuki nach einer Chait Attack von Ogawa disqualifiziert wurde.
4. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (14:08) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sasaki gegen Sano.
5. Go Shiozaki, Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger besiegen Takashi Sugiura, Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin (15:59) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Marvin.
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2] besiegen Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi [0] (17:21) nach einem Frankensteiner von Kotoge gegen Hirayanagi.
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards [2] besiegen KENTA & Atsushi Aoki [0] (27:53) nach dem Die Hard von Edwards gegen KENTA.


- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings

Block A:
1. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards [2]
2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin [1]
-. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [1]
4. Great Sasuke & Kenbai [0]
5. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki [0]

Block B:
1. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano [2]
-. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger [2]
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2]
4. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi [0]
-. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki [0]


----------



## TheAce

> 7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards [2] besiegen KENTA & Atsushi Aoki [0] (27:53) nach dem Die Hard von Edwards gegen KENTA.


Whoa, this result surprised me. Good on NOAH for doing something semi unpredictable.


----------



## seabs

*Dang, NOAH are drawing really fucking bad now. No suprise when they have juniors matches going half an hour. Still sorta interestd in the main though.*


----------



## Derek

Seabs said:


> *Dang, NOAH are drawing really fucking bad now. No suprise when they have juniors matches going half an hour. Still sorta interestd in the main though.*


Actually, thats about full for Differ Ariake, IIRC. Its a pretty small venue and I believe that NOAH actually owns the building. Its like their home base.


----------



## McQueen

It wouldn't surprise me if Team ROH at least makes it to the finals. I mean both guys are the companies singles champions and I doubt NOAH is going to make them look bad.


----------



## seancarleton77

Strong & Edwards vs. KENTA & Aoki can only be one thing... awesome.


----------



## jawbreaker

McQueen said:


> It wouldn't surprise me if Team ROH at least makes it to the finals. I mean both guys are the companies singles champions and I doubt NOAH is going to make them look bad.


They're in the KENTA block. I'm not that familiar with puro, but doesn't a throwaway team usually get a win over a favorite to create drama (i.e. Anderson beating Tanahashi in the G1, Delirious beating KENTA last year)? I'd imagine that's what's happening here, and KENTA/Aoki will do their thing and end up on top of the block. Strong/Edwards might finish second, though, for the reason you mentioned.


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> *It wouldn't surprise me if Team ROH at least makes it to the finals.* I mean both guys are the companies singles champions and I doubt NOAH is going to make them look bad.


I would be incredibly suprised if they made it to the cup finals, since they are in the same block as the heavy favorites to win it all, KENTA & Aoki.


----------



## antoniomare007

depends if this year's tournament has semifinals, if it does then i can see Team ROH getting there and even reacing the finals to give the win back to KENTA/Aoki


----------



## RoninTK

Seabs said:


> *Dang, NOAH are drawing really fucking bad now. No suprise when they have juniors matches going half an hour. Still sorta interestd in the main though.*


Why would going 30 mins matter one bit, the fans are getting more for their price of admission, and some of the best talent NOAH has are Juniors. KENTA of all people has run some great matches for 30 mins, imo. 

It is their home arena, it is next right next to their offices. The capacity of that arena is around 1,250, so it is not a total loss. Anything over a 1,000 should still be seen as a descent draw for NOAH... that is if they did not fix the numbers like they have in the past...

*Other Results from today:*
*K-DOJO “CLUB-K SUPER outbreak”, 10/17/2010 (Sun) 12:00
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
623 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/17 Results



1. Randy Takuya & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Daigorou Kashiwa & Hiro Tonai
Winner: Tonai (9:49) with the Waterfall Drop on Takuya.
2. Yamashita Family 4 Way Elimination Match: Ryuichi Sekine vs. Yu Yamagata vs. JOE vs. YOSHIYA
~ JOE defeated Yamagata (5:17) following an Avalanche-Style Brainbuster.
~ Sekine sent YOSHIYA over the top rope (6:48).
~ Sekine defeats JOE with the Dragon Cut (6:54).
~ Sekine won! and know he has to the right to rename the family if he wishes?
3. *1 vs. 2 Handicap Match*: Bambi vs. The Great Sasuke & Boso Boy Raito
Winner: Bambi (8:54) following a Standing Double Shining Wizard on Both which led to a pin on both.
4. *Kaientai ★ DX Final Countdown 2*: TAKA Michinoku & FUNAKI vs. Taishi Takizawa & Kaji Tomato
Winner: TAKA (15:52) with the Just Facelock on Tomato.
5. *STRONGEST-K Tag Team Title Match*: HIROKI & Kengo Mashimo (c) vs. Tigers Mask & Marines Mask
Winner: HIROKI (15:54) with the Trance Rave on Marines _(1st Successful Defense)_.
6. *Omega Breakup Match – 2/3 Falls Match*: Yuji Hino, Saburo Inematsu & MIYAWAKI vs. Naoki Tanizaki , Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi.
1st Fall: MIYAWAKI defeats Asahi (12:23) with the Death Penalty.
2nd Fall: Oishi defeats Hino (4:10) with the Cactus Flower.
3rd Fall: Hino defeats Oishi (7:11) with the Fucking BOMB.
_~ And there you have it Omega is no more in Kaientai Dojo, and pretty much all the groups are in Limbo, other than MONSTER Plant._



*Osaka Pro-Wres “BATTLE AUTUMN 2010″, 10/17/2010 (Sun)
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
115 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/17 Results



1. Masamune vs. Takoyakida
Winner: Masamune (9:43 Raikiri)
2. 3WAY Match: Miracleman vs. Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru vs. Hideyoshi
Winner: Miracleman (8:10) via Pinfall on Ranmaru.
3. Tsubasa & Shadow Phoenix vs. Black Buffalo & Tadasuke
Winner: Phoenix (14:00) with a La Magistral on Tadasuke.
4. Billyken Kid & Ultimate Spider Jr vs. Kuuga & HAYATA
Winner: Kuuga (14:23) with the Suzumebachi on Spider.
5. Kikutaro & Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Ebessan
Winner: Kikutaro (14:48) with a Backdrop Hold on Ebessan.



*ZERO1 “Ryouji Sai Produce” ~ “MID-BREATH NIGHT”, 10/17/2010 (Sun) 17:00
Shin-Kiba 1st RING​*


Spoiler: 10/17



1. Natsuki Taiyo vs. Tomoka Nakagawa
Winner: Time Limit Draw (15:00).
2. Mr. MidBreath Jr. & Yuzuru Saito vs. Jesse Guilmette & Kyle Matthews
Winner: MidBreath (9:04) with a Backslide on Matthews.
3. Tag Partner #1 & Tag Partner #2 vs. Minoru Fujita & Antonio Honda
Winner: #1 (20:17) following the Wild Dog Kick on Honda.
4. *Sportsman Weapon 3 Way Match*: Ryouji Sai vs. Masato Tanaka vs. Rikiya Fudo
Winner: Tanaka (11:07) with a Gannosuke Clutch on Fudo.



*BJW “BJ SPIKEOUT SERIES”, 10/17/2010 (Sun) 18:30
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,576 Spectators (overcrowded)​*


Spoiler: 10/17



1. Daikokubo Benkei & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Shinobu & Masato Inaba
Winner: Taniguchi (7:01) with a Schoolboy on Inaba.
2. MEN´s Teioh, Makoto Oishi (K-Dojo) & Shiori Asahi (K-Dojo) vs. Onryo, Mototsugu Shimizu & Atsushi Ohashi
Winner: Teioh (10:17) with the Miracle Ecstasy on Shimizu.
3. Hardcore Match: Abdullah Kobayashi & Toru Owashi vs. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (Michinoku Pro)
Winner: Kobayashi (10:03) with a Backslide Kei.
4. Yuji Okabayashi & Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Mammoth Sasaki & Kazuki Hashimoto
Winner: Okabayashi over Hashimoto
5. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Takashi Sasaki, Shadow WX & The Winger besiegen Yuko Miyamoto, Masashi Takeda & Kankuro Hoshino
Winner: Winger (12:50) with a Small Package on Hoshino.
6. Jun Kasai, “Black Angel” Jaki Numazawa & Isami Kodaka besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto, Yoshihito Sasaki & Ryuichi Kawakami
Winner: Kasai (14:14) with the Pearl Harbor Splash on Kawakami.
7. *BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title, Fluorescent Lighttubes, Glass Board & 49,205 Thumbtacks Death Match*: Ryuji Ito (c) vs. Shuji Ishikawa
Winner: Ito (20:13) with the Dragon Splash with Lighttubes ~ (Second Successful defense).


----------



## antoniomare007

finally a good Korakuen attendance for Big Japan


----------



## RoninTK

Ya, the funny news is that Big Japan is greatly rising in the ranks as of late. They have a solid new Heavyweight generation coming up in the ranks. Their school has been seen as a great place to be trained, even with Daisuke Sekimoto being one of the head trainers. Big Japan has a lot of feel when it comes to old school learning and training so a lot of younger guys are being scouted and accepting to be a part of the promotion.

Big Japan has not been off a complete basis of Hardcore/Deathmatch wrestling, and the new generation wrestler's are aiming to blend both mediums easier and look better in doing so. Big Japan is obviously doing something right in this day and age, because they keep raising in the ranks at being the place to go for wrestling in Japan. Same goes for DDT and DG who all have their own feel and have a strong variety in the wrestling world and are finding success.


----------



## RoninTK

smitlick said:


> NOAH 17/10 Results - credit purolove.com
> 
> NOAH "AUTUMN NAVIGATION 2010 ~ 4TH NTV CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 17.10.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 1,100 Fans
> 
> 4. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (14:08) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sasaki gegen Sano.


Someone pointed this out to me earlier that Puro Love misses quoted what happened in that match.

Sano actually beat Okita in that match with the Northern Lights Bomb.







My notes:
~ Sano put on a clinic on Okita in the later half of this match. All that seemed to follow after Low Sobat Kick. It looked as if Okita was about to lose his temper after match, but Sasaki calmed him down. Maybe this is the point where Okita can finally start channeling that frustration in a much needed win down the road?


----------



## seancarleton77

Seabs said:


> *Dang, NOAH are drawing really fucking bad now. No suprise when they have juniors matches going half an hour. Still sorta interestd in the main though.*


Yeah, that's why. Couldn't be the lack of young stars being made and/or signed by NOAH and their inconsistent booking.


----------



## seabs

*Junior matches shouldn't be going over 20 minutes max. They just shouldn't be, especially guys like Marvin and Ishimori. New Japan realises that and look at how successful they are atm.*


----------



## Caponex75

I'm pretty sure they are successful for a number of other reasons, Seabs......like Tanahashi, Nakamura, Goto, Makabe, and some really good freaking booking.


----------



## antoniomare007

20 min Jr. matches have nothing to do with how New Japan is doing, hell they are still losing money.


----------



## seabs

*I was being more specific to the junior divisions. *


----------



## RoninTK

The Junior Division is not the issue with NOAH. NOAH's issues lie solely on building the promotion on Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama, Taue, etc. Without them guys in the picture people are just sort of not into NOAH. If they would have spent more time building up the future and the sort the company could possibly be in a different place.

Outside of the Heavyweight Division people like KENTA, Marufuji, Suzuki, Ishimori, and Marvin are some of the best workers in NOAH and they are Juniors. So your little argument on the Juniors makes no sense. Some of the best matches in NOAH in the past few years have come from the Juniors. Speaking of which KENTA and Marufuji are bigger draws and their matches over/around 30 mins are very good and entertaining.


----------



## antoniomare007

KENTA and Marufuji are pretty shitty draws, but they are Juniors and in most cases Jrs are not draws in "traditional puroresu"

I think Seabs is refering to the state of the Junior Division in New Japan compared to NOAH. I agree that right now New Japan's looks a lot more interesting but that has more to do with the inclusion of new talent from US and Japanese indys than the length of the matchs. But at the same time I also agree that Jr. matches tend to be better if they don't go past the 20-22 minute mark, specially nowadays with so many useless spots.


----------



## McQueen

I find most matches are better when kept under 20 minutes, but maybe thats just my ADD addled brain. There are obvious exceptions but still. I wish Indy promotions would learn this but they're just trying to give the fans their moneys worth, but seriously you don't need to go for an epic on each show.


----------



## antoniomare007

I blame the awesomeness of 90's All Japan for that, indy wrestlers should try to emulate more Jumbo/Tenryu, Jumbo/Misawa instead of Kobashi/Misawa.


McQueen, did you catch up on Mad Men?? Season finale is...weird to say the least.


----------



## McQueen

Not yet no, but thats what I heard. Did see last weeks ep though.


----------



## smitlick

Results from NOAH.. credit-purolove.com

NOAH "AUTUMN NAVIGATION 2010 ~ 4TH NTV CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 18.10.2010
Oyama Municipal Bunka Center Small Hall
400 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Yodhinari Ogawa besiegt Eddie Edwards (0:52) mit einem Cradle.
2. Roderick Strong besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi (12:15) nach dem Strong Kick.
3. Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki besiegen Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger (15:36) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Tiger.
4. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano besiegen Mohammed Yone & Masao Inoue (14:02) nach einem Knee Lift von Takayama gegen Inoue.
5. Takashi Sugiura, KENTA & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara (18:11) nach einem Olympic Slam von Sugiura gegen Kajiwara.
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi [2] besiegen Dick Togo & Yasu Urano [2] (14:25) nach dem Touch Out von Kanemaru gegen Urano.
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin [3] besiegen Great Sasuke & Kenbai [0] (13:41) mit einem 450 Splash von Ishimori gegen Kenbai.

- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings

Block A:
1. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin [3]
2. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards [2]
3. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [1]
4. Great Sasuke & Kenbai [0]
5. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki [0]

Block B:
1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi [2]
-. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano [2]
-. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger [2]
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2]
5. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki [0]



NOAH "AUTUMN NAVIGATION 2010 ~ 4TH NTV CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 19.10.2010
Fukushima National Athletic Meet Commemoration Hall
1,100 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Shuhei Taniguchi besiegt Masao Inoue (10:41) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
2. Ricky Marvin vs. Extreme Tiger - Time Limit Draw (15:00).
3. 3 WAY Match: Jack Evans besiegt Taiji Ishimori & Satoshi Kajiwara (7:06) mit einem 630 Splash von Evans gegen Kajiwara.
4. Takashi Sugiura besiegt Atsushi Aoki (10:57) mit einem Ankle Lock.
5. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki besiegen Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi (12:12) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Hirayanagi.
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Great Sasuke & Kenbai [2] besiegen Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards [2] (13:42) mit einem Sasuke Segway von Sasuke gegen Edwards.
7. Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & KENTA besiegen Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita (15:38) nach einem Face Kick von KENTA gegen Okita.

Block A:
1. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin [3]
2. Great Sasuke & Kenbai [2]
3. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards [2]
4. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [1] 
5. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki [0]

Block B:
1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi [2]
-. Dick Togo & Yasu Urano [2]
-. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger [2]
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2]
5. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki [0]


----------



## TheAce

Ogawa beat Edwards in 52 seconds??? really? ewww.


----------



## Caponex75

It was by DQ actually. Edwards beat on him until the REF disqualified him and Suzuki came out to help.


----------



## RoninTK

antoniomare007 said:


> KENTA and Marufuji are pretty shitty draws, but they are Juniors and in most cases Jrs are not draws in "traditional puroresu"


One thing that should be said is that we are no longer in the age of "Traditional Puroresu". 
That has been the case since the turn of the century. New Japan took the first jump, but that was partly because Inoki was a bit crazy, lol. Dragon Gate is gaining popularity and is far from the traditional sense. Same for DDT in terms of bringing in the new age.

NOAH was founded in the first place to be different than AJPW of the 90's, in a sense trying to form a new feel around primarily Japanese wrestlers. Though that can be easily seen as not happening, it was what NOAH was founded upon nonetheless.

Also Juniors are not over, I got one name for you *Prince Devitt*.


----------



## seabs

_*He said in most cases, i.e there's some exeptions. Generally speaking juniors dont put buts in seats like heavyweights do.*_


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> _*He said in most cases, i.e there's some exeptions. Generally speaking juniors dont put buts in seats like heavyweights do.*_


exactly



RoninTK said:


> One thing that should be said is that we are no longer in the age of "Traditional Puroresu".
> That has been the case since the turn of the century. New Japan took the first jump, but that was partly because Inoki was a bit crazy, lol. Dragon Gate is gaining popularity and is far from the traditional sense. Same for DDT in terms of bringing in the new age.


Oh i know man, Dragon Gate probably being the only company that actually makes money is a perfect example of that, and their fanbase that does not relate with traditional puro.

NOAH and New Japan are still regarded as "traditional" puro companys though. And NOAH has had arcaic booking 3/4 of their existance, Juniors are not draws.



RoninTK said:


> Also Juniors are not over, I got one name for you *Prince Devitt*.


Devitt is over huge, specially in Korakuen, i don't debate that. KENTA and Maru are also very popular but the fact is that you can't expect Jrs to do big business in places bigger than Korakuen Hall or JCB Hall. It's just not how it works, of course there might be exeptions (Liger) but you can't expect guys like KENTA and Maru to bring big money if you are a company like NOAH.


----------



## smitlick

*AJPW - B-Banquet 270* 
Jimmy Yang vs Shuji Kondo
***1/4

*AJPW - B-Banquet 271*
Minoru vs Kaz Hayashi ***1/4

Suwama, Ryota Hama, Masayuki Kono & Seiya Sanada vs Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki, Akebono & Taiyo Kea ***


----------



## RoninTK

antoniomare007 said:


> Devitt is over huge, specially in Korakuen, i don't debate that. KENTA and Maru are also very popular but the fact is that you can't expect Jrs to do big business in places bigger than Korakuen Hall or JCB Hall. It's just not how it works, of course there might be exeptions (Liger) but you can't expect guys like KENTA and Maru to bring big money if you are a company like NOAH.


NOAH never expected much out of anyone other than the top draws from the late 90's. So no one even believes that they can make money is the sad and very truthful part. I wrote an article on this whole NOAH situation, agree with it or not. Which you can find here on ProWrestlingPonderings.com: NOAH Possibly Splitting or just in need of Change?


----------



## antoniomare007

The didn't expect Rikio to draw after pinning Misawa and ending Kobashi's reing? The same with the Marufuji push in 06'?. Granted those were bad booking desitions but i wouldn't say that the company wasn't expecting good results when they were trying create new stars.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - NEW NAVIGATION 2010 IN OSAKA, 24.07.2010 (PPV)*

1. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Asian Cougar & Kanjuro Matsuyama - ***
4. Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima - ***1/4
*5. Shuhei Taniguchi "Rush" 10 Match Series 9th:* Takashi Sugiura vs. Shuhei Taniguchi - ***1/2
*6. Special Tag Match:* Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki - ***1/2
*7. Special Singles Match:* Kensuke Sasaki vs. Go Shiozaki - ****1/2
*8. Special Tag Match:* Jun Akiyama & KENTA vs. Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi - ****1/4

Really solid show although 2 & 3 were very average.


----------



## RoninTK

*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 1), 10/22/2010 (Fri)
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
1,500 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/22 Results



1. Super Strong Machine & King Fale vs. Jushin Liger & Hiromu Takahashi
_Winner_: Machine (7:27) following a Senton on Takahashi.
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo, Jado, Tomohiro Ishii & Yujiro Takahashi
_Winner_: Taguchi (11:34) with the Gedo Clutch II.
3. *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: El Terrible & El Texano Jr. vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tohru Yano
_Winner_: Texano (8:47) following the Tornado Texas on Iizuka.
【Los Hijos del Averno】 (1 win = 2 points) = 【BLOODY CHAOS】 (1 loss = 0 points)
_~~ Not sure if this was a sanctioned match, NJPW did not post the win/loss numbers under this match._
4. *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman vs. Hirooki Gotoh & Tama Tonga
_Winner_: Strongman (10:38) following a Power Bomb on Tonga.
_~ 【STRONG STYLE EXCHANGE】(1 win = 2 points) = 【Ara-Tonga】 (1 loss = 0 points)_
5. *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Tohgi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
_Winner_: Makabe (16:13) following the King Kong Kneedrop on Inoue.
_~ 【G・B・H】 (1 win = 2 points) = 【Blue Justice】 (1 loss = 0 points)_
6. *Special Tag Match*: Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. James Storm & Robert Roode
_Winner_: Roode (11:58) following a Power Bomb on Anderson.
_~ Just like that Beer Money has earned themselves a future title shot no matter what without even being in the tournament. I smell yet another Triple Threat tag match coming at the dome…_
7. *Special Singles Match*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tetsuya Naitoh
_Winner_: Kojima (16:35) following a Lariat.
8. *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: Hiroshi Tanahashi & TAJIRI vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder
_Winner_: Tanahashi (14:34) with the High Fly Flow on Puder.
_~ 【High Flying-Buzzsaw】 (1 win = 2 points) = 【STRONG STYLE EXCHANGE】 (1 loss = 0 points)_
–
_~ It seems everyone wants a piece of Kojima. Gotoh, Tanahashi and even Makabe stood around Kojima in the ring today. Kojima is still mentioning Nakamura, but no matter who he faces he has 3 other men ready to face his soon after. _



*NOAH “AUTUMN NAVIG. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Day 4), 10/22/2010 (Fri) 19:00
Asahikawa Industrial Promotion Center​*


Spoiler: 10/22



1. Eddie Edwards vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
_Winner_: Edwards (11:01) with a Backslide.
2. Akira Taue vs. Genba Hirayanagi
_Winner_: Taue (4:57) with a Small Package.
3. Go Shiozaki & Roderick Strong vs. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
_Winner_: Shiozaki (14:54) with the Go Flasher on Marvin.
4. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita
_Winner_: Sugiura (12:19) following the Olympic Qualifying Slam on Okita.
5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Mohammed Yone & Masao Inoue
_Winner_: Sano (15:45) following the Northern Lights Bomb on Inoue.
6.* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B*: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
_Winner_: Suzuki (15:05) following the Blue Destiny on Evans.
7.* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A*: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara
_Winner_: Aoki (21:38) following the Assault Point.



*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″, 10/22/2010 (Fri) 19:00
Yamaguchi Messe Shimonoseki Strait Hall
1,000 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/22



1. Osamu Nishimura vs, NOSAWA Rongai
_Winner_: Nishimura (12:29) with a Backslide.
2. Kaz Hayashi & KAI vs. Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI
_Winner_: Hayashi (14:12) following a Kick to the Back of BUSHI’s Head.
3. Ryota Hama vs. MAZADA
_Winner_: Hama (7:37) via DQ (KENSO & KONO attcked Hama)
4. Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki & Shuji Kondo vs. TARU, Charlie Haas & Minoru
_Winner_: Funaki (13:44) with an Ankle Hold on Minoru.
5. Taiyo Kea & Akebono vs. Big Daddy Voodoo & Hate
_Winner_: Kea (12:13) following the TKO on Hate.
6. Suwama, Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. KENSO, KONO & Rene Dupree
_Winner_: Suwama (20:56) following a Jumping Powerbomb on Dupree.


----------



## Sunglasses

never expected that the mexicans get a win... interesting results from njpw & noah.


----------



## RoninTK

*Results for Oct. 23rd, 2010!*

*NOAH “AUTUMN NAVIG. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Day 5), 10/22/2010 (Sat) 17:00
Sapporo Tesien Hall
1,200 Spectators (overcrowded)​*


Spoiler: 10/23



(1) Masao Inoue vs. Masashi Aoyagi
_Winner_: Inoue (5:48) with a Small Package.
(2) Takuma Sano vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
_Winner_: Sano (10:26) following the Northern Lights Bomb.
(3) Go Shiozaki & Mohammed Yone vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita
_Winner_: Shioaki (14:56) following a Short Range Lariat on Okita.
(4) Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki
_Winner_: Sugiura (13:32) following the Olympic Qualifying Slam on Suzuki.
(5)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A*: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
_Winner_: Strong (13:06) following the Sick Kick on Kajihara.
(6)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B*: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
_Winner_: Draw (30:00)
(7)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B*: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
_Winner_: Aoki (18:18) with the Assault Point on Marvin.



*K-Dojo “CLUB K-3000″ 10/23/2010 (Sat) 18:30
Chiba BlueField
70 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/23



(1) Bambi vs. Makoto Ooishi
_Winner_: Bambi (3:59) via Ring Out.
(2) TAKA Michinoku vs. Randy Takuya
_Winner_: TAKA (5:54) with the Heavy Killer #1.
(3) Daigorou Kashiwa & Hiro Tonai vs. Marines Mask & Akira Shiori
_Winner_: Kashiwa (14:34) with the Kashiwa Clutch 2.
(4) HIROKI vs. Yuu Yamagata
_Winner_: HIROKI (9:30)
(5) *STRONGEST-K TAG #1 Contender Match*: Daigorou Kashiwa & Hiro Tonai vs. Yuu Yamagata & Bambi vs. TAKA Michinoku & Randy Takuya
_Winner_: Yamagata (3:48) with a TAKA Super K Bomb on Takuya.
(6) *6 Man Tag Team Match*: Kengo Mashimo, Saburou Inamatsu & Kaiji Tomato vs. Yuji Hino, Taishi Takizawa & Ryuuichi Sekine
_Winner_: Inamatsu (21:06) following the Death Valley Driver on Sekine.



*Osaka Pro-Wres “BATTLE AUTUMN 2010″, 10/23/2010 (Sat) (18:00)
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
126 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/23



(1) Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Miracleman vs. Tigers Mask, Black Buffalo & Tadasuke
_Winner_: Kotoge (13:54) with the Maxam on Tigers.
(2) Kanjyuro Matsuyama vs. Ebessan
_Winner_: Ebessan (10:46) with the Sonoda Suplex Hold.
(3) Ultimate Spider Jr vs. HAYATA
_Winner_: Spider (11:30) with the Spider Driver.
(4) Takoyakida vs. Kuishinbo Kamen
_Winner_: Kamen (7:23) with the Kankuu Tornado.
(5) Billyken Kid, Hideyoshi & Masamune vs, Kuuga, Orochi & The bodyguard
_Winner_: Kuuga (17:26) with a Cross Arm Lock on Hideyoshi.
_~ What is it going to take for Billyken to finally slow down the momentum of JOKER? It seems at almost every time Billyken has a good team together JOKER still somehow manages to gain the upper hand, either through weapon attacks or by their numbers. Personally I think Billyken should fight fire with fire, but being the face of the promotion you wanna win fair and clean. Tough road ahead while JOKER reeks havoc.​_



*In other news:* Keiji Mutoh's weight loss is going very well, he has till tomorrow, when the match happens, to make weight at 105kg's (which is about 230lbs). 
The pic of what he looked like yesterday in Japan is below in the spoiler tags, so it doesn't take up space 


Spoiler: Keiji Mutoh


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: NOAH



(6) NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
Winner: Draw (30:00)


*Not to sound like a broken record but jesus fucking christ.*


----------



## Devildude

Seabs said:


> Spoiler: NOAH
> 
> 
> 
> (6) NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
> Winner: Draw (30:00)
> 
> 
> *Not to sound like a broken record but jesus fucking christ.*


You have a point when


Spoiler: Hah



Jack fucking Evans


 is involved in a 30 minute draw to be fair.


----------



## RoninTK

*Results for Oct. 24th, 2010!*

*AJP “ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2010″, 10/24/2010 (Sun) 17:00
Kanagawa Cultural Gymnasium in Yokohama
4,100 Spectators (full)*​


Spoiler: results



(1) BUSHI vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
Winner: BUSHI (4:58) with the Firebird Splash.
(2) Shuji Kondo, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato vs. TARU, Minoru & Hate
_Winner_: Kondo (8:04) following the King Kong Lariat on Hate.
_~ Shuji Kondo with this win should be considered the next challenger for the Jr Heavyweight Title. There is also something in the AJP notes about Hate & Retirement? More info on that when I get a clear indication._
(3) NOSAWA Rongai vs. MAZADA
_Winner_: MAZADA (8:20) with the Vertical Shoda Drop.
(4) Masanobu Fuchi & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Minoru Suzuki
_Winner_: Suzuki (10:22) with the Gotch Style Piledriver on Fuchi.
(5) Seiya Sanada, Manabu Soya & Ryota Hama vs. KENSO, KONO, Rene Dupree
_Winner_: KONO (11:04) with an Achilles Lock on Hama.
(6) *World Tag Team Championship Match*: Taiyo Kea & Akebono [c] vs. Big Daddy Voodoo & Charlie Haas
_Winner_: Akebono (14:34) with a Diving Body Press on Voodoo. ~ Second Successful Defense.
(7) *World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kaz Hayashi [c] vs. Keiji Mutoh
_Winner_: Hayashi (23:11) with a Rolling Capture Hold. _~ Sixteenth Successful Defense._
_~ MAZADA attacked Hayashi following the match._
(8) *Triple Crown Heavyweight Title Match*: Suwama [c] vs. Masakatsu Funaki
_Winner_: Suwama (29:13) following the Last Ride Powerbomb. _~ First Successful Defense._




*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 2), 10/24/2010 (Sun) 16:00
Niigata Gymnasium
2,500 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/24



1) Tama Tonga vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Winner: Tonga (7:03) following the Tongan Twist.
2) Tiger Mask, Kohji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, El Terrible & El Texano Jr.
Winner: Liger (12:20) with a La Magistral on Tiger.
3) Manabu Nakanishi, Strongman, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka, Daniel Puder, Jado & Gedo
Winner: Nakanishi (14:26) with an Argentine Backbreaker on Gedo.
4) *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Tohgi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Super Strong Machine & King Fale
Winner: Honma (8:24) following a Lariat on Fale.
5) *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Tetsuya Naitoh & Yujiro Takahashi
Winner: Takahashi (15:23) with a Moonsault Press on Anderson.
6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Gotoh & Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tohru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
Winner: Tanahashi (16:48) with the High Fly Flow on Ishii.



*NOAH “AUTUMN NAVIG. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Day 6), 10/24/2010 (Sun) 16:00
Sapporo Tesien Hall
1,400 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10=24



(1) Taiji Ishimori vs. Takashi Okita
Winner: Ishimori (7:22) with a rolling School Boy.
(2) Ricky Marvin vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
Winner: Taniguchi (8:21) with a German Suplex.
(3) Roderick Strong vs. Masao Inoue
Winner: Strong (12:04) with the Strong Hold.
(4) KENTA, Atsushi Aoki vs. Aoyagi Masashi vs. Eddie Edwards, Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
Winner: Edwards (18:09) following the Chin Checker on Masashi.
(5)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A*: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara vs. The Great Sasuke & Kenbai
Winner: Nakajima (17:49) following a Soccer Ball Kick on Kenbai.
(6)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B*: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki
Winner: Suzuki (20:12) with a Tiger Driver.
(7) Special 6 Man Tag Match: Takashi Sugiura, Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Go Shiozaki, Kensuke Sasaki & Mohammed Yone
Winner: Sugiura (23:51) following the Olympic Qualifying Slam on Yone.



*DDT 「Ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ ２０１０」, 10/24/2010 (Sun)
Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
1,364 Spectators (full)​*


Spoiler: 10/24



(1) Cherry (3rd General Election) vs. Yasu Urano (13th General Election)
Winner: Urano (7:53) with a Tombstone Piledriver.
(2) The Great Henatai (Michael Nakazawa) (7th in the Election) vs. Dick Togo (14th in Election)
Winner: Togo (10:22) with a Diving Senton.
(3) Shuji Ishikawa (9th) & Isami Kodaka (14th) vs. MIKAMI (10th) & KUDO (17th)
Winner: Kodaka (10:22) following a Thrust Kick to MIKAMI.
(4) Sanshiro Takagi (6th) vs. Tohru Owashi (12th)
Winner: Takagi (8:54) with the Oden Splash.






(5) Antonio Honda (8th) & Kenny Omega (15th) vs. YOSHIHIKO (11th) & Keisuke Ishii (18th)
Winner: Omega (9:34) with the Croyts Wrath on Ishii.
(6) Kota Ibushi (5th) vs. Hikaru Satoh (2nd)
Winner: Satoh (16:18) via Referee Stoppage (Cross Arm Breaker).






(7) *KO-D Openweight Championship Match*: HARASHIMA [c] (4th) vs. Danshoku Dino (1st)
Winner: HARASHIMA (20:16) with the Magic Blue Sword. ~ Second Successful Defense.
Poor Dino










*Osaka Pro-Wres “BATTLE AUTUMN 2010″, 10/24/2010 (Sun) (13:00)
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
115 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/24



(1) Daisuke Harada vs. Takoyakida
Winner: Harada (7:23) following a Powerbomb.
(2) Hideyoshi & Tsubasa vs. Black Buffalo & Tadasuke
Winner: Hideyoshi (13:04) with a Frankensteiner on Tadasuke.
(3) Atsushi Kotoge vs. Tigers Mask
Winner: Tigers (12:53) with a Cross Arm Lock.
(4) Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Miracleman & Ebessan
Winner: Ebessan (11:17) with the Sonoda Suplex Hold on Kamen.
(5) Billyken Kid, Masamune & Ultimate Spider Jr vs. Kuuga, Orochi & HAYATA [W]
Winner: HAYATA (16:03) following a Thrust Kick to Spider.


----------



## seabs

*lol @ Muta joining the list of guys that Hayashi has beat for the title. 

Does anyone know if Strong and Evans have been signed to tag together during this NOAH tour when they both dont have NTV Cup matches signed? Would be awesome to see them two tagging for a lower card match in NOAH in 2010. Strong looks to have been booked really well for this tour too which is great.*


----------



## RoninTK

They will not be teaming as far as I know, and it doesn't look like it with happen either with both teams sitting up in the rankings as far as points go. 

Well Strong is the ROH Champion so of course to keep in good with Ring of Honor they are having him doing well. I have heard that Edwards has been standing out as well. Sucks that they are stuck as "Juniors" at the moment because NOAH could use some top tier Gaijin "Heavyweights" coming in as well.



Spoiler: AJP Junior Heavyweight Title winner


----------



## seancarleton77

Seabs said:


> Spoiler: NOAH
> 
> 
> 
> (6) NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
> Winner: Draw (30:00)
> 
> 
> *Not to sound like a broken record but jesus fucking christ.*


You're right about this. Jack Evans doesn't need to be going over 10 minutes, it exposes his many weakness and lack of wresting ability.


----------



## Caponex75

Anyone know when ANY NJPW or NOAH is coming out? My patience for the ROH Champs/Aoki & KENTA is running real thin.


----------



## seabs

*The puro stuff normally gets put onto a p2p sharing network from cappers in Japan and then someone who uses that uploads it onto a file sharing network for everyone else. Apparently their hasn't even been anything on there for ages now. I dont think anyones been capping any stuff in Japan for the last few months period cause it aint on youtube or anything like that either and the only sniff on torrents has been the 26/9 NJPW show but I think ThinkingReed deleted that now cause it's no longer visible. Damn tease!*


----------



## RoninTK

Caponex75 said:


> Anyone know when ANY NJPW or NOAH is coming out? My patience for the ROH Champs/Aoki & KENTA is running real thin.


Welcome to pre-2007, lol. 

Part of it lies on Cappers getting put down a bit with the current media laws made in Japan this year, and another lies with the interest on people actually wanting to go through the time of capping and waiting with the p2p transfers. We have lost at least 2 Cappers in Japan that I am aware of right now.

If anything it should make the traders happy, since they can finally make some money again


----------



## smitlick

Seabs said:


> *The puro stuff normally gets put onto a p2p sharing network from cappers in Japan and then someone who uses that uploads it onto a file sharing network for everyone else. Apparently their hasn't even been anything on there for ages now. I dont think anyones been capping any stuff in Japan for the last few months period cause it aint on youtube or anything like that either and the only sniff on torrents has been the 26/9 NJPW show but I think ThinkingReed deleted that now cause it's no longer visible. Damn tease!*


Whenever that guy posts new puro it always takes multiple days to download it. It even says in the description it might take 5 or 6 days to download.


----------



## RoninTK

*All Japan's World Tag League 2010! Early Teams Announced!
*
1. Suwama & Ryota Hama
2. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya
3. Osamu Nishimura & Joe Malenko
4. Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Suzuki
5. Taiyo Kea & Akebono
6. Tamon Honda & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
7. TARU & Rene Dupree
8. KENSO & KONO
9. Dark Cuervo & Dark Oz
-- 
Rumor has it that the World's Greatest Tag Team, Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin may be in. Not real truth to this, just a rumor for now.
--
KAI and NOSAWA Rongai will be heading over to France to take part in the AWR "Twisted Steel Tour 2010" during the month of November.
--
Spoiler relating to the World Junior Heavyweight Title:


Spoiler: next challenger



Kaz Hayashi will put the belt on the line against Phil Atlas in Taiwan on 11/5.



*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 3), 10/25/2010 (Mon) 19:00
New Sanpia Takasaki in Gunma
1,100 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/25



(1) Daniel Puder vs. Tomoaki Honma
_Winner_: Puder (7:14) with a Chicken Wing Armlock.
(2) Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger & Wataru Inoue vs. Kohji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga
_Winner_: Inoue (12:19) following the Spear of Justice on Tonga.
(3) Manabu Nakanishi, Strongman, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Terrible, El Texano Jr, Jado & Gedo.
_Winner_: Strongman (11:56) with an Argentine Back Breaker on Gedo.
(4) *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Super Strong Machine & King Fale vs. Masato Tanaka & Tomohiro Ishii
_Winner_: Ishii (11:00) following a Lariat on Fale.
(5) *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tohru Yano
_Winner_: Yano (14:06) with a School Boy on Bernard.
(6) *6 Man Tag Main Event*: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Gotoh & Tohgi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Naitoh & Yujiro Takahashi
_Winner_: Makabe (17:42) following the King Kong Knee Drop on Takahashi.


----------



## McQueen

Honda & Kikuchi huh. Awesome.

Wait, Wait, Wait... Nishimura & JOE MALENKO!


----------



## RoninTK

All Japan will be heading over to Taiwan on November 5th and 6th. There will also be a small All Asia Tag Tournament happening on the 5th. Below you will find the cards to those upcoming shows.​
*All Japan Pro presents "Pro Wrestling Love in Taiwan 2010", 11/5/2010 (Fri)
Taipei National University Sports Center in Taiwan​*
(1) *All Asia Tag Tournament Match*: Taiyo Kea & BUSHI vs. Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato
(2) *All Asia Tag Tournament Match*: Osamu Nishimura & Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. KONO & Minoru
(3) Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki & Akebono vs. Seiya Sanada, Manabu Soya & KAI
(4) Suwama & Ryota Hama vs. KENSO & Charlie Haas
(5) *All Asia Tag Tournament Match*: Winner of match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2
(6) Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs. TARU & Rene Dupree
(7) *World Junior Heavyweight Title Match*: Kaz Hayashi vs. Phil Atlas _~ 17th Defense for Hayashi_

*All Japan Pro presents "Pro Wrestling Love in Taiwan 2010", 11/6/2010 (Sat)
Taipei National University Sports Center in Taiwan​*(1) *Asia Tag Team Championship Match*: Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya [c] vs. Winners of 11/5
(2) Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono & Masakatsu Funaki vs. KENSO, Rene Dupree & Charlie Haas
(3) Akebono vs. Ryota Hama
(4) Suwama & Kaz Hayashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Phil Atlas
(5) *12 Person Battle Royal*: _~ Participants to be announced later._


----------



## McQueen

17th defense? Christ that has to be a record.


----------



## seancarleton77

Am I the only one who thinks the most recent match between Kanemoto & Richards was amazing?


----------



## Caponex75

No. It was very fun contest.


----------



## Devildude

Fun, but nowhere near amazing.

I have it at ****3/4* and that's probably being generous too.


----------



## Derek

yeah1984 said:


> 17th defense? Christ that has to be a record.


Its is, he beat Fuchi's record of 14 defenses.

From what I understand, Kaz actually books the Junior matches. So there you go.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah I looked it up and saw he booked the Jrs. Div. There you go indeed.


----------



## RoninTK

Hayashi may indeed be the booker, but he has no control over whatsoever who is and who is not champion. That solely lies on Mutoh, Fuchi and those who actually run the promotion as far as that goes.
A booker does set up matches, but they have to be green lighted before anything happens.

You guys need to know what a booker "does" in pro wrestling, lol.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u316/KillerFuu/K-Dojo/All Japan/10-24-2010/20101024229-1.jpg


----------



## BruTalis^

I'm not in for Noah , just give me ajpw or njpw


----------



## RoninTK

*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 4), 10/26/2010 (Tues) 19:00
Matsumoto Meitetsu Show Hall in Nagano
500 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/26



(1) Tama Tonga vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Winner: Tonga (6:43) following the Tongan Twist.
(2) Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue vs. Kohji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma
Winner: Nagata (13:28) with the Backdrop Hold on Honma.
(3) Giant Bernard, “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yujito Takahashi, Tetsuya Naitoh, Jado & Gedo
Winner: Anderson (15:39) following the Gun Stun on Gedo.
(4) G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A: Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman vs. Super Strong Machine & Fale
Winner: Nakanishi (11:48) with the Argentine Backbreaker on Fale.
(5) G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B: Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder vs. El Terrible & El Taxano Jr.
Winner: Nakamura (10:19) following the Boma Ye on Texano Jr.
(6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tohgi Makabe & Hirooki Gotoh vs. Tohru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
Winner: Gotoh (17:14) following the Shouten Kai on Ishii.



*NOAH “AUTUMN NAVIG. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Day 7), 10/26/2010 (Tues) 18:30
Niigata Stadium
1,800 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/26



(1) Akira Taue vs. Takashi Okita
Winner: Taue (6:01) with a Small Package.
(2) Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Genba Hirayanagi, Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards vs. Taiji Ishimori, Ricky Marvin, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara
Winner: Strong (8:06) following the Sick Kick to Kajihara.
(3) Takashi Sugiura vs. Masao Inoue
Winner: Sugiura (13:49) with an Ankle Hold.
(4) Mohammed Yone vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
Winner: Yone (12:39) following the Muscle Buster.
(5) NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
Winner: Suzuki (14:10) with the Blue Destiny on Harada.
(6) NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B: Dick Togo & Yasu Urano vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
Winner: Evans (15:35) with the 630° Splash on Urano.
(7) NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. The Great Sasuke & Kenbai
Winner: Aoki (18:48) with a Diving Body Press on Kenbai.
(8) Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Go Shiozaki
Winner: Takayama () with the Everest German Suplex Hold on Shiozaki.



*Osaka Pro-Wres “Osaka HAPPY WEEKDAY”, 10/26/2010 (Tues) (13:00)
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
23 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/26



(1) Tadasuke vs. Ultimate Spider Jr
Winner: Tadasuke (8:14) with the Chingy.
(2) Tigers Mask vs. HAYATA
Winner: Tigers (9:40) via DQ (Weapon Attack).
(3) Billyken Kid & Ebessan vs. Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Kuishinbo Kamen
Winner: Ebessan (10:31) with the Sonoda Suplex Hold.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate Infinity 184*

Shingo Takagi, YAMATO & Cyber Kong vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Gamma ***1/2
CIMA vs Tigers Mask ***1/4


----------



## RoninTK

*NOAH “AUTUMN NAVIG. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Day 8), 10/27/2010 (Wed) 18:30
Iida Workers Sports Center
800 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/27



(1) Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Extreme Tiger
_Winner_: Taniguchi (6:05) with a German Suplex.
(2) Atsushi Aoki vs. Jack Evans
_Winner_: Aoki (5:01) with a modified Backslide.
(3) Akira Taue & KENTA vs. Takashi Okita & Takashi Sugiura
_Winner_: KENTA (10:52) following a Solid Kick to the Face of Okita.
(4) Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara
_Winner_: Sasaki (12:30) following the Northern Lights Bomb.
(5)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block B*: Dick Togo & Yasu Urano vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
_Winner_: Togo (15:29) following a Diving Senton on Kotoge.
(6)* NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Block A*: Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs, Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
_Winner_: Draw (30:00)
(7) Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue vs. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki
_Winner_: Shiozaki (22:41) following the Go Flasher on Inoue.



I am sure another outcome that Seabs will be vocal about 

I also have a write up for the Chikara vs. Osaka Pro-Wres that is happening this weekend on ProWrestlingPonderings.com
Seems like it is going to be a great event before it even happens, and a few matches that look to be fun for all. 
http://www.pwponderings.com/2010/10...battle-autumn-2010-chikara-invades-osaka-pro/


----------



## seabs

*I'm not even gonna bother anymore. Think I made my point. It's getting ridicolous how many 30 minute time limit draws there's been in a juniors tag league. Not saying that all of them will be bad like. This one could be half decent on paper.*


----------



## smitlick

*Zero-One - 4/8/10 - Fire Festival Finals*

Daisuke Sekimoto & Kohei Sato vs Ryouji Sai & Yutaka Yoshie 
***1/4

FUNAKI, Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa vs Kaijin Habu Otoko, Minoru Fujita & Takuya Sugawara 
***1/4

Masato Tanaka vs Shinjiro Otani 
***3/4

*AJPW - B-Banquet 273*

Jimmy Yang vs KAI
***


----------



## RoninTK

*“J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010″*

*■ A BLOCK ブロック*








*・Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai
・Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi （Apollo 55）
・Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (ROH-FREE)
・NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA (Tokyo Gurentai)
・Mascara Dorada & La Sombra （CMLL）*

_*■ B BLOCK ブロック*_








*・Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask IV (Current GHC Tag Champions)
・Jado & Gedo
・Fujita “Jr” Hayato & Taro Nohashi （Michinoku Pro-Wrestling）
・Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa （DRAGON GATE）
・AKIRA & KUSHIDA（SMASH）*

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010″, 11/9/2010 (Tues)
Tokyo Differ Ariake​*
1. Young Lion 3 Match Series I: King Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato & Taro Nohashi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
3. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. La Sombra & Mascara Dorada
4. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Jado & Gedo
5. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, AKIRA & KUSHIDA vs. Yuji Nagata, NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010″, 11/10/2010 (Wed)
Tokyo Differ Ariake​*
1. Young Lion 3 Match Series II: King Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. La Sombra & Mascara Dorada
3. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA ZERO1
4.* Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Jado & Gedo vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
5. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. AKIRA & KUSHIDA
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka, Fujita “Jr.” Hayato & Taro Nohashi

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010″, 11/11/2010 (Thurs)
Tokyo Differ Ariake​*
1. Young Lion 3 Match Series III: King Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Jado & Gedo vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato & Taro Nohashi
3. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa vs. AKIRA & KUSHIDA
4.* Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA vs. La Sombra & Mascara
5. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Manabu Nakanishi, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010″, 11/12/2010 (Fri)
Tokyo Differ Ariake​*
1. Young Lion Special Challenge Match: Yuji Nagata vs. King Fale/Hiromu Takahashi
2. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato & Taro Nohashi vs. AKIRA & KUSHIDA
3. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
4. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
5. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
6. Special Eight Man Tag Match: Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, La Sombra & Mascara Dorada vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Jado & Gedo

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010″, 11/13/2010 (Sat)
Tokyo Differ Ariake​*
1. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Jado & Gedo vs. AKIRA & KUSHIDA SMASH
2. *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato & Taro Nohashi
3. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
4. *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. La Sombra & Mascara Dorada
5. *Super J Tag League ~ Final*: Block A #1 vs. Block B #1

-------------------------

*IGF NEWS*:
Bobby Lashley and Shane "The Hurricane" Helms announced to be a part of the "INOKI BOM-BA-YE 2010" Show on December 3rd! There is also a mysterious "X" to be announced on a later date.
_Rumors: "X" could be Dave "Batista" Bautista._


----------



## antoniomare007

why, why are they gonna do the J tag tournament in Differ Ariake??? Is that place really cheap or something?


----------



## RoninTK

Well it is pro wrestling NOAH's arena, and New Japan "should" sell the arena out for the majority of this tournament in the end helping NOAH with the traffic. At least that is what I a guessing upon, and usually for the "J Sports" stuff they are usually the ones helping out with funding if need be. So even though there are no NOAH stars, other than Kanemoto & Tiger Mask with the GHC Jr Tag Belts, the arena should benefit from the exposure. 

Plus with almost no travel whatsoever it makes it a lot easier to keep the wrestler's in better condition in between back to back shows.


----------



## antoniomare007

I just hate Differ, the crowd is fucking dead all the time.


----------



## seabs

*Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Jado & Gedo - NJPW 26.09.2010*
_Pretty much as you'd expect from these two teams. Apollo 55 start off hot and then Jado & Gedo have their control segment building up to the hot tag which is the catalyst to the big finishing strecth. The finish which went a good few minutes too long but it wasnt too bad. Apollo 55 looked like a million bucks in this one and there's some great false finishes for Jado & Gedo._

*****

*Koji Kanemoto vs Davey Richards - NJPW 26.09.2010*
_I actually thought this was really great. I wasn't expecting it to be MOTYC material given it was upper midcard juniors match and I'm normally not as high on Davey matches as others but I loved this. Tons of stiff strikes with bucket loads of intensity. Really helped to get Davey over as a younger version of Koji too and they matched up really well together I thought._

*****+*

*Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue - NJPW 26.09.2010*
_Holy fuck this was awesome btw. When I was looking at the card to decide which matches to watch this was like a "I'll watch it if I've got the time but I'm not gonna make time for it". Fuck all of that and make some fucking time to watch this. Alan touched on most of what made it so great. Bernard's been having really good matches all year (see G1) but he hasn't had THAT match to make him stand out above everyone else. Now he has. He's a motherfucking monster in this and Anderson aint too shabby either. The powerbomb spot on Nagata is an immense transition spot and sets up Inoue's amazing FIP segment. Nagata's selling is first class and the teased hot tag first time around is glorious. When he does make the tag the pace steps up to yet another gear and the finishing stretch is brilliant. No overkill and stupid kicking out of huge moves but still loads of awesome near falls. There's one particuarly awesome tease of a win for Nagata and Inoue. Awesome heel showing from Bad Intentions and just as good babyface performance from Blue Justice. Currently my #2 MOTY only behind HBK/Taker. _

*****1/2+*

*Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Tetsuya Naito*
_Didn't think anything of this. Seemed like the bare minimum these guys could throw up together and there was nothing going on that made me take any notice._

***1/2*

*Togi Makabe vs Masato Tanaka - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 26.09.2010*
_This one really shot out of nowhere as being awesome too. Was expecting something good but nowhere near this standard. Normally in New Japan matches when they throw some hardcore spots they generally suck but the hardcore aspect of this match was brilliantly done. Tanaka going to the weapons to gain the upper hand after failing to do so in the ring made sense given his background and the table spot was glorious. Brainbuster through the table on the rampway and it looked awesome. The other weapon spot that looked amazing was Makabe's chair shot to Tanaka which looked absolutely ridicolous. I dont know who came off worse, the chair or Tanaka's head. Last few minutes are brilliant action, which accompanied by the red hot crowd was a great watch. The crowd really added a lot to this match to I thought. Also they got the perfect mix of making their champ look like a champ but still making the challanger look just as good as him. One of the best heavyweight finishing stretches I've seen in a puro match in a long time. Some great teased falls for Tanaka and the Makabe finish didn't feel unjustified or as if it came out of nowhere. Great match._

******

*Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards vs KENTA & Atsushi Aoki - NOAH 17.10.2010*
_These guys actually had a great match going for the first 15 minutes or so of this and then they just ruined it. Started off with KENTA & Aoki basically targetting Edwards out after Eddie cheap kicked KENTA on the apron. The transition spot was awesome btw and Edwards trying to roll back into the ring after Aoki sent him out when he realised KENTA was there waiting for him after he suckerkicked him was brilliant. KENTA destroys Edwards with his kicks and the beatdown of Edwards is great. Even better than that though is Edwards' selling which is phenomenal. What they should have had was this segment leading to Edwards making the hot tag to Roddy and then into the finishing strecth where Strong gets the pin of the hot tag. For some reason though, Edwards make the hot tag, or not so hot tag in this case and they just have another basic 15 minute match with all 4 men involved so they basically had a good 10 minutes of this match which were toally pointless. Once Edwards tagged out and that segment was done with the match just went to sleep for me and I stopped caring about anything that was going on once it turned into any other NOAH juniors tag that you've ever seen before. By the time the pinfall came I'd actually stopped caring altogether which was a shame because the first half of the match was awesome and they had 2/3rds of an awesome match but they messed the last 3rd of the ideal scenario up big time. Them new ROH belts looked like an even bigger embarrassment in Japan than they do in America too._

****1/4*


----------



## S-Mac

Koji Kanemoto vs Davey Richards - NJPW 26.09.2010
***1/2


----------



## RoninTK

*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 5), 10/30/2010 (Sat) 19:00
Yokkaichi City Gymnasium
2100 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 10/30



(1) Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask IV vs. King Fale & Hiromu Takahashi
Winner: Kanemoto (10:04) with a Stomping Modified Boston Crab on Hiromu.
(2) Jushin Thunder Liger, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo.
Winner: Taguchi (11:27) via DQ (Gedo).
(3) G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman
Winner: Nagata (10:39) with a Backdrop Hold on Strongman.
(4) G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B: Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder.
Winner: Bernard (10:46) following the Bernard Driver on Puder.
(5) Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Winner: Kojima (11:06) following a Lariat.
(6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Terrible & El Texano, Jr. vs. Tohru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naitoh
Winner: Yano (13:14) following a Red Mist on El Terrible.
(7) G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B: Hirooki Gotoh & Tama Tonga vs. Tohgi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma
Winner: Gotoh (14:09) following the Shouten Kai on Honma.



*NOAH “AUTUMN NAVIG. 2010 ~ NTV CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League 4th” (Finals), 10/30/2010 (Sat) 18:00
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,100 Spectators (overcrowded)​*


Spoiler: 10/30



(1) Akira Taue vs. Takashi Okita (Kensuke Office)
_Winner_: Taue (6:21) following the Nodowa Otoshi (Chokeslam).
(2) Taiji Ishimori, Ricky Marvin, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara vs. Yasu Urano, Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Kenbai
_Winner_: Nakajima (8:40) following a Kick to the Face of Kenbai.
(3) [B....V CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League Semi-Final ~ Block A vs. Block B[/B]: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger
_Winner_: KENTA (9:21) following the Go 2 Sleep on Evans.
(4) [B....V CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League Semi-Final ~ Block A vs. Block B[/B]: Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
_Winner_: Edwards (11:21) with a Modified Prawn Hold.
(5) Kensuke Sasaki vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
_Winner_: Sasaki (12:25) following a Lariat.
(6) Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. The Great Sasuke & Dick Togo
_Winner_: Sasuke (14:31) following the Sasuke Segway on Hirayanagi.
(7) Takashi Sugiura, Go Shiozaki & Mohammed Yone vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue
_Winner_: Yone (21:59) following the Muscle Buster on Inoue.
(8) [B....V CUP Jr Heavyweight Tag League ~ Final[/B]: KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards
_Winner_: Aoki (28:01) following the Assault Point on Edwards.
_~ KENTA & Atsushi Aoki are the 2010 NTV Jr Tag Cup Champions!_



*Osaka Pro-Wres “BATTLE AUTUMN 2010″ ~Osaka Pro vs CHIKARA~ 10/30/2010 (Sat) 18:00
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
141 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/30



1. *Osaka Pro-Wrestling Battle Royal Title Match*: Takoyakida, Ultimate Spider Jr, Kuishinobu Kamen, Ebessan, Miracleman, Tadasuke & Tigers Mask.
_Winner_: Ebessan (9:34) over Miracleman.
~ ５：００ Black Buffalo　６：０３ Kuishinbo Kamen　７：０８ Takoyakida　７：３１ Ultimate Spider Jr.　７：３7 Tigers Mask　９：２０ Tadasuke
2. Kuuga & Orochi vs. Vin Gerard & STIGMA
_Winner_: Kuuga (14:03) following the Gamen Stamp on STIGMA.
3. Kanjyuro Matsuyama vs. Dasher Hatfield
_Winner_: Hatfield (6:38) with a Schoolboy.
4. Billyken Kid vs. Frightmare
_Winner_: Nillyken (9:04) with the Vertigo.
5. Hideyoshi & Masamune vs. Lince Dorado & Tim Donst
_Winner_: Hideyoshi (16:55) with the Katanagari on Dorado.



*SMASH.9
Shinjuku FACE
590 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/30



(1) Lin Bairon & Yusuke Kodama vs. Kim Nanpun & Danny Duggan
_Winner_: Nanpun (8:29) via pinfall on Byron.
(2) Shuri & Nagisa Nozaki vs. Toshie Uematsu & Tomoka Nakagawa
_Winner_: Shuri (7:21) following a Flying Knee Kick on Uematsu.
(3) Akira Shoji vs. Hajime Ohara
_Winner_: Ohara (1:21) via pinfall.
(4) Mentallo vs. El Samurai
_Winner_: Mentallo (9:41) with a Monsault Press.
(5) TAJIRI & AKIRA vs. Dimitri & The Omen
_Winner_: TAJIRI (11:15) following a Buzzsaw Kick on Dimitri.
(6) *OVW Heavyweight Championship Match*: Mike Mondo [c] vs. KUSHIDA
_Winner_: Mondo (21:02) with a Cloverleaf Lock.
_~ I am personally interested in what the means for KUSHIDA? OVW is a training camp for the WWE and there have been some interest between the WWE and KUSHIDA in the past, and with TAJIRI having strong ties to the WWE it makes me think that he has caught their attention again after today’s show? _


----------



## Derek

I don't believe that OVW is currently affiliated with the WWE, and hasn't been since they made FCW their primary developmental fed, but who knows, maybe KUSHIDA caught somebody's attention. 

And I totally called the team that won the Jr. tag tournament (not like it was hard to predict, though).


----------



## seabs

*KENTA/Kanemoto exchanges









Great to see Strong and Eddie make it to the final.*


----------



## McQueen

It was always pretty obvious to me that they would. They are ROH's 2 singles Champions, and been working NOAH for years. I doubted they'd job them out, bad for a working relationship.


----------



## Emperor DC

I so wish that ROH/NOAH would get together and try and promote an iPPV for somewhen next year.

Can you imagine the interest in Indy circles a crossbrand event like that could muster?


----------



## McQueen

Yeah but it probably wouldn't make enough money to cover traveling costs/expenses because the market is too small.


----------



## Emperor DC

You never know.

I hope something can be sorted out, even if it's just for a non iPPV.

I miss those crazy japs.


----------



## seabs

*Meh, there's only really a handful of NOAH guys that I'd care about seeing back in NOAH. KENTA will more than likely be back next year for some dates when he's got his momentum back in Japan after being out for so long. Other than him there's only really Shiozaki, Sugiura, Marvin and Suzuki that I'd want to see back in ROH. 

New Japan however might blow my mind because it's so fresh and their current roster completely smokes NOAH's.*


----------



## ddog121

Prince Devitt in ROH would be amazing. But #1 japan wrestling I want to see in the US is Sekemoto.


----------



## RoninTK

Derek said:


> I don't believe that OVW is currently affiliated with the WWE, and hasn't been since they made FCW their primary developmental fed, but who knows, maybe KUSHIDA caught somebody's attention.
> 
> And I totally called the team that won the Jr. tag tournament (not like it was hard to predict, though).


Ya, but they keep a close eye on the happenings that go on in the promotion though. WWE never completely severs ties with any promotion they even held a tryout camp with OVW earlier this year, and they are holding the same camp early this December as well. 
Though ROH will be at the camp there as well I actually wouldn't mind seeing KUSHIDA in ROH, but in a couple blogs I have noted that KUSHIDA stated that he wants to be in the WWE someday.


----------



## RoninTK

*Osaka Pro-Wres “BATTLE AUTUMN 2010″, 10/31/2010 (Sun) 14:00 (w/ Chikara talent)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2
1,116 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/31



(1) Tigers Mask, Black Buffalo & Tadasuke vs. Vin Gerard, STIGMA & Dasher Hatfield
_Winner_: Tigers Mask (14:02) with the Tigers Suplex Hold on Hatfield.
_~ It should be noted that Tigers appeared today in his classic Baseball uniform._
(2) *It is Halloween! Special Costume Tag Match*: Ebessan & Miracleman vs. Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru
_Winner_: Ranmaru won the contest.
(3) Tsubasa & Frightmare vs. Lince Dorado & Tim Donst
_Winner_: Frightmare (11:51) with the Kneecolepsy on Donst.
(4) *Osaka Pro-Wrestling Owari Championship 3WAY Match*: Takoyakida [c] vs. Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Kikutaro
_Winner_: Takoyakida (12:52)
_~ He then accepts and defeats Kuishinobu Kamen for his first defense._
(5) *“Seikigun vs JOKER” Elimination 8man Tag Match*: Billyken Kid, Hideyoshi, Masamune & Ultimate Spider Jr vs. Kuuga, Orochi, The bodyguard & HAYATA
Winner:
×　１：４４ Hideyoshi （Over The Rope） 8:09 Masamune & The bodyguard （ＯＴＲ）　１１：０６ HAYATA　１２：１８ Ultimate Spider Jr （ＯＴＲ）　１５：０３ Orochi （following a Super Rana）
~ Kuuga (21:26) with the Hornet on Billyken.
(6) *Osaka Pro-Wrestling Tag Championship Match*: Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii [c] vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
_Winner_: Kotoge (20:49) with the HIMEI on Fujii.
_~ Kotoge & Harada become 26th Generation Champions!_



*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 6), 10/31/2010 (Sun) 19:00
Hukui Citizens Civic Gymnasium
850 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 10/31



(1) Tiger Mask vs. Hiromu Takahashi
_Winner_: Tiger (7:21) with a Boston Crab.
(2) Giant Bernard, “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. El Terrible, El Texano Jr, Jado & Gedo
_Winner_: Anderson (12:06) with the GunStun on Gedo.
(3) Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Strongman & Kohji Kanemoto
_Winner_: Nakanishi (13:16) with the Argentine Backbreaker on Liger.
(4) *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Hirooki Gotoh & Tama Tonga vs. Super Strong Machine & King Fale
_Winner_: Gotoh (10:56) following a Lariat on Fale.
(5) *G1 TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: Tohru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naitoh
_Winner_: Yano (14:46) via pinfall on Takahashi.
(6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tohgi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Daniel Puder & Tomohiro Ishii
_Winner_: Tanahashi (18:51) with the High Fly Flow on Puder.



*Kensuke Office, 10/31/2010 (Sun) 13:00
Kensuke Office Dojo in Yoshikawa, Japan.
252 Spectators (packed)​*


Spoiler: 10/31



(1) Takashi Okita, Kento Miyahara & Jun Nishikawa vs. Bear Fukuda, Go & CHANGO
_Winner_: Go (15:32) with the ソラリーナ (Sorarina) on Nishikawa.
(2) Catfish Man vs. Yutaka Yoshie
_Winner_: Yoshie (7:19) with a Body Press.
(3) Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajihara vs. Takeshi Minamino & Manji Maru
_Winner_: Minamino (13:04) via pinfall on Kajihara.



~ Next KO show will be in a couple weeks here is the early card:
*Kensuke Office, 11/14/2010 (Sun)
Odawara Arena Sub Arena*​
1. Satoshi Kajiwara vs. CHANGO
2. Catfish Man #1 & Catfish Man #2 vs. Junji Izumida & Kikutaro
3. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Jun Nishikawa vs. Big Murakami & Kentaro Shiga
4. Takashi Okita vs. Go
5. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Bear Fukuda


----------



## McQueen

Poor, poor Catfish man.


----------



## Derek

Speaking of KENSKAY, looks like he'll be challenging Sugiura next for the title.


----------



## raw-monster

Quick question. What do you guys think of Misawa/Kobashi from 03? I am watching it right now and the match is awesome so far but my biggest problem is Misawa's selling at some points of the match. He gets blasted with moves that look like they could kill a person yet he gets up before Kobashi does actually.


----------



## antoniomare007

I went crazy the first time i saw that match, at that time i had never seen heavyweights take those kinds of sick bumps. Nowadays i still love that match, but don't think is the best thing ever, i don't even think that's the best Misawa/Kobashi match (that is 1/20/97). I don't have a big issue with selling, specially in puro matches...Misawa is this God like character who survives and makes a comeback no matter what punishment he takes so i don't mind that kind of stuff.


----------



## McQueen

raw-monster said:


> Quick question. What do you guys think of Misawa/Kobashi from 03? I am watching it right now and the match is awesome so far but my biggest problem is Misawa's selling at some points of the match. He gets blasted with moves that look like they could kill a person yet he gets up before Kobashi does actually.


Thats kinda Misawa 101 though, still I love that match. Kobashi's entrance in particular gives me goosebumps and sets the tone for what is to follow.


----------



## Caligula

greatest match of all time by the current standards but its really good otherwise


----------



## Caponex75

Anyone got that match in the full quality with the entrances? I watched it a couple weeks without the entrances and it just didn't feel right. Ditch needs to reup that with the whole deal.


----------



## McQueen

I used to have the full version on my old computer, i've seen it without and its not as fun.

Fully agree that the 1/20/97 match is superior by the way.


----------



## Caligula

1/20/97 is their best match and its not close


----------



## leglock

raw-monster said:


> Quick question. What do you guys think of Misawa/Kobashi from 03? I am watching it right now and the match is awesome so far but my biggest problem is Misawa's selling at some points of the match. He gets blasted with moves that look like they could kill a person yet he gets up before Kobashi does actually.


It's my favorite Misawa vs. Kobashi match, but it's not their "best" match. It's the start of Kobashi's reign as the Absolute Champion and the match where Misawa passed the torch to him. The match itself is the logical conclusion for the Misawa vs. Kobashi feud and they never had another singles match again, with the exception of a special random 10 minute X-mas match.

It was established before this match that if Kobashi could hit the Burning Hammer on Misawa, he would beat him. It took over ten years for Kobashi to pin Misawa for the first time and Kobashi had to create the Burning Hammer for it to even happen. Kobashi debuted the Burning Hammer in a tag match on October 24th, 1998 on Misawa to show Misawa his unstopppable move for his Triple Crown title _defense_ against Mitsuharu Misawa on the 31st. Kobashi could not use the move, as Misawa blocked it multiple times and he lost the Triple Crown to him. In June of 1999, Misawa defended the Triple Crown against Kobashi, but again, Kobashi could not use the Burning Hammer and lost the match. On October 23rd, 1999, nearly a year after Kobashi's first pin of Misawa, Kobashi would pin Misawa once again with the Burning Hammer and win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles with Jun Akiyama. 

Flash forward to 2003, Misawa is the GHC Heavyweight Champion and Kenta Kobashi is the number 1 contender. In a special tag match in Jan of 2003 (Mitsuharu Misawa & Masahiro Chono vs. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue), Kobashi pins Misawa again, but with a special Vertical Drop Brainbuster. He uses that move in the 2003 Misawa vs Kobashi match, but Misawa kicks out. He uses the Burning Hammer and beats Misawa decisively.

It's too bad that you didn't watch all their previous matches before you watched that one. Watching All Japan and to a lesser extent NOAH matches in context makes the enjoyment of the matches even better.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate Infinity 185*

BxB Hulk & Naoki Tanizaki vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii - ***

Susumu Yokosuka & K-ness vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi - ***1/4


*Dragon Gate Infinity 186*

CIMA & Gamma vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi - ***

Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs. Shingo Takagi & YAMATO - ****


----------



## raw-monster

So it has been a few days after I have seen it and I still can not get Misawa/Kobashi out of my mind. The match was just that epic.


----------



## leglock

raw-monster said:


> So it has been a few days after I have seen it and I still can not get Misawa/Kobashi out of my mind. The match was just that epic.


Are you looking for more?


----------



## raw-monster

Yea, I really need to see their other matches as well since currently I think that this is one of the greatest matches I have ever seen and people are saying that some of their other matches are even better. 

I dont know where to start first though. Which match should I watch?


----------



## Chismo

raw-monster said:


> So it has been a few days after I have seen it and I still can not get Misawa/Kobashi out of my mind. The match was just that epic.


Which one?


----------



## leglock

raw-monster said:


> Yea, I really need to see their other matches as well since currently I think that this is one of the greatest matches I have ever seen and people are saying that some of their other matches are even better.
> 
> I dont know where to start first though. Which match should I watch?


If you want to jump in to the "best" stuff, people generally cite the 1/20/97, 10/21/97, or 10/31/98 as their favorite/greatest/best match. A lot of people who like the 3/1/03 match also like the 6/11/99 match, as they're both similar in style. 

All Japan Pro-Wrestling used a very strong story arc based booking philosophy in the mid 80s to the 90s. You can't completely understand or enjoy the Misawa vs. Kobashi series unless you're familiar with the different dynamics/aspects of the story such as Misawa's stable in the early 90s, the tag team partnership between Misawa and Kobashi, their feud against Kawada and Taue, Misawa vs. Kawada, Kawada vs. Kobashi, Taue vs. Kobashi, Misawa vs. Taue, Kobashi vs. Akiyama, or even all those guys vs. Tsuruta. You also get a sense of where all those guys are as wrestlers as you watch them progress throughout the years and wrestle each other. 

Anyway, if you really want to know more about All Japan or even any other promotions, Shoot me a PM and I'll recommend you some matches/tell you more.


----------



## raw-monster

JoeRulz said:


> Which one?


The 2003 match.

Does anyone know why Meltzer didnt give their 1/20/97 match the full 5 as well?


----------



## antoniomare007

why? because is their best match against each other and is one of the greatest singles matches that 90's All Japan ad (and that's saying something).


----------



## Chismo

raw-monster said:


> The 2003 match.
> 
> Does anyone know why Meltzer didnt give their 1/20/97 match the full 5 as well?


Don't tell me you actually give a shit about Meltzer's ratings?:no:

Btw, I have Misawa/Kobashi from 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003 at *****


----------



## raw-monster

JoeRulz said:


> Don't tell me you actually give a shit about Meltzer's ratings?:no:
> 
> Btw, I have Misawa/Kobashi from 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2003 at *****


I dont really give a shit about his ratings. I just found it weird how he gave so many of their matches the full 5 and then the match that is considered their best one ever doesnt get it.

O and I am watching the 1/20/97 match right now. I will give my thoughts on it after it finishes.


----------



## leglock

raw-monster said:


> I dont really give a shit about his ratings. I just found it weird how he gave so many of their matches the full 5 and then the match that is considered their best one ever doesnt get it.
> 
> O and I am watching the 1/20/97 match right now. I will give my thoughts on it after it finishes.


The 1998, 1999, and 2003 tell better stories than the better wrestled 1997 ones.


----------



## raw-monster

O and thank you for all your help Leglock.


----------



## seabs

*Meltzer not giving the 97 match 5 stars really suprised me too when I saw his 5* All Japan list and saw all of the stuff that he did give 5* but not that match. At the end of the day it's just one guys opinion though so it doesn't matter one bit. Anyway fwiw

97 - *****
98 - ****3/4
99 - ****1/2
03 - *****

97 is the best All Japan singles match not to be Jumbo/Misawa.*


----------



## Yeah1993

If you want to get into All Japan altogether I think Misawa/Kobashi vs. Taue/Kawada from December 93 is great for that. It doesn't really have the real depth that a lot of other big-match AJ matches would have, only things you'll notice are how Misawa doesnlt go for Kawada's leg b/c in his mind he's that good he doesn't have to, and Kobashi has to go for it if he wants to have a chance at victory. Taue is a murderer. Plus you get to see MM & KK tag before they feuded.

I really thought the 97 Misawa/Kobashi match was a WON *****.


----------



## raw-monster

Ok so I just watched the 97 match and it really was a classic, but I really thought that the 03 match was better. I just loved how stiff they were with each other and how they destroyed each other in that match. 

The 97 match is still a freaking classic and I loved watching it, but all I could think about was the 03 match.

So far here is how I would rank them.

Kobashi vs Misawa 2003 - ***** 
Kobashi vs Misawa 1997 - *****


----------



## leglock

raw-monster said:


> Ok so I just watched the 97 match and it really was a classic, but I really thought that the 03 match was better. I just loved how stiff they were with each other and how they destroyed each other in that match.
> 
> The 97 match is still a freaking classic and I loved watching it, but all I could think about was the 03 match.
> 
> So far here is how I would rank them.
> 
> Kobashi vs Misawa 2003 - *****
> Kobashi vs Misawa 1997 - *****


You'll enjoy the 1999 match then.


----------



## seancarleton77

Star ratings are really a double edged sword, on one hand people can tend to over analyse matches instead of actually enjoying them, on the other hand if I have a joyful series of mental orgasms then I would like to use the star rating system to grade my enjoyment. Or in the case of watching TNA matches to rip them apart with a minus star rating to make myself feel better for wasting a couple of hours of my life on TNA.


----------



## leglock

As long as you're consistent and you can back up why you enjoy something, it's all good. It's crazy to see how many **** - ***** matches people give out these days considering the state wrestling is in. There is so much more to a match than the finishing stretch. I never understood the whole "WHAT CRAZY ENDING! HOLY CRAP ALL THE KICKOUTS!!!! THE INTENSITY!!!!!!" that a lot of people use, yet forgetting the bland first 15 minutes of a match.


----------



## seancarleton77

leglock said:


> As long as you're consistent and you can back up why you enjoy something, it's all good. It's crazy to see how many **** - ***** matches people give out these days considering the state wrestling is in. There is so much more to a match than the finishing stretch. I never understood the whole "WHAT CRAZY ENDING! HOLY CRAP ALL THE KICKOUTS!!!! THE INTENSITY!!!!!!" that a lot of people use, yet forgetting the bland first 15 minutes of a match.


That bland first 15 minutes is often my favourite part. But seriously there is a difference between people resting in loose headlocks and a slow build that progresses as the match goes on until it reaches the boiling point and checks into a room at the 5 star hotel. As long as the match is never boring and makes me stand whether I'm there live or at home watching it, I say.


----------



## McQueen

leglock said:


> As long as you're consistent and you can back up why you enjoy something, it's all good. It's crazy to see how many **** - ***** matches people give out these days considering the state wrestling is in. There is so much more to a match than the finishing stretch. I never understood the whole "WHAT CRAZY ENDING! HOLY CRAP ALL THE KICKOUTS!!!! THE INTENSITY!!!!!!" that a lot of people use, yet forgetting the bland first 15 minutes of a match.


Sounds like a Davey Richards match.


----------



## leglock

seancarleton77 said:


> That bland first 15 minutes is often my favourite part. But seriously there is a difference between people resting in loose headlocks and a slow build that progresses as the match goes on until it reaches the boiling point and checks into a room at the 5 star hotel. As long as the match is never boring and makes me stand whether I'm there live or at home watching it, I say.


I think you missed my point. I have no issues with mat wrestling or chain wrestling.


----------



## seancarleton77

leglock said:


> I think you missed my point. I have no issues with mat wrestling or chain wrestling.


Nah. I got it. I just wanted to get that point across at some point and I said "Shit. There's my opportunity". 

Your username reminds me... Why aren't more matches won due to leg and arm work? I just want to see a guy like Barrett work Cena's leg and Cena Hulks up makes his big comback and WHAM leg goes out, Barrett hits his shitty finish an 8 year old could kick out of and I'm a happy camper.


----------



## WillTheBloody

seancarleton77 said:


> Why aren't more matches won due to leg and arm work? I just want to see a guy like Barrett work Cena's leg and Cena Hulks up makes his big comback and WHAM leg goes out, Barrett hits his shitty finish an 8 year old could kick out of and I'm a happy camper.


Did you seriously just ask why people don't work over John Cena's leg? Or arm? I like Cena just fine, but that guy couldn't sell water to a dying fish, let alone one of his own flailing appendages.

However, I agree with the overall premise. I like seeing body part targeting that leads to the finish, whether it's (I'm sticking with your name here) working Cena's leg to make the AA difficult to maintain or the arm to make the STF easier to outright break. In the 'E, they usually just work everything and don't ask guys to sell anything specific for fear of outing them as shiny giants who are shit workers. Hell, most indy workers aren't very good at selling limbs. Eddie Kingston is about the best leg-seller that jumps out at me. I'm sure there are more, but not many.


----------



## jawbreaker

At the same time, though, it's really hard to have a great match without a good finishing stretch. Danielson/Kingston from We Must Eat Michigan's Brain had probably the best first ~8 minutes of any match I've seen this year, yet the interference finish and Danielson's forgetting of the leg to get cheap pops for his submissions and create a more "epic" finishing stretch really hurt it and I couldn't give it above ****.


----------



## Yeah1993

leglock said:


> As long as you're consistent and you can back up why you enjoy something, it's all good. It's crazy to see how many **** - ***** matches people give out these days considering the state wrestling is in. There is so much more to a match than the finishing stretch. I never understood the whole "WHAT CRAZY ENDING! HOLY CRAP ALL THE KICKOUTS!!!! THE INTENSITY!!!!!!" that a lot of people use, yet forgetting the bland first 15 minutes of a match.


Yeah I've noticed that too. I'd probably have like 5 ****1/2+ matches in the past three or four years and I see some guys' top ten lists of 2010 where their no 10 is ****1/2.



McQueen said:


> Sounds like a Davey Richards match.


:lmao



> At the same time, though, it's really hard to have a great match without a good finishing stretch.


I don;t think it's *really* hard, take a Benoit/Finlay for example.


----------



## antoniomare007

Yeah1993 said:


> I don;t think it's *really* hard, take a Benoit/Finlay for example.


and 70's-80's wrestling.


----------



## Yeah1993

I think some 80s wrestling can have a good finishing stretch like a Flair/Steamboat or an Inoki/Hansen match but yeah, mostly. They don't go as "over the top" as the finishing stretches of the past 12 or so years.


----------



## leglock

To me, a five star match or even a 4 1/2 match is not a great match. It's an epic/legendary match. The highest rating I would give Benoit vs. Finlay would probably be 4 stars. It was an above average, very well wrestled, and intense match up. When it comes to rating matches, I tend to think of the match out of a possible of 100 points. Makes it a lot easier. 

Side note, I know Dave Meltzer has given a few matches over five stars. One of which, the 6/95 Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue match. If I'm remembering correctly he gave it 7 1/2 stars.

EDIT: You also can't judge a match from 72 and 89 the same way, much less one from the 00s.


----------



## Yeah1993

I think a ****1/2 is an epic one too, and I think Benoit/Finlay IS epic.  A great match probably ends at a high **** or low ****1/4.

Not that I use them anymore, anyway.


----------



## seancarleton77

Cena and Barrett were kind of a bad examples, but I wanted other people besides us to read this. Necro can sell a leg to the point where you cringe for him.


----------



## Chismo

leglock said:


> As long as you're consistent and you can back up why you enjoy something, it's all good. It's crazy to see how many **** - ***** matches people give out these days considering the state wrestling is in. There is so much more to a match than the finishing stretch. I never understood the whole "WHAT CRAZY ENDING! HOLY CRAP ALL THE KICKOUTS!!!! THE INTENSITY!!!!!!" that a lot of people use, yet forgetting the bland first 15 minutes of a match.


That's what I think about HBK/Taker from 25&26, I can't believe people give them *****.

HBK/Taker from 25 is only #5 in WWE 2009, IMO.


----------



## raw-monster

JoeRulz said:


> That's what I think about HBK/Taker from 25&26, I can't believe people give them *****.
> 
> HBK/Taker from 25 is only #5 in WWE 2009, IMO.


I gave it the full 5. I rewatched it yesterday again actually. Yea the finishing sequence was amazing but the fist 20 minutes of the match were great as well. They managed to keep the pace fast, and pulled out all of their moves that were not finishers. Its not like they half assed it during the first half of the match or something. 

Their Wrestlemania 26 match on the other hand. Yea I dont think that one is 5 stars.


----------



## RoninTK

On to some news: 








*It has been announced that Naomichi Marufuji will be returning to the ring on Dec. 5th!*









*Tohgi Makabe will be missing the upcoming shows on Nov. 6th and 7th. New Japan has said he is suffering from a Cervical Spine Injury, and that he will miss those two upcoming shows no matter what. Word on if he will miss more has not been mentioned at this time.*









*NOAH News: Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask IV set to defend the GHC Jr Tag Belts against the NTV Cup winners KENTA and Atsushi Aoki on November 23!*


----------



## Caponex75

Talk about a bad picture. Looks like Koji just aged 40+ more years.


----------



## RoninTK

Caponex75 said:


> Talk about a bad picture. Looks like Koji just aged 40+ more years.


haha

*More News*: 
_Nikkan Sports has posted that we could be seeing the current ROH Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero) against the current GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano. Chris Hero has set forth the challenge for the GHC Tag Team Titles. The NOAH committee is said to be discussing the challenge, and all I can say is NOAH is definitely trying to build up some strong matches for the 12/5 show._
The Kings of Wrestling as well as Delirious have been signed to be apart of this upcoming tour in NOAH from Nov. 19th to Dec. 5th.









Kotaro Suzuki is wanting to face Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the GHC Jr Belt at the 12/5 Nippon Budokan show. With Marufuji returning and calling out his return match to be against KENTA, it leaves a good chance for Suzuki to get his wish.

*Dragon Gate News*: CIMA mentioned this morning in Japan that Anthony W. Mori will be making an announcement at today's event. Well the event has now passed and *Mori has announced that he will officially be retiring from Professional Wrestling come the Dec. 2nd show*. Mori just turned 34 years old back on Oct. 9th and has been wrestling since May 13th, 2000.


----------



## antoniomare007

So we will probably have Sugi vs Kensuke, KOW vs TakSano, KENTA vs Maru (in a tag maybe?) and Kotaru vs Kanemaru for the Budokan.

Nice card, buy I wonder who is Go gonna wrestle with.


----------



## seabs

*My optimism says a healthy and returning Kobashi. My realism says probably someone like Nakajima or a New Japan guy if they're available.*


----------



## Devildude

Go vs Nagata or Kojima please.


----------



## seancarleton77

Devildude said:


> Go vs Nagata or Kojima please.


That would be awesome either way, of course I have a bias towards Nagata being my favourite wrestler in the late 1990's and early-mid 2000's so I would rather see him going at Go. Besides Nagata is the better wrestler and can still hang with a young guy like Shiozaki for 20 minutes plus, I'm not so sure about Kojima.


----------



## seabs

*Go & Nagata had a borderline great match in G1 so them getting a non tourney match could be a MOTYC quite easily.*


----------



## antoniomare007

thing is, New Japan has a show on 12/5 so who knows if anyone will be available. It's not a big show though, so maybe they could let someone work that Budokan.


----------



## Devildude

antoniomare007 said:


> thing is, New Japan has a show on 12/5 so who knows if anyone will be available. It's not a big show though, so maybe they could let someone work that Budokan.


"Hey Taguchi, I heard you always wanted to work Budokan in a singles! I'm sure Fergal can work that night without you!"

I can see the DVDVR puro board exploding already.


----------



## antoniomare007

DVDVR will crash if that happens and KENTA vs Marufuji in a singles match is confirmed :lmao


----------



## McQueen

I'm not interested in seeing anymore Marufuji/KENTA matches unless they're tagging together.


----------



## RoninTK

*NJPW 「Ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ２０１０ ＮＥＷ ＪＡＰＡＮ ＴＲＵＴＨ ～Ｇ１ ＴＡＧ ＬＥＡＧＵＥ～」 (Day 11 ~ Finals), 11/7/2010 (Sat) 12:00
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 11/7



(1) Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Tama Tonga & King Fale vs. Takashi Iizuka, Daniel Puder, El Terrible & El Texano
_Winner_: Texano, Jr. (6:03) following the Tornado Texas Bomb on Fale.
(2) G1 TAG LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: “Nippon-Mexico Muscle Orchestra” Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman vs. “NO LIMIT” Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naitoh
_Winner_: Takahashi (11:54) following a German Suplex Hold on Strongman.
(3) G1 TAG LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL: “BLUE JUSTICE” Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. “Bad Intentions” Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
_Winner_: Inoue (9:54) following the Spear of Justice on Anderson.
(4) Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka, Jado & Gedo
_Winner_: Tanaka (10:39) following the Sliding D on Honma.
(5) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Gotoh & TAJIRI vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tohru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
_Winner_: Gotoh (9:49) following the Shouten Kai on Ishii.
(6) Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Kohji Kanemoto
_Winner_: Kojima (13:07) following a Lariat.
(7) *G1 TAG LEAGUE FINALS*: Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naitoh vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
_Winner_: Inoue (17:49) following the Spear of Justice on Takahashi.



-----


Spoiler: rant time



I feel a rant coming following Blue Justice’s win. I just want to spark a discussion if there is one. I mean this tournament is a waste in my opinion just ultimately put over the tag team that has been involved in pretty much every tag team title match this year! I just find it to be a bit of a slap. Maybe the fans in Japan feel differently? Personally I thought maybe Nakanishi & Strongman would benefit from this win, one of the instances where I could see Strongman do good is in the tags, I mean New Japan needs more teams that just 3 that go after the title left and right, which has been that exact case this year to be honest. Am I alone with thinking this? Anyone agree with Blue Justice winning?


----------



## Sunglasses

Ronin, you're right. Can't understand NJPW as well. The're first bad decision this year and such a big one -__-


----------



## seabs

*I don't really think it's that big of a deal as the New Japan tag division isn't really that big of a deal with their not being any many tag teams that are just thrown together singles guys. I think Blue Justice winning is better than someone like Nakanishi/Strongman cause no one would buy that they could beat Bad Intentions. Blue Justice are more believable contenders for me at least. Plus their last match was an absolute beast of a match. Dont forget that Beer Money also have a tag title match for the future.*


----------



## RoninTK

Seabs said:


> Dont forget that Beer Money also have a tag title match for the future.


That will more than likely be what we will see at the Dome, and I am hoping not in a 3 way...


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *I don't really think it's that big of a deal as the New Japan tag division isn't really that big of a deal .*


This.


----------



## McQueen

Ronin i'm never happy win Wataru Inoue wins matches. I can't stand that fucker.


----------



## antoniomare007

the only time i saw Inoue in a great match was when Ishii carried his ass last year in a LOCK UP show.


----------



## seabs

*He's in my second favourite match this year. Granted it's a tag match and it helps that the other 3 guys put in one hell of a shift. Cant say I've seen anything great from him singles wise.*


----------



## RoninTK

*A bit of news today: *

*NOAH News:* 
~ The legendary referee for All Japan and the official for NOAH title matches Kanji "Joe" Higuchi has passed away today in Japan, he was 81.
Best wishes go out to the Higuchi family and friends who are mourning from the loss. RIP Higuchi.

~ It has been made official today GHC Tag Team Titles will be on the line with Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano defending against "The Kings of Wrestling" Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli on Dec. 5th.
Also Yoshinobu Kanemaru will be defending the GHC Jr Title against Kotaro Suzuki on the same day.

~ Takeshi Morishima will be returning to the NOAH ring on Nov. 23rd! 

*NJPW News:*
~ It has been decided that Satoshi Kojima will put the IWGP Championship on the line against Shinsuke Nakamura on Dec. 11!
_The rest of the announced card:_
Hiroshi Tanahashi will face Hirooki Gotoh in what is expected to crown a challenger for the IWGP at Wrestle Kingdom V.
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson will defend the IWGP Tag Belts against Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue.
The last match will see "NO LIMIT" Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naitoh facing "The Motor City Machine Guns" Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin.

~ There are some interesting developments on the Dec. 12th Card as well.
Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley will face Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi.
Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Wataru Inoue
Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naitoh
Special Singles Match: Hirooki Gotoh vs. Satoshi Kojima *(non-title)*


----------



## antoniomare007

damn R.I.P Higuchi, you were as awesome as a referee/commisioner can be. A true puro legend, he will be missed.


----------



## Derek

R.I.P. Joe Higuchi.


----------



## seabs

*Heard about Higuchi earlier and I couldn't for the life of me put a face to the name until I saw that pic in here. Sad news but at least 81 is a pretty damn good innings. R.I.P

Great to see MCMG back in New Japan too and facing Apollo 55 again.*


----------



## seancarleton77

R.I.P Joe. I loved Joe's reffing style, my second favourite ref ever to the All Japan guy who became the main ref after him.


----------



## Kapone89

seancarleton77 said:


> R.I.P Joe. I loved Joe's reffing style, my second favourite ref ever to the All Japan guy who became the main ref after him.


I guess that guy is Kyohei Wada.

And of course, rest in peace Joe Higuchi.


----------



## Martyn

What TNA stars do you want to see at Wrestle Kingdom V ?

I demand a Flair & Sting match in some kind of multi man tag team legends match (with Choshu, Chono, etc). Generation Me vs IWGP Jr Tag Champs also looks promising.

R.I.P Joe Higuchi.


----------



## McQueen

I'm going to find the best of Joe Higuchi (bumps) tribute video on youtube. He was a real man's referee.


----------



## antoniomare007

McQueen said:


> I'm going to find the best of Joe Higuchi (bumps) tribute video on youtube. He was a real man's referee.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIKIKetVNI4&feature=player_embedded

he was the best.


----------



## RoninTK

*Super J Tag Day Results*









*NJPW “SUPER J TAG LEAGUE DAY 1″, 11/9/2010 (Tues) 19:00
Tokyo Differ Ariake
400 Spectators (full)*​


Spoiler: 11/9 Results









(1) King Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi
_Winner_: Fale (8:01) with a Boston Crab.
(2) *SUPER J TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: Fujita “Jr” Hayato & Taro Nohashi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa.
_Winner_: Hayato (12:49) via referee stoppage. (K.I.D.)
_Hayato/Nohashi (1 win = 2 points) ~ Mochi/Shisa (1 loss = 0 Points)_
(3) *SUPER J TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Mascara Dorada & La Sombra
_Winner_: Liger (11:56) following a Sheer Drop Brainbuster on Dorada.
_Liger/Samurai (1 win = 2 points) ~ Dorada/Sombra (1 loss = 0 points)_
(4) *SUPER J TAG LEAGUE BLOCK B*: Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Jado & Gedo
_Winner_: Gedo (12:27) with the Gedo Clutch on Tiger Mask.
_Jado/Gedo (1 win = 2 points) ~ Kanemoto/Tiger (1 loss = 0 points)_
(5) *SUPER J TAG LEAGUE BLOCK A*: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
_Winner_: Richards (14:41) following a Powerbomb on Devitt.






_Richards/Romero (1 win = 2 points) ~ Apollo 55 (1 loss = 0 points)_
(6) *Special 6 Man Tag Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi, AKIRA & KUSHIDA vs. Yuji Nagata, NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
_Winner_: Tanahashi (17:56) with the High Fly Flow on NOSAWA.


----------



## seancarleton77

Ahhh shit! This is great news, sounds like a great tag league already.


----------



## seabs

> Apollo 55 (1 loss = 2 points)


*Is that a typo or did they start off with 2 points?*


----------



## antoniomare007

lol, since when 400 people is a full house in Differ Ariake??


----------



## RoninTK

antoniomare007 said:


> lol, since when 400 people is a full house in Differ Ariake??


That is what New Japan had in labeled, haha ~ 400人（満員）


----------



## RoninTK

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010 DAY 2″, 11/10/2010 (Wed)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
400 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 11/10



(1) *Young Lion Match Series II*: King Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi
_Winner_: Fale (9:07) following a Vertical Suplex.
(2) *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. La Sombra & Mascara Dorada
_Winner_: Sombra (12:30) following an Avalanche Blockbuster Hold on Romero.
_Dorada/Sombra (1 Win, 1 Loss = 2 Points) ~ Richards/Romero (1 Win, 1 loss = 2 points)_
(3) *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
_Winner_: NOSAWA (11:38) with a La Magistral on Samurai.
_Tokyo Gurentai (1 win = 2 points) ~ Liger/Samurai (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points)_
(4) *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Jado & Gedo vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
_Winner_: Shisa (14:41) with a Yoshi Tonic on Gedo.
_Mochi/Shisa (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points) ~ Jado/Gedo (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points)_
(5) *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. AKIRA & KUSHIDA
_Winner_: Tiger (14:00) with a Chickenwing Facelock on KUSHIDA.
_Kanemoto/Tiger (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points) ~ AKIRA/KUSHIDA (1 loss = 0 points)_
(6) *Special Six Man Tag Match*: Hirooki Gotoh, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka, Fujita “Jr.” Hayato & Taro Nohashi
_Winner_: Gotoh (14:54) following a Deadly Lariat on Nohashi.


----------



## RoninTK

*Prince Devitt has broken one of his ribs during first day of the Super J Tag, even though it was apparent that he may opt to stay out of the tournament. But like the fighting champion that he is he has chosen to continue wrestling for the time being. *

*NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN SUPER J TAG LEAGUE 2010 DAY 3″, 11/11/2010 (Thurs) 19:00
Tokyo Differ Ariake
400 Spectators*​


Spoiler: 11/11












(1) *Young Lion 3 Match Series III*: King Fale vs. Hiromu Takahashi
_Winner_: Fale (8:11) following a Vertical Suplex.
(2) *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: Jado & Gedo vs. Fujita “Jr” Hayato & Taro Nohashi
_Winner_: Jado (12:59) with the Crossface of JADO on Nohashi.
_Jado/Gedo (2 wins, 1 loss = 4 points) ~ Hayato/Nohashi (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points)_
(3) *Super J Tag League ~ Block B*: AKIRA & KUSHIDA vs Masaaki Mochizuki
_Winner_: KUSHIDA (12:25) with the Midnight Express on Shisa.
_AKIRA/KUSHIDA (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points) ~ Mochi/Shisa (1 win, 2 losses = 2 points)_
(4) *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Mascara Dorada & La Sombra vs. NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
_Winner_: Sombra (11:25) with a Tornillo on NOSAWA
_Dorada/Sombra (2 wins, 1 loss = 4 points) ~ NOSAWA/FUJITA (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points)_
(5) *Super J Tag League ~ Block A*: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai
_Winner_: Taguchi (14:11) with a Gedo Clutch II on Samurai.
_Apollo 55 (1 win, 1 loss = 2 points) ~ Liger/Samurai (1 win, 2 losses = 2 points)_
(6) Manabu Nakanishi, Kohji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
_Winner_: Richards (16:17) with a Sharpshooter on Tiger Mask.


----------



## seancarleton77

Davey Richards is on fire! And in my opinion he is the biggest threat to that Junior Championship currently held by Prince Devitt. Sucks Apollo 55 has to be carried by the far less talent member of the team.


----------



## antoniomare007

KENTA vs Marufuji confirmed for the Budokan

*NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW, 05.12.2010 (G+ LIVE)
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
*
1. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA
2. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki
3. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli


Morishima returns at Korakuen in a 6 man

*
NOAH, 23.11.2010 (G+)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*

1. Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita Image
2. Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Kentaro Shiga
3. Bison Smith vs. Kento Miyahara 
4. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
5. Takeshi Morishima Return Match: Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima
6. Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori vs. Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli & Delirious
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask (c) vs. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki


----------



## Martyn

Last night I watched some Stan Hansen matches from showa era. Here's my ratings :

Stan Hansen vs. NWF Champion Antonio Inoki ( 9/25/80) - ***.
Stan Hansen & Hulk Hogan vs. Antonio Inoki & Bob Backlund (MSG Tag League finals, 12/10/80) - ** 3/4.
Stan Hansen & Hulk Hogan vs. Antonio Inoki & Dusty Rhodes (5/26/81) - ** 1/2.
Stan Hansen vs. Antonio Inoki (6/4/81) - ***.
Stan Hansen & Dick Murdoch vs. Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami (MSG Tag League semifinals, 12/10/81) - ***+.


----------



## SuperDuperSonic

Time to start holiday shopping.



> IVPvideos Black Friday sale has arrived.
> 
> The biggest sale of the year has arrived at IVPvideos.com. From now until the end of November you can save up to 40% off of your entire purchase. It is real simple, for orders of $50 and below use the coupon code BlackFriday30 and you will receive 30% off of your entire order. If you spend more than $50 you can use coupon code BlackFriday40 and receive 40% off of your total purchase. It is as simple as that. I will be out of town for Thanksgiving weekend at the in-laws (Save me) so that is why the sale starts now.
> 
> IVPvideos.com has been operating since 2004 and currently has several thousand different DVDs in stock. No matter what you are looking for IVPvideos.com is your number one source for Japanese wrestling on DVD. Thanks, any questions, comments or concerns please feel free to email me at [email protected].


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> KENTA vs Marufuji confirmed for the Budokan
> 
> *NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW, 05.12.2010 (G+ LIVE)
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan
> *
> 1. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA
> 2. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki
> 3. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
> 
> 
> Morishima returns at Korakuen in a 6 man
> 
> *
> NOAH, 23.11.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita
> 2. Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Kentaro Shiga
> 3. Bison Smith vs. Kento Miyahara
> 4. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
> 5. Takeshi Morishima Return Match: Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima
> 6. Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori vs. Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli & Delirious
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask (c) vs. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki


Holy fuck! That is going to be some great wrestling.


----------



## TheAce

Damn, tons of value at IVP videos....just got these

Dragon Gate 11/16/2008 November 16th 2008 (2 Discs) (I love the unit breakup match on this)
NJPW 04/13/2008 April 13th 2008 (Tanaka vs Kanemoto = win)

NOAH 07/01/2007 July 1st 2007
NOAH 07/12/2009 July 12th 2009 (2 Discs)
NOAH 07/15/2007 July 15th 2007 (2 Discs)
NOAH 07/25/2009 July 25th 2009(2 Discs)
NOAH 08/23/2008 August 23rd 2008 (2 Discs)
NOAH 09/06/2008 September 6th 2008 (2 Discs)
NOAH 09/23/2008 September 27th 2008 (2 Discs)

(as much NTV CUP from the last 3 years as I could find)

ROH invades Japan V.1 (IVP Custom Comp)
ROH Invades Japan V.2 (IVP Custom Comp)

Just cuz..

It all came to under $50 Canadian!! Good stuff, excited for this now!


----------



## Martyn

Both - NOAH and NJPW december cards looks awesome. With matches, like : Kojima/Nakamura, Devitt/Richards, Takayama & Sano/KOW and KENTA/Marufuji. Great, I'm pretty excited for these shows!


----------



## Derek

NOAH should go ahead and announce Kensuke vs. Sugiura for the title if they plan on drawing any fans for the Budokan. Not that they're going to draw well there anyways.

And according to New Japan's next tour schedule, Kojima will face Gotoh the night after Kojima defends the belt against Nakamura (and will probably retain) and Gotoh faces Tanahashi in what will most likely determine who faces the champ at the Tokyo Dome.

What is weird is that many people believe that we will see Kojima vs. Gotoh at the dome, but I'm not so sure now. Why would they have the two guys who are going to headline a dome show face each other on a apparently meaningless show less than a month before the show? My guess only guess is that Tanahashi will beat Gotoh, and face Kojima at the Dome in a rematch of this years G1 Finals.

But who knows.


----------



## Martyn

Yeah. Goto isnt ready for match at that stage. I personally prefer a Nakamura/Kojima match in the Dome, but Tanahashi/Kojima is right now the best option.


----------



## seancarleton77

If Tanahashi beats Kojima for the Title it will be about as exciting as the last Cena Title run, only not as historic. I can take Tanahashi serious, but a guy like Nakamura or a Kojima would murder him in a real fight.


----------



## New Blood

So I came across this little 6 man tag from 1982:
Terry Funk/Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs. The Destroyer/Jerry Blackwell/Ron Bass

And yes, Terry and Destroyer lock up in this match and it is glorious especially since Destroyer is playing the sadistic asshole.


----------



## Yeah1993

This match doesn't get enough love:

Riki Choshu v Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 2/8/96)
--Just became one of my favourite matches ever, so damn HARD HITTING and STIFF. It had a certain atmosphere like these two were evenly matched or something and they started off with a few collar & elbows tie ups which lasted not a minute before they started belting each other with palms and chops, to say the very least it was great. I was surprised by how much these two took in, seemed like they had made some mutual agreement to not hold anything back at all because from what I remember every hit landed stupidly hard, no thigh-slapping, no dumb stomping, nothing. The lariats near the end were one of my favourite sequences of any match ever, Choshu keeps laying them in to take Hashimoto down, and Hahsimoto wasn't going down after like five of them. When I say "lay them in" I don't mean "they looked awesome" I mean he honest-to-God swung at him and hit him borderline as hard as he could. Finish wasn't long after that; Hashimoto gets ready for the last lariat and yells "CHOSHUUUU" and finally goes down. 1996 match of the year contender.


----------



## McQueen

New Blood said:


> So I came across this little 6 man tag from 1982:
> Terry Funk/Jumbo Tsuruta/Genichiro Tenryu vs. The Destroyer/Jerry Blackwell/Ron Bass
> 
> And yes, Terry and Destroyer lock up in this match and it is glorious especially since Destroyer is playing the sadistic asshole.


I need to download this right now!



Yeah1993 said:


> This match doesn't get enough love:
> 
> Riki Choshu v Shinya Hashimoto (NJPW 2/8/96)
> --Just became one of my favourite matches ever, so damn HARD HITTING and STIFF. It had a certain atmosphere like these two were evenly matched or something and they started off with a few collar & elbows tie ups which lasted not a minute before they started belting each other with palms and chops, to say the very least it was great. I was surprised by how much these two took in, seemed like they had made some mutual agreement to not hold anything back at all because from what I remember every hit landed stupidly hard, no thigh-slapping, no dumb stomping, nothing. The lariats near the end were one of my favourite sequences of any match ever, Choshu keeps laying them in to take Hashimoto down, and Hahsimoto wasn't going down after like five of them. When I say "lay them in" I don't mean "they looked awesome" I mean he honest-to-God swung at him and hit him borderline as hard as he could. Finish wasn't long after that; Hashimoto gets ready for the last lariat and yells "CHOSHUUUU" and finally goes down. 1996 match of the year contender.


Really because everyone on here who has seen it on this forum i've seen loves this match. It just doesn't get talked about quite as much. But yeah its both my 2nd favorite Hash & Choshu matches which is saying a lot.


----------



## Yeah1993

McQueen said:


> It just doesn't get talked about quite as much.


That's kind of what I mean by "love" I guess.  Should be praised more than 95% of WWE matches which are worshipped like gifts from Gods.

What are your favourite Hash & Chsoshu matches btw? Haven't seen as much from either guy as I'd like to.


----------



## McQueen

Thats because Shawn Micheals, Kurt Angle & Davey Richards are TEH GREATESTZ! around these parts.

Jumbo/Tenryu vs Choshu/Yatsu AJPW 1/28/86 is probably my favorite match in general and there is a rematch a week later that is just as good really. I really dug Choshu in All Japan in general anbd in the match I brought up its really great to see the hometown boys Jumbo & Tenryu being threatened enough by his presense they're the ones who resort to being complete pricks.

And I really like the '93 G-1 Climax match between Hashimoto & Hase. Their IWGP match from the end of 94 is pure quality too. Ditch has all of these matches naturally.


----------



## Yeah1993

I said to myself I was going to watch that tag by the end of the year. Hase isn't my thing but if Hashimoto's pounding him then I'll get on them soon as well.


----------



## McQueen

I love Hase but I can see why people aren't big on him.


----------



## antoniomare007

Choshu's match against Fujiwara in 87' is a must see imo.

i made a little list of Hashimoto matches everyone should see not that long ago, he's one of my favorite wrestlers.



antoniomare007 said:


> vs Hase G-1 Climax 93
> vs Liger 94'
> vs Hase 94' IWGP Title match
> vs Mutoh 95' G-1 Climax Final
> vs Choshu 96' G-1 Climax
> vs Takada 96' IWGP Title Match
> vs Yamazaki 97' IWGP Title match (his whole feud with Yamazaki is great)
> vs Tanaka 02' in Zero-One
> vs Kawada 04' Triple Crown Match


there it is, add the match against Tenryu in 94' loved that one too



Halfnelson said:


> vs Regal, IWGP title New Japan 4/16/95
> vs Tenryu, New Japan G-1 Climax '98( brutal match basically consisting of super stiff chops and kicks)
> Hashimoto/Nagata vs Misawa/Akiyama, Zero-One 3/2/01
> Hashimoto/Otsuka vs Misawa/Ogawa NOAH 1/13/01(all the Misawa-Hash exchanges are awesome)


those too


----------



## Yeah1993

I think out of all of those the only other I've seen is the 04 Kawada match. :$ Second best of the 2000-2009 decade for me though.


----------



## antoniomare007

well, now you have great new stuff to watch


----------



## RoninTK

Martyn said:


> Yeah. Goto isnt ready for match at that stage. I personally prefer a Nakamura/Kojima match in the Dome, but Tanahashi/Kojima is right now the best option.


Actually Gotoh is ready, he is more connected with the fans than you think. Even more so than Makabe had been as of late. Gotoh has gained strong fanfare with winning the G1 and Cups the last two years it just doesn't appear that he is doing anything when him and Masato Tanaka were down each others throats for a pretty much a year. 

It is being speculated that the dome may come down to a triple or even 4 way match, but then again it may not really matter who he faces at the dome. Because with Hiroyoshi Tenzan returning here in a few days New Japan and a lot of the media has been hinting about Tenzan's and Kojima's past history which leads me to believe a title defense will be happening between these two, if not at the dome (too soon for that), then possibly in February at the earliest. 









Yesterday in Japan they held a press conference for the upcoming Real Japan show on Dec. 9.
The Original Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) vs. Tiger Mask IV was meant to happen back in June, but due to IV getting injured the match was postponed. 
The match was being billed as Tiger Mask IV's 15th Anniversary match, and was going to be a real test for Sayama to see the real skills that IV learned over the years. A match between student and teacher is what it was really aiming to be. It is also seems that Sayama is aiming to lose 10kg before this match, so that him and IV will be closer to the same size.

There was also mentioning of Tiger Mask V to IV, but he sort of brushed it away by saying that he is 100% focused solely on his teacher.


----------



## TheAce

While I'm up on 90's AJPW greatness, I've been sleeping on 80's NJPW and their early 90's stuff as well (Up until the famous Super J cup)

So thanks for all this guys!! Any recommendations for a classic 80's NJPW match to start with?


----------



## antoniomare007

Hasen vs Andre, Choshu vs Fujiwara, Fujinami vs Maeda and there's a ton of 5 vs 5 matches that are great. Pretty much everything involving Choshu/Fujinami/Fujiwara is worth a look.


----------



## New Blood

TheAce said:


> While I'm up on 90's AJPW greatness, I've been sleeping on 80's NJPW and their early 90's stuff as well (Up until the famous Super J cup)
> 
> So thanks for all this guys!! Any recommendations for a classic 80's NJPW match to start with?


I would list a whole bunch of matches but it would just be easier to look at the Deathvalley Driver's Top Matches of 80s New Japan list:

http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=52445

I love Ditch's notes for matches:
"Vader vs Nakano, UWFi 5/6/93. Nakano: the shoot-style jobber you can't help but love. Vader: the dude you can't help but love as he plows through jobbers. A match made in heaven. A very pudgy heaven."


----------



## seancarleton77

New Japan is killing it in 2010, let's talk about the present people.


----------



## McQueen

No lets not. No one was talking to you in the first place.


----------



## New Blood

The present is boring, plus, it doesn't have Giant Baba & The Destroyer vs. Karl Kox & Dick Slater.


----------



## antoniomare007

Davey vs Devitt for the Jr Title announced for the big Osaka Show in December



> *NJPW, 12/11/10 (WPW/PPV)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium*
> 
> 1. Special Singles Match: Tiger Mask vs. Tomohiro Ishii
> 2. Special Tag Match: Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Alex Shelley Image & Chris Sabin Image
> 3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Davey Richards
> 4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
> 5. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto
> 6. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura


----------



## Caponex75

I am curious as to how great Hashimoto is and need matches to understand this. Suggest away and maybe some back stories too.


----------



## antoniomare007

you kidding, right? i just put a list 1 page ago :lmao


----------



## Caponex75

Whoops. Sorry, I was pulling a Kobashi and no selling everything that had previously happened. I appreciate it, good sir.


----------



## TheAce

Thanks for all the suggestions. Hansen Vs Andre was awesome!


----------



## seabs

*New Japan's pulling out some ridicolously good cards lately. Quality has been as good in reality as on paper too.*


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, Destruction 2010 was awesome. Even the mainevent was fun with all the crowd heat and a good finishing stretch. They have a very good core roster and have nailed it with the outsiders/gaijins that have been invited.


----------



## RoninTK

*NEVER.4*

The big news of NEVER.4 is the long awaited return of Hiroyoshi Tenzan who has been in and out of the ring for the past few years. It was being speculated that he would make a return for this years G1 Climax, but that would not be the case and Tenzan chose to stay out of the ring to make sure he can come in healthy and in an even better condition to compete. So a few more months went by and he made the official announcement that he would return and participate in the New Japan’s youth oriented project NEVER.
Tenzan has stated that he made the choice to return in NEVER because the young “lions” are bringing us into a new stage of wrestling, they bring new struggles, and new beginnings.
It seems Tenzan is looking to make a new start in New Japan and is looking to work his way up to be back in the place where he was in years past.​
・*Hiroyoshi Tenzan* 天山広吉
・*Yujiro Takahashi* 高橋裕二郎 (NO LIMIT／CHAOS)
・*Tetsuya Naitoh* 内藤哲也(NO LIMIT／CHAOS)
・*Tomoaki Honma* 本間朋晃（GBH）
・*King Fale* キング・ファレ（青義軍 Blue Justice)
・*Hiromu Takahashi* 高橋広夢
・*Tomohiro Ishii* 石井智宏（リキプロ／CHAOS）
・*Tama Tonga* タマ・トンガ

・*Shinobu *忍（666／3度目の出場 3rd Participation)
・*Jun Ogawauichi* 小川内潤（SECRET BASE／初出場 NJ Debut）
_Born: January 11, 1979 ~ 170cm/75kg, Signature Move: Demon Windmill (Debut 2001-2004 injured, returned 2009)_
・*Keisuke Ishii* 石井慧介(DDTプロレスリング／2度目の出場 2nd Participation)
・*Madoka *円華（フリー／3度目の出場 3rd Participation）
・*Antonio Honda* アントーニオ本多(フリーFREE／初出場 NJ Debut)
_Born: January 2, 1978 ~ 168cm/87kg, Signature Move: Diving Fist Drop (Debut 1/4/05)_
・*Daisuke Sasaki* 佐々木大輔(フリーFREE／2度目の出場 2nd Participation)

*NEVER.4, 11/18/2010 (Thur) 19:00
Shin-Kiba 1stRing in Tokyo
450 Spectators​*


Spoiler: 11/18



(1) Hiromu Takahashi vs. Keisuke Ishii
_Winner_: Ishii (7:04) following the Neil Kick.
(2) King Fale vs. Tama Tonga
_Winner_: Tonga (7:53) following the Tongan Twist.
(3) Tomoaki Honma vs. Jun Ogawauichi
_Winner_: Honma (10:40) following the Kokeshi.
(4) Tomohiro Ishii vs. Daisuke Sasaki
_Winner_: Ishii (11:56) following a Lariat.
(5) Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Antonio Honda
_Winner_: Tenzan (13:07) with the Anaconda Vice.
(6) Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naitoh vs. Shinobu & Madoka
_Winner_: Takahashi (16:01) following a Modified Facebuster on Shinobu.


----------



## Martyn

So, Kojima vs. Tenzan at WK V ? looks more interesting, than Kojima/Tanahashi.


----------



## antoniomare007

unless Tenzan found the fountain of youth i'm not interested in a any match he's a part of.


----------



## Sunglasses

Shiozaki/Aoki vs. Nagata/Kanemoto: .. thanks to the crowd this match was enjoyable. (***1/2)
Tanahashi/Naito: Pretty good fight. I think Naito as a single wrestler isn't bad at all. Much better than i expected. (****)
Omega/Ibushi vs. Apollo55: boring in the beginning, but the last 7-8 minutes should be seen. (****)


----------



## Yeah1993

Meet the newest goohelmet set :lmao:



Spoiler: whoa



DISC 1
Toshiaki Kawada & Tiger Mask vs. Kenta Kobayashi & Fumihiro Niikura (JIP) (4/6/85)
Toshiaki Kawada Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Ricky Fuyuki (8/21/87)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masa Fuchi (9/15/87)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
Footloose & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (3/11/88)
Footloose vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Mighty Inoue (4/21/88)
Footloose vs. Rock N Roll Express (5/24/88)
Toshiaki Kawada, Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Tiger Mask, Isao Takagi & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/88)


DISC 2
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi (7/16/88)
Footloose vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
Footloose vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (9/15/88)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & John Tenta (10/3/88)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta (12/10/88)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
Footloose vs. Joe & Dean Malenko (JIP) (1/5/89 TV)


DISC 3
Footloose vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (3/29/89)
Footloose vs. Dan Kroffat & Tom Zenk (4/18/89)
Footloose vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Great Kabuki (JIP) (5/14/89)
Footloose vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
Toshiaki Kawada & Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (6/8/89)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (7/1/89)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shunji Takano (7/11/89)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Ricky Fuyuki (7/15/89)
Footloose vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (9/2/89)


DISC 4
Footloose vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shunji Takano (9/30/89)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Shunji Takano (10/1/89)
Toshiaki Kawada & Stan Hansen vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shunji Takano (10/11/89)
Footloose & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Kenta Kobashi & Kabuki (10/14/89)
Footloose vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (10/20/89)
Footloose & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba, Shinichi Nakano & Kabuki (10/28/89)
Footloose vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (11/17/89)


DISC 5
Footloose & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi (12/4/89)
Footloose vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura (12/6/89)
Footloose & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Isao Takagi (1/2/90)
Footloose vs. The Fantastics (1/3/90)
Footloose & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Tiger Mask & Kabuki (1/11/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kabuki & Isao Takagi (1/24/90)
Footloose vs. Kabuki & Mighty Inoue (1/28/90)


DISC 6
Footloose & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Mighty Inoue (2/24/90)
Footloose vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (3/2/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Tiger Mask vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Ricky Fuyuki (5/14/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Kabuki (5/17/90)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (6/5/90)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (6/30/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (7/7/90)


DISC 7
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Mighty Inoue (JIP) (7/12/90)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Pete Roberts (7/90 TV Special)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (8/5/90 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (8/18/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (JIP) (9/29/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (9/30/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Masa Fuchi (JIP) (10/4/90)


DISC 8
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Dr. Death & Terry Gordy (JIP) (10/7/90)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (10/28/90 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Dory & Terry Funk (Handheld 11/19/90)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Dr. Death & Terry Gordy (12/90 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (12/7/90)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (1/15/91)


DISC 9
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (1/27/91)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Dr. Death & Terry Gordy (3/3/91 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/6/91)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (4/18/91)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (6/16/91 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey (6/27/91)


DISC 10
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Rick Rude, Dr. Death & Terry Gordy (7/14/91)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masa Fuchi (7/18/91)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Terry Gordy & Dr. Death (7/24/91)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (8/11/91 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (9/4/91)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (9/27/91)


DISC 11
Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshinari Ogawa (10/2/91)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (10/10/91)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (10/15/91)
Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (10/91)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (10/24/91)


DISC 12
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen & Dan Spivey (11/16/91)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (11/21/91)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (11/29/91)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Terry Gordy & Dr. Death (12/6/91)
Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Yoshinari Ogawa & Masa Fuchi (JIP) (1/12/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Masa Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa (1/19/92 TV)


DISC 13
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (1/26/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen & Joel Deaton (1/26/92)
Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (2/2/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (2/23/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (3/1/92)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (3/22/92 TV)


DISC 14
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (4/5/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen (4/19/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi (JIP) (5/24/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen & Johnny Ace (6/7/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen (6/21/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (8/23/92 TV)


DISC 15
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dan Spivey (JIP) (9/6/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (9/27/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa (10/6/92)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (10/21/92)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi & Giant Baba (11/29/92 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa (Handheld 12/3/92)


DISC 16
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama & Akira Taue (12/4/92)
Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Jun Akiyama & Akira Taue (JIP) (1/21/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Terry Gordy & Johnny Smith (JIP) (1/24/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama (JIP) (1/26/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Terry Gordy & Dr. Death (1/30/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue (1/31/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen & Rob Van Dam (JIP) (2/19/93)


DISC 17
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen (2/28/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Akira Taue, Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa (3/3/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (3/25/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (3/27/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (JIP) (4/12/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (JIP) (4/14/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Davey Boy Smith (Handheld 4/16/93)


DISC 18
Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Akira Taue, Masa Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa (4/21/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (5/13/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (5/14/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Terry Gordy & Dr. Death (5/20/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (JIP) (5/21/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (6/1/93)



DISC 19
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (6/3/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (7/2/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama (7/9/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (7/12/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama (7/19/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Terry Gordy & Dr. Death (7/26/93)



DISC 20
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (7/29/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Jun Akiyama (8/20/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Takao Omori vs. Jun Akiyama & Kenta Kobashi (9/17/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takao Omori (9/24/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Stan Hansen, Ted Dibiase & Kendall Windham (9/29/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (10/2/93)


DISC 21
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase (10/14/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Jun Akiyama (JIP) (10/17/93)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (10/23/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen & Giant Baba (JIP) (11/24/93)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (Handheld 11/25/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Dr. Death & Big Bossman (JIP) (12/1/93)


DISC 22
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (12/3/93)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (1/7/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Takao Omori vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (JIP) (1/20/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Takao Omori vs. Stan Hansen, John Nord & Brian Costello (JIP) (1/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Giant Baba (JIP) (1/29/94)
Toshiaki Kawada & Takao Omori vs. Kenta Kobashi & Satoru Asako (2/19/94)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (3/5/94)


DISC 23
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Johnny Smith (3/19/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Johnny Ace (3/27/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (JIP) (3/29/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama (4/1/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (4/11/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (4/14/94)


DISC 24
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (Carnival Final) (4/16/94)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tamon Honda (Finish Only) (5/13/94)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (5/21/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6/3/94)


Disc 25
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Jun Akiyama (6/30/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Kenta Kobashi, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Giant Baba (7/28/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Jun Akiyama, Tamon Honda & Takao Omori (8/28/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Takao Omori vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Tamon Honda & Giant Baba (9/3/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Tamon Honda & Kenta Kobashi (10/5/94)


Disc 26
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (JIP) (10/7/94)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Dr. Death (10/22/94)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (JIP) (11/25/94)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen & Giant Baba (12/10/94)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama & Satoru Asako (1/2/95)


Disc 27
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (1/19/95)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (1/24/95)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (1/29/95)


Disc 28
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen (3/4/95)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jun Akiyama (3/21/95)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (4/6/95)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (4/8/95)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takao Omori (4/12/95)
Toshiaki Kawada, Johnny Ace & Takao Omori vs. Stan Hansen, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (4/15/95)


Disc 29
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (5/13/95 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (6/9/95)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Tamon Honda vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Satoru Asako (JIP) (6/30/95)
Toshiaki Kawada, Yoshinari Ogawa & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (7/8/95)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (7/24/95)


Disc 30
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Jun Izumida vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Satoru Asako (9/30/95)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (10/15/95)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Gary Albright (10/25/95)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (12/9/95)


Disc 31
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen & Gary Albright (1/24/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (3/2/96)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (3/31/96)
Toshiaki Kawada, Johnny Ace & Gary Albright vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (4/20/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama (5/23/96)


Disc 32
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (5/24/96)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (6/7/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama (7/9/96)
Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama & Satoru Asako (9/28/96)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (10/18/96)


Disc 33
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Dr. Death & Johnny Ace (11/22/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama (11/29/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama (12/6/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Dr. Death & Johnny Ace (1/17/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (1/26/97)


Disc 34
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (JIP) (3/30/97)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa / Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (4/6/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (JIP) (5/27/97)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (6/6/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Tamon Honda vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Lacrosse (7/25/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (10/11/97)


Disc 35
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (10/21/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (Finish Only) (11/28/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (12/5/97)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (1/25/98)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Steve Williams & Gary Albright (2/28/98)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (JIP) (3/29/98)


Disc 36
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Johnny Smith & Johnny Ace (JIP) (4/18/98)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa Hype! (5/1/98)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (5/1/98)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace (6/5/98)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (6/12/98)


Disc 37
Toshiaki Kawada & Takao Omori vs. Hiro Hase & Maunakea Mossman (7/24/98)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masahito Kakihara (9/11/98)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (10/11/98)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Masahito Kakihara & Yoshihiro Takayama (10/31/98)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama (1/7/99)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (1/22/99)


Disc 38
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroshi Hase (5/2/99)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (6/4/99)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (6/11/99)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (7/23/99)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (1/17/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (1/23/00)


Disc 39
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Vader (2/17/00)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (3/31/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Johnny Ace & Mike Barton (JIP) (6/9/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (6/9/00)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masa Fuchi (7/1/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman (7/23/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Dr. Death vs. Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu (9/2/00)


Disc 40
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (10/9/00)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya (12/6/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Dr. Death & Mike Rotunda (12/9/00)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka (12/14/00)


DISC 41
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJ 1/4/01)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (NJ 1/4/01)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Taiyo Kea & Johnny Smith (1/14/01)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Mutoh (4/14/01)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuya Nagai (4/29/01)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJ 6/6/01)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (6/8/01)


DISC 42
Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi (6/30/01)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (12/5/01)
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Keiji Mutoh & Taiyo Kea (12/7/01)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Mutoh (2/24/02)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Satoshi Kojima & Keiji Mutoh (4/12/03)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Satoshi Kojima & Kendo Kashin (5/25/03)


DISC 43
Toshiaki Kawada & Satoshi Kojima vs. Keiji Mutoh & Arashi (6/5/03)
Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi vs. Satoshi Kojima & Jimmy Yang (6/8/03)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Arashi (6/11/03)
Toshiaki Kawada, Nobutaka Araya & Shigeo Okamura vs. Masato Tanaka, Shinjiro Ohtani & Hideki Hosaka (6/13/03)
Toshiaki Kawada & Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa (Z1 7/6/03)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ryuji Hijkata vs. Satoshi Kojima & Jimmy Yang (7/12/03)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Mutoh (7/13/03)



DISC 44
Toshiaki Kawada vs. The Gladiator (9/6/03)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (9/6/03)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Mike Awesome & TAKA Michinoku (10/5/03)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Don Frye (10/26/03)
Toshiaki Kawada, Nobutaka Araya & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Keiji Mutoh, Tomoaki Honma & Arashi (12/2/03)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kendo Kashin vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Wataru Sakata (12/5/03)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Naoya Ogawa (Z1 12/14/03)



DISC 45
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Genichiro Tenryu (1/18/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinya Hashimoto (2/22/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Cactus Jack (Hustle 5/8/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuya Nagai (7/22/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keizo Matsuda (IWA 8/31/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Osamu Nishimura (9/3/04)


DISC 46
Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJ 10/24/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Taiyo Kea (10/31/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (12/5/04)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (1/16/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima (2/16/05)


DISC 47
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Naoya Ogawa (Hustle 3/18/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (4/20/05)
Toshiaki Kawada + Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH 4/24/05)
Toshiaki Kawada & Taichi Ishikari vs. Hi69 & Yuuji Hino (Kaientai Dojo 5/28/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Tomoaki Honma (6/3/05)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Keiji Muto & Kohei Suwama (6/19/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (NOAH 7/18/05)


DISC 48
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJ 8/5/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yuji Nagata (NJ 8/6/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Minoru Suzuki (NJ 8/11/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Osamu Nishimura (NJ 8/13/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mikhail Ilioukhine (U-Style 11/23/05)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Touru Owashi (dragondoor 2/7/06)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kohei Sato vs. Wataru Sakata & Ryoji Sai (Hustle 5/13/06)


DISC 49
Toshiaki Kawada & Kohei Sato vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ryoji Sai (Hustle 6/15/06)
Toshiaki Kawada & The Monster C vs. Tajiri & Kintaro Kanemura (Hustle 7/11/06)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. D-Lo Brown (7/30/06)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Taiyo Kea (8/27/06)
Toshiaki Kawada, Genichiro Tenryu, Kohei Sato, Giant Vabo & The Monster C vs. Naoya Ogawa, Tajiri, Shinjiro Ohtani, Razor Ramon HG & New Yin-sama (Elimination Match) (Hustle 10/9/06)
Toshiaki Kawada & Keiji Muto vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (AJ 12/2/06)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJ 1/4/07)


DISC 50
Toshiaki Kawada, Keiji Mutoh & TAKA Michinoku vs. Brother YASSHI, Rosey & Kohei Suwama (2/12/07)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & RG (Hustle 3/18/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. TAJIRI (3/28/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima (4/7/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Muto (4/7/07)
Toshiaki Kawada Sings! (Hustle 4/19/07)
Toshiaki Kawada, Genichiro Tenryu & Tajiri vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, Kushida & RG (Hustle 4/19/07)
Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs. HG & RG (Hustle 4/21/07)


DISC 51
Toshiaki Kawada, Genichiro Tenryu & ACHICHI vs. HG, Wataru Sakata & Ryuji Sai (Hustle 6/10/07)
Toshiaki Kawada & ACHICHI vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki (Hustle 6/17/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yutaka Yoshie (Muga 6/21/07)
Toshiaki Kawada in Drag (Hustle 9/13/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yutaka Yoshie (Muga 9/23/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (10/18/07)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Osamu Nishimura & Masa Fuchi (11/23/07)
Toshiaki Kawada the Entertainer (Hustle 11/25/07)


DISC 52
Toshiaki Kawada & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Satoshi Kojima & Kohei Suwama (12/9/07)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Ryouji Sai (Hustle 1/17/08)
Toshiaki Kawada, Kohei Sato & Monster C vs. HG, TAJIRI & Ryouji Sai (Hustle 2/21/08)
Toshiaki Kawada & Taiyo Kea vs. Keiji Mutoh & Tanahashi (All Japan 3/1/08)
Toshiaki Kawada Sings! (Hustle 3/17/08)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Taiyo Kea (4/7/08)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (4/8/08)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Tigers Mask (8/31/08)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kintaro Kanemura vs. Riki Choshu & Shiro Koshinaka (11/3/08)


DISC 53
Toshiaki Kawada, Genichiro Tenryu & Tajiri vs. Shiro Koshinaka, Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger (HUSTLE 8/27/09)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Jun Akiyama & KENTA (NOAH 10/3/09)
Toshiaki Kawada & Kohei Sato vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka (Z1 10/18/09)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masato Tanaka (Z1 10/24/09)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (Z1 1/1/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takeshi Morishima (NOAH 2/28/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Ryuji Sai (Z1 3/2/10)


DISC 54
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mohammed Yone (NOAH 4/10/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kohei Sato (Z1 4/11/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH 4/13/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH 4/24/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takeshi Morishima (NOAH 4/25/10)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akitoshi Saito (NOAH 5/2/10)



Thing's huge.


----------



## leglock

That is pretty amazing.


----------



## Groovemachine

I'm gonna take advantage of this awesome IVP sale, and I'm looking to get some classic Puro stuff. Definitely want to get one of the Misawa sets; any recommendations?

Also I've never seen a Jumbo match (I know, I shall whip myself with nettles later) so I'd love to get one of his sets too. Set 7 has his series against Misawa in the early 90s, is that a good place to start?

Finally I'm thinking I should get me some Stan Hansen. The Best of Stan Hansen V.08 looks incredible with matches against Misawa and Kobashi throughout 93. But please tell me if there's a better set for a relative Hansen n00b.


----------



## antoniomare007

90's Jumbo is different from 80's and 70's Jumbo, but he is as awesome as always. You can't go wrong with him, and the feud againt Misawa is probably the must fun All Japan ever had.

And holy shit at that set. goodhelmet is a genius, i mean he has to win decent money with those amazing comps right?


----------



## Chismo

I don't follow AJPW this year, so can anyone name their best matches in 2010?
Thanks!


----------



## Rickey

Just watched the following match, it's one of the stiffest matches that I've ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTm_yNPECxU&feature=related

The slaps and chops are insane.


----------



## antoniomare007

watch Daisuke vs Ibushi, those headbutts made me cringe


----------



## McQueen

Holy shit at that Kawada set. Last thing I needed to see right now.


----------



## Rickey

Thanks for the suggestion, watching a lot of other promotions makes me realize how much I REALLY love wrestling. Found the match on youtube, will save to favorites and watch later.

edit: Daisuke Sekimoto vs Kota Ibushi DDT 4 May 4th 2010-3.75-4/5, what a match!


----------



## New Blood

Speaking of Good Helmut, have you seen the listing for his Terry Funk comp?

Speaking of Terry Funk, I saw his match with Stan Hansen in All Japan and it was as great as I hoped it would be. I'll take this match over any Davey Richards match, that's for sure.


----------



## RoninTK

JoeRulz said:


> I don't follow AJPW this year, so can anyone name their best matches in 2010?
> Thanks!


I am still adding their matches to my list, but I got a couple for you that come to mind. 

*Feb. 7th*: Satoshi Kojima & KAI & Hiroshi Yamato & Zodiac vs. TARU & Rene Dupre & Minoru & Toshizo
*March 21*: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Minoru Suzuki
*April 29th*: Super Crazy & BUSHI vs. Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato 
*April 29th*: Suwama & Masayuki Kono vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Suzuki
*May 16th*: KAI vs. Hiroshi Yamato
*Sept. 29th*: Triple Crown: Minoru Suzuki [c] vs. Suwama

There are probably more, but this will give you someplace to start at least.


----------



## Chismo

RoninTK said:


> I am still adding their matches to my list, but I got a couple for you that come to mind.
> 
> *Feb. 7th*: Satoshi Kojima & KAI & Hiroshi Yamato & Zodiac vs. TARU & Rene Dupre & Minoru & Toshizo
> *March 21*: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Minoru Suzuki
> *April 29th*: Super Crazy & BUSHI vs. Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato
> *April 29th*: Suwama & Masayuki Kono vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Suzuki
> *May 16th*: KAI vs. Hiroshi Yamato
> *Sept. 29th*: Triple Crown: Minoru Suzuki [c] vs. Suwama
> 
> There are probably more, but this will give you someplace to start at least.


Thanks man, much appreciated! Rep added.


----------



## McQueen

New Blood said:


> Speaking of Good Helmut, have you seen the listing for his Terry Funk comp?
> 
> Speaking of Terry Funk, I saw his match with Stan Hansen in All Japan and it was as great as I hoped it would be. I'll take this match over any Davey Richards match, that's for sure.


Yeah I got it from BigCal. Haven't really started watching it yet but i'm a major Funk mark so looking forward to it. And double agreed with the Davey Richards comment.


----------



## Chismo

What's up with Richards hate these days?


----------



## McQueen

Whats up with the Richards love? 

I seriously don't get it, never have.


----------



## leglock

All Japan Pro-Wrestling (10/24/2010) - Triple Crown - Suwama vs. Masa Funaki

Very good match. Good pacing, great selling, and very energetic. This was the Funaki people wanted to see he signed with All Japan. Both of these guys were fire. I especially enjoyed Funaki methodically taking apart Suwama piece by piece and Suwama's desperation in his counters and attacks. Classic Technique vs. Power matchup. The finishing stretch was awesome. 

_Easily_ Funaki's best match since coming to All Japan and Suwama's best match since his 2008 CC Final with Tanahashi.

My AJPW MOTY. *** 3/4 to ****.


----------



## Caligula

Groovemachine said:


> I'm gonna take advantage of this awesome IVP sale, and I'm looking to get some classic Puro stuff. Definitely want to get one of the Misawa sets; any recommendations?
> 
> Also I've never seen a Jumbo match (I know, I shall whip myself with nettles later) so I'd love to get one of his sets too. Set 7 has his series against Misawa in the early 90s, is that a good place to start?
> 
> Finally I'm thinking I should get me some Stan Hansen. The Best of Stan Hansen V.08 looks incredible with matches against Misawa and Kobashi throughout 93. But please tell me if there's a better set for a relative Hansen n00b.


forget jumbo get some tenryu stuff


----------



## leglock

Jumbo's greatest matches are better than Tenryu's greatest matches. Tenryu's career is more diverse though.


----------



## Yeah1993

Groovemachine said:


> Finally I'm thinking I should get me some Stan Hansen. The Best of Stan Hansen V.08 looks incredible with matches against Misawa and Kobashi throughout 93. But please tell me if there's a better set for a relative Hansen n00b.


Depends how comprehensive you want it, there's a huge one from.......goodhelmet. 



antoniomare007 said:


> And holy shit at that set. goodhelmet is a genius, i mean he has to win decent money with those amazing comps right?


Oh yeah, on a side-note he's a teacher too.



New Blood said:


> Speaking of Good Helmut, have you seen the listing for his Terry Funk comp?
> 
> Speaking of Terry Funk, I saw his match with Stan Hansen in All Japan and it was as great as I hoped it would be. I'll take this match over any Davey Richards match, that's for sure.


The Funk comp is awesome, haven't got it, but I think I'll have it by at least, June, or something. And speaking of All Japan I think the next 80s set from DVDVR is the AJPW 80s one. I'm probably over 100 matches away from finsihing the NJ one but I'm still clamping this in a hurry. 

I really can't stand Richards at all either. If I had some form of autism or something his matches would probably legitimately give me a headache.


----------



## seancarleton77

Some of us just dig Davey. I'm a much bigger Hero mark though. Davey is just easier to get behind.


----------



## jawbreaker

I don't have autism and I still occasionally get headaches from Davey Richards matches.


----------



## McQueen

All Davey matches seem like the same fucking match over and over to me.


----------



## antoniomare007

Davey Richards is like the Briscoes of a couple of years ago, I like watching most of his matches but they do get repetitive and kinda tiresome to watch all time. I'm still entertained by him, but only in small doses.


----------



## seabs

*I'm fairly neutral on Davey atm. Dont hate him but I'm not massive on him either. I think he tries too hard to have a classic match sometimes and it hurts his matches more than it benefits them. Doesn't help that every Indy match has to have a massive finishing stretch with lots of MOVEZ! His stuff in New Japan lately has been better, largely due to him not trying so hard to have the best match on the card.*


----------



## FITZ

Davey can be compared to the Briscoes. And I have the same opinions on both. I get all the criticism that's out there on them but when I'm watching their matches I'm too entertained to care about what they're doing wrong. 


Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada (8/18/94) 

Holy shit was this awesome. They could have convinced me that wrestling was real in this match. I think it took place in UWiF or something but the rules were more like a shoot fight with the only way to win being submission of KO. 

I loved the dynamic they had going with Takada playing the underdog going against the monster Vader. I managed to figure out what Takada's finsiher was as he tried to apply it a lot during the match and it got some insane pops. I think Danielson and Morishima watched this match before they had their series because this really reminded me a lot of what they did. 

Great ending as well when Takada got up from the powerbomb to the shock of everyone and was hit with another devastating punch. He didn't get back up. There were a few flaws but otherwise this was done perfectly. Great psychology and story told. I'm glad I randomly decided to watch this last night. 
****1/4


----------



## grimeycarolina

What up dudes, I just got back into the swing off things and I just wanted to know what I missed. The mainly just watch NOAH, the last time I was keeping up with it was when Marifuji(thats my dude) was the APJW Jr champ. The only thing I can remember was reading Misawa passed and Kobashi came back from recovering from cancer. Someone fill me in.


----------



## seancarleton77

grimeycarolina said:


> What up dudes, I just got back into the swing off things and I just wanted to know what I missed. The mainly just watch NOAH, the last time I was keeping up with it was when Marifuji(thats my dude) was the APJW Jr champ. The only thing I can remember was reading Misawa passed and Kobashi came back from recovering from cancer. Someone fill me in.


Well, Marufuji lost his All Japan Jr. Heavyweight Crown to Kaz Hayashi who I believe now has had a record 18 successful Title defences as the Jr. Champion in AJPW(it may be 19). He beat guys like Jimmy Yang, Shuji Kondo, Minoru and believe it or not Keiji Mutoh.

Kenta Kobashi's best student Go Shiozaki became the face of NOAH (he still should be) for about a month. Takashi Sugiura has now taken his spot and has been a good GHC Heavyweight Champion.

KENTA had a dominating run in 2009 and had a great feud with Kensuke Sasaki student Katsuhiko Nakajima. He was injured and in a Jr. Heavyweight League Yoshinobu Kanemaru became the new GHC Jr. Champion. He has successfully defended against men like Marufuji & KENTA.

Speaking of Marufuji he went to NJPW for awhile and dominated the Jr. Division, eventually capturing the IWGP Jr. Crown Marufuji had a great run until he met Prince Devitt for the second time and lost. Marufuji once again got injured in a great match with Kenny Omega, proving himself as top contender for Junior Heavyweight of the year despite the injury.

Kojima returned to New Japan and won the G1 Climax and defeated Champion Togi Makabe on pay per view to win the IWGP Jr. Championship.

There is other stuff, however I have to go now.


----------



## Caligula

TaylorFitz said:


> Vader vs. Nobuhiko Takada (8/18/94)
> 
> Holy shit was this awesome. They could have convinced me that wrestling was real in this match.


watch Tamura vs Han


----------



## McQueen

Watch anything with Han.


----------



## Caligula

he was fedor emelianenko's trainer in russia


----------



## FITZ

If you put up I'm a link I promise I'll watch it. I would go into the puro section myself but I still seemed to be banned from it...


----------



## antoniomare007

Morishima and Bison Smith challenged Sugiura for a Title shot at the Budokan...this are the results from today's show.



> *NOAH "WINTER NAVIGATION 2010", 23.11.2010 (G+)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 2,100 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> *
> 1. Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita (9:1Cool nach einem Horizontal Cradle von Marvin gegen Okita.
> 2. Yutaka Yoshie & Kentaro Shiga besiegen Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue (12:11) nach einer Diving Body Press von Yoshie gegen Inoue.
> 3. Bison Smith besiegt Kento Miyahara (4:47) mit dem Bisontennial.
> 4. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki besiegen Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi (15:20) als Kanemaru nach einer Chair Attack von Yone disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Takeshi Morishima Return Match: Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima besiegen Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi *(1:39)* nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Sugiura.
> 6. Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli & Delirious besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori (16:49) nach der Ricola Bomb von Castagnoli gegen Ishimori.
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask (c) besiegen KENTA & Atsushi Aoki (25:54) durch Referee Stop (Kanemoto besiegte Aoki mit einem Ankle Hold) (2nd defense).


----------



## Mafio'

Just one question. Does Kensuke Office still exists ?


----------



## antoniomare007

yes..


----------



## Chismo

That last match looks like hell of a fun.


----------



## seabs

*1:39? Isn't that twice this year now that 'Shima has pinned the champ in under 2 minutes? Interesting. If 2007 ROH Morishima turns up for a match with Sugiura then I'm interested. Please dont put Bison/Sugi on.

Best be some serious stiffness between KENTA and Kanemoto too. The tag match with Nagata more than wet my appetite for this.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Shima pinned Sugi in like 3 minutes on the 2/3 falls anniversary tag match a few months back. I remember liking the match those 2 had when Morishima was the Champ, let's hope this time the crowd shows some life though.


----------



## McQueen

Seabs said:


> *1:39? Isn't that twice this year now that 'Shima has pinned the champ in under 2 minutes? Interesting. If 2007 ROH Morishima turns up for a match with Sugiura then I'm interested. Please dont put Bison/Sugi on.
> 
> Best be some serious stiffness between KENTA and Kanemoto too. The tag match with Nagata more than wet my appetite for this.*


Are you doubting BISON SMITH?

The b.W.o. will reign supreme in NOAH.


----------



## seancarleton77

Seabs said:


> *
> 
> Best be some serious stiffness between KENTA and Kanemoto too. The tag match with Nagata more than wet my appetite for this.*


If either KENTA, Aoki, Kanemoto or the other guy didn't temporarily lose feeling in at least one body part I would be shocked. Expect stiffness!


----------



## German Wolve

[Lineup] NOAH, 05.12.2010 
NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW", 05.12.2010 (G+ LIVE)
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

1. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki
2. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
3. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA
*4. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima*

_purolove_

Awesome, isn't it?


----------



## Chismo

German Wolve said:


> [Lineup] NOAH, 05.12.2010
> NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW", 05.12.2010 (G+ LIVE)
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan
> 
> 1. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki
> 2. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
> 3. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA
> *4. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima*
> 
> _purolove_
> 
> Awesome, isn't it?


I just came!


----------



## antoniomare007

Bison Smith vs Yoshie was also added as n°1 contender match for big Osaka show in January.

Unless he lost weight and is motivated like 06'-08', I don't want Morishima to win the title. He has been a big dissapointment ever since he lost that belt.


----------



## seancarleton77

German Wolve said:


> [Lineup] NOAH, 05.12.2010
> NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW", 05.12.2010 (G+ LIVE)
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan
> 
> 1. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki
> 2. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
> 3. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA
> *4. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima*
> 
> _purolove_
> 
> Awesome, isn't it?


Honestly. This card looks better than NJPW Destruction '10, ROH's DBD VIII, all PWG shows in 2010 & ROH's Supercard of Honor V.

I'm hoping for pro wrestling card of the year here. NJPW & NOAH are easily putting on the best wrestling in the world right now, of course ROH talent have a lot to do with that also.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> let's hope this time the crowd shows some life though.


*Sugi hasn't really drawn much or got massive reactions so far during his reign and Morishima is nowhere near as over as someone like Akiyama or Shiozaki so I wouldn't get my hopes up. 

Does anyone know if Sasaki is injured for this show seeing as he's not on the card atm and they didn't do Sugiura/Sasaki? Kings getting a title shot despite losing all their matches in their last tour (correct right?) seems a bit odd. KENTA/Marufuji should be good though as long as they dont get too stupid.

Edit: It's not even the best NOAH card this sean.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I loved the other NOAH Super Cards this year but this on stands out. I personally think we're getting a new GHC Jr. Champion, and the best GHC Jr. Champion possible. We've got the best tag team in the world against another already excellent tag team. We have the continuation of Marufuji vs. KENTA, which gets most hardcore fans harder than rock. And I think we'll have a shocker with Sugiura vs. Morishima. Let me get excited, man! I love marking out like I did as a child.


----------



## antoniomare007

Just when you thought goodhelmet was God...



Spoiler: DVDVR 80's All Japan comp



Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (3/5/80)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/4/80)
Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/10/80)
The Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat (12/9/80)
Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk (12/11/80)
Jimmy Snuka vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/3/81)
Mil Mascaras vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls) (August 1981)


Dos Caras & Mil Mascaras vs. Chavo Guerrero & Ricky Steamboat (9/6/81)
Dory and Terry Funk vs. Umanoseke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81)
Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (10/9/81)
Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
Mil Mascaras vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2/4/82)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (4/21/82)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (4/22/82)
Ric Flair vs. Ric Steamboat (6/4/82)


Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mil Mascaras (7/30/82)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (10/26/82)
Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (12/7/82)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (12/9/82)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/13/82)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kerry Von Erich (4/7/83)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)


Dory and Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (4/20/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (5/26/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)
Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted Dibiase (10/23/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)


Mighty Inoue vs. Chavo Guerrero (2/26/84)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/28/84)
Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/24/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
Tiger Mask vs. La Fiera (8/26/84)
Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. Mighty Inoue & Gran Hamada (9/12/84)


Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ric Flair (2/3 Falls) (9/12/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Gordy (10/29/84)
Genichiro Tenryu, Mighty Inoue & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (1/10/85)
Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (6/21/85)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (6/22/85)
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (8/23/85)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (10/19/85)
Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)


Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/30/85)
Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Higo Hamaguchi (3/13/86)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ole Anderson (4/5/86)
Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Masa Fuchi (4/6/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Shunji Takano, Hiro Saito & Strong Machine (4/6/86)
Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86)
Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)


Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson (7/26/86)
Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/86)
Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/25/86)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (9/3/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hanson (10/21/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson & Ted Dibiase (12/12/86)
Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (12/29/86)


Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Road Warriors (3/12/87)
Masa Fuchi vs. Pete Roberts (5/5/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Hiroshi Wajima (6/8/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (6/11/87)
Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (7/11/87)
Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Shinichi Nakano & Yoshiaki Yatsu (7/17/87)
Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (7/23/87)


Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (9/20/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/10/87)
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (11/22/87)
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/26/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/5/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/11/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (1/24/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (2/20/88)


Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & John Tenta (2/29/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (3/5/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (3/27/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (4/21/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (6/4/88)
Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (7/16/88)


Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (9/15/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/15/88)
Stan Hansen & Dan Kroffat vs. Rock N Roll Express (10/26/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi & Great Kabuki (1/5/89 TV)


Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. John Tenta & Shunji Takano (1/5/89 TV)
Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu (1/22/89 TV)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/16/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/21/89 TV)
Dan Spivey, Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/28/89 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Stan Hansen & Toshiaki Kawada (6/8/89)


Joe Malenko vs. Dean Malenko (7/11/89)
Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
Joe Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi (7/28/89)
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/2/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)


Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (10/14/89)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (10/20/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (10/20/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (10/22/89)
Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat & Masa Fuchi vs. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi (11/19/89)
Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Terry Gordy and Bill Irwin (11/19/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura (11/19/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (11/29/89)
Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)



He confirms it 

So much greatness, I'm glad he included Tenryu vs Steamboat, very underated match imo.


----------



## Chismo

seancarleton77 said:


> I loved the other NOAH Super Cards this year but this on stands out. I personally think we're getting a new GHC Jr. Champion, and the best GHC Jr. Champion possible. We've got the best tag team in the world against another already excellent tag team. We have the continuation of Marufuji vs. KENTA, which gets most hardcore fans harder than rock. And I think we'll have a shocker with Sugiura vs. Morishima. Let me get excited, man! I love marking out like I did as a child.


:agree::agree::agree:


----------



## McQueen

antoniomare007 said:


> Just when you thought goodhelmet was God...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR 80's All Japan comp
> 
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (3/5/80)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/4/80)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/10/80)
> The Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat (12/9/80)
> Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk (12/11/80)
> Jimmy Snuka vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/3/81)
> Mil Mascaras vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls) (August 1981)
> 
> 
> Dos Caras & Mil Mascaras vs. Chavo Guerrero & Ricky Steamboat (9/6/81)
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Umanoseke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81)
> Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (10/9/81)
> Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
> Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
> Mil Mascaras vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2/4/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
> Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (4/21/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (4/22/82)
> Ric Flair vs. Ric Steamboat (6/4/82)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mil Mascaras (7/30/82)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
> Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (10/26/82)
> Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (12/7/82)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (12/9/82)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/13/82)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kerry Von Erich (4/7/83)
> Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
> 
> 
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (4/20/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (5/26/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
> Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)
> Chavo Guerrero vs. Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted Dibiase (10/23/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
> 
> 
> Mighty Inoue vs. Chavo Guerrero (2/26/84)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/28/84)
> Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
> Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/24/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
> Tiger Mask vs. La Fiera (8/26/84)
> Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. Mighty Inoue & Gran Hamada (9/12/84)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ric Flair (2/3 Falls) (9/12/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Gordy (10/29/84)
> Genichiro Tenryu, Mighty Inoue & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (1/10/85)
> Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (6/21/85)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (6/22/85)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (8/23/85)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
> Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (10/19/85)
> Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/30/85)
> Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Higo Hamaguchi (3/13/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ole Anderson (4/5/86)
> Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Masa Fuchi (4/6/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Shunji Takano, Hiro Saito & Strong Machine (4/6/86)
> Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86)
> Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson (7/26/86)
> Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/25/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (9/3/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hanson (10/21/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson & Ted Dibiase (12/12/86)
> Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (12/29/86)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Road Warriors (3/12/87)
> Masa Fuchi vs. Pete Roberts (5/5/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Hiroshi Wajima (6/8/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (6/11/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (7/11/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Shinichi Nakano & Yoshiaki Yatsu (7/17/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (7/23/87)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (9/20/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/10/87)
> Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (11/22/87)
> Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/26/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/5/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/11/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (1/24/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (2/20/88)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & John Tenta (2/29/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (3/5/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (3/27/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (4/21/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (6/4/88)
> Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (7/16/88)
> 
> 
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (9/15/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/15/88)
> Stan Hansen & Dan Kroffat vs. Rock N Roll Express (10/26/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
> Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi & Great Kabuki (1/5/89 TV)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. John Tenta & Shunji Takano (1/5/89 TV)
> Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu (1/22/89 TV)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
> Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
> Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/16/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/21/89 TV)
> Dan Spivey, Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/28/89 TV)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Stan Hansen & Toshiaki Kawada (6/8/89)
> 
> 
> Joe Malenko vs. Dean Malenko (7/11/89)
> Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
> Joe Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi (7/28/89)
> Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/2/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
> Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
> Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (10/14/89)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (10/20/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (10/20/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (10/22/89)
> Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat & Masa Fuchi vs. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi (11/19/89)
> Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Terry Gordy and Bill Irwin (11/19/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura (11/19/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (11/29/89)
> Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
> 
> 
> 
> He confirms it
> 
> So much greatness, I'm glad he included Tenryu vs Steamboat, very underated match imo.


OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'm still on disc 3 of the Texas set, but I'm definitely picking up All Japan. I'll probably send him the donation soon, then it's just a matter of waiting until February-ish (although the TX deadline will no doubt get pushed back, and the AJ set probably won't come out until the TX voting is finished).

EDIT: Is a KENTA/Marufuji match-up still something that people get excited about? Current day puro would struggle to interest me less at this point, but another KENTA/Marufuji match almost manages it.


----------



## New Blood

antoniomare007 said:


> Just when you thought goodhelmet was God...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR 80's All Japan comp
> 
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (3/5/80)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/4/80)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/10/80)
> The Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat (12/9/80)
> Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk (12/11/80)
> Jimmy Snuka vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/3/81)
> Mil Mascaras vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls) (August 1981)
> 
> 
> Dos Caras & Mil Mascaras vs. Chavo Guerrero & Ricky Steamboat (9/6/81)
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Umanoseke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81)
> Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (10/9/81)
> Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
> Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
> Mil Mascaras vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2/4/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
> Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (4/21/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (4/22/82)
> Ric Flair vs. Ric Steamboat (6/4/82)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mil Mascaras (7/30/82)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
> Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (10/26/82)
> Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (12/7/82)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (12/9/82)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/13/82)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kerry Von Erich (4/7/83)
> Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
> 
> 
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (4/20/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (5/26/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
> Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)
> Chavo Guerrero vs. Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted Dibiase (10/23/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
> 
> 
> Mighty Inoue vs. Chavo Guerrero (2/26/84)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/28/84)
> Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
> Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/24/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
> Tiger Mask vs. La Fiera (8/26/84)
> Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. Mighty Inoue & Gran Hamada (9/12/84)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ric Flair (2/3 Falls) (9/12/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Gordy (10/29/84)
> Genichiro Tenryu, Mighty Inoue & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (1/10/85)
> Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (6/21/85)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (6/22/85)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (8/23/85)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
> Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (10/19/85)
> Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/30/85)
> Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Higo Hamaguchi (3/13/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ole Anderson (4/5/86)
> Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Masa Fuchi (4/6/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Shunji Takano, Hiro Saito & Strong Machine (4/6/86)
> Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86)
> Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson (7/26/86)
> Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/25/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (9/3/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hanson (10/21/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson & Ted Dibiase (12/12/86)
> Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (12/29/86)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Road Warriors (3/12/87)
> Masa Fuchi vs. Pete Roberts (5/5/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Hiroshi Wajima (6/8/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (6/11/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (7/11/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Shinichi Nakano & Yoshiaki Yatsu (7/17/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (7/23/87)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (9/20/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/10/87)
> Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (11/22/87)
> Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/26/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/5/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/11/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (1/24/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (2/20/88)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & John Tenta (2/29/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (3/5/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (3/27/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (4/21/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (6/4/88)
> Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (7/16/88)
> 
> 
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (9/15/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/15/88)
> Stan Hansen & Dan Kroffat vs. Rock N Roll Express (10/26/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
> Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi & Great Kabuki (1/5/89 TV)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. John Tenta & Shunji Takano (1/5/89 TV)
> Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu (1/22/89 TV)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
> Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
> Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/16/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/21/89 TV)
> Dan Spivey, Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/28/89 TV)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Stan Hansen & Toshiaki Kawada (6/8/89)
> 
> 
> Joe Malenko vs. Dean Malenko (7/11/89)
> Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
> Joe Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi (7/28/89)
> Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/2/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
> Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
> Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (10/14/89)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (10/20/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (10/20/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (10/22/89)
> Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat & Masa Fuchi vs. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi (11/19/89)
> Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Terry Gordy and Bill Irwin (11/19/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura (11/19/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (11/29/89)
> Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
> 
> 
> 
> He confirms it
> 
> So much greatness, I'm glad he included Tenryu vs Steamboat, very underated match imo.


Just need another reason for people to get into the 80s sets. I love 'em.


----------



## New Blood

Just looking at the All Japan set, someone on the DVDVR board posted this:


----------



## Yeah1993

I have over 100 matches on the NJPW still to go but that's not stopping me from getting this in a hurry. Tsuruta vs. Murdoch x2 starts it out ffs.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I blazed through something like 75 matches in a week just to get that set finished in time to send a ballot in. It was hard work.

(probs wasn't as much as 75 but it sure as shit felt that way)


----------



## New Blood

I'm going one of those who will vote Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk ridiculously high just because. I also voted Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen #1 on the New Japan set.


----------



## McQueen

Why wouldn't someone rate Stan Hansen/Terry Funk matches rediculously high anyways.


----------



## antoniomare007

complete card for NOAH's Budokan show


> *
> NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW", 12.05.2010 (G+ LIVE)
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
> 
> 1. Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga vs. Shuhei Taniguchi & Taiji Ishimori
> 2. Atsushi Aoki vs. Delirious
> 3. Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue & Ricky Marvin vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara
> 4. Go Shiozaki & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mohammed Yone & Genba Hirayanagi
> 5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA
> 6. GHC Heavyweight Title Contendership: Bison Smith vs. Yutuka Yoshie
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki
> 8. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
> 9. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima


It's seems like this has zero chance of drawing well. Kinda shocked with the matches they gave to Kensuke & Go-


----------



## seancarleton77

If pure talent and a stacked quadruple main event card were all it took to draw then this would be selling out the Tokyo Dome. Still I commend NOAH for going with a better wrestling card then just having ancients in the main events.


----------



## Derek

Wait, what the hell? Wasn't Kensuke looking to be getting a shot and now he's not even in the title picture?

Yoshie in a GHC Contenders match?

Hopefully we can get a decent match out of Mori/Suggernaut and TakaSano vs. Kings, as those are the only matches I have the slightest interest in.


----------



## antoniomare007

I have no idea what happened to Kensuke, maybe NOAH wanted to keep Sugs as champion and Sasaki didn't want to do the job? idk.

The thing that pisses me off is that this is the type of booking NOAH should've had 3-4 years ago.


----------



## leglock

They want Kenskay to do the March Budokan.


----------



## seancarleton77

leglock said:


> They want Kenskay to do the March Budokan.


Makes sense to me. 

Every Pro-Wres fan who has not done so already really needs to check out NJPW Destruction '10, immediately.


----------



## smitlick

*AJPW Summer Impact 2010 - 15.8.2010*

2. Jimmy Yang, Super Crazy & Antonio Thomas vs Kaz Hayashi, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato - ***
*3. Manabu Soya Return Match:* Manabu Soya vs Osamu Nishimura - ***1/4-***1/2
*4. Mask vs Mask Match:* BUSHI vs MAZADA - ***1/4
5. TARU, KENSO & René Duprée vs Ryota Hama, Shuji Kondo & Seiya Sanada - ***1/4
7. Suwama & Masayuki Kono vs Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki - ***1/2-***3/4

Surprisingly better then usual show for All Japan this year.


----------



## Sartana420

8. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli


^ this should be good


----------



## antoniomare007

> *NOAH "WINTER NAVIGATION 2010", 27.11.2010
> Kyoto KBS Hall
> 1,000 Fans - No Vacancy*
> 
> 1. Akira Taue besiegt Masao Inoue (6:53) mit einem Inside Cradle.
> 2. KENTA besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi (12:25) mit einem Cradle.
> 3. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Delirious (12:22) mit dem Death Roll.
> 4. Yutaka Yoshie & Ricky Marvin besiegen Bison Smith & Genba Hirayanagi (15:55) nach einer Diving Body Press von Yoshie gegen Hirayanagi.
> 5. Mohammed Yone & Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegen Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita (12:51) nach einem Muscle Buster von Kanemaru gegen Okita.
> 6. Takeshi Morishima besiegt Atsushi Aoki *(1:56)* mit einem Backdrop Suplex.
> 7. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli besiegen Takashi Sugiura & Akitoshi Saito (15:33) als Castagnoli Saito nach einem Low Sky Dropkick von Hero pinnte.
> 8. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori (27:10) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Ishimori.


So the story is that Morishima is back killing dudes in less that 2 minutes, it would be cool if the crowd reacted to a nearfall in the first minute of the title match against Sugi.


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> So the story is that Morishima is back killing dudes in less that 2 minutes, it would be cool if the crowd reacted to a nearfall in the first minute of the title match against Sugi.


I want to see Sugiura kick out of that Backdrop Driver at 1! I think Sugiura and Morishima match up extremely well.


----------



## antoniomare007

well at Morishima drop weight, so that's a good sing


----------



## SHIRLEY

antoniomare007 said:


> well at Morishima drop weight, so that's a good sing


You posted a picture of Scott Steiner and Jeff Hardy btw.


----------



## JuviJuiceIsLoose

antoniomare007 said:


> Just when you thought goodhelmet was God...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR 80's All Japan comp
> 
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (3/5/80)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/4/80)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/10/80)
> The Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat (12/9/80)
> Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk (12/11/80)
> Jimmy Snuka vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/3/81)
> Mil Mascaras vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls) (August 1981)
> 
> 
> Dos Caras & Mil Mascaras vs. Chavo Guerrero & Ricky Steamboat (9/6/81)
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Umanoseke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81)
> Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (10/9/81)
> Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
> Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
> Mil Mascaras vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2/4/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
> Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (4/21/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (4/22/82)
> Ric Flair vs. Ric Steamboat (6/4/82)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mil Mascaras (7/30/82)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
> Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
> Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (10/26/82)
> Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (12/7/82)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (12/9/82)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/13/82)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kerry Von Erich (4/7/83)
> Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
> 
> 
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (4/20/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (5/26/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
> Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)
> Chavo Guerrero vs. Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)
> Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted Dibiase (10/23/83)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
> 
> 
> Mighty Inoue vs. Chavo Guerrero (2/26/84)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/28/84)
> Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
> Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/24/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
> Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
> Tiger Mask vs. La Fiera (8/26/84)
> Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. Mighty Inoue & Gran Hamada (9/12/84)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ric Flair (2/3 Falls) (9/12/84)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Gordy (10/29/84)
> Genichiro Tenryu, Mighty Inoue & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (1/10/85)
> Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (6/21/85)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (6/22/85)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (8/23/85)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
> Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (10/19/85)
> Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/30/85)
> Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Higo Hamaguchi (3/13/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ole Anderson (4/5/86)
> Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Masa Fuchi (4/6/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Shunji Takano, Hiro Saito & Strong Machine (4/6/86)
> Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86)
> Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson (7/26/86)
> Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/25/86)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (9/3/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hanson (10/21/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/86)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson & Ted Dibiase (12/12/86)
> Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (12/29/86)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Road Warriors (3/12/87)
> Masa Fuchi vs. Pete Roberts (5/5/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Hiroshi Wajima (6/8/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (6/11/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (7/11/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Shinichi Nakano & Yoshiaki Yatsu (7/17/87)
> Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (7/23/87)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (9/20/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/10/87)
> Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (11/22/87)
> Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/26/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/5/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/11/87)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (1/24/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (2/20/88)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & John Tenta (2/29/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (3/5/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (3/27/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (4/21/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (6/4/88)
> Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (7/16/88)
> 
> 
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (9/15/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/15/88)
> Stan Hansen & Dan Kroffat vs. Rock N Roll Express (10/26/88)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
> Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi & Great Kabuki (1/5/89 TV)
> 
> 
> Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. John Tenta & Shunji Takano (1/5/89 TV)
> Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu (1/22/89 TV)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
> Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
> Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/16/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/21/89 TV)
> Dan Spivey, Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/28/89 TV)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Stan Hansen & Toshiaki Kawada (6/8/89)
> 
> 
> Joe Malenko vs. Dean Malenko (7/11/89)
> Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
> Joe Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi (7/28/89)
> Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/2/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
> Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
> Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
> 
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (10/14/89)
> Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (10/20/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (10/20/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (10/22/89)
> Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat & Masa Fuchi vs. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi (11/19/89)
> Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Terry Gordy and Bill Irwin (11/19/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura (11/19/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (11/29/89)
> Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
> 
> 
> 
> He confirms it
> 
> So much greatness, I'm glad he included Tenryu vs Steamboat, very underated match imo.




Jesus, where??? When??? How??? Link??? Inbox???


----------



## smitlick

Just made an order from IVP Videos.

Picked up
Jimmy Rave Shoot Interview/Best Of Combo
NJPW 09/03/2010 September 3rd 2010 (2 Discs)
NOAH 08/05/2010 August 5th 2010 (2 Discs)
NOAH Top 25 matches in NOAH History (9 Discs)
Real Japan 07/30/2010 July 30th 2010


----------



## jastrau97

leglock said:


> It was established before this match that if Kobashi could hit the Burning Hammer on Misawa, he would beat him. It took over ten years for Kobashi to pin Misawa for the first time and Kobashi had to create the Burning Hammer for it to even happen. Kobashi debuted the Burning Hammer in a tag match on October 24th, 1998 on Misawa to show Misawa his unstopppable move for his Triple Crown title _defense_ against Mitsuharu Misawa on the 31st. Kobashi could not use the move, as Misawa blocked it multiple times and he lost the Triple Crown to him. In June of 1999, Misawa defended the Triple Crown against Kobashi, but again, Kobashi could not use the Burning Hammer and lost the match. On October 23rd, 1999, nearly a year after Kobashi's first pin of Misawa, Kobashi would pin Misawa once again with the Burning Hammer and win the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles with Jun Akiyama.
> 
> Flash forward to 2003, Misawa is the GHC Heavyweight Champion and Kenta Kobashi is the number 1 contender. In a special tag match in Jan of 2003 (Mitsuharu Misawa & Masahiro Chono vs. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue), Kobashi pins Misawa again, but with a special Vertical Drop Brainbuster. He uses that move in the 2003 Misawa vs Kobashi match, but Misawa kicks out. He uses the Burning Hammer and beats Misawa decisively.
> 
> It's too bad that you didn't watch all their previous matches before you watched that one. Watching All Japan and to a lesser extent NOAH matches in context makes the enjoyment of the matches even better.



leglock, are there any comps available that track this history in such a fashion? I know I can grab a massive comp of either/both but would prefer something that places it in context.


----------



## New Blood

JuviJuiceIsLoose said:


> Jesus, where??? When??? How??? Link??? Inbox???


Contact Goodhelmet on the Deathvalley Driver forums and he'll give you info to pay with Paypal. I think the set is going for $45 which is amazing.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 4.8.10 - 10th Anniversary - 10 Years After*

1. Takeshi Morishima vs Makoto Hashi - **1/2
2. Ricky Marvin & Atsushi Aoki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara - ***1/4
3. Akira Taue, Mohammed Yone & Genba Hirayanagi vs Akitoshi Saito, Tamon Honda & Shuhei Taniguchi - **1/2
4. Masao Inoue & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Kentaro Shiga & Taiji Ishimori - ***
5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa - *1/2
*6. 2/3 Falls 60 Min. Match* - Takashi Sugiura & KENTA vs Go Shiozaki & Takeshi Morishima - ***3/4-****


----------



## Yeah1993

New Blood said:


> Contact Goodhelmet on the Deathvalley Driver forums and he'll give you info to pay with Paypal. I think the set is going for $45 which is amazing.


won't be actually released for another 3 or something months though, I don't think.


----------



## Kapik1337

Anyone else tuning in every Friday to watch "NJPW Greatest Moments" on their official YouTube channel?? While matches featuring the Nasty Boys or El Gigante hardly live up to the name, it's always fun to watch some Big Van Vader, Bam Bam Bigelow and Scott Norton. Also, Jyushin Thunder Liger vs Wild Pegasus posted last Friday was really awesome. One of "NJPW Greatest Moments" indeed.


----------



## smitlick

Don't remember seeing this mentioned but Slambamjam are doing a $3 DVD sale.



> The Black Friday $3.00 Sale will be running from
> Friday November 26th thru Monday December 6th.
> 
> PLEASE READ!
> 
> Here's how to take advantage of the sale and how to properly order, without any hassles.
> 
> Using the Shopping Cart System:
> 
> 1- Use this page only! If your clicking away at each individual product, then you're off to a bad start. You should only be clicking on the "WSLE0BF3" product item.
> 2- Click the "Add to Basket" Button. You can also select the quantity of dvds you want here as well. If you'd rather wait, and skim through the site, then go to the next step.
> 3- Go to your shopping cart (Basket Contents) and change the "Quantity". You'll see the total cost, before shipping (example 10 dvds, $30, etc.). PLEASE REMEMBER A 2-DISC SET! COUNTS AS 2 DISCS IN YOUR ORDER! This applies to other disc sets as well and if you get it wrong I will email you notifying you that you counted wrong.
> 4- Once you've decided on the amount of dvds you are ordering, fill out your order form and select your shipping option.
> 5- Complete your order through PayPal.
> 6- Send your list of dvds to me directly at [email protected]. Be sure to include the Order # with the list you send.
> 
> 
> If paying directly through PayPal:
> 
> 1- Send Payment via Paypal to [email protected]
> 2- Send your dvd list separately. If you are going to want me to send your order to a different mailing address, be sure to make a note of it, otherwise, I send to the address used for Paypal.
> 
> If paying via Mail Order:
> 1- Please send an email informing me that you plan on ordering. If you'd like to send the list via email, feel free to do so.
> 2- Be sure to include your email address in the letter you send via mail and if you don't send the list via email, include it in the letter as well.
> 
> Shipping Info:
> 
> 1- All US customers, if paying for USPS Priority Mail will receive a delivery confirmation # via paypal or stamps.com. If using PayPal, you can check your account to see if your order has been shipped.
> 2- International customers paying for USPS Priority Mail International will also receive an email confirmation via either paypal, stamps.com or usps.com. informing them that their package has been shipped. If using Paypal, you should be able to find that info in your account as well. There is no tracking # with international customers. Sorry, blame the US Post Office and not me! Tracking is only available for Express Mail to International Customers.
> 3- International customers paying for First Class Mail, will receive a shipping confirmation via stamps.com if your order info includes email and phone # (all info is kept discreet)
> 
> FINALLY...
> 
> Orders will likely take longer to ship because its a sale and if the previous sales are any indication, I get triple the workload. Time will vary depending on amount ordered or volume of orders received.


*AJPW 29.8.10 *

1. Osamu Nishimura & Masanobu Fuchi vs Hiroshi Yamato & Antonio Thomas - **1/4
2. Shuji Kondo, KAI & BUSHI vs Minoru, HATE & MAZADA - **1/2
3. Taiyo Kea & Akebono vs Ryota Hama & Super Crazy - **
4. Masakatsu Funaki vs Masayuki Kono - ***
*5. All Asia Tag Team Title -* TARU & Big Daddy Voodoo vs Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya - ***1/4
*6. Special Singles TLC Match: Who is the best wrestler of Asia? -* Great Muta vs KENSO - ***
*7. AJPW World Jr Heavyweight Title -* Kaz Hayashi vs Jimmy Yang - ***3/4
*8. Triple Crown Title -* Minoru Suzuki vs Suwama - ****1/4


----------



## RoninTK

Masahiro Chono has officially been announced as the Executive Producer for Inoki's IGF (Inoki Genome Federation) in 2011. 






As for the new belt that he is showing off that cost a whopping 200 Million Yen ($2 Million), it seems there will be a tournament held at the "GENOME 14" show that is scheduled to take place on Feb. 5th, 2011.


----------



## McQueen

2 Million Dollar ugly peice of shit.


----------



## smitlick

Does anyone know any puro tape traders with more recent stuff. I'm aware of ivp and slambamjam but are there any with more recent stuff.

*AJPW - B-Banquet 274*
Keiji Muto vs Masakatsu Funaki 
***1/2

*AJPW - B-Banquet 275*
Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs Suwama & Masayuki Kono 
***1/2

*Dragon Gate Infinity 187*
Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii 
***1/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 188*
Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito vs Shingo Takagi & YAMATO 
***

Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi vs Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito
***3/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 189*
PAC vs Susumu Yokosuka 
***1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

smitlick said:


> Does anyone know any puro tape traders with more recent stuff. I'm aware of ivp and slambamjam but are there any with more recent stuff.


http://wrestling.insidepulse.com/2010/11/18/puroresu-pulse-issue-183-puroresu-102-the-linkening/

it's in the "DVD Sellers" part of the article


----------



## TheAce

My IVP videos order should be here today or tomorrow!!!! getting excited!


----------



## poleshifter

Just saw Shiozaki & Kenta vs. Nakajiama & Sasaki. Somebody else extremly high on this match? Especially Go is beyond awesome and really DECAPITATES nakajiama with a lariat


----------



## seabs

*Most people are very high on it. ***** personally. Assuming you haven't already watch Kobashi/Sasaki too and you'll love that too.*


----------



## smitlick

*NJPW G1 Climax XX - Day 1 - 6.8.10*

- Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Satoshi Kojima & El Samurai - ***1/4
- Yujiro Takahashi vs Go Shiozaki - ***
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Karl Anderson - ***1/4
- Togi Makabe vs Tetsuya Naito - ***
- Yuji Nagata vs Shinsuke Nakamura - ***1/2

Surprisingly ok show. Nagata/Nakamura is definitely worth catching if you haven't already.


----------



## Chismo

poleshifter said:


> Just saw Shiozaki & Kenta vs. Nakajiama & Sasaki. Somebody else extremly high on this match? Especially Go is beyond awesome and really DECAPITATES nakajiama with a lariat


Are we talking about 2005 or 2006 match? Because that's pure awesomeness!


----------



## seancarleton77

Kings of Wrestling & Delirious vs Yoshihiro Takayama Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori. You can't do a six man much better than that, excellent contest.


----------



## poleshifter

Seabs said:


> *Most people are very high on it. ***** personally. Assuming you haven't already watch Kobashi/Sasaki too and you'll love that too.*


Actually, i have seen it already and it was genius. Especially the rather unexpected lariat-finish (i though kobashi would use the hammer here)



JoeRulz said:


> Are we talking about 2005 or 2006 match? Because that's pure awesomeness!


No its from juin 2009. I guess you mean kobashi/shiozaki vs sasaki/nakajiama from 2005


----------



## smitlick

*NJPW - G1 Climax XX - Day 2 - 7.8.10*
- Karl Anderson vs Prince Devitt ***
- Yuji Nagata vs Giant Bernard ***1/4
- Wataru Inoue vs Go Shiozaki ***1/2
- Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/2


----------



## FITZ

So I just watched Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (12/23/00) and I have to say it was amazing. It had all the awesome stiff stuff that I expected but the story it told was incredible. I'm glad I really knew what the Burning Hammer was all about going into this or I don't think I would have appreciated the amazing ending. 

Akiyama went after the arm of Kobashi. It started with a painful looking drop on the guardrail early on and they didn't do much more for a while. It wasn't until Kobashi took the same bump a second time that his arm really started to bother him. Now someone with an injured right arm would normally avoid lariats and other strikes like that but not a badass like Kobashi. You could see the look of pain on his face everytime he hit a strike or a lariat but he kept at it because that's his game. Akiyama did a great job of going after the arm and weakening Kobashi any other way that he could. Kobashi managed to avoid any arm submissions that would have forced him to tap out. 

Now the ending is one of the best that I ever remember seeing. Kobashi lets out a battle cry and hits a nearly decapitating lariat. But Akiyama kicks out. So what does he do? He does it AGAIN. At this point I'm thinking the match is over and if Kobashi hits another lariat his arm will just fall off. But Akiyama kicks out again. I don't know if it was because Kobashi was weakened or if Akiyama was just that tough but Kobashi just couldn't put him away. At this point I had no idea what Kobashi could possibly do to get the win and I was expecting a comeback from Akiyama. That didn't happen. Once Kobashi put him on the top rope I knew something special was happening. Burning Hammer. Match over. 

This might be one of my favorite Puro matches out of the limited stuff I've seen. It had the crazy stiff chops and strikes and people getting suplexed on their head but it had some of the best story telling I've ever seen. 
****3/4

That rating might be me being a complete puro noob though. But hey Meltzer gave it ****1/4.....


----------



## smitlick

*NJPW - G1 Climax XX - Day 3 - 8.8.10*

- Satoshi Kojima vs Go Shiozaki ***1/4-***1/2
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs Giant Bernard ***
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito ***3/4
- Togi Makabe vs Prince Devitt ***1/4

*NJPW - G1 Climax XX - Day 4 - 10.8.10*

- Karl Anderson vs Tetsuya Naito ***
- Satoshi Kojima vs Wataru Inoue ***1/4
- Giant Bernard vs Hirooki Goto ***
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yujiro Takahashi ***
- Go Shiozaki vs Yuji Nagata ****
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Manabu Nakanishi ***1/2


----------



## Sartana420

seancarleton77 said:


> Kings of Wrestling & Delirious vs Yoshihiro Takayama Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori. You can't do a six man much better than that, excellent contest.


I cant wait for the Tag title match

should be fire!


----------



## Martyn

1st EVER GHC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH [2001-04-15 at.Tokyo Ariake Colosseum]
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - *** 1/2+. Great, great chemistry between two awesome workers, nice stiff kicks from Takayama and sick elbows from Misawa. Takayama should have done win that title~!

GHC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE [2001-05-18 at.Hokkaido Sports Center]
Mitsuharu Misawa (v1) vs. Akira Taue - ***. Good match, but I personally not a fan of Taue. He was great in the 90s with Kawada as Holy Demon Army, but he lost it in the 00s.


----------



## smitlick

NJPW - G1 Climax XX - Day 5 - 12.8.10

- Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi ***1/4
- Giant Bernard vs Go Shiozaki ***
- Wataru Inoue vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/4
- Manabu Nakanishi vs Prince Devitt ***
- Yuji Nagata vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2-***3/4

NJPW - G1 Climax XX - Day 6 - 13.8.10

- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano ***1/2
- Yuji Nagata vs Hirooki Goto ***1/2
- Tetsuya Naito vs Prince Devitt ***1/4

NJPW - G1 Climax XX - Day 7 - 14.8.10

- Hirooki Goto vs Go Shiozaki ****
- Shinsuke Nakamura vs Satoshi Kojima ***3/4
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Prince Devitt ***1/4


----------



## leglock

seancarleton77 said:


> Kings of Wrestling & Delirious vs Yoshihiro Takayama Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori. You can't do a six man much better than that, excellent contest.


Jumbo, Taue, Fuchi vs. Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi - 4/20/1991

One of the best matches ever.


----------



## McQueen

Agreed with Leglock. I'll take Jumbo/Tenryu/Misawa era All Japan over KENTA/Marufuji/Shiozaki/Sugi era NOAH anyday. Most of the really good NOAH stuff is pre 2004 anyways.


----------



## seancarleton77

leglock said:


> Jumbo, Taue, Fuchi vs. Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi - 4/20/1991
> 
> One of the best matches ever.


That is true. Usually six man tags are nothing special, the NOAH one recently was fantastic.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

seancarleton77 said:


> That is true. *Usually six man tags are nothing special*, the NOAH one recently was fantastic.


At this point, yeah. But there's a ton of early 90s All Japan six man tags that are legit some of the best matches ever.


----------



## Derek

NOAH Results







NOAH "JOE HIGUCHI MEMORIAL SHOW", 05.12.2010 (G+ LIVE)
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
8,600 Fans

1. Shuhei Taniguchi & Taiji Ishimori defeated Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga (7:32) when Taniguchi used a German Suplex Hold on Shiga. 
2. Atsushi Aoki defeated Delirious (10:18) with the Assault Point. 
3. Kensuke Sasaki , Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara 
defeated Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue & Ricky Marvin (13:19) when Sasaki used the Northern Lights Bomb on Inoue. 
4. Mohammed Yone & Genba Hirayanagi defeated Go Shiozaki & Yoshinari Ogawa (8:16) when Shiozaki was Disqualified. 
5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: KENTA defeated Naomichi Marufuji (19:09) with the Go 2 Sleep. 
6. GHC Heavyweight Title Next Challenger Match: Bison Smith defeated Yutuka Yoshie (13:18) with a Lariat. 
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) (14:49) with the Tiger Driver - Title Switch. 
8. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) defeated Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli (14:22) when Takayama used the Everest German Suplex Hold on Castagnoli (2nd defense). 
9. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) defeated Takeshi Morishima (21:12) with the Olympic Slam (7th defense). 

- Yone & Genba attacked both Go & Ogawa during there entrance. In the middle of the Match Genba cut some of Go's hair. Shiozaki refused to stop attacking Yone which lead to the referee DQ'ing him.
- Marufuji didn't wear his trademark entrance mask. 
- After Match #5, Atsushi Aoki came out and told KENTA that there run as a Tag Team is over and he is reforming his team with Marufuji. 
- Kyohei Wada was the referee in Match #7.
- Sugiura joins Misawa & Kobashi for having 7 Title defenses of the GHC Heavyweight Title in a year. 
- Jun Akiyama, who was in commentary said that he will be making his return early next year.




SUGGERNAUT!


----------



## Chismo

Matches #2, 5, 7, 8 and 9 are must watch, as far as I'm concerned.


----------



## antoniomare007

Well that's a bunch of good news in just 1 show, i would have preffered a KENTA/Maru reunion for Wrestle Kingdom V but it seems as it's gonna be Aoki/Maru.

There are tons of matches i'm really interested in, specially with not 1 match going over 25 minutes. Let's hope that attendance number is legit and that the crowd showed some life this time too.


----------



## Derek

I highly doubt that the attendance claimed is legit. It was probably somewhere closer to 6-5 thousand, and who knows how much of that was actually paid attendance.

Aoki goes from teaming with KENTA to teaming with Marufuji. Its like they want me to not watch his matches. But they'll probably take the titles back at the Dome.

Kotaro wins the title he was probably supposed to win a year ago. 

Can't see Suggs dropping the title to Bison.


----------



## seancarleton77

Derek said:


> NOAH Results
> 
> - After Match #5, Atsushi Aoki came out and told KENTA that there run as a Tag Team is over and he is reforming his team with Marufuji.
> - Kyohei Wada was the referee in Match #7.
> - Sugiura joins Misawa & Kobashi for having 7 Title defenses of the GHC Heavyweight Title in a year.
> - Jun Akiyama, who was in commentary said that he will be making his return early next year.


Bison beat a man half as talent as him, good for him.

So damn glad Suzuki FINALLY won the GHC Jr. Crown as himself.

Aoki & Marufuji seem like a better team than KENTA & Aoki to me. Especially since 'Fuji has great chemistry with Kanemoto and carried Mask IV to the best singles match I've ever seen him in.

Hero & Castagnoli vs. Takayama and Sano was probably the definition of intensity. 

Sugiura is a monster, I was thinking the new and improved Morishima had this one.

Kyohei Wada and Joe Higuchi are the best referees to ever live, fitting having Wada refereeing a match on the show.


----------



## Sartana420

cant wait till KOW vs taka/sano hits the net


----------



## smitlick

For those interested DGUSAs site are selling 2008 & 2009 Infinity Seasons in there store.


*NJPW - G1 Climax XX - 15.8.10*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima - ****-****1/4
Go Shiozaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ***3/4-****
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe - ***1/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

Maru/Aoki will challenge Kanemoto/TM for the titles at Differ Ariake on 12/24.


----------



## Martyn

It looks like Tiger Mask/Kanemoto one more time will retain their belts and at NJPW WK V they will challange KENTA/Marufuji. That would be awesome.


----------



## antoniomare007

Martyn said:


> It looks like Tiger Mask/Kanemoto one more time will retain their belts and at NJPW WK V they will challange KENTA/Marufuji. That would be awesome.


I hope that is the plan.


----------



## seabs

*Why do NOAH keeping giving title shots to teams that have zero momentum. First Hero/Claudio and now Maru/Aoki. I wouldn't get my hopes up for KENTA/Fuji teaming at WK either. If they were going to reunite it'd be on a NOAH show surely?*


----------



## TheAce

Got my IVP videos last week been going crazy for days!!!

Things on my mind from random Puro events over the last 3-4 years.

*Kanemoto Vs Tanaka April 13th 2008* = Awesome super fun good times!!

*Zetsurins Vs Tozawajuku (Unit vs Triangle Gate) Nov 2008* = More emotion and story in under 13 mintes then the whole of most DG events. Great mid card surprise on a great show!!

*NOAH Summer Nav 07* = ROH (Nigel/Danielson/Romero/Richards/Edwards/Hero) hangs out in Japan for NTV Cup and some surrounding shows resulting in some fun gaijin matches and then ROH in Japan 2 months later! I really loved ROH in 2006-07 and this Puro/ROH action is a treat


----------



## jawbreaker

Seabs said:


> *Why do NOAH keeping giving title shots to teams that have zero momentum. First Hero/Claudio and now Maru/Aoki. I wouldn't get my hopes up for KENTA/Fuji teaming at WK either. If they were going to reunite it'd be on a NOAH show surely?*


They built some momentum for Hero/Claudio, though granted it was after announcing their title shot.


----------



## RoninTK

seancarleton77 said:


> Bison beat a man half as talent as him, good for him.


Actually that would be put the other way around, in my opinion. Yoshie is under-appreciated by most, because they look at his size and think crap, but he can shine when given the chance. 



Seabs said:


> *Why do NOAH keeping giving title shots to teams that have zero momentum. First Hero/Claudio and now Maru/Aoki. I wouldn't get my hopes up for KENTA/Fuji teaming at WK either. If they were going to reunite it'd be on a NOAH show surely?
> *


they don't have any other tag teams who Taka/Sano haven't already killed. Granted they have not faced only 3 teams so far, who else do they really got when you think of it. Plus Hero and Castagnoli have history in Japan, so it wasn't like they were just a random team off the streets. The are known around the world for the most part. 
Though I do agree that they should have done a tour first before being announced as challengers, kind of anti-climatic.

-----------
For all those who would even care, I have a small end of the year awards type thing running on my site. If you want to throw in your choices. 
http://www.pwponderings.com/puroresuspirit/2010/12/05/puroresu-spirit-awards-2010/


----------



## antoniomare007

Yoshie was awesome, he has been dissapointing in the last year or so.


----------



## McQueen

Wait someone was dissing Fatman Yoshie?

Oh it was Seancarleton, figures.


----------



## seancarleton77

McQueen said:


> Wait someone was dissing Fatman Yoshie?
> 
> Oh it was Seancarleton, figures.


I like Yoshie, against a superior hard hitter like a Morishima or Sugiura, I just think Bison is a better athlete, and he's probably more over than Yoshie. Maybe half as talented was a little insulting, I should have said Bison is slightly better than Yoshie.


----------



## McQueen

I'm not up on current puro because I can't be fucked to watch it unless Man Mountain Takayama or Daisuke Sekimoto is involved but Yoshie was MEGA over earlier in the decade for a reason I can't quite understand, moreso than i've ever seen Bison be over. Always found the guy to be pretty entertaining as well for a man of his size/being a fat guy worker. For all my Bison Smith bWo gimmick bluster I like to spout every once in a while always thought he was at best average. Whatever not a big deal, makes more sense to push Bison over freelancer Yoshie anyhow.


----------



## Derek

Plus I'm pretty sure Bison was trying to do the world a favor when he gave Yone that Bisontennial off the ramp to the floor. So, he's got that going for him.


----------



## seancarleton77

McQueen said:


> I'm not up on current puro because I can't be fucked to watch it unless Man Mountain Takayama or Daisuke Sekimoto is involved


Kojima vs. Makabe from New Japan Destruction. Seemed like maybe something you'd see in 90's New Japan. Maybe check it out.


----------



## McQueen

Derek said:


> Plus I'm pretty sure Bison was trying to do the world a favor when he gave Yone that Bisontennial off the ramp to the floor. So, he's got that going for him.


Definate INDEED!

Hmm, I enjoy Makabe and KOJIMA so maybe i'll give that a look.


----------



## Caligula

link to that match


----------



## leglock

Quick Budokan thoughts:

Taue & Shiga vs. Taniguchi & Ishimori wasn't good or really bad. Shiga looked like he was trying, but this match really didn't mean anything or get anywhere. Taue did his usual comedy spots.

Aoki vs. Delirious was a standard crowd warming match. Aoki looked good, Delirious looked alright.

Saito, Inoue, & Marvin vs. Kensuke Office was really fun thanks to Inoue. Really nice little comedy match.

Shiozaki & Ogawa vs. Yone & Genba was decent. Shiozaki going crazy was nice, but people were not really invested in the match.

Marufuji vs. KENTA wasn't bad at all. I think a number of people will like it since it didn't go too long and because it tells a decent enough story. There wasn't really much overkill, but they obviously were not going for an epic match. Marufuji looked off at the start of the match, but he found his groove by the end. I do think he returned too soon.

Smith vs. Yoshie was alright. Yoshie looked really fat, but this was one of his better efforts this year. Smith was Smith. I'm not excited for the next GHC Title match at all.

Kanemaru vs. Suzuki never really got out of first gear. The opening exchange was fun, and the ending/result was nice. This match was kind of just there. It was nice seeing Wada after the video package on Joe before this match, but he did very poorly.

Takayama & Sano vs. Kings of Wrestling was REALLY good. Go out of your way to see this match. Easily the MOTN.

Sugiura vs. Morishima was extremely violent. The first third of the match was hit/miss, but it really picked up during the middle and end (minus two really scary Frankensteiner spots). Okita and Miyahara's expressions during the match says it all. Side note: Shuichi Nishinaga showed why he is the best referee in the biz in this match. Second best MOTN.

My DVD nomination: 

NOMINATE:
Pro-Wrestling NOAH (12-5-2010) - Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Kings of Wrestling

This was a really good match. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli followed through on their strategy of attacking Takayama and Sano with full force. The tag team work from KoW was phenomenal and they came across as legitimate and credible in front of the Budokan crowd and announcers. Takayama and Sano played their roles very well and looked good. I was worried that the match would go on too long, but the match length was perfect. I enjoyed the ending and I hope there is a rematch. **** match.


----------



## seancarleton77

McQueen said:


> Definate INDEED!
> 
> Hmm, I enjoy Makabe and KOJIMA so maybe i'll give that a look.


IWGP Title Match
Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7RNVBU7D

In case you want to give'er a look.


----------



## antoniomare007

Kojima vs Makabe is a good brawl with a great crowd.


Just watched Sekimoto vs Ohtani, another good match involving Daisuke (although Ohtani wsa the star in that mach) I really don't see anyone close to him as far as Wrestler Of The Year goes.


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> Kojima vs Makabe is a good brawl with a great crowd.
> 
> 
> Just watched Sekimoto vs Ohtani, another good match involving Daisuke (although Ohtani wsa the star in that mach) I really don't see anyone close to him as far as Wrestler Of The Year goes.


Sekimoto is a MONSTER! and Kojima vs. Makabe made me a Makabe fan, so I would say it's pretty good. I have it right with Taker vs. Michaels and Goto vs. Nakamura from April 4.


----------



## Caligula

loathed Kojima/Makabe. Was this really supposed to be a big match? the mid carders that are main eventing in Japan right now go for apron spots 3 minutes into their matches and don't even get a pop. they broke out the tables ladders and chairs after that and I skipped to the last spot which was cool.


----------



## seabs

*Wasn't really into Makabe/Kojima. Crowd was at least which was a positive. Wasn't a bad match but wasn't anything I'd reccomend to someone. Makabe/Tanaka was a much better version of a similar match.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I watched Bison vs. Yoshie, it's pretty clear Yoshie was slowing the match down too much and Bison was the only thing exciting about the match.

Kings of Wrestling are the most over tag team in the world, even as foreigners against locals these guys have the majority of fan support. Best tag team in the world, by far.


----------



## antoniomare007

This year's Tokyo Sports Awards were just released and are as follows:

MVP: Takashi Sugiura (NOAH)
Best Bout: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt © vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (10/11/10 - NJPW)
Best Tag Team: Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man (NJPW)
Outstanding Performance: Suwama (AJPW)
Fighting Spirit: Satoshi Kojima
Technique Prize: Kaz Hayashi (AJPW)
Rookie of the Year: Yuji Okabayashi (BJPW)
Women's MVP: Nanae Takahashi (STARDOM)
Special Prizes: Antonio Inoki (50th Anniversary), Kotetsu Yamamoto, Kantaro Hoshino, Rusher Kimura, & Joe Higuchi



this awards are like the puro version of PWI when PWI still mattered.


----------



## smitlick

Nakanishi & Strong Man as best tag team????


----------



## RoninTK

smitlick said:


> Nakanishi & Strong Man as best tag team????


The crowds in Japan loved them. You can even know this from watching the tag tournament. There was actually thought that they would keep them together longer following, but as we can see that has sort of been put on the back burner for now.


----------



## smitlick

RoninTK said:


> The crowds in Japan loved them. You can even know this from watching the tag tournament. There was actually thought that they would keep them together longer following, but as we can see that has sort of been put on the back burner for now.


Yeah i understand that but they weren't best team this year.


----------



## seancarleton77

Karl Anderson & Giant Bernard and Apollo 55 were much better tag teams, and more over tag teams.


----------



## Derek

Kojima retained over Nakamura, and Tanahashi beat Gotoh, so it appears that our main event for Wrestle Kingdom will be Kojima defending against Tanahashi in a rematch of this year G1 finals.

Devitt retained against Davey Richards. Bad Intentions retained over Nagata and Inoue, while No Limit beat the Motor City Machine Guns.


----------



## antoniomare007

It makes sense that New Japan would want the rematch from the G-1 as the WK mainevent, but it makes you wonder when will they pull the trigger on Goto. I don't see him winning the NJ Cup AGAIN and the G-1 is in August so it is kinda weird that they didn't go for it after all the momentum he had.


----------



## Derek

Just saw that Strong Man and Nakinishi won best tag team. Wow. Would have thought it was going to be Apollo 55. Strong Man? Really?


----------



## seabs

*I'm still not on the Goto train so I'm not too bothered if he doesn't face Kojima at WK. G1 rematch sounds good/sensible. Goto will probs face Nakamura unless they go down the New Japan vs NOAH route again. Cant wait for that New Japan to surface. 

Any ideas on who Devitt will face at WK btw? Davey not winning means there's a greater chance of him taking the ROH belt now.*


----------



## antoniomare007

well Devitt has only faced outsiders/gaijins since winning the BOSJ so maybe the have a New Japan guy as the next challenger?? Jr. matches at the Dome are normally not a big deal so he might get a filler defense.

I hope they don't make Goto vs Nakamura again so soon, it's gonna end up being the Goto/Tanaka feud 2.0 if that happens. He still has the Kojima match tomorrow so that result and it's aftermath might clear things up.


----------



## antoniomare007

results frum SSS:



> *NJPW, 12/12/10 (Samurai! TV)
> Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
> 8,000 Fans – No Vacancy
> *
> 1. TENZAN come back to Nagoya: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Jado (10:40) with the Anaconda Vice.
> 2. Manabu Nakanishi & Koji Kanemoto beat Tama Tonga & King Fale (10:51) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Fale.
> 3. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Davey Richards beat Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask (10:35) when Ishii pinned Tiger.
> 4. Special Tag Match: Alex Shelley TNA Wrestling & Chris Sabin TNA Wrestling beat Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (13:52) when Shelley pinned Devitt after the Made in Detroit.
> 5. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata beat Yujiro Takahashi (10:41) with a backdrop hold.
> 6. Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Wataru Inoue (9:44) with the Boma Ye.
> 7. Special Tag Match: Toru Yano & Masato Tanaka ZERO1 beat Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (13:54) when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Makabe.
> 8. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tetsuya Naito (17:37) with the High Fly Flow.
> 9. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima beat Hirooki Goto (18:57) with a lariat.
> 
> *After threatening it for a while, New Japan trueborn Minoru Suzuki finally returned to the company to pick a quarrel with old rival Yuji Nagata. These two met on the first ever “WRESTLE KINGDOM” titled show show on 1/4/07 at the Tokyo Dome when Suzuki successfully defended All Japan’s Triple Crown. Today they brawled and another January 4th match, four years later, could be on the cards.
> 
> *Tiger Mask was pinned for the second successive day by Ishii, this time in a six man tag. Tiger has demanded a rematch against Ishii at the Tokyo Dome.


----------



## aaron_mcn92

Purolove.com said:


> NJPW "WRESTLE KINGDOM V IN TOKYO DOME", 04.01.2011 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Dome
> 
> 0. World Pro Wrestling Inter-Promotional Match: Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo
> 0. World Pro Wrestling Invitation Match: Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega & Taichi
> 1. IWGP Tag Team Title, 3 Way Match: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man
> 2. ROAD TO FANTASTICAMANIA: Jushin Thunder Liger & Héctor Garza vs. La Sombra & Máscara Dorada
> 3. DEEP SLEEP TO LOSE: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka
> 4. NJPW/TNA Greatest Showcase: Toru Yano vs. Rob Van Dam
> 5. NO JUSTICE, NO LIFE: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
> 7. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion I: Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama
> 8. TNA World Heavyweight Title: Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 9. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion II: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki
> 10. The Absolute Exhaust: Togi Makabe vs. Masato Tanaka
> 11. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi


A so-so card in my opinion. The NJPW vs. NOAH matches should be worth watching although I was really hoping for Sugs vs. Nakamura. Nagata vs. Suzuki just screams chemistry so I'm excited for it. The TNA placements are strange but could turn out okay. Devitt & Ibushi should be fun as well.

Only mildly interested in the main event as I'm unsure if they can top the match they had in the G1 Climax final.


----------



## antoniomare007

Okada returns~~!!! Let's see if Sugi tries to break his neck for a 2nd time.

Considering it's a Dome show, that card it's pretty damn great. Too bad Go is gonna lose though.


----------



## McQueen

I've always liked the overly dramatic match titles NJPW comes up with like "NO JUSTICE, NO LIFE!"


----------



## SledgeHammer_Shot

*New Japan Wrestle Kingdom V Card - 4 Jan 2011, Now with added TNA participation*



> Here is the card for New Japans Wrestle Kingdom V show at the Tokyo DOme that takes place on 4th January.
> 
> 0. World Pro Wrestling Inter-Promotional Match: Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo
> 0. World Pro Wrestling Invitation Match: Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega & Taichi
> 1. IWGP Tag Team Title, 3 Way Match: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson © vs. James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man
> 2. ROAD TO FANTASTICAMANIA: Jushin Thunder Liger & Héctor Garza vs. La Sombra & Máscara Dorada
> 3. DEEP SLEEP TO LOSE: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka
> 4. NJPW/TNA Greatest Showcase: Toru Yano vs. Rob Van Dam
> 5. NO JUSTICE, NO LIFE: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt © vs. Kota Ibushi
> 7. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion I: Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama
> 8. TNA World Heavyweight Title: Jeff Hardy © vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 9. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion II: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki
> 10. The Absolute Exhaust: Togi Makabe vs. Masato Tanaka
> 11. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Satoshi Kojima © vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
> 
> RVD and Jeff Hardy make appearances and Okada wrestles in New Japan for the first time since spring.


Looks like a truly fantastic card. I'll defo be buying it on DVD when its out.


----------



## antoniomare007

"DEEP SLEEP TO LOSE": Hiroyoshi Tenzan....indeed.


----------



## dele

*Re: New Japan Wrestle Kingdom V Card - 4 Jan 2011, Now with added TNA participation*

Wow, great card!


----------



## seancarleton77

*Re: New Japan Wrestle Kingdom V Card - 4 Jan 2011, Now with added TNA participation*

Too much TNA, and by that I mean that junkie Hardy. Everyone else is okay though. Great Triple Main event. Hope Naito has fun carrying Hardy.


----------



## Martyn

WK V card looks very good - Nakamura/Shiozaki from G1 '10 was awesome and I'm looking forward to see their rematch. Devitt/Ibushi was great at some BOSJ final, so this time its also should be a lot of fun.



> NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS!~”, 12/23/10 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano & Jado
> 2. Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taichi, X & X
> 4. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask vs. Masato Tanaka, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 5. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo vs. Go Shiozaki Pro Wrestling NOAH & Atsushi Aoki
> 6. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki
> 7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt vs. Satoshi Kojima & Kota Ibushi


Last 3 matches looks great~!


----------



## seabs

*Thew New Japan matches from #5 upwards look good. TNA involvment yet they get RVD and Hardy rather than guys like Guns and AJ. AJ/Devitt and Guns/Golden Lovers? Fuck!*


----------



## seancarleton77

> NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS!~”, 12/23/10 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano & Jado
> 2. Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taichi, X & X
> 4. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask vs. Masato Tanaka, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 5. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo vs. Go Shiozaki Pro Wrestling NOAH & Atsushi Aoki
> 6. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki
> 7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt vs. Satoshi Kojima & Kota Ibushi



Holy shit that's a damn nice appetizer for Wrestle Kingdom. Especially the last 3 Special Tag matches.


----------



## RoninTK

I just like how the Guns are no where on the card and could be considered the top tag team since they beat Apollo 55, but I guess with Ibushi and Omega stuck in separate matches they didn't even bother trying to squeeze them in as well. 

I am also thinking that Hardy should either have that belt stripped before the event and put back on Styles before the WK event. Styles vs. Naitoh would be so much better in my opinion... 
I laugh that Hardy says he is going to have the best match Japan has ever seen... maybe he should start with actually knowing who he is facing first.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rapHJXT7soo​


----------



## Derek

Card looks pretty solid, imo.

Yano vs. RVD should be god awful. Can't see Hardy/Naito being great either. Other than that, card looks pretty damn good.


----------



## smitlick

Hopefully Hardy gets rejected at customs in Japan..


----------



## Chismo

I'll watch this because of Beer Money and Nakamura/Shiozaki.


----------



## McQueen

Hopefuly Man Mountain Takayama destroys Wataru Inoue once and for all.


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> Hopefuly Man Mountain Takayama destroys Wataru Inoue once and for all.


I'm assuming you're talking about the 12/23 show, not the Dome show.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah the XMas show but if Takayama wants to randomly come out and knee Inoue in the face at the Dome show that would be fine with me too.

The Takayama/Suzuki tag team is the greatest pairing of men of all time by default for obvious reasons by the way. If only SUWA was still active. Those three were a lot of fun together.


----------



## Emperor DC

Bad Intentions. 

I fucking love Bernard. He's doing great in Japan and has improved in a marked fashion, but I still hold out hope we'll get him back for something in America, hopefully as a guy who destroys everyone on the ROH roster and becomes World Champion, much like Morishima.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'm of the opinion that current Japanese wrestling sucks the donkey cock, but I had sort of forgotten how great it used to be.

Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi v Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi (All Japan, 1/24/92)
- Great match, which is to be expected from these six, although one of the "weaker" 6-mans between these exact teams. But Hell, it goes about 45 minutes and it feels like it's done in half the time, and not too many matches that go that long fly by as "quickly" as this. First half is controlled mostly by Misawa and co. Jumbo and his army of grumps can only really carve out small advantages and momentum shifts, but most of their time is spent on the back foot. Kawada is particularly pissed off and just hates everybody. At one point he knocks Taue off the apron with an elbow smash and later Fuchi gives him one back, even pointing over at Taue as if to say "This is for my boy, bitch." Kawada then tries to knock his teeth out at several points for having the audacity to get in his face like that. Of course FUCHI backs down from no one and, well, everybody is smacking each other in the teeth is what I'm saying. Jumbo's boys finally take over after Misawa lands awkwardly on a plancha and Fuchi starts going to town on his knee. Jumbo Tsuruta as the puro equivalent of Harry Callahan is definitely my favourite period of his career. That 12/4/91 tag is just about my favourite tag match ever and a large part of that is down to Jumbo not being afraid to get deeply contemptuous towards this Misawa flunky and punching him right in the eye socket. The heat segment on Misawa here isn't as transcendently great as it was there, but you still walk away from this with the sense that Jumbo and his buddies hate Misawa and his buddies with the fire of a thousand suns and wouldn't lose an iota of sleep if they crippled one of them. Has there ever been a more lovable curmudgeon in wrestling history than Fuchi? Misawa cleans his fucking clock with a forearm before the hot tag and I dare you not to feel sorry for the poor guy. Sure, Fuchi spent the best part of ten minutes trying to rip Misawa's leg off, so it was totally justified, but I mean, C'MON MAN, LOOK AT THAT FACE. Finishing stretch is the kind of Hell on wheels stretch you expect at this point, and Kobashi in particular is willing to die for our sins. Post-match Jumbo's crew celebrate in the ring while Kobashi lays there dead. Gotta love that. Star rating... IDK. "These Six". And a quarter.


Probably my only contribution to this thread until next Christmas. Unless I get drunk and verbally fellate Tenryu with that asshole McQueen.


----------



## seancarleton77

Am I the only one who wants to see Sekimoto head over to Ring of Honor in Kenny Omega's place Saturday night and toss around Eddie Edwards like a small child?


----------



## McQueen

Andy3000 said:


> I'm of the opinion that current Japanese wrestling sucks the donkey cock, but I had sort of forgotten how great it used to be.
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi v Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi (All Japan, 1/24/92)
> - Great match, which is to be expected from these six, although one of the "weaker" 6-mans between these exact teams. But Hell, it goes about 45 minutes and it feels like it's done in half the time, and not too many matches that go that long fly by as "quickly" as this. First half is controlled mostly by Misawa and co. Jumbo and his army of grumps can only really carve out small advantages and momentum shifts, but most of their time is spent on the back foot. Kawada is particularly pissed off and just hates everybody. At one point he knocks Taue off the apron with an elbow smash and later Fuchi gives him one back, even pointing over at Taue as if to say "This is for my boy, bitch." Kawada then tries to knock his teeth out at several points for having the audacity to get in his face like that. Of course FUCHI backs down from no one and, well, everybody is smacking each other in the teeth is what I'm saying. Jumbo's boys finally take over after Misawa lands awkwardly on a plancha and Fuchi starts going to town on his knee. Jumbo Tsuruta as the puro equivalent of Harry Callahan is definitely my favourite period of his career. That 12/4/91 tag is just about my favourite tag match ever and a large part of that is down to Jumbo not being afraid to get deeply contemptuous towards this Misawa flunky and punching him right in the eye socket. The heat segment on Misawa here isn't as transcendently great as it was there, but you still walk away from this with the sense that Jumbo and his buddies hate Misawa and his buddies with the fire of a thousand suns and wouldn't lose an iota of sleep if they crippled one of them. Has there ever been a more lovable curmudgeon in wrestling history than Fuchi? Misawa cleans his fucking clock with a forearm before the hot tag and I dare you not to feel sorry for the poor guy. Sure, Fuchi spent the best part of ten minutes trying to rip Misawa's leg off, so it was totally justified, but I mean, C'MON MAN, LOOK AT THAT FACE. Finishing stretch is the kind of Hell on wheels stretch you expect at this point, and Kobashi in particular is willing to die for our sins. Post-match Jumbo's crew celebrate in the ring while Kobashi lays there dead. Gotta love that. Star rating... IDK. "These Six". And a quarter.
> 
> 
> Probably my only contribution to this thread until next Christmas. Unless I get drunk and verbally fellate Tenryu with that asshole McQueen.


I'm down with that.



seancarleton77 said:


> Am I the only one who wants to see Sekimoto head over to Ring of Honor in Kenny Omega's place Saturday night and toss around Eddie Edwards like a small child?


I'd like to see that but its not going to happen.


----------



## smitlick

I'm still annoyed as to why they haven't bought Ibushi back or brought Sekimoto in.


----------



## leglock

Probably no working visa.


----------



## McQueen

Could be a money issue too.


----------



## TheAce

> Could be a money issue too.


Well unless Omega was coming back to North America for Christmas anyway, they'd probably have to fly him since he lives in Japan now. He can't be that much more of an expense than someone like Ibushi....


----------



## McQueen

TheAce said:


> Well unless Omega was coming back to North America for Christmas anyway, they'd probably have to fly him since he lives in Japan now. He can't be that much more of an expense than someone like Ibushi....


He likely is already back for the Holiday season. Would make sense.


----------



## seabs

*Ibushi's visa should be fine cause he's wrestled in EVOLVE and CHIKARA since his last ROH date. I dont think Pearce was as high on bringing outside names in for a few dates like Gabe would be during his era. Omega probably feels more of a commitment to helping ROH for a few shows because of the start they gave him. Ibushi doesn't have that. Ibushi is doing more than alright for himself in DDT and New Japan that he doesn't need to work US dates so he'd probably be quite expensive. Sekimoto's death match background might be a factor in ROH not bringing him in as well as the new managment. It was only really Gabe that brought lots of puro talent in.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Sekimoto's death match background might be a factor in ROH not bringing him in as well as the new managment. It was only really Gabe that brought lots of puro talent in.*


I hope not, that would be moronic. I mean ROH is not a traditional puro promotion to use that lame excuse and they had Necro Butcher working for them for a long ass time.


----------



## Chismo

Yo dudes, give me some Keiji Mutoh's cool matches from 2010. Thanks!


----------



## Caligula

he didn't have any


----------



## Martyn

Maybe his match with Kaz Hayashi for Jr. Heavyweight Title.


----------



## Chismo

No good matches from Mutoh? :shocked: 
Anyway, I'll check the match with Hayashi, sounds great. Thanks!


----------



## seancarleton77

JoeRulz said:


> No good matches from Mutoh? :shocked:
> Anyway, I'll check the match with Hayashi, sounds great. Thanks!


To be fair he's in a little better shape than Hogan and in around the same shape as the Undertaker. Dude should have retired in like 2002.


----------



## Chismo

seancarleton77 said:


> To be fair he's in a little better shape than Hogan and in around the same shape as the Undertaker. Dude should have retired in like 2002.


Well, yeah, but I still like to watch him in action. He should really take a break for a while and recover. Didn't know he's that bad though, as I didn't really follow AJPW and NJPW this year (except for few favorites).


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Mutoh's largely been garbage since, like, 1996. His knees have been shot to shit ever since I can remember as well.


----------



## Caligula

garbage since 90


----------



## RoninTK

JoeRulz said:


> Yo dudes, give me some Keiji Mutoh's cool matches from 2010. Thanks!


Taiyō Kea & Minoru Suzuki vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Keiji Mutoh for the tag belts was alright, it was from Jan. 3rd I believe. 

Though Funaki did the most work in the match, Mutoh's knees have kept him out for most of the year. 2008 during his final major title runs will probably be his last year for the better than normal stuff to be honest. I do not see him retiring anytime soon, but he really cannot undergo another surgery without putting him in a wheel chair for good.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

CaliGula45 said:


> garbage since 90


How much from Japan have you watched this year, btw? I'm gonna try and watch at least 5 matches before the end of the year, but I don't really know where to start on account of being scepticle that not everything will suck dick.

I know about Akiyama/Sasaki, but that's honestly about it. Not going with the yes/no threads on DVDVR since the main dudes generally like what I hate.

And if anybody has a link for the Kanemoto/Fujita match from last year's J-Cup, hook me up please. Can't find the fucker anywhere.


----------



## Rickey

Someone on this board recommended this match years ago, and now I'm recommending it to you...yes you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBW-Nwxwqps


----------



## McQueen

Yeah that match is awesome. Pretty hard to go wrong with Manami Toyota.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

The powerbomb spot in that is ridiculous. I recall a German suplex into barbed wire that was also nuts.

It's Combat Toyota, btw. Manami's the skinny one that screams and has eight million highspots that Aja Kong murdered that one time.


----------



## McQueen

OMG brain fart haha. Saw Megumi & Toyoda and well i'm retarded sometimes.


----------



## Caligula

Andy3000 said:


> How much from Japan have you watched this year, btw? I'm gonna try and watch at least 5 matches before the end of the year, but I don't really know where to start on account of being scepticle that not everything will suck dick.
> 
> I know about Akiyama/Sasaki, but that's honestly about it. Not going with the yes/no threads on DVDVR since the main dudes generally like what I hate.
> 
> And if anybody has a link for the Kanemoto/Fujita match from last year's J-Cup, hook me up please. Can't find the fucker anywhere.


a handful of matches. Sasaki/Akiyama's definitely the best with Tenryu/Sayama as a close second. Takayama/Nakamura from the 1/4 show was good. Saw Liger/Casas from May which was good, Go/Sugiuera from Budokan which sucked. a 35 minute KENTA/Marufuji match that I gave up on a quarter of the way through. Thought the first Kawada/Morishima match sucked. Tenryu carried a good 6 man on the debut show of his new promotion. Solar and ***** Navarro had a really good match at one of those Ultimo Dragon fiestas too, no idea on the date. Thats all I can remember


----------



## Derek

If you haven't seen it, the Takayama/Sugiura GHC title match is worth checking out.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Sasaki/Akiyama and Tenryu/Sayama it is then.

Watched the 3/26/96 New Japan tag last night where Tenryu slaps the shit out of everybody. Gets in some guys in the crowd's face. Abuses dudes that aren't even in the match. Punches Koshinaka in the face and chops him in the throat. It was boss.

EDIT: Yeah, heard that was good as well. Watched their October match from last year last night as well, actually. I'll probably check it out too then.


----------



## Caligula

^is that when Tenryu humiliated Saito at ringside

you got a star rating drock


----------



## Derek

I'd give it ****, maybe ****1/4

Its just Tak and Sug beating the shit out of each other.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

CaliGula45 said:


> ^is that when Tenryu humiliated Saito at ringside


That's the one. Need that Tenryu set right now.


----------



## Caligula

he told me it was coming out like 8 months ago


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Saw a thread on DVDVR earlier where he said it was coming out in the summer. 

Thread was from 2006.


----------



## Caligula

its his Detox


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Who provides the shitty white boy guest spot? He was in the 1994 rumble so there's probably a plethora of shitty white boy guest spots to choose from there.


----------



## Caligula

Ole Anderson


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Ah shit, totally forgot about Ole. Yeah, Ole is the one. Tenryu chopping Ole in the throat for five minutes was pretty great. Maybe the best thing I've seen Ole in that doesn't also involve Arn.


----------



## McQueen

I want to chop you in the throat you fucking drunk.


----------



## Rickey

McQueen said:


> Yeah that match is awesome.





Andy3000 said:


> The powerbomb spot in that is ridiculous. I recall a German suplex into barbed wire that was also nuts.
> 
> It's Combat Toyota, btw. Manami's the skinny one that screams and has eight million highspots that Aja Kong murdered that one time.


Yep. The best thing about the match to me is the fact that they only used the "gimmick" 3 times for 3 big spots everything else is suspense leading up to the spots. Nothing unnecessary either. Everytime a spot happened my eyes widen especially the German suplex. And yeah the powerbomb was sick.


----------



## Halfnelson

Andy3000 said:


> I'm gonna try and watch at least 5 matches before the end of the year, but I don't really know where to start on account of being scepticle that not everything will suck dick.


Not aimed at me but I'd recommend Aja/Satomura from April, might be my favourite match between them, Aja is brutal as always, awesome reversals, great little touches and call backs to their other matches and pretty dramatic selling. Also really liked Kawada/Morishima from 2/28, Morishima tries to kill Kawada who really has a ''what am I doing here'' expression for most of the match. So when he fires back it's even better. Tenryu/TM from RJPW, Ishikawa/Yamamoto, Nagata/Ishii and Bison/Akiyama were pretty cool too. Sorry if these matches have been mentioned way back but I haven't really visited here for a while.

I've been meaning to watch that Kudo match for a long ass time, really need to get around to it, watching a lot of WAR stuff lately so it's tough to drag myself away from it.


----------



## Mr. Papaya

Yeah, that Kudo-Toyota match was wonderful, probably the best deathmatch ever or at least one of them. It was so gritty and violent it felt like watching a game of Mortal Kombat in real life.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Halfnelson said:


> Not aimed at me but I'd recommend Aja/Satomura from April, might be my favourite match between them, Aja is brutal as always, awesome reversals, great little touches and call backs to their other matches and pretty dramatic selling. Also really liked Kawada/Morishima from 2/28, Morishima tries to kill Kawada who really has a ''what am I doing here'' expression for most of the match. So when he fires back it's even better. Tenryu/TM from RJPW, Ishikawa/Yamamoto, Nagata/Ishii and Bison/Akiyama were pretty cool too. *Sorry if these matches have been mentioned way back but I haven't really visited here for a while.*
> 
> I've been meaning to watch that Kudo match for a long ass time, really need to get around to it, watching a lot of WAR stuff lately so it's tough to drag myself away from it.


I visit this thread about once every three months, so thanks for the recommendations. Heard Aja/Satomura was really good as well, totally forgot about that. I usually check out all the worthwhile BatBat stuff at some point too. 

Not necessarily WAR, but I've been watching a lot of 90s Tenryu lately and it's hard to drop that for current day stuff. Violent old bastards punting people in the kidneys smokes everything. Although I did watch Kanemoto v Yoshihito Sasaki from 10/10/05 yesterday and it was tremendous. Kanemoto acting like a douchebag and abusing indy scrubs is one of my favourite things in wrestling.


----------



## antoniomare007

from purolove


> *
> NOAH, 15.01.2011 (G+)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium*
> 
> 1. Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Eddie Edwards & Bobby Fish
> 2. 3 Big Singles Match Series: Takeshi Morishima vs. Mohammed Yone
> 3. 3 Big Singles Match Series: Takuma Sano vs. Kensuke Sasaki
> 4. 3 Big Singles Match Series: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. KENTA
> 5. Jun Akiyama Return Match: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
> 6. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Bison Smith


----------



## McQueen

Match 3,4,5 look good and the other three can get the fuck out. Have no interest in them.

Hope Man Mountain Takayama crushes KENTA, should be fun.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Is Ogawa still doing his douchebag heel thing? If so he should stab Edwards in the eye with a screwdriver. Not that it'd get any heat.


----------



## McQueen

The EE in Eddie Edwards does not stand for Exciting Endeavors.


----------



## Caligula

Andy3000 said:


> I visit this thread about once every three months, so thanks for the recommendations. Heard Aja/Satomura was really good as well, totally forgot about that. I usually check out all the worthwhile BatBat stuff at some point too.
> 
> Not necessarily WAR, but I've been watching a lot of 90s Tenryu lately and it's hard to drop that for current day stuff. Violent old bastards punting people in the kidneys smokes everything. Although I did watch Kanemoto v Yoshihito Sasaki from 10/10/05 yesterday and it was tremendous. Kanemoto acting like a douchebag and abusing indy scrubs is one of my favourite things in wrestling.


Kanemoto had a match with Davey Richards a few months ago that I've been meaning to watch since Kanemoto may be the only junior in the world that can get a good match out of davey


----------



## McQueen

Go tell that to the people in the ROH threads.


----------



## Caligula

I did in 07


----------



## McQueen

They all think i'm bitter because I don't jerk off to Davey Richards matches like everyone else.


----------



## antoniomare007

bu..bu..but McQueen how can't you not love THE INTENSITY~! that Davey brings to his matches 

:lmao


----------



## McQueen

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'M GONNA KICK YOU AND THEN DO A CROWD DIVE!


----------



## antoniomare007

it was funny seing him do all that stuff in the Super J Tag league and the crowd not giving a fuck about him most of the time


----------



## McQueen

His stupid yelling and fighting spirit comebacks just make him look like a giant douchebag.... and well giant and Davey don't belong together but it applies here.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah he tries too hard sometimes and that never works in puro.


----------



## McQueen

I haven't really seen much of him in Japan really, just a few of his NOAH appearances or co-promotional stuff.


----------



## Chismo

Sano/Sasaki and Takayama/KENTA sound great.


----------



## seancarleton77

I seem to recall Davey getting over as a heel in Japan. He, Devitt, Kanemoto and Nakamura are the only guys who even try to get a reaction out of the crowd in New Japan. Davey is not the best wrestler in the world, though he is very good and easy to get behind. He's going to be more of a people's champion than Tyler Black, Nigel McGuinness, Jerry Lynn or Roderick Strong could ever be. Not everyone likes him for spots and intensity, those are just welcomed bonuses... sometimes.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

CaliGula45 said:


> Kanemoto had a match with Davey Richards a few months ago that I've been meaning to watch since Kanemoto may be the only junior in the world that can get a good match out of davey


Watched a bunch of 2009-2010 Kanemoto last night and yeah, I'll definitely check out the Davey match now. I mean, the Marufuji match from March wasn't anything I'd call great, or even all that good, but it was a 2010 Marufuji match that went half a fucking hour and I didn't hate it. Not surprising that the best parts were Kanemoto punting him in the head or bitch slapping him.

The Kanemoto/Hayato Jr. Fujita match from the BOSJ tourney is def worth a look as well, btw. They just beat the shit out of each other. Hayato doesn't get as abused as he does in their '09 J-Cup match, but he's an awesome underdog babyface and one of the only juniors in the world that knows how to sell and ankle lock well.


----------



## Caponex75

Ahem...........NRC vs. Jado/Gedo > About 97% of the junior stuff in NOAH & NJPW


----------



## Caligula

Andy3000 said:


> Watched a bunch of 2009-2010 Kanemoto last night and yeah, I'll definitely check out the Davey match now. I mean, the Marufuji match from March wasn't anything I'd call great, or even all that good, but it was a 2010 Marufuji match that went half a fucking hour and I didn't hate it. Not surprising that the best parts were Kanemoto punting him in the head or bitch slapping him.
> 
> The Kanemoto/Hayato Jr. Fujita match from the BOSJ tourney is def worth a look as well, btw. They just beat the shit out of each other. Hayato doesn't get as abused as he does in their '09 J-Cup match, but he's an awesome underdog babyface and one of the only juniors in the world that knows how to sell and ankle lock well.


Their J Cup match was one of the best japanese matches of 09 so I should probably get that


----------



## seabs

Caponex75 said:


> Ahem...........NRC vs. Jado/Gedo > About 97% of the junior stuff in NOAH & NJPW


*A lot of the 12 minute Jr tags were significantly better than the final and it's no coincidence that it went longer than any of the other matches.*


----------



## antoniomare007

I just can't get into the matches in Differ Ariake, that building sucks the life out of every match, imo. I was highly dissapointed with the finals after I had read some people pimping it. It was a fine tag match and it was cool seing Jado & Gedo doing a good job as faces.


----------



## Caponex75

Seabs said:


> *A lot of the 12 minute Jr tags were significantly better than the final and it's no coincidence that it went longer than any of the other matches.*



You say the 12 minute time limit matches as if they were better just because of the time. The Finals was great because it made Richards & Romero look like a dominant force and yet make Jado & Gedo look like freaking heroes. They were completely outmatched pretty much the whole match but yet it seemed they had the biggest hearts in the world for pulling through each and every time. There was also some extremely great psychology in it. Jado's selling of his neck made Romero's offense look unbelievably believable and the work done to Gedo's midsection was just fantastic. There were times I was almost sure that Richards & Romero were going to pull it off in almost absolute squash and that is what makes a great control segment. What made it better that the NRC were pretty much invisible through most of the tourney and the one loss they had was pretty questionable. Them dominating made more sense than anything. This was far better than most of the tag matches I had saw because it involved allot more than the "Hey~! Lez dough sum movez" kinda deal and made it seem dramatic. Richards & Romero were just awesome in that match but thanks to Jado & Gedo selling, the match achieved far more than it should have.


----------



## Sunglasses

Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE beat Daisuke Sekimoto & Masato Tanaka in the Furinkazan finals. Should be a big win for Sato/KAMIKAZE over the world champ and the "legend".


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate Infinity 190*

*Open The Triangle Gate Title Match*
CIMA, Gamma & Genki Horiguchi vs Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & Naoki Tanizaki 
***1/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 191*

*Open The Twin Gate Title Match*
Susumu Yokosuka & K-Ness vs Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino
***1/2

*Dragon Gate Infinity 192*

CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid vs Shingo, YAMATO & KAGETORA 
***

Infinity 192 was easily one of the worst Infinities in a while.

*Dragon Gate Infinity 193*

*Open The Twin Gate Title Match*
Susumu Yokosuka & K-Ness vs CIMA & Gamma
***1/2

*Dragon Gate Infinity 194*

*Open The Dream Gate Title Match*
Masato Yoshino vs Ryo Saito
***1/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 195*

*Open The Triangle Gate Title Match*
CIMA, Gamma & Genki Horiguchi vs Shingo, Cyber Kong & KAGETORA
***1/2-***3/4


----------



## seabs




----------



## SHIRLEY

Seabs said:


>


**1/4

The Green Lobster did too many highspots. He should have saved them for a bigger match. The Red Monkey didn't sell his arm properly either.


----------



## TheAce

HAHAHA, that video is amazing, just like his last one. Sawa needs to do more of these.


----------



## McQueen

Why can't I ever see that shit happening on the street.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Watched Kanemoto/Tanaka from 4/13/08 last night, and maybe I'm just watching the best stuff, but Kanemoto strikes me as one of the best guys in Japan over the last few years. The Tanaka match was awesome.


----------



## TheAce

> Watched Kanemoto/Tanaka from 4/13/08 last night, and maybe I'm just watching the best stuff, but Kanemoto strikes me as one of the best guys in Japan over the last few years. The Tanaka match was awesome.


YES!! This match is fantastic, this was one of my favorite matches of 08.


----------



## Derek

Marufuji & Aoki beat Kanemoto & Tiger Mask for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles.


----------



## just1988

I was wondering if anybody could help me out (I'll try to keep this short...)

Basically my brother bought me a puro DVD for xmas. I have a passing interest in puro but for the most part have little clue as to who's who. So I was wondering if anybody could tell me what the DVD is/what matches are on it (spoiler free please).

Here's the cover...









I'm guessing it's a Hustle DVD but I've done a variation of google searches but haven't been able to find anything. I appreciate and help.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah thats HUSTLE.


----------



## smitlick

Well here are the cards for the show mentioned on the cover. Won't guarantee that you'll get all of the matches though.

18.6.08
1. Wataru Sakata & TAJIRI vs Nagao Ginga, KUSHIDA & \(^o^)/ Chie 
2. "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada & Fake HG vs "Hustle General" Genichiro Tenryu & RG 
3. Bono-chan, Yoshie-chan & A-chan vs Commander An Jo, René Bonaparte & Monster C
4. HUSTLE GP Onigumi Representation Match: Red Onigumi vs Blue Onigumi vs Yellow Onigumi vs Enji Onigumo 

6.7.08
1. TAJIRI, KUSHIDA & \(^o^)/ Chie vs Red Onigumi, Blue Onigumi & Enji Onigumo 
2. Fake HG vs RG 
3. Wataru Sakata & Nagao Ginga vs Commander An Jo & Monster C 
4. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada vs René Bonaparte 
5. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: Bob Sapp vs Tiger Jeet Singh 
6. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: Bono-chan vs Genichiro Tenryu 

11.7.08
1. Zeus vs KUSHIDA 
2. Fake HG vs HG 
3. TAJIRI & \(^o^)/ Chie vs Bob Sapp & Monster C 
4. "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada, Tiger Jeet Singh & Commander An Jo vs Wataru Sakata, Genichiro Tenryu & Nagao Ginga 
5. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: RG vs Red Onigumi 

27.7.08
1. Bono-chan, Yoshie-chan & A-chan vs Genichiro Tenryu, KUSHIDA & \(^o^)/ Chie 
2. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: Nagao Ginga vs Commander An Jo 
3. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: Shiro Koshinaka vs Monster C 
4. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: Zeus vs Ko♥Ri♥Ta♥N 
5. HG & RG vs "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada & Fake HG 
6. HUSTLE GP - Round 1: Wataru Sakata vs TAJIRI

21.8.08
1. Hiroshi Nagao, KUSHIDA & \(^o^)/ Chie vs Bono-chan, Yoshie-chan & A-chan 
2. HUSTLE GP - Round 2 Qualifying Match: Zeus vs Akira Shoji 
3. HG & RG vs Fake HG & Monster C 
4. Shiro Koshinaka vs "Hustle General" Genichiro Tenryu 
5. Wataru Sakata & TAJIRI vs "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada & Bob Sapp 

23.8.08
1. Summer Vacation Special HUSTLExOsaka Pro-Wrestling Exchange Match: TAJIRI, Billy Ken Kid & \(^o^)/ Chie vs Tigers Mask, Kuishinbo Kamen & KUSHIDA 
2. HG vs Monster C 
3. HUSTLE GP - Round 2: Zeus vs Bob Sapp 
4. HUSTLE GP - Round 2: "Monster K" Toshiaki Kawada vs RG 
5. HUSTLE GP - Round 2: Bono-chan vs Hiroshi Nagao
6. HUSTLE GP - Round 2: Wataru Sakata vs Shiro Koshinaka


----------



## McQueen

HUSTLE is goofy as fuck. Its not like normal puro promotions.


----------



## just1988

Thanks for the cards man.

Yeah I watched the first few minutes earlier (to see if it worked, different region) and it seems quite strange but it should be good fun.


----------



## ddog121

CIMA, Dragon Kid, and Ricochet won the Open the Triangle Gate Titles at Final Gate. Congradulations to Ricochet


----------



## seabs

*Full results from the show:*



Spoiler: Final Gate 2010



12/26/2010 Fukuoka, Fukuoka Kokusai Center ~ FINAL GATE 2010 
0. Super Shenlong (5:30 Referee Stop) Kzy 
1. Kenichiro Arai{W}, NOSAWA Rongai (9:90 Diving Headbutt) Super Shisa, Kotoka{L} 
2. Susumu Yokosuka (9:01 Mugen) KAGETORA 
3. No DQ Match: Gamma Daiou (11:58 Skytwister Press) Darkness Dragon 
4. Open the Twin Gate Next Challenger or Champion 3 Way Tag Match: Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi vs. Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii 
-Horiguchi (Beach Break) Takagi 
-Mochizuki (Shin Saikyou High Kick) Saito 
5. BxB Hulk (Phoenix Splash) YAMATO 
6. Open the Triangle Gate: CIMA, Dragon Kid, Ricochet{W} (Double Rotation Moonsault) Takuya Sugawara, Naoki Tanizaki, Yasushi Kanda{L} 
*Failure in V2, WARRIORS become the 31st Champions 
7. Open the Dream Gate: Masato Yoshino (Nadareshiki Lightning Spiral) Naruki Doi 
*V3 for Yoshino 

Looks like Kzy injured his leg/foot during the dark match, prompting an early stop. 

WARRIORS came out after the Gamma match, and some arguing ensued over the Triangle Gate. Brodie Lee gave Gamma & K-ness a big boot. CIMA introduced Ricochet and Lee, before some arguing about the Triangle Gate. Kzy wasn't out, still injured from the dark match. 

The masked group came out after the main, there are now 6 of them. They left just as fast, with no hints or indications to anything from them. 

Yoshino closed out the show with the standard end of the year comments. Quite a difference from FINAL GATE last year, where Yoshino ended the year by losing his hair.


----------



## McQueen

just1988 said:


> Thanks for the cards man.
> 
> Yeah I watched the first few minutes earlier (to see if it worked, different region) and it seems quite strange but it should be good fun.


Seeing as normal Puro promotions are treated as a semi legit sport HUSTLE is the Japanese Equivelent of what they think "Sports Entertainment" is and since the Japanese are strange socially repressed people its pretty fucking weird at times.

Still its a lot of fun watching "Generallismo" Takada blow shit up with an imaginary lazer coming out of his finger.


----------



## SHIRLEY

_The_ Tiger Jeet Singh? Isn't he dead?

Rene Bonaparte is Rene Dupree by the way just1988.


----------



## Derek

Pretty sure its the original Tiger Jeet Singh.


----------



## Martyn

NOAH 3rd GREAT VOYAGE 2005
Go Shiozaki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki

The last stand of Kobashi/Sasaki feud, which also features two great rookies - Shiozaki & Nakajima. Phenomenal spectacle - since the beginning to the end. Kobashi, please come back! **** ¾.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - B-Banquet 276*

Shuji Kondo & KAI vs NOSAWA Rongai & BUSHI
***

Taiyo Kea, Takao Omori & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs TARU, Rene Dupree & Hate
***

*All Japan - B-Banquet 277*

Suwama, Ryota Hama & Masayuki Kono vs Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki & Osamu Nishimura
***1/2

*All Japan - B-Banquet 278*

*AJPW World Jr Heavyweight Title*
Kaz Hayashi vs Keiji Muto
***1/2-***3/4


----------



## Martyn

NOAH THE SECOND NAVIGATION 2-03-08
Atsushi Aoki, Takuma Sano & Yoshohiro Takayama vs. Tamon Honda, KENTA & Kenta Kobashi

Long match, which least over 30 minutes. Honda is pice of shit, Takayama wasnt in good shape also but overall positively. ***.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW WRESTLING KINGDOM 4-01-07

1. WELCOME TO TOKYO DOME! New Year Funny Waltz:
Masanobu Fuchi (AJPW), El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kikutaro, Nobutaka Araya (AJPW) & Akira Raijin (AJPW) - * ½.
2. Artistic Tag Team Battle:
Jado & Gedo vs. NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA (AJPW) - *.
3. Rockin' Your Hearts of Fxxxing Outlaws:
Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. D-Lo Brown (AJPW), Buchanan (AJPW) & Travis Tomko - *.
4. Dimension Zero:
Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Giant Bernard, TARU, Kohei Suwama (AJPW) & RO'Z (AJPW) - * ¾.
5. Top of the World ~ Arts of War:
Koji Kanemoto (NJPW), Tiger Mask (NJPW), Kaz Hayashi (AJPW), TAKA Michinoku (Kaientai Dojo) & Wataru Inoue (NJPW) vs. Jyushin Thunder Lyger (NJPW), Minoru (NJPW), Milano Collection A.T. (NJPW), Shuji Kondo (AJPW) & "brother" YASSHI (AJPW) - * ¾.
6. Dangerous Rapture:
Toshiaki Kawada (AJPW) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW) - ***.
7. Triple Crown Heavyweight Title Match:
Minoru Suzuki (CHAMPION) (AJPW) vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW) - *** ½.
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title Match:
Hiroshi Tanahashi (CHAMPION) (NJPW) vs. Taiyo Kea (AJPW)- *** ¾.
9. MAIN EVENT!
Super Dream Tag Match ~ "This is Wrestle Kingdom":
Masahiro Chono (NJPW) & Keiji Mutoh (AJPW President)
vs.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW) & Satoshi Kojima (AJPW) - **.

Worst WK of all-time. Only ***+ matches are worth watching. Nakamura/Kawada & Jr. Heavyweight 10 Man Tag was the biggest disapointments of this show. Nagata/Suziki and Tanahashi/Kea save this event. 

AJPW 27-08-06
TRIPLE CROWN TITLE
Tayio Kea (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada 

Great chemistry between that two tremendous workers, really sick stiff kicks and epic emotions in the ending. Wow. - **** ¼.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan B-Banquet 279*

*Triple Crown Title*
Suwama vs Masakatsu Funaki
****


----------



## McQueen

Martyn said:


> NOAH THE SECOND NAVIGATION 2-03-08
> Atsushi Aoki, Takuma Sano & Yoshohiro Takayama vs. Tamon Honda, KENTA & Kenta Kobashi
> 
> Long match, which least over 30 minutes. Honda is pice of shit, Takayama wasnt in good shape also but overall positively. ***.


You just crossed the line. No way Derek will let this go unpunished.


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> You just crossed the line. No way Derek will let this go unpunished.


Punishment will come, when it is unexpected. There will be no mercy for those who dismiss the power of Hondamania, which is still running wild.


----------



## McQueen

HONDAMANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Derek

FIGHT FOR WHATS RIGHT, FIGHT FOR YOUR RICE!


----------



## McQueen

WHEN KENTA KOBASHI DROPS YOU ON YOUR HEAD!
GET BACK AND FIGHT WHEN OTHERS WOULD BE DEAD!
I GOT SOMETHING BURNING INSIDE OF ME!
LEAVE THE MIDCARD TO TAG WITH KO-BASHI!

I AM A REAL JAPANESE MAN!
RULE THE MIDCARD LIKE NO OTHER CAN!
I AM A REAL JAPANESE MAN!
FIGHT FOR WHATS RIGHT, FIGHT FOR YOUR RICE!!!


----------



## T.W.F.S

Ignore those two. Everybody knows Honda's only ever had one good match.


----------



## Caligula

^you talking about when he carried Kobashi


----------



## seancarleton77

Honda carried Kobashi just like Cena carried Michaels at Wrestlemania 23.


----------



## McQueen

It was Honda's efforts that made that match so good, Kobashi didn't do anything extra. And Honda's been in a lot of good tags with the Burning stable.


----------



## Caligula

seancarleton77 said:


> Honda carried Kobashi just like Cena carried Michaels at Wrestlemania 23.


you picked the wrong match to be sarcastic with


----------



## Martyn

Very funny.  

Whats so special with Kazuhiko Okada ? I always thought, that he's a random rookie but NJPW hyped his return and gave him a high profile match, against top NOAH workers at their biggest event of the year.


----------



## smitlick

Martyn said:


> Very funny.
> 
> Whats so special with Kazuhiko Okada ? I always thought, that he's a random rookie but NJPW hyped his return and gave him a high profile match, against top NOAH workers at their biggest event of the year.


Well he went to TNA and worked dark matches so maybe the think hes good?


----------



## antoniomare007

It doesn't matter if he only appeared on dark matches, the fact the he "went to work to the States" is big enough of a deal. New Japan will still promote his time in the U.S as a big trip reagardless of what really happened. 

Okada has shown a lot of promise, he's the most promising Young Lion the have. A couple of interpromotional bouts against NOAH in 09' were his breaktrough matches.

--

Oh, and IT FINALLY HAPPENED!



> 7. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Minoru defeated Kaz Hayashi (c) (22:08.) with the Minoru Special - Title switch.


----------



## Derek

About damn time.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah wasn't Kaz on his 39th defense or something nuts like that?

If I remember correctly Okada was discovered by Ultimo Dragon and Ultimo had him hyped up as a future star, sorta of like what Sasaki did for Katsuhiko Nakajima. I think he shows a lot of promise myself.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

T.W.F.S said:


> Ignore those two. Everybody knows Honda's only ever had one good match.


Clownin' son.


----------



## RoninTK

smitlick said:


> Well he went to TNA and worked dark matches so maybe the think hes good?


TNA doesn't even play in Japan, so they are going by what they read, and even that is not much to be honest, lol. 






Hardy is going to die of stupidity if he keeps going... or in other term do the same to someone else.


----------



## Derek

Here's hoping Hardy gets really fucked up in Roppongi and will attempt a Swanton from the top of the Dome that will miss Naito by about 20 feet.


----------



## New Blood

Be prepared to see the greatest thing in the universe.


----------



## McQueen

I hope they shit all over Hardy.


----------



## FITZ

I can't imagine the Japanese fans would be all that thrilled to see him and I would imagine they would just be pissed off if he beats one of their guys.

And congratulations McQueen for getting the username that you have always dreamed of.


----------



## McQueen

Well I wanted 'The guy who stalked, raped and killed TaylorFitz after that one ROH show when he went down the wrong alley OMGWTFBBQ" but headliner said it was too long.

But yeah, its double shitty that Naito is one of the better young talents in Japan and is going to job to that sack of shit. I have little doubt RVD will win as well.


----------



## SHIRLEY

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't it polite to put over a country's talent, when you're visiting? Hardy and Van Dam were like "Don't know who he is" and "He's shit, I'll beat him", respectively.


----------



## Derek

Or you could take the 'disrespectful gaijin' act that Beer Money is doing. But at least they're doing it to get a negative reaction from the the foreign crowd. They also have a win over the tag champs, so bringing them in makes sense.

Hardy and RVD are just there because TNA and New Japan have a working agreement so they just don't give a shit and will probably put little if any effort in their match. Well, at least RVD will. Hardy tries most of the time, but its usually shit unless he's in there with a ring general who can keep his stupid shit under control. Even then its no guarantee that it will be any good.

I feel sorry for Naito since this is supposed to be his big break and he has to depend on Meth Hardy to let him look good.


----------



## bisquinha

Results Wrestle Kingdom V

[NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM V IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/11 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome
Attendace: Reports say 42000 people

0-1. World Wrestling Interpromotional Match: Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga beat Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo (7:33) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Gedo.
0-2. World Wrestling Invitation Match: Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Kenny Omega & Taichi (8:04) when Taguchi pinned Taichi.
1. IWGP Tag Team Title – 3WAY Match: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) beat James Storm & Robert Roode and Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man (8:36) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Roode (4th defense).
2. ROAD TO FANTASIC MANIA: La Sombra & Mascara Dorada beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Hector Garza (7:42) when Sombra pinned Liger.
3. DEEP SLEEP TO LOSE: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Takashi Iizuka (11:13) with the Anaconda Cross.
4. Hardcore NJPW-TNA Greatest Showcase: Rob Van Dam beat Toru Yano (11:28) with the Five Star frog splash.
5. NO JUSTICE, NO LIFE: Yuji Nagata beat Minoru Suzuki (16:15) with a backdrop hold.
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) beat Kota Ibushi (16:22) with an avalanche-style Bloody Sunday (4th defense).
7. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion I – Kazuchika Okada Return Match: Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama beat Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada (12:08) when Takayama used an Everest German on Okada.
8. TNA World Heavyweight Title: Jeff Hardy (c) beat Tetsuya Naito (11:04) with a Swanton bomb.
9. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion II: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Go Shiozaki (14:17) with the Boma Ye.
10. The Absolute Exhaust: Togi Makabe beat Masato Tanaka (12:46) with a King Kong kneedrop.
11. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Satoshi Kojima (c) (21:57) with the High Fly Flow to become the 56th champion


----------



## antoniomare007

Impresive attendance, although the last time they claimed 40k it was really 20, lol.

With so many matches it was expected that they wouldn't be given a lot of time, I'm glad they kept RVD and Hardy's mmatches under 12 minutes but would have liked a little more for Naka/Go and the interpromotional tag.

With Tana as champion Naito is bound to win either the New Japan Cup or the G-1, right?

Oh, and “NJPW INVASION TOUR ~ATTACK ON EAST COAST~” was formally announced with three shows: 5/13 New Jersey, 5/14 New York, and 5/15 Philadelphia. Lucky gringos...:side:


----------



## Sunglasses

why did they give the title to Tanahashi.  Doesn't make any sense to me to let Kojima win everything the last half year and now he loses to Tanahashi... I think it's Naito with a shot and then it has to be Goto winning the belt from Tanahashi.

Good to see Bad Intentions winning again!


----------



## Derek

Yeah, Kojima dropping the title so soon is puzzling. Maybe him and new Japan couldn't reach any kind of agreement in how long he was going to be around so they had him drop it to Tana.

Can't wait for this stuff to start popping up.


----------



## RoninTK

Derek said:


> Yeah, Kojima dropping the title so soon is puzzling. Maybe him and new Japan couldn't reach any kind of agreement in how long he was going to be around so they had him drop it to Tana.
> 
> Can't wait for this stuff to start popping up.


It it makes a lot of sense when NJPW rarely has given the IWGP Champions solid runs, especially in the last few years. Maybe 1...2 defenses and on to the next guy. I am still waiting for someone to actually get the Hashimoto treatment of a lot of good defenses, even the Juniors come off as better champions for the most part to me.


----------



## antoniomare007

picture of the main event


----------



## Caligula

didn't think so many people would show up for that card


----------



## Boom Baby

Happy for Tanahashi but I was hoping for Goto to end Kojima's reign.


----------



## patrickshelley

I wanted Goto to get it too but i also wanted Kojima's reign to be longer


----------



## antoniomare007

> *
> NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2011″, 1/22/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> *
> 1. Taichi vs. Maximo
> 2. Tiger Mask & La Mascara vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Dragon Rojo Jr.
> 3. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Mascara Dorada (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
> 4. CMLL World Middleweight Title: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. La Sombra
> 5. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Atlantis & OKUMURA
> 6. Black Cat Memorial Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Mistico vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tetsuya Naito & Averno
> *
> NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2011″, 1/23/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> *
> 1. Danshoku Dino Dramatic Dream Team & Maximo vs. Jado & Gedo
> 2. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Atlantis, Dragon Rojo Jr. & Taichi
> 3. CMLL World 6 Man Tag Team Title: La Sombra, Mascara Dorada & La Mascara (c) vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & OKUMURA
> 4. Mascara contra Cabellera: Tiger Mask vs. Tomohiro Ishii
> 5. Double Main Event I: Mistico vs. Averno
> 6. Double Main Event II – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kota Ibushi Dramatic Dream Team & Kenny Omega Dramatic Dream Team (c) vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
> 
> Finally, we have some idea who Tanahashi will make his V1 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title against but won’t know until 1/30 at Korakuen when Togi Makabe and Satoshi Kojima go to war in a number one contendership match. Kojima is the man who dethroned Makabe at Sumo Hall in October, which has grated at Makabe ever since. Makabe considers himself the number one contender after beating Masato Tanaka yesterday but Kojima wants a rematch against Tanahashi. Whoever wins that bout will face Tanahashi at February’s big show, “THE NEW BEGINNING”, on February 20th at Sendai Sun Plaza Hall.
> *
> NJPW, 1/30/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 1. IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima
> *
> NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 2/20/11 (WPW)
> Sendai Sun Plaza Hall*
> 1. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Winner of Makabe/Kojima (1/30)



and on the US tour will also established a new IWGP Intercontinental Championship, a playoff will be held


----------



## Kapik1337

Great cards for Fantastica Mania. NJPW needs more Danshoku Dino.


----------



## Boom Baby

Good card.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW Ultimate Crush 5-02-03
GHC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Masachiro Chono

The mega stars of 90s AJPW & NJPW finally collide. Its something like Undertaker/Sting in USA. Great psychology and epic ending. A lot better than Misawa/Chono. ****.


----------



## Derek

A couple of rumblings out there:

-Meltzer apparently said the real attendance at the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show was 18,000. After seeing a picture of the Stadium during the main event, that sounds about right.
-There is a chance that starting next year, the traditional 1/4 show will happen somewhere other than the Tokyo Dome. It will still be a large venue, but not the size of the Dome. Makes sense since they haven't been able to really draw there in years.
-Another rumbling about NOAH going under. Take this with a grain of salt as it has been reported to go under for over a year now, but business has definitely not been ideal for the company as of late (by that I mean 2006).


----------



## RoninTK

That is why you see a boost in the media "voting" in terms of NOAH, this year will be a make or break that is obvious. There is a big push to get people interested in the product again, and this generation just has been the hardest in terms to please. 
Quite frankly with how things are I believe it will be at least another 5 years before interest even reaches a smooth peak, again, that is if it even does. That is the way things happen, interests come up and down, just depends in what people are into. Right now "combat" sports in Japan isn't one of them. 

Their main issues lies on no one to get behind, and this for wrestling/MMA/Sumo all together. No real strong champions, look at NJPW for an example their strongest champion ever is Shinya Hashimoto and no one has even gotten close to touching his reign with defenses. Japan sort of needs that type of wrestler(s) in my opinion, not a one, tow defense champion, but someone who has the it factor as well. 
Look at Sugiura and how much he gains with each victory. Though this year will tell how much of an impact Sugiura can bring. 
Everything other than baseball/soccer sort of looks bleak now. There is a line out that no one has really found yet that perfectly blurs traditional and new, to gain interest.


----------



## leglock

Dome thoughts:

Okada looked *absolutely* awful in his match. He stunk it up anytime he was in the ring, looked weak, and his strikes have gotten worse. WTF? He couldn't even do hold the bridge on his German Suplex. Sugabayashi's comment on that he had a long way to go and that he was gonna go back to the states probably was to threaten him to get better.

Absolute highlight of that match was Takayama hitting his best Everest German in like 6-7 years, which was embarrassing because Okada totally gaffed his. The bridge and execution was absolutely picture perfect.

Other than that...

Strong Man/Nakanishi owned in the opening match and their interactions with Bad Intentions were great. Beer Money's participation in the match felt out of place, but I think their job was to bump so Strong Man could recover. Anderson: Beer Money, Nakanishi, Strong Man, Tokyo Sports, FUCKKK YOUUUUUUU!!!!!!1 Fun stuff.

CMLL + Liger match was okay. It had all the trademark spots, but it felt disjointed. The side turnbuckle pads threw off the CMLL guys and so did the lack of crowd interaction.

Tenzan/Iizuka was nothing special, just okay. Iizuka going wild during his entrance is always fun to watch though.

RVD/Yano wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, weapons covered up a lot of its flaws. Yano's extremely stiff umbrella shot to RVD's chest was hilariously funny.

Nagata/Suzuki was all sorts of great fun. Very cool opening video package on top of that.

Devitt/Ibushi went longer than I thought it would, but it ended up being a very good and enjoyable match.

Goto/Okada vs. Takayama/Sugiura. Well I already made the comment on Okada, but the rest of the match was okay. Unfortunately, Okada was in the match a lot so yeah... Goto and Sugiura's exchanges were absolutely great and Takayama kicked all sorts of ass.

I hope no one is forced to watch Hardy vs. Naito. Hardy botched a leapfrog and he was so slow and terrible in the match. At one point, it looked like he had a pocketknife in his pants and it was uncomfortable enough that he had to throw out.

Nakamura/Go was disappointing, but it was alright and what I expected it to be.

Makabe/Tanaka was intense and the ramp table spot was cringeworthy. I don't think Makabe is going to be wrestling at the ME/UpMC level for more than 2 years.

Kojima/Tanahashi was a good match. I was surprised and very happy with the amount of effort Koji put into it.

They had Borash announce for almost all the matches and it was huge error. He announced the Junior Heavyweight match as the Heavyweight title match, which caused Devitt to facepalm and he totally mispronounced Nakamura's name. He's such an amateur. Ughh....

Okada probably ended up looking worse than Hardy, honestly.

Meltzer said that there were 18,000 fans in attendance and watching the opening dark matches, the card, + Tanahashi celebration seems to confirm it. Eagle shot makes the attendance look better than it is.


----------



## Rated Y2J

I've downloaded a lot as of late, but is there anywhere I can purchase Puro DVDs from the UK by any chance?


----------



## Martyn

The Best of Lioness Asuka vs. Kyoko Inoue :

JD 4/26/1998 (TWF Title)
Lioness Asuka vs. Kyoko Inoue - ** 1/2.
NEO 5/6/1998 (TWF Title)
Lioness Asuka vs. Kyoko Inoue - ******.
JD 10/17/1998 (TWF Title)
Lioness Asuka vs. Kyoko Inoue - *** 3/4+.
JD 1/24/1999 (TWF Title)
Lioness Asuka vs. Kyoko Inoue - *** 3/4+.
JD 8/29/1999 (TWF Title vs 3WA Title) 
Lioness Asuka vs Kyoko Inoue - ****** 1/4+.

Wow, one of the best, stiffiest and also most less known joshi feud of all-time. Nice spots, great combination of Asuka's stiff kicks and Inoue strong lariats & monster bumps! 

@up - so bad, that there wouldn't be another 4/1 Tokyo Dome show...


----------



## RoninTK

leglock said:


> Nagata/Suzuki was all sorts of great fun. Very cool opening video package on top of that.
> 
> Devitt/Ibushi went longer than I thought it would, but it ended up being a very good and enjoyable match.
> 
> Goto/Okada vs. Takayama/Sugiura. Well I already made the comment on Okada, but the rest of the match was okay. Unfortunately, Okada was in the match a lot so yeah... Goto and Sugiura's exchanges were absolutely great and Takayama kicked all sorts of ass.
> 
> Makabe/Tanaka was intense and the ramp table spot was cringeworthy. I don't think Makabe is going to be wrestling at the ME/UpMC level for more than 2 years.
> 
> Kojima/Tanahashi was a good match. I was surprised and very happy with the amount of effort Koji put into it.


I finally got the event as well the other day, I don't have a Blu-Ray burner so that is what it has not been capped. 

But anyways I do have a couple recommendations from this event to go on my top list this year.
Devitt vs. Ibushi, Nagata vs. Suzuki and Kojima v. Tanahashi. Not sure on my ranking scale but they will be on the list. 

--------
Also got to add from Zero1, Daisuke Sekimoto and Ikuto Hidaka I enjoyed a lot. Hayashi vs. Monoru from 1/2 was pretty good as well. All in all a good year so far, a few rotten egg's can be found already as well, but nothing is ever perfect.


----------



## Groovemachine

Has anyone seen the September UK Dragon Gate shows yet? Live reviews said both events were pretty awesome, so I just wondered how they translated to DVD.


----------



## Martyn

UWFI 18-08-94
RPW & WCW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES
Nabuhiko Takada © vs. Super Vader © 

The definition of often overused word - STIFF. Awesome Takada's kicks and Vaders punches. Its better than Hansen/Andre! ******.


----------



## Merc_With_A_Mouth

Wasn't sure if I should post this here or just make its own thread for the NJPW shows in the US but this was announced.
In addition to the following wrestlers Jado and Gedo, Jushin Liger, Tanahashi, Nakamura, Taguchi, Okada, Giant Bernard, Karl Machine Guns Anderson, Prince Devitt and Kenny Omega. 

We are pleased to announce the following additions: 

Satoshi Kujima 

Yujiro Takahashi 

Tetsuya Naito 

Mitsuhide Hirasawa 

Togi Makabe 

Toru Yano
====================
Plus Low Ki + Homicide were confirmed for the shows by JAPW


----------



## jawbreaker

There's already a thread for the NJPW US tour.


----------



## Yeah1993

*puts up flame shield*

Jushin Liger v Shinjiro Otani (NJPW 9/2/97)
--The fuck was Otani doing here? I lost sight of how good Liger is over the past few months, and I thought he was great here trying to put on a hell of a match, but Otani fucking sucked for a bit of it. Liger was going for the leg early on, and Otani ignored it, no sold it, and tried to get every bit of offence in himself. Liger was awesome, bringing Otani to the corner while Otani was sitting and dropping a dozen knees on Otani's knee. Two seconds later Otani was on offence and using SPIN-KICKS of all things. He tried to completely dominate the next bits of the match and was going for the arm, then the leg all in the space of a few minutes. The way Liger sold the knee for no more than two seconds was great, yet Otani goes to an armbar. Liger keeps going for that knee too, like "sell you fuck". otani just looked real stubborn and almost wanting to not look weak at all. Some of the exchanges were pretty nifty themselves, but it felt structered like a mess at this point. His domination section with the arm was actually pretty damn good, Liger's a top seller ever and I give a lot of props to him, but Otani seemed to be less sucky by then. He tries to get in offence at times but Otani just won't allow it. Otani had a NASTY armbar on too which I thought was his highlight of the match. he was grinding his knuckles into the elbow joint and I had hope that he *wasn't* trying to ruin the match. Liger actually gets some control in and slaps the hell out of Otani's cheek a few times. Just to make sure Oatni is short of breathing he dives on his sorry arse and powerbombs him on the outside. Otani throws him to barricade after that then dives on him himself. WHAT??? Otani be sucky part 2. They had a good ending stretch but because of the rest of the match I just didn't care about it. If there's something I'm missing here liek a backstroy or anything else than can soemone let me know? If not I didn;t think this was that good at all and it'll be a while before I bother to watch it again.


----------



## Martyn

NJPW/WCW StarrCade in Tokyo Dome 21-03-91

Animal Hamaguchi, Kantaro Hoshino, Kengo Kimura & Osamu Kido vs. Hiro Saito, Norio Honaga, Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto - **.
Flyin' Brian, The Z-Man & Tim Horner vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi, Shiro Koshinaka & Takayuki Iizuka - ** ¼.
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Jushin „Thunder” Liger © vs. Akira Nogami - ** ¾+.
The Equalizer vs. Scott Norton - DUD.
WCW vs. NJPW
Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard vs. Masachiro Chono & Masa Saito - **.
IWGP TAG TEAM TITLES
Hiroshi Hase © & Kensuke Sasaki © vs. The Steiner Brothers - *** ¾+.
Big Cat Hughes vs. El Gigante - DUD.
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow vs. Doom (Butch Reed & Ron Simmons) - *.
The Great Muta vs. Sting - ** ¼+.
Riki Choshu vs. Tiger Jeet Singh - DUD.
IWGP & NWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Ric Flair © vs. Tatsumi Fujinami © - ** ¾.


----------



## seabs

*WK5 was pretty average in fairness I thought. Largely down to there being too many matches, even on a 5 hour show, and some big matches not getting enough time to develop into anything better than good. 

Quick thoughts:
The 8 man dark match was a nothing match. 2nd one was better. Omega worked really hard to have a good match, great showing. Taichi looked abysmal. Completely awful.

The 3 way opener was fun. Beer Money weren't over at all. Best match on the undercard for sure.

Was really looking forward to CMLL tag but it fell flat. Dorada's botch early on hurt the match and killed the crowd a bit for it. Seemed really badly structured and far, far from smooth. Ending seemed to catch everyone by suprise. Shame cause I was really looking forward to this.

Tenzan/Iizuka was good for what it was, I just didn't care too much about it. Good brawling and logic attack from both guys. Tenzan sold his neck really well.

RVD/Tano was bad. Seemed like they were trying to use every weapon they could find rather than have a match together. RVD was over. 

Nagata/Suzuki was one of the better matches on the card. Good hate and exactly what I was expecting at this point on the card. As per usual Nagata has a really good match.

Ibushi/Devitt was alright. Nice to see a high profile juniors match at the dome but then I thought they could have done better. Devitt and Ibushi throwing a top rope brainbuster and 450 out there in the middle of the match soooo randomly was annoying. Especially when it didn't get a reaction and they just carried on with the match as if it didn't happen. Don't think junior matches really work without a hot crowd and they weren't that here, or all show bar the main event I thought. Borash's intro for this was flat out embarassing. One of the best things to come out of the show was that TNA looked like total amateurs with the botchy announcer and awful champ.

The NOAH tag was a massive dissapointment. Okada didn't look good. Botched a few times too. Each guy seemed more interested in knocking the other guy off the apron rather than the guy that was in the ring. Didn't help that it only went 12 minutes but I'm glad it didn't go any longer actually.

Hardy/Naito was even worse than I'd imagined. Hardy got zero reaction. Just confusion. They showed a still shot of his belt during the match. Fucking embarassment for TNA but hey they did this, fucking halfwits. Don't see what's so special about Naito. Obviosuly not judging him on this match but he hasn't had a stand out match yet for me.

Shiozaki/Nakamura started off brilliantly with the leg work from Go but then Nakamura's selling of it was inconsistent, especially when he was on offense. His screaming to sell Go's offense was good though, Benoit esque. Could have been a MOTYC if it had as long as the main but was too short. Shame.

Makabe/Tanaka was great. The table spots were awesome and played off the build up really well. Tanaka's table bump looked insane. Annoyed that they didn't finish the match after that, even more so when they had Makabe just do a few more moves after and finish it anyway. That's the only negative I could think of for it. 2nd best match on the show.

Main event felt like a main event to a big show and both men really brought it. They made Kojima's lariat look great even though Tana kicked out of it twice. Tana looked like a fucking megastar too. Evidently benefited from having more time than the other matches. 

Overall not a bad show or anything but for 5 hours viewing time you expect something a bit more from the dome show given the roll that New Japan have been on. Ibushi/Devitt was about ***1/4, around ***1/2 for Nagata/MiSu, Shiozaki/Nakamura and Tanaka/Makabe. ***3/4 for the main.*


----------



## Sunglasses

IWGP Tag Team Title: ***
Lucha-Tag: **3/4
Nagata/Suzuki: **1/2
IWGP Jr. Title: ***1/2+
NOAH/NJPW 1: ***1/4
TNA Title: ***
Nakamura/Go: ***1/2+
IWGP Heavyweight Title: ****1/4


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - Green Destiny's Top 25 Matches In NOAH*

Disc One

*25. January 26th 2003 - Kobe World Hall*
Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi 
***1/2

*24. April 25th 2004 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA
***3/4

*23. March 6th, 2004 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Jushin Liger vs Makoto Hashi
***1/4

Disc Two

*22. January 8th 2005 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki
****

*21. April 1st 2007 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio vs Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone 
***1/2

*20. July 18th 2005 - Tokyo Dome*
Naomichi Marufuji & Minoru Suzuki vs Makoto Hashi & Jun Akiyama
***3/4

*19. April 28th 2007 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura
****

Disc Three

*18. December 2nd 2007 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa
***1/4

*17. June 6th 2003 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata
****

*16. September 12th 2003 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Makoto Hashi
****1/4

Disc Four

*15. June 6th 2003 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi & Tamon Honda 
****1/4

*14. November 1st 2003 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs Juventud Guerrera & Ricky Marvin
****1/4

Disc Five

*13. June 5th 2005 - Sapporo Media Park Spica*
Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takashi Sugiura
****1/2

*12. July 16th 2006 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima vs. Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA
****1/2

*11. September 18th 2005 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
KENTA vs SUWA
****

Disc Six

*10. September 10th 2004 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue
****-****1/4

*9. 19th October 2002 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga
****1/4

*8. October 29th 2006 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
KENTA vs Naomichi Marufuji
****3/4

Disc Seven

*7. July 16th 2003 - Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium*
Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA vs Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama
****1/4

*6. April 13th 2003 - Tokyo Ariake Colosseum*
Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda
****1/2

*Bonus - December 23rd 2000 - Tokyo Ariake Colosseum*
Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama
****1/4

Disc Eight

*5. April 25th 2004 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama
****1/2

*4. July 10th 2004 - Tokyo Dome*
Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama
****1/2-****3/4

Disc Nine

*3. March 1st 2003 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi
*****

*2. November 5th 2005 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
****3/4

*1. July 18th 2005 - Tokyo Dome*
Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki
****1/2​


----------



## bme

_Good_
3 Way
Devitt/Ibushi

_OK_
Kojima/Tanahashi
Makabe/Tanaka


----------



## Yeah1993

I've only watched the first two discs or so of that NOAH comp and I can't say I've really really liked any match yet. I've watched random NOAH matches on YT and Dailymotion that aren't on there I thought were better than anything on there I've seen so far. Disliked the Liger tag especially and Marufuji makes me want to chew on a brick.


----------



## McQueen

> 19. April 28th 2007 - Tokyo Nippon Budokan
> Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura


You didn't like this match the Yeah1993?


----------



## Yeah1993

Don't think I've watched that one actually. I think I got discouraged by the rest of disc 2 and put it off for later (months later). Fwiw I don't think anything on the set was total crap or anything, but I didn't care for much on there.


----------



## McQueen

I thought that match was really good. Should be much higher IMO.


----------



## smitlick

Yeah1993 said:


> Don't think I've watched that one actually. I think I got discouraged by the rest of disc 2 and put it off for later (months later). Fwiw I don't think anything on the set was total crap or anything, but I didn't care for much on there.


The set does get better. It just starts weirdly. Whoever voted really had some odd opinions on the ordering of the sets. I had the last 3 being reversed.


----------



## McQueen

I believe it got voted in on Green Destiny or something like that.


----------



## smitlick

Jon Hamm Sandwich said:


> I believe it got voted in on Green Destiny or something like that.


Yep it did. I'd still recommend the set to anyone, just thought it could be better.

*Real Japan - Brave of Legend - 17.6.10*

1. Super Rider vs Hayato Mashita
*3/4

2. Alexander Otsuka, Gran Hamada & Akifumi Saito vs Masao Orihara, Black Shadow & Kendo Nakazaki
**

*3. WAR International Jr Heavyweight Title Match*
Tiger Shark vs HIROKI
**3/4

4. Minoru Suzuki & Super Tiger II vs Yuki Ishikawa & Mitsuya Nagai
***1/4

5. Riki Choshu, Great Sasuke & Daisuke Sekimoto vs Genichiro Tenryu, Tatsumi Fujinami & Ultimo Dragon
***

6. First Tiger Mask vs Black Tiger
**1/2


*IVP Videos - Jimmy Rave Best of Shoot Collection*

1. Jimmy Rave, Dr Muscle, Gamma & Magnitude Kishiwada vs Matt Sydal, CIMA, Jack Evans & BxB Hulk
***1/4

2. Jimmy Rave & Masato Yoshino vs Roderick Strong & Matt Sydal vs CIMA & Don Fujii vs Ryo Saito & Dragon Kid
***1/2

*3. JAM CUP 2007 - $10,000 Naniwa-shiki Elimination 8 Man 3 Way Tag (7/19/07)*
CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid & Matt Sydal vs Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Jimmy Rave & Muscle Gang vs SHINGO, Cyber Kong, Jack Evans & El Generico
***1/4
Only shows up to where Rave is eliminated.

4. Jimmy Rave vs AKIRA (5/31/08)
**

5. Jimmy Rave, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs Koji Kanemoto, AKIRA & Ryusuke Taguchi (6/1/08)
***

6. Jimmy Rave vs Koji Kanemoto (6/8/08)
***

7. Jimmy Rave & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue (7/5/08)
***

8. Jimmy Rave, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs Jushin Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Kazuchika Okada
**1/4

The Shoot part was pretty good. Only focused on his work in Japan and went for 42 minutes. Would've been nice if they had of asked some questions about his US work.​


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

That Kobashi/Go v Sasaki/Nakajima tag would probably be my #1 from the whole set. There are a decent number of NOAH matches I prefer to the Misawa/Kobashi especially. Kobashi/Takayama would probably be my #2.


----------



## Corey

Does anyone know what happened to buythematch.com?


----------



## McQueen

No, haven't been on that site in a year and a half.



Andy3000 said:


> That Kobashi/Go v Sasaki/Nakajima tag would probably be my #1 from the whole set. There are a decent number of NOAH matches I prefer to the Misawa/Kobashi especially. Kobashi/Takayama would probably be my #2.


Co-fucking signed. 

I love the shit out of the 6/6/03 Taue vs Nagata & Kobashi/Honda vs Akiyama/Saito matches too. Both top 10 worthy.


----------



## smitlick

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Does anyone know what happened to buythematch.com?


They just stopped doing compilations i think. There was a notice on the site i think a while back.

*NOAH - 10th Anniversary - 10 Years After - 5.8.10*

1. Alex Payne vs Genba Hirayanagi
**1/4

2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takeshi Okita
***

3. Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone vs Takeshi Morishima & Takuma Sano
**3/4

4. Yoshihiro Takayama & Go Shiozaki vs Masao Inoue & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
***1/4

5. Takashi Sugiura vs KENTA
****
​


----------



## silver kyle

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom V 01/04/2011 (7.0/10)*

*IWGP Tag Team Title*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. James Storm & Robert Roode vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man **3/4

Thunder Liger & Hector Garza vs. La Sombra & Mascara Dorada **1/2
The botches really hurt this from being a better match. No moves from La Sombra and Dorada felt crip or executed correctly.

*Deep Sleep to Lose*
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka *3/4
Deep Sleep is a really good way to describe my thoughts on this match.

*NJPW vs. TNA*
Toru Yano vs. Rob Van Dam *3/4
Another yawn.

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki ***1/2
My second favorite match of the night. Nagata is the shit.

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi ***1/2

*NJPW vs. NOAH*
Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama **1/2

*TNA World Heavyweight Title*
Jeff Hardy (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito **
Yup, Hardy sucks. Although Naito didn't do anything for me either, especially while wearing a tshirt throughout the entire match. Imagine if UFC fighters wore tshirts in their fights?

*NJPW vs. NOAH *
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki ***1/2
I was surprised at how I only really started to get into this match about midway through. Loved the last few minutes as well. Wish they could have had a little more time.

Togi Makabe vs. Masato Tanaka ***1/4
I don't care much for Makabe, but I did enjoy some of the action. 

IWGP Heavyweight Title
Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4
My current Match of the Year. 

The first few matches are decent for opening the show, then we get a bit of crap in the middle, and then the last part of the show really picks up. If TNA would have stayed away from this show we might have had and even better show (although Beer Money did alright I guess). I'm just glad Liger finally wrestled for more than a few minutes and that Devitt is still champ ​


----------



## Mark.

Didn't really know where to ask this, but can anyone list all the singles matches between Kobashi and Steve Williams? I think there was about three, but I don't know the dates.


----------



## leglock

Mark. said:


> Didn't really know where to ask this, but can anyone list all the singles matches between Kobashi and Steve Williams? I think there was about three, but I don't know the dates.



04.14.1998 (Champion Carnival)
04.14.1997 (Champion Carnival)
04.10.1996 (Champion Carnival)
01.07.1995
09.03.1994 (Triple Crown)
04.15.1994 (Champion Carnival)
08.31.1993 
03.28.1993 (Champion Carnival)
03.29.1992 (Champion Carnival)
05.25.1991 
05.18.1991
06.08.1990


----------



## Mark.

Wow, that's quite a lot. Were all of them filmed and are available? Thanks.


----------



## Caligula

They had a match in early 2000 before the CC on the same tape as all those vader matches too


----------



## Yeah1993

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Riki Choshu (NJPW 9/6/87)
--Fujiwara doesn't even wait for Choshu to get to the ring before unding him and laying some badass headbutts to rock his brain. All that makes Choshu's head bloody not even three minutes in, and the crowd were eating it up. Looked to me like they had accepted Fujiwara and Choshu needed to pay for his invasions and betrayals. Probably as far off from the actual story shit that happened, but what the hell. Fujiwara gives Choshu a piledriver and lifts his head when going for a pin, "you thought that was all?". Fujiwara's headbutts are insane-looking, btw, I can only think of Chris Benoit throwing better ones. Once Choshu starts actually getting in some moves, Fujiwara's all, "ok, I'll choke him". Choshu's had enough and stomps Fujiwara while standing, and Fujiwara reacts differently to each one, the first was like "I dare you to kick me again", the second was like "getting closer", the third was like "almost.....", and then he goes back to the throat and into an armbar. Choshu still in content with using some stomps, and Fujiwara sells each one harder and harder. And the way he sells those punches in the corner, oh my God, his facial expression of being somewhat surprised and happy at the same time that Choshu has a nice amount still left in him in incredible. Choshu's trying to put Fujiwara away with a variation of the Scorpion Deathlock, but he can't quite sink it in properly and once Fujiwara grabs the ropes he stomps the motherfucking crap out of him. Fujiwara reverses a suplex into a Fujiwara Armbar and has this insane SMILE while doing it, like "I put the kibosh on your move, bucko". Fujiwara goes to pull off that entire turnbuckle section and throws it at Choshu's head, I mean that thing can't hurt THAT much but it was a really nifty touch that I'be never seen before. His Irish-whip-into-it attempt is futile and Choshu's fighting for his career so he reverses it. Choshu goes for the Riki Lariat and it ends up becoming a FUJIWARA ARMBAR. Choshus's beyond pissed and figures Fujiwara's head hasn't got any blood on it, so he just has to bring him to the outside and bloody it up. His head and chest becomes flooded with his own blood and he's still trying to lay those headbutts in. What was really was his final headbutt, he hits it then wobbles around, selling an emotion of "these headbutts are going to finish ***me*** off", and it was his final one. Choshu can't believe he's actually got the strength to pull those off, so he finishes him with two Riki Lariats that Fujiwara sells like a god of selling. All of that was in thirteen minutes. You don't want to miss this one.


----------



## McQueen

That... sounds..... AWESOME.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

That's one of my favourite matches of all time. Probably the match that sold me on Fujiwara as maybe being the best best ever when I watched it about 3 years ago now.


----------



## McQueen

Is that on Best of NJ 80's somewhere because if so i'm watching it tonight.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

It's on it, yeah. It was my overall #3 on the set, IIRC (the '84 gauntlet was my #1, Hansen/Andre #2, and either Fujiwara/Choshu or the 3/86 elimination match was my #3).

Fujiwara/Inoki from 2/6/86 is also amazing, btw.


----------



## McQueen

I've seen that and yeah its awesome. Need to see more Fuji, seen a solid amount but its all been pretty good.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'm gonna try and jump on all of the 90s Fujiwara I haven't seen relatively soon. Goodhelmet put together a comp of all the best PWFG stuff and there's a ton of Fujiwara on it that sounds interesting at worst. Some of it sounds flat out terrific.


----------



## Yeah1993

Ordered that PWFG and the Other Japan 80s so I've finally got plenty and plenty of Fujiwara to watch since I've been dry of his footge forever. There's a Fujiwara vs. DICK MURDOCH from 96 that no matter how old they are I'm dying to see. If it'd happened ten years earlier it would been the greatest headbutt scrunchy face match in the history of creation, or something.

Quick question, are there any Danielson matches in Japan *really* worth checking out?


----------



## McQueen

He had a solid 10 minute affiar with Kanemoto in the 04 BOSJ and one of his matches with KENTA in NOAH was pretty good aside from a dead silent crowd.


----------



## Yeah1993

Should have been specific . I meant more or less his suff before ROH existed where he wore that mask and stuff (but yeah thanks I'll watch those anyway).


----------



## Corey

His match vs. KENTA from NOAH 12/2/06 is the best I've seen from him in Japan. ****1/2


----------



## antoniomare007

he had a decent match against Tanahashi for the U-30 title and a fun little match against Aoki. His GHC Jr title defense against KENTA is pretty damn good too.


----------



## Yeah1993

thanks for the Danielson stuff, I'll get to it eventually. 

Mitsuharu Misawa v Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH 23/9/02)
--Gone were the days when Misawa was having the greatest matches of all time but he hardly looked too slowed down from his peak in this. I'd say this is comfortably on par or even better than some of the matches Dave Meltzer had given ***** from AJPW anyway. Takayama looks like he'd make a hell of a Japnanese killer Godzilla heel in the US who'd tattoo your body with his footprint and that's almost the impression I got from him here. The boots he layed into Misawa were nasty looking and he dominated with them leading to a couple of spots where Misawa looked like he would be counted down. Some big guardrail stuff as well. Misawa's comeback was full of forearms and suplex variations as expected and Takayama didn't exactly let him go without kicking him the face some more. I had no problem with some of the finishing stretch being slow and a little awkward looking due to everything before it. There were some really surprising stuff in there as well, I've never seen an enzuguiri set-up leg-hold thingy being turned into an armbar instead of the enzuguiri itself. Misawa winning the GHC Title with a forearm was excellent. A must-see match for 2002.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 10th Anniversary - New Navigation 2010 in Tokyo - 22.8.10*

1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara
**3/4

2. Takeshi Morishima, Yutaka Yoshie & Akitoshi Saito vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue
**3/4

3. KENTA vs Atsushi Aoki
***1/4

4. Kensuke Sasaki vs Shuhei Taniguchi
***

*5. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori vs Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask
***1/4

*6. Special Singles Match*
Mohammed Yone vs Satoshi Kojima
***

*7. Special Singles Match*
Go Shiozaki vs Shinsuke Nakamura
****

*8. GHC Heavyweight Title Match*
Takashi Sugiura vs Jun Akiyama
***1/2-***3/4


*NOAH - New Departure - 28.8.2010*

*1. Special Tag Match - NEW DEPARTURE 2010*
Go Shiozaki & Takeshi Morishima vs Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi
***1/2

*2. Kotaro Suzuki Return Match*
Kotaro Suzuki vs KENTA
***3/4


*New Japan - Circuit 2010 - G1 Climax Special - Kotetsu Yamamoto Memorial Show - 3.9.2010*

*1. Jado Return Match*
Davey Richards, Jado & Gedo vs Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi
**3/4

2. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
**3/4

*3. Special Six Man Tag Match*
Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Masato Tanaka vs Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto
***1/4

*4. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title Match*
Prince Devitt vs Kenny Omega
****


*NOAH - One For All, All For One - 11.09.10*

1. Takashi Sugiura & Ricky Marvin vs Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue
***

2. Takuma Sano vs KENTA
*

3. Go Shiozaki vs Kotaro Suzuki
****

4. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Taiji Ishimori
***


----------



## Yeah1993

Huge post comin':

Kenta Kobashi/Yoshihiro Takayama v Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama (NOAH 2/12/07)
--Glad I watched this again because I thought it was great. Knowing it Kobashi’s return from cancer of all things gives more than enough justification for the crowd going bezerk for him. Takayama vs. Akiyama is about to start and Akiyama points toward Kobashi and Kobashi’s nodding and gets tagged in. Takayama was awesome in the match, btw. There wasn’t much of him, and that’s what I mean by awesome, he wanted to make sure Kobashi was the central theme and did his best to not steal the spotlight. He tagged Kobashi in when the crowd were about to explode already, he followed Kobashi’s orders, held the ropes for him, it was a great addition. Misawa was kind of doing the same, interfering when Tak was in trouble while Kobashi was in so the crowd booed him and got way more behind Kobashi. Akiyama was all right, but he seemed pretty adamant to get more offence in than needed. There was a part where Kobashi chopped at his chest for a straight minute and instead of selling it like he was in a war he just made a face like he was purposely doing nothing about it for the sake of crowd enjoyment or something. I guess that’s a noble reason and everything to have your chest painted red like that (it looked pretty damn painful), but he just yelled after it and all that shit. Misawa winning was a shock. Imo ahead of any match on the NOAH set so far.

Akira Taue v Yuji Nagata (NOAH 6/6/03)
--Nagata was being a pussy near the beginning. Taue tried to chokeslam him off of the apron and he was being all wimpy about it so Taue decides to punish him by pulling the mat off of the floor and chokeslamming him there. He barely jumps and acts like a pussy. Damned pussy Nagata pussbag pussy puss puss. I’m awaiting the punishment Taue will give him in the ring and he pounds and stomps him like hell. Nagata basically controlled most of the rest of the match and did some real good arm work, but I was really pulling for non-pussy Taue to win. The crowd booed Nagata at a couple of points too and they weren’t high on him the whole match. He looked like a good heel but I got the impression he was a legit pussy for not selling those chokeslams properly. Nagata’s best spot was having Taue in some kind of crossface/headlock move and telling the cameramen outside the ring to snap all the photos they could. I was spiritually killed when Taue gave up in an armbar variation but the match was really really good altogether.

KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji v Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makato Hashi (NOAH 12/9/03)
--I haven’t really enjoyed the top 25 MOAH matches set, but it’s more of a “disappointed they aren’t above good” rather than a “they’ve been shit” in regards to the matches. None of the matches have been “bad” and the last two were great. This here is one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen. I don’t want to watch gymnastics you incompetent fucks. Hashi was okay but any hope he had of saving this finisher kick out no sell fest was killed with the other three idiots making Kurt Angle look like the best seller ever. I want to wipe this from my brain forever. If I was Mitsuharu Misawa I would have gone up to KENTA/Marufuji/Kanemaru after the match and said the Japanese equivalent of “great match guys. You’re all fired”.

Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda (Fu-Ten 24/4/05)
--They shake hands out of mutual respect and not five seconds go by before Ikeda’s laid out Ishikawa with a palm (could have been a fist). Gets an eight-count too which was great to start the match with and it really creates a theme of these two trying to outdo each other. These two had been in ring rivals for at least ten years before this and while I haven’t seen a lot of their matches or probably even their best ones, they’ve all been great. This was off the charts. Ishikawa to me is the superior mat worker of the two and Ikeda the better at smacking people around with kicks and different hand shots. Never mind that though, Ikeda can do mat and Ishikawa can do pummelling. This had both doing both, obviously. There was plenty of first-rate grappling here with a lot of stalemate moments where both guys would be waiting for the other to cave in and stay the hell down. By the end of it (fourteen minutes), both guys hair looked like they had been electrocuted and Ishikawa’s lip was split open. I was surprised to see it end in submission, actually.

Shinjiro Otani v Yoshihiro Takayama (Zero-ONE 25/10/01)
--Otani's got his back bent backward which looke dlike he was mocking how giant Takayama is. Takayama gives him a hell of a death stare and kind of forgets about it the first bits of the match. He's all "sportsmanship", just tryng to get Otani in an armbar or something, like a catch-as-catch-can or whatever style match. Then some wires connnect in his head and he remembers "wait a minute; he mocked me" *Kick* *Kick* *Stomp*. If the match had ended there two minutes in I waould have put it ahead of the KENTA/Marufuji tag already. But it didn't, because Takayama needed to dlap on a headlock and simultaneously tear away at Otani's eyes while having it on. Sportsmanship is a beautiful thing. Otani becomes a little bugger by taking the giant's legs from him but it's not long before Tak is nailing at him heavy. One moment Otani's on his feet ready to go and the other they have this marvellous birds eye view of him being floored by Tak. He gets up qucikly after eight in a combination of "Where am I?" and "I'm ok, I'm ok~~". Then he falls toward the turnbuckle and Takayama's not done plastering his face with all sorts of knees. Great sub-fifteen minute match.

Mitsuharu Misawa v Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH 15/4/01)
--Takayama’s a beastly human being. That’s why instead of trying to get the crowd behind him by using fighting spirit and trying to be a rip-off of the 90s All Japan heydays, he just fucks his opponent’s up with heavy thrusting kicks and run-across the ramp knees. While in a Greco-Roman knuckle power struggle he just like down at him like he’s an inferior being and yells at him. Not anything Japanese either, just a big monstrous Andre-the-Giant-like “ARghH”. I’m on a BIG high for the guy right now and it hasn’t been three weeks since I’ve seen my first ever match from him. Take nothing away from Misawa, even in 2001 he was the fucking man and could do what he always did, but Takayama’s such a treat since I seldom here (read, whatever) his name mentioned. One spot was tremendous where he just DUNKED Misawa into the table outside the guardrail. And the crowd weren’t all “OHHRRRR *clap clap clap*” like they usually are for something like that, they were just “OHRRRRR” with a couple of feminine “Misawa!”s thrown in there. He ends up making Misawa bleed from God knows where and Misawa’s win seemed that much bigger. Every time Takayama actually fell to the mat seemed like a biggish deal and something that could only be done through minutes and minutes of wearing him down. Misawa’s elbow flurry was the bomb. Best match of 01? I think so. Why couldn’t they put THIS on the NOAH set?

Mitsuharu Misawa v Jun Akiyama (AJPW 27/2/00)
--I’m low on Akiyama, and his seeming obsession with early-match forearms wars are bothersome, so I was thrilled when Misawa put an end to it early by thrusting five elbows at him and smashing him up full pace. Wasn’t long before Akiyama had mist of the match under his control, and as much as I’ve been low on the guy, and a much as I think he got too much of the offence, he was great. He seemed determined to be the King of All Japan for the past decade and he was a vicious fucker while doing so. There was a teased spot where he’d do his Exploder finisher on the apron (which is a ridiculously dangerous thought), and I’m waiting for Misawa to get him back in the ring. Then he actually DOES IT. Misawa’s neck seemed fucked and Akiyama was kneeing him and wrenching it galore. Misawa was literally rolling on the mat in agony at one point Misawa was furious and when he had the strength to pull out a move he dropkicked Akiyama’s neck and got it in a couple of submissions. He was blindly twisting and tugging and trying to screw up Akiyama’s discs. Akiyama was brilliant as well, wriggling around like he was in the jaws of a dinosaur. Akiyama I thought got back in offence too early but I guess there wasn’t *that* much behind Misawa’s own offence to let him stay down for longer. He was in full-blown fight-back mode and went straight back to Misawa’s neck. Finishing stretch if that’s what it can be called was pretty marvellous. Akiyama hits an Exploder after kicking out of a German and two Tiger Suplexes, and Misawa gets up from it straight away, Akiyama drives Misawa down again and while he attempts to get up both guys just collapse. Akiyama hits two fuckin’ more Exploders after that. Sounds like a Kurt Angle-like finishing period in writing but it was awesome. Probably not even in my top three for the year, but fantastic match.

Mitsuharu Misawa v Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH 23/9/02)
--Gone were the days when Misawa was having the greatest matches of all time but he hardly looked too slowed down from his peak in this. I'd say this is comfortably on par or even better than some of the matches Dave Meltzer had given ***** from AJPW anyway. Takayama looks like he'd make a hell of a Japnanese killer Godzilla heel in the US who'd tattoo your body with his footprint and that's almost the impression I got from him here. The boots he layed into Misawa were nasty looking and he dominated with them leading to a couple of spots where Misawa looked like he would be counted down. Some big guardrail stuff as well. Misawa's comeback was full of forearms and suplex variations as expected and Takayama didn't exactly let him go without kicking him the face some more. I had no problem with some of the finishing stretch being slow and a little awkward looking due to everything before it. There were some really surprising stuff in there as well, I've never seen an enzuguiri set-up leg-hold thingy being turned into an armbar instead of the enzuguiri itself. Misawa winning the GHC Title with a forearm was excellent. A must-see match for 2002.

Osamu Nishimura v Yoshihiro Takayama (NJPW 10/8/02)
--Oh YEAH. 2002 in general has a low amount of matches I'd say are **** and above so seeing this was a huge treat, it was real great. Throwing an MVP shout-out would be as hard as any match ever because both guys were the fucking man......"men"? Nishimura was busting out some cool looking counters in the first half and cutting off Takayama whenever he was getting in trouble, and Takayama repayed him in the second half by trying to concave his chest with kicks and knees. Nishimura countering a running knee with an abdominal stretch was great. Finishing bit wasn't anything special, but I won't complain about it at all despite the kind of abrupt finish. I also won't make a special point of disagreeing with anyone who says this was 2002's match of the year.

Shinya Hashimoto v Masato Tanaka (Zero-ONE 2/3/02)
--This is apparently the match that made Z1 officials become so impressed with Tanaka that they hired him full-time. Can't say I blame them, he was great. He has some sort of inter-promotional Championship in his hands or something pre-match and just before the bell rings he drops it to his leg and kicks it towards Hashimoto. Hash is a respectful fella, and fan favourite (and creator of Zero-ONE) but he'll fuck you up bad. He rampages straight for Tanaka in a blind haze of strikes and kicks that'd make most wrestlers weep. Tanaka's waiting outside for a break and he's almost whinging like a baby while Hashimoto's standing there and looking at him like he dares him to kick that belt at him ever again. Tanaka gets some good offence in and I was surprised by how much I liked him, but Hash is one of my favourites on offence and he's really creative. One spot Tanaka's on the outside laying down and Hashimoto casually jumps from he apron ONTO HIM. Nearly hits his head on the guardrail as a result. He just will not relent with those kicks and chops either, I didn't really think I'd see anyone I could say rivals Vader in the shoot-while-not-wrestling-shoot-style department. Great bloody match and I'm not waiting too long to watch he 11/7/03 one. Jeff Lynch apparently made Hashimoto set 60 matches deep that I'm now contemplating...

Jun Akiyama/Takeshi Rikio v Yoshihiro Takayama/Takashi Suguira (NOAH 28/4/07)
--Takayama and Rikio rocked the house and the best parts of the match were their interactions at the beginning. Akiyama honestly annoys me ever since I've seen him and Suguira seemed exactly like him but not even as good. The Akiyama/Suiguira segments were basically what I felt looked like Misawa vs. Kawada 1990s wannabe rip-off bits with more annoying yelling and less emotion. Takayama tried to be the heel of the match but Suguira killed that and became he crowd favourite by using Davey Richards-like tactics (with less shit, though). This eventually turned into a "crowd cheers every move" match and I thought it was good as a whole, but I felt nothing for it. Takayama > everyone. I need to see a Takayama vs. Rikio slugfest NOW.


----------



## smitlick

*DDT #289 - Memories of Summer Vacation 2010 - 29.08.2010*

*1. Special Singles Match*
Kenny Omega vs Ryusuke Taguchi
***1/2

*DDT #295 - Non-Fix 10.14 - 14.10.2010*

1. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Hikaru Sato & Tomimitsu Matsunaga
**3/4
Only about 6 of the 15 minutes were shown.

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 G1 Climax Special*

*1. 10/9/2010 - Special Six Man Tag Match*
Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
***-***1/4

*2. 12/9/2010 - Mitsuhide Hirasawa Farewell Match*
Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & Mitsuhide Hirasawa
**3/4

*3. 23/9/2010*
Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Jado & Gedo
***1/4-***1/2

*4. 24/9/2010*
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
***1/4


----------



## jpchicago23

Does anyone know if there is a "Best of AJPW in the 90's or 80's" set out there? I've seen sets for NJPW but not AJPW


----------



## leglock

jpchicago23 said:


> Does anyone know if there is a "Best of AJPW in the 90's or 80's" set out there? I've seen sets for NJPW but not AJPW


You can find most of the best 90s matches on Ditch's AJ website or in the media section here.


----------



## jpchicago23

Yea i see them in the media sections all the time but i was wondering if anyone had any sets for sale


----------



## Corey

jpchicago23 said:


> Does anyone know if there is a "Best of AJPW in the 90's or 80's" set out there? I've seen sets for NJPW but not AJPW


Closest I found:

All Japan Retro Classics
http://www.highspots.com/product.asp?id=23552&category=301

NWA World Title In Japan
http://www.highspots.com/product.asp?id=22128&category=612

Or just go to ivp and search through all the different comps they have.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

jpchicago23 said:


> Does anyone know if there is a "Best of AJPW in the 90's or 80's" set out there? I've seen sets for NJPW but not AJPW


DVDVR (the guys behind the 80's sets for Memphis, Mid-South, Texas, New Japan and Other Japan) are releasing this soon:



Spoiler: listings for All Japan 1980's set



Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (3/5/80)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/4/80)
Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (9/10/80)
The Sheik vs. Ricky Steamboat (12/9/80)
Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk (12/11/80)
Jimmy Snuka vs. Ricky Steamboat (6/3/81)
Mil Mascaras vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/3 Falls) (August 1981)


Dos Caras & Mil Mascaras vs. Chavo Guerrero & Ricky Steamboat (9/6/81)
Dory and Terry Funk vs. Umanoseke Ueda & Buck Robley (10/6/81)
Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (10/9/81)
Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
Mil Mascaras vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2/4/82)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr. (4/21/82)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (4/22/82)
Ric Flair vs. Ric Steamboat (6/4/82)


Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mil Mascaras (7/30/82)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
Giant Baba vs. Harley Race (10/26/82)
Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody (12/7/82)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (12/9/82)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race & Dick Slater (12/13/82)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Kerry Von Erich (4/7/83)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)


Dory and Terry Funk vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen (4/20/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (5/26/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)
Chavo Guerrero vs. Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)
Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted Dibiase (10/23/83)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)


Mighty Inoue vs. Chavo Guerrero (2/26/84)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody (4/28/84)
Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
Ric Flair vs. Kerry Von Erich (5/24/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
Tiger Mask vs. La Fiera (8/26/84)
Chavo & Hector Guerrero vs. Mighty Inoue & Gran Hamada (9/12/84)


Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ric Flair (2/3 Falls) (9/12/84)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Terry Gordy (10/29/84)
Genichiro Tenryu, Mighty Inoue & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Isamu Teranishi (1/10/85)
Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Tiger Mask (6/21/85)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (6/22/85)
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (8/23/85)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (10/19/85)
Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)


Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/30/85)
Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Higo Hamaguchi (3/13/86)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ole Anderson (4/5/86)
Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Masa Fuchi (4/6/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta, Genichiro Tenryu & Tiger Mask vs. Shunji Takano, Hiro Saito & Strong Machine (4/6/86)
Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/19/86)
Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)


Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson (7/26/86)
Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/86)
Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/25/86)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu (9/3/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hanson (10/21/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Giant Baba & Tiger Mask (11/28/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/6/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hanson & Ted Dibiase (12/12/86)
Riki Choshu vs. Rick Martel (12/29/86)


Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Road Warriors (3/12/87)
Masa Fuchi vs. Pete Roberts (5/5/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Takashi Ishikawa & Hiroshi Wajima (6/8/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Shinichi Nakano (6/9/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (6/11/87)
Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask (7/11/87)
Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Shinichi Nakano & Yoshiaki Yatsu (7/17/87)
Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (7/23/87)


Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (9/20/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/10/87)
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka (11/22/87)
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (11/26/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/5/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/11/87)
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & Tiger Mask (1/23/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima (1/24/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Samson Fuyuki vs. Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (2/20/88)


Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu & John Tenta (2/29/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (3/5/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Bruiser Brody (3/27/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Hiroshi Wajima vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (4/21/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (6/4/88)
Tiger Mask & Isao Takagi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (7/16/88)


Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (9/15/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/15/88)
Stan Hansen & Dan Kroffat vs. Rock N Roll Express (10/26/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi & Great Kabuki (1/5/89 TV)


Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. John Tenta & Shunji Takano (1/5/89 TV)
Yoshiaki Yatsu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu (1/22/89 TV)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (4/16/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/21/89 TV)
Dan Spivey, Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (5/28/89 TV)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Stan Hansen & Toshiaki Kawada (6/8/89)


Joe Malenko vs. Dean Malenko (7/11/89)
Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
Joe Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi (7/28/89)
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (9/2/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)


Jumbo Tsuruta, Kabuki & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (10/14/89)
Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (10/20/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (10/20/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (10/22/89)
Doug Furnas, Dan Kroffat & Masa Fuchi vs. British Bulldogs & Kenta Kobashi (11/19/89)
Stan Hansen & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Terry Gordy and Bill Irwin (11/19/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura (11/19/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat (11/29/89)
Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)


----------



## jpchicago23

Any chance you'll be getting this Cal?


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Given the fact I've just become a Tenryu mark, most certainly .


----------



## McQueen

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I NEED THAT!


----------



## jpchicago23

yeah, definitely let me know if you grab that one i'll have to get it.


----------



## Yeah1993

Jon Hamm Sandwich said:


> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I NEED THAT!


GH said the Tenryu comp was supposedly around the amount of footage the Kawaada one was as well (it was 54 discs).


----------



## punksterpunk

where can i purchase the tenryu comp


----------



## jpchicago23

Not sure where to ask this but does anyone know if there are yearbook style comps out there? If so about how much are they


----------



## Yeah1993

There's a 1996 one and the next one planned is 1990. Have no idea of the cost.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

punksterpunk said:


> where can i purchase the tenryu comp


Nowhere yet, it isn't out .



jpchicago23 said:


> Not sure where to ask this but does anyone know if there are yearbook style comps out there? If so about how much are they


1996 Yearbook (30 discs) ($90)

That's the price from GH.


----------



## jpchicago23

I guess i'd have to see the material on it but the price seems decent considering the amount of discs. I sent him an email so thanks for the heads up


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 G1 Climax Special - 26/9/10*

*1. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Match*
Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs Jado & Gedo
***1/4-***1/2

*2. Special Singles Match*
Toru Yano vs Tajiri
**3/4

*3. Koji Kanemoto 20th Anniversary Match*
Koji Kanemoto vs Davey Richards
***1/2-***3/4

*4. IWGP Tag Team Title Match*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
****-****1/4

*5. Special Tag Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Tetsuya Naito
***1/2

*6. IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Togi Makabe vs Masato Tanaka
****1/4


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Since I'm very nice and other people might want to know (because they be nosy bastards... ), the listings for that 1996 Yearbook:



Spoiler: only look if you are nosy



DISC 1
Smoking Gunns vs. Psycho Sid & 1-2-3 Kid vs. Razor Ramon & Savio Vega vs. Owen Hart & Yokozuna (RAW Bowl) (RAW 1/1/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 1/1/96)
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (Nitro 1/1/96)
Koji Kanemoto vs. Jushin Liger (NJ 1/4/96)
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (NJ 1/4/96)
Vader vs. Antonio Inoki (NJ 1/4/96)
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Keiji Muto (JIP) (NJ 1/4/96)
Raven + Beulah + Tommy Dreamer Angle (ECW 1/5/96)
Sabu vs. Stevie Richards (ECW 1/5/96)
Public Enemy vs. The Gangstas (Public Enemy Farewell) (ECW 1/5/96)
Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert + PG-13 Feud Recap (USWA 1/6/96)
Tommy Rich & Eddie Gilbert vs. PG-13 (USWA 1/6/96)
HBK Press Conference (RAW 1/8/96)
Brother Love Show: Steve Austin & Ted DiBiase (RAW 1/8/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 1/8/96)
Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Nitro 1/8/96)
Aja Kong vs. Combat Toyota (FMW 1/10/96)
Hayabusa, Masato Tanaka & Koji Nakagawa vs. W*ING Kanemura, Mitsuhiro Matsunaga & Hidoh (Barbed Wire Spider Net Double Hell Glass Death Match) (FMW 1/10/96)


DISC 2
Juventud Guerrera & Psicosis vs. Volador & El Mexicano (AAA 1/12/96)
Jerry Lawler vs. Tommy Rich (USWA 1/13/96)
Jerry Lawler + Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich (USWA 1/13/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 1/15/96)
Razor Ramon + Goldust Brawl (RAW 1/15/96)
Arn Anderson & Kevin Sullivan + Brian Pillman (Nitro 1/15/96)
Ric Flair vs. Sting (Nitro 1/15/96)
Psicosis vs. Ultraman (AAA 1/18/96)
PG-13 vs. Tracy Smothers & Jesse James Armstrong (USWA 1/20/96)
Ric Flair + Randy Savage (WCWSN 1/20/96)
Shinjiro Ohtani vs. El Samurai (NJ 1/21/96)
Goldust vs. Razor Ramon (Finish only) (Rumble 1/21/96)
Royal Rumble (Finish only) (Rumble 1/21/96)
Manami Toyota vs. Yumiko Hotta (AJW 1/22/96)
Bret Hart vs. Undertaker (Finish only) (Rumble 1/21/96)
Vader vs. Savio Vega (RAW 1/22/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit #4 / Shawn Michaels Interview (RAW 1/22/96)
Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair (Nitro 1/22/96)
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Harlem Heat (Nitro 1/22/96)


DISC 3
Pulp Fiction montage (ECW TV 1/23/96)
Sting & Lex Luger Interview (Road Warriors Return) (Clash 1/23/96)
Brian Pillman vs. Eddy Guerrero (Clash 1/23/96)
Ric Flair & The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage (JIP) (Clash 1/23/96)
Stan Hansen & Gary Albright vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (Finish Only) (AJ 1/24/96)
Jerry Lawler + Doug Gilbert (USWA 1/27/96)
JC Ice vs. Tracy Smothers (USWA 1/27/96)
Steven Regal vs. Dusty Wolfe (WCWSN 1/27/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 1/29/96)
Mankind Promo (RAW 1/29/96)
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (Nitro 1/29/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (Cage Match) (AAA 1/31/96)
Masahito Kakihara, Hiromitsu Kanehara, Kennichi Yamamoto & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yuji Nagata, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Shinjiro Otani & Tokimitsu Ishizawa (2/3 Falls) (NJ 2/3/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (NJ 2/3/96)
Lex Luger vs. Eddy Guerrero (WCWSN 2/3/96)
Interview: Ric Flair (WCWSN 2/3/96)
Cactus Jack & Mikey Whipwreck vs. Perry Saturn & John Kronus (ECW 2/3/96)
Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (ECW 2/3/96)
Woman leaves ECW (ECW 2/3/96)
Shawn Michaels & Diesel vs. Davey Boy Smith & Yokozuna (RAW 2/5/96)
1-2-3 Kid vs. Hakushi (RAW 2/5/96)
Bret Hart vs. Undertaker (Finish Only) (RAW 2/5/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit #6 (RAW 2/5/96)
Randy Savage vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 2/5/96)
Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask & Hanzo Nakajima vs. Sabu, Mens Teoh & Shiryu (All Star Promotions 2/6/96)


DISC 4
Raven Promo (ECW TV 2/6/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW TV 2/6/96)
El Dandy, El Hijo Del Santo & Silver King vs. ***** Casas, Apolo Dantes & El Satanico (CMLL 2/10/96)
Jerry Lawler & Brian Christopher vs. Doug Gilbert & Tommy Rich (USWA 2/10/96)
Ric Flair & Woman Interview (WCWSN 2/10/96)
Randy Savage vs. Chris Benoit (Finish only) (WCWSN 2/10/96)
Brian Pillman vs. Kevin Sullivan (Strap Match) (SuperBrawl 2/11/96)
Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Cage Match) (SuperBrawl 2/11/96)
Manami Toyota, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Ito & Yumi Fukawa vs. Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, Chapparita Asari, Tomoko Watanabe & Kumiko Maekawa (Handicap Captains Fall Match) (AJW 2/12/96)
Ric Flair, Woman & Elizabeth Interview (Nitro 2/12/96)
Hulk Hogan vs. Arn Anderson (Nitro 2/12/96)
Jushin Liger & Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (NJ 2/15/96)
El Hijo del Santo, El Dandy & Dos Caras vs. Blue Panther, Apolo Dantes & Emilio Charles Jr. (CMLL 2/16/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Stan Hansen & Gary Albright (Finish Only) (AJ 2/17/96)
Brian Pillman Interview (Cyberslam 2/17/96)
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Sabu (Cyberslam 2/17/96)


DISC 5
PG-13 vs. Tracy Smothers & Jesse James Armstrong (USWA 2/17/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart (PPV 2/18/96)
Bret Hart vs. Diesel (Cage Match) (Finish only) (PPV 2/18/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 2/19/96)
Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 2/19/96)
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga, W*ING Kanemura & Hido vs. Masato Tanaka, Ricky Fuji & Tetsuhiro Kuroda (War Games) (FMW 2/23/96)
Bill Dundee + PG-13 / Bill Dundee + Jerry Lawler (USWA 2/24/96)
Black Tiger & El Samurai & Gran Hamada vs. Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto & Dean Malenko (NJ 2/25/96)
Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs. Yoji Anjo & Yoshihiro Takayama (NJ 2/25/96)
Sunny (RAW 2/26/96)
Warrior Hype Video (RAW 2/26/96)
Mankind Promo (RAW 2/26/96)
Roddy Piper + Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels (RAW 2/26/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 2/26/96)
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 3/1/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (AAA 3/1/96)
Ric Flair vs. Sting (WCWSN 3/2/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. 1-2-3 Kid (RAW 3/4/96)
Goldust Parody of Piper's Pit (RAW 3/4/96)
Mankind Promo (RAW 3/4/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 3/4/96)


DISC 6
Brian Pillman + Pencil (ECW 3/5/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 3/5/96)
PG-13 Farewell Message (USWA 3/9/96)
Shane Douglas Interview (ECW 3/9/96)
Brian Pillman Interview (ECW 3/9/96)
Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (2/3 falls) (ECW 3/9/96)
Cactus Jack vs. Mikey Whipwreck (ECW 3/9/96)
Lex Luger vs. Johnny B. Badd (Finish only) (WCWSN 3/9/96)
Roddy Piper + Goldust (RAW 3/11/96)
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels Training Videos (RAW 3/11/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit (RAW 3/11/96)
Brian Pillman gets thrown out of Nitro (Nitro 3/11/96)
Road Warriors vs. Rick & Scott Steiner (Nitro 3/11/96)
El Hijo Del Santo, Atlantis, El Dandy y Lizmark vs. Blue Panther, Felino, Dr. Wagner y ***** Casas (CMLL 3/15/96)
Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask IV & Shiryu vs. Super Delphin & Taka Michinoku & Gran Naniwa (Michinoku Pro 3/16/96)
Rey Misterio Jr vs. Juventud Guerrera (AAA 3/16/96)
Psicosis vs. Ultraman (AAA 3/16/96)
Mankind Interview (USWA 3/16/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (NJ 3/17/96)


Disc 7
Bret Hart & Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels & Diesel (MSG 3/17/96)
Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels Training (RAW 3/18/96)
Diesel vs. Barry Horowitz (Finish Only) (RAW 3/18/96)
Billionaire Ted Skit #11 (RAW 3/18/96)
Pulp Fiction montage (ECW 3/19/96)
Manami Toyota vs. Sakie Hasegawa (AJW 3/20/96)
Wild Pegasus vs. Shinjiro Otani (NJ 3/20/96)
Steven Regal vs. Fit Finlay (Uncensored 3/24/96)
Sting & Booker T vs. Road Warriors (JIP) (Chicago Street Fight) (Uncensored 3/24/96)
Tower of Doom (JIP) (Uncensored 3/24/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Leif Cassidy (RAW 3/25/96)
Bret Hart Music Video (RAW 3/25/96)
Finlay vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 3/25/96)
Ric Flair Interview (Nitro 3/25/96)
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Marcus Bagwell & Scotty Riggs (Nitro 3/25/96)
Ric Flair vs. The Giant (Nitro 3/25/96)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (AJ 3/31/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 3/31/96)


DISC 8
Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (AJW 3/31/96)
Ultimate Warrior vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Mania 3/31/96)
Diesel vs. Undertaker (Finish Only) (Mania 3/31/96)
Roddy Piper vs. Goldust (Hollywood Backlot Brawl) (Mania 3/31/96)
Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels (Ironman Match) (Mania 3/31/96)
Shawn Michaels Interview (RAW 4/1/96)
Undertaker vs. Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw (Finish only) (RAW 4/1/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW TV 4/2/96)
Jushin Liger, El Samurai & Gran Hamada vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, Koji Kanemoto & Taka Michinoku (NJ 4/5/96)
El Hijo Del Santo vs. Felino (CMLL 4/5/96)
Jerry Lawler vs. Greg Davis (Superstars 4/6/96)
Vader vs. Yokozuna (Aftermath Only) / Ultimate Warrior Interview (RAW 4/8/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Jerry Lawler (Finish only) (RAW 4/8/96)
Aja Kong & Mima Shimoda vs. Manami Toyota & Kaoru Ito (AJW 4/9/96)


DISC 9
Bubba Dudley v. Too Cold Scorpio (ECW 4/12/96)
Sabu vs. Mikey Whipwreck (ECW 4/13/96)
Jim Cornette & Vader Interview (RAW 4/15/96)
Sunny Music Video (RAW 4/15/96)
Goldust vs. Savio Vega (Finish only) (RAW 4/15/96)
Bret Hart Interview (RAW 4/15/96)
The FBI + The Dudleys (ECW 4/16/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 4/16/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (WAR 4/19/96)
Atlantis & Lizmark, El Hijo del Santo vs. El Felino, Bestia Salvaje & El Satanico (CMLL 4/19/96)
Too Cold Scorpio v. Sabu (ECW 4/19/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Johnny Ace & Gary Albright (AJ 4/20/96)
Steve Williams vs. Akira Taue (AJ 4/20/96)
Dynamite Kansai & Takako Inoue vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Kyoko Inoue (JWP 4/20/96)
Bill Dundee Recap / Cyberpunks Interview (USWA 4/20/96)
Jerry Lawler vs. Jeff Jarrett (USWA 4/20/96)
Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam (ECW 4/20/96)


DISC 10
Beulah + Kimona + Tommy Dreamer / Shane Douglas vs. Raven (ECW 4/20/96)
Randy Savage Interview (WCWSN 4/20/96)
Goldust vs. Savio Vega (Finish only) (RAW 4/22/96)
Eric Bischoff Announcement (Nitro 4/22/96)
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair & The Giant (Nitro 4/22/96)
JT Smith + Little Guido (ECW TV 4/23/96)
Sandman + Missy Hyatt Music Video (ECW TV 4/23/96)
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 4/26/96)
Superstars Intro Theme Music (Superstars 4/27/96)
HBK + Diesel (WWF Superstars 4/27/96)
Steven Regal vs. Belfast Bruiser (WCWSN 4/27/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel (No Holds Barred) (PPV 4/28/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (NJ 4/29/96)
Great Muta vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (NJ 4/29/96)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJ 4/29/96)
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 4/29/96)
Homeless DDP Vignette 1 (Prime 4/29/96)
Shawn Michaels Interview (RAW 4/29/96)
Steven Regal vs. Belfast Bruiser (Parking Lot Brawl) (Nitro 4/29/96)
Ric Flair vs. The Giant (Nitro 4/29/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW TV 4/30/96)
Cactus Jack vs. W*ING Kanemura (FMW 5/5/96)


DISC 11
Megumi Kido vs. Combat Toyota (FMW 5/5/96)
Terry Funk & Mr. Pogo vs. Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka (FMW 5/5/96)
DDP Vignette (Prime 5/6/96)
HBK Alleged Affair (RAW 5/6/96)
Dean Malenko vs. Jushin Liger (Nitro 5/6/96)
Blood Runs Cold Commercial (Nitro 5/6/96)
The Gangstas & Tommy Dreamer vs. The Eliminators & Brian Lee (ECW 5/11/96)
Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW 5/11/96)
Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam (ECW 5/11/96)
DDP Vignette 1 (Prime 5/13/96)
DDP Vignette 2 (Prime 5/13/96)
Undertaker & Paul Bearer Interview (RAW 5/13/96)
Shawn Michaels + Davey Boy Smith Brawl (RAW 5/13/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley (RAW 5/13/96)
Lex Luger vs. The Giant (Finish only) (Nitro 5/13/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 5/14/96)
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Takako Inoue (JWP 5/18/96)
Bill Dundee & Jerry Lawler vs. Cyberpunks (USWA 5/18/96)


DISC 12
Shawn Michaels vs. Diesel (Cage Match) (MSG 5/19/96)
Ric Flair & Randy Savage vs. Arn Anderson & Eddy Guerrero (WCW 5/19/96)
DDP Vignette / Battlebowl Battle Royal (Finish Only) (WCW 5/19/96)
Godwinns vs. Body Donnas MSG Highlights (RAW 5/20/96)
Ric Flair vs. Eddy Guerrero (Nitro 5/20/96)
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Meng & Barbarian (Nitro 5/20/96)
Diamond Dallas Page Interview (Nitro 5/20/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 5/21/96)
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Dick Murdoch (PWFG 5/23/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJPW 5/23/96)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 5/24/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (AJ 5/24/96)
Volk Han vs. Hans Nyman (RINGS 5/25/96)
Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Buzariashvili Ramazi (RINGS 5/25/96)
Brian Christopher & Flex Kavana vs. Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee (USWA 5/25/96)
Ric Flair vs. Brad Armstrong (Pro 5/25/96)


DISC 13
Shawn Michaels vs. Davey Boy Smith (WWF 5/26/96)
Beware of Dog I Highlights / Ted Dibiase Interview (RAW 5/27/96)
Ahmed Johnson vs. Vader (Finish Only) / Goldust + Ahmed Johnson (RAW 5/27/96)
The Mauler vs. Steve Doll (Finish only) (Nitro 5/27/96)
Sting vs. Scott Steiner (Nitro 5/27/96)
Steve Austin vs. Savio Vega (Caribbean Strap Match) (WWF 5/28/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Ultimo Dragon vs. Heavy Metal & Psicosis (WWPF 6/1/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (WWPF 6/1/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Perro Aguayo vs. La Parka & Ultimo Dragon vs. Cibernetico & Pierroth Jr. vs. Heavy Metal & Psicosis (AAA 6/2/96)
Mankind Interview (RAW 6/3/96)
WWE Slam of the Week (RAW 6/3/96)
Goldust Promo (RAW 6/3/96)
Scott Hall + Sting (Nitro 6/3/96)
Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ 6/5/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 6/7/96)
Cyberpunk Fire vs. Bill Dundee (Loser Leaves Town) (USWA 6/8/96)
Lex Luger + The Giant Brawl (Nitro 6/10/96)
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Nitro 6/10/96)
Scott Hall + Kevin Nash (Nitro 6/10/96)
Ultimate Warrior + Jerry Lawler (RAW 6/10/96)


DISC 14
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (NJ 6/11/96)
Wild Pegasus vs. Black Tiger (NJ 6/11/96)
RVD vs. Mikey Whipwreck (ECW 6/11/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 6/11/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (NJ 6/12/96)
Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (NJ 6/12/96)
Jerry Lawler + Cyberpunk Fire (USWA 6/15/96)
Dynamite Kansai & Kanako Motoya vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Reiko Amano (JWP 6/16/96)
Rey Misterio Jr vs. Dean Malenko (GAB 6/16/96)
Chris Benoit vs. Kevin Sullivan (Falls Count Anywhere) (GAB 6/16/96)
Sting vs. Steven Regal (GAB 6/16/96)
Ric Flair & Arn Anderson vs. Kevin Greene & Steve McMichael (Finish Only) (GAB 6/16/96)
Scott Hall & Kevin Nash Interview (GAB 6/16/96)
Taka Michinoku vs. Super Delphin (NJ 6/17/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Dick Togo (NJ 6/17/96)
Great Sasuke vs. Black Tiger (NJ 6/17/96)


DISC 15
Dick Murdoch Tribute (RAW 6/17/96)
Owen Hart vs. Marc Mero (RAW 6/17/96)
Brian Pillman Contract Signing (RAW 6/17/96)
Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 6/17/96)
Gene Okerlund Announcement (Nitro 6/17/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 6/18/96)
Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda (2/3 Falls) (AJW 6/22/96)
Jerry Lawler + Wolfie D (USWA 6/22/96)
Chris Jericho vs. Pit Bull #2 (ECW 6/22/96)
Raven vs. Terry Gordy (ECW 6/22/96)
Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam (ECW 6/22/96)
Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero (KOR 6/23/96)
Undertaker vs. Mankind (Finish only) (KOR 6/23/96)
Ahmed Johnson vs. Goldust (Finish Only) (KOR 6/23/96)
Brian Pillman Interview (KOR 6/23/96)
Steve Austin vs. Jake Roberts (KOR 6/23/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Davey Boy Smith (KOR 6/23/96)
Warrior Commercial (RAW 6/24/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. The Barbarian (Nitro 6/24/96)
Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage Interview /
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Rick & Scott Steiner vs. Booker T & Stevie Ray (Finish only) (Nitro 6/24/96)


DISC 16
Nobuhiko Takada & Masahito Kakihara vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWFI 6/26/96) ***** Casas & El Felino & El Satanico vs. El Dandy & Silver King & Lizmark (CMLL 6/28/96)
El Dandy, Atlantis y Hector Garza vs. Apolo Dantes, Dr. Wagner Jr. y Felino (CMLL 6/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty (RAW 7/1/96)
Sunny + Phineas Godwinn (RAW 7/1/96)
Scott Hall + Kevin Nash (Nitro 7/1/96)
Raven Interview (ECW 7/2/96)
Dynamite Kansai & Cutie Suzuki vs. Hikari Fukuoka & Kaoru (JWP 7/7/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (BATB 7/7/96)
Dean Malenko vs. Disco Inferno (BATB 7/7/96)
Ric Flair vs. Konnan (JIP) (BATB 7/7/96)
Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage vs. Scott Hall & Kevin Nash (BATB 7/7/96)
Gorilla Monsoon Interview (RAW 7/8/96)
Ultimate Warrior vs. Owen Hart (Finish Only) (RAW 7/8/96)
Shawn Michaels & Ahmed Johnson Interview (RAW 7/8/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 7/8/96)
Sting vs. Arn Anderson (Finish Only) (Nitro 7/8/96)
Outsiders Interview (Nitro 7/8/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 7/9/96)


DISC 17
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 7/9/96)
Shane Douglas vs. 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Chris Jericho vs. Pit Bull #2 (ECW 7/13/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Juventud Guerrera (AAA 7/15/96)
Lex Luger vs. Big Bubba Rogers (Finish Only) (Nitro 7/15/96)
Volk Han vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 7/16/96)
Eliminators Music Video (ECW 7/16/96)
Raven & Tyler Fullington Promo (ECW 7/16/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 7/16/96)
Bill & Jamie Dundee Interview (USWA 7/20/96)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoji Anjoh (WAR vs. UWFI 7/21/96)
Vader, Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs. Shawn Michaels, Ahmed Johnson & Sid (WWF 7/21/96)
Kimona Wanalaya Striptease (ECW 7/22/96)
Sunny + HBK & Ahmed Johnson (RAW 7/22/96)
Shawn Michaels & Ahmed Johnson vs. Billy Gunn & Bart Gunn (Finish Only) (RAW 7/22/96)
Chris Benoit, Arn Anderson & Steve McMichael vs. Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage (Nitro 7/22/96)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (AJ 7/24/96)


DISC 18
NWO Paid Announcements (WCWSN 7/27/96)
Mark Henry Feature (RAW 7/29/96)
Mean Gene’s Hotline Commercial (Nitro 7/29/96)
Ric Flair, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael vs. Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage (Nitro 7/29/96)
W*ING Kanemura vs. Masato Tanaka (FMW 8/1/96)
Masa Chono vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJ G-1 8/2/96)
Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Keiji Muto (NJ G-1 8/2/96)
Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJ G-1 8/2/96)
Chris Jericho vs. Sabu (ECW 8/2/96)
Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJ G-1 8/3/96)
Bill & Jamie Dundee Interview (USWA 8/3/96)
Tommy Rich + Doug Gilbert Breakup (USWA 8/3/96)
nWo Paid Announcement (WCWSN 8/3/96)
Chris Jericho vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (ECW 8/3/96)
Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam (Stretcher Match) (ECW 8/3/96)
Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (NJ J*Crown 8/4/96)
Great Sasuke vs. El Samurai (NJ J*Crown 8/4/96)
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJ G-1 8/4/96)


DISC 19
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 8/4/96)
Keiji Muto vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJ G-1 8/5/96)
Ultimo Dragon vs. Great Sasuke (J*Crown Final) (NJ 8/5/96)
Shawn Michaels Interview (RAW 8/5/96)
NWO Paid Announcement (Nitro 8/5/96)
Ric Flair vs. Booty Man (Nitro 8/5/96)
Shiro Koshinaka vs. Satoshi Kojima (NJ G-1 8/6/96)
Masa Chono vs. Keiji Muto (NJ G-1 8/6/96)
Riki Choshu vs. Masahiro Chono (G-1 Climax Final) (8/6/96)
JT Smith + KISS (ECW 8/6/96)
Mayumi Ozaki vs. Dynamite Kansai (JWP 8/10/96)
Ric Flair Interview (WCWSN 8/10/96)
Chris Benoit vs. Dean Malenko (Hog Wild 8/10/96)
Scott Hall & Kevin Nash vs. Sting & Lex Luger (Finish only) (Hog Wild 8/10/96)
Hulk Hogan vs. The Giant (Finish only) (Hog Wild 8/10/96)
Sunny Promo / Ahmed Johnson Interview (RAW 8/12/96)
Interview: Bret Hart (RAW 8/12/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart (RAW 8/12/96)
Hulk Hogan & The Outsiders Interview (Nitro 8/12/96)
Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (WCW Clash 8/15/96)


DISC 20
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Naoki Sano (UWFI 8/17/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. & Konnan vs. Juventud Guerrera & Jerry Estrada (AAA 8/17/96)
Jushin Liger, Gran Hamada & Gran Naniwa vs. Dick Togo, TAKA Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 8/18/96)
Undertaker vs. Mankind (Boiler Room Brawl) (Summerslam 8/18/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Vader (Summerslam 8/18/96)
Mankind & Paul Bearer Interview (RAW 8/19/96)
Shawn Michaels Commercial (RAW 8/19/96)
Stalker Vignette (RAW 8/19/96)
Four Horsemen Interview (Nitro 8/19/96)
Dean Malenko vs. Steven Regal (Nitro 8/19/96)
Sting & Lex Luger vs. Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Nitro 8/19/96)
nWo Announcement / Slim Jim Commercial (Nitro 8/19/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW TV 8/20/96)
Volk Han vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 8/24/96)
Rob Van Dam vs. Doug Furnas (ECW 8/24/96)
The Sandman & Pitbull #2 vs. Raven & Shane Douglas (Dog Collar Match) (ECW 8/24/96)
Ted DiBiase arrives to Nitro (Nitro 8/26/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW TV 8/27/96)
Aja Kong vs. Kyoko Inoue (AJW 8/30/96)


DISC 21
Wolfie D vs. Jamie Dundee (USWA 8/31/96)
Steve Austin Interview (Superstars 8/31/96)
Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Koji Nakagawa vs. Yukihiro Kanemura, Hideki Hosaka & Hido (Exploding Barbed Wire Match) (FMW 9/1/96)
nWo Announcement (Nitro 9/2/96)
Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Chris Benoit & Steve McMichael vs. Kevin Sullivan, Big Bubba, The Barbarian & Meng (Nitro 9/2/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 9/5/96)
Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 9/5/96)
Steve Austin vs. Marc Mero (RAW 9/6/96)
CNE Experience / Bob Backlund + Iron Sheik (RAW 9/6/96)
Bas Rutten vs. Masakatsu Funaki (Pancrase 9/7/96)
Wolfie D + Dundee Feud Recap (USWA 9/7/96)
Lex Luger + The Four Horsemen Interview (Nitro 9/9/96)
Nick Patrick Interview (Nitro 9/9/96)
Lex Luger vs. Rick Steiner (Finish only) (Nitro 9/9/96)
Interview: Ric Flair & Arn Anderson (Nitro 9/9/96)
nWo Announcement (Nitro 9/9/96)
Brian Pillman T-Shirt Commercial (ECW 9/10/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 9/10/96)
ECW on American Journal (9/10/96)
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Genichiro Tenryu (UWFI 9/11/96)
Wolfie D vs. Jamie Dundee (USWA 9/14/96)
WCW Special Report (Fall Brawl 9/15/96)
Randy Savage vs. The Giant (Finish Only) (Fall Brawl 9/15/96)
War Games (Fall Brawl 9/15/96)


DISC 22
Owen Hart vs. Marc Mero / Bret Hart Interview (RAW 9/16/96)
nWo Vignette (Nitro 9/16/96)
Sting Interview (Nitro 9/16/96)
Syxx joins nWo (Nitro 9/16/96)
Tyler Fullington’s 7th Birthday (ECW 9/17/96)
Hayabusa vs. Hisakatsu Oya (FMW 09/20/96)
Steven Regal vs. Shinya Hashimoto (NJ 9/21/96)
Owen Hart, Brian Pillman & Stone Cold Interview (Mind Games 9/22/96)
Owen Hart & Davey Boy Smith vs. Billy & Bart Gunn (Mind Games 9/22/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Mankind (Mind Games 9/22/96)
Shinya Hashimoto vs. Shiro Koshinaka (NJ 9/23/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Wild Pegasus (NJPW 9/23/96)
Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuo Yamazaki & Takashi Iizuka (NJ 9/23/96)
Marc Mero vs. Faarooq (Finish Only) (RAW 9/23/96)
Double J Exposed (RAW 9/23/96)
Jim Ross Interview (RAW 9/23/96)
Macho Man Interview + nWo skit (Nitro 9/23/96)
Macho Man + nWo / nWo Takeover (Nitro 9/23/96)
nWo Takeover Wrap-Up (Nitro 9/23/96)
Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka vs. Terry Funk & Mike Awesome (FMW 9/24/96)
Volk Han vs. Kiyoshi Tamura (RINGS 9/25/96)
The Gangstas + FBI (ECW 9/26/96)


DISC 23
Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama & Satoru Asako vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa (AJ 9/28/96)
Manami Toyota & Mima Shimoda vs. Kaoru Ito & Mariko Yoshida (2/3 Falls) (AJW 9/28/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr.' + Dean Malenko (WCWSN 9/28/96)
Masahito Kakihara vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 9/30/96)
Steve Austin vs. Jake Roberts / Mankind Vignette (RAW 9/30/96)
Double J Exposed (RAW 9/30/96)
New Razor Ramon vs. Savio Vega (Finish Only) (RAW 9/30/96)
Vader & Jim Cornette vs. Shawn Michaels & Jose Lothario (RAW 9/30/96)
Eric Bischoff Interview (Nitro 9/30/96)
NWO Paid Announcements (Nitro 9/30/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 10/1/96)
Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Naohiro Ishikawa (BattlARTS 10/2/96)
Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong (AJW 10/6/96)
Undertaker Vignette / Mr. Perfect Music Video (RAW 10/7/96)
Double J Exposed (RAW 10/7/96)
Harlem Heat vs. Public Enemy (nWo Interruption) (Nitro 10/7/96)
Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage (Nitro 10/7/96)
Gran Hamada, Super Delfin , Tiger Mask IV, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh, Shiryu, Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 10/10/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Psicosis (WAR 10/11/96)
Ultimo Dragon vs. Great Sasuke (WAR 10/11/96)


DISC 24
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Great Muta (WAR 10/11/96)
Great Sasuke, Tiger Mask IV, Hikari Fukuoka & Hiromi Yagi vs. Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa, Candy Okutsu & Commando Bolshoi (JWP Live TV Special 10/13/96)
Devil Masami & Kyoko Inoue vs. Dynamite Kansai & Aja Kong (JWP 10/13/96)
Mankind Vignette (RAW 10/14/96)
Undertaker Vignette (RAW 10/14/96)
Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin (RAW 10/14/96)
Sting TNT Commercial (Nitro 10/14/96)
Randy Savage Interview (Nitro 10/14/96)
Jeff Jarrett Interview (Nitro 10/14/96)
nWo + Nasty Boys (Nitro 10/14/96)
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJ 10/18/96)
Mikey Whipwreck vs. Shane Douglas (ECW 10/18/96)
Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Masato Yakushiji vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh & Shiryu (M- Pro 10/19/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Great Muta (NJ 10/20/96)
Steve Austin vs. HHH (Buried Alive 10/20/96)


DISC 25
Undertaker vs. Mankind (Buried Alive Match) (Buried Alive 10/20/96)
Bret Hart Interview (RAW 10/21/96)
Hunter Hearst Helmsley vs. Marc Mero (RAW 10/21/96)
Sting + Fake Sting (Nitro 10/21/96)
Randy Savage vs. Chris Benoit (Nitro 10/21/96)
Shane Douglas Interview (ECW 10/22/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 10/22/96)
Billy Scott vs. Kenichi Yamamoto (UWFI 10/23/96)
Shinjiro Ohtani & Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Liger & El Samurai (NJ 10/25/96)
Keiji Muto & Rick Steiner vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Satoshi Kojima (NJ 10/25/96)
Volk Han vs. Masayuki Naruse (RINGS 10/25/96)
Tommy Dreamer vs. Brian Lee (JIP) (Scaffold Match) (ECW 10/26/96)
Interview: Steve Austin (Superstars 10/27/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Dean Malenko (Havoc 10/27/96)
Booker T & Stevie Ray vs. Kevin Nash & Scott Hall (JIP) (Havoc 10/27/96)
Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage (Finish only) (Havoc 10/27/96)
Stone Cold + Bret Hart (RAW 10/28/96)
Kurt Angle + Taz / Little Guido vs. Taz (Shoot Fight) (ECW 10/29/96)
Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 10/30/96)


DISC 26
Wolfie D + Brian Christopher (USWA 11/2/96)
El Dandy vs. Black Warrior (CMLL 11/2/96)
Karate Fighters Commercial (RAW 11/4/96)
Steve Austin + Brian Pillman (RAW 11/4/96)
Pulp Fiction (ECW 11/5/96)
Wolfie D vs. Brian Christopher (Arena Clips) (USWA 11/9/96)
DDP + The Outsiders (Nitro 11/11/96)
The Outsiders + Larry Zbyszko (Nitro 11/1/96)
Roddy Piper Music Video ("I'm Your Man") (Nitro 11/11/96)
Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Super Delphin vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh & Shiryu (M-Pro 11/12/96)
Terry Funk Music Video (“Desperado”) (ECW 11/12/96)
TAKA Michinoku vs. Hayabusa (FMW 11/16/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 11/16/96)
Sabu & Rob Van Dam vs. The Eliminators (N2R 11/16/96)
2 Cold Scorpio Loser Leaves Town Gauntlet (N2R 11/16/96)
Hall of Fame Clips (11/16/96)
Rocky Maivia Interview (Series 11/17/96)
Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin (Series 11/17/96)


DISC 27
Psycho Sid vs. Shawn Michaels (Series 11/17/96)
Steve Austin vs. Mankind (RAW 11/18/96)
The Outsiders + Faces of Fear (Nitro 11/18/96)
Hollywood Hogan + Eric Bischoff / DDP + The nWo (Nitro 11/18/96)
Roddy Piper + Eric Bischoff (Nitro 11/18/96)
Volk Han vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (RINGS 11/22/96)
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Steve Williams & Johnny Ace (AJ 11/22/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi & The Patriot (AJ 11/22/96)
El Hijo del Santo, Scorpio Jr. & Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas, El Dandy & Hector Garza (CMLL 11/22/96)
Nobuhiko Takada & Naoki Sano vs. Yoji Anjoh & Gerard Gourdeau (UWFI 11/23/96)
Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon (WW3 11/24/96)
Roddy Piper + nWo (WW3 11/24/96)
60-man Battle Royal (Finish Only) (WW3 11/24/96)
Interview: Shawn Michaels (RAW 11/25/96)
Interview: Eric Bischoff (Nitro 11/25/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (AJ 11/29/96)


DISC 28
El Hijo del Santo, Scorpio Jr. & Bestia Salvaje vs. ***** Casas, El Dandy & Hector Garza (CMLL 11/29/96)
Ultimo Dragon vs. Gran Naniwa (Inoki Fest 12/1/96)
Shinjiro Otani & Koji Kanemoto vs. El Samurai & Jushin Liger (Inoki Fest 12/1/96)
Great Sasuke, Masato Yakashiji, Norino Hoshikawa, Gran Hamada & Super Delfin vs. TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, Men's Teioh, Shiryu & Sho Funaki (Inoki Fest 12/1/96)
nWo takeover announce booth (Nitro 12/2/96)
Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs. Taka Michinoku & Shoichi Funaki (BattlARTS 12/4/96)
Victor Krueger & Carl Greco vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 12/4/96)
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (RWTL Final) (AJ 12/6/96)
El Dandy vs. El Hijo del Santo vs. ***** Casas (CMLL 12/6/96)
Tommy Dreamer & Beulah vs. Shane Douglas & Francine (ECW 12/7/96)
Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue (AJW 12/8/96)


DISC 29
Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa & Tiger Mask IV vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh , Taka Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 12/9/96)
Bret Hart Interview (RAW 12/9/96)
Roddy Piper Interview (Nitro 12/9/96)
Ric Flair & Roddy Piper Interview (Nitro 12/9/96)
Roddy Piper beats up Eric Bischoff (Nitro 12/9/96)
Raven Interview / Raven vs. Sandman Highlights (ECW 12/10/96)
W*ING Kanemura vs. The Gladiator (FMW 12/11/96)
Megumi Kudo vs. Shinobu Kandori (FMW 12/11/96)
Atsushi Onita, Mr. Pogo, Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Terry Funk , Hisakatsu Oya & The Headhunters (FMW 12/11/96)
Rey Misterio Jr vs. Ultimo Dragon (WAR 12/13/96)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Nobuhiko Takada (WAR 12/13/96)
Jerry Lawler vs. Bill Dundee (USWA 12/14/96)
Nation of Domination + Bill Dundee (USWA 12/14/96)
Flash Funk vs. Leif Cassidy (12/15/96)
Bret Hart vs. Psycho Sid (Finish Only) (It's Time 12/15/96)
Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada, Super Delphin, Gran Naniwa & Masato Yakushiji vs. Dick Togo, Mens Teoh, TAKA Michinoku, Shiryu & Shoichi Funaki (M-Pro 12/16/96)


DISC 30
Steve Austin vs. Vader (RAW 12/16/96)
Steven Regal vs. Psicosis (Nitro 12/16/96)
Arn Anderson vs. Kevin Sullivan (Nitro 12/16/96)
Sting + nWo Sting (Nitro 12/16/96)
Scott Hall & Kevin Nash vs. Meng & Barbarian (Nitro 12/16/96)
Wolf-Pac Promo (Nitro 12/16/96)
Dave Finlay vs. Terry Funk (Germany 12/21/96)
Katsumi Usuda & Takeshi Ono vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Alexander Otsuka (BattlARTS 12/25/96)
Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara (UWFI 12/25/96)
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (UWFI 12/27/96)
Ultimo Dragon vs. Dean Malenko (Starrcade 12/29/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Starrcade 12/29/96)
Eddy Guerrero vs. Diamond Dallas Page (Finish Only) (Starrcade 12/29/96)
Lex Luger vs. The Giant (Starrcade 12/29/96)
Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper (Starrcade 12/29/96)
nWo Skit (Show Opener) (Nitro 12/30/96)
Hollywood Hogan Interview (Nitro 12/30/96)
DDP Interview (Nitro 12/30/96)
Outsiders T-Shirt Commercial (Nitro 12/30/96)
Roddy Piper + The nWo (Nitro 12/30/96)


----------



## smitlick

Very cool set once i get some dollars together i'll definitely add that to my collection along with the Guerrero and Funk Sets

*NOAH - Shiny Navigation 2010 - 26/9/10*

1. Yoshinari Ogawa & Bobby Fish vs Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
**3/4

*2. GHC Jr Heavyweight Title Match*
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs KENTA
****

*3. GHC Tag Team Title Match*
Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
***1/4-***1/2
Massively disappointing for me.

*4. GHC Heavyweight Title Match*
Takashi Sugiura vs Go Shiozaki
****1/4

*NOAH - NOAH & Geinin News Network Pro-Wrestling Expo - 6/10/10*

*1. If Takashi Sugiura Loses, Secret Mail That Was Sent To Cabaret Girl Will Be Opened To Public* 
Go Shiozaki & Kensuke Sasaki vs Takashi Sugiura & Masao Inoue
***
Dragged on so much.

*2. Tanoshingo Favorite Match*
KENTA vs Taiji Ishimori
***
Whoever Tanoshingo is, he can go suck a penis the little gay fuck. Ruined this match with the camera shots constantly on him.


----------



## jpchicago23

I'm about to order the Misawa and Kobashi comps from IVP as well as the best of Lucha from the 90's and the 6/9/95 tag. Is there anything else prefferably AJPW 90's that i'm missing? Mainly the good stuff


----------



## smitlick

*IGF - Genome 13 - 25/9/10*

1. Christopher Daniels vs Munenori Sawa
**1/2

*2. IGFxNOAH* 
Atsushi Aoki vs Taka Kunou
**

*3. Inoki Genome Super Legend Match*
First Tiger Mask vs Tatsumi Fujinami
**

*4. Shinichi Suzukawa Debut Match*
Shinichi Suzukawa vs Mark Coleman
DUD
Possibly the stupidest fake MMA shit I've seen in a while. Coleman looks fucking awful. 

*5. Special Tag Match*
Tamon Honda & Kendo Kashin vs Bob Sapp & Bobby Lashley
*1/4
Sapp is just awful.

*6. Super Dream Match*
Josh Barnett vs Tim Sylvia
DUD

7. Josh Barnett vs Tim Sylvia
DUD

Seriously the biggest joke I've ever seen. I don't understand why Inoki is ok with this shit. This makes shit like IWA-MS and CZW look good. Fake MMA is just awful. I'd rather watch Greg Excellent.


----------



## seancarleton77

Inoki can't book shit. He's like Vince Russo, he thinks he knows what works, but really what he he thinks he knows and does is the opposite of what works.


----------



## McQueen

jpchicago23 said:


> I'm about to order the Misawa and Kobashi comps from IVP as well as the best of Lucha from the 90's and the 6/9/95 tag. Is there anything else prefferably AJPW 90's that i'm missing? Mainly the good stuff


Thats kinda of a hard question to answer as there is/was a lot of good stuff from AJPW 90's that if you are into the style should be seen.


----------



## smitlick

seancarleton77 said:


> Inoki can't book shit. He's like Vince Russo, he thinks he knows what works, but really what he he thinks he knows and does is the opposite of what works.


I don't understand how Inoki can get it so wrong though. Is he retarded?


----------



## McQueen

Inoki got famous off working worked shoots in the 70's/80's and he thinks that people are still conned into thinking that shit works as far as I can tell. Pretty much tried to turn NJPW into a worked shoot style company for a few years in the early 2000's, lost a bunch of money and got ousted by his people.


----------



## jpchicago23

Well i know the Kobashi and Misawa comps cover a lot of good matches. Are there any other comps i should check out from IVP? Or maybe the Triple Crown stuff? I know there's a lot from AJPW 90's just need a good starting point


----------



## McQueen

I personally prefer the late 80's stuff, pre '93 stuff IMO. Like All Japan vs Choshu going into the Jumbo vs Tenryu vs Hansen Triple Crown formation stuff and Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi fueds.


----------



## jpchicago23

Yea i was going to start with the early Triple Crown stuff late 80's era. I saw Windham on a few of the sets so i'm going to look into it


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

90s All Japan covers a lot of ground. There's bound to be good "essential" lists out there. I wouldn't have the patience to come up with one myself.

I'm another one who prefers '90-'93 All Japan to the '94-'96 stuff. People can blow their load with superlatives about how "deep" the post-'93 stuff gets (there's some matches from that period that are GOAT level; I won't argue that), but at this point I'd rather watch the Jumbo's Army v Misawa's Army stuff. 

So much of the Misawa/Kawada and Misawa/Kobashi feuds need to be viewed in context for it to be REALLY appreciated (most of the stuff after '93 does, really), but the Misawa/Jumbo feud comes down to a grumpy old guy and his buddies against a younger guy and his buddies where both sides hate each other. The '90-'93 stuff is far easier to get into IMO. 

The high points of '93-early'97 All Japan are higher than the high points of '90-'93 All Japan, though. In terms of consistency, I'd take '90-'93.

Towards the end of the decade it becomes ridiculous for the most part.

Just buy a bunch of WAR shit and watch Tenryu kick people in the face. Far easier to follow.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - Destruction 2010 - 11/10/10*

*1. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
****1/4-****1/2

*2. NJPW vs. NOAH Special Tag Match* 
Yuji Nagata & Koji Kanemoto vs Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki
****

*3. Special Singles Match*
Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura
****

*4. Special Singles Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito
****-****1/4

*5. IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Togi Makabe vs Satoshi Kojima
****-****1/4


----------



## jpchicago23

Andy3000 said:


> 90s All Japan covers a lot of ground. There's bound to be good "essential" lists out there. I wouldn't have the patience to come up with one myself.
> 
> I'm another one who prefers '90-'93 All Japan to the '94-'96 stuff. People can blow their load with superlatives about how "deep" the post-'93 stuff gets (there's some matches from that period that are GOAT level; I won't argue that), but at this point I'd rather watch the Jumbo's Army v Misawa's Army stuff.
> 
> So much of the Misawa/Kawada and Misawa/Kobashi feuds need to be viewed in context for it to be REALLY appreciated (most of the stuff after '93 does, really), but the Misawa/Jumbo feud comes down to a grumpy old guy and his buddies against a younger guy and his buddies where both sides hate each other. The '90-'93 stuff is far easier to get into IMO.
> 
> The high points of '93-early'97 All Japan are higher than the high points of '90-'93 All Japan, though. In terms of consistency, I'd take '90-'93.
> 
> Towards the end of the decade it becomes ridiculous for the most part.
> 
> Just buy a bunch of WAR shit and watch Tenryu kick people in the face. Far easier to follow.



That Jumbo's Army vs. Misawa's army sounds good. Any dates or specific matches i should check out?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

jpchicago23 said:


> That Jumbo's Army vs. Misawa's army sounds good. Any dates or specific matches i should check out?


I've went through practically everything I thought was worth a look from '90-the start of '92 over the last couple years. Some of it isn't "essential" in the grand scheme of 90s All Japan and doesn't necessarily further the feud from a "storyline" standpoint, but there's a lot of matches that just work as great matches on their own that are definitely worth checking out.

1990
Jumbo/Kabuki/Fuchi v Misawa/Kobashi/Taue, 5/26/90 (the Jumbo/Misawa interactions basically start the feud even if the match itself isn't amazing or anything)
Jumbo/Misawa, 6/8/90 (first big singles match between them; puts Misawa on the map and pretty much establishes him for the rest of his career)
Jumbo/Fuchi/Taue v Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 8/18/90 (Taue is Jumbo's second in command now, also a good intro to Kikuchi as the underdog of Misawa's stable)
Jumbo v Misawa, 9/1/90 (rematch and probably in my top 5 singles matches ever. Jumbo's performance is outstanding)
Jumbo/Taue v Misawa/Kawada, 9/30/90 (first match between the teams)
Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi v Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi, 10/19/90 (one of my favourite 6-man tags ever. This match-up always ruled)
Jumbo/Taue v Misawa/Kawada, 12/16/90 (more greatness)

1991
Kawada v Taue, 1/15/91 (I recall them beating the shit out of each other and it being more like some Mid-South brawl than an All Japan match)
Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi v Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 1/27/91 (might be an all-time top 5 6-man)
Jumbo v Misawa, 4/18/91 (not as great as their 2 matches from '91, but still a Hell of a match)
Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi v Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi, 4/20/91 (IMO the best 6-man tag ever)
Jumbo v Kobashi, 5/24/91 (Kobashi is the huge underdog and Jumbo is grumpy and hateful as fuck)
Jumbo/Taue v Misawa/Kawada, 9/4/91 (great match as usual and the finish is pretty historic)
Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi v Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 10/15/91 (building towards a Jumbo/Kawada singles the next week)
Jumbo v Kawada, 10/24/91 (definitely the best Kawada singles match up to that point)
Jumbo/Taue v Misawa/Kawada, 12/4/91 (might be my favourite tag match ever. Misawa has a broken face and Jumbo and Taue pretty much abuse him)
Misawa/Kawada v Gordy/Williams, 12/6/91 (winner of this wins the tag league and it's another terrific match, maybe my favourite from the Gordy/Williams team)


There's other stuff that worth looking at, but that should be a decent start. Everything there other than the first 6-man is fucking great, and even then that 6-man is nowhere near bad or even " just decent".


----------



## jpchicago23

Thanks man that helps. I dont know if you go through IVP at all but are the best of 93 series for example worth a look? It looks like the have a lot of the good matches from each year but they dont have dates so i dont know if its worth my time.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Is it the AJPW best of '93 discs? If so, that entire 26 disc collection looks like it covers just about everything from that year. Not everything is in full (as in not every match is in complete form), but it looks like the vast majority of the essential stuff is in its entirety. 

The only problem is the lack of dates, which makes things difficult when it comes to picking and choosing random discs if that's the route you want to go.


----------



## Yeah1993

Agreed about getting into Jumbo vs. Misawa easier than anything since like the RWTL finals. I think that stuff is comfortably better (not far ahead but better), but you have to watch Jumbo vs. Tenryu 6/5/89, Jumbo vs. Misawa 6/8/90, any Misawa/Kawada match where Misawa doesn't touch Kawada'a leg and practically a bunch of tags to appreciate what Misawa & Kawada are doing on 6/3/94. Then all that and probably a couple of other matches to appreciate 6/9/95. There's a huge chance something "deep" will be missed as well.


----------



## jpchicago23

Ok gotcha, yea i was talking about the AJPW best of 93 and was just thinking about buying the whole year to make it easier. I'll probably start with 89 and go onward. It just sucks they dont have the dates i doubt they'd miss the big matches though


----------



## jpchicago23

It looks like they have just about every match from you list of 1990 in the set except for the 09/01/90 match somehow. Looks like i'll have to get a Jumbo v Misawa set on top of the 90 set.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'd wait a month and get the DVDVR All Japan 80s set rather than an '89 set on its own. The DVDVR set really covers the best stuff from not just '89, but the entire decade. The '89 set from IVP and the DVDVR 80s set will probably run you about the same amount of money anyway.

All Japan was terrific in '89 though, so it's not like buying that whole year would be a waste of you time or anything.


----------



## jpchicago23

Yea i think i'll do that then i like having the whole decade so it show the progress of wrestlers and storylines. I just wish they had an AJPW best of the 90's set.


----------



## Sunglasses

Suzuki beats Edwards in 29min, Bison Smith pins Marufuji in a 6-Man Tag and KENTA hits his tag partner Go Shiozaki with a chair. sounds great


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 New Japan Truth - G1 Tag League*

*1. 25.10.10 - G1 Tag League - Block B*
Toru Yano & Tomohiro Iizuka vs Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
**3/4

*2. 26.10.10 - G1 Tag League - Block B*
Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder vs El Terrible & El Texano Jr
**1/2

*3. 30.10.10 - G1 Tag League - Block B*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder
**3/4

*4. 3.11.10 - G1 Tag League - Block B*
Hiroshi Tanahashi & TAJIRI vs El Terrible & El Texano Jr
***


*DDT - DDT Special - 24.10.10*

1. Kenny Omega & Antonio Honda vs Keisuke Ishii & YOSHIHIKO
**3/4

2. Hikaru Sato vs Kota Ibushi
***1/4


*NOAH - Autumn Navigation 2010 - 4th NTV Cup Jr Heavyweight Tag League - 15.10.10*

*1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B*
Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger vs Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
***

*2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A*
Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
***1/2

*3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B*
Dick Togo & Yasu Urano vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki
**3/4


*NOAH - Autumn Navigation 2010 - 4th NTV Cup Jr Heavyweight Tag League - 17.10.10*

1. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Masao Inoue
**3/4

2. Go Shiozaki, Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger vs Takashi Sugiura, Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori
***1/4

*3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B*
Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
***

*4. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A*
Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards vs KENTA & Atsushi Aoki
***1/2-***3/4


----------



## Derek

Kojima beat Makabe to get the rematch at Tanahashi.

Apollo 55 defended their Jr. Heavy Teag titles against NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi (who was replacing an injured TAKA Michinoku). 

NOAH's GHC Heavyweight Champion Takashi Sugiura was at ringside and had a staredown with Gian Bernard. Sugiura said in an interview that he enjoys facing gaijin opponents. It appears that Bernard could be the next challenger for the GHC Title.

Word is that Kojima is trying to form his own group of outsiders, one of whom is NOSAWA Rongai. NOSAWA said in an interview that he will be bringing in a new member of Kojima's army, and that new member will be none other than former WWE star MVP. It appears that MVP will make his New Japan debut in February.


----------



## jpchicago23

If i were to start making a Puro style yearbook i guess you would call it, with all the essential matches from lets say 89 to start with, what would be some of the ones i really need. I figure Andy would have some info on that, i hear Tenryu was good that year. It can be from any Japanese promotion and include gaijins as well. I'm gonna do a year by year thing and start collecting that way.


----------



## Corey

jpchicago23 said:


> If i were to start making a Puro style yearbook i guess you would call it, with all the essential matches from lets say 89 to start with, what would be some of the ones i really need. I figure Andy would have some info on that, i hear Tenryu was good that year. It can be from any Japanese promotion and include gaijins as well. I'm gonna do a year by year thing and start collecting that way.


Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano 7/13/89
Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano 8/10/89


----------



## Yeah1993

Tenryu vs. Jumbo 6/5 might be a top 3 of that year ahead of one or two of the Flair/Steamboat matches. Actually screw that it could be a top 3 of the whole decade. And there isn;t any other matches you really need to watch to get behind the story. They both want to be THE guy and they're fighting for the Triple Crown.

Vader/Hashimoto series was great in 89. Didn't have any matches as good as that or even the two Liger/Sano but they had a three or so of great matches. 4/24, 8/8, 11/3. 4/24 is the best one by a fair bit, but the other two aren;t something you'll regret watching.


----------



## The REAL MP

Yeah1993 said:


> Tenryu vs. Jumbo 6/5 might be a top 3 of that year ahead of one or two of the Flair/Steamboat matches. Actually screw that it could be a top 3 of the whole decade.


No doubt in my mind about that, that match rules the world. I liked it better than any of the Jumbo/Misawa matches, which is saying a lot. Not sure if it's better than the 2nd Flair/Steamboat match of The Trilogy, but it's probably better than 1 and 3.


----------



## Yeah1993

I prefer the 2/3 falls to be the best Flair/Steamer but I'd say Tenryu/Jumbo is about on par with WrestleWar and ahead of Chi-Town. I'd stick ahead of the June 1990 Misawa/Jumbo as well actaully.


----------



## jpchicago23

Thanks, that helps and yeah they dont have to all be 5 star quality matches but at least pretty good ones. I already know a lot of WWF and NWA matches so i really only need help with the other stuff like AJPW,NJPW,Lucha etc.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - Autumn Navigation 2010 - 4th NTV Cup Jr Heavyweight Tag League - 30.10.10*

1. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Taiji Ishimori, Ricky Marvin & Satoshi Kajiwara vs Yasu Urano, Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Kenbai
**3/4

*2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Semi Final*
KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger 
***

*3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Semi Final*
Roderick Strong & Eddie Edwards vs Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinari Ogawa
**3/4

4. Great Sasuke & Dick Togo vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
***

5. Takashi Sugiura, Go Shiozaki & Mohammed Yone vs Yoshihiro Takayam, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue
***1/4

*6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Final*
KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs Eddie Edwards & Roderick Strong
****1/4


*NOAH - Winter Navigation 2010 - 23.11.10*

1. Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita 
**3/4

2. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi 
***1/4

*3. Takeshi Morishima Return Match*
Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima vs Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi 
*3/4

4. Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli & Delirious vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Taiji Ishimori 
***1/2

*5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs KENTA & Atsushi Aoki
***3/4


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

jpchicago23 said:


> If i were to start making a Puro style yearbook i guess you would call it, with all the essential matches from lets say 89 to start with, what would be some of the ones i really need. I figure Andy would have some info on that, i hear Tenryu was good that year. It can be from any Japanese promotion and include gaijins as well. I'm gonna do a year by year thing and start collecting that way.


All Japan
*Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki v Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)*
*Jumbo Tsuruta v Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)*_
Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas v Joe Malenko & Kenta Kobashi (10/11/89)_


New Japan
Riki Choshu & Masa Saito v Super Strong Machine & George Takanao (3/16/89)
Vader v Tatsumi Fujinami (4/24/89)
_Shinya Hashimoto v Victor Zangiev (4/24/89)
Vader v Shinya Hashimoto (4/24/89)_
Vader v Riki Choshu (6/27/89)
Jushin Liger v Naoki Sano (7/13/89)
Riki Choshu & Takayuki Iizuka v Super Strong Machine & George Takano (7/13/89)
Vader, Buzz Sawyer & Manny Fernandez v Riki Choshu, Jushin Liger & Kengo Kimura (8/3/89)
_Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami v Naoki Sano & Kantaro Hoshino (8/8/89)
Jushin Liger v Naoki Sano (8/10/89)_


EMLL
El Dandy, Super Muneco & El Texano v Atlantis, Blue Demon Jr. & Angel Azteca (3/24/89)
_El Dandy & El Texano v Atlantis & Angel Azteca (3/31/89)_
*El Dandy v Emilio Charles Jr. (7/28/89)*
El Dandy & Satanico v Masakre & MS-1 (8/11/89)
*Jerry Estrada v Javier Cruz (10/20/89)*
El Dandy, Atlantis & Mascara Sagrada v MS-1, Emilion Charles Jr. & Tierra (11/25/89)


UWF
*Masakatsu Funaki v Yoji Anjoh (6/14/89)
Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kazuo Yamazaki (7/24/89)
Masakatsu Funaki v Tatsuo Nakano (7/24/89)*
_Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Nobuhiko Takada (10/25/89)_



That's really all I can remember right now. Matches in bold are your "MOTYC" level matches; matches in italics are a step down from that but still terrific; matches in plain font are just plain old really fucking good.

I watched all of that New Japan stuff semi-recently so I think that's covered pretty well.

I've seen less of the UWF stuff than I have New Japan, but all four of those matches are awesome. The Funaki/Nakano match might be the best sub-10 minute match ever.

Been a couple year since I watched any of the lucha stuff, but the Estrada/Cruz hair match is one of my 3 favourite matches ever and is right there with the Jumbo/Tenryu match, IMO. Still think the Flair/Steamboat Clash match is a little better than it, though. 

Haven't watched any '89 All Japan in forever since I've been waiting for the DVDVR 80s set to come out. Tenryu/Jumbo is a no-brainer. The tag from the same show is too, really. I'd honestly suggest picking up the DVDVR set when it's good to go (Cal will likely get it soon-ish after it comes out so buy it from him for cheap) because that's got a ton of stuff from '89 that I either vaguely remember being really good, or haven't seen at all but looks awesome. 

I'm probably forgetting something but that's the best I can come up with right now. There's also a shit load of matches a step down in quality from that worth watching, but everything there is the "***3/4+" stuff that comes to mind.


----------



## jpchicago23

I knew i could count on you for some good info especially the El Dandy matches. I think i will wait for the AJPW 80's set to come out so i can get it all for a decent price. I might just seek out the other stuff like EMLL and UWF. I just got the Mid South 80's set which looks awesome and i already have a lot from the WWF and NWA. I think i'm gonna buy the Memphis and NJPW 80's set next and wait for the AJPW set. I wish they had an 80's lucha set and i'd have all the 80's footage i needed


----------



## Yeah1993

Best of lucha 80s is supposedly coming out some time in the future actually and those who bought the El Hijo del Santo set from gh apparently get it free (namely, me ). Not 100% sure if that was a permanent deal or not, though.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I think they were planning on releasing the lucha set after All Japan (or maybe it was supposed to come out after Texas, which would obv be before All Japan), but they hit a roadbump and it's been pushed back. From what I gather, they're planning on releasing AWA after All Japan. I think.


----------



## seabs

*NJPW 11.12.2010*

*Motor City Machine Guns vs No Limit*
_**1/2_

*Bad Intentions vs Blue Justice - IWGP Tag Team Championships*
_***1/2_

*Prince Devitt vs Davey Richards - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
_***1/2_

*Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano*
_**_

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto*
_****_

*Satoshi Kojima vs Shinsuke Nakamura - IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
_****1/4_

*GAORA TV Presents Super Fight 2011*

*Dragon Kid, Bushi & Power Pro Kamen III vs Minoru, Susumu Yokosuka & KAGETORA*
_***1/2+_

*Mayumi Ozaka, Meiko Satomura & Aja Kong vs Dynamite Kansai, Carlos Amano & Chikayo Nagashima*
_**_

*Kaz Hayashi, Taka Michinoku & NOSAWA Rongai vs BxB Hulk, Tajiri & Jinsei Shinzaki*
_*1/2_

*4. YAMATO vs Hiroshi Yamato *
_**_

*Shuji Kondo & KAI vs Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki *
_***1/2_

*6. Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki & Masaaki Mochizuki vs Akebono, Ryota Hama & Don Fuji*
_***_

*Keiji Mutoh, CIMA & Jushin Liger vs Suwama, Masato Yoshino & The Great Sasuke *
_***1/4_​


----------



## The REAL MP

Isn't that New Japan Alive show (12/11/10) awesome? I thought it was right up there with Destruction for best of the year.

I was also really curious about that Super Fight show just for the novelty, but it looks like I can safely pass.


----------



## seabs

*The main event was better than I was expecting and the Fuji tag is really great as far as comedy puro matches go. I was dreading it when it started with Fuji doing the whole sumo shtick but it turned me round. The opener was great, best match on the show and the Doi/Kondo tag was great, just for first slap that Kondo gives Doi if nothing else.*


----------



## Yeah1993

Random puro

Mitsuharu Misawa v Takeshi Morishima (NOAH 5/3/06)
--Morishima to me is a toned down Takayama who's less about being a heel and more about being a Japanese Terry Gordy. The fact he looks like he hasn't hit 10 years old in the face has to be ignored, though. Anyway this was great and had a mix of pretty much everything I like in a wrestling match. I got the Morishima wasn't as big here in terms in Title wins or anything and he really tried to take it to Misawa, especially with those damn hand shots (don't want to call them "punches", they were more like hand swings). Misawa's probably my favourite "eating the shit" guy ever (and fuck that he might be my favourite wrestler ever), so I really dig whenever he's in trouble and has enough of eating shit and takes it to his opponent with elbows. I've always loved a match where they tease somethign like a Tiger Driver off of the apron and then actually pull off the move later on. Morishima jumped dementedly too and could've really busted his neck on that guardrail. Morishima hismelf hit a big move on tha apron that looked like a chokeslam. All that's great and Misawa pinning a guy for 3 with a forearm to the face is the icing on the cake.

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada v Steve Williams/Terry Gordy (AJPW 24/7/91)
--I was surprised by how little bombs were thrown in this but they kept everything simple and the otucome is a fantastic tag match. MVC manage to keep holds on for a lot of the first half of the match and they did it so they added something every now and then so you didn't get bored. Not in terms of Arn Anderson digging in a shoulder while holding on an armbar, more like allowing Misawa to get up from Williams' armbar so he go the upperhand only for Gordy to come in illegally and pound him. They got greeted with just about the biggest chorus of boos I've heard in a Japanese wrestling match as well and that really made it much more than a "who's the better tag team" match for me. Then there'd be a spot where Kawada would intrude in illegally and the crowd woul lose it for him. God bless puro wrestlers' thirst for revenge. Gordy was a titanic monster on offense, taking Kawada out to the concrete and piledriving him onto it. You can bet the crowd didn't fancy him anymore after that either. I was a little worried this wouldn't explode into anything of a finishing stretch but I should hit in the face for doubting these four because they made it about as finishy as a finished finish. Yeah. I needs more Miracle Violence Connection.


----------



## JD13

Help me out out please people.

Best shows of the last 12 months from NJPW, AJPW and NOAH so i can catch up.


----------



## smitlick

JD13 said:


> Help me out out please people.
> 
> Best shows of the last 12 months from NJPW, AJPW and NOAH so i can catch up.


Best off going just for matches. Heres some of the more recent stuff

Devitt/Taguchi vs Omega/Ibushi - NJPW 11/10 - ****1/4-****1/2
Minoru Suzuki vs Suwama - AJPW 29.8.10 - ****1/4
KENTA/Atsushi Aoki vs Strong/Edwards - NOAH 30/10 - ****1/4
Togi Makabe vs Masato Tanaka - NJPW 26/9 - ****1/4
Takashi Sugiura vs Go Shiozaki - NOAH 26/9 - ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Satoshi Kojima - NJPW 15.8.10 - ****-****1/4
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue - NJPW 26/9 - ****-****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 11/10 - ****-****1/4
Satoshi Kojima vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 11/10 - ****-****1/4
Yuji Nagata vs Go Shiozaki - NJPW 10.8.10 - ****
Prince Devitt vs Kenny Omega - NJPW 3/9 - ****
Suwama vs Masakatsu Funaki - AJPW B-Banquet 279 - ****
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs KENTA - NOAH 26/9 - ****
Takashi Sugiura vs KENTA - NOAH 5/8 - 10 Years After - ****
Go Shiozaki vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NOAH 22/8/10 - ****
Nagata/Kanemoto vs Shiozaki/Aoki - NJPW 11/10 - ****
Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 11/10 - ****
Takashi Sugiura & KENTA vs Takeshi Morishima & Go Shiozaki - NOAH 4.8.10 - ***3/4-****
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Go Shiozaki - NJPW 15.8.10 - ***3/4-****


----------



## jpchicago23

Has anyone seen any of Dan Severn early to mid-90's work in UWFi?


----------



## rafz

JD13 said:


> Help me out out please people.
> 
> Best shows of the last 12 months from NJPW, AJPW and NOAH so i can catch up.


I agree with smitlick, best going just for matches. My ****+ NJPW and NOAH matches list from last year:

NJPW

Naomichi Marufuji vs. Prince Devitt - NJPW Circuit 2010 New Japanism 30/01 - ****1/2
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Jushin Thunder Liger - NJPW New Dimension 04/04 - ****1/2
Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega - NJPW Circuit 2010 G1 Climax Special - ****1/2
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega - NJPW Destruction 11/10 - ****1/2
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Prince Devitt - NJPW Dominion 19/06 - ****1/4
Tiger Mask IV vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NJPW Wrestling Kingdom IV - ****1/4
La Sombra vs. Davey Richards - NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XII - ****
Davey Richards vs. Prince Devitt - NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XII - ****
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XII Final - ****
Yuji Nagata vs. Go Shiozaki - NJPW G1 Climax - ****
Go Shiozaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 CLIMAX 15/08 - ****


NOAH

Takashi Sugiura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH Summer Navigation 10/07 - ****1/2
Takashi Sugiura vs. Go Shiozaki - NOAH Shiny Navigation 26/09 - ****1/2
KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH Navigation with Breeze 06/06 - ****1/2
Go Shiozaki vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 10/04 - ****1/4
Takashi Sugiura vs. Takeshi Morishima - NOAH Winter Navigation 05/12 - ****1/4
Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli - NOAH Winter Navigation 05/12 - ****1/4
Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki - NOAH New Navigation 2010 in Osaka 24/07 - ****1/4
Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA - NOAH Winter Navigation 05/12 - ****
Takeshi Sugiura vs. KENTA - NOAH 05/08 - ****
Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask IV vs. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki - NOAH Winter Navigation 23/11 - ****
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 10th Anniversary Show - ****
KENTA & Takeshi Sugiura vs. Go Shiozaki & Takeshi Morishima - 2/3 Falls Match - NOAH 04/08 - ****


----------



## smitlick

Apparently RF Video will soon start selling Big Japan DVDs.


----------



## Chismo

How many times KENTA and Marufuji faced each other? 

I have 4 matches: two from 2006 (the first one is good, the second one is master-work) and two from 2010 (again, very good matches). Man, that match from October 2006 is amazing. Only if KENTA sells his leg little better...


----------



## leglock

JoeRulz said:


> How many times KENTA and Marufuji faced each other?
> 
> I have 4 matches: two from 2006 (the first one is good, the second one is master-work) and two from 2010 (again, very good matches). Man, that match from October 2006 is amazing. Only if KENTA sells his leg little better...


http://www.purolove.com/noah/history/files/marufujivskenta.php


----------



## Chismo

Thanks, man much appreciated.


----------



## JEFF.JARRETT

*MVP New Japan Promo*


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Just seen NOAH 29/1 and hell, KENSKAY & Katsuhiko "the Prodigy" Nakajima vs. Shuhei Taniguchi & (the NEW) Takeshi Morishima was the best tag team match in the year 2011 so far. Taniguchi sleeper suplexing Nakajima right on his head was awesome, but the LARIATOOOOO battle between Sasaki and Mori made it even better. With a few minutes more this could have been an early MOTYC ... ****+

Kotaro Suzuki vs. Eddie Edwards ~ Edwards is doing quite good in Japan and to me this was the best performance in his young career. The execution of their bumps was superb, I thought they'd fuck up everytime they were fighting on the apron but they didn't. Only thing that bothered me was the crowd and the finish, they did such a solid match build up but within the last 3 minutes it seemed like nobody cared . ****+ Edwards should stay in NOAH for a longer time imo.


----------



## seancarleton77

lariatooooo!!! said:


> Just seen NOAH 29/1 and hell, KENSKAY & Katsuhiko "the Prodigy" Nakajima vs. Shuhei Taniguchi & (the NEW) Takeshi Morishima was the best tag team match in the year 2011 so far. Taniguchi sleeper suplexing Nakajima right on his head was awesome, but the LARIATOOOOO battle between Sasaki and Mori made it even better. With a few minutes more this could have been an early MOTYC ... ****+
> 
> Kotaro Suzuki vs. Eddie Edwards ~ Edwards is doing quite good in Japan and to me this was the best performance in his young career. The execution of their bumps was superb, I thought they'd fuck up everytime they were fighting on the apron but they didn't. Only thing that bothered me was the crowd and the finish, they did such a solid match build up but within the last 3 minutes it seemed like nobody cared . ****+ Edwards should stay in NOAH for a longer time imo.


Pretty much what I thought. Morishima & Taniguchi are really rising up.


----------



## seabs

*NJPW “The New Beginning 2011″, 2/20/2011 (Sun) 15:00
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall in Miyagi
3,200 Spectators (sold-out overcrowded)*​


Spoiler: Results



(1) Tama Tonga vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Winner: Tonga (5:20) following the Tongan Twist.
(2) Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA [SMASH] vs. Jado, Gedo & Killer Rabbit
Winner: KUSHIDA (8:45) with the Mignight Express onto Rabbit.
(3) Mascara contra Mascara (Mask vs. Mask): Tiger Mask IV vs. Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS Tiger)
Winner: Tiger (8:45) with a Tiger Suplex Hold.
(4) Elimination Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tohru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
~ Takahashi defeated Fale (4:43) following the Tokyo Pimps; Tenzan defeated Takahashi (6:18) following the TTD; Iizuka defeated Tenzan (13:58) by throwing him over the top rope.; Inoue defeated Iizuka (14:56) following the Spear of Justice.; Yano defeated Inoue (15:30) with the Back Mist.; Nagata defeated Yano (18:10) with a Small Package.
Winner: Nakamura (21:41) following the Boma Ye to Nagata.
(5) IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions: Bad Intentions] Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. [Muscle Orchestra] Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman
Winner: Bernard (18:28) with the Bernard Driver to Strongman.
~ Bad Intentions ~ 6th Successful Defense.
(6) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Prince Devitt [c] vs. TAKA Michinoku
Winner: Devitt (13:17) following the Bloody Sunday. ~ 5th Successful Defense.
(7) Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. MVP & Taichi
Winner: MVP (11:29) following the TTB (Take to the Bank) to Honma.
(8) Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
Winner: Goto (17:36) following the Shouten Kai.
(9) IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima
Winner: Tanahashi (22:22) with the High Fly Flow. ~ 1st Successful Defense.


----------



## seancarleton77

New Japan officially has the best Booking team in professional wrestling. They booked every single match on their big show to perfection. I can't wait to see Bad Intentions fuck up the roided up gorillas.


----------



## santo

Anyone have a list of some must see Puro matches from November 2010 until now?


----------



## Corey

People made lists on the previous page.


----------



## santo

I'm looking for smaller lists of about six or seven matches of the must see rather than lists of 20.


----------



## seabs

*+HARASHIMA vs Sato - DDT 11/14
Sato vs Togo - DDT 11/28
+Devitt/Taguchi vs Ibushi/Omega - NJPW 11/10
Tanahashi vs Goto - NJPW 12/11
Kojima vs Nakamura - NJPW 12/11
Tanahashi vs Kojima - NJPW 1/4
PAC vs Dragon Kid - Dragon Gate 11/23
Yoshino vs CIMA - Dragon Gate 11/23
+Yoshino vs Doi - Dragon Gate 12/27
CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ricochet vs Tanizaki, Kanda & Sugawara - Dragon Gate 12/27
CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ricochet vs Kzy, Kanda & Sugawara - Dragon Gate 12/12
Sekimoto vs Hidaka - ZERO-1 1/1
Hayashi vs Minoru - AJPW 1/2
KENTA vs Takayama - NOAH 1/15
+Suzuki vs Edwards - NOAH 1/29
+Takayama/Sano vs Hero/Claudio - NOAH 12/5
Sugiura vs Morishima - NOAH 12/5
Sekimoto/Sasaki vs Kasai/Numazawa - BJW 11/22

Put a + next to the best 5 imo.*


----------



## jawbreaker

Not one of Seabs' top 5, but I strongly recommend you check out Sekimoto vs. Hidaka from ZERO-1's 1/1 show. Hidaka in that match is my favorite performance from any wrestler in a while.


----------



## seabs

*The best of the lot is HARASHIMA/Sato btw. Actually thinking about it the KOW tag was probably the best but everyone should watch the DDT match because I can see a lot of people looking past it because it doesn't have a name like Ibushi or Sekimoto in but fuck it's so good.*


----------



## USAUSA1

Well, am trying to get back into pro wrestling. So am starting with New Japan and mostly Tanahashi and Karl Anderson matches since my time is limited. 

So far, am two matches in and Hiroshi Tanahashi has been great.


----------



## jpchicago23

seancarleton77 said:


> New Japan officially has the best Booking team in professional wrestling. They booked every single match on their big show to perfection. I can't wait to see Bad Intentions fuck up the roided up gorillas.


When you say big show are you referring to Wrestle Kingdom? If so is that available on dvd yet?


----------



## antoniomare007

Daichi Hashimoto visiting Shinya's grave 5 days away from his debut. His nickname is "Prince of Destruction"

Here's the full card for Sunday's Sumo Hall show.



> *ZERO1 "10TH ANNIVERSARY ~ PRO-WRESTLING", 06.03.2011 (PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*
> 
> 1. NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Craig Classic (c) vs. Munenori Sawa BattlARTS
> 2. Fujita "Jr." Hayato Michinoku Pro, Shota Takanishi, Kenta Kakinuma, Diamond Connery & Nick Primo vs. Shiro Koshinaka, Shito Ueda, Yoshikazu Yokoyama, Zuffa & Buffa
> 3. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title, Special Referee: SUWA: Takuya Sugawara & Kaijin Habu Otoko Okinawa Pro vs. Minoru Fujita & Mineo Fujita
> 4. International Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ikuto Hidaka (c) vs. Takafumi Ito
> 5. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title: Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE (c) vs. Atsushi Sawada IGF & X
> 6. Destructive Prince Daichi Hashimoto Debut Match: Daichi Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono
> 7. Masato Tanaka vs. Yuji Nagata New Japan
> 8. World Heavyweight Title: Daisuke Sekimoto Big Japan (c) vs. Ryouji Sai
> 9. Shinjiro Otani vs. Yoshihiro Takayama


----------



## Corey

jpchicago23 said:


> When you say big show are you referring to Wrestle Kingdom? If so is that available on dvd yet?


It's been out a couple weeks. Check out the price.

http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?cPath=226&products_id=6229


----------



## jpchicago23

Thanks, i was looking on ivp for it but couldnt find it, i guess i wasnt looking hard enough.


----------



## Corey

Yeah it's cause it's not listed under the njpw section yet. You have to go through a few pages of new releases first.


----------



## jpchicago23

Yea i found it on there, do you know what Noah's big show is? Or what their best show was in the last few months as well as AJPW


----------



## dele

That Zero One card looks pretty damn interesting.


----------



## antoniomare007

Results from this weekend (from purolove)



> *NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO", 05.03.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 4,800 Fans *(god damn )
> 
> 1. Takeshi Morishima besiegt Makoto Hashi (4:39) mit einer Lariat.
> 2. Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue besiegen Taiji Ishimori & Kentaro Shiga (10:43) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Shiga.
> 3. Disobey vs. Kensuke Office: Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Okita, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara besiegen Mohammed Yone, KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi (11:41) als Kajiwara Yone nach dem Go 2 Sleep von KENTA pinnte.
> 4. Special Singles Match: Jun Akiyama besiegt Yutaka Yoshie (10:41) mit einem Exploder.
> 5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki (c) besiegen Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin (23:51) nach einem Modified Cross Armbreaker von Aoki gegen Marvin (2nd defense).
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) besiegt Katsuhiko Nakajima (24:09) mit einem Tiger Driver (3rd defense).
> 7. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) besiegen Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (19:22) nach einem Everest German Suplex Hold von Takayama gegen Taniguchi (3rd defense).
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) besiegt Giant Bernard (20:32) mit einem Olympic Slam (9th defense).





> *NJPW "39TH ANNIVERSARY", 06.03.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 2,005 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House*
> 
> 1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga besiegen Wataru Inoue, Koji Kanemoto & King Fale (9:33) nach dem Kokeshi von Honma gegen Fale.
> 2. Giant Bernard, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA besiegen Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo (8:50) nach dem Midnight Express von KUSHIDA gegen Gedo.
> 3. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (11:35) durch Modified Pinfall von TAKA gegen Devitt.
> 4. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi besiegt Yujiro Takahashi (9:50) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
> 5. New Japan Cup - Round 1: MVP besiegt Karl Anderson (12:20) mit dem TTB.
> 6. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Hirooki Goto (13:45) mit dem Boma Ye.
> 7. Special Six Man Tag Match: Toru Yano, Tetsuya Naito & Takashi Iizuka besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (12:58) nach dem Oni Koroshi von Yano gegen Nagata.
> 8. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Togi Makabe besiegt Satoshi Kojima (16:01) mit einem Dragon Suplex Hold.





> ZERO1 "10TH ANNIVERSARY ~ PRO-WRESTLING", 06.03.2011 (PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 0. Rikiya Fudo & Fugofugo Yumeji with Fuyuki Takahashi besiegen Shinsuke Jet Wakataka & Yusaku Kowata (~7:00) nach einem Diving Guillotine von Fudo gegen Kowata.
> 
> 1. NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Craig Classic (c) besiegt Munenori Sawa (~11:00) mit einem Gedo Clutch.
> 
> 2. Fujita "Jr." Hayato , Shota Takanishi, Kenta Kakinuma, Diamond Konley & Nick Primo besiegen Shiro Koshinaka, Shito Ueda, Yoshikazu Yokoyama, Zuffa & Buffa (~10:00) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Kakinuma gegen Buffa.
> 
> 3. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title, Special Referee: SUWA: Takuya Sugawara & Kaijin Habu Otoko besiegen Minoru Fujita & Mineo Fujita (~15:00) nach dem Moudoku Habu Kuubaku von Otoko gegen Minoru (2nd defense).
> 
> 4. International Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ikuto Hidaka (c) besiegt Takafumi Ito (~13:00) mit dem Nora Inu High Kick.
> 
> 5. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title: Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE (c) besiegen Steve Corino & Atsushi Sawada (~13:00) nach einer Moonsault Press von KAMIKAZE gegen Corino (1st defense).
> 
> 6. *Destructive Prince Daichi Hashimoto Debut Match:* Masahiro Chono besiegt Daichi Hashimoto (~14:00) mit einem STF.
> 
> 7. *ZERO1 vs. New Japan:* Masato Tanaka besiegt Yuji Nagata (~18:00) mit dem Sliding D.
> 
> 8. *World Heavyweight Title:* Ryouji Sai besiegt Daisuke Sekimoto (c) (~14:00) mit dem Nachi Waterfall - Titelwechsel.
> 
> 9. Yoshihiro Takayama besiegt Shinjiro Otani (~16:00) mit einem Everest German Suplex Hold.


----------



## Sunglasses

There are all GHC Titles on the card, but ariake isn't even half-full at all. :/ Although, it looks like it was a good show. Too bad, Tani/Go didn't win the tag belts.


----------



## seabs

*Them NOAH results dont show what happened in the Disobey tag.*


> (3) DISOBEY vs. Kensuke Office: Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Okita, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara
> Winner: Kajiwara (11:41) after KENTA turned on Yone and following a go 2 sleep which then Kajiwara picked up the win.
> ~ Part way through the match KENTA smashed Yone in the middle of the ring with a chair. Kanemaru comes in and then lands a Brainbuster to Yone and then this sets up KENTA to land the go 2 sleep. It seems this may have been a plan since KENTA joined DISOBEY to trim the fat, if I can say that. Genba though was kind of in shock when this happened and thought he would be following what just happened to Yone, but KENTA reassured him that he is OK. KENTA got on the mic following the match and said “do you really think I joined DISOBEY, I joined to make a new team with Kanemaru.”
> Yone finally was able to stand and got on the mic and pretty much was pissed at what just happened Yone then rushed out of the ring and drilled KENTA from behind.
> ~ A very interesting turn of events, so DISOBEY is officially no more and Yone is now on his own. I can pretty much tell Yone is going to have nothing but KENTA on his mind for the next tour.


*So much for that group lol.

More results:



All Japan Pro Wrestling “HOLD OUT TOUR 2011″, 3/6/2011 
(1) Masanobu Fuchi & Kazushi Miyamoto vs. Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI
Winner: Miyamaoto (6:47) following a Brainbuster to BUSHI.
(2) Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. Josh Spears & Jake O’Reilly
Winner: Sanada (9:14) with a Jacknife Hold to O’Reilly.
(3) Minoru Suzuki vs. KAI
Winner: Suzuki (14:30) with a Sleeper to KAI.
(4) Keiji Mutoh, Masakatsu Funaki & AKIRA vs. TARU, Rene Dupree & MAZADA
Winner: AKIRA (10:26) with the Flying Squirrel Press to MAZADA.
(5) Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori vs. KONO & Joe Doering [World Tag Team Champions]
~ non-title match, TARU will be the special referee.
Winner: Kea (13:16) following the TKO34th to KONO.
(6) Suwama & Ryota Hama vs. KENSO & Zodiac
Winner: KENSO (19:35) via pinfall to Hama.
(7) Team 246 vs. “Junior Stars”: Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. Minoru & Koji Kanemoto
Winner: Minoru (23:35) with the Minoru Special to Hayashi.

Click to expand...





Dragon Gate 3/4/11 Glorious Gate. Osaka, Osaka Prefectural Gym #2
0. Super Shenlong Vs Kotoka
Winner: Super Shenlong via pinfall at 3:36

1) Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi Vs Don Fujii, Takuya Tomakomai
Winner: Saito over Tomakomai via Boston Crab at 12:15

2) Super Shisa Vs Yasushi Kanda
Winner: Super Shisa via Yoshitonic at 10:13

3) Masaaki Mochizuki, Kenichiro Arai Vs Dragon Kid, Gamma
Winner: Mochizuki over Gamma via Reverse Twister at 13:44

4) YAMATO, KAGETORA, Cyber Kong Vs Chuck Taylor, Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano
Winner: YAMATO over Swann via Gallaria at 15:26

5) Defeated Revives Survival Elimination Match: CIMA, Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki, Ricochet Vs Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka, PAC
Results: Yokosuka eliminates Tanizaki via Jumbo no KachI!
CIMA and Doi eliminates PAC and Hulk by tossing over the top
rope, Tanizaki revives
Yoshino eliminates Tanizaki via Crucifix Hold, PAC revives
Yoshino eliminates CIMA via Schwein Cutback, Hulk revives
Ricochet eliminates PAC via low blow, Tanizaki revives
Hulk eliminates Ricochet by tossing over the top rope, PAC
revives
Yoshino accidentitly eliminates PAC by tossing over the top
rope, Ricochet revives
Doi eliminates Hulk by Bakatare Sliding Kick, CIMA revives
Tanizaki and Yoshino eliminates each other over the top rope,
no one revives
CIMA eliminates Yokosuka via Meteora at 28:03 winning the
the match for Blood Warriors

At the end of the initial run of Defeated Revives Survival Elimination matches, Blood Warriors goes 2-1 against the other units (defeating the Veterans and World-1 and losing to KAMIKAZE, due to the suprise return of SHINGO). IMO the matches sound amazing and can’t wait to see them on tv.

Click to expand...

The main event on that All Japan show look potentially great. 

Nakanishi vs Nakamura & MVP vs Makabe in round 2 of NJ Cup

Rumoured matches for NOAH Fukuoka show:
Sugiura vs Sasaki
Marufuji/Aoki vs KENTA/Kanemaru
Suzuki vs winner of Marvin/Ishimori
Takayama/Sano vs Akiyama/Saito*


----------



## antoniomare007

Damn, I couldn't care less about KENTA's stable. Didn't think I would ever say that about something involving KENTA.

It seems as Daichi's debut (and a pretty damn solid card) drew 7,000 aprox) at Sumo Hall.

And Tokyo Sports has a new story about a big conflict between All Japan and NOAH. From DVDVR and CZWForums:



> --So the All Japan and NOAH offices are at war again. The relationship was strained when NOAH was devising a license system that both All Japan and New Japan were to participate in, however, All Japan head director Masayuki Uchida pulled out at the last minute saying that they didn't agree with a few of the areas, which infuriated NOAH as a huge press conference was set the day before Misawa's 1 year anniversary. Suwama is said to be one of the main reasons AJ backed out. Perhaps shady ass Nakada wanted to use that as a way to get into Suwama's ear. All Japan's pretty protective of him, as he's only had maybe a handful of outside matches in the 7 years he's been wrestling.
> 
> This was also around the time Jun Akiyama really wanted to enter All Japan for a TC challenge, and that's why it never materialized. Akiyama still name drops AJ, and still wants to challenge for the TC regardless to whatever is going on between the two offices.
> 
> With all that being said, the two groups swore they would try to work out their differences and renegotiate the terms, but it looks kind of ugly at this point.
> 
> 
> --Tokyo Sports writes that Nakata said problems between Akiyama and Suwama were key to last minute cancellation of license talks from AJ . I can only guess they didn't want Suwama to participate in NOAH, since AJ director Uchida states next - AJ doesn't close outside participations. I don't know why they protect Suwama from outside bookings, maybe they can't afford to lose him. Still it means Akiyama was supposed to challenge for TC. TS calls it Cold War.


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Them NOAH results dont show what happened in the Disobey
> Rumoured matches for NOAH Fukuoka show:
> Sugiura vs Sasaki
> Marufuji/Aoki vs KENTA/Kanemaru
> Suzuki vs winner of Marvin/Ishimori
> Takayama/Sano vs Akiyama/Saito*


damn, whomever thought of that was completly wrong. Here's the card por Fukuoka:



> *NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN FUKUOKA", 21.03.2011 (G+)
> Fukuoka International Center*
> 
> Mohammed Yone vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
> Jun Akiyama & Naomichi Marufuji vs Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
> Takeshi Morishi vs Yoshihiro Takayama
> GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs. Ishimori/Marvin
> GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura vs Trevor Murdoch


lol @ Murdoch, NOAH doesn't have a clue. I like the guy but that match ain't gonna draw shit (again). KO vs Jun/Maru and Shima vs Takayama look relly interesting though.

Oh, and it seems as Daichi's next opponet will be non other that Yuishiro Nagashima. The same K-1 fighter who beat Shinya Aoki in New Year's Eve. His debut will be at Korakuen Hall on May 5th.


----------



## jpchicago23

Anyone know if there were any good Michinoku or Osaka Pro cards in the past three months? The 01/04/11 Michinoku looked good


----------



## seabs

*Yeah Murdoch getting a title shot is just embarassing in every single way possible. KO tag could be good though I guess. I guess KENTA vs Aoki will be added to set up KENTA/Kanemaru title shot. *


----------



## seancarleton77

Speaking of embarrassing has anyone seen the must recently released NOAH show? It was like an episode of impact.


----------



## antoniomare007

holy shit at All Japan's next Sumo Hall show



> *
> AJPW "PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 11", 21.03.2011 (PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*
> 
> 0. Masanobu Fuchi, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Takumi Soya vs. Zodiac, Shawn Spears & Jake O´Reilly
> 1. Kaz Hayashi & KAI vs. Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI
> 2. Big Van Vader, Jesse White & Ryota Hama vs. TARU, René Duprée & MAZADA
> 3. Special Singles Match: Keiji Muto vs. Daichi Hashimoto
> 4. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki vs. Yuji Nagata & Jushin Thunder Liger
> 5. All Asia Tag Team Title: Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya (c) vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 6. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Minoru (c) vs. Shuji Kondo
> 7. Triple Crown: Suwama (c) vs. KENSO


I hope Daisuke and Yuji win so they can continue touring with All Japan. Was January their first tour with the company or was it last year?

After facing Chono and now Mutoh I wonder how are they gonna book Daichi in the future.

has anyone seen baby Vader yet? i'm intrigued...


----------



## jpchicago23

Does anyone know what the Wrestlemania type cards are in Japan? I'm assuming Wrestle Kingdom is the big one for NJPW but what about NOAH, AJPW, Mich-Pro, and Osaka Pro?


----------



## antoniomare007

Most of the promotions don't have a specific date or a specific show that you can call their "Wrestlemania". It depends on when they have a show in a big venue (Sumo Hall or in NOAH's case, Budokan Hall).

Dragon Gate has the Kobe World Hall show (July), DDT has a Sumo Hall show once a year since 2009, Big Japan has their Anniversary show in Yokahama (May), etc.

Still, the January 4th Dome show is pretty much puro's version of Mania.


----------



## seabs

*Wrestle Kingdom is really the only annual event that even comes close to resembling Mania. New Japan is the only promotion that can build a modern day Mania type card too. NOAH could do a Mania level card if they thought hard enough about it but it wouldn't feel like that type of a show. Maybe Dragon Gate could if you're into that style.

Not sure how I feel about Hashi Jr. being booked against guys like Chono and Mutoh. Chono debut match was fine for putting the spotlight on him but with all the attention around him I'd want to make a great first impression and Mutoh and Chono aint really the best guys to put him against. I guess it's fine if they give him some hot looking tags in the future and New Japan give him a few dates for big shows working with guys like Goto.*


----------



## Savitoow

Wrestle Kingdom really gets close to the Wrestlemania. It has a good structure, good build up, and NJPW really strives to bring good Wrestlers from other Feds.


----------



## seabs

> ZERO1 "7th Dedication to Pro ...Wrestling" 3/27/2011 (Sun) 13:00
> Location: Tokyo Yasukuni Sumo Arena
> () Dedication Pro Wrestling: Special Tag Match: Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Big Van Vader & Jesse White


*Awesome match for Hashi and Vader juniors. If the two youngsters can go and bring loads of intensity and Vader is still mobile enough this could be amazing.*


----------



## RoninTK

Seabs said:


> *Not sure how I feel about Hashi Jr. being booked against guys like Chono and Mutoh. Chono debut match was fine for putting the spotlight on him but with all the attention around him I'd want to make a great first impression and Mutoh and Chono aint really the best guys to put him against. I guess it's fine if they give him some hot looking tags in the future and New Japan give him a few dates for big shows working with guys like Goto.*


I am the first to see the potential of what Daichi brings to the table. I mean he is being marketed like he is the next big freaking deal. Something that the market in Japan could stand having right now. The only issue is he sits at 80kg soaking wet. He has already mentioned that he aims to jump up to 90kg within the year, and considering he has already gained weight (yes he was smaller if you can believe it) it should be interesting to see how much he builds up. That still leaves him with another 10kg to hit 100kg, to be considered Heavyweight material.


----------



## Derek

It makes sense to have him start against Chono and Mutoh since those two were part of New Japan's 3 Muskateers with Shinya, but if his drawing ability has any longevity, then Zero-1 and other companies are going to want to use him in high profile matches. If that happens, he might not be able to develop without an insane amount of pressure being put on him, and as a freaking rookie.

They're going to have to find a balance between putting him in situations where he can shine but also give him time to develop on his own.




Word is that Kouraken Hall was pretty badly damaged in the earthquake, and it could be a very long time before we see another event there, if they even rebuild it.


----------



## McQueen

Does young Hash use the DDT? Does he show promise?


----------



## Derek

I don't think the match has surfaced, but he did use his father's entrance music:


----------



## antoniomare007

> Word is that Kouraken Hall was pretty badly damaged in the earthquake, and it could be a very long time before we see another event there, if they even rebuild it.


It's gonna be hard for small promotions to run "big" shows in Tokyo as JCB Hall and Differ Ariake are also damaged.


----------



## McQueen

Damn that was pretty great to hear again.


----------



## Rickey

Quick match for the puro fan on the go...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKMzkT0F83Y&feature=player_detailpage


----------



## RoninTK

Jon Hamm Sandwich said:


> Does young Hash use the DDT? Does he show promise?


Right now he uses his ability to throw kicks over actually wrestling moves. Standard young lion stuff, mainly he is to show his fighting spirit like all of them. This is actually why he is going up against Mutoh next. Mutoh wants to see if he is even a shade of his late father. They are building Daichi right as of now, but will it last no one can even know that. Just got to wait and see it unfold.
Within a few years it'll be shocking if he does not do a DDT, Brainbuster, or even a Fisherman Buster. Personally I would love to see him do a Low Spinning Leg Trip.


----------



## New Blood

Has anyone watched those 2010 FUTEN shows that became available earlier this year? I've heard they're spectacular.


----------



## WillTheBloody

Didn't see the news posted here and I thought I'd share. Many people that don't dig Chikara still have some interest in _King of Trios_, and this is shaping up to be the biggest one yet. Three teams from Japan will be entering and a fourth team has a Joshi legend:



> - *Team Michinoku Pro* (The Great Sasuke, Dick Togo & Jinsei Shinzaki)
> 
> - *Team Osaka Pro* (Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada & Ultimate Spider, Jr.)
> 
> - *Team Dragon Gate* (Akira Tozawa, KAGETORA & Super Shisa)
> 
> - Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw & Manami Toyota





Spoiler: Team Banners ~ Tagged To Save Space


----------



## Emperor DC

I need to gain access to some of these matches. Heard good things about Vader Jr., and Vader himself has apparently lost a lot of, well, "bulk" as of late. Keen to see how he's looking.

I fucking love Vader.


----------



## Yeah1993

Vader might be my favourite wrestler ever.


----------



## Horselover Fat

Yeah1993 said:


> Vader might be my favourite wrestler ever.


Yeah?


----------



## Yeah1993

1993


----------



## Horselover Fat

wahts your favorite aspect of vader


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm on a monster heel kick atm so I'll say how good he is at that. How he sells differently according to his opponent's size is something I've always loved about him as well.


----------



## Horselover Fat

what about his helmet


----------



## Yeah1993

It's awesome. Blows steam and everything.


----------



## Sephiroth

Vader always reminded me of Juggernaut, except more indestructible.

The eye pop is the best and most badass thing I've ever seen in wrestling.


----------



## Horselover Fat

Yeah1993 said:


> It's awesome. Blows steam and everything.


how does that work anyway


----------



## Yeah1993

Wish I knew.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Talking of Vader, could you suggest some of his greatest matches? Haven't seen much of him, I just remember the eye-pop classic, one of his matches with Kobashi and some scenes on Youtube but ... What about his stuff with Misawa, Inoki and so on? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Corey

lariatooooo!!! said:


> Talking of Vader, could you suggest some of his greatest matches? Haven't seen much of him, I just remember the eye-pop classic, one of his matches with Kobashi and some scenes on Youtube but ... What about his stuff with Misawa, Inoki and so on? Thanks in advance.


I've seen just about nothing from Japan, but he's had several classics in WCW.

vs. Sting - Starrcade '92
vs. Sting (Strap Match) - Superbrawl '93
vs. Cactus Jack (Texas Deathmatch) - Halloween Havoc '93
vs. Ric Flair - Starrcade '93

His series of matches with Ricky Steamboat in '93 are good as well.


----------



## antoniomare007

I loved his match vs Misawa in the Baba Memorial show (99'), he has a nice match against a young Hashimoto in 89' and I have heard great things about his matches in UWFi


by the way, is something wrong with ditch's sites? i tried to enter and got a 404 error


----------



## Yeah1993

vs. Inoki 7/29/88
vs. Hashimoto 4/24/89
vs. Hansen 6/12/90
vs. Sting GAB 92
vs. Simmons 8/2/92
vs. Sting Starrcade 92
vs. Sting SuperBrawl III
vs. Cactus Havoc 93
w/Austin vs. Arn/Flair 11/13/93
vs. Flair Starrcade 93
vs. Inoki 1/4/96
vs. Taker vs. Hart vs. Austin Final Four 97
vs. Shamrock IYH 5/11/97
vs. Misawa 5/2/99
vs. Misawa 10/30/99

That's a good start imo, and what's not his "best stuff" there is either a bucket o' fun or something that's a favourite of mine. There's a few (supposedly) top matches from him I haven't seen yet though (UWFi stuff, Dustin Rhodes matches in 94, an 01 tag). Not like you're going to regret watching any of these if you do. 
-----

Watched the Kobashi/Shiozaki vs. Sasaki/Nakajima match from 2005 and I really have to say I don't think NOAH tags are ever going to be my thing. Wasn't even close to bad or anything but I just got to a point where I pretty much hoped it would end. Doesn't touch the Misawa/Kobashi 03 or Kobashi/Takayama 04 matches as far as best NOAH matches go imo. The chop batte thing gets on my nerves a lot and it didn't at all make me excited for Koabshi/Sasaki. Like I said not bad, I actually thought it was really really good, but there has to be dozens of All Japan tags in the 90s that are better, and I wouldn't call it a MOTYC. I honestly thought at least three of the Rey/Eddie matches were better.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah1993 said:


> Watched the Kobashi/Shiozaki vs. Sasaki/Nakajima match from 2005 *and I really have to say I don't think NOAH tags are ever going to be my thing.* Wasn't even close to bad or anything but I just got to a point where I pretty much hoped it would end. Doesn't touch the Misawa/Kobashi 03 or Kobashi/Takayama 04 matches as far as best NOAH matches go imo. The chop batte thing gets on my nerves a lot and it didn't at all make me excited for Koabshi/Sasaki. Like I said not bad, I actually thought it was really really good, but there has to be dozens of All Japan tags in the 90s that are better, and I wouldn't call it a MOTYC. I honestly thought at least three of the Rey/Eddie matches were better.


Why? Have you ever seen KENTA & Marufuji teaming up? Also, what did you think of Kobashi/Sasaki?


----------



## RoninTK

Emperor DC said:


> I need to gain access to some of these matches. Heard good things about Vader Jr., and Vader himself has apparently lost a lot of, well, "bulk" as of late. Keen to see how he's looking.


Here is the current pic of the two taken for ZERO1.


----------



## McQueen

I thought I heard Vader retired.


----------



## RoninTK

Jon Hamm Sandwich said:


> I thought I heard Vader retired.


Wrestler's never retire, like they say, lol.


----------



## McQueen

I thought I read something about a hip replacement but whatever i'm all for Vader beating on young boys for the rest of time.


----------



## Chismo

I'd like to see Vader in NOAH beating on young guys.


----------



## Martyn

Vader had a nice match with Antonio Inoki in 96, which were a part of the Inoki retirement series. Its defnitively worth watching for that sick german suplex to Inoki's neck.


----------



## seabs

> *NJPW “NEW JAPAN CUP 2011″, 3/19/2011 (Sat) 18:00
> Aichi Prefecture Gymnasium
> 6,500 Spectators*
> 
> (1) Tiger Mask IV & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tama Tonga & King Fale
> Winner: Tonga (9:03) following the Tongan Twist to Takahashi.
> (2) Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Kohji Kanemoto vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo
> Winner: Inoue (8:58) following the Spear of Justice to Gedo.
> (3) Giant Bernard, “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Tomohiro Ishii
> Winner: Takahashi (11:16) following the Tokyo Pimps to Anderson.
> (4) NJC Round 2: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano
> Winner: Yano (11:09) following the Uragasumi.
> (5) NJC Round 2: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> Winner: Nakamura (8:49) following the Boma Ye.
> (6) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] Prince Devitt vs. KUSHIDA
> Winner: Devitt (14:52) following the Bloody Sunday. ~ Successful 6th Defense.
> (7) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku [K-DOJO] & Taichi
> Winner: TAKA (13:54) following the Michinoku Mephisto to Taguchi.
> (8) NJC Round 2: Togi Makabe vs. MVP
> Winner: Makabe (10:41) following the King Kong Kneedrop.
> (9) NJC Round 2: Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka [ZERO1]
> Winner: Nagata (16:33) with a Backdrop Hold.​





> *NJPW “NEW JAPAN CUP 2011 FINALS”, 3/20/2011 (Sun) 16:00
> Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium in Hyogo
> 5,500 Spectators (packed)*
> 
> (1) Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & KUSHIDA vs. Jado, Gedo & Killer Rabbit
> Winner: Tiger Mask (8:38) with a Crucifix Hold on Gedo.
> (2) Manabu Nakanishi & Koji Kanemoto vs. Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga
> Winner: Nakanishi (8:22) with an Argentine Backbreaker on Tonga.
> (3) Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> Winner: Bernard (12:28) following the Magic Killer on Ishii.
> (4) NJC Semi-Final Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
> Winner: Nagata (7:27) with a Reverse Nagata Lock III.
> (5) NJC Semi-Final Match: Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> Winner: Nakamura (9:55) following the Boma Ye.
> (6) Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Masato Tanaka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
> Winner: Inoue (12:23) following the Spear of Justice to Naito.
> (7) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TAKA Michinoku [K-DOJO] & Taichi
> Winner: Devitt (16:27) following the Bloody Sunday to Taichi. ~ 2nd Successful Defense.
> (8) Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima & MVP
> Winner: MVP (14:44) with the TTB to Tanahashi.
> ~ Goto abandoned the match which left Tanahashi on a 2 on 1 situation. If you are just now following Goto will be going to CMLL tomorrow for an undisclosed amount of time.
> (9) NJC 2011 Final Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> Winner: Nagata (14:44) with a Backdrop Hold.
> ~ Yuji Nagata becomes the New Japan Cup 2011 Champion and has the title shot against Tanahashi on 4/3.​





> *All Japan Pro Wrestling presents “Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 11″, 3/21/2011 (Mon) 16:00
> Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo
> 8,000 Spectators*
> 
> (1) Masanobu Fuchi & Kazushi Miyamoto vs. Zodiac & Yasufumi Nakanoue
> Winner: Miyamoto (5:08) following a Vertical Drop Brainbuster.
> (2) Kaz Hayashi & KAI vs. Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI
> Winner: KAI (8:58) with the Splash Plancha on Yamato.
> (3) Special 6 Man Tag: Big Van Vader, Jesse White & Ryota Hama vs. TARU, Rene Dupree & MAZADA
> Winner: Vader (12:16) with a Big Crunch on MAZADA.
> (4) All Asia Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi [BJW]
> Winner: Sekimoto (32:51) with a German Suplex Hold on Soya. ~ New Champions!
> (5) Special Match: Keiji Mutoh vs. Daichi Hashimoto [ZERO1]
> Winner: Mutoh (10:18) with a Moonsault Press.
> (6) Special Tag Match: Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata & Jushin Thunder Liger [NJPW]
> Winner: Nagata (8:26) with a Backdrop Suplex Hold on Funaki.
> (7) World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] Minoru vs. Shuji Kondo
> Winner: Minoru (22:05) with the Minoru Special. ~ Successful 1st Defense.
> (8) World Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] KONO & Joe Doering vs. Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori
> Winner: Doering (21:15) with the Revolution Bomb on Omori. ~ Successful 1st Defense.
> (9) Triple Crown Championship Match: [Champion] Suwama vs. KENSO
> Winner: Suwama (29:25) following the Last Ride. ~ Successful 3rd Defense.
> 
> Notes:
> Yuji Nagata and Jun Akiyama announced to be in the Champion Carnvial.
> Brother Yasshi made an appearence, more info soon!​





> *NOAH “NAVIGATION IN MARCH 2011″, 3/21/2011 (Mon) 15:00
> Fukuoka Convention Center
> 2,500 Spectators*
> 
> (1) Masao Inoue vs. Shane Haste
> Winner: Inoue (7:55) with a School Boy.
> (2) Takuma Sano & Akitoshi Saito vs. Kento Miyahara & Brian Breaker [WLW]
> Winner: Saito (9:12) following the Sickle of Death to Breaker.
> (3) Atsushi Aoki vs. Bobby Fish
> Winner: Aoki (10:55) with a Cross Armbreaker.
> (4) Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs. KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi
> Winner: Ogawa (7:46) with a Backdrop Hold on Genba.
> (5) Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Yuto Aijima.
> Winner: Taniguchi (14:55) with a German Suplex Hold on Aijima.
> (6) Mohammed Yone vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
> Winner: Yone (5:50) via Foul (NO MERCY interferrence).
> (7) Jun Akiyama & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Kensuke Sasaki [KO] & Katsuhiko Nakajima [KO]
> Winner: Sasaki (18:10) following the Northern Lights Bomb to Marufuji.
> (8) GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] Kotaro Suzuki vs. Taiji Ishimori
> Winner: Suzuki (19:18) with a Tiger Driver. ~ 4th Successful Defense.
> (9) Singles Match: Takeshi Morishima vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> Winner: Takayama (11:39) with a Rear Naked Choke.
> (10) GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] Takashi Sugiura vs. Trevor Murdock [WLW]
> Winner: Sugiura (18:23) following the Olympic Qualifying Slam. ~ Successful 10th Defense.​


*Good to see the New Japan and All Japan still managed to draw reasonably good numbers given whats happening there atm. 

Nagata winning the NJ Cup is fucking awesome. Nagata vs Tanahashi is really fresh and should be an awesome match too. Interesting that MVP got a pin on the champ to so that's another possible title match they could be working to. Goto/Tana feud seems on the cards too when Goto gets back from CMLL. Goto will probably win the belt then when he gets back too I reckon. 

Match times look odd on the All Japan show. NJ tag going way too short and Suwama title defense going far too long. Nagata and Akiyama being in CC makes it so much more appealing than just All Japan guys. Nagata working more singles matches in multiple promotions is awesome. All Japan shows actually looks watchable from top to bottom which is amazing for any puro show, let alone All Japan.

NOAH shows looks like a typical NOAH show. Poor crowd and nothing note worthy on the booking side. KO tag could be good though. Hopefully Sugiura's next defense is vs Sasaki and they do the title switch there before Go beats Sasaki for the title defense. I guess they could easily do another Takayama defense before that after he beat Morishima. Wouldn't turn down another match between them two.*


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

EDIT

Internet sucks. Fuck it.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

JoeRulz said:


> Why? Have you ever seen KENTA & Marufuji teaming up? Also, what did you think of Kobashi/Sasaki?


If one doesn't like NOAH tags, specifically lengthier ones, then KENTA/Marufuji matches are more likely to turn them off further. If he was sitting waiting for Kobashi-Go/Sasaki-Nakajimi to end then it's unlikely he'll be all that engaged in much KENTA/Marufuji stuff through to the end. A lot those matches are pretty much the definition of a 'This Needs to End Already' match. 

I think that 11/05 tag is one of the best matches in NOAH history. I think it's better than Kobashi/Misawa, Kobashi/Sasaki and Kobashi/Akiyama. I think it flat out smokes most of the stuff KENTA and/or Marufuji have been involved in (although I thought the KENTAFuji/Wild 2 tag from '06 was close to the 11/05 tag the last time I saw it). But there's a good amount of NOAH matches that tend to piddle around for a while that don't do anything for me. I don't think the 11/05 fits into that category, but I see where he's coming from. 

Although I'm not a very big NOAH fan, either.


----------



## New Blood

*Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus [NJPW 6/11/96]*
Finally saw this match and along with Ohtani/Samurai and Liger/Ohtani, this is one of the best juniors matches. As with the Ohtani/Samurai match, what's great about this match is that it's different from the juniors matches of the time as Eddy and Benoit were more concerned with developing a story instead of being more of a TV spot reel that the others were cut into. The heat that Benoit was able to get from the crowd with the headlock was great. As it is a juniors match, the obligatory dive from Benoit was included and executed pretty well. I think if I had saw this 5+ years ago when I was really into juniors wrestling, I'd had put this really high up on my favorite matches list but since I'm not into the style much anymore, I still really like this match and it's great because it is so different.


----------



## Corey

Is that Trevor Murdock the same Trevor Murdoch from WWE?


----------



## antoniomare007

New Blood said:


> *Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus [NJPW 6/11/96]*
> Finally saw this match and along with Ohtani/Samurai and Liger/Ohtani, this is one of the best juniors matches. As with the Ohtani/Samurai match, what's great about this match is that it's different from the juniors matches of the time as Eddy and Benoit were more concerned with developing a story instead of being more of a TV spot reel that the others were cut into. The heat that Benoit was able to get from the crowd with the headlock was great. As it is a juniors match, the obligatory dive from Benoit was included and executed pretty well. I think if I had saw this 5+ years ago when I was really into juniors wrestling, I'd had put this really high up on my favorite matches list but since I'm not into the style much anymore, I still really like this match and it's great because it is so different.


That's one of my favorite Jr matches ever, how Eddie and Benoit forced a dead crowd to care about what they were doing was simply amazing.



Jack Evans 187 said:


> Is that Trevor Murdock the same Trevor Murdoch from WWE?



Yes


----------



## Corey

Wtf is he doing main eventing a NOAH show? haha


----------



## antoniomare007

He's been booked before thanks to Harley Race. Now what was NOAH thinking putting him in the ME challenging for the GHC Title? No idea...


----------



## Yeah1993

JoeRulz said:


> Why? Have you ever seen KENTA & Marufuji teaming up? Also, what did you think of Kobashi/Sasaki?


Idk what it is I just can't get into it as much as others seem to. Like I said (or, I *think* I said), I liked the 05 tag a lot but it got to a point where I didn't want to watch it anymore. I haven't seen a NOAH tag yet that I really really loved and I've seen a lot of the top praised stuff. 

Seen KENTA and Marufuji team up and I absolutely cannot stand them. I'm sure by now you've heard my ramblings abotu Kurt Angle doing this and that, and quite honestly I think they're worse. WEll, Marufuji is anyway, I can tolerate KENTA. Haven't gotten around to Kobashi/Sasaki yet.



JoeRulz said:


> I'd like to see Vader in NOAH beating on young guys.


YUS



Andy3000 said:


> I think that 11/05 tag is one of the best matches in NOAH history. I think it's better than Kobashi/Misawa, Kobashi/Sasaki and Kobashi/Akiyama. I think it flat out smokes most of the stuff KENTA and/or Marufuji have been involved in (although I thought the KENTAFuji/Wild 2 tag from '06 was close to the 11/05 tag the last time I saw it). But there's a good amount of NOAH matches that tend to piddle around for a while that don't do anything for me. I don't think the 11/05 fits into that category, but I see where he's coming from.


Didn't think much of Kobashi/Akiyama myself although I've never thought much of Akiyama in the first place, and I thought the 05 tag was definitely better than that. But I didn't enjoy it half as much as say, Misawa/Takayama from 01, and I thought the latter was def. a better match that probably didn;t scratch the "ballot" or whatever for matches chosen for the NOAH comp. I think Kobashi/Takayama is BY FAR the best NOAH match ever as well. 

Again I liked the 05 tag, and I think it's the best NOAH tag I've seen so far, and I wouldn;t put it in the same boat as the KENTA/Marufuji stuff that I got sick of within 2 minutes (no hyperbole), but with all the praise surrounding it it didn't live up at all compared to, e.g. RWTL 96 Finals, 4/20/91 tag, 10/19/90 tag, etc. I've heard a hell of a lot more praise for them than the 05 tag and despite all of that worhsip they still blew me away. 

Some of that might not make sense, I'm not reading it over to check. ;D


----------



## Caligula

not thinking much of Akiyama was the part that made the least sense


----------



## Chismo

Yeah1993 said:


> Haven't gotten around to Kobashi/Sasaki yet.


I think it's #3 in NOAH history, right behind Kobashi/Misawa (2003) and Kobashi/Akiyama (2004). The story they created was incredible, and they truly made the whole thing more than special. It was truly the clash of the titans, dream match. Some people were annoyed by that 4 min chop battle, but it was epic, it's their famous mark and it made perfect sense. And it made great story. The crowd was red hot too.


----------



## antoniomare007

If you don't like chop battles, chances are you are not gonna like Sasaki/Kobashi. I always found that match kinda overated tbh, KENTA vs SUWA is 10x times better imo.


----------



## New Blood

I heard Kobashi/Honda is great as well. I found the Kobashi/Sasaki match overrated as well. The chop battle really gets tiresome after the first couple times they chop each other.

I really liked NOAH when I was just getting into puro but after watching enough puro, especially 90s All Japan, it really does absolutely nothing for me.


----------



## Yeah1993

Feech La Manna said:


> not thinking much of Akiyama was the part that made the least sense


Yeah Idk what it is. He was great in some tags in the 90s and awesome in the Misawa match from 2000 but apart from that I can't get behind him.



JoeRulz said:


> I think it's #3 in NOAH history, right behind Kobashi/Misawa (2003) and Kobashi/Akiyama (2004). The story they created was incredible, and they truly made the whole thing more than special. It was truly the clash of the titans, dream match. Some people were annoyed by that 4 min chop battle, but it was epic, it's their famous mark and it made perfect sense. And it made great story. The crowd was red hot too.


Well, I hope I like it, I guess.


----------



## antoniomare007

just watched Daichi's debut. He's very green but had the fire you want from a young lyon, and he was over as fuck. It was great to hear that entrance song again and the pre match promo very cool. He has a long way to go but I have faith, you can tell that everyone wants to see him succeed.


----------



## seabs

*Agree with all that. Felt bad for him before with all the pressure and hype surrounding him but it made his debut seem so fucking huge and there was such a great atmopshere for it. Thought he was booked really well too. Came off as a rookie but also as a guy who was a big deal and made to look like a huge prospect. Him closing the end of show celebration was a great touch. Thought he looked fine in his match considering all the hype and his opponent. Showed some great fire and played a great babyface role.*


----------



## New Blood

I've been following the threads on the All Japan 80s Project and there are people who are already close to half way through and say it's one of the easiest sets to get through. Goodhelmet even went on record to say that it's the best set that they've ever done for the project.


----------



## Yeah1993

The fact it starts out with two Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch matches makes me want it now.


----------



## McQueen

I'm not sure i'll be able to resist a All Japan in 80's set despite the fact my interest in watching Wrestling right now is probably at an all time low.


----------



## antoniomare007

watching Jumbo matches is not watching wrestling...is watching greatness.

*slaps McQueen in the face*


----------



## McQueen

80's and early 90's stuff is about all I can sit through these days.


----------



## Chismo

Jon Hamm Sandwich said:


> my interest in watching Wrestling right now is probably at an all time low.


Man, it's that bad? Go watch some MVC or HDA tags and Jumbo/Tenryu epics, you'll get better.

























NOW!!!


----------



## Martyn

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom V 

0-2. World Wrestling Invitation Match: Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega [DDT] & Taichi - * 1/4.

Second dark match on this event. Worth watching only because of Kenny Omega. Just a 'watch, write something about this and forget match'. 

1. IWGP Tag Team Title – 3WAY Match: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. James Storm TNA Wrestling & Robert Roode TNA Wrestling vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man - * 3/4.

Typical Tag Team Title defense at Wrestle Kingdom - very average. 

2. ROAD TO FANTASIC MANIA:
Jushin Thunder Liger [CMLL World Middleweight Champion] & Hector Garza (CMLL) vs. La Sombra (CMLL) & Mascara Dorada (CMLL) - **.

I never liked lucha libre style but this match looks good and hyped me a lot for NJPW/CMLL crossover shows. 

3. DEEP SLEEP TO LOSE: (Sleeper Hold Match)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka - *.

Alongside with Hardy/Naito, the baddest match on the show. 

4. NJPW-TNA Greatest Showcase: (Hardcore Rules)
Rob Van Dam (TNA) vs. Toru Yano - ** 1/4.

Suprisingly good. RVD take some nice bumps and did a nice job with Yano. Enjoyable. 

5. NO JUSTICE, NO LIFE:
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki (Pancrase MISSION) - *** 1/4+.

I'm a little dissapointed here. I thought that they would do something like their first WK match, but this collision wasnt even close to that. But its still better than a hundred match between Nagata and Tanaka. 


6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match:
Prince Devitt (C) vs. Kota Ibushi (DDT)[IWGP Jr. Tag Champion] - ****+.

Just like I thought - another spectacular match from these two. They did a great job and clearly the best match on the card. The public liked it too.

7. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion I – Kazuchika Okada Return Match:
Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH)[GHC Heavyweight Champion] & Yoshihiro Takayama (Takayama-Do)[GHC Tag Champion] - ***.

Okada looks a little bit strange when he stands in the ring with three time New Japan Cup winner Goto, GHC Heavyweight champ Suigura and veteran Takayama. Great exchanges of elbows, kicks and that giant headbutt between Goto and Suigura. Ending was very good. Okada have a lot of potential, so bad that they dont use him properly in TNA.

8. TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Jeff Hardy (TNA)(C) vs. Tetsuya Naito - *.

Naito did a great job here, without him that match would be a dud. An real ironic twist of fate that Hardy was a champion right there. AJ Styles or Kurt Angle should defend TNA belt in the Dome, make an epic match and show the world that this belt really means something. 

9. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion II:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH) - *** 3/4.

Not that good as it was at G1 Climax, but way better than their NOAH match.

10. The Absolute Exhaust:
Togi Makabe vs. Masato Tanaka (ZERO1) - *** 1/2.

I never liked Makabe, but after this, he's one of the top players for me in NJPW. I always remember him as a member of shitty team with Toru Yano, but here he looks great as an underdog. Tanaka also was great as a real motherfucker. 



11. IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:
Satoshi Kojima (FREE)(C) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *** 3/4.

Probably the best Wrestle Kingdom main event (or at the same level like Mutoh/Tanahashi). Way better than their G1 Climax final and one more time great stiff punches, kicks and awesome lariats! Kojima shouldnt loss after only two succesful defenses, but its already happend. 

Overall - nice show, nearly that good as WK III.


----------



## Kapik1337

Just watched a recent Vader match from AJPW...










Honestly speaking, the match itself is rather horrible.
Great to see the smoking helmet again.
Jesse White is green, but has potential.
Is Ryota Hama in a Vader mask is way too adorable or what?


----------



## seancarleton77

I love pro-wres right now. There's so many different options we didn't have back in the 70's & 80's now. The Toshikoshi New Years Eve show had the greatest comedy match of all time and that was 2010/2011.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 196*

1. Cyber Kong, Shingo Takagi & YAMATO vs Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito
***1/2

*2. Naniwa Style Elimination Match*
Masato Yoshino, K-Ness, BxB Hulk & Susumu Yokosuka vs Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki, Yasushi Kanda & Takuya Sugawara
***3/4

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 197*

1. Shingo Takagi, YAMATO & Cyber Kong vs Naruki Doi, Takuya Sugawara & Yasushi Kanda
***1/4

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 198*

1. CIMA, Gamma & Dragon Kid vs Masato Yoshino, K-ness & Susumu Yokosuka
***1/2


----------



## Corey

Idk if anyone's seen this, but wXw has basically put together 3 international dream matches for their show next month entitled NOAH Genesis in Germany. Peep it:










*International Dream Match #1*
Chris Hero vs. KENTA

*International Dream Match #2*
GHC Heavyweight Champion Takashi Sugiura vs. Claudio Castagnoli

*International Dream Match #3*
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Taiji Ishimori

*Also Featuring:*
- Katsuhiko Nakajima
- Ricky Marvin
- Shuhei Taniguchi
- Go Shiozaki
- Satoshi Kojiwara
- Johnny Moss
- Bad Bones
- Big van Walter
- Tommy End


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Gate of Destiny 2010 - 23/11/10*

1. Ryo Saito, NOSAWA Rongai & Genki Horiguchi vs BxB Hulk, Super Shisa & Anthony W. Mori
**1/2

2. Riki Choshu vs Stalker Ichikawa
DUD

3. KAGETORA vs Kzy
**

*4. Open The Brave Gate Title Match*
PAC vs Dragon Kid
***1/2

*5. Open The Twin Gate Title Match*
Naruki Doi & Gamma vs Susumu Yokosuka & K-Ness
***3/4

*6. Open The Triangle Gate Title Match*
Naoki Tanizaki, Takuya Sugawara & Yasushi Kanda vs Shingo Takagi, YAMATO & Cyber Kong vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Kenichiro Arai
***1/2

*7. Open The Dream Gate Title*
Masato Yoshino vs CIMA
****


----------



## Emperor DC

HOLY SHIT.

That wXw card looks fucking sick.

KENTA/Hero and Bic C/Sugi?

holyshit.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 199*

1. Anthony W. Mori, BxB Hulk, Super Shisa, K-ness, Susumu Yokosuka, Masato Yoshino & PAC vs CIMA, Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi, Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Kenichiro Arai
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 200*

1. Masato Yoshino & PAC vs CIMA & Dragon Kid
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 201*

1. CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ricochet vs Kzy, Yasushi Kanda & Takuya Sugawara
***1/4

*2. Open The Brave Gate Title Match*
PAC vs YAMATO
***1/2


----------



## Chismo

Hero/KENTA?:shocked:


----------



## antoniomare007

results.



> *NJPW “NEW DIMENSION ~PRAY, HOPE, POWER~”, 4/3/11 (WPW)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 2,025 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House*
> 
> 1. Killer Rabbit & Killer Rabbit beat Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi (8:00) when Rabbit used a tombstone piledriver on Takahashi.
> 2. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Tomoaki Honma (7:51) when Yano used the Oni Koroshi on Honma.
> 3. Masato Tanaka ZERO1, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale (11:35) when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Fale.
> 4. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Ryusuke Taguchi (c) beat Madoka (12:17) with the Dodon (1st defense).
> 5. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura, Jado & Gedo beat Manabu Nakanishi, Kota Ibushi Dramatic Dream Team & Kenny Omega Dramatic Dream Team (16:31) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Nakanishi.
> 6. Special Tag Match: Satoshi Kojima & TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo beat Togi Makabe & KUSHIDA (12:40) when TAKA used the Michinoku Driver II on KUSHIDA.
> 7. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) beat Yuji Nagata (35:30) with the High Fly Flow (2nd defense).


and for the next big show...


> *
> NJPW “WRESTLING DONTAKU 2011″, 5/3/11 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center*
> 
> 1. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1
> 2. CMLL World Middleweight Title: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. Mascara Dorada
> 3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Winners of Apollo 55/Oishi & Asahi (4/17) (c) vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
> 4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Winners of NO LIMIT/Tenzan & Inoue (4/19)
> 5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura


----------



## ViolenceIsGolden

Does anybody know the exact reason why DGUSA, ROH, and other independent feds dvd's can't be found at major retailers like Best Buy? Does WWE have something to do with this or does stores like Best Buy just not care about having all these smaller wrestling feds.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 202*

1. Ricochet, Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito vs Naoki Tanizaki, Yasushi Kanda, Kzy & Dr Muscle
**3/4

2. Brodie Lee vs Kzy
Squash

3. Shingo Takagi, YAMATO & Cyber Kong vs BxB Hulk, PAC & Super Shisa
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 203*

1. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs Susumu Yokosuka & K-Ness
***1/2

*2. Open The Twin Gate Title Match*
Naruki Doi & Gamma vs CIMA & Masato Yoshino
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - Final Gate 2010 - 26/12/10*

1. Kenichiro Arai & NOSAWA Rongai vs Kotoka & Super Shisa
**1/2

2. KAGETORA vs Susumu Yokosuka
**3/4

*3. No DQ Match*
Darkness Dragon vs Gamma Daiou
**

4. Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito vs Don Fujii & Masaaki Mochizuki vs Shingo Takagi & Cyber Kong
***1/2

5. BxB Hulk vs YAMATO
***1/4

*6. Open The Triangle Gate Title Match*
Naoki Tanizaki, Takuya Sugawara & Yasushi Kanda vs CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ricochet
***1/2

*7. Open The Dream Gate Title Match*
Masato Yoshino vs Naruki Doi
***3/4

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 204*

1. Cyber Kong, KAGETORA & YAMATO vs BxB Hulk, K-Ness & Masato Yoshino
***

2. Genki Horiguchi vs Naoki Tanizaki
**3/4

*3. Open The Twin Gate Title Match*
Gamma & Naruki Doi vs Don Fujii & Masaaki Mochizuki
***1/4


----------



## topper1

ViolenceIsGolden said:


> Does anybody know the exact reason why DGUSA, ROH, and other independent feds dvd's can't be found at major retailers like Best Buy? Does WWE have something to do with this or does stores like Best Buy just not care about having all these smaller wrestling feds.


I would guess it cost money to get them into stores which smaller feds don't have. ROH was in FYE at some point a few years ago I believe.


----------



## TelkEvolon

ViolenceIsGolden said:


> Does anybody know the exact reason why DGUSA, ROH, and other independent feds dvd's can't be found at major retailers like Best Buy? Does WWE have something to do with this or does stores like Best Buy just not care about having all these smaller wrestling feds.


Extra cost, ditribution, ratings.


It is pretty much just too much of a pain in the ass when they can put them on their site.


They will put out a best of every now and again, see how it sells.


ROH went though "Koch" and put out 4 best of's. PWG's 2 best of DVDs are called "PWG sells out" as a joke for them going corporate and having a retail release though "Big Vision Entertainment". Chikara also had a retail best of.


I think they should put out a sampler for the masses more often. They are more likely to check it out it it is right in front of them and they can read the back or whatever instead of having to look for it online when they might not be all that interested.


----------



## seabs

> NOAH “Global Tag League 2011 Day 1″, 4/16/2011 (Sat) 18:30 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall1,700 Spectators
> 
> (1) Ricky Marvin vs. Shane Haste
> Winner: Marvin (8:08) following a Running Shooting Star Press.
> (2) Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita
> Winner: Suzuki (13:14) following a Rolling Elbow to Okita.
> (3) Naomichi Marufuji, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genbra Hirayanagi
> Winner: Kanemaru (14:16) following the Touch Out to Aoki.
> (4) Global Tag League 2011: Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Bison Smith & Masao Inoue
> Winner: Taniguchi (21:43) following The Terminator (Go Flasher Combination) to Inoue.
> (5) Global Tag League 2011: Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara vs. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito
> Winner: Sasaki (3:08) following the Northern Lights Bomb to Saito.
> (6) Global Tag League 2011: Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone
> Winner: Yone (15:46) following a Diving Guillotine Drop to Yoshie.
> (7) Global Tag League 2011: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
> Winner: Castagnoli (14:15) following the KRS ONE to Sano.


*Hopefully the main event is as good as their 5/12 match last year and should judging by the time. Great to see KOW win too.*


----------



## Derek

Word is Marufuji is injured (again) and the Jr. Heavyweight tag titles might have to be vacated.


----------



## jawbreaker

Akiyama and Saito lost in 3:08? Is that right?


----------



## seabs

*Sucks for Marufuji that he keeps getting injured but at least it means I dont have to see him stinking up big Jr. matches for a while.*


----------



## Sunglasses

jawbreaker said:


> Akiyama and Saito lost in 3:08? Is that right?


Yes, it is.


----------



## Derek

jawbreaker said:


> Saito lost in 3:08? Is that right?


Fixed


----------



## seancarleton77

Still bullshit. Saito may have a retarded haircut, but he's too damn to being going down to anyone in 3 minutes.


----------



## Derek

But its KENSKAAAAAAYYYY


----------



## Sunglasses

It's him and he still hasn't got any GHC Title shot for months


----------



## seabs

*NOAH, New Japan and All Japan announced supershow on 26/8 for eathquake victims. Hopefully they do some dream singles matches rather than just a card of multi man tags.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm pretty excited about this unity. I hope they raise lots of money, and I'm sure they'll give us a great show.


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *NOAH, New Japan and All Japan announced supershow on 26/8 for eathquake victims. Hopefully they do some dream singles matches rather than just a card of multi man tags.*


Oh, fuck yeah!


----------



## Derek

They'll probably have NJ vs. NJ matches, Noah vs. Noah matches and AJ vs. AJ matches. But there's still a good chance we'll see some cross company matches since its not like these companies only use their own talent these days.


----------



## antoniomare007

I guess there will be at least 1 interpromotional tag. They are gonna be using Budokan Hall so they have to book 1 big match minimum.


----------



## Chismo

Is there any ''real'' dream match anyway?


----------



## McQueen

Tanahashi vs Bison Smith


----------



## leglock

JoeRulz said:


> Is there any ''real'' dream match anyway?


Not any extraordinary "dream" matches.

Akiyama vs. Muto 
Suwama vs. Shiozaki
Suwama vs. Sugiura
Takayama vs Tanahashi
Funaki vs. Nakamura

Are the only things that come to my mind.


----------



## antoniomare007

not a dream match, but I would really want to see Sugiura vs Nakamura.


btw, Sugi's next defense will be against Minoru Suzuki on 5/8


----------



## Martyn

Non-Title 3 Way Dance between GHC Heavyweight, AJPW Triple Crown & IWGP Champions would be a nice dream match. 

Tanahashi vs. Sasaki
Tanahashi vs. Sugiura
Tanahashi vs. Akiyama
Sugiura vs. Nagata
Sugiura vs. Mutoh
Sugiura vs. Tanahashi
Suwama vs. Nakamura
Suwama vs. Akiyama
Suwama va. Sasaki
Suwama vs. Shiozaki
Devitt vs. KENTA
Devitt vs. Hayashi
Devitt vs. Nakajima

etc, etc

Cross promotion dream matches still existed. But I think that they book mainly NJPW vs. NJPW, NOAH vs. NOAH matches, with maybe one or max two cross promotion matches.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> btw, Sugi's next defense will be against Minoru Suzuki on 5/8


Should be good. Btw, Sugiura's reign is awesome. I enjoyed the hell out of his defenses against *Takayama*, Akiyama, Shiozaki, Morishima, Bernard and Murdoch(!).


----------



## antoniomare007

Best Of The Super Juniors Tournament will take place from May 26th to June 10th

A Block:

Prince Devitt
Koji Kanemoto
Tiger Mask
Taichi
Jado
Davey Richards
TJP
Kenny Omega
Hayato "Jr." Fujita

B Block:

Jushin "Thunder" Liger
Rysuke Taguchi
KUSHIDA
Gedo
Daisuke Sasaki
Mascara Dorada
TAKA Michinoku
Kota Ibushi
Great Sasuke


----------



## seabs

*Ridiculously stacked and BOSJ pretty much always delivers too. Even the weak block has some potentially great matches in there with any combination of Liger/Ibushi/TAKA/Sasuke. Just wow at all the matches there can be in Block B too. Hopefully their put most of the stuff that doesn't air on their youtube again. I'm going for either Koji or Liger to win and give them their title shot vs Devitt, probably Liger given he's in Block B. In all honesty though anyone other than Devitt would be acceptable (exluding Taichi of course. Fuck him).*


----------



## seancarleton77

I can honestly say this is the most excited I've ever been for anything Juniors related, or for a tournament. Best of the Super Juniors 2011 = The best Best of the Super Juniors line up ever! 

Agreed fuck Taichi.. and Tiger Mask IV too.


----------



## antoniomare007

hopefully Kanemoto vs Hayato is a mainevent for one of the Korakuen shows.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

antoniomare007 said:


> hopefully Kanemoto vs Hayato is a mainevent for one of the Korakuen shows.


I'd watch that. Those are two of the only guys in Japan that I actively enjoy on a semi-regular basis. Their last two singles matches were the bomb.


----------



## rafz

some good old puro matches:

Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs. Dory Funk Jr & Terry Funk - AJPW 08/12/84
_total non-stop brawling, everything you could expect from these four._

******

Tiger Mask II vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi - AJPW 09/03/85
_great match, Misawa was always brilliant regardless of your age, it's amazing to see how awesome high flyer he was at the time._

*****1/4*

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race - AJPW 19/09/85
_that deserved a better crowd, both wrestlers tried to do good job._

*****


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> hopefully Kanemoto vs Hayato is a mainevent for one of the Korakuen shows.


I would like to see either man go against young Daichi Hashimoto after facing each other, not in the main event of course because the arena would be half empty.


----------



## Certified G

I watched some matches from Jun Kasai's Pain Limit Deathmatch tournament. I was waiting for ECW Crossing The Line '99 to finish downloading so I didn't really pay much attention to the matches. Only thing I noticed was Jun Kasai's scarred body, and Masada who I think is awesome, wrestling 3 matches.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 5/12/10 - Joe Higuchi Memorial Show*

1. Atsushi Aoki vs Delirious
***

2. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara vs Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue & Ricky Marvin
**3/4

*3. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match*
Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA
***3/4-****

*4. GHC Jr Heavyweight Title Match* 
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Kotaro Suzuki
***1/2

*5. GHC Tag Team Title Match*
Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs The Kings of Wrestling
***3/4

*6. GHC Heavyweight Title Match*
Takashi Sugiura vs Takeshi Morishima
****


----------



## Chismo

Man, that Sugi vs. Shima match-up was brutal.


----------



## topper1

As are most of his title matches.


----------



## antoniomare007

the kick from Sugi to Morishima´s head is still one of the most asshole/stiffs things I've seen in a long ass time (not counting shoot style matches)


----------



## seancarleton77

JoeRulz said:


> Man, that Sugi vs. Shima match-up was brutal.


My match of 2010, hands down! That kick was uncalled for or at least should have ended the match, still epic.


----------



## Certified G

Damn the Powerbomb into Frankensteiner counter in the Takashi Sugiura vs Takeshi Morishima match looked badass due to the akwardness.


----------



## seabs

*Akiyama/Saito won the Tag League. Saito pinned Sugiura which probably means a title defense vs Saito. Awesome. :side:*


----------



## Sunglasses

Yeah, crap. But I expected them to win the tag league and I think they'll beat Takayama/Saito on may 8th... which would be even worse.


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *Akiyama/Saito won the Tag League. Saito pinned Sugiura which probably means a title defense vs Saito. Awesome. :side:*


I firmly believe Sugiura will knee the shit out of him.


----------



## leglock

JUSTICE


----------



## antoniomare007

> Jesse White, the son of former WCW World champon Big Van Vader, has signed a WWE developmental deal. There had been talk over the last few weeks that White, who has wrestled in Japan, would be signed after a recent tryout in Tampa, FL.


crap, I wanted to see more of him in All Japan.


----------



## seabs

*Didn't he sign that deal like a month ago. I seem to remember Vader doing a speech at the 3/21 All Japan show confirming it and saying how proud he was. Chances are they only signed him because of his dad because he's looked really green and not ready from what I've seen so far which granted isn't much. *


> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 2", 08.05.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 
> 1. Atsushi Aoki, Taiji Ishimori & Mikey Nicholls vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara
> 2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue vs. Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga
> 3. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita
> 4. Go Shiozaki vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
> 5. Special Handicap Match: Mohammed Yone vs. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs. Ricky Marvin
> 7. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) vs. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki


_*Typically average NOAH card for these days.

Also Hayashi/KAI won the All Japan Tag League (which looks to have a load of good stuff come from it). KAI pinned Minoru in the final so he looks like the next challenger. Match went half an hour though :/*_


----------



## seabs

purolove.com said:


> NJPW "WRESTLING DONTAKU 2011", 03.05.2011 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center
> 6,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Hiromu Takahashi besiegen Jado, Gedo & Killer Rabbit (4:36) mit einem Argentine Backbreaker von Nakanishi gegen Rabbit.
> 2. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (6:43) mit dem Back Mephisto von Taichi gegen KUSHIDA.
> 3. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale (7:57) mit dem Oni Koroshi von Yano gegen Fale.
> 4. CMLL World Middleweight Title: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) besiegt Máscara Dorada (10:04) mit einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster (3rd defense).
> 5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) besiegen Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (17:41) mit dem Bloody Sunday von Devitt gegen Romero (4th defense).
> 6. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) besiegen Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito (19:49) nach dem Bernard Driver von Bernard gegen Naito (7th defense).
> 7. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga besiegen Takashi Sugiura & Makoto Hashi (9:43) nach dem Shouten Kai von Goto gegen Hashi.
> 8. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata besiegt Masato Tanaka (14:53) mit einem Backdrop Hold.
> 9. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe besiegt Satoshi Kojima (11:51) nach dem King Kong Knee Drop.
> 10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) besiegt Shinsuke Nakamura (20:17) mit dem High Fly Flow (3rd defense).


*Suprised how long the two tag title matches went but yeah that show looks absolutely phenomenal. The whole tour does actually. So many matches that I really want to see, many of which probably wont surface due to being on smaller shows that wont air.*


----------



## antoniomare007

> After the title presentation Goto came to the ring and floored Tanahashi with a punch. A backstage interview (shown on a video screen to the audience) set up Tanahashi/Goto for the next IWGP title defense.


If guess Goto has to win, it's been almost 4 years of him chasing the title.


----------



## Derek

After Makabe defeated Kojima, Taichi and Taka Michinoku attacked Kojima. Then it was revealed that there is a new leader of the outsiders group, Minoru Suzuki. Makabe saved Kojima and the two shook hands. 

Possible new alliance between Kojima and Makabe? And MiSu back in New Japan is awesome. A whole crop of new faces for him to choke out.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah it seems the time for Goto to take the belt with the way they've built really nicely to Goto/Tanahashi. MiSu in New Japan with a bunch of chronies sounds awesome. Much better leader than Kojima.*


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 26/10/10 - Autumn Navigation 2010 - 4th NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League*

*1. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B*
Jack Evans & Extreme Tiger vs Dick Togo & Yasu Urano
***

*2. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A*
KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs Great Sasuke & Kenbai
***


----------



## LariatSavage

TNA Global Impact

IWGP Championship Match: Yuji Nagata vs Kurt Angle (*****): Tenay is one of my least favorite commentators ever. I like Angle's mouth-guard during the match gimmick, and that he's the heel in this one. Nagata is a master salesman. Tiger Hatori doesn't count Angle's shoulders down during the figure four, feels like a rookie mistake. I guess they don't roll like that in Japan. Yuji Nagata makes the funniest aggression faces I've ever seen. The cross-face/ankle lock chain is pretty awesome. Kurt Angle moonsaults always look dangerous, the one he misses here is no exception. A great technical showdown. The ending was great, Yuji went for a stiff kick to Angle's chest, and was caught in a modified Angle-Lock. As good of a match as I've ever seen on a TNA production.


----------



## Chismo

LariatSavage said:


> TNA Global Impact
> 
> IWGP Championship Match: Yuji Nagata vs Kurt Angle (*****)
> 
> Nagata is a master salesman.


5 stars? Joke, right?

Nagata's leg-selling was bad.


----------



## Corey

LariatSavage only uses whole star ratings. Which explains why it's rounded up to *****.


----------



## LariatSavage

Jack Evans 187 said:


> LariatSavage only uses whole star ratings. Which explains why it's rounded up to *****.


Thank you. Exactly. 

My Ratings

* Horrible, short, botch-fest. 

** Sloppy, selling deficiencies, no pace

*** Average match

**** A strong match, but missing something. 

***** Crowd is into it, great pace, storytelling, and a solid finish

It doesn't have to be perfect for me to throw that ***** rating out there, it has to be pretty close though.


Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata (****): Brainbuster on the concrete spot looked brutal. Not as brutal as some of the kicks that Yuji followed it with though. They both slapped the shit out of each other, which I always support. A hard hitting match all around, but the ending is a little lack luster. Tanahashi goes in and out of no-sell mode a couple of times here, doesn't help the match.


----------



## musdy

Massive Puro purchase:

Joshi for Dummies (5 Disc Set)
ROH invades Japan V.1 (IVP Custom Comp)
NJPW 1994 Super J Cup (2 Discs)
Best of Dynamite Kid (2 Discs)
Dragon Gate WrestleJam 2
Best of KENTA in 2009 (4 Discs)
Best of KENTA in 2009 V.2
Dragon Gate Wrestle Jam 3
Best of Marufuji in 2010 (4 Discs)
Best of Kobashi: Legacy of V.02 (2 Discs)
Best of Prince Devitt in 2009 (4 Discs)
NJPW 1996 J-Crown Tourny
Best of Katsuhiko Nakajima V.1
Best of Katsuhiko Nakajima V.3
Best of Dragon Gate in 2009 (2 Discs)
NOAH 09/06/2008 (2 Discs)
Legacy of Misawa V.4 (3 Discs)
NJPW Jr Tag League 1994
Best of KENTA & Marafuji V.6
Best of NOAH 2006 V.01
Best of NOAH 2006 V.02
Best of NOAH 2006 V.03

All for $78.22

Thoughts??


----------



## Yeah1993

I have the first set (Joshi one) and have only seen one match from it. Really long match from 2001. It's good.

That's all I'm sayin'. >_<;


----------



## Corey

That's a hell of a purchase for just under $80. ROH Invades Japan Vol. 1 is a fantastic set highlited by an incredible Briscoes tag and another awesome Danielson/KENTA match. '94 J Cup has two classics in the final two matches. That's my input.


----------



## antoniomare007

antoniomare007 said:


> hopefully Kanemoto vs Hayato is a mainevent for one of the Korakuen shows.


Thank you Jado & Gedo!!


> *
> NJPW, 5/26/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Mascara Dorada
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kota Ibushi
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: The Great Sasuke vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. Kenny Omega
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Tiger Mask vs. TJP
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Davey Richards


rest of the tour schedule.




> NJPW, 5/28/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Gedo vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. The Great Sasuke
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jado vs. Davey Richards
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. TJP
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Kenny Omega
> 
> NJPW, 5/29/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Gedo vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Mascara Dorada
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. KUSHIDA
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. The Great Sasuke
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jado vs. TJP
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Taichi
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Davey Richards
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
> 
> NJPW, 6/2/11
> Toyohashi City Gymnasium #2
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Kota Ibushi vs. Mascara Dorada
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA vs. The Great Sasuke
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato vs. Kenny Omega
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. TJP
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Jado
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Taichi
> 
> NJPW, 6/3/11
> Wakayama City Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: The Great Sasuke vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Kota Ibushi vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Mascara Dorada
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Gedo
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Kenny Omega vs. TJP
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. Davey Richards
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Jado
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
> 
> NJPW, 6/4/11
> Kyoto KBS Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Kota Ibushi vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA vs. Gedo
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: The Great Sasuke vs. Mascara Dorada
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. TJP
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato vs. Davey Richards
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Jado
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Kenny Omega
> 
> NJPW, 6/5/11
> Akashi Municipal Industrial Exchange Center
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Mascara Dorada
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Gedo vs. Kota Ibushi
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: TJP vs. Davey Richards
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. Jado
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask
> 
> NJPW, 6/7/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Gedo vs. Mascara Dorada
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: The Great Sasuke vs. Kota Ibushi
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato vs. TJP
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jado vs. Kenny Omega
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Davey Richards
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Tiger Mask
> 
> NJPW, 6/8/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: KUSHIDA vs. Mascara Dorada
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Gedo vs. The Great Sasuke
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Kota Ibushi
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Kenny Omega vs. Davey Richards
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jado vs. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Tiger Mask vs. Taichi
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Koji Kanemoto
> 
> NJPW, 6/10/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Block A 1st place vs. Block B 2nd place
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Block B 1st place vs. Block A 2nd place
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. – Final


----------



## Chismo

Jesus, where to start?


----------



## seabs

*Yeah that tour is fucking insanely stacked. The majority of the top matches airing on Samurai TV is great. Ones that aren't airing that I'd love to see are Ibushi/Dorada, Hayato/Omega, Koji/TJP, Omega/TJP, Hayato/Richards, TJP/Richards and Devitt/Omega. Hayato/Richards sounds like a hella lot of fun seeing Hayato kick the shit out of Davey. Davey/TJP in a 10 minute New Japan sounds much more promising than a 20 minute ROH match between them. 1st night looks insane with Liger/Dorada, Sasauke/TAKA, Koji/Hayato and Davey/Devitt.*


----------



## seabs

purolove.com said:


> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 2", 08.05.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 4,400 Fans
> 
> 1. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara besiegen Atsushi Aoki, Taiji Ishimori & Mikey Nicholls (9:30) nach einer Moonsault Press von Kajiwara gegen Nicholls.
> 2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue besiegen Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga (11:39) nach einem Horizontal Cradle von Ogawa gegen Shiga.
> 3. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie besiegen Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita (11:11) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Okita.
> 4. Go Shiozaki besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi (20:28) durch Referee Stop (Modified Shoulder Hold).
> 5. Special Handicap Match: Mohammed Yone besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (2:42) mit einem Face Kick.
> - Mohammed Yone besiegt Yoshinobu Kanemaru (11:00) mit einem Muscle Buster.
> - KENTA besiegt Mohammed Yone (3:13) mit dem Go 2 Sleep.
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) besiegt Ricky Marvin (21:34) mit einem Tiger Driver (5th defense).
> 7. GHC Tag Team Title: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) besiegen Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (19:11) nach einem Everest German Suplex Hold von Takayama gegen Saito (4th defense).
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) besiegt Minoru Suzuki (28:15) mit einem Olympic Slam (11th defense).


.


----------



## Sunglasses

Good to see akiyama/saito not winning the tag titles. the rest is just as expected.


----------



## WillTheBloody

Seabs said:


> *Yeah that tour is fucking insanely stacked. The majority of the top matches airing on Samurai TV is great. Ones that aren't airing that I'd love to see are Ibushi/Dorada, Hayato/Omega, Koji/TJP, Omega/TJP, Hayato/Richards, TJP/Richards and Devitt/Omega. Hayato/Richards sounds like a hella lot of fun seeing Hayato kick the shit out of Davey. Davey/TJP in a 10 minute New Japan sounds much more promising than a 20 minute ROH match between them. 1st night looks insane with Liger/Dorada, Sasauke/TAKA, Koji/Hayato and Davey/Devitt.*


Yeah, I'm hoping some of the non-taping matches end up on the NJPW YouTube account like last year. One of the best parts of my final year of college was getting bored taking summer classes and being able to go to NJ's YouTube page in the early afternoon, watching stuff like Omega/Hayato from only a day or two ago.


----------



## Rickey

Vid of the day, good ole promos.


----------



## Chismo

NOAH

I'll check the bouts under 6, 7 and 8. Sounds good. So happy to see TakaSano and Sugiura retaining. I smell a good match in Sugiura/Suzuki.


----------



## Yeah1993

out of the blue stuff comin'

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kengo Kimura (NJPW 7/12/75)
--Been going through the NJPW 80s set again, and skipping through Fujiwara caught my eye like a motherfucker. On a total kick of the guy and I'm gonna skip through the NJPW 80s, Other Japan 80s & PWFG sets and watch anything of him I can. In the meantime I'll search for otehr stuff of his I don't have, like this. Fujiwara's apparantly been in the game about three years here, and his selling is already phenomenal. This is a short match (unlikely- most was probably cut off), but it's a good display of 70s matwork, and I like that style a lot. Kimura's fine and good, busting out your usual stuff and trying to outdo Fujiwara the best he can, but Fujiwara's threw out some great stuff, notably having an armbar on Kimura, throwing him over in a firemen's carrier (while keeping hold of the arm), and dropping down to a leg-armbar. Thing. Like I said his selling is top notch; you don't get to see a lot of selling in his face since the footage is from '75 and a little blurry, but his bumps are spot on and if someone used the stuff Kimura used in a leigt fight I can totallly see someone actually being affected the way Fujiwara was selling. Not a great match at all (for the eight/nine minutes that was shown, it was probably a lot longer), but it's the sort of match I'd be thrilled to see on Raw sometime.

Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Kohei Sato (Zero-One 2/3/02)
--I was liking this until this Sato guy decided to blow off all of Fujiwara's signature stuff. They were having really good mat exchanges for nearly ten minutes, and then Fjiwara goes to the Fujiwara armbar, and without two seconds rolling by, Sato rolls through and treats it like it's nothing. That I wasn't ALL THAT fussed about, but it got a lot worse when Fujiwara was trying to headbutt the kid, and he goes and starts yelling like one of those annoying young Japanese wrestlers, displaying his "spirit" or some crap (like KENTA or Akiyama). Fujiwara later does that thing where he twists his legs around and kaes his opponent roll in front of him, and because he's old and shit it takes forever and he's panting like a motherfucker on the floor, so Sato gets back on offence again. Honestly, though, first half more than half, probablY) of the match was really good. Fujiwara was still good mat-wise and Sato could match him well. Felt kind of sorry for them because of the dead crowd, like, if this was RINGS with a hot atmosphere, there would have been people shitting their pants at the quick submissions pulled out of nowhere and stuff. Worth a watch, definitely.


----------



## Sunglasses

Sugiura is defending his title in all 3 singles matches in europe. This will be against Dave Mastiff, Kotaro Suzuki and finally Claudio Castagnoli - of course if he's winning the first two. This will also mean, that he could have 14 title defenses after the tour - one more than Kobashi.



> _by puroresu spirit - _NOAH update: Well it what seemed to be weird news at first is that Takashi Sugiura will be defending the GHC Heavy belt during all 3 days of the European tour. I held off on mentioning anything due to the slight possibility of being a miscommunication error. But today in Japan, Sugiura solidified this news by saying that he is indeed looking to have back to back defenses like the late great Jumbo Tsusruta did in the 80's with the AWA Heavy belt. Sugiura stands at 11 Defenses now and if he defends each day that put him at 14 Defenses, and in turn making himself the new leader in NOAH with the most defenses.
> Sugiura said he wants to try this back to back run and in turn show those in the UK the value of the belt.


----------



## Chismo

Great news, IMO. Sugiura/Claudio could ROCK.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, Sugi and Claudio could have an amazing match if they want to. Can't help but laugh at a Heavyweight Title defense against Kotaro though xD...

I guess Sugi beats Kobashi's record and then drops the belt, but to who?. Kensuke is the only big challenger left but his last reign didn't mean anything, I guess they could use him as a transition to give the title back to Go (and give Shiozaki his first win agaisnt Sasaki) but idk, nothing in NOAH interest me at the moment.


----------



## seabs

*Sugi beating Kobashi's record in Europe is a total joke. Wont mean anything when he's barely had any meaningful title matches and there's been defenses vs Dave Mastiff, Trevor Murdoch and Kotaro Suzuki. Seems as though NOAH are just keeping the belt on him because they dont have a clue what to do with it and beating Kobashi's number just seems like an effort too make his reign seem memorable and significant. Sasaki seems the best option to take the title off him and then drop it back to Shiozaki but yeah there's absolutely no long term future for them.*


----------



## Derek

Seabs said:


> *Sugi beating Kobashi's record in Europe is a total joke. Wont mean anything when he's barely had any meaningful title matches and there's been defenses vs Dave Mastiff, Trevor Murdoch and Kotaro Suzuki. Seems as though NOAH are just keeping the belt on him because they dont have a clue what to do with it and beating Kobashi's number just seems like an effort too make his reign seem memorable and significant. Sasaki seems the best option to take the title off him and then drop it back to Shiozaki but yeah there's absolutely no long term future for them.*


Koataro Suzuki? I think you mean Minoru Suzuki. And if you think MiSu is a joke, I might have to slap the shit out of you.

But even if he has more defenses than Kobashi, nobody in their right mind will think his reign was better than Kobashi's. And complaining about NOAH's bad booking is about as pointless as saying TNA is shit. It has been that way for years now and isn't going to change soon.


----------



## seabs

*He's defending it vs Kotaro on the UK tour.*


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> I guess Sugi beats Kobashi's record and then drops the belt, but to who?


Morishima. Yeah!


----------



## Derek

Seabs said:


> *He's defending it vs Kotaro on the UK tour.*


Oh. Well that is just stupid.


----------



## McQueen

For some reason I wouldn't be surprised if NOAH put the title on the late Misawa's little gay boy Kotaro just to shake things up.


----------



## jawbreaker

Would that make him the first person ever to simultaneously hold the Heavyweight and Jr. Heavyweight belts?


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> For some reason I wouldn't be surprised if NOAH put the title on the late Misawa's little gay boy Kotaro just to shake things up.


C'mon, give them more credit than that. They're not TNA.


----------



## seabs

*At least TNA seem to try some of the time and get it wrong. NOAH just does nothing meaningful these days.*


----------



## seancarleton77

Derek said:


> C'mon, give them more credit than that. They're not TNA.


But that's like saying at least it's not brain cancer when you have aids.


----------



## Derek

seancarleton77 said:


> But that's like saying at least it's not brain cancer when you have aids.


They're not just sure, they're HIV Positive?


Ok, yeah, NOAH's booking has been shit for years, but I stopped caring about that company outside of Sugiura months ago. At this point it is simply a wonder that they are still afloat.


----------



## Sunglasses

*NOAH "GENESIS IN GERMANY" 15.05.2011*

Axeman vs. Kajiwara **1/2
Ishimori vs. Sabre Jr. **3/4
Big Van Walter vs. Taniguchi: **1/2
Polak/Beck/End vs. Moss/2-Face/Sitoci: **
Marvin vs. Nakajima: ***1/4+ (action, action, action - for 10 Minutes. Great.)
Go vs. Bad Bones: ***3/4
KENTA vs. Hero: ****1/4
Sugiura vs. Castagnoli: ***3/4+ (could have been 10 Minutes longer... instead it was surprisingly over after 21min...)


----------



## Derek

Next major New Japan show has Tanahashi defending against Gotoh, MVP defending his new title against Yano, Kojima and Makabe taking on MiSu and Lance Archer (Hoyt), and most suprising of all, a double titles tag match between Bad Intentions and NOAH's Takayama and Sano. So unless there is shenanigans, one team will have both set of belts.


----------



## antoniomare007

depends on the time limit of the match.


----------



## seabs

*I actually see Bad Intentions taking the GHC belts. NOAH needs to do something to try and make themselves relevant again and this seems like something they'd be willing to trade off with New Japan to get more of their workers working their shows. Wouldn't be totally out of the blue as they worked a NOAH show this year and Bernard had a title shot.

I just dont think that a draw is a foregone conclusion because of the stip.*


----------



## antoniomare007

I don't either, but if the match has a 30 minute time limit, a draw is the more probable outcome imo.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

I'm still in love with old n' rusty Takayama but I just can't enjoy his tag matches with Sano, so I hope they will drop the titles.


----------



## Chismo

Takayama and Sano are seriously underrated tag team, their defenses were great. They are hard hitting, brutal motherfucking veterans and they take no shit. It's a damn shame they hold the titles in such unexciting times for NOAH. I feel the same way about Sugiura.


----------



## Devildude

Does Sano still do about twenty Mule Kicks in his matches still? That shit alone is enough to fast forward through any tag matches where he's the legal man.


----------



## seancarleton77

Takayama is breaking down, just like Taker. But compared to Sano he's in his prime. Together it somehow works, can't wait til they get spanked by Bad Intentions!


----------



## FightclubXL-2nd Dv

IMO NOAH has been on life support since Misawa passed, 1st things 1st- whoever decided it was a good idea to make Suguira champ needs to be shot. I don't get it, what is all the hype about this guy to merit him holding the GHC World Championship as long as he has? My friend is a huge NOAH mark, but even he despises Suguira. I also got to say I've been disappointed with Go, man I thought he would carry the workload and be a credible draw for the company after Misawa's passing. I'll be honest I haven't kept up with any of KENTAs stuff so I can't comment on him but if NOAH goes under, I think that NJPW will pick him up, either that or he'll go freelance. To be honest, I'm" surprised that AJPW has remained relatively stable this past decade, I don't watch as much as I used to when I watched 06-08 however I guess that they found their niche.

I said this in the other NJPW thread, but if Hirooki doesn't win the big one this year, I'm" phoning it in, the guy is long overdue for the belt IMO. I can't wait til he gets his moment if he ever does.


----------



## bme

Devildude said:


> Does Sano still do about twenty Mule Kicks in his matches still? That shit alone is enough to fast forward through any tag matches where he's the legal man.


You mean Takuma Sano ? oh god
I watched their title defense against the Kings of Wrestling, and except a scoop slam he just did rolling solebutts.


----------



## Chismo

Guys, what are KENSKAY's best matches? Non-Kobashi, of course. I very loved his two matches with Takayama (NJPW), with Shiozaki from 2010 and with Morishima from 2008. Oh, and Sasaki/Tanahashi (2004).


----------



## Derek

His match with Kawada in 2000.


----------



## topper1

JoeRulz said:


> Guys, what are KENSKAY's best matches? Non-Kobashi, of course. I very loved his two matches with Takayama (NJPW), with Shiozaki from 2010 and with Morishima from 2008. Oh, and Sasaki/Tanahashi (2004).


Sasaki & Nakajima vs Shiozaki & KENTA, 6/22/09 is my personal favorite. His match with Kawada from 2000 is likely his highest regarded match along side the Kobashi match.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah definitely that Kawada match in 2000. That match felt so fucking huge, like WrestleMania main event levels atmopshere when I was watching it. Steiners tag with Hase gets a lot of praise too. It's good but it gets overhyped and I think a lot of people dont feel as though it held up that well over time. KO vs Burning 10 man from Kensuke Office and the KO tag from NOAH in 09 vs KENTA/Go were both great too.*


----------



## Chismo

Derek said:


> His match with Kawada in 2000.


Oh yeah. Forgot that one, it was epic. Thanks!


----------



## Chismo

Yes, I know his tags, I meant singles bouts.


----------



## topper1

Sasaki vs Akiyama 4/10/10 is a more recent singles match a lot of people liked I personally didn't care for it.


----------



## Yeah1993

Related to JoeRulz' question, are there any really really good Takayama matches since the Kobashi match in 04 I should really get on? I'm sure there has to be, but I've rarely heard one praised or talked about. Seen the Kobashi return from cancer match, the other 07 tag with Sugiura, and he KENTA match from earler this year.


----------



## Chismo

Takayama and Sano vs Shiozaki & Taniguchi (NOAH March 2011)
Takayama and Sano vs Kings of Wrestling (NOAH 12/5/2010)
Takayama and Sano vs Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith (NOAH 10/18/2010)
Takayama vs Sugiura GHC Title (7/10/2010)
Takayama vs Akiyama (NOAH 5/2/2010)
Takayama vs Morishima (NOAH 5/2 2010)
Takayama vs KAWADA (NOAH 4/24/2010)
Takayama vs Nakamura (NJPW 1/4/2010)
Takayama vs Sugiura (NOAH 10/3/2009 Misawa memo)
Takayama & Kobashi vs Taue & Mutoh (NOAH 9/27/2009)
Takayama vs KENSKAY (NJPW 8/8/2004)
Takayama vs Great Muta (AJPW Triple Crown 3/14/2009)

And there is a match between Takayama and Ohtani from Zero-1 from this year.


----------



## Caligula

topper1 said:


> Sasaki vs Akiyama 4/10/10 is a more recent singles match a lot of people liked I personally didn't care for it.


great match, one of his best performances I've seen.

vs. Tenryu 1/4/00 is one of his best


----------



## Caligula

Yeah1993 said:


> Related to JoeRulz' question, are there any really really good Takayama matches since the Kobashi match in 04 I should really get on? I'm sure there has to be, but I've rarely heard one praised or talked about. Seen the Kobashi return from cancer match, the other 07 tag with Sugiura, and he KENTA match from earler this year.


vs. KENTA, NOAH 6/26/04
vs. Minoru Suzuki, Suzuki Produce 6/17/08
vs. Takashi Suguira, NOAH 10/3/09


----------



## Yeah1993

JoeRulz said:


> Takayama and Sano vs Shiozaki & Taniguchi (NOAH March 2011)
> Takayama and Sano vs Kings of Wrestling (NOAH 12/5/2010)
> Takayama and Sano vs Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith (NOAH 10/18/2010)
> Takayama vs Sugiura GHC Title (7/10/2010)
> Takayama vs Akiyama (NOAH 5/2/2010)
> Takayama vs Morishima (NOAH 5/2 2010)
> Takayama vs KAWADA (NOAH 4/24/2010)
> Takayama vs Nakamura (NJPW 1/4/2010)
> Takayama vs Sugiura (NOAH 10/3/2009 Misawa memo)
> Takayama & Kobashi vs Taue & Mutoh (NOAH 9/27/2009)
> Takayama vs KENSKAY (NJPW 8/8/2004)
> Takayama vs Great Muta (AJPW Triple Crown 3/14/2009)
> 
> And there is a match between Takayama and Ohtani from Zero-1 from this year.





Feech La Manna said:


> vs. KENTA, NOAH 6/26/04
> vs. Minoru Suzuki, Suzuki Produce 6/17/08
> vs. Takashi Suguira, NOAH 10/3/09


Awesomesauce. Thanks.


----------



## seabs

*Suwama/Sanada/Soya vs Nagata/Sekimoto/Okabayashi has been signed for 6/12 All Japan Korakuen show.

:faint:*


----------



## antoniomare007

give them 20 minutes and there's no way that they don't have a legit MOTYC.


----------



## antoniomare007

Shiozaki vs Morishima will determine next challenger for Sugiura


----------



## Chismo

Shima, please!


----------



## seancarleton77

One of these two men must win it. Come to think of it Morishima should have won the strap from Sugiura in December, as Sugiura has not had a memorable defence since.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> Shiozaki vs Morishima will determine next challenger for Sugiura


*If Shiozaki wins and then loses to Sugiura AGAIN then they will have just completely destroyed him.

KENTA/Kanemaru won the GHC Jr. Tag belts too. Naturally the match went hafl hour.*


seancarleton77 said:


> One of these two men must win it. Come to think of it Morishima should have won the strap from Sugiura in December, as Sugiura has not had a memorable defence since.


*Bernard defense.

If you mean memorable in terms of drawing then nothing has drawn for NOAH in the last year. Memorable in terms of having a great match that people still care about X months after it happened, then yeah the Bernard match was memorable.*


----------



## aaron_mcn92

Seabs said:


> *If Shiozaki wins and then loses to Sugiura AGAIN then they will have just completely destroyed him.*


*

I'm almost completely convinced that Shiozaki's winning. The only thing Sugiura's reign had to offer in 2011 was the opportunity for an important title-defense-record-breaking match. That was squandered on foreign soil in a match with little doubt over the winner, so now there's absolutely nothing to gain from keeping Sugiura as champion. Ideally Shiozaki should have been doing more the last few months than being in a go-nowhere tag team with Taniguchi, but at least with him there's opportunity for something greater.

Shiozaki has a lot to gain from being GHC champion heading into the ALL TOGETHER show. He'll have a chance to make an impression in front of the largest possible amount of viewers.*


----------



## Kapik1337

Most epic poster evar?


----------



## TheAce

That's amazing ^^^^^


----------



## McQueen

Yeah totally. :lmao


----------



## Corey

I imagine many of you will be interested in these results:


> *NJPW, 5/26/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 1,750 Fans*
> 
> 1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: KUSHIDA [2] beat Daisuke Sasaki [0] *(6:53)* with the Midnight Express.
> 2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Kenny Omega
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [2] beat Taichi [0] *(8:59)* with the Croyt’s Wrath.
> 3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Mascara Dorada [2] beat Jushin Thunder Liger [0] *(3:18)* by countout.
> 4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Tiger Mask [2] beat TJP [0] *(8:06)* with a chickenwing hold.
> 5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Masato Tanaka
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> , Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito *(11:59)* when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Naito.
> 6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [2] beat Koji Kanemoto [0] *(10:18)* by referee stop.
> 7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: The Great Sasuke
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [2] beat TAKA Michinoku
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [0] *(9:57)* with an Octopus hold.
> 8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] beat Kota Ibushi
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [0] *(13:21)* with a Milano-saku Dodon’s Throne.
> 9. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Davey Richards [2] beat Prince Devitt [0] *(13:18)* with a powerbomb.
> 
> * Upsets galore on day one of what promises to be an intriguing Best of the Super Jr. tournament. Richards pinning Devitt in the main event was one of the upsets but perhaps a bigger one was young Fujita “Jr.” Hayato beating Kanemoto, while Mascara Dorada earned a countout win over Liger and Taguchi used a new style of Dodon to overcome Kota Ibushi.
> 
> * The sole heavyweight match of the show had a big twist, as after many teases NO LIMIT bit the dust. Naito was completely abandoned by Tanaka and long-time friend Yujiro, who refused to tag in, then subsequently pinned. Other CHAOS members Jado and Gedo appeared and the lot of them destroyed Naito so badly that he had to be stretchered out, thus spelling the end of one of New Japan’s most exciting tag teams but perhaps one that has underachieved compared to expectations.
> 
> 
> Block A:
> 1. Tiger Mask [2]
> - Davey Richards [2]
> - Fujita “Jr.” Hayato [2]
> - Kenny Omega [2]
> 5. Prince Devitt [0]
> - Koji Kanemoto [0]
> - Taichi [0]
> - Jado [0]
> - TJP [0]
> 
> Block B:
> 1. Ryusuke Taguchi [2]
> - KUSHIDA [2]
> - The Great Sasuke [2]
> - Mascara Dorada [2]
> 5. Jushin Thunder Liger [0]
> - Gedo [0]
> - TAKA Michinoku [0]
> - Kota Ibushi [0]
> - Daisuke Sasaki [0]


----------



## Yeah1993

> The Great Sasuke beat TAKA Michinoku (9:57) with an Octopus hold.


I gotta see that one.


----------



## Corey

More.


> *NJPW "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XVIII ~BRING IT ON!~", 28.05.2011* (Samurai! TV)
> *Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 900 Fans* - No Vacancy
> 
> 0. Hiromu Takahashi besiegt Takaaki Watanabe *(7:36)* mit einem Crab Hold.
> 1. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block A*: Fujita "Jr." Hayato
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [4] besiegt Taichi [0] *(8:34)* mit dem K.I.D
> 2. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block B*: Ryusuke Taguchi [4] besiegt Daisuke Sasaki [0] *(7:18)* mit einem Milano-saku Dodon's Throne.
> 3. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block A*: Davey Richards [4] besiegt Jado [0] *(13:01)* mit einem Sharpshooter.
> 4. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block B*: TAKA Michinoku
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [2] besiegt Gedo [0] *(10:01)* mit dem Heavy Killer #1.
> 5. Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma besiegen Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii *(12:28)* nach einer Lariat von Kojima gegen Ishii.
> 6. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block A*: Kenny Omega [4] besiegt Koji Kanemoto [0] *(11:43)* durch Pinfall.
> 7. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block A*: Prince Devitt [2] besiegt TJP [0] *(8:51)* mit dem Bloody Sunday.
> 8. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block B*: KUSHIDA [4] besiegt Kota Ibushi
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [0] *(12:46)* mit dem Midnight Express.
> 9. *Best of the Super Jr. - Block B*: Great Sasuke
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [4] besiegt Jushin Thunder Liger [0] *(17:35)* mit einem Octopus Hold.
> 
> 
> - *Best of the Super Jr. Standings*
> 
> Block A:
> 1. Davey Richards [4]
> -. Fujita "Jr." Hayato [4]
> -. Kenny Omega [4]
> 4. Tiger Mask [2]
> 5. Prince Devitt [2]
> 6. Jado [0]
> 7. Koji Kanemoto [0]
> -. Taichi [0]
> -. TJP [0]
> 
> Block B:
> 1. Ryusuke Taguchi [4]
> -. KUSHIDA [4]
> -. Great Sasuke [4]
> 4. Máscara Dorada [2]
> 5. TAKA Michinoku [2]
> 6. Gedo [0]
> 7. Jushin Thunder Liger [0]
> -. Kota Ibushi [0]
> -. Daisuke Sasaki [0]


----------



## seancarleton77

Someone please get some BOSJ footage. Liger vs. Sasuke sounds like it would be epic. New Japan knew they had history, I'm guessing that's why they got nearly 20 minutes. A lot of guys could win this, I'm looking for either a Taguchi victory or a Sasuke upset.


----------



## jawbreaker

Devitt vs. TJP. Oh man.


----------



## antoniomare007

why the fuck do they still book Differ Arike? they always have a shitty attendance and god awful atmosphere :no:


----------



## McQueen

I was going to complain about Davey Richards winning again but I see he beat Jado.


----------



## seancarleton77

Who doesn't beat Jado in BOSJ. It's probably in his job description that he will job to everyone in a Jr. Tourney.


----------



## Chismo

Jado > Davey R.


----------



## McQueen

I do sometimes enjoy Jado & Gedo as a tag team but i'll pass on singles matches.


----------



## seabs

*Can we spoiler everything we regards to BOSJ results until the shows come online. I for one want to try and watch the shows unspoilered and I know a lot of others like to do so for BOSJ. Thanks.

Also the Devitt vs Omega Jr. title match may be the most slept on match of last year. Watched it today and it's absolutely incredible. Definitely contender for best modern day juniors match.*


----------



## aaron_mcn92

I'm putting my support behind Liger winning this year. To me, Devitt hasn't hit his peak of popularity yet and he should be developed more before switching focus to someone else. Liger is the perfect guy to elevate him further. Do it now while Liger is still in great physical shape and capable of delivering. It helps that Devitt vs. Liger has never happened (to my knowledge). 

A NJPW guy has to win this year at the very least. The last year and a half on the NJPW juniors scene has been Devitt vs. outsiders.


----------



## seabs

*Liger's my guy to win it too. A New Japan guy needs to win other than Devitt and they haven't done Liger/Devitt yet so it sets it up nicely. Other option would be Kanemoto but I think Liger would be a better winner. Hopefully someone beats Devitt in the semi and then loses to Liger in the final to set up another challenger. I'd be fine with Omega winning too though. Taguchi is a high possibility but I really hope he doesn't win because he kinda sucks in singles matches and he doesn't really need a big BOSJ win to set up him vs Devitt.*


----------



## seabs

purolove.com said:


> AJPW "PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 12", 19.06.2011 (PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. AJPW World Tag Team Title Contendership: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori
> 2. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya
> 3. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Minoru (c) vs. KAI
> 4. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Kyotaro
> 5. AJPW World Tag Team Title: KONO & Joe Doering (c) vs. Great Muta & KENSO
> 6. Triple Crown: Suwama (c) vs. Yuji Nagata


*Another BJ/Es match as well as Nagata/Suwama sounds awesome. Jr. match sounds weak given their strong junior division but maybe they'll throw out a Kaz/Kondo vs Crazy/BUSHI opener which would be much better than Minoru/KAI. Sekimoto/Okabyashi will probably drop the titles back now that they've defended them twice in BJW.*


----------



## seancarleton77

JoeRulz said:


> Jado > Davey R.


Now that is bullshit. Jado is not even top 500 material. Saying Gedo is better than Davey is acceptable, but Jado is about ready to retire any day now and can't do shit in singles competition.



> Originally Posted by purolove.com
> AJPW "PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 12", 19.06.2011 (PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. AJPW World Tag Team Title Contendership: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori
> 2.* All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya
> 3. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Minoru (c) vs. KAI*
> 4. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Kyotaro
> 5. AJPW World Tag Team Title: KONO & Joe Doering (c) vs. Great Muta & KENSO
> 6. *Triple Crown: Suwama (c) vs. Yuji Nagata*


If it ain't in bold then it doesn't mean shit.

Speaking of doesn't mean shit, the opener is about as exciting as getting your penis trapped in a drill press. Spoiler alert, Akebono & Hama are side shows like the great Khali, or Vickie Guerrero. 

Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs. Sanada & Soya, YES PLEASE! All I can do is smile. Can't wait.

I think KAI could win the Junior Title and I will disagree with you Seabs and say this is a great match up with a shit ton of build. They've been building KAI up since the year started. He stood up and traded with fucking Suzuki (not that jabrone KENSO) for Christ sake. KAI is read for a shot.

Who the fuck is Kyotaro?

KONO & Doering (c) vs. Great Muta & KENSO? Why? Hopefully this only goes 6 or 8 minutes. KENSO is only tolerable in small doses, and even that is pushing things. 

Main event should be fucking amazing, may even be better than the big tag match (Not the one with the fat guys or the one with the senior citizen and the uncoordinated and possibly drugged up freak). Nagata is great, Suwama is amazing, how could this go wrong. Hopefully this doesn't suffer from the drag and lack of selling (Tanahashi represent) of Nagata vs. Tanahashi.


----------



## seabs

*Minoru does nothing for me that's why and there's a good handful of juniors in All Japan that are much better than him. BUSHI is one of the most underrated guys in wrestling atm. He's so great for an afterthought guy.

Akebono is a significant draw and Hama is over so it makes sense for them to use them two strongly. Not like they're main eventing or anything.

Kyotaro is some K-1 guy I think. This is translate using Google translator so it's not perfect:*


> After the next rising Yuichiro Nagashima Japanese K-1 Superstar in a pro wrestling ring. K-1 Heavyweight Champion Kyotaro will celebrate at the upcoming All Japan Sumo Hall show from his pro wrestling pro wrestling debut. Since K-1 last year and also fell into financial troubles in the current year are hardly any events on the calendar, watching the kick boxing stars around for alternatives. That the way for the Pro-Wrestling Kyotaro out was for the K-1 Champion clear. In the interview he said that he had prosecuted pro wrestling as a child.
> 
> Initial experience he could collect already. When Glico Power Production Dream Match on 28.02.2010 at the time he got in a kick boxing match with Shinsuke Nakamura in the ring. His proper debut, he will now contest against former MMA fighter Masakatsu Funaki.


----------



## smitlick

Wait Hayashi dropped the title? Shit.


----------



## Corey

Spoiler: NJPW 5/29 Results



*NJPW, 5/29/11 (Samurai! TV)*
*Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
*1,950 Fans* – Super No Vacancy

0. Kyosuke Mikami beat Hiromu Takahashi *(7:26)* with a crab hold.
1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: TAKA Michinoku







[4] beat Mascara Dorada [2] *(9:45)* with the Just Facelock.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: TJP [2] beat Jado [0] *(12:07)* with a Firebird splash.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Daisuke Sasaki [2] beat Gedo [0] *(11:10)* with the NOW OR NEVER.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Koji Kanemoto [2] beat Taichi [0] *(10:37)* with a modified jackknife hold.
5. *Special Tag Match*: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata beat Hirooki Goto & Manabu Nakanishi *(15:25)* when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Nakanishi.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Jushin Thunder Liger [2] beat KUSHIDA [4] *(10:45)* with an air scissors drop.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Tiger Mask [4] beat Davey Richards [4] *(9:56)* with a reverse double armbar.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Prince Devitt [4] beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







[4] *(8:09)* with the Bloody Sunday.
9. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Ryusuke Taguchi [6] beat The Great Sasuke







[4] *(15:39)* with a Milano-saku Dodon’s Throne.

* A huge main event win for Taguchi over the iconic Sasuke to race on to a 3-0 record and lead Block B.

* Taguchi’s tag partner Devitt beat Michinoku Pro’s other representative just before the main event to become joint leader of Block A.


Block A:
1. Prince Devitt [4]
- Tiger Mask [4]
- Fujita “Jr.” Hayato [4]
- Davey Richards [4]
- Kenny Omega [4]
6. Koji Kanemoto [2]
- TJP [2]
8. Taichi [0]
- Jado [0]

Block B:
1. Ryusuke Taguchi [6]
2. KUSHIDA [4]
- The Great Sasuke [4]
- TAKA Michinoku [4]
5. Jushin Thunder Liger [2]
- Mascara Dorada [2]
- Daisuke Sasaki [2]
8. Gedo [0]
- Kota Ibushi [0]


----------



## smitlick

WTF is happening in All Japan at the moment? From what I've read TARU might have beaten one of the guys backstage and now the guy who was beaten (forget his name) is in hospital.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah Nobuzaki Hirai (Hate or Super Hate) got a subdural hematoma that send him to the hospital. TARU was one of the guys that supposedly beat him and has been suspended by All Japan, who is investigating this whole situation.

from the CZWboards:


> More Details: 2 hours before the scheduled event [5/29], It seems of the eye witness account that Joe Doering and Rene Dupree were expelled from the dressing room. There seemed to be others in the room, thought to be KONO and MAZADA, but there is no proof on who "all" were really involved. The words "I'll beat" was heard from TARU's mouth which is why he was placed at the forefront of the suspension. TARU apparently confessed to the situation and was dealt with accordingly.


----------



## Derek

Yeah, the situation is crazy with this happening backstage. The Japanese companies tend to be better about keeping locker room stuff private, so this is certainly a rarity. Was anybody besides TARU suspended?


----------



## TelkEvolon

> On the May 29, 2011 All Japan Pro Wrestling show, Nobukazu Hirai suffered a stroke following his match. He was immediately rushed to a hospital where they performed heart surgery.
> 
> In the days following, news broke through the Yahoo Japan Sport Navi that prior to the show itself Hirai was legitimately attacked and left bloodied. It was believed that two or three members of the Voodoo Murderers unit were responsible for the beating and that it likely played a part in his suffering the stroke later in the evening. It is also being said that a criminal investigation could be launched and All Japan Pro Wrestling has indefinitely suspended TARU, founder and leader of the Voodoo Murderers unit as well as a former key Toryumon and Dragon Gate figure.
> 
> Eye witness accounts state that unit members Joe Doering and Rene Dupree were expelled from the dressing room, so they were likely not involved in the beating. While there is no proof, it is believed unit members KONO and MAZADA were still in the room. TARU was placed at the top of suspicion due to his being heard saying "I'll beat--" out of his mouth. He apparently confessed to the situation, thus his being suspended.
> 
> Japanese Link to the initial story: http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/headlines/20110530-00000014-spnavi-fight.html






> A new Sports Navi report has TARU explaining in a press conference that he's not entirely sure which members of VM was involved due to the "excitement" of the incident, but as leader he takes full responsibility. He also stated that he visited the hospital to make amends with Hiari, who is said to be responsive and is expected to move from ICU to the general ward, if he hasn't already. All Japan office member Uchida has stressed that the attack and the stroke may not be related since wrestlers receive head trauma regularly. However, the police are still investigating it as a potential criminal situation.
> 
> The All Japan web site was taken down yesterday, claiming maintenance, but then later saying that the system was down.


Wacky stuff, maybe All Japan hired Russo?


----------



## seabs

TelkEvolon said:


> Wacky stuff, maybe All Japan hired Russo?


*eh? This isn't a wacky angle that some booker has come up with. The guy had a stroke in real life after a show and it seems as though he was attacked by members of Voodoo Murders before the show and left bleeding.

When I heard that there was an attack on him involving VM before the show that may have lead to the later, unfortunate incident it really shocked me. *


----------



## TelkEvolon

Seabs said:


> *eh? This isn't a wacky angle that some booker has come up with. The guy had a stroke in real life after a show and it seems as though he was attacked by members of Voodoo Murders before the show and left bleeding.
> 
> When I heard that there was an attack on him involving VM before the show that may have lead to the later, unfortunate incident it really shocked me. *


----------



## seabs

*Minoru, KONO & MAZADA have been suspended as well now. Minoru has also been stripped of his Jr. title.*


----------



## Sunglasses

And Kono & Doering have been stripped of their Tag Belts.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 10/10/10 - Anniversary Tour 2010*

*1. 3 Way Tag Match*
KAI & Hiroshi Yamato vs NOSAWA Rongai & BUSHI vs MAZADA & Minoru
***1/4

2. TARU, Big Daddy Voodoo & Charlie Haas vs Minoru Suzuki, Akebono & Taiyo Kea
**1/2
Suzukis selling was awful..

3. Keiji Muto & Masakatsu Funaki vs Suwama & Kaz Hayashi
***1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

man, wtf did Harai do to all this people?


----------



## Derek

Yeah, beating the shit out of somebody backstage, not in a match, to the point that they are bleeding in the brain will do that.


----------



## Corey

Spoiler: Updated NJPW Super Juniors Results



*NJPW, 6/2/11
Toyohashi City Gymnasium #2
1,200 Fans* – No Vacancy

1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Jushin Thunder Liger [4] beat Daisuke Sasaki [2] *(8:06)* with an air scissors drop.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Koji Kanemoto [4] beat TJP [2] *(8:11)* with an ankle hold.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Kenny Omega







[6] beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







[4] *(10:43)* with the Croyt’s Wrath.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Tiger Mask [6] beat Jado [0] *(8:27)* with a reverse double armbar.
5. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Kota Ibushi







[2] beat Mascara Dorada [2] *(7:28)* with a Firebird splash.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Gedo [2] beat Ryusuke Taguchi [6] *(11:29)* with the Gedo clutch.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: The Great Sasuke







[6] beat KUSHIDA [4] *(2:47)* by pinfall.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Prince Devitt [6] beat Taichi [0] *(9:45)* with the Bloody Sunday.
9. Hirooki Goto, Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue *(17:08)* when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Inoue.


*NJPW, 6/3/11
Wakayama City Gymnasium
1,000 Fans*

1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Kenny Omega







[8] beat TJP [2] *(8:20)* with the Croyt’s Wrath.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Davey Richards [6] beat Taichi [0] *(10:06)* with a Sharpshooter.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: The Great Sasuke







[8] beat Daisuke Sasaki [2] *(8:20)* by pinfall.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Koji Kanemoto [6] beat Jado [0] *(9:15)* with an ankle hold.
5. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Jushin Thunder Liger [6] beat Gedo [2] *(7:27)* with an air scissors drop.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Tiger Mask [8] beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







[4] *(9:00)* with a reverse double armbar.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Mascara Dorada [4] beat Ryusuke Taguchi [6] *(7:02)* with a front cradle.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Kota Ibushi








[4] beat TAKA Michinoku







[4] *(9:40)* with a Firebird splash.
9. Hirooki Goto, Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & King Fale *(16:54)* when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Fale.


*NJPW, 6/4/11
Kyoto KBS Hall
1,250 Fans* – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: KUSHIDA [6] beat Gedo [2] *(8:02)* with the Midnight Express.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: TJP [4] beat Taichi [0] *(8:29)* with a la magistral.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Davey Richards [8] beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







[4] *(10:03)* with a Sharpshooter.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: The Great Sasuke







[10] beat Mascara Dorada [4] *(4:28)* with a ground Octopus hold.
5. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Kota Ibushi







[6] beat Daisuke Sasaki [2] *(10:39)* with a Firebird splash.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Kenny Omega







[10] beat Tiger Mask [8] *(9:05)* with the Croyt’s Wrath.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Prince Devitt [8] beat Jado [0] *(12:14)* with the Bloody Sunday.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: TAKA Michinoku







[6] beat Jushin Thunder Liger [6] *(8:57)* with the Michinoku Driver II.
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue beat Hirooki Goto, Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma *(11:41)* by referee stop (Inoue beat Nakanishi).


----------



## Emperor DC

I love the fact guys like Sasuke, TAKA and Liger are still going. Three of the absolute best Junior Heavyweights ever. 

I did think, weirdly enough, there was an outside chance Waltman may go to Japan for this. He mentioned at King of Trios that it may be his last year as an active wrestler, and I'd not look forward to many more things than the potential for the 1-2-3 Kid against the likes of Liger, Sasuke, TAKA and maybe even Devitt.


----------



## seancarleton77

Very happy with the current leaders in the BOSJ.


----------



## ddog121

wow, who would have thought Omega would lead the standings in his block?


----------



## seabs

*SPOILER TAGS

seriously now, cmon.*


----------



## Corey

Spoiler: Video covering all the results from Super Juniors so far. Don't watch Seabs!


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - 20/11/96*

1. Rocky Santana & Fantastik vs Yoshihiro Tajiri & Goku
N/A
Heavily clipped but some fun spots.

*2. Scorpion Cactus Desert Death Match*
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs Shoji Nakamaki
*3/4


----------



## Corey

This shit is gettin reallll good. Only two shows left!


Spoiler: NJPW 6/5 & 6/7 Results



*NJPW, 6/5/11
Akashi Municipal Industrial Exchange Center
1,560 Fans* – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Mascara Dorada [6] beat Daisuke Sasaki [2] *(8:02)* with a Tornillo.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Taichi [2] beat Jado [0] *(10:04)* with the Black Mephisto.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: TJP [6] beat Davey Richards [8] *(9:51)* with a front cradle.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: KUSHIDA [8] beat TAKA Michinoku







[6] *(9:29)* with the Midnight Express.
5. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Koji Kanemoto [8] beat Tiger Mask [8] *(9:59)* with an ankle hold.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Kota Ibushi







[8] beat Gedo [2] *(10:10)* with a Firebird splash.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Jushin Thunder Liger [8] beat Ryusuke Taguchi [6] *(9:20)* with an air scissors drop.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Prince Devitt [10] beat Kenny Omega







[10] *(12:08)* with the Bloody Sunday.
9. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma *(16:21)* when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Honma.

* Ring doctor Takeshi Misawa said Nakanishi is recovering well after being seriously injured on yesterday’s show. He suffered numbness and temporary paralysis as his spinal cord was injured, but he has regained feeling in his entire body is expected to recover. There will be an announcement about his recovery time in the coming days and if he can continuing wrestling like before.


*NJPW, 6/7/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Differ Ariake*
0. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi went to a draw *(10:00)* when the time limit expired.
1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Mascara Dorada [8] beat Gedo [2] *(7:37)* with a Tornillo.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: TAKA Michinoku







[8] beat Daisuke Sasaki [2] *(7:19)* with the Dick Killer.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







[6] beat TJP [6] *(7:44)* with the KID.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Jado [2] beat Kenny Omega







[10] *(9:42)* with the Crossface of JADO.
5. *Special Tag Match*: Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan *(13:03)* when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Tenzan.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Davey Richards [10] beat Koji Kanemoto [8] *(12:06)* by pinfall.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Kota Ibushi







[10] beat The Great Sasuke







[10] *(11:46)* with a high-angle Thunder Fire powerbomb.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Prince Devitt [12] beat Tiger Mask [8] *(6:54)* with the Bloody Sunday.
9. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Ryusuke Taguchi [8] beat KUSHIDA [8] *(10:14)* with a Milano-saku Dodon’s Throne.

* Prince Devitt is the first of this immense BOSJ cast to advance to the semi final round after beating Tiger Mask today. Omega vs. Richards tomorrow will be a direct decider to see who joins him from Block A in the semis.

* Block B is in a classic dogfight situation, with Ibushi tied on 10 points with Sasuke but ahead on the direct confrontation rule after beating him today. But below are no less than five wrestlers on 8 points with a mixture of results against the two men above them, making tomorrow an exciting day with Liger vs. Ibushi, Taguchi vs. TAKA, Gedo vs. Sasuke, and KUSHIDA vs. Mascara Dorada.

Block A:
1. Prince Devitt [12]
2. Kenny Omega [10]
- Davey Richards [10]
4. Koji Kanemoto [8]
5. Tiger Mask [8]
6. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato [6]
7. TJP [6]
8. Taichi [2]
9. Jado [2]

Block B:
1. Kota Ibushi [10]
2. The Great Sasuke [10]
3. Jushin Thunder Liger [8]
- Ryusuke Taguchi [8]
- TAKA Michinoku [8]
- KUSHIDA [8]
- Mascara Dorada [8]
8. Daisuke Sasaki [2]
9. Gedo [2]


----------



## Derek

It appears that Mutoh has stepped down from his office position in All Japan. He's still an active wrestler, but he's leaving his post due to the Hirai situation.


----------



## seabs

*The ramifications of this Hirai situation keep getting bigger and bigger beyond belief. Possible if it continues that All Japan might not be able to bounce back. There's rumours floating around now about them being kicked off the big supershow as well now.*


----------



## seancarleton77

What takes the place of MINORU vs. KAI?


----------



## seabs

*Updated cards:*


purolove.com said:


> AJPW, 12.06.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Masanobu Fuchi vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue
> 2. Joe Doering vs. René Duprée
> 3. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title Contendership, 4 Way Ladder Match: Kaz Hayashi vs. BUSHI vs. Shuji Kondo vs. Hiroshi Yamato
> 4. AJPW World Tag Team Title Contendership: Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
> 5. Great Muta, KENSO & TAJIRI vs. Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki & KAI
> 6. Suwama, Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs. Yuji Nagata, Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi





purolove.com said:


> AJPW "PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 12", 19.06.2011 (PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 1. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto& Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya
> 2. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: KAI vs. X
> 3. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Kyotaro
> 4. AJPW World Tag Team Title, Decision Match: Great Muta & KENSO vs. X
> 5. Triple Crown: Suwama (c) vs. Yuji Nagata


*Probably end up being KAI vs Kaz.*


----------



## Corey

The semi-finals of the Best of the Super Juniors are set. Looks awesome.



Spoiler: NJPW 6/8 Results & 6/10 Card



*NJPW, 6/8/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
750 Fans*

0. Hiromu Takahashi beat Takaaki Watanabe *(7:37)* with a crab hold.
1. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Jado [4] beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







[6] *(7:11)* with the Crossface of JADO.
2. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Taichi [4] beat Tiger Mask [8] *(7:04)* with a small package hold.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Prince Devitt [14] beat Koji Kanemoto [8] *(7:22)* with the Bloody Sunday.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block A*: Davey Richards [12] beat Kenny Omega







[10] *(9:55)* with a powerbomb.
5. *Special Tag Match*: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima beat Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii *(8:49)* when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on Ishii.
6. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Gedo [4] beat The Great Sasuke







[10] *(9:09)* with a punt kick.
7. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: KUSHIDA [10] beat Mascara Dorada [8] *(6:25)* with the Midnight Express.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Ryusuke Taguchi [10] beat TAKA Michinoku







[8] *(9:26)* with a Milano-saku Dodon’s Throne.
9. *Best of the Super Jr. – Block B*: Kota Ibushi







[12] beat Jushin Thunder Liger [8] *(8:47)* with a Firebird splash.

* An intense final day of group stage matches taught us who would join Devitt in the semis. Devitt himself showed anew why he is the top junior around with his seventh win, meaning his opening day loss to Davey Richards is his only blemish. Richards took second spot in Block A by defeating Kenny Omega, so he advances along with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion.

* Last year’s runner-up to Devitt, Kota Ibushi, again showed he belongs in this tournament by securing Block B with a win over Liger. He is joined by Taguchi, whose victory over TAKA continued an impressive campaign for him. Although he finished tied on 10pts with Sasuke and KUSHIDA, beating both of them means Taguchi goes through to face his IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title co-holder Devitt on Friday!

Here are the final standings of one of the most stacked Super Jr. tournaments ever.

Block A:
1. Prince Devitt [14]
2. Davey Richards [12]
3. Kenny Omega [10]
4. Koji Kanemoto [8]
5. Tiger Mask [8]
6. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato [6]
7. TJP [6]
8. Taichi [4]
9. Jado [4]

Block B:
1. Kota Ibushi [12]
2. Ryusuke Taguchi [10]
3. The Great Sasuke [10]
4. KUSHIDA [10]
5. TAKA Michinoku [8]
6. Mascara Dorada [8]
7. Jushin Thunder Liger [8]
8. Gedo [4]
8. Daisuke Sasaki [2]



*NJPW, 6/10/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
1. KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kenny Omega







, Daisuke Sasaki & TJP
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka







& Hiromu Takahashi
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final*: Kota Ibushi







vs. Davey Richards
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final*: Prince Devitt vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
5. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & The Great Sasuke







vs. Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Fujita “Jr.” Hayato








6. Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. TAKA Michinoku







& Taichi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Final *


----------



## antoniomare007

Spoiler: asdf



Although I think it's time for a "native" guy to get a shot at Devitt, I got the feeling that Davey is winning this. I could actually see a final between him and Devitt with Richards beating the champ for a 2nd time in the tournament.

Taguchi makes more sense though...


----------



## Corey

Even if you don't watch this whole video, at least check out Devitt/Omega at 22:45. Damn son!



Spoiler: Another video highlighting the Super Jrs. Results


----------



## topper1

I'm all for Jr matches not being to long but matches 3 and 4 from 6/8 should have been given 5 more mins.


----------



## seancarleton77

The time on the matches is fine. Let the semifinals and finals go 19-25 minutes.


----------



## topper1

seancarleton77 said:


> The time on the matches is fine.


I disagree one of the matches I pointed out between 2 stars in NJPW didn't even go 8 mins I mean come on these guys could be putting on some great 12 - 15 min matches. under 10 for most of the matches just isn't enough imo.


----------



## antoniomare007

Not 1 match went over the 10 minute mark on that show so they probably had time constraints.


----------



## Sunglasses

Spoiler: BOSJ



Ibushi won the BOSJ-finals against Taguchi following the Phoenix Splash in ~20min.


----------



## Corey

^^^ Wrong name. Here's the full results.



Spoiler: NJPW 6/10 results



*NJPW, 6/10/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans* – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Kenny Omega







, Daisuke Sasaki & TJP beat KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada & Hiromu Takahashi *(9:12)* when Omega used the Croyt’s Wrath on Takahashi.
2. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka







& Hiromu Takahashi beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami *(8:20)* when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Fale.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final*: Kota Ibushi







beat Davey Richards *(11:17)* with a Firebird splash.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final*: Ryusuke Taguchi beat Prince Devitt *(8:29)* by pinfall.
5. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & The Great Sasuke







beat Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Fujita “Jr.” Hayato







*(10:28)* when Tiger used a reverse double armbar on Jado.
6. Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima beat TAKA Michinoku







& Taichi *(5:04)* when Kojima used a lariat on Taichi.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata beat Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma *(14:44)* when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Honma.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. – Final*: Kota Ibushi







beat Ryusuke Taguchi *(20:22)* with a Phoenix splash.

* The outstanding Kota Ibushi goes one step further on last year by winning the 2011 Best of the Super Jr. tournament! Ibushi downed Davey Richards while Ryusuke Taguchi, who also had an excellent tournament, bested his tag partner and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Prince Devitt, setting up a rematch from the opening day at Korakuen where Taguchi won. Ibushi then won a 20 minute blockbuster that is being called one of the best matches of the year, defeating Taguchi with his Phoenix splash. Ibushi becomes the first man not affiliated to New Japan to ever win the Super Jr. tournament, showing just how highly he is regarded.

* Tetsuya Naito appeared today for the first time since he was betrayed by Yujiro and CHAOS. Naito demanded a singles match with Yujiro in Osaka on the 18th, vowing revenge. Both this and Devitt vs. Ibushi may be confirmed in the coming days.


----------



## seabs

*Edwards & Delirious are teaming together for NOAH's Jr. tag league. Odd pairing but it wouldn't be a NOAH Jr. tag league without an odd pairing thrown in. In better news though Sabre and a partner is gonna be in the tag league. Fucking awesome new for Zack!*


----------



## smitlick

Weird that there bringing back Delirious and not having Eddie & someone else.


----------



## seancarleton77

Edwards is going to fuck Sabre Jr's Christian Bale in The Fighter looking ass up. He is better than Spot-o-chet but Sabre Jr. is no a messiah or anything, he's just a talented worker from the UK with an impressive move set and the physique of a cheap crack whore, or Daizee Haze. He's no PAC.


----------



## antoniomare007

seancarleton77 said:


> Edwards is going to fuck Sabre Jr's Christian Bale in The Fighter looking ass up. He is better than Spot-o-chet but Sabre Jr. is not a messiah or anything, he's just a talented worker from the UK with an impressive move set and the physique of a cheap crack whore, or Daizee Haze. He's no PAC.


huh?


----------



## seabs

*Delirious has done a tour of NOAH before since he started booking. I was confused as to who the ROH team would be for this league. Figured Eddie would be in there with someone but I couldn't figure out who. Wasn't gonna be Strong as he's on the previous tour and he's getting a title shot vs Suzuki. Only actual team they could have brought in who had a history with the company were Briscoes and that was unlikely. 

Sabre will likely get a jobber partner like some japanese rookie. Scurll coming in with him would be incedible but he hasn't had much exposure outside europe yet. Then again he did have a match with Suzuki during NOAH's UK tour so maybe there's hope if that went well. There's probably gonna be loads of odd teams for this as their own junior division is limited and they dont utilise outsiders all that well. AAA team is coming in, probably Evans and someone again.*


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> huh?


I was running down Sabre. Honestly Davey Richards is better than him. He is very good though, just better as a tag wrestler.


----------



## seabs

*Zack's only 23 too btw so he's got a long future and he's only just breaking through outside of Europe. Just imagine how much he's gonna improve from working more Japan/US dates with guys like KENTA and Hero.

Nobody is saying he's a messiah of pro wrestling btw (that would be fucking stupid to say that of anyone) but there's no doubt he's a bright prospect and he's got a very impressive catalogue of matches for a guy who's so young and has only really worked in Europe for minor Indies.

He's much better than PAC too btw but that's just my personal opinion.*


----------



## Corey

My exposure to PAC is limited but I've only seem him just flip around, so I can easily say Sabre is much better than him.

Btw, Go Shiozaki beat Morishima today to earn himself a GHC Title shot at Sugiura on July 10th.


----------



## seabs

*The show drew 1400 with that match on too :lmao*


----------



## antoniomare007

Yo Seabs, do you have this Sabre vs Danielson match from 2008? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxeSWJpRszQ

Actually 1,400 is not that bad for Differ Ariake. New Japan couldn't even draw 1,000.

And it's a shame that Go vs Sugi is gonna be in Ariake Colosseum though. That place is always dead. Not that NOAH is having great crowds or anything, but that place is almost at the same level as the fucking graveyard that is Differ Ariake.



seancarleton77 said:


> I was running down Sabre.


I know. What I didn't get was why you did it. It wasn't as if someone shitted on Eddie and praised Zack (at least no int this thread) lol.


----------



## Derek

Well, they want something bigger than Kouraken Hall, but not as big (or costly) as the Budokan.


----------



## seabs

*lol I was watching that video just earlier today. Wish I did have the full match. They had a match in wXw a couple of years that was good though.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Derek said:


> Well, they want something bigger than Kouraken Hall, but not as big (or costly) as the Budokan.


then use Sumo Hall.


----------



## Corey

I don't exactly watch very much Japanese wrestling these days, but I'd throw down some serious dough to see this PPV (Don't look if you don't wanna know who won BOSJ):


Spoiler: NJPW 6/18













*NJPW “DOMINION 6.18″, 6/18/11 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium*

1. Koji Kanemoto vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Jado, Gedo & Killer Rabbit
3. *CMLL World Welterweight Title*: Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Mascara Dorada
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka







& Tomohiro Ishii
5. *Special Singles Match*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
6. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi








7. *Special Tag Match*: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
8. *IWGP Intercontinental Title*: MVP (c) vs. Toru Yano
9. *Double Title Match – IWGP Tag Team Title & GHC Tag Team Title*: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano







(c)
10. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Hirooki Goto


What do you guys think?


----------



## McQueen

Lance Archer - Tramp Stamp Hoyt I assume? LOL

but anyways matches 4-6 and 9 & 10 look like they could be good on paper.


----------



## topper1

Seabs said:


> Nobody is saying he's a messiah of pro wrestling btw (that would be fucking stupid to say that of anyone)


Bryan Danielson disagrees.


----------



## seabs

McQueen said:


> Lance Archer - Tramp Stamp Hoyt I assume? LOL
> 
> but anyways matches 4-6 and 9 & 10 look like they could be good on paper.


*Yeah.*


topper1 said:


> Bryan Danielson disagrees.


*He needs to save WWE PPVs first and then possibly so.*


----------



## topper1

Seabs said:


> He needs to save WWE PPVs first and then possibly so.


They need to give him a damn match for him to do that. He already gave The Miz and Ziggler the best matches of there career.


----------



## smitlick

lmao


News Update: Antonio Inoki is known for going out an doing some of the most bizarre things for the sake of the sport. The news that is now gaining a lot of buzz is that Inoki has booked a MMA/Pro Wrestling show on the same day as the NJPW, AJP & NOAH "ALL TOGETHER" show on August 27th. 
Inoki's "All Star" event will be held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan while the ALL TOGETHER show is at the Nippon Budokan.
Not much is known right now in regards to Inoki's event, but there will be more announced on June 17th, and from the early looks it will have K-1 involvement as well as Inoki's "regular's" in IGF.


*DDT - Osaka Bay Blues Special - 14/11/10*

*1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Kenny Omega/Kota Ibushi vs Prince Devitt/Ryusuke Taguchi
***1/4



*Dragon Gate - Infinity 205*

1. Masaaki Mochizuki/Kenichiro Arai vs Ryo Saito/Genki Horiguchi
**3/4

2. Cyber Kong/KAGETORA/YAMATO vs BxB Hulk/Masato Yoshino/Susumu Yokosuka
***3/4


----------



## seancarleton77

I apologize for my Zack Sabre ripping. Kid is damn good, and could even be great some day. Oh and by the way Chris Hero is literally the messiah of professional wrestling, just look at him.


----------



## aaron_mcn92

purolove.com said:


> Am 23.12.2009 stand Kenta Kobashi zum letzten Mal in einem Wrestling Ring. Wie Pro-Wrestling NOAH auf der offiziellen Homepage mitteilte, greift der vierfache Heavyweight Champion nach 19-monatiger Verletzungspause bei der großen Show im Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium am 23.07.2011 endlich wieder aktiv
> ind Wrestling-Geschehen ein! Weitere Neuigkeiten zu Kobashis Match gibt es im Moment nicht, allerdings ist davon auszugehen, dass Kobashi seine Rückkehr wieder einmal mit einem großen Tag Team Match zelebrieren wird.
> 
> *NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN OSAKA", 23.07.2011 (G+)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Kenta Kobashi Return Match:*


Very simple. NOAH, you've got something that will get people back to the shows. Take advantage of it and give them something that will keep them there. Please.


----------



## seabs

*There's only a number of guys they could put with him that would matter. Shiozaki is an option but he's probably taking the title so I imagine he'd defend that against someone like Sasaki. Possibly vs Sugiura, Sasaki or Akiyama I guess. Tag match would obviously be safer. Kobashi/Sasaki vs Akiyama/Takayama would probably draw a decent number I guess.

Full list of Jr. league participants announced:*


> - Yoshinobu Kanemaru & KENTA
> - Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki
> - Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr.
> - Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin
> - Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
> - Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
> - Kenou & Kembai
> - Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi
> - Eddie Edwards & Delirious
> - Jack Evans & Aero Star


----------



## Derek

Well, looks like NOAH just got back their drawing power.


----------



## smitlick

Ishimori & Sabre Jr is an interesting team. Great news that Kobashis back though.


----------



## TheAce

> Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin


 who the hell is Rocky Marvin? and is he any good?


----------



## antoniomare007

Man I just hope Kobashi doesn't go out there and start doing crazy spots in every main event he is in.


----------



## seancarleton77

TheAce said:


> who the hell is Rocky Marvin? and is he any good?


He's supposed to be Ricky's brother, and no matter how poor he is in the ring, he can't possibly be as bad as Jack "Botched spot" Evans.


----------



## Derek

Word is Rocky Marvin is really short, and actually wrestles as a mini.


----------



## TheAce

> He's supposed to be Ricky's brother, and no matter how poor he is in the ring, he can't possibly be as bad as Jack "Botched spot" Evans.


qouted for truth!!


----------



## MB.

I feel ashamed to say I just started watching the 1994 Super J cup for the first time last night. I have had it for years and I just decided this was the time.


----------



## Chismo

KOBASHI! Oh fuck yeah! Hopefully they book him in tag team matches first, then let him demolish some young no-selling punks, then book him against Takayama, Sugiura and DREAM MATCH with Gianto Bernardo. Then he should put Shiozaki over (if he wins the title, of course), although I prefer Morishima much more.


----------



## antoniomare007

> Tokyo, Japan
> July 3rd, 2011
> Destruction King's 7th Anniversary Mourning Special: Pro Wrestler
> Korakuen Hall
> 
> Daichi Hashimoto vs Yoshihiro Takayama


Daichi is gonna get destroyed...again


----------



## seancarleton77

Daichi will once again bring Pro-Wres back to prominence in Japan! Go get em Daichi! p.s. Please don't die!


----------



## antoniomare007

Daichi's "revenge tour" (when he stops being a young lyon) is gonna be fun as hell.


----------



## seabs

*Daichi's got an incredible road mapped out for him as long as he doesn't do anything stupid and sticks close to Otani. The Daichi/Otani tags are great. He's got so many big matches for himself just by default. First pinfall victory will be huge and then his New Japan debut will be quite the spectacle too. Hopefully it comes in a few years when he's more proven rather than rushing into to it this year. I get goosebumps just thinking about what the atmopshere might be like for his first title match. Otani's booked him to absolute perfection so far too.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Agreed. Give him a year or so of the "young lion treatment" before he starts to evolve into something else. He should go to Mexico or the U.S too and bulk up as most heavyweights in Japan do. 

His New Japan debut should come on January 4th. Maybe 2012 is too soon but even if we have to wait till '13, it should be worth it.


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - 30/9/96*

1. Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Dr Wagner Jr
N/A
Massively clipped and such..

2. Kendo Nagasaki & Bruiser Okamoto vs Ian Rotten & Dances With Dudley
N/A
CLIPPED.Though it wasn't great from the lack of highlights.

*3. No Rope Barbed Wire Chandolier Baseball Bat Match*
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga vs Shoji Nakamaki
N/A
Can barely see shit. To dark. Do not at all understand as to why they would bother to put a match on TV where you can barely see the actualy match because its so fucking dark.

*Freedoms - December 2010*

15/12/10

*1. Hardcore Match*
Yuko Miyamoto vs Kamui
**1/2
JIP but still pretty fun

2. Takao Omori, Dick Togo & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Jun Kasai, Mammoth Sasaki & The Winger
**3/4
Was good from what was shown but was missing what seemed to be a lot of the middle of the match that seemed important.

*3. 2 out of 3 Falls*
Takashi Sasaki vs GENTARO
***-***1/4

25/12/10 - Blood Xmas 2010

*4. Street Fight*
Kamui vs Kankuro Hoshino
**3/4
Kamui actually reversed in a car into Hoshino at one point

*5. Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match*
Ricky Fuji, Ken45 & Mototsugu Shimizu vs GENTARO, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
**

*6. Barbed Wire Board Death Match*
Mammoth Sasaki vs Masashi Takeda
**1/2

*7. Fluorescent Lighttubes Ladder Death Match*
Yuko Miyamoto vs. The Winger
***

*8. Glass Death Match*
Jun Kasai vs Takashi Sasaki
***1/2


----------



## Derek

Dominion Results:

Brian Kendrick appeared unadvertised and was in a tag match and pinned KUSHIDA
Dorada beat Taguchi to win CMLL Welterweight Title 
Mitsuhide Hirasawa returned and attacked Yuji Nagata (and might have joined CHAOS)
Yujiro beat Naito (Naito was saved from a beatdown by Honma, possible new alliance?)
Ibushi defeated Devitt to become the new IWGP Jr.Heavyweight Champion
Suzuki and Archer beat Makabe and Kojima
MVP retained the IWGP IC title against Yano
Bad Intentions beat Takayama & Sano to become double champions, also set record for most successful IWGP tag title defenses
Tanahashi beat Gotoh, was said to be a great match


Gotoh still couldn't win the big one . Bernard challenged Tanahashi at the close of the show. I'm going to guess that Bad Intentions will drop the GHC Tag Titles at the ALL TOGETHER show against a NOAH team.


----------



## smitlick

Wow.. Ibushi beat Devitt. Super surprised.


----------



## antoniomare007

damn I was sure Goto was winning . Bernard vs Tanahasi is gonna be off the fucking charts though so that's an awesome consolation price.

good for Ibushi, I guess DDT's Sumo Hall show will have him defending the belt against Devitt or another big name.


----------



## seabs

*Really suprised Ibushi won and Goto lost. Thought for sure they set Goto's turn on Tanahashi up for him to take the belt. They set up Tana/Goto vs Bad Intentions for the tag belts too. Bernard vs Tanahashi was the defense I wanted the most so I'm super glad about that. *


----------



## SHIRLEY

SMASH 17 was all kinds of awesome.


----------



## MB.

Has anyone bought the Devitt set from IVP?


----------



## Chismo

TakaSano


----------



## seancarleton77

Bad Intentions: Taking over Japan, and the rest of the world!


----------



## Corey

Results from All Japan PPV.


> All-Japan’s latest blowout event is in the books, results from PRO WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU Vol. 12 at Ryogoku via SportsNavi:
> They claimed 8000 paid.
> 
> BUSHI & Kazushi Miyamoto beat Hiroshi Yamato & Yasufumi Nakanoue in 5:18. BUSHI pinned Nakanoue after Firebird Splash.
> 
> Minoru Suzuki beat Masanobu Fuchi in 5:35.
> 
> Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori beat Joe Doering & Rene Dupree in 7:48. Omori pinned Dupree after Ax Bomber.
> 
> *KAI beat Shuji Kondo in 25:41 to win the vacant All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Championship. KAI becomes the 30th All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion.* And at long last has risen to the top-a new star is born. I kept thinking it was only a matter of time before KAI finally broke through and won the title. Well done KAI! Now let’s see how long he can stay at the top.
> 
> *Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya beat All-Asia Tag Team Champions Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (Big Japan) in 21:22 to win the titles. Sanada & Soya win the titles for the 2nd time and become the 86th All-Asia Tag Team Champions.* Sanada pinned Okabayashi after a moonsault press.
> 
> Kyotaro Pro Wrestling Debut Match: Masakatsu Funaki beat Kyotaro (K-1) in 9:57.
> 
> *The Great Muta & KENSO beat Akebono & Ryota Hama in 8:54 to win the vacant All-Japan World Tag Team Championship. Muta & KENSO become the 59th All-Japan World Tag Team Champions.* Muto pinned Hama. But there already seems to be tension between the new champs, so stay tuned…
> 
> *Triple Crown Champion Suwama beat Yuji Nagata (New Japan) in 30:13 to retain the Triple Crown.* V4 for Suwama. Next up to challenge for the title: Seiya Sanada. That will happen on 7/31 at Aichi Prefectural Gym.


----------



## TheAce

Got a question about FMW.

back in 2005/06 in canada ont eh fight network they were running FMW shows, sometimes clipped, sometimes not, with bad english announcing. This got me interested somewhat in FMW, especially since I'm a fan of Masato Tanaka, no matter what type of match he's in.

Just wondering what some people would consider the best 5-10 matches in FMW history are and maybe a couple of the top shows. 

Was it all hardcore or "garbage" wrestling??


----------



## antoniomare007

The BOSJ has been pretty damn entertaining from what I have seen (26/5, 28/5 and Omega vs Devitt). Lots of fun sprints.

here's a couple of interesting cards for next month:



> *
> DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2011”, 24/07/2011
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*
> 
> 1. Battle Royal - Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title: Keisuke Ishii © Vs X
> 2. Special Singles Match: MIKAMI Vs Poison Sawada JULIE
> 3. Special Singles Match: Danshoku Dino Vs Bob Sapp
> 4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi © Vs Prince Devitt
> 5. KO-D Tag Team Titles: Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa © Vs X & X
> 6. KO-D Openweight Title: Shuji Ishikawa © Vs KUDO





> *AJPW, 7/18/11
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. Ryota Hama & Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. Yuji Okabayashi & Ryuichi Kawakami
> 2. Manabu Soya vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
> 3. Suwama & Masakatsu Funaki vs. Taiyo Kea & Seiya Sanada
> *
> AJPW, 7/31/11
> Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium*
> 
> 1. Triple Crown: Suwama © vs. Seiya Sanada





> *NJPW, 03.07.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Jado & Gedo
> 2. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA & Hiromu Takahashi
> 3. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito (Mitsuhide Hirasawa)
> 4. Strong Man & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
> 5. MVP vs. Tomohiro Ishii
> 6. Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto
> 
> *
> NJPW, 18.07.2011 (WPW/PPV)
> Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena*
> 
> 1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi , Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Yuji Nagata vs. Hideo Saito
> 3. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 4. IWGP Intercontinental Title: MVP (c) vs. Toru Yano
> 5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Giant Bernard





> *Dragon Gate "DRAGON GATE KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2011", 17.07.2011 (PPV)
> Kobe World Hall*
> 
> 1. Special Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Shingo Takagi
> 2. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title: Dragon Kid & PAC (c) vs. CIMA & Ricochet
> 3. Open the Triangle Gate Title: YAMATO, Masato Yoshino & Gamma (c) vs. Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kong
> 4. Open the Dream Gate Title: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. BxB Hulk


plus Daichi vs Takayama, Kobashi's return and Go vs Sugi III


----------



## geraldinhio

New Japan has been awesome as of late . Bad intentions are just awesome and the BOSJ from what I seen was a blast . I could watch Devitt and Omega wrestle anyone for hours .


----------



## topper1

Where is everyone getting Omega vs Devitt from?


----------



## Chismo

I want Kenta Kobashi vs. Gianto Bernardo, dammit!


----------



## geraldinhio

JoeRulz said:


> I want Kenta Kobashi vs. Gianto Bernardo, dammit!


As long as it's not a Kobashi spotfest . Personally I can't wait for Kobashi to come back . The thought of him vs Giant Bernard is mind blowing . He has to put over Shiozaki first though imo .


----------



## antoniomare007

topper1 said:


> Where is everyone getting Omega vs Devitt from?


it's on youtube and Seabs posted it in the media section.


----------



## McQueen

Wait Fuchi still wrestles? Seriously isn't he in his mid 60's now?


----------



## smitlick

New Japan Pro-Wrestling - "J SPORTS CROWN OPENWEIGHT SIX MAN TAG TOURNAMENT" 

Teams: 
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Máscara Dorada 
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale 
3. Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & Tiger Mask 
4. Koji Kanemoto, Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi 
5. Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi 
6. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger 
7. Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma 
8. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii 
9. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo 
10. Jado, Gedo & Brian Kendrick 
11. Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi 
12. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Madoka & Shinobu


*All Japan - 30/4/11 - Growin' Up 2011*

1. Kikutaro vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
*

2. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato vs Ryota Hama, Super Crazy & BUSHI
***

*3. Jr Tag League Final*
Kaz Hayashi & KAI vs Koji Kanemoto & Minoru
***1/2-***3/4


----------



## seabs

*Oh man the 28/5 BOSJ show was fucking awesome. 26/5 had 2 great matches in Hayato/Kanemoto and Devitt/Davey which were great but had the potential to be better and a really fucking good 3 minute match between Liger and Dorada. 28/5 had FIVE fucking great matches though. Shockingly TAKA and fucking Gedo had an awesome match, seriously really fucking good stuff. Koji/Omega was super good too and then the last 3 matches with TJP/Devitt, Ibushi/KUSHIDA and Liger/Sasuke were just fantastic.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Haven't seen Ibushi vs KUSHIDA yet but yeah, that show was really fun and easy to watch. Lots of fun short matches.

TJP vs Devitt was an awesome sprint.


----------



## BenoitFan316

First post here. 


I need *HELP* from the biggest most knowledgeable puro collector (and collector of puro DVDs)

I've been away from wrestling & tape collecting for what seems like 5 or 6 yrs. Lack of what I was looking for, wrestler deaths, lack of access, etc contributed to my sad exit. 

I'm a huge puro fan, particularly *90s New Japan*, particularly the juniors....more particularly Liger, Benoit, Guerrero, Malenko, Ohtani, and El Samurai. 

Collecting puro on VHS or DVD is a frustrating endeavor sometimes. Sometimes you don't know if you'll get a clipped match (I loathe clipped matches). You don't know what picture quality you'll get. And you wonder if the VHS or DVD will even play well (sometimes DVD-R or DVD+R heat up quickly and then the video pixelates and then I get mad).

So, with all that in mind, here's where I need help... 

*1) Where I can find the top best Benoit dvds with his best NJPW matches?....I want complete matches, good picture, and the best high quality no-glitch DVD discs. 

2) What's the word on the street regarding Highspots.com? Their DVDs what I'm looking for? (I have some of their VHS, no longer interested in those) 

3) What about the very best DVDs for Liger, Guerrero, Malenko, Ohtani, and El Samurai?*



I wish oh wish that someday we'll see a WWE-DVD-level transfer of all of Benoit's many best NJPW matches. And the others I mentioned of course. Why hasn't NJPW, etc realized what a cash cow they could have releasing high quality commercial DVD compilations of their best matches in N.America?


----------



## Corey

^^^ www.ivpvideos.com

Also, Highspots DVDs are all DVD-Rs so the picture isn't always top notch, but it's certainly watchable and much better than a VHS tape. I'd put it at like VG level.


----------



## TheAce

Nobody with help on my FMW questions??

I know I can just google it, which I have...I am interested to what some of the personal opinions are though from the crew that posts in this Puro thread...anybody? lol

also, in a strange co-incdenece the evening after I posted this question, i got home, decided to see what was cooking for wrestling on JustinTV and caught Mike Awesomes celebration after winning the belt over Hayabusa....didn't see the any matches though since the show was over....best part was when he named his cousin "Horace Boner" a contender for the title...lol


----------



## seancarleton77

It looks like Pro-Wres Love may be show of the year. Goddamn, it sounds good!


----------



## MB.

Made a great IVP Purchase

Best of Ebessan 
Best of Mistico V.4 
Best of Prince Devitt in 2010 V.2
Best of Prince Devitt in 2010 V.3 
Best of Brock Lesner 
Best of Eddie Edwards in 2010 V.1 
Best of Davey Richards in 2010 V.2 (
Best of AJ Styles 
Best of Team 3D 
Best of Kurt Angle V.1 
Best of KENTA in 2009 V.2 
Best of Prince Devitt in 2009 (4 Discs) 
Best of Prince Devitt in 2011 V.01


----------



## smitlick

NOAH, 26.06.2011 (G+) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Atsushi Aoki vs. Osamu Namiguchi 
2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Bobby Fish vs. Masao Inoue & Genba Hirayanagi 
3. Akitoshi Saito, Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara 
4. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
5. Takeshi Morishima vs. Shuhei Taniguchi 
6. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Bison Smith 
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs. Roderick Strong 
8. GHC Heavyweight Title Match Skirmish: Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone vs. Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki 

NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League 

Block A: 
- KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
- Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. 
- Kenou & Kenbai 
- Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi 
- Jack Evans & Aero Star 

Block B: 
- Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki 
- Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
- Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara 
- Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada 
- Eddie Edwards & Delirious


----------



## Corey

Results and lineups.


> *NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN 6 MAN OPENWEIGHT TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT”, 6/23/11 (J SPORTS)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 400 Fans* – Super No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Madoka & Shinobu beat Kyosuke Mikami, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe *(7:46)* when Madoka used a muffler hold on Watanabe.
> 2. *J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Semi Final*: Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii *(8:06)* when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Ishii.
> 3. *J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Semi Final*: Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma *(11:46)* when Goto used the Goto Shiki on Honma.
> 4. Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> & Taichi beat Yuji Nagata, Koji Kanemoto & King Fale *(10:16)* when Archer used the Final Days on Fale.
> 5. Masato Tanaka
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado, Gedo & Dick Togo beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & Mascara Dorada *(17:11)* when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Dorada.
> 6. *Special Singles Match*: KUSHIDA beat Brian Kendrick
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *(8:04)* with the Midnight Express.
> 7. *J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Final*: Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger *(13:50)* when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Anderson.
> 
> * “Apollo 555″ Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi make it two out of two, following up on last year’s J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament win with another! Last year they bested Tanahashi, TAJIRI & KUSHIDA in the final while this year they defeated Bad Intentions & Liger to add another trophy to their collection, much needed after all three of them lost singles title matches at the recent Osaka PPV. Goto won the fall in both matches, showing that he is a force to be reckoned with despite his latest failure to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title.





> *ZERO1 "DESTRUCTIVE KING 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH COMMEMORATION", 03.07.2011
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. *International Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Takuya Sugawara (c) vs. Frank David
> 2. *NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title Contendership*: Ikuto Hidaka & Takafumi Ito vs. Munenori Sawa
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> & X
> 3. *NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title*: Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE (c) vs. Steve Corino & Atsushi Sawada
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 4. *Destructive King 7th Anniversary of Death Special Match*: Daichi Hashimoto vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 5. *World Heavweight Title & NWA World Heavweight Title*: Ryouji Sai (c) vs. The Sheik (c)


----------



## Martyn

Takayama/Hash Jr! Great card for that Zero1 event.


----------



## alex shelley

can someone recommend me prince devitt matches to watch, ive seen bits and pieces and liked what ive seen.


----------



## Martyn

Watch his work at BOSJ tournaments. His matches with Naomichi Marufuji and Kota Ibushi (I can easly recommend any of their matches) are pure classics.


----------



## seancarleton77

Hayato & Omega are hands down the best Super Juniors. They consistently performed at the highest level during the tournament.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Okay, Botchamania kind of brought this up for me, but...


What in the world is up with Tiger Mask IV? He was acting mad pissy against TJP. And not in the Kanemoto or Hayato "this is my shtick" type of way. And when it came to the botches, I'm leaning more on him than TJP because TJP was pretty good throughout the BOSJ tourney.

Does he have a bad rep compared to the rest of the Tiger Masks?


----------



## smitlick

I'm pretty sure no one likes TM IV... He's like the Sami Callihan of Japan


----------



## seabs

*Tiger Mask IV is just utterly disgustingly terrible. That botched tombstone in the match vs Davey could easily have broke Davey's neck. What was even more incredible was that he then went back to the spot that almost killed Davey so he could try to do it again. He constantly had the worst match on the BOSJ shows even when he was in there with Devitt. He really is a fucking terrible wrestler.

Anyway, BOSJ was great. Some disappointments on the last and first shows and there wasn't really one match that stood out from most of Devitt's title defenses. Loads of matches above ***1/2 though that were televised:
Hayato/Kanemoto
Devitt/Richards
TAKA/Gedo
Omega/Kanemoto
Devitt/TJP
KUSHIDA/Ibushi
Liger/Sasuke
TAKA/Dorada
Devitt/Hayato
Hayato/TJP
Richards/Kanemoto
Richards/Omega
KUSHIDA/Dorada
Ibushi/Liger
Ibushi/Richards

The tournament also showed what a horribly average Taguchi is. The Devitt match was way too short but it didn't have me excited for a longer match between them. Then he had 2 matches with Ibushi, one of which were average and he failed to have a MOTYC in a main event match with a hot crowd vs Ibushi. He's really over though so he's only gonna get pushed more in these spots. Suprised Davey made the semis out of that block too. Thought that Hayato or Omega would have been far more likely to advance through that group.*



alex shelley said:


> can someone recommend me prince devitt matches to watch, ive seen bits and pieces and liked what ive seen.


*All of his Jr. title defenses are great matches and then there's a bunch of Apollo 55 tags that are brilliant too, especially the ones vs MCMG and Ibushi/Omega. Once the PPV surfaces I'm gonna make comp of his IWGP title run because it was so good. Aoki and Omega defenses are so underrated. Outside of that his BOSJ final with Kanemoto was great, as were the Marufuji matches.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I believe Devitt is working through injuries. That's no inside scoop or anything, just watch him work after the first two matches. Even when he's good, he looks hurt. His chops are also a lot lighter now, and that arm is bandaged. Hopefully he was just selling the wear and tear of previous BOSJ matches.


----------



## seabs

*Devitt's been selling injuries in just about every one of his matches for the last year tbf and the majority of them he's been working with an actual injury. His matches were probably short due to him being exhausted. *


----------



## antoniomare007

idk if Taguchi will ever be anything more than decent. The finals was a fun spotfest but could have been so much more and I have completely forgotten his mach vs Devitt even though I watched it yesterday.

In other news, Takayama turned on Sano and joined KENTA's stable. And Morishima challenged Kensuke for a match at hte 10/7 Osaka show (Sugi vs Go III). And it seems that Go has a legit rib injury.


----------



## seabs

*Added the following DVDs to my site today. I'll be uploading them all in the future but for anyone who prefers them on discs, this batch are all £1 each. Plus just being able to sell a few of these helps me to pay for future shows so more can be shared. Free postage within UK of 5 discs or more.

Dragon Gate Infinity 212-217 (ft a ludacris amount of potential greatness)
K-DOJO 28/4/2011 (ft Apollo 55 vs Oishi/Asahi for IWGP Jr. Tag Titles)
DDT Dramatic Fantasia 317/318 and 319/320 (ft Togo/Ibushi)
NOAH 16/4/2011 (ft KOW vs Takayama/Sano)
NOAH 23/4/2011 (ft Nakajima/Aoki, KOW vs Smith/Inoue and Takayama/Sano vs Shiozaki/Taniguchi)
NOAH 24/4/2011 (ft Suzuki/Marvin, KOW vs KO, Shiozaki/Taniguchi vs Sugiura/Yone and Takayama/Sano vs Akiyama/Saito)
NOAH 8/5/2011 (ft Sugiura vs MiSu, Takayama/Sano vs Akiyama/Saito and Suzuki vs Marvin title defenses)*


----------



## antoniomare007

Did you watched Sugi vs MiSu? is it worth the download?


----------



## seabs

*It started off really fucking good with Sugiura selling the leg so well with his screaming but then it just slowly got worse and worse and it ends up lasting nearly 30 minutes and I just didn't care by about the 20 minute mark. They pretty much gave up on the awesome first 5 minutes and then didn't seem to know where to go with the rest of the match. 

4. KUDO/Makoto Oishi/Dansyoku Deeno -vs- Kota Ibushi/Kenny Omega/Kazuaki Hirata.

This match was a billion times better than anything on the NOAH shows, including the KOW tags.*


----------



## McQueen

I enjoy MiSu but he's a guy who needs to be in short matches. If he goes over 10 minutes he starts to look lost.


----------



## smitlick

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170660581180

Got 3 Japanese DVDs for Sale Above
- DGUSA Live In LA 
- Zero-One 27/1/05
- IVP Videos Best of Jack Evans in Japan


NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 3", 10.07.2011 (G+) 
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum 

1. Shuhei Taniguchi & Masao Inoue vs. Kentaro Shiga & Takashi Okita 
2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs. Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara 
3. Akitoshi Saito vs. Mohammed Yone 
4. Takuma Sano, Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Aoki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi 
5. Jun Akiyama vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 
6. Special Singles Match: Takeshi Morishima vs. Kensuke Sasaki 
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs. Go Shiozaki


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm not normally a fan of NOAH's booking, but that card looks stacked. 

I say if Go is injured, go with Takayama as the next Heavyweight Champion. Go with Kanemaru as the next Junior Champion and KENTA & Kanemura are already Jr. Tag Champs. Have an NWO type angle with No Mercy taking over. Then at the biggest show of the year have Go come back and WRECK Takayama's shit and take what's his. The GHC Heavyweight Title.


----------



## antoniomare007

No, no more Kanemaru as Jr. Champion. Just, no. His last reign was horrible and he can't have good/great singles matches consistently anymore.

Matches 5, 6 & 7 interest me. Hopefully they also interest more than 4,000 japanese fans but I'm not holding my breath on that.


----------



## seabs

*Suzuki's reign has been just about the only bright spark in NOAH this year and there's still loads of potentially great defenses for him. Kanemaru's last reign was god awful too.*


----------



## Derek

Kanemaru only had his last reign because Suzuki got hurt when he was supposed to win it. The entire point of his last reign was to keep it warm for Suzuki. Not that Kanemaru has seemed very motivated the past 5 years.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Genichro Tenryu v Yoshiaki Yatsu, SWS 29/10/1991*

GOOD FUCKING GRIEF! Did these two have a Hardy/Edge real life falling out or something. Story is basically Tenryu is a stiff old bastard who loves to fight (copyright belongs to Finlay) and Yatsu is....a stiff old bastard who loves to fight. Within the first 30 seconds Yatsu rocks Tenryu with a fucking ferocious slap to the eardrum followed by a harrowing enzugiri to said eardrum. Tenryu also looked concussed after a Yatsu lariat and I was convinced numerous times Tenryu would have to lose via stoppage. Tenryu gets some revenge with vintage toe kicks to Yatsu's eye as well as some sickening kicks and punches to his kidney, I marked like a bitch as well for the bulldog on the solid floor (fuck having protective padding break his fall, Tenryu is old school...and a stiff old bastard who loves to fight). Go watch this match yesterday, *****1/4*

*Yoshiaki Fujiwara v Hiroshi Hase, NJPW 08/08/1993*

These two have great chemistry and I need to track down the 03/05/1993 match (or it could be 05/03/1993 fuck america and its backward ass dates). Fujiwara has some great stichk including a glorious strut, a FUCKING STRUT. Hase taunts him with a sumo dance and Fujiwara calls time out in a way that reminds me of good 'ol Arn Anderson. Fujiwara has a gorgeous reversal off of a german suplex into a fujiwara armbar and Hase's reversal of an armbar into a dragon suplex was nasty looking. Smooth mat work which felt organic and displayed a real sense of struggle, just another great Fujiwara display (and Hase as well), need to try and get a Goodhelmet/Segunda Caida PWFG compilation which has a shit ton of Fujiwara. ******


----------



## antoniomare007

Fujiwara vs Hase??

where can I find that??????


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

That PWFG set is worth it for Shamrock/Sano, which is legitimately as good as pretty much any match that style's ever produced. 

Haven't seen that Fujiwara/Hase match, but their match from May earlier in the year is really good.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

antoniomare007 said:


> Fujiwara vs Hase??
> 
> where can I find that??????







There you go my good man.

Yeah Andy I heard great things about that Shamrock v Sano match, thinking of picking up a few Schneider comps as well, 23 and 25 in particular look beastly. That PWFG set looks incredibly tempting as does a Volk Han set I heard about as well as a BattlARTS set. The ultimate sets for me though are the Kawada/Tenryu sets Goodhelmet released.

As for Goodhelmet, can anyone email him and enquire about purchasing a set? Or do you have to be a registed DVDVR member, I only ask because I know he does deals for DVDVR members I believe who purchase other sets getting newer sets at discounted rates, or something along those lines


----------



## seabs

*I'm not a member and I've brought one of his sets before. Just email him.*


----------



## Caligula

that tenryu set finally came out?????????????????????????????????


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Feech La Manna said:


> that tenryu set finally came out?????????????????????????????????


I was under the impression it had. I remembered people on here salivating when the 55 disc Kawada set was finished, and remember someone saying 'can't wait for Tenryu's set to drop'. At the time I took that to mean they'd ordered it and were waiting for delivery but thinking now it could have meant it hadn't been released yet.


----------



## smitlick

On the topic of Goodhelmet I actually got him to activate my DVDVR account while purchasing something from him so yes he will sell to basically anyone.


----------



## Yeah1993

I've bought a pile of sets from GH while never (successfully) signing up to any site he's on. Waiting for the 96 yearbook now. 

Tenryu set still hasn't come.


----------



## Horselover Fat

OMG YEAH1993 DID YOU SEE THE PROMO CM PUNK CUT TONIGHT CAN YOU PLEASE UPDATE YOUR BLOG WITH A THOROUGH ANALYSIS


----------



## Yeah1993

I haven't seen it and a promo would have to be pretty damn awesome for me to write more than "it was great" about it.


----------



## Horselover Fat

JUST WATCH IT MAN


----------



## antoniomare007

fuck CM Punk.

I'm still trying to clean my room with all the jizz I spilled after that damn promo.


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> fuck CM Punk.
> 
> I'm still trying to clean my room with all the jizz I spilled after that damn promo.


You too. I'm spent. The high is wearing off. CM Punk is your God. Kneel before PUNK!


----------



## smitlick

At the NOAH show 23/7 aka Kobashis Return the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles will be on the line

Bernard & Anderson vs Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie


----------



## topper1

Anyone seen anything from Zero1 10th Anniversary show?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

topper1 said:


> Anyone seen anything from Zero1 10th Anniversary show?


If is the 06/03/2011 show where Daichi Hashimoto makes his debut, then I watched the Takayama v Ohtani match a few days back. The usual Takayama greatness with a lot of stiff punches, knee strikes and dangerous germans. Can't remember the Daichi match at all though, most of the matches are all on youtube though.


----------



## smitlick

Shuhei Taniguchi is injured as well.. Will be out for awhile i believe.


----------



## wheelofsteel

That YAMATO vs Mochizuki Match From Dead Or Alive 2011 Is One Of The Most Amazin Matches I've Ever Seen From Dragon Gate. You Can't Go Wrong With That Wrestling/MMA/Submission/Strong Style Combination. Awesome Match All Around.


----------



## seabs

*Nagata/Tanaka and Otani/Takayama were both great. Daichi debut is memorable and definitely worth a watch too. *


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Just got the 80's All Japan set (thanks Seabs )...

*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Murdoch (2/23/80)*

At first I was getting a little bored with the first fall, as it just seemed like boring generic holds with nothing much else going on. Then I started paying more attention to DICK~!. Guy was really awesome, and honestly he seemed to be the only one in the match actually fucking working. Jumbo was just kinda there for a lot of the early parts; locking Murdoch in arm holds and shit and just sitting there. Murdoch on the other hand was either selling his arm really well, talking shit to Jumbo while he has HIM in a hold, or doing some of the awesome "little things" while he has Jumbo in a hold. Especially loved the head scissors spot with Murdoch getting more leverage on the hold by twisting his body forward and whatnot rather than just sitting there, and then when Jumbo seems to be trying to escape he shoves his head down to try and stop him, and then when he does almost get out he hits a mini piledriver that I'm sure Andy mentioned loving lol.

Jumbo starts to get a little more fired up towards the end of the first fall; just looking more desperate when putting Murdoch in a hold because he wants to get the advantage and Murdoch seems to be taking way too much control of this match so far. He isn't successful though, and falls victim to the awesomesauce brainbuster!

Murdoch is much more confident now in the second fall with the first fall under his belt, and somewhere to really target (the neck). Shame that he only gets a couple of minutes max to do some work on the neck before Jumbo returns the favour and picks up the win with a neckbreaker.

Now its Jumbo with the confidence going into a new fall, and the neck to target too... plus he seems to be less "lazy" (not the best word, but whatever) than he was in the first fall lol. A bunch of nearfalls on Murdoch due to the neck work, and then Jumbo makes a mistake, injures his knee and gives Murdoch the opening he sorely needed, and he takes full advantage of it, and gets the win with probably the most unique move I've ever seen.

Looked over both Andy and Seabs' posts on this match, and I agree with Andy about the 2nd and 3rd falls being too short and not having a big enough payoff that was building in the first fall. But I did really enjoy the first fall and thought the third fall was pretty good too, with the second fall just kinda being there to make the match go 3 falls. Liked it a little more than Seabs and probably just as much as Andy.

*Rating: ***1/2*


----------



## wheelofsteel

That Tanahashi-Nagata Bout For The IWGP Belt From New Japan's New Dimension Is Another One I Cannot Stop Watchin'. Nagata Was At Top Of His Game And Tanahashi Bein' Tanahashi With His Awesome Wrestling. Incredible Match. Loved It.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Yoshihiro Takayama v Yuji Nagata (c) IWGP Heavyweight Title, NJPW, 02/05/2002 *

Takayama FTW! Really dug this match, Takayama brings the usual stiff knee strikes, kicks and forearms and Nagata makes a great FIP against this monster invader. He takes an ungodly amount of punishment from Takayama that when he finally manages to fight back his comeback becomes that much more special given what he's been through, instead of your standard puro title match post Kobashi v Sasaki where it seems they're more concerned with recreating that epic chop battle instead of building a story around the challenger being unstoppable and the champion being pushed beyond his limit. Nervosa talked about how Eddie Edwards not being properly worked over often hurts his comebacks and that is pretty evident in how epic Nagata's comeback is due to the continued punishment Takayama throws his way. The final strike exchange is built to perfectly and a fitting end to the match, special mention to Nagata for the way he sold the beating via his facial expressions and attitude, still Takayama from what I've seen was on a hot streak in 02 as the Best in the World and this is without a doubt his show. *****1/4*

*Dick Togo v Hikaru Sato, DDT 28/11/2010*

Nifty match. Sato has some great kicks and really goes to town on Dick's left leg, nice set up of the crossface v various ankle submissions as well. Really great finishing stretch as well with Togo busting out everything he has. ****1/4*

*Dick Togo v Rui Hiugaji, DDT 16/12/2010*

Completely different from the Sato match. Hiugaji has some early stalling to avoid punches in the opening few minutes which builds to Dick dropping him with a right. Soon after Dick gets cut open from a chair shot and Hiugaji has a nice workover of the cut. Nothing sensational but just simple working over of a cut and he looks the scummiest prick in the building. Dick finally makes a comeback and there's a bit of dickish behaviour by Hiugaji's corner in attempting to screw him over. Nice finish as well with Hiugaji ultimately failing to counter the crossface and accepting defeat. ****1/4*

*Dick Togo v Antonio Honda, DDT, 30/01/2011*

Starts out faily simple. Honda does some standard holds on Dick's left arm as a means of establing control, Dick sells it all well as means of making Honda look credible (I'm hearing Honda is one of the more comedic characters in the promotion). All builds up to Honda getting blasted in the ringpost before turning the tables on Dick and nailing a crazy tope through the crowd. Somehow during that Honda gets cut open and man alive, now the match starts getting awesome!! It turns into a Mid South esque brawl as Dick mercifully opens up the cut and focuses all his offence on the wound. Leads to a sensational sequence where Honda gets repeatedly blasted in the corner and gets more and more pissed off as the blood pours down his face and he channels Jerry Lawler by lowering his strap and just blasting Dick with about 20 punches all the way into the opposite corner before bringing him back to the centre of the ring and drilling him with an uppercut punch. There's some great punch drunk selling from Honda in particular and Dick sells his best in making Honda look a million bucks, including a great call back sequence to the earlier arm work. Finish is rather great as Honda and Togo just exchange punch after punch after punch until one of them gives and the other hits a sweet combo for the 1-2-3. ****3/4*


----------



## smitlick

IGF "GENOME16", 10.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Dome City Hall (JCB Hall) 

1. Hideki Suzuki vs. Montanha Silva 
2. Atsushi Sawada vs. Ryouji Sai 
3. Tatsumi Fujinami 40th Anniversary Match ~ DRAGON vs. Destructive King GENOME: Tatsumi Fujinami & Masked Genome Jr. vs. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto 
4. IGF Title Tournament - Round 1: Ray Sefo vs. Eric Hammer 
5. IGF Title Tournament - Semi Final: Josh Barnett vs. Bobby Lashley 
6. IGF Title Tournament - Semi Final: Jerome Le Banner vs. Sefo/Hammer


----------



## Chismo

Any reviews for Takayama/Sasaki slugfests? I remember seeing it 6-7 years ago, and it was incredibly awesome. Can't find those matches.


----------



## seabs

Segunda Caida said:


> *Dick Togo v Hikaru Sato, DDT 28/11/2010*
> 
> Nifty match. Sato has some great kicks and really goes to town on Dick's left leg, nice set up of the crossface v various ankle submissions as well. Really great finishing stretch as well with Togo busting out everything he has. ****1/4*


*You should definitely watch the Sato title win. It's fucking awesome. Togo/Ibushi was great too.

Kobashi return match is Kobashi/Shiozaki vs Akiyama/Saito. Glad they've done a tag match for his return and the Kobashi/Akiyama stuff should be good. Shame his partner is Saito though. KENTA/Takayama would have been awesome opponents thinking about it now that Takayama joined No Mercy.*


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Cheers Seabs will try and give it a watch. Also been meaning to check out Togo's singles match vs Billy Ken Kid.

About to start the Real World Tag League 1993 final soon and then Hansen v Kobashi 29/07/1993 match. Should be awesome.


----------



## Sunglasses

*GHC Heavyweight Title*
Takashi Sugiura(c) vs. Minoru Suzuki *****+*

Well done "Sugiura"-style defense. Minoru was awesome. The last 5-10min were really, really brutal.


*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Kotaro Suzuki(c) vs. Ricky Marvin ****3/4*

I felt like this just was move after move - but still pretty good. But what happened to the crowd? -.-


----------



## seancarleton77

Togo vs. Ibushi was a bit of a spotfest at times, but that match brought it. ****


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue v Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi, AJPW RWTL Final, 03/12/1993*

Why have I never seen this match before??? These four together are always greatness and well, this is better than great, fucking super awesome to be more precise. Kawada's selling of the leg is fucking insane, he sells it like his ankle is about to snap off and Kobashi in the 1995 tag has just been replaced as my favourite display of leg selling in Japan. Actually thinking about it now, the way Kawada destroys Kobashi's leg in that match is the perfect payoff for the punishment he takes from Kobashi here (another thing I love in All Japan tags where they play off of their history). The early story of Kobashi being the underdog that Taue & Kawada maul is also greatly payed off in the finish where Kobashi finally man's up. Holy shit at the German towards the end by Misawa to Kawada, dude gets bumped to hell. Hard to call between this or 09/06/1995 as the better tag, the call back spot with Kawada destroying Kobashi's leg for payback may push the 1995 tag over the edge, still a fantastic fantastic match made by Toshiaka Kawada's school of selling. *******

*Stan Hansen v Kenta Kobashi, AJPW, 29/07/1993*

This match may have broken the record amount of times I've said 'Holy Shit' in one match. Everything looks insanely vicious and the crowd are nuclear for Kobashi and close to wishing death on Hansen. The boot in the corner that I presume broke Kobashi's cheekbone was ridicu-donkulous. The strikes Hansen throws are nasty and he may have performed the stiffest looking splash I've ever seen in a match. Kobashi is really great at playing the underdog hero the crowd will on to topple the unholy monster that is Stan Hansen. The early neck work plays in well to Kobashi's offence down the stretch, and the he loses to A FUCKING RIDICULOUS WESTERN LARIAT. Seriously there's western lariats where you go 'Jesus fucking christ', my reaction here was more akin to a bowel movement. Possibly Hansen's best singles match ever. *****1/2*


----------



## seabs

Segunda Caida said:


> Cheers Seabs will try and give it a watch. Also been meaning to check out Togo's singles match vs Billy Ken Kid.
> 
> About to start the Real World Tag League 1993 final soon and then Hansen v Kobashi 29/07/1993 match. Should be awesome.


*That Billy Ken Kid vs Togo match is awesome.*


----------



## TheAce

Picked up all the NTV cup stuff I could get on IVP videos late last year. Digging into 2008 today between BBQ and general laziness...

*8/23/08*

*Marufuji/Miyahara Vs Ito/Aoki* ** 3/4 (14-15 mins)

Average stuff. The only reason the crowd cared was Miyahara. he impressed me. Aoki is starting the break out a bit at this point and Ito is 'meh' city. Marufuji almost did nothing but I'm a mark for him anyway.

MVP: Miyahara

*Eddie Edwards/Ricky Marvin Vs Nakajima/Ibushi - *** (14-15 mins)*

It was ok but Marvin looked sloppy. Eddie also had some issues with his crispness all match. The Pace of this match made it feel longer than it was, it seemed to be one kinda slow pace all the way through, even during the big move segments. Nakajima and Ibushi are great in this match though. Ibushi's super top rope hurricanrana reversal landing on his feet thing was amazing. Nakajima was the bad ass in this match and righfully so. 

_Match MVP: Ibushi_

*Davey/Danielson Vs Kenta/Ishimori **** (13-14 mins)*

This was super fun! really clean and crisp and to the point. The tentative respect between the teams playing up on the history between Davey and Kenta and Dragon and Kenta is cool. D&D force Kenta/Ishimori into some mis-communications and get put into a bad position. Kenta's roll up on Davey was perfect and the crowd followed the momentum throughout the match. Danielson and Davey played the American tweener role really well and come off looking strong despite the loss. 

_Match MVP: Danielson_

*Briscoes Vs Kotaro Suzuki/Kanemaru *** 1/2 - *** 3/4 (30 min Draw)*)

The match felt long but it didn't quite feel like 30 and I was actually surprised when they rang the bell. That being said the match should have been 6-8 minutes shorter. If the NTV CUp had a 20 minute time limit, it would be amazing....hell even 25.....At points you could just tell they were stalling and consequently the lead-in to the final streach got sloppy..Also, it killed the crowd. Thankfully Jay no sold the hell out of Kanemarus Brainbuster and that brought the crowd back. The last 3-4 minutes were really well done.

They match did do a good job in making it seem like the Briscoes would have won without the heel tactics of Disobey but still keeping the teams on an even level. The crowd was familiar enough with the gaijins to make the Heel/Face dynamics in this match pretty good. Kanemaru is lame and I have X-Pac heat on him, Genba's interference was entertaining and served a good purpose, Kotaro is awesome. I miss springboard Mark Briscoe

MVP: Kotaro Suzuki


----------



## seabs

*The ones up to 2008, maybe 09 have loads of awesome jr. tags. The KENTA/Ishimori vs Marufuji/Ibushi final is AWESOME. It's spotty and all but it's an incredible one. Not sure how much I'd like it today but I adored it on last watch. The final day of 08 has loads of great matches.*


----------



## TheAce

I remember 07 being my favorite NTV Cup but It seems harder to get stuff from that year.


----------



## smitlick

ZERO1 "DESTRUCTIVE KING 7TH ANNIVERSARY OF DEATH COMMEMORATION", 03.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Shito Ueda, Kenta Kakinuma & Yoshikazu Yokoyama besiegen Mineo Fujita, Yusaku Obata & Lucky Kid (9:50) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Kakinuma gegen Kid. 
2. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title Contendership: Ikuto Hidaka & Takafumi Ito besiegen Fujita "Jr." Hayato & Munenori Sawa (11:54) nach einem Choke Sleeper von Ito gegen Sawa. 
3. International Jr. Heavyweight Title: Takuya Sugawara (c) besiegt Frank David (13:12) mit dem Shiisanputa (2nd defene). 
4. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title: Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE (c) besiegen Steve Corino & Atsushi Sawada (11:38) nach einem Ground Cobra Twist von KAMIKAZE gegen Corino (2nd defense). 
5. World Heavweight Title & NWA World Heavweight Title: The Sheik (Joseph Cabibbo) (c) besiegt Ryouji Sai (c) (13:21) durch Referee Stop (Camel Clutch) - Titelwechsel. 
6. Destructive King 7th Anniversary of Death Special Tag Match: Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka besiegen Akebono & Daisuke Sekimoto (16:12) nach einem Dragon Suplex von Otani gegen Sekimoto. 
7. Destructive King 7th Anniversary of Death Special Match: Yoshihiro Takayama besiegt Daichi Hashimoto (11:04) mit einem Running Knee. 

and the Fire Festival Blocks

Block A: 
- Shinjiro Otani 
- Kohei Sato 
- Akebono 
- Zeus 
- Kenta Kakinuma 

Block B: 
- Masato Tanaka 
- Ryouji Sai 
- Daisuke Sekimoto 
- Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
- Atsushi Sawada 


'NJPW "NEW JAPAN SOUL 2011", 03.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
1,950 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Jado & Gedo besiegen Jushin Thunder Liger & Kyosuke Mikami (8:51) mit dem Crossface of JADO von Jado gegen Mikami. 
2. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi besiegen KUSHIDA & Hiromu Takahashi (10:02) nach einem Diving Foot Stomp von Devitt gegen Takahashi. 
3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito besiegen Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale (12:57) nach dem Boma Ye von Nakamura gegen Fale. 
4. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi besiegen Strong Man & Tomoaki Honma (10:27) nach dem Tokyo Pimps von Takahashi gegen Honma. 
5. MVP besiegt Tomohiro Ishii (12:10) mit dem TTB. 
6. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask (12:11) als Taichi Tiger Mask nach einem Gotch-Style Piledriver von Suzuki pinnte. 
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (17:12) nach dem Gun Stun von Anderson gegen Goto (9th defense). 

And theres been 20 men announced for this years G1

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi 
2. Togi Makabe 
3. Hirooki Goto 
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 
5. Yuji Nagata 
6. Wataru Inoue 
7. Tetsuya Naito 
8. Shinsuke Nakamura 
9. Toru Yano 
10. Yujiro Takahashi 
11. Hideo Saito 
12. Giant Bernard 
13. Karl Anderson 
14. MVP 
15. Lance Archer 
16. Strong Man 
17. La Sombra 
18. Minoru Suzuki 
19. Satoshi Kojima 
20. Yoshihiro Takayama


----------



## seabs

*Could have at least had Bernard pin Goto to give some more momentun going into his title match with Tanahashi.

20 names for G1 sounds really heavy too. Maybe too many. Sombra being in there is a really odd one though.

Really hope that Sekimoto vs Hayato gets taped too.*


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, weird booking in that tag match.

Not very interested in this years G-1. Maybe that's a good thing.

And hell yeah to Daisuke vs Tanaka one more time & Daisuke vs Hayato.


----------



## seabs

*Hopefully Anderson vs Goto gets added to the PPV lineup. I'd be great for Anderson to get a major singles match along with Bernard seeing as he wont be defending the tag belts. Would suck if they just stick him in a 6 man undercard match. Seems likely now so that Goto can get his win back off him.*


----------



## antoniomare007

You are right, never thought of it that way. Hopefully that happens but it's still weird that they booked the tag match to build a potential Anderson/Goto fight instead of the usual "challenger beats champion in tag match". 

It something new at least, lol.


----------



## smitlick

Dragon Gate "DRAGON GATE KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2011", 17.07.2011 (PPV) 
Kobe World Hall 

0. Kotoka vs. Super Shenlong II 
1. Kenichiro Arai & Taku Iwasa vs. Super Shisa & KAGETORA 
2. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi vs. Susumu Yokosuka & Rich Swann 
3. Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy & Tomahawk T.T vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Don Fujii & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa 
4. Open the Triangle Gate Title: YAMATO, Masato Yoshino & Gamma (c) vs. Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kong 
5. Special Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Shingo Takagi 
6. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title: Dragon Kid & PAC (c) vs. CIMA & Ricochet 
7. Open the Dream Gate Title: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. BxB Hulk


----------



## Groovemachine

Tozawa vs SHINGO, YES!!!


----------



## McQueen

Ugh, why is Mochizuki Dragon Gate champ. I'd rather watch Richards.


----------



## antoniomare007

the last time you watched Mochizuki was....2003?


----------



## McQueen

Probably 2008. Unless he's gotten better by 2,000% i'll pass. I never could stand him except the time Ohtani manhandled him at the 95 J-Cup, but thats more due to my love of Ohtani.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Yoshihiro Takayama v Manabu Nakanishi, NJPW, 06/07/2002*

really good match here. They beat the absolute piss out of each other, Takayama's chest is disgusting not even 5 minutes into the match. Some thunderous knees by Takayama and its a really simple powerhouse v powerhouse match executed brilliantly. Another great Takayama match from 2002, probably Nakanishi's career best match. 

****3/4*

*Yoshihiro Takayama v Kenta Kobashi, AJPW 26/05/2000*

Brilliant match marred only by Takayama not sporting the trademark golden locks. He's an absolute monster in this beating the snot out of Kobashi who sells his struggle like a champ, particularly enjoyed the arm work by Takayama and how Kobashi sold it marvelously even down the finishing stretch unlike in the 2004 GHC match where he seemed to forget about it. Really pays off in the final lariat as it comes off more like 'this will kill my fucked up arm but fuck you it'll hurt you just as much'. Also loved the spot where Kobashi threw chops with his left hand due to the injury. 

*****1/4*

*Toshiaki Kawada v Kensuke Sasaki, NJPW 10/09/2000*

Hell of a match and really how you sell an interpromotional dream match. Not much to say except they lay in some thunderous strikes and the match was laid out brilliantly. Can't wait to get around to their rematch in early 2001. Crowd was nuclear as well which always helps. 

******


----------



## smitlick

IGF "GENOME16", 10.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Dome City Hall (JCB Hall) 

1. Akira Jo vs. Munenori Sawa 
2. IGF Kickboxing Match: Masayoshi Kakutani vs. Hidekazu Kimura 
3. IGF Title Tournament - Round 1: Ray Sefo vs. Eric Hammer 
4. IGFxZERO1: Atsushi Sawada vs. Ryouji Sai 
5. Montanha Silva vs. Taka Kunou 
6. Tatsumi Fujinami 40th Anniversary Match ~ DRAGON vs. Destructive King GENOME: Tatsumi Fujinami & Masked Genome Jr. vs. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto 
7. IGF Title Tournament - Semi Final: Josh Barnett vs. Bobby Lashley 
8. Toukon Inheritance Special Match: Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Hideki Suzuki 
9. IGF Title Tournament - Semi Final: Jerome Le Banner vs. Sefo/Hammer

DDT "RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2011", 24.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

0. Big Chinese Unified Nakahara Tag Team Title: Great Sasuke & Ricky Fuji (c) vs. Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa 
1. Iron Man Heavy Metal Title, Battle Royal: 
2. Summer Night Fever in Ryogoku 5 vs. 5 Elimination Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Hikaru Sato, Takao Soma, Kazuki Hirata & X vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshiaki Yago, Kengo Mashimo , Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Tomomitsu Matsunaga 
3. Special Singles Match: MIKAMI vs. Poison Sawada JULIE 
4. Special Singles Match: Danshoku Dino vs. Bob Sapp 
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Prince Devitt 
6. KO-D Tag Team Title, 3 Way Match: HARASHIMA & HERO! (c) vs. GENTARO & Yasu Urano vs. X & X 
7. KO-D Openweight Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. KUDO


----------



## seabs

*Disc 4 of the 80's All Japan set. C&P job from another place so they'll be references that probably wont make much sense to some on here.*

*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)*
_This was good but I didn't think it was great and for a broadway match you want something a bit more than good if you're going to sit through it for a full hour. First fall is kinda basic and you never get the feeling that there's a great match in the makings. 2nd fall is considerably better and feels more like a great match rather than a good one but they peak far too late. Seen this before and my memory of it told me it was much better than this viewing of it did. Good match but for a 60 minute match you want more than that and there's a load of broadways that are a lot better than this._

****1/2*

*Terry Funk vs. Nick Bockwinkel (7/12/83)*
_For as much as Bock doesn't really appeal to me he's turned up in two matches so far on the set and he's been in two of the best singles match so far. I really should be higher on him than I am actually given his resume of stuff that I've seen. The Hennig matches are awesome, Robinson match was incredible and this is great too yet I still don't really have much desire to search out and watch a bunch of Bockwinkel matches. Starts off kinda slow and I was starting to worry that it'd be a really slow match that I'd end up phasing in and out of but the longer the match goes the more and more it slowly turns into a great match bit by bit. The duration of the match has Bock working over Terry's leg and naturally it leads to some typically awesome selling on Funk's part. Andy mentioned in his Race/Baba review where the camera doesn't pick up the floor and when Race does his headbutt off the apron it looks like he's just diving into oblivion and there's another case in this of the sub par camera work actually making something look better when Funk takes a spill out of the ring head first and you never actually see his landing but it looks like he's set to fall right on his head. Finish is genuinely AMAZING too. Both men go the outside and Bock's trying to stumble back into the ring over the top rope but Terry grabs him by his pants before he actually gets back and it leads to Bock taking a great little bump onto the floor. Terry then rolls back into the ring and all of a sudden the ref is calling for the bell and it becomes clear what just happened and it's a genius finish. A lot of the creative finishes from 80's Japan often suck but there's a few awesome ones from time to time like this one. Terry selling the leg all the while during the after match stuff made me smile too._

******

*Chavo Guerrero vs. Masa Fuchi (8/31/83)*
_I've never really been overly amazed by any of the Guerrero's other than Eddie of course but I loved Chavo here. Him and Fuchi bust out loads of really cool little sequences together and it's really enjoyable to watch along with being technically superb. Crowd start getting really hot as the match goes on and they get really behind Fuchi and you get the impression that it's a carear changing match for Fuchi where he really turns himself into a true star. The crowd go nuts when Chavo oulls out the german suplex and it leads to a great near fall. Then there's an even crazier moment when Fuchi pulls out the german too and it leads to even better near fall. Not a fan of "I kicked out before 3 ref!" finishes and after the initial dissapointment of the match ending in that way it was actually a really good finish as Chavo goes over and keeps his belt for still makes Fuchi look great and also keeps the fans on his side too. Given how much Andy enjoys Chavo and considering I don't usually dig him that much I can imagine him liking this a LOT._

******

*Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)*
_The Funk/Hansen exchanges in this are GLORIOUS. Before the match even gets under way they have a great little tease of a brawl and get all caught up in thousands of streamers which looks great visually. There's an awesome tease of a lariat at the very start too which I loved. First FIP spell from Dory is fine but it's all leading to Terry getting the tag and running wild in there. Awesome moment when he does get the tag and him and Hansen get to go at it again. Funk and Hansen together in this really are one of the greatest things ever, just insane how well they work off each other. They're throwing fists at each other and just eating them up like REAL FUCKING MEN. You get Hansen and Gordy working over Terry's leg too and by now it's almost becoming a slogan of this set to say that Terry sells incredibly well but it really is amazing. Hansen and Gordy are pretty damn great at working over the leg too and Terry makes them look golden in doing son. The spot where Funk's leg is caught up in the ropes and they just go to town on it is brilliant. Adored the spot too where Gordy's on the top rope and Terry is trying to get up to stop him but he cant put any weight on the leg to stand up. Always thought really highly of Terry but 3 and a bit discs into this set and he's shot up even higher. The match itself is fucking great and the added aspects with it being Funk's retirement match makes it even sweeter. Post match is great with Hansen still being an evil bastard and wanting to kill Terry before he leaves and with these two you really get the sense that they want DEATH more than most other combinations ever in wrestling. Hansen hits an insane lariat to a ring boy too and he's generally just incredible throughout it all, post match included. Possibly could have gone a little longer and benefited from it but I'd rather it be on the short side than the long side. Robinson/Bockwinkel is my #1 so far but there's a bunch of matches so far that are really equal just behind it and this is definitely one of them. Top 5 atm for sure and I'd imagine it'll do well on my final list too._

******

*Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ted Dibiase (10/23/83)*
_Man Tenryu is so great here. Dibiase's perfectly fine too and he does his fair share of making Tenryu look great too as the touring champ but it's all about Tenryu. Early 80's Tenryu has definitely been much more impressive in working a singles match than Jumbo from the same era has been and that wasn't something that I was expecting. The early stuff with the constant arm work was really enjoyable to watch. It's a hit/miss type of thing when two guys just work on the mat doing pretty basic holds and it can often really bore me at the start of matches but in this case it's terrific. Tenryu's totally relentless in working on the arm and just wont let DiBiase get away from it. It doesn't really go anywhere long term and there isn't exactly a payoff to the arm work but it was more than enjoyable enough to make up for any long term shortcomings it had. There's a few minutes between the climax and the end of the arm work which is a step down but like I said it's only a few minutes. Finishing stretch is really good and that seems to be a trademark of the early Tenryu matches on this set. Some really great near falls too. Really liked the finish too and it's one of the more positive creative finishes to keep both guys looking strong._

******

*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)*
_Jumbo was good in this but I didn't think Race worked in the role he was put in for this match. I'm not sure really. Jumbo played his part really well but it didn't seem suited to Race and I just felt there were a load of other guys who could have worked the same match much better than Harley did. Wasn't particuarly crazy about the match. It was good and they did some nice stuff but then also had a lot of stuff that kinda passed me by and it dragged a bit at times. The ref bumps so far on the set have all been really good by ref bump standards but this one was terrible._

*****

*Genichiro Tenryu vs. Ricky Steamboat (2/23/84)*
_This is good but it never really felt like a great match as they never seemed to kick it up to a higher gear at any stage. Tenryu pulls some incredible faces when Steamboat's head is between his thighs and the fact the you can't actually see Steamboat's head, just his neck makes it quite something to witness at times. _

****1/4*

*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)*
_Terry Funk is the special guest ref here and by gawd he works his fucking ass of in that role. He turns up in his waist-jacket and bow tie with a stunning orange shirt and he fucking works that referee role. Another really good Bock match here too btw. The Robinson and Funk matches were better matches but I thought this was the best Bock performance. The arm work early on is great just like it was in the Tenryu/DiBiase match. They add in some reversals and roll ups from Jumbo to keep it interesting so that it doesn't just turn into a rest hold and there's some great banter between Funk and Bockwinkel. The mics dont catch enough of it up though but what you can catch sounds great. Terry isn't in the match itself but I wouldn't disagree with anyone who said he outworked both of these two in it. Once again though the arm work doesn't really go anywhere long term. After they finish with Bock working over the arm and Jumbo starts getting in more offence the match deteriorates a little and they could have easily chopped a good chunk of this part of the match out and it wouldn't have hurt it one bit. Ref bumps when you've got a wrestler as a guest ref usually annoy me because they do the stupid selling for a small bump and it's obvious that Funk is taking a bump because it's Terry and you've got Horiguchi on the floor as a 2nd ref too. Thankfully Terry takes a great bump from the ring, through the ropes and onto the floor. Then you get a shot of Funk dangling from the rail and it's absolutely incredible. When you see it you'll know exactly what I mean and you'll realise how glorious it is. Terry Funk man. Finish wasn't great and it was one those creative finishes that didn't come over that well. There's parts of it that aren't all that great and parts that drag but there's also parts that are really good like the early Bockwinkel work and some other stuff towards the end plus TERRY FUNK._

****3/4*


----------



## antoniomare007

I remember loving that Steamboat/Tenryu match when I watched last year. Specially because of the clean finish (It felt like forever since the last time I had watched a clean pin in an early 80's All Japan match).

Terry's first retirement match is amazing...







FOREVEER FOOOOREEEVEEER FOOOOOOREEEEEEVEEEEER!!

Don't think I've ever seen Terry vs Bock


----------



## smitlick

NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League: 

Block A: 
- KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
- Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. 
- Kenou & Kenbai 
- Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi 
- Jack Evans & Aero Star 

Block B: 
- Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki 
- Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
- Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara 
- Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada 
- Eddie Edwards & Delirious 

NOAH, 16.07.2011 
Yuzawa City Sports Center 

1. Jack Evans vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
2. Mohammed Yone vs. Aero Star 
3. Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue vs. Eddie Edwards & Delirious 
4. Takashi Sugiura & Takuma Sano vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi 
5. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Taiji Ishimori 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kenou & Kenbai 


NOAH, 18.07.2011 
Honjo Exchange Center 

1. Genba Hirayanagi vs. Jack Evans 
2. Kotaro Suzuki vs. Masao Inoue 
3. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Takuma Sano & Aero Star 
4. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Takeshi Morishima & Yoshinari Ogawa 
5. Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & Atsushi Aoki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin vs. Eddie Edwards & Delirious 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kenou & Kenbai 


NOAH, 19.07.2011 
Shibata City Bunka Center 

1. Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Atsushi Aoki 
2. Takeshi Morishima & Takuma Sano vs. Mohammed Yone & Delirious 
3. Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
4. Takashi Sugiura vs. Eddie Edwards 
5. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jack Evans & Aero Star 


NOAH, 20.07.2011 
Yamagata Cloud Dancer 

1. Aero Star vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jack Evans 
3. Masao Inoue & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
4. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Taiji Ishimori 
5. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone vs. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie 
6. Go Shiozaki, Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi vs. Kenou & Kenbai 
8. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Eddie Edwards & Delirious 


NOAH, 22.07.2011 
Fujisan Messe 

1. Masao Inoue vs. Delirious 
2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Eddie Edwards vs. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
3. Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & Takuma Sano vs. Kotaro Suzuki, Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. 
4. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
5. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie 
6. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Atsushi Aoki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi vs. Jack Evans & Aero Star 
8. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada 


NOAH, 24.07.2011 
Ehime Item 

1. Akitoshi Saito & Akira Taue vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue 
2. Mohammed Yone vs. Rocky Marvin 
3. Takuma Sano vs. Ricky Marvin 
4. Takashi Sugiura & Takeshi Morishima vs. Jun Akiyama & Atsushi Aoki 
5. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Kotaro Suzuki vs. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs. Eddie Edwards & Delirious 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Jack Evans & Aero Star 


NOAH, 26.07.2011 
Toyama Techno Hall 

1. Takuma Sano vs. Masao Inoue 
2. Eddie Edwards & Delirious vs. Jack Evans & Aero Star 
3. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Atsushi Aoki vs. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi 
4. Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone vs. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Yoshinari Ogawa 
5. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada 


NOAH, 28.07.2011 
Hive Nagaoka 

1. Mohammed Yone & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin 
2. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genba Hirayanagi 
3. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Takuma Sano & Yoshinari Ogawa 
4. Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue vs. Go Shiozaki, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki 
5. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Kenou & Kenbai vs. Jack Evans & Aero Star 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Eddie Edwards & Delirious 
7. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Taiji Ishimori & Zack Sabre Jr. 


NOAH, 30.07.2011 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara vs. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano 
2. Go Shiozaki, Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano 
3. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Final: 


Edwards vs Sugiura is really interesting


----------



## B-Boy21

Smitlick which ones are going to be on TV. A lot of matches there I'd like to see


----------



## xzeppelinfootx

smitlick said:


> Dragon Gate "DRAGON GATE KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2011", 17.07.2011 (PPV)
> Kobe World Hall
> 
> 0. Kotoka vs. *Super Shenlong II*
> 1. Kenichiro Arai & Taku Iwasa vs. Super Shisa & KAGETORA
> 2. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi vs. Susumu Yokosuka & Rich Swann
> 3. Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy & Tomahawk T.T vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Don Fujii & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa
> 4. Open the Triangle Gate Title: YAMATO, Masato Yoshino & Gamma (c) vs. Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kong
> 5. Special Match: Akira Tozawa vs. Shingo Takagi
> 6. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title: Dragon Kid & PAC (c) vs. CIMA & Ricochet
> 7. Open the Dream Gate Title: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. BxB Hulk


Theres a Super Shenlong II?


----------



## DTB1986

I've just been gettin aquainted to some Takeshi Morishima, and was wondering what you guys have some of his matches at

him vs kenta as at 3/4/07 
I have it at *** and 3/4 after the first watch 

vs misawa 3/5/06 **** 

vs danielson 8/15/07 **** 1/4

vs joe 2/16/07 **** 1/2

and vs danielson 8/25/07 the full *****

I love stiff wrestling and some of his matches are just right up my alley. 

if there is anything **** + that isn't above let me know.


----------



## topper1

Check out Shima vs Sugiura from 12/5/10 if you wanna see two fools stiff the hell out of each other.


----------



## smitlick

B-Boy21 said:


> Smitlick which ones are going to be on TV. A lot of matches there I'd like to see


not sure. I'd assume most of it will air.


G1 Climax Blocks

~A BLOCK~
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Togi Makabe
Yuji Nagata
Tetsuya Naito
Giant Bernard
Toru Yano
Yujiro Takahashi
Hideo Saito
Lance Archer
Yoshihiro Takayama

~B BLOCK~
Hirooki Goto
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Wataru Inoue
Karl Anderson
Satoshi Kojima
MVP
Strongman
La Sombra
Shinsuke Nakamura
Minoru Suzuki


----------



## seabs

B-Boy21 said:


> Smitlick which ones are going to be on TV. A lot of matches there I'd like to see


*Not a whole lot of it is airing actually. The 23/7 show with Kobashi's return and some tournament matches is airing and the finals will surely air. That's all that I can find for G+ unless they air some shows at later dates. I doubt much of it will be worth watching anyway.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Shima vs Shingo (can't remember the show but it was an ROH event, for the title) is pretty damn good if I recall.

I also remember a very good match between him and Marufuji in Kobashi's 2nd big return show (December 07'). Although I've only seen it once almost 4 years ago and don't remember much aside from a couple of sick bumps, I liked it a lot.


----------



## smitlick

antoniomare007 said:


> Shima vs Shingo (can't remember the show but it was an ROH event, for the title) is pretty damn good if I recall.
> 
> I also remember a very good match between him and Marufuji in Kobashi's 2nd big return show (December 07'). Although I've only seen it once almost 4 years ago and don't remember much aside from a couple of sick bumps, I liked it a lot.


its from ROH Good Times Great Memories (Cabanas last show before going to the WWE)


----------



## seabs

*All of my favourite Morishima singles matches were in ROH. The SHINGO match was awesome, as were his matches with Castagnoli and Albright.

Also IVP has set up a site where people can pay to download his discs. There's a best of TAKA and 94 J Cup on the site for free atm so people can try out the new service. Downloaded the TAKA disc and it downloads at a fair speed. $1.25 a disc that you can download in less than an hour is terrific. Hopefully some of his best of sets get put on there. 

http://www.ivpdownload.com/*

*G1 matches and dates*


> NJPW, 01.08.2011 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard vs. Hideo Saito
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. La Sombra
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. MVP
> 
> 
> NJPW, 02.08.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Fukuoka International Center
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Lance Archer vs. Hideo Saito
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano
> 5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. Strong Man
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs. La Sombra
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 
> 
> NJPW, 05.08.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hideo Saito
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard vs. Lance Archer
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 5. G1 Climax - Block B: Strong Man vs. La Sombra
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. MVP
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 
> 
> NJPW, 06.08.2011 (J Sports)
> Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Hideo Saito
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs. Strong Man
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. La Sombra
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 
> 
> NJPW, 07.08.2011 (J Sports)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Hideo Saito vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe
> 5. G1 Climax - Block B: La Sombra vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Strong Man vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs. MVP
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Wataru Inoue
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson
> 
> 
> NJPW, 08.08.2011 (J Sports)
> Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Lance Archer
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hideo Saito
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Yuji Nagata
> 5. G1 Climax - Block B: La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs. Strong Man
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. Karl Anderson
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. MVP
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 
> 
> NJPW, 10.08.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Yoyogi National Stadium Gymnasium #2
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Lance Archer
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Hideo Saito
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Giant Bernard
> 5. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs. La Sombra
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Strong Man
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. MVP
> 
> 
> NJPW, 11.08.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Yoyogi National Stadium Gymnasium #2
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Lance Archer
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hideo Saito
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Giant Bernard
> 5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP vs. Strong Man
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. La Sombra
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Wataru Inoue
> 
> 
> NJPW, 13.08.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs. Giant Bernard
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Lance Archer
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano
> 5. G1 Climax - Block B: Strong Man vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP vs. La Sombra
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 
> 
> NJPW, 14.08.2011 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. G1 Climax - Block A: Lance Archer vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> 2. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard vs. Toru Yano
> 3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Hideo Saito
> 4. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 6. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs. MVP
> 7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Strong Man
> 8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 9. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 10. G1 Climax - Final: Block A #1 vs. Block B #2
> 
> Match Order = TBA


*Should be able to see all of them as they all air. Hopefully the J Sports shows turn up somewhere as they dont always appear.*


> Pro-Wrestling ZERO1 - "MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL ~ FIRE FESTIVAL 2011"
> 
> Block A:
> - Shinjiro Otani
> - Kohei Sato
> - Akebono
> - Zeus
> - Kenta Kakinuma
> 
> Block B:
> - Masato Tanaka
> - Ryouji Sai
> - Daisuke Sekimoto
> - Fujita "Jr." Hayato
> - Atsushi Sawada
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 24.07.2011
> Belle Salle Roppongi
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block B: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato
> 2. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka vs. Atsushi Sawada
> 3. Fire Festival - Block A: Kohei Sato vs. Kenta Kakinuma
> 4. Fire Festival - Block A: Shinjiro Otani vs. Zeus
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 28.07.2011
> Tsukuba Kapio
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka vs. Ryouji Sai
> 2. Fire Festival - Block A: Shinjiro Otani vs. Akebono
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 29.07.2011
> Minato Ward Akatsuchi Park Special Ring
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block A: Akebono vs. Kenta Kakinuma
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 31.07.2011
> Osaka World Hall
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block B: Ryouji Sai vs. Atsushi Sawada
> 2. Fire Festival - Block A: Shinjiro Otani vs. Kohei Sato
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 01.08.2011
> Zepp Nagoya
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato
> 2. Fire Festival - Block B: Ryouji Sai vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
> 3. Fire Festival - Block A: Kohei Sato vs. Zeus
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 03.08.2011
> Niigata Bandai City
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block B: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Atsushi Sawada
> 2. Fire Festival - Block B: Ryouji Sai vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato
> 3. Fire Festival - Block A: Akebono vs. Zeus
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 06.08.2011
> Saitama Ion Kitatoda Store Special Ring
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block A: Shinjiro Otani vs. Kenta Kakinuma
> 
> 
> ZERO1, 07.08.2011
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Fire Festival - Block B: Fujita "Jr." Hayato vs. Atsushi Sawada
> 2. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
> 3. Fire Festival - Block A: Kenta Kakinuma vs. Zeus
> 4. Fire Festival - Block A: Kohei Sato vs. Akebono
> 5. Fire Festival - Final: Block A #1 vs. Block B #1
> 
> Match Order = TBA


*Sekimoto vs Hayato and vs Tanaka are on the first and last days so should almost surely air!*


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - Real World Tag League 2010 - 23/11/10*

- *Real World Tag League* - Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo - ***
- *Real World Tag League* - Akebono & Taiyo Kea vs Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki - ***1/4


----------



## F5uits

antoniomare007 said:


> Shima vs Shingo (can't remember the show but it was an ROH event, for the title) is pretty damn good if I recall.
> 
> I also remember a very good match between him and Marufuji in Kobashi's 2nd big return show (December 07'). Although I've only seen it once almost 4 years ago and don't remember much aside from a couple of sick bumps, I liked it a lot.


I have that Morishima/Marufuji match on DVD, watched it the first time right after I got it and loved it. I remember skeptically watching it again about a year later and loved it again, it really is a great match. And Shima/Shingo is one of my favorite ROH matches ever. Morishima was so awesome in ROH.


----------



## seabs

purolove.com said:


> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 3", 10.07.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 
> 1. Shuhei Taniguchi & Masao Inoue besiegen Kentaro Shiga & Takashi Okita nach einem German Suplex Hold von Taniguchi gegen Okita.
> 2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin besiegen Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara nach einem Backdrop Hold von Ogawa gegen Kajiwara.
> 3. Mohammed Yone besiegt Akitoshi Saito mit einem Top Rope Guillotine Drop.
> 4. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Takuma Sano, Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Aoki nach dem Go 2 Sleep von KENTA gegen Aoki.
> 5. Jun Akiyama besiegt Katsuhiko Nakajima mit einem Wrist-Clutch Exploder.
> 6. Special Singles Match: Kensuke Sasaki besiegt Takeshi Morishima mit einer Lariat.
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kotaro Suzuki (c) besiegt Yoshinobu Kanemaru mit dem Requiem (7th defense).
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki besiegt Takashi Sugiura (c) mit einer Reverse Northern Light Bomb


*Relieved that Shiozaki won the belt. Hopefully they don't fuck up this title reign for him.*


----------



## smitlick

awesome stuff...


----------



## New Blood

I've decided that Tenryu vs. Hashimoto [8/8/93] is a new contender for greatest match that I've ever seen along with Andre/Hansen, Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 95, Hansen/Kobashi, Flair/Von Erich Cage Match and Casas/Santo 97.

It's not a graceful match by any standards that modern puro fans love but it's so filled with hate and stiffness that it's so much better than anything that's come out of Japan in nearly a decade or longer. All I have to mention are the names of Tenryu and Hashimoto and real wrestling fans would be sold right there.


----------



## antoniomare007

I prefer their 2/17/94 match but I agree, those 2 fucks hate each other with a passion and It's sooo fun to watch.


Good for Shiozaki, Sugi should've lost the title a long time ago but at first they wanted him to win the MVP award (at least he won it,lol) and then break Kobashi's record. But the fact that they couldn't draw 5,000 people tell you the whole story about Sugi's reign and NOAH's moronic booking.

With Kensuke beating Morishima I would hope that he's the first challenger...and the Go finally beats him.


----------



## seancarleton77

Shiozaki will show NOAH that they made the right choice.


----------



## Manu_Styles

The 1st defense of Go should be Sasaki in a rematch of their great match last year.


----------



## smitlick

Ishimori is out of NOAHs Tag League... Apparently Taka Michinoku has asked for NOAH to take Takizawa from his K-Dojo.


*Dragon Gate Infinity 206*

1. Yasushi Kanda & Brodie Lee vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Kenichiro Arai
**

2. CIMA, Naruki Doi & Gamma vs YAMATO, Cyber Kong & KAGETORA
***

*3. Open The Dream Gate Title*
Masato Yoshino vs Don Fujii
***3/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 207*

1. Ryo Saito vs Masaaki Mochizuki
***

*2. Special Singles Match*
Cyber Kong vs BxB Hulk
***1/2

3. CIMA, Naruki Doi & Gamma vs Masato Yoshino, K-Ness & Susumu Yokosuka
***1/2

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 G1 Climax Special - 10/9/10*

1. Tomohiro Ishii, Davey Richards, Jado & Gedo vs Prince Devitt, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi
***1/4

*2. Special Six Man Tag*
Hirooki Goto, Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
***1/4

*3. Special Tag Match*
Satoshi Kojima & Masato Tanaka vs Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi
***1/4-***1/2

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 New Japan Truth - G1 Tag League - 1/11/10* 

1. Prince Devitt, Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo
***

*2. G1 Tag League – Block B*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs El Terrible & El Texano Jr
***1/4

*3. Special Singles Match*
Satoshi Kojima vs Jushin Liger
***
Really solid under 10 min match.


----------



## antoniomare007

After watching Daichi vs Mochizuki (damn good match considering it's only the 3rd singles match in Daichi's career) I want to see Hashimoto wrestle a big bully. He's custom made for a great "David vs Goliath" type of match.

Also, his first W has to come via Brainbuster. He has used the STF and the Shinning Wizard but hasn't been able to win yet, it's only fitting that his father's finisher is what's missing from a winning formula.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 New Japan Truth - G1 Tag League - 2/11/10* 

1. Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask IV vs Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
**1/2


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> After watching Daichi vs Mochizuki (damn good match considering it's only the 3rd singles match in Daichi's career) I want to see Hashimoto wrestle a big bully. He's custom made for a great "David vs Goliath" type of match.
> 
> Also, his first W has to come via Brainbuster. He has used the STF and the Shinning Wizard but hasn't been able to win yet, it's only fitting that his father's finisher is what's missing from a winning formula.


Next time you see Daichi wrestle it will be against TAKAYAMA. How is that for David and Goliath?


----------



## antoniomare007

Although I want to see how Takayama beats the shit out of Daichi, I was referring to a more mobile guy who can still take good bumps. Like a Claudio/Shingo/Bernard/Daisuke type of monster.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - NOAHFUL Gift In Differ 2010 - 24/12/10*

1. Go Shiozaki, Akitoshi Saito & KENTA vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Masao Inoue & Katsuhiko Nakajima
***1/4

*2. GHC Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Match*
Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask IV vs Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki
***1/2

*NOAH - The First Navigation 2011 - 15/1/11*

1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara
**3/4

*2. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Skirmish*
Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Eddie Edwards & Bobby Fish
***1/2

*3. 3 Big Singles Match Series*
Yoshihiro Takayama vs KENTA
***3/4

*4. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki vs Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
****

*5. GHC Heavyweight Title*
Takashi Sugiura vs Bison Smith
***1/4


----------



## smitlick

NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 16.07.2011 
Yuzawa City Sports Center 
500 Fans 

1. Eddie Edwards besiegt Aero Star (10:50) mit einem Single-Leg Crab Hold. 
2. Takeshi Morishima besiegt Masao Inoue (8:17) mit einer Lariat. 
3. 3 Way Match: Delirious besiegt Jack Evans & Zack Sabre Jr. (10:57) mit dem Bizzaro Driver gegen Sabre. 
4. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi (11:17) nach einem Muscle Buster von Yone gegen Hirayanagi. 
5. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Yoshinari Ogawa besiegen Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano (21:34) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Sano. 
6. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [2] besiegen Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0] (17:12) nach dem Assault Point von Aoki gegen Rocky. 
7. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Kenou & Kenbai [2] besiegen KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0] (22:17) nach einem Dragon Suplex Hold von Kenou gegen KENTA. 


- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Kenou & Kenbai [2] 
2. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [0] 
-. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [0] 
-. Jack Evans & Aero Star [0] 
5. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0] 

Block B: 
1. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [2] 
2. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [0] 
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [0] 
-. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [0] 
5. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0]


Dragon Gate "DRAGON GATE KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2011", 17.07.2011 (PPV) 
Kobe World Hall 

0. Super Shenlong II besiegt Kotoka (4:01) mit einem Single-Leg Crab Hold. 
1. Kenichiro Arai & Taku Iwasa besiegen Super Shisa & KAGETORA *(6:50) nach dem Noshigami von Iwasa gegen Shisa. 
2. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi besiegen Susumu Yokosuka & Rich Swann (9:39) mit dem Backslide from Hell von Genki gegen Yokosuka, 
3. Yoshihiro Takayama, Don Fujii & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa besiegen Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy & Tomahawk T.T (11:00) mit dem Everest German Suplex Hold von Takayama gegen Tomahawk. 
4. Open the Triangle Gate Title: YAMATO, Masato Yoshino & Gamma (c) besiegen Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kong (21:24) mit einer Sky Twister Press von Gamma gegen Kanda (1st defense). 
5. Special Match: Akira Tozawa besiegt Shingo Takagi (16:02) mit einem Package German Suplex Hold. 
6. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title: CIMA & Ricochet besiegen Dragon Kid & PAC (c) (23:10) mit einer Double Moonsault Press von Ricochet gegen PAC - Titelwechsel. 
7. Open the Dream Gate Title: Masaaki Mochizuki (c) besiegt BxB Hulk (27:58) nach dem Sankakugeri (3rd defense). 


credit to purolove and iheartDG*


----------



## seabs

*Mochizuki vs Hulk going nearly 30 minutes sounds horrific.

NOAH always throw a curveball on the opening day which ends up making no sense. KENTA/Kanemaru will still win their block and Kenou/Kenbai will most likely finish bottom like KOW when they beat the champs on the 1st day.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Anyone sees KENTA getting the GHC Heavy Belt from Go?


----------



## seabs

*Not at all. KENTA's busy with the No Mercy faction and junior vs heavyweight main events aren't a good habit for NOAH to get into. No doubt it'd probably be a fantastic match but there's a reason why NOAH has a junior division and a heavyweight division with their own respective belts.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

I know, but NO MERCY is getting stronger and that KENTA'll be challenging is a rumour that not sounds odd at all in a promotion where Marufuji was _Heavyweight_ Champion.


----------



## Corey

Amongst all this CM Punk hype, some of you may have forgotten New Japan had a PPV today:


> *NJPW, 7/18/11 (WPW/PPV)
> Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena
> 5,800 Fans*
> 
> 1. Masato Tanaka
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo beat Strong Man, Tomoaki Honma, Killer Rabbit & Killer Rabbit *(9:38)* when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Rabbit.
> 2. Jushin Thunder Liger beat Hector Garza *(7:55)* with an air scissors drop.
> 3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale *(10:28)* when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Fale.
> 4. Yuji Nagata beat Hideo Saito *(9:56)* by DQ.
> 5. Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask beat TAKA Michinoku
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> & Taichi *(7:18)* when Tiger used a reverse double armbar on Taichi.
> 6. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA beat Kota Ibushi
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> , Kenny Omega
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> & Daisuke Sasaki *(15:29)* when Taguchi pinned Sasaki after the Black Sunday.
> 7. *Special Singles Match*: Hirooki Goto beat Karl Anderson *(10:20)* with the Shouten Kai.
> 8. *IWGP Intercontinental Title*: MVP (c) beat Toru Yano *(12:03)* with the TTB (2nd defense).
> 9. *Special Singles Match*: Minoru Suzuki beat Satoshi Kojima *(13:39)* with a Gotch-style piledriver.
> 10. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) beat Giant Bernard *(27:54)* with a Dharma-style German suplex hold (6th defense).
> 
> * In the same region where he defeated Giant Bernard in a tournament final to begin his first IWGP Heavyweight Title reign almost five years ago to the day, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated him in a half hour classic today to prove anew he is Japanese pro wrestling’s top star. Tanahashi heads into the G1 Climax as champion while Bernard fell just short of becoming a 3-crown champion as he of course holds both the IWGP Tag and NOAH’s GHC Tag titles with Karl Anderson.
> 
> * In their first singles battle since Suzuki forcibly took over Kojima’s faction, he defeated Cozy in a singles match today. The two meet again however on day one of the G1 Climax, giving Kojima a quick chance for revenge.
> 
> * Masato Tanaka attacked MVP after the IWGP Intercontinental Champion again beat Toru Yano to retain his title. As a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and with much experience overseas, Tanaka will make a fitting next challenger for MVP most likely after the G1 Climax.


----------



## Emperor DC

New Japan is fucking awesome at the moment.
Tanaka/MVP sounds like it could be fun, too.

Bernard. <3


----------



## Derek

Fighter Daron said:


> I know, but NO MERCY is getting stronger and that KENTA'll be challenging is a rumour that not sounds odd at all in a promotion *where Marufuji was Heavyweight Champion.*


And bombed as a champion


----------



## antoniomare007

and happened 5 fucking years ago.


----------



## Derek

Yeah, and now NOAH would kill to get the attendance they got for the KENTA/Marufuji show that killed his title reign.


----------



## smitlick

Kensuke Office "TAKE THE DREAM 2011 IN HAKATA", 18.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Acros Fukuoka 
805 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House 

1. Kenichiro Arai besiegt Namazu Man (12:15) mit einem Wakigatame. 
2. 7 Man Battle Royal: Mt. Aso besiegt Michael Nakazawa durch DQ (11:54). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: Kentaro Shiga, Bear Fukuda, CHANGO, Go, Typhoon #8 & Michael Nakazawa. 
3. Susumu Yokosuka besiegt Satoshi Kajiwara (13:51) mit dem Mugen. 
4. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Jun Nishikawa besiegen Masaaki Mochizuki & Madoka (18:51) nach dem Death Roll von Nakajima gegen Madoka. 
5. Kensuke Sasaki, Taku Iwasa & Kento Miyahara besiegen Yutaka Yoshie, Cyber Kong & Masato Shibata (22:35) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sasaki gegen Shibata.


NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 18.07.2011 
Honjo Exchange Center 
400 Fans - No Vacancy 

1. Jack Evans besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (7:31) mit einem 630° Splash. 
2. Kotaro Suzuki besiegt Masao Inoue (9:38) mit einem Jackknife Hold. 
3. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi besiegen Takuma Sano & Aero Star (15:11) nach einer Lariat von Shiozaki gegen Star. 
4. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Takeshi Morishima & Yoshinari Ogawa (11:15) nach einem Exploder von Akiyama gegen Ogawa. 
5. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] besiegen Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0] (10:57) nach dem Bizzaro Driver von Delirious gegen Rocky. 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [2] besiegen Kenou & Kenbai [2] (17:30) nach einer Moonsault Press von Takizawa gegen Kenbai. 
7. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegen Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & Atsushi Aoki (20:29) nach einem Running Kneelift von Takayama gegen Aoki. 


- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [2] 
2. Kenou & Kenbai [2] 
3. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [0] 
-. Jack Evans & Aero Star [0] 
-. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0] 

Block B: 
1. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [2] 
-. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] 
3. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [0] 
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [0] 
-. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0]


*Big Japan - 27/6/10*

*1. Barbed Wire Board Match*
Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs Ryuji Yamakawa & The Winger
**

*2. Hardcore Match* 
Yuko Miyamoto & Necro Butcher vs Shuji Ishikawa & Kankuro Hoshino
**3/4
Necros dive was just fucking ridiculously silly...

3. Takashi Sasaki vs Yoshihito Sasaki
***3/4

*4. Flurescent Light Tubes & Free Weapons Death Match* 
Masashi Takeda & Isami Kodaka vs Ryuji Ito & Shadow WX
***1/4


----------



## Corey

Go Shiozaki's first GHC Title defense has been set.



> *NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH ANNIVERSARY", 06.08.2011
> Tokyo Differ Ariake*
> 
> 1. *GHC Heavyweight Title*: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Jun Akiyama


----------



## antoniomare007

woooow, a GHC Title match at Differ? They didn't event want to rent Korakuen. 

fucked up.


----------



## Fighter Daron

A great defence to make Go look strong.


----------



## RKing85

Shit. Thought this was the indy dvd thread.


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - 30/7/10*

*1. Hardcore Match*
Shadow WX, Ryuji Yamakawa & Yuichi Taniguchi vs Abdullah Kobayashi, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei
*3/4

*2. Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match*
Takashi Sasaki, Yuko Miyamoto & Kankuro Hoshino vs Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Isami Kodaka
***

3. Shuji Ishikawa & Yuji Okabayashi vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki
***1/2

*4. BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Title - Glass & Light Tubes Alpha Death Match*
Ryuji Ito vs Masashi Takeda
***1/2


*Big Japan - 29/8/10*

*1. Barbed Wire Board Death Match*
Shadow WX, Ryuji Yamakawa & The Winger vs Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Kankuro Hoshino
**

2. Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki vs Yoshihito Sasaki & Yuji Okabayashi
***1/2

*3. Fluorescent Light Tubes Death Match*
Ryuji Ito, Takashi Sasaki & Abdullah Kobayashi vs Yuko Miyamoto, Shuji Ishikawa & Isami Kodaka
***

NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 20.07.2011 
Yamagata Cloud Dancer 
450 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Aero Star besiegt Zack Sabre Jr. (5:38) nach einem Avalanche-Style Hurricanrana. 
2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegt Jack Evans (4:49) mit einem Inside Cradle. 
3. Yoshinari Ogawa & Akira Taue besiegen Masao Inoue & Ryuji Hijikata (10:19) mit einem Inside Cradle von Ogawa gegen Inoue. 
4. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin (12:06) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Rocky. 
5. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie besiegt Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone (14:14) mit einer Diving Body Press von Yoshie gegen Yone. 
6. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Kenou & Kenbai [4] besiegen Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] (13:37) als Kenou Namiguchi pinnte. 
7. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [4] besiegen Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] (19:15) mit einem Tiger Driver von Suzuki gegen Delirious. 
8. Go Shiozaki, Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (15:02) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Hirayanagi. 

- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Kenou & Kenbai [4] 
2. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] 
-. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [2] 
-. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2] 
5. Jack Evans & Aero Star [0] 

Block B: 
1. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [4] 
2. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] 
3. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [0] 
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [0] 
-. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0]

*DDT - Never Mind 2010 - 26/12/10*

*IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Title Match*
Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Jado & Gedo
***1/2

*DDT - Dotonbori Story 8 - 9/1/11*

Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie
Very fun but it was JIP. Really disappointed as it looked to be a solid match.

*DDT - New Year Super Dodon Wave! In Nagoya 2011 - 16/1/11*

*Umemura Personal Computer School Offer Match*
Kenny Omega vs Danshoku Dino
**3/4
Not certain this was the whole match either but really odd to say the least. A lot of Gay stuff from both.

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 New Japan Truth - G1 Tag League*

1. Prince Devitt, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo
**3/4

*2. Special Tag Match*
James Storm & Robert Roode vs Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
***

*NOAH - The First Navigation 2011 - 23/1/11*

1. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs KENTA & Taiji Ishimori
***

2. Jun Akiyama, Shuhei Taniguchi & Naomichi Marufuji vs Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara
***1/2

3. Bison Smith, Eddie Edwards & Bobby Fish vs Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki
***3/4

*NOAH - Northern Navigation 2007 - 21/5/07*

*Global Hardcore Crown Openweight Tag Team Title*
Kentaro Shiga & Kishin Kawabata vs Eddie Edwards & Ted DiBiase Jr
***1/4

*NOAH - Winter Navigation 2008 - 28/11/08*

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*
KENTA vs Eddie Edwards
****

*GAORA TV - GAORA 20th Anniversary - Super Fighting Spirit 2011 - 24/1/11*

1. Dragon Kid, BUSHI & Power Pro Kamen vs Minoru, Susumu Yokosuka & KAGETORA
***

2. Jinsei Shinzaki, TAJIRI & BxB Hulk vs Kaz Hayashi, TAKA Michinoku & NOSAWA Rongai
**1/2

3. YAMATO vs Hiroshi Yamato
**3/4

4. Shuji Kondo & KAI vs Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki
***1/4

5. Minoru Suzuki, Masakatsu Funaki & Masaaki Mochizuki vs Akebono, Don Fujii & Ryota Hama
***1/4

6. Keiji Muto, Jushin Liger & CIMA vs Suwama, Great Sasuke & Masato Yoshino
***1/4

NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 22.07.2011 
Fujisan Messe 
800 Fans 

1. Akira Taue besiegt Masao Inoue (6:45) mit einem Inside Cradle. 
2. Eddie Edwards & Delirious besiegen Kotaro Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. (13:44) nach einem Single-Leg Crab Hold von Edwards gegen Sabre. 
3. Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & Takuma Sano besiegen Yoshinari Ogawa, Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin (13:21) nach einem Mucle Buster von Yone gegen Ricky. 
4. Kensuke Sasaki besiegt Yoshinobu Kanemaru (5:28) mit einer Lariat. 
5. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Jack Evans & Aero Star [2] besiegen Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] (13:07) nach einer Shooting Star Press von Star gegen Namiguchi. 
6. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [2] besiegen Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [0] (18:13) nach dem Death Roll von Nakajima gegen Kotoge. 
7. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi (21:43) nach einem Exploder von Akiyama gegen Hirayanagi. 
8. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie besiegen Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (16:30) nach einer Diving Body Press von Yoshie gegen Taniguchi. 


- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Kenou & Kenbai [4] 
2. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] 
-. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [2] 
-. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2] 
-. Jack Evans & Aero Star [2] 

Block B: 
1. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [4] 
2. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] 
-. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [2] 
4. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [0] 
-. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0]


----------



## The Gargano

*DRAGON GATE KOBE Pro Wrestling Festival 2011*

1. Taku Iwasa & Kenichiro Arai vs. KAGETORA & Super Shisa- ***3/4*

2. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi vs. Susumu Yokosuka & Rich Swann- ****1/4*

3. Naoki Tanizaki, Kzy & Tomahawk T.T vs. DonFujii, Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa & Yoshihiro Takayama- ***1/2*

4. Open the Triangle Gate Title Match: YAMATO, Masato Yoshino & Gamma vs. Naruki Doi, Yasushi Kanda & Cyber Kong- ****3/4*

5. Akira Tozawa vs. Shingo Takagi- *****1/2*

6. Open the Twin Gate Title Match: [Champions] Dragon Kid & PAC vs. CIMA & Ricochet- *****1/2*

7. Open the Dream Gate Title Match: [Champion] Masaaki Mochizuki vs. BxB Hulk- ****3/4*


Overall: *9/10* _Amazing show, the last 4 matches were awesome, especially Tozawa vs Shingo and Open the Twin Gate match, I really loved this show, everyone should check out this show
_​


----------



## seabs

*The Triangle gate match was really average I thought. Talked about Tozawa vs SHINGO and the Twin Gate match in the MOTYC Thread. The tag was incredible. Zero interest in watching that main event for nearly 30 minutes.*


----------



## smitlick

NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN OSAKA", 23.07.2011 (G+) 
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 
4,800 Fans - No Vacancy 

1. Yoshinari Ogawa besiegt Akira Taue (4:22) mit einem Inside Cradle. 
2. Eddie Edwards, Delirious & Zack Sabre Jr. besiegen Jack Evans , Aero Star & Genba Hirayanagi (6:21) nach dem Die Hard von Edwards gegen Hirayanagi. 
3. Mohammed Yone, Shuhei Taniguchi & Masao Inoue besiegen Takuma Sano, Masashi Aoyagi & Ryuji Hijikata (9:28) nach einem Muscle Buster von Yone gegen Aoyagi. 
4. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2] besiegen Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0] (13:45) nach einem Katayama German Suplex Hold von Harada gegen Ricky. 
5. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4] besiegen Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] (15:09) nach dem Go 2 Sleep von KENTA gegen Namiguchi. 
6. NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [4] besiegen Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [4] (18:50) nach einem Cross-Arm German Suplex Hold von Nakajima gegen Suzuki. 
7. Special Singles Match: Takashi Sugiura vs. Kensuke Sasaki - Double KO (19:17). 
8. GHC Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) besiegen Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie (16:27) als Bernard Yoshie nach dem Magic Killer pinnte (1st defense). 
9. Kenta Kobashi Return Match: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki (28:09) nach einem Modified Sternness Dust von Akiyama gegen Kobashi. 


- 577 Tage nach seinem letzten Match im Dezember 2009 ist Kenta Kobashi nach überstandenem Nervenschadem am rechten Ellenbogen wieder zurück. 

- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Kenou & Kenbai [4] 
2. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4] 
3. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] 
-. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [2] 
-. Jack Evans & Aero Star [2] 

Block B: 
1. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [4] 
2. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [4] 
3. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] 
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [2] 
5. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [0]

credit to purolove


----------



## antoniomare007

wow, not even Kobashi can get NOAH a real No Vacancy (that place holds 6,000 people or more) 

would be cool if the double KO means that Sugi and Kensuke are gonna feud with each other or form a tag team out of respect and go for the GHC Tag titles.

couldn't give two shits about the NTV Cup.


----------



## seabs

*Even NOAH doesn't care about the NTV cup this year round. Bunch of outsiders in non televised midcard matches. *


----------



## antoniomare007

They might not care right now but I wouldn't be shocked if the finals go 25+ minutes


----------



## Derek

A Kobashi return can't even sell 5000 tickets? That's sad.


----------



## smitlick

DDT "RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2011", 24.07.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

0. Big Chinese Unified Nakahara Tag Team Title: Sanshiro Takagi & Munenori Sawa besiegen Great Sasuke & Ricky Fuji (c) (21:03) nach einer Sit-Down Sunflower Bomb von Takagi gegen Sasuke - Titelwechsel. 
1. Next Generation Dramatic Fight: Keisuke Ishii besiegt Shigehiro Irie (9:25) mit einem Kneel Kick. 
2. Iron Man Heavy Metal Title, Battle Royal: Antonio Honda (c) besiegt Daisuke Sasaki mit einem Octopus Hold (21:46). Weitere Teilnehmer: Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Yuzuki Aikawa, Cherry, Riki Sensyu, Emi Sakura , Tanomusaku Toba, Gorgeous Matsuno, DJ Nira, Hoshitango, Rion Mizuki, Mr. #6, YOSHIHIKO & Makoto Oishi 
- Iron Man Heavy Metal Title: Gorgeous Matsuno besiegt Antonio Honda (c) (16:49 Uhr) mit einem Horizontal Cradle - Titelwechsel. 
3. Special Singles Match: MIKAMI besiegt Poison Sawada JULIE (8:41) mit der Volcanic Bomb. 
4. KO-D Tag Team Title, 4 Way Match: Daisuke Sekimoto & Masa Takanashi besiegen HARASHIMA & HERO! (c), GENTARO & Yasu Urano and Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa (23:31) - Titelwechsel. 
Omega besiegte Urano mit dem Croyth's Wrath. Sekimoto besiegte Nakazawa mit einem German Suplex Hold. Takanashi besiegte HERO! mit einem Avalanche-Style Takatonic (23:31). 
5. Summer Night Fever in Ryogoku 5 vs. 5 Elimination Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Hikaru Sato, Takao Soma, Kazuki Hirata & Akihito besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Yoshiaki Yago, Kengo Ohka, Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Super Shit Machine (24:20). 
Yago eliminierte Akihito mit einem Homicide Cobra Clutch. Hirata eliminierte Machine mit einem Horizontal Cradle. Matsunaga eliminierte Hirata. Sato warf Yago über das Top Rope. Suzuki eliminierte Sato mit einem Gotch-Style Piledriver. Takagi & Suzuki flogen über das Top Rope. Soma warf Ohka über das Top Rope. Soma eliminierte Matsunaga mit einem Diving Guillotine Drop (24:20). 
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) besiegt Prince Devitt (13:53) mit einem Phoenix Splash (1st defense). 
7. Special Singles Match: Danshoku Dino besiegt Bob Sapp (R3 2:58) mit einem Gaydo Clutch. 
8. KO-D Openweight Title: KUDO besiegt Shuji Ishikawa (c) (27:24) mit einem Diving Double Kneedrop - Titelwechsel.


----------



## seancarleton77

Sounds like an phenomenal show from DDT. Although reading the results like that is similar to the gang reading Charlie's writing on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. WAR DINO!!


----------



## jawbreaker

the best part is that it totally makes sense


----------



## antoniomare007

The big announcement was that next year Anniversary Show will take place at Budokan Hall (the show will be sponsored by Nippon Broadcasting System radio network).


----------



## seabs

*The show drew 8,660 btw.

TAKE THAT KOBASHI*


----------



## Fighter Daron

I'm shocked about the attendance. 

By the way, is the second night of the NOAH European Navigation upload?


----------



## seabs

*Go back a few pages in Indy Media.*


----------



## LariatSavage

So I finally got a chance to watch an entire Dragon Gate show...

Dragon Gate: Kobe World Festival 2011 Review


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> *Go back a few pages in Indy Media.*


Indy or Puro media?



LariatSavage said:


> So I finally got a chance to watch an entire Dragon Gate show...
> 
> Dragon Gate: Kobe World Festival 2011 Review


This has to be so overrated, four or five matches with four stars, if this is right, is the show of the year, I gotta watch it.


----------



## seabs

*Indy.*


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 30/9/90 - Giant Baba 30th Anniversary*
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jumbo Tsuruta vs Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada
****1/4

*New Japan - Super J-Cup 5th Stage - Land of Confusion - 22/12/09*
Koji Kanemoto vs Fujita Hayato
****1/2

thanks seabs for these... Got my stuff yesterday 


ZERO1 "MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL ~ FIRE FESTIVAL 2011", 24.07.2011 
Belle Salle Roppongi 

1. Ryouji Sai, Mineo Fujita & Daichi Hashimoto besiegen KAMIKAZE, Shito Ueda & Yoshikazu Yokoyama (13:09) nach dem nachi Waterfall von Sai gegen Ueda. 
2. Fire Festival - Block B: Daisuke Sekimoto [2] besiegt Fujita "Jr." Hayato [0] (13:46) mit einem German Suplex Hold. 
3. Fire Festival - Block A: Kohei Sato [2] besiegt Kenta Kakinuma [0] (12:34) mit einem German Suplex Hold. 
4. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka [2] besiegt Atsushi Sawada [0] (8:23) mit dem Sliding D. 
5. Ikuto Hidaka & Takafumi Ito besiegen Takuya Sugawara & Bear Fukuda (11:20) nach einem Choke Sleeper von Ito gegen Fukuda. 
6. Fire Festival - Block A: Shinjiro Ohtani [2] besiegt Zeus [0] (15:59) mit einer Spiral Bomb. 


- Fire Festival Standings 

Block A: 
1. Shinjiro Otani [2] 
-. Kohei Sato [2] 
3. Akebono 
4. Zeus [0] 
-. Kenta Kakinuma [0] 

Block B: 
1. Masato Tanaka [2] 
-. Daisuke Sekimoto [2] 
3. Ryouji Sai 
4. Fujita "Jr." Hayato [0] 
-. Atsushi Sawada [0]


BJW, 25.07.2011 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
1,165 Fans 

0. BJW vs. Secret Base: Mototsugu Shimizu, Jun Ogawauchi & Amigo Suzuki besiegen Daikokubo Benkei, Takumi Tsukamoto & Masashi Otani (7:07) nach einem Horizontal Cradle von Ogawauchi gegen Otani. 
1. Yuji Okabayashi & Shinobu besiegen Yoshihito Sasaki & Kazuki Hashimoto (9:26) nach dem S.E.X Bomber von Shinobu gegen Hashimoto. 
2. MEN's Teioh, Tsutomu Oosugi & Hercules Senga vs. Makoto Oishi, Shiori Asahi & Atsushi Ohashi (9:11) nach dem Teioh Lock von Teioh gegen Ohashi. 
3. Shinya Ishikawa besiegt Ryuichi Kawakami (9:18) mit einem Sammy Clutch. 
4. BJW vs. wXw: Bad Bones & Robert Dreissker besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuichi Taniguchi (10:34) nach einem Cross Facelock von Bones gegen Taniguchi. 
5. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa & Masashi Takeda besiegen Jun Kasai & Masato Inaba (15:28) nach einem German Suplex Hold auf ein Barbed Wire Board von Takeda gegen Inaba. 
6. Hardcore Match: Shadow Brahman WX, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei besiegen Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Onryo (14:31) als Shu Miyamoto nach einer Mist Attack von WX pinnte. 
7. Fluorescent Lighttubes & Concrete Blocks Ladder Death Match: Abdullah Kobayashi & Kankuro Hoshino besiegen Ryuji Ito & Takashi Sasaki (17:24) nach einem Diving Senton von Hoshino gegen Sasaki.


NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 26.07.2011 
Toyama Techno Hall 
700 Fans 

1. Akira Taue besiegt Masao Inoue (7:50) mit einem Inside Cradle. 
2. Eddie Edwards & Delirious besiegen Jack Evans & Aero Star (11:41) nach dem Die Hard von Edwards gegen Evans. 
3. Kensuke Sasaki besiegt Zack Sabre Jr. (4:51) mit dem Strangle Hold Gamma. 
3. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano besiegen KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi (14:01) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sano gegen Hirayanagi. 
5. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [2] besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [4] (14:42) nach dem Santa Maria von Ricky gegen Kajiwara. 
6. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [6] besiegen Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [4] (17:42) nach dem Assault Point von Aoki gegen Kotoge. 
4. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Yoshinari Ogawa besiegen Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone (23:02) nach dem Glo Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Yone. 


- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Kenou & Kenbai [4] 
-. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4] 
-. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [4] 
4. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] 
-. Jack Evans & Aero Star [2] 

Block B: 
1. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [6] 
2. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [4] 
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [4] 
4. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [2] 
-. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [2]

credit purolove


----------



## Fighter Daron

NOAH: Great Voyage in Tokyo Vol.2: 08/05/11

1. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara Vs Atsushi Aoki V Taiji Ishimori & Mikey Nicholls: In the Opener, the Juniors offered a very good show, though the crowd was quiet the whole match. Nakajima shouldn't be here as I think he's one of the best Juniors in Japan. On the other hand, I think Kento could be a good Heavie in the near future.***

2. Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga Vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue: Taue was the only wrestler on the ring I saw before, but I had never heard about Shiga, the match was basically a Comedy Match, nothing odd, I don't think these wrestlers could do anything else, but it wasn't a bad match at all.**

3. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita Vs Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie: Very good match, though I felt it as a little short. I hadn't seen Yoshie before and I was looking forward to it, but when I saw him, I was disappointed , I expected another type of Superheavyweight, not an enormous ball. Morishima was great, he stole the show, but it's logic.***1/4

4. Go Shiozaki Vs Shuhei Taniguchi: This was a heck of a match, I've never seen Taniguchi before and he impressed me well. I didn't expect the match to be that longer, nearly twenty minutes because it was down the card, but they made it epic, Go was incredible out there and I hope Shuhei continues to evolve. I give them a S because it's a match that I'd recommend to watch and despite of being that long, it wasn't boring anytime and had lots of exchanges and Fast Pace, but everything under control.**** S

5. Mohammed Yone Vs Genba Hirayanagi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & KENTA: The storyline is Yone fighting against the three No Mercy members one after another. The first one is Genba that fought with his tricks and all of this stuff that bores me. After him, Kanemaru comes in and shows a lot more than his partner and he even reached to brainbuster Yone three times in a row, real shocking. And finally, after his two stablemates, KENTER ENTERs~~~ into the match, with his new looks that I prefer so much compared to his oldies. That was the fight everyone(including me) wanted to see, a good exchange of slaps, but Yone was not at 100% and it was notified. In a whole, a very good match, but Genba failed to impress me and Kanemaru had no reaction at all. ***1/4

6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kotaro Suzuki Vs Ricky Marvin: Like in every defence made by Kotaro, this match was too longer but good. And there wasn't any selling at all, despite of the fact that Ricky was targeting the leg of Suzuki for a while, good final sequence and nothing more.***1/2

7. GHC Tag Team Championship: Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano Vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito: Very good tag team bout, but a twenty-minute match and the fact that everyone in the ring were over fourty years old was not a good mix at all. Moreover, the guy in the best shape(Akiyama) was the one who had less offence in the match. That's it, a good match but it could have been better without that long timing and with Akiyama more active.***1/2

8. GHC Heavyweight Championship: Takashi Sugiura Vs Minoru Suzuki: Only listening Kaze Ni Nare, I know this'll be a heck of a bout. Sugi started strong dropping MiSu with a bunch of big boots, but Suzuki caught him in one and began to target Sugi's legs. Well, in the end, the leg work(though Sugi sold it quite good) wasn't important when it all converged in a really nasty exchange of legit punches , real brutal. Maybe the finish was out of time, but, still a great match, like every single defence Sugiura has made this year and a half, what a man.****1/4 C


That was a very good show, but I expected more from the two last matches. Anyway, I saw a great match by Go and Shuhei, that recomforts me.


----------



## Kapik1337

Danshoku Dino vs. Bob Sapp was one of the funniest matches I've ever seen. Any idea how much did DDT pay to Bob Sapp to get embarrassed like that?


----------



## smitlick

NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 28.07.2011 
Hive Nagaoka 
800 Fans 

1. Mohammed Yone & Shuhei Taniguchi besiegen Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin (7:01) nach einem Muscle Buster von Yone gegen Rocky. 
2. Kensuke Sasaki besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (3:44) mit dem Strangle Hold Gamma. 
3. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Takuma Sano & Yoshinari Ogawa (10:22) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Ogawa. 
4. Go Shiozaki, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue (14:41) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Inoue. 
5. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Jack Evans & Aero Star [4] besiegen Kenou & Kenbai [4] (12:16) nach einem Diving Rolling Senton von Star gegen Kenbai. 
6. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Eddie Edwards & Delirious [4] besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [4] (15:03) nach dem Bizzaro Driver von Delirious gegen Kajiwara. 
7. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6] besiegen Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [4] (20:20) nach dem Touch Out von Kanemaru gegen Sabre. 


- NTV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Standings 

Block A: 
1. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6] 
2. Kenou & Kenbai [4] 
-. Jack Evans & Aero Star [4] 
-. Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. [4] 
5. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Osamu Namiguchi [2] 

Block B: 
1. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki [6] 
2. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara [4] 
-. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada [4] 
-. Eddie Edwards & Delirious [4] 
5. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin [2] 

- 

NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH ANNIVERSARY", 06.08.2011 
Tokyo Differ Ariake 

1. Kenta Kobashi & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone 
2. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Jun Akiyama



NJPW/Yuji Nagata Produce "BLUE JUSTICE.3", 30.08.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi 
2. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask 
3. Hideo Saito vs. King Fale 
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma 
5. Togi Makabe & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi 
6. Tama Tonga Return Match: Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii 
7. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Jun Akiyama vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano



ZERO1 "MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL ~ FIRE FESTIVAL 2011", 28.07.2011 
Tsukuba Kapio 

1. Munenori Sawa besiegt Yoshikazu Yokoyama (10:00) mit einem Octopus Hold. 
2. Kenta Kakinuma besiegt Russo Primo (10:00) mit einem German Suplex Hold. 
3. Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE besiegen Ikuto Hidaka & Daichi Hashimoto (16:02) nach einem Piledriver von Sato gegen Hashimoto. 
4. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka [4] besiegt Ryouji Sai [0] (16:19) mit dem Sliding D. 
5. Fire Festival - Block A: Akebono [2] besiegt besiegt [2] (16:31) mit einer Body Press. 
Shito Ueda 

- Fire Festival Standings 

Block A: 
1. Akebono [2] 
-. Kohei Sato [2] 
3. Shinjiro Otani [2] 
4. Zeus [0] 
-. Kenta Kakinuma [0] 

Block B: 
1. Masato Tanaka [4] 
2. Daisuke Sekimoto [2] 
3. Ryouji Sai [0] 
-. Fujita "Jr." Hayato [0] 
-. Atsushi Sawada [0]



NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 30.07.2011 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Genba Hirayanagi vs. Osamu Namiguchi 
2. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin vs. Jack Evans & Aero Star 
3. Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Masao Inoue & Delirious 
4. Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Eddie Edwards 
5. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara 
6. Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Special Eight Man Tag Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Satoshi Kajiwara, Kenou & Kenbai vs. Atsushi Kotoge , Daisuke Harada , Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. 
7. GHC Heavyweight Title Match Skirmish: Go Shiozaki, Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano 
8. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Final: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Satoru Asako vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue & Tamon Honda (06/30/1995*
I just watched all the footage of the match I could find. It only contains the last 14 minutes, so I can only rate on that. It's one of the best six man tag team matches I've seen. If anyone can point me in the direct of a more complete video, please do. *******


----------



## McQueen

Did you try The Ditch? I've seen that match and I think he has the whole thing, but I could be wrong.


----------



## Cactus

The Ditch? Never heard of him. Is he a member here?

This is the copy I have: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOGbYEajX5o


----------



## antoniomare007

type "theditch" on google....you are gonna have fun.


----------



## McQueen

Nah its a website. Its still pretty amazing even after he had to take down his WWE/WCW/ROH etc section.


----------



## LariatSavage

Fighter Daron said:


> This has to be so overrated, four or five matches with four stars, if this is right, is the show of the year, I gotta watch it.


I guess it just depends on your criteria, but I'd say each one of those bouts is entertaining from start to finish. 

Michinoku Pro 6/5: Dick Togo's Final Match Review


----------



## Violent By Design

hey guys, I'm kinda interested in looking up somethings in the Kawada vs Akira Taue feud. Does anyone have a link to the match where they finally settled their score? Also, are any of their bouts worth watching aside from their infamous trios matches?


----------



## Cactus

antoniomare007 said:


> type "theditch" on google....you are gonna have fun.


Oooooh. Thanks.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (06/09/1995)*

When I downloaded this match and saw the length of the video was 50 minutes. I thought 'Fuck, I can't keep my attention on one match for that long,' and truth be told, I usually can't. ADD is a bitch. I tend to get bored and browse this website or something while the match is playing. But when I watched this, it was different.

The phenomenal storytelling kept my attention for the next 50 minutes, as well as some of the coolest spots I've seen in strong-style puro. As we get started, we get that strong strike tease as we do in any epic puro match. You know. One of the wrestlers attempts their big striking move early in the match and the other guy either blocks it or dodge it and they reach a stalemate. Taue goes for a flying big boot and Kobashi swats him away. Ooooh. I don't know why I love that. It just creates so much tension and atmosphere. 

Another factor in the match is Kawada's assholishness. In the first ten minutes, he's booted both Kobashi and Misawa from the apron when they weren't even tagged in. The fans and both Misawa and Kobashi are pissed now. Misawa gets him back when he delivers a killer elbow shot that sends Kawada flying of the apron into the railings. Heh. He had it coming.

The main reason everyone loves this match is Kobashi's performance. His knee problems are no secret to anyone. When a simple kick sends Kobashi to the floor, Kawada and Taue devise their strategy to tear his leg to shit. Kobashi takes some nasty shots and submissions to his knees and he makes you wonder if he is actually hurt.

In the last 10-15 minutes of the match, Kobashi is barely walking. He tries to save Misawa from a beating by protecting him and it's just brilliant storytelling. The best I've seen in a pro-wrestling match. The later parts of this match are just carnage.

This is the best match I've ever seen, puro or not. I'd advise any fan to watch this work of art. Some may argue that rating is a tad silly, but it's almost insulting to give this match 5 stars. It's just that much better than matches like Steve Austin vs Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker. No offense to those classics, but this blows them all out of the water. Hey, if Dave Meltzer can give six stars, I don't see why I can't.

*RATING: *******

_Hey guys, can I get some feedback on these reviews? _


----------



## smitlick

NOAH "5TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE", 30.07.2011 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
2,100 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Genba Hirayanagi besiegt Osamu Namiguchi (5:39) mit dem Shoryu Genba. 
2. Ricky Marvin & Rocky Marvin besiegen Jack Evans & Aero Star (12:12) nach einem La Magistral von Rocky gegen Evans. 
3. Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa besiegen Masao Inoue & Delirious (12:23) nach einem Jackknife Hold von Ogawa gegen Inoue. 
4. Eddie Edwards besiegt Tatsuhito Takaiwa (12:39) mit dem Die Hard. 
5. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone besiegen Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara (14:26) nach einem Muscle Buster von Yone gegen Miyahara. 
6. Jr. Heavyweight Tag League Special Eight Man Tag Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Satoshi Kajiwara, Kenou & Kenbai besiegen Atsushi Kotoge , Daisuke Harada , Taishi Takizawa & Zack Sabre Jr. (16:13) als Nakajima Sabre nach einem Union Face Crusher pinnte. 
7. GHC Heavyweight Title Match Skirmish: Go Shiozaki, Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi besiegen Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano (19:11) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Saito. 
8. NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Final: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki besiegen KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (30:03) nach dem Assault Point von Aoki gegen Kanemaru. 


- Outstanding Performance Prize: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara 
- Fighting Spirit Prize: Eddie Edwards & Delirious 
- Technique Prize: Jack Evans & Aero Star



All Japan “2011 SUMMER ACTION SERIES”, 7/31/2011 (Sun) 16:00 @ Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya
3250 Spectators

(1) Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. Soshun
Winner: Soshun (6:16) with the (tenhojiretsu/天崩地裂).
(2) Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. Manabu Soya & BUSHI
Winner: Kondo (12:15) via pinfall on BUSHI.
(3) Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Joe Doering & Rene Dupree
Winner: Akebono (5:56) with a Body Press on Dupree.
(4) Masakatsu Funaki & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Minoru Suzuki & MAZADA
Winner: Yamato (13:51) with a Cross Arm German Suplex Hold on MAZADA.
(5) World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] KAI vs. Minoru
~ First Defense for KAI.
Winner: KAI (24:25) with the Splash Plancha.
(6) World Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] Great Muta & KENSO vs. Taiyo Kea & Takao Omori
~ First Defense for Muta/KENSO.
Winner: KENSO (16:17) following the Double Knee Drop on Omori.
(7) Triple Crown Championship Match: [Champion] Suwama vs. Seiya Sanada
~ Fifth Defense for Suwama.
Winner: Suwama (28:00) following the Last Ride.



ZERO1 “FIRE FESTIVAL 2011″, 7/31/2011 (Sun) 18:00 @ Osaka Sekaikan

(1) Shinsuke “Jet” Wakataka & Shito Ueda vs. Kenta Kakinuma & Rikiya Fudo
Winner: Kakinuma (11:06) with a German Suplex Hold on Ueda.
(2) Magnitude Kishiwada & Mineo Fujita vs. Fujita “Jr” Hayato & Yusaku Obata
Winner: Kishiwada (10:53) following the Last Ride to Obata.
(3) Masato Tanaka & Daichi Hashimoto vs. KAMIKAZE & Ikuto Hidaka
Winner: KAMIKAZE (16:16) with a Moonsault Press on Daichi.
(4) Fire Festival Block B: Ryouji Sai vs. Atsushi Sawada
Winner: Sai (13:25) with the Nachi Waterfall.
(5) Fire Festival Block A: Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Kohei Sato
Winner: Sato (13:00) with a Dragon Suplex Hold.

~ A Block ~
~ Akebono [2 Wins = 4 Points]
~ Sato [2 Wins = 4 Points]
~ Ohtani [1 Win, 2 Losses = 2 Points]
~ Zeus [1 Loss = 0 Points]
~ Kakinuma [2 Losses = O Points]

~ B Block ~
~ Tanaka [2 Wins = 4 Points]
~ Sekimoto [1 Win = 2 Points]
~ Sai [1 Win, 1 Loss = 2 Points]
~ Sawada [2 Losses = 0 Points]
~ Hayato [1 Loss = 0 Points]


----------



## smitlick

NOAH "PRO-WRESTLING NOAH ANNIVERSARY", 06.08.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Differ Ariake 

1. Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
2. Akira Taue & Kentaro Shiga vs. Masao Inoue & Ricky Marvin 
3. Takuma Sano vs. Ryuji Hijikata 
4. Takeshi Morishima vs. Akitoshi Saito 
5. Kenta Kobashi & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone 
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Skirmish: Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi 
7. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Jun Akiyama 

ZERO1 "MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL ~ FIRE FESTIVAL 2011", 01.08.2011 
Zepp Nagoya 

1. Shito Ueda besiegt Yoshikazu Yokoyama (7:00) mit einer Lariat. 
2. Ikuto Hidaka & Mineo Fujita besiegen Russo Primo & Yusuke Obata (10:37) nach einem Solarina von Hidaka gegen Primo. 
3. KAMIKAZE & Kenta Kakinuma besiegen Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto (15:16) nach einem Devil Windmill Suplex Hold von Kakinuma gegen Hashimoto. 
4. Fire Festival - Block B: Fujita "Jr." Hayato [2] besiegt Masato Tanaka [4] (12:41) mit dem K.I.D Clutch. 
5. Fire Festival - Block A: Kohei Sato [5] vs. Zeus [1] - Double Countout (12:52). 
6. Fire Festival - Block B: Daisuke Sekimoto [4] besiegt Ryouji Sai [2] (18:41) mit einem German Suplex Hold. 


- Fire Festival Standings 

Block A: 
1. Kohei Sato [5] 
2. Akebono [4] 
3. Shinjiro Otani [2] 
4. Zeus [1] 
5. Kenta Kakinuma [0] 

Block B: 
1. Masato Tanaka [4] 
-. Daisuke Sekimoto [4] 
3. Ryouji Sai [2] 
-. Fujita "Jr." Hayato [2] 
5. Atsushi Sawada [0]

BJW, 20.08.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Daikokubo Benkei & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Mototsugu Shimizu & Jun Ogawauchi 
2. Ryuji Ito, Shadow WX & Yuji Okabayashi vs. MASADA, Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba 
3. Daisuke Sekimoto, Ryuichi Kawakami & Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Bad Bones, Shinya Ishikawa & Robert Dreissker 
4. Yoshihito Sasaki & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Shinobu & Masashi Otani 
5. 3 Way Match: Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka vs. Jun Kasai & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa vs. Brahman Shu & Takeshi Minamino 
6. BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title Contendership, Fluorescent Lighttubes & Kenzan Dogfight Death Match: Takashi Sasaki vs. Abdullah Kobayashi

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX XXI ~THE INVINCIBLE FIGHTER~", 01.08.2011 (WPW/PPV) 
Fukuoka International Center 
4,500 Fans 

1. G1 Climax - Block B: La Sombra [2] besiegt Wataru Inoue [0] (8:41) mit einem Swan Dive Firebird Splash. 
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard [2] besiegt Hideo Saito [0] (9:47) mit dem Bernard Driver. 
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yoshihiro Takayama [2] besiegt Toru Yano [0] (6:29) mit einem Everest German Suplex Hold. 
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto [2] besiegt Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] (10:37) mit dem Goto-Shiki. 
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) besiegt Ryusuke Taguchi (16:10) mit einem Phoenix Splash (2nd defense). 
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi [2] besiegt Tetsuya Naito [0] (10:52) mit dem Tokyo Pimps. 
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Lance Archer [2] besiegt Togi Makabe [0] (8:18) mit dem Final Days. 
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima [2] besiegt Minoru Suzuki (12:40) mit einer Lariat. 
9. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP [2] besiegt Shinsuke Nakamura [0] (12:02) mit dem Irreversible Crisis. 
10. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [2] besiegt Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] (18:19) mit einem Backdrop Hold. 


- New Japan gab für den 10.10. die jährliche "DESTRUCTION" Show in der Sumo Hall bekannt. Als Gastwrestler der CMLL wird Último Guerrero mit von der Partie sein! 
- Für sein Match gegen Giant Bernard hat Hideo Saito seinen neuen Look abgelegt und tritt wieder in schwarzen Young Lion Shorts an. 


- G1 Climax Standings 

Block A: 
1. Yuji Nagata [2] 
-. Giant Bernard [2] 
-. Yujiro Takahashi [2] 
-. Yoshihiro Takayama [2] 
-. Lance Archer [2] 
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] 
-. Togi Makabe [0] 
-. Tetsuya Naito [0] 
-. Toru Yano [0] 
-. Hideo Saito [0] 

Block B: 
1. Hirooki Goto [2] 
-. MVP [2] 
-. Satoshi Kojima [2] 
-. La Sombra [2] 
5. Karl Anderson 
-. Strong Man 
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] 
-. Wataru Inoue [0] 
-. Shinsuke Nakamura [0] 
-. Minoru Suzuki [0] 


NOAH "THE WEEKDAY NAVIGATION 2011 IN KORAKUEN", 24.08.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Ricky Marvin vs. Satoshi Kajiwara 
2. Taiji Ishimori vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 
3. Akitoshi Saito vs. Takuma Sano 
4. Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga vs. Akira Taue, Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue 
5. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi 
6. Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara 
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) vs. KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru


NJPW, 02.08.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Fukuoka International Center 
4,500 Fans 

1. G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson [2] besiegt La Sombra [2] (7:49) mit dem Gun Stun. 
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Lance Archer [4] besiegt Hideo Saito [0] (6:42) mit dem Final Days. 
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue [2] besiegt Strong Man [0] (7:00) mit dem Spear of Justice. 
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Giant Bernard [4] besiegt Yujiro Takahashi [2] (8:58) mit dem Bernard Driver. 
5. Hirooki Goto, Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi besiegen Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo (9:51) mit dem Shouten Kai von Goto gegen Ishii. 
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [4] besiegt Tetsuya Naito [0] (13:11) mit einem Backdrop Hold. 
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Minoru Suzuki [2] besiegt MVP [2] (12:03) durch Referee Stop. 
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe [2] besiegt Toru Yano [0] (10:54) mit einem King Kong Kneedrop. 
9. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [2] besiegt Satoshi Kojima [2] (15:05) mit dem Boma Ye. 
10. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] besiegt Yoshihiro Takayama [2] (11:57) mit dem High Fly Flow. 


- G1 Climax Standings 

Block A: 
1. Yuji Nagata [4] 
-. Giant Bernard [4] 
-. Lance Archer [4] 
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] 
-. Yujiro Takahashi [2] 
-. Yoshihiro Takayama [2] 
-. Togi Makabe [2] 
8. Tetsuya Naito [0] 
-. Toru Yano [0] 
-. Hideo Saito [0] 

Block B: 
1. Hirooki Goto [2] 
-. Karl Anderson [2] 
3. Shinsuke Nakamura [2] 
-. MVP [2] 
-. Wataru Inoue [2] 
-. Satoshi Kojima [2] 
-. Minoru Suzuki [2] 
-. La Sombra [2] 
9. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] 
-. Strong Man [0]


----------



## Fighter Daron

ZERO1, 03.08.2011
Niigata Bandai City

1. Munenori Sawa BattlARTS & Kenta Kakinuma besiegen Mineo Fujita & Yoshikazu Yokoyama (12:18) nach einem Octopus Hold von Sawa gegen Yokoyama.
2. Masato Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka besiegen KAMIKAZE & Nick Primo (16:02) nach dem Hida Catch Alpha von Hidaka gegen Primo.
3. *Fire Festival - Block B:* Daisuke Sekimoto Big Japan [5] vs. Atsushi Sawada IGF [1] - Double Countout (9:50).
4. *Fire Festival - Block B:* Ryouji Sai [4] besiegt Fujita "Jr." Hayato Michinoku Pro [2] (14:42) mit dem Sidmouth.
5. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto besiegen Kohei Sato & Shito Ueda (18:29) nach einem Dragon Suplex Hold von Otani gegen Ueda.
6. *Fire Festival - Block A:* Akebono [6] besiegt Zeus Osaka Pro [1] (5:52) mit einer Dai Nikudan Press.


----------



## seabs

Cactus Clothesline said:


> *AJPW: Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (06/09/1995)*


*Greatest match ever for me beyond any shadow of doubt.

Also now that RUDOS are releasing televised shows within a day or two after they've aired people posting results might want to spoiler tag them as more people try to avoid results as it's more realistic before they see the show. At least do it for the big shows and tournaments like G1 which a lot of people try to go spoiler free for.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

G1 on spoiler free is the best thing an actual wrestling fan can do.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Yuki Ishikawa v Carl Greco, BattlARTS 06/09/2008*

This is not just one of the best demonstrations of shoot style wrestling of the past decade, but quite honestly one of the best matches I have ever seen and deserving of the word 'classic'.

The matwork in this is absolutely sublime and not your standard Ishikawa BattlARTS match. Ishikawa has more of a puro shoot style of matwork whereas Greco operates more of an MMA approach in getting takedowns and submissions from a dominant position and naturally it creates quite the battle between both with some painful submissions mixed in with gritty matwork that would please Finlay and Regal to no end.

The rope breaks for each man are timed superbly throughout the match, each one comes at just the right time after a submission is applied and helps the natural flow of the match. Ishikawa in particular really sells the damage well throughout the match, his facial expressions on a few submissions are really classy and he looks a man spent of energy in the closing moments which really adds to the drama in which Maestro can score the deciding submission.

Up until 10 minutes of this match, it has been sublime matwork and drama between two sensational wrestlers, whilst extraordinary you could list many of the great things about this match in numerous PWFG, UWF, RINGS and BattlARTS matches. What truly sets this match apart from numerous others in creating unprecedented drama is the closing 4 minutes:

Both men are a spent force with both having just scored close victories. This match has had an amazing vibe of two maestros dueling it out to prove who is the better man and just when the finish appears to be over, both men back away to the ropes and voluntarily give up their final rope break before circling back to the centre.

From here the exchanges are breathtaking, there will be no additional rope breaks now and as both men take to the mat to duel it out for the final time its clear 1 mistake will cost 1 opponent the match. I won't spoil the finish but will only say it has one of the greatest finishing stretches of all time and a spectacular closing submission.

A true classic of shoot style wrestling right up there with Volk Han vs Tamura, Tamura vs Kohsuka, Sano vs Shamrock & Fujiwara vs Maeda.

*******


----------



## smitlick

How the fuck do you post Spoiler tags here?


----------



## Corey

[*spoiler][*/spoiler]

Just remove my stars.


----------



## seabs

*WRONG!

[*spoiler=spoiler][/spoiler]

and then remove the **


----------



## Corey

Hahaha. My bad.


----------



## BJ_Lock

Hey guys, I'm a new puro fan. Can anyone give a list of like 10-15 essential viewing matches? I've seen some old stuff from Misawa and Kobashi and liked what I saw. Thanks in advance.


----------



## antoniomare007

There's literally hundreds of matches that we could recommend . I don't think you necessarily need to watch all time classics to get into puro, but if you are looking for the best...check this thread http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other-wrestling/564475-your-5-star-match-lists.html


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Shinya Hashimoto vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara, NJPW, IWGP Heavyweight Championship, 06/01/1994*

Fujiwara may very well be my favourite wrestler of all time, and Hashimoto himself is excellent so right from the get go I was expecting a really really great match and unlike Kawada vs Fujiwara  this delivered all the greatness I expected and more. This is paced very differently from your AJPW classics from around this time, there's plenty of action mixed with periods of lulls where both men jockey for position. Fujiwara has the reputation of being the most lethal man in wrestling history on the mat or on his feet so I dug how both men were nervous and careful when locking up, it played out like Hashimoto respecting Fujiwara may have his number and both men strategising for a limb to target.

No sooner has the match started and Fujiwara takes Hash down with ease into a Fujiwara armbar, straight away he's established his dominance and this sequence sets out the rest of the match pacing. Hash really sells the armbar well on the next lock up, he hangs his left arm backwards and goes in one handed nervous about the armbar and it really puts over the struggle both men are in as well as making the last sequence mean something. Hash soon uses his kicks and puts Fujiwara's taped up right leg in the corner and then points to his injured shoulder and now you know it's on!! Fujiwara has some of the best facials in history (not that doesn't sound gay) and his selling of this spot is tremendous.

The other operating story in this is Fujiwara on defence. Throughout he tries to catch Hashimoto's kicks and turn into a submission and there's one sweet spot where he catches a loose kick and takes Hash down into a cross arm breaker. What Fujiwara does so well though is gradually piss off Hash more and more, he chokes him in the corner, slaps the taste out of his mouth before a lock up, avoids a spin kick from Hash and does the fucking GREATEST DANCE in the corner afterwards :lmao :lmao. You can see Hashimoto is getting pretty fucked off with all of this and keeps going for the kicks and Fujiwara takes enough kicks to let you know he's not got them all scouted but occasionally manages to block one kick and regain the advantage. People often call him the greatest defensive seller and this match is a good illustration, you can just see him trying to antagonise Hashimoto into a mistake and it pays off towards the end with Hash motioning Fujiwara to get in the cente of the ring. Also dug Fujiwara using a sick headbutt to lock in another armbar attempt which again Hash tries to fight like death.

The finish is particularly magnificent. Hash manages to lock in the DDT but Fujiwara attempts a couple of counters before ultimately falling to the knees to the gut and then takes a horrific bump on the DDT (I think its in a youtube video entitled 'Shinya Hashimoto hates your neck'. This DDT is good enough to win by pinfall or TKO but the crowd wills Fujiwara on (its his one and only ever IWGP championship match despite being one of the first NJPW graduates) to keep fighting. Hash unloads with a variety of kicks before hitting a second sick DDT for the win.

A match so simple in its execution but equally magnificent. Each exchange is treated like an incredible struggle and Fujiwara is magnificent in setting out the story of being in control and trying to force Hashimoto into a game of human chess. Terrific stuff.

Don't expect to love this as much as I do.

*****-****1/4*.


----------



## D'Angelo

Fujiwara is awesome. Just reading that makes me want to go watch one of his matches. Quickly rising up to my Japanese GOAT.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

"Hashimoto is all like 'I'm gonna kick your ass' and Regal's all like 'hahaha GTFO with that bullshit'"


*Shinya Hashimoto vs Steven Regal, NJPW, IWGP Heavyweight Championship 16/04/1995*

Man alive was Regal amazing here, I've heard people call this his best match and whilst I may just have the Finlay Uncensored 1996 match a little higher this to me is unquestionably Regal's career best performance.

Regal gives Hashimoto without doubt the biggest ass kicking I've ever seen Hash receive in a match not with Tenryu. Regal breaks Hash's nose with what appears to be a forearm in the opening lock up exchange and follows that up with a stiff as hell palm slap to the nose later on. Regal is just a machine with some lovely counters for Hash's offence, particularly the spot where he steps on the inside of Hash's knee and slips out of a hammerlock, he legit looks 'Best In the World' material here. He's just an unmerciful prick with the abuse on the broken nose, particularly enjoyed the spot where Hash attempts a kimura and Regal hammers the nose with his forearm and then boots Hash IN THE FUCKING EYE as he gets off the mat.

Eventually Hash stars to get control and Regal bumps like a madman for some of Hash's kicks and slaps. He really doesn't get enough love as a bumper and there's this one awesome spot where Hash spin kicks the hell out of Regal and he launches himself into the corner like he's Ziggler. Hash then lands some horrifying overhand chops that look to catch Regal straight on the nose, its not for the faint hearted this match at all. Throughout the match Hash grows more and more pissed off with Regal's behaviour and punishment of his broken nose and there's a real 'mano a mano' struggle with each lock up. Special mention to some of the uppercuts Regal throws in this match, a thing of friggin beauty.

Finish is particularly great, Hash finally gets a run of offence and after Regal valiantly attempts a counter to the DDT he finally hits in and Regal bumps like an absolute champ for it. Hash will not be done with Regal just yet though and locks in a cross armbreaker for the win.

Amazing match highlighted by some incredible stiffness from both men, Regal being allowed to amaze the New Japan crowd by destroying their top star and Hashimoto really putting over Regal as a legit threat to the belt. Post match sees Regal attempt a handshake only to cheapshot Hash again :lmao :lmao. I fucking love heel Regal.

*****1/2*


----------



## seabs

*All Together card announced.*



> *1. ALL TOGETHER Opening Match SUNRISE OF J:* Kota Ibushi , Taiji Ishimori , Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI vs. Tiger Mask , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin
> 
> *2. FIGHTING FOR FUTURE:* Tetsuya Naito , Shuhei Taniguchi & Seiya Sanada vs. Mohammad Yone , Yujiro Takahashi & Manabu Soya
> 
> *3. OVER THE BORDER:* Togi Makabe & Akitoshi Saito vs. Hirooki Goto & Taiyo Kea
> 
> *4. JUNIOR ONE NIGHT CARNIVAL:* Prince Devitt , Ryusuke Taguchi , Kotaro Suzuki , Katsuhiko Nakajima & KAI vs. Koji Kanemoto , KENTA , Yoshinobu Kanemaru , Minoru & Genba Hirayanagi
> 
> *5. ONE NIGHT REUNION:* Masakatsu Funaki, Takuma Sano & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taichi
> 
> *6. Destroyer Cup - ALL TOGETHER Special Battle Royal:* Hideo Saito , Tomohiro Ishii , Gedo , Takaaki Watanabe , Hiromu Takahashi , KUSHIDA , Tomoaki Honma , Wataru Inoue , Super Strong Machine , Jun Nishikawa , Satoshi Kajiwara , Kento Miyahara , Che-Gyong Lee , Takumi Soya , Soshun , Yasufumi Nakanoue , MAZADA, Masanobu Fuchi , René Duprée , Joe Doering , Zack Sabre Jr., Masao Inoue , Yoshinari Ogawa , Akira Taue
> 
> *7. MIDSUMMER ENCOUNTER IN BUDOKAN:* Yuji Nagata , Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Takeshi Morishima , Akebono , Yutaka Yoshie & Ryota Hama
> 
> *8. NO FEAR! GO AHEAD!!:* Kensuke Sasaki & Jun Akiyama vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori
> 
> *9. BELIEVE THE POWER OF Prowrestling!:* Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto vs. Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano
> 
> *10. ALL TOGETHER NOW!:* Hiroshi Tanahashi , Go Shiozaki & Suwama vs. Shinsuke Nakamura , Takashi Sugiura & KENSO


*Wasn't expecting it to be a collection of dream matches but I expected better than that. I understand why KENSO, Yano & Iizuka are in the top 2 matches but seriously fuck that.*


----------



## seancarleton77

What the fuck is wrong with them randomly throwing in KENSO, Iizuka and Yano. Well, at least it is for charity. Hopefully it draws.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

So...many...multiman...matches... 

I won't be expecting any MOTYC tbh and I even wonder what their attendance is going to be like (its in Budokan Hall so I don't know the capacity), however seeing Kobashi and Muto together will be nice nostalgic trip (to me). You know I got to actually admit that I am a little surprised that ZERO-1 isn't participating in this event (My friend bought that up to me); I don't know where they rank on the Puroresu pecking order but I do enjoy their product. Pardon me for being dumb but what is wrong with Iizuka?

I wonder what the IGF card is going to look like (If Inoki didn't cancel it).


----------



## Derek

At least we know who is taking the falls in the final 2 matches.


----------



## antoniomare007

I was expecting multi-man matches but that card is horrible. I hope it draws but they didn't make any effort to gain attention with those matches. At least in the 70's they had Inoki and Baba tagging for the first time since the JWA split and in 95' they had 13 different promotions having different type of matches.

Wasting Kobashi & Mutoh with Toru fucking Yano is just fpalm



Matt_Yoda said:


> You know I got to actually admit that I am a little surprised that ZERO-1 isn't participating in this event (My friend bought that up to me); I don't know where they rank on the Puroresu pecking order but I do enjoy their product.


I think Tokyo Sports, the main sponsor of the show, idea was to recreate the supershow they did in the 70's when they were able to book a joint event with the 3 mayor puro companies at the time (New Japan, All Japan and IWE) at the Budokan. Now, Dragon Gate is the most successful company at the moment but it is not viewed as "traditional puroresu" and normally gets the cold shoulder from the media so my guess is that's why the weren't invited. 

Zero-One at this point would be like the n°6 promotion at the moment, behind NJ, Dragon Gate, NOAH, AJ and DDT.


----------



## McQueen

> Takeshi Morishima , Akebono , Yutaka Yoshie & Ryota Hama


WTF is this? The fattest team ever assembled in Pro Wrestling?

Only match i'd really want to see is the NO FEAR vs Kenskay/Akiyama match, the Funaki/Sano/Liger vs Suzuki/jobbers match could be fun and maybe the Battle Royal just because its filled with people as random as 70 year old Fuchi to Zack Sabre Jr.


----------



## Fighter Daron

But, Dragon Gate draws more than NOAH and All Japan?


----------



## Martyn

Hirooki Goto and someone else should face Kobashi and Mutoh. What a waste of Kobashi...

Anyway, with that star power, they should've booked Tokyo Dome.


----------



## Derek

My theory on some of the strange choices on some of these matches (KENSO in main event, Kobashi/Mutoh vs Yano & Iizuka) is that somebody has to take the fall in these matches, and none of the companies want it to be somebody they've invested too heavily in. We weren't going to see Kobashi or Mutoh beat somebody like Tanahashi, Nakamura, or even Gotoh. If you're going to have your guys lose to somebody in another company in a show as heavily publicized as this, you're going to pick a guy that you don't really care about.

That being said, I fully expect Kobashi/Mutoh vs. Yano/Iizuka to be pretty bad. The main event should be fun, as long as KENSO doesn't drag it down too much. And the match of Nagata, Kojima, Tenzan, and Nishimura vs. BIGGEST TEAM EVAR looks like it could be really fun.


----------



## seabs

*KENSO obviously in there to take the fall. Not like AJ had a huge choice of heavyweights to put in that spot anyway. Yano/Iizuka team is to draw some heat for one of the matches. The junior tags will probably be fun - each combo will do their thing for a few sequences before it breaks down into dives and finishers. Bad Intentions are probably the most noteable absentees I can find on the cards.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> Bad Intentions are probably the most noteable absentees I can find on the cards.[/I][/B]


GHC and IWGP Tag Team Champs and they're not in that show, it just doesn't make any sense.


----------



## antoniomare007

Derek said:


> My theory on some of the strange choices on some of these matches (KENSO in main event, Kobashi/Mutoh vs Yano & Iizuka) is that somebody has to take the fall in these matches, and none of the companies want it to be somebody they've invested too heavily in. We weren't going to see Kobashi or Mutoh beat somebody like Tanahashi, Nakamura, or even Gotoh. If you're going to have your guys lose to somebody in another company in a show as heavily publicized as this, you're going to pick a guy that you don't really care about.


what's frustating is that you could have something like Nakamura/Nagata vs Shiozaki/Akiyama match were Nakamura or Nagata pins Go, building up a GHC Title match...there's no reason for 3 promotions (2 of which are in really bad shape financially) that are working with each other not to take advantage of such a high profile show.

They don't have to book a 10 match "fanboy dream card" but they could at least try to capitalize mainstream attention that puro hasn't had in a decade.


----------



## leglock

KENSO has been feuding with Suwama. He also was Tanahashi's tag team partner before he left NJPW for WWE.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

antoniomare007 said:


> what's frustating is that you could have something like Nakamura/Nagata vs Shiozaki/Akiyama match were Nakamura or Nagata pins Go, building up a GHC Title match...there's no reason for 3 promotions (2 of which are in really bad shape financially) that are working with each other not to take advantage of such a high profile show.
> 
> They don't have to book a 10 match "fanboy dream card" but they could at least try to capitalize mainstream attention that puro hasn't had in a decade.


Quoted for Truth, I honestly feel that these promotions are not looking at what this event could do for them in the long run, business wise. This is a grand opportunity to put some buzz back into puroresu however the companies are treating this event like one big show (ala WK) and then back to the usual afterwards.


----------



## seabs

*Caught up n G1 all the way up to Day 5. Just throwing some stars out there for the best matches so far.

***1/2
MVP vs Nakamura - Day 1
Anderson vs Sombra - Day 2
Nagata vs Naito - Day 2
Makabe vs Yano - Day 2
Nakamura vs Kojima - Day 2
Sombra vs Strong Man - Day 3
MVP vs Inoue - Day 3
Bernard vs Archer - Day 3
Goto vs Kojima - Day 3
Goto vs Sombra - Day 4
Anderson vs Strong Man - Day 4
Nagata vs Takahashi - Day 4
Nakamura vs Inoue - Day 4
MiSu vs Tenzan - Day 4
Goto vs Anderson - Day 5
Tanahashi vs Makabe - Day 5

***3/4
Tanahashi vs Nagata - Day 1
MVP vs MiSu - Day 2
MiSu vs Anderson - Day 3
MiSu vs Sombra - Day 5

****
Kojima vs MiSu - Day 1
Kojima vs MVP - Day 5

****1/4
Nakamura vs Tenzan - Day 3

Block B has been on fire so far. Nakamura, MiSu, MVP and Kojima have all been tearing it up plus Anderson, Strong Man and Sombra have been having awesome undercard matches. Tanahashi is probably gonna be in the final from block A. Block B I see either Nakamura or MiSu and one of them winning it.*


----------



## xzeppelinfootx

I just saw Smash 4 which is officially my first viewing of anything from the company. Wanted to know what everyone elses thought were on the company, hopefully from someone whos seen a bit more than myself.


----------



## seabs

purolove said:


> DDT/Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa Produce "FIGHT BEER GARDEN 2011", 11.08.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Shin-Kiba 1st RING
> 650 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Indy Tournament - Round 1: Kenny Omega besiegt Yoshietsuneo (1:28) mit dem Hadouken.
> - Best of the Super Indy Tournament - Round 2: Kenny Omega besiegt Kouchou (5:12) mit dem Croyth's Wrath.
> - Best of the Super Indy Tournament - Semi Final: Kenny Omega besiegt Miyako Matsumoto (2:54) mit einem Cradle.
> - Best of the Super Indy Tournament - Final: Kenny Omega besiegt Yukihiro Abe (5:33) mit dem Croyth's Wrath.
> 2. Michael Nakazawa Team DEEP Challenge: Jason Geiger & Isamu Sugiuchi besiegen Hikaru Sato & Michael "Judo King" Nakazawa nach einem Choke Sleeper von Sugiuchi gegen Nakazawa.
> 3. 3 Monkies Match: No Looking Monkey besiegt No Hearing Monkey & No Speaking Monkey (10:05) mit einem Octopus Hold gegen No Hearing Monkey.
> 4. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Michael Nakazawa besiegen Sexxxy Eddy, Sexy X & Sexy XXX (18:29) als Omega Sexy XXX nach dem Croyth's Wrath -> Union Jackknife Hold pinnte.


*DDT is amazing. No Looking Monkey vs No Speaking Monkey vs No Hearing Monkey sounds too amazing to behold. They've been doing wacky produce shows all week and there's an episode of Fantasia dedicated to them all so hopefully we'll see some of the Omega/Nakazawa wackyness. Oh and there's a Chamber Of Horrors match on today's produce show. The theme is wacky WCW parody shit. DDT <3*



purolove said:


> "INOKI GENOME ~SUPER STARS FESTIVAL 2011~", 27.08.2011
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. Tatsumi Fujinami 40th Anniversary Match 4th ~ Legend Superstars Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Mil Máscaras
> 2. Masahiro Chono vs. Yuichiro*Jienotsu*Nagashima
> 3. Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Peter Arts
> 4. IGF Title Tournament - Final: Josh Barnett vs. Jerome Le Banner
> 
> - Mit: Bob Sapp, Ray Sefo, Bobby Lashley, Baru Harn


*lol*


----------



## Derek

G1 XXI Final day results:



Spoiler



NJPW, 8/14/11 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
11,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Hideo Saito [2] beat Yuji Nagata [10] (4:29) with the Caribbean Death Grip.
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Giant Bernard [10] beat Toru Yano [10] (7:29) with the Bernard Driver.
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Lance Archer [8] beat Yoshihiro Takayama [10] (7:19) with the Dark Days.
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Yujiro Takahashi [6] beat Togi Makabe [10] (8:37) with the Tokyo Pimps.
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Tetsuya Naito [12] beat Hiroshi Tanahashi [12] (5:11) with the Polvo de Estrellas.
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Strong Man [4] beat Hirooki Goto [12] (7:27) with a Blockbuster.
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Karl Anderson [8] beat MVP [12] (8:30) with the Gun Stun.
8. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8] beat Satoshi Kojima [12] (14:10) with the TTD.
9. G1 Climax – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [14] beat Minoru Suzuki [12] (12:13) with the Boma Ye.
10. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) beat Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (15:01) when Devitt pinned Omega after the Black Sunday (6th defense).
11. G1 Climax – Final: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Tetsuya Naito (20:19) with the Boma Ye.


----------



## topper1

I question the sanity of the bookers when it comes to the results of match 6.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

It had to be Goto, it always have to be fucking Goto smh.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Can I get some help getting into some currrent Puro? I d/l'ed the first day of the G1 tournament earlier today and I'm watching that. Is that and NJPW worth sticking to watching or is NOAH, DG, AJPW better?


----------



## McQueen

Well unless you prefer the fast paced DragonGate style New Japan is the way to go these days.


----------



## smitlick

g1 is new japan


----------



## Derek

topper1 said:


> I question the sanity of the bookers when it comes to the results of match 6.


It had to be done so Goto wouldn't make the finals. That is the way they structure the end of the tourny recently.

Going into the final night there will be 6 or 7 guys in contention to make the finals and all but 2 will lose.


And if you are trying to get into current Puro, more specifically New Japan, then the G1 is a great place to start.


----------



## seancarleton77

Stick with New Japan. The G1 was exceptional and along with Money in the Bank & Summerslam the best thing going in wrestling in 2011.


----------



## bigbuxxx

are there links to d/l past G1s? i've looked around google and here but can't find any.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just watched my first NJPW event. G1 Climax XXI Day 1. 

I had thought about giving up after the first 4 matches as most were boring and I heard alot about La Sombra and he was a botch machine in the first match. 

I kept going because I knew Ibushi/Taguchi from elsewhere and they put on a good match I'd expect from them.

The second half of the tournament was very good. Takahashi/Naito was decent. Archer/Makabe was passable. Kojima/Suzuki i thought was good. i love suzuki's character and looking forward to seeing alot more of him. MVP/Nakamura I thought was a notch better than Kojima/Suzuki. 

Tanahashi/Nagata - Best match of the night and was pretty much expecting that seeing Tanahashi is champ. Nagata was a beast at the beginning and Tanahashi trying to go to the ground and Nagata's knees to get away from the striking Nagata was very good. I was surprised at the result because I didn't think the champ would lose his first match in the tourney. Very very good match.

Overall I thought it was good and I'm happy to have found it. Looking forward to Day 2 which I'm starting now...


----------



## 2ManyLimes!

I saw Sugiura-Sasaki not too long ago and enjoyed it a lot. I loved how stiff the match was. I just felt cheated by the double KO finish. I guess that finish explains why we never saw Sugiura-Sasaki back when The Suggernaut was champion. Kensuke probably refused to do the job. Too bad. Now that Sugiura is no longer champion and wouldn't be guaranteed to go over, that's probably why Kensuke and Sugiura are belatedly working together. Damn Kensuke and his inflated ego. He's a good wrestler, but he's kind of like the Triple H of Japan in terms of not putting enough guys over.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Got through Day 2 (which was much better than the first) and some of Day 3 and have a minor quibble. Day 2 was my first time seeing strongman and he faced inoue. when looking at the match up i said to myself "there is no way inoue will ever knock this guy down much less beat him". i was proven wrong in what i thought was a great big man/little man match. he got knocked down twice and beaten in a very convincing way.

On Day 3 La Sombra beat strongman and again i didn't think sombra could beat him. however this time the win was totally unconvincing. went back and forth a few times in the time that they had and i thought that showed how not to do a big man/little man match. i realize you shouldn't have the same match every time but in this case they should have just given SM the win over sombra or given him a different opponent this night.



> I saw Sugiura-Sasaki not too long ago and enjoyed it a lot.


will check this out. the only match i've seen from sasaki since his days in WCW was the one linked in the OP of this thread against kobashi that is rated best noah match ever. i thought it was pretty meh but w/e.


----------



## topper1

bigbuxxx said:


> will check this out. the only match i've seen from sasaki since his days in WCW was the one linked in the OP of this thread against kobashi that is rated best noah match ever. i thought it was pretty meh but w/e.


Don't be fooled most of the hardcore Puro lovers hate the match. The November tag that year between Kobashi and Sasaki is far better and likely the real best match that has ever happened in NOAH.


----------



## 2ManyLimes!

bigbuxxx said:


> the only match i've seen from sasaki since his days in WCW was the one linked in the OP of this thread against kobashi that is rated best noah match ever. i thought it was pretty meh but w/e.


Sasaki vs. Kobashi could have been a lot better than it was, but they decided to eat up 10 minutes chopping each other. That got really repetitive and uninteresting quickly. At most, they should have spent about 5 minutes in a chop exchange, tops, and that's being generous.

Another match I enjoyed a lot recently was Sugiura vs. Suzuki for all the stiff, legit punches that ended that one, and Sugiura-Takayama for similar reasons. For what it's worth, I really enjoyed Sugiura's run as champion, but I do wish he could have had better opponents to work with for that run instead of the likes of Trevor Murdoch of all people at times. He still had a lot of great matches as champion, though. Hopefully Shiozaki keeps up a similar run of good matches as GHC champion.

As for Sugiura, I'd say other matches you should check out, other than Sugiura/Sasaki and the other ones I mentioned, are these:

Sugiura/Goto
Sugiura/Morishima
Sugiura/Shiozaki (the match where Sugiura won the belt)


----------



## McQueen

Kobashi/Go vs Kenskay/Nakajima from 11/5/05 was better than the big singles bout. My favorite NOAH match was Kobashi vs BIG TAK from April (or was it May?) 2004 for the title.


----------



## bigbuxxx

2ManyLimes! said:


> I saw Sugiura-Sasaki not too long ago and enjoyed it a lot.


Just watched and thought it was better than the kobashi/sasaki match. it was enjoyable as you said. thanks for recommending. will check out others mentioned earlier. very much looking forward to misu/sugiura. got through day 4 of the G1 now and misu and his sidekick taichi are incredibly fun to watch.


----------



## Kapik1337

Kobashi vs Sasaki was the most epic chop exchange ever!


----------



## bigbuxxx

ceeee lo


----------



## 2ManyLimes!

bigbuxxx said:


> Just watched and thought it was better than the kobashi/sasaki match. it was enjoyable as you said. thanks for recommending. will check out others mentioned earlier. very much looking forward to misu/sugiura. got through day 4 of the G1 now and misu and his sidekick taichi are incredibly fun to watch.


Glad you enjoyed it. Watching Sugiura take all those chops REALLY makes me want to see Kobashi-Sugiura down the road. Hopefully they put the belt back on Sugiura for a transitional reign where he'd drop it to Kobashi or something of that nature in several years. I'd love to see that, just for the obligatory stretch where Sugiura slaps Kobashi in the face like Sugiura did to many opponents, only to see Kobashi start chopping the hell out of his chest. I think Kobashi-Sugiura could be an extremely fun match-up.


----------



## antoniomare007

Prince Devitt interview (taken from f4wonline):



> Credit to boards.ie who conducted the interview:
> 
> 
> *Is Japanese life still treating you well? Would you say you have adapted well to a completely different culture and are you happy enough to stay your entire career with Japan as your base?
> *
> Japan is treating me brilliant, as far as life goes out there I love it, I’m 100% settled, obviously i miss home if I’m there for long spells, but in general I’m very happy. It was a very different culture to adjust too but I’m probably more relaxed and at home over there now than I am in Ireland.
> For the moment I’m happy staying there, but you never know what will happen or how ill be feeling in a year or so…?
> *
> It was a question I asked you last year along the lines of what was the dojo like – Just to further that one – how many hours a day were you in there? And what was a typical day? Did it get easier after a while, or did the trainers continue ramping up the training? If you were to give advise to a young Irish guy who had just been accepted to start training in the dojo, what would it be?*
> 
> We would normally train for about 4 to 4 and a half hours a day Monday to Saturday. Like any sort of training, as your body adjusts to strain, you become accustomed to it. It’s doesn't become easier, its becomes normal through repetition - it becomes habit.
> 
> Obviously the trainers will change things up to keep it challenging and interesting, but at that point it’s not so much a physical test any more but a mental test to see who has the guts to carry on when others a folding around them. This is what is sometimes described as Japanese fighting spirit. Or in Irish terms, having the guts and the balls to carry on when your body is steaming at you to quit.
> *
> Since our last Q&A you have had, by anyone standards, a pretty incredible year, but is there one overall longterm goal you want to achieve in wrestling?*
> 
> I don't really set individual goals for myself, you get out exactly what you put in. So my aim is to keep working and training at the highest level i can and that will determine how i continue.
> *
> What is your schedule generally like? How many days a month do you wrestle; and how many days traveling?*
> 
> Well, I’m sure you can easily find the list of NJPW dates online so that will answer that question, i just turn up and do my job, traveling is part of it. Obviously I travel back and forth for Japan to Ireland a lot, it take about a day each way. And then there is traveling within Japan which is deceptively big, but again, im traveling around the world doing something I love so why would it bothers me.
> *
> To add to that, how do you spend your downtime?*
> 
> I get home for most of our downtime, normally about a week at the end of a 3-4 week tour. Im very easily pleased, I’ll go to the gym, have a dip in the sea, watch the football, catch up with my family and pals at home, a few beers here and there. I’ve gotten into hill walking recently too, it’s a nice break from the hustle of the big cities.
> *
> In Japan, are you seen as “Irish” or as you seen primarily as a “westerner”?*
> 
> I don't actually know. I would imagine at the start I was just another westerner, but I think by now most people know me as Irish.
> *
> Has there been any development in pro wrestling recently which has excited or disappointed you?*
> 
> Yes, EASY! What excited me is more people pay for tickets to NJPW shows this year. I was also happy to go to USA this year with NJPW, hopefully we will be doing more touring next year….
> *
> How do you feel about recognition such as making it so high up the list of this years PWI 500? Does stuff like that register and spur you on? Or is it more of a hindrance?*
> 
> I couldn't give a flying fiddlers **** about pwi 500. However if Nakamura and Tanahashi are not no.1 and no.2 then its surely rubbish. Let me tell you a little secret, no wrestler with half a clue goes out to the ring trying to impress magazine writers. We are going out to perform and entertain for the people that are spending their money for tickets to see us. The most important thing is that those fans go home happy, and if by some sheer chance you happen to impress a magazine writer too then thats a bonus.
> *
> How much are wrestlers "fans" of wrestling themselves? Do you watch much wrestling in your spare time outside the company you work with? What about other wrestlers in the locker room? And do Japanese and American wrestlers differ in this aspect?*
> 
> Every wrestler was I’m sure at one stage was a huge fan, why else would they get into it?? And although some people may claim to not be anymore, for wrestlers to continue doing what they do they have to love it.
> I watch a lot of wrestling, I would say I’m my life i have probably watched more wrestling than just about anyone on the planet. I will have an open mind to watch anything and hopefully learn something from it at the same time. I still love going to live shows too, sitting down the back and watching how people react to what going on in the ring. It takes me back to my childhood, As far as Japanese and American lads being different, maybe…. i don't know, i can only judge myself.
> *
> When you won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship did you anticipate you would hold the title for so long? How did it feel when you were told that such faith was put in you to hold such a prestigious title given some of the guys who held it previously?*
> 
> You should never assume anything. Especially in this business. I was once told by Andre Baker -'If someone tells you it’s raining outside, you better go outside and check'! I never looked back at the past and i never looked forward, I just enjoyed every moment as they happened. I know there is a lot of history surrounding the Title, but I would never considered myself in the same league as those guys.
> *
> What did you make of this years BOSJ tournament?*
> 
> I thought this years tournament was top to bottom maybe the best one we have done. Although personally for me it was a disaster injury wise. I got an infected and burst buras sac ( elbow ) in the first match. I was in hospital every morning for the entire tournament on a IV drip and antibiotics getting the fluid and infection drained so i could wrestle that night. Obviously I had to work around that which lead to me doing some more stuff outside the ring. And then in the final group match I’m throe my MCL against Kanemoto half way through but managed to finish the match. 2 days later I had 4 injections in my knee before the semi final against Taguchi, which I lost, and then again the following week for the title against Ibushi.
> *
> Do you have any pre-match rituals?*
> 
> I piss about 400 times before every match. If there is no toilet near to the entrance i sometimes take a water bottle with me to relive myself
> Ill chew gum too, which for the most part i manage to keep for the entire match. There is probably a 100 little things i do without noticing as well and I don't want to start reveling all my little OCD moments.
> *
> How long does a match generally take to put together?*
> 
> How long is a piece of string?
> *
> Do you keep journals/diaries and do you see yourself writing an autobiography, like so many wrestlers seem to do these days, when your career slows down (in many years to come hopefully)?*
> 
> I don't, but I should, because i have the worst memory imaginable. To be honest, I cant ever see myself writing a book that many people would be interest in anyway….
> *
> Do you have any funny backstage stories you can leave us in on?*
> 
> No, None what so ever. Nothing funny happens back stage.
> *
> How did the Apollo55 tag team come about? Are yourself and Taguchi friends outside the ring?
> *
> It just kind of happened, i had been tagging with Minoru for a few years when he left the company and while he was more of a cool heel, i was still kind of considered a young boy- babyface. I think the office noticed the similarities both me and Taguchi shared and the put us together. They asked us to come up with a name and that was my idea. We are friendly, we have a common understanding that we don't take much stuff to seriously. With my limited Japanese and his limited english we get on alright!*
> 
> As a tag team can you tell us what matches you competed in which completely blew you away? I like re watching your series with the Machine Guns which were all pretty awesome, and your match this years Vs Omega and Ibushi is up there as one of the most innovative and fast moving tags I have ever seen.
> *
> Honestly, all those opponents you mentioned are fantastic, but on a personal level I am much more impressed with the matches we had with Jado and Gedo or Taka and Taichi. People don't remember what moves they seen at a wrestling show, what they remember is the emotions they felt.
> *
> Would a match with anyone in America, tag or otherwise, appeal to you now, and if so, who and why?
> *
> I know he is retired but HBK by a mile. In my opinion simply the greatest ever.
> *
> Any fun Japanese sayings which you have learned you wish to pass on?*
> 
> E-tie = ouch
> *
> Finally, Japan is in the aftermath of a horrendous natural disaster. What was those few days like, and how has “life gone on” since? We can only comment from TV shots, but it looked absolutely terrifying.*
> 
> Obviously it was a scary time for everyone in Japan, We are used to having quakes and there had been quite a few the days prior so on that occasion i thought it was nothing more than the normal. However it clearly wasn't, the rumbling grew, stuff was starting to fall off the shelves and then the shelves themselves were falling over….it was at that point i could hear the other lads running out of the house. I still thought they were over reacting but decided to pick up my cutoff tea and follow them out. It was when i go outside that things started to really rock, cars were bouncing up and down, telephone poles swaying side to side, we were finding it hard to keep our balance. It lasted about 5 minutes in total with more shocks about every hour for the next week or so. People were afraid, but that is their home, there is nowhere to run to safety!! thankfully were we were in Tokyo we escaped the destruction that was caused by the exulting tsunami and within a few days people were back on their feet and trying to get back to normal.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Terry Funk Retirement Match: Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy, AJPW 31/08/1983*

This was a freaking incredible tag match and a fitting end for what would have been Terry's retirement match if I actually stuck to it (thank christ he didn't). 

Hansen & Funk rule throughout this match and set the stage before the bell even rings. Both men eye each other up from across the ring and as the streamers are unfurled Hansen just charges at Terry and both men brawl whilst being pelted with streamers. Was a great visual and perfect for what was to come.

I'll get the negative out of the way first: Dory not only bored me to tears in this but he was freaking horrible imo. He was so incredibly slow during his FIP spell and later on in the match his brother has just given an all time great apron performance and is now bloodied and fighting with one leg and Dory is about as mobile in helping him as freaking Baba. About the only time he did something noteworthy in the match was a few dropkicks (which looked piss poor on a couple of replays) and one forearm to Gordy to help Terry out of a 2 on 1 situation (and again he displayed Ted Dibiase Jr levels of charisma in making what should have been an epic moment nothing more than 'meh').

Still despite Dory's shortcomings the other 3 more than rose to the occasion and made for a hell of a tag team match. Gordy and Hansen had a nice control segment of Dory early on which was fairly pedestrian but set the stage in building Terry's tag and teasing the crowd and coupled with Terry pulling out an incredible apron performance the workover was very enjoyable. Terry is great in reaching into the ring for a tag to the point where he looks to be falling into the ring, he tries to come in and boot Gordy out of commission and his desperation in trying to go out with a win is a great visual to see unfold. He peppers Hansen with a few lefts and does all he can to build the drama to his eventual tag. 

The tag itself is terrific. Terry was already cut open a bit from the early brawl with Hansen and as soon as he gets in he dares Hansen to give him his best and we get a great punch exchange between them which opens Terry's cut profously and leads to him working FIP. Unlike Dory, Terry sells his freaking ass off to make the workover sensational and his hopping on the leg and desperate selling really gets an already MOLTEN crowd crying out for him to pull off an upset.There was one lovely spot where Terry gets hung in the ropes and has both legs worked on at the same time, his cries of desperation were just terrific in pulling the crowd behind him once again. It really feels like his career is about to end at any moment and the guy has no way of going out with a win, there's a terrific spot leading to the finish were Gordy goes up top and Terry tries twice to get up and catch him but falls back on his ass twice, he really does look like a legit GOAT here. The finish itself is beautiful, Terry limps to the top and pulls off a lovely sunset flip from the top rope for the pin whilst Hansen beats the piss out of Dory, potentially could have done with a more drawn out finishing stretch but I dug Terry getting to show off one last time in front of the crowd and it's always better to have a shorter finishing run than one which descends into overkill territory. Hansen continuing to beat the piss out of Terry's leg post match and then killing a rookie with a Lariat was immensly awesome.

Post match with Terry struggling to get to his feet and then finally speaking to the fans for the final time was one of the most emotional speeches I've seen. Him screaming 'JAPAN NO.1' and 'FOREVER' was incredibly powerful and ***** alone.

*****1/4-****1/2*


----------



## bigbuxxx

just saw anderson/goto from day 5 of the G1 and it was great. i'd put it right behind nakamura/tenzan so far.

i've never read anything about anderson before this tournament and in the four matches i've seen with him he's been impressive in every single one. vg performer imo.


----------



## Groovemachine

Anyone else think Devitt comes across as a bit of a douche in that interview? He seems unnecessarily stand-offish.


----------



## seabs

*Cabana's going on the next NOAH tour. Interesting.*


----------



## McQueen

Oh man, i'm not sure what to think of that but for some reason I feel the need to see Cabana in the ring with Big Takayama.



> This was a freaking incredible tag match and a fitting end for what would have been Terry's retirement match if I actually stuck to it


OMG Segunda Caida is TERRY FUNK! Can I have your autograph Terry?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

McQueen said:


> Oh man, i'm not sure what to think of that but for some reason I feel the need to see Cabana in the ring with Big Takayama.
> 
> 
> 
> OMG Segunda Caida is TERRY FUNK! Can I have your autograph Terry?


:lmao :lmao


----------



## Cactus

*AJW 04/02/1993*
Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori
_I really don't get all the hype with this match. It was bloody and was pretty nasty, but it's not a 5 star match in my eyes. It felt sloppy and there really wasn't much too it other than kicks and whatnot. A fun watch nonetheless._
*****1/4*


----------



## antoniomare007

*Jumbo Tsuruta vs Dick Slater - 1980's Champions Carnival Final*

I've seen a lot of people over at DVDVR rank this match very highly in the 80's All Japan project and I can see why. Just a great match that had the epic feel that a Final should have. Interesting chain wrestling at the beginning with both guys going hold for hold to gain the advantage and then building the crowd up for a great finishing stretch.

****1/4-****1/2


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW 2/19/1982: 2/3 Falls*
Tiger Mask, Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura vs Babyface, Bret Hart & Dynamite Kid
_Woah. I never realized how over Tiger Mask was at this time. They went nuts for him. 5 star heel performance from Dynamite Kid here. They tease Tiger Mask and Kid squaring off, only to have Kid pussy out. Great match overall, only thing that lowers the mark is a few botches and how the atmosphere is sucked out of the arena between falls. It's hard to explain. _
*****1/4 - ****1/2*


----------



## Yeah1993

I watched that earlier in the year and had much more fun fondling my Rubik's Cube than watching the match. The fact I think half of those guys were crap at the time doesn't help. There's literally one Dynamite Kid match left I enjoy a lot.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Was that on the NJ set? I don't remember seeing it (although even if it wasn't I won't watch it, anyway).


----------



## Violent By Design

Yeah1993 said:


> I watched that earlier in the year and had much more fun fondling my Rubik's Cube than watching the match. The fact I think half of those guys were crap at the time doesn't help. There's literally one Dynamite Kid match left I enjoy a lot.


What match might that be?


----------



## antoniomare007

I guess is the one Cactus posted (it has DK on it)


----------



## Yeah1993

Andy3000 said:


> Was that on the NJ set? I don't remember seeing it (although even if it wasn't I won't watch it, anyway).


Yeah. I think, anyway, unless I mixed the dates/people in the match. *checks*

Actually no fuck me it wasn't. So, I've never seen it, then? i remember some tag with Bret/Dynamite/Sayama not being good. Somewhere. Maybe I have seen it. Doubtful. Ahwhatever



Violent By Design said:


> What match might that be?


5/2/80 vs. Tatsumi Fujinami


----------



## McQueen

That was a great match. I still dig the fuck out of one of the TM/DK matches though. I think its the 2nd (possibly 3rd) match they had. Its basically Dyno roid raging for 10 minutes and Tiger Mask picking him off as he's making mistakes being blinded by rage.


----------



## Yeah1993

The August 82 and the last one in 83 are both good, but I don't *reallly* enjoy them. The rest are either watchable, repeats or just absolute puke.


----------



## Cactus

Yeah1993 said:


> The August 82 and the last one in 83 are both good, but I don't *reallly* enjoy them. The rest are either watchable, repeats or just absolute puke.


DK and TM puting on absolute puke matches? Really? What don't you like about them?


----------



## Yeah1993

The 1/1/82 match was the one I found awful. Lots of meaningless stuff that seemed to be blown off for nothing. I see people say "selling isnt everything" (not in the last few posts, or by anyone that's posted here), but it's something and IIR that match right, there was either overselling for one of Tiger's whiffed kicks or underselling because Tiger Mask wants to get in as much of that stuff as possible. Like one ut of every 8 kicks actally connects. I actually found this I wrote last June about the 1/1/82 match:
-----------


> This was woeful. Tiger was ignoring almost EVERYTHING DKid was throwing at him just so he could lay in some wacko move that made the crowd like him more. DKid went after the legs, knowing Sayama was a fast high-flyer, and Sayama hardly did anything apart from flop like a fish through it. Dynamite doesn;t exactly deserve too much praise in this either, I can;t for the life of me understand why he would go for a second tombstone & diving headbutt after he pulled up Tiger's pin after the first. Tiger moved out of the way and I saw guys in the crowd nodding their head with confused faces. Then Tiger picked up the win out of nowhere after he gave no offense whatsoever. Thankfully it was only like eight minutes. *3/4


They're not all bad though and I definitely get why people like/love them (used to myself).


----------



## Cactus

Yeah1993 said:


> The 1/1/82 match was the one I found awful. Lots of meaningless stuff that seemed to be blown off for nothing. I see people say "selling isnt everything" (not in the last few posts, or by anyone that's posted here), but it's something and IIR that match right, there was either overselling for one of Tiger's whiffed kicks or underselling because Tiger Mask wants to get in as much of that stuff as possible. Like one ut of every 8 kicks actally connects. I actually found this I wrote last June about the 1/1/82 match:
> -----------
> 
> 
> They're not all bad though and I definitely get why people like/love them (used to myself).


Not sure if I've seen that one. Link?


----------



## Yeah1993

I watched it one a DVD but it could probably be drmmed up on Youtube or something. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzL5x_v2GPc


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> They're not all bad though and *I definitely get why people like/love them* (used to myself).


I actually DON'T at this point.

I don't like those Eddie Guerrero v Dean Malenko matches from ECW one bit, but I can still understand why people dig them.

I don't like current indy wrestling one bit, but I can understand why people can get a ton of mileage out of it and guys like Davey Richards, Naomuchi Marufuji (not really an "indy wrestler", but he still does a bunch of shit I loathe), etc.

I don't really care for current day puro, but I get why people still love it and aren't as bothered about shitty strike exchanges as I am.

There's at least two of those Dynamite/TM matches that are flat out awful and I honestly have no idea how someone could come to the conclusion that the 4/83 match is one of the best matches ever. It's *loaded* with goofy shit. One of my friends watched that Shingo/BxB Hulk hair match from last year not long ago and loved it. It had tonnes of highspots and finisher overkill and basically lots of stuff I hate. He doesn't hate it and he *loved* that match. I seriously doubt he'd even like the 4/83 DK/TM match. That retarded double tombstone spot would be too much even for him. Dynamite being on this quest to overcome his greatest challenge and beat Sayama is a neat story. Dynamite has Sayama right where he wants him, shouts "victory" from the top rope, hits his diving headbutt...and slaps on a headlock. Story's gone completely off the rails because he decides to dick about with a resthold rather than actually pin him and accomplish what he's been trying to do for the last two years. And the stuff with the broken bottle is more funny than "intense".


----------



## Sunglasses

ALL TOGETHER Show results.. looks pretty good..



> *NJPW/NOAH/AJPW "ALL TOGETHER", 27.08.2011 (PPV/TV Asahi/NTV/G+/Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Nippon Budokan*
> 17,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> 1. *ALL TOGETHER Opening Match SUNRISE OF J:* Kota Ibushi , Taiji Ishimori , Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI besiegen Tiger Mask , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin (10:05) nach einem 450° Splash von Ishimori gegen Marvin.
> 2. *FIGHTING FOR FUTURE:* Tetsuya Naito , Shuhei Taniguchi & Seiya Sanada besiegen Mohammad Yone , Yujiro Takahashi & Manabu Soya (11:10) nach einer Moonsault Press von Sanada gegen Takahashi.
> 3. *OVER THE BORDER:* Togi Makabe & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Hirooki Goto & Taiyo Kea (9:55) nach einem King Kong Kneedrop von Makabe gegen Kea.
> 4. *JUNIOR ONE NIGHT CARNIVAL:* Prince Devitt , Ryusuke Taguchi , Kotaro Suzuki , Katsuhiko Nakajima & KAI besiegen Koji Kanemoto , KENTA , Yoshinobu Kanemaru , Minoru & Genba Hirayanagi (15*:07) nach dem Splash Plancha von KAI gegen Hirayanagi.
> 5. ONE NIGHT REUNION:* Masakatsu Funaki , Takuma Sano & Jushin Thunder Liger besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taichi (12:47) nach einem Standing Necklock von Funaki gegen Aoki.
> 6. *Destroyer Cup - ALL TOGETHER Special Battle Royal: *Kentaro Shiga besiegt Gedo (11:54).
> Participants:Hiromu Takahashi , King Fale , Takumi Soya , BLACK BUSHI, Yasufumi Nakanoue , Hideo Saito , Takaaki Watanabe , René Duprée , Akira Taue , Yoshinari Ogawa , Soshun , Che-Gyong Lee , MAZADA, Zack Sabre Jr., Satoshi Kajiwara , Tomohiro Ishii , Tomoaki Honma , KUSHIDA , Jun Nishikawa , Joe Doering , Kento Miyahara , Masanobu Fuchi , Super Strong Machine , Masao Inoue & Gedo .
> 7.* MIDSUMMER ENCOUNTER IN BUDOKAN:* Takeshi Morishima , Akebono , Yutaka Yoshie & Ryota Hama besiegen Yuji Nagata , Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura & Wataru Inoue (11:20) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Nishimura.
> 8. *NO FEAR! GO AHEAD!!:* Kensuke Sasaki & Jun Akiyama besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (15:44) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sasaki gegen Omori.
> 9. *BELIEVE THE POWER OF Prowrestling!:* Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto besiegen Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (14:58) nach einer Moonsault Press von Kobashi gegen Iizuka.
> 10. *ALL TOGETHER NOW!:* Hiroshi Tanahashi , Go Shiozaki & Suwama besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura , Takashi Sugiura & KENSO (22:50) nach dem High Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen KENSO.
> 
> _Credits: purolove_


----------



## antoniomare007

at least the No Vacancy was legit


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah1993 said:


> 5/2/80 vs. Tatsumi Fujinami


Not to make you watch more of a guy who you don't like (I'm very much the same with regards to his heavily praised work) but I couldn't recommend DK vs Marty Jones from WOS 1983 enough. I was in shock watching it just how great DK was by simply heeling it up to perfection and bumping like a mainiac but selling well and not just blowing off Marty's offence and trying to get his spots in. He was very Finlay like tbh and depending on whether you enjoy the WOS style I can't not see you enjoying this. 

Its on youtube btw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyO790es-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSTt62vgl1g&feature=related


----------



## antoniomare007

well damn


----------



## seabs

*I was really worried when I read that Kobashi did the moonsault. Hopefully it's not a regular occurance though. That match will probably be really fun once you get over the fact it's Yano and Iizuka in the semi main of such a huge show.*


----------



## Yeah1993

I actually had a thought to check that match until I saw Mutoh was in it.



Andy3000 said:


> I actually DON'T at this point.
> 
> I don't like those Eddie Guerrero v Dean Malenko matches from ECW one bit, but I can still understand why people dig them.
> 
> I don't like current indy wrestling one bit, but I can understand why people can get a ton of mileage out of it and guys like Davey Richards, Naomuchi Marufuji (not really an "indy wrestler", but he still does a bunch of shit I loathe), etc.
> 
> I don't really care for current day puro, but I get why people still love it and aren't as bothered about shitty strike exchanges as I am.
> 
> There's at least two of those Dynamite/TM matches that are flat out awful and I honestly have no idea how someone could come to the conclusion that the 4/83 match is one of the best matches ever. It's *loaded* with goofy shit. One of my friends watched that Shingo/BxB Hulk hair match from last year not long ago and loved it. It had tonnes of highspots and finisher overkill and basically lots of stuff I hate. He doesn't hate it and he *loved* that match. I seriously doubt he'd even like the 4/83 DK/TM match. That retarded double tombstone spot would be too much even for him. Dynamite being on this quest to overcome his greatest challenge and beat Sayama is a neat story. Dynamite has Sayama right where he wants him, shouts "victory" from the top rope, hits his diving headbutt...and slaps on a headlock. Story's gone completely off the rails because he decides to dick about with a resthold rather than actually pin him and accomplish what he's been trying to do for the last two years. And the stuff with the broken bottle is more funny than "intense".


I used to love those matches because of the moves and "action" in them, and even thought that's not what I look for in my pro graps any more, I know a lot of people do. If uou had brought up the "Dynamite being on this quest to overcome his greatest challenge and beat Sayama is a neat story" part 
to me when I first watched them, I doubt would have given two craps because I was more about what moves they could do to dazzle me. I'm def. not saying that people who enjoy it are ignoring the story aspect or whatever, but some of the moves in the series can impressive, espcially if you've never seen anyone else do them. That headbutt/headlock spot is pretty much the dumbest thing ever, though. Reminds me of when Malenko pulled Rey's head up the Nitro after BATB. I liked that match quite a bit and that totally ruined it for me.



Segunda Caida said:


> Not to make you watch more of a guy who you don't like (I'm very much the same with regards to his heavily praised work) but I couldn't recommend DK vs Marty Jones from WOS 1983 enough. I was in shock watching it just how great DK was by simply heeling it up to perfection and bumping like a mainiac but selling well and not just blowing off Marty's offence and trying to get his spots in. He was very Finlay like tbh and depending on whether you enjoy the WOS style I can't not see you enjoying this.
> 
> Its on youtube btw.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLyO790es-I
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSTt62vgl1g&feature=related


I've seen some Marty and think the guy's great, and one day I absolutely plan to go through an all out European binge, and this was one of the matches I'd plan to watch. Might actually do that once the polls done (or, I've finished a a good list, anyway). The onyl Euro I ca rememer in really recent memory is the Bull Power (vader) vs. Otto Wanz stuff. Stay away from that shit, btw.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I've done a WOS discussion thread in this section, Marty Jones is pretty much a guy I'd go to bat for as being one of the best workers ever that nobody talks about. Not in a 'oh I know Lawler's wrestled but I'm still new to his work' sort of way but more of a 'I'm sorry who???' kind of way. His match vs Finlay from 14/4/84 is amazing and the Bull Blitzer (Steve Wright) match is his best yet IMO that I've seen. I do love it when you get heels from outside the UK in WOS who 'forget about the rules'.

But yeah this had all of DK's good qualities (great heel, bumping extremely well & being a great cocky asshole who beat the crap out of beloved Marty and had the crowd wanting him dead) and none of his bad qualities (poor structure, getting his spots in despite going against the story they were going for) so I can't see you not loving it, or at the very least liking it a lot better than some of his 'best' work that you never cared for as much.


----------



## Yeah1993

I like Steve Wright a lot as well and thought he pretty much carried Sayama in the match Andy brought up ITT (or the greatest high flyer thread, I forget).


----------



## Cactus

I love Kobashi's new gear. Looks sexy. Is All Together worth watching? (spoiler free, please. )

Oh and...

*AJPW 01/19/1995*
Takao Omori, Tamon Honda & Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Jumbo Tsurata & Giant Baba
_This was embarrassing to other All Japan matches from this era. Giant Baba was near Great Khali level of terrible, but that's not really his fault. He was very old and look like shit. Jumbo wasn't so great either. He was on his way out too. Misawa, as always was fantastic and carried the match for his team. Can't say too much about the other team other than they were alright._
*****


----------



## WOOLCOCK

is that the match where Misawa legit KO's Honda with a spin kick or something?

FWIW I'd recommend Baba vs The Destroyer 2/3 falls in 1969. Destroyer is so ahead of his time as a heel getting great heat and Baba is really good as a technical wiz before his body broke down over time.


----------



## Cactus

Segunda Caida said:


> is that the match where Misawa legit KO's Honda with a spin kick or something?
> 
> FWIW I'd recommend Baba vs The Destroyer 2/3 falls in 1969. Destroyer is so ahead of his time as a heel getting great heat and Baba is really good as a technical wiz before his body broke down over time.


I've seen bits of it. It looks good. I may have to check it out.


----------



## Emperor Palpatine

Segunda Caida said:


> is that the match where Misawa legit KO's Honda with a spin kick or something?
> 
> *FWIW I'd recommend Baba vs The Destroyer 2/3 falls in 1969. Destroyer is so ahead of his time as a heel getting great heat and Baba is really good as a technical wiz before his body broke down over time.*


Dear god everyone get on this match. I still don't think Baba is ZOMG AMAZINGZ or anything after watching it, but it was nice seeing him being able to, well, move back then . Kinda like when all you saw of Andre was his match against Hogan or something, then you watch his match with Hansen and its like "Oh shit, Andre was GOOD" lol.

Plus that 1986 match is awesome. Almost an hour long, but its incredible, and The Destroyer is the MAN. That reminds me, I totally need to pick up the 4 disc comp floating around of the guy...


----------



## McQueen

Other than having shitty looking offense, and being damn near crippled when he was older Baba was always good. WTF you on about Ginger?


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah, it's not like *anybody* thinks Baba was "ZOMG AMAZINGZ". At any point. Ever. 

What he was, was a guy that obviously knew how to work to his strengths, within him limitations, and was extremely smart. Dude pretty much *got* pro-wrestling. The shitty looking strikes is a point you can't really argue against, because for the large part they just do not look good and it's only understandable that guys will shit on them, but if he didn't have such an awkward body shape (ie. a body better suited to wrestling) he probably would've been pretty fucking great.


----------



## bigbuxxx

2ManyLimes! said:


> Another match I enjoyed a lot recently was Sugiura vs. Suzuki for all the stiff, legit punches that ended that one


finally got around to watching this match. suzuki really dominated it and had some great leg work. was a very good and enjoyable match. thought it was a lot better than sasaki/sugiura. it also furthered my man crush on MiSu. thanks again for suggesting.


----------



## antoniomare007

I'm halfway the ALL TOGETHER show and man, the "Jr. One Night Carnival" match was so much fun. Kanemoto was the star, he left me wanting to watch Kanemoto vs Nakajima and a made it clear that a tag team with KENTA would be amazing.

Wouldn't call it a MOTYC but I wouldn't be surprised if someones else thinks it is.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> I'm halfway the ALL TOGETHER show and man, the "Jr. One Night Carnival" match was so much fun. Kanemoto was the star, he left me wanting to watch Kanemoto vs Nakajima and a made it clear that a tag team with KENTA would be amazing.
> 
> Wouldn't call it a MOTYC but I wouldn't be surprised if someones else thinks it is.


just d/l'ed this. damn it's a long show but finally found a nonspoiler card and it looks f'n stacked. worth the 5hrs i think.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just finished All Together. The show was a major disappointment for me. Some of the undercard was fun but not good by any means.

Match of the night was Sasaki/Akiyama vs. Takayama/Omori. Fun match. Even this match was a disappointment though as Takayama was not on his game in this match. Sasaki would hit as hard as he could with a chop and Takayama would retaliate with a forum that probably wouldn't hurt my little sister who's 8.

Kobashi/Mutoh vs. Yano/Iizuka was average at best. Kobashi needs to give it up. Mutoh was pretty good in the match but was in there the least. I don't care for Yano/Iizuka's schtick so mileage on this match may vary.

Tanahashi/Go/Suwama vs. Nakamura/Sugiura/KENSO was not good. The interaction between Go and Nakamura was A+ and would like to see those two fight some day. The ending of the match while pretty funny was bad. They really copped out of any kind of finish. Only giving this match stars I would give it somewhere around 2-2.5.


----------



## antoniomare007

All Together was exactly what I expected actually. A couple of good matches (opener, jrs match and the No Fear tag), some "moments" (like the double moonsault) and the rest was just kinda there.

I don't know what else you expected to be honest. The moment the card was announced it was pretty clear that it wasn't going be a show filled with great matches.

KENSO is absolutely horrible though, like holy shit I can't believe they are paying him to wrestle big matches horrible.


ps: Nakamura and Go have face each other a couple of times already. Once in NOAH and also a time-limit draw at last year's G-1 (where they had 10-15 minutes of absolute greatness)


----------



## bigbuxxx

thanks i'll have to search out those go/nakamura matches.

i'm still new to puro so i guess my expectations are pretty high esp with all that talent on the show. the matches just felt thrown together but i guess i should have expected that with them almost all involving 6 or more people. 

the double moonsault was pretty cool. haven't seen mutoh wrestle since his days in early 90s wcw and he still has it.

just saw MiSu vs. Suwama from 8/29/10. excellent wrestling in this one. first time i've seen suwama in a singles match and was very impressed. these two left it all out there and i can't find a single thing wrong with this match.

going through youtube now i have seen go/nakamura from WKingdom on 1/4/11 and hated that :\ but will watch the ones you suggested.


----------



## antoniomare007

The NOAH match has a horrible crowd IIRC but they were able to wake them up near the end. The G-1 match is their best, the only bad thing is that it peaked a little early (as it tends to happen with most time-limit draws where the fans realize that they are going the distance).


----------



## McQueen

Andy3000 said:


> Yeah, it's not like *anybody* thinks Baba was "ZOMG AMAZINGZ". At any point. Ever.
> 
> What he was, was a guy that obviously knew how to work to his strengths, within him limitations, and was extremely smart. Dude pretty much *got* pro-wrestling. The shitty looking strikes is a point you can't really argue against, because for the large part they just do not look good and it's only understandable that guys will shit on them, but if he didn't have such an awkward body shape (ie. a body better suited to wrestling) he probably would've been pretty fucking great.


If you could have a wrestler with Kurt Angles natural talent with Baba's mind for constucting a match you'd get a Flair/Jumbo/Murdoch quality wrestler.


----------



## Cactus

Just watched All Together. Stellar show.

*ALL TOGETHER Opening Match ~ SUNRISE OF J:* 
Kota Ibushi, Taiji Ishimori, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI vs. Tiger Mask, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin
_Japan really does kick Mexico's arse when it comes to high-flying action. Awesome match that's most likely going to be my opener of the year._
******

*FIGHTING FOR FUTURE: *
Tetsuya Naito, Shuhei Taniguchi & Seiya Sanada vs. Mohammed Yone, Yujiro Takahashi & Manabu Soya
*****

*OVER THE BORDER:* 
Togi Makabe & Akitoshi Saito vs. Hirooki Goto & Taiyo Kea
_Worst match of the night but it wasn't terrible by any means._
***1/2*

*JUNIOR ONE NIGHT CARNIVAL: *
Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kotaro Suzuki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & KAI vs. Koji Kanemoto, KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru & Genba Hirayanagi
_Much like the first match, but less high-fly-ey and much stiffer. Easily match of the night._
*****1/4 - ****1/2*

*ONE NIGHT REUNION:* 
Masakatsu Funaki, Takuma Sano & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taichi
****1/4*

*Destroyer Cup ALL TOGETHER Special Battle Royal:* 
Hideo Saito, Tomohiro Ishii, Gedo, Takaaki Watanabe, Hiromu Takahashi, KUSHIDA, Wataru Inoue, Tomoaki Honma, Super Strong Machine, Jun Nishikawa, Satoshi Kajiwara, Kento Miyahara, Che-Gyong Lee, Takumi Soya, Soshun, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Masanobu Fuchi, Rene Dupree, Joe Doering, Masao Inoue, Yoshinari Ogawa, Akira Taue, MAZADA, Zack Sabre Jr.
_I've never seen a puro battle royal so I'm just rating on how much I enjoyed it. It's much different from an American battle royal, to say the least._
****1/2*

*MIDSUMMER ENCOUNTER IN BUDOKAN:* 
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Takeshi Morishima, Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie & Ryota Hama
_Good chain wrestling in this match._
***3/4*

*NO FEAR! GO AHEAD!:*
Kensuke Sasaki & Jun Akiyama vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori
_Takayama seems to be slowing down a bit, but he still puts on a good effort. Stiff tag match._
****1/4*

*BELIEVE THE POWER OF Prowrestling!:*
Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
_Shame to see Kobashi isn't as great as he was in the 90's and he doesn't look like he's got too long left. It's still a treat to see him and was great to see him moonsault again._
**** - ***1/4*

*ALL TOGETHER NOW!:* 
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Go Shiozaki & Suwama vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Sugiura & KENSO 
_Fun match, even if it was quite predictable. After the match, the winners sign 'All Together' with the singer of the song. They then collect money for the Japan earthquakes. It's a real feel-good moment._
****3/4*

*Final Thoughts:*
A great show with a great cause. If you're into puro definitely check this out.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

Japan does Lucha better than Mexico!? As an avid Lucha fan that hurt a little bit lol.

Anyways, just got done watching All Together with some friends and I have to say that for what the show was it was pretty enjoyable. I actually got one of my friends to watch the show (He hates Puroresu because he thinks it's "too serious") but even he enjoyed some aspects of the show. Solid efforts all throughout and while the ending was interesting (different cultures I know), it was still a feel good moment at the end with the donations.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 10/23/1999*
Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama
_Not the worst 5 star match that was rated by Dave Meltzer, but this can't hold a candle to some of the AJPW classics from the 90's. I swear Meltzer gets a hard-on when ever he sees a Burning Hammer and gives an instant 5 star rating. Still, a great match with some cool moments._
*****1/4 - ****1/2*


----------



## Horselover Fat

Yeah1993 said:


> I actually had a thought to check that match until I saw Mutoh was in it.
> 
> 
> 
> I used to love those matches because of the moves and "action" in them, and even thought that's not what I look for in my pro graps any more, I know a lot of people do. If uou had brought up the "Dynamite being on this quest to overcome his greatest challenge and beat Sayama is a neat story" part
> to me when I first watched them, I doubt would have given two craps because I was more about what moves they could do to dazzle me. I'm def. not saying that people who enjoy it are ignoring the story aspect or whatever, but some of the moves in the series can impressive, espcially if you've never seen anyone else do them. That headbutt/headlock spot is pretty much the dumbest thing ever, though. Reminds me of when Malenko pulled Rey's head up the Nitro after BATB. I liked that match quite a bit and that totally ruined it for me.
> 
> 
> 
> I've seen some Marty and think the guy's great, and one day I absolutely plan to go through an all out European binge, and this was one of the matches I'd plan to watch. Might actually do that once the polls done (or, I've finished a a good list, anyway). The onyl Euro I ca rememer in really recent memory is the Bull Power (vader) vs. Otto Wanz stuff. Stay away from that shit, btw.


pro graps


----------



## Yeah1993

It's an awesome term, man.


----------



## Horselover Fat

i prefer wrasslin


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 1/26/1997*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Tamon Honda
_This is the only time these two face off in singles action and it starts out slow and mat-based. Misawa soon has enough of this and lays Honda down with some stiff strikes. Misawa seems to be giving Honda a stiffer than usual beatdown. Even though it's only a little over 10 minutes long, Misawa takes a head-drop and nearly gets beheaded by a brutal lariat. What a worker._
****1/2*


----------



## McQueen

Misawa, beatin chumps back into the Midcard.


----------



## Chismo

Just watched All Together. Average show. Too much wrestlers, but it was nice to see Kobashi and Mutoh together.


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> Misawa, beatin chumps back into the Midcard.


Did you just call Tamon Honda a 'chump'?


----------



## McQueen

No...

...yes. But C'mon he was talking about 1995 when Honda was a chump to be fair.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 12/13/1981*
The Funk Brothers vs Jimmy Snuka & Bruiser Brody
_Stan Hansen is in the corner of Snuka and Brody and creates tension between himself and The Funks. You know shits going to go down. This starts slow, but kept me glued to the screen. Snuka and Brody find many ways to keep a 5 minute headlock on poor Dory Funk entertaining. Nothing too fancy here, and it's mostly headlocks and strikes, aside from the occasional cross body. After 15 minutes of building tension, Stan Hansen finally gets involves and gives Terry Funk a brutal lariat on the outside, taking him out of the match. Brody gets the win with his knee drop. A brawl breaks out and Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsurta comes down to the save of The Funks. The crowd go wild. I'm really shocked that Dave Meltzer didn't go 5 stars on this, as it was simply fantastic and kept me 100% interested for the full 20 minutes._
*******


----------



## Derek

McQueen said:


> No...
> 
> ...yes. But C'mon he was talking about 1995 when Honda was a chump to be fair.


I'm gonna go tell Tamon you said that

AND WHATCHA' GONNA DO WHEN HONDAMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU?!


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 4/25/2004*
Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama
_HOLY FUCK. Now that is how you lariat, children. Kobashi was awesome in this match, not just by doing one of the stiffest lariats I've ever seen. He sells his injuries beautifully, and really think he is the best when it comes to selling, nobody touches 'Bashi. Takayama was good, but he looked really awkward in the beginning of the match. He walked around funny and was really slow, but I think he suffered a stroke before this match, I could be wrong though. So if it is true, props to Takayama. The match was quite bland until Kobashi hits a surprise lariat about 10 minutes in, so that's a few points deduced. Overall though, a great match only being short of a 5 star reward by a few flaws. _
*****1/2 - ****3/4*


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Their match in 2000 is more enjoyable I thought, they work the same type of match around Kobashi's arm but he times a lariat in the finishing stretch much better this time and it really comes off as 'fuck this will hurt me but what the fuck else am I gonna do to put your striking ass down'.

Both are excellent matches though, funny that as I've gone up and up on Takayama I've really soured on Kobashi, particularly post 2000 where AJPW/NOAH moved away from Kings Road style. 1993 Kobashi still kicks ass though.

Also watch Funks vs Hansen & Gordy 31/8/83. Terry's retirement match and the crowd is nuclear for him and he and Hansen just try to murder each other. Post match is utterly incredible: like more emotional than Flair's last match. 'FOREVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVER'


----------



## Cactus

Segunda Caida said:


> Their match in 2000 is more enjoyable I thought, they work the same type of match around Kobashi's arm but he times a lariat in the finishing stretch much better this time and it really comes off as 'fuck this will hurt me but what the fuck else am I gonna do to put your striking ass down'.
> 
> Both are excellent matches though, funny that as I've gone up and up on Takayama I've really soured on Kobashi, particularly post 2000 where AJPW/NOAH moved away from Kings Road style. 1993 Kobashi still kicks ass though.
> 
> Also watch Funks vs Hansen & Gordy 31/8/83. Terry's retirement match and the crowd is nuclear for him and he and Hansen just try to murder each other. Post match is utterly incredible: like more emotional than Flair's last match. 'FOREVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVER'


What exactly is Kings Road style? I've never got that. Kobashi had slowed down, but I still think he was brilliant at the time. One of the best. It wasn't until his cancer that he really start to slow down.

Yup, that's on my watching list along with Baba/Jumbo vs Funks from '77. That's meant to be good too.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Well under Kings Road (specifically from 90-94/95) they utilise headrops and stiff looking offence but generally manage to time it better, fit it into the story of the match and execute it terrificly for it to mean so much more in the context of their feud. Callback spots throughout both men's careers and past matches are also demonstrated far more under the Kings Road style and despite having some dangerous head-drops that post AJPW split still has it just comes across as them knowing how to tease and build to the headrop and make the spot seem even more jaw dropping than it ever could be. As NOAH formed it just came across as a lot of the workers trying to hit more of these jaw dropping bumps but not building to them as well I thought and lacking in story development that you got in the Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi/Jumbo arc.

If I had to pick two matches I'd compare Misawa/Kobashi 20/01/1997 to Kobashi/Akiyama 2004. One built tremendously and played off of past matches beautifully and had kickouts that progressed and built upon the story and that were teased wonderfully and built to so that they got the reaction they deserved. The other whilst still being visually impressive and teasing some good nearfalls just lacked the aura of the 1997 match for me and came off as straying more into a Indy finishing run which had plenty of crazy kickouts and drama but wasn't built to as well as the older years did. The fact Misawa is widely regarded as wanting to move away from Kings Road formula and make Japan more 'mainstream and modern' shortly before the AJPW split and subsequent formation of NOAH also adds to post 2000 Kobashi seeming different than when he was AWESOME in the early and mid 90s.

That isn't to say Kobashi wasn't good post 2000, I just find more of his 90s stuff still holds up well on rewatches than his 00's stuff does. Maybe that's as much to do with his opponents and the dwindling atmospheres as much as it is Kobashi I don't know, but I do know he's not aged as well in his body of work compared to what I thought of him ages back.


----------



## McQueen

Derek said:


> I'm gonna go tell Tamon you said that
> 
> AND WHATCHA' GONNA DO WHEN HONDAMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU?!


Probably die in extreme pain.


----------



## Derek

^^ Probably



Segunda Caida said:


> but I do know he's not aged as well in his body.


I would have just stopped there. The guy has a hard enough time WALKING TO THE RING these days. I'm suprised that when he hit the moonsault at All Together his knees didn't turn into dust.


----------



## Yeah1993

Cactus said:


> *AJPW 12/13/1981*
> The Funk Brothers vs Jimmy Snuka & Bruiser Brody
> _Stan Hansen is in the corner of Snuka and Brody and creates tension between himself and The Funks. You know shits going to go down. This starts slow, but kept me glued to the screen. Snuka and Brody find many ways to keep a 5 minute headlock on poor Dory Funk entertaining. Nothing too fancy here, and it's mostly headlocks and strikes, aside from the occasional cross body. After 15 minutes of building tension, Stan Hansen finally gets involves and gives Terry Funk a brutal lariat on the outside, taking him out of the match. Brody gets the win with his knee drop. A brawl breaks out and Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsurta comes down to the save of The Funks. The crowd go wild. I'm really shocked that Dave Meltzer didn't go 5 stars on this, as it was simply fantastic and kept me 100% interested for the full 20 minutes._
> *******


Dave didn't hand snowflakes until 83 I think, which explains a lot of stuff he probably would have given the five stars but didn't.


----------



## Cactus

Yeah1993 said:


> Dave didn't hand snowflakes until 83 I think, which explains a lot of stuff he probably would have given the five stars but didn't.


Ahhh. I thought he started in the 70s. My bad.


----------



## antoniomare007

Cactus, have you seen the 77' RWTL finals?? Best Terry Funk performance in Japan, imo.


----------



## Cactus

Nope. But I will somewhen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOEiCKLf1fo

That's it, right?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

No the final is Funks vs Abdullah the Butcher and Sheik

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=996VDJ8U


----------



## Chismo

Not sure if this is posted already:



> Shiozaki designated Takayama as the next GHC Heavyweight Title challenger. Challenge accepted by Takayama. That match will happen on 9/23 at Korakuen.
> 
> NOAH has added GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Kotaro Suzuki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima for the title to 9/23.


Big Tak!


----------



## jawbreaker

More excited for Suzuki/Nakajima again, personally.


----------



## antoniomare007

me too, Takayama has been pretty awful lately. But hey, it's in Korakuen, so anything can happen.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah, he'll probably die. Or at least have some form of near death experience.


----------



## Chismo

The Man Mountain can't die.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

His face says otherwise. His face says "The Man Mountain must eat through a straw."

I mean I love Takayama like a monstrously ugly brother, but I'm genuinely convinced he could die just from something as strenuous as chewing raw vegetables.


----------



## Fighter Daron

jawbreaker said:


> More excited for Suzuki/Nakajima again, personally.


If their first bout this year was superb, this will be epic, and I'm sure Nakajima comes home with the gold.


----------



## antoniomare007

I hope Nakajima wins, Suzuki is cool but Nak is the best thing going in NOAH right now.


----------



## Chismo

Best Junior in Japan.


----------



## Derek

If Takayama survived that onslaught from Don Frye, he can survive Go.


----------



## Fighter Daron

JoeRulz said:


> Best Junior in Japan.


Hayato says no.


----------



## jawbreaker

Nakajima/Hayato please.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Derek said:


> If Takayama survived that onslaught from Don Frye, he can survive Go.


That was before he had a stroke and lost a trillion brain cells.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I'm a huge Takayama mark but I'm also not excited to see any of his new stuff after watching All Together. Just watched his match vs. Kobashi from 04 a few hours ago and that stuff is fckn gold.


----------



## Fighter Daron

jawbreaker said:


> Nakajima/Hayato please.


That would only mean fap time.


----------



## Cactus

*RANDOM PURO WATCH*

*AJPW 12/15/1977*
The Funks vs Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik
_The best way to summarize this is the first ever hardcore match, not many weapons and spots in this, but it has all the carnage you would come to expect in a hardcore match. Sheik and Butcher selling do put a damper on the match though. Ugh. Although, they do open up Terry's arm pretty nasty and they tease the hot tag just for the right about of time; so the crowd are excited, but not rioting. Brilliant stuff. _
*****1/2*

*NOAH 7/18/2005*
Kenta Kobashi vs Kensuke Sasaki
_I find this ridiculously hard to rate. Reason being that this is a big dream match and I'm not very familiar with Sasaki and if I was, there would have been much more emotion involved. Yes, this is the 'chop match'. These two motherfuckers chop at each for minutes. Other than the chop battle going on for a tad too long, the action in this is great and I didn't need to know what was so big about this match to get into it._
*****+*

*NJPW 8/30/2011*
Apollo 55 vs Jushin 'Thunder' Liger & Tiger Mask
_This was a short 10 minute match with cool spots. Nothing to mind-blowing. The audience loved it and I would go 3 stars on this, but I'm not due to some of the spots in this has some dodgy setting up and looked awkward. Worth a watch if you're bored. _
***3/4*

*IGF 8/27/2011*
Hideki Suzuki vs Harry Smith
_Ergh. This was just two sweaty dudes rolling about. I know that's what wrestling is, but this had no substance nor story. I'll give it 1/2* because Harry used a Lou Thesz-eqse rolling armbar and a Sharpshooter. Even if you want to see Harry outside of WWE, don't watch this._
*1/2**

*FMW 5/5/1993(No-rope Exploding Barbwire Timebomb Deathmatch)*
Atsushi Onita vs Terry Funk
_This is the highest I've rated a deathmatch, and this could of got much higher if the ending wasn't shite. They tease going into the exploding barbed wire well and don't go straight at it. When the time limit gets closer to the end, sirens goes off and shit gets tense. The match ends before the time bomb goes off but the bomb still goes off, not before Onita beats Funk down, leaves the ring and comes back to pull him out only to get both men blown up. Ergh. Great match, shite ending. _
****1/2*


----------



## bigbuxxx

cactus, did you watch the whole 8/30 njpw show? curious how it is before i interrupt my misawa/kawada marathon for it.


----------



## Cactus

Nah. I saw the opening match and the tag match I reviewed. The whole thing's on YouTube already. I may give it a watch some when.


----------



## 2ManyLimes!

bigbuxxx said:


> finally got around to watching this match. suzuki really dominated it and had some great leg work. was a very good and enjoyable match. thought it was a lot better than sasaki/sugiura. it also furthered my man crush on MiSu. thanks again for suggesting.


I'm glad you liked that match. Personally, it's one of my favorite matches of Sugiura's title run, right up there with his matches vs. Morishima and Takayama. The only reason I can't give his encounter with Suzuki a top ranking is because Sugiura didn't sell Suzuki's legwork quite as much as I would have liked. Granted, he sold the hell out of the leglocks while he was in them, but while he was out of them, not so much. If Sugiura had staggered around/been unable to do his signature running big boot/knee strikes or get all the steam behind his spear, then the match would have been even better. Personally, I think it would have been poetic justice, and an awesome finish, if Sugiura had forced Suzuki to tap with an ankle lock at the end, but those are just minor complaints with the match. For me, it's a solid ****+.

On a Suzuki related note, I absolutely love the way he takes the Olympic Slam. He makes it look like a damn brainbuster/muscle buster deal the way he takes it on the back of his head and neck. For that reason, I hope NJPW wises up and puts the belt on Goto before too long. I'd love to see a Goto title defense versus Suzuki where he wins with the Go To Heaven. Suzuki would make that look absolutely NASTY.


----------



## bigbuxxx

for me it's really frustrating to see the great wrestling from both MiSu and Suguira and knowing it will not end in a submission. just once i want to see MiSu rip somebody's limb off to see if they will actually submit.

will probably watch takayama/suguira later today. seems pretty short but taka and suguira are alot of fun to watch so i still have high expectations.


----------



## bigbuxxx

watched the taka/sugiura match. pretty good. taka laughing then headbutting the bajesus out of sugiura and splitting his own head open was brutal to watch.

can anyone fill me in on the misawa/kawada 3/27/93 match. it seemed like an abrupt finish with misawa not immediately covering kawada at the end. did he legit ko him with his forearm and that's why it finished like that?

forearm shot is at 21:55


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Misawa's elbows had been built up for the last 3 years at that point, and by '93 (well, it was solidified long before that) they were treated as potential match-enders. I guess it was abrupt, but the fact it came off like a legit KO was pretty cool (and I'd say "abrupt" in a good way). 

FWIW, I watched the match for the first time a few months ago and thought it was terrific. As soon as he hit that elbow and Kawada collapsed like a sack of potatoes I figured it very well could be the finish. Sure enough...


----------



## bigbuxxx

def. the match was A++ for sure.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 4/15/2001*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
_They start out with some real wrestling. It's nothing fancy, but it kept me semi-entertained. After awhile, they say 'fuck this' and bring on the elbows. Misawa takes a brutal knee to the mid-section and it becomes the body part that Takayama decides to tear apart. The match could of ended early with Misawa taking a back body drop over the ropes, but lands on his feet in a ninja-like fashion. Misawa ends up bleeding from the neck (!) after a stiff kick to the throat. They go at back and forth until Misawa finishes Takayama with an Emerald Fusion and becomes the first ever GHC champion. This is probably Takayama's best performance that I've seen. It's a historic moment and worth a watch. _
***** - ****1/4*


----------



## Chismo

That Misawa/Takayama match is my puro MOTY for 2001. *****3/4* I'd put only Angle/Austin and Benoit/Austin as better matches.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I have that on my watch later list on youtube . will watch later today and now really psyched about it.

Watched Misawa/Kawada from 7/29/93 yesterday and that series just keeps getting better. That match is easily 5* from me(4 1/4 from meltzer) as it even played well off the previous match and one of the best matches i've ever seen. Each match is better than the last so can't wait to see the 4/11/94 encounter later today as well.


----------



## Bubz

The 94 match is freakin' amazing. Easily one of the best matches I have ever seen.


----------



## Fighter Daron

bubz123 said:


> The 94 match is freakin' amazing. Easily one of the best matches I have ever seen.


Basically.



JoeRulz said:


> That Misawa/Takayama match is my puro MOTY for 2001. *****3/4* I'd put only Angle/Austin and Benoit/Austin as better matches.


Austin/Rock from Wrestlemania is way better than all of that stuff.


----------



## Cactus

Fighter Daron said:


> Basically.
> 
> 
> 
> Austin/Rock from Wrestlemania is way better than all of that stuff.


He said puro MOTY. Austin vs Rock being better than those WWF matches he mention, well, I can agree with you on that.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Angle vs Austin & Benoit vs Austin > Wrestlemania 17. Best thing about the Wrestlemania 17 is Austin's facial expressions selling the story of him maybe being too broken down to win the big one.

Angle vs Austin has both guys pulling out insane character performances and Benoit vs Austin is just a far more engaging story about the hometown kid trying to beat the biggest heel in the industry.


----------



## Cactus

I vividly remember Austin vs Benoit so I can't really go in-depth on it, but Austin vs Angle was fantastic, possible 5 star match if I give it a rewatch. Overbooked masterpiece. Either way, I doubt it was better than Austin vs Rock at X7. One of the best WWE matches off all time.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Don't get me wrong I do think Rock vs Austin is great....but to me its largely a great brawl mixed with Austin pulling an insane character performance to drag the story along and make for a better match. But yeah I'd put it behind those 2 matches as well as Benoit vs Jericho Royal Rumble 2001 and depending on a rewatch Rock vs Jericho No Mercy 2001.

Anways to keep on topic with the puro nature of this thread, any Takayama fan should check out his 2002 run. Probably his best consistent year as a BITW candidate: Check out the GHC Title match vs Misawa and his NJPW run against Nishimura, Sasaki, Nagata & Nakanishi.


----------



## Bubz

Fighter Daron said:


> Basically.
> 
> 
> 
> *Austin/Rock from Wrestlemania is way better than all of that stuff*.


Trueness.

Anyway, going to watch all the pimped stuff from G1 this year. Looking forward to seeing what all the fuss is about Nakamura.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Cactus said:


> He said puro MOTY. Austin vs Rock being better than those WWF matches he mention, well, I can agree with you on that.


Yeah, that's what I was saying. In fact, I haven't seen the Tak Vs Misawa.


----------



## bigbuxxx

what's the date of the austin/benoit match? been looking but see quite a few of them that year.

just watched the angle/austin match and that was great. couldn't believe austin just walking up to hebner and teeing off on him.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I watched about 3 million WWF/E matches for a Greatest WWF/E Match Ever poll over the course of '09/'10, and I wound up putting Austin/Angle as my #1 match in company history. Think I had Austin/Rock at #6 and Austin/Benoit somewhere in the top 25. 

I'd have Misawa/Takayama just below Austin/Angle as the best match from '01.


----------



## Cactus

Not hating on Takayama vs Misawa, but I can tons of matches in 2001 better than. List time.

Benoit vs Jericho at Rumble
Austin vs HHH at NWO
Austin vs Rock at WM
TLC 2 at WM
Austin vs Angle at Summerslam
WWE vs WCW/ECW at Survivor Series


----------



## bigbuxxx

also just watched austin/angle from unforgiven. that was one of the worst finishes i've ever seen after an epic battle. austin taps to the ankle lock while holding the ring apron...wouldn't want to get the rope or anything and cause a break :cuss::cuss::cuss:


----------



## Chismo

Like I said, Misawa/Tak is #1 in Puro 2001. In WWF, I'd go with Angle/Austin (an absolute five star classic) and Benoit/Austin as better matches. Benoit&Jericho/HHH&Austin is very close too, but worse than Misawa/Tak. Therefore...

Top 3 in 2001:

1. Angle/Austin from SS
2. Benoit/Austin from SD
3. Misawa/Takayama


----------



## Yeah1993

I Rock/Austin isn't my MOTY, Misawa/Takayama is. After that it's probably Benoit/Austin or Santo/Parka for top three. Austin/Angle would be #3 WWF (and pretty much #3 US since there's nothing else) and in the top 10, hell, maybe top 5 atm.


----------



## Fighter Daron

What Austin/Angle are you talking about?, from Summerslam or Unforgiven?, I had the two on ****1/2, but the SS was better for me.

From that year I see a bunch of matches better than the Angle/Austin series: 

1. Steve Austin vs. The Rock - No Disqualification
2. Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardy Boyz – TLC
3. Team WWF Vs Team Alliance
4. The Undertaker vs. Triple H
5. Kurt Angle Vs Shane McMahon - Street Fight
6. Triple H vs. Steve Austin – 3 Stages of Hell
7. Kurt Angle Vs Steve Austin - SS
8. Edge Vs Christian – Ladder Match
9. Steve Austin Vs Chris Jericho Vs Chris Benoit
10. Kurt Angle Vs Steve Austin - Unforgiven


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm 99% certain everyone in here's talking about SummerSlam (I was). Unforgiven is good as well but i'd have it many, many, many steps below and probably not in the top 10 WWF that year.

----

Btw I should mention when I said this:



> I Rock/Austin isn't my MOTY, Misawa/Takayama is.


I meant IF where "I" is. So IF Rock/Austin isn't my MOTY, MM/Tak is.


----------



## Horselover Fat

^^^^^
DPETE thought Unforgiven was better


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm struggling to remember who that is.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Meltzer gave Takayama/Misawa **** and rated 5 WWF matches at 4 3/4 and a bunch at 4-4 1/2 so clearly taka/mis was not up there. i know it's subjective, just bringing it up.


----------



## antoniomare007

01' also had the only 2 matches between the elbow throwing bastard and the fat bastard (Misawa/Akiyama vs Hashimoto/Nagata being the best one of the two)


also, just realized that Cabana's first NOAH match is against Kensuke Sasaki this Sunday, man if Kensuke is in a bad mood....:lmao


----------



## McQueen

Cabana vs Kenskay just sounds like the most bizarre match ever. I hope NOAH trolls the world and Cabana goes over.


----------



## Yeah1993

bigbuxxx said:


> Meltzer gave Takayama/Misawa **** and rated 5 WWF matches at 4 3/4 and a bunch at 4-4 1/2 so clearly taka/mis was not up there. i know it's subjective, just bringing it up.


"Clearly not up there?" As in, shouldn't be considered for MOTY because some other guy didn't think it was close? He gave the TLC from WrestleMania ****3/4; a match which I think is basically a heap of fuming shit. Maybe I'm reading your post wrong, but by writing "clearly not up there" it sounds like you're implying Misawa/Tak can't be a MOTYC because of what another human being thought.


----------



## Chismo

bigbuxxx said:


> Meltzer gave Takayama/Misawa **** and rated 5 WWF matches at 4 3/4 and a bunch at 4-4 1/2 so clearly taka/mis was not up there. i know it's subjective, just bringing it up.


Who gives a fuck?



> also, just realized that Cabana's first NOAH match is against Kensuke Sasaki this Sunday, man if Kensuke is in a bad mood....


Sweet Jesus! Hopefully KENSKAY crushes him.


----------



## Bubz

Lol, Cabana's going down! I see Cabana trying to do his comedy schtick and Sasaki getting pissed and just chopping the shit out of him. At least thats what I hope.


----------



## TelkEvolon

antoniomare007 said:


> also, just realized that Cabana's first NOAH match is against Kensuke Sasaki this Sunday, man if Kensuke is in a bad mood....:lmao


Oh sh*t, son!


----------



## smitlick

All this Misawa/Tak talk has me downloading it as I post... Will provide thoughts soonish.

EDIT

First off just where in the fuck was Misawa bleeding from? I couldn't tell whether it was his chest or neck or ear???

Anyway it was a solid match but sort of became good near the end but was just to slow to start.

****


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> All this Misawa/Tak talk has me downloading it as I post... Will provide thoughts soonish.
> 
> EDIT
> 
> First off just where in the fuck was Misawa bleeding from? I couldn't tell whether it was his chest or neck or ear???
> 
> Anyway it was a solid match but sort of became good near the end but was just to slow to start.
> 
> ****


Four stars is pretty high for "solid-good" match.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> "Clearly not up there?" As in, shouldn't be considered for MOTY because some other guy didn't think it was close? He gave the TLC from WrestleMania ****3/4; a match which I think is basically a heap of fuming shit. Maybe I'm reading your post wrong, but by writing "clearly not up there" it sounds like you're implying Misawa/Tak can't be a MOTYC because of what another human being thought.





JoeRulz said:


> Who gives a fuck?


it seems like you guys comprehend what you want to. i brought it up as a discussion piece, not to say your opinions aren't relevent as evident by the way i said "i know it's subjective.". the "clearly not up there" was sarcasm but i guess that doesn't translate well on the net. you guys take this shit to seriously.


----------



## Yeah1993

smitlick said:


> First off just where in the fuck was Misawa bleeding from? I couldn't tell whether it was his chest or neck or ear???



That's something I mentioned when i talked about it. Still have no idea where he bled from.



bigbuxxx said:


> it seems like you guys comprehend what you want to. i brought it up as a discussion piece, not to say your opinions aren't relevent as evident by the way i said "i know it's subjective.". the "clearly not up there" was sarcasm but i guess that doesn't translate well on the net. you guys take this shit to seriously.


Idrc about anyone thinking my own opinion isn't valid, but using someone elses as back up has always irked me. Either way if it was all sarcasm then I guess this is pointless.


----------



## Chismo

*Yeah*, when will you review some PURO in you prograps awesomeness?


----------



## Yeah1993

Probably somewhere in a few months. I'm currently rolling through WCW but once that's done I'll be rolling through the yearbook sets which have a lot of puro. Thanks for "awesomeness" part


----------



## seabs

*IVP's download service has the Puroresu DVD sampler up for free download which is really worth downloading for anyone trying to get into puro. Has a great mix of everything puro on it.*


----------



## Cactus

Thanks for the head's-up, Seabs. I was going to get it with an order.


----------



## smitlick

JoeRulz said:


> Four stars is pretty high for "solid-good" match.


No not really. It was worthy of being called a MOTYC but not perfect by any means.


----------



## antoniomare007

I guess he means that "solid-good" is kind of a weird way to call a MOTYC *shrugs* 

I'm the only one who absolutely loves the Vader/Misawa TC match in Baba's Memorial show? Watched it for the nth time yesterday and god damn is that an awesome match. If there's anybody who can be a credible monster against Misawa the Ace, it's fucking Vader. The NOAH encounters are fun but this is the only time they faced each other where they were able to have an epic atmosphere, imo. The special circumstances certainly helped of course.


----------



## smitlick

Well what does everyone else call a Good match?


----------



## Cactus

DUD: Complete bollocks.
*: Near enough complete bollocks, but has a few redeeming features about it.
**: Decent, nothing special, nothing horrendous. Average rating.
***: Good, but nothing mind-blowing. 
****: Great match and a possible MOTYC.
****1/2: Anything that gets this is a classic and is an instant MOTYC.
*****: 5 star classic, 'nuff said.

*NJPW 5/3/1997*
_Tiger King (Satoru Sayama) & Antonio Inoki vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Jushin Liger
Woah. What a random match. I'd never thought to see half of these guy in a ring together. I assume this is from Inoki's retirement series of matches. Tiger and Liger mix it up and do their fancy speedy shit, while Inoki and Fujiwara slow it down with some mat 'rasslin. Other than that nothing happens here. It only lasted 10 minutes and Inoki finishes Fujiwara with an Enziguri. Dull match._
**3/4*

*AJPW 4/18/1991*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jumbo Tsuruta 
_I never knew this existed until last night. After watching their classic match back in 1990, which got me into strong style puro, I had very high expectations. This starts of how their other battle did. It starts of slow, but keeps your attention until the big pay-off at the end. Misawa comes very close at the end, but no dice. He goes for a Tiger Driver only to have himself rolled up for the two count. Jumbo then punishes Misawa with a number of sick backdrops. This puts away Misawa for the 3. Not as great as their other encounters, but still brilliant and worth a watch._
******


----------



## Yeah1993

"Good" to me is generally **3/4- low ***1/4.


----------



## smitlick

ok next time i'll change my wording to suit ya'll.


----------



## antoniomare007

lmao

see, this is why ratings shouldn't be taking so seriously...homotions start popping out


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

smitlick said:


> All this Misawa/Tak talk has me downloading it as I post... Will provide thoughts soonish.
> 
> EDIT
> 
> *First off just where in the fuck was Misawa bleeding from? I couldn't tell whether it was his chest or neck or ear???*
> 
> Anyway it was a solid match but sort of became good near the end but was just to slow to start.
> 
> ****


Chin. It was one of the Takayama kicks that did it (obv).

EDIT: Seems I talked about this on that gay blog thing at the start of the year.



> This is the final of the GHC title tourney and I really thought it was a tremendous match. I could see someone thinking the first half or so was a big step down from the second half, but man, Takayama brutalising Misawa with kicks and wearing him down the way he did felt like an awesome slow build to me. Tak really came across as a huge force here; Misawa's selling as a top dog up against this fuckin' barbarian was pretty exceptional, but Takayama shutting him down time after time with those kicks or just having his way with him because of his size and strength was so great. I love Misawa in survival mode and there were times where I was wondering how he'd come up with a way to not get completely caved in. I'm generally pretty hot and cold on a lot of NOAH, but every time Misawa made a run at coming back here I was buying it like he really had to fight like blazes to get it, and it added a whole lot to the match for me. Then Takayama obliterates him with this kick to the face and Misawa's chin gets split open, and everything after that is just off the charts awesome. Takayama has some glorious seplexes, man. He hits two picture perfect Germans and an equally beautiful tiger suplex, and Misawa being forced to try and rip Tak's shoulder out the socket just to survive felt like a massive moment. Final few minutes are perfect. A bloodied up Misawa's all "Fuck THIS noise", blocks a big boot with an elbow smash, and start letting loose with flurries of elbows right to the face. Every time Takayama goes down it feels like a massive achievment after the punishment Misawa had already been put through. Great, great stuff, and I've got no problem calling this a top 5 match of the year. Big time hyped for their 2002 match now.


----------



## horrorfan_1984

antoniomare007 said:


> I'm the only one who absolutely loves the Vader/Misawa TC match in Baba's Memorial show?


na its a classic


----------



## antoniomare007

The Global League is back.










It's gonna take place on the November tour, the winner is probably going to challenge for the title at 11/27 in Ariake Colloseum.


And Big Japan is doing a tag league where Shinobu and Y. Sasaki are teaming together :lmao


----------



## Chismo

I really liked Global League 2010. Sasaki better win this. I want Go/Sasaki II.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> And Big Japan is doing a tag league where Shinobu and Y. Sasaki are teaming together :lmao


*What? Is their an explanation to it? *


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> I really liked Global League 2010. Sasaki better win this. I want Go/Sasaki II.


I never saw Go/Sasaki, how was it?


----------



## antoniomare007

bubz123 said:


> I never saw Go/Sasaki, how was it?


It has a horrible botch in a pretty important part of the match, but overall it's a great young guy vs old vet type of match. It shows that if Go wants to be NOAH's Ace, he has to go through Kensuke first. He was way too young in the 05' tag match (a must watch as it is one of NOAH's best matches ever) and now he's trying to prove that he is ready.

Go vs Sasaki II needs to happen at some point after what happened in 05' and last year.



Seabs said:


> *What? Is their an explanation to it? *


I've read that the 8/20 show gave hints of them possibly teaming up. But I've only seen the wXw vs Strong BJ tag match so I couldn't tell you for sure.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah the 05 tag is bloody awesome. I'll get Go/Sasaki watched tonight I think, got nothing else to do. I think I remember a few people praising it last year.


----------



## Fighter Daron

JoeRulz said:


> I really liked Global League 2010. Sasaki better win this. I want Go/Sasaki II.


Their match last year was a fucking epic classic match for me, an easy five stars match. Therefore, I'll go with Kenskei for the win too.


----------



## Bubz

Just watched Go/Sasaki from last year. Awesome match with a great story and probably the best Go match that I have ever seen. The chop war near the end was amazing, and I probably enjoyed it more than the Kobashi/Sasaki chop war as I thought it told a better story of the young guy not backing down and wanting to prove he can be the top star and there was a bit were you could clearly see the two just grinning at eachother at one point which was so cool. The interaction after the match pretty much confirms these guys are going to face eachother again, hopefully as a result of Sasaki winning Global League and Go cementing himself as the ace of the company.


----------



## antoniomare007

So Kota injured his shoulder and had to vacate the IWGP Title. Devitt and KUSHIDA will wrestle for the belt at next Sunday's PPV.

And Akiyama will challenge Suwama for the Triple Crown on the October 23th Sumo Hall show.


----------



## Bubz

Akiyama should win the Triple Crown.


----------



## Chismo

Looking forward to Akiyama/Suwama.



> Akiyama should win the Triple Crown.


Agreed.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Akiyama for the win too, and I don't see Devitt winning the belt back.


----------



## Dazzerlyne

I hope Devitt wins but thats because Im Irish so Im biased


----------



## seabs

*Too soon for KUSHIDA to win the belt. He's got potential but he aint ready to be working major singles matches yet. Sucks huge for Ibushi. Really hope Akiyama wins too. Not just to freshen up All Japan's heavyweight division for a few months but also he gets a triple crown reign in the end.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I need some great new Puroresu to check out, any DDT shows recently? 

By the way unrelated but after Raw tonight I was with some friends at a gas station and we ran into Kofi Kingston, Billy Kidman, Zack Ryder and.... ARN FUCKING ANDERSON!!! Arn actually spoke to me. His glance is more intimidating than most pro fighter's hardest strike!


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - First Navigation of 21st Century 2001 - 13/1/01*

Vader & Jun Akiyama vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue
****1/4


----------



## Caponex75

antoniomare007 said:


> So Kota injured his shoulder and had to vacate the IWGP Title. Devitt and KUSHIDA will wrestle for the belt at next Sunday's PPV.
> 
> And Akiyama will challenge Suwama for the Triple Crown on the October 23th Sumo Hall show.


F^#%! F^#%! F^#%! F^#%!


Man I really don't want to see Devitt win the title again. It's would be asking why did they take it off of him in the first place kinda deal.

Akiyama should win. He is the only one of the AJPW classic 5 NOT been able to hold it me thinks.

Important question: I'm finally going to watch the G1. Without giving out any spoilers, is it worth going through the whole tourney? Nakamura's haircut has got me re-thinking life at this point.


----------



## topper1

Caponex75 said:


> Akiyama should win. He is the only one of the AJPW classic 5 NOT been able to hold it me thinks.


The Four Corners of Heaven there is no classic 5.


----------



## seabs

*I watched more or less every match from G1 and I didn't regret it. The Takayama and Saito matches are all skippable bar maybe Takayama/Nagata and surprisingly Takayama/Archer. *


----------



## Fighter Daron

Caponex75 said:


> Nakamura's haircut has got me re-thinking life at this point.


G1 = Nakamura cums in the NJPW roster.


----------



## Bubz

seancarleton77 said:


> I need some great new Puroresu to check out, any DDT shows recently?
> 
> By the way unrelated but after Raw tonight I was with some friends at a gas station and *we ran into Kofi Kingston, Billy Kidman, Zack Ryder and.... ARN FUCKING ANDERSON!!!* Arn actually spoke to me. His glance is more intimidating than most pro fighter's hardest strike!


That's awesome. Wait, were they all together? Sounds like a weird combo lol.


----------



## flag sabbath

Caponex75 said:


> Important question: I'm finally going to watch the G1. Without giving out any spoilers, is it worth going through the whole tourney? Nakamura's haircut has got me re-thinking life at this point.


I've just made it through the full 10 days & it's been well worth it. Nearly every match ranges from solid to excellent & the booking is superb. Things are kept lively & unpredictable with a variety of match times & finishes, and there's loads of subtle character development payoffs.

Day 10 is my Card of the Year, ahead of DDT4 & MITB. It's an awesome stand-alone event, but when you've been following all the storyline threads from the previous 9 days, it's more like watching the season finale to one of HBO's finest.


----------



## antoniomare007

Yeah, this years G-1 was one of the best I've seen. And the final day is a serious candidate for Show of The Year.


----------



## Caponex75

Wow. I guess I was wrong when I wasn't expecting to much from the G1 this year. I guess the addition of Takayama just blinded me.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Takayama wasn't great, but had a real great match with Nagata. Moreover, his other matches were short and not horrible. In fact, there's nothing horrible on the whole tournament.


----------



## seancarleton77

bubz123 said:


> That's awesome. Wait, were they all together? Sounds like a weird combo lol.


Kidman was driving and Arn was riding shotgun in a white mid sized and Kofi was driving a red mid sized with Zack Ryder staying in the car the entire time chilling.


----------



## Martyn

AJPW/NJPW/NOAH All Togerther

Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team - great action. The only bad point of this match was Prince Devitt - I thought that he's one of the best jr. heavyweight wrestlers today, but everyone in that match put on better performance than him. 

Main Event - great match. KENSO was great - I knew him only from his run in 2004 WWE, but I definitively gonna start follow him in AJPW. ****.


----------



## Cactus

*AJW 8/15/1992 (Hair vs Hair)*
Manami Toyota vs Toshiyo Yamada
_Toyota shows us she's the most flexible human being to ever set foot in a wrestling ring in this match. This could of been 5 stars, if it wasn't for the really brutal finisher overkill, botched 3 counts and general repetitiveness. The post match stuff is eh, weird to say the least. _
*****1/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

9/11/11 - Climax special - Naito/Goto/MVP vs. Takahashi/Nakamura/Tanaka: really fun match, only goes 16 minutes. most would probably give it 3.5-4.25 stars i'd think. Naito and Takahashi had some great sequences in this match, gold. All six guys had good-great performances.

Taichi/TAKA vs. Devitt/Taguchi: Some really good leg work in this match. Great tag strategy and good story here. Great match ****ish.

Inoue/Makabe vs. MiSu/Archer: 3-3.5 stars. Really served as a nice preview for their singles matches at the ppv on Monday. Inoue/MiSu showed the hate in this match and it really came out...


----------



## Cactus

When's the NJPW PPV on?


----------



## seabs

*19th*


> NJPW, 19.09.2011 (WPW/PPV)
> Kobe World Hall
> 
> 1. Tomoaki Honma & Kyosuke Mikami vs. TAKA Michinoku KAIENTAI DOJO & Taichi
> 2. Kantaro Hoshino Memorial Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Makai #28
> 3. Hirooki Goto, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tama Tonga & Killer Rabbit vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
> 4. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Hideo Saito
> 5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Prince Devitt vs. KUSHIDA
> 6. Special Six Man Tag Match: MVP, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
> 7. Special Singles Match: Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 8. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 9. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer
> 10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura


----------



## TelkEvolon

Nakamura has gotta' take the belt, he is on fire.


----------



## Bubz

We can only hope.


----------



## antoniomare007

man I can't even remember Tanahashi vs Nakamura at DONTAKU 2011 , was it any good?


----------



## seabs

*It was really average and forgettable.

I don't mind who wins tbh. Tana's reign still has legs left but yeah Nakamura winning would better. Double turn would be sweet too. Nakamura title matches with Bernard, Nagata, Goto, Kojima, MiSu and Naito could all be awesome. *


----------



## Chismo

Not looking forward to another Tanahashi/Nakamura match, tbh.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> man I can't even remember Tanahashi vs Nakamura at DONTAKU 2011 , was it any good?


what seabs said. also not looking forward to this match but maybe they can pull their act together this time.


----------



## antoniomare007

lol, I literally don't remember anything about that match and I'm pretty sure I watched it. I guess that tells the whole story.

Still, Tana and Nakamura normally have great matches with each other DONTAKU was the exception, not the norm, so I'm looking forward for their Sunday encounter. Hopefully RUDOS uploads it Monday so I have something to watch while I'm traveling back home with the worst hangover ever.


----------



## Fighter Daron

In their match back on this year, Nakamura legitimetely punch Tana in the face off a Crossbody. That sold the match for me and everything was good. Great match, ****1/4 for me.


----------



## Caponex75

I really didn't like that match. Nakamura kinda phoned in it for me and started doing his normal routine which I've seen a thousand times. Throw in one or two counters and that is pretty much it. ***1/2 if I'm being generous.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - Navigation with Breeze 2001 - 18/5/01*

*GHC Heavyweight Title*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue
***1/2

*NOAH - Navigation to the Bright Destination 2001 - 24/6/01*

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament - Final*
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Juventud Guerrera
***1/4-***1/2

*NOAH - Accomplish Our First Navigation 2001 - 27/7/01*

*GHC Heavyweight Title*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama
****1/2


----------



## Chismo

*Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Akira Taue & Keiji Mutoh* *(NOAH 9/27/2009)*

Four strong names in this match, four legends. If you're gonna watch this, don't expect it to be a ****+ MOTYC, because it's not. This is four old motherfuckers having fun in the ring for 20 minutes, and sure, there are some very cool stuff, like Kobashi and Mutoh sequences (especially the moment when Mutoh KILLS Kobashi with Shining Wizard), Mutoh trying to use steel chair and going crazy, Taue's awesomeness, etc. Takayama was funny here, especially when he was roaring on referee (who didn't see his pin attempt on Taue because of Mutoh's distraction), and boy he scared the shit out of me with his AAAARGHHH, AZAZAZOOOOOORGRRRRRGHHHH... One bad S.O.B. Takayama is. Anyway, very entertaining tag team match with a lot of fun. ****1/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cabana vs. Sasaki : 1.5* and that might be generous.


----------



## Derek

Tanahashi retained over Nakamura, but lost a tooth in the process.

Next challenger is Naito. Meaning Tanahashi there is a 95% he will retain again.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Derek said:


> Tanahashi retained over Nakamura, but lost a tooth in the process.
> 
> Next challenger is Naito. Meaning Tanahashi there is a 95% he will retain again.


ugh why did i click on this thread before finding a link for the show :cuss::cuss:


----------



## antoniomare007

Although it would be refreshing, I wouldn't give the title to Naito yet. I would go Goto at Wrestle Kingdom, Nakamura in July and then Naito in October after winning the G-1.


----------



## flag sabbath

spoil


----------



## Bubz

Oh god. Tanahashi will probably be champion for the rest of time. Goto is awesome and I think deserves it more than Nakamura, even though both would be better than Tanahashi.


----------



## McQueen

Tanahashi vs John Cena for the unified World Grand Prix Wrestling Entertainment Championship at Wrestlemania 29.


----------



## Bubz

I just saw Cabana/Sasaki, it was actually better than I expected it to be.


----------



## antoniomare007

Man, after watching Daichi vs Takayama I get the feeling that Daichi's first win will get a tremendous reaction. And seeing how they are booking him I think that they are saving it for a big show, Ohtani has done an incredible job with the kid.


----------



## Cactus

I'm loving Daichi as well. They going to book him like Kobashi and have him lose for a year, only then have him pick up a big win, me thinks.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 8/6/2011*
Kenta Kobashi & Shuhei Taniguchi vs Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone
_The two young guys start off and do their thing until Yone tags in Sugiura. He tells Taniguchi to tag in Kobashi. Taniguchi looks intimidated and tags in Kobashi. Kobashi is a tad slowed down and sloppy at times, but he can still kick ass. Kobashi and Sugiura throw their strikes each other at each and set the main story of the match; Kobashi and Sugiuara aren't exactly best of buddies. These two come at each other even when one isn't tagged in. It starts off as a cool story to the add to the match but they get a bit carried away. The match picks up again when Taniguchi kicks Yone's head off and fucks up his nose. Yone seems pissed at this and gets much stiffer with Taniguchi and Kobashi. Kobashi and Yone fight away from the ring and leave Taniguchi at Sugiara's mercy who elbows the crap out of him and picks up the win._
****1/4*

*NOAH 4/7/2002*
Jun Akiyama vs Yoshinari Ogawa
_Heh. Ogawa's entrance makes him seem somewhat intimidating. This is the match where Ogawa, the underdog, picks up a huge surprise win and steals the GHC title of Akiyama. Ogawa slides behind Akiyama and hits a number of back drops. Akiyama kicks out and punishes Ogawa, hitting him a with a few Exploder suplexes. Ogawa manages to counter one of them and rolls up Akiyama up for the win at the 4 minute mark. Now, I understand the story they were trying to tell, but could they pick someone a little more believable than Ogawa? It also could of went on for at least 10 minutes more. Oh well. The match itself isn't bad, but it's not good either. _
****


----------



## Martyn

NJPW G1 Climax '11
Semi Final
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki 

Great match from one of my favourite wrestlers. MiSu entrance was phenomenal!  (*** 3/4+).

NJPW G-1 Climax '96
Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto

Great psychology. Strong style at its best - stiff kicks from Hash and monster lariats from Riki. CHOSHU~! (**** 1/2).

Japan Pro-Wrestling 21-02-85
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu

First ever meeting of those two legends. Great action and awesome public reaction. Its incredible, that they were capable to put a match on that level in 1985. (****).


----------



## Cactus

*JPW 2/21/1985*
Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu
_Awesome face/heel dynamic here. The crowd is fucking loud for Choshu! It makes you forgot you are watching a match in Japan from the 80's. The crowd really does benefit this match. Choshu gets attacked early and struggles to get back into the match. He finally does and locks on his scorpion deathlock. Tenryu escapes the hold after being locked in it for quite some time. He leaves the ring and brawls with Choshu. The two get back on the apron and Choshu hits a SICK backdrop on the apron. Ouch. Tenryu gets counted out after this, much to the crowds approval. Although I haven't seen much from the year, but this is my '85 match of the year by a landslide. _
***** - ****1/4*


----------



## antoniomare007

Cactus said:


> *JPW 2/21/1985*
> Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu
> _Awesome face/heel dynamic here. The crowd is fucking loud for Choshu! It makes you forgot you are watching a match in Japan from the 80's._


nah man, 80's crowds were awesome for pretty much all of the big matches.


----------



## Cactus

antoniomare007 said:


> nah man, 80's crowds were awesome for pretty much all of the big matches.


I've never noticed. Still, it's fucking loud for any era.


----------



## Chismo

Cactus said:


> *NOAH 8/6/2011*
> *NOAH 4/7/2002*
> Jun Akiyama vs Yoshinari Ogawa
> _Heh. Ogawa's entrance makes him seem somewhat intimidating. This is the match where Ogawa, the underdog, picks up a huge surprise win and steals the GHC title of Akiyama. Ogawa slides behind Akiyama and hits a number of back drops. Akiyama kicks out and punishes Ogawa, hitting him a with a few Exploder suplexes. Ogawa manages to counter one of them and rolls up Akiyama up for the win at the 4 minute mark. Now, I understand the story they were trying to tell, but could they pick someone a little more believable than Ogawa? It also could of went on for at least 10 minutes more. Oh well. The match itself isn't bad, but it's not good either. _
> ****


Have you seen Takayama destroying Ogawa for the GHC title?


----------



## Cactus

Not yet, but if it involves Ogawa getting hurt then I'm all for it.


----------



## Chismo

Cactus said:


> Not yet, but if it involves Ogawa getting hurt then I'm all for it.


----------



## bigbuxxx

G-1 Climax special from 9/19/11:

MiSu vs. Inoue - **1/2
Makai 28 vs. Kanemoto - *1/4
Devitt vs. KUSHIDA - ****1/4
Tanaka/Richards/Romero vs MVP/Taguchi/Tiger Mask - *3/4
Naito vs. Takahashi - ***1/4
Makabe vs. Archer - **1/2
Nagata vs. Saito - **1/4
Goto/Tenzan/Tonga/Rabbit vs. Yano/Ishii/Iizuki/Gedo - **1/2
Taichi/TAKA vs. Mikami/Honma - **
Nakamura vs. Tanahashi - ****1/2 (will have to watch again, felt like a ****1/4 but it's def better than Devitt/KUSHIDA so i have to give it more stars)

good show but for the love of god please get Rabbit off my screen, he served his purpose but ugh.


----------



## Chismo

*Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima (NOAH - 3/5/2006)*

I believe this is their first out of three encounters. Misawa is a grumpy (awesome) veteran, and Shima is a future star here, and they played that story very well. This match was stiff as stiff can be. Shima's offense is simple and beautiful - high kick, lariato, backdrop driver. And that's it, no need for more, you could clearly see that his offense is based on Jumbo's, and that's great. He pretty much fucked up Misawa few times with his head dropping drivers, and it marked few steps closer to Misawa's demise. But Misawa's elbows are just too much for Shima to handle. Eventually, Misawa finishes him off with series of elbows, but before that they delivered few dramatic nearfalls. I liked this match.
*****1/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just watched Nakamura vs. Tanahashi from WKII on 1/4/08 for the first time. Match is so much better than this past Monday's. I'd give it at least ****3/4. Nakamura seems to have changed alot of his moveset from then, but why can't he use those in addition to his new stuff? he had one of the best moonsaults i'd ever seen, a great variation of the jay-driller, and the stuff at the finish was A++. I know he likes his knees now but pulling out those moves this past Monday would have put that match way over the top imo.


----------



## seancarleton77

Fuck the G1 Special! I watched it and reviewed it with about as much enthusiasm as one could must after watching the 1 hour too long filler fest with a good, not great main event and one match that could be considered great. So to cheer up I decided to watch some FCW.... The Rollins vs. Ambrose Trilogy was better than anything from Japan in 2011. No bullshit!


----------



## Chismo

It's close, but Togo/Honda, Go/Akiyama, Tanahashi/Goto, Tanahashi/Nagata, Hero/KENTA and Suzuki/Nakajima are slightly better.


----------



## smitlick

DONT READ IF YOUR AFRAID OF SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





NOAH "SHINY NAVIGATION 2011", 23.09.2011 (G+) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
2,100 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Akira Taue & Ricky Marvin besiegen Mohammed Yone & Zack Sabre Jr. (6:34) mit dem Santa Maria von Marvin gegen Sabre. 
2. Kenta Kobashi, Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue besiegen Kensuke Sasaki, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara (17:44) nach einem Backdrop von Ogawa gegen Kajiwara. 
3. Jun Akiyama, Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano besiegen Takeshi Morishima, Yutaka Yoshie & Bison Smith (12:28) nach einer Northern Lights Bomb von Sano gegen Yoshie. 
4. Shuhei Taniguchi besiegt Colt Cabana (8:20) mit einem German Suplex Hold. 
5. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Takashi Sugiura, Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Aoki (14:34) nach dem go 2 sleep von KENTA gegen Ishimori. 
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Kotaro Suzuki (c) (21:02) via TKO (Facekick) - Titelwechsel. 
7. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) besiegt Yoshihiro Takayama (27:25) nach einer Lariat (2nd defense).

yes!! Nakajima winning is fantastic.


----------



## antoniomare007

and only 21 minutes. can't wait!

can't say the same about the mainevent.


----------



## Chismo

Nakajima! Fuckyeah, I'm so happy for him. He's the best Junior in Japan. Also, I can't fucking wait to see Go/Tak!


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 1/8/2005*
Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki 
_Quite a unique match-up this. It's Pro Wrestler vs MMA Fighter. This story creates two spots which are responsible for a good 1/2* in my rating. The first one is when MiSu goes for a go-behind (more common to his style of fighting) only to get clamped in a headlock and the second is when Kobashi tries to chop MiSu only to get caught in a nasty armbreaker. These spots show us no fighting style in the best and all have their weaknesses. Suzuki dominates Kobashi with some MMA holds and transitions. He then starts taunting him as he strikes away at him. A worn down Kobashi only can get a bit of defense in, which is mostly weak lariats. He soon swats him down with a strong lariat and starts making MiSu his bitch. He hits a number of backdrop suplexes before finishing him off with a nasty lariat. This told a great story, but I found it a tad hard to fully get into it. Oh, and I thought the headlock spot on the outside was down-right retarded. _
****3/4*


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - Navigation Over The Date Line 2002 - 7/9/02*

*GHC Heavyweight Title*
Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama
***3/4


----------



## Chismo

Kobashi/MiSu was an amazing match until the end where Kobashi took a dump on MiSu's hard work by finishing him off with lariato, after MiSu spent good 10 minutes working on Kobashi's arm and hand. *****


----------



## antoniomare007

A lot of news.

-Go's next challenger wont be the winner of the Global League. KENTA vs Sugiura (on 10/10) will determine who's gonna challenge Shiozaki at Ariake Colloseum.

-Go & Taniguchi will challenge Bad Intentions for the GHC tag Titles at the Halloween show in Differ Ariake.

-Ricky Marvin will be Nakajima's first defense on 10/16. That same day Kanemaru/KENTA vs Suzuki/Aoki will battle for the nth time.

-Y. Sazaki & Shinobu got a victory in their first match as a team in BJ's Tag League, even though they fought with each other throughout the whole match.

-Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Sanada & Soya V will take place at the big All Japan show in Sumo Hall (10/23).

-Daichi's next singles match will be against Tenzan (10/2).

-New Japan's DESTRUCTION card:



> *NJPW “DESTRUCTION ’11″, 10/10/11 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*
> 
> 1. Schwarz, Weiss, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Killer Rabbit vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Hideo Saito
> 2. Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 3. Wataru Inoue vs. Lance Archer
> 4. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero
> 5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
> 6. Satoshi Kojima Return Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 7. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
> 8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: MVP (c) vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1
> 9. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito


----------



## bigbuxxx

Their televised 10/3 card looks pretty damn good as well:



> NJPW “HIROYOSHI TENZAN 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 10/3/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Kyosuke Mikami, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
> 2. Taichi vs. Hideo Saito
> 3. Tomoaki Honma, Tama Tonga & King Fale vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
> 4. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo
> 5. Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Tetsuya Naito, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
> 7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 20th Anniversary Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Masahiro Chono & Hiro Saito vs. Osamu Nishimura, Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani


----------



## McQueen

Saito is still wrestling? Damn man, Japanese Wrestlers never quit.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> A lot of news.
> 
> -Go's next challenger wont be the winner of the Global League. KENTA vs Sugiura (on 10/10) will determine who's gonna challenge Shiozaki at Ariake Colloseum.
> 
> -Go & Taniguchi will challenge Bad Intentions for the GHC tag Titles at the Halloween show in Differ Ariake.
> 
> -Ricky Marvin will be Nakajima's first defense on 10/16. That same day Kanemaru/KENTA vs Suzuki/Aoki will battle for the nth time.
> 
> -Y. Sazaki & Shinobu got a victory in their first match as a team in BJ's Tag League, even though they fought with each other throughout the whole match.
> 
> -Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Sanada & Soya V will take place at the big All Japan show in Sumo Hall (10/23).
> 
> -Daichi's next singles match will be against Tenzan (10/2).
> 
> -New Japan's DESTRUCTION card:


 - Go/KENTA needs to happen, but not yet. Sugiura to win this.

- Bad Intentions to retain, please.

- Makabe/MiSu could rock.


----------



## Stellar Supernova

G1 Climax Day 1: IWGP Jr Heavyweight: Ryusuku Taguchi vs Kota Ibushi(c) - ****1/4

Holy hell, did I enjoy this. Taguchi has some real innovative stuff and Ibushi is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Must watch and nice change of pace from the G1 matches.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW 4/16/1994*
TAKA Michinoku vs Black Tiger II
_In-depth story telling mat work? Nah, don't need it. Bunch of perfect looking backflips? Bring it on! A young TAKA takes on the future Eddie Guerrero. Awesome little high flying match from the Super J Cup. This lasts only 8 minutes but kept me entertained. While it may be lacking in psychology, it made up in entertainment._
****3/4 - *****


----------



## Bubz

I would prefer not to see Go/Sugiura again, KENTA/Go could be really good.


----------



## Chismo

Bubz said:


> I would prefer not to see Go/Sugiura again, KENTA/Go could be really good.


Why not? Their 7/10 match was absolutely brutal, with great story telling. The only bad thing was a fucking crowd. I'm all for Go/KENTA, but not yet. Before KENTA, Go needs to go over Sugiura again, Kenskay, Morishima and possibly Kobashi, in order to establish him as a true ace of NOAH, since he already went over Akiyama and Takayama. When he crushes veterans, then he needs to feud with KENTA, Marufuji, Taniguchi, Nakajima, New Japan heavyweights, etc. Plenty of potential with this reign.


----------



## antoniomare007

the thing is that Go vs Sugi/KENTA will be in Ariake Colloseum, so it's pretty much a given that they will have a dead crowd.


----------



## Fighter Daron

antoniomare007 said:


> the thing is that Go vs Sugi/KENTA will be in Ariake Colloseum, so it's pretty much a given that they will have a dead crowd.


I think KENTA could fire 'em up.


----------



## seabs

*Neither of them should be the next title shot. Go/Sugiura can be saved for the future and KENTA getting a heavyweight title shot out of nowhere after concentrating on the Jr. tag belts is odd. Still not like NOAH has many alternatives and at least both are better than someone like Saito getting another title shot.*


----------



## antoniomare007

I would like to see KENTA challenge just to see if it would make any difference in attendance.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> *Neither of them should be the next title shot. Go/Sugiura can be saved for the future and KENTA getting a heavyweight title shot out of nowhere after concentrating on the Jr. tag belts is odd. Still not like NOAH has many alternatives and at least both are better than someone like Saito getting another title shot.*


But it'll be a nice defence until Sasaki goes with the Global League and challenges.


----------



## bigbuxxx

KENTA/Takayama 6/27/04 - ***3/4. Great psychology here. Decent crowd and nice stiff action. Glorified squash match but pretty damn good. I meant to watch the 1/15 match from this year but didn't realize i was watching the 04 match. I just knew it looked like KENTA had just recovered from cancer and Taka was moving to good...should've looked. 

will watch the 1/15 match later tonight and looking forward to it as some forums have that as NOAH moty so far.


----------



## Bubz

1/15 is a really good stiff match, but it isn't really close to being the NOAH MOTY. Sasaki/Sugiura is probably my second favorite match this year and definitely my favorite NOAH match.


----------



## bigbuxxx

KENTA vs. Takayama - 1/15/11: Better match than the 04 match but the storytelling was not as good. A couple blown spots and this gets the same ***3/4 from me. No way this should get moty consideration unless there's an incredible ending and KENTA wins. I don't want to see KENTA win though because it's just not a spot where you can suspend your disbelief*. Taka is a legit killer and KENTA is a scrawny shit in comparison.

*Inoue vs. Strongman in day 2 of the G-1 tourney is a good example of a believable underdog win.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 9/19/2011*
Kenta Kobashi & Takeshi Morishima vs Bison Smith & Colt Cabana
_Man, Kobashi looks like shit here. It could of been the lighting in the arena but I could of sworn he looked better in the last match I saw him in. Kobashi and Cabana start off but Kobashi wants Bison. Cabana says no and proceeds to wrestle Kobashi. Boom Boom does the same comedy schtick that he did Sasaki a few days prior. It's still funny, regardless. Not too say about this match. Morishima hits a backdrop on Cabana for the win. What saves this match from being lackluster was Cabana's comedy and Kobashi comeback which say him perform a hurricanrana to big Bison Smith. _
***1/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just watched Go/Akiyama. bleh. so disappointed. *** from me. They were sloppy, the crowd wasn't into it, there was no drama, and the finish sucked.


----------



## bigbuxxx

for anybody that's interested I found go/taka from 9/23 on youtube was just uploaded.

Go vs. Takayama pt. 1
Go vs. Takayama pt. 2


----------



## bigbuxxx

go/taka - epic fucking match. ****1/4-****1/2. they had a botch that added to the drama of the match when taka nearly killed Go in a dangerous spot. way surpassed expectations.


----------



## seancarleton77

Go vs. Takayama would have kicked so much more ass had it not dragged 5 or 10 minutes too long. Still a solid ***3/4.


----------



## antoniomare007

seancarleton77 said:


> Go vs. Takayama would have kicked so much more ass had it not dragged 5 or 10 minutes too long. Still a solid ***3/4.


yup, completely agree.


----------



## Bubz

I definitely think Go/Akiyama had drama.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> I definitely think Go/Akiyama had drama.


Me too, and epicness.


----------



## Bubz

Lol, yeah it had that too. I personaly loved the match.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> Lol, yeah it had that too. I personaly loved the match.


I didn't loved because I think they went too long(without five minutes, it'd be better) and the beginings were slow. Still, a match with drama, stiffness and epicness is nowhere near to suck.

****1/4 for me.


----------



## Bubz

Just watched Go/Takayama and I loved it. ****1/2 from me, probably more than most people. I posted my actual review in the MOTY thread.


----------



## bigbuxxx

validation . thanks bubz. i'd put it behind tanahashi/goto from 6/18 to. what do you have that at? i haven't seen sasaki/sugiura yet because i can't get into sasaki so i'm dreading even watching that


----------



## antoniomare007

Maybe you won't like it as much but if you are a fan of puro it's gonna be difficult for you not to enjoy Sugi vs Kensuke. The match plays to their strengths and it didn't suffer from being to long like last year's Global League match.

My puro MOTY is still the AJ vs BJ 3/27 tag. And for singles is probably Tana vs Nagata.


----------



## bigbuxxx

i'm a huge fan of puro now and it's pretty much all i watch except wwe ppvs. i just can't stand that sasaki's match are like 5 chop battles, him hitting a clothesline then a reverse one then a regular one again, maybe a suplex, then finish(3 moves of doom right there). that's the basic premise of his character and it sucks imo.

thanks for the matches. i only got into puro in early august during the g-1 tourney so still catching up on this years great matches and of course mixing in late 80s-early 00s classics.


----------



## Bubz

bigbuxxx said:


> validation . thanks bubz. i'd put it behind tanahashi/goto from 6/18 to. what do you have that at? i haven't seen sasaki/sugiura yet because i can't get into sasaki so i'm dreading even watching that


Tana/Goto is great, I have it at ****1/4. I usually really dislike Tana matches because I can't stand him and what he does, but this was really good apart from the weak ending.

@ antonio, I couldn't get into the AJ vs BJ tags. I'll probably rewatch them nearer the end of the year though because I'm definitely in the minority that didn't think they were amazing. I tried to watch the Sekimoto/Okabayashi vs Sanada/Soya matches all in one day which is probably why I liked the first one the best and thought the third one dragged a bit lol.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> Tana/Goto is great, I have it at ****1/4. I usually really dislike Tana matches because I can't stand him and what he does, but this was really good apart from the weak ending.
> 
> @ antonio, I couldn't get into the AJ vs BJ tags. I'll probably rewatch them nearer the end of the year though because I'm definitely in the minority that didn't think they were amazing. I tried to watch the Sekimoto/Okabayashi vs Sanada/Soya matches all in one day which is probably why I liked the first one the best and thought the third one dragged a bit lol.


Tana/Goto is my Puro MOTY by far, I just simply love Goto and everything he does. And I'm with you, Strong BJ Vs AJ was good, but I don't undestand the love everyone has to it. **** for me.


----------



## bigbuxxx

if that sasaki/sugiura match is the one that ends in a double knockout then i've seen that one and remember feeling underwhelmed but thinking it was a good match so probably get between ***1/2-**** from me.


----------



## bigbuxxx

random puro matches:
misawa vs. takayama from 4/15/01 (i think but pretty sure) - ****1/4. slow beginning but it picked up after about five minutes and kept accelerating until the pin at the end. great match with an equally awesome crowd.

naito vs. KUSHIDA from 9/21/11 - ***1/4. probably would've been better with a good environment. No commentary in this match, only around 150 people were present, and only one camera angle the whole way.


----------



## Bubz

bigbuxxx said:


> if that sasaki/sugiura match is the one that ends in a double knockout then i've seen that one and remember feeling underwhelmed but thinking it was a good match so probably get between ***1/2-**** from me.


That's the one. I loved that ending.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 7/18/2005*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada
_Apart from a few slow spots, everything before the 20 minute mark was of 5 star quality. After 20 minutes, the match started to get sloppy and it looked like both wrestler weren't sure what spot came next. After an overkill usage of elbows, Misawa finally puts Kawada away._
******


----------



## yyc

Bubz said:


> That's the one. I loved that ending.



is one of the best endings of the 2011


----------



## Derek

Looks like something is up in NOAH as Nakajima has forfeited the title.

I haven't heard the reason why, but my guess is that he wasn't supposed to win the belt (he won the title by ref stop after a kick to the face), so I guess he was forced to vacate.


----------



## bigbuxxx

he had his appendix out in an emergency situation.


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> he had his appendix out in an emergency situation.


This, and I didn't read anywhere he had vacated the title.


----------



## Derek

bigbuxxx said:


> he had his appendix out in an emergency situation.


Ah, that makes sense then.

It's only been announced on the NOAH Japanese site that he has vacated it. I first heard about it on another site. 

Damn, another short reign for Nakajima.


----------



## Chismo

This is fucking bullshit.


----------



## Bubz

Nakajima is the best junior in Japan, he needs to have an epic reign with that belt when he is back.


----------



## asdf0501

Bubz said:


> *Nakajima is the best junior in Japan*, he needs to have an epic reign with that belt when he is back.



Fujita Jr Hayato says: FUCK NO!


----------



## Fighter Daron

asdf0501 said:


> Fujita Jr Hayato says: FUCK NO!


And I say: Nakajima Vs Hayato would be the best juniors match in the fucking world.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Damn, that sucks, but he'll be back with a vengence!


----------



## asdf0501

Fighter Daron said:


> And I say: Nakajima Vs Hayato would be the best juniors match in the fucking world.


The debut match of Hayato was against Nakajima (i can't post the link beacuse i need 10 posts first), obviously is not the same but wathever........

And i don't think Nakajima is even close to be the better junior in Japan. Right now i put him behind Kenou, Kanemoto, Hayato, Sato, Riu Hyugaji and Aoki


----------



## Fighter Daron

asdf0501 said:


> The debut match of Hayato was against Nakajima (i can't post the link beacuse i need 10 posts first), obviously is not the same but wathever........


I think they were nineteen or something else. It's not the match they could have now.


----------



## Martyn

NOAH is actually better than TNA. They've booked their GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team champion into a no 1 contender match for the GHC Heavyweight title. Cool...


----------



## seancarleton77

Even Mohammed Yone matches are better than TNA.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 11/5/2005*
Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
_Months after their classic chopfest, Sasaki and Kobashi cross paths once again. This time, each of them has brought a younger guy to team with them. The match starts off with the Go & Nakajima starting off, creating an epic fast pace sequence before both guys tag in the legends. Kobashi and Sasaki have a slow test of strength. After that, each legend has a go at making the younger guy their bitch. Sasaki and Kobashi do a rehash of their chop battle, but don't go into overkill mode. Then poor old Go Shiozaki gets the crap beat out of him and this creates a build-up for a hot tag. It feels very Americanized with Kobashi clapping his heart out to encourage Shiozaki to keep on going (See what I did there?). It's a tad bizarre to see this in puro, but it works really well. Kobashi gets the tag and.... Well, I'm not going to spoil the rest. You'll see one of the hottest crowds I've seen at a NOAH show and a sick ass ending sequence. One of the best tag matches I've ever seen. _
*******


----------



## Bubz

That was indeed an awesome match. Kobashi/KENTA vs Sasaki/Nakajima is also great IIRC.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 4/15/1994*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Akira Taue
_Akira controls Misawa for the first portion of the match. Misawa struggles to fight back, but after wining and dining Akira on his world-famous elbows, Misawa regains control. Much like his comrade in the Holy Demon Army, Taue fights back with some dirty tactics and makes the match even. Some awesome sequences follow. Akira wants to dump Misawa on the concrete outside with a chokeslam, much like he did in the 9/6/1995 tag match. He eventually does and Misawa is hurt. From here on out, this reminds me of Akiyama/Kobashi '04. The heel slams the face on the outside and the face looks in bad shape. Much like Kobashi did in 2004, Misawa keeps selling the outside spot all the way until the end of the match. Misawa fighting spirit keeps him alive and puts Akira away after a couple of Tiger Suplexes. _
*******


----------



## bigbuxxx

thanks for pimping my youtube account, cactus  and the comment i assume was you to about some epic tag match


----------



## Cactus

bigbuxxx said:


> thanks for pimping my youtube account, cactus  and the comment i assume was you to about some epic tag match


Shit, son. That's you? What are the chances of that? XD


----------



## seancarleton77

Cactus said:


> Shit, son. That's you? What are the chances of that? XD


I make Puroresu videos as well. We're everywhere, we just don't pimp our shit much on here.


----------



## Fighter Daron

I have seen the NOAH tag and its awesome, but anything near the five stars for me, the crowd was slept with the rookies and the chop battle was less epic, ****1/2.


----------



## Bubz

seancarleton77 said:


> I make Puroresu videos as well. We're everywhere, we just don't pimp our shit much on here.


I watched your videos on the G1. Good stuff.


----------



## seancarleton77

Thank you, I really dug the G1 this year.


----------



## Cactus

I knew I recognized your name somewhere. =P


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH 10/27/2007*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Samoa Joe
_This takes the cake in being the most disappointing match of all time. When Joe had his epic match with Kobashi, it made sense that he would face Misawa next. It's a huge thing, but... the crowd doesn't seem to give a damn. They seem extremely uninterested. Misawa seems to be at his laziest too. Joe totally carried the match. It was very slow, but pick up the speed in the last 5 minutes, but it was too late to save this. If this was at a ROH show and Misawa pulled his weight, it would of amazing, but it's not and it was one of the worst Misawa matches I have seen. _
***3/4*


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah I watched that months ago and thought it could have rocked one year earlier at a ROH show. That might be the worst Misawa match I've seen actually. Either that or the WWF/All Japan supershow with Bret Hart.


----------



## antoniomare007

I was actually more pissed at Joe after that match. His control section sucked and didn't do shit to make the crowd care. I knew the match wouldn't be much given Misawa's physical problems but that was as forgettable as you get.


----------



## Yeah1993

Does Joe have anything great past 2006? Seems like one of the biggest dives a wrestler took to go from a guy regarded as "the best in the world" to a guy regarded as "this guy SUCKS."


----------



## antoniomare007

he had very good matches with Christian and some fun stuff with Angle but yeah, the guy fell off hard in the span of 1-2 years


----------



## Fighter Daron

Yeah1993 said:


> Does Joe have anything great past 2006? Seems like one of the biggest dives a wrestler took to go from a guy regarded as "the best in the world" to a guy regarded as "this guy SUCKS."


I don't he sucks since 2006, when he can, he makes good/great bouts with people like AJ, Angle or whoever he faces. The thing is he's lost since the Nation of Violence and seems to have given up and only works to have his paycheck every month. Really really sad.

I haven't seen the Misawa/Joe, but I've read only bad things about that, and yes, it'd have been better in ROH, becasue Joe in Japan is only a comedy wrestler beacause they think he imites legends as Tenryu, Kobashi or the same Misawa.

And, by the way, is there an AJPW/WWF show over there?


----------



## Chismo

I don't know, I don't hate Misawa/Joe, but I don't like it too much either. The match is good actually, it's just that everybody expected much more, including me. The crowd sucked ass, which is a shame. Oh, and I fucking LOVE the way Misawa finished him off, that shit was sick. I know I'm overrating this match because I'm such a big mark for both of them, but I give it ****1/4*.



> Does Joe have anything great past 2006?


Everybody knows about Angles series, and his Christian trilogy from 2007 is seriously underrated. Even Vince Russo couldn't kill those matches. In ROH, he had that fucking beautiful powerhouse clash with Morishima. That match is Top 15 in ROH history for me. And if you don't like Davey Richards, you should check out Joe killing him on 7 Year Festival show.


----------



## Yeah1993

What's Joe/McGuinness like from 3/3/07. Dunno what PPV or w/e it's from, but I saw Phil Schneider in the Segunda Caida blog list it as the 2nd best match of '07 and I've never even heard of it.



Fighter Daron said:


> And, by the way, is there an AJPW/WWF show over there?


Not sure what you're asking but if you're asking if a WWF/AJ show existed, then yeah. It was "The Wrestling Summit" in 1990.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Yeah1993 said:


> Not sure what you're asking but if you're asking if a WWF/AJ show existed, then yeah. It was "The Wrestling Summit" in 1990.


Yeah, thanks. Is there anything good from it?


----------



## Cactus

Fighter Daron said:


> Yeah, thanks. Is there anything good from it?


Not great from a match-quality perspective, but it's a cool seeing all the WWF talent with the All Japan guys. WWE 24/7 has a good version of it with English commentary, but it's missing Hogan/Hansen and Tenryu/Savage.


----------



## antoniomare007

Fighter Daron said:


> Yeah, thanks. Is there anything good from it?


it has a GREAT 10 minute match between Tenryu and Savage (w/Sherri)


----------



## Chismo

I remember Terry Gordy not wanting to do a job for Hogan, so Hansen had to do it, lol... Gotta love Bam Bam!


----------



## Bubz

Yeah1993 said:


> *What's Joe/McGuinness like from 3/3/07. Dunno what PPV or w/e it's from, but I saw Phil Schneider in the Segunda Caida blog list it as the 2nd best match of '07 and I've never even heard of it.*


That's an awesome match, it's from the 5th year festival in the UK, definitely worth checking out. Joe was still pretty great in 2007 IMO. His matches at the 5th year festival were all really good (especially the Nigel match and the Morishima match) apart from the Homicide match, but the crowd was great as it was Joe's last ROH match. his matches with Christian were also great, theres one I specifically remember being awesome that ends in a DQ or something.

That WWF/AJPW show looks worth a watch just to see the guys in the ring together.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 12/4/08*

Bison Smith, Bryan Danielson & Ricky Marvin vs Takeshi Morishima, Atsushi Aoki & Akihiko Ito
***

Pretty disappointing. Crowd wasn't really into it either.


----------



## antoniomare007

Kobashi resigned as NOAH's Vice President.


----------



## Yeah1993

Fighter Daron said:


> Yeah, thanks. Is there anything good from it?


I only watched half of the show or show, but Tenryu/Savage is definitely worth watching. The way the Japanese ring announcer pronounces "Savage" was awesome as well.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah1993 said:


> What's Joe/McGuinness like from 3/3/07. Dunno what PPV or w/e it's from, but I saw Phil Schneider in the Segunda Caida blog list it as the 2nd best match of '07 and I've never even heard of it.


I loved it. I'd say its Nigel's best match against someone other than Danielson.


----------



## Cactus

antoniomare007 said:


> Kobashi resigned as NOAH's Vice President.


I hope this doesn't mean he's retiring from the ring. Call me selfish, but I don't want Kobashi to retire any time soon. He's the reason I got into puro.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Cactus said:


> I hope this doesn't mean he's retiring from the ring. Call me selfish, but I don't want Kobashi to retire any time soon. He's the reason I got into puro.


Yeah, but he's so fucked up.


----------



## Cactus

Fighter Daron said:


> Yeah, but he's so fucked up.


He isn't _that_ bad. He has put on some solid matches since he's returned. 

Oh well, if he retires, he better get a retirement series of dream matches like Inoki had.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Cactus said:


> He isn't _that_ bad. He has put on some solid matches since he's returned.
> 
> Oh well, if he retires, he better get a retirement series of dream matches like Inoki had.


In the Dome!


Kobashi can still go, I'd hope for a final series of matches before he hangs up the boots.


----------



## seancarleton77

Either Kobashi retires late 2011 or early 2012, or his body gives up on him and it ends up much worse later in 2012.


----------



## antoniomare007

c'mon guys, Kobashi can barely walk. I know the guy is capable of at least 1 more epic match because he is crazy enough to do anything in the ring, but I don't see the need for him to do that.

Having said that, there's no talk about him retiring so far. I guess we will have more news or rumors tomorrow


----------



## Cactus

My mind's boggling on who he could face for his retirement match. Mutoh? Has he faced him yet? I know they faced in a tag match, but not a singles.


----------



## TelkEvolon

I wouldn't mind seeing Kobashi vs Kawada. Could be a big spectacle.


----------



## seabs

*The obvious answer is Shiozaki. 

The fact that he's working tags on more or less every show since he's returned is so stupid too. He really shouldn't be wrestling that much even in tags and it lessens the draw of a Kobashi match too. He should really only be doing the big shows when they have a meaningful match for him. Like 10 shows a year.*


----------



## Chismo

Kobashi vs. Shiozaki, something like Title vs. Career. Could be fun.


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> Kobashi vs. Shiozaki, something like Title vs. Career.....


..... On A Pole Match!


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi/Shiozaki would be the best option for a retirement match I think.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 12/4/08*

D-Lo Brown, Bobby Fish & Bull Buchanan vs Kenta Kobashi, KENTA & Tamon Honda
***1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

The logical choice is Shiozaki, the story writes itself and is good for business. 

Although I think pissed of Sugi could get a better match out of Kobashi nowadays.


----------



## Bubz

True about Sugiura. I could see NOAH doing Kobashi/Sasaki again for some reason.


----------



## Chismo

Sugiura would probably kill Kobashi, I mean his kicks and elbows are too much for him.


----------



## 2ManyLimes!

Cactus said:


> He isn't _that_ bad. He has put on some solid matches since he's returned.
> 
> Oh well, if he retires, he better get a retirement series of dream matches like Inoki had.


Agreed. Hopefully if that series does come to pass, we get Kobashi-Sugiura, Kobashi-Kawada one last time, and then Kobashi-Shiozaki for him to retire off of.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 12/3/1993*
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi
_In a prequel to the greatest match ever, Misawa and Kobashi take on the Holy Demon Army (Coolest tag team name ever, by the way). Much like the '95 match, what makes this great is how many different stories you have in the ring going on at once. The first one is Misawa freaking out about Kobashi losing early when he's getting beat. Misawa plays his role well, pacing on the apron, looking very worried. Another one is Kawada screwing up his ankle, and he sells it perfectly. You can really see how these four men crafted their storytelling skills for the 6/9/1995 match. I can't give this 5 stars because the first ten minutes did drag for me and there was something about parts here and there that felt a bit 'off'. It's nowhere near the level of the 6/9/1995 match yet, but it's getting there._
*****3/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

i just watched the 94 match a few days ago for the second time. much more appreciated after getting into everything than watching this match in isolation when i was first getting into puro. great stuff.


----------



## Bubz

The 93 tag is fucking awesome. Easily one of my favorite matches ever, but obviously not as good as the 95 match, probably the greatest match I have ever seen.


----------



## bigbuxxx

more random matches:
Sugiura vs Goto from WK IV - **** 

Tanahashi vs Shiozaki from WK IV - ****1/4 - fun match here. does tanahashi ever win without using the high fly flow? that is my only gripe with this guy. he constantly throws out great match after great match i'm not sure how people can hate on him.

Tanahashi vs Bernard from 7/18/11 - ***1/2 - well yes he does win with something other than the HFF but somehow manages to make it a worse finish by doing so. this is the only match this year he's won without the HFF and it irks me to no end.

Nakajima vs KoSuzuki from 5/3/11 - ****1/2 - solid beginning and white hot finish after Nakajima knocks Suzuki's head off with a kick at the 26:01 mark of this vid:


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 4/5/1991*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi
_The first meeting of these two puro legends take place at a non-televised event. It's nice watching puro without commentary. It's cool to hear the fans get into this. We get to see some cool sequences, near-falls and everything you come to expect out of a Kobashi vs Misawa match. Kobashi has a headlock on for about 3 minutes and keeps it interesting; that is hard to do. More proof that Kobashi is a solid candidate for greatest of all time. The match is about 13 minutes long and is well worth a watch. _
*****1/4*


----------



## Emperor DC

Cactus said:


> I hope this doesn't mean he's retiring from the ring. Call me selfish, but I don't want Kobashi to retire any time soon. He's the reason I got into puro.


One of the major factors leading to Mitsu's death was because he went on too long and with the sort of style these guys employ, you simply can't do it.

I wanted Kobashi to give it up years ago, let alone now.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

The 1995 tag really just gets the nod over the 1993 counterpart due to the sheer volume of developing stories throughout the match: Kobashi is still trying to break out from the shell of when he was Misawa and Kawada's lackey and him fighting on one leg to protect a broken Misawa raises his stock and stardorm immensly, Misawa is still fretting over Kobashi locking up with Kawada, Kawada is hell bent on tearing apart Kobashi's leg as revenge for the 1993 beating his leg took, Misawa gets doubleteamed by Taue & Kawada and from here on out they work about developing and playing off of a near 4 year story in Kawada finally pinning Misawa in the middle of the ring.

The actual ring work in my opinion between both is really close and hard to separate, the greater interweaving stories however as well as the heat in the closing stretches of the 1995 tag with Kawada busting everything out to finally score that elusive victory tips the 1995 tag as the best match in company history and an arguable GOAT candidate. On last watch I had it far above Misawa/Kawada 03/06/1994.


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi jumping in and covering Misawa to protect him on one leg is one of the best things I have ever seen in a wrestling match, if not the best.


----------



## asdf0501

Probably I'm in the Minority but...

Jumbo/Tenryu vs Choshu/Yatsu 1/28/86 > Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue 6/9/95 > Kawada/Taue vs Misawa/Akiyama 12/6/96


----------



## antoniomare007

I can understand that. The Jumbo vs Choshu tag is easier to watch, is action packed, has a good story and nuclear heat (besides, heel Jumbo owns the world).

But yeah, Kobashi's perfomance in the 95' tag pushes it above any other tag match for me.


----------



## seancarleton77

Speaking of Jumbo. Jumbo vs. Terry Funk = ****3/4


----------



## bigbuxxx

KoSuzuki vs. Nakajima - 9/23/11 - ****
Match def. approached epic but botches and an unusually short match killed that. Great psychology esp. from Suzuki. Without spoiling this I'll just say when the match ended I said "wtf just happened here". Wish it went longer. I did think this was more fun than the 3/5 match but just not as solid.


----------



## antoniomare007




----------



## Cactus

I'm going to review the Misawa/Kobashi series of single matches. I may even do a video highlighting the series. It'll be highlights of the matches along with some text from my reviews at the bottom. I dunno yet.





*AJPW 4/12/1993*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi 
_This match is joined in progress and we only see the last 10 minutes, so that's a huge downer. It looks like we missed out on a good 10 minutes. We see some offense from Kobashi that is pretty cool, such as using the rope to catapult himself in the air for a high leg drop and also a moonsault onto a standing Misawa. All in all, a good match by what we see. But seeing what was missed could of boosting up the grade a bit. _
****1/2*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Their first bout was in the 1991 CC. These two first matches were good, but a little short and they haven't the crowd totally behind them, what will be showed in their next matches. 

KK Vs MM 1991: ***3/4
KK Vs MM 1993: ****


----------



## McQueen

asdf0501 said:


> Probably I'm in the Minority but...
> 
> Jumbo/Tenryu vs Choshu/Yatsu 1/28/86 > Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue 6/9/95 > Kawada/Taue vs Misawa/Akiyama 12/6/96


While I technically think 6/9/95 is the better match that '86 tag is my favorite match ever. They have a rematch less than a week later thats just as good too.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*AJPW: 19/04/90: Triple Crown Championship:* Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Genichiro Tenryu: 
This match is a year ahead of their all-time classic. I don't expect anything like that, but with this two, there are zero chances of seeing a bad match. Before the match, Hansen destroys Tenryu and has to be stopped by everyone in Ringside. Jumbo goes to take care of Tenryu, but the young gun leaves a Slap on the face that makes the crowd HOT. Jumbo has the control of the match nearly the whole time. The match itself is shorter and hotless than their bout the year before, but still a great match. After the contest, Hansen comes back to give a beating on Tsuruta and makes me want to see their match in 91, what I thought is the earliest.

Rating: ****1/4


----------



## bigbuxxx

must not click thread till NJPW and NOAH events from today are d/l'ed and watched.
must not click thread till NJPW and NOAH events from today are d/l'ed and watched.
must not click thread till NJPW and NOAH events from today are d/l'ed and watched.
etc..


----------



## Chismo

*Go Shiozaki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (NOAH, 9/23/2011)*

What a beautiful match this was. Takayama's performance was awe inspiring, he looked, moved and acted like some hybrid of Andre Teh Giant and Ric Flair. I'm telling you, his control sessions are beautiful, this guy is so entertaining to watch. Forearms, high kicks, knees and AAARGHHHHHH. He tried to destroy Shiozaki's right hand because of chops, and it worked. Go sold it very well, and I LOVED the fact that Go had to use his left hand for chops and lariats, especially at the end where he delivered couple of left-hand lariats only to hulk-up ala Kobashi and decapitate Takayama with his fucked up hand. Great story telling, selling and strategies by both of them. Shiozaki is such a great champion right now, and I'm looking forward to his next defense, which is against KENTA or Sugiura, they had some promos after the match. I didn't understand the word they were saying, but it sounded hilarious for the crowd. Oh, and that fucking crowd was the only bad thing about the match, they were too fucking silent. 
Anyway, this is my #2 in Japan 2011, right behind Shiozaki/Akiyama.
*****1/2*


----------



## Derek

Tanahashi retained (as expected), Tanaka beat MVP for the IC title, Richards & Romero beat Apollo 55 for the jr. tag belts, and Suzuki beat Makabe.

With the win over Makabe, wouldn't be suprised if MiSu was the next one to challenge Tanahashi for the belt.


----------



## antoniomare007

:lmao c'mon man, use a spoiler tag or something. shows are available 1-3 days after they happen. 

kinda shocked that the show only did 6,500 in Sumo Hall though.


and smh at NOAH's mainevent going 30 minutes AGAIN


----------



## Caponex75

Finally, KENTA is in the heavy division. About time.


----------



## Chismo

NOAH "THE NAVIGATION SUNDAY 2011 IN KORAKUEN", 16.10.2011 (G+)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Genba Hirayanagi vs. Shane Haste
2. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Mikey Nicholls
3. Mohammed Yone & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Masao Inoue
4. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara
5. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kenta Kobashi & Takuma Sano
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Satoshi Kajiwara
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki
8. Special Singles Match: Takashi Sugiura vs. Takeshi Morishima

Sugiura/Morishima again.


----------



## topper1

antoniomare007 said:


> :lmao c'mon man, use a spoiler tag or something. shows are available 1-3 days after they happen.


The sad part is that he's a mod and has been called on it before :no:


----------



## McQueen

I'd kick Dereks ass if I were still your representitive.

I'd also oppress CHIKARA & Davey Richards fans though.


----------



## jawbreaker

I think I should be the OW mod. Nobody would say anything good about Eddie Edwards or WGTT. And any new threads asking how to watch ROH would be locked/deleted.

/halfserious


----------



## McQueen

We were joking in another thread yestrerday and Segunda gave me the awesome idea of making a troll poll thread over which Eddie currently has more personality, Eddie Guerrero or Eddie Edwards.

And i'd seriously go with the dead guy.


----------



## jawbreaker

There are threads on this site that aren't part of this section?


----------



## peachchaos

So where can I watch new ROH telecast??? Must see Eddie Edwards and the Greatest of Wrestling Tag Team. Hope they can beat or least match Hogan/TNA!!!!!!!!!! plz


----------



## McQueen

jawbreaker said:


> There are threads on this site that aren't part of this section?


Enter at your own risk.


----------



## Derek

My bad. Won't happen again.

But, so more info...


Spoiler



I guess despite losing to Nagata, Yano is next in line for a title shot against Tanahashi. He attcked him and challeneged him post match apparently. 

Also, looks like Takayama showed up in street clothes and gave Makabe an Everest German. Not sure if the was during the match or after.


----------



## jawbreaker

peachchaos said:


> So where can I watch new ROH telecast??? Must see Eddie Edwards and the Greatest of Wrestling Tag Team. Hope they can beat or least match Hogan/TNA!!!!!!!!!! plz


you forgot "I dont like Adam Cole. He looks like a jobber and he cant cut a promo. ROH needs to get rid of guy like him for them to beat WWE."


----------



## WOOLCOCK

jawbreaker said:


> There are threads on this site that aren't part of this section?


You'd love the WWE Match/Show discussion thread, especially since its not just limited to WWE but extends to the likes of WCW, Mid South, Memphis, Texas etc simply because either WWE owns the library footage or most of the workers there are WWE alumni and thus able to talked about in the WWE section. Its legit the only thread outside of this section I regularly pay attention to (especially since Cat's Old School WWF rant seems to have been dropped for now). 

Oh and :lmao @ the Eddie/Eddie personality poll.


----------



## Bubz

Could anybody tell me the date of the Tanahashi/Nagata match that everyone was raving about earlier this year?


----------



## jawbreaker

McQueen said:


> Enter at your own risk.


yeah talking with a bunch of WWE fans about things is not exactly high on my to-do list. if there's a music forum I imagine it consists of people talking about shitty hard rock and maybe some rap.

I might check out that thread Segunda mentioned, though I haven't seen enough from those companies to contribute much of value.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

You'd love Jerry Lawler circa mid 1980s, 95% of his offence is some of the stiffest and realistic punches you'll ever see, but its all tied together with story, character, great crowds, performances and building to the epic Lawler comeback. I could imagine you loving the Bill Dundee series of matches as its the perfect face vs heel contrast.

Its only around 10-12 posters though who are regulars and a variety of matches get discussed, mostly WWF/E but then a few people are doing a WCW project atm so quite a few matches get dropped there and someone is usually watching some 80s stuff be it NWA, WWF, Memphis or other promotions. Memphis and Mid South in particular based on what I've seen you look for in matches/workers would be right up your alley.


----------



## jawbreaker

yeah I've always been told that but I can never find enough of it for free and I'm a broke ass college student who can't pay for wrestling. if you've got anywhere I can grab a lot of it at once I'd absolutely love to get on it.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Seabs's megapost would be the ideal place to start, he has Mid South and Memphis in abundance (sure he bought the DVDVR sets and then ripped the essential stuff), Youtube also has a lot of Memphis stuff in particular and tbf the quality isn't sensational due to the stuff they used in the 80s so either source is fine.

If I had to pick Lawler's elite stuff from the era:

Dundee Loser Leaves Town matches, 6/6/83 and 30/12/85. The 85 match IMO being the best match the company ever put on and something that is worthy of being discussed as an 80s MOTDC as well as a possible GOAT match.

Austin Idol Hair vs Hair Cage Match 1987: the brawling and bumping isn't on par with Dundee but the actual angle is probably better than any Lawler/Dundee angle they did and the closing stages are what propels it into elite territory.

Dutch Mantell trilogy 1982: No DQ match on 22/3/1982 which features the single greatest transition spot in history, then on 27/3 they do a studio Loser Leaves Town match which is made by two Mantell promos before the feud culminates in a Barbed Wire match on 29/3.

Terry Funk series in 1981: the No DQ match is an incredible brawl made by Lawler's offence, a nuclear crowd and Funk bumping, selling and turning his character performance off the charts greatness. They then have an empty arena match which is more of a segment (albeit an incredible one) that is well worth your time to watch even though some people decide not to rate it.

Ric Flair studio angle 14/8/82: basically Flair arrives in memphis to put pen to paper on a future NWA champion vs southern heavyweight champion matchup. He basically runs down Memphis as a hicktown whilst disguising it as subtle praise and is set to face a local chump when lawler enters and goads him into a 10 minute time limit match for the title, continuing Lawler's running angle of wanting to become NWA champion. Without spoiling it, its worth noting Lawler always starts slow and gets stronger the longer the match goes on, which sets up an incredible post match promo from Flair and Jimmy Hart against Lawler.

Bam Bam Bigelow Texas Death match 1986: big man vs crowd icon worked to perfection, the perfect lawler match in putting his opponent over as a killer.

Randy Savage Loser Leaves Town Match 1985: he has 3 matches with Savage covering 1983-1985 and whilst I consider this trilogy weaker than the Bockwinkel, Mantell, Dundee and Funk matches, the LLT is definitely the best of the bunch and likely a top 4 LLT match from the promotion. Maybe Lawler's best ever comeback as well in a match which is saying an awful lot considering he mastered the art of how to build and make his superman comeback so organic.

He also has great stuff with Bockwinkel, some tags vs Rude and Bundy, a great match vs Jimmy Hart and other great shit involving Dundee, Rick Martel, Koko B Ware, Harley Race and many others. The above matches would be his best stuff though.


----------



## antoniomare007

:lmao Segunda, you really take any chance you get to pimp Jerry.

jawbreaker, all you need to know about Lawler is that he is a son of a jackass and a lover of chickens :side:



Bubz said:


> Could anybody tell me the date of the Tanahashi/Nagata match that everyone was raving about earlier this year?


4/3/11


----------



## WOOLCOCK

:lmao just this minute posted how he vs vader is one of the great lost matchups in wrestling in some dude's Vader appreciation thread.

Ermmm to keep on topic, Lawler's like the US Kawada. He may not be as heavily regarded by mainstream watchers as one of the best workers compared to Misawa (Flair), Jumbo (Funk)or Kobashi (HBK, Austin, Benoit, Eddie or Steamboat etc) but over the time the more you watch of him the more you start to see he ages better over time and is consistently greater than the rest.

Ok the Kawada comparison is shit because most people would put Kawada at worst a top 7 puro guy but fuck it Kawada's my Japanese Lawler


----------



## antoniomare007

Fujiwara might be a better comparison. Not a lot of people have watch his work, but the people that have always put him in the Top 5 or Top 10 worker discussion.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Fuck the more I think about it you're right, Fujiwara is a fly under the radar for most people and the same could be said for Lawler, especially in the WWE section.

Would love to hear the people who claim Dynamite/Tiger Mask matches to be the greatest to see how Fujiwara worked with Sayama, infinitely better series of matches.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 9/4/08*

*Champion Carnival - Final*
Suwama vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
****


----------



## Cactus

Segunda Caida said:


> Fuck the more I think about it you're right, Fujiwara is a fly under the radar for most people and the same could be said for Lawler, especially in the WWE section.
> 
> *Would love to hear the people who claim Dynamite/Tiger Mask matches to be the greatest to see how Fujiwara worked with Sayama, infinitely better series of matches.*


Ask and you shall receive, Caida. 





*UWF 9/7/1984*
Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
_This is a total first for me. I've never been a big fan of shoot style, but this has Sayama in it and he's one of my personal favorites, so it felt only right to give this a chance and I'm glad I did. It told a story that shows how the debuting Sayama has to get more familiar with the grappling style of working, instead of his high flying style that he was popular for in NJPW and Fujiwara is the no-frills veteran who doesn't want some kid in a tacky Tiger costume to come in and make UWF a joke. Unlike any other shoot wrestling match I have seen, Tiger goes to the top rope. He tries a knee drop and a moonsault but is unsuccessful both times and these two blunders nearly cost him the match. Tiger learns from his mistakes and manages to pick up the win with a crossface chicken-wing. This match is more proof that Satoru Sayama is not just a great high-flyer, but a great grappler and storyteller as well. _
*****1/4 - ****1/2*


----------



## antoniomare007

Yano will challenge for the IWGP title on 12/11 and TAKA will be Devitt's next challenger. 

And also a never before seen match between Tanaka and Goto :side:


----------



## Cactus

I hope TAKA beats Devitt. It looks like another win for 'Hashi too.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Nice review Cactus but next time talk about Fujiwara dammit , legit top 5 puro wrestler EVER covering AJPW, NJPW, Shoot Style etc etc. What's so great about the Sayama/Fujiwara matches is Fujiwara is your Finlay/Regal esque wrestler who makes each sequence look like a legit struggle for control, as opposed to Dynamite who's best sequences with Sayama came off as looking overly choreographed and more often than not meaning very little when it wasn't sold well to ensure they could do a better spot a few minutes later. Fujiwara in these series of matches sells the kicks of Sayama incredibly, he'll sell the ones that connect well like death but doesn't oversell some of the kicks that hit weak and thus keeps it looking legit, he also manages to work a lot of counter attempts off of the kicks which keeps you in suspense because for every kick he catches and turns into a submission there's a kick that gets through his defences and floors him.

Fujiwara will be your next greatest discovery, bank on it.


----------



## Cactus

I couldn't really say much about Fujiwara other than what I just added to the my review as I am not familiar with him. 'Fujiwara is the no-frills veteran who doesn't want some kid in a tacky Tiger costume to come in and make UWF a joke.' A Regal comparison does seem very accurate. I saw him in a IGF match in 2011 and it seems that he is the same guy, playing the grumpy motherfucker character to perfection. 

Any matches that you recommend that I check out?


----------



## antoniomare007

Choshu vs Fujiwara from 87'. Amazing atmosphere and match.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah the entire Super Tiger series
vs Choshu as Antonio says, goes maybe 14 minutes but has unreal heat and Fujiwara is an absolute monster.
vs Hashimoto, IWPG Heavyweight Title 1994. A true cat and mouse game built around Fujiwara being the all time greatest defensive wrestler and Hashimoto getting caught in flash submissions and trying to find a way around Fujiwara.
the 26/3/86 and 5/1/86 Gauntlets are incredible matches, not necessarily Fujiwara showcases but he's involved and does great against Fujinami in one.
vs Joe Malenko, PWFG 1993- on youtube. Intense grappling between two maestros.
vs Yamazuki 1989 UWF- amazing amazing match. Nothing more need be said, Fujiwara does the greatest KO selling ever.
vs Tenryu, WAR 1997- again on youtube. They just beat the absolute snot and piss out of each other, finish was a little deflating IIRC but everything leading up to it is amazing.
vs Akira Maeda 2/5/86- really good match between both men and shows off the UWF style really well to the NJPW crowd.
vs Hiroshi Hase in NJPW is also really really good, think its from 1993.

Almost forgot the 19/4/84 Gauntlet from New Japan, sure it was voted NJPW MOTD on the 80s set DVDVR released. Again Fujiwara isn't by far and away the best guy in the match but its an awesome match on top of showcasing him.

There's a Dick Murdoch match from 1996 in PWFG on 'the site' that's really really awesome as well, Fujiwara vs Murdoch is like a wet dream. He's got tons of other great showcases namely in UWF and PWFG but he has crossed over into Zero 1 and NJPW with some real good stuff in there. This blog covering his best stuff is a great place to start:

There's also a 9/12/88 elimination match on 'the site' which the guy who runs the site personally voted for as New Japan's MOTD. Again well worth your time to watch and something that was touted as one of the ultimate wrestling hidden gems.
http://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2009/08/complete-and-accurate-list-of-all-of.html


----------



## Fighter Daron

*BJW 28.04.2011:* *AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championships - *Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuki Okabayashi vs Manabu Soya & Ryuto Hama:
Great match. First of all, Hama was in for a few minutes, thanks, he's funny, but definitely not for a thirty minute title match like this. Sekimoto is simply great, his stiffness and his character is superb, Okabayashi makes a great pair with him. Soya is not bad, but in this match, the only thing he did was take a lifetime beating. I love the Double German Suplex Strong BJ does, that move in which Okabayashi takes someone for a German, but Sekimoto catches him and delivers a German from his own. Wonderful. The match itself starts slow, but is in crescendo until the fast-paced final sequence. 

For me, way better than the famous Strong BJ vs Soya and Sanada matches.

Rating: ****1/4

*NOAH: 07/10/2011:* Jun Akiyama Vs Katsuhiko Nakajima: 
Man, what a helluva match, A HELL OF A MATCH. This shit is stiff in every single meaning of the word. Nakajima brutalized Akiyama since the beginning with kicks, and when I say kicks, I mean KICKS! Akiyama takes a beating a bit surprised about the bravery of the junior, but in the end, he came with a bunch of knees that were simply sick. Fast pace, stiff strikes, deadly bumps, what do you want more, not, WHY THE FUCK DON'T YOU GO AND WATCH IT DAMN RIGHT NOW?! 

This was a lesson of how to put an epic match in ten minutes, my god.

Rating: ****1/2

*NJPW BOSJ Night VII: Best of the Super Jr. - Block A:* Prince Devitt vs Kenny Omega: 
Very good match from these two, what it's not a surprise at all, Devitt is fucking great, I'm in love with this man, and Omega is a good worker, but I just can't take him seriously. The Spot with the ladder on the street was amazing, not so much the one with the table in ringside, but I guess it's Ok. It was fast-paced as expected and nothing more.

Rating: ***3/4


----------



## bigbuxxx

Destruction was a pretty good show and worth the watch. Overall I'd give it around 8.5/10. 



Spoiler



Had a solid opener then two meh matches and after that it hit the ground running.

Apollo 55 vs No Remorse Corps: ****-****1/2
Tanahashi vs Naito: ****

It boggles my mind that Yano gets the next shot . MiSu crushes Makabe and Nagata beats Yano but Yano gets the shot? I'm not a fan of Yano either so this upcoming event sucks because I don't see a good match there and TAKA will never beat Devitt. Hopefully Goto, Nakamura, MiSu can get some good matches.

Also Makabe was attacked by Takayama after his match. What is this point of this? Would make sense if he won but why attack some guy who just lost? It's like double burying Makabe for no reason.


----------



## Yeah1993

That's probably the "worst" Fujiwara/Tiger match, which speaks pretty volumes of how good the others are.



Segunda Caida said:


> the 26/3/86 and *5/1/86* Gauntlets are incredible matches, not necessarily Fujiwara showcases but he's involved and does great against Fujinami in one.


I'd say that's almost a Fujiwara showcase, actually. There's ten (I think ten) guys in that match and multiple sub-matches that make the gauntlet a whole and I'm still remembering Fujiwara's specific actions. He didn't make the match on his own, but he out-permormed everyone else.

That first one isn't a gauntlet, though; if I have the right date it's the elimination tag. This is actually making me want to hop back on the NJ80s train. :$


----------



## antoniomare007

bigbuxxx said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> It boggles my mind that Yano gets the next shot .





Spoiler



Tanahashi announced that his next defense was going to be against Nagata, but Yano attacked him and took the belt from him. Besides Yano beat him in a great match in the G-1.

I guess they needed a filler defense so Tana can face Nagata in December to break Yugi's record of title defenses.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> Tanahashi announced that his next defense was going to be against Nagata, but Yano attacked him and took the belt from him. Besides Yano beat him in a great match in the G-1.
> 
> I guess they needed a filler defense so Tana can face Nagata in December to break Yugi's record of title defenses.





Spoiler



that makes more sense. thought Yano ended up losing that match. thought his match with Yano was in December from somebody itt, may be wrong.


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: New Japan



Yano getting a title shot makes total sense given he has a pin over Tanahashi and I was hoping they followed up on it. It's coming right after the Tag League too so it's a opportune time to do it and not waste a big title match. Match was awesome in G1 but that was largely down to the crowd. Still I guess it could be fun. 

Kojima/Tenzan is on the next PPV so that rules out Makabe/Kojima getting a tag match on the show out of the tag league so there's a good chance Makabe/Takayama will take place then or on the next PPV.


*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Blocks announced for G-1 Tag League. Starts 10/22

Block A: 
- Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson [Bad Intentions ] 
- Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer [Suzuki Army] 
- Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma [Stardust*Stream] 
- Strong Man & Tama Tonga [Muscle Pavilion] 
- Yuji Nagata & King Fale [Blue Justice] 
- Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi [Complete Players ] 

Block B: 
- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto [The Billion Powers ] 
- Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano [CHAOS Top Team] 
- Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe [Strong Beast Combination] 
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue [Teacher and Student Tag] 
- Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito [Chaos of the Northern] 
- Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii [Soul of W] 

Block B looks pretty sweet. Block A, not so much. First day is Tanahashi/Goto vs Nakamura/Yano. Anybody know if these will all get put up like the G-1 in August?

Iizuka and Saito against Strongman and Tonga in the finals ftw!


----------



## Fighter Daron

Wow, what a difference from one block to another, just like in the singles tournament.


----------



## seabs

> NJPW, 22.10.2011 (J Sports)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi
> 2. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 3. G1 Tag League - Block B: Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
> 5. G1 Tag League - Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
> 6. G1 Tag League - Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
> 7. G1 Tag League - Block B: Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue
> 8. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
> 
> 
> NJPW, 23.10.2011 (J Sports)
> Kuki City Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 2. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi
> 3. G1 Tag League - Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
> 5. Giant Bernard, Tetsuya Naito, Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado
> 6. G1 Tag League - Block B: Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
> 7. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue
> 
> 
> NJPW, 24.10.2011
> New Sunpia Tochigi
> 
> 1. Takaaki Watanabe vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 2. Yuji Nagata, King Fale & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Strong Man , Tama Tonga & Kyosuke Mikami
> 3. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
> 5. Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Taichi
> 6. G1 Tag League - Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
> 7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo
> 
> 
> NJPW, 26.10.2011
> Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena
> 
> 1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi
> 2. G1 Tag League - Block A: Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
> 3. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma
> 5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Jado
> 6. Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 7. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
> 
> 
> NJPW, 30.10.2011 (J Sports)
> Nishio City Central Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 2. Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Strong Man , Tama Tonga & Kyosuke Mikami
> 3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Hideo Saito, Jado & Gedo
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
> 5. G1 Tag League - Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
> 6. G1 Tag League - Block B: Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
> 7. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
> 
> 
> NJPW, 03.11.2011 (J Sports)
> New Sunpia Gunma
> 
> 1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Yuji Nagata, King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami
> 3. G1 Tag League - Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block B: Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
> 5. G1 Tag League - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
> 6. G1 Tag League - Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
> 7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo
> 
> 
> NJPW, 04.11.2011 (J Sports)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 
> 1. Hideo Saito vs. Takaaki Watanabe
> 2. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 3. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo
> 4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Strong Man & Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
> 5. G1 Tag League - Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
> 6. G1 Tag League - Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
> 7. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
> 8. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe
> 
> 
> NJPW, 06.11.2011 (J Sports)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. G1 Tag League - Semi Final:
> 2. G1 Tag League - Semi Final:
> 3. G1 Tag League - Final:


*The dates with J Sports next to them are the ones that will air so basically all the matches worth seeing will. Makabe/Kojima or MiSu/Archer to win.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> *The dates with J Sports next to them are the ones that will air so basically all the matches worth seeing will. Makabe/Kojima or MiSu/Archer to win.*


Is this not worthy?

7. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 23/9/02*

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa
***3/4


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NJPW: 06/09/87:* Riki Choshu Vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara: 
First of all, I've never seen Fujiwara, I've seen Chosu twice, against Hashimoto and Tenryu and I can't get him, he's not bad, but neither a great wrestler. Nevermind, I've only heard good things about Fujiwara, therefore I expect something good from this one. Before the bell rang, Fujiwara attacks Chosu and busted him wide open against the guardrails, great start. Toshiaki holds nearly the whole match under control with heel tactics, what I can't understand is why the crowd is going bananas with him, but whatever. Chosu manages to stop the beating and both wrestlers have a stare down in the middle of the ring behind a great pop.

Chosu gains the control of the fight and when he tried a Brainbuster, Fujiwara reversed it into a Wakigatame or Fujiwara Armbar while he lols, epic. After that, Chosu throws Fujiwara to ringside and opens his head with the ring post. After two lariats, the referee stops the match in a someway anticlimatic match-up ending. Well, great bout, good pace, great Heat and Fujiwara seems to be a boss. Best match I've seen from Chosu.

Rating: ****1/4

Who's Yoshihiro Akiyama?


----------



## Yeah1993

My lil' bit of research tells me Yoshihiro Akiyama is an MMArtist. Dunno if he's had anyhtign to do with wrestling.

Fujiwara/Choshu really is awesome. My thoughts can be read here: http://prograps.blogspot.com/search?q=choshu

Fujiwara is extroadinary and if he has ever had a bad match in his career I have yet to see it. I like Choshu a lot as well, but I could name 10 Japanese-born wrestlers I'd rank ahead without thinking.


----------



## Cactus

*UWF 12/5/1984*
Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
_Shit's getting serious now. It's the second match in this series and Fujiwara wants to pick up a win. In the last match, he submitted to the debuting Super Tiger. Fujiwara did not take Tiger seriously and it resulted with him eating some stiff shots. In this match, Fujiwara is wary of Tiger's strikes and thinks twice before going to grapple. He soon gets pissed off and the match turns in to a total strikefest. Tiger gets the advantage with some hard shots and eventually gets the win via knockout. Fujiwara did a great job at selling the kicks and Tiger did a great job dishing them out. The only thing that stops this one from getting the full 5 marks is that the middle of the match is quite dull. _
*****3/4*


----------



## smitlick

lmao... I should really read over what i post.. Thats obviously meant to be Takayama.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I remember seeing a Fujiwara/Kawada match somewhere that bummed me out because it was nowhere near as good as it should have been, not a clue where to find it now but I happened to come across it by chance and somewhere and instantly wish I never had.

Nice review Cactus, I'm pretty sure the 12/5/84 match was the highest of their matches on the Best of 1980s Other Japan results on the segunda caida blog, think it placed #2. I know a lot of people in particular though rave about the 17/7/85 match as their masterpiece match, they're all great but its between that and the 12/5 match as my personal favourite. Good to see you loved the selling of Fujiwara, as I mentioned before in the last match you posted he does amazingly well to sell the best kicks like death but never over-sells any kick that hits weak, plus the whole 'will he/won't he catch a kick and grab a submission' is always a great story dynamic to their matches since its the ultimate meeting of strikes vs submissions.

People also need to watch Fujiwara vs Tenryu from WAR 1997, the whole match was recently just uploaded to youtube this week and I'm sure its also on 'the site'. If you don't already know its going to be an awesome match from the two people involved then shame on you.

Also came across an amazing quote to describe Davey Richards today, 'when resident evil goes to wrestling school' :lmao :lmao. I was in tears.

Also I'd probably call Fujiwara the best Puro worker, then any of Kawada, Misawa, Takayama, Jumbo (1990 pissed off Jumbo), TENRYU, Hashimoto, Fujinami and Kobashi would be next. Peak Liger would also be knocking on the door somewhere, as would Tamura although he's sadly limited to little footage compared to the others. There is a great Choshu vs Tenryu match though from 1993, its not the famous January 4th match from the Tokyo Dome but another one from around August time I want to say.

EDIT; its 6th April 1993, http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T239V08W


----------



## Cactus

Caida, you wouldn't happened to have Fujiwara/Tiger 3 & 4, would you? I can't seem to find it.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Unable to help sorry, I can only locate 17/7 and 9/11 from 1985 which are their final matches in the series.

The date for one of the missing matches is 24/6/85 though, may be worth asking in the media requests section but I'm unable to help at present.

EDIT: I think their entire series is located on the DVDVR Best of 1980s Other Japan set, KingCal has it on here and being he's much cheaper and reasonable with pricing than others and the fact its only 6 discs you should be able to get a good deal if you were that desperate to locate the missing matches. The 24/6 match was voted #30 on the set so I know its definitely on there and I presume the other missing match would be as well.


----------



## Yeah1993

Segunda Caida said:


> Also I'd probably call Fujiwara the best Puro worker, then any of Kawada, Misawa, Takayama, Jumbo (1990 pissed off Jumbo), TENRYU, Hashimoto, Fujinami and Kobashi would be next. Peak Liger would also be knocking on the door somewhere, as would Tamura although he's sadly limited to little footage compared to the others.


I may actually call Tamura a top 5, definitely, definitely top ten. The only reason his footage is low is because the companies he was in didn't run a shit ton of shows, but over ten years of his career is represented really well in availability. I'd go Misawa, Kawada, Fujiwara, Tenryu, Tsuruta, Hashimoto, Liger, Tamura, Kobashi, Fujinami in no order. Actually looking at that, Choshu could be #11. 



Cactus said:


> Caida, you wouldn't happened to have Fujiwara/Tiger 3 & 4, would you? I can't seem to find it.



I'm pretty sure CrazyLuke111 has them all up on Youtube. Someone does, anyway.


----------



## Cactus

Nah. CrazyLuke111 has 1,2,5 and 6. I can't find 5 & 6 anywhere on YouTube.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW 10/8/1981*
Tiger Mask vs Masked Hurricane
_It's mask versus mask here, so I guess it's obvious who's the win is going to be. Much like Tiger's match with El Canek, there is some pointless submission work that doesn't affect the finish in anyway in this one. It's much less botchier and it's much shorter than the Canek match, so I'll let it slide. After the two exchange holds, Tiger unleashes on Hurricane with a flurry of dropkicks. The match then ends prematurely with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Hurricane turns out to be some silly gaijin that I'm not sure of. _
***3/4*

*NJPW 12/8/1981*
Tiger Mask vs El Canek 
_Right of the get-go, Tiger Mask botches. He tries to land on his feet after taking an arm drag but falls on his ass. It wouldn't of been so bad if they didn't try to redo the spot straight after botching it. There's plenty of botches to be found in this. It's also quite slow paced, with many unique submissions. I wouldn't mind it that much if they actually made use of the submission. They don't and the whole purpose of them in this match is too kill time. Tiger gets a comeback at the end and does some cool dives to the outside, which eventually leads to a double count-out. _
***1/4*

*WWF 12/7/1982*
Tiger Mask vs Mr. Saito
_3 minutes of awesome old school action. Tiger Mask uses his high-flying ability to out-smart Masa Saito, as well as winning the crowd over too. The crowd absolutely flip their shit when Tiger does a running top rope placha. Tiger gets the win when he hits a Christian-like springboard roll-up, much to the crowd's approval._
*****


----------



## TheAce

Those Tiger/Fujiwara matches are aweseom! thanks!

It's nice to know that when the rest of the board sucks I can always come in this thread for some reasonable discussion. Cheers guys!


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 15/5/08*

Atsushi Aoki vs Bryan Danielson
***1/4


----------



## asdf0501

i always will be a Jumbo guy, but i can understand why someone will chose Fujiwara like the best Puro Guy Ever.

If i think in that he will be Top 5 when i go on a Kawada Roll, and Top 3 Every another time after Jumbo And Tenryu.

Sayama as Super Tiger was also really underrated, his work in that Gimmick is in another universe compared to the Tiger Mask work


----------



## seabs

*NOAH Global League Blocks:

A:
Shiozaki
Takayama
Akiyama
Morishima
Kanemaru
Suzuki
Yoshie
Miyahara
Murdoch

B:
Sugiura
KENTA
Sano
Saito
Yone
Taniguchi
Sasaki
Smith
Fish

Sad day when there's a bunch of juniors being shoehorned into this to make up the numbers. KENTA and Suzuki I'm fine with as Suzuki's been great and KENTA's being pushed as a heavy recently but Kanemaru and Bobby Fish? Murdoch being in there is great though. Really hope his matches with Tak and Go air.*


----------



## Chismo

I'm fine with Bobby Fish. His work is really underrated. Kenskay needs to win this, so we can watch Go/Kenskay II.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah he's fine but as a junior he shouldn't be in this and he's not even that high up on the hierarchy level in NOAH either. Sucks Nakajima got injured cause he could have had some really good Junior/Heavy matches based on his match with Akiyama. Sasaki or KENTA will probably win but it really doesn't matter because whoever wins isn't going to make any difference to business and Go is beating the winner anyway.



Spoiler: NOAH title matches today



Marvin won the Jr. belt. Glad for him even if it's a fluke reign

Suzuki/Aoki took the Jr tag titles off KENTA/Kanemaru. Naturally the match had to go just under 30 minutes.


*


----------



## Fighter Daron

The League looks great. The blocks are treated as equals, Go/Suzuki/Akiyama/Morishima and KENTA/Sugiura/Sasaki/Taniguchi. All the matches between those four will be great.


----------



## antoniomare007

weird NOAH booking as always with those GL blocks, and with Maru's return match being against Sugi...

and the new GHC Jr champ vacated the title after winning it, he's gonna have a decision match against Nakajima...fpalm


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NOAH & wXw "GENESIS IN GERMANY": GHC Heavyweight Title - International Dream Match III:* Takashi Sugiura (c) Vs Claudio Castagnoli:

Great match from start to beginning, solid back and forth action, a crowd going bananas with Claudio and good-paced. The match itself started good, with Claudio dominating and punishing Sugiura's arm, but Takashi didn't sell it in the end although Claudio was working it for nearly fifteen minutes. The end was logic but anticlimatic. And that's it, a very entertaining watch.

Rating: ****1/4


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NJPW "DESTRUCTION '11", 10/10/11:*
1. Schwarz, Weiss, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Killer Rabbit Vs Takashi Iizuka, Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Hideo Saito: **1/4
2. Tomoaki Honma Vs Yujiro Takahashi: **3/4
3. Wataru Inoue Vs Lance Archer: **1/2
4. Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga Vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero: ***1/4
5. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:* Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Davey Richards & Rocky Romero: ****
6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan Vs Satoshi Kojima: ***3/4
7. Yuji Nagata Vs Toru Yano: ***1/2
8. *IWGP Intercontinental Championship:* MVP Vs Masato Tanaka: ***3/4
9. Togi Makabe Vs Minoru Suzuki: ***1/2
10. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Tetsuya Naito: ****3/4

Rating: ***1/2

I prefer the Apollo 55/NRC from earlier this year, I'm a bit disapointed with this one as everybody said it was amazing, but it's good.

From the other matches, I'm so looking forward for the final Tenzan Vs Kojima, it'll be epic for sure.

Tanaka has got the best match out of MVP that anyone has done this year, real good match, but MVP's moveset still looks as shit.

And the main event, oh my god, I didn't give the full monty because, I don't know, I don't know why. It was so fast-paced, Naito sold like a god, Tanahashi looked the hardest I've ever seen, some great spots and the crowd totally behind them, one of the best matches this year.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW TV 2/21/1993*

*Akira Taue, Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Satoru Asako ****1/4*

*Terry Gordy & Steve Williams vs The Patriot & The Eagle*
_Clipped down to about 4 minutes._
**1/4*

*Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi vs Stan Hansen & Rob Van Dam
***3/4*


----------



## McQueen

Was that the match Kawada murders RVD?


----------



## Cactus

McQueen said:


> Was that the match Kawada murders RVD?


Yeah. That spinning kick made me cringe. It's a solid contender for hardest kick evar. RVD was pretty good in the match though.


----------



## McQueen

I've never actually seen the match itself, just a highlight video of RVD being beaten mercilessly that someone added rather comical captions too.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Oh Toshiaki, you heartless cruel bastard you.


Beating the crap out of RVD just pushes him closer to GOAT status.


----------



## McQueen

If he mercilessly beats Davey Richards to retirement I will get a full back tattoo of him and name my children Dangerous K, Kawada, The Tosh'


----------



## WOOLCOCK

:lmao


----------



## Cactus

What's ol' Tosh doing nowadays anyway? Last I saw of him was singing at HUSTLE shows.


----------



## McQueen

Freelancing/semi retirement I think.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I recall he beat the shit out of Morishima last year in NOAH, got no fucking reaction and played an old star trying to hang with the newer guy. Selling was as good as ever and him just unloading at the end and doing the most badass pin off of a kick to the head was immense.

Kawada: a beating you're proud to take. Puts more hairs on your chest than Guinness.


----------



## antoniomare007

Kawada is retired at the moment. He works in a restaurant he owns iirc.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah. It's a ramen place, I think.

RVD seemed WAYYYYYY better in All Japan than anywhere in the US. I'm not talking just about him having the right opponents, either. last time I watched it vs. Dan Kroffat 9/6/95 (that's JUNE 9TH, ERIC) I thought it was really great and his best match by a million miles.


----------



## Bubz

So when does the winner of KENTA/Sugi get a title shot?

Surely since that's just happened, we can count those two out of winning the Global League?


----------



## smitlick

Bubz said:


> So when does the winner of KENTA/Sugi get a title shot?
> 
> Surely since that's just happened, we can count those two out of winning the Global League?


NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum 

1. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura 
2. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA


----------



## WOOLCOCK

who's the sick bastard who booked a Naomichi Marafuji RETURN match?


----------



## smitlick

lol is Marufuji still booking NOAH?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I have no idea tbh but that would explain it, I need more Marafuji like the World needs more Paranormal Activity 2.


----------



## Bubz

Ha! Glad I'm not alone. Marufuji has become almost unwatchable for me in recent years. The definition of a spotmonkey.

Also just watched KENTA vs Sugiura 10/10/11. Really good, but dragged on too long, they could have done with about 5 minutes cut off, and the first GTS wasn't needed at all, the first one should have been the second one. I would have also liked Sugiura to have a longer control segment to really show that KENTA was the underdog, it was too back and forth for my liking until the last quarter. Apart from that though it was a really good match with a good story told throughout but mostly in the last quarter of the match where Sugi was his usual badass self and just destroyed KENTA with forearms and knees etc, there was a point when I thought there was no way he was losing even though I knew the result lol. KENTA is awesome and I'm glad he is now in the heavy division, there really wasn't anything else for him to do in Jr's or tag. ****


----------



## Chismo

Marufuji had his return match last year too, against KENTA. He lost.


----------



## seancarleton77

Marufuji is going to get MURDERED!!!! Fuck 'em Sugiura, fuck 'em up!


----------



## Derek

Pretty sure Marufuji has had a return match every year for the past 3 or 4 years.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

"Paging Kawada to the Marafuji return match, Kawada to the Marufuji return match".


Actually just reinact that DDT segment with the whole roster hitting their finisher on this guy to prepare him for Sekimoto, only have Tenryu and Kawada beat the piss out of Marafuji for longer, like 10x longer. Like till their arms and legs hurt so they beat him up some more for making their arms and legs hurt.


----------



## antoniomare007

Kawada is not needed, Sugi is going to beat the shit out of Maru and probably try to drop him on his head at least once.

I hope Maru loses, but I wouldn't be shocked if dumb ass NOAH makes Sugi job to two fucking juniors in 2 months...


----------



## seabs

*Marufuji's not only been awful in the ring since his last return but he also books a lot of this shite that NOAH puts out which just makes him even more awfuler. Marufuji/Sugiura is certainly an odd pairing indeed. That 27/11 show has Marvin/Nakajima on as well so could be a pretty good show by NOAH standards on paper until the title matches all go over 20 minutes because their a title match in NOAH.*


----------



## antoniomare007

I wanna see if KENTA challenging and Maru returning makes any difference in attendance and if the Ariake crowd can manage to be somewhat alive.


----------



## Chismo

Nakajima/Marvin decision match could be very fucking good, especially with this "vacated titles" story behind it.
KENTA/Shiozaki is a potential MOTYC, probably. Marufuji/Sugiura could rock too, especially if Sugi is in a bad mood. God, I hope so!


----------



## bigbuxxx

Why does Makabe bring a chain out with him every match? Has he ever used it?


----------



## leglock

bigbuxxx said:


> Why does Makabe bring a chain out with him every match? Has he ever used it?


Bruiser Brody and yes.


----------



## McQueen

When doesn't he use the chain...


----------



## antoniomare007

wait, you have actually watched Makabe wrestle???


----------



## McQueen

Me or Bigbuxx, because i'll admit to not seeing any of his matches for a year or two now.


----------



## antoniomare007

It's always a surprise when you talk about current non-WWE wrestlers . Even though in most cases you haven't watched anything from them in a couple of years and talk about them as if you still watch their work







.


----------



## seancarleton77

bigbuxxx said:


> Why does Makabe bring a chain out with him every match? Has he ever used it?


Of course he's used it. And he probably brings the chain to hide his lack of exciting matches, not that his matches suck, he's just no MiSu.


----------



## Bubz

MiSu just owns completely.


----------



## Cactus

Yeah. MiSu is the definition of badass.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I don't mind MiSu, can't say he makes me wish he wrestled longer matches though. Probably a guy who's better in 10-15 minute matches where they cut to the action, make the sequences come faster rather than dragging a match along.

Also Fujiwara getting pissed off before cracking the ultimate sick grin against Choshu in their infamous 1987 match is the definition of badass to me, its like he gets pissed off at being hit, then embraces the physicality before realising he can now give some back to Choshu. Also Hashimoto in general could define badass, particularly as a hot tag recipient and due to him having arguably the greatest offence of any wrestler ever.

One more Marafuji jibe: guy's been in that much shit I'm waiting for the day its revealed he part financed Attack of the Clones. Cunt.


----------



## McQueen

I catch a match now and then, just can't say i've watched a Makabe match recently.


----------



## 777

I've always thought Makabe was pretty awesome. One of the few Japanese guys that really sticks out as a character. Not the greatest worker, but a fantastic brawler and believable badass. Matches with Tanaka come to mind as fun to watch. 
He was one of the competitors in this year's G1.


----------



## bigbuxxx

seancarleton77 said:


> Of course he's used it. And he probably brings the chain to hide his lack of exciting matches, not that his matches suck, he's just no MiSu.


I figured he's used it but I've seen a ton of his matches this year and never seen it past his entrance. MiSu is in a class of his own . MiSu for IWGP match at WK VI!


----------



## TelkEvolon

Cactus said:


> Yeah. MiSu is the definition of badass.


Oh yeah. I'm suprised Makabe doesn't carry MiSu around his neck to intimidate people.


----------



## antoniomare007

Segunda Caida said:


> Also Hashimoto in general could define badass, particularly against Tenryu and in their 94' match that is totally awesome and everyone should watch.


fixed :side:


----------



## Yeah1993

Minoru Suzuki has honestly annoyed me in pretty much everything I've watched him in. His shitty hairdo (if you can call it that) is distracting as hell, too.


----------



## Chismo

MiSu is such a badass, I love his wrestling style and presence. His goblin face is intimidating as hell. #2 badass in Japan, right behind Man Mountain.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Yeah1993 said:


> His shitty hairdo (if you can call it that) is distracting as hell, too.


What, his hair is just AWSM!


----------



## bigbuxxx

can't wait for the g-1 tag league to be uploaded (hopefully today). the card looks stacked. even the tag match between taichi/taka vs tiger mask/kushida that isn't a g-1 match should be good.


----------



## seancarleton77

JoeRulz said:


> MiSu #2 badass in Japan, right behind Man Mountain.


Take it back! He's #1, with a bullet! I legit can't see anyone in pro wrestling winning a fight with MiSu, even Show or Mark Henry would be heel hooked and tapping in about 7 seconds. Actually Josh Barnett vs. MiSu would be competitive, book it Inoki!!


----------



## Chismo

seancarleton77 said:


> I legit can't see anyone in pro wrestling winning a fight with MiSu, even Show or Mark Henry would be heel hooked and tapping in about 7 seconds.


Kozlov? Finlay? SHINGO? Lol at Henry and Big Show...


----------



## seancarleton77

JoeRulz said:


> Kozlov? Finlay? SHINGO? Lol at Henry and Big Show...


Kozlov? Too slow, still credible though. Finlay, that would be a tough fight, but I give it to the crazy Jap. Shingo would regret ever breathing once he lost the use of every single limb.

Henry would be hard to beat up, Show near impossible, unless you're a UFC Heavyweight.


----------



## Chismo

seancarleton77 said:


> Henry would be hard to beat up, Show near impossible, unless you're a UFC Heavyweight.


Just because they're big, it doesn't mean they hit hard. I believe that Finlay would pwn them tremendously.


----------



## bigbuxxx

seancarleton77 said:


> Henry would be hard to beat up, Show near impossible, unless you're a UFC Heavyweight.


these guys he could easily slip behind, take down, and choke out. i think they'd be easier matches than against Finlay, Kozlov, etc..


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tanahashi vs. Goto - 11/11/2007: ****3/4-*****. Dishing out the stars on this one. This, I believe, surpasses their match from earlier this year at Dominion which I gave ****3/4. 

Not sure what to think about what I thought was a botch in their Dominion match when Goto dropped him on his head because they have the same f'n spot in the 11/11 match. I have trouble believing they'd botch the same spot twice in huge matches and I have trouble believing Tanahashi in the back saying "you know what would be awesome? drop me on my head so it looks like i break my neck to recreate our old botch". I could easily go ***** on the Dominion one if that wasn't a botch.

Nagata vs. Takayama - 5/3/2003: ***. meh. Does anybody know where I could find the 8/28/03 cage death match between these guys?

Sasaki vs. Tenzan - 97 G-1 Climax final: ***3/4. Fun sprint match there.


----------



## McQueen

Jesus fucking christ with the "so & so would win a real fight" bullshit, it needs to stop.

There is enough of that shit going around in the WWE section. I expect better from you lot.


----------



## Chismo

McQueen said:


> Jesus fucking christ with the "so & so would win a real fight" bullshit, it needs to stop.
> 
> There is enough of that shit going around in the WWE section. I expect better from you lot.


seancarleton77 started:no:


----------



## Bubz

:lmao


----------



## antoniomare007

holy shit at AJ's Sumo Hall show



Spoiler



AJPW "PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 13", 10-23-2011
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Shuji Kondo, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI beat Kaz Hayashi, Minoru & BLACK BUSHI after BUSHI used a 450 Splash on BLACK BUSHI
2. Taiyo Kea, Takao Omori & Masanobu Fuchi beat Osamu Nishimura, MAZADA & Takumi Soya in 11:50 after Kea used the TKO on MAZADA.
3. Masakatsu Funaki beat Masayuki Kono in 8:50 by KO after a kick.
4. Big Daddy & Joe Doering beat Akebono & Ryota Hama in 8:50 after Big Daddy used a diving body press on Ryota Hama.
5. *All Asia Tag Team Title:* Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi beat Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya in 23:18 after Okabayashi used a diving body press on Sanada to win the All Asia Tag Team Titles.
6. *AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Kenny Omega beat KAI in 20:43 with the Croyt's Wrath to win the AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title.
7. *AJPW World Tag Team Title:* Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo AAA beat Great Muta & KENSO in 15:24 after Ozz used the Ozz Driver on KENSO to win the AJPW World Tag Team Titles.
8. *Triple Crown:* Jun Akiyama beat Suwama in 30:10 with the Sterness Dust to win the Triple Crown.



:mark: must.watch.


----------



## Cactus

Oooooooooh yes. Never really thought much of Suwama.


----------



## Chismo

Fuck, yeah! Also, 8,500 fans? Huh...


----------



## seancarleton77

Not only does All Japan book the matches people want to see, they book them in the right order, they pick openers people actually care to look at and best of all they always have the best outcome, so the opposite of NOAH/NJPW.


----------



## Derek

Spoiler



Good for Akiyama to win the TC. Always felt that he should have won the TC at least once before he retires. Suwama had a long successful reign, so him dropping it now shouldn't hurt his standing, especially since he is still the Ace of the company.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Spoiler



Good gift to Akiyama, no that's nearly retired.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Pretty good card for the 10/22 G-1 Tag League (day 1)

TAKA vs Mikami - **
Taguchi/H. Takahashi vs Tiger Mask/KUSHIDA - ***
Fujii/Ishii vs Saito/Iizuka - **3/4
Nagata/Fale vs Tanaka/Y. Takahashi - ***1/2
Naito/Honma vs Strongman/Tonga - ***1/2
Bad Intentions vs MiSu/Archer - ***3/4
Makabe/Kojima vs Tenzan/Inoue - **1/4 (ugh)
Tanahashi/Goto vs Nakamura/Yano - ***1/2-***3/4


----------



## smitlick

Don't remember seeing this mentioned but a cool update to the 27/11/11 card. 




Spoiler



NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum 

1. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 
2. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura 
3. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea 
4. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA


----------



## TelkEvolon

Wow, a lot of good stuff going on then.


----------



## Fighter Daron

A lot of good and important things, they should fill the entire coliseum.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Spoiler: spoiler



Akiyama is the only current heavyweight in Japan who can work the 25-30 minute 'classics' well enough for them to come close to that level so him winning the TC is fine by me.


----------



## PacoAwesome

smitlick said:


> Don't remember seeing this mentioned but a cool update to the 27/11/11 card.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 
> 1. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
> 2. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura
> 3. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea
> 4. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA





Spoiler



Hope KENTA gets the win, not a big supporter of Go Shiozaki.


----------



## Chismo

That card has at least 2 potential MOTYCs.


----------



## antoniomare007

I hate to be a broken record but I don't have huge expectations for that show. To this date NOAH hasn't had a good crowd in Ariake Colloseum (specially when it comes to heat) and they already ruined a potential MOTY between Go and Sugi. I would love for them to have a great crowd but I wont get my hopes up.

oh, the All Japan show will be available next week (GAORA will air it next Monday) so we have to be patient


----------



## Cactus

That NOAH card looks pretty cool. I'm going to be hoping to watch it spoiler-free. I hope KENTA wins.


----------



## antoniomare007

Sawa's last 2 matches (at least in Zero One):



> ZERO1 "YARISUGI FOREVER I", 06.11.2011
> Belle Salle Roppongi
> 
> 6. "YARISUGI FOREVER I" Special Tag Match ~ Friend FOREVER: Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa vs. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto
> 
> 
> ZERO1 "YARISUGI FOREVER II", 09.11.2011
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 7. "YARISUGI FOREVER" Munenori Sawa Retirement Match: Ikuto Hidaka vs. Munenori Sawa



- Big Japan Tag League Standings with 1 show left.


> Block A:
> 1. Jun Kasai & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa [8] *
> 2. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi [7] *
> 3. Tommy End & Michael Dante [6] *
> 4. Abdullah Kobayashi & Masashi Takeda [6] *
> 5. Shadow WX & Kankuro Hoshino [2] *
> 6. Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami [1] *
> 
> Block B:
> 1. Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka [6] (30.10.)
> 2. Ryuji Ito & MASADA [6] (30.10.)
> -. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei [6] (30.10.)
> -. Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu [6] (30.10.)
> 5. Devon Moore & Rory Mondo [2] *
> 6. Takashi Sasaki & Masato Inaba [0] *


* = no matches left


also 


Spoiler



Omega's first defense will be against Minoru on 11/6 at DDT's show in Osaka


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cactus said:


> I hope KENTA wins and Takayama goes on to make him suffer from anal bleeding and take the title.


yep.


----------



## Caponex75

Why does that card look so amazing? Why is it in Ariake? WHY THE HELL IS THAT AMAZING CARD IN ARIAKE?!


----------



## Bubz

Caponex75 said:


> Why does that card look so amazing? Why is it in Ariake? WHY THE HELL IS THAT AMAZING CARD IN ARIAKE?!


Pretty much. Some NOAH crowds really take away from the matches and this is one of them, look at Sugiura vs Shiozaki.


----------



## antoniomare007

Caponex75 said:


> Why does that card look so amazing? Why is it in Ariake? WHY THE HELL IS THAT AMAZING CARD IN ARIAKE?!




I've been asking the same question for the past year and a half. I mean if they don't want to use Budokan because it's too big, then why not use Sumo Hall (that has the same capacity as Ariake Colosseum)? My only guess is that Ariake is cheaper.


----------



## Fighter Daron

If they can't afford the Sumo Hall, make it in the fucking Korakuen, for the love of god.


----------



## antoniomare007

Korakuen es way too small for a "big" show. If they stopped running big arenas and only relied on Korakuen and Differ in Tokyo they would be seen as just another indy.


----------



## Cactus

bigbuxxx said:


> yep.


Nah. Takayama is overrated to shit by you guys. Sure, he is a bad motherfucker and he was pretty stellar in his younger years, but currently, he seems so unhealthy and struggles to get around the ring. He should do what Kobashi is doing currently. Stay away from World titles and just stick to tag matches.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I was saying that based on the beat down he gave to KENTA in January. KENTA should just forfeit after he wins. idk about Tak being overrated, I find him to be one of the most entertaining to watch and he has stellar matches sometimes. probably because people sell for him unlike people who fight with sugiura, sasaki, shiozaki, etc.. before his match with shiozaki i agree he should've retired but he showed he still has something even if that something should only be displayed once a month or less.


----------



## bigbuxxx

G-1 Tag Day 2:

H. Takahashi vs TAKA - **1/4
KUSHIDA/Tiger Mask vs Taguchi/Mimaki - ***3/4
Nagata/Fale vs Strongman/Tonga - **
Tanaka/Y. Takahashi vs MiSu/Archer - ***
Bad Intentions, Naito, Honma vs Nakamura, Yano, Ishii, Jado - ***1/4
Kojima/Makabe vs Saito/Iizuka - ***1/2
Tenzan/Inoue vs Tanahashi/Goto - ***1/2

Whatever venue they used for this show they should cease to go there anymore. Def. brought down the quality of some matches because of worse production and the crowd was AWFUL.

I thought a Saito/Iizuka match tying for best G-1 tag was pretty damn lol but it was really good. The KUSHIDA, et al. tag match was very good but a botch on the last move. Not worth going out of your way to see but at only 13 mins it was fun. Tanahashi match was meh but a pretty good finish saved that.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NOAH: Shiny Navigation Day 9: 23/09/10*

1. Mohammed Yone & Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Ricky Marvin & Akira Taue: ***
Good Opener with Sabre and Marvin bumping like assholes, Yone looking destructive and Taue only can stretch the tits.

2. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara Vs Kenta Kobashi & Masao Inoue & Yoshinari Ogawa: ***1/4
Good match with Sasaki and Kobashi having exhausting battles of Chops, Kento is improving each day and Kajiwara hasn't impressed me too much.

3. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie & Bison Smith Vs Takuma Sano & Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito: ***1/2
Really good match, and that's not odd as I like every single wrestler in this contest, I think these random tag matches are often so good in NOAH.

4. Colt Cabana Vs Shuhei Taniguchi: ***
I'm surprised because I thought I'd never say that, but Colt Cabana make this match good, cause the crowd reacted so well to all of his fool stuff, he's so over in Japan.

5. KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi & Yoshinabu Kanemaru Vs Takashi Sugiura & Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Aoki: ****1/4
Great match, first I thought this bout will serve me to imagine how good would be the october match between Sugiura and KENTA, but at the end I figured the goodness of this, spoiler: Cool finish.

6. *GHC Jr Heavyweight Championship:* Kotaro Suzuki Vs Katsuhiko Nakajima: ****3/4
This was a helluva match, I've read everywhere that their bout in March was so much better, but watching the match, I realized that it wasn't that bad and with the finishing stretch, it was so clear to me that this was even better that the prior match. The crowd was going nuts with these two, a great sprint, so fast-paced and stiff, it was shorter than the past match, and I think that was one of the few things that made it better. I can't give them the full monty because of two botches that didn't hurt the match. FUCKING WATCH THIS. I love Nakajima.

7. *GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Go Shiozaki Vs Yoshihiro Takayama: ****1/2
And the main event was another helluva match, Go sold the arm like a motherfucker and Tak looked so much better than he's doing recently. The end, a delight.


Rating: ***3/4
Recommendation: Very high.
Final Thoughts: Great event by NOAH, the best I've seen of them so far, a rock solid undercard and the last three matches were simply awesome. I fucking love Korakuen Hall.​


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - 5/5/09*

*Special Tag Match ~ NJPW vs. NOAH & DDT Battle Intentions*
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto vs Takeshi Morishima & Kota Ibushi
***3/4


----------



## Chismo

KENTA/Sugiura (NOAH, 10/10/2011) *****1/4*

The helluva match! /review.



Fighter Daron said:


> *NOAH: Shiny Navigation Day 9: 23/09/10*
> 
> 1. Mohammed Yone & Zack Sabre Jr. Vs Ricky Marvin & Akira Taue: ***
> Good Opener with Sabre and Marvin bumping like assholes, Yone looking destructive and Taue only can stretch the tits.
> 
> 2. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara Vs Kenta Kobashi & Masao Inoue & Yoshinari Ogawa: ***1/4
> Good match with Sasaki and Kobashi having exhausting battles of Chops, Kento is improving each day and Kajiwara hasn't impressed me too much.
> 
> 3. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie & Bison Smith Vs Takuma Sano & Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito: ***1/2
> Really good match, and that's not odd as I like every single wrestler in this contest, I think these random tag matches are often so good in NOAH.
> 
> 4. Colt Cabana Vs Shuhei Taniguchi: ***
> I'm surprised because I thought I'd never say that, but Colt Cabana make this match good, cause the crowd reacted so well to all of his fool stuff, he's so over in Japan.
> 
> 5. KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi & Yoshinabu Kanemaru Vs Takashi Sugiura & Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Aoki: ****1/4
> Great match, first I thought this bout will serve me to imagine how good would be the october match between Sugiura and KENTA, but at the end I figured the goodness of this, spoiler: Cool finish.
> 
> 6. *GHC Jr Heavyweight Championship:* Kotaro Suzuki Vs Katsuhiko Nakajima: ****3/4
> This was a helluva match, I've read everywhere that their bout in March was so much better, but watching the match, I realized that it wasn't that bad and with the finishing stretch, it was so clear to me that this was even better that the prior match. The crowd was going nuts with these two, a great sprint, so fast-paced and stiff, it was shorter than the past match, and I think that was one of the few things that made it better. I can't give them the full monty because of two botches that didn't hurt the match. FUCKING WATCH THIS. I love Nakajima.
> 
> 7. *GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Go Shiozaki Vs Yoshihiro Takayama: ****1/2
> And the main event was another helluva match, Go sold the arm like a motherfucker and Tak looked so much better than he's doing recently. The end, a delight.
> 
> 
> Rating: ***3/4
> Recommendation: Very high.
> Final Thoughts: Great event by NOAH, the best I've seen of them so far, a rock solid undercard and the last three matches were simply awesome. I fucking love Korakuen Hall.​


Agreed, but I thing you overrate that Suzuki/Jima match. It was great (with fantastic finish), but not ****3/4 great. And yeah, Go/Tak is my #2 in Puro this year, right behind Go/Akiyama. This event was very enjoyable.


----------



## Fighter Daron

JoeRulz said:


> Agreed, but I thing you overrate that Suzuki/Jima match. It was great (with fantastic finish), but not ****3/4 great. And yeah, Go/Tak is my #2 in Puro this year, right behind Go/Akiyama. This event was very enjoyable.


I love Nakajima's kicks and the crowd was going bananas. When a match catch me, I lose any objectivity, and I think that's good. Although, I could understand why anyone can't love it that much.


----------



## smitlick

*Kensuke Office - 13/6/08*

*Dash The Volcano Road*
KENTA vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
****1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter



Spoiler: All Japan future plans



The plan is for this to be the beginning of a major All Japan vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH program. Both companies are in bad shape financially and they are hopeful getting into a heavy promotion vs. promotion feud will help each group’s big show business. The idea is to send wrestlers to the other group who have never worked on their shows before, creating fresh match-ups.



hopefully this is true, it would be NOAH's first good decision in a long ass time.


----------



## FilthyMcPunk

Been trying to get into other promotions lately due to wwe boring me silly as usual.Started watching a bit of roh from a few years back,and was going to try and get into puro and so on.

Heres my lame question....any good sites/vids that could give a brief history of angles or of the promotions themselves,like a documentary type deal? 

And my other lame question,im sure i could find matches/shows easily but is there anyway to follow their storylines and angles,i get way more into a match if i know the history/reason for the feud and so on,just only find random shows/matches which of course aren't in english and no build up just the match.


----------



## TelkEvolon

FilthyMcPunk said:


> Been trying to get into other promotions lately due to wwe boring me silly as usual.Started watching a bit of roh from a few years back,and was going to try and get into puro and so on.
> 
> Heres my lame question....any good sites/vids that could give a brief history of angles or of the promotions themselves,like a documentary type deal?
> 
> And my other lame question,im sure i could find matches/shows easily but is there anyway to follow their storylines and angles,i get way more into a match if i know the history/reason for the feud and so on,just only find random shows/matches which of course aren't in english and no build up just the match.


I'd suggest reading wikipedia for a brief history.

You can see the entire show which features all the promos and video packages, makes it easier to understand what is going on at Strong Style Japan's Youtube channel. But there isn't really an english video pre-show or anything that explains all of this to you. I find with NJPW, it is pretty easy to understand what is going on when they show you clips of previous events leading up to the match.

You could also trying going to a Puro specific forum and asking what is going on currently.

http://www.youtube.com/user/StrongStyleJapan


----------



## bigbuxxx

For getting into matches go here, check out the best of 2010 as well in that forum, and in the puro forum is the best of 2009.

For getting into angles: asking here is good as people are helpful and other forums such as puroresufan work to. As the above person posted, wiki is a good source to.


----------



## Fighter Daron

But, are they merging?


----------



## FilthyMcPunk

TelkEvolon said:


> I'd suggest reading wikipedia for a brief history.
> 
> You can see the entire show which features all the promos and video packages, makes it easier to understand what is going on at Strong Style Japan's Youtube channel. But there isn't really an english video pre-show or anything that explains all of this to you. I find with NJPW, it is pretty easy to understand what is going on when they show you clips of previous events leading up to the match.
> 
> 
> And thanks for the links bigbuxxx,,i'll check those out tonight since i got some time to kill.
> You could also trying going to a Puro specific forum and asking what is going on currently.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/user/StrongStyleJapan


Yeah maybe i'll read and do some catching up so i can know whats going on a bit more and check out there youtube channel.I always like a bit of back story to get me more involved in the match i'm watching.


----------



## antoniomare007

Fighter Daron said:


> But, are they merging?


nah. They are just gonna have a feud/rivalry for the first time.


----------



## Pat9010

There are some guys on youtube who uploads current shows. The way i did it was by watching guys i knew from america wrestle in japan. Sting got me into Muta for the first time. Vader and Hansen as well.


----------



## FilthyMcPunk

Pat9010 said:


> There are some guys on youtube who uploads current shows. The way i did it was by watching guys i knew from america wrestle in japan. Sting got me into Muta for the first time. Vader and Hansen as well.



Yeah i might check out guys i actually know of already like muta/vader/hansen and start from there...kinda the same thing im doing with roh..just downloaded the whole original summer of punk storyline with all promos and matches to get into it.And then check out samoa joe there and others i know of.


----------



## antoniomare007

If you want some backstory for matches *edit* :side: and just have fun with that site. If you don't like what you see from there, puroresu probably isn't for you


----------



## FilthyMcPunk

antoniomare007 said:


> If you want some backstory for matches, google "theditch" and just have fun with that site. If you don't like what you see from there, puroresu probably isn't for you


I'll check it out,ive got a torrent i downloaded of all match of year winners from the observer,and a lot of matches from japan ive never seen,so ill check those and watch some matches of guys i already know to see how i like it.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> If you want some backstory for matches, google "theditch" and just have fun with that site. If you don't like what you see from there, puroresu probably isn't for you


awesome. had never seen that before. ty


----------



## smitlick

bigbuxxx said:


> awesome. had never seen that before. ty


That would be because its not mean't to be promoted that the site exists in places other than where ditch posts or where hes given permission


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, I kinda fucked it up. But then again _THAT SITE_ is pretty well known outside of PWO, DVDVR, puroresufan and gets mencioned a lot.


----------



## FilthyMcPunk

Glad i saved the link and bookmarked it then lol


----------



## smitlick

SMASH.23, 24.11.2011 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. SMASH Title: Starbuck (c) vs. Dave Finlay


----------



## antoniomare007

wow, I thought Tajiri would win the title.


----------



## smitlick

oops I'm assuming nobody cares about SMASH Spoilers? Either way same. Tajiri vs Finlay would be cool.


----------



## antoniomare007

nah man, I don't care lol. I just thought Tajiri would win the belt.


----------



## smitlick

^^^ cool


*DDT Judgement 2009 - 5/4/09*

Kota Ibushi vs Taiji Ishimori
****1/2


----------



## Cactus

Just saw Devitt vs Ibushi from a NJPW show this year. It was for the jr. title. It could be from Dominion , I'm not sure. Nothing jaw-dropping until the end. Good stuff. One to bring into the MOTYC pool. *****1/4*


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW 5/2/2003*
Kenta Kobashi vs Masahiro Chono
_Two Jap motherfuckers killing each other with cringe-worthy suplexes. Can't wrong with that. This had *very* slow build-up with about 10-15 minutes of just test of strength-type moves, but had a *very* satisfying pay-off. Two legends colliding in the Dome. Highly recommended._ 
*****1/2*

Kobashi vs Misawa > vs Akiyama > vs Takayama > vs Chono > vs Suzuki


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cactus said:


> Just saw Devitt vs Ibushi from a NJPW show this year. It was for the jr. title. It could be from Dominion , I'm not sure. Nothing jaw-dropping until the end. Good stuff. One to bring into the MOTYC pool. *****1/4*


seabs megapost confirms they had that match on 6/18 @ Dominion. i hated hated hated their WK match so never watched this one.


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> seabs megapost confirms they had that match on 6/18 @ Dominion. *i hated hated hated their WK match so never watched this one.*


And why?


----------



## bigbuxxx

i found it incredibly boring. i've watched it 3-4 times and tried to get into it and give a rating for it. i can't even give it stars because i feel like it doesn't do it justice for all the others that did enjoy it. i thought KUSHIDA vs Devitt on 9/19 was infinitely better.


----------



## seabs

*I've been extremely dissapointed with every Devitt vs Ibushi match considering they're probably the 2 best juniors going right now. All of them lacked chemistry and excitement and felt very formulaic and safe. Devitt has MUCH better singles matches with Omega.*


----------



## seabs

*Nakajima returned at the Kensuke Office show yesterday and the match is holy cow on paper. Nakajima & KUDO vs Kanemoto & Hayato.


Spoiler: result



Sadly they went to a 30 minute draw and then even went to an extra 5 minute draw. Could make it better given the guys in the match but there's a higher chance it'll hurt it. Still you get Kanemoto and Hayato teaming together along with Nakajima facing Kanemoto and Hayato. KUDO is far from being the weak link in that match too btw.





Spoiler: NOAH GHC Jr. Tag Title match



Suzuki & Aoki retained over Kenou & Kenbai after 23:23


*


----------



## Bubz

Glad to see Nakajima back so quickly.


----------



## Pat9010

That NOAH show from yesterday looks awesome!


----------



## Hamilton90

With all the 'Neuvo Flamenco' and its accompaning popularity. It is nice (and a relief) I might add, to hear the flamenco guitar in its purist form. Not only does this cd contain Sabicas and Nino Ricardo. It also contains four very rare perfomances by Manolo de Huelva. Which are difficult to find anywhere. Also included are Melchor de Marchena performing six pieces. This is truly Pure Flamenco at its best.


----------



## Yeah1993

Hamilton90 said:


> With all the 'Neuvo Flamenco' and its accompaning popularity. It is nice (and a relief) I might add, to hear the flamenco guitar in its purist form. Not only does this cd contain Sabicas and Nino Ricardo. It also contains four very rare perfomances by Manolo de Huelva. Which are difficult to find anywhere. Also included are Melchor de Marchena performing six pieces. This is truly Pure Flamenco at its best.


I actually thought this was talk about wrestling until I read "guitar".


----------



## smitlick

Spoiler: NOAH 31/10 Results



NOAH "NOAHFUL HALLOWEEN NIGHT", 31.10.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Differ Ariake 
1,000 Fans 

1. Mikey Nicholls besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (8:23) mit einer Death Valley Bomb. 
2. Yoshinari Ogawa besiegt Akira Taue (5:46) mit einem Inside Cradle. 
3. Ricky Marvin besiegt Shane Haste (7:10) mit einem Horizontal Cradle. 
4. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Mohammed Yone & Masao Inoue (14:40) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Inoue. 
5. Takashi Sugiura & Takeshi Morishima besiegen Kenta Kobashi & Takuma Sano (15:40) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Sano. 
6. Yoshihiro Takayama, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegen Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori (16:49) nach einem Cradle Cutback von KENTA gegen Ishimori. 
7. GHC Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) besiegen Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (22:13) nach dem Bernard Driver von Bernard gegen Taniguchi (2nd defense).


----------



## antoniomare007

smh at Big Japan's Tag League semis being Daisuke/Okabayashi vs The Brahman Twins and Miyamoto/Isami vs Kasai/Numazawa...I wanted Sasaki/Shinobu in there, they better give us a singles match between them at the Yokohama show or at the New Year's show damn it











also...


----------



## McQueen

What... the... fuck. :lmao


----------



## Bubz

:lmao Sugiura is the man! That's one of the best pictures I've ever seen.


----------



## antoniomare007

Sugi always has awesome pictures, like this one the day after he won the GHC Title.


----------



## Bubz

Haha, absolutely pissed myslef when I first saw that one. I remember another one where he was naked aswell that was hilarious. Also, is that Marufuji on the wall? :lmao


----------



## McQueen

Looks like a NOAH calender.


----------



## Cactus

antoniomare007 said:


> Sugi always has awesome pictures, like this one the day after he won the GHC Title.


Fucking lol. I'm officially a Sugi fan now.


----------



## Guya

Hey guys, i'm a little bit lost, is this the only puroresu thread on this forum?


----------



## Cactus

Guya said:


> Hey guys, i'm a little bit lost, is this the only puroresu thread on this forum?


Near enough, yes. Their is sometimes some puro chat in the 5 Star Match thread but it mostly just happens here.


----------



## Derek

Bubz said:


> Haha, absolutely pissed myslef when I first saw that one. I remember another one where he was naked aswell that was hilarious. Also, is that Marufuji on the wall? :lmao


Pretty sure the picture was taken in Marufuji's office. Bog Boss Sugi always brings the greatness.


----------



## Guya

Works fine with me, will be a constant user of this thread.


----------



## Bubz

It's one of the best threads on the whole forum.


----------



## Chismo

Sugi is the man. Hopefully he crushes Marufuji ih his return match.


----------



## Guya

Bubz said:


> It's one of the best threads on the whole forum.


Well if it's a puro thread it can only be the best.
In my country we have only one wrestling forum also one puro thread and only 4 guys talking about it.


----------



## seancarleton77

Marufuji is DEAD! Long live Sugiura!!


----------



## bigbuxxx

as somebody mentioned a couple days ago i would really like to see a Tanaka vs MiSu match at WK. They had great chemistry in the G-1 tag match and their singles match would be incredible. I would happily take that over Tanahashi vs MiSu.


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> as somebody mentioned a couple days ago i would really like to see a Tanaka vs MiSu match at WK.


And who's the heel?


----------



## bigbuxxx

i just want to see a good match that hasn't been done before. whether or not it's doable is another thing.


----------



## peachchaos

Posted this in multimedia requests but there's more traffic here:

Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81)

I'd really like to see this and be able to post a review. Please help!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

peachchaos said:


> Posted this in multimedia requests but there's more traffic here:
> 
> Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81)
> 
> I'd really like to see this and be able to post a review. Please help!


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H5SRV86T

Fucking awesome match.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah, great match (if it's the DQ match I'm thinking of).


----------



## Chismo

Stan Hansen is the man. He could create drama and excitement out of nothing.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

All time great asskicker, amazing brawler and control segment worker and was perfect as the invading foreigner creating havoc on the local hometown wrestlers. Amazing heel as well.

At some point when work isn't overbearing I'm going to try and cover more of his and Tenryu's work, not watched much Japan stuff in a while and recently been in the mood to go back on a Fujiwara kick.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MrLARIATO just put 3 hanson vs tsuruta matches on in the last hour  and a hanson vs kawada match


----------



## Yeah1993

If the Hansen/Kawada is 28/2/93 then everyone should drop everything they're doing and watch it now.

Hansen/Andre has a good case for my favourite match ever.


----------



## PaddyMcCourt

i like indy rasslin'


----------



## Bubz

PaddyMcCourt said:


> i like indy rasslin'


Troll attempt or serious?


----------



## PaddyMcCourt

Bubz said:


> Troll attempt or serious?


A mixture of both.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> If the Hansen/Kawada is 28/2/93 then everyone should drop everything they're doing and watch it now.


4/7/92


----------



## Bubz

Okay, Hansen/Kawada is something I must see. Do those matches play off of each other at all? In other words do I definitely need to watch the 92 one first?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

^ watch 28/2/93 first then, their best match together by far IMO.

Edit: I can't recall too much if they play that much off each other, especially as Hansen was a tourer. 28/2 is the far better match so if you'd rather watch that one last then that could work, if you only had to watch one though its 28/2 and its not close.

Hansen tries to cut Kawada's throat with his bare hands and Kawada punts Hansen's spine into the back rows, glorious stuff. Finish is bonkers as well IIRC.


----------



## Bubz

Nice one, that's what I'm doing tonight . Also gonna' watch some more old AJPW stuff I think, Kawada/Kobashi from 93 is something I've wanted to rewatch for ages.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

If I had to recommend some AJPW it would either be Funks vs Hansen/Brody 31/08/83 or Misawa/Taue CC Final 1995. Since you've seen a lot of the best stuff already, you still have remember the name of that place I told you about regarding AJPW right?


----------



## Bubz

Absolutely love that Misawa/Taue match, epic stuff. Taue is quite underrated I think when compared to Misawa and Kobashi and the like. He didn't do anything flashy at all but was able to pull off an awesome story with very little offense.

And I'm sorry man but I have no idea lol, terrible memory.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Taue's great, I'm often torn between him and Akiyama for the fourth pillar of AJPW in the 90s. If Kobashi and Kawada weren't such masters of selling in both tags he'd have been the guy I said was the best in both matches, particularly in the 1995 tag with him just obliterating Misawa and weakening him for Kawada to try and finally pin his greatest rival.

PM'd you regarding the place.


----------



## Yeah1993

Bubz said:


> Okay, Hansen/Kawada is something I must see. Do those matches play off of each other at all? In other words do I definitely need to watch the 92 one first?


28/2/93 is the only one I remember, and that's ridiculously great without any backstory to it so nah. I'd honestly say I thought it was quite easily better than Hansen/Kobashi.

Wouldn't hurt to watch the others though, obv.

Who's MrLARIOTO? guy on Youtube?


edit- Checked, and I def. haven't seen that other Hansen/Kawada, but I have one on disc from 4/6/92, might be the same one b/c the dates are so similar.


----------



## Bubz

Just watched Hansen/Kawada 93 , seriously awesome match and yeah1993, I agree, I much prefer it to Hansen/Kobashi. Kawada continues to amaze me with his selling, seriously one of the best sellers I've ever seen, and Hansen isn't half bad either. That spot where Hansen fell out of the ring after he hit the lariat was amazing. Epic finishing stretch.

@ Segunda, cheers for that mate.


----------



## topper1

Bubz said:


> Kawada continues to amaze me with his selling,


Kawada is hand's down the best seller ever and likely the best wrestler as well.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Hard to say, I mean when the word 'selling' comes along you almost immediately think of Steamboat and Morton. Kawada himself is tremendous though especially how committed he is long term with his selling, his match in NOAH last year vs Morishima was also really great with how he sold the 'old man trying to overcome this young phenom' and his facial expressions were as good as ever. He also probably does my favourite 'dead weight' sell ever, especially off of Misawa's elbows.

Personally though I'd put Fujiwara currently as the best seller, when you combine his incredible facial expressions and how he sold strikes in shoot style with how he worked matches so meticulously I find he draws me into a match better than anyone since he can snap a quick submission in an instant or equally sell a TKO like an absolute champ.


----------



## Yeah1993

Kawada's probably my best seller too (I've actually been leaning towards the "he's the best ever period" thought for some time now as well), and the Hansen match is one of the best examples of that. He takes smething so simple as a hurt leg and just makes you BELIEVE. 

Hansen doing a tope thing makes that match the best ever. Well maybe not, but I'd call it the best singles match of 93.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Watched the matches put up on youtube earlier:

Hansen vs Tsuruta - 10/17/88: **. No chemistry in this match. Slow, botches, Dusty finish, bleh.
Hansen vs Tsuruta - 4/16/89: ****. Great brawling match. Picked up where the first match left off. Much better chemistry and a better effort shown by both. Tsuruta is a beast in this match.
Hansen vs Tsuruta - 4/18/89: ****1/2. Going to throw this in the epic range. This is like a mixture of the first match (but executed much better) and the second match. Must watch match imo.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Segunda Caida said:


> Hard to say, I mean when the word 'selling' comes along you almost immediately think of Steamboat and *Morton*.


I've always heard he was a shitty wrestler, can you tell me any good match from him in NJPW?


----------



## Cactus

Right fellas, I am officially pissed off. Just a mere 20 minutes away from my town a few days ago, fucking Dick Togo and Prince Devitt of all people were wrestling at a show. The bad news? I didn't fucking know until a few minutes ago. Grrrr. Never get any good 'rasslin' in the south. Just a bunch of kiddie-aimed feds. Gotta wait 'til NOAH comes over next year.

On that note, anyone going to any of the NOAH shows next year? Assuming that they do do them again.


----------



## Yeah1993

Fighter Daron said:


> I've always heard he was a shitty wrestler, can you tell me any good match from him in NJPW?


He's talking about Ricky Morton, who didn't work NJ. You're probably thinking of Scott Norton (who yeah isn't very good).


----------



## bigbuxxx

Inoki/Backlund vs Hansen/Hogan from 12/10/80: ****1/4. Great match. Told an awesome story. I don't think I've let out a "holy shit" to a move as loud as I did for Hansen hitting his lariat. It was full fucking impact and out of nowhere.


----------



## antoniomare007

Norton had very entertaining matches against Hashimoto, but of course Yeah1993 doesn't know that because he refuses to watch the greatness that is Shinya Hashimoto even though I've told him time and time again that he has too :side:

And if someone wants to watch underrated matches, I highly recommend Tenryu vs Hashimoto 2/24/94. Their whole 93' feud is awesome and their 94' clash is the perfect way to end it (and you don't even need to watch previous stuff to understand what's at stake and how much those two fuckers hate each other). Even though is not at "OMG 5 SNOWFLAKES!!!" type of match, is a great war between two stiff and grumpy motherfuckers so it's impossible not to have fun watching it.


----------



## Yeah1993

bigbuxxx said:


> Inoki/Backlund vs Hansen/Hogan from 12/10/80: ****1/4. Great match. Told an awesome story. I don't think I've let out a "holy shit" to a move as loud as I did for Hansen hitting his lariat. It was full fucking impact and out of nowhere.


I don't remember seeing this on the New Japan 80s comp. WANT.



antoniomare007 said:


> Norton had very entertaining matches against Hashimoto, but of course Yeah1993 doesn't know that because he refuses to watch the greatness that is Shinya Hashimoto even though I've told him time and time again that he has too :side:


in the next year I'll post so many Hashimoto reviews in this thread you're going to feel like a PIECE OF CRAP. I've watched plenty of Hash since I said I hadn't watched much a while back, though, in all seriousness. Bet you haven't seen his 02 and 03 matches with Tanaka. HAVE YOU? HUH? HUH?

I'm in a caps lock mood, apparantly.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> I don't remember seeing this on the New Japan 80s comp. WANT.


link?
edit: nvm google is my friend. i think i found another forum . is there anything to d/l there or is it all trading/buying?

not sure who promoted the tag match. it was at msg and the announcers said "WWF" a lot. i don't think wwf promoted it but w/e.


----------



## Yeah1993

someone may have uploaded it to PWT, but I'm not sure. Fifteen 4 hour discs would be a pain in the arse to rip and up. 

Could be a WWF match, they had a working relation w/ Inoki in the late 70s/early 80s and showed some of NJ's talent on their cards. I can;t remember any insatcne apart from a Tiger Mask/Dyamite Kid from MSG, but there's bound to be others.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> someone may have uploaded it to PWT


bahhhhhhh thought i scored again when i figured out what pwt was but account limit is reached . so curious now.


----------



## Yeah1993

I got banned from XWT Classics (try that place too maybe) two years ago for I dont even know what. I was..."seeding" or "leeching" or something. I'm pretty technologically challenged.


----------



## bigbuxxx

pretty sweet site, thanks. pretty easy to change your ip address and you could even try just clearing cookies or using a diff browser. sometimes sites say ip but don't mean it.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah1993 said:


> Kawada's probably my best seller too (I've actually been leaning towards the "he's the best ever period" thought for some time now as well), and the Hansen match is one of the best examples of that. He takes smething so simple as a hurt leg and just makes you BELIEVE.
> 
> *Hansen doing a tope* thing makes that match the best ever. Well maybe not, but I'd call it the best singles match of 93.


I marked out big time for that. Western Tope!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Fighter Daron said:


> I've always heard he was a shitty wrestler, can you tell me any good match from him in NJPW?


Ricky Morton a shitty wrestler? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Just watch any Rock n Roll Express tag match, or his singles stuff versus Ric Flair in 1986 and tell me he's not one of the most empathetic and greatest sellers/FIP workers of his time. Hell the man is still a great seller in 2011, although his ageing body sadly makes some of his offence less crisp than it used to be.

EDIT: Just spotted you were thinking of Scott Norton, my mood has improved.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Segunda Caida said:


> Ricky Morton a shitty wrestler? Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
> 
> Just watch any Rock n Roll Express tag match, or his singles stuff versus Ric Flair in 1986 and tell me he's not one of the most empathetic and greatest sellers/FIP workers of his time. Hell the man is still a great seller in 2011, although his ageing body sadly makes some of his offence less crisp than it used to be.
> 
> EDIT: Just spotted you were thinking of Scott Norton, my mood has improved.


Yeah, I didn't even know that a Ricky Morton existed xD

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

*NOAH: European Navigation Night 2: 14/05/11*

1. Jonny Storm Vs Ricky Marvin: ***1/2
Very good Opener, with Marvin looking impressive and Storm seems to be pretty good, as well in high flying moves as in charisma, but Marvin's theme music disturbed me because is from my country Spain, pure bullshit.

2. James Mason Vs Bobby Fish: **
This was so short, and the old school style of Mason just not messed well with the more aggresive Fish.

3. Atsushi Aoki Vs Satoshi Kajiwara: ***1/4
Good match with Aoki showing his technical skills and with young Kajiwara looking good, he seems to be a lot like Marufuji, which could be so good or so bad, it depends on who judge it. 

4. Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi Vs Kings of Wrestling: ****1/2
Helluva match from the Kings of Wrestling, with maybe too many nearfalls, but with this crowd, they all fitted in well because they made them all look credible, Morishima was nearly more over than the Kings and Taniguchi is still a charisma black hole. 

5. Go Shiozaki Vs Katsuhiko Nakajima: ****1/4
Great match like it couldn't be any other way between my two favorite wrestlers from NOAH, the crowd took quite some time to enter the match, I think they were too exhausted from the last match, but when they did it, they carried the whole match, Nakajima looked pretty charismatic interacting with the crowd, what surprised me, this kid is gonna be something huge for sure.

6. KENTA Vs Zack Sabre Jr: ***3/4
Another very good bout, but I didn't like KENTA as a technician, he did it to look like Sabre, but what he has to do is kicking everybodies head and left this crap.

7. *GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Takeshi Sugiura Vs Kotaro Suzuki: ****1/4
Great match for the heavyweight championship, but like nearly everytime Sugiura fights, the end looked a bit awkward, but the rest of the match was pretty well, with Kotaro trying to win heavyweight gold with junior moves. 


Rating: ***3/4
Recommendation: Very High.
Final Thoughts: Great show by NOAH, any match was really bad, and three that were fucking great, when NOAH wants, they could deliver, sad they do 3 o 4 times a year.​


----------



## antoniomare007

Yeah1993 said:


> in the next year I'll post so many Hashimoto reviews in this thread you're going to feel like a PIECE OF CRAP. I've watched plenty of Hash since I said I hadn't watched much a while back, though, in all seriousness. Bet you haven't seen his 02 and 03 matches with Tanaka. HAVE YOU? HUH? HUH?
> 
> I'm in a caps lock mood, apparantly.


And when you post those reviews I'll be the first here to tell ya......"what took you so long?!?" :side:

I watched the Tanaka matches a couple of years ago. Don't remember much of the 03' one but I loved how Tanaka disrespected "owner of Zero-1" Hash and fatty just beat the living shit out of him in 02'. 



Fighter Daron said:


> Yeah, I didn't even know that a Ricky Morton existed xD












shame on you!!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

^ I echo that, if you've never watched Ricky Morton you've missed out on some of the best and empathetic FIP spells in tag team history. Dude is the king of the FIP in Southern Tag Formula matches and the endless series of tags vs the Midnight Express are some of the best and most entertaining matches ever.


----------



## McQueen

Scott Norton isn't a shit wrestler either, he just isn't exactly cut out for what an American promotion looks for in a main eventer. Hence his legacy in America as a NWO underling/Buff Bagwell's tag partner (which is punishment enough), but man oh man the guy was a beast in New Japan. His parity with Hashimoto who was "The Man" at the time was great. Hash made him look like the most dangerous challenger he ever had, and Norton came off looking like a fucking beast because of it. Much like WWE is doing with Mark Henry right now.


----------



## Fighter Daron

I don't think any of you were born knowing who Ricky Morton is xD

And I haven't seen any American wrestling before Attitude Era. Not NWA, not Steamboat, not Lawler, not Flair, not wCw, not ECW. Well, to be right, I saw a DVD of The Best of Bill Goldberg and DVD from ECW, but nothing before the late ninetys.

It's a shame, maybe, but I'd like to see some of Flair, Lawler or Morton incredible stuff.

But right now I'm taking my time with AJPW 80's-00's.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah get around to Lawler, Flair, Murdoch, Windham, Funk and co asap. Some of the best wrestling of all time that deserves to stand toe to toe with AJPW's incredible 1990-1995 run.

Mid South and Memphis are the shit, same with WCW in 1992.


----------



## McQueen

Pull Pants Up
(Speed Increase)

Oh... um yeah. Check out guys like Funk, Lawler, Windham & Dick Murdoch.


----------



## peachchaos

McQueen said:


> His parity with Hashimoto who was "The Man" at the time was great. Hash made him look like the most dangerous challenger he ever had, and Norton came off looking like a fucking beast because of it. Much like WWE is doing with Mark Henry right now.


Sounds cool. Never understood why he never got a huge Vader/monster heel push towards the end in WCW. Always heard he did some good things in NJ like a decade ago. Is Norton retired now?


----------



## McQueen

Yeah. Last I heard about him was a rumor he's Kendra Wilkinson's personal Bodyguard, don't know if thats true though.


----------



## peachchaos

Awesome.


----------



## seabs

*All Japan Tag League 2011*


> All Japan Pro-Wrestling - "REAL WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2011"
> 
> Teams:
> - Suwama & Takumi Soya
> - Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono
> - Akebono & Ryota Hama
> - Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi
> - KENSO & Kaz Hayashi
> - Seiya Sanada & KAI
> - Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> - Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> - Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> - Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 
> AJPW, 19.11.2011 (GAORA TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: KENSO & Kaz Hayashi vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 2. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi
> 3. Real World Tag League: Seiya Sanada & KAI vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 4. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 5. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 
> 
> AJPW, 20.11.2011
> Minowa Town Nagata Dome
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 2. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 3. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 
> 
> AJPW, 22.11.2011
> Hitachinaka City Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 2. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Seiya Sanada & KAI
> 3. Real World Tag League: KENSO & Kaz Hayashi vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 
> 
> AJPW, 23.11.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. KENSO & Kaz Hayashi
> 2. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 3. Real World Tag League: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 4. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 5. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Seiya Sanada & KAI
> 
> 
> AJPW, 24.11.2011
> Fukui Industrial Hall
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 2. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Seiya Sanada & KAI
> 3. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi
> 
> 
> AJPW, 26.11.2011
> Toyooka Citizen Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 2. Real World Tag League: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 3. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
> 
> 
> AJPW, 27.11.2011 (GAORA TV)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 2. Real World Tag League: KENSO & Kaz Hayashi vs. Seiya Sanada & KAI
> 3. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 4. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono
> 
> 
> AJPW, 28.11.2011
> Shunan City Sports Center
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 2. Real World Tag League: KENSO & Kaz Hayashi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 3. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Seiya Sanada & KAI
> 
> 
> AJPW, 29.11.2011
> Fukuyama Big Rose
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Seiya Sanada & KAI vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 2. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 3. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. KENSO & Kaz Hayashi
> 
> 
> AJPW, 01.12.2011
> Nagoya International Conference Hall
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 2. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. KENSO & Kaz Hayashi
> 3. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 4. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 
> 
> AJPW, 02.12.2011
> Twin Messe Shizuoka
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Seiya Sanada & KAI vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 2. Real World Tag League: Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 3. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi
> 4. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. KENSO & Kaz Hayashi
> 
> 
> AJPW, 04.12.2011 (GAORA TV)
> Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka
> 2. Real World Tag League: KENSO & Kaz Hayashi vs. Big Daddy & Joe Doering
> 3. Real World Tag League: Seiya Sanada & KAI vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
> 4. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
> 5. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 6. Real World Tag League - Final:


----------



## antoniomare007

I thought NOAH would get a team. Looks good though.


----------



## seabs

*Coincides with NOAH's Global League. Would only have been a shitty old team or Akiyama and a junior who ends up taking the fall in every match.*


----------



## antoniomare007

true, I totally forgot about the Global League lol.


----------



## Bubz

Posted this in the MOTYC thread earlier...

Just watched *Nakajima vs Suzuki II*. Awesome match and I liked it a lot more than their first match this year. I loved the first portion of the match with Nakajima just dominating Kotaro completely with strikes. Nakajima knows how to do a workover segment just using strikes and a few submissions and keep it really fun at the same time. What seemed like Kotaro's comeback was slightly ruined by a botched suicide dive which kind of hurt the flow for a minute, but it allowed Nakajima to control the match for a bit longer which is a good thing as I think Suzuki is best playing the underdog and making a comeback. There is a slight second botch on the turnbuckle but it didn't really hurt the match at all. The eventual comeback is awesome though and leads to an epic finishing stretch with a completely unexpected ending that is very rare to see. *SPOILERS* the finish with the strikes and then the eventual KO kick by Nakajima was awesome and one of the best and well done strike exchanges this year I think. *****1/4*


----------



## McQueen

Big Daddy & Joe Doering are gonna clean sweep for the win.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tenryu vs Sasaki from 1/4/00: Feels like legit heat here and it starts out as a battle, turns into a great wrestling match, and has awesome story telling from beginning to end. Epic match.


----------



## Chismo

Bubz said:


> Posted this in the MOTYC thread earlier...
> 
> Just watched *Nakajima vs Suzuki II*. Awesome match and I liked it a lot more than their first match this year. I loved the first portion of the match with Nakajima just dominating Kotaro completely with strikes. Nakajima knows how to do a workover segment just using strikes and a few submissions and keep it really fun at the same time. What seemed like Kotaro's comeback was slightly ruined by a botched suicide dive which kind of hurt the flow for a minute, but it allowed Nakajima to control the match for a bit longer which is a good thing as I think Suzuki is best playing the underdog and making a comeback. There is a slight second botch on the turnbuckle but it didn't really hurt the match at all. The eventual comeback is awesome though and leads to an epic finishing stretch with a completely unexpected ending that is very rare to see. *SPOILERS* the finish with the strikes and then the eventual KO kick by Nakajima was awesome and one of the best and well done strike exchanges this year I think. *****1/4*


Yeah, I love this match. That finish was super cool, very refreshing and realistic. Kotaro's botches actually helped the match, and you can't really blame him because his head was probably fucked up from Jima's lethal kicks, lol. ****3/4*


----------



## Pat9010

Youtuber "MrLARIATO" has been uploading the history of the Triple Crown. I think it's from some special that just came out, but it's amazing none the less. I'm still in '91 watching Kawada challenge Tsuruta for the gold


----------



## Cactus

Pat9010 said:


> Youtuber "MrLARIATO" has been uploading the history of the Triple Crown. I think it's from some special that just came out, but it's amazing none the less. I'm still in '91 watching Kawada challenge Tsuruta for the gold


(Y) Awesome match.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Just watched Go, Sugiura & Taniguchi Vs NO MERCY on 11/09, and it was lots of fun, non-stop action since start to finish. Sugiura Vs KENTA and Go Vs KENTA are announced to be great, as well Takayama Vs Go, but I've watched the last and I completely was. ***3/4


----------



## Cactus

Just watched the portion of the '94 Super J Cup that was featured on Benoit's set.

*Benoit vs Eddie: ****1/4*
*Benoit vs Sasuke: ****1/2*

Highly recommend Benoit's DVD and by what I seen, the J Cup too.


----------



## antoniomare007

have you seen Benoit vs Eddie from the BOSJ 96'?? one of my favorite juniors matches and one I would give the 5 snowflakes treatment.


----------



## Cactus

I have not. I always assumed the Super J match was their best match.


----------



## Bubz

Shit, I was literally just watching Benoit/Sasuke to see if it was as good as I remembered it.

Also just watched Sasuke/Liger from 94, an awesome match, not 5* for me but pretty close I would say.

I'm getting on that Eddie/Benoit match right now! By the way is Eddie wrestling as Black Tiger in that 96 match?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Eddie/Benoit BOSJ 1996 is their best match, great build in the technical exchanges that establish Benoit as the better of the two and giving Eddie reason to resort to his superior athleticism. They run through some great sequences, have a nifty finishing run and play off the 1994 Super Cup Match IIRC.

Sasuke/Liger is really great, although it wasn't as amazing as I remembered it being though I did love the Veteran Liger vs Indy darling Sasuke and how it made the ending botch fit into the match, even though it does kill some of the heat at the end. Chalk it up to Liger improvising like a freaking genius.

P.S- Liger talk makes me want to tell Cactus/Bubz to watch the Liger vs Sano trilogy from mid 1989-1990. Its in his prime Sano who's incredible vs at his peak Liger, you get some of the best Juniors matches of all time with the final encounter being their best IMO, unless I've confused it with the second one.


P.P.S- when you're done watching that, get around in the near future to Ohtani/Ultimo from 1996, believed by many to be the GOAT Juniors match simply through Ohtani's performance. I know Bubz in particular is a big fan of the 'young lion trying to prove he's the best' story and this match captures that dynamic to perfection.


----------



## Bubz

I saw those Liger/Sano matches pimped in the 5* thread along with Liger/Sasuke which is what made me watch it. Will maybe get around to watching one or two tonight.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Eddie is under the Black Tiger mask in the 1996 match btw, just seen your edit.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Third Sano Vs Liger is the only NJPW juniors bout I've given the full monty. Balls to wall.

Although, I watched Go/Sugiura and KENTA/Sugiura this afternoon and I think they are the best matches NOAH has done this year right behind Nakajima/Suzuki II. ****1/2


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just saw my first Liger singles match in many years and my first El Samurai match. From Super J cup I think, the one where El gets his mask ripped off. Didn't think too much of it. There were no pin attempts until around the last 3-4 minutes of this 22ish minute match which i thought really brought down the drama.

As ashamed as I am to admit, the only Benoit match I've seen from Japan is him vs. Tiger Mask III which had a couple botches but is pretty much a template for what juniors should go by. The most basic but awesome match imo.


----------



## Bubz

So, I've watched a lot of awesome stuff tonight.

*Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke 94*
Great match, but I thought it was missing another few minutes on the end. Not as good as I thought it was when I watched it a few years ago, but still really enjoyable. *****1/4*

*Great Sasuke vs Chris Benoit(Wild Pegasus) BOSJ 94 Final*
This was just as awesome as I remember it being when I first saw it a few years ago. *****1/2*

*Benoit (Wild Pegasus) vs Eddie (Black Tiger II) BOSJ 96*
This is something special right here. An easy 5* classic and it shoot's right up there with some of my favourite matches ever. The story is amazing, Benoit constantly grounding and working over Eddie with sleepers and what not, and the crowd getting really into it cheering for him to get back into the match. The finishing stretch is awesome with great believable near falls and some epic counters, especially the two guys fighting to hit the tombstone, and then later doing it again but from the top rope! The Black Tiger Bomb is like my favorite finishing move ever aswell. I can safely say this is one of, if not the best juniors match I've seen, and that these two are two of the best to ever step inside a wrestling ring. Amazing. *******

*Liger vs Sano I 07/13/89*
This was great, but it probably would have been even better if Sano hadn't got messed up. Man, he took an evil combination of moves to the floor, and afterwards he was falling all over the place which wasn't good to see, but in a way it kind of added to the match at the same time. It added to the match because Sano gained sympathy for it and everyone was pulling for him to win, but took away from it because there were parts that got a bit sloppy and looked really dangerous because he wasn't with it. The action was amazing throughout though and the time limit draw was really well done. *****1/4*

*Liger vs Sano II 10/08/80*
This one is completely different from the first match in every way. While the first match was more balls to the wall action, this one was much more methodical, and it was awesome. Sano goes straight after Liger's arm, and Liger proceeds to do one of the best sell jobs I've ever seen. He sell's the absolute shit out of his arm, never forgetting about it, constantly leaving it limp by his side and grabbing at it for the whole match, awesome stuff. Seriously, some of the newer guy's need to just watch this and take notes. Sano gets busted open from a missed suicide dive and Liger relentlessly goes after his head with vicious kicks and a piledriver on the floor! Sano goes after the arm again and I thought it was over right then in an awesome near fall. The match actually didn't end on a submission though which was kind of dissapointing, but it ended with Sano beating Liger with the move he hit in the first match just as the time limit expired! Awesome touch there that made it look like Sano would have won the first match if not for the time. *****1/2*

*Liger vs Sano III 31/01/90*
It starts off with Liger slapping Sano really fucking hard, then starting off quick with strikes, but then Sano completely snaps. He just starts going crazy with punches to Liger's head, and this time it's Sano who hits Liger with a piledriver on the floor and then a tombstone. Liger then gets the living shit beat out of him and it's Sano going after the head this time instead. HE RIPS HIS MASK OFF! Again Liger busts out an epic selling job, probably even better than the previous match, he literally looks dead. Sano goes full retard and uses a THUMB TO THE EYE! That's uncalled for. Liger is bleeding like hell and with his mask ripped off it looks awesome and kind of scary. Liger tries to make comeback's but is always cut off by Sano who is one step ahead every time because Liger has lost so much blood and taken numerous strikes and moves to the skull. This is an epic workover and an even more epic sell job. Eevn though I knew the result I was marking every time Liger attempted a comeback. The finishing stretch was just awesomeness, and I would just like to say I've never seen a Liger match that goes overkill at all and it's awesome because his finishers are completely believable every time. Liger hit's Sano with a SICK tombestone and then pulls out a SSP for the win. Amazing, one of the best matches I've ever seen, up there with most of the AJPW stuff for me and definitely the best Jr match I've ever seen. *******

Awesome trilogy of matches that got better each time and really played off of the previous matches each time as well. Sano was awesome back then, it's kind of a shame because from what I've seen recently he can't do much other than kicks. Liger was just amazing in these matches.

So yeah, I had a good night .


----------



## Yeah1993

Which Liger/Ssauke is that? J-Cup or the July rematch? Last time I watched the July one months ago I thought it was about on par with Rey/Eddy from Halloween Havoc. 

Sano's typically good. I can;t speak for what he does (heard it was all donkey kicks or something- which I literally picture as him putting both hands on the ground and thrusting both legs outward), but he has some really, really good stuff from past decades.

All those matches fucking rock, yes.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

He was awesome in PWFG and UWF as well, and most people call him one of the best workers of his time for how good he was at such a young age, I so desperately want to order the PWFG set in the near future and Sano vs Shamrock will be the first match watched.

Awesome to see you love Liger/Sano and Benoit/Eddie so much, some of the best juniords matches ever.


Now Lawler will be your next discovery 


Edit: The July Match Yeah1993 talked about is up on Youtube now.


----------



## seabs

> NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011 EVE", 03.11.2011
> Sendai Industrial Exhibition Mansion Aztec
> 1,050 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Yoshinari Ogawa besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (5:53) mit einem Backdrop Hold.
> 2. Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Ricky Marvin, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste (11:28) nach einem 450° Splash von Ishimori gegen Haste.
> 3. Global League - Block A: Takeshi Morishima [2] besiegt Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0] (3:57) mit einem Backdrop Suplex.
> 4. Global League - Block B: KENTA [2] besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi [0] (11:51) mit dem Go 2 Sleep.
> 5. Kenta Kobashi & Takuma Sano besiegen Mohammed Yone & Masao Inoue (14:52) nach einer Short Range Strong Arm Lariat von Kobashi gegen Inoue.
> 6. Global League - Block A: Yoshihiro Takayama [2] besiegt Yutaka Yoshie [0] (9:48) mit einem Everest German Suplex Hold.
> 7. Global League - Block B: Akitoshi Saito [2] besiegt Takashi Sugiura [0] (16:20) mit dem Death End.
> 8. Global League - Block A: Go Shiozaki [1] vs. Jun Akiyama [1] - Time Limit Draw (30:00).


*and there you have the first of many 30 minute time limit draws.

fpalm*


----------



## smitlick

when i first saw the results, i thought of you seabs and your love for 20+ minute NOAH Main Events


----------



## Sunglasses

I think THIS draw makes sense. Go is the GHC champion and Akiyama the TC champ. So why shouldn't they fight to a draw? who should've won this?


----------



## Fighter Daron

Morishima has undertaken Kanemaru xD


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah if they are going to have a draw, that's an obvious choice. The problem is that knowing NOAH, that's probably not going to be the only one.


----------



## seabs

*The problem isn't those 2 having a draw. The problem is THOSE 2 having a 30 minute draw and the fact that in every league that NOAH does they'll have loads of 30 minute draws, just look at their tag league. Squash matches in the fucking Global League is a joke too but I guess it's better than Kanemaru going 10+ minutes with a guy like Morishima. As long as Murdoch/Takayma is as great as I know it can be I'll be happy with this league. I'M NOT ASKING FOR MUCH!*


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *and there you have the first of many 30 minute time limit draws.
> 
> fpalm*


Was this televised? Shima, KENTAH and Takayama winning, fuck yeah, my boys are runnin' wild! 



> I think THIS draw makes sense. Go is the GHC champion and Akiyama the TC champ. So why shouldn't they fight to a draw? who should've won this?


Also, this. I definitely want to see this match, their 8/6 match was tremendous.


----------



## seabs

*Doesn't say it was.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

It's not televised.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Mutoh/Chono vs Hase/Sasaki - 11/1/90: this is one of the funnest matches i've ever watched. the crowd is loud throughout the match and the last five or so minutes it is the loudest crowd i've ever heard in japan and rivals the loudest stuff from the states as well. epic f'n match. 

Hase/Sasaki vs Koshinaka/Iizuka - 12/13/90: pretty much same as above but crowd isn't as loud, but they are very into it and still pretty damn loud. another epic.

Vader vs Hashimoto - 4/24/89 mehhhhh. not so good but this is my first exposure to Hashimoto so hoping it's an acquired taste and can come back to this someday and enjoy it. looking forward to watching the rematch from 91.


----------



## Yeah1993

bigbuxxx said:


> *Mutoh/Chono* vs Hase/Sasaki - 11/1/90: this is one of the funnest matches i've ever watched. the crowd is loud throughout the match and the last five or so minutes it is the loudest crowd i've ever heard in japan and rivals the loudest stuff from the states as well. *epic* f'n match.
> 
> *
> Vader vs Hashimoto - 4/24/89 mehhhhh.* not so good but this is my first exposure to Hashimoto so hoping it's an acquired taste and can come back to this someday and enjoy it. looking forward to watching the rematch from 91.


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


----------



## bigbuxxx

have you seen the tag match? i don't think anybody who's seen it would disagree.


----------



## Yeah1993

My comment was more or less a subtle (or not so subtle) shot at how I think Mutoh is crap and Chono is uniteresting, but I'll give that tag a watch sometime before judging the match in particular. Not a big fan of Hase and Sasaki either though so "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" might be my final reaction. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" can be good, though. 

No idea if that made sense.


----------



## bigbuxxx

haha i'm no fan of sasaki either but i only know current sasaki and i really can't bear too many noah matches now. that was my first viewing of hase, mutoh, and chono in japan so i feel lucky to not have that view that many do of mutoh sucks when going into this match.

i'll go back to that vader match after watching some more Hash since (like the rest of the world) i'm a huge vader mark.


----------



## Chismo

Fighter Daron said:


> It's not televised.


FUCK!



> Mutoh/Chono vs Hase/Sasaki - 11/1/90


Oh yeah! Excellent match-up. I love Kenskay and Hase. People need to watch Hase more. The most underrated puro wrestler of all time.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*NOAH: Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori - 6.12.09*

A WILD Jr tag match, something of a spotfest and just an action packed battle, a few botches for some ridiculous spots didn't really hurt the match, just due to the madness of the moves being attempted. Ton of fun to watch, both teams just put it on heavy and go at it until the finish.

Great double team moves, some wild spots and intense action. This isn't a techniqual classic, but if you're looking for a fun match to watch, I think this is worth checking out.

****1/2*


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> Mutoh/Chono vs Hase/Sasaki - 11/1/90: this is one of the funnest matches i've ever watched. the crowd is loud throughout the match and the last five or so minutes it is the loudest crowd i've ever heard in japan and rivals the loudest stuff from the states as well. epic f'n match.


Yeah, pretty damn crowd, and Sasaki steals the show, great match.


----------



## seancarleton77

Someone please warn Seabs not to read the latest NOAH spoilers. The horror.... the horror.


----------



## antoniomare007

At least today's draw wasn't in the mainevent . 

If NOAH was a US promotion, the bitching and moaning about their booking would see no end. It's been 6-7 years of stupids decisions, with a couple of exceptions each year.

It also seems like KENTA debuted a new finisher today.


----------



## Caponex75

Sugiura/Yone in a 30 minute draw? Oh the horror.


----------



## bigbuxxx

KENTA and Takayama challenged the tag champs after their match on 10/31. Can't wait to see this one.


----------



## seabs

*GAME OVER is an awesome name for a finisher, especially in CAPS. No interest in Sugiura/Yone anyway so them being the 30 minute draw is fine by me. Suzuki/Shiozaki and Akiyama/Takayama both going 15 minutes and being televised is awesome though. 

Not really buying KENTA as a heavyweight though and putting him in a match with Takayama, Bernard & Anderson probably isn't going to help him.*


----------



## Derek

Who did Big Boss Sugi piss off to deserve a 30 minute draw with fucking Yone?


----------



## bigbuxxx

Hashimoto vs Tenryu 2/17/94 - enjoyable match. resembled more of a fight than a wrestling match.

Tenryu vs Kawada 10/28/00 - Tenryu is a boss in this match, comparable to Godzilla. Kawada throws everything he can at him and barely phases Tenryu at all. The psychology in this match is incredible. ****1/4-****1/2.


----------



## Yeah1993

Tenryu/Kawada's a top 10 of the 2000s for me.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Derek said:


> Who did Big Boss Sugi piss off to deserve a 30 minute draw with fucking Yone?


Well, he has had two matches against Saito and Yone, and only has one motherfucking point, incredible.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, ever since he lost the belt Sugi has been very poorly protected compared to other heavyweights on the roster, but then again we are talking about NOAH...


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> Tenryu/Kawada's a top 10 of the 2000s for me.


thanks. thought i'd get laughed out the forum if i put it ****3/4 or 5 lol. it's def. great.


----------



## McQueen

Why the fuck should you care if someone laughs at *YOUR* rating.


----------



## bigbuxxx

you guys are ruthless yo. i think i overrate alot of stuff anyhow because i'm easily entertained. puro is the nuts.


----------



## McQueen

Be a man stand up for your opinion. Even if people think you're trolling, but if you're good like me you can troll at the same time.


----------



## Yeah1993

bigbuxxx said:


> thanks. thought i'd get laughed out the forum if i put it ****3/4 or 5 lol. it's def. great.


no idea why you're thanking me, but...you're wlecome? 

That match is pretty universally loved by everyone who's seen it btw.


----------



## bigbuxxx

and here i thought i found a diamond in the rough. i've never seen it in any best of puro lists or even any talk of it in the 5* thread.


----------



## antoniomare007

Kawada's (and Tenryu's) run in early 00's for All Japan have been highly praised and it's well deserved. Although it's true that it tends to be overlooked when compared to 80's and 90's stuff.

hell, Tenryu had an awesome match with fucking Mutoh in 01'.


----------



## Yeah1993

Kawada/Tenryu tends to get overshadowed by Kawada/Sasaki.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Also never heard Sasaki/Tenryu from the 1/4/00 dome show talked about and it's spectacular. Don't think I've seen Sasaki/Kawada from 10/9/00. I see they had a match in the 01 dome show as finals of some tourney (presumably for the iwgp title), is that awesome as well?


----------



## bigbuxxx

Nishimura vs Takayama - 2002 G-1 Semi Finals (?): ***. Just couldn't get behind this Tak match. Was my first time seeing Nish to. They kept trying to one up each other with moves but it felt like 15 mins flew by and they were doing that and their health bars are just getting into the yellow, then the match ends a couple mins later.

Akiyama vs Nagata - 1/4/02: ***1/4. Felt average to me (that's what she said obv). Felt forced and it had to make both guys look credible since it was a NOAH vs NJPW match. Def. forgettable.

Hashimoto vs Tenryu - G-1 tourney in 98. ****1/2-****3/4. Felt epic. There was more wrestling and a load more drama in this match than their 2/17/94 match. The more I see of Tenryu, the more I want to see of him, guy is a fkn boss.


----------



## Yeah1993

I liked Takayama/Nishimura a lot, but it did suffer from lack of drama near the end. Felt like it never kicked into that last gear. Takayama/Nagata and Takayama/Misawa from the same year are better. Takayama/Ogawa might be too. Tak had a hell of an 02.


----------



## Chismo

NOAH's last event looks pretty decent, really want to see Akiyama/Takayama and Go/Kotaro. And yeah, lol at YONE going 30 minutes with Boss Sugi. I will watch that, just to see how Yone works long ass matches.



bigbuxxx said:


> KENTA and Takayama challenged the tag champs after their match on 10/31. Can't wait to see this one.


NO MERCY vs. Bad Intentions sounds fucking great. KENTA/Bernard sessions could be balls to the walls.


----------



## Bubz

Man. KENTA/Bernard sounds like an awesome combo.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NOAH: 10/07/04: GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Kenta Kobashi Vs Jun Akiyama: 
I've only heard good things from this match, and as I will watch so soon the claimed match of the year between Akiyama and Suwama for the Triple Crown, I've wanted to see the best match in Akiyama's career. The match starts ok with Kobashi going for his great chops and Jun answering that trying to go to the mat to stop Kenta's strikes, what it's his greatest strenght. Well, Kobashi is a great All-Rounder and it's capable to do well the mat while brutalize Akiyama with blows. After several chops, Kenta goes for a Jumping Shoulder Block, but Akiyama blocks it with an espectacular knee, which allows Jun to take the offensive.

Jun lifts the legend and delivers a DDT on the apron. Then, he punishes Kenta with the guard-rails and a Kneedrop on the apron. Back in the ring, Akiyama goes to the mat again and tries to submit Kobashi with the KID, but after a second attempt that turned on the Dome, Kobashi manages to escape. Kenta catches Jun in an endless headlock, cause Akiyama makes two attempts to escape with backdrops, but Kobashi refuses to release the hold, till he decides to drive his head into the ring with a Sleeper Slam. After that, Akiyama takes like forty chops and is KO. They leave the ring and Kobashi delivers an ESPECTACULAR Suplex to ringside that destroys Jun.

Because of the hit, Kobashi starts to bleed from his mouth, pretty impressive. They return to the ring and seem to be dead, Kenta tries a pinfall, but Akiyama kicks out under the skepticism of the crowd, then Kobashi does a Half Nelson that makes Jun fall on the top of his head. After the Orange Crush, Kobashi goes for the Burning Hammer, but eats a German Suplex and a Sliding Knee to the face. Jun takes Kenta to the apron to take revenge of the suplex, but Kobashi tries a German with no results and climbs the second rope only to get suplexed by an EXPLOIDAHH FROM THE SECOND ROPE! Back in the ring, after a near count-out, Akiyama delivers another Exploder that only reaches the two count. But then he lifts Kobashi to the top rope and an exploder suplex, but not even that gives him the win. After a few headbutts, Akiyama comes back with the KID, but Kenta refuses to tap, and does a Wrist-Clutch Exploder Suplex, but nothing could separate Kobashi from his title. 

Jun goes for another Exploder, but Kenta answers him with a staggering Brainbuster that makes him fall on the head again, so very dangerous. Then, Half Nelson by Kobashi, Exploder by Akiyama, Half Nelson by Kobashi, Exploder by Akiyama, Half Nelson by Kobashi, Exploder by Akiyama and a Burning Lariat from Kenta, incredible. Another lariato, but whatever, Akiyama is unwilling to lose. Kobashi decides to do the Moonsault, but it's not enough, I wonder what they have to do to win the match, drop an A-Bomb?, but not that far, Burning Hammer and it's all set and done. 

Unique finisher for an unique match, it's so damn clear that I'm giving this match the full monty, it's a spotfest by law, but it's the best structured one that I've seen in my entire life, it was too overkill, but nothing looked false or overacting, every spot had the reaction it deserved, because the Dome was incredible that night. Everything had it will, they were just two warriors that refused to lose, if the match with Suwama is near to this, I'll blow my mind.

Rating: *****


----------



## McQueen

bigbuxxx said:


> Also never heard Sasaki/Tenryu from the 1/4/00 dome show talked about and it's spectacular. Don't think I've seen Sasaki/Kawada from 10/9/00. I see they had a match in the 01 dome show as finals of some tourney (presumably for the iwgp title), is that awesome as well?


The fall 2000 match is much better, not the the tournament match is terrible but its more in the vein of "Lets throw big bombs at each other for 10 minutes" as opposed to "I'm motherfucking Kawada, i'm coming into your company, and i'm going to beat your champion like a bitch and make him a man."

The tournament itself though is really fun, in fact the whole event is really good. The semi-finals between Sasaki & Kojima and Kawada vs Tenzan especially are much better than the finals. Oh plus a really bizarre "Fuck you New Japan, i'm motherfucking Hashimoto" match against Choshu and Heavyweight Ohtani making his debut, unfortunately for a one Jushin Liger.

Edit: Also don't sleep on this



> Kawada & Fuchi vs Nagata & Iizuka, NJ 12/14/00. Oh this match. How can I praise it? The best match Iizuka has ever been in. The best match Fuchi has been in since '93 and maybe '91. Likely the best match Nagata has ever been in. It's got so much going for it, and if you're any kind of puro fan you owe it to yourself to watch this.


----------



## Chismo

:lmao Check out the results of NOAH's latest event. I love both Kenskay and Smith, but come on...:lmao


----------



## antoniomare007

we warned you that Go vs Akiyama wouldn't be the only draw :lmao

and Morishima just won himself a future GHC Title match down the line, regardless of what happens in the tournament.



has any footage surfaced with KENTA's new "game over" finisher?


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, Shima needs to be in the title picture all the time. Good news there. And yeah, I'm dying to see GAME OVER too.


----------



## Cactus

When does KENTA get his title shot?


----------



## bigbuxxx

11/27 i believe


----------



## antoniomare007

yep, 11/27 at the always lovely







Ariake Coloseum


----------



## ywall2breakerj

KENTA has a new finisher! YAY! 
30 minute time limit draws :no:


----------



## bigbuxxx

ywall2breakerj said:


> KENTA has a new finisher! YAY!
> 30 minute time limit draws :no:


at least it's only once per day? :faint:


----------



## McQueen

Game over must be the finisher where the match automatically ends in a 30 minute time limit draw. :side:


----------



## Derek

antoniomare007 said:


> has any footage surfaced with KENTA's new "game over" finisher?


No, but from the pic I saw on a Japanese site it looked like a crossface submission.


----------



## antoniomare007

Well then I guess him moving up to heavyweight is not just a "one time only" thing. At least from now on his horrible STF will mean something in his matches


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW 6/1/1994*
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Shinya Hashimoto
_Right, I'm officially on the Fujiwara bandwagon. While this isn't the best match I've ever seen, It does showcase Fujiwara's amazing ability to create tension and build suspense. Whether he's trying to lock on the Fujiwara armbar or he's trying to evade Hash's strikes, he leaves you on the edge of your seat at every move. _
******


----------



## McQueen

Shit thats a match I don't think i've ever seen. Is it on Ditch?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WUHJHK30

He got the link off me McQueen, WATCH IT.

Awesome to see you love it Cactus, though I see you ignored my call to watch more Hash and Fujiwara first


----------



## Cactus

Segunda Caida said:


> http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WUHJHK30
> 
> He got the link off me McQueen, WATCH IT.
> 
> Awesome to see you love it Cactus, though I see you ignored my call to watch more Hash and Fujiwara first


There's more?


----------



## McQueen

Man Megaupload sucks. You're lucky Hash & Fujiwara do not.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I meant watch more Hashimoto singles to fully appreciate how rare it is to see him work a match like he does with Fujiwara, cautious and calculating aren't what you usually associate Hashimoto with, he's more akin to Kawada in the 'murder your face off with the toe end of his boot' character.


----------



## Cactus

I just can't get into Hash tbh. I don't think he's terrible or anything. I just feel uninterested when I watch his matches (Minus versus Fujiwara). I prefer his son, Daichi more.


----------



## antoniomare007

Cactus said:


> I just can't get into Hash tbh. I don't think he's terrible or anything. I just feel uninterested when I watch his matches (Minus versus Fujiwara). I prefer his son, Daichi more.



















j/k


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Strange, since to me anyone who loves Kawada should love Hashimoto. Kawada is far better to me, but Hashimoto is eerily similar in the big kicking asskicker role and is probably the best on offence in wrestling history to me. His strikes are awesome and with his big frame, ability to bump and sell his ass off he's an all round great worker IMO.

Seen some of Daichi, looking forward to when he gets his first win and starts to go on a tear against those who've made him their bitch so far.


----------



## Cactus

Yeah. The reason of my bizarre Daichi > Shinya thing was probably because I saw Daichi's debut before I saw anything of Shinya. They played a long video package of Daichi talking about his dad dying and him training to wrestle. I just couldn't help but love the guy. I'm more emotionally attached to a Daichi match then a Shinya one.


----------



## antoniomare007

what matches from Hash have you watched though?


----------



## Cactus

antoniomare007 said:


> what matches from Hash have you watched though?


vs Fujiwara, vs Choshu and a handful of others. He just comes of as dull and characterless to me. Kawada and Tenryu do a much better 'bully' character then him.


----------



## antoniomare007

wow, first time I've read someone calling Hash "dull". I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a guy portray the "I'm the leader of this company" better than Hashimoto. We'll have to agree to disagree .


----------



## Cactus

Give it time, man. I'm sure I'll eventually learn to love. I just haven't seen enough to make a solid opinion. But then again, I'm not exactly in the rush to watch his stuff.


----------



## McQueen

Wait vs Choshu at the '96 G-1?


----------



## Cactus

Yeah.


----------



## antoniomare007

aw man, you weren't moved by the CHOOOOSHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!! scream??


----------



## McQueen

Son I am disappointed


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

antoniomare007 said:


> j/k



Ok, where is that moment of awesomeness from?


----------



## Derek

Watch some Hash vs. Tenryu. Good stuff.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tenryu vs Tanahashi in G-1 tourney in 04. **3/4. squash match for all intent and purposes. fun to watch Tenryu do his thing though and fun to watch Tanahashi have the crap beat out of him for 6 solid minutes.

Kawada/Fuchi vs Nagata/Iizuka - 12/14/00: ****1/4-****1/2. Close to epic to me but something missing. Kawada and esp. Fuchi were great as heels here. As expected great interactions with Kawada and Nagata. The DVD boards came up with this as MOTY in puro for 2000 which I think is LOLOLOL. The match the night before with Iizuka and ??? vs Sasaki and Hase was much better. This match would probably just barely make my top 10 for that year in puro.



Derek said:


> Watch some Hash vs. Tenryu. Good stuff.


Yeah really. Cactus, check out their match from the G-1 in 98 that I pimped earlier today. May be a better match to you if you watch one of their earlier matches first though, idk.


----------



## topper1

bigbuxxx said:


> DVD boards came up with this as MOTY in puro for 2000 which I think is LOLOLOL.


And on this site you have people claiming a Rockness Mosters match as MOTY I'm sure lot's of them would LOLOLOL at some of the people here.


----------



## TelkEvolon

topper1 said:


> And on this site you have people claiming a Rockness Mosters match as MOTY I'm sure lot's of them would LOLOLOL at some of the people here.


At least that was just like one or two people.


----------



## jawbreaker

it's also got Kevin Steen and Akira Tozawa and seriously, Goodtime really is that good.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 15/3/09*

Jun Akiyama & KENTA vs Go Shiozaki & Makoto Hashi
***1/4

*NOAH - 13/6/09*

Yoshihiro Takayama vs Chris Hero
***1/4

*NOAH - 4/6/09*

Go Shiozaki vs Chris Hero
***1/2


----------



## Bubz

Posted this in the MOTYC thread as well.

*SUWAMA vs Jun Akiyama - All Japan 23/10/11*
:shocked:

Absolutely amazing match and my MOTY. It started slow with the feeling out process and then quickly turned into something great with Akiyama working over SUWAMA's neck and SUWAMA sold it really well. When he got the upper hand he worked over Akiyama's back and likewise Akiyama sold it amazingly. Everything made sense in this match. Akiyama's offense was completely aimed at SUWAMA's neck, and I mean pretty much everything he did. The trading sulex spot I actually liked in this match and it is something I really dislike most of the time, the last one I really liked was in Dragon/KENTA at Driven and now this one. The finishing stretch was amazing and it made Akiyama's neck work all the more great since everything was focussed on SUWAMA's neck and head and the finish was epic. So many times when I thought it was over but so glad it wasn't, and I would agree with the 90's AJPW comparisons with the way it was structured and everything, and I would have this on the level of some of those classic matches. I have no doubt that if this took place in the late 90's it would be considered a classic. This was also my first time seeing SUWAMA because I don't watch much AJPW at all really these days, and he really impressed me but Jun was the star here. he is one of my favourite Puro workers and he knows how to make stuff seem special (the selling and the finish for example). Awesome match I loved it and it's probably my favourite puro match since Sasaki/Go last year and maybe even better than that. It just seemed so special and epic to me. *******


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Jun Akiyama vs SUWAMA*
This was awesome. I fucking LOVED how Akiyama worked on the neck of SUWAMA, i also loved the Suplex sequence as SUWAMA was pissed off for Akiyama destroying him with it and Akiyama was even more pissed off when SUWAMA no sold the Exploder, I screamed like a bitch when Akiyama hit the Eploder off the apron :$, without a shadow of a doubt my match of the year.

*******


----------



## bigbuxxx

can't wait to see that, however, it will have to wait till after the final day of the g-1 tag league from yesterday.


----------



## Cactus

Meh. I really couldn't go the full five on Akiyama/SUWAMA. It dragged on for me. It's defo my Puro MOTY though and the Exploder of the apron was epic. *****1/2*.


----------



## jawbreaker

I started watching Akiyama/SUWAMA, got about eight minutes in and was bored out of my mind before I remembered that today was Faulkner lecture in my American Lit class so I went to that. I'll give it another go tomorrow probably.


----------



## antoniomare007

it's been stated that the match builds slowly though.


to me the most epic part was SUWAMA's cradle. such a desperation move, it was perfect.


----------



## jawbreaker

yeah, it's not like I'm giving up on it, but the opening stretch was far from gripping.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Well, I prefer this, lower expectations, please.


----------



## bigbuxxx

G-1 Tag League Semifinals:
Yano/Nakamura vs MiSu/Archer: **3/4. 
brutal kick from Nakamura to MiSu
MiSu gets revenge

Tanahashi/Goto vs Bad Intentions: ***3/4.



Spoiler: Finals



MiSu/Archer vs BI: ****. Decent finals match with some great near falls but everything felt forced and/or lacked chemistry. BI hit two finishers in a row on Archer and each time he kicked out w/o MiSu saving him which while making sense why MiSu couldn't save him really just made me scratch my head. He's Lance Archer ffs and those are the dominant tag champs, they should easily lay waste to him with two finishers. Ofc from a booking standpoint BI gains nothing by winning so I almost understand. BI did not win.


----------



## Cactus

Bigbuxxx, what day of the G-1 would I have to download just to get the semi's and finals?


----------



## Fighter Daron

Cactus said:


> Bigbuxxx, what day of the G-1 would I have to download just to get the semi's and finals?


If you're talking of the Tag League, Day 8.


----------



## smitlick

these results should please Seabs as theres no draws



Spoiler:  NOAH 8/11 Results



NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 08.11.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
1,000 Fans 

1. Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin besiegen Akitoshi Saito & Taiji Ishimori (6:38) mit einem Backslide von Marvin gegen Ishimori. 
2. Global League - Block B: Bobby Fish [2] besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi [0] (11:04) nach einem Jumping Kick. 
3. Global League - Block A: Yoshihiro Takayama [4] besiegt Kento Miyahara [2] (3:07) mit einem Arm Hold. 
4. Global League - Block A: Trevor Murdoch [2] besiegt Yutaka Yoshie [4] (7:22) mit einem Inside Cradle. 
5. Go Shiozaki, Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Kenta Kobashi, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue (17:26) mit einem Ankle Hold von Aoki gegen Inoue. 
6. Global League - Block A: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2] besiegt Jun Akiyama [5] (6:14) durch Countout. 
7. Global League - Block A: Takeshi Morishima [6] besiegt Kotaro Suzuki [0] (8:04) nach einem Backdrop. 
8. Global League - Block B: Mohammed Yone [3] besiegt Bison Smith [1] (8:25) via Pinfall. 
9. Global League - Block B: Kensuke Sasaki [5] besiegt KENTA [6] (18:04) nach einer Northern Lights Bomb. 

- Global League Standings 

Block A: 
1. Takeshi Morishima [6] 
2. Jun Akiyama [5] 
3. Yutaka Yoshie [4] 
-. Yoshihiro Takayama [4] 
5. Go Shiozaki [3] 
6. Kento Miyahara [2] 
-. Trevor Murdoch [2] 
8. Kotaro Suzuki [0] 
-. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0] 

Block B: 
1. KENTA [6] 
2. Kensuke Sasaki [5] 
3. Akitoshi Saito [4] 
4. Takashi Sugiura [3] 
-. Mohammed Yone [3] 
6. Takuma Sano [2] 
-. Bobby Fish [2] 
8. Bison Smith [1] 
9. Shuhei Taniguchi [0]


----------



## Cactus

^ Thanks.

*NJPW G-1 Tag League Day 8*
*Semi-Finals:* MiSu & Archer vs Nakamura/Yano ***3/4*
*Semi-Finals:* Bad Intentions vs Tanahashi/Goto ****1/4*
*Finals:* ****3/4*

*Overall:*
A pretty meh final day. The finals are worth watching as they are only 15-odd minutes long, but something about felt weird. Both teams struggled to click with each other and it made for some awkward moments.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Spoiler: G-1 tag



BI defending the titles against MiSu/Archer at the ppv on Saturday.


----------



## Cactus

Nice one. Looking forward to that.


----------



## antoniomare007

Question for everyone. Do we still need to use spoilers for non-taped shows?

PS: NOAH claiming 1k in Korakuen is fucking horrible. It seems as they just can't draw anymore no matter what they do.


----------



## Cactus

If it's never going to be shown, I wouldn't see why you'd have to spoiler it. Just don't be a douche and spoil PPV and TV shows, I guess.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

bigbuxxx said:


> Tenryu vs Tanahashi in G-1 tourney in 04. **3/4. squash match for all intent and purposes. fun to watch Tenryu do his thing though and fun to watch Tanahashi have the crap beat out of him for 6 solid minutes.
> 
> Kawada/Fuchi vs Nagata/Iizuka - 12/14/00: ****1/4-****1/2. Close to epic to me but something missing. Kawada and esp. Fuchi were great as heels here. As expected great interactions with Kawada and Nagata. The DVD boards came up with this as MOTY in puro for 2000 which I think is LOLOLOL. The match the night before with Iizuka and ??? vs Sasaki and Hase was much better. This match would probably just barely make my top 10 for that year in puro.


First match is one of my favourite things ever. Simple squash; just Tenryu doing his thing and acting like a dick and glowing with self-satisfaction, but it's awesome.

Don't see how the tag being the puro MOTY is a stretch. Like, at all. I think Tenryu/Kawada from October is definitely better, and I think the Tenryu/Kea v Kawada/Hansen tag from the first post-split All Japan show from the Budokan is the best tag of the year, but the 12/14 match is excellent and right up there. The tag from the previous night being much better is just bizarre to me.


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> these results should please Seabs as theres no draws
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler:  NOAH 8/11 Results
> 
> 
> 
> NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 08.11.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 1,000 Fans
> 
> 1. Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin besiegen Akitoshi Saito & Taiji Ishimori (6:38) mit einem Backslide von Marvin gegen Ishimori.
> 2. Global League - Block B: Bobby Fish [2] besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi [0] (11:04) nach einem Jumping Kick.
> 3. Global League - Block A: Yoshihiro Takayama [4] besiegt Kento Miyahara [2] (3:07) mit einem Arm Hold.
> 4. Global League - Block A: Trevor Murdoch [2] besiegt Yutaka Yoshie [4] (7:22) mit einem Inside Cradle.
> 5. Go Shiozaki, Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Kenta Kobashi, Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue (17:26) mit einem Ankle Hold von Aoki gegen Inoue.
> 6. Global League - Block A: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [2] besiegt Jun Akiyama [5] (6:14) durch Countout.
> 7. Global League - Block A: Takeshi Morishima [6] besiegt Kotaro Suzuki [0] (8:04) nach einem Backdrop.
> 8. Global League - Block B: Mohammed Yone [3] besiegt Bison Smith [1] (8:25) via Pinfall.
> 9. Global League - Block B: Kensuke Sasaki [5] besiegt KENTA [6] (18:04) nach einer Northern Lights Bomb.
> 
> - Global League Standings
> 
> Block A:
> 1. Takeshi Morishima [6]
> 2. Jun Akiyama [5]
> 3. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
> -. Yoshihiro Takayama [4]
> 5. Go Shiozaki [3]
> 6. Kento Miyahara [2]
> -. Trevor Murdoch [2]
> 8. Kotaro Suzuki [0]
> -. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [0]
> 
> Block B:
> 1. KENTA [6]
> 2. Kensuke Sasaki [5]
> 3. Akitoshi Saito [4]
> 4. Takashi Sugiura [3]
> -. Mohammed Yone [3]
> 6. Takuma Sano [2]
> -. Bobby Fish [2]
> 8. Bison Smith [1]
> 9. Shuhei Taniguchi [0]


KENSKAY/KENTA sounds promising, hopefully they meet again in finals.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Andy3000 said:


> Don't see how the tag being the puro MOTY is a stretch. Like, at all. I think Tenryu/Kawada from October is definitely better, and I think the Tenryu/Kea v Kawada/Hansen tag from the first post-split All Japan show from the Budokan is the best tag of the year, but the 12/14 match is excellent and right up there. The tag from the previous night being much better is just bizarre to me.


The Tenryu/Kawada match from 10/28 I gave 5* to in the 5* thread. I'd also put Sasaki/Tenryu from 1/4/00, Mutoh/Chono vs Sasaki/Hase from 11/1, and the 12/13 tag higher than the Kawada et al. tag. Haven't seen Sasaki/Kawada, Hansen/Kea vs Kawada/Tenryu, and quite a few others that have been rated higher than that tag given moty by dvdvr. No idea how 16 people said it was best of the year.


----------



## Scavo

Ywall2breakerj is gotta be raving about the Sasaki/KENTA match right now.
I really hope Big Tak wins the global league. Or Morishima.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Sasaki HAS to win the league only to get beat by Go.


----------



## antoniomare007

holy shit!!



> *Kensuke Office "TAKE THE DREAM 2011 IN OSAKA", 23.11.2011
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2*
> 
> 1. Kikutaro & Namazu Man vs. Kuishinbo Kamen & CHANGO
> 2. Daisuke Ikeda, Satoshi Kajiwara & Go vs. Magnitude Kishiwada, NOSAWA Rongai & K-ness
> 3. Kento Miyahara vs. Kazunari Murakami
> 4. Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Kenichiro Arai
> 5. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato


HATE~!


----------



## Fighter Daron

Wow, it look great.


----------



## seancarleton77

Nakajima vs. Hayato has AWESOME and kick related head injuries written all over it.

By the way, rumour has it Kensuke won't do the job for KENTA or even Go, ever! And they wonder why NOAH is struggling, it's because the old fucks won't put anyone over, unless the other guy is 40.


----------



## bigbuxxx

was looking at some wrestling db last night and saw Sasaki has lost twice since March 1, 2009 in singles matches so lol @ him jobbing.


----------



## Bubz

Surely Sasaki will put Go over?


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> Surely Sasaki will put Go over?


If he loses, Go will be more over.


----------



## Scavo

I think Go will be completely over only if he beats Kobashi.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Scavo said:


> I think Go will be completely over only if he beats Kobashi.


But I think Kobashi can't work a title match.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> holy shit!!
> 
> 
> 
> HATE~!


*Try sitting through the Nakajima vs Hayato tags from KO this year and you'll probably retract that comment. Don't think the show is being taped anyway lol. *



Spoiler: Z1 Results



ZERO1 "YARISUGI FOREVER II", 09.11.2011 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Rikiya Fudo & Yusaku Obata besiegen Keita Yano & Kenji Takeshima (8:56) nach einer Lariat von Fudo gegen Takeshima.
2. Mineo Fujita & Daichi Hashimoto besiegen Fujita "Jr." Hayato & Yoshikazu Yokoyama (10:00) nach einem STF von Hashimoto gegen Yokoyama.
3. International Jr. Heavyweight Title: Takuya Sugawara (c) besiegt Sean Burnett Craig Classic (c) (14:52) mit dem Shiisanputa (3rd defense).
4. NWA United National Heavyweight Title: Shito Ueda besiegt Hartley Jackson (c) Ueda (13:43) mit einer Lariat - Titelwechsel.
5. The Sheik, Mark Hussein, Paul Tracy & Raideen besiegen Kohei Sato, Ryouji Sai, KAMIKAZE & Kenta Kakinuma (14:18) nach einem Modified F5 von Raideen gegen Kakinuma.
6. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title: Masato Tanaka & Zeus (c) besiegen Shinjiro Otani & Akebono (20:18) nach dem Sliding D von Tanaka gegen Otani (1st defense).
7. "YARISUGI FOREVER" Munenori Sawa Retirement Match: Ikuto Hidaka besiegt Munenori Sawa (29:18) durch KO (Nora Inu High Kick).





Spoiler: THOUGHTS!



Result of Match 2 is really interesting. Daichi getting his first win like that seems a bit wasted though but Yokoyama is a good choice of guy for him to beat.


----------



## antoniomare007

They had more than 1 tag match against each other? Regardless, whatever happened in those tags doesn't take away the fact that the 2 can light it up in a singles match.


Not that surprised about that spoiler, he is a young lion after all. If it had been a singles match I would have been more shocked.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Going through the best of njpw in the 90s dvd put together by the dvd forums. Starting at the bottom:

#20: El Samurai vs Ohtani - 1/21/96: ****1/2. Way surpassed expectations being it was at #20. Great mat work, awesome high flying stuff, and neat submission spots. Was my first time seeing Ohtani so looking forward to a more of him.

#19: Vader vs Hansen - 2/10/90: ****1/4. I've heard about this match for well over a decade but never took the time to watch. Very fun brawl and the fact Vader's injury happened in the first couple minutes put this match over the top. The wife really liked this match and was cringing throughout.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah there was another in like much that had BxB Hulk in too. That went to a 30 minute draw as well because 30 minute junior matches rock. At least that one was in K.Hall and the crowd were in too it unlike the abomination of the Kanemoto/Hayato tag.



Spoiler: Z1



Just figured they'd give him his first pin in a match higher up the card tagging with Otani but yeah it's not like it doesn't work. Yokoyama is really good too. Otani has an awesome crop of rookies coming up with Daichi, Yokoyama and Kakinuma. Ueda looks solid too I guess but the other 3 really stand out as young guns. 1st singles win will probably come next year at either the Anniversary show or the next Shinya memorial anniversary show. I think I'd prefer the second after seeing Daichi after his match with Takayama.


*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Awful news in the world of puroresu today.



Spoiler: ???



CrazyLuke111's youtube channel was disabled


----------



## seancarleton77

Daichi's first win should always have been against Takayama.

Hayato & Nakajima better go under 20 minutes, Hayato seems to wonder when he goes any longer. That K Office Jr. tag match was an abortion, by the way.


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> Going through the best of njpw in the 90s dvd put together by the dvd forums. Starting at the bottom:
> 
> #20: El Samurai vs Ohtani - 1/21/96: ****1/2. Way surpassed expectations being it was at #20. Great mat work, awesome high flying stuff, and neat submission spots. Was my first time seeing Ohtani so looking forward to a more of him.
> 
> #19: Vader vs Hansen - 2/10/90: ****1/4. I've heard about this match for well over a decade but never took the time to watch. Very fun brawl and the fact Vader's injury happened in the first couple minutes put this match over the top. The wife really liked this match and was cringing throughout.


I'm interested in that ranking, so I'm looking forward for your following reviews.


----------



## Chismo

> Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato


Strikes!



> By the way, rumour has it Kensuke won't do the job for KENTA or even Go, ever!


Meh, it's hard to believe this.


----------



## Scavo

Fighter Daron said:


> But I think Kobashi can't work a title match.


He's frickin machine, sure he can. It doesn't have to be a 30 minute classic, but some solid 15-20 minutes would be enough.


----------



## antoniomare007

Scavo said:


> He's frickin machine, sure he can. It doesn't have to be a 30 minute classic, but some solid 15-20 minutes would be enough.


A NOAH title match mainevent in a big show going less than 20 minutes...LOL!


----------



## Cactus

He could work a 30 minute match if he slowed the pace down. The fanboy inside me wants him to win the title for one last time.


----------



## Scavo

antoniomare007 said:


> A NOAH title match mainevent in a big show going less than 20 minutes...LOL!


Yeah, I know, but even then Kobashi would make it a ****-***** match. No doubt.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> A NOAH title match mainevent in a big show going less than 20 minutes...LOL!


*My exact reaction but you beat me to it 

Kobashi's been working long tag matches, the one with Taniguchi vs Sugiura and Yone went really long and Kobashi did a lot of the working in it so I'm sure he could physically work a lenghty singles match even though it'd be a bad idea for his long term health and they payoff from it really wouldn't be worth it either no matter who he faces right now.*


----------



## Bubz

Seabs, how did he look in that match? I've only seen his first match back and the All Together match with Muta, and he looked really out of it during those.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> Seabs, how did he look in that match? I've only seen his first match back and the All Together match with Muta, and he looked really out of it during those.


He's too fucked up.


----------



## Cactus

So, I've carried on watching Kobashi's GHC title reign. I saw his match against Bison Smith today. Really great big man-styled match. It reminded me of Kobashi vs Chono, just lacking the atmosphere of Tokyo Dome and the brilliant ending. 

*Kenta Kobashi GHC Championship Run*
vs Misawa *******
vs Akiyama *******
vs Takayama *****3/4*
vs Chono *****1/2*
vs Bison ******
vs MiSu ****1/2*


----------



## peachchaos

I'd like to see more Bison Smith. He never really had a chance to do anything in ROH, but was always pretty over just based on his look.


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> Seabs, how did he look in that match? I've only seen his first match back and the All Together match with Muta, and he looked really out of it during those.


*Old but not in a distracting way that took much away from the match. It was one of the better long NOAH matches thanks to Sugiura and Kobashi hitting each other a lot.

Kenta Kakinuma retired too right after I was singing his praises in here. Sucks. Everyone should watch the Daichi/Otani vs Tanaka/Kakinuma match.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Cactus said:


> vs MiSu ****1/2*


How was it that bad?


----------



## Yeah1993

since when is ***1/2 even remotely close to bad?


----------



## Fighter Daron

Yeah1993 said:


> since when is ***1/2 even remotely close to bad?


If we are talking about Kobashi and MiSu, that's SO bad, and he gave higher ratings to a match with Bison Smith.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Continuing the best of NJPW in the 90s...

18. Muta vs Hase - 12/14/92: ****1/4. Crowd was dead quiet until Muta tried killing himself with the blade job. They didn't seem to gel to well in the beginning and Muta killing 3 minutes walking around the ring looking for a weapon sure didn't help matters. For the hot finish and some historical value I'm going to throw this in the great but not epic range since you could join in at the blade job and not have missed anything.

17. Sasaki/Hase vs Mutoh/Chono - 11/1/90: ****1/2-****3/4. Watched this last week and talked about it a bit. Watched again tonight and thought it was just as good.

16. Vader vs Inoki - 1/4/96: ****. Epic in the same way that Kobashi/Joe was but I thought this could've been executed better. When Vader gives you a vicious choke slam, then a vader bomb, and then a moonsault and the other guy kicks out it's really hard to suspend disbelief because you know the other guy isn't "finding the will to win" but is refusing to job to the younger, better wrestler. It was a fun match to watch though and def. more fun than the Hase/Muta match but not as solid.

15. Great Sasuke vs Ultimo Dragon - 8/5/96: ****1/4. Another great match that just misses epic because this was pretty much just a sprint match that had a beginning and end but forgot the middle and botches everywhere including the finish.


----------



## Cactus

Fighter Daron said:


> How was it that bad?


I enjoyed the 'Pro-wrestler vs Mixed martial artist' dynamic about the match. Especially when MiSu would catch Kobashi in an armbar for example. But I found the later stages of the match just not as enjoyable as the beginning. Still a good match though.



Fighter Daron said:


> If we are talking about Kobashi and MiSu, that's SO bad, and he gave higher ratings to a match with Bison Smith.


What can I say? I'm just a sucker for Kobashi's power matches. Probably why I rated Chono/Kobashi so high.


----------



## Cactus

I'm really digging late 70's - early 80's All Japan at the moment. It's like the dirtier and grittier cousin of 90's All Japan

*AJPW 10/31/1979* 
Giant Baba vs Harley Race 
_The first ten minutes were dominated by a headlock, and not a very entertaining one. The match did pick up though. Considering Baba's condition, this was a really good match._
****1/2*

*AJPW 4/14/1983*
Stan Hansen vs Terry Funk
_A chaotic brawl with a typical 80's non-finish. The highlight of the match was either Funk trying to get the toehold locked on despite Hansen viciously pounded away at his already bloodied forehead or Funk being dragged around the ringside area by his neck. Sick stuff._
*****1/4*

*AJPW 5/22/1984*
Ric Flair vs Harley Race
_This is all new to me, as I have never seen these two fight before. An awesome match that makes you believe it could end at anytime. They really do make every move matter. Harley Race countering Flair's knee drop was epic._
*****1/2*

*Anyone who wants to see these, I've uploaded them in the Puro section. *


----------



## smitlick

IVP Videos Sale

From now until the end of November you can receive 40% off all purchases by using the coupon code BlackFriday at checkout. This is good on all DVDs and is our way to make the holiday season a bit easier on your bank account. For people who spend over $100 in DVDs you will receive 45 % off with the coupon code BlackFriday100.


----------



## antoniomare007

Cactus,have u seen Funks vs Abby/The Sheik from 77'?


----------



## Cactus

antoniomare007 said:


> Cactus,have u seen Funks vs Abby/The Sheik from 77'?


Yeah. *****1/2*. Fucking awesome match. I wish it had a proper finish though.


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 6/4/1982*
Ric Flair vs Ricky Steamboat
_As long as you don't go in expecting a 5 star prequel to their 1989 series, you'll love this. Steamboat wasn't at his best yet and you could tell. _
******


----------



## Scavo

*Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - IWGP Title*

The usual ''I'm gonna beat the shit out of you'' stuff from Big Tak. And he did, he whooped Nakamura's ass for like 10 minutes. Nakamura mades a brief comeback, that leads to a surprise finish(at least for me at the time)with some very good moves and solid selling. 

****1/2*


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 6/11/1976 (2/3 Falls)*
Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta 
_ A very slow match, but if you give it the time, it's a really brilliant match. The abdominal stretch to rolling cradle counter was awesome. This match also has one of the smartest endings I've seen. Not recommended for the puro beginner because of the speed of the match might put some people off. But if you understand you are in for a slow old-school classic, I think this is just your thing. _
*****1/2*

*AJPW 6/21/1985*
Tiger Mask II vs Kunaki Kobayashi 
_Voted 1985 Match of the Year by WO, but strangely it's not the match they had that was rated 5 stars earlier in the year. Weird. It's awesome seeing Misawa speedy side in full force here, but the match isn't as great as I was expecting for a Misawa MOTY._
****3/4*


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I can't think of a single Puro match from '85 I'd put on the level of some of the Flair and Lawler epics that year, as well as the infamous Dibiase vs Duggan Coleminer's Glove on a Pole Cage Match from Mid South.


----------



## Cactus

I still have Flair vs DiBiase as '85 match of the year.


----------



## McQueen

I'm not sure what i'd put as the 85 MOTY.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Lawler/Dundee 30/12/85 Loser Leaves Town or Flair/McDaniel 2/3 falls IMO. I'd go with Lawler/Dundee since I have it at the full ***** and Flair/McDaniel is just below that, but either of those two are a worthy MOTY. Flair's Mid South tour featuring the Dibiase, Koko and Roberts matches are all tremendous and of course there's the infamous Dibiase/Duggan cage match.

I recall a tremenous brawl between Duggan and Buzz Sawyer (or was it Dick Slater) in the build up to Duggan/Dibiase as well, think it was 11/11/85 or sometime between November and December if that helps anyone who has a better Mid South memory than I.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah I might need to go with the Coal Miner Tuxedo clusterfuck match as unlikely as it sounds.


----------



## Cactus

Truth be told, I haven't seen most of them. Segunda, you wouldn't happened to have the Dundee/Lawler match you're always on about? I've found loads of Dundee/Lawler matches but I'm not sure what's the best one to watch. I saw Dundee heel turn the other day and he was absolutely gold in it. Would love to see the match.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Dundee/Lawler 6/6/83: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UZIFTP50

Dundee/Lawler 30/12/85: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZDTPRBW7

Both Loser Leaves Town, #1 and #2 on the Memphis ballot though for me 85 far exceeds 83. Be aware of some clipping, though they recap what we missed in the post match highlights.

Don't like the 85 match? I'll beat you down with Misawa's elbow pad, deadly serious


----------



## Cactus

Thanks. I'll post my thoughts in the other thread.


----------



## antoniomare007

what the...

god damn Segunda, I love Lawler too but how the hell do you manage to bring the guy up every time :lmao

85' was a very weak year in puro so there isn't a lot of competition for the amazing stuff that happened in Mid-South, Memphis and every territory Flair went to.

ps: Lawler vs Idol > every other Lawler match.


----------



## Yeah1993

Flair/Kerry 12/10, Flair/Wahoo BOTB, Magnum/Blanchard Starrcade, Lawler/Dundee 30/12, or Murdoch/Reed 22/9 would be my 85 MOTY. 1985 was an amazing, amazing, amazing year for most US wrestling. Probably the best ever.


----------



## Scavo

*KENTA vs. SUWA - GHC Junior Hewiki*

SUWA is great motherfucking heel! Nice action through the match, I really liked the pacing, satisfying end.

****3/4*


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah1993 said:


> Flair/Kerry 12/10, Flair/Wahoo BOTB, Magnum/Blanchard Starrcade, Lawler/Dundee 30/12, or Murdoch/Reed 22/9 would be my 85 MOTY. 1985 was an amazing, amazing, amazing year for most US wrestling. Probably the best ever.


Ahh I forgot Kerry/Flair Hawaii and Magnum/Tully, Flair/Kerry would push the McDaniel 2/3 falls match and Tully/Magnum would probably round up the top 5. Reed/Murdoch was awesome but a step below the other matches I thought, would probably throw something like ****1/4 at it. You're right though in how amazing that year was.



antoniomare007 said:


> what the...
> 
> god damn Segunda, I love Lawler too but how the hell do you manage to bring the guy up every time :lmao
> 
> ps: Lawler vs Idol > every other Lawler match.



You best be saying that because you haven't watched the 30/12/85 match . I'd put the Funk No DQ match above the Idol Cage match as well.


----------



## smitlick

New Japan Results



Spoiler: 12/11/11 Results



NJPW "POWER STRUGGLE", 12.11.2011 (WPW/PPV) 
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 
6,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Jado & Gedo besiegen Tama Tonga & Killer Rabbit (4:32) nach einem Complete Shot von Gedo gegen Rabbit. 
2. Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma besiegen Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito (3:42) nach einer Lariat von Honma gegen Iizuka. 
3. Yuji Nagata besiegt Tomohiro Ishii (9:53) mit einem Backdrop Hold. 
4. Special Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Taichi besiegen Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi (8:35) nach einem Everest German Suplex Hold Takayama gegen Taguchi. 
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) besiegen Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (14:43) als Richards KUSHIDA nach dem Contract Killer pinnte (1st defense). 
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) besiegt TAKA Michinoku (12:13) mit dem Bloody Sunday (1st defense). 
7. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Naito & MVP besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi (12:18) nach dem Irreversible Crisis von MVP gegen Takahashi. 
8. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan besiegt Satoshi Kojima (15:49) mit einer Moonsault Press. 
9. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) besiegt Hirooki Goto (9:51) mit dem Sliding D (1st defense). 
10. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) besiegen Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer (17:15) nach dem Gun Stun von Anderson gegen Archer (10th defense). 
11. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) besiegt Toru Yano (22:01) mit einem Texas Cloverleaf Hold (9th defense).


----------



## Chismo

Match no.9 result.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Continuing best of NJPW in the 90s:

14. Ohtani vs Liger - 3/17/96: ****1/2-****3/4. Technical masterpiece in the beginning/middle and incredible last 7-10 minutes.
13. Tenryu vs Hashimoto - 8/1/98: ****3/4. great stuff and pretty much what you expect out of these two but better.
12. Steiners vs Hase/Sasaki - Starrcade 91: ****1/4. Hot 12 minute match. 
11. Owen vs Liger - 4/27/91: ****7/8. wow is pretty much all i have to say about this match.

smitlick, thanks for putting that stuff in spoilers


----------



## WOOLCOCK

nice to see you loving this stuff, check out the Liger/Sano trilogy from late 89-90 and Ohtani/Ultimo from 1996. I consider both some of the best Juniors matches of all time.

Liger/Sasuke J Cup and July Rematch are two awesome awesome matches as well.


----------



## bigbuxxx

cool thanks. d/l'ed that rematch from july since you mentioned it and know i'd forget since it's not widely pimped. sadly i can't find much more junior stuff from any year but 94. looked for more stuff from owen and ohtani but no luck.


----------



## Rickey

Of what I've seen this is probably the best match under five minutes, very fun:


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura loses. Damn. I wished he was still in the title picture right now. Best guy there atm.


----------



## antoniomare007

so when is Nagata getting the next IWGP Title shot? :side:



Segunda Caida said:


> You best be saying that because you haven't watched the 30/12/85 match . I'd put the Funk No DQ match above the Idol Cage match as well.


I've seen both of those matches countless times and I still like the Idol match better







.


----------



## bigbuxxx

continuing best of NJPW from the 90s...

10. Liger vs Ohtani - 2/9/97: ****3/4-*****: all kinds of greatness here. Surpassing their match from a year earlier which was no easy feat (was #14 and i gave it ****1/2-****3/4. The desperation from Ohtani in the beginning and end of the match was truly great after watching the first match. Def. better if the 96 match is watched first.

9. Mutoh vs Chono - 8/11/91: ****1/4. i will admit i wasn't giving all my attention to this match and will watch again sometime in the next week. My tenative feel of the match is that it was a great match between tag team partners that would do anything to win the G-1 crown but didn't reach the epicness i'd hoped for for what was ranked best heavyweight match of the 90s. Lots of near falls and a great crowd.


----------



## McQueen

Did I see a 7/8th rating.


----------



## bigbuxxx

is true. can't give it 5 because of that ridic botched tombstone spot but it was so fkn good i couldn't give it 4 3/4 either.


----------



## Yeah1993

I really did not love Liger/Otani from 97. I should give it another go because I seem to be the only one that had problems with what Otani was doing in it.


----------



## Scavo

*Takayama vs. Ogawa - GHC Heavyweight Title - 7/9/2002*

Good old stuff from Big Tak and Ogawa's traditional eye rakes. Not an all time classic, but still very exciting match for me, especially beacuse I'm a huge Tak's fan.

*****1/4*


----------



## smitlick

Upcoming New Japan cards

NJPW "NEW JAPAN ALIVE 2011", 04.12.2011 (WPW/PPV) 
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 

1. Karl Anderson & Killer Rabbit vs. Jado & Gedo 
2. Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero 
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito 
4. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki 
5. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer 
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Davey Richards 
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. MVP 
8. Special Singles Match: Giant Bernard vs. Minoru Suzuki 
9. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Yuji Nagata 


NJPW "SATOSHI KOJIMA 20TH ANNIVERSARY ~ RUSH!!", 14.12.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Special Tag Match: Great Kosuke (Satoshi Kojima) & Great Sasuke vs. Jado & Gedo 
2. Satoshi Kojima 20th Anniversary Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & FUNAKI


----------



## Pat9010

Can't wait for that!


----------



## seancarleton77

STACKED! I feel bad for Karl Anderson teaming up with one of the shittiest wrestlers in NJPW history though. This 10 match card would be much more enjoyable as an 8 or even a 7 match card. The first 5 matches should be dark matches like UFC's Prelims on facebook.


----------



## Bubz

That ALIVE card looks a bit awesome. From match 4 onwards they all look great especially the last few matches.


----------



## Scavo

*Misawa vs. Tsuruta 1990*

Awesome stuff. Simple moves lead to drama and that was quite inspiring.

*****1/2*


----------



## antoniomare007

so who gets to challenge on WK? I guess it's either MiSu, the winner of Naito/Nakamura (would be kinda weird as both of them challenged for the title not long ago) or an outsider.


----------



## Bubz

Hopefully Nakamura and hopefully he wins it.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MiSu will get the shot if he beats Bernard at Alive imo.

Watched a couple matches off Power Struggle:
Nagata vs Ishii: ***1/4-***1/2. a lot better than i thought it would be. they basically kicked the crap out of each other for 10-15 minutes. fun match.

NRC vs KUSHIDA/Tiger Mask: ***3/4-****. Given this was their first title defense I didn't think they'd lose but there was quite a bit of spots where I thought the challengers had them so lots of drama in this match which is always fun.


----------



## seancarleton77

Ishii vs. Nagata gets ***1/2 from me. I'm just about to watch the IWGP Jr. Tag now.

I want to see ULTRA HEEL MiSu vs. Tana at Wrestle Kingdom VI!


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Yeah1993 said:


> I really did not love Liger/Otani from 97. I should give it another go because I seem to be the only one that had problems with what Otani was doing in it.


I was surprised at how well I thought it held up. Watched the 3/96 match before it and that didn't hold up (half expected that even though I *loved* it about 4 years ago), and the large majority of 90s juniors stuff isn't really my cup of tea anymore, anyway. But I still really liked the '97 match. Don't think it's blow away amazing or anything, but comfortably "very good."


----------



## Bubz

Anything else good from Power Struggle? Most of the matches look pretty interesting.


----------



## bigbuxxx

continuing Best of NJPW from the 90s:

8. El Samurai vs Kanemoto - BosJ Finals on 6/5/97: *****. This surpases owen/liger for me and I didn't think that would be possible because that was so jaw-droppingly good. I was rooting for Kanemoto to win and to win by submission the way the match went down. Both guys looked ruthless in this match and it was AWESOME. I don't see the matches above this can get any better.

question for you all: should i watch the 89 matches between liger/sano before watching the 1/30 match that is listed at #4


----------



## bigbuxxx

Bubz said:


> Anything else good from Power Struggle? Most of the matches look pretty interesting.


the only other match i'm thinking of watching is the Takayama/Taichi tag match. i really enjoy Tanahashi's work but getting a good match out of Yano lol. for some reason i really dislike TAKA's work. can't wait for the Devitt/Richards match next month though .


----------



## McQueen

bigbuxxx said:


> question for you all: should i watch the 89 matches between liger/sano before watching the 1/30 match that is listed at #4


Yes.


----------



## topper1

bigbuxxx said:


> question for you all: should i watch the 89 matches between liger/sano before watching the 1/30 match that is listed at #4


Watch all the matches and watch them in order.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura push to go through plz. I'll continue to stress that. 

Takayama teaming up with Hoyt certainly is interesting. Davey Richards needs to gtfo of NJPW. That's all.


----------



## bigbuxxx

continuing Best of NJPW in the 90s:

7. Sasuke vs Liger - Super J Cup Semifinals on 4/16/94: ****1/4-****1/2. Damn botch at the end plus I felt the beginning was missing something.

6. Sasuke/Black Tiger vs Pegasus/Ohtani - Super Grade Jr. Tag League Finals on 10/15/94: ****1/2. Lots of action here as expected. Great tag psychology.

Didn't really enjoy these matches as much as I feel like I should have. Perhaps from just watching 3 hours of RAW.


----------



## topper1

Hailsabin said:


> Davey Richards needs to gtfo of NJPW. That's all.


Davey has been fine in NJPW that is all


----------



## Obfuscation

Just like how he's been fine in ROH I bet.


----------



## Yeah1993

I love the botch ending of Liger/Sasuke. Liger laughs and goes "this indy fuck has no idea what hes doing." Then he gets pinned for wasting time and not capitilizing. The July re-match is a lot better, though.


----------



## bigbuxxx

the liger laugh was very lol but the fact they still use (what i am going to assume) the finish that was planned is :cussin:.

sabin, by your reply it looks like you've never seen davey in njpw so gtfo with that. he's put on some excellent matches.


----------



## Yeah1993

By the looks of it Sasuke was going to pin Liger with that hurrincanrana he tripped on.


----------



## Obfuscation

Oh no. Davey fans taking offense.


----------



## bigbuxxx

i doubt we're davey fans (at least i'm not a huge davey fan) but he's not terrible like people seem to imply, esp in japan.


----------



## Obfuscation

We're gonna have to agree to disagree here. I can't bear most of his matches nowadays. Used to be quite a fan of his back when he first boomed. Things certainly did change.


----------



## bigbuxxx

yeah93, thanks for reminding me of that july match i d/l'ed a few days ago . gonna watch tomorrow.


----------



## Yeah1993

I can't stand Davey, but he apparantly works better in Japan. I haven't seen any Davey in Japan so I won't take either side, but yeah.

edit- YES WATCH IT GREATEST MATCH OF ALL TIME (hyperbole but it's still fantastic).


----------



## Fighter Daron

*Road to Jumbo Vs Tenryu*
As I wanted to unblock the long pile of wrestling I gotta see, I've taken advantage of my early awakening and I've taken over with AJPW 90-95 stuff, but I need a precedent, and what better than one the best matches in history, therefore I'll see the six previous matches and the classic itself.

*AJPW: 1/28/89:* Jumbo, Yatsu & Fuchi Vs Tenryu, Kawada & Fuyuki:
It's gonna be the first time ever I watch Yatsu and Fuyuki, of who I've not heard much, but as I know well the other four, this has to be good. The match starts in media res because is rather clipped. It's hard to recognize Kawada with that appearance, it seems that he was teaming with Fuyuki by that time because both wear the same tights. Tsuruta performs a precious Butterfly Suplex, I think it's the best performance of any I've ever seen. The segments in which are Tenryu and Jumbo are unbelievable, anticipating the CLASSIC they'd have this same year. Toshiaki, though young, was pretty good and also anticipated what he will be, one of the betters wrestlers in history. The segments in which him and Tenryu team up leave you curious thinking about the great team they would be.

At the end, is Yatsu who win the match for his team by pinning Fuyuki after a Powerslam. Truthfully, it's a very good match, though skippable, but so entertaining, it lacks the first half of the match, but I don't think it hurt the match too much. Like Ditch says, this is the first great 6-Man of AJPW in many years, and it'll be the beginning of the better peak of the company, as well of other great multiman matches. This company may had the best roster in history by that time, a little few could compare to it. Yatsu didn't impress me big, he doesn't seem to be bad, but not great, and Fuyuki is pretty agile and a blast of fresh air in this matches reigned by heavyweights, but it wasn't great either. 

Rating: ***3/4

*AJPW: 2/23/89: AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship:* Jumbo & Yatsu Vs Tenryu & Kawada: 
During the 6-Man seemed pretty clear that this will happen, and like I said, a team with Tenryu and Kawada only could be great. Tsuruta and Yatsu defeated Road Warriors to unify NWA & PWF tag team championships the prior year, they loose the titles and this very month they regained them by beating Hansen & Gordy. Kawada and Yatsu start it, and Toshiaki begins to punish him with his kicks. Very good segment when Tenryu catches Yatsu and chops him, then Yoshiaki gets mad and Jumbo has to enter the ring to relax him, then he tags in, Tsuruta is a real giant beside Kawada, who was not at his top physical condition, but had a worked body. 

Tenryu comes in to confront the champion, and as the crowd as the commentators as myself get crazy. Then, the tag champions deliver a Spike Piledriver to Genichiro like it's nothing. The first chop by Tenryu to Jumbo is BRUTAL, one of the best I've ever seen. Tsuruta's dropkicks leave you stunned, considering his size and age. The champs dominated Kawada by punishing his legs for a while, during that punishment, the crowd was going nuts with the younger, till he finally tagged in Tenryu, who returned to his own personal war against Jumbo. After a ringside brawl, Kawada and Tsuruta come back to the ring and Toshiaki starts to kick him in the head till he busts his head open, what a lack of respect. 

Tenryu manages to do the Folding Powerbomb to Tsuruta, but Yatsu quickly enters to cut the count, and is the same Yoshiaki who delivers one of his own to Genichiro, though it's not enough to achieve the victory. Of course, they are Tenyu and Jumbo who starts the finishing stretch heating it up, Kawada and Yatsu continue it and Tsuruta ends it with his Backdrop to Toshiaki. This was a helluva match, fast-paced, great crowd and great wrestlers, Kawada was like a fish in the water there with the older guys though he was the weak player in the game, and Tenryu and Jumbo continue anticipating their classic.

Rating: ****1/2

*AJPW: 3/8/89: NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship:* Road Warriors & Tenryu Vs Jumbo, Yatsu & Takano: 
It will sound weird, but I think this is the first time I see the Road Warriors, I didn't expect to that in AJPW, let's see if their fame is deserved. Also, we have two of the best in history in the likes of Tenryu and Jumbo, we have Yatsu, who seems solider each match, and Takano, who I've never seen. The crowd literally explodes when Road Warriors make their way to the ring, good omen. Animal & Jumbo start it, the japanese has a face like "I can handle this", but just after the shoulder tackling, Animal lifts him up and performs a picture-perfect Military Press, but Tsuruta answers him with a great Lariat, this starts incredible. Then Hawk, who looks like the madder of the two, enters. Turn for Tenryu, but Tsuruta seems scared and tags in Yatsu. Now it's time for Takano, who looks pretty agile considering his magnitude.

After Hawk's entry, Takano tags in Yatsu, but Tsuruta wants to fight, though he gets out of the ring quickly by Hawk. The three japanese wrestlers are clearly who get the heel reaction in this match, and is odd that the japanese crowd boo someone, doesn't matter how heel he is, therefore the Road Warriors are over as hell. The finishing stretch is a little dirty, but the champions retained after the Doomsday Device over Nakano, who didn't tell me anything during the match. Great match, but nothing to be remembered, it was better by the grace of the crowd and Jumbo's attitude than for the inring action itself, the Warriors are spectacular, but they really just do the same sequence of moves once and again, I'm not disappointed either. 

Rating: ****

*AJPW: 3/28/89:* Jumbo & Yatsu Vs Kawada & Fuyuki: 
And now we have the other posibility that the Six Man offered, clearly less balanced, but not worse for this. This match is clipped, which pains me because has a great looking. Well, when the clip begins, we see Tsuruta carrying a bloody-face Kawada through ringside, DAMN IT! Toshiaki achieves a little bit of offensive with a Lariat, but doesn't give the tag, he wants to get revenge out of Tsuruta. Fuyuki goes to help Kawada, but leaves with the head busted open too. Yatsu dominates Kawada in the ring while Jumbo DESTROYS Fuyuki in ringside, today they are more heels than ever. Fuyuaki finally enters to the ring and takes care of Tsuruta, who tags in Yatsu, but him becomes another victim of the rage of the little man. 

But the two veterans manage to relax the younger in ringside. Fuyuki withstands every bomb they throw to him obtaining a good reaction as the face in peril while Kawada couldn't stop coming to break the counts. But then Jumbo and his Backdrop came and it's all over. Very good match, considering the nine minutes I saw, but it had the looks of a great match, Jumbo and Kawada kept ruling. 

Rating: ***1/2

*AJPW: 4/18/89: Triple Crown Championship Formation:* Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Stan Hansen: 
Last stop before the Tenryu/Jumbo series and it's non other than the formation of the Triple Crown Championship. Jumbo was the NWA International Champion, and Hansen the NWA National Champion and PWF Champion, therefore they put every title on the line in this match and the title will stay this way forever as the maximum prize in All Japan, this can't be bad. The match starts rather slow, because they go to the mat, which I didn't expect knowing both of them and the crowd don't help much either, what I think is criminal knowing the importance of the match, but ok. With the first Jumping Knee by Tsuruta, the crowd notices that it's not dead. Hansen seems to be tired of the match and goes out of the ring, but is dogged by Jumbo to keep punishing the yankee.

Back in the ring, Tsuruta keeps the yankee under control, until Hansen delivers a quite good Backdrop, to which the crowd seems to react, now the commentator is not the only one interested in the match. After some elbows and knee drops, Hansen busted Jumbo's head open, Stan is now comfortable in the ring and makes it clear doing a Jumping Knee to his own creator, then he goes for the Western Lariat, under the biggest pop till the moment(já!), Tsuruta avoids it and rolls him up to win every single title, that end caught me unaware. After the match, Hansen does a beatdown on the champion. Very good match, but a little bit disappointing given the the importance of the very one, nothing bad either, though they were moments in which Hansen only punched Tsuruta, good punches, but between that and the mat work, they killed the crowd, fuck 'em up.

Rating: ***3/4

*AJPW: 4/20/89: AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship:* Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Genichiro Tenryu: 
There we go, the first championship bout between these two, it's said that it's not as good as the one they will have two months forward, and I believe it because it's impossible, but being these two it'll be a great match for sure. We are in Yokohama, let's see how is this crowd. They make a shoulder tackled and Tenryu put Tsuruta against the ropes, what annoys Jumbo, that seems to be excited this night. Ok, after a Gamengiri, a chop and a lariat by Tenryu, I clearly see that this is a good crowd, perfect. Then again, we are in the same position as before, Jumbo is against the ropes, Tenryu set the champion free behind a great Woooooo from the crowd, they exchange looks, and the tension could be cut with a knife, then Genichiro slaps Tsuruta to hell and I loose my shit.

Jumbo, at last, could tame the beast with a Sleeper Hold, but I don't know if that would be enough to stop Tenryu from his killing attempts. Tsuruta manages to do a backdrop to him in some way, but that doesn't give him the victory, you gotta do more than this, giant. Finally, Tenryu could do a chop and the crowd answeres with a good pop. Then, Genichiro delivers a Suicide Dive, so weird. Then the final sequence comes and Jumbo retains after the Folding Powerbomb, but completely botched, Tenryu landed right on his head, in the same fashion as the Ganso Bomb. The botch was that clear that the crowd couldn't react to the finish. Great match, shorter and with less drama than the other, but it's impossible to miss it with these two, what a pair of cracks, this time the crowd reacted and I noticed they leave a lot of things to do in their following match.

Rating: ****1/4

*AJPW: 6/5/89: AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship:* Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Genichiro Tenryu: 
Finally, we have come where I wanted, you can see this match and think it's fantastic(Like I did), but after seeing all the build-up, it can't be more hyped. Like I reviewed this the first time I watched it, I'll only make a few notes. Now I understands what Hansen was doing in ringside in this match, first time I saw it, it seemed very bizarre to me. Tsuruta is more stiff than usual, what it's so logical. Tenryu did a dive to ringside once again, and it seems like a regular move in his arsenal for the great matches now. The crowd being behind Tsuruta here is at odds with me, because he was being the heel for their entire feud. Jumbo goes for the Folding Powerbomb again, but Tenryu fights for his life(literally) and avoids it. Then, Tsuruta starts to be booed, this is more usual to me. Now I understand the pop after Tenryu avoided the Thesz Press and made Jumbo fall against the ropes, because the very champion did the same thing to win the unify the championships. The final sequence is PRICELESS.

Rating: All-time Classic.

After these seven matches, I have only one thing to say: 

Tenyu > Kawada > Jumbo > You.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> YES WATCH IT GREATEST MATCH OF ALL TIME (hyperbole but it's still fantastic).


it was great. also much better than the J Cup match in every way imaginable. def one of my fave junior matches along with liger/owen and Samurai/Kanemoto.


----------



## smitlick

Apparently at the last NOAH show Ogawa picked up a fairly serious injury and wasn't able to get up after the match.


----------



## Bubz

Not an Ogawa fan but that sucks. Hope he's alreet.


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, he took a horrible bump



Spoiler


----------



## Bubz

Jesus, that's a fucking dangerous move when it's botched.

Also, is that Akiyama's bald head in the bottom right? .


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> Jesus, that's a fucking dangerous move when it's botched.
> 
> Also, is that Akiyama's bald head in the bottom right? .


Yao.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Have never seen Ogawa wrestle but that looks like a brutal injury, hope he pulls through ok.


----------



## seancarleton77

Come on little man, get better!


----------



## smitlick

that looks exactly like when aj did that to kazarian.


----------



## Yeah1993

that is one of the worst moves in wrestling's history. It's way too dangerous, and on top of that, looks completely stupid even if pulled off right. If I was a wrestler I'd be embarrassed to use that.


----------



## seabs

*In response to the WK Title talk on the last page I can't really see them doing anything other than Tanahashi vs Goto. They already had a great match during Tana's title reign and it's a pretty trusty title match to do on that show. Nakamura and Naito have both had title matches too recently. MiSu is possible seeing as he hasn't had a shot yet and it'd work but I don't see them doing it at WK. Goto's much more of a top guy to main event the show with Tana and MiSu has loads of other opponents that can be built to better for that show. 

While we're on the topic ideas for the Jr. title match at WK? Doesn't look like Ibushi will be available which kinda puts a spanner in the works for two big junior title matches. Looks like NRC will keep the belts until then and I imagine they'll defend on the show along with Devitt. Can't see Devitt defending against an outside so probably Taguchi or KUSHIDA. I would have said NRC vs Ibushi/Omega but I guess that can't happen now unless they just replace Ibushi with Sasaki which could be easily done. Outsider title match for NRC would be more likely though with a team like MCMG or maybe Sombra/Dorada.

As for the PPV, the 2 tag title matches are both very good and worth watching. Rest was dissapointing though. Tana/Yano was average, Tenzan/Kojima was good but not as good as their G1 match and then the Naito tag and Devitt/TAKA were both really dissapointing. *


----------



## Fighter Daron

Predictions for WK:

Tanahashi Vs Suzuki
Devitt Vs Liger
NRC Vs MCMG


----------



## Cactus

Is Ogawa ...walking?

Anyone got an update on him? I'd hate to see another Hayabusa. Is it a serious injury? 

Man, I feel kinda bad for making the 'Official Ogawa Hate Topic' now.


----------



## Bubz

NRC vs MCMG would be awesome.

Goto is probably my favourite guy in the company, more so than Nakamura. I would love to see him dethrone Tana especially at WK.

*NRC vs KUSHIDA/Tiger Mask*
This was a lot of fun and I loved it from start to finish. Great workover by NRC on KUSHIDA that lead to an awesome sequence into the hot tag. Great finishing stretch with a lot of nearfalls and action. There was a hilarious spot early on where Romero kept running to the turnbuckle and hitting lariats and Davey kept waiting for his turn but it never came so he slapped Romero, the crowd laughed pretty loud which was hella cool. NRC are a great team and it's great to see them with the belts. *****+*


----------



## seancarleton77

Fighter Daron said:


> Predictions for WK:
> 
> Tanahashi Vs Suzuki
> Devitt Vs Liger
> NRC Vs MCMG


Throw in Nagata vs. Shiozaki and I'm sold!


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW 3/26/1995*
Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa
_Another classic from these legends. Kobashi is in control most of the match, working down Misawa's neck and hindering his stamina with chops and sole-butts. Misawa tries to counter Kobashi's offense, but Kobashi knows all of his tricks. The ending stretch is still in Kobashi favor, but it doesn't stop it from being 'edge-of-your-seat' stuff. It's becoming apparent that these two wrestlers have phenomenal chemistry together at this point. _
*****1/2*


----------



## antoniomare007

I've been calling for Goto winning the title for years now, and also thought that him winning at WK V would be the best booking decision New Japan could do. But I honestly don't see how Goto can get the shot after jobbing to Tanaka and being booked in a filler tag match at ALIVE.

Devitt vs Liger is do tbh. and what better way to do it that in their biggest show and with Liger coming back from Mexico. Then again, I've also been calling for a match between those 2 for a long ass time.

NRC vs a CMLL tag does seem like the way to go. 

Wouldn't be shocked if Bad Intentions lose one of their belts at WK too. I don't think they need to drop the IWGP tag belts but they have 10 defenses already and almost 1 1/2 years with the straps so I could see NJ using WK as a way of giving the shot to a new team.


----------



## Fighter Daron

seancarleton77 said:


> Throw in Nagata vs. Shiozaki and I'm sold!


Or vs Goto.


----------



## KingJames23

Does anyone know how to go about booking tickets for Wrestle Kingdom, and likely cost? I'm looking to go on a work trip to Japan between January and March next year, and if I can get there before January 4th, would love to take the opportunity to go to the show. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*AJPW: 10/10/11:* Suwama & KAI Vs Jun Akiyama & Ricky Marvin: 
Great match, lots of action and fun, Marvin looked the best I've seen of him, and KAI was pretty good too. But I wanted to see this match to make a precedent for the Suwama Vs Akiyama so called match of the year, and they hated each other, Akiyama set his target on the champion, but Suwama looked so powerful and destructive, I love this man.

Rating: ****1/4

*AJPW: 23/10/11: AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship:* Suwama Vs Jun Akiyama: 
Oh yeah, I know this feeling, a great match feeling, I don't how to explain it, but I felt that in the entrances. Well, helluva match, it took its time to go, but right after the Exploder from the apron, the pace improved. Good exchange of Chops, Lariats, Knees and even Suplexes. It was great to see Suwama throw bomb after bomb and Jun kicking out of everything, German Suplex, Backdrop, Frog Splash and then the Last Ride came, when Akiyama lifted his shoulder, the crowd realize Akiyama was likely to win and they begin to boil. Hot red finishing stretch.

It had the looks of an epic AJPW 90's match, but it's not the match of the MOTY by my sight.

Rating: ****3/4


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs, of all the Dragon Gate you've been upping lately is there a "must watch" match?


----------



## seancarleton77

Read the latest Global League results, THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH KENSKAY!!!


----------



## smitlick

Could say the same about the Main Event as well... Odd booking


----------



## antoniomare007

I guess you mean WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH NOAH?!?! but we already discussed that.


Global League Standings with 2 shows left



> Block A:
> 1. Jun Akiyama [11]
> 2. Takeshi Morishima [10]
> -. Yoshihiro Takayama [10]
> 4. Trevor Murdoch [8]
> 5. Go Shiozaki [7]
> 6. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
> 7. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [3]
> -. Kotaro Suzuki [3]
> 9. Kento Miyahara [2]
> 
> Block B:
> 1. KENTA [10]
> 2. Kensuke Sasaki [9]
> -. Bison Smith [9]
> 4. Takashi Sugiura [7]
> -. Mohammed Yone [7]
> 6. Akitoshi Saito [6]
> 7. Bobby Fish [4]
> -. Shuhei Taniguchi [4]
> -. Takuma Sano [4]


In Block A Takayama is out as he has no matches left. Go and Murdoch have 2 matches left but they face each other in the final day. Akiyama vs Morishima should work as a semifinal then.

In Block B Sugi goes to the finals if he wins his last 2 matches and KENTA vs Bison goes to a draw in the final day. Kensuke also needs a draw in KENTA/Bison but Sugi can't get to 11 points (Sugi beat him so he has the tiebreaker). There's a ton of other combinations and tiebreakers for the final day too but I don't think they will happen.



I can already see it:*

NOAH, 20.11.2011 (G+)
Sapporo Convention Center*

1. Global League - Final: Jun Akiyama vs Bison Smith

:lmao



smitlick said:


> Could say the same about the Main Event as well... Odd booking


how about the champion pinning the challenger in the tag match :lmao


----------



## Chismo

So, New Japan is doing Tanahashi/Nagata... again?! SMH... When is MiSu's title shot? Oh, and MiSu vs. Bernardo could be smashing.

In NOAH, I guess Shima and Big Tak secured their title shots after their victories against Go (if he retains against KENTA). That's nice. Also, I'm going with Akiyama/Kenskay for the GL finals.


----------



## Fighter Daron

JoeRulz said:


> So, New Japan is doing Tanahashi/Nagata... again?! SMH... When is MiSu's title shot? Oh, and MiSu vs. Bernardo could be smashing.


Nagata beat Tana in the Climax, and I think MiSu will challenge at WK.


----------



## smitlick

antoniomare007 said:


> I guess you mean WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH NOAH?!?! but we already discussed that.
> 
> 
> Global League Standings with 2 shows left
> 
> 
> 
> In Block A Takayama is out as he has no matches left. Go and Murdoch have 2 matches left but they face each other in the final day. Akiyama vs Morishima should work as a semifinal then.
> 
> In Block B Sugi goes to the finals if he wins his last 2 matches and KENTA vs Bison goes to a draw in the final day. Kensuke also needs a draw in KENTA/Bison but Sugi can't get to 11 points (Sugi beat him so he has the tiebreaker). There's a ton of other combinations and tiebreakers for the final day too but I don't think they will happen.
> 
> 
> 
> I can already see it:*
> 
> NOAH, 20.11.2011 (G+)
> Sapporo Convention Center*
> 
> 1. Global League - Final: Jun Akiyama vs Bison Smith
> 
> :lmao
> 
> 
> 
> how about the champion pinning the challenger in the tag match :lmao


Yeah i saw that... Fucking great stuff. KENTAs already behind because hes a junior and now hes losing to Go...


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> Seabs, of all the Dragon Gate you've been upping lately is there a "must watch" match?


*Everything that's in the MOTYC thread I'd try to watch. Overkill isn't the problem in DG this year that is for junior matches somewhere like All Japan right now. Most of the non PPV stuff is clipped though but usually only by a few minutes. "Must watch" stuff from this year I'd say:
Yoshino vs Fuji
Mochizuki/Fuji vs Genki/Saito
4/3 Loser Revives Elimination Match
8/6 Ten Man
Tozawa vs SHINGO
CIMA/Ricochet vs PAC/Kid
25/8 3 Way Tag
Mask vs Hair Survival Cage Escape Match*


JoeRulz said:


> So, New Japan is doing Tanahashi/Nagata... again?! SMH... When is MiSu's title shot? Oh, and MiSu vs. Bernardo could be smashing.
> 
> In NOAH, I guess Shima and Big Tak secured their title shots after their victories against Go (if he retains against KENTA). That's nice. Also, I'm going with Akiyama/Kenskay for the GL finals.


*Nagata has record for most title defenses which Tanahashi is now equal to. If Tana beats Nagata then he gets the record. On top of that Nagata beat Tana during G1 too and their other title match earlier in the year was only at Korakuen. It makes total sense. 

You'd think beating the champ would get you a title shot but you never know with NOAH. They normally follow up on stuff like that though. Not sure if they'll do Takayama vs Shiozaki again though but Shiozaki vs Morishima seems a cert in the near future. MVP has a pin on Tanahashi in a tag match during his current title reign so realisticly MVP should have had a title match by now but it doesn't always get followed up on.*


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *Nagata has record for most title defenses which Tanahashi is now equal to. If Tana beats Nagata then he gets the record. On top of that Nagata beat Tana during G1 too and their other title match earlier in the year was only at Korakuen. It makes total sense.*


*

Ah, thanks. Totally forgot about their G1 match. Also, didn't know it's about record now, which makes things much more interesting. Storytelling could be off the charts there.



Seabs said:



You'd think beating the champ would get you a title shot but you never know with NOAH. They normally follow up on stuff like that though. Not sure if they'll do Takayama vs Shiozaki again though but Shiozaki vs Morishima seems a cert in the near future. MVP has a pin on Tanahashi in a tag match during his current title reign so realisticly MVP should have had a title match by now but it doesn't always get followed up on.

Click to expand...

*Hm, didn't know about MVP's pin on Tanahashi, hopefully they give him a title shot, he definitely deserves it.
Shima/Go needs to happen ASAP. Tak/Go too, their 9/23 encounter is the MOTYC, I loved that master work.


----------



## seabs

*Go and Morishima had a really good match by NOAH heavyweight standards this year in either June or July. Can't remember the exact date but I've got it uploaded.

Edit: Here it is - http://www.fileserve.com/file/BTRBQpR*


----------



## Bubz

Go/Morishima should be great when/if it happenes. I've really liked Go's reign so far and he's up there as WOTY for me.


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *Go and Morishima had a really good match by NOAH heavyweight standards this year in either June or July. Can't remember the exact date but I've got it uploaded.
> 
> Edit: Here it is - http://www.fileserve.com/file/BTRBQpR*


Yes, it was back in June, it was for the #1 Contendership.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> MVP has a pin on Tanahashi in a tag match during his current title reign so realisticly MVP should have had a title match by now but it doesn't always get followed up on.[/I][/B]


Tanahashi Vs MVP at Wreslte Kingdom, HOLYFUCKINGSHIT.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Fighter Daron said:


> Tanahashi Vs MVP at Wreslte Kingdom, HOLYFUCKINGSHIT.


:banplz:


----------



## seabs

*I must have looked over this when it first came out.*



> NOAH, 14.11.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 1,150 Fans
> 
> 1. Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls (6:52) nach einem Mexican Roll von Ishimori gegen Nicholls.
> 2. Kenta Kobashi, Shuhei Taniguchi & Ricky Marvin besiegen Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone & Masao Inoue (15:59) nach einer Short Range Strong Arm Lariat von Kobashi gegen Inoue.
> 3. Bison Smith & Kento Miyahara besiegen Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa (8:01) nach dem Bisontennial von Smith gegen Ogawa.
> 4. Global League - Block B: Bobby Fish [4] besiegt Akitoshi Saito [6] (7:25) mit dem Sleep with the Fish.
> 5. Global League - Block A: Trevor Murdoch [8] besiegt Yoshihiro Takayama [8] (9:04) mit einem Top Rope Jumping Bulldog.
> 6. Global League - Block B: KENTA [10] besiegt Takuma Sano [2] (4:03) mit dem GAME OVER.
> *7. Global League - Block A: Kotaro Suzuki [3] vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [3] - Time Limit Draw (30:00).*
> 8. Global League - Block A: Go Shiozaki [7] besiegt Yutaka Yoshie [4] (16:01) mit dem Go Flasher.
> 9. Global League - Block B: Takashi Sugiura [7] besiegt Kensuke Sasaki [9] (19:05) mit einem Olympic Slam.


*AAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!










Murdoch vs Takayama went under 10 minutes though so I'm happy. Completely mistified about Sugiura beating KENTA in 2:08 too.*


----------



## antoniomare007

well, we all agreed that we wouldn't spoil taped puro shows...







. Ogawa's accident kinda overshadowed the 14/11 show though.


In other news, Ibushi will get shoulder surgery and will be back in May.


----------



## Bubz

Kanemaru in a 30 minute singles match? Fuck that shit.


----------



## antoniomare007

Any Junior in a 30 minute match is a recipe for disaster. Shit, nowadays most heavyweights suck at long matches too.


----------



## seancarleton77

What a shitty Global League. Shitty draws, shitty squashes, Kenskay losing to a guy who never has a chance of main eventing again (of course they're friends too), fuck NOAH!


----------



## Chismo

If Sugiura/Kenskay is anything like their 7/23 slugfest, then HELLYEAH! And :lmao at KENTA losing so quickly.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> *I must have looked over this when it first came out.*
> 
> *AAAAAAAAAAARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> *


_

A fan who watched it live said it was the second best match of the night and that Kanemaru structured a great bout._


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> well, we all agreed that we wouldn't spoil taped puro shows...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . Ogawa's accident kinda overshadowed the 14/11 show though.


*

I totally forgot about that. Didn't realise it was on TV when I posted it either. I was so disgusted with Kanemaru being booked in a 30 minute draw. Not like it was a show of any consequence like a New Japan PPV though.*


Fighter Daron said:


> A fan who watched it live said it was the second best match of the night and that Kanemaru structured a great bout.


*The first part I can believe, the 2nd part most certainly not based on recent evidence.*


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> *If Sugiura/Kenskay is anything like their 7/23 slugfest, then HELLYEAH!* And :lmao at KENTA losing so quickly.


Awesome match!


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NOAH: 5/3/11:* Morishima Vs Hashi:
Squash city for Hashi, it lasted 6 minutes but was really good, Morishima looked impressive and Hasi is good, wish he didn't have those tits.

Rating: ***

*NJPW: 29/4/11: CMLL Welterweight Championship:* Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Taichi:
Great match between the young liones, Taichi looked the best I've ever seen and I see a lot of potential in his future, Taguchi is always improving. Though is a house show match, it was really entertaining.

Rating: ****1/4
*
Zero1: 16/4/11:* Shinjiro Ohtani & Daichi Hashimoto Vs Masato Tanaka & Kanikuma: 
Great match with Hashimoto getting better each time I see it and Ohtani as the bitchmaster once again teaching Kanikuma a lesson he won't forget. Tanaka was as great as always.

Rating: ***3/4


----------



## smitlick

NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 (G+) 
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum 

1. Masao Inoue & Mikey Nicholls vs. Kento Miyahara & Shane Haste 
2. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone 
3. Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi 
4. ANMU vs. No Mercy: Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi 
5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura 
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 
7. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea 
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA


----------



## Cactus

smitlick said:


> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 
> 1. Masao Inoue & Mikey Nicholls vs. Kento Miyahara & Shane Haste
> 2. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone
> 3. Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi
> 4. ANMU vs. No Mercy: Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
> 5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
> 7. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA


Two big title matches, Marvin getting a title shot, Kobashi & Sasaki teaming up, what an epic card. Totally looking forward to this. Anyone knows when this airs on TV?


----------



## Bubz

Yeah that seems pretty good, can't wait for Go/KENTA and I hope Nakajima destroys Marvin and Sugiura annihilates Fuji.


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 
> 1. Masao Inoue & Mikey Nicholls vs. Kento Miyahara & Shane Haste
> 2. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone
> 3. Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi
> 4. ANMU vs. No Mercy: Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
> 5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
> 7. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA


What an epic card, matches no.3 and 5-8 look very attractive. Can't wait to see Go/KENTA again.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

30 minute time limit draws= :cussin:
KENTA getting squashed= :gun:



Random review
*Kenta Kobashi vs Johnny Ace*
Meh. Nothing special here(except Kobashi's BEAUTIFUL Plancha Suicida , Kobashi carried Ace to a decent match, I liked how Kobashi rolled out of the ring when "Johnny" hit the first Ace Crusher, other than that nothing to say about this one.

*****


----------



## seabs

Fighter Daron said:


> *NJPW: 29/4/11: CMLL Welterweight Championship:* Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Taichi:
> Great match between the young liones, Taichi looked the best I've ever seen and I see a lot of potential in his future, Taguchi is always improving. Though is a house show match, it was really entertaining.
> 
> Rating: ****1/4


*Yeah that match was surprisingly good given that neither Taguchi or Taichi are exceptional wrestlers and even more so given how long it went but I think the lentgth actually helped them. Wouldn't go that high but yeah it was good.*


Fighter Daron said:


> *
> Zero1: 16/4/11:* Shinjiro Ohtani & Daichi Hashimoto Vs Masato Tanaka & Kanikuma:
> Great match with Hashimoto getting better each time I see it and Ohtani as the bitchmaster once again teaching Kanikuma a lesson he won't forget. Tanaka was as great as always.
> 
> Rating: ***3/4












*I think Daichi's got to the point now where his nothing strikes need to stiffen up a shit load to keep his momentum from slowing down. It's kinda embarrassing sometimes when he works a match around his strikes and then they're so lame.*



smitlick said:


> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 (G+)
> Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
> 
> 1. Masao Inoue & Mikey Nicholls vs. Kento Miyahara & Shane Haste
> 2. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone
> 3. Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi
> 4. ANMU vs. No Mercy: Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
> 5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura
> 6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
> 7. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA


*Undercard didn't really deliver to back the matches that were announced early. Top 3 should all be good though. Marvin is one of the most consistent juniors and Kea and Akiyama had a 30 minute draw already this year that not only kept me interested but was actually very good. Shiozaki vs KENTA obviously speaks for itself. I fucking hate Takayama being in all these all junior tags though vs Suzuki/Aoki/Ishimori. It's just stupid. Speaking of.



Spoiler: More NOAH GL madness







NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 18.11.2011
Nanporo Town Sports Center
1,300 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori besiegen KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi (12:05) nach einem 450° Splash von Ishimori gegen Hirayanagi.
2. 7 Man Battle Royal: Bison Smith besiegt Ricky Marvin mit dem Bisontennial (12:09). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: Shuhei Taniguchi, Kotaro Suzuki, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, Yutaka Yoshie & Ricky Marvin.
3. Global League - Block A: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [5] besiegt Trevor Murdoch [8] (8:10) mit einem Avalanche-Style Brainbuster Cutback -> Inside Cradle.
4. Global League - Block B: Takuma Sano [6] besiegt Mohammed Yone [7] (11:03) mit einer Northern Light Bomb.
5. Global League - Block B: Takashi Sugiura [9] besiegt Bobby Fish [4] (11:00) mit einem Olympic Slam.
6. Global League - Block A: Go Shiozaki [9] besiegt Kento Miyahara [2] (11:00) mit dem Go Flasher.
7. Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue (22:46) nach einer Strong Arm Lariat von Kobashi gegen Inoue.

Click to expand...

Words fail me. Even more so after they booked Murdoch so strong during it giving him wins over Takayama, Morishima and Yoshie and then he loses to a junior like Kanemaru, not even a top junior. 

Standings



- Global League Standings

Block A:
1. Jun Akiyama [11]
2. Takeshi Morishima [10]
3. Yoshihiro Takayama [10]
4. Go Shiozaki [9]
5. Trevor Murdoch [8]
6. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
7. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [5]
8. Kotaro Suzuki [3]
9. Kento Miyahara [2]

Block B:
1. KENTA [10]
2. Bison Smith [9]
3. Takashi Sugiura [9]
4. Kensuke Sasaki [9]
5. Mohammed Yone [7]
6. Akitoshi Saito [6]
7. Takuma Sano [6]
8. Bobby Fish [4]
9. Shuhei Taniguchi [4]

Click to expand...

before final day




NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 19.11.2011
Sapporo Teisen Hall

1. Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Bobby Fish & Mikey Nicholls
2. Global League - Block B: Akitoshi Saito vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
3. Global League - Block B: Mohammed Yone vs. Kensuke Sasaki
4. Global League - Block B: Takashi Sugiura vs. Takuma Sano
5. Global League - Block B: KENTA vs. Bison Smith
6. Global League - Block A: Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kento Miyahara
7. Global League - Block A: Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yutaka Yoshie
8. Global League - Block A: Jun Akiyama vs. Takeshi Morishima
9. Global League - Block A: Go Shiozaki vs. Trevor Murdoch

Click to expand...

So most likely KENTA vs Bison and Akiyama vs Morishima are deciders. KENTA seems favourite to win Block B which is a positive at least and KENTA vs Akiyama or Morishima in the final sounds promising. Any of them 3 winning works. KENTA has title match coming up and needs something to legitimatise him as a heavy, Morishima already has pin on champ and Akiyama is Akiyama and also TC champ.



*


----------



## antoniomare007

Daichi needs the mandatory overseas tour were he bulks up and then comes back to claim his role as the new Ace of the company.


----------



## Bubz

Been meaning to ask for a while but how was Nakamura/Tanahashi?


----------



## antoniomare007

The first one was forgettable (I literally don't remember anything about that match, lol). The one from Hoshino's Memorial show was much better and worth a look.

Here's what I wrote on the MOTYC thread:


> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura - Kentaro Hoshino Memorial Show 9/19/2011
> 
> Firs of all, there's gonna be a lot of people who wont like this very much, specially because of some selling issues (surprisingly, it was Nakamura who didn't sell for shit, lol) but I liked this a lot. The beginning and middle portion are nothing to write home about and some might lose interest in the match...I didn't. The last 11-12 minutes are pretty great with both guys not letting the other one get the upper hand and it kept me guessing what the hell was going to happen next and who was going to get the win. Tana's comeback didn't came nearly as annoying as in the Goto match and I loved some of the sequences they had in the final stretch as they weren't the typical formula (like Tanahashi using a Tiger Suplex after Nakamura blocked the Dragon and Straight Jacket Suplex). A hotter crowd might have put this in a legit MOTY status.
> 
> ****1/4 maybe ****1/2....eh, who cares I hate snowflakes anyways.


To most people it was closer to 4 startz though


----------



## Bubz

I just watched it .

*Tanahashi vs Nakamura (NJPW 19/9/11)*
I really liked the start with the mat and technical stuff going on, they managed to keep it interesting and believeable. The middle portion of the match was great with some great limb work going on and Tanhashi sold his arm really well, Nakamura didn't do as good of a job selling his leg long term though, but Tana kept going back to it and when he did he sold it well. The finishing stretch was good, and there was an amazing spot where Tana hit a tiger suplex (I think), Nakamura kicked out and while Tana was having a fit because he didn't get the win he got kneed in the back of the head! They did go back to trading submissions in the finishing stretch including an awesome armbar from Nakamura and Tana turning it into a cloverleaf. I wish the limb work had more to do with the finish, but I've come to expect that from a Tanahashi match, he works the leg and nothing ever comes from it and he always wins with the same combo of moves. Nakamura is fucking awesome though, his swag is off the charts and he's a great seller (could have done better long term in this match though). I cringed at moments, there was one point were it looked like Nakamura legit kneed Tana in the face and he looked pissed. Great match.
*****1/4*


----------



## antoniomare007

well, Tanahashi did lose a tooth from one of Nakamura's strikes (don't remember if it was a knee).


----------



## Bubz

Yeah, I'm not sure if it was the one I mentioned, but it was after a dropkick that I noticed he had a tooth missing so it could have been that. Poor Tanahashi, his looks are ruined.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Continuing the Best of NJPW in the 90s

5. Pegasus vs Samurai - 6/15/93: ****1/4.

4. Liger vs Sano - 1/30/90: ****3/4. Epic match from beginning to end. Liger's never say die attitude plus his desperation pin attempts were a thing of beauty. When he busted out the shooting star press I marked the f out.
I found their July match from 89 very entertaining but would only give it like ***1/2. Aug 89 match was a bit more crisp and would give that ****1/4. Sept 89 match idk, from what I saw I thought it was pretty good and had a solid ending but was joined in progress.

Does anybody know what the GAME OVER from KENTA is yet?

That Tanahashi tooth had to be a fake one with the lack of blood from it. Was a nice touch though feeling Nakamura f'ed him up. I gave that ****-****1/4.


----------



## Obfuscation

They gave us another Nakamura vs Tanahashi match? Excellent. 

Yes, I'm a touch behind on my Puro, but I'll try and get in full swing. Eventually.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Hailsabin said:


> They gave us another Nakamura vs Tanahashi match? Excellent.
> 
> Yes, I'm a touch behind on my Puro, but I'll try and get in full swing. Eventually.


They gave us two.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*8/1/11: "Reverse Pin Battle Royal" - Go Shiozaki vs KENTA vs Takuma Sano vs Masao Inoue vs Kotaro Suzuki vs Takeshi Morishima vs Genba Hirayanagi vs SUGI vs Ricky Marvin*

This was a weird match, if you get a pin, you go to the back, I guess whoever doesn't get a pin at the end is the loser.

A ton of odd stuff in this match, everything felt weird and just like the guys were messing around after the event.

****


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> Yeah, I'm not sure if it was the one I mentioned, but it was after a dropkick that I noticed he had a tooth missing so it could have been that. Poor Tanahashi, his looks are ruined.


*I seem to remember thinking it came after the dive off the top rope to the outside but yeah it could have easily come after one of Nakamura's knees too



Spoiler: AJPW Tag League Day 1







AJPW "REAL WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2011", 19.11.2011 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,200 Fans

1. BUSHi besiegt Yasufumi Nakanoue (4:48) mit einem Crucifix Hold.
2. Real World Tag League: Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka [2] besiegen KENSO & Kaz Hayashi [0] (10:47) nach dem Minoru Special von Tanaka gegen Hayashi.
3. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono [2] besiegen Big Daddy & Joe Doering [0] (7:01) nach einem Cross Armbreaker von Funaki gegen Daddy.
4. Jounetsu Baka x Hentai Wrestler Spirit 3 Match Series 1st: Hikaru Sato besiegt Hiroshi Yamato (12:27) durch Referee Stop (Reverse Ankle Hold).
5. Keiji Muto besiegt Shuji Kondo (14:27) mit dem Shining Wizard.
6. Real World Tag League: Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi [2] besiegen Akebono & Ryota Hama [0] (9:17) nach einem Horizontal Cradle von Fuchi gegen Akebono.
7. Real World Tag League: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya [2] besiegen Seiya Sanada & KAI [0] (17:10) nach einem Wild Bomber von Soya gegen Sanada.
8. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya [2] besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi [0] (24:34) nach einem Last Ride von Suwama gegen Okabayashi.


- Real World Tag League Standings

1. Suwama & Takumi Soya [2]
-. Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono [2]
-. Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi [2]
-. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya [2]
-. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka [2]
6. Akebono & Ryota Hama [0]
-. KENSO & Kaz Hayashi [0]
-. Seiya Sanada & KAI [0]
-. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi [0]
-. Big Daddy & Joe Doering [0]

Click to expand...

Mandatory champ doesn't win on the first day result that every league in Japan does. Show looks super though, especially with Muta/Kondo and Sato/Yamato on top as non league matches. Really interested in seeing how Daisuke/Yuji do facing some different teams like Suwama/Soya, Sanada/KAI and Soya/Omori.


*


----------



## antoniomare007

So the 2 finalist for the Global League are...



Spoiler



NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 19.11.2011 (G+)
Sapporo Teisen Hall
1,050 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Bobby Fish & Mikey Nicholls (8:53) nach einem Cross Armbreaker von Aoki gegen Nicholls.
2. Masao Inoue & Ricky Marvin besiegen Masashi Aoyagi & Genba Hirayanagi (6:42) nach einem Inside Cradle von Inoue gegen Aoyagi.
3. Global League - Block A: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6] vs. Kento Miyahara [3] - Time Limit Draw (30:00).
4. Global League - Block A: Kotaro Suzuki [5] besiegt Yutaka Yoshie [6] (6:49) durch Countout.
5. Global League - Block B: Shuhei Taniguchi [6] besiegt Akitoshi Saito [6] (10:44) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
6. Global League - Block A: Go Shiozaki [11] besiegt Trevor Murdoch [8] (15:36) mit dem Go Flasher.
7. Global League - Block B: Kensuke Sasaki [11] besiegt Mohammed Yone [7] (4:42) mit einer Northern Light Bomb.
8. Global League - Block B: Takashi Sugiura [11] besiegt Takuma Sano [6] (7:53) mit einem Front Necklock.
9. Global League - Block B: KENTA [12] besiegt Bison Smith [9] (12:18) mit dem GAME OVER.
10. Global League - Block A: Takeshi Morishima [12] besiegt Jun Akiyama [11] (12:56) mit einem Backdrop Suplex.


- Global League Group Stage Final Standings

Block A:
1. Takeshi Morishima [12]
2. Jun Akiyama [11]
-. Go Shiozaki [11]
4. Yoshihiro Takayama [10]
5. Trevor Murdoch [8]
6. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
7. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6]
8. Kotaro Suzuki [5]
9. Kento Miyahara [3]

Block B:
1. KENTA [12]
2. Takashi Sugiura [11]
3. Kensuke Sasaki [11]
4. Bison Smith [9]
5. Mohammed Yone [7]
6. Shuhei Taniguchi [6]
7. Akitoshi Saito [6]
8. Takuma Sano [6]
9. Bobby Fish [4]

*
NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 20.11.2011 (G+)
Sapporo Convention Center*

1. Ricky Marvin vs. Mikey Nicholls
2. Kenta Kobashi, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Masao Inoue, Masashi Aoyagi & Genba Hirayanagi
3. Global League Special Tag Match: Block A vs. Block B
4. Global League Special Tag Match: Block A vs. Block B
5. Global League Special Tag Match: Block A vs. Block B
6. Global League Special Singles Match: Block A vs. Block B
7. Global League Special Singles Match: Block A vs. Block B
*8. Global League - Final: Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA*

---

That's a BIG win for Morishima. Kayfabe wise he should win the tournament but as Seabs already mentioned, they might want to give the GL to KENTA as a way to solidify his move to heavyweight...then again, if that was the plan why the fuck did they book Go to pin him in a tag match a couple of days ago. Oh, NOAH...


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: NOAH



Oh my at a 2nd Kanemaru time limit draw that gets televised. The matches that I'm interested in all got good time though so I'm happy. 

Morishima/KENTA final is great. Either guy winning works with both of them having title matches upcoming (you'd think). I imagine the match could be awesome too. I think KENTA would be the best pick long term as he needs a big achievement for people to buy him as a heavyweight in the long run, not just for his match with Go.


*


----------



## seancarleton77

That's a hell of a Final! I anticipate seeing it.


----------



## smitlick

NOAH 22/6/09
KENTA & Go Shiozaki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki
****3/4


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> So the 2 finalist for the Global League are...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 19.11.2011 (G+)
> Sapporo Teisen Hall
> 1,050 Fans - No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Bobby Fish & Mikey Nicholls (8:53) nach einem Cross Armbreaker von Aoki gegen Nicholls.
> 2. Masao Inoue & Ricky Marvin besiegen Masashi Aoyagi & Genba Hirayanagi (6:42) nach einem Inside Cradle von Inoue gegen Aoyagi.
> 3. Global League - Block A: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6] vs. Kento Miyahara [3] - Time Limit Draw (30:00).
> 4. Global League - Block A: Kotaro Suzuki [5] besiegt Yutaka Yoshie [6] (6:49) durch Countout.
> 5. Global League - Block B: Shuhei Taniguchi [6] besiegt Akitoshi Saito [6] (10:44) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
> 6. Global League - Block A: Go Shiozaki [11] besiegt Trevor Murdoch [8] (15:36) mit dem Go Flasher.
> 7. Global League - Block B: Kensuke Sasaki [11] besiegt Mohammed Yone [7] (4:42) mit einer Northern Light Bomb.
> 8. Global League - Block B: Takashi Sugiura [11] besiegt Takuma Sano [6] (7:53) mit einem Front Necklock.
> 9. Global League - Block B: KENTA [12] besiegt Bison Smith [9] (12:18) mit dem GAME OVER.
> 10. Global League - Block A: Takeshi Morishima [12] besiegt Jun Akiyama [11] (12:56) mit einem Backdrop Suplex.
> 
> 
> - Global League Group Stage Final Standings
> 
> Block A:
> 1. Takeshi Morishima [12]
> 2. Jun Akiyama [11]
> -. Go Shiozaki [11]
> 4. Yoshihiro Takayama [10]
> 5. Trevor Murdoch [8]
> 6. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
> 7. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [6]
> 8. Kotaro Suzuki [5]
> 9. Kento Miyahara [3]
> 
> Block B:
> 1. KENTA [12]
> 2. Takashi Sugiura [11]
> 3. Kensuke Sasaki [11]
> 4. Bison Smith [9]
> 5. Mohammed Yone [7]
> 6. Shuhei Taniguchi [6]
> 7. Akitoshi Saito [6]
> 8. Takuma Sano [6]
> 9. Bobby Fish [4]
> 
> *
> NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 20.11.2011 (G+)
> Sapporo Convention Center*
> 
> 1. Ricky Marvin vs. Mikey Nicholls
> 2. Kenta Kobashi, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Masao Inoue, Masashi Aoyagi & Genba Hirayanagi
> 3. Global League Special Tag Match: Block A vs. Block B
> 4. Global League Special Tag Match: Block A vs. Block B
> 5. Global League Special Tag Match: Block A vs. Block B
> 6. Global League Special Singles Match: Block A vs. Block B
> 7. Global League Special Singles Match: Block A vs. Block B
> *8. Global League - Final: Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA*
> 
> ---
> 
> That's a BIG win for Morishima. Kayfabe wise he should win the tournament but as Seabs already mentioned, they might want to give the GL to KENTA as a way to solidify his move to heavyweight...then again, if that was the plan why the fuck did they book Go to pin him in a tag match a couple of days ago. Oh, NOAH...


Fuck yeah, great choice.


----------



## Bubz

@ smitlick...I missed that match but I think I remember people raving about it in the 09 MOTYC thread. I'll have to check it out.


----------



## smitlick

Bubz said:


> @ smitlick...I missed that match but I think I remember people raving about it in the 09 MOTYC thread. I'll have to check it out.


Yeah i missed it at the time as well... Gonna have to visit the old MOTYC threads for some other stuff I've missed.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah it's a top top top match. Probably the last really great NOAH match.*


----------



## Bubz

Seabs said:


> *Yeah it's a top top top match. Probably the last really great NOAH match.*


What about Go/Sasaki from last year? One of my favourite NOAH matches ever.

Just watched it, awesome tag match. I liked it more than the 05 tag with Kobashi. So many awesome exchanges and sequences, and all 4 have amazing chemistry especially Go/Nakajima who practically destroyed eachother. *****1/2+*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Continuing (and finishing) the Best of NJPW in the 90s...

3. Liger vs Samurai - 4/30/92: ****1/4. Not epic to me. When I look back at this list in a month, year, etc. I'm not going to be looking forward to this match as I will the previous 5 matches. It was a good brawl for the first ten minutes then an awesome wrestling match the next 10 but the last 2-3 were anticlimatic.

2. Ultimo Dragon vs Ohtani - 8/4/96: *****. This is the match I was most looking forward to on the list and it def. didn't disappoint. Great story telling from beginning to end. Great drama. Great finish.

1. Pegasus vs Sasuke - 4/16/94: ****1/2-****3/4. An epic match but not that jawdropping match that Dragon/Ohtani and Samurai/Kanemoto were.

Thanks again to Yeah93 for the July match between Liger and Sasuke. I stumbled upon Meltzer's ***** match listing for NJPW tonight and that match was on there and I would pretty much concur with that. Great match. I have no idea why that wasn't on the list instead of their other. Was surprised to see Meltzer also gave 5 to the Samurai/Kanemoto match that I had given 5 to. It was magic.


----------



## bigbuxxx

KENTA/Go vs Sasaki/Nakajima - 6/22/09: ****1/2. I strongly dislike everything that Go and Sasaki do together but luckily they only had one time in the ring together here and it lasted around 5 minutes. I thought Go knocked Naka'a face clean off when he botched the chop a few minutes into the match. Very hot match.

Pegasus vs Liger - 8/19/90: ****1/4. some botches and otherwise slow setups to some moves keep this from being an epic. it's a very entertaining match and what you'd expect from these two with great grappling and great high flying/fast paced stuff.


----------



## Yeah1993

I have a tremendous soft spot for that particular Benoit/Liger. I don't think their matches get enough regard compared to other junior matches of the 90s. Liger was probably one of Benoit's top 3 opponents ever. 

I adored Liger/Samurai.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

GAME OVER!!!


----------



## Chismo

^Nice, just as I expected. It's much better against heavyweights than GTS.


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> What about Go/Sasaki from last year? One of my favourite NOAH matches ever.
> 
> Just watched it, awesome tag match. I liked it more than the 05 tag with Kobashi. So many awesome exchanges and sequences, and all 4 have amazing chemistry especially Go/Nakajima who practically destroyed eachother. *****1/2+*


*Yeah that was really good but it's kinda forgettable for me despite being really good because of how silent the crowd is. The 09 tag is definitely better.*


----------



## Scavo

ywall2breakerj said:


> GAME OVER!!!


Solid, nothing special. Simple and effective submission.


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: Global League final Day






> NOAH "GLOBAL LEAGUE 2011", 20.11.2011 (G+)
> Sapporo Convention Center
> 1,600 Fans
> 
> 1. Ricky Marvin besiegt Mikey Nicholls (9:54) mit dem Santa Maria.
> 2. Kenta Kobashi, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Masao Inoue, Masashi Aoyagi & Genba Hirayanagi (16:33) nach einem 450° Splash von Ishimori gegen Hirayanagi.
> 3. Global League Special Tag Match: Jun Akiyama & Yoshihiro Takayama besiegen Bison Smith & Shuhei Taniguchi (13:31) nach einem Wrist Clutch Exploder von Akiyama gegen Taniguchi.
> 4. Global League Special Tag Match: Takuma Sano & Bobby Fish besiegen Yutaka Yoshie & Kento Miyahara (14:10) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sano gegen Miyahara.
> 5. Global League Special Tag Match: Kensuke Sasaki & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki (17:33) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sasaki gegen Suzuki.
> 6. Global League Special Singles Match: Takashi Sugiura besiegt Yoshinobu Kanamaru (13:43) durch Pinfall.
> 7. Global League Special Singles Match: Mohammed Yone besiegt Trevor Murdoch (10:40) mit einem Muscle Buster.
> 8. Global League - Final: Takeshi Morishima besiegt KENTA (16:43) mit einem Backdrop Suplex.


*Great for Morishima although you have to question how sustained this push will be for him. I guess it can't go much worse than KENTA's heavyweight push. Pinned by Shiozaki before title match, loses final of GL and is going to lose title match too. At least he got to the final though.

Also, 16:43 :mark: Really excited to see the final now.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Go/Sasaki was the best NOAH match I've ever seen. I don't know how anyone could dislike this combination.

And about the Global League, KENTA is gonna beat Go, fucking shit.


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> Spoiler: Global League final Day
> 
> 
> 
> *Great for Morishima although you have to question how sustained this push will be for him. I guess it can't go much worse than KENTA's heavyweight push. Pinned by Shiozaki before title match, loses final of GL and is going to lose title match too. At least he got to the final though.
> 
> Also, 16:43 :mark: Really excited to see the final now.*


Great news.


----------



## antoniomare007

Fighter Daron said:


> And about the Global League, KENTA is gonna beat Go, fucking shit.


It's impossible to know with NOAH's booking, there's no pattern or anything to go by to predict a result with. KENTA does have a chance to win next Sunday though (the fact the it would be completely stupid is his best chance, lol).


----------



## Bubz

Well, I didn't expect the GL result/winner. I like it though.


----------



## seancarleton77

I wanted to get thoughts on Yuji Nagata, apparently not everyone likes him, I can't figure out why the hell anyone wouldn't love the guy.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I <3 him. Throws down consistent matches and is fun to watch. I can even dig his retarded salute now. Really looking forward to his match w/Tanahashi next month. Much more so than Rocky returning tonight.


----------



## Chismo

I like Yuji, probably the best New Japan's heavyweight in last 15 years.


----------



## antoniomare007

seancarleton77 said:


> I wanted to get thoughts on Yuji Nagata, apparently not everyone likes him


huh?

where???


----------



## Bubz

Nagata is great. He's stiff as hell sometimes though.


----------



## seancarleton77

antoniomare007 said:


> huh?
> 
> where???


Bosnia? A guy on another forum said he (Nagata) could be carried to a great match, which is mind boggling considering he carries good matches.


----------



## Dazzerlyne

Ive only really gotten into puro lately and after watching 3 NJPW shows, Dontaku 2011, G1 final day and the G1 special on 9/19, I get excited when i see that Nagata's match is next when im watching the show I love the guy!!


----------



## seabs

*Nagata's like one of those guys that everyone likes. Can't think of many guys that get as much consistent praise from everyone than Nagata does.*


----------



## seancarleton77

Nagata was my favourite Japanese wrestler as a kid when he was in WCW, even before Liger & Ultimo Dragon, then when I truly got into Puroresu he became my favourite again after kicking a young Tanahashi's ass.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Fighter Daron said:


> Go/Sasaki was the best NOAH match I've ever seen. I don't know how anyone could dislike this combination.


not a fan of the "i chop you, you chop me" no sell game. i enjoyed seeing the heavys against the jrs in the tag match because the jrs actually sold that they were getting beat the fuck up because they probably really were. i don't mind the nakajima/kenta kick battles so much because they don't stand there for 5-10 seconds staring at each other waiting to hit again, they just quickly kick the shit out of each other and go on to the next spot.


----------



## Bubz

I'm not usually a massive fan of it either, even in Kobashi/Sasaki it annoyed me a little bit, but in Go/Sasaki I absolutely loved it and it raised the match to awesome levels for me. It told a great story in that match and it was Go's facial expressions and selling that made me like it so much I think.

Talking of Go's expressions, he does the 'fuck I've been knocked dizzy' sell better than pretty much anybody I can think of now.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Well, I like Nagata too, but he's not the best japanese heavy wrestler in the last 15 years by any means.


----------



## smitlick

In some news this morning it seems that both TARU & MAZADA have both been arrested in regards to the Nobukazu Hirai (Hate) beating that occured back in late May. 5/29 to be exact.

Everything has been under investigation since the months that it happened and it has been concluded that the cause of the injury happened before Hirai's scheduled match on the day of the beating. From what I can tell Hirai's mother is the one who made the call to arrest those in charge. 
Nothing more has really been said and from what I can tell no mention of Masayuki Kono and or Minoru Tanaka, who were stated to be in the room at the time of the beating, being charged with anything at this time. 
Hirai is still being hospitalized with severe memory impairment. 

[Source: http://news24.jp/nnn/movie/news8892815.html]
[http://www.sponichi.co.jp/battle/news/2011/11/22/kiji/K20111122002085970.html]

Stole that from Puroresu Spirits Facebook


----------



## antoniomare007

Big Japan's Tag League final day:



Spoiler



BJW, 22.11.2011 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,464 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Mototsugu Shimizu, Jun Ogawauchi & Amigo Suzuki besiegen Atsushi Ohashi, Takumi Tsukamoto & Masashi Otani (12:03) nach dem Chandra's Light von Ogawauchi gegen Tsukamoto.
2. Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami besiegen Yuichi Taniguchi & Onryo (8:55) nach einem Octopus Hold von Ishikawa gegen Taniguchi.
3. _Big Japan Tag League - Semi Final, Hardcore Match:_ Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi besiegen Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (13:27) nach einem Golem Splash von Okabayashi gegen Kei.
4. _Big Japan Tag League - Semi Final, Big Elements Death Match:_ Jun Kasai & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa besiegen Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (14:13) nach einem GOD-Style Piledriver auf Lighttubes von Numazawa gegen Kodaka.
5. *Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu besiegen Takashi Sasaki & Kazuki Hashimoto (12:59)* nach dem S.E.X von Shinobu gegen Hashimoto.
6. Scramble Bunkhouse Death Match: Ryuji Ito, Shadow WX & Masato Inaba besiegen Abdullah Kobayashi, Kankuro Hoshino & Masashi Takeda (17:18) nach einem Vertical Drop Brainbuster auf einen Stuhl WX gegen Hoshino.
7. _Big Japan Tag League - Final:_ Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi besiegen Jun Kasai & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa (17:48) nach einer Powerbomb auf einen Stuhl von Okabayashi gegen Numazawa.
]


----------



## seabs

*I hope Sasaki and Shinobu can get back to murdering each other now. Had enough of them tagging together for the last few shows. Their match on that shows sounds great though, as do both Daisuke/Yuji matches.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

smitlick said:


> [Source: http://news24.jp/nnn/movie/news8892815.html]
> [http://www.sponichi.co.jp/battle/news/2011/11/22/kiji/K20111122002085970.html]
> 
> Stole that from Puroresu Spirits Facebook


second link doesn't work. 

that story says he has memory issues but wiki states he was in a coma on 6/30 so progress i guess. that's pretty sick though.


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *I hope Sasaki and Shinobu can get back to murdering each other now. Had enough of them tagging together for the last few shows. Their match on that shows sounds great though, as do both Daisuke/Yuji matches.*


Agreed. If we are not gonna get Sasaki/Shinobu hate, at least we will get Sasaki/Sasaki hate.

And Daisuke/Yuji need a damn name. They are the best tag team in the world, it's weird that we still have to call them by their names, lol.


----------



## Bubz

let's think of a name for them....

Yujimoto!!!

That's awful.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Bison Smith is dead?

*edit* RIP Bison


----------



## bigbuxxx

:sad::sad::sad: only 38. so sad.


----------



## seancarleton77

Goodbye to Bison. A true Heavyweight.


----------



## Dregen

Definitely was saddened to hear Bison go. I was hoping one day he'd win the GHC Championship.


----------



## Obfuscation

RIP Bison.

Another good one gone too soon.


----------



## smitlick

Some upcoming shit and results

BJW "BIG JAPAN DEATH VEGAS", 18.12.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium 

1. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga & Atsushi Ohashi vs. Mototsugu Shimizu, Jun Ogawauchi & Amigo Suzuki 
2. Ryuji Yamakawa & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Takumi Tsukamoto & X 
3. Shadow WX, Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei vs. Ryuichi Kawakami, Kazuki Hashimoto & Masashi Otani 
4. Jun Kasai, "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa & Masashi Takeda vs. Takashi Sasaki, Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba 
5. Big Japan vs. All Japan: Shinya Ishikawa vs. Seiya Sanada 
6. Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka vs. Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu 
7. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Suwama & Takumi Soya 
8. BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title, Game of Death Death Match: Ryuji Ito (c) vs. Abdullah Kobayashi

SMASH.23, 24.11.2011 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
1,500 Fans - No Vacancy 

1. Koji Doi Debut Match: AKIRA besiegt Koji Doi (6:24) mit dem Old Boy. 
2. Aki Shizuku besiegt Makoto (6:23) mit eibem Boston Crab. 
3. Keizo Matsuda, Katsumi Hirano & Kiyoko Ichiki besiegen Takuya Kito, Mio Shirai & Konaka (11:20) nach einem Diving Footstomp von Ichiki gegen Kito. 
4. Yusuke Kodama besiegt YO-HEY (10:11) mit einem School Boy 
5. Hardcore Match: Shuri besiegt Lin Bairon (10:49) mit einem German Suplex Hold. 
6. SMASH Diva Title: Tomoka Nakagawa besiegt Kana (c) (8:53) mit dem 120% Schoolboy - Titelwechsel. 
7. Hajime Ohara & Jessica Love besiegen TAJIRI & Ultimo Dragon (12:56) nach einem Finnish Forearm von Ohara gegen TAJIRI. 
8. SMASH Title: Dave Finlay besiegt Starbuck (c) (15:58) nach einem Tombstone Piledriver - Titelwechsel.

Kensuke Office "TAKE THE DREAM 2011 IN OSAKA", 23.11.2011 
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2 
1,519 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Kikutaro & Namazu Man besiegen Ebessan III & CHANGO (12:52) nach einem Jackknife Hold von Namazu gegen CHANGO. 
2. Magnitude Kishiwada, NOSAWA Rongai & K-ness besiegen Daisuke Ikeda, Satoshi Kajiwara & Go (16:47) nach einer Lariat von Kishiwada gegen Go. 
3. Kento Miyahara besiegt Kazunari Murakami (7:07) mit einem Schoolboy. 
4. Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya besiegen Genichiro Tenryu & Kenichiro Arai (22:32) nach einer Lariat von Sasaki gegen Tenryu. 
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Fujita "Jr." Hayato (27:34) mit einem German Suplex Hold.


----------



## Chismo

Fit FUCKING Finlay, yes! I will follow SMASH now just to see him.


----------



## antoniomare007

Hirai's tragedy keeps getting worse. From DVDVR:


> Don't know if this was reported here or not but Hirai's girlfriend committed suicide two weeks ago.


fucked up.


----------



## seancarleton77

Nakajima vs. Hayato going nearly 30 minutes has me worried about both guys running around clueless and stalling for 15 minutes.


----------



## Fighter Daron

seancarleton77 said:


> Nakajima vs. Hayato going nearly 30 minutes has me worried about both guys running around clueless and stalling for 15 minutes.


It has me worried about the status of their heads.


----------



## Obfuscation

FINLAY WINS GOLD.

Mark out city.


----------



## Bubz

seancarleton77 said:


> Nakajima vs. Hayato going nearly 30 minutes has me worried about both guys running around clueless and stalling for 15 minutes.


Yeah, same here. But Nakajima does a pretty awesome workover usually so I have hope.


----------



## seabs

*The story about Hirai's partner committing suicide is so sad.

Edit: Betting Nakajima vs Hayato will be horrible, just like their KO tags this year.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

After finishing a bunch of juniors matches in the best of NJPW in the 90s I'm finally getting around to the classic AJPW stuff I've never watched.

Misawa vs Kawada - 4/17/97: *****. Kawada really brought it here and brought tons of drama. He looked so desperate here trying to beat Misawa.
Misawa vs Kawada - 6/6/97: ****3/4. Meltzer gave this "*****+" but any match where you legit knockout your opponent for the end...that's just not perfect imo. Awesome match.

In the continuation of these matches it would've been nice to see them switched around for the storytelling but whatever it's great stuff.

Tsuruta vs Misawa - 92 Champions Carnival: ***** from me. I've never seen this match mentioned anywhere but gave it a shot and it didn't disappoint. These guys set a blistering pace from the outset and it doesn't stop till the finish (which was a great finishing stretch).


----------



## Fighter Daron

You should have watched Misawa Vs Kawada from 1994 before, best inring match in history imo.


----------



## bigbuxxx

have seen that actually. picking up on their matches where i left off a month or so ago. after these it's on to kobashi vs misawa series


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi/Misawa 97 is absolutely amazing, probably their best match, although I don't think they ever had a match as good as some of the Misawa/Kawada matches.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: NOAH 11/27/2011



NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 (G+)
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
5,800 Fans

1. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste besiegen Masao Inoue & Kento Miyahara (8:48) mit einem Cutback-Cradle von Nicholls gegen Inoue.
2. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie besiegen Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone (12:04) nach einem Backdrop von Morishima gegen Saito.
3. Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki besiegen Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi (15:30) nach einer Northern Lights Bomb von Sasaki gegen Sano.
4. ANMU vs. No Mercy: Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori (11:52) nach einem Running Knee Lift von Takayama gegen Ishimori.
5. Naomichi Marufuji Return Match: Takashi Sugiura besiegt Naomichi Marufuji (19:22) nach einem Olympic Slam.
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Ricky Marvin (18:07) mit einem German Suplex Hold - Titelwechsel.
7. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) besiegt Taiyo Kea (23:08) mit einem Standing Front Neck Lock (1st defense).
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Go Shiozaki (c) besiegt KENTA (27:37) nach einem Modified Reverse DDT (3rd defense).



I love every single booking decision. Btw, is it just me, or NOAH events and matches are much harder to find online recently?


----------



## smitlick

Very happy that the Aussie Boys are getting a Tag Title Shot


----------



## antoniomare007

Stacked card and still a shitty attendance at







Ariake. But hey, at least they didn't fucked it up with the booking.



Oh, and Takeshi Rikio had to retire due to injuries.


----------



## Fighter Daron

antoniomare007 said:


> Stacked card and still a shitty attendance at
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ariake. But hey, at least they didn't fucked it up with the booking.


They achieved their biggest attendance this year, therefore, I think it was a success.


----------



## antoniomare007

Fighter Daron said:


> They achieved their biggest attendance this year, therefore, I think it was a success.


It's still a shitty attendace, it's so sad that almost getting to 6k is called a "success". Until there's info on how many people actually paid I won't call it that though.


----------



## Fighter Daron

antoniomare007 said:


> It's still a shitty attendace, it's so sad that almost getting to 6k is called a "success". Until there's info on how many people actually paid I won't call it that though.


They've drawn 1000 people more than the last show at the Ariake, how in blue hell is it not a success?


----------



## antoniomare007

Even if they legit had a 1,000 boost in attendance (which is doubtful to say the least), it's fucking sad that a Triple Crown Match, a GHC Title match and the return of one of their biggest stars can't even draw 6,000 fans. 

And again, I won't call it a success until there's info on how many people actually paid their ticket.


----------



## seabs

*Under 6K for a show with a card with such big matches like 5-8 isn't really a success. I guess it is for NOAH in terms of short term success this year. They always spike their announced attendances by at least 500 too and then a another chunk aren't paid. All Japan's big shows from this year have been getting 8K+ and even DDT managed to draw over 8K.*


----------



## Obfuscation

NOAH show looks rather good. Sugiura vs Marufuji ftw. I didn't even know Mikey Nicholls was over there, haha.


----------



## antoniomare007

Morishima will get his title match in Osaka (January 22th). 

also...



Spoiler: 12/15 Korakuen Hall show



for the 12/15 Korakuen Hall show :

Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs Takeshi Morishima & Kensuke Sasaki


----------



## Tanner1495

antoniomare007 said:


> Morishima will get his title match in Osaka (January 22th).
> 
> also...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 12/15 Korakuen Hall show
> 
> 
> 
> for the 12/15 Korakuen Hall show :
> 
> Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs Takeshi Morishima & Kensuke Sasaki


:mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

^I concur with the :mark:

MORISHIMA FTW


----------



## seancarleton77

Now that tag match is one hell of a main event for the best crowd in Japan, I'm glad they didn't waste it on the (In)Differ(ent) Ariake.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> Morishima will get his title match in Osaka (January 22th).
> 
> also...
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 12/15 Korakuen Hall show
> 
> 
> 
> for the 12/15 Korakuen Hall show :
> 
> Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama vs Takeshi Morishima & Kensuke Sasaki


Hopefully Kenskay pins Shiozaki, so we can get Go vs Kenskay II.


----------



## Fighter Daron

JoeRulz said:


> Hopefully Kenskay pins Shiozaki, so we can get Go vs Kenskay II.


Or Akiyama Vs Kenskei.


----------



## Pat9010

Would love either of those ^^^^^


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Random question. Because it at times sounds like the American Wolves backlash...

What's the issue with Keiji Mutoh/Great Muta? I mean, he never had a five star in his career (ok, the Tenryu match possibly), and I say that as a big fan, but I've always wanted to hear what exactly are the issues with his in ring work. 


And no, this isn't going to turn into me trying to defend him like crazy. I just want a frame of reference.


----------



## topper1

The 91 G1 final is commenly ranked as one of the best HW NJPW matches of the 90's.

Muta has alway's been solid. NJPW was alway's a step behind in terms of ring work compaired to AJPW in the 90's.


----------



## Yeah1993

I find him sloppy and sometimes lazy, and I get bored to tears whenever he's controlling a match. I'd honestly struggle to find a singles match from him I'd even rate four stars.

"The Great Muta" is a great character, and he does a really cool elbow and a slick as hell moonsault, but apart from that I'll never be able to get behind again. Been a long time since I've watched barely anything from him, admittedly, but what I have watched had either (a) the match sucking, or (b) him being carried. I get why people like him, and I'm not going to knock anybody who does, but I could name 200 guys I think are better without really trying.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Yeah1993 said:


> I find him sloppy and sometimes lazy, and I get bored to tears whenever he's controlling a match. I'd honestly struggle to find a singles match from him I'd even rate four stars.
> 
> "The Great Muta" is a great character, and he does a really cool elbow and a slick as hell moonsault, but apart from that I'll never be able to get behind again. Been a long time since I've watched barely anything from him, admittedly, but what I have watched had either (a) the match sucking, or (b) him being carried. I get why people like him, and I'm not going to knock anybody who does, but I could name 200 guys I think are better without really trying.


Wow, this is it. Finally, someone who shares my opinion. He's sloppy as hell.


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm no big Muto fan or anything but his match with Hase (Muta scale) is legendary.


----------



## bigbuxxx

but not because of the wrestling match, amirite?


----------



## antoniomare007

Mutoh has always been a hit or miss kind of a guy. There's plenty of times were he is clearly not giving his all (that's probably one of the main reason why he hasn't completely broken down by now, even though his knees are gone) but he can have a great match here and there.

And for the most part, Great Muta is fucking horrible.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Cena's Ribera & Zubaz tribute attire: 









Toughest men on the planet - Kensuke Sasaki & William Regal









Touched by greatness - CM Punk & Yoshihiro Takayama


----------



## smitlick

love the Kenskay/Regal pic


----------



## Obfuscation

All 3 of those moments own.


----------



## Chismo

TelkEvolon said:


> Touched by greatness - CM Punk & Yoshihiro Takayama


I want to see this match.


----------



## antoniomare007

Yuji Okabayashi has been in a tear lately. It seems as if Daisuke is just letting him have the most minutes in their matches and Oka has taken full advantage of it and looked fucking awesome. Sekimoto barely does a couple of spots and then Yuji steals the damn show.

The 23/10 a& 19/11 tag matches in All Japan and what he did in the final day of Big Japan's Tag League (semis and final) was outstanding.


----------



## seancarleton77

I love you, John Cena! Great photos. Quick question, where is William Regal's WWE World Championship?


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NOAH: Global League Night 1*

1. Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori & Yoshinari Ogawa Vs Mikey Nicholls & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi: It was a really entertaining opener, but nothing great. Nicholls looks like the brother of Roderick Strong. ***

2. *Global League - Block A:* Kento Miyahara Vs Yutaka Yoshie: It started like a Yoshie squash, but the younger started to fire it up and managed to make it a real good match, I see a lot of potential in Kento. ***1/4

3. *Global League - Block B:* Takashi Sugiura Vs Mohammed Yone: This was repetitive because Yone squashed Sugiura for the first ten minutes, then Sugiura had another ten minutes to beat Mohammed and the last ten were both nearly dead throwing blows at it each other. It was a 30-minute draw, but I felt like a 20 minute match, therefore, it was good. Yone was stiff as hell, his better match I've seen. ***3/4

4. Kenta Kobashi & Takeshi Morishima & Ricky Marvin Vs Bison Smith & Trevor Murdoch & Masao Inoue: Smith and Murdoch heeled it up. Inoue made his foolish shit. Kobashi punished everyone with his chops. And Morishima entered and finished it. Good match. ***1/4

5. *Global League - Block B:* Takuma Sano Vs Bobby Fish: This two wanted to make it like a shoot style fight, but they have no chemistry at all and it was pretty bad. The Muta-esque moves Fish does are really odd. **

6. *Global League - Block B:* Kensuke Sasaki Vs Shuhei Taniguchi: Squash city for Taniguchi. **3/4

7. *Global League - Block B:* KENTA Vs Akitoshi Saito: KENTA made Saito look like a real heavyweight and that improved the match. Akitoshi dominated the entire bout until the finish when KENTA showed his new finisher, the Game Over, which looks fine. ***1/4

8. *Global League - Block A:* Go Shiozaki Vs Kotaro Suzuki: GHC Heavyweight Champion Vs GHC Junior Tag Team Champion. Two great wrestlers. Great match, the crowd helped a little bit for the first time in the show. ****

9. *Global League - Block A:* Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Jun Akiyama: Last year's final, was nothing great nor bad, it was an ok match to finish the nite. ***1/4

Final thoughts: An average show, it was funny and easy to see, but didn't have any match worth-watching outside Go Vs Suzuki.

*Weird popularity ranking(streamers): *
1. Kenta Kobashi
2. Shuhei Taniguchi
3. Kotaro Suzuki
4. Jun Akiyama
5. Go Shiozaki​


----------



## Bubz

Holy shit at Punk/Takayama. I haven't had the internet for a week, anyone want to fill me in why Tak is with Punk?


----------



## Obfuscation

Bubz said:


> Holy shit at Punk/Takayama. I haven't had the internet for a week, anyone want to fill me in why Tak is with Punk?


WWE tour in Japan. Takayama was in attendance.


----------



## antoniomare007

Booking wise, I'm not surprised with who is likely to be the next challenger for the IWGP Title at Wrestle Kingdom (he was one of my 2 picks, lol), and I know a couple of people here are gonna LOVE that he is getting the shot. But at the same time I find it very hard to believe that New Japan thinks they are gonna draw a decent number at the Dome with that title match. I hope they have something else planned because idk if they are even gonna get the 20,000+ people they've getting in the last few years.

There's rumors of Takayama vs Makabe and Goto vs Sugiura at WK too.


----------



## seancarleton77

MiSu may not draw well, but he will draw the best reaction of any heel challenger in NJPW. Goto vs. Sugiura & Big Bad Tak vs. Unchained Mak will be intense!


----------



## Obfuscation

antoniomare007 said:


> Booking wise, I'm not surprised with who is likely to be the next challenger for the IWGP Title at Wrestle Kingdom (he was one of my 2 picks, lol), and I know a couple of people here are gonna LOVE that he is getting the shot. But at the same time I find it very hard to believe that New Japan thinks they are gonna draw a decent number at the Dome with that title match. I hope they have something else planned because idk if they are even gonna get the 20,000+ people they've getting in the last few years.
> 
> *There's rumors of Takayama vs Makabe and Goto vs Sugiura* at WK too.


Oh book those PLEASE. Takayama can make Makabe feel real MAN strikes and the latter makes me giddy with excitement.


----------



## smitlick

Spoiler: New Japan Results



NJPW "NEW JAPAN ALIVE 2011", 04.12.2011 (WPW/PPV) 
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 
8,000 Fans - No Vacancy 

1. Karl Anderson & Killer Rabbit besiegen Jado & Gedo (4:47) als Rabbit Gedo pinnte. 
2. Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero besiegen Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga (9:33) nach einem Backslide von Romero gegen Taguchi. 
3. Special Tag Match: Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA (11:13) nach einem Olympic Slam von Sugiura gegen KUSHIDA. 
4. Special Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer besiegen Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue (10:28) nach einem Running Knee Lift von Takayama gegen Inoue. 
5. Special Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima besiegen Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito (10:25) mit dem Anaconda Vice von Tenzan gegen Iizuka. 
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) besiegt Davey Richards (12:16) nach dem Bloody Sunday (2nd defense). 
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) besiegt MVP (10:09) nach dem Sliding D (2nd defense). 
8. Special Singles Match: Minoru Suzuki besiegt Giant Bernard (11:53) nach einem Gotch-Style Piledriver. 
9. Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Tetsuya Naito (13:15) nach dem Boma Ye. 
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) besiegt Yuji Nagata (30:16) nach dem High Fly Flow (10th defense).





Spoiler: AJPW Tag League Results



AJPW "REAL WORLD TAG LEAGUE 2011", 04.12.2011 (GAORA TV) 
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium 
3,500 Fans 

1. AKIRA besiegt Yasufumi Nakanoue (6:59) mit der Musasabi Press. 
2. Real World Tag League: Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka [8] besiegen Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi [7] (8:17) nach einem Ankle Hold von Kanemoto gegen Fuchi. 
3. Real World Tag League: KENSO & Kaz Hayashi [6] besiegen Big Daddy & Joe Doering [8] (9:20) nach einem Crucifix Hold von Hayashi gegen Daddy. 
4. Real World Tag League: Suwama & Takumi Soya [6] besiegen Takao Omori & Manabu Soya [10] (10:37) nach einem Kata Hold von Suwama gegen Soya. 
5. Real World Tag League: Seiya Sanada & KAI [11] besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi [10] (15:58) nach einem Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold von Sanada gegen Okabayashi. 
6. Real World Tag League: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono [12] besiegen Akebono & Ryota Hama [10] (11:38) nach einem Right High Kick von Funaki gegen Hama. 
7. Jounetsu Baka x Hentai Wrestler Spirit 3 Match Series 3rd: Hiroshi Yamato besiegt Hikaru Sato (15:30) mit einem Cross-Arm Suplex Hold. 
8. Jun Akiyama , Taiji Ishimori & Kenny Omega besiegen Keiji Muto, Shuji Kondo & AKIRA (17:58) nach einem Wrist-Clutch Exploder von Akiyama gegen AKIRA. 
9. Real World Tag League - Final: Seiya Sanada & KAI besiegen Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono (18:03) nach dem Splash Plancha von KAI gegen Kono.


----------



## Obfuscation

AJPW card doesn't interest me aside from the 6 man that had Akiyama/Ishimori/Omega teaming.

Another all around solid card by NJPW. Do my eyes deceive me or did it say Davey Richards only worked 12 minutes? I might actually enjoy it then. Tanahashi winning was expected imo & yay at Nakamura going over Naito. Was the title match between Tanahashi & Nakamura ever made or am I only hoping it was?


----------



## smitlick

Nope looks like Tanahashi vs Suzuki next.

Also looks like Makabe/Takayama and Goto/Sugiura.

I'd assume they will all be at WK.


*IGF - Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2010 - 3/12/10*

1. Hideki Suzuki vs Mark Coleman
DUD

2. Kendo Kashin vs Carlito
*1/2

3. Keith Hanson (Luke Gallows) vs The Predator
**

*4. Antonio Inoki 50th Anniversary Super Legend Tag Match*
First Tiger Mask & Ultimo Dragon vs Tatsumi Fujinami & Red & White Mask
**3/4

*5. IGF x NOAH*
Atsushi Sawada vs Go Shiozaki
***

6. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Bobby Lashley & Hurricane Helms
**3/4


----------



## topper1

Hailsabin said:


> AJPW card doesn't interest me aside from the 6 man that had Akiyama/Ishimori/Omega teaming.
> 
> Another all around solid card by NJPW. Do my eyes deceive me or did it say Davey Richards only worked 12 minutes? I might actually enjoy it then. Tanahashi winning was expected imo & yay at Nakamura going over Naito. Was the title match between Tanahashi & Nakamura ever made or am I only hoping it was?


Most of his NJPW matches are shorter.


----------



## Fighter Daron

antoniomare007 said:


> I hope they have something else planned because idk if they are even gonna get the 20,000+ people they've getting in the last few years.


2007 & 2008 were the worst years, but since 2009, the attendance is growing:

2009: 40000
2010: 41500
2011: 42000


----------



## Bubz

I really want to see that Suzuki/Bernard match, especially with the result.

And what's with Anderson getting teamed with Killer Rabbit every time Bernard has a singles match lol.


----------



## antoniomare007

Fighter Daron said:


> 2007 & 2008 were the worst years, but since 2009, the attendance is growing:
> 
> 2009: 40000
> 2010: 41500
> 2011: 42000


Those numbers are inflated. All Puro promotions do that with most of their shows, that's why it's better to wait live reports from people who were in the building or from stuff like Tokyo Sports/WON.

without comps, numbers were closer to:

2008 - 20000
2009 - 27500
2010 - 20000
2011 - 18000

and those aren't THAT bad when you consider that New Japan stopped using the upper deck a couple of years ago.


----------



## smitlick

Upcoming NJPW cards




NJPW "J SPORTS CROWN DREAM MATCH", 09.12.2011 (J Sports) 
Tokyo Differ Ariake 

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii 
2. Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & King Fale vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi 
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Jado & Gedo 
4. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku 
5. J Sports Crown Fan Balloting Worst Dream Match: Hideo Saito vs. Taichi 
6. J Sports Crown Fan Balloting 3rd Dream Match: Togi Makabe vs. KUSHIDA 
7. J Sports Crown Fan Balloting 2nd Dream Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tiger Mask 
8. J Sports Crown Fan Balloting 1st Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 


NJPW "SATOSHI KOJIMA 20TH ANNIVERSARY ~ RUSH!!", 14.12.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kyosuke Mikami 
2. Hideo Saito vs. Tomohiro Ishii 
3. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi 
4. Special Tag Match: Great Kosuke (Satoshi Kojima) & Great Sasuke vs. Jado & Gedo 
5. Thrid Generation Hamaguchi Gym Special Match: Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Koji Kanemoto vs. Yutaka Yoshie, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma 
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi 
7. Satoshi Kojima 20th Anniversary Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs. FUNAKI & X 


NJPW "ROAD TO KINGDOM 1ST", 23.12.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kyosuke Mikami 
2. Hirooki Goto, Hideo Saito & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo 
3. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii 
4. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson 
5. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard 
6. Special Eight Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi 
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Rocky Romero 
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma 


NJPW "ROAD TO KINGDOM X'MAS BATTLE", 24.12.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Jado, Gedo & Rocky Romero 
2. Special Singles Match I: Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka 
3. Special Singles Match II: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson 
4. Special Singles Match III: Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard 
5. Special Singles Match IV: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Wataru Inoue 
6. Special Singles Match V: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi 
7. Special Singles Match VI: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano 
8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama


----------



## Fighter Daron

antoniomare007 said:


> Those numbers are inflated. All Puro promotions do that with most of their shows, that's why it's better to wait live reports from people who were in the building or from stuff like Tokyo Sports/WON.
> 
> without comps, numbers were closer to:
> 
> 2008 - 20000
> 2009 - 27500
> 2010 - 20000
> 2011 - 18000
> 
> and those aren't THAT bad when you consider that New Japan stopped using the upper deck a couple of years ago.


Wait a minute, one thing is to inflate the numbers, but to say they were 42000 and the reality was that there were only 18000 is too dumb, I can't believe it. But, otherwise, in 2008 they "just" put 8000 more there.

WFT?!


----------



## antoniomare007

No idea, my guess is they just want 40k to be a standard number.


----------



## Bubz

Watching some matches from the first day of GL, and the crowd is completely awful. Go/Kotaro was pretty good.


----------



## antoniomare007

wanna take a guess what building that show was on?


----------



## smitlick

*Owashi Pro - Toru Owashi 10th Anniversary - 31/10/10*

1. Francesco Togo, Condotti Shuji, Antonio Honda & Milanito Collection a.t. vs Brahman Jaki, Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Ken45°
**1/2
Togo looks so fucking cool.

2. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Minoru & Daisuke Sasaki
***
Was JIP.

3. Great Kojika, Daisuke Sekimoto & Abdullah Kobayashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Dump Matsumoto & Yuki Sato
*

*4. Chanko Rumble*
Includes various guys such as Shinjiro Otani, Danshoku Dino, Jun Kasai, Cherry & NOSAWA Rongai
N/R
Dinos entrance included him sexually assaulting various crowd members including young children.

5. Toru Owashi, Ultimo Dragon & HARASHIMA vs Genichiro Tenryu, TARU & Takuya Sugawara
**3/4

Despite the ratings it was fun in parts. Really though some of these guys shouldn't be working anymore. Tenryu & Kojika especially.


----------



## Groovemachine

Devitt/Romero from the 23/12 show could be very good indeed. Looking forward to that one.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW ALIVE 2011*

Gedo & Jado vs Karl Anderson & Killer Rabbit
_Only worth watching to see Gedo's Ric Flair impression and Karl Anderson wearing a bunny mask._
**¼*

Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi & Rocky Romero
vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Satoshi Kojima, Tama Tonga & Tiger Mask
_I'll admit it, I only gave this match my fullest attention when Tama Tonga had a truly face palm-worthy botch. After the botch, the match had a pretty cool finishing stretch._
***½*

Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs Atsushi Aoki & Takashi Sugiura
_Nothing really to say about this one. Sugiura seems to of ditched the shorts for tights._
***¼*

Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs Lance Archer & Yoshihiro Takayama
_Takayama and Archer controlled 90% of the match, which was dull for me as Takayama control segments bore me to death. When I thought the match was going to get exciting, after Inoue made the hot tag, it ended a minute later. Ergh. Nothing more than a extended squash._
*¾**

Hideo Saito & Takashi Iizuka vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima 
_I may of rated this higher if I didn't have to sit though the mediocre first hour of the show. Iizuka goes on a rampage during his entrance, showing off how well of a heel he is. The post match stuff was pretty cool too. (Poor Saito )_
***½*

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match*
Prince Devitt (c) vs. Davey Richards
_I went in this expecting a possible MOTYC, so I felt a bit underwhelmed when it was over. Richards seemed off his game, and I felt like he held the match back._
****¼*

*IWGP Intercontinental Title Match*
Masato Tanaka (c) vs. MVP
_Quite an Americanized match. Complete with weapons, interference and a clear face & heel dynamic. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just weird to see this in a puro show. A good showing from both men. _
****¼*

Giant Bernard vs. Minoru Suzuki
_The much smaller MiSu uses his MMA skills to make up for his lack of height against Bernard. Bernard could make one bad move and he'd be caught in a nasty submission. MiSu's struggle to get the cradle piledriver on Bernard really made the match. _
****¼*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tetsuya Naito
_The first singles match of Naito I've seen, and I must say, I'm impressed. He has some really unique moves in his arsenal that I haven't seen before. This match is worth seeing for the finishing stretch. Nearfalls a plenty. Edge of your seat stuff. _
****½*

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Yuji Nagata 
_Fantastic match. Both guys slapped each other so hard their mouths were pissing out blood. Brilliant selling in this match too. 'Hashi's arm was pulled apart for Nagata's sick submissions and Nagata's leg was focused on. Cool thing was though, all the false finishes and eventual finish all related to the previous limbwork. Everything made sense. This has to be my puro MOTY._
*****½*

*Overall:*
You know the rules, seek out the Tanahashi title match on Youtube and you've seen all that you need to see. If you want to go deeper, start at Devitt vs Richards and watch from there. I enjoyed the show even if it did drag with the decent-at-best undercard.​


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> Watching some matches from the first day of GL, and the *FUCKING Ariake* is completely awful. Go/Kotaro was pretty good.


Fixed.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MiSu vs Bernard: **1/2. This rating is probably generous considering the stuff they tried and couldn't do (ie: botch) because Bernard is so big and MiSu is barely a heavyweight.
Iizuka/Saito vs Tenzan/Kojima: **. This was going well till the last 2 or 3 minutes but the bookers really dropped the ball on this imo.
Takayama/Archer vs Makebe/Inoue: **. Incredible how Big Tak can look a legit thread in Sept. and look like he should retire in this match. He held this match back from being good.
Goto/KUSHIDA vs Sugiura/Aoki: **1/4. Not a fan of NOAH and this just furthered my dislike of Sugiura. Sug and KUSHIDA getting in a stike battle was a fun spot though.
Rabbit/Anderson vs Jado/Gedo: *1/4. Loved the imitations of Flair, Lawler, Austin, Dusty, and a couple others in this match but the match itself was lol bad and that's bound to happen in a Rabbit match.
Devitt vs Richards: ***1/4. Was really looking forward to this match but it didn't turn out so well. Would love to see these guys face each other in ROH since it would be a different atmosphere and be a better match.
Tanaka vs MVP: **1/2. They basically redid their match from October (which i thought was around ***3/4) except rushed through it. MVP taking a top rope superplex around 8-10 minutes into the match and no selling it was retarded. Whoever thought of that should get out of wrestling. 
Romero/Takahashi/Ishii/Yano vs Tiger Mask, Taguchi, Tonga, King Fale : *3/4. Huge fail of a match but a nice finish.
Naito vs Nakamura: **3/4. ok match but Naito was obviously in no shape to wrestle. was looking forward to this match as well but seeing Naito's arm was already fucked up i waited for it to be over because there was no way Naito is going over when it looks like he's going to be out of action for a while after this match so Naka winning was just a foregone conclusion . I can't criticize this match at all though because they would have a ****+ match if Naito was healthy.
Tanahashi vs Nagata: ***1/2. Such a great great match up until the end. Great selling in this match especially by Tanahashi. This match was heading into epic territory and then it ends out of nowhere.

Cactus, check out the Naito vs Nakamura match from the G-1 Finals. If you liked their match from "Alive", you'll be blown away by that match. Naito/Tanahashi from 10/10 is also great.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Also, Y. Takahashi is great. Even though the 8 man is rated very low I can't get over how good he is. He needs to hone his skills for single matches better and if/when he does that he's going to be great.


----------



## Cactus

bigbuxxx said:


> Tanahashi vs Nagata: ***1/2. Such a great great match up until the end.  Great selling in this match especially by Tanahashi. This match was heading into epic territory and then it ends out of nowhere.


I disagree. I was expecting the ending 5 minutes before it happened. Is the other Nagata vs Tanahashi match better?

I'm starting to like Tanahashi. I do admit to jumping on the hate bandwagon before I saw a singles match of his, but after viewing his match with Nagata, I can call myself a fan. Looking forward to seeing him get fucked up by MiSu next year.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I think their match from 4/3 is better. I put that at only ****1/4 but only because of a couple botches. I called it "must see" in my post. Very enjoyable and I wouldn't hate on anybody giving it ****3/4+.

I'm def. gonna watch the match from Alive again soon and see if I like it better on a second run.



> I'm starting to like Tanahashi. I do admit to jumping on the hate bandwagon before I saw a singles match of his, but after viewing his match with Nagata, I can call myself a fan. Looking forward to seeing him get fucked up by MiSu next year.


After I got into Puro I immediately loved Tanahashi and noticed people didn't and didn't know why. He puts on great match after great match, what more can people ask for? The first Tana match I saw was from Day 1 of the G-1 and that was against Nagata in a **** match.

Dunno if you saw my edit above to you:

"Cactus, check out the Naito vs Nakamura match from the G-1 Finals. If you liked their match from "Alive", you'll be blown away by that match. Naito/Tanahashi from 10/10 is also great."


----------



## Cactus

I'll definitely check out those matches some when. 

I think the Tanahashi hate comes from him looking like a pretty boy. Most wrestling fans don't like guys that could easily steal their girlfriends.


----------



## topper1

Cactus said:


> I disagree. I was expecting the ending 5 minutes before it happened. Is the other Nagata vs Tanahashi match better


If you wanna go back a few years there title match in 07 is highly praised by DVDR think Ditch even say's it might be the best IWGP match of the decade.

I loved there match from April this year as well.


----------



## antoniomare007

Some people don't like Tana's formula of working the leg but almost never finishing a match with a submission or something involving his opponents leg (and in places like DVDVR that's sacrilege, lol). He also has the tendency of completely no selling to go to the High Fly Flow. Personally I don't mind that stuff most of the time, but there are times were his style keeps some of his matches from being classics (like the Goto defense this year).

Nagata is probably his best opponent, both of their matches in 07' are great (although I still like the Goto match from that year better) and I loved the 4/3 match this year.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> Some people don't like Tana's formula of working the leg but almost never finishing a match with a submission or something involving his leg.


def. wasn't my problem with the finish to the match (if you're addressing my comment on the finish). just wasn't a hot finish like they had in april, or he had with kojima @ WK, w/Naito @ Domination, etc etc etc.. it felt like Nagata's health bar was in the high yellow, tana hits hff, and it's over. nagata had his leg worked over but he was still beating the shit out of tana like he wasn't tired at all.


----------



## antoniomare007

No. I was addressing Cactus comments on why some people "hate" Tanahashi.


----------



## Obfuscation

There is hate on Tanahashi? Don't see it. Been a fan since my first match.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Hailsabin said:


> There is hate on Tanahashi? Don't see it. Been a fan since my first match.


You might be the first person I've ever seen who doesn't, I thought pretty much everyone did.


----------



## Obfuscation

This is news to me. I fail to see the problem with him. Always came off as a good talent in my eyes. Maybe people are jealous of that they don't have that haircut.


----------



## bigbuxxx

The way his rib cage is built nearly bigger than his chest bothers me.

Watched for a second time just now and I liked the ending a bit more now seeing that Nagata did have his flurry of exploder off the top, belly to back, kick his f'n head off, then tana gets some (albeit little) offense in before the HFF. The match was fierce and again was really really good. The match is 30:xx long but seems like it flies by.

Other random notes from the ppv. The Nakamura/Naito video package was done really well. Seeing the Tana/Nagata vid package I saw Nagata use 9 different finishes in his 10 successful match whereas Tana has won 8 matches with the HFF which I think is just ridiculous. 

Not sure about NJPWs booking here. I'd have had Tana beat somebody else at Alive and lose to Nagata for the record breaking defense at WK VI and have Nagata drop back to Tana soon after.


----------



## Obfuscation

Well High Fly Flow is his trademark move. I personally don't see a gripe with it. Then again it doesn't hurt to change things up. Not gonna lose sleep over it either way.


----------



## Fighter Daron

TelkEvolon said:


> You might be the first person I've ever seen who doesn't, I thought pretty much everyone did.


Not that match, I really like him, knows how to make his rival to shine.



topper1 said:


> If you wanna go back a few years there title match in 07 is highly praised by DVDR think Ditch even say's it might be the best IWGP match of the decade.


I haven't seen it, but I doubt it because the Destruction match against Goto was a classic for me, *****.


----------



## Bubz

My problem with Tana is that his finishing stretches are pretty much always exactly the same, and he hits the same few moves about 3 times every match. His matches always have the same structure; work the leg, get worked over, hit 30 dragon screws, completely forget about it, opponent makes comeback, Tana goes to his finish which consists of 3 sling blades, maybe a dragon suplex and 2 High Fly Flow's. It has really taken away from a lot of his matches for me. The guy is definitely talented, but it's just his structuring that bothers me.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Hailsabin said:


> This is news to me. I fail to see the problem with him. Always came off as a good talent in my eyes. Maybe people are jealous of that they don't have that haircut.


Who knows, maybe he has a Cena stigma.

But I think I have only heard about 3 people say positive things all year.


----------



## topper1

Fighter Daron said:


> I haven't seen it, but I doubt it because the Destruction match against Goto was a classic for me, *****.


2007 and 2011 are not in the same decade.

I turned off Goto vs Tanahashi mid way in :flip


----------



## antoniomare007

Agreed, the 07' match is way better. The Goto match from this year is the only one were Tana's comeback really bothered me.

I completely understand Bubz point, but at least I still enjoy his matches. Like Cena, Tanahashi knows how to have an entertaining main event. And with the right opponent he's very likely to have a great or even a classic match.



Seabs, is the Jumbo vs Windham match you upped as good as it sounds?


----------



## Fighter Daron

Bubz said:


> My problem with Tana is that his finishing stretches are pretty much always exactly the same, and he hits the same few moves about 3 times every match. His matches always have the same structure; work the leg, get worked over, hit 30 dragon screws, completely forget about it, opponent makes comeback, Tana goes to his finish which consists of 3 sling blades, maybe a dragon suplex and 2 High Fly Flow's. It has really taken away from a lot of his matches for me. The guy is definitely talented, but it's just his structuring that bothers me.


That's weird considering that in almost two of his ten title defences this year, he won with a Daruma-Style German Suplex Hold(Bernard) and a Texas Cloverleaf(Yano).



topper1 said:


> 2007 and 2011 are not in the same decade.


O_O

Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Hirooki Goto - Destruction 2007.

That match was way better than this year's one.


----------



## Chismo

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata (NJPW, Alive 2011)* 

Very good match, but something was missing, idk what exactly, I'm too tired to overanalyze. Great story telling, though.
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## Cactus

Just watched Kojima/Tanahashi from Wrestle Kingdom V. I reckon it's in the ****3/4* region. I enjoyed it, even if wasn't as much of an epic as I was expecting, being in the dome and all.

I'm going to review all of Tanahashi's current reign as he's seen to of churned out quite a few match of the year candidates.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

antoniomare007 said:


> Seabs, is the Jumbo vs Windham match you upped as good as it sounds?


It's disappointing. Drags quite a bit IIRC.


----------



## Obfuscation

TelkEvolon said:


> Who knows, maybe he has a Cena stigma.
> 
> But I think I have only heard about 3 people say positive things all year.


Japanese Cena by the sound of it.

Thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yoshihiro Takayama from Wrestle Kingdom IV? I watched it yesterday. Found it to be a pretty solid match. The strike exchange to end the match was worth seeing. It was one of those matches I was wanting to see when Nakamura was more in his prime, which is why I brought it up.


----------



## Chismo

Hailsabin said:


> Japanese Cena by the sound of it.
> 
> Thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yoshihiro Takayama from Wrestle Kingdom IV? I watched it yesterday. Found it to be a pretty solid match. The strike exchange to end the match was worth seeing. It was one of those matches I was wanting to see when Nakamura was more in his prime, which is why I brought it up.


I love that match and I think it was amazing. Big Tak dominating and demolishing New Japan's poster boy = instant awesomeness. Nakamura was great too, and the match had some nice little drama and some exciting strikes and counters. I could watch Takayama all day long. ******


----------



## Fighter Daron

Hailsabin said:


> Thoughts on Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yoshihiro Takayama from Wrestle Kingdom IV? I watched it yesterday. Found it to be a pretty solid match. The strike exchange to end the match was worth seeing. It was one of those matches I was wanting to see when Nakamura was more in his prime, which is why I brought it up.


Nakamura IS in his prime.


----------



## Obfuscation

JoeRulz said:


> I love that match and I think it was amazing. Big Tak dominating and demolishing New Japan's poster boy = instant awesomeness. Nakamura was great too, and the match had some nice little drama and some exciting strikes and counters. I could watch Takayama all day long. ******


First watch left me at ***3/4. I got what I wanted from it. If I didn't get some harsh strike exchanges thrown in or Takayama trying to kill him I would have been underwhelmed. Nakamura only continues to make me love him more. My favorite guy in Japan right now. Been that way for a few years. The LEGIT PUNCH ftw.



Fighter Daron said:


> Nakamura IS in his prime.


That's what I meant. Referencing to when they wrestled back in 2003 vs each other.

I'm watching Wrestle Kingdom V atm. Aside from Liger putting over those shitty lucha guys, the show has been fun. Hell, RVD pretty much worked one of his best matches of the year vs Toru Yano. It wasn't special, but there was some effort on his part.


----------



## KaijuFan

So I've always wanted to get more into Puro than I currently am, and after stumbling upon a few amazing youtube channels and noticing XWT starting to upload a lot of NOAH I figure now is a better time than any to start. 

Are there any fan sites or what have you that help tell the story of the major angles going on currently? I know NOAH is doing some sort of tournament thing, and I'm about to watch the NJPW Power Struggle show but having a bit of an idea of what's going on would help me a lot. I know most companies besides SMASH and maybe DDT don't have very intricate angles that need explaining but again, since I'm going in cold turkey something that brushes up on recent match cards or whatnot would be steller.


----------



## smitlick

For Dragon Gate i regularly visit Open The Garoon Gate. Brad is super knowledgeable about DG.

For General Results etc www.purolove.com is pretty good.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Visit Strong Style Symphony and try to read the Puroresu column from David Ditch in Inside Pulse.


----------



## Cactus

KaijuFan said:


> So I've always wanted to get more into Puro than I currently am, and after stumbling upon a few amazing youtube channels and noticing XWT starting to upload a lot of NOAH I figure now is a better time than any to start.
> 
> Are there any fan sites or what have you that help tell the story of the major angles going on currently? I know NOAH is doing some sort of tournament thing, and I'm about to watch the NJPW Power Struggle show but having a bit of an idea of what's going on would help me a lot. I know most companies besides SMASH and maybe DDT don't have very intricate angles that need explaining but again, since I'm going in cold turkey something that brushes up on recent match cards or whatnot would be steller.


You can watch a NJPW show without knowing what's going on and still fully enjoy it. There's hardly any angles in NJPW as most shows are matches, but if there is an angle going on, you'll pick it up quickly as they are never majorly complex. 

Oh, puroresu.tv is a great fan site. I'd recommend signing up to there.


----------



## KaijuFan

Thanks a lot for the help guys, I appreciate it and look forward to discussing a new avenue of rasslin' with you lot.


----------



## smitlick

NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME", 04.01.2012 (WPW/PPV) 
Tokyo Dome 

1. BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono 
2. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION: Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura 
3. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji 
4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 
5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki


----------



## Cactus

I hope CMLL & TNA do Wrestle Kingdom again. The more promotions the better, I say.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Atlantis, Valiente and Mascara Dorada are confirmed for WK, but I hope none of TNA comes, cause I don't want another Hardy or RVD failure. But it they send Angle, Joe or Styles, I'll be happy.


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME", 04.01.2012 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Dome
> 
> 1. BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono
> 2. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION: Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura
> 3. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji
> 4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
> 5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki


Holy shit, what a card! Hopefully my man MiSu wins the Heavyweight Championship.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah I will mark so much if MiSu wins, even though I wanted Goto to take the belt.


----------



## 777

Didn't Goto and Sugiura face off at WKIV?


----------



## Chismo

Bubz said:


> Yeah I will mark so much if MiSu wins, even though I wanted Goto to take the belt.





Spoiler: tag match 



Also, I hope Nakamura pins Shiozaki in that tag match, in order to have Shiozaki vs Nakamura for the GHC title.


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> Also, I hope Nakamura pins Shiozaki in that tag match, in order to have *Shiozaki vs Nakamura for the GHC title.*


That would be rather awesome right there. There are so many NJPW guys I'd love to see Go face aswell.


----------



## Cactus

JoeRulz said:


> Also, I hope Nakamura pins Shiozaki in that tag match, in order to have Shiozaki vs Nakamura for the GHC title.


Ahhh fuck. Joel, bro. Spoiler tags are your friend. The Go/KENTA match hasn't aired yet.


----------



## Chismo

Fuck, it happened 10 days ago.


----------



## Cactus

I know, but it hasn't aired, so no-one has seen it yet.


----------



## topper1

Cactus said:


> Ahhh fuck. Joel, bro. Spoiler tags are your friend. The Go/KENTA match hasn't aired yet.


Someone thought KENTA had a chance to win?


----------



## Cactus

topper1 said:


> Someone thought KENTA had a chance to win?


After that promo he cut after he beat Suigura, I thought there's a slight chance. Plus, I do prefer to watch all my shows spoiler-free. It's no biggie though.


----------



## Fighter Daron

topper1 said:


> Someone thought KENTA had a chance to win?


In NOAH?, of course, I was so scared.


----------



## bigbuxxx

777 said:


> Didn't Goto and Sugiura face off at WKIV?


w/o looking i'm pretty sure they did and it was a good match.



JoeRulz said:


> Holy shit, what a card! Hopefully my man MiSu wins the Heavyweight Championship.


this. even looking forward to a B.I. match, incredible.


----------



## antoniomare007

would've preferred Naito facing Big Boss Sugi but Goto is a very good choice too.


Nakamura and Go have good chemistry so I'm all for another match between them.


----------



## Obfuscation

smitlick said:


> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME", 04.01.2012 (WPW/PPV)
> Tokyo Dome
> 
> 1. BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono
> 2. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION: Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura
> 3. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji
> 4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
> 5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki


What a card. Tanahashi might be in some trouble come January.

Nakamura going for the GHC Championship would probably make my head explode. So in all cases, LET IT HAPPEN.



Cactus said:


> I hope CMLL & TNA do Wrestle Kingdom again. The more promotions the better, I say.


I'm lukewarm on anyone from CMLL. Every time I see lucha guys come out from there they are botch central. Maybe I have bad luck and all I see are the mediocre ones. Then again Mistico had all that f'n hype...


----------



## TelkEvolon

Bison Smith almost breaks Ogawa's neck:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsL_3S6ABkg


----------



## Obfuscation

Seen Styles do that a few times. About 10x gnarlier considering it was BISON who slaughtered his opponent.


----------



## McQueen

I cringed watching that. That was really bad.


----------



## Obfuscation

Legit thinking of scoring some stuff from IVP right now. Never ordered off of the site before. What can I expect in terms of delivery, reliability, quality and all that jazz?


----------



## Chismo

TelkEvolon said:


> Bison Smith almost breaks Ogawa's neck:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsL_3S6ABkg


Sweet Jesus... Cringe!


----------



## KaijuFan




----------



## 777

Hailsabin said:


> I'm lukewarm on anyone from CMLL. Every time I see lucha guys come out from there they are botch central. Maybe I have bad luck and all I see are the mediocre ones. Then again Mistico had all that f'n hype...


Did you catch this year's G1 tourney? La Sombra had some pretty solid showings throughout.


----------



## McQueen

Hailsabin said:


> Legit thinking of scoring some stuff from IVP right now. Never ordered off of the site before. What can I expect in terms of delivery, reliability, quality and all that jazz?


A turd smashed in a DVD case. Just kidding it would be in a paper sleeve.

I never had any problems with him save the one time he accidently sent me some wrong stuff but on the other hand he had sent me some bonus stuff after I emailed him about it. His customer service is pretty good considering I think its just the one guy. Haven't ordered from him in a long time though.


----------



## Obfuscation

777 said:


> Did you catch this year's G1 tourney? La Sombra had some pretty solid showings throughout.


I'm working my way towards it. That's good to know. Maybe he had an off night.



McQueen said:


> A turd smashed in a DVD case. Just kidding it would be in a paper sleeve.
> 
> I never had any problems with him save the one time he accidently sent me some wrong stuff but on the other hand he had sent me some bonus stuff after I emailed him about it. His customer service is pretty good considering I think its just the one guy. Haven't ordered from him in a long time though.


Ha. Lovely.

Hmm. I'll take my chances more than likely. Pondering what I would want though. HUSTLE, best of Eddie Guerrero sets, Flair, all of that NJPW stuff, Misawa, etc. I'm passing on the Liger comps simply because I plan to purchase that eight disc set from Highspots one day. Only $30 bucks too. Massive score.


----------



## Yeah1993

IVP's a good place to order. Bought over 40 discs from them altogether and they all work and I had no problems with them.

I bought that highspots Liger TV Special right around a month before Goodhelmet released his monster 89-96 Liger set. Was kicking myself.


----------



## smitlick

Hailsabin said:


> Legit thinking of scoring some stuff from IVP right now. Never ordered off of the site before. What can I expect in terms of delivery, reliability, quality and all that jazz?


Hes very good. You do get the occasional shit disc but he always fixes it up and often throws in bonus shit.


----------



## Pat9010

Ordered from him for the first time recently. Some Dragon gate shows and the final day of this year's BOSJ. Got them within a week or so and he threw in BOSJ 94 for free! One of the best events in wrestling history for free!

I mean the shipping time will depend on how busy the guy is, but i would recommend him as i plan to order from him again soon.


----------



## Cactus

Carrying on my Tanahashi 2011 IWGP reign watch, I watched his first match with Nakamura today. Much like most of these matches, it's really hard to say what's so great about it. One of the few things that stand out are the phenomenal matwork in this one. Tanahashi's counter to one of Nakamura's armbar was sick. Even if I can't go too into detail why I enjoyed this one so much, it doesn't mean it's a 'meh' match. It was a thoroughly enjoyable match and I loved every minute. *****1/4*

Could someone get me a complete listing of Tanahashi's defences? I'm pretty sure I've missed a few.


----------



## Chismo

*(1/4/11 @ Tokyo Dome) Hiroshi Tanahashi (5) beat Satoshi Kojima (21:57) with the High Fly Flow.*

- (2/20/11 @ Sendai Sun Plaza Hall) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Satoshi Kojima (22:22) with the High Fly Flow (1st defense).
- (4/3/11 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Yuji Nagata (35:30) with the High Fly Flow (2nd defense).
- (5/3/11 @ Fukuoka International Center) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Shinsuke Nakamura (20:17) with the High Fly Flow (3rd defense).
- (5/14/11 @ New York Basketball City, USA) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Charlie Haas (18:50) with the High Fly Flow (4th defense).
- (6/18/11 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Hirooki Goto (25:28) with the High Fly Flow (5th defense).
- (7/18/11 @ Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Giant Bernard (27:54) with a Dharma-style German suplex hold (6th defense).
- (9/19/11 @ Kobe World Hall) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Shinsuke Nakamura (26:07) with the High Fly Flow (7th defense).
- (10/10/11 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tetsuya Naito (29:19) with the High Fly Flow (8th defense).
- (11/12/11 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Toru Yano (22:01) with a Texas Cloverleaf hold (9th defense).
- (12/4/11 @ Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium) Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Yuji Nagata (30:16) with the High Fly Flow (10th defense).

_credit: puroresufan.com_


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah1993 said:


> IVP's a good place to order. Bought over 40 discs from them altogether and they all work and I had no problems with them.
> 
> I bought that highspots Liger TV Special right around a month before Goodhelmet released his monster 89-96 Liger set. Was kicking myself.


Would I be dumb not to look for that other Liger set instead of getting the Highspots one?



smitlick said:


> Hes very good. You do get the occasional shit disc but he always fixes it up and often throws in bonus shit.


Good to know. Lets hope I don't get the wrong disc on my first order, haha.



Pat9010 said:


> Ordered from him for the first time recently. Some Dragon gate shows and the final day of this year's BOSJ. Got them within a week or so and he threw in BOSJ 94 for free! One of the best events in wrestling history for free!
> 
> I mean the shipping time will depend on how busy the guy is, but i would recommend him as i plan to order from him again soon.


Excellent. I think that seals the deal for me. Now I need to go back and see what I'm gonna get. 

Thanks for the info guys. (Y)


----------



## Cactus

Just going to throw out some quick stars at what I've seen of the 11/27 NOAH show...

Haste & Nicholls vs Inoue & Miyahara **3/4*
Saito & Yone vs Yoshie & Morishima ***1/2*
Kobashi & Sasaki vs Taniguchi & Sano *****
No Mercy vs ANMU ****1/4*
Suigura vs Marufuji ******
Marvin vs Nakajima *****1/4*

Still need to get around to the other two matches.


----------



## Fighter Daron

NOAH show sounds great.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH - Great Voyage in Tokyo 2011 Vol. 4*

Masao Inoue & Kento Miyahara vs Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste
_The fans really didn't seem to give a damn about the gaijin team, which is a shame because I'm a fan of them, even if this was quite a poor match from them. Very dull._
**¾*

Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone
_Saito performs an Iron Claw Slam on Morishima in honor of his fallen friend and tag partner, Bison Smith. When it appeared that Saito had the match won, Morishima kicks out and Saito gets flattened by Yoshie, which was quite funny considering it was just after the emotional tribute to Bison. Satisfactory big man match. _
***½*

Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki vs Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi
_Taniguchi's going to be a star one day and I was hoping he would get a pinfall over Kobashi to elevate himself, but Kobashi was the real star of the match. Even as he reaches the end of his career, he puts on a good match and even participates in a 'Tower of Doom' move. That's real fighting spirit. I wouldn't mind seeing Kobashi get one last GHC title shot before he calls it a night._
*****

Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
_A really fun juniors match..... with Takayama there. Jokes aside, Takayama fitted in this match surprising well, even if it did look like a freaking giant next to all those juniors. This match features one of the worst selling of a 619 known to man. Silly Takayama._
****¼*

Naomichi Marufuji vs Takashi Sugiura
_The first singles match of Marufuji I've seen and I came into this with very low expectations, after reading all the criticism Marufuji gets. Marufuji's flippy nonsense did annoy me in the beginning of the match, as it felt very unnecessary, but as the match progressed, I felt that it complimented the match. Marufuji gets absolutely murdered by some of Sugiura's elbows, which makes Misawa's look like a light slap. This match was a nice mix of stiff strikes and high flying moves. You can't go wrong with that. _
******

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
Ricky Marvin vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
_I never knew Marvin was such a fantastic seller. I was expecting a really quick match with little selling and Marvin sold his leg like a champ. Marvin continues to be awesome and hit a sick spinning plancha all the way into the crowd. He also hits a Bisontennial in tribute of Bison Smith, which even though it was extremely dangerous taking in account Marvin's height, it made me mark like a little girl. I can't say I've seen a better junior match than this in 2011. _
*****¼*

*Triple Crown Championship*
Jun Akiyama (c) vs Taiyo Kea
_Considering this was Akiyama's first defense and it's not even at an AJPW show, it's very obvious who wins this. It also didn't help the match that it had to go up after two solid MOTYCs. But all that aside, it was an enjoyable watch and it served it's purpose which was to plant the seeds for the future AJPW vs NOAH feud._
****¼*

*GHC Heavyweight Title *
Go Shiozaki (c) vs. KENTA
_Now this was truly epic. The match was so epic that it made the often silent Ariake Colosseum blow it's roof off. When KENTA kicked out of a number of Go's lariats and even no sold one, the crowd erupted. I do wish the match went on a bit longer though. I'd probably rate the match higher if I went in spoiler-free, but it didn't take away from the match too much._
*****¼*

*Overall:*
Even if you're just a casual fan of modern-day puro who just catches the big title matches on Youtube, I'd still recommend downloading this show. It has three(!) MOTYCs and the 3 hours just fly by.​


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cactus said:


> I do wish the match went on a bit longer though.


first time i've heard that about a NOAH match. going to check out the title match .


----------



## McQueen

Oh man I didn't know Bison Smith died. R.I.P. was a fan of his.


----------



## Obfuscation

That NOAH show looks like it has some damn noteworthy matches on it. I marked just by reading about the Bison tribute by Marvin. I'll probably mark out more if I check it out soon.


----------



## cobray

So Naito vs Mutoh is announced for Wrestle Kingdom VI. Interesting, as in good God this will be off the chart interesting!


----------



## Obfuscation

WOAH.

Lets see what Naito will do vs the legend himself.


----------



## cobray

NJPW 40th anniversary Tour. "WRESTLE KINGDOM VI in Tokyo Dome", 1/4/2012 [Wed] 17:00 @ Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

(1) IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] "NRC" Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. [Challengers] "Apollo55" Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
~ 2nd Defense.

(2) AERIAL KINGDOM feat.CMLL SUPER ESTRELLAS: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Mascara Dorada & KUSHIDA vs. Atlantis, Valiente, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

(3) NEW JAPAN RESPIRATION: Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI (Nobuo Yoshihashi)
~ Okada & Yoshihashi Return to NJPW.

(4) BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Masakatsu Funaki [AJP] & Masayuki Kono [AJP]

(5) TOKYO MONSTER WAR: MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi

(6) IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] "Bad Intentions" Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. [Challengers] "TenKoji" Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
~ 11th Title Defense.

(7) NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION I: Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura

(8) FIGHTING WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY: Togi Makabe vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

(9) NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION II: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji

(10) GENIUS FACES GENIUS: Tetsuya Naito vs. Keiji Mutoh [AJP]

(-11) IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: [Champion] Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. [Challenger] Minoru Suzuki (Pancrase MISSION)


----------



## Derek

Looks like a really solid card. But Naito has been hurt lately, so my hopes aren't terribly high for that match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Looks like it could top last years. Makabe vs Takayama, oh hell yeah. I totally dig Makabe. Became such an awesome badass face on route to scoring the IWGP World Title. The Unchained Gorilla imo.


----------



## Bubz

Card looks great, especially the second half and the opener. No TNA shitness this year. Shelton Benjamin though .


----------



## Obfuscation

I watched Jeff Hardy's match last night. He's so out of it and it's awful. Professionally & personally. Naito got on the card, but was it really worth it? Fans got into it either way. That was the real surprise.


----------



## Yeah1993

Hailsabin said:


> Would I be dumb not to look for that other Liger set instead of getting the Highspots one?


the HS one is still a really good set, but...well here's the enormous listing for 'helmet's. 



Spoiler: SDFGH



Jushin Liger 1989-1996

DISC 1
Jushin Liger vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (4/24/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Shiro Koshinaka (5/22/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (5/25/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Beef Wellington (6/16/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (7/12/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (7/13/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (7/28/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Kantaro Hoshino (8/5/89)
Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Kantaro Hoshino & Naoki Sano (8/8/89)


DISC 2
Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano WPW (8/10/89)
Jushin Liger, Riki Choshu & Kengo Kimura vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Owen Hart & Pat Tanaka (8/31/89)
Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (JIP) (9/20/89 TV)
Jushin Liger, Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono vs. Big Van Vader, Tony St. Clair & Tom Pritchard (11/1/89)
Jushin Liger & Masa Chono vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Naoki Sano (1/6/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (1/25/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (1/30/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31/90)


DISC 3
Jushin Liger & Hiroshi Hase vs. Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (3/15/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (3/19/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Shiro Koshinaka (5/5/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (8/19/90)
Jushin Liger & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Hiro Saito & Pegasus Kid (9/7/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Villano V (9/30/90)
Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (11/1/90)
Jushin Liger & Osamu Matsuda vs. Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono (11/7/90)


DISC 4
Jushin Liger, Kantaro Hoshino & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Tatsutoshi Goto, Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (12/7/90)
Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (JIP) (12/26/90)
Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay (2/6/91)
Jushin Liger & Hiroshi Hase vs. David Finlay & Franz Schumann (2/14/91)
Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kantaro Hoshino & Kuniaki Kobayashi (3/6/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (3/14/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (3/21/91)
Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay (4/15/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (4/17/91)


DISC 5
Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (4/19/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (4/28/91)
Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (4/30/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (4/30/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (5/6/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (5/31/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (6/12/91)


DISC 6
Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kengo Kimura & Kuniaki Kobayashi (6/20/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (7/4/91)
Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Akira Nogami & Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/7/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (8/9/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (8/11/91)
Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (8/25/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong (9/10/91)
Jushin Liger & Oz vs. Scott Norton & Hiro Saito (10/17/91)


DISC 7
Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (11/11/91)
Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. ***** Casas & El Catana (12/5/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (12/11/91)
WCW Magazine - Brian Pillman + Jushin Liger (WCWSN 12/14/91)
Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (12/16/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (JIP) (Omni 12/25/91) (WCWSN 1/4/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (Handheld 12/27/91)
Jushin Liger & Bill Kazmeier vs. DDP & Mike Graham (Starrcade 12/29/91)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (2/8/92)


DISC 8
Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (2/10/92)
Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Flying Scorpio & Pegasus Kid (2/12/92)
Jushin Liger + Brian Pillman Feature (WCWSN 2/29/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (SB 2/29/92)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (4/16/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Eddie Guerrero (4/19/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (4/21/92)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (4/30/92)


DISC 9
Jushin Liger & Pegasus Kid vs. ***** Casas & El Samurai (5/1/92)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (5/17/92)
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. El Samurai & Pegasus Kid (6/2/92)
Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs. Chris Benoit & Beef Wellington (Clash 6/16/92)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/26/92)
Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs. Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff (GAB 7/12/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong (WCWSN 7/18/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (8/12/92)


DISC 10
Jushin Liger, Kantaro Hoshino & Koji Kanemoto vs. Tatsutoshi Goto, Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (8/15/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (8/16/92)
Jushin Liger & Hiroyoshi Yamamoto vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto (9/23/92)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (10/21/92)
Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Ultimo Dragon & Masao Orihara (12/11/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (12/14/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Franz Schumann (Germany 12/19/92)


DISC 11
Jushin Liger & Erik Watts vs. Sting & Steve Williams (Starrcade 12/28/92)
Jushin Liger & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas (12/29/92)
Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (1/4/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong (2/5/93)
Jushin Liger & Ultimo Dragon vs. Norio Honaga & Hiro Saito (2/16/93)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Dean Malenko & Pegasus Kid (3/9/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Dean Malenko (3/21/93)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Dean Malenko & Pegasus Kid (3/23/93)


DISC 12
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Ultimo Dragon & Masao Orihara (WAR 4/2/93)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Norio Honaga & Ultimo Dragon (4/6/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask (5/3/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Eddie Guerrero (6/9/93)
Jushin Liger & Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Dean Malenko & Eddie Guerrero (6/10/93)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/11/93)
Jushin Liger vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (6/12/93)
Jushin Liger & Osamu Nishimura vs. El Samurai & Shinjiro Ohtani (6/30/93)


DISC 13
Jushin Liger & Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Tiger Mask & El Samurai (7/14/93)
Jushin Liger & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. El Samurai & Osamu Nishimura (7/22/93)
Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara (8/3/93)
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Dean Malenko & Shinjiro Ohtani (9/20/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask III (9/24/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (9/26/93)
Jushin Liger and Chris Benoit vs. Shinya Hashimoto and Masahiro Chono (10/15/93)
Jushin Liger & Wild Pegasus vs. Akira Nogami & Takayuki Iizuka (11/4/93)


DISC 14
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (11/24/93)
Jushin Liger vs. The Great Kabuki (12/13/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Fit Finlay (12/18/93)
Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask (1/4/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa (1/23/94)
Jushin Liger & Power Warrior vs. Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner (2/17/94)


DISC 15
Jushin Liger vs. Shinya Hashimoto (2/24/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Villano IV (3/6/94)
Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Black Tiger & Brian Blair (3/18/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (3/21/94)
Jushin Liger & Chris Benoit vs. Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner (4/4/94)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Akira Nogami & Takayuki Iizuka (4/7/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Hayabusa (4/16/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Ricky Fuji (4/16/94)


DISC 16
Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (4/16/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Satoru Sayama (5/1/94)
Jushin Liger, Octagon, Tiger Mask y El Hijo Del Santo vs. Eddy Guerrero, La Parka, Blue Panther y Psicosis (AAA 5/15/94)
Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay (5/26/94)
Jushin Liger, El Samurai, Shinjiro Ohtani & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. The Great Sasuke, TAKA Michinoku, SATO & Shiryu (2/3 Falls) (6/1/94)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/8/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Super Delfin (6/13/94)


DISC 17
Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (7/8/94)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Dean Malenko & Gran Hamada (8/3/94)
Jushin Liger vs. Gran Hamada (8/4/94)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Norio Honaga & Gran Hamada (9/19/94)
Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (9/23/94)
Keiji Mutoh & Wild Pegasus vs. Jushin Liger & Riki Choshu (9/24/94)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (8/11/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (8/12/95)


DISC 18
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (8/13/95)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (8/15/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (Nitro 9/4/95)
Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Masahiro Chono & Sabu (9/21/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (9/25/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (10/9/95)
Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Naoki Sano & Kenichi Yamamoto (10/29/95)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (10/30/95)


DISC 19
Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (12/11/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Gran Naniwa (12/13/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (12/13/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Gedo (J Cup Finals) (12/13/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (Starrcade 12/27/95)
Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (1/4/96)
Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Koji Kanemoto (1/12/96)


DISC 20
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (2/3/96)
Jushin Liger & Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (2/15/96)
Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinjiro Ohtani and Kensuke Sasaki (2/20/96)
Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Nobuhiko Takada & Naoki Sano (2/25/96)
Jushin Liger & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Chris Benoit & Scott Norton (3/13/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (3/17/96)
Jushin Liger & Chris Benoit vs. Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (3/26/96)


DISC 21
Jushin Liger, Gran Hamada & El Samurai vs. Taka Michinoku, Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (4/5/96)
Jushin Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (4/29/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 5/6/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (5/28/96)
Jushin Liger and Keiji Mutoh vs. Hiro Saito and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2/18/96)
Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/11/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (TOSJ Finals) (6/12/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Eddy Guerrero (Pro 6/15/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Dick Togo (6/17/96)


DISC 22
Jushin Liger vs. Billy Kidman (Pro 6/22/96)
Jushin Liger, Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito (6/24/96)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masao Orihara (6/29/96)
Jushin Liger, El Samurai & Norio Honaga vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (7/16/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Randy Savage (7/17/96)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR 7/20/96)
Jushin Liger, Gedo, Lion Heart & Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., Ultimo Dragon, Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR 7/21/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (8/2/96)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & ***** Casas (8/6/96)


DISC 23
Jushin Liger, Gran Naniwa & Gran Hamada vs. TAKA Michinoku, Shochi Funaki & Dick Togo (M-Pro 8/18/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Wild Pegasus (9/23/96)
Jushin Liger, Keiji Mutoh & Rick Steiner vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito (10/14/96)
Jushin Liger vs. The Great Muta (10/20/96)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Junji Hirata (10/25/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (10/28/96)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Norio Honaga (11/1/96)


DISC 24
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR 11/9/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (11/26/96)
Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (12/1/96)
Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Brad Armstrong & Koji Kanemoto (12/5/96)
Jushin Liger & Norio Honaga vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (12/7/96)
Jushin Liger & Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Koji Kanemoto & Norio Honaga (12/10/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Starrcade 12/29/96)
Jushin Liger vs. Ultimate Dragon (Nitro 12/30/96)



It'd probably cost a fair bit more, but HS screwed me on shipping whereas I would've had to pay and extra five measly bucks for Will to ship it from Texas (ships free to anywhere in the US though). I guess it comes down to if you're picky about having something comprehensive, or are content with just a good amount.


----------



## rmm311

New Japan has finally found a new hero and saviour! Hideo Saito as Captain New Japan!

...YEAH!


----------



## antoniomare007

Great additions to the card, looks more solid with Mutoh in it (drawing wise). At least now I can see them doing their average number at the Dome.



Derek said:


> Looks like a really solid card. But Naito has been hurt lately, so my hopes aren't terribly high for that match.


It's a Dome show, we shouldn't get our hopes match for any match. As with most Dome matches, I expect it to be good/fun but nothing more than that.


----------



## bigbuxxx

stoked for the jr. tag rematch. hope they top their ****1/2 effort from Domination.


----------



## Chismo

*StarBuck vs. Fit Finlay (SMASH 23)*

SMASH Championship is on the line. So, this is my first meeting with SMASH promotion. This is also my first meeting with StarBuck. The story says that Finlay was revealed as the mysterious "King of Terror" for Michael Kovac. It's quite interesting to watch Finlay as a heel here, it's been a long time since he used that hammer, lol. StarBuck seems like a decent wrestler and likeable babyface. Finlay is the fucking man, and he's in charge here, as he controls the major portion of the match. StarBuck's comeback's are good, but Finlay's tactics to regain control are even better. You could clearly see that you cannot fuck with Finlay, because he's gonna invade your promotion and leave with the gold, lol. After some very good and simple wrestling, Finlay wins with the Piledriver to win the SMASH Championship. Finlay wins gold! After the match, Finlay shakes StarBuck's hand, hugs him and - HEADBUTTS him! This is not EVOLVE, and you're not Callihan, StarBuck! TAJIRI and his two guys enter the ring but Finlay smashes them with his ubercool hammer. He's heel, and he's badass, bitches! And that's the setup for SMASH 24, where Finlay and his two buddies (from Turkey, I think) meet TAJIRI and his buddies. Very nice storytelling here. Finlay looks like a fucking boss!
Anyway, the match was very good, not the MOTYC, but still very good. Simple and logical wrestling, with Finlay winning some gold, and it's always a good thing. So.... This was my first meeting with SMASH, and I'm more than satisfied. Finlay got me hooked up, and I hear some great things about their Divas Division (Kana...). So if there's anyone who knows some ***+ matches or stuff like that, please post something.
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## seancarleton77

If it was Starbuck vs anyone else I would have shut it off, but Finlay made aluminium look like gold. Still won't make any special lists for me.


----------



## seabs

*Wrestle Kingdom card looks weak to me in terms of match interest and potential match quality. All of the outsiders should help them do a good number though. Not really sure on MiSu main eventing that show but I guess Tana had basically run through all of the other major alternatives to main event. I'd say Tana retains this time simply because it's Wrestle Kingdom and it'd be odd to have a guy like MiSu win in the main event. Hopefully New Japan give a title shot to an outsider or two from NOAH or All Japan if Tana does retain, although that being said Shiozaki is really the only heavyweight from either company that I'd care a whole load for seeing and that aint gonna happen. Shiozaki and Sugiura swapping places on the card would have been better as Goto/Sugiura and Shiozaki/Nakamura aint exactly fresh. Benjamin could go either way. Tagging with someone like MVP in Japan rather than Haas in ROH could do him some favours though. Bad Intentions vs TenKoji has the potential to be a show stealer. Junior division is so stale right now. NRC have basically replaced Golden Lovers as the team to trade falls with 55. Hopefully some of the CMLL guys start facing them to freshen it up a bit. I'm still begging for Sombra vs Devitt and Sombra/Dorada vs 55.

Watched the second half of the last New Japan PPV too at last and it was really disappointing. Dark arena + poor crowd is always a recipe for disaster for me. MiSu/Bernard was awkward, Naito/Nakamura never really got going, MVP/Tanaka was meh, Devitt/Davey was poor continuing Devitt's really poor year of singles matches outside of BOSJ and Tana/Nagata was really boring.

Finlay/Starbuck was really good but felt like an extended squash which wasn't good. For what it was it was great though, just needed to be more Starbuck offence to be great.*


----------



## Chismo

*Go Shiozaki vs. KENTA (NOAH, 11/27/2011)*

This was excellent. KENTA looks so fresh now, with his new trunks and hair. He's something like Brother Mouzone of puroresu now, lol. The match flew by, it definitely didn't feel like 27 minutes. Like Capone said, it felt like an extended 10 minute match, and that's always good. Now, *geraldinho* and *Seabs* complained about Go selling that slap, but trust me, that particular detail/situation was an excellent touch, because KENTA slapped Go right across his ear, therefore he fucked up his inner-ear pressure. Trust me, that shit hurts, it feels like someone stabs you in your ear. Very uncomfortable. The match was maybe too much back-and-forth, but it doesn't bother me that much, because KENTA was on the roll, he was already a proven HW fighter (Sugiura), and he's 4-1 against Go. KENTA's strikes were stiff as alwas, but damn - Go's chops were SICK! Hopefully we will see the Go/Kobashi chop battle for the GHC title down the road. Finishing stretch was pretty good, and I didn't mind Go kicking out of two G2Ses. It put him over strongly, and KENTA has his new (GAME OVER) finisher anyway. To sum up, I find this match excellent (legit MOTYC), but not better than Go/Akiyama and Go/Tak. But still, it's 3rd Go's title defense I rate ****+, his reign is great so far. It's just a damn shame that NOAH is in such a bad shape, with crowds, finances and all that shit.
*Rating: ****1/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah1993 said:


> the HS one is still a really good set, but...well here's the enormous listing for 'helmet's.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: SDFGH
> 
> 
> 
> Jushin Liger 1989-1996
> 
> DISC 1
> Jushin Liger vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (4/24/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Shiro Koshinaka (5/22/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (5/25/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Beef Wellington (6/16/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (7/12/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (7/13/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (7/28/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Kantaro Hoshino (8/5/89)
> Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Kantaro Hoshino & Naoki Sano (8/8/89)
> 
> 
> DISC 2
> Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano WPW (8/10/89)
> Jushin Liger, Riki Choshu & Kengo Kimura vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Owen Hart & Pat Tanaka (8/31/89)
> Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (JIP) (9/20/89 TV)
> Jushin Liger, Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono vs. Big Van Vader, Tony St. Clair & Tom Pritchard (11/1/89)
> Jushin Liger & Masa Chono vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Naoki Sano (1/6/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (1/25/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (1/30/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31/90)
> 
> 
> DISC 3
> Jushin Liger & Hiroshi Hase vs. Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (3/15/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (3/19/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Shiro Koshinaka (5/5/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (8/19/90)
> Jushin Liger & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Hiro Saito & Pegasus Kid (9/7/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Villano V (9/30/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (11/1/90)
> Jushin Liger & Osamu Matsuda vs. Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono (11/7/90)
> 
> 
> DISC 4
> Jushin Liger, Kantaro Hoshino & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Tatsutoshi Goto, Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (12/7/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (JIP) (12/26/90)
> Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay (2/6/91)
> Jushin Liger & Hiroshi Hase vs. David Finlay & Franz Schumann (2/14/91)
> Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kantaro Hoshino & Kuniaki Kobayashi (3/6/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (3/14/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (3/21/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay (4/15/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (4/17/91)
> 
> 
> DISC 5
> Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (4/19/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Owen Hart (4/28/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (4/30/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (4/30/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Hiroshi Hase (5/6/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (5/31/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (6/12/91)
> 
> 
> DISC 6
> Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kengo Kimura & Kuniaki Kobayashi (6/20/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (7/4/91)
> Jushin Liger & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Akira Nogami & Kuniaki Kobayashi (8/7/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Akira Nogami (8/9/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (8/11/91)
> Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (8/25/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong (9/10/91)
> Jushin Liger & Oz vs. Scott Norton & Hiro Saito (10/17/91)
> 
> 
> DISC 7
> Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (11/11/91)
> Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. ***** Casas & El Catana (12/5/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (12/11/91)
> WCW Magazine - Brian Pillman + Jushin Liger (WCWSN 12/14/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. ***** Casas (12/16/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (JIP) (Omni 12/25/91) (WCWSN 1/4/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (Handheld 12/27/91)
> Jushin Liger & Bill Kazmeier vs. DDP & Mike Graham (Starrcade 12/29/91)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (2/8/92)
> 
> 
> DISC 8
> Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (2/10/92)
> Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Flying Scorpio & Pegasus Kid (2/12/92)
> Jushin Liger + Brian Pillman Feature (WCWSN 2/29/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (SB 2/29/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (4/16/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Eddie Guerrero (4/19/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (4/21/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (4/30/92)
> 
> 
> DISC 9
> Jushin Liger & Pegasus Kid vs. ***** Casas & El Samurai (5/1/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (5/17/92)
> Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. El Samurai & Pegasus Kid (6/2/92)
> Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs. Chris Benoit & Beef Wellington (Clash 6/16/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/26/92)
> Jushin Liger & Brian Pillman vs. Ricky Steamboat & Nikita Koloff (GAB 7/12/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong (WCWSN 7/18/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Pegasus Kid (8/12/92)
> 
> 
> DISC 10
> Jushin Liger, Kantaro Hoshino & Koji Kanemoto vs. Tatsutoshi Goto, Hiro Saito & Norio Honaga (8/15/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (8/16/92)
> Jushin Liger & Hiroyoshi Yamamoto vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto (9/23/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (10/21/92)
> Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Ultimo Dragon & Masao Orihara (12/11/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (12/14/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Franz Schumann (Germany 12/19/92)
> 
> 
> DISC 11
> Jushin Liger & Erik Watts vs. Sting & Steve Williams (Starrcade 12/28/92)
> Jushin Liger & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Ricky Steamboat & Shane Douglas (12/29/92)
> Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (1/4/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brad Armstrong (2/5/93)
> Jushin Liger & Ultimo Dragon vs. Norio Honaga & Hiro Saito (2/16/93)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Dean Malenko & Pegasus Kid (3/9/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Dean Malenko (3/21/93)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Dean Malenko & Pegasus Kid (3/23/93)
> 
> 
> DISC 12
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Ultimo Dragon & Masao Orihara (WAR 4/2/93)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Norio Honaga & Ultimo Dragon (4/6/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask (5/3/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Eddie Guerrero (6/9/93)
> Jushin Liger & Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Dean Malenko & Eddie Guerrero (6/10/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/11/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. 2 Cold Scorpio (6/12/93)
> Jushin Liger & Osamu Nishimura vs. El Samurai & Shinjiro Ohtani (6/30/93)
> 
> 
> DISC 13
> Jushin Liger & Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Tiger Mask & El Samurai (7/14/93)
> Jushin Liger & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. El Samurai & Osamu Nishimura (7/22/93)
> Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara (8/3/93)
> Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Dean Malenko & Shinjiro Ohtani (9/20/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask III (9/24/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (9/26/93)
> Jushin Liger and Chris Benoit vs. Shinya Hashimoto and Masahiro Chono (10/15/93)
> Jushin Liger & Wild Pegasus vs. Akira Nogami & Takayuki Iizuka (11/4/93)
> 
> 
> DISC 14
> Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (11/24/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. The Great Kabuki (12/13/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Fit Finlay (12/18/93)
> Jushin Liger vs. Tiger Mask (1/4/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa (1/23/94)
> Jushin Liger & Power Warrior vs. Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner (2/17/94)
> 
> 
> DISC 15
> Jushin Liger vs. Shinya Hashimoto (2/24/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Villano IV (3/6/94)
> Jushin Liger & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Black Tiger & Brian Blair (3/18/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (3/21/94)
> Jushin Liger & Chris Benoit vs. Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner (4/4/94)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Akira Nogami & Takayuki Iizuka (4/7/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Hayabusa (4/16/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Ricky Fuji (4/16/94)
> 
> 
> DISC 16
> Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (4/16/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Satoru Sayama (5/1/94)
> Jushin Liger, Octagon, Tiger Mask y El Hijo Del Santo vs. Eddy Guerrero, La Parka, Blue Panther y Psicosis (AAA 5/15/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. David Finlay (5/26/94)
> Jushin Liger, El Samurai, Shinjiro Ohtani & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. The Great Sasuke, TAKA Michinoku, SATO & Shiryu (2/3 Falls) (6/1/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/8/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Super Delfin (6/13/94)
> 
> 
> DISC 17
> Jushin Liger vs. Great Sasuke (7/8/94)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Dean Malenko & Gran Hamada (8/3/94)
> Jushin Liger vs. Gran Hamada (8/4/94)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Norio Honaga & Gran Hamada (9/19/94)
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (9/23/94)
> Keiji Mutoh & Wild Pegasus vs. Jushin Liger & Riki Choshu (9/24/94)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (8/11/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (8/12/95)
> 
> 
> DISC 18
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (8/13/95)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (8/15/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Brian Pillman (Nitro 9/4/95)
> Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Masahiro Chono & Sabu (9/21/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (9/25/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (10/9/95)
> Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Naoki Sano & Kenichi Yamamoto (10/29/95)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (10/30/95)
> 
> 
> DISC 19
> Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (12/11/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Gran Naniwa (12/13/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (12/13/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Gedo (J Cup Finals) (12/13/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Chris Benoit (Starrcade 12/27/95)
> Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (1/4/96)
> Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Koji Kanemoto (1/12/96)
> 
> 
> DISC 20
> Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (2/3/96)
> Jushin Liger & Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (2/15/96)
> Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Shinjiro Ohtani and Kensuke Sasaki (2/20/96)
> Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Nobuhiko Takada & Naoki Sano (2/25/96)
> Jushin Liger & Shinya Hashimoto vs. Chris Benoit & Scott Norton (3/13/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Ohtani (3/17/96)
> Jushin Liger & Chris Benoit vs. Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (3/26/96)
> 
> 
> DISC 21
> Jushin Liger, Gran Hamada & El Samurai vs. Taka Michinoku, Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (4/5/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (4/29/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Dean Malenko (Nitro 5/6/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (5/28/96)
> Jushin Liger and Keiji Mutoh vs. Hiro Saito and Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2/18/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. El Samurai (6/11/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Black Tiger (TOSJ Finals) (6/12/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Eddy Guerrero (Pro 6/15/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Dick Togo (6/17/96)
> 
> 
> DISC 22
> Jushin Liger vs. Billy Kidman (Pro 6/22/96)
> Jushin Liger, Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito (6/24/96)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masao Orihara (6/29/96)
> Jushin Liger, El Samurai & Norio Honaga vs. Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (7/16/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Randy Savage (7/17/96)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR 7/20/96)
> Jushin Liger, Gedo, Lion Heart & Juventud Guerrera vs. Rey Mysterio Jr., Ultimo Dragon, Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR 7/21/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (8/2/96)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & ***** Casas (8/6/96)
> 
> 
> DISC 23
> Jushin Liger, Gran Naniwa & Gran Hamada vs. TAKA Michinoku, Shochi Funaki & Dick Togo (M-Pro 8/18/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Wild Pegasus (9/23/96)
> Jushin Liger, Keiji Mutoh & Rick Steiner vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito (10/14/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. The Great Muta (10/20/96)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Junji Hirata (10/25/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Norio Honaga (10/28/96)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Norio Honaga (11/1/96)
> 
> 
> DISC 24
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Lance Storm & Yuji Yasuraoka (WAR 11/9/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Chavo Guerrero Jr. (11/26/96)
> Jushin Liger & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Ohtani (12/1/96)
> Jushin Liger & Keiji Mutoh vs. Brad Armstrong & Koji Kanemoto (12/5/96)
> Jushin Liger & Norio Honaga vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Koji Kanemoto (12/7/96)
> Jushin Liger & Chavo Guerrero Jr. vs. Koji Kanemoto & Norio Honaga (12/10/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Starrcade 12/29/96)
> Jushin Liger vs. Ultimate Dragon (Nitro 12/30/96)
> 
> 
> 
> It'd probably cost a fair bit more, but HS screwed me on shipping whereas I would've had to pay and extra five measly bucks for Will to ship it from Texas (ships free to anywhere in the US though). I guess it comes down to if you're picky about having something comprehensive, or are content with just a good amount.


Wow you weren't kidding about that being LOADED. Sheesh. I live in the States so I shouldn't have a problem with shipping either way I go. Send a link my way to where I could purchase set at?


----------



## bigbuxxx

J Sports Crown Dream Match (12/4/11):
matches not listed didn't warrant anything.

Nagata/Inoue vs Suzuki/TAKA: ***. MiSu was in the majority of the match and they booked him like a killer which is nice with the title shot coming up. Seeing TAKA get the shit kicked out of him by Nagata was nice as well. 
Taichi vs Hideo Saito aka Captain New Japan: ***1/2. The match is not ***1/2 but I marked hard for the gimmick and Cpt. NJPW busted out arm drags, hip tosses, a cross body from the top, a drop kick, and more. It was definitely a spectacle to see.










Nakamura vs Tiger Mask: ***1/2. very very good match. some very innovative and fun sequences they go through for the entire match. ***1/2 could be downplaying this one tbh.
Tanahashi vs Taguchi: ***1/2. another one i could be rating low. some creative stuff in the beginning. taguchi hit the sling blade then hff which was markout worthy. best thing about the match is the natural way it ended instead of "lol i hit hff on you and win". spoiler: tanahashi wins and doesn't use the hff.


----------



## McQueen

WTF is that? :lmao


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura got something good out of that awful Tiger Mask? He's the best. Tanahashi vs Funky Weapon shows mass appeal for me.


----------



## smitlick

Its Captain New Japan


----------



## seabs

Hailsabin said:


> Wow you weren't kidding about that being LOADED. Sheesh. I live in the States so I shouldn't have a problem with shipping either way I go. Send a link my way to where I could purchase set at?


*I have that set too and my prices are generally cheaper than goodhelmet's. If you're interested then send me a PM.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Excellent. I'll take note of that. (Y)


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just finished listening to Hansen's shoot. Was decent. Loved the part when asked about his eyesight, "I tried contacts twice. I made eye contact with a fan and hated it. Never wore them again." <3 Hansen. 

Can anybody recommend other puro based shoots? I've heard Norton has a good one but have not found it anywhere with searching or on torrent sites .


----------



## Obfuscation

Watching the 12/9/11 NJPW show and, man, fuck this crowd. SHOULD I REALLY BE SURPRISED THOUGH? Tenzan/Kojima vs Jado/Gedo is soooooo boring. That's not helping things.


----------



## Chismo

Lol, you're watching what is basically their version of house show.


----------



## Obfuscation

It was up on youtube so I said what the hell. That's exactly what I called it when the first match came on. Green rookie vs brute heel who never seems to move up the card. Perfect way to start a house show. I'll see if I can make it through the whole show or if I just skip to see Tanahashi/Taguchi.


----------



## Chismo

Meh, I'll skip that show (maybe I'll watch Tanahashi/Taguchi). WK6, that's what I'm waiting for.


----------



## Obfuscation

I wet my appetite for that by watching Wrestle Kingdom V a few days ago. Can't help but think another IWGP World Championship will change hands come VI.


----------



## bigbuxxx

JoeRulz said:


> Meh, I'll skip that show (maybe I'll watch Tanahashi/Taguchi). WK6, that's what I'm waiting for.


They have some good televised shows coming up. Kojima 20th anniversary show seems bad but the 12/23 and 12/24 shows have some decent match ups on them...

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM 1ST”, 12/23/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo
3. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
4. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson
5. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard
6. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Rocky Romero
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS~”, 12/24/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Special Singles Match I: Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka
3. Special Singles Match II: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson
4. Special Singles Match III: Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard
5. Special Singles Match IV: Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Special Singles Match V: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
7. Special Singles Match VI: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama


----------



## bigbuxxx

looking forward to the goto vs takahashi match the most.


----------



## Chismo

bigbuxxx said:


> They have some good televised shows coming up. Kojima 20th anniversary show seems bad but the 12/23 and 12/24 shows have some decent match ups on them...
> 
> NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM 1ST”, 12/23/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi
> 2. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo
> 3. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
> 4. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson
> 5. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard
> 6. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Rocky Romero
> 8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma
> 
> NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS~”, 12/24/11 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
> 2. Special Singles Match I: Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka
> 3. Special Singles Match II: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson
> 4. Special Singles Match III: Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard
> 5. Special Singles Match IV: Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 6. Special Singles Match V: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 7. Special Singles Match VI: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
> 8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama


Aaaaargh, totally overlooked those two events. There is a whole bunch of potentially great matches. Hopefully Romero wins the title. Devitt is just too damn boring.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm still into Devitt. With Ibushi getting injured it seemed as if Devitt was the only choice to put the belt on. I'd be for Rocky scoring the gold. Wouldn't doubt he gets the Jr. Heavyweight Championship there and then Apollo 55 scores the Jr. Tag Championships come Wrestle Kingdom VI.


----------



## Bubz

Romero winning would be awesome. I used to think Devitt was amazing when I first started watching his stuff last year, but now it seems all his matches are exactly the same and he is becoming a bit stale for me now and I never have any desire to watch his singles matches these days. He is great in tags though.


----------



## Chismo

Random rewatch:
*
Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 4/23/2006)*

A forgotten gem. This match is seriously awesome, it wasn't even your typical HW vs. Junior match, because Marufuji fought like a man, he studied Kobashi, he wasn't afraid (huge psychological plus) of him. Plus, he moved like Speedy Gonzales, but still managed to incorporate some strategies and moves typical for heavyweights. This match had some brilliant sequences (with chops and superkicks), and Kobashi's selling and look of surprise were marvelous. The finishing stretch was epic.
*Rating: ****3/4*


----------



## wildpegasus

JoeRulz said:


> Random rewatch:
> *
> Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 4/23/2006)*
> 
> A forgotten gem. This match is seriously awesome, it wasn't even your typical HW vs. Junior match, because Marufuji fought like a man, he studied Kobashi, he wasn't afraid (huge psychological plus) of him. Plus, he moved like Speedy Gonzales, but still managed to incorporate some strategies and moves typical for heavyweights. This match had some brilliant sequences (with chops and superkicks), and Kobashi's selling and look of surprise were marvelous. The finishing stretch was epic.
> *Rating: ****3/4*


 This is one of my favourite matches of the decade from anywhere on the planet. It's extremely underrated. Brilliant match on all levels.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I feel like a kid on xmas...just randomly found out that there was a kobashi/misawa vs kawada/taue match on 12/9/95. have never seen it mentioned (which is odd considering the 5* match thread) and never seen on youtube after searching all kinds of their shit but found on ditch and . will have to check out that marufuji vs kobashi match to.


----------



## Fighter Daron

JoeRulz said:


> Devitt is just too damn boring.


Can you tell me why?


----------



## Chismo

Fighter Daron said:


> Can you tell me why?


It's hard to analyze this, he just doesn't come across as sympathetic guy to me.


----------



## topper1

Fighter Daron said:


> Can you tell me why?


Same old shit! Not saying I hate the guy he is just average on every level.


----------



## Chismo

His wrestling skills are so far so good, he can do some amazing shit, but... He's just - boring. Completely unattractive character, as far as I'm concerned.


----------



## Bubz

I agree, he has no character at all, but it's just the fact that every match is exactly the same that bothers me. He is technically great in the ring though, and some of the stuff he does is awesome. I can't remember if he's a good seller or not, but that's because most of his matches are completely unmemorable imo. The only one that sticks out is his match against Omega last year.


----------



## smitlick

*FREEDOMS - 22/3/11*

*1. CZW Ultraviolent Underground Title - Glass Death Match*
Yuko Miyamoto vs Jun Kasai
**3/4

*FREEDOMS - 26/3/11*

*1. CZW Ultraviolent Underground Title - Chinoike-Jigoku Death Match*
Jun Kasai vs GENTARO
**
I love that this is taped and shown delayed on Samurai and they still included an amazing botch with GENTARO 
going for a Van Terminator and not making the distance.


----------



## Fighter Daron

I think you think he has the same everytime because this year he has fought Richards 3 times, TAKA 3 times, Ibushi 2 times, KUSHIDA 2 times. As a tag team, 2 times against NRC, 2 times against TAKA & Taichi.

New Japan's junior division is so short.


----------



## Bubz

Fighter Daron said:


> I think you think he has the same everytime because this year he has fought Richards 3 times, TAKA 3 times, Ibushi 2 times, KUSHIDA 2 times. As a tag team, 2 times against NRC, 2 times against TAKA & Taichi.
> 
> New Japan's junior division is so short.


Yeah I see what you mean, that's probably it to be honest. I feel like I've seen him face Ibushi and Richards a million times in the last few years.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NJPW: New Japan Alive; 04/12/11*

1. Karl Anderson & Killer Rabbit Vs Jado & Gedo: **
2. King Fale, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga Vs Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero: **3/4
3. Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA Vs Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki: ***1/4 
4. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue Vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer: ***
5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima Vs Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito: **3/4
6. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Prince Devitt Vs Davey Richards: ***3/4
7.* IWGP Intercontinental Championship:* Masato Tanaka Vs MVP: ***
8. Giant Bernard Vs Minoru Suzuki: ***1/4
9. Tetsuya Naito Vs Shinsuke Nakamura: ****
10. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Yuji Nagata: ****3/4

Good show, but apart from the main event, the rest of the card was disappointing. Ah, and that Nagata/Tanahashi was a fucking classic, still second best defence this year for Hiroshi, wrestler of the year without a doubt.


----------



## Cactus

*** for that Takayama match? Christ, I'm starting to think I'm the only one who hated that match. Takayama was dreadful in it.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Cactus said:


> *** for that Takayama match? Christ, I'm starting to think I'm the only one who hated that match. Takayama was dreadful in it.


The story of the match was good and Takayama was nearly as always nowadays.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cactus said:


> *** for that Takayama match? Christ, I'm starting to think I'm the only one who hated that match. Takayama was dreadful in it.


i gave it like *3/4. huge mark for tak but man he needs to either be in singles matches so he's not so damn lazy or take 3 months between matches if he's that beat up.


----------



## Cactus

Cactus has a new blog? Yup. Go there now. All my puro shit will go there.

www.iheartprowres.blogspot.com

*NJPW J Sports Crown: Dream Match
*

Hiromu Takahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii 
_For some reason I really got behind the rookie Takahashi. He played the underdog babyface really well in this match. I may just be a sucker an underdog story, but I really wanted to him to win this._
***½*

Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & King Fale vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi 
_I can't think anything note-worthy to say about this. It was an alright match but it was completely forgettable. I'm really starting to like Iizuka. His whole heel schtick with the iron finger thing is good stuff._
****

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Jado & Gedo 
_Yet another forgettable match. Take a guess who wins this. Yep. You're right._
**½*

Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku 
_From seeing MiSu showing the crowd how to be a good heel and TAKA getting kicked like a bitch, this match was very enjoyable. I was really entertained by it and they seemed to be hinting at a Nagata vs MiSu match, which would be epic._
*****

Hideo Saito vs. Taichi 
_A lackluster match but you should really check it out for one reason; CAPTAIN NEW JAPAN! Saito debuted a new superhero character and it was really funny stuff. Even Taichi couldn't help but laugh. Saito is the Eugene of Japan, and I mean that in a good way. _
****

Togi Makabe vs. KUSHIDA 
_While it was a good match, outside of some of KUSHIDA's moonsaults, nearly all of this match escapes my mind. Very forgettable. A problem with most of the matches on this card. _
*****

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tiger Mask
_A damn fine eight minute match. The match featured really awesome matwork. This is really the only reason to see this show. All fans of Nakamura should give this a watch and all three fans of Tiger Mask IV should too. Nakamura is really growing on me. _
****¾*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Ryusuke Taguchi 
_Extremely predictable, but that didn't stop these two on putting on a good match. Taguchi's taunt is definitely more annoying than Tanahashi's air guitaring. He looks like a special man having an ecliptic fit. He really needs to stop that shit. Taguchi never had a chance. _
****¼*

*Overall:*
Do yourself a favor and skip this show. The star ratings aren't terrible but most matches were forgettable and I found it hard to sit through this show, to be honest. The crowd were dead, but they had really little reason to get excited. Spend ten minutes watching Nakamura vs Tiger and save yourself two hours sitting through this entire show.​


----------



## Chismo

*Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takashi Sugiura (NOAH, 11/27/2011)*

Very good return match for Marufuji. He's still flashy, but not as flashy as he used to be. This time his style meshed well with Sugi's stiff and brutal strikes and forearms. Every time when Marufuji tries to act like a cat, Boss Sugi just cuts him off with elbow, knee or spear, lol. I liked that. 
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cactus said:


> Hiromu Takahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii
> _For some reason I really got behind the rookie Takahashi. He played the underdog babyface really well in this match. I may just be a sucker an underdog story, but I really wanted to him to win this._
> ***½*


reminded me a lot of early 1-2-3 Kid stuff. He had like 3 small moves and tried a bunch of upset roll through and cradle stuff. I'm not high on H. Takahashi though.


----------



## Obfuscation

Half way through that match I found myself randomly rooting for him too. Funny how that happened.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH - The Navigation Saturday 2011 In Niigata*

Taiji Ishimori vs Mikey Nicholls
_Nicholls was playing the evil foreigner but the crowd wasn't even reacting to him. He spends the whole match working down one of Ishimori's limbs and then Ishimori just no sells that shit and does a bunch of aerial moves. Urgh._
****

Yutaka Yoshie & Masashi Aoyagi vs Masao Inoue & Kentaro Shiga
_A light-hearted match that dragged._
***

Shane Haste vs Takuma Sano
_It's the young gaijin versus the grumpy veteran. A surprisingly good match. Haste made me care about the match and he's proved to me that he's not some Davey Richards clone like I initially thought._
*****

Yoshinari Ogawa vs Genba Hirayanagi 
_Ratboy's got a new fan. I loved his sly antics such as holding down Hirayanagi's head by the ring bell, then ringing it and then crotching him on the ring post.That match itself may not be brilliant but Ogawa performance in it kept me entertained._
***½*

KENTA, Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone & Ricky Marvin 
_A fun tag match that gave No Mercy the momentum that they need. Everyone in the match got time in the ring to showcase their talents. We even got to see Marvin and Takayama square off and seeing Marvin trying to take that big redwood was pretty funny._
*****

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship *
Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) vs Kenou & Kenbai 
_This was a total spotfest. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I would of rated it much higher if they didn't spend 10 minutes trying to give the match some foundation, which totally failed. It would be nearly touching the four star territory if this was all spots and no pointless build-up._
****¼*

Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Go Shiozaki, Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi
_If you like stiff strikes, this match is for you. Kobashi nearly gets beheaded by one of Shiozaki's superkicks. Everyone got involved and this had an awesome finishing stretch._
****¾*

*Overall:*
Well, it took me nearly two weeks to sit through this show, so that should give you some idea of what I thought about it. While a lot of the matches weren't terrible the overall show did drag. I'd say skip this one.​


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tsuruta vs Misawa 9/1/90: ****1/2. Great atmosphere here and some really physical action. The crowd rivals that in Jumbo/Tenryu in 89 and the commentator in the match was incredible. The pace they set is phenomenal because they keep it up the entire match. Couple botches at the end of the match drag it down from being perfect but throw those in the beginning or middle and I'd call it 5. The outcome was surprising to me as well as I thought it went the other way.


----------



## seabs

> A left knee injury became the topic of KENTA interview with proresu shukan last week, but now Tokyo sports says it's "long-time absence". Doctors decide to do an operation depending on the result of today's detailed examination. KENTA will miss about 6 months, he was injured at 8th of November in match with Sasaki and got worse in match with Shiozaki.


*Tough break for not only KENTA but NOAH as well if he is gone for a long time.*


----------



## McQueen

bigbuxxx said:


> Tsuruta vs Misawa 9/1/90: ****1/2. Great atmosphere here and some really physical action. The crowd rivals that in Jumbo/Tenryu in 89 and the commentator in the match was incredible. The pace they set is phenomenal because they keep it up the entire match. Couple botches at the end of the match drag it down from being perfect but throw those in the beginning or middle and I'd call it 5. The outcome was surprising to me as well as I thought it went the other way.


The other 1990 Misawa/Jumbo match was the one with the surprise upset. At that point Jumbo was still the man but that was the fued that passed the torch to Misawa. Think that match is a ***** match by the way. Its not the smoothest match ever but the storytelling itself was amazing and two of the best performances i've ever seen.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah, I'm pretty sure June 8th is where Misawa really becomes All Japan's new top-dog. I think the Sept 1st match is better and probably one of the ten best matches I've ever seen, but the other is about a hair away from it.


----------



## Bubz

Seabs said:


> *Tough break for not only KENTA but NOAH as well if he is gone for a long time.*


Yeah that sucks. He was just starting to get great again imo. Also I never would have known he was injured at all watching the Shiozaki match, he didn't show anything.


----------



## Cactus

Yeah. Same. He seemed in pretty great shape in his match with Go. I hope he doesn't get taken off the NOAH UK shows next year. He was one of the guys I really wanted to see live.


----------



## Cactus

Hey guys. Would it possible to get some feedback on these reviews. Even if it's just a one word response such as 'shit' or 'great'. Are they too long or too short? Do I go on about pointless shit too much?

*AJPW TV (2/21/1993)*

Mitsuharu Misawa, Satoru Asako & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Jun Akiyama, Yoshinari Ogawa & Akira Taue
_An underrated six man tag team gem. The then-newcomer Jun Akiyama is an absolute beast in this. He destroys Misawa's two rookies and they build up the hot tag to Misawa nicely, but he never stays for long. He beats his opponents down and tags his rookies back in in. His faith in his rookies nearly costs his team the match. It showed Misawa as an established main-eventer, Akiyama as a brutal newcomer and Asako & Kikuchi as green rookies. Really great match with really good storytelling and an epic finishing stretch._
*****¼*

Terry Gordy & Steve Williams vs The Patriot & The Eagle
_This was clipped down to about four minutes, but man, it was dreadful. The Eagle tries for a submission move but it totally fails and you can hear laughing from the audience. Totally cringe-worthy stuff and not in your regular puroresu way. Hey, at least it was short._
*DUD*

Stan Hansen & Rob Van Dam vs Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada
_Fans of RVD should see this to get an earlier glimpse of the man. Haters of RVD should see it just to see him get his head taken of by a BRUTAL kick from Kawada. I can't hate on RVD too much, because he was fantastic here. He wrestles a style based more on his martial arts back ground and less reliable on over-the-top high flying moves. He did bust out a 450 splash and an early version of the Rolling Thunder, but I can't fault him on that. _
****½*

*Overall:*
Just by watching one of these old episodes, you can really see what the hype about 90's All Japan was all about. They were putting on multiple ***+ matches on their shows every week and ****+ matches were very commonplace too. You don't really have to see this certain show, but find an episode that interests you and you'll have a blast.​


----------



## Fighter Daron

I gotta see 90's AJPW from top to bottom.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I've seen the June match many times because it was pimped here and i loved it. that and tenryu/jumbo are 2 matches i watch all the time. much like Daron I've got to see more 90s AJPW stuff so why not start at the beginning.

5/26/90 fuchi/Jumbo/kabuki vs taue/kobashi/misawa: ****1/4. the heat between misawa and jumbo before their june match here is off the charts. kobashi, taue, and fuchi throw in some great performances to. this was my first time seeing kabuki and he was ok.


----------



## Chismo

Aaaargh, sucks for KENTAH if true. Damn!



bigbuxxx said:


> Tsuruta vs Misawa 9/1/90: ****1/2. Great atmosphere here and some really physical action. The crowd rivals that in Jumbo/Tenryu in 89 and the commentator in the match was incredible. The pace they set is phenomenal because they keep it up the entire match. Couple botches at the end of the match drag it down from being perfect but throw those in the beginning or middle and I'd call it 5. The outcome was surprising to me as well as I thought it went the other way.


Top 5-8 of all time. That match is timeless, one of the best ever, definitely. Action, pace, crowd, drama, emotions, you got it all right there!


----------



## antoniomare007

> KENTA injury confirmed. Left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear.


KENTA and Maru are way too injury prone.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah it doesn't seem long ago at all that KENTA was last out of action. Poor guy.


----------



## bigbuxxx

8/18/90 - Tsuruta/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi: *****+. This match had everything and it was just too perfect. Misawa and Tsuruta battling before their rematch in September which included Misawa slapping the shit out of Jumbo while Jumbo had a boston crab on Kikuchi. Taue and Jumbo annihilating Kikuchi with their lariets. Kawada squaring off with Jumbo which makes me really want to fast forward to their 91 singles match. The general throwing around of Kikuchi. Awesome finishing stretch as well.


----------



## Obfuscation

KENTA gone again. Damn.


----------



## Bubz

Got to agree that Misawa/Jumbo 9/1/90 is in the top 5 matches I've ever seen. Infact the only AJPW matches I'd put ahead of it are Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue 9/6/95 and 12/3/93. Maybe Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Kroffat/Furnas 92 as well but thats a maybe.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*ALL TOGETHER; 27/08/11*

1. *ALL TOGETHER Opening Match ~ Sunrise Of J:* Kota Ibushi & Taiji Ishimori & Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI Vs Tiger Mask & Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin: Great opener, non-stop juniors action, Ibushi and Marvin stole the show, we needed more Kondo, but anyway, incredible way to start the show. **** (79%)

2. *Fighting For Future:* Tetsuya Naito & Shuhei Taniguchi & Seiya Sanada Vs Mohammed Yone & Yujiro Takahashi & Manabu Soya: You see Shin Nihon and Zen Nihon bringing his future weapons in the shape of NO LIMIT and ES, and following that you see that NOAH brings Yone(35) and Taniguchi(34), LOL. The match was effective, very good, but not in a Opener jaw—dropping way. ***1/2 (70%)

3. *Over The Border:* Togi Makabe & Akitoshi Saito Vs Hirooki Goto & Taiyo Kea: Another good match, though Makabe & Saito are not my cup of tea, Goto stole the show here and Kea looked pretty good, is weird to see two heroes and Taiyo that low in the card. ***1/4(67%)

4. *Junior One Night Carnival:* Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & Kotaro Suzuki & Katsuhiko Nakajima & KAI Vs Koji Kanemoto & KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Minoru & Genba Hirayanagi: This was all about Nakajima & Kanemoto, they set the Budokan in fire with their exchanges, I’m dying to see Koji challenging for Katsuhiko’s GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship, but that’s too great to happen. The final sequence was a let-down. ****(81%)

5. *One Night Reunion:* Masakatsu Funaki & Takuma Sano & Jushin Thunder Liger Vs Minoru Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki & Taichi: It started with Suzuki & Taichi’s antics trying to unmask Liger, what was funny but not great, the final sequence was better, Funaki was the king. ***(64%)

6. *Destroyer Cup ALL TOGETHER Special Battle Royal:* This was funny, Miyahara looks like the little brother of Go. **3/4(55%)

7. *Midsummer Encounter In Budokan:* Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura Vs Takeshi Morishima & Akebono & Yutaka Yoshie & Ryota Hama: Well, the only way to make this watchable was to make Morishima fight for nearly the entire match while the other only enter to perform a spot, and that’s what happened, good bout. ***1/4(66%)

8. *NO FEAR! Go Ahead!: *Kensuke Sasaki & Jun Akiyama Vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori: Wow, great match, stiff as hell(as expected), Sasaki looked like a million bucks, Omori did well too, Akiyama was a mere performer, best match till this moment. ****1/4(83%)

9. *Believe The Power Of Prowrestling!:* Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto Vs Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka: Very good match because of Kobashi, who with 44 can steal the show yet, he’s one of the greatest, is so damn clear, Kobashi! Kobashi! ***3/4(77%)

10. *ALL TOGETHER Now!:* Hiroshi Tanahashi & Go Shiozaki & Suwama Vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Sugiura & KENSO: KENSO was funny and the other five were great, nothing fresh. Each time a new pairing was in the ring, the Budoken was set on fire, great match. ****(81%)

Rating: ***1/2(72%).
Recommendation: High.
Final Thoughts: Best show of the year, from top to bottom, no MOTYC, but everything was fluid and funny, very very watchable. A show that holds Nakamura, Goto, Go, Nakajima, Tanahashi, Devitt, Sugiura, Sasaki, Tanahashi, Kobashi, Nagata, KENTA, Kanemoto, MiSu, Liger, Funaki and Kotaro HAS to be great.​


----------



## TelkEvolon

Highest ratings I think I have seen for the show.


----------



## Fighter Daron

TelkEvolon said:


> Highest ratings I think I have seen for the show.


And this is my second watch.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Fighter Daron said:


> And this is my second watch.


Good lord, that's a long event.


----------



## bigbuxxx

TelkEvolon said:


> Highest ratings I think I have seen for the show.


ja. one of my least favorite puro shows.


----------



## Chismo

Loved that No Fear vs. Akiyama & Kenskay match.


----------



## Cactus

I totally get the love for the All Together show. It introduced me to the modern puro scene, there was some much star power on one card and all matches were enjoyable.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: NOAH 12/15/2011



NOAH "THE WEEKDAY NAVIGATION IN KORAKUEN 2011 FINAL", 15.12.2011 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,200 Fans

1. Ricky Marvin besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (2:59) mit dem Santa Maria.
2. Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi besiegen Yutaka Yoshie & Kentaro Shiga (9:50) mit einem German suplex Hold von Taniguchi gegen Shiga.
3. Kenta Kobashi, Masao Inoue & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara (8:27) mit einem 450 Splash von Ishimori gegen Kajiwara.
4. Akitoshi Saito besiegt Mohammed Yone (4:16) nach dem Death Brand.
5. Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (19:47) nach einem Olympic Slam von Sugiura gegen Kanemaru.
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) besiegen Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste (27:36) mit dem Mass Driver von Suzuki gegen Haste (2nd defense).
7. GHC Heavyweight Title Skirmish - Special Tag Match: Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima besiegen Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki (15:30) nach einem Backdrop von Morishima gegen Shiozaki.


----------



## seabs

*Booking for the main is great but then they ruined it with the booking of the tag title match.*


----------



## Chismo

Who the fuck are Nicholls and Haste anyway?


----------



## Obfuscation

Indie cats. They've worked some PWG/other California Independent shows. That's how I got familiar with them.


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> Who the fuck are Nicholls and Haste anyway?


Aussies! Ma' boys!


----------



## Chismo

Any good?


----------



## Obfuscation

I liked Haste. Showed some talent. Nicholls was decent.


----------



## smitlick

Yep two of the better Male Aussie Wrasslers going...


----------



## RKOG

When will the Wrestle Kingdom VI card be finalised?


----------



## Martyn

It is already:

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/12 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
2. AERIAL KINGDOM feat. CMLL SUPER ESTRELLAS: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Mascara Dorada vs. Atlantis, Valiente, TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo & Taichi
3. NEW JAPAN RESPIRATION – Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI Return Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI (Nobuo Yoshihashi)
4. BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Masakatsu Funaki All Japan & Masayuki Kono All Japan
5. TOKYO MONSTER WAR: MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1 & Yujiro Takahashi
6. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
7. NJPW vs. NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION I: Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura Pro Wrestling NOAH
8. FIGHTING WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY: Togi Makabe vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
9. NJPW vs. NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION II: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Go Shiozaki Pro Wrestling NOAH & Naomichi Marufuji Pro Wrestling NOAH
10. GENIUS FACES GENIUS: Tetsuya Naito vs. Keiji Muto All Japan
11. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki


----------



## RKOG

Cheers, bro.

Looks like a really solid card!

Be surprised if Tanahashi drops the title to Suzuki, considering people he's already gone over. Which probably means the streak will continue.


----------



## Fighter Daron

RKOG said:


> Cheers, bro.
> 
> Looks like a really solid card!
> 
> Be surprised if Tanahashi drops the title to Suzuki, considering people he's already gone over. Which probably means the streak will continue.


He'll retain and drop the title to Nakamura, who is gonna be the next contender, in February.


----------



## seabs

*Nakamura's already lost twice to Tana during this title reign so him getting another title and winning would be a bit poor. If he retains against Suzuki then the best option for me is to keep it on him until the summer and then have Naito beat him.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm pulling hard for MiSu (I know that looks gay), Tanahashi has had his time, let Suzuki have a few months on top before he starts to wind down, make him into a monster heel and have Goto pin him for the IWGP gold.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura to try for lucky number three is fine by me. I'm pulling for it actually.


----------



## TelkEvolon

seancarleton77 said:


> I'm pulling hard for MiSu (I know that looks gay), Tanahashi has had his time, let Suzuki have a few months on top before he starts to wind down, make him into a monster heel and have Goto pin him for the IWGP gold.


Oh yeah Suzuki's will being strong ger than Tanahashi heart would be a great moment. Should have a ton of awesome submission moments.

I think these two are perfect rivals.


----------



## Martyn

People for over 4 years always made some plans about Gotos title win. Thats funny.


----------



## Chismo

seancarleton77 said:


> I'm pulling hard for MiSu (I know that looks gay), Tanahashi has had his time, let Suzuki have a few months on top before he starts to wind down, make him into a monster heel and have Goto pin him for the IWGP gold.


Absolutely this. Tanahashi is OK, but if MiSu doesn't win, I'll be mad. Therefore, MiSu has to win, in order to feud with Nagata and Goto. Epicness.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Seabs said:


> *Nakamura's already lost twice to Tana during this title reign so him getting another title and winning would be a bit poor. If he retains against Suzuki then the best option for me is to keep it on him until the summer and then have Naito beat him.*


He beat Naito at the Alive PPV getting the biggest win and that qualifies him as the better contender. Also, the Meltzer himself was the one to announce that.


----------



## seabs

*I wouldn't read much into what Meltzer reports on modern puro wrestling. *


----------



## smitlick

I'd read even less into his thoughts on current puro


----------



## Obfuscation

Who gives a damn on anything he says.


----------



## topper1

HAYLEY AFICIONADO said:


> Who gives a damn on anything he says.


Half the IWC lol.


----------



## Bubz

seancarleton77 said:


> I'm pulling hard for MiSu (I know that looks gay), Tanahashi has had his time, let Suzuki have a few months on top before he starts to wind down, make him into a monster heel and have Goto pin him for the IWGP gold.


This!


----------



## Cactus

I'm really like Tanahashi at the moment, but if him dropping the title to MiSu means we will get to see Nagata vs MiSu for the title then I'm all for it. It would be epic. Plus, they hinted at it during the MiSu/TAKA vs Nagata/Inoue tag match the other week.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Wow, I added the Melzter reference as a suplement and everybody can't read the real plot, great.


----------



## Obfuscation

topper1 said:


> Half the IWC lol.


Kurt Angle marks too. Dave can't help but keep that ragin' semi for Kurt going strong.


----------



## antoniomare007

Well, I don't think New Japan booked this Tanahashi reign only to tie Nagata's record...Sure, seeing Suzuki as champ will give us some fresh title matches but at this point a new star should be the one dethroning 1 of the most successful IWGP champs of all time (kayfabe wise) . 

But then again, weirder things have happened.


----------



## Cactus

*Random Puro Match Reviews*

*NOAH 11/5/2005 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Genichiro Tenryu:* A match that has good storytelling but is poorly executed. Tenryu tries for moves he really couldn't pull off and it makes for a tough watch. You can tell his heart is in the right place though. This is two of my favorite wrestlers squaring off and they created an enjoyable match if you can ignore the sloppy action. This is proof that story isn't everything in wrestling, good action is needed too. *****

*AJPW 6/5/1989 - Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu:* This is behind Kobashi vs Misawa '03 in my favourite singles match of all-time. The crowd was awesome. Seeing them trying to argue with the ref after the near falls shows how emotionally drawn into the match they were. The counters both men performed were smartly thought off and shown how desperate they were to pick up the victory. Easily the best match of the 1980's and a serious contender to greatest match of all-time. *******

*NJPW 8/29/2002 - KENTA vs Wataru Inoue:* A match from early in both men's career. You could tell they were destined for greatness. It only lasted 10 minutes, but they went balls to the walls in this. Very stiff, in fact I think I saw KENTA lose a tooth. Really intense stuff from two promising rookies. ****1/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Right there with you on the Tsuruta/Tenryu match. I watched it back in 2008 and it blew me away. Especially since I was such a Puro history noob back then. King's Road changed my life. A true classic in every sense.


----------



## McQueen

Don't ever call Wataru Inoue promising again Cactus or i'll kill you.


----------



## Fighter Daron

McQueen said:


> Don't ever call Wataru Inoue promising again Cactus or i'll kill you.


This.


----------



## Cactus

Promising looking at the time, then.


----------



## McQueen

Not really, he was always bad save the one match where he and Liger invaded NOAH in 2002 or 2003.


----------



## Cactus

McQueen said:


> Not really, he was always bad save the one match where he and Liger invaded NOAH in 2002 or 2003.


Don't take my word for it. It's really only the second Inoue match I've seen.


----------



## McQueen

I wouldn't bother watching any more then.


----------



## Cactus

McQueen said:


> I wouldn't bother watching any more then.


Heh. What's so bad about him?


----------



## jawbreaker

Wasn't there a Blue Justice vs. Bad Intentions tag from like last year that was really good?


----------



## Fighter Daron

jawbreaker said:


> Wasn't there a Blue Justice vs. Bad Intentions tag from like last year that was really good?


Yeah, Bad Intentions and Nagata are great, so I don't think it was Inoue's fault.


----------



## seabs

jawbreaker said:


> Wasn't there a Blue Justice vs. Bad Intentions tag from like last year that was really good?


*Yeah that match was fucking fantastic. I don't like Inoue either but he was good in that, not great though. *


----------



## antoniomare007

McQueen said:


> Not really, he was always bad save the one match where he and Liger invaded NOAH in 2002 or 2003.


Bullshit. Ishii carried his ass to a GREAT match in LOCKUP a couple of years ago.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Kawada vs Jumbo - 10/15/91: *****. Kawada's strategy = keep match on ground where Jumbo can't strike him and negate the size advantage Jumbo has, wear Jumbo down, and get Jumbo mad. He succeeded in making Jumbo mad and Jumbo unleashes hell on him.

Kawada/Misawa vs Jumbo/Taue - 11/29/91: ****. Pretty good beginning/middle but the end was disjointed and a cluster**** which left a lot to be desired.


----------



## Cactus

Kawada vs Jumbo is a classic. It never really gets the attention it deserves.


----------



## McQueen

I just find Inoue to be dull, Cactus. There are worse talents than him for sure.



antoniomare007 said:


> Bullshit. Ishii carried his ass to a GREAT match in LOCKUP a couple of years ago.


Eh? Well I never saw it. Probably because Inoue is in it.


----------



## smitlick

Both All Japan Shows look really good. Hopefully we get full matches and nothing clipped.



AJPW, 02.01.2012 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. KENSO, Kaz Hayashi & Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & X 
2. Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Yuji Okabayashi & Kazuki Hashimoto 
3. Keiji Muto, Abdullah the Butcher & BUSHI vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Kikutaro & BLACK BUSHI 
4. Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka vs. Taiyo Kea, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya 
5. AJPW World Tag Team Title & AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title Skirmish: Dark Ozz , Dark Cuervo & Kenny Omega vs. Seiya Sanada, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato 
6. Suwama vs. vs. Daisuke Sekimoto 
7. New Year Battle Royal: 


AJPW, 03.01.2012 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. BUSHI vs. BLACK BUSHI 
2. Keiji Muto, Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs. Taiyo Kea, Masanobu Fuchi & Kaz Hayashi 
3. Abdullah the Butcher & KENSO vs. Kikutaro & X 
4. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka 
5. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama 
6. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Hiroshi Yamato 
7. AJPW World Tag Team Title: Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo (c) vs. Seiya Sanada & KAI



ZERO1 "FURINKAZAN 2011", 18.12.2011 
Belle Salle Roppongi 

1. Furinkazan - Block A: Buffa & Brother [2] besiegen Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Takuya Sugawara [3] (8:16) nach einem 450° Splash von Buffa gegen Sugawara. 
2. Furinkazan - Block B: Masato Tanaka & Fujita "Jr." Hayato [7] besiegen Akebono & Daichi Hashimoto [4] (8:03) nach dem Sliding D von Tanaka gegen Akebono. 
3. Furinkazan - Block A: Shinjiro Otani & Yoshikazu Yokoyama [6] besiegen Ryouji Sai & Raideen [5] (16:29) nach einer Modified Death Valley Bomb von Yokoyama gegen Raideen. 
4. Furinkazan - Block B: Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE [5] besiegen Schwarz & Weiss [2] (13:21) nach einem Piledriver von Sato gegen Weiss. 
5. Ikuto Hidaka, Takafumi Ito & Yusaku Obata besiegen Shito Ueda, Rikiya Fudo & Mineo Fujita (12:19) nach dem Nora Inu High Kick von Hidaka gegen Fudo. 
6. Furinkazan - Final: Masato Tanaka & Fujita "Jr." Hayato besiegen Shinjiro Otani & Yoshikazu Yokoyama (23:21) nach dem Helm von Hayato gegen Yokoyama.


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> Kawada vs Jumbo - 10/15/91: *****. Kawada's strategy = keep match on ground where Jumbo can't strike him and negate the size advantage Jumbo has, wear Jumbo down, and get Jumbo mad. He succeeded in making Jumbo mad and Jumbo unleashes hell on him.


Is that the correct date?

Push for FUJITA!


----------



## bigbuxxx

My mistake. Was 10/24/91


----------



## antoniomare007

Hopefully SUWAMA and Daisuke tear the house down in front of a red hot Korakuen crowd, but I've seen too many disappointing All Japan matches in there lately so I won't get my hopes up.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

McQueen said:


> Not really, he was always bad save the one match where he and Liger invaded NOAH in 2002 or 2003.


I'm not counting the LOCKUP match that was mentioned because that happened this decade so it obviously sucks, but yeah, this right here. There's a few tags with Kanemoto against Jado and Gedo from '05 that are pimped a lot, but I thought they dragged like crazy and I tuned out more than once, even though Kanemoto is the fucking greatest and I can usually stomach anything he's involved in (including a fucking Marufuji match for Christ sake). 



bigbuxxx said:


> Kawada/Misawa vs Jumbo/Taue - 11/29/91: ****. Pretty good beginning/middle but the end was disjointed and a cluster**** which left a lot to be desired.


I don't remember that one, but the match from a few days later is amazing and one of the best All Japan matches of the 90s. Jumbo and Taue work over Misawa's EYE and really you should just watch it.


----------



## antoniomare007

Andy3000 said:


> I'm not counting the LOCKUP match that was mentioned because that happened this decade so it obviously sucks, but yeah, this right here. There's a few tags with Kanemoto against Jado and Gedo from '05 that are pimped a lot, but I thought they dragged like crazy and I tuned out more than once, even though Kanemoto is the fucking greatest and I can usually stomach anything he's involved in (including a fucking Marufuji match for Christ sake).


you high already? the LOCK UP match was in 09'.

lazy asses who refuse to watch shit because "it can't be any good, puro sucks right now~! "



:side:


----------



## bigbuxxx

Andy3000 said:


> I don't remember that one, but the match from a few days later is amazing and one of the best All Japan matches of the 90s. Jumbo and Taue work over Misawa's EYE and really you should just watch it.


this is from the tag league in 91. in this one they work over Misawa's eye and it ends in a draw. I don't see one that is close with the same guys so i assume this is it.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

antoniomare007 said:


> you high already? the LOCK UP match was in 09'.
> 
> lazy asses who refuse to watch shit because "it can't be any good, puro sucks right now~! "
> 
> 
> 
> :side:


Well you didn't provide a date so I assumed it was this decade. '09 is close enough to this decade for it to suck, though. 



bigbuxxx said:


> this is from the tag league in 91. in this one they work over Misawa's eye and it ends in a draw. I don't see one that is close with the same guys so i assume this is it.


Must be, then. I just went by the date Ditch had it listed as being from when I got it from him however many years ago. 

I don't know how anybody could feel that match left anything to be desired, though. I'd probably have it in the top 10 All Japan matches of the decade.


----------



## bigbuxxx

i feel that way because it was botch galore at the end. even the ref botches because their timing was bad with the pin attempts. He was counting multiple near falls what felt like over ten seconds after the bell rang.


----------



## antoniomare007

Andy3000 said:


> Well you didn't provide a date so I assumed it was this decade. '09 is close enough to this decade for it to suck, though.


such a bullshit cop out :lmao


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

@ bigbuxxx - I don't remember that, but it probably wouldn't have bothered me, anyway. I remember enough about it to know that if I were to re-watch it right now, some timing issues at the end wouldn't leave me liking it any less given the fact everything else was so good. I mean, if we're criticising a whole ten seconds worth of stuff that happened AFTER the match had ended, there's a trillion things in pro-wrestling that leaves a lot to be desired.


@ antoniomare - Bullshit nothing. I fucking hate current puro and I've said as much enough times that anybody who knows me will know that. I mean, that last post was me clearly fucking around, but when 90% of the puro that I've watched over the last 4-ish years has left me thinking "that flat out sucked," Wataru fucking Inoue isn't going to motivate me to give it another shot.


----------



## antoniomare007

Signed for BJW 1/2 (same day as SUWAMA vs Daisuke and it's also in Korakuen Hall)

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya

:mark:


----------



## TelkEvolon

antoniomare007 said:


> Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
> :mark:


Oh yay.


----------



## antoniomare007

don't know if that was sarcastic, but Sekimoto/Okabayashi vs Hama/Akebono was one of the best tag matches of 2011 (specially in Puro), no reason why they couldn't have another entertaining outing with Yoshihito bringing his grumpy self.


----------



## seabs

*I wish they'd stop booking the BJW guys with Akebono and Hama. Will probably work for that Big Japan tag with Sasaki though but not in All Japan. Really looking forward to Okabayashi getting to work a big singles match.*


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH - NOAHful Gift In Kobe 2011*

Mikey Nicholls vs Taiji Ishimori
_Nicholls once again impresses me with his heel gaijin schtick. Pretty decent opener, especially for NOAH standards. _
***¾*

Ricky Marvin vs Shane Haste
_This is joined in progress and the clip starts with Marvin dominating Haste, which is something I found very hard to buy with the height differences and all. I wouldn't of been so picky about this if they showed us how Marvin got control of Haste like that. _
**¼*

Mohammed Yone vs Ryuji Hijikata
_This match had a Battlarts feel about it, which is always welcomed. Unfortunately, they dropped that very quickly and the rest of the match was just Yone beating down Hijikata. Yawn. _
***

Masao Inoue & Takuma Sano vs Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura
_It appears that the wrestlers involved weren't taking this too seriously and were more focused than getting a laugh out of the live audience than putting on a good match. Marufuji's flippy gibberish is on hold tonight. Shame._
****

Atsushi Aoki, Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs Genba Hirayanagi, Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
_The majority of this is quite uneventful and dull aside from the juniors going at it. The last 5 minutes of the match really are responsible for much of the rating._
***¾*

Akitoshi Saito, Jun Akiyama & Kenta Kobashi vs Shuhei Taniguchi, Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie
_This match is built around Kobashi than the younger guys. As it seems most of the audience paid to see him, and NOAH booked him as the star of the match. A good match to send the fans home happy._
*****

*Overall:*
With no NOAH Christmas music videos and no noteworthy matches in sight, there's no reason to see this. It felt like a house show and a bad house show at that. Avoid.​


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2011 IN TOKYO VOL. 4", 27.11.2011 (G+)
Tokyo Ariake Colosseum
5,800 Fans*

1. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste Vs Masao Inoue & Kento Miyahara: Funny opener, nothing blowing-up, but the two gaijin seemed better than I remembered, though they don't tell me anything. **1/4

2. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie Vs Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone: Morishima carried the whole match and it wasn't bad for a ramdon undercarder NOAH multiman tag match, Yoshie was good too. ***

3. Kenta Kobashi & Kensuke Sasaki Vs Takuma Sano & Shuhei Taniguchi: The four men(well, except Sasaki) brought their A-Game and we had a very good match, Taniguchi looked so agressive, I liked that, and it's always great to see Kobashi. ***1/4

4. *ANMU vs. No Mercy:* Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori Vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi: As every other ANMU Vs NM multiman match, it was very entertaining, and I love to see Takayama killing juniors. Ishimori surprised me here, he was great doing his shit. ***3/4

5. *Naomichi Marufuji Return Match:* Naomichi Marufuji Vs Takashi Sugiura: I'm glad to see Marufuji coming back, and well, Sugiura is a machine, he can't fail. Well back and forth action, it didn't seem as juniorish as other Marufuji matches, in fact, Takashi managed to make it look like a slugfest. Great match. ****1/4

6. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship, Decision Match:* Katsuhiko Nakajima Vs Ricky Marvin: This is the match where I realized that we were on the muderfucking Ariake Colosseum and the crowd was wide awake  .This red hot crowd helped these two great wrestlers to get a fucking epic match, I didn't see it coming, but I'm more than satisfied. Man, I love Nakajima. ****3/4

7. *AJPW Triple Crown Championship:* Jun Akiyama Vs Taiyo Kea: As I supposed, this served as a break between the two epic matches, but it wasn't bad either, Kea is not my cup of tea and I need someone good to get into an Akiyama's match, so it was good but not great, as it had to be. ***1/2

8. *GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Go Shiozaki Vs KENTA: And we got to the main event, the crowd wasn't as hot as they were on the junior title match, but they were very loud too. Go made KENTA look like a real risk for the heavyweight division, the GAME OVER is being sold like a killer manouver. Incredible exchanges as expected and a bit of psychology by Go. This was great but not the best match on the card, oddly.****3/4

Rating: ***3/4
Recommendation: Very High. 
Final Thoughts: The best card on the NOAH's year was his best show, as logical. 5, 6 and 8 are must-see matches, and the rest of the card is entertaining, so I don't know why you wouldn't be watching this right now.

Also, I saw this afternoon, the Global League Final between Morishima and KENTA it was balls to the wall, it was long enough to be great, but short enough to not drag a bit. Killing lariats by Morishima, and KENTA couldn't much more to look poweful. ****1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ~ _NJPW 8/5/11_ ~ ****1/4

YES. Oh how did I miss this one? The string of Nakamura owning continues. Never have I loved a worker from Japan like this since Jushin Liger. This guy is so epic. Was great to see Tenzan in a match that felt big too. Sure, Wrestle Kingdom vs Iizuka was, but it seemed a majority of his work this year were whatever/throwaway matches. To me at least. Loved this crowd. The moment Nakamura's music hit, they went nuts. Then cut to Tenzan's, and man, he was so over. Already had a strong atmosphere. Get to the match and they don't waste much time at all. What a finishing stretch this had too leading into the Anaconda Vice, lift up, SIDE EFFECT BACK DOWN INTO THE VICE. NAKAMURA COUNTERS OUT OF THE VICE AND INTO THE CROSS ARM BREAKER IN THE BEST WAY EVER. :mark: Eventually leading up to Nakamura destroying Tenzan with the LEGIT punch followed by that harsh, but totally radical, KNEE TO DA FACE. Oh I had a lot of fun watching this one. Have to mention the LARIAT~! that Tenzan used to slightly kill Nakamura too.

All of this being done in the span of what, 14 minutes? Awesome. Nakamura's punch is probably my 2nd favorite move used in wrestling today behind El Generico's brainbustahhh. Safe to say he has the greatest rolling arm bar too. I was gonna get a hair cut tomorrow. Thinking of getting the Nakamura look to display my appreciation for how awesome he is.


----------



## Bubz

I know someone who has Nakamuras hair style  he doesn't know who Nakamura is though sadly.


----------



## Obfuscation

Tell him to watch Nakamura or else you'll LEGIT punch him in the face.


----------



## Bubz

Lol, nah I feel like that will be adding insult to injury since I already threatened him with a broken beer bottle for it.


----------



## seabs

*New Japan and NOAH results from today.*



Spoiler: New Japan 23/12






> NJPW "Road to KINGDOM 1st", 23.12.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 1,900 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Kyosuke Mikami besiegt Hiromu Takahashi (6:20) mit einem Boston Crab.
> 2. Hirooki Goto, Hideo Saito & Ryusuke Taguchi besiegen Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo (10:41) mit dem Carribean Death Grip von Saito gegen Gedo.
> 3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale (10:25) nach dem Boma Ye von Nakamura gegen Fale.
> 4. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima besiegt Karl Anderson (9:23) nach einer Lariat.
> 5. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan besiegt Giant Bernard (9:28) mit einem Schoolboy.
> 6. Special Eight Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (15:50) mit dem 9469 von KUSHIDA gegen Taichi.
> 7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) besiegt Rocky Romero (18:35) nach dem Bloody Sunday (3rd defense).
> 8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) besiegt Tomoaki Honma (22:40) nach dem Sliding D (3rd defense).








Spoiler: NOAH 23/12






> NOAH "NOAHful Gift in Differ 2011 vol.1", 23.12.2011 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Differ Ariake
> 1,100 Fans
> 
> 1. Mohammed Yone besiegt Taiji Ishimori (5:51) nach einem Muscle Buster.
> 2. Kotaro Suzuki besiegt Kentaro Shiga (12:30) mit einem Crucifix Hold.
> 3. Atsushi Aoki besiegt Ricky Marvin (14:50) mit einem Reverse Cross Armbreaker.
> 4. Naomichi Marufuji besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (9:32) mit der Tiger Frosion.
> 5. Akitoshi Saito besiegt Takuma Sano (12:27) nach dem Sickle of Death.
> 6. Jun Akiyama besiegt Yoshinobu Kanemaru (7:22) mit dem Sternness Dust.
> 7. Go Shiozaki besiegt Masao Inoue (14:18) mit einem Cutback-Cradle.
> 8. Takashi Sugiura besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi (18:16) via Referee Stop (Front Neck Lock).
> 9. Takeshi Morishima besiegt Yutaka Yoshie (12:51) nach einem Backdrop.


----------



## topper1

Ehh forgot Prince Devitt had the Jr title again how not exciting lol.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rocky didn't get the Jr. Heavyweight Championship, damn. 

Was hoping for the upset to occur. I love Rocky Romero. Stay away from AAA please. NJPW or the states only.


----------



## topper1

HAYLEY AFICIONADO said:


> Rocky didn't get the Jr. Heavyweight Championship, damn. .


Spoiler!

Not sure why you thought he would anyways lol.


----------



## Obfuscation

Optimistic. Plus I only feel like Devitt got the championship back via Ibushi's injury. Unless they're really content on having him dominate the entire division.


----------



## antoniomare007

Ibushi's injury WAS the only reason Devitt got the belt back. The problem is that New Japan's Jr. division is very thin right now, there is nobody else who can hold the strap. No way the are gonna give the belt to an outsider who isn't a big name.


----------



## Obfuscation

Plus he has the Jr. tag team championship already too. I just let my "mark" side for Rocky come through there. I'm definitely gonna check the match out.


----------



## bigbuxxx

NJPW Road to the Kingdom (12/23):


Spoiler: that show above



H. Takahashi vs Mikami: **
Taguchi/Goto/Saito vs Takahashi/Iizuka/Gedo: **3/4. Capt. New Japan is great. He wins G-1 this year and is IWGP for 2013 Tokyo Dome show.
Nakamura/Ishii/Yano vs King Fale/Nagata/Inoue: **1/4. Who would've though the previous match was better?
Anderson vs Kojima: ***1/2. Unsurprisingly a really good match. very Well thought out spots.
Bernard vs Tenzan: ***. Good match with a garbage finish.
Taichi/TAKA/MiSu/Takayama vs Makabe/KUSHIDA/Tanahashi/Tiger Mask: ***3/4. This was really good. Noticable dissention between MiSu and Taichi with MiSu taking Taichi off of Tanahashi twice and staring him down once. Where can they go with that? I <3 the combo, plz no break up. Tanahashi and MiSu had some awesome interaction and makes me super excited for tomorrows tag match and their title match at WK.
Romero vs Devitt: ****1/4. Spectacular. I'm not a huge fan of todays juniors but this match was fantastic.
Tanaka vs Honma: N/R. Didn't d/l properly and only caught the first 5 mins and last minute of this but i imagine it's not very good. it looked like it was going to be every other match tanaka has.

overall this was a very enjoyable show because NJPW knows how to do multiman matches and there's a gem with Romero vs Devitt. Looking forward to tonights show. If Inoue walks out of the ring after his match with Nakamura I'm rioting.


----------



## Fighter Daron

HAYLEY AFICIONADO said:


> Optimistic. Plus I only feel like Devitt got the championship back via Ibushi's injury. Unless they're really content on having him dominate the entire division.


That's it, until Ibushi returns, NJPW junior heavyweight division is Devitt's land.


----------



## Obfuscation

Very much so. I'm not against it, as I am a fan, but I wished the division would get some more life back into it.


----------



## Chismo

Some Puro...



Spoiler: Puro results




















NJPW "ROAD TO KINGDOM X'MAS BATTLE", 24.12.2011 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Jado, Gedo & Rocky Romero besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (7:53) nach einem Modified Front Cradle von Romero gegen Taguchi.
2. Special Singles Match I: Takashi Iizuka besiegt Hideo Saito (10:05) durch Referee Stop.
3. Special Singles Match II: Karl Anderson besiegt Hiroyoshi Tenzan (9:29) mit dem Gun Stun.
4. Special Singles Match III: Giant Bernard besiegt Satoshi Kojima (12:18) mit dem Bernard Driver.
5. Special Singles Match IV: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Wataru Inoue (9:50) mit dem Boma Ye.
6. Special Singles Match V: Yujiro Takahashi besiegt Hirooki Goto (10:00) mit dem Tokyo Pimps.
7. Special Singles Match VI: Toru Yano besiegt Yuji Nagata (10:00) durch Pinfall.
8. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe (15:15) nach einem Everest German Suplex Hold von Takayama gegen Makabe. 

NOAH "NOAHful Gift in Differ 2011 vol.2", 24.12.2011 (G+)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,300 Fans

1. Kevin Mask (Kotaro Suzuki) besiegt Mr. Christmas (Jun Akiyama) (9:58) durch DQ, als Christmas ihm die Maske herunterriss.
2. Mohammed Yone besiegt Naomichi Marufuji (11:59) nach einem Muscle Buster.
3. Taiji Ishimori besiegt Kikutaro (11:22) mit einem 450 Splash.
4. Akitoshi Saito, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Masao Inoue besiegen Kenta Kobashi, Takuma Sano & Ricky Marvin (21:59) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Marvin.
5. Takeshi Morishima & Kentaro Shiga besiegen Takashi Sugiura (16:32) nach einem Backdrop.
6. Go Shiozaki besiegt Atsushi Aoki (17:20) nach dem Go Flasher.



MiSu & Big Tak = the greatest pairing EVER


----------



## Obfuscation

What a picture that is of Suzuki holding the lifeless Tanahashi. Oh man I'm pumped big time for their clash come Wrestle Kingdom VI.

That tag has to be (Y)


----------



## bigbuxxx

sigh i forgot to not open this before getting that event :cuss::cuss::cuss::gun::gun::gun:


----------



## Derek

Glad to see Saito is keeping the Captain New Japan gimmick.


----------



## Chismo

bigbuxxx said:


> sigh i forgot to not open this before getting that event :cuss::cuss::cuss::gun::gun::gun:


----------



## Obfuscation

Owned himself. Ouch, bro.


----------



## seancarleton77

MiSu will make Tanahashi's lights go out again at Wrestle Kingdom. New Champion, baby!


----------



## bigbuxxx

Have not opened the spoiler but booking logic says MiSu pinned Tanahashi in the tag and from what you guys are saying MiSu tried to murder him. I'd love to see Tanahashi split open like MiSu split Inoue before their ppv match a few months ago.


----------



## antoniomare007

I hope you guys don't bitch about New Japan's booking when Tana retains :side:


----------



## Obfuscation

You upload the 12/23 show yet?


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> I hope you guys don't bitch about New Japan's booking when Tana retains :side:


I riot!:avit:

Btw, New Japan has been awesome in 2011 - the best company in the world. And this is coming from a huge NOAH mark.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm pulling for Tanahashi personally, but I won't be upset is Suzuki does get the duke.

As far as Puro goes, NJPW has always been my main preference. No gripes with the booking this year.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> I hope you guys don't bitch about New Japan's booking when Tana retains :side:


*I'm actually really looking forward to the reaction from the MiSu fanboys here if Tana retains. MiSu's an odd choice just to be main eventing Tokyo Dome given he's not a huge superstar in Japan draw wise despite some people on here being major fanboys of his so I guess he'd be an even odder choicer to beat Tana. He's had a huge reign and whoever beats him gets a huge benefit from it so giving that to MiSu seems a bit of waste considering how much a Goto or a Naito could benefit from it.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Naito win would own. Kid has impressed me so much. He's pretty banged up right now. It was said that he might not even be 100% to vs Mutoh at Wrestle Kingdom.


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *I'm actually really looking forward to the reaction from the MiSu fanboys here if Tana retains. MiSu's an odd choice just to be main eventing Tokyo Dome given he's not a huge superstar in Japan draw wise despite some people on here being major fanboys of his so I guess he'd be an even odder choicer to beat Tana. He's had a huge reign and whoever beats him gets a huge benefit from it so giving that to MiSu seems a bit of waste considering how much a Goto or a Naito could benefit from it.*


Pretty much. I mean I have a hard time believing they booked this Tanahashi reign only to tie Nagata's record and to give this major win to an outsider who isn't a big star anymore.

MiSu as champ will give us some fresh title match, so I wouldn't be mad if he actually wins but at the same time I will be disappointed if they don't give the title to a new star.



Andy3000 said:


> @ antoniomare - Bullshit nothing. I fucking hate current puro and I've said as much enough times that anybody who knows me will know that. I mean, that last post was me clearly fucking around, but when 90% of the puro that I've watched over the last 4-ish years has left me thinking "that flat out sucked," Wataru fucking Inoue isn't going to motivate me to give it another shot.


just read this. 

I was fucking around too. I just find this notion that everything HAS TO SUCK~! very funny. I mean I've read and know how your tastes have changed over the years but there are still some gems out there that do not involve the shit that guys like you find so annoying in today's Puro. And the fact the Wataru fucking Inoue (who I also thinks sucks) was involved in a great, simple hard fought match in a red hot Korakuen Hall makes comments like yours and McQueen even funnier.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW Road To Kingdom 1st*

Hiromu Takahashi vs Kyosuke Mikami
_Decent rookie opener. A total Boston crab-fest, as bizarre as that sounds. I like the guy in the black tights a lot._
****

Gedo, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi vs Hideo Saito, Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi
_The match has a pretty entertaining ending, but not much else can be said about it._
***¼*

King Fale, Wataru Inoue & Yuji Nagata vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
_Worth watching for Nakamura's swag and Nagata's strikes._
***½*

Karl Anderson vs Satoshi Kojima
_This took me by surprise. From it's nice limbwork to it's stiff strike exchange and many near-falls, it was a treat to sit through._
****¼*

Giant Bernard vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan
_Enjoyable big man match, by my only complaint is that it ended before it had a chance to really get going._
***¾*

Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask & Togi Makabe vs Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yoshihiro Takayama
_Tanahashi and MiSu squared off and showed that they have great chemistry together. I'm looking forward to their match on Jan 4th even more now. The match here was extremely entertaining and really set the mood for WrestleKingdom. _
****½*

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match*
Prince Devitt (c) vs Rocky Romero
_This had a very strong face/heel dynamic, with Rocky playing the cocky heel to perfection and he was genuinely annoying. This really got the crowd and myself behind Devitt. It took some time to do this, but it made up for it with it's fantastic finishing stretch. _
******

*IWGP Intercontinental Title Match*
Masato Tanaka (c) vs Tomoaki Honma
_Just changed the title's name to the IWGP Hardcore Title for Christ's sake. Very hardcore stuff. Honma was ridicoulously over with the crowd and it made the near-falls feel so much more important. This was only for the Intercontinental Title but these two made it look like they were fighting for the Heavyweight title. _
*****¼*​


----------



## seabs

*They're only working hardcore matches for the title because it's Tanaka. It wasn't like that during MVP's reign and wont be for the next guy.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura's swag. Nice. 

Just started the Devitt/Romero match atm. Here. We. Go.


----------



## bigbuxxx

HAYLEY AFICIONADO said:


> You upload the 12/23 show yet?


yeah and 12/24 show is here. 

MiSu really pulling great stuff. Yesterdays show and the day before he's pulled Taichi off of Tanahashi and I think "wtf he's turning face...wtf would that do", then he offers his hand to Tanahashi and shakes his hand while i shake my head then MiSu attempts to murder Tanahashi. It was so great. The show was ok, thought 12/23 show was better for wrestling but this had some really good/unpredictable booking in nearly every match.

Also Nakamura almost got knocked the fuck out by Inoue (check 1:35:05 of the link above to see it). Nakamura clearly got knocked senseless for about a minute.



> I hope you guys don't bitch about New Japan's booking when Tana retains


I'm expecting this for a few reasons but it's not the destination, it's how you get there.


----------



## Obfuscation

Right on. I'll watch it tomorrow if not later tonight granted I'll have downtime. Nakamura better fuck up Inoue later on in the match for that. 

I watched Devitt vs Romero last night. I didn't get into it as much as bigbuxxx & Cactus did. Good match, no doubt, but I didn't quite see it as a great one. ***1/2.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Other notes from 12/24 w/o starz...

Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo - 7 mins to do their shticks. not the best NJPW 6 man.

Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka - good story telling in this match. very well booked ending. way above average match for these two.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson - slightly above average match. I'd like to see Anderson break into singles action more. He'd be the perfect guy to hold the I-C belt imo.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard - Borderline great match. First match I've enjoyed of Bernards and that counts tag matches.

Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - not only did Inoue walk out of this one he fucked Nakamura up with one shot. better than expected match.

Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi - i'm a huge Y. Taka mark so i really enjoyed this. Taka looked better than usual in a singles match but still has some polishing to do but he's only 21 so no doubt he'll turn into something great. More good (unpredictable) booking here.

Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano - despite hating yano's character i found this match good but it has nagata so how can you not?

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama - 15 minutes of watching a MiSu/Takayama tag . good match but nothing special really. obviously advanced more storyline for WK.


----------



## Chismo

Shit, I got this bad feeling that Bad Intentions' reign is ending on January 4th...


----------



## Scavo

*Misawa vs. Takayama - AJPW 9/4/1999*

Stiff! Punch-elbo-punch-forearm-forearm-punch-elbooooo!!! I expected just a little bit better from these, but still awesome stuff.

******


----------



## bigbuxxx

their NOAH match on 4/15/01 to determine the first (?) champ is much better. meltzer rated it ****, i went a little higher because it is an incredibly enjoyable match.


----------



## McQueen

Scavo said:


> *Misawa vs. Takayama - AJPW 9/4/1999*
> 
> Stiff! Punch-elbo-punch-forearm-forearm-punch-elbooooo!!! I expected just a little bit better from these, but still awesome stuff.
> 
> ******


Takayama didn't really enter "I'M THE FUCKING MAN" mode until the end of 2000 though tbf.


----------



## Obfuscation

Takayama is probably the only other guy I can imagine seeing in your avatar, Eric, that isn't Double A.

we all got to love a huge badass japanese guy


----------



## antoniomare007

Don Draper >>>>> Takayama


----------



## Obfuscation

No fair. I was only speaking in the world of wrestling.


----------



## antoniomare007

fair enough


----------



## Yeah1993

antoniomare007 said:


> Don Draper *>>>>> Takayama*


Does not compute.


----------



## Derek

I'd pay to see Takayama give Draper an Everest German.

Speaking of Takayama:


----------



## antoniomare007

Yeah1993 said:


> Does not compute.


figured it wouldn't, that Draper swag is too much for a computer.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah1993 doesn't have a TV.


----------



## Yeah1993

I do so you CODGER. T'is you who doesn't have a TV b/c they weren't invented yet when you were born and you never wrapped your mind around how to work one.

Anyways......puro....to make this less spammy, here's a match I recently watched. 



> Nobuhiko Takada/Kiyoshi Tamura v Yoji Anjoh/Jim Boss (UWFi 30/7/91)
> --Went around a half hour, and it got pretty draining after a while. I could have watched three hours os Tamura v Anjoh though, the first match-up they had in particular had some ridiculously cool shit. The Takada v Boss stuff was as boring as anything I've watched in a long time. Their first match up had me so bored that i was getting more interested in the fact that the ceiling looked to have sprung a leak and was dripping water in the ring. Either that or I imagined something to keep me watching. I felt embarrassed for Boss pretty much the whole match- whiffed kicks, awful stances, pretty avasive on anything. I'm not a Takada fan at all either, and I found it mostly dull as shit whenever he was on offense, but he had some nice stuff which popped the crowd with a kick or soemthing else. Pretty sure the crowd got a laugh out of Boss at some points. Tamura and Anjoh ruled and did what they could, but Takada and Boss' seeming refusal to....do anything.... was frustrating. This was "Kiyoshi and Yoji."


----------



## Fighter Daron

bigbuxxx said:


> Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi - i'm a huge Y. Taka mark so i really enjoyed this. Taka looked better than usual in a singles match but still has some polishing to do but he's only 21 so no doubt he'll turn into something great. More good (unpredictable) booking here.


He's 30.


----------



## Emperor DC

:lmao


----------



## antoniomare007

bigbuxxx said:


> Other notes from 12/24 w/o starz...
> 
> Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi - i'm a huge Y. Taka mark so i really enjoyed this. Taka looked better than usual in a singles match but still has some polishing to do but he's only 21 so no doubt he'll turn into something great. More good (unpredictable) booking here.


grand opening....



Fighter Daron said:


> He's 30.


grand closing


---

Jun Kasai announced he will retire from wrestling if he doesn't win a Deathmatch tournament that's gonna take place in May.


----------



## Scavo

McQueen said:


> Takayama didn't really enter "I'M THE FUCKING MAN" mode until the end of 2000 though tbf.


Well, you could certainly see that mode coming soon, lol. Gotta love the Big Tak.



> Don Draper >>>>> Takayama


You're pissing Tak off!
*
Kenta Kobashi vs. Hiroshi Hase - AJPW 8/26/1997*

A tehnical perfection. This was a joy to watch. Not too much drama or anything, but it was so damn impressive. Hase rulz! Seeing him dominating Kobashi was cool to see.

******


----------



## Chismo

Dragon Gate - Final Gate 2011 results. Looks really good on paper:



Spoiler: Results



Dragon Gate "FINAL GATE 2011", 25.12.2011 (PPV)
Fukuoka International Center
7,300 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Yasushi Kanda, Tomahawk T.T & Uhaa Nation besiegen Don Fujii, Kotoka & Super Shenlong II (6:28) nach der Uhaa Combination von Nation gegen Kotoka.
2. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora besiegen Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi (9:49) nach dem Jumbo no Kachi!gatame von Susumu gegen Saito.
3. Kensuke Sasaki besiegt Cyber Kong (5:25) mit einer Northern Light Bomb.
4. Open the Triangle Gate Title: Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki & Kzy (c) besiegen Gamma, Dragon Kid & Rich Swann (15:50) nach dem Implant von Tanizaki gegen Swann (4th defense).
5. Open the Brave Gate Title: Ricochet (c) besiegt Masato Yoshino (18:26) mit einer Double Rotation Moonsault Press (1st defense).
6. Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title: BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa (c) besiegen Shingo Takagi & YAMATO (25:00) nach einem H Thunder von Hulk gegen Takagi (1st defense).
7. Open the Dream Gate Title: CIMA besiegt Masaaki Mochizuki (c) (24:55) mit dem Meteora - Titelwechsel.



Fucking CIMA!


----------



## bigbuxxx

Fighter Daron said:


> He's 30.


perhaps i was looking at H. Takahashi :frustrate idk. 

trying to d/l that dg show but my computer's not cooperating :gun:


----------



## topper1

Lol Joe you put a spolier tag then pretty much spoil the only result that anyone care's about right below haha genius.


----------



## Chismo

topper1 said:


> Lol Joe you put a spolier tag then pretty much spoil the only result that anyone care's about right below haha genius.


It's me rioting...:evil:


----------



## antoniomare007

So, Shuji Kondo announced yesterday that he is going to NOAH and wants to win a Jr. title belt. 

Also, Akitoshi Saito will be a freelancer from now on.


----------



## Scavo

*Jun Akiyama vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 7/10/2011*

That was not impressive at all. I was not expecting a classic, but this is pretty much blah.

***3/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

That tag title match from DGUSA = splooge.

Nothing like a disgusting analogy to say how excited I am to watch a match like that.


----------



## starship.paint

topper1 said:


> Lol Joe you put a spolier tag then pretty much spoil the only result that anyone care's about right below haha genius.





Spoiler: well... if you have been following Dragon Gate it's pretty obvious...



that CIMA would win because Mochizuki simply doesn't have any viable contenders left


----------



## Fighter Daron

Scavo said:


> *Jun Akiyama vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 7/10/2011*
> 
> That was not impressive at all. I was not expecting a classic, but this is pretty much blah.
> 
> ***3/4*


Wow, that match was a helluva sprint.


----------



## bigbuxxx

HAYLEY AFICIONADO said:


> That tag title match from DGUSA = splooge.


this match was great. would give it somewhere between ****-****1/2. 25+ minutes of great action.

watched the whole ppv and didn't like it so much...

Blood WARRIORS (Tomahawk TT & Yasushi Kanda) & Uhaa Nation vs. Don Fuji, Kotoka & Super Shenlong
fine, i guess. was just Nation dominating for 8 minutes or so until he finally put whoever he pinned out of his misery. got the job done of putting Nation as a dominate player after crushing cyber kong 5 days before.

Tag Team Match
Blood WARRIORS (Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito) vs. JUNCTION THREE (Jimmy KAGETORA & Jimmy Susumu)
this was ok. **1/2 or thereabouts

Cyber Kong vs. Kensuke Sasaki
Try buying Kong a little harder. Pretty much Sasaki having his way with him for five minutes.

Blood WARRIORS (Kzy, Naoki Tanisaki & Naruki Doi) (c) vs. JUNCTION THREE (Dragon Kid, Gamma & Rich Swann)
Uninteresting clusterfuck.

Ricochet (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
Went far to long to keep my interest with all the spots and no sell shit. Chop out 5-8 minutes and this is a good-great match. ***1/2

Blood WARRIORS (Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk) (c) vs. JUNCTION THREE (Shingo Takagi & YAMATO)
Awesome.

Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. CIMA
Mochizuki is terrible, at least his performance here was. Match was probably around ***. In the first five minutes it's like they were trying to give a late run to worst worked match of the year. This match felt like they belonged in the lower-mid card. Hate.

first dg show i've watched all the way through and i'll be skipping the foreseeable future shows with the exception of interesting matches w/Tozawa, Shingo, and Hulk.


----------



## starship.paint

^ you left out quite a few ratings including Takagi/YAMATO vs Tozawa/Hulk


----------



## topper1

starship.paint said:


> ^ you left out quite a few ratings including Takagi/YAMATO vs Tozawa/Hulk


He gave it **** - ****1/2 I think I'm assuming that was the Tag title match.


----------



## Obfuscation

bigbuxxx said:


> *this match was great. would give it somewhere between ****-****1/2. 25+ minutes of great action.*
> 
> watched the whole ppv and didn't like it so much...
> 
> Blood WARRIORS (Tomahawk TT & Yasushi Kanda) & Uhaa Nation vs. Don Fuji, Kotoka & Super Shenlong
> fine, i guess. was just Nation dominating for 8 minutes or so until he finally put whoever he pinned out of his misery. got the job done of putting Nation as a dominate player after crushing cyber kong 5 days before.
> 
> Tag Team Match
> Blood WARRIORS (Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito) vs. JUNCTION THREE (Jimmy KAGETORA & Jimmy Susumu)
> this was ok. **1/2 or thereabouts
> 
> Cyber Kong vs. Kensuke Sasaki
> Try buying Kong a little harder. Pretty much Sasaki having his way with him for five minutes.
> 
> Blood WARRIORS (Kzy, Naoki Tanisaki & Naruki Doi) (c) vs. JUNCTION THREE (Dragon Kid, Gamma & Rich Swann)
> Uninteresting clusterfuck.
> 
> Ricochet (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
> Went far to long to keep my interest with all the spots and no sell shit. Chop out 5-8 minutes and this is a good-great match. ***1/2
> 
> Blood WARRIORS (Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk) (c) vs. JUNCTION THREE (Shingo Takagi & YAMATO)
> Awesome.
> 
> Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs. CIMA
> Mochizuki is terrible, at least his performance here was. Match was probably around ***. In the first five minutes it's like they were trying to give a late run to worst worked match of the year. This match felt like they belonged in the lower-mid card. Hate.
> 
> first dg show i've watched all the way through and i'll be skipping the foreseeable future shows with the exception of interesting matches w/Tozawa, Shingo, and Hulk.


:mark:

As I would have figured. Superb. 

I wouldn't crap on Mochizuki just yet. Maybe that match he was off, but overall I'd say he's pretty good. Better than CIMA. Then again, I feel that most of the roster is.


----------



## Scavo

*Takayama vs. Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 8/2/2011*

This was good, again nothing special. I liked how Big Tak punched the lights out of him couple times. That is so winning to see every time he does it. I wish this went a little longer than 12 minutes, though.

*****


----------



## bigbuxxx

topper1 said:


> He gave it **** - ****1/2 I think I'm assuming that was the Tag title match.


this. 
the other matches weren't worth thinking about.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah that show was weak by Dragon Gate standards this year. Wouldn't judge their current product on that show. The PPV matches often tend to go too long and they don't have as many people in them to cover up long term flaws many of their wrestlers have. At least with the current Infinity format you don't get any bad matches aired and longer matches get clipped down which a lot of the time sucks when you get a great match going but it does also help lesser matches. 

Thought the 6 man was the MOTN on that show. Tag match was good too but I didn't ever really get into it.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

After the tag I was thinking how awesome a Tozawa vs Hulk match would be and see it happened this year but all links are down for that. Any chance you can re-up that Seabs?


----------



## bigbuxxx

Seabs said:


> Tag match was good too but I didn't ever really get into it.


i thought it was great because it acted like a 90s AJPW match w/hulk and tozawa keeping shingo down on the outside while they work on yamato. it even makes more sense in the dg format since you don't need tags so obviously this tag > any AJPW tag. after shingo got into it i thought it dragged a bit but the last 5-10 minutes were gold.


----------



## seancarleton77

Anyone else going with New Japan as Promotion of the Year? They really went out with a bang on the 23rd and 24th.


----------



## Obfuscation

They were close for me. If anything they made my top 3 with Chikara & PWG. I still <3 New Japan.


----------



## bigbuxxx

seancarleton77 said:


> Anyone else going with New Japan as Promotion of the Year? They really went out with a bang on the 23rd and 24th.


have never seen chikara but out of njpw/noah/ajpw/pwg/wwe/roh/tna i'd put njpw first. they have it all. gimmicks that are great without being over the top. a great lower card and a midcard that blends into a main event scene which can put on great matches at will. really hard to beat a top 6 that consists of tanahashi, nakamura, naito, goto, kojima, misu.


----------



## topper1

bigbuxxx said:


> so obviously this tag > any AJPW tag.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Scavo said:


> *Takayama vs. Tanahashi - NJPW G1 Climax 8/2/2011*
> 
> This was good, again nothing special. I liked how Big Tak punched the lights out of him couple times. That is so winning to see every time he does it. I wish this went a little longer than 12 minutes, though.
> 
> *****


That was much worse that I expected. Takayama had a real bad Climax.



seancarleton77 said:


> Anyone else going with New Japan as Promotion of the Year? They really went out with a bang on the 23rd and 24th.


I haven't seen those shows, but it isn't necessary, NJPW has fucked the hell out of every promotion this year, even though WWE has had a great one. 

And a review:

*NJPW: Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome; 04/01/07*

1. *WELCOME TO TOKYO DOME! NEW YEAR FUNNY WALTZ:* Masanobu Fuchi







& El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi Vs Nobutaka Araya







& Kikutaro & Akira Raijin







: A super funny match, I knew it since I saw Kikutaro walking down the ramp, I'had never seen Araya & Raijin before and they didn't impressed me one bit. Good comedy match to start a PPV. **

2. *ARTISTIC TAG TEAM BATTLE:* Jado & Gedo Vs NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA: When I saw the participants in this match, I expected the worst, but it wasn't that bad really, the NJ guys looked pretty good and the AJ ones though quite shitty, were good heels. Basic and effective match. **1/2

3. *ROCKIN' YOUR HEARTS OF FXXXING OUTLAWS:* Togi Makabe & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii Vs D-Lo Brown & Buchanan & Travis Tomko: Not a bad match, but all those gaijins seemed like shit to me. Ishii made it easier to watch. **3/4

4. *DIMENSION ZERO:* Giant Bernard & TARU & Suwama







& RO'Z Vs Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto: Wow, a lot of people I struggled to recognize, Iizuka was another man for a fact. Chosu looked great here and nobody looked bad, so a good multiman tag match, but with four matches down the road, I expected more for a NJPW Dome show. ***1/4

5. *TOP OF THE WORLD. ARTS OF WAR:* Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & Kaz Hayashi







& TAKA Michinoku & Wataru Inoue Vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru & Milano Collection A.T. & Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI: First time I saw AT And YASSHI, both seem to be good, but I really felt disappointed with this match, so much quality to just have a good match. The heels' entrance was hilarious. ***1/4

6. *DANGEROUS RAPTURE:* Toshiaki Kawada Vs Shinsuke Nakamura: Well, now we're talking about big things, I was surprised this was that down in the card and the show made me right. Great match by a young less-agressive Nakamura and an old slowed-down Kawada. The jugigatame basis they put into play was huge and Kawada brought the stiffness. ****1/4

7. *AJPW Triple Crown Championship:* Minoru Suzuki Vs Yuji Nagata: HUGE MATCH. This should have been the main event, the best match and the hotter crowd in the card, fuck drawing figures, this is what the people really want. Both busted their heads open five minutes into the bout, Nagata was stiff as hell, I've never seen him that mood, Suzuki was as great as always and I was going to give it the full monty but the finish was a little let-down. The Tokyo Dome carried these two men to this great bout. ****3/4 

8. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Taiyo Kea







: I was like "Kea in the pre-main event WFT", but Taiyo proved me wrong by giving the performance of his life, he couldn't get the crowd into the match because of the prior match, but he was all out to have a great bout and he got it. Tanahashi was just there, he only made his stuff and nothing more. ****1/4

9. *Super Dream Tag Match ~ This is Wrestle Kingdom:* Keiji Muto







& Masahiro Chono Vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima







: And the main event, my god, on paper, an appropiate main for the dome, but Chono looked like an ancient, Mutoh was fat as he came, and TenKoji were just there, waiting for the end. Tenzan looked so bad, even worse than the old men; Kojima saved this because he's great, but, fuck this shit, even the crowd didn't care for this one. ***

Rating: ***1/4
Recommendation: Thumbs in the middle.
Final Thoughts: This wasn't a bad show by any means, but the undercard was very weak and the main event was shit. Anyway, 6, 7 & 8 were awesome and the Triple Crown match was one of the best matches of that year for sure.​


----------



## Chismo

seancarleton77 said:


> Anyone else going with New Japan as Promotion of the Year?


Absolutely.(Y)




> AJPW Triple Crown Championship: Minoru Suzuki Vs Yuji Nagata: HUGE MATCH. This should have been the main event, the best match and the hotter crowd in the card, fuck drawing figures, this is what the people really want. Both busted their heads open five minutes into the bout, Nagata was stiff as hell, I've never seen him that mood, Suzuki was as great as always and I was going to give it the full monty but the finish was a little let-down. The Tokyo Dome carried these two men to this great bout. ****3/4


Shiiiit, never seen that one. Their 4/1/2011 match was great, IIRC.


----------



## seabs

bigbuxxx said:


> After the tag I was thinking how awesome a Tozawa vs Hulk match would be and see it happened this year but all links are down for that. Any chance you can re-up that Seabs?


*There's a working link for it in my MOTYC Megapost.

I'd put PWG and Dragon Gate over New Japan this year. I think New Japan were much stronger last year but this year has been really strong too. If the juniors division had been stronger then maybe I'd have them #1. I'd give PWG the edge on consistency and pure enjoyment and Dragon Gate's had the best feud lasting the entire year with Blood Warriors and Junction III on top of a couple of legit MOTYC's and loads of great tags.*


----------



## leglock

Because MMA is Pro-Wrestling: 







FieLDS Presents: Fight for Japan: Genki Desu Ka!! Omisoka!! 2011
December 31st, 2011
_Saitama Super Arena_

01. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Reserve Bout_: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev
02. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Semi-final_: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
03. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Semi-final_: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques Diniz
04. _DREAM Rules - Women’s 52kg_: Megumi Fujii vs. Karla Benitez
05. _DREAM Rules - Welterweight_: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
06. _DREAM Rules - Featherweight_: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
07. _Kickboxing Rules - 64kg_: Masaaki Noiri vs. Kengo Sonoda
08. _Kickboxing Rules - 64kg_: Yuta Kubo vs. Nils Widlund
*09. IGF Rules: Josh Barnett vs. Hideki Suzuki*
10. _Mixed Rules (1st Round: K-1, 2nd Round: DREAM, Automatic Draw)_: Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno
11. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Final_: Imanari or Banuelos vs. Fernandes or Marques
*12. IGF Rules: Jerome Le Banner vs. Tim Sylvia
13. IGF Rules: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts
14. IGF Rules: Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinichi Suzukawa & Atsushi Sawada*
15. _DREAM Featherweight Title Fight (5×5 mins)_: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Lion Takeshi
16. _DREAM Lightweight Title Fight (5×5 mins)_: Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
17. _DREAM Rules_: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii


----------



## Fighter Daron

Shibata!



JoeRulz said:


> Shiiiit, never seen that one. Their 4/1/2011 match was great, IIRC.


This year's match was great, but man, imagine those two motherfuckers covered in blood fighting for the Triple Crown. One more thing, I have NEVER seen Nagata kick that hard.


----------



## seancarleton77

Guys like MiSu, Goto, Tana & Swagamura make Dragon Gate look bush league, PWG I can understand, if you like Generico & Steen or you're just a big high spotz guy, still New Japan smokes them in volume of great matches and booking.


----------



## Chismo

As great as PWG is, I don't think it's fair to call them the "Company Of The Year". I mean, they only had like 10 shows. I mean, this company has no political limitations to book certain dream matches, because they are strictly a DVD driven company, plus their whole booking strategy is based on "super-cards". It's hard to fuck up when you have such a luxury. Make no mistakes, I'm not bashing them, I enjoyed just about every damn match they produced lately (I've been really hooked up since BOLA), but it's not fair to other companies to call PWG the "Promotion Of The Year". Think about it, you have companies doing 100-150, 200-300 shows per year, just imagine how tough their job is.



leglock said:


> Because MMA is Pro-Wrestling:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> FieLDS Presents: Fight for Japan: Genki Desu Ka!! Omisoka!! 2011
> December 31st, 2011
> _Saitama Super Arena_
> 
> 01. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Reserve Bout_: Hideo Tokoro vs. Yusup Saadulaev
> 02. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Semi-final_: Masakazu Imanari vs. Antonio Banuelos
> 03. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Semi-final_: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Rodolfo Marques Diniz
> 04. _DREAM Rules - Women’s 52kg_: Megumi Fujii vs. Karla Benitez
> 05. _DREAM Rules - Welterweight_: Hayato “Mach” Sakurai vs. Ryo Chonan
> 06. _DREAM Rules - Featherweight_: Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kazuyuki Miyata
> 07. _Kickboxing Rules - 64kg_: Masaaki Noiri vs. Kengo Sonoda
> 08. _Kickboxing Rules - 64kg_: Yuta Kubo vs. Nils Widlund
> *09. IGF Rules: Josh Barnett vs. Hideki Suzuki*
> 10. _Mixed Rules (1st Round: K-1, 2nd Round: DREAM, Automatic Draw)_: Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima vs. Katsunori Kikuno
> 11. _DREAM World Bantamweight Tournament Finals - Final_: Imanari or Banuelos vs. Fernandes or Marques
> *12. IGF Rules: Jerome Le Banner vs. Tim Sylvia
> 13. IGF Rules: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Peter Aerts
> 14. IGF Rules: Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shinichi Suzukawa & Atsushi Sawada*
> 15. _DREAM Featherweight Title Fight (5×5 mins)_: Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Lion Takeshi
> 16. _DREAM Lightweight Title Fight (5×5 mins)_: Shinya Aoki vs. Satoru Kitaoka
> 17. _DREAM Rules_: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Satoshi Ishii


What the fuck, dude? What-the-fuck?



Fighter Daron said:


> This year's match was great, but man, imagine those two motherfuckers covered in blood fighting for the Triple Crown. One more thing, I have NEVER seen Nagata kick that hard.


Yeah, Yuji Nagata is one of the reasons why I want to see MiSu as a new IWGP Champ. Shiiit, Nagata/MiSu for the New Japan gold would be winning.



bigbuxxx said:


> this tag > any AJPW tag.


Sorry dude, I'm a huge mark for Hulk, YAMATO and SHINGO, even Tozawa is growing on me, but I find your statement EXTREMELY hard to believe in.


----------



## bigbuxxx

JoeRulz said:


> Sorry dude, I'm a huge mark for Hulk, YAMATO and SHINGO, even Tozawa is growing on me, but I find your statement EXTREMELY hard to believe in.


i was exaggerating/joking/trolling. thought it was fairly obvious given the ratings i've put on here for ajpw tags and 6-mans.

thanks for the match seabs .


----------



## bigbuxxx

BxB Hulk vs Tozawa - United Finale: ****. Nice little match here. These two brought their A-game with the moves and selling but it was slow at times. Once it picked up for the last 7-10 minutes the match was off the hook with great spots and near falls.

Kawada vs Misawa - 6/3/94: *****. What can be said about this match that hasn't already been said? Only my second time watching this and my goodness is it fantastic.

Kawada/Taue vs Misawa/Kobashi - 12/3/93: *****. This match will always be special to me because it was the first match I watched from 90s AJPW...and I thought it was boring as fuck because I didn't know who the guys were and the style is completely different from anything in the states/NJPW I had seen. This was my second viewing of this match as well and my oh my how opinions can change. I could watch this match over and over now. Watching four legends beat the crap out of each other for 25 minutes and tell a good story while putting in a classic is :mark::mark::mark:

MiSu vs Nagata - WK I: N/R. I was too busy enjoying and marking out in this match to criticize it but def. north of **** and everybody should enjoy this match. The only thing I didn't like was the time it took for these guys to blade and doing it in such an obvious manner makes it detract from what they're doing imo. Sick stiff match and loved the finish.


----------



## Scavo

*Stenier Brothers vs. Kenskay & Hiroshi Hase - NJPW vs. WCW Supershow 3/21/1991*

This one was great. Stiff and very cool motherfucking exchanges between both teams. Nice powerhouse moves, especially when Scott and Sasaki tag in. Great powerhouse match. And btw, does anyone have a single link to Sting vs. Kenskay, 91-92, I think?

*****1/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mrsb_sting-vs-kensuke-sasaki-wcw-united_sport
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mv66_sting-vs-kensuke-sasaki-wcw-united_sport
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2mvpn_sting-vs-kensuke-sasaki-wcw-united_sport

dailymotion sucks but ditch, seabs, sonic, youtube don't have it.


----------



## Chismo

Scavo said:


> *Stenier Brothers vs. Kenskay & Hiroshi Hase - NJPW vs. WCW Supershow 3/21/1991*
> 
> This one was great. Stiff and very cool motherfucking exchanges between both teams. Nice powerhouse moves, especially when Scott and Sasaki tag in. Great powerhouse match. And btw, does anyone have a single link to Sting vs. Kenskay, 91-92, I think?
> 
> *****1/4*


Same rating here, I fucking love that match.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Takeshi Morishima vs KENTA-20.11.2011.*

****3/4*


----------



## Scavo

*Kobashi vs. Marufuji - NOAH 4/23/2006
*
This shit was awesome. It started out fantastic, there were some really cool sequences and reversals. Kobashi was selling as much as he could for Marufuji and kudos for that. Loved the ending with Brainbuster.

*****1/4*


----------



## Chismo

Some NOAH cards:

NOAH, 15.01.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Naomichi Marufuji & Ricky Marvin vs. Shuji Kondo & Hiroshi Yamato
2. Taiji Ishimori vs. Genba Hirayanagi
3. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Lance Bravado
4. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Skirmish:* Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
5. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takuma Sano
6. Takashi Sugiura vs. Mohammed Yone
7. *GHC Heavyweight Title Skirmish:* Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kenta Kobashi & Takeshi Morishima

NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN OSAKA", 22.01.2012
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. Yoshinobu Kanamaru vs. Harlem Bravado
2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Ryuji Hijikata & Lance Bravado
3. Mohammed Yone vs. Yutaka Yoshie
4. Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi
5. Kenta Kobashi & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
6. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title:* Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
7. *GHC Tag Team Title:* Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito
8. *GHC Heavyweight Title:* Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Takeshi Morishima

NOAH, 29.01.2012
Hakata Star Lane

1. Ricky Marvin vs. Mentai*Kid
2. Mohammed Yone vs. Kento Miyahara
3. Yoshinobu Kanamaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Lance Bravado & Harlem Bravado
4. Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Taiji Ishimori
5. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Kenta Kobashi & Yuto Aijima
6. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs. Atsushi Aoki
7. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima




Spoiler: SMASH 24 results



SMASH.24, 30.12.2011 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jiro Kuroshio Debut Match: Koji Doi besiegt Jiro Kuroshio (6:22) mit einem Crab Hold.
2. Shuri besiegt Aki Shizuku (8:30) mit einem High Kick.
3. Ryuji Ito , Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinya Ishikawa besiegen AKIRA, Yusuke Kodama & YO-HEY (13:26) nach einem Dragon Splash von Ito gegen Kodama.
4. Elimination Match: Hisakatsu Oya, Takuya Kito & Lou Rururu besiegen Keizo Matsuda, Takashi Okano & Katsumi Hirano (7:48).
Okano eliminierte Kito (3:26). Okano eliminierte Rururu (1:02). Oya eliminierte Okano mit einem Backdrop Suplex (0:14). Oya eliminierte Hirano mit einem Backdrop Suplex (1:28). Oya eliminierte Matsuda mit einem Backdrop Suplex (1:38).
5. Hardcore & Full Dress Match: Tomoka Nakagawa & Kana besiegen Lin Bairon & Makoto (15:37) nach einem 200% Schoolboy von Nakagawa gegen Bairon.
6. Yoshiaki Fujiwara, TAJIRI & Hajime Ohara besiegen Dave Finlay, Murat Bosporus & Big Boy (20:12) nach einem Buzzsaw Kick TAJIRI gegen Boy.

It looks like Finlay vs TAJIRI is next match for the SMASH Title.


----------



## Bubz

Looking forward to Morishima/Go. Shima would be a great champ and he's over as hell, but I've been loving Go's reign so far and still want to see Go/Sasaki II for the belt.


----------



## smitlick

Nice to see Kotoge/Harada get there yearly shot


----------



## Punkhead

Just watched CZW Japanese Indy Summit 2011 in Philadelfia. Pretty weak show. Anyone else?


----------



## Chismo

Bubz said:


> but I've been loving Go's reign so far and still want to see Go/Sasaki II for the belt.


Same here, Go/Kenskay II simply needs to happen, man...

Btw, something tells me that Kobashi & Taniguchi vs Kensuke Office could be one helluva match. At least there's guaranteed chop battle, lol...


----------



## ddog121

Can't wait for the 1/22 NOAH card, the Jr. Tag and Main event are gonna be sick


----------



## Bubz

Yeah there's some great looking tag matches on all of those NOAH cards.


----------



## Scavo

*Misawa vs. Tsuruta - AJPW 4/18/1991*

This was a lot of fun. A great chemistry between them, but Jumbo showed who's the boss.

*****1/4*


----------



## Chismo

*Final Gate 2011*

Yasushi Kanda, Tomahawk, & Uhaa Nation vs. Don Fujii, Kotoka, & Super Shenlong ***1/2* (Uhaa!)

Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora vs. Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi ***1/2* _(Another match with a lot of fun, Susumu is great.)
_
Cyber Kong vs. Kensuke Sasaki ***3/4* _(God, it was so good to see Kenskay in DG, this was one very entertaining semi-squash.)_

Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki, & Kzy vs. Rich Swann, Gamma, & Dragon Kid ***** _(Very good 6-man tag, Doi and Kid are traditionally awesome, but Rich Swann has improved tremendously.)_

Ricochet vs. Masato Yoshino ****1/2* _(Great sprint of a match, the crowd was great, and Ricochet going over Yoshino clean is so cool. Ricochet got one helluva push in 2011. Oh, and that DOUBLE ROTATION MOONSAULT!)_

BxB Hulk & Akira Tozawa vs. SHINGO & YAMATO *****1/2* _(Epic, epic tag battle with 3 of my favorites. Tozawa is growing on me too. This was just brilliant.)
_
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. CIMA ****3/4* _(Fucking CIMA! I mean, nothing against the guy really, but I fucking love Mochizuki, and all sources say his reign was incredible. I've only seen his defense against YAMATO, and I have yet to see his defenses against Hulk and Tozawa. CIMA as a singles wrestler is never exciting to watch, but he was really good here. I don't know what parts of the match some people didn't like, maybe it was the fact that the leg work was neglected, but they managed to create some great drama and excitement. CIMA wins and another title goes to the Blood Warriors faction.)_


----------



## bigbuxxx

d/l'ed Samurai TV New Years Special and watched some of it. idk what i was expecting but not this. posting because i want to know wtf is this shit? and to give dele something to get off to for a day.



Spoiler: very graphic


----------



## RKing85

Shit. Wrong discussion thread. my bad.


----------



## seabs

bigbuxxx said:


> d/l'ed Samurai TV New Years Special and watched some of it. idk what i was expecting but not this. posting because i want to know wtf is this shit? and to give dele something to get off to for a day.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: very graphic


*Don't watch hardcore BJW if that's bad then. Watch strong BJ though. Watch, watch, watch.*


----------



## smitlick

Thats nothing compared to Simon Sezz at IWA-MS KOTDM 2011 last year.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Seabs said:


> *Don't watch hardcore BJW if that's bad then. Watch strong BJ though. Watch, watch, watch.*


what's the difference?


----------



## smitlick

bigbuxxx said:


> what's the difference?


Strong BJ isn't deathmatches. Its just regular stuff.


----------



## Cactus

Just saw Nagata vs Suzuki after seeing all the hype it's been getting. Fantastic match that would of benefited if the start was more gripping. I really didn't get attached to action about up into headbutt exchange spot. After that, plenty of epic strike exchanges followed and I loved every second of it. I also liked the finish, actually. *****1/2*


----------



## bigbuxxx

easily a match that would benefit from 3-5 minutes of clipping. like the new avatar. Naka > Tana


----------



## Cactus

Nakamura's walk totally puts him above Tanahashi.


----------



## Bubz

Nakamura is a boss.

When did Nagata/Suzuki happen?


----------



## bigbuxxx

the first WK in 07.


----------



## Cactus

I also saw their match from 2005. Wasn't near as good as their other matches. Lacked drama and it ended with a slap. A fucking slap of all moves. Still a solid 10 minute match. *****


----------



## seancarleton77

smitlick said:


> Strong BJ isn't deathmatches. Its just regular stuff.


You mean the good stuff, as opposed to the usually bullshit overkill deathmatches.


----------



## Bubz

bigbuxxx said:


> the first WK in 07.


Did they wrestle this year at WK as well? Need to check it out if they did.


----------



## bigbuxxx

they wrestled last year at WK


----------



## Bubz

Ah yes .


----------



## Cactus

Anyone seen Nakamura vs Tenzan from last year's G1 Climax? I saw it on a Best of Puro 2011 poll over at Puroresu.tv (Bigbuxxx, get your ass over there now!) and I thought it was decent enough until Tenzan gets the Anaconda Vice locked in. The crowd lose their shit and the energy in that arena is absolutely electric. Four star match for the last five minutes. ******


----------



## Bubz

^^ Great match, probably second favorite of the tourny behind Naka/Suzuki. The crowd was on fire for the Tenzen match though and it's the match that really got me in to Nakamura.


----------



## Cactus

Wasn't as high on Naka/Suzuki as you. Similar structure to the Tenzan match. Meh build-up, fantastic finish. If the build-up was better, I'd have it on the same level as Nakamura/Tenzan. The counter to MiSu's finisher was awesome. ****1/2*


----------



## seancarleton77

Someone please add a 2012 MOTYC Thread so I can add....

Sekimoto Daisuke & Ishikawa Shuji vs. Mashimo Kengo & Sekine Ryuichi ****1/4


----------



## topper1

seancarleton77 said:


> Someone please add a 2012 MOTYC Thread so I can add....
> 
> Sekimoto Daisuke & Ishikawa Shuji vs. Mashimo Kengo & Sekine Ryuichi ****1/4


http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other-wrestling/594207-2012-motyc-thread.html


----------



## bigbuxxx

Cactus said:


> Anyone seen Nakamura vs Tenzan from last year's G1 Climax? I saw it on a Best of Puro 2011 poll over at Puroresu.tv (Bigbuxxx, get your ass over there now!) and I thought it was decent enough until Tenzan gets the Anaconda Vice locked in. The crowd lose their shit and the energy in that arena is absolutely electric. Four star match for the last five minutes. ******


just posted and will browse/post more. 

i'm a huge mark for good atmospheres with good matches so i gave this ****1/4.


----------



## seancarleton77

puroresu.tv is always a good idea, ladies & gents.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Cactus said:


> Anyone seen Nakamura vs Tenzan from last year's G1 Climax? I saw it on a Best of Puro 2011 poll over at Puroresu.tv (Bigbuxxx, get your ass over there now!) and I thought it was decent enough until Tenzan gets the Anaconda Vice locked in. The crowd lose their shit and the energy in that arena is absolutely electric. Four star match for the last five minutes. ******


Yeah, good match, but not the best Nakamura had there. My top would be: 

Vs Naito - Finals ****1/2
Vs Kojima - Day 2 ****1/2
Vs Suzuki - Final Day ****1/4
Vs Tenzan - Day 4 ****1/4

Nakamura was the heart and soul of the Climax.


----------



## Cactus

Fighter Daron said:


> Yeah, good match, but not the best Nakamura had there. My top would be:
> 
> Vs Naito - Finals ****1/2
> Vs Kojima - Day 2 ****1/2
> Vs Suzuki - Final Day ****1/4
> Vs Tenzan - Day 4 ****1/4
> 
> Nakamura was the heart and soul of the Climax.


I'm carrying on my Swagamura phase and I just checked out the G1 finals. One of the best matches of the year in my opinion. It drops the trend of Nakamura's matches starting of uninteresting and picking up in the last 5 or 10 minutes. It was great all the way through. Nakamura dominating Naito with his stiff knees in the beginning stages of the match was entertaining and keep me anticipating Naito's comeback. Naito fires up by taking out Nakamura's knees, which makes it harder for him to hit anymore Boma Ye's. I knew who won this before I saw it, but some of the nearfalls really sucked me into the match. Lots of drama in this action-packed classic. *****1/2*


----------



## Fighter Daron

Great, when you see the Kojima match, you'll have watched every Nakamura great match this year.


----------



## bigbuxxx

he doesn't wrestle singles very often which makes me sad. i'm incredibly disappointed that he's in a tag match for WK as well esp with Yano. Naka vs Shiozaki would've been sweet and actually good.


----------



## Bubz

Just watched one of Akiyama's first matches ever back in the early 90's against Kawada, and damn he was great for such a new guy. One of the best Rookies ever? I'd probably say so, he still had faults (he was a rookie) but I was really impressed since I just watched it out of curiosity to see how he was. He immediately looked pretty much at home in there with most of the guys.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah Akiyama's always been pretty good, I just don't find him very charismatic for whatever reason.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah I know what you mean, he was kind of bland back then, but these days he's one of the guys I can take seriously when it comes to being intense, unlike someone like Go who's intensity just feels way to forced.


----------



## McQueen

I still don't find him very charismatic. Its hard to explain since I think the guy is really good but he doesn't pull me into his matches very often.


----------



## Tanner1495

Will someone please give me a good place in 90's All Japan to start, I have nothing to do tomorrow and I really want to start watching some 90's AJPW. Thank you in advance!


----------



## McQueen

Triple Crown formation stuff in 1989


----------



## topper1

Tanner1495 said:


> Will someone please give me a good place in 90's All Japan to start, I have nothing to do tomorrow and I really want to start watching some 90's AJPW. Thank you in advance!


Jumbo vs Tenryu 6/5/89 then after that start with Misawa vs Jumbo series.


----------



## Chismo

Anyone got links for Takayama vs Chono matches from 2002/03? I really, really want to see their Cage Deathmatch that went 30+ minutes. Damn, it's strange I've never seen those, since I've pretty much watched everything from Tak's New Japan stuff...


----------



## Chismo

The Dome Show results:



Spoiler: NJPW, Wrestle Kingdom VI



NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME", 04.01.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome
43,000 Fans

0. Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga besiegen Tomoaki Honma & Kyosuke Mikami (8:47) mit dem Headshrinker von Tonga gegen Mikami.
1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi besiegen Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) (12:44) mit einem Front Cradle von Taguchi gegen Richards - Titelwechsel.
2. AERIAL KINGDOM feat. CMLL SUPER ESTRELLAS: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Máscara Dorada & KUSHIDA besiegen TAKA Michinoku , Atlantis , Valiente & Taichi (10:18) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster von Liger gegen Valiente.
3. NEW JAPAN RESPIRATION Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI Triumphant Return Match: Kazuchika Okada besiegt YOSHI-HASHI (4:37) mit dem Rainmaker.
4. BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE: Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono besiegen Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue (6:34) nach einem Left High Kick von Funaki gegen Inoue.
5. TOKYO MONSTER WAR: MVP & Shelton Benjamin besiegen Yujiro Takahashi & Masato Tanaka (9:41) mit dem Irreversible Crisis von MVP gegen Takahashi.
6. IWGP Tag Team Title: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan besiegen Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) (12:40) mit einer Moonsault Press von Tenzan gegen Bernard - Titelwechsel.
7. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION I: Hirooki Goto besiegt Takashi Sugiura (12:35) nach dem Shouten Kai.
8. FIGHTING WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY: Togi Makabe besiegt Yoshihiro Takayama (9:15) nach dem King King Kneedrop.
9. NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION II: Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano (15:10) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Yano.
10. GENIUS FACES GENIUS: Keiji Muto besiegt Tetsuya Naito (22:35) mit einer Moonsault Press.
11. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) besiegt Minoru Suzuki (25:59) mit dem High Fly Flow (11th defense).

After the main event, Kazuchika Okada challenged Tanahashi. Tanahashi is now the most successful Heavyweight Champion in New Japan history, with 11 title defenses in this reign.


Can't fucking wait to see this.


----------



## Derek

Looks like a solid show. A few matches I will want to see, whenever they can be found online. One year I was watching the show less than 24 hours from when it happened, the next year it took almost a week, so go figure.


----------



## antoniomare007

OKADA~!!

Man, I hope the guy improved in the last year. He was GREAT as a young lion in 09' and now that he is back for good I can't wait to see him work.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Bubz said:


> Just watched one of Akiyama's first matches ever back in the early 90's against Kawada, and damn he was great for such a new guy. One of the best Rookies ever? I'd probably say so, he still had faults (he was a rookie) but I was really impressed since I just watched it out of curiosity to see how he was. He immediately looked pretty much at home in there with most of the guys.


Is that the one from July '93 where Kawada just stretches him to shit? Like, at one point he has him in a sort of seated abdominal stretch and Akiyama's head ends up touching his foot while his leg is straight out. If so, that's a fucking great match.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah that's the one lol. Kawada pretty much forces him to do the splits, shit looked brutal.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Richards/Romero vs Devitt/Taguchi - ****-****1/4. Good start with not a dull moment and a great ending.
8-man - **1/4. Entertaining enough but with botches to drag it along a bit.
Okada vs YOSHI - HASHI - *. First time seeing either and a < 5 minute match idk what to say. It sucked and the crowd was part of the reason here.
Nagata/Inoue vs Funaki/Kono - ***. Short match but fucking sick. My first time seeing Funaki and he's a beast. Sick sick finish to this. Can't wait for the inevitable Nagata/Funaki match.
MVP/Shelton Benjamin vs Tanaka/Takahashi - ***-***1/4. Was pretty good.
Kojima/Tenzan vs Bernard/Anderson - ***1/2-***3/4. 
Sugiura vs Goto - ****. Great match.
Takayama vs Makabe - **1/2. What you expect from both guys.
Nakamura/Yano vs Marufuji/Shiozaki - ***-***1/4. 
Mutoh vs Naito - **. Ridic bad match and painful to sit through for 22 minutes. Mutoh = 1 moonsault, 6 shining wizards, and what seemed like 15-20 dragon screws. Naito sold his leg being hurt for about 5 seconds and that was after he did top rope shit and was bouncing around. Very poor match.
MiSu vs Tanahashi - ***3/4. Not your usual Tanahashi match which is a good thing but I question their decision to change what was working with somebody as good on the mat as MiSu.

Decent show.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI*

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
_A strange choice for an opener. This was a good take on the standard American faces vs heel formulaic tag team match._
*****

Atlantis, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku & Valiente vs Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask
_Your typical lucha stuff. Fun, if you don't take it too seriously, and yes, there was some botches._
***¾*

Kazuchika Okada vs YOSHI-HASHI
_I have no idea on who these two are. They were building up the match nicely before it ended abruptly with a clothesline. Waste of time if you ask me. _
***

Wataru Inoue & Yuji Nagata vs Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono
_Nagata and Funaki showed that they have great chemistry together and I'd love to see them go at it in a singles match. This was short and stiff, and Inoue was on the receiving end of many of those strikes, so that's always a good thing._
***¾*

MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
_Was bringing in Shelton really necessary? He did a cool plancha, but apart from that he didn't add anything to the match._
***½*

*IWGP Tag Team Title Match*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
_Bad Intentions looked very ruthless in this match and tore Tenzan apart. This got the crowd behind Tenkoji and made the match even more exciting._
****¼*

Hirooki Goto vs Takashi Sugiura
_I wasn't paying full attention to this, but it seemed like a good match._
*****

Togi Makabe vs Yoshihiro Takayama
_Slow, stiff and grumpy._
****¼*

Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji
_Yano's heel characteristics weren't as annoying as they usually were. This could of went either way and had many nearfalls._
****½*

Keiji Mutoh vs Tetsuya Naito
_Let's face it, no-one was expecting a classic considering the wrestler's physical state, but this could of been a good enjoyable bout if they just trimmed ten minutes of it. The match started with some mat wrestling, then Mutoh worked on Naito's leg and then the match had a cool finish. The first two parts of the match was very boring and really would of benefited if the match was shorter._
****

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Minoru Suzuki
_Quite a let down, if I'm honest. Great match and Suzuki's heel performance stood out as being fantastic, but for the main event of the biggest wrestling show in Japan, this should of been a classic. It was far too one-sided for my tastes and I really wasn't on the edge of the seat during the near-falls like I was during Tanahashi's other defenses. _
****¾*

*Overall:*
For New Japan's biggest show, this really didn't feel like an epic.The card itself was decent, but nothing felt special. If this was a regular PPV, I would of been a lot easier on it. Worth a watch for the sole fact it's a Wrestle Kingdom event.​


----------



## antoniomare007

Dome shows are normally like that, there's been very few epic shows in there.


----------



## seabs

*Dome shows are more about drawing a big crowd then putting on amazing match quality. 11 match card makes that clear. Thought this year's was really strong match quality wise though. Big improvement on last years where there was only really one match you needed to see.*

_55 vs NRC was a good opener. Not on the level of their other match but it was never going to be. Got more time then I expected a juniors opener to get in the dome but it worker in their favour. Felt like it went much longer than 12 minutes but in a good way. Ending was awful with Davey kicking Taguchi in the head TWICE only for Taguchi to pin him straight after._ ****1/2*

_Lucha/juniors 8 man was no good. Atlantis and Valiente best not come back for the CMLL shows this month. They were awful and fucked their dive up really badly. Sucked they came over for this rather than guys like Garza and Sombra who have come over before. Dorada losing the full body suit for a builders outfit made him look really weak and jobberish. _ **1/2*

_Okada vs HASHI was a nothing match but did it's job in reintroducing Okada and giving him some momentum for his title match. Crowd killed them._ ***

_Blue Justice tag was short but benefited greatly from it. Short sprint rushing through all their stuff but in a good way. Funaki/Nagata post match fight ruled._ *****

_MVP tag was meh. Benjamin got some big pops for his big spots and didn't fuck anything up so good for him. I wish Tanaka would stop doing that table spot in every match too._ ****

_Tag Title match was great like I knew it could be. Right time and right opponents for Bad Intentions to drop the belts. Really fucking good heavyweight match._ ******

_Goto vs Sugiura was good._ ****1/2*

_Makabe vs Takayam was fine, could have been a lot worse given the state Takayama has been at times last year. Fight Without Honor or Humanity is the best tag I've ever seen New Japan give a match._ ***3/4*

_NOAH vs CHAOS tag rocked. Yano's shtick is great in the right conditions and it worked really well here. Marufuji was fine bar that stupid kick he did behind his leg. Shiozaki and Yano had an awesome run together at the end with some brilliant near falls on Go. People seem to be sleeping on this god damnit_ *****1/4*

_Mutoh/Naito was better than I expected but that being said I had no hopes for it. Leg work was good but it didn't need to be that long for this match with Mutoh in as it just meant long rest holds dragging the time out. Wasn't awful though. Really hope Naito gets someone at the Dome next year who can wrestle on his pace after Hardy and now Mutoh_ ***1/2*

_Tana vs MiSu was a really great main event match. Better than most Tana title matches and he got in loads of nice little hope spots during the match to make the comeback at the end a lot better. Amazing selling on Tana's behalf too. MiSu was really good too but crowd don't care enough about him which hindered the match a little but that was expected given MiSu's never been a huge draw. Piledriver near fall was brilliant._ *****1/4*

*All the results were predictable if you looked at the whole card and applied logic. Only one that I didn't expect was Blue Justice losing and All Japan winning both matches. Figured they'd go 1 a piece like NOAH did. Sugiura's beat Goto before so Goto got his win back and Shiozaki ain't losing so NOAH took 1 and won 1 which made sense. Tana's not losing to MiSu, especially at the dome. That was always clear but they still got a great teased title switch in there. Figured both the tag belts would change too. NRC were only interim champs to change it up a bit anyway because of the stale juniors division, plus they were outsiders too. Felt like they were just waiting to get a legit team to take the belts off BI for about 6 months now and Ten-Koji are perfect team to beat them and have run as champs again. Liger and Okada winning on return was obvious and MVP pinning Yujiro was always going to happen to help cancel out losing 2 straight title matches to Tanaka.



Spoiler: partical card for next New Japan PPV







NJPW "THE NEW BEGINNING", 12.02.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
2. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
3. IWGP Tag Team Title: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (c) vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
4. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

Click to expand...




*


----------



## bigbuxxx

I marked out so hard when MiSu reversed Tana's dragon screw attempt midway through the match and reversed it to a cross arm breaker pretty much owning everything Tana did throughout his reign saying "i've seen your stupid leg work and i'm going to murder you".


----------



## Bubz

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI

IWGP Jr Tag Title match - NRC vs Apollo 55*
Apollo 55's entrance was bloody ridiculous :lmao. Anyway this was a great action packed tag match. Really fun. I wasn't a fan of the finish but in a way it worked I guess (apart from Taniguchi no selling two kicks to the head). Richards again proves how great he can be here. ******

*Bad Intentions vs Kojima/Tenzan*
Bernard/Anderson are so badass. A great battle between 4 big guys. The assisted powerbomb
nearfall was awesome! I'm not the biggest fan of Kojima/Tenzan as singles guys, but as a team
they could be great as they showed here. ******

*Sugiura vs Goto*
Great back and forth match. Can't go wrong really with both these guys. ****1/2*

*Nakamura/Yano vs Shiozaki/Marufuji*
Another fun tag match here. Nakamura/Go exchanges just made me want to see a match between them.
Yano was fine and Marufuji didn't do anything too stupid so it was all good. ****1/2*

*IWGP Heavyweight Title - Tanahashi vs Suzuki*
The fact that this wasn't the same as every Tana match in his reign immediately made it better for me. MiSu dominated nearly the whole match apart from a few hope spots and the comeback at the end and it was awesome. Tana didn't get any pointless leg work in like he usually does and when he did try it failed misserably because MiSu was just a badass cutting him off. I also loved Suzuki winning in every strike exchange until the last one where Tana won and it led to his comeback. This is the first time in so long that the finish in a Tana match didn't annoy me much. I loved MiSu using the enormous ramp to try and gain a countout and I also loved how he played a complete dick all the way through and taunting Tana and the crowd which always led to Tana getting some offense in. The first great match of the year then. *****1/4*


----------



## SHIRLEY

Few thoughts on what I've seen so far of Jan 4th.

- MVP was terrible. Fat dude with a super athlete gimmick. Genius.
- Tanaka's hokey hardcore seems totally outdated.
- Benjamin's vertical leaping ability was the highlight of very dull match.

- Fergal-san looked awkward as fuck in the space suit.


----------



## seancarleton77

Okada was so bland I couldn't really develop an opinion on him, he was complete shit at last year's 
Wrestle Kingdom.


----------



## Bubz

I've never even seen him before. Who is he and why does he suddenly have a title shot?


----------



## Derek

He was a young lion (rookie) in New Japan a few years ago, and was pegged as a future star after showing a lot of promise as a young talent. He soon did the traditional young lion thing and left the company to wrestle overseas.

He went to TNA where they didn't do shit with him. He had a match a year ago at the Dome, but the office felt he wasn't ready to be back full time. So he went back to TNA, where they still didn't do shit with him, and now he is back.

When the young lions return, it isn't unusual for them to challenge an established star, but to come back and challenge for the title so quickly is huge. It shows that they want him to have a strong showing as soon as possible against the top guy in the company in the hopes that the fans will see him as now being a true star and legit contender to any title.


----------



## Bubz

Well I hope the guy is good in that case, but from what I saw at WK he didn't show much.


----------



## Derek

Well, working the style of a young lion, where you are sort of limited in what you're allowed to do, compared to a heavyweight challenger for the top belt in the company are two completely different things. At this point, we don't know what he'll be like now that he is back.


----------



## antoniomare007

Exactly, Okada was great in 09' as the young punk who wouldn't back down from NOAH's invaders (he was that year's version of Takumi Soya, although more mainstream due to being in New Japan). But who the hell knows is he can work a normal match now that he isn't a young lion.


----------



## smitlick

Apparently Abdullah The Butcher is finally done wrestling. Apparently he came to the ring at All Japan with the help of a walker. Or at least thats what i got from translating at purolove.com.


----------



## Caponex75

Well that's horrible. I mean I wish he could have retired without the whole walker bit.


----------



## Scavo

Some Okada's TNA matches:


















Solid action, nothing special for the time given.
The great Nigel McGuinness is on commentary for the 4th match.


----------



## seabs

smitlick said:


> Apparently Abdullah The Butcher is finally done wrestling. Apparently he came to the ring at All Japan with the help of a walker. Or at least thats what i got from translating at purolove.com.


*He was planning on having one last tour with All Japan and having a retirement match at the end of it but he realised he was done after that 6 man. Don't think he could even climb up onto the apron and just did spots at ringside.

Haven't seen any young lion Okada but he did nothing for me based on what I've seen of on the past 2 Dome shows working as a heavyweight. I think the fact he's getting a title shot straight away could be more to do with Tana going through everyone else already than New Japan wanting to establish him huge in the biggest possible way from the get go. Figure Makabe will be the next defense afterwards.*


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME", 04.01.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome
43,000 Fans*

1. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title:* Davey Richards & Rocky Romero Vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi: Great way to start a match, more fast-paced than their last meetings, but shorter and finally worse, but still a very good match. Apollo 55's entrance was great. ***1/2

2. *AERIAL KINGDOM feat. CMLL SUPER ESTRELLAS:* Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Máscara Dorada & KUSHIDA Vs TAKA Michinoku , Atlantis , Valiente & Taichi: This CMLL's showcase was better than last year, well, I mean less pathetic, I don't understand lucha, but anytime one of theme wrestles in another company, they fuck simply up. Liger's costume was great. **3/4

3. *NEW JAPAN RESPIRATION Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI Triumphant Return Match:* Kazuchika Okada Vs YOSHI-HASHI: Squash city for YOSHI. I've never seen the guy and I was looking forward to this to see the future of NJPW, but they gave them like 5 minutes or so. **

4. *BLUE JUSTICE NEVER DIE:* Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono Vs Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue: Good match, I don't know why Kono was in here, cause he didn't do anything. Funaki & Nagata's encounters were great and the last kick Funaki did was jaw-dropping. The most-match made me wet. ***1/4

5. *TOKYO MONSTER WAR:* MVP & Shelton Benjamin Vs Yujiro Takahashi & Masato Tanaka: I expected this to be more weapons-based or worse, but they didn't need the weapons to make a good match, Shelton looked great. ***

6. *IWGP Tag Team Championship:* Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson Vs Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan: What a fucking match, the crowd was red hot, first time in the show, and the wrestlers managed to packed all the action in like fifteen minutes and the result was great, Bad Intentions were the bosses here, like always. ****1/4

7. *NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION I:* Hirooki Goto Vs Takashi Sugiura: I expected this to be the match of the night, and they went for a boring sprint in ten minutes, BULLSHIT. ***1/4

8. *FIGHTING WITHOUT HONOR OR HUMANITY:* Togi Makabe Vs Yoshihiro Takayama: This was better than I expected, but I think Takayama should think about his retirement or else, because he's capable of nearly nothing in the ring right now. The short duration of the match helped a lot too. ***

9. *NJPW vs NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION II:* Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano Vs Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji: Like in the other NJPW Vs NOAH match, I was disappointed with this, very good match, but I expected confrontations between Go & Nakamura that could lead to a GHC Heavyweight Championship match between the two, that'd be epic. ***3/4

10. *GENIUS FACES GENIUS:* Tetsuya Naito Vs Keiji Muto: Wow, great match, I thought this won't be that good, but Mutoh wanted to make a good match and he got it. Naito's no-selling and the 355206502306 Shining Wizards were the bad of the match, but they innoved, make beleive anyone could win and the crowd was hot, so good job. ****

11. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Minoru Suzuki: Epic match, really epic. MiSu's entrance was great, everyone in their seats chanted "KAZE NI NARE", which is the best theme and entrance in ALL professional wrestling, really exciting. Well, the match, slaps, disbelief, hot crowd, good counters...MOTY so far. ****1/2

Rating: ***1/2
Recommendation: High. 
Final Thoughts: This Dome show was a little disappoint, but still a very enjoyable show and watchable from start to end. 3 great matches and nothing really sucked, but with eleven matches in the card, you know they won't get the time they need.


----------



## Chismo

Tbh, I'm really looking forward to see Okada in this kind of enviroment. I remember him from 2009 mostly when he was a promising rookie. Now he evolved and let's see if he can hang out with the big dogs. This is the test of career, no doubt about it. He will lose, but hopefully he puts on a great fight.



Derek said:


> He was a young lion (rookie) in New Japan a few years ago, and was pegged as a future star after showing a lot of promise as a young talent. He soon did the traditional young lion thing and left the company to wrestle overseas.
> 
> He went to TNA where they didn't do shit with him. He had a match a year ago at the Dome, but the office felt he wasn't ready to be back full time. So he went back to TNA, where they still didn't do shit with him, and now he is back.
> 
> When the young lions return, it isn't unusual for them to challenge an established star, but to come back and challenge for the title so quickly is huge. It shows that they want him to have a strong showing as soon as possible against the top guy in the company in the hopes that the fans will see him as now being a true star and legit contender to any title.


Yeah, this. Great post.


----------



## Scavo

*Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Jun Akiyama - NOAH Global League 11/5/11*

That crowd SUCKED, and SUCKED ass. Great back and forth match, though.

******

*Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Masahiro Chono - NJPW G1 Climax 2002 Final*

Brutal stuff, and that is to be expected from two legit badasses.

****1/2*


----------



## Chismo




----------



## Scavo

:lmao at Apollo's entrance. Tenzan seems like a badass.


----------



## Bubz

Whenever I watch a Tenzan match I just think of Hellboy because of how much his hands are taped up. He looks like he shouldn't be able to lift them.


----------



## Coffey

Fighter Daron said:


> NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM VI IN TOKYO DOME


Just sitting down to watch this now. I'm excited, but I don't want to read your post to spoil it for me. :mark:


----------



## edge87

I Randomly received 2 FREEDOMS DVDs from Smart Mark Video's grab bags. Anyone know where I can follow up on their story-lines or get some semblance of what is going on during the shows. Also. Has anyone seen any of this Promotion and thoughts/comments you have. Thanks


----------



## antoniomare007

The All Japan/Big Japan feud is getting better and better.

Hamma/Akebono vs Daisuke/Y.Sasaki was very fun (poor Yoshihito though ). Loved Akebono being an asshole and Daisuke trying to defend his territory in the end. Okabayashi vs Soya was good too. Can't wait for the All Japan shows to surface next week :mark:


----------



## Rah

*IWGP Tag Team Title Match
Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson) © vs Tenkoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)*​
Whether this is the feeling of someone in the know or a genuine issue, I have to admit that a lot of wrestling matches don't feel as if the match is a proper fight but rather a flashy affair with the intetion of winning sprinkled between the big moves. This, however, felt dirty and it felt like a real fight. Bad Intentions truly beat the crap out of Tenzan at the match's start with repeated elbows and knee-drops (after Kojima was knocked off the apron) and it gave the crowd an awakening thanks to Tenzan's counter of Anderson's brainbuster due to his growing ego and confidence in thinking Tenzan was down for the count. This definitely got the crowd heavily behind Tenkoji, with a loud pop when Kojima went for the Bakayaro Elbow.

I honestly thought Bad Intentions would retain after a Gun Stun, Magic Killer AND a very impressive aided-powerbomb by Bernard. Tenzan's kick-out gave a lot of kayfabe sense to Bad Intentions dropping the belts (adding to booking sense of this being the perfect time and opponents to drop it to), though, and Bernard definitely didn't look bad in defeat, either, having succumbed only to both of Tenkoji's individual finishers. This had A LOT of things that went right for it but, sadly, it did have it's weak points, too.

Bernard's selling of Kojima's DDT was, without question, below par but otherwise he held his own (and despite him not being the greatest thing in the ring, a match such as this makes his badass nature a gem). The worst moves of the match and a major issue for me were, however, were Kojima's chops. Sure, they had the crowd behind them but I have a massive disdain for weakly attempted chops. Unlike quite a few people I don't have an issue, as such, with the move but rather the tendency for a wrestler to deliver a superfluous amount of them to the point that they look weak and extremely ineffective. Perhaps I'm being overly critical of them, but it's a definite means of lowering my enjoyment within the match and hurts its rating. Faults aside, I also have to bring up the issue of Anderson's Gun Stun (and this is perhaps my newbie experience of Anderson showing, here) but his mannerism during the cutter and setting up of the Gun Stun on Tenzan reminded me A LOT of Randy Orton's RKO - especially the ground pounding. Whether done in homage or not (and this doesn't seem it is) I'm not a particular fan of wrestlers using another's "set ups" or mannerisms.

All this aside, and in summation, this match was damn good and definitely better than my expectation of it. It's not going to win any awards for greatest match of the year, but it does everything it needed to, and does it well, I must add. Great match.

*Rating:* 4.25- (the chops make me want to drag this down to a 4 but I'll make somewhat of an exception and settle with this)

*Apollo 55 Vs No Remorse Corps*​[Firefox accidentally this review so I had to rewrite]

For some odd reason I thought I was watching Evan Bourne and Buzz Lightyear make their debuts in NJPW. After rekindling my senses I realized it was Taguchi and Devitt (of which the latter was sporting a large, black dildo from his groin area).

Perhaps my original review got swiped (I hate Firefox) because the universe knew I would change my mind about this match. After giving it a lot more thought and comparing it to the NOAH/NJPW tag, I definitely find myself leaning less on personal biases hating on the match and rather on enjoying it for what it really was – a damn good opener. It had its mistakes, sure, and I am still angered over the botched ending, but nothing in life is perfect. I suppose the inner mark in me needs to get over the fact that Davie/Devitt might never have a completely surreal match (and awaken to the reality of how implausible that probably is).

No matter how many times I rewatch this match, however, I’ll never lighten up to how annoying I find Romero. The guy makes all his in-ring heel work sound like an Ooompa-Loompah having anal sex and delivers some of the weakest corner clotheslines I’ve ever seen. I won’t fault him on his efforts, though. As a heel I’m meant to wish for him to get utterly buttfucked by the faces, and I certainly felt that way after that little fiasco. I’ve also got to praise him on his attempts to get the crowd against him. He’s not the greatest wrestler in here, but what he lacks in skill he’s certainly giving in energy. No faults there.
I originally had this match at *** but, after rethinking, I’ll give it a more deserved rating. Not phenomenal, but nothing to be taken lightly, either.
*Rating:* 3.5+


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Chris Jericho and Black Tiger II vs Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa*
:mark: /review

****3/4*


----------



## Scavo

*Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori - NOAH 1/23/11*

Solid tag team action. Big Tak was great as always, KENTA showed toughness, but he can't hold a candle to Big Tak. Sano was somewhat impressive too.
*
***1/4*


----------



## Scavo

*Kensuke Sasaki & Hiroshi Hase vs. Masahiro Chono & Keiji Mutoh - IWGP Tag Titles 11/1/1990*

Excellent big man match. Unbeliavable exchanges from all four man, and it was amazing to see those 300 pounders bumping like shits. Great stuff!

*****1/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

prepare to be semi-flamed. i loved that match. think i gave it ****1/2. crowd was also incredible here.


----------



## antoniomare007

wow, it seems Masakatsu Funaki will miss 6 months due to injury after the "incident" with Nagata at WK.


----------



## TelkEvolon

antoniomare007 said:


> wow, it seems Masakatsu Funaki will miss 6 months due to injury after the "incident" with Nagata at WK.


In 6 months time, I want the match.


----------



## Bubz

What happened at WK? That's one of the matches I skipped because I had no interest in it. Did I miss something good?


----------



## bigbuxxx

take six and a half minutes and watch it.


----------



## seancarleton77

Bubz said:


> What happened at WK? That's one of the matches I skipped because I had no interest in it. Did I miss something good?


Hell yes you did. There is some legit heat between Nagata & Funaki, and Inoue's head ended up in the nosebleeds.


----------



## bigbuxxx




----------



## Pat9010

I thought Funaki's injury happened during the match? More specifically, the knee he took to the face while sitting on the top turnbuckle


----------



## bigbuxxx

yeah that's when it happened.

@ 5:38 through this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAlfvwp9aIE


----------



## Derek

6 months? Damn. Well, the re-match is sure as hell going to be heated.


----------



## Bubz

Just watched it, holy shit at the head butt post match. Nagata is such a fucking bad ass taking that shit and not even budging.

btw, has Nagata ever won a match with that arm bar he uses? It seems like his finisher since it gets the biggest reaction and he does that stupid eye thing, but I've never seen it finish a match for him.


----------



## Pat9010

I know he's finished at least one of his IWGP title defenses with it.....maybe?


----------



## bigbuxxx

yeah he's won a few matches with it but it's just as bad as Kojima's elbow off the top that he always covers and always gets a two count on.


----------



## FITZ

New Japan Wrestle Kingdom VI 

Trying to keep up on some of the better Japanese stuff that happens this year and despite knowing very little of puro I know enough to know that the Tokyo Dome show New Japan has every year is a pretty big deal. 

I'll just go ahead and make a disclaimer, I don't know anything about New Japan. I've seen some of their guys live when they came to New York but aside from that one show I've never watched any of these guys before. If they aren't an American indy wrestler I know nothing about them. 
_
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title:_ 
*Davey Richards & Rocky Romero(c) vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi*

I liked it but I just don't really get the early MOTYC consideration that it's getting. It was cool to see Davey play a heel again but the Japanese crowd doesn't really react to heel tactics so it just kind of felt like a wasted effort. The in ring stuff was good. I liked the match but I was just left with the feeling of, "that was fun" and not, "that was a great match." Perfect opener for the show. Lots of spots without going crazy, and seeing this is a 4 hour plus show that's probably for the best. 
****1/2*


*Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Máscara Dorada & KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku , Atlantis , Valiente & Taichi*

Well other than Liger and Tiger Mask I didn't have a clue who was who and it was tough to keep track of who was on what team. Everyone had a unique look but there wasn't much structure and was just a lot of guys going around and hitting spots. It just sort of happened. At least you got to hear Liger's music. 
***1/4 *


*Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI *

Well this totally sucked. Thankfully it wasn't very long but I can't think of a single positive thing to say about it. The match felt like this slow feeling out process and then one guy (no idea who is who) wins the match with some move I don't remember (just finsihed the match literally a minute ago). A complete waste of time. I would have enjoyed listening to Liger's music for another 5 minutes instead of watching this. 
*1/4**


*Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
*
Hey it's that guy from WCW! I liked this one a lot actually. With the language barrier and lack of knowledge I sometimes feel that I just make up my own stories to matches but the one that I saw and hope the wrestlers went for was really interesting. I saw a young up and coming guy (Inoue) team with an an experienced veteran (Nagata) and go against these 2 asshole heels in their prime. The match was really hard fought, I loved the crowd's reaction when Nagata locked in his finishing hold. It wasn't very long but the pace was fast and it was enjoyable the whole time. Good stuff. This is my new favorite Yuji Nagata match as I found it to be much better than that match he had with Glacier on Nitro. 
*****


_Tokyo Monster War:_
*MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Masato Tanaka*

The Japanese fans doing MVP's "Ballin!" is pretty hilarious. So this was booked as a hardcore match and it didn't take long for MVP to go through a table, I was happy and surprised that the table didn't no sell Tanaka jumping from the top rope. Shelton shows his lack of knowledge of Japanese wrestling by trying to start a slow clap to build up a hot tag... But when he made the hot tag he was actually really good in the ring as the fans seemed to like him and he was lucky enough to be in a spot where doing a bunch of moves was exactly what was called for. Actually this match was perfect for Shelton, he got to be the hot tag and hit all his cool moves. MVP did the bulk of the work and the guy can still go. Since he's been working regularly in New Japan for so long I can't say I was too surprised by this fact. This was a good, short match. Maybe someone from ROH can see this and figure out a better way to use Haas and Benjamin...
**** *


_IWGP Tag Team Championship: _
*Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson(c) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
*
The beginning was this awesome mix of an indy match and an old school tag match. It had the structure and storytelling that makes me love some of the older stuff out there and it had all the cool moves that make indy wrestling fun. When Bernard and Anderson had a control segment they really bit the shit out of their opponents. I can't say which was Kojima and which was Tenzan but they were both pretty awesome and played great under dogs in the match. Seeing this has made me realize how much WWE missed the boat with Bernard. Considering smaller guys are getting pushed more over there he could be so valuable on that roster now. At least I get to see him be a total badasss in this match though. I don't know too much about Anderson and Bernard but I know enough about wrestling to say that they are incredible as the dominant champions in New Japan and it seemed like a really big deal when they got beat. This was a great match, it had everything you could ask for in a tag match. Good pacing, no sloppiness, a great story, and characters that were really easy to get behind. 
****3/4 *

_NOAH vs. New Japan #1_
*Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Sugiura*

So I normally don't complain about the Japanese announcers but this one asshole was so fucking annoying. His partner would talk and he would respond with, "Hay." He did this about 50 times during the match and I really wanted to punch him in the face. 

Now the match itself was kind of odd. I felt like I was watching a 40 minute main event condensed into 10 minutes. It was kind of cool to watch actually as I have a hard time staying focused on some of the longer heavyweight matches that I watch. The crowd really seemed into it (presumably cheering on the New Japan guys) and there were a couple of instances where I thought the match was about to end. Entertaining match. It kind of bothers me when guys wrestle the end of a 10 minute match like they've been in a grueling 45 minute match though.
***3/4*


_Fight Without Honor or Humanity:_
*Togi Makabe vs. Yoshihiro Takayama*

Awesome name for a match yet not an awesome match. I'm about 90% of seen a couple of Takayama matches before and I thought he was really good in those, not sure what years I watched him wrestle in as he didn't really seem that impressive here. Both guys really seemed to rely on who they were and doing a bunch of moves that looked really painful. But that was fun to watch so I guess that match wasn't too terrible. 
***1/2 *


_
NOAH vs. New Japan #2_
*Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji*

I liked this a lot. New Japan sends two guys to represent them that have a ton of personality but are also clearly heels. It made the match a lot more fun because the New Japan fans seemed to be really behind the New Japan wrestlers so the heelish actions of Nakamura and Yano (mostly Yano I believe) were met with positive reactions from the fans. Perfect length for the match as it was kept fairly short but I didn't think the short length had a negative impact on the match at all. 
****1/2 *

*
Tetsuya Naito vs. Keiji Muto
*
I loved the start to the match where we saw a great exchange of holds. You would see each guy try to work out of whatever hold they were in or try some way to reverse it. There was never a moment where they weren't trying to counter a move, and that kept things very interesting. A lot of the holds focused on the leg and from there Muto attacked the leg with some more high impact moves. There was some really good looking stuff he did to Naito's leg. Muto had a very focused offense in this as well as there was little he did that didn't go after the leg he had been working on. You had a handful of comebacks from Naito that the crowd got behind but were quickly cut off by Muto, this all really helped build into the inevitable comeback from Naito. 

I can't say I was impressed by Naito's selling though. I hate when I guy is easily running the ropes right after he had his leg worked on for over 10 minutes. Aside from the minor annoyance as soon as Muto stopped working on the leg Naito stopped selling it, which made me wonder what the point of all that leg work was if he wasn't going to sell it. There were also a lot of Shining Wizards which would have bothered me if it wasn't hilarious to hear the Japanese announce scream, "Shining Wizzzaaard!!!" Also they all looked really good and the fact that Naito kept kicking out of them made him look really strong. It's just a shame that Naito sold his leg so poorly or this could have been a great match. So much of the match was devoted to working the leg and he sold well during the control segment but as soon as his comeback started the leg appeared fine. Such a shame as with good selling I think these would have been better than anything else on the card so far. 
*****

_
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: _
*Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Minoru Suzuki*

So despite Tanahashi having the belt for a really long time he goes and plays the wole of the underdog in this match. He played it well though as Suzuki really looked like someone could take the belt. I didn't see something I would consider a MOTY by any means but I thought it was the best match of the night. Everything about it was good but nothing really made me feel like this was something special. 
****3/4 *​

I can't say I was too impressed with the show. A lot of the matches were good but after seeing some of the ratings people were giving I was expecting more. I'm still going to try to keep up with the Japanese MOTYC but I can't see myself downloading another full New Japan show in the future.


----------



## Bubz

The show wasn't the best example of a NJPW show I don't think. It was supposed to be the biggest show of the year but the majority of their PPV's last year were better than it. I would definitely give their next big show a go and then see what you think or something.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Bubz said:


> The show wasn't the best example of a NJPW show I don't think. It was supposed to be the biggest show of the year but the majority of their PPV's last year were better than it. I would definitely give their next big show a go and then see what you think or something.


Agreed. Anxiously looking forward to the G-1 in August now .


----------



## Pat9010

Anyone see that Bull Nakano show from yesterday? Worth watching?


----------



## Cactus

Pat9010 said:


> Anyone see that Bull Nakano show from yesterday? Worth watching?


I second this question.


----------



## seancarleton77

The Bull Nakano show was surreal. The only really good wrestling match was Kana vs. Kagetsu which was about ***1/4 to ***1/2.


----------



## FITZ

Bubz said:


> The show wasn't the best example of a NJPW show I don't think. It was supposed to be the biggest show of the year but the majority of their PPV's last year were better than it. I would definitely give their next big show a go and then see what you think or something.


It's the one that I've heard of before (and not just because of TNA) and they were in the Tokyo Dome. It always has guys from a bunch of different companies as well so I just put two and two together and figured it was their big show. Do they run other shows on the Dome?


----------



## antoniomare007

As I've said before. Most of the time, New Japan Dome shows aren't the best quality wise. The might have a couple of good matches here and there (and every now and then you might get a classic) but it's more about being a spectacle and show New Japan as "The King Of Sports".


----------



## bigbuxxx

they haven't done two Dome shows in a single year since 2005


----------



## antoniomare007

um, so?


----------



## bigbuxxx

taylorfitz asked if they did more than one a year.


----------



## antoniomare007

lmao, I'm a moron


----------



## Derek

The main point of the Dome shows now is just to bring in stars from other companies and either crowning new champions or solidifying title reigns. 

Generally not the source for the best quality of matches (although there were a few this year that I definitely enjoy). I'd definitely say that the Tokyo Dome crowds can be brutal, mainly due the the lower attendance since the mid-00's and earlier in addition to the vast size of the building itself. A vocal crowd can play a role in a match (like a hot korakuen hall crowd) while a dead crowd in the Dome can completely suck the life out of a match.


----------



## Pat9010

Thanks for the response on the Joshi show, i'll check out the Kana match. I think NJPW's best show last year was the June 18th show(?). With Goto vs Tanahashi


----------



## Rah

After being pre-occupied with life for the past couple days I finally managed to get through Wrestlekingdom. The final two reviews:

*Nakamura Yano Vs Go Shiozaki Marufuji*​I’ll be honest, I knew neither of the two NJPW wrestlers in this match (hell, it took me a while to realize this wasn’t a singles bout – which is odd, as I know both NOAH guys decently well) . Anyway. During the first’s entrance (Yano), randomly Googling “fat, albino, Japanese HHH-Wannabe” offered me no assistance and when his partner came out looking like Boy George doing Jeff Hardy’s coked up ring-entrance I was so sure I had accidently found myself watching another Dino Produce match.

The match was equally confusing to me (with regards to its rating). It seemed to sway from the realms of great execution to that of some quite sloppy workings. Perhaps “sloppy” is a tad harsh, but this definitely was not close to perfection. Perhaps the reason for people “sleeping on this match” (as Seabs had said) was because of the uninteresting start this match got off to, and I’ll admit I had lost interest for quite some time. When this match re-piqued my interest, however, it certainly started to deliver and did almost make up for the boring beginning segments. This could have been within the ****+ mark for me, but sadly it wasn’t and another disappointing outcome. That’s not to say it wasn’t good, but simply not as good as I had thought it would be (going on ratings others have given it) and definitely better than I thought a fat albino and Boy George could have made it. Both thumbs three-quarters up.
*Rating:* 3.75-
*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Minoru Suzuki*​There comes a time when your inner mark has to take a backseat to the realities going on in front of him and this was definitely my mark’s time. Hiroshi Cena, sadly, strikes again. His ending stretches always rely on “fighting spirit” in making plausible his own comebacks, yet there is something that just seems too unrealistic in his quick mannerisms in going for his double frog splash (almost as if he had never been in a 30min+ match a couple seconds before this point in time – noting his “screw the rules” hopping over the top rope and quick climb of the turnbuckle). This time, however, my gripes came a lot earlier on in the match, when Tanahashi attempted to beat the count-out. 

While it’s normal for many wrestlers to do this, I cannot not hate on it simply because it’s the norm. If he truly was that badly beat down that it took him to the count of 18 to crawl his way only so far, how is it that he could suddenly (with devil speed) sprint into the ring just to avoid the loss by a whisker? I was going to fault Suzuki on literally no-selling the backdrop to the entrance ramp but, for me, it worked as a way of putting Suzuki over even more and gave greater legitimacy to Hashi’s threat.

Work-wise I wasn’t entirely happy with Tanahashi’s performance (suffering from what seems an under-deliverance across the card) but, man, Suzuki stepped to the plate. His mannerisms and facial expressions really sold the match for me (not to disregard anything else as he was on fire here) and would possibly have given me a very strong contender for MotY if Hashi had been a bit more on his game. Yet another match that took me a while to get into (perhaps it’s just me, then?), but Suzuki saved this, ripped it from the grave and gave it some life.

Not being too familiar with the promotion, I’m not too sure where Tanahashi goes from here considering he’s beaten every “insurmountable odd” that has come his way – thankfully, though, giving his opponent more credibility as the chronology went on. As unlikely as it seems, my money is on Okada, though, in getting the final win. *facepalm*
*Rating:* 4.25+


----------



## bigbuxxx

I think Okada has less of a chance than MiSu did and I gave MiSu < 1%. I'd like to see Naito or Goto win it so we could get some super hot and fresh matches like Naito vs Goto or Nagata vs Goto for the title for 25-35 minutes.

The next ppv seems like a throwaway ppv unfortunately. Hopefully we can get some solid under card action with Nagata/Nakamura/Naito/Goto. Would be pleasantly surprised to see another Nakamura vs Naito match which isn't far fetched considering their on opposite sides from each other in every tag their in until the ppv.


----------



## Rah

In my right mind I wouldn't, at all, peg Okada for the strap, either, but something, for some reason, is giving me the feeling that he's about to be pushed to the moon. It just doesn't make sense to me for this to be done but I'm going to let out my disappointment over it now before it actually does happen.

As for MiSu's <1% he certainly did look strong enough to win it (barring Hashi's lovely no selling, as per usual). I'm new to Tanahashi's reign of doom, though, so I'm not particularly perturbed by it. I wouldn't exactly say not to Nagata/Goto, however, especially if it was given time.


----------



## antoniomare007

Even if their plan was to give Okada the title (which I highly doubt), I think they changed their mind after negative reaction his title shot got.


----------



## Rah

Well, from what I gather he hasn't transitioned from a Young Lion yet, what with his only match since his return (excluding NJPW's sting in America) being at Wrestlekingdom V.

I wouldn't judge crowd reaction just yet as he does need to prove himself. If (and this is probably a big if) he puts on a hell of a performance I doubt the crowd won't rethink their decisions. The same could be said for a loss, but I'm not quite sure where the title would go or why they would spring Okada up so quickly.

Goto lost to Tanaka a couple months ago so that would make me question him going over Tanahashi but it's something I'd be much happier with. We'll just have to wait and see. No matter which way, I'm not expecting miracles from Hashi/Okada


----------



## bigbuxxx

I mean Goto after winning G-1 and getting a shot in september or just later in the year w/o the g-1 because as i stated a couple days ago...if he wins against tanaka he won't get a shot soon and if he loses it's the same situation so it's lose/lose for him really.

I'm looking forward to the Okada match because I'm not really expecting anything but I'd like to see what NJPW people see in him and how he does against Tanahashi.

Also please to be breaking up BI and give the I-C belt to Anderson.


----------



## smitlick

*Zero-One - Euro Vintage Action - 8/9/10*

*1. Japan vs Canada*
Masato Tanaka vs Tyson Dux
Was heavily clipped and didn't look all that good from the highlights.

*2. NWA International Lightweight Tag Titles*
Takuya Sugawara & Kaijin Habu Otoko vs Munenori Sawa & Ikuto Hidaka
***

*Zero-One - Euro Vintage Action - 9/9/10*

*1. Japan vs North America*
Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa vs Sonjay Dutt & Tyson Dux
***1/4
Very fun. Sonjay looked really good, Just wished it wasn't as clipped as it was.

2. Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka vs Kohei Sato & Ryouji Sai
**1/2

*3. World Heavyweight Title*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Bambi Killer
**1/2


----------



## antoniomare007

OK, so I'ma need some help with some youtube accounts for current puro as I've just realized I can't download shit from my computer right now.

Was exited about the 1/2 All Japan show and now I have to wait


----------



## Bubz

I was just looking and SenorDDT who usually uploads all the japan shows has been suspended I guess. All his vids have been removed .


----------



## antoniomare007




----------



## bigbuxxx

I upload all the current NJPW stuff but beyond that it gets you banned. Z-1, AJPW, NOAH are taking it down almost right away now.


----------



## Bubz

Ah man, Youtube's gone to the shits.


----------



## antoniomare007

fuck


----------



## Claymore

Apologies if this is in the wrong thread, but I have recently started to get back into watching some indy wrestling and one wrestler that has caught my eye is Kenny Omega. Now I know he has had a few stints in Japan over the past few years, and I was hoping some of you knowledgable folk out there could help me find some of his best work in Japan. What are his best matches over there? What's worth searching out? Whatever you think I should check out...Thanks in advance for any help given.


----------



## antoniomare007

his tags with Ibush against Apollo 55 are all fun to watch.

also check his matches against YOSHIHIKO, Marufuji and Prince Devitt.


----------



## McQueen

I was wondering who would bring up YOSHIHIKO first.


----------



## Scavo

*Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Togi Makabe - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI*

I'm sorry, but Tak needs to consider retirement. He barely survived these 10 minutes and it was horrible to see him look like that. As a huge fan of his, I wish him the best, but not in the ring anymore. He'll die. As for the match, it was solid, couple of nice sequences and that's about it. Kudos to Tak for taking that nasty German Suplex.

***1/2*


----------



## smitlick

Diamond Ring, 11.02.2012 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Kikutaro & Numazu Man vs. Masao Inoue & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa 
2. Ultimo Dragon, Taiji Ishimori & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Kazunari Murakami, NOSAWA Rongai & Takeshi Minamino 
3. Kento Miyahara vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato 
4. Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya vs. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama 
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shingo Takagi


----------



## seabs

*YOSHIHIKO :mark:

Devitt's title match vs Omega from 2010 is for me one of the best modern juniors match. Really incredible match. Their match from BOSJ last year was tons of fun too. Any of his tags with Ibushi are worth watching, especially the ones against Devitt and Taguchi. Majority of his matches from BOSJ 2010 and 2011 are all really good too.

Nakajima vs SHINGO could seriously rule as long as KO main event matches don't go with the recent trend of being horribly long.*


----------



## Claymore

Thanks for the help, much appreciated.


----------



## Bubz

Wow, Nakajima vs SHINGO! Sick.


----------



## Chismo

> Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shingo Takagi


Motherfucker, yeah! Dream match, if you ask me.


----------



## Pat9010

New Dragon Gate infinity worth checking out?


----------



## seabs

*Fuck yeah.*


----------



## smitlick

In 2010 i really didn't care for All Japan all that much. In 2011 & 2012 they've improved so much 


AJPW, 03.02.2012 (GAORA TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Soya vs. Yutaka Yoshie & KENSO 
2. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya vs. Taiyo Kea, Seiya Sanada & KAI 
3. All Asia Tag Team Title Skirmish: Keiji Muto, Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto , Yoshihito Sasaki & Yuji Okabayashi 
4. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Kaz Hayashi 
5. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Takao Omori 


AJPW, 11.02.2012 (GAORA TV) 
Matsushita IMP Hall 

1. Jounetsu Baka x Hentai Wrestler Again: Hiroshi Yamato vs. Hikaru Sato 
2. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya vs. Taiyo Kea, Seiya Sanada & KAI 
3. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama


----------



## Chismo

Takao Omori? He's good, but I don't think he can deliver in this match. However, I'm not afraid about the match quality, because The Bald Badass always delivers in big matches.


----------



## seancarleton77

That All Japan card looks killer, but Muto needs to retire, 10 years ago!


----------



## antoniomare007

> ZERO1 "ZERO1 ACTION 2012", 01.02.2012
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 3. ZERO1 vs. BJW: Ryouji Sai, Shito Ueda & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Daisuke Sekimoto , Kazuki Hashimoto & Masashi Otani


:mark:

this shit better be taped.


----------



## seabs

*It will be. All Z1 K.Hall shows are taped, plus there's 3 title matches on the show.*


----------



## McQueen

*Seabs* will be there with his handicam in the crowd.


FOR FUCKS SAKES *Seabs* YOU SIG IS FREAKING ME OUT. I'm waiting for an eye to pop out or some shit.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

"All Asia Tag Team Title Skirmish: Keiji Muto, Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto , Yoshihito Sasaki & Yuji Okabayashi"

More wrestling companies should have skirmishes on their shows. IDGAF about the match, but the name of it rules.


----------



## antoniomare007

meh, NOAH has skirmishes all the time *shrugs*


----------



## Chismo

Good news from SMASH:



Spoiler: SMASH "We Are SMASH"



SMASH "WE ARE SMASH", 19.01.2012
Shinjuku FACE
600 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Hajime Ohara besiegt Masaki Kirizawa (2-0) (3:00).
0. AKIRA vs. Akira Shinose (0-0) (3:00).
0. Yusuke Kodama besiegt Tomohiro Otani (2-0) (3:00).
1. Yusuke Kodama besiegt Jiro Kuroshio (6:27) mit einem Backdrop uplex.
2. Josh O'Brien Debut Match: AKIRA besiegt Josh O'Brien (6:56) mit der Musasabi Press.
3. Ultimo Dragon & Hisamaru Tajima besiegen Hajime Ohara & Koji Doi (12:46) nach einer Powerbomb von Tajima gegen Doi.
4. TAJIRI, Shuri & Makoto besiegen Takuya Kito, Lin Bairon & Aki Shizuku (13:59) nach einer High Kick von Shuri gegen Kito.
*5. SMASH Diva Title*: Kana besiegt Tomoka Nakagawa (c) (12:30) mit einem Foot & Arm Crucifix Hold - Titelwechsel.

So awesome that Kana is the champ again.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

antoniomare007 said:


> meh, NOAH has skirmishes all the time *shrugs*


Well this is basically the first time I've looked at a current puro card in, like, 3 years, so...yeah. This skirmish deal was new to me.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW Super Powers Clash*

Before I jump in this review, I just want to give some background of this show. The show occurred on 4/24/1989 and the video I am reviewing is an English release that is missing some matches, but has English commentary by Nick Bockwinkel. The tournament matches have a really bizarre set of rules. Basically, all the matches have a time limit and if the time expires, the winner will be determined by whoever has the lost the least points. A wrestler will lose points by striking with a closed fist (minus one point), knocking your opponent out of the ring (minus two points) and jumping of the top rope (minus three points). If a wrestler gets to -10 points, he will be disqualified. 

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament First Round Match*
Masahiro Chono vs Vader
_Barely passing the two minute mark, this wasn't great at all. Chono's facial expression after getting beheaded from Vader's lariat saves this from going into DUD territory._
*¼**

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament First Round Match*
Tatsumi Fujinami vs Vladimer Berkovich 
_I can't say I've heard of this Berkovich fella, but he had some pretty slick suplexes in his arsenal. Fujinami uses his kicks to counter Berkovich's suplexes and the contrasting styles really add to the match._
_****_

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament First Round Match*
Buzz Sawyer vs Victor Zangiev 
_Much like his Russian buddy, Zangiev uses suplexes and hip throws to perfection. Much more character based than the other matches. Zangiev being the no-nonsense ruffian and Sawyer being the cocky American. Zangiev was also the inspiration for Street Fighter's Zangief, by the way. A pointless piece of information for you._
_**¾*_

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament First Round Match*
Shinya Hashimoto vs Riki Choshu
_Quite intense for a three-and-a-half minute match. These two really know how the bring the goods. Oh, and they also squeezed in a good narrative in that time as well. _
_***½*_

Masa Saito vs Waka Evoloev 
_Adding to the stereotype that all Russian uses suplexes, Evoloev uses... you guessed it, suplexes. Saito, not used to Evoloev's style of mat wrestling, soon gets tired of Evoloev throwing him about and lays him out with some strikes._
_***¼*_

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament Semi-Final Match*
Vader vs Tatsumi Fujinami
_The announcers were still selling that this tournament had a ten minute time limit like in the first round, but the match went way over ten minutes and the big screen in the background. This match was ripe with psychology and both wrestlers really made it feel like Fujinami had no chance against the behemoth Vader. _
_****¼*_

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament Semi-Final Match*
Victor Zangiev vs Shinya Hashimoto
_Zangiev is a freaking beast on the mat. You really could tell he had a strong amateur background. Shinya soon gets pissed and hocks a loogie in Zangiev's direction and dishes out the kicks. Yet another match that benefited from the contrasting styles._
_*****_

Bam Bam Bigalow vs Salman Hashimikov 
_Bigalow is the ignorant American wrestler and Hashimikov is a the Russian non-nonsense grappler. You know, like everyone else of the same race in the tournament. This was a pointless three minute match, much like more non-tournament matches from this show._
***

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Cup Tournament Final Match*
Vader vs Shinya Hashimoto
_Vader's naff arm from his last match is played into this match. Just as the match start getting good, with the crowd being red-hot, the match just ends abruptly. I wouldn't of thought it was such a bad ending if guest referee Lou Thesz took a few seconds before making the final three count, totally killing the crowd's excitement._
_***¾*_

*Mix Martial Arts Battle*
Antonio Inoki vs Shota Chochoshivilli
_Being a martial arts bout, the ring ropes are removed for this contest and the match has three minute rounds. I am ninety-nine percent certain this was worked, but I could be wrong, but I'm going to rate it as a worked match anyway. The first two rounds are good stuff, with Chochoshivilli working away at Inoki's arm and Inoki keep coming back, but the next few rounds were extremely boring. It picked up in the end when Chochoshivilli got suplex-happy and the crowd went nuts._
_***¼*_

*Overall:*
I'm pretty sure that the English commentators were just making up the rules such as the short time limits and point deductions to make the matches seem more legitimate. The fact that they also never mentioned NJPW or the IWGP by name supports this. Don't let the low ratings fool you. I enjoyed all the matches but most were simply too short to get a higher rating. This means the bad matches were also kept short, so that's a big plus. The inclusion of the Russians really gave this show a UWF feel given their grappling style. If you are a fan of shoot style, go give this a watch.​


----------



## Chismo

NOAH Great Voyage results:



Spoiler: NOAH 1/22/2012



*NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN OSAKA", 22.01.2012 (G+)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
3,400 Fans
*
1. Yoshinobu Kanamaru besiegt Harlem Bravado (3:47) mit einem Reverse Cradle.
2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin besiegen Ryuji Hijikata & Lance Bravado (8:34) nach dem Santa Maria von Marvin gegen Bravado.
3. Mohammed Yone besiegt Yutaka Yoshie (10:35) mit einem Head Kick.
4. Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi (14:24) nach dem Shiranui von Marufuji gegen Hirayanagi.
5. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegen Kenta Kobashi & Shuhei Taniguchi (15:44) nach einer Northern Light Bomb von Sasaki gegen Taniguchi.
6. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) besiegen Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada (21:10) nach dem Assault Point von Aoki gegen Kotoge (3rd defense).
7. *GHC Tag Team Title*: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) (15:38) nach dem Death Brand von Saito gegen Anderson - Titelwechsel.
8. *GHC Heavyweight Title*: Takeshi Morishima besiegt Go Shiozaki (c) (22:30) mit einem Backdrop Suplex - Titelwechsel.

Wow, surprising results under 7 and 8, at least for me. Morishima is definitely more over than Shiozaki, let's see how he reigns. Akiyama and Saito are probably the best options to dethrone Bad Intentions. Seems like a good show, tbh.


_credit: purolove.com_


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Spoiler: NOAH



HOLY SHIT @ Shima winning the belt
It's a good decision considering pretty much EVERYONE is more over than Go, now they can push the hell out of Shima like they've been doing since he won the GL. Hopefully KENTA will get a huge push as well once he returns.


----------



## antoniomare007

god damn that attendance is pitiful , and it's probably even worse considering that NOAH boosts up their numbers most of the time.



Spoiler: about results



I'm pissed that we wont get Go vs Kensuke II for the title, but honestly it doesn't even matter anymore. NOAH is in such a hole right now that everything they do feels pointless.


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: NOAH



Meh reign again for Shiozaki then. Sucks. Doesn't matter though. Funny that Akiyama/Saito won tag belts when original challengers for this show were Takayama/KENTA.


*


----------



## Bubz

Spoiler: NOAH



Wow, I thought Go would retain. I feel sorry for Go, he's great but for some reason he just isn't over.


----------



## antoniomare007

Sugi is the next challenger for the GHC Title (3/18 in Yokohama).


----------



## Chismo

Butchering.


----------



## zaqw222222

PuroClassics posted this bulletin on their youtube channel



> I have finally received a copyright notice from some people and as a result I will no longer post videos and this channel will probably be terminated (not by me though).


----------



## TelkEvolon

ProWrestlingFARK is at it again AKA pissing into the wind.



> From the ashes of ProWrestlingARK.....
> 
> Subscribe to ProWrestlingFARK to get all your NOAH action in one place with an over 170GB archive of Pro Wrestling NOAH matches and moments.


http://www.youtube.com/user/ProWrestlingFARK


----------



## Chismo

PuroClassics is still alive, if they kill him, I will riot! FARK uploaded some cool videos. I'm gonna download tons of matches from PClassics now.
Oh, and this video is hilarious. Pure gold. Misawa, Vader & Co. singing and laughing.


----------



## TelkEvolon

That video was odd to say the least.


----------



## Bubz

:lmao @ KENTA in the lift at the start.


----------



## smitlick

SMASH.25, 19.02.2012 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

1. Ultimo Dragon, Yusuke Kodama & Koji Doi vs. Hisamaru Tajima , YO-HEY & Jiro Kuroshio 
2. Hokuto Pro Army vs. IWA Japan Army Last Decisive Battle: Takuya Kito, Konaka = Pale One & Lou Rururu vs. Keizo Matsuda, Takashi Okano, Keisuke Yamada & Katsumi Hirano 
3. AKIRA Produce - New Japan Pro-Wrestling Alumni: AKIRA & Hisakatsu Oya vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & El Samurai 
4. Makoto, Lin Bairon & Aki Shizuku vs. Nanae Takahashi , Tomoka Nakagawa & Kagetsu 
5. Shinjiro Otani , Masato Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Starbuck, Hajime Ohara & Jessica Love 
6. Hardcore Match: KENSO & VENENO vs. Sabu & Jun Kasai 
7. SMASH Diva Title: Kana (c) vs. Shuri 
8. SMASH Title: Dave Finlay (c) vs. TAJIRI


----------



## Chismo

Such a great SMASH match-card, especially 5-8. Hopefully Finlay and Kana retain. Btw, I'm really thankful to Finlay, because his title win introduced me to this company. Now I'm a huge fan. Kana is the real deal.


----------



## Bubz

Finlay vs Tajiri could be awesome.


----------



## bigbuxxx

JoeRulz said:


> I'm gonna download tons of matches from PClassics now.


I pretty much put up the bulletin so people that wanted stuff would d/l it before it disappears.


----------



## seabs

> NOAH "THE FIRST NAVIGATION 2012", 24.01.2012
> Strait Messe Shimonoseki
> 550 Fans
> 
> 1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegt Harlem Bravado (7:33) mit dem Touch Out.
> 2. Mohammed Yone besiegt Taiji Ishimori (11:07) nach einem Muscle Buster.
> 3. Naomichi Marufuhi besiegt Shuhei Taniguchi (13:30) mit einem Inside Cradle.
> 4. Takashi Sugiura besiegt Lance Bravado (10:51) mit einem Ankle Hold.
> 5. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi (11:29) mit einer Diving Body Press von Yoshie gegen Hirayanagi.
> 6. Go Shiozaki, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Jun Akiyama, Kenta Kobashi & Ricky Marvin (34:04) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Marvin.


*A main event involving Kobashi and Akiyama on the same team that goes 34 minutes? Lance Bravado going over 10 minutes with the next GHC title challenger is pretty embarrassing too.*


----------



## Chismo

*Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW, 2/27/2000)*

Man, what a master-piece this was, 23 minutes of awesome. It's a new millennium, and Akiyama is trying to establish himself as the top dog in All Japan, and this is his biggest test, he wants to prove it's his decade now. Misawa is 2-0 against Akiyama, so you could see that Akiyama is extremely motivated in order to put Misawa down. He outwrestled Misawa many times during the match, and he beat the shit out of him with knees and exploders. Misawa's comebacks were great, and his anger combined with Akiyama's intensity created an outstanding drama. But, Akiyama kept hitting his head dropping exploders until Misawa is finally down for good. Huge win for Akiyama, this was one fantastic match with an awesome, fast-paced action and brilliant storytelling.
*Rating: ****3/4*


----------



## Yeah1993

I can still remember the Exploder onto the apron in that one. Looked like one of those "German Suplex from the rope to the floor" spots that are teased but not actually pulled off. Except the bastards pulled it off because it's Mitusharu Misawa and he has fall-on-your-head masochism or something.

I still prefer Kawada v Tenryu from the same year, but is that by FAR the best Akiyama singles? His match v Masao Inoue 4/23/06 is apparently awesome but I haven't seen yet. Apart from that Idk what he has that I don't find overrated to hell.


----------



## Chismo

I know you don't like Kobashi vs. Akiyama from 2004, but it's Akiyama's best match, IMO. Their 12/23/2000 match is greatness too, but not better than Misawa/Akiyama I reviewed. Plus, Misawa/Akiyama I and II (9/6/97 and 4/18/98) are pretty damn good too. Didn't see Akiyama/Inoue or Misawa/Akiyama for the GHC or Kobashi/Akiyama for the Triple Crown (1998).

Did you see Akiyama vs. SUWAMA for the Triple Crown (10/23/11), Yeah? Also, I prefer Kawada/Kenskay over Kawada/Tenryu.


----------



## Yeah1993

I didn't see any puro from 2011 apart from Takayama v KENTA in January. Akiyama v Suwama is something I wanted to check out, but it's one of those things I leave for a later day which eventually turns into "a later year".


----------



## Bubz

I wasn't the biggest fan of Kenskay/Kawada, but Kawada selling the punch to the head early on was GODLY!


----------



## Bubz

So in light of recent events, I've downloaded most of the stuff from PuroClassics channel from AJPW that I hadn't seen yet, or saw a while ago that I couldn't remember that well.

I'm going to work my through lots of stuff this week but I'll start with this one...

*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Brody & Hansen - 8/12/84*
An absolute clinic in tag team wrestling from Brody and Hansen here, maybe one of the best I've seen. They completely destroy Terry and then once he gets the tag, they do one of the best wrokovers I've ever seen on Dory. They dominate him for a long ass time but it is always awesome to watch. Funk keeps trying to help but is constantly beat on as well. There is an awesome ref bump that allows the two big men to grab a table and destroy Dory even more with it while Funk again tries to help but is knocked down. Brody and Hansen came off as unstoppable and Funk realises they probably are just that, so he resorts to headbutting the ref and using a chain and the match gets thrown out. I wasn't expecting the ending, so it caught me off guard a bit, but it was logical given how much punishment the Funks had taken and they couldn't take anymore, and it wasn't distracting enough to take away the masterclass in tag wrestling that came before it. I loved everything about this match and it just got better and better the longer Hansen and Brody dominated it. Not sure on a rating as I would like to watch it again now that I know the ending, but it's up there with my favorite tags ever probably.


----------



## McQueen

Yeah1993 said:


> I still prefer Kawada v Tenryu from the same year, but is that by FAR the best Akiyama singles? His match v Masao Inoue 4/23/06 is apparently awesome but I haven't seen yet. Apart from that Idk what he has that I don't find overrated to hell.


I've seen that Inoue match its a lot of fun but I don't know if i'd put it anywhere near Akiyama's best matches. In fact in a lot of ways I still prefer his title loss to Marufuji later in the year.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Bubz said:


> I wasn't the biggest fan of Kenskay/Kawada, but Kawada selling the punch to the head early on was GODLY!


I'd still call Kawada/Kensuke comfortably "really good", but I don't think I've ever really "gotten it, either. And I'm not sure why that is.

Tenryu/Kawada is tremendous, though. Kawada was probably the best wrestler in the world that year.


----------



## McQueen

Other than the All Japan/NOAH folks, 2000 wasn't that awesome of a year as far as a bunch of great matches go.


----------



## Yeah1993

WWF was great in 2000, and El Hijo del Santo had a fucking hell of a year. I hear good things about Tajiri around then as well; some even call him the BITW for 2000.


----------



## Bubz

Never heard that about Tajiri, where was he wrestling in 2000? I can't remember anything from that year apart from the whole 'who ran over Austin?' angle.


----------



## McQueen

ECW still I think.

I've never really followed Lucha, and I can't think of too much good shit from 2000 WWF not involving Triple H, Austin or Foley.


----------



## Horselover Fat

Yeah1993 said:


> WWF was great in 2000, and El Hijo del Santo had a fucking hell of a year. I hear good things about Tajiri around then as well; some even call him the BITW for 2000.


yeah1993 youre like the budda of wrestling


----------



## Yeah1993

I have no idea what you mean, unless you meant to say Buddha. And if you meant to say Buddha, I still have no idea what you mean. 

Tajiri was mostly in ECW, I think, yeah. I'm not even saying Tajiri had a great year myself, it's just hearsay (if that's right the term for it).



McQueen said:


> I've never really followed Lucha, and I can't think of too much good shit from 2000 WWF not involving Triple H, Austin or Foley.


You're banned but I'll quote this anyway. Rock and Benoit were really good then. Eddie has some nice stuff. Also watch lucha you prick.


----------



## antoniomare007

lmao, what did McQueen do?


----------



## Rah

One of the mods only ever replies to pictures of scantily clad women with a rating system (10/10 for example) yet for a picture of Eve said mod broke kayfabe (similar to Sabu suddenly speaking English) and muttered "so sexy" to which McQueen said:


McQueen said:


> Holy shit, you can actually post words.
> 
> Oh and Eve looks great.


Sigh... there's a rant about it in the appropriate section


----------



## smitlick

Uhh.... These things explain why i don't leave this area to often...


----------



## Bubz

He got banned for that? The Fuck?


----------



## smitlick

*Zero1 - Tenka-Ichi Jr. 2010 - 19/9/10*

1. Ikuto Hidaka vs Munenori Sawa
***

2. World Heavyweight Title
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Kohei Sato
***1/2

3. Tenka-Ichi Jr. Final
Kaijin Habu Otoko vs Ikuto Hidaka
***1/4


----------



## Bubz

I rewatched Misawa/Jumbo from 8/6/90 today. It's as great as I remembered and an absolute 5 star classic. My favorite thing about it is how the crowd gradually gets more and more behind Misawa as it goes on.

I still prefer their rematch though. Jumbo's performance in that one is 5 star worthy on it's own, and then if you add in the fact the story is amazing and it's Misawa he's wrestling, you have one of the best matches of all time.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, 9/1/1990 is one of the best matches ever. ************* stars.


----------



## 777

Yeah1993 said:


> Tajiri was mostly in ECW, I think, yeah. I'm not even saying Tajiri had a great year myself, it's just hearsay (if that's right the term for it).
> 
> 
> 
> You're banned but I'll quote this anyway. Rock and Benoit were really good then. Eddie has some nice stuff. *Also watch lucha you prick.*


I'll vouch for a stellar year of Tajiri in 2000. Soon after ECW finally made regular television in the Fall of 99, there was an exodus of many top talent to WWF, namely Tazz and the Dudleys. Subsequently, guys like Tajiri, Super Crazy, Guido and Mikey Whipwreck really had the opportunity to steal the show and did so frequently. 

When McQueen makes his triumphant return, I second this highlighted comment.


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> Yeah, 9/1/1990 is one of the best matches ever. ************* stars.


Ah, thats the date. I couldn't remember. I'll have to d'lo it off youtube if it's still on there. Am I right in saying that the 9/1 match didn't recieve 5 stars from Meltzer? It's not in puroclassics list of 5 star puro matches.


----------



## bigbuxxx

That match got ****1/2 stars. Neat link here for AJPW that don't hit 5*.

Watched Misawa vs Kobashi from 3/1/03 for the first time last night. That match deserves infinity stars as well. Misawa was a boss. His suplex on the floor had my jaw on the floor, it was just incredible. Actually watched it twice last night but with my wife and she was amazed Misawa could still do everything from 1990 with his age and the weight he put on.

I don't like Akiyama very much but after the above match I figured to give Kobashi vs Akiyama from 7/10/04 a chance and I was just bored to tears. Maybe it was a good match and maybe it deserves 5* but it reminded me why I dislike Akiyama.


----------



## Bubz

I can't believe it didn't get rated 5 by them. It's one of the best matches ever and better than a lot of the matches from AJPW that are rated that high.

Akiyama/Kobashi is one of my favorite matches, I like it more than Misawa/Kobashi from 03.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

McQueen said:


> Other than the All Japan/NOAH folks, 2000 wasn't that awesome of a year as far as a bunch of great matches go.


The "high end" matches were REALLY fucking great, though. Kawada v Tenryu, Kawada v Sasaki, Kawada/Tenryu v Hansen/Kea, Kobashi v Akiyama (twice), Misawa v Akiyama, Kobashi v Takayama, Kobashi v Omori, Kawada/Fuchi v Nagata/Iizuka...there's some seriously good shit there. 

That's of course limited to Japan. I can't be bothered putting my mind to it, but there's bound to be a good amount of strong stuff from the US and Mexico as well (the Santo/Panther matches jump out right away and might be the best matches of the entire year...shit, you could make a MOTD case for one of them (the first one, I think))


----------



## Yeah1993

Jumbo v Misawa 9/1/90 is probably a top ten match ever for me. 6/8 isn't that far behind it and I wouldn't be surprised if I thought it was better later on.

Some of Dave's five star omissions are pretty shocking considering what he HAS given five stars to. 1/20/97 Misawa v Kobashi is BY FAR the best Misawa v Kobashi and he has three other of their matches at five stars instead. PHOO-EY.

Thought Kobashi v Akiyama was terribly overrated (good, though). Probably wouldn't make my top 25 of 2004 let alone get ***** or antyhing. Definitely prefer the 03 Misawa v Kobashi even if I don't think that's _fantastic_ either.


----------



## Chismo

> I don't like Akiyama very much but after the above match I figured to give Kobashi vs Akiyama from 7/10/04 a chance and I was just bored to tears. Maybe it was a good match and maybe it deserves 5* but it reminded me why I dislike Akiyama.












Kobashi/Akiyama (7/10/2004) is the MOTD. Damn, boy... Akiyama is such a badass motherfucker, he can still outperform the shit out of 99% of Puro guys, EASILY. I just looove his ultra serious style and that *"This is gonna hurt you more than me!"* look. 

Bah Gawd, Akiyama/SUWAMA rematch and Akiyama/Sekimoto for the Triple Crown simply NEED TO happen. This motherfucker is one of few guys you can rely on, in terms of having epic main events.


----------



## Yeah1993

The seriosuness is actually one of the reasons Akiyama annoys me. I mean I'm not going to say he should joke around, and when he turns it on he looks as good as just about anybody in the world. I just don't like the way he does "epic" main events. His chop battle make me want to rip my hair out.

Also Andy Watch Misawa v Akiyama you...........SHITHEAD.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Which Misawa v Akiyama?

I don't think Kobashi/Akiyama from '04 is all that great, either. But the last time I saw Akiyama he looked like one of the only heavyweights in Japan that didn't suck donkey.


----------



## Yeah1993

You said you'd never seen 2/27/00 however long ago.


----------



## Chismo

*Andy* and *Yeah*, you seriously need to watch some Sekimoto, SUWAMA and, of course - Akiyama's recent matches from All Japan. Smart, strategic, tactical heavyweight clashes.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

*@Yeah* Well I probably haven't...I have no idea which Misawa/Akiyama match I was thinking of, then. 

Maybe the '01 match?

Fuck it, if I can download load the 2000 match I'll watch it tonight. No bullshit.


*@ Joe* Sekimoto blows and I stopped watching Akiyama/SUWAMA half way through. I at least like Nakamura. 

But not Tanahashi.


----------



## Chismo

Misawa/Akiyama I reviewed:


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Okay so I tried downloading Misawa/Akiyama from Ditch and the FBI told me to go fuck myself. 

If youtube winds up being the only option it'll have to do. But not tonight. I've already watched three matches on streaming sites today, which is more than I care to do in a year.


----------



## Chismo

KeepVid is your friend. There's a shitload of good Puro on YT and DailyMotion for download via KeepVid, no need to risk via share sites and torrents. I use those for Indys, though.


----------



## Bubz

I've not seen that Misawa/Akiyama match. Any good? Infact I haven't seen much AJPW from the later stages of the company.


----------



## asdf0501

The only Puro guys that need more love and people seeing his matches are Fujita Jr Hayato, Kenou, Ryu and the rest of the M-Pro guys. Best bunch of Juniors in a while whitout resorting of "Kill time" Limbowrk or stupid chops/punches/kicks Battles.

Sekimoto is a bit of Hit or Miss depending on his selling and who is fighting


----------



## Yeah1993

METTA WORLD PEACE said:


> If youtube winds up being the only option it'll have to do. But not tonight. I've already watched three matches on streaming sites today, which is more than I care to do in a year.


JDOWNLOADER.

FUCKING JDOWNLOADER. I despise streams as well, which is I rip something, with JDOWNLOADER, and get to keep it forever and evers. 



Bubz said:


> I've not seen that Misawa/Akiyama match. Any good? Infact I haven't seen much AJPW from the later stages of the company.


The one that JoeRulz posted? Yeah it's pretty fantastic. Best Akiyama singles I remember seeing by a large, large margin. *Might* be Misawa's best match of the 2000s as well.

I've really seen fuck all All Japan for 2002-onwards either. Everybody needs to watch Kawada v Hashimoto 2/22/04 though. IMO the 2004 MOTY and puro MOTD (not sure if I'd agree with that nowadays but it wouldn;t go down that much, I'd imagine).


----------



## Bubz

Just watched that Akiyama/Misawa match from 2000 and holy shit it was so good. Maybe the best Akiyama match I've seen too, great performance from him. Misawa was stiff as hell with him, some of those elbows are the hardest I've seen him throw them.

I'll watch Kawada/Hashimoto tomorrow I think (if it's on youtube). I haven't seen enough Hashimoto stuff and I'm on a big Kawada kick lately.


----------



## Horselover Fat

yeah1993 do you have a tremendous respect for the japanese culture


----------



## Yeah1993




----------



## Chismo

Why the hell is Yeah humbled?


----------



## Bubz

WTF! Another one Humbled.


----------



## antoniomare007

this shit is getting ridiculous :no:


----------



## Chismo

*Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (AJPW, 3/31/1996)*

Ah, this was great. And I mean, really great. This match should be used as a text-book for wrestlers who want to do a 30 min match. Tag team partners collide in a Champions Carnival tournament, they're evenly matched and they're so fucking great. Slower but entertaining pace, methodic work, smart wrestling, school of selling, great build-up for big moves, exciting finishing stretch - this was simply brilliant.
*Rating: ****3/4*


----------



## Bubz

Working my way through some of the Misawa/Jumbo stable wars matches from the early 90's.

*Tsuruta/Taue/Fuchi vs Kawada/Misawa/Kobashi - 19/10/90*
This was fucking brilliant in every sense of the word. Kobashi was the star of this one, taking a monumental beating and really getting the crowd 100% behind him in the finishing stretch. The Kawada/Taue exchanges were the other highlight, Kawada really brought the HATE! Fuchi didn't do anything bar a few stomps and elbows but he didn't really need to. Extremely hot finishing stretch that as I said before, Kobashi was the star of, this just reminded me of why I love him so much. I hear this isn't the best of the matches these teams had in 6-mans either so I'm really pumped to watch the others. Awesome stuff. *****3/4 - ******


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

JoeRulz said:


> *Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue (AJPW, 3/31/1996)*
> 
> Ah, this was great. And I mean, really great. This match should be used as a text-book for wrestlers who want to do a 30 min match. Tag team partners collide in a Champions Carnival tournament, they're evenly matched and they're so fucking great. Slower but entertaining pace, methodic work, smart wrestling, school of selling, great build-up for big moves, exciting finishing stretch - this was simply brilliant.
> *Rating: ****3/4*


I'm up to this match on the '96 yearbook (the set Goodhelmet made...IDK whether or not you'd have known what I was talking about). I'm fairly certain haven't seen it or the Misawa/Kobashi match from the same before.



Bubz said:


> Working my way through some of the Misawa/Jumbo stable wars matches from the early 90's.
> 
> *Tsuruta/Taue/Fuchi vs Kawada/Misawa/Kobashi - 19/10/90*
> This was fucking brilliant in every sense of the word. Kobashi was the star of this one, taking a monumental beating and really getting the crowd 100% behind him in the finishing stretch. The Kawada/Taue exchanges were the other highlight, Kawada really brought the HATE! Fuchi didn't do anything bar a few stomps and elbows but he didn't really need to. Extremely hot finishing stretch that as I said before, Kobashi was the star of, this just reminded me of why I love him so much.* I hear this isn't the best of the matches these teams had in 6-mans either* so I'm really pumped to watch the others. Awesome stuff. *****3/4 - ******


It's not, but it's still really fucking awesome stuff. the 4/91 match is the one most people point to as the best (which I'd agree with), but that's probably the best six-man tag ever (certainly from Japan, at least) so not being as good as that isn't really a knock. The 10/90 match is my second favourite, though. Actually they play off Kobashi having his nose broken here in the 4/91 match as well.


----------



## Chismo

Random rewatch:

*Kensuke Sasaki vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH, 7/24/2010)*

The Osaka crowd was pretty much too fucking silent here, which is too bad because this match was outstanding. Legit MOTYC. The story was simple with Go trying to prove he deserves to be a top dog, and Kenskay is one tough motherfucker, a real challenge for younger aces. It goes over 30 min, but they managed to keep things entertaining, I was interested all the time, and that's great, and you know they're doing it right then. Some really smart wrestling here, combined with BRUTAL chops and lariats (another great detail in storytelling), but the thing I really liked was the psychological war in the finishing stretch - I'm talking about the chop battle. Now that's real psychology, when you play mind games and test/scare your opponent [_hopefully this makes some sense_], but people often confuse that term with storytelling and strategies. Anyway, the match was excellent. ~WAR~
*Rating: ****1/4*


----------



## antoniomare007

Bubz said:


> Working my way through some of the Misawa/Jumbo stable wars matches from the early 90's.


that's the most fun you are gonna have watching 90's All Japan.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Man, I loved when I found this while working on my YT channel. It is so great and so sad.


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> Random rewatch:
> 
> *Kensuke Sasaki vs. Go Shiozaki (NOAH, 7/24/2010)*
> 
> The Osaka crowd was pretty much too fucking silent here, which is too bad because this match was outstanding. Legit MOTYC. The story was simple with Go trying to prove he deserves to be a top dog, and Kenskay is one tough motherfucker, a real challenge for younger aces. It goes over 30 min, but they managed to keep things entertaining, I was interested all the time, and that's great, and you know they're doing it right then. Some really smart wrestling here, combined with BRUTAL chops and lariats (another great detail in storytelling), but the thing I really liked was the psychological war in the finishing stretch - I'm talking about the chop battle. Now that's real psychology, when you play mind games and test/scare your opponent [_hopefully this makes some sense_], but people often confuse that term with storytelling and strategies. Anyway, the match was excellent. ~WAR~
> *Rating: ****1/4*


Love that match. One of my favorite NOAH matches, but I agree had the crowd been louder it could have been even better. using the chop battle as a finishing stretch was a brilliant choice and is one of the only times I've really enjoyed a big chop battle (yeah, I even didn't like Kobashi/Sasaki that much) and thought it not only added to the match but almost made it for the reasons you already posted. Go's performance here is amazing and his facial expressions and cockiness during the chop battle was so epic.



antoniomare007 said:


> that's the most fun you are gonna have watching 90's All Japan.


Wow, amazing video. Really makes you feel sorry for Jumbo. Btw, what is the match where Taue is busted open?


----------



## antoniomare007

I think it's their January 91' match but I could be wrong.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH Great Voyage in Osaka 2012*

Harlem Bravado vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
_****_

Lance Bravado & Ryuji Hijikata vs Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori
_Surprisingly good tag match, mostly due to Marvin & Ishimori's awesome high flying offense._
_*****_

Mohammed Yone vs Yutaka Yoshie
_Much better than I initially expected. I was expecting a terrible match but I got a decent heavyweight bout with plenty of hard strikes._
_***¼*_

Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura vs Genba Hirayanagi & Yoshihiro Takayama
_I'm a fan of the pairing of Sugiura & Marufuji. Their opposite styles really compliment each other and it really helped this match. _
_****¼*_

Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki vs Kenta Kobashi & Shuhei Taniguchi
_Kobashi & Kensuke tried to re-enact the chopfest from their Destiny classic from '05, but with Kobashi's ill health, they couldn't do the chops with speed and it looked really bad. Kobashi seems to be able to have a good performance one night, then a piss-poor one like this on others. The other three wrestlers carried him to a watchable bout._
_****_

*GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles*
Atsushi Aoki & Kotaro Suzuki) (c) vs Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
_I went into this match thinking the outsiders stood no chance and they did a great job of trying to convince me otherwise. With pointless, yet entertaining matwork, stiff strikes and plenty of high spots and near-falls, this match may sound like a typical Kurt Angle spotfest, but it really wasn't. The near-falls were very emotion-filled and the match could of went either way. A bloody good showing from all four parties. _
_*****¼*_

*GHC Tag Team Titles*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama
_This felt very similar to the Bad Intentions versus TenKoji from WrestleKingdom a few weeks back. Bad Intentions do some fantastic heel work that get the crowd behind the hurt face, the face makes a hot tag culminating in a finish were all the close-falls lack emotion and really feel hard to get excited about. It's hard to explain but I just wasn't feeling this._
_****¼*_

*GHC Heavyweight Title Match*
Go Shiozaki (c) vs Takeshi Morishima
_They're plenty of things to nitpick about this match. Morishima being selective about what lariats to sell and what ones to completely ignore may of irked you or maybe it was the extremely anti-climatic finish grinded your gears, but to me this may not of been MOTYC-worthy, but was a very good match. _
_****¾*_​


----------



## smitlick

SPOILERZZZZZZZ!!!!




DDT "SWEET DREAMS! 2012", 29.01.2012 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
1,388 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

0. DJ Nira & Shota besiegen Gorgeous Matsuno & Rion Mizuki (7:41) nach einem Inside Cradle von Shota gegen Mizuki. 
1. Sanshiro Takagi & Takao Soma besiegen Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Hoshitango (6:46) nach einer Sit-Down Sunflower Bomb von Takagi gegen Matsunaga. 
2. 3 Way Tag Match: Masa Takanashi & Daisuke Sasaki besiegen Poison JULIE Sawada & Shigehiro Irie and Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa 
Irie besiegte Nakazawa mit einem einem Teddy Bear (4:07). Takanashi besiegte Sawada mit einem Jackknife Hold (7:32). 
3. Yasu Urano, A.YAZAWA & Keita Yano besiegen Makoto Oishi, Akito & Hiroshi Fukuda (14:12) nach einem Super Kick von YAZAWA gegen Fukuda. 
4. Yuji Hino besiegt Keisuke Ishii (10:46) mit der Fuckin' Bomb. 
5. Kenny Omega besiegt HARASHIMA (21:09) mit dem One-Winged Angel. 
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Danshoku Dino besiegt KUDO (c) (17:37) mit dem Danshoku Tornado - Titelwechsel. 

Masao Inoue debuted for DDT at the show as well


NOAH "THE FIRST NAVIGATION 2012", 29.01.2012 (Samurai! TV) 
Hakata Star Lane 
1,000 Fans - No Vacancy 

1. Ricky Marvin besiegt Mentai*Kid (8:54) mit dem Santa Maria. 
2. Mohammed Yone besiegt Kento Miyahara (10:21) mit einem Muscle Buster. 
3. Yoshinobu Kanamaru & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Lance Bravado & Harlem Bravado (11:11) nach dem Shoryu Genba von Hirayanagi gegen Lance. 
4. Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Kotaro Suzuki & Taiji Ishimori (15:26) nach einem Ankle Hold von Sugiura gegen Ishimori. 
5. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Kenta Kobashi & Yuto Aijima (18:45) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Aijima. 
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) besiegt Atsushi Aoki (18:22) mit einem Right High Kick (1st defense). 
7. Kensuke Sasaki & Takeshi Morishima besiegen Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (16:58) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Taniguchi.

NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN ISM 2012", 29.01.2012 (J Sports) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
2,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (6:45) nach einer Second-Rope Powerbomb-Style Dark Metamorphose von Taichi gegen Takahashi. 
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan besiegen Takashi Iizuka, Jado, Gedo & Rocky Romero (8:45) nach dem Carribean Death Grip von Captain gegen Gedo. 
3. Masato Tanaka , YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Tomoaki Honma, Tama Tonga & King Fale (10:34) nach einer Swanton Bomb von YOSHI-HASHI gegen Fale. 
4. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata besiegt Toru Yano (11:01) mit einem Backdrop Hold. 
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & KUSHIDA besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger (10:06) als Bernard Tenzan nach dem Magic Killer pinnte. 
6. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama besiegen Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue (9:50) nach einem Gotch-Style PIledriver von Suzuki gegen Inoue. 
7. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto besiegt Yujiro Takahashi (10:00) mit dem Shouten Kai. 
8. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito (15:46) nach dem Rainmaker von Okada gegen Tanahashi.


----------



## Chismo

Gonna check out those shows, sounds really good.


----------



## antoniomare007

> *NJPW "THE NEW BEGINNING", 12.02.2012 (WPW/PPV)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
> *
> 1. Tomoaki Honma & King Fale vs. Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI
> 2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
> 4. Elimination Match: Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 5. IWGP Tag Team Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
> 6. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
> 7. Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada


I guess the winner of Nakamura/Naito is the next champion.

And lol at the Goto/Tanaka feud going 2+ years. Goto wins as a test for a future IWGP title reing down the line maybe?


----------



## seabs

*Makabe will probably survive the elimination match and get his shot first. I'd be amazed if they do another Naito or Nakamura match before Makabe. New Japan Cup is coming up so maybe better to have Naito win that to give him some legit momentum and then beat Tanahashi. Not sure who else would be worth winning that other than maybe Goto.*


----------



## Chismo

When I think about it, Tanahashi should be the champ until January 4th 2012. Let him retain the title 6-7 times through 2012 - Okada, Anderson, MVP, Makabe, Tanaka, Yano, Nagata one more time, and then - Wrestle Kngdom VII, Tetsuya Naito becomes the new IWGP Champion and a new superstar and face of New Japan, because he just ended Tana's 2 year reign. Tana's reign is being great, and there's few more credible challengers to make it even better. My two cents.


----------



## Bubz

To be honest I think I see them keeping the belt on Tana for a while longer.


----------



## Cactus

NJPW's next PPV looks lackluster minus the Elimination match. Nagata and Suzuki has fantastic chemistry, enough to carry the match. 

In my books, Makabe is the only legitimate challenger to Tanahashi's belt. Okada doesn't stand a chance in hell to beat Tanahashi.


----------



## Bubz

*Misawa/Kobashi/Kawada vs Jumbo/Fuchi/Taue - AJPW 20/4/91*
What. A. Match! The best multi-man tag match I've seen. I was told how good this was before hand but it surpassed my expectations. It went about 50 minutes and it was brilliant for every second. Kawada/Taue once again is probably the highlight as they beat the shit out of eachother and show real hatred. Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi end up working over Kobashi's leg for a long ass time, and once again he plays an incredible face in peril which I think he was best at. This is pretty much non-stop action though and the workovers (first on Kawada, then on Taue, then on Kobashi) were so well done and so entertaining. I could probably watch these guys wrestle all day. One of my favourite parts was when Kawada keeps getting Jumbo into the arm bar as Kobashi and Misawa fend off Jumbo's team mates. Absolutely epic match, probably in the top 5 AJPW matches ever. Rating some these matches 5 stars seems pretty shitty and doesn't do them justice considering some other matches I've had rated at 5 stars in the past.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah and Okada has looked really dull in the Tana tags from the CMLL shows. Having him hold it for another whole year wont work in the current climate unless he ends up turning full blown heel. 6 defences in a year isn't possible either with New Japan running monthly PPVs.*


----------



## smitlick

*Zero1 - Autumn Festival 2010 - ProWrestling Nekketsu Jidai: Autumn*

11/10/10

1. International Jr Heavyweight Title
Ikuto Hidaka vs Masamune
**3/4

2. Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka vs Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda
***1/2

15/10/10

3. Masato Tanaka vs Kohei Sato
***

20/10/10

4. Masato Tanaka & Shota Takanishi vs Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa
**1/2


----------



## Bubz

*Kawada vs Hashimoto - AJPW '04*
Great match with awesome selling by both guys. I have to admit to never watching much Hashimoto before but I really liked him here, especially his selling of the arm that he kept so consistent. Kawada as most people know is an incredible seller so when you have two guys like this selling the hell out of limb parts (kawada's leg and Hashimoto's arm) and going after each others weak points you are bound for an awesome match. *****1/2*


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I thought that was an incredible Hashimoto performance. I liked Kawada enough, but Hashimoto made that match. Also think that flat out smokes Kobashi/Akiyama as a "MOTYC". Probably still prefer Kobashi/Takayama as MOTY, but Kawada/Hashimoto is likely top 5.


----------



## antoniomare007

So Yukes is no longer New Japan's owner, BUSHIROAD (an anime/card game company) bought all their stock on December 31st and are the new owners. They have been a sponsor for some time and have already produced a couple of shows in Korakuen Hall.

They are a smaller company than Yukes though so it's a wait and see kind of deal before we can draw any conclusions.


----------



## smitlick

*AJPW - 9/10/73*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
***1/2


*Texas - 5/2/75*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
***


*AJPW - 13/3/75*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
***1/4


Working my way through the Terry Funk Compilation. Finished Disc 1. Was really cool to see some of the Silent stuff. Really looking forward to this set.



*AJPW - 11/6/76*

Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta
*****

*AJPW - 2/12/77*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Genichiro Tenryu & Rocky Hata
***1/2

*AJPW - 6/12/77*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Billy Robinson & Horst Hoffman
***1/4

Finished Disc 2 of the Funk Set.. Was very good.


*AJPW - 14/12/77*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
****1/2

*AJPW - 15/12/77*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik
****3/4

*AJPW - 5/12/78*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza
****1/2

And Disc 3 is down as well. Fantastic stuff. Really really enjoyed the last few minutes of Funks vs Bockwinkel/Lanza.


*All Japan - 9/12/78*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik
****

*All Japan - 15/12/78*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
****1/4
Holy fuck the lead up to Dory Funk getting the tag was great.

*All Japan - 15/7/79*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik
***3/4

*All Japan - 18/7/79*

Terry Funk vs Abdullah The Butcher
***1/4


*Big Japan - 17/10/10 - BJ Spikeout Series*

*1. Barbed Wire Board Death Match*
Takashi Sasaki, Shadow WX & The Winger vs Yuko Miyamoto, Masashi Takeda & Kankuro Hoshino
**1/2

2. Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Isami Kodaka vs Daisuke Sekimoto, Yoshihito Sasaki & Ryuichi Kawakami
***1/4

*3. BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title – Fluorescent Lighttubes, Glass Board & 49,205 Thumbtacks Death Match* 
Ryuji Ito vs Shuji Ishikawa
***1/2


----------



## smitlick

SPOILERS AND A BUMP


AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR EXCITE SERIES 2012", 03.02.2012 (GAORA TV) 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
2,100 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

1. Masanobu Fuchi & Hikaru Sato besiegen Hiroshi Yamato & Yasufumi Nakanoue (7:48) mit einem Cross Armbreaker von Sato gegen Nakanoue. 
2. Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Soya besiegen KENSO & Yutaka Yoshie (4:08) mit einem Backslide von Nishimura gegen Yoshie. 
3. Taiyo Kea, Seiya Sanada & KAI besiegen Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya (10:50) mit einem Japanese Leg-Roll Clutch Hold von Sanada gegen Soya. 
4. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue besiegen Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka (11:04) mit einem Backdrop Hold von Nagata gegen Tanaka. 
5. All Asia Tag Team Title Skirmish: Keiji Muto, Akebono & Ryota Hama besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto , Yoshihito Sasaki & Yuji Okabayashi (16:28) nach dem Shining Wizard von Muto hgegen Sasaki. 
6. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega (c) besiegt Kaz Hayashi (21:55) mit dem One-Winged Angel (3rd defense). 
7. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) besiegt Takao Omori (21:23) mit dem Sterness Dust Alpha (2nd defense). 

i THINK from translation that the Jr Title will be defended next in DDT and that after that Kondo or KAI will get a shot.

Also this was signed

AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 14", 20.03.2012 (GAORA TV) 
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

1. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Keiji Muto



*All Japan - 30/11/79*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
****1/4

*All Japan - 7/12/79*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras
***1/4

*All Japan - 13/12/79*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik
****3/4

*All Japan - 2/5/80*

Terry Funk & Dick Slater vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
***1/2

Disc 5 of the Funk Set down. I absolutely love the Funks/AbbySheik feud.


----------



## smitlick

NJPW/NOAH/AJPW "ALL TOGETHER", 19.02.2012 (PPV) 
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall 

1. ALL TOGETHER Opening Match CHEER UP NIPPON: Great Sasuke , Tiger Mask , Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori vs. Jado , Gedo , Kenou & Taro Nohashi 
2. HERO IS COMING!!: Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima & Kentaro Shiga vs. Captain New Japan , Captain NOAH & Captain All Japan 
3. SHINE ON TOMORROW: Jushin Thunder Liger , Kotaro Suzuki , Minoru Tanaka & KAI vs. Yoshinobu Kanamaru , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Katsuhiko Nakajima 
4. BRAVE NEW WORLD: Togi Makabe & Manabu Soya vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yujiro Takahashi 
5. SUN PLAZA QUARREL FESTIVAL: Yuji Nagata , Kensuke Sasaki, Akebono & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Masayuki Kono & Taichi 
6. BE STRONG JAPAN: Hirooki Goto , Akitoshi Saito & Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka 
7. THIS IS "PROWRESTLING": Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori 
8. FIGHTING TOGETHER NOW: Hiroshi Tanahashi , Takeshi Morishima & Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki , Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada 

Looks ok. I still havent seen the 1st one sadly.


----------



## Scavo

smitlick said:


> NJPW/NOAH/AJPW "ALL TOGETHER", 19.02.2012 (PPV)
> Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
> 
> 1. ALL TOGETHER Opening Match CHEER UP NIPPON: Great Sasuke , Tiger Mask , Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori vs. Jado , Gedo , Kenou & Taro Nohashi
> 2. HERO IS COMING!!: Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima & Kentaro Shiga vs. Captain New Japan , Captain NOAH & Captain All Japan
> 3. SHINE ON TOMORROW: Jushin Thunder Liger , Kotaro Suzuki , Minoru Tanaka & KAI vs. Yoshinobu Kanamaru , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Katsuhiko Nakajima
> 4. BRAVE NEW WORLD: Togi Makabe & Manabu Soya vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yujiro Takahashi
> *5. SUN PLAZA QUARREL FESTIVAL: Yuji Nagata , Kensuke Sasaki, Akebono & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Masayuki Kono & Taichi *
> 6. BE STRONG JAPAN: Hirooki Goto , Akitoshi Saito & Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
> *7. THIS IS "PROWRESTLING": Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori
> 8. FIGHTING TOGETHER NOW: Hiroshi Tanahashi , Takeshi Morishima & Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki , Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada *
> 
> Looks ok. I still havent seen the 1st one sadly.


Damn (!) at bolded matches! Should be an awesome show, and the "This is Prowrestling" match sounds great.


----------



## seabs

smitlick said:


> Looks ok. I still havent seen the 1st one sadly.


*There's nothing must see on it so I wouldn't worry too much. There's a million other wrestling related stuff you should see first.

Nothing at all that really interests me on that card either.*


----------



## smitlick

Seabs said:


> *There's nothing must see on it so I wouldn't worry too much. There's a million other wrestling related stuff you should see first.
> 
> Nothing at all that really interests me on that card either.*


Including some stuff you'll be sending me soon  

That Liger comp has so much I've never seen.


----------



## antoniomare007

BJW is promoting a new singles tournament, Ikkitousen - Strong Climb. 

A:
Daisuke Sekimoto
Yuji Okabayashi
Ryuichi Kawakami
Takumi Tsukamoto
Masashi Ohtani
Sami Callihan

Block B:
Yoshihito Sasaki
Brahman Shu
Shinya Ishikawa
Shinobu
Kazuki Hashimoto
Bad Bones


Yoshihito vs Shinobu wont be televised :fpalm:


----------



## seabs

*Hopefully they release it on one of their home video releases. Optimistic for it but I'd probably prefer all of them to be having tags with each other. If Daisuke or Yuji vs Callihan is the one that makes air I'll scream.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

Should be an awesome tournament!


----------



## Halfnelson

METTA WORLD PEACE said:


> I thought that was an incredible Hashimoto performance. I liked Kawada enough, but Hashimoto made that match. Also think that flat out smokes Kobashi/Akiyama as a "MOTYC". Probably still prefer Kobashi/Takayama as MOTY, but Kawada/Hashimoto is likely top 5.


I had Hash/Kawada No 2 on my 04 ballot thing on DVDR, it really is a superb Hashimoto performance. I think a couple of people over there weren't a fan of Kawada in the match, I thought he was actually quite good, so it didn't get on everyone's ballot. I only had Kobashi/Takayama ahead, the more I watch that the more I think it's Japanese/overall MOTD.

Watched Fujinami vs Maeda from 6-12-86 for the first time, pretty great match. Fujinami's selling is so good, he makes everything Maeda throws look dangerous(although it's probably not a stretch to look terrified at his kicks) and he adds drama to nearly everthing. The blood after the Maeda kick is a pretty memorable visual as well. Finish didn't really bother me too much.

Not really excited about anything on the All Together card although the opener might be interesting.


----------



## smitlick

Oh FFS first PWG and now BJW... Callihan is really annoying me now.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Halfnelson said:


> I had Hash/Kawada No 2 on my 04 ballot thing on DVDR, it really is a superb Hashimoto performance. I think a couple of people over there weren't a fan of Kawada in the match, I thought he was actually quite good, so it didn't get on everyone's ballot. I only had Kobashi/Takayama ahead, the more I watch that the more I think it's Japanese/overall MOTD.
> 
> Watched Fujinami vs Maeda from 6-12-86 for the first time, pretty great match. Fujinami's selling is so good, he makes everything Maeda throws look dangerous(although it's probably not a stretch to look terrified at his kicks) and he adds drama to nearly everthing. The blood after the Maeda kick is a pretty memorable visual as well. Finish didn't really bother me too much.


I've tried to come up with a ballot for the last 3 Best of the 00s polls over there and every time I've sacked the idea before getting together a top 10. 

"Next time I'll definitely whip up a 20."

"Okay, NEXT time I'll whip up a top 20."

Never happened.

I'm not sure what my puro MOTD for the '00-'09 period would be. It's been ages since I watched most of the high-end stuff. Kobashi/Takayama from '04 and Kobashi-Go/Sasaki-Nakajima from '05 jump out as the ones most likely. I love Tenryu/Kawada from '00 as well. 

I had Fujinami/Maeda as my #7 for the New Japan 80s set. Don't remember a whole lot about it now (other than Fujinami bleeding all over the ship), but yeah, it's pretty great.


----------



## Halfnelson

I missed out on the 05 vote, those dudes seem to fly through years, but I think the tag won. It would definitely be in my top 2 for the year though I think I'd have Ishikawa/Ikeda ahead of it. That may just be because it's been so long since I watched the tag and I watched the Futen match again a few weeks ago. It's a pretty tough call. It's been too long since I watched Tenryu/Kawada, seem to remember Kawada entering a performance on par with the Hashimoto one. Even if I'm remembering wrong I know I loved it.

The Battarts six man from 08 would be high on my decade ranking too.


----------



## TelkEvolon

My puro match of the decade would probably be Burning vs Kensuke Office in their elimination tag match.

Loved it!


----------



## Chismo

World MOTD: Kobashi vs. Akiyama (2004)


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> World MOTD: Kobashi vs. Akiyama (2004)


Honstly this would be close to mine, I know a lot of people think it's overrated but I fucking love it. Kobashi/Takayama 04 is damn close though.

Also have a special place in my heart for Go/Sasaki from '10 even though it might not be the best match from the decade.


----------



## antoniomare007

More good news coming from the Strong Climb Tournament:

26/2 at Korakuen will have

Yoshihito Sasaki vs Brahman Shu
Shinobu vs Kazuki Hashimoto 
Okabayashi vs Sekimoto III

:mark:

Also, Abby defends his title against Takeda.


Here's the rest of the tour:


> BJW, 09.03.2012
> Yokohama Nigiwaiza
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Shinya Ishikawa vs. Kazuki Hashimoto
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Yuji Okabayashi vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
> 3. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Takumi Tsukamoto
> 
> 
> BJW "BJ & SUNSHINE LIVE", 11.03.2012
> Osaka Tsurumi Ryokuchi Hanahaku Memorial Park Exhibition Hall
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Yuji Okabayashi vs. Takumi Tsukamoto
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Masashi Otani
> 
> 
> BJW, 14.03.2012
> Shizuoka Fuji Messe
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Brahman Shu vs. Kazuki Hashimoto
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Shinobu vs. Bad Bones
> 3. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Sami Callihan
> 
> 
> BJW, 17.03.2012
> Takamatsu Symbol Tower Exhibition Space
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Shinya Ishikawa
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Sami Callihan
> 
> 
> BJW, 18.03.2012
> Hiroshima Industrial Hall
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Bad Bones
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Masashi Otani vs. Sami Callihan
> 
> 
> BJW, 19.03.2012
> Kokura Northern Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Shinya Ishikawa vs. Brahman Shu
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Yuji Okabayashi vs. Masashi Otani
> 
> 
> BJW "BJW BRAVE BEAT", 20.03.2012
> Hakata Star Lane
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Shinya Ishikawa vs. Bad Bones
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Shinobu
> 3. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Masashi Otani
> 
> 
> BJW, 21.03.2012
> Oita Event Hall
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Brahman Shu vs. Bad Bones
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Takumi Tsukamoto
> 
> 
> BJW, 22.03.2012
> Okayama Wholesale Center
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Brahman Shu vs. Shinobu
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
> 
> 
> BJW, 23.03.2012
> Yonago Industrial Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Kazuki Hashimoto
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Masashi Otani
> 
> 
> BJW, 24.03.2012
> Kyoto KBS Hall
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Shinya Ishikawa vs. Shinobu
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Sami Callihan
> 
> 
> BJW "DEATH MARKET 8", 25.03.2012
> Nagoya Diamond Hall
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block B: Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Bad Bones
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Block A: Yuji Okabayashi vs. Sami Callihan
> 
> 
> BJW, 26.03.2012
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Semi Final: Block A #1 vs. Block B #2
> 2. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Semi Final: Block A #2 vs. Block B #1
> 3. Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Final:


----------



## smitlick

I'm pretty certain some of those will make TV.. Just have to wait and see as to which ones do.

*All Japan - 28/11/80*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs The Sheik & The Great Mephisto 
***1/4

*All Japan - 9/12/80*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Nick Bockwinkel & Jim Brunzell
***1/2

*All Japan - 11/12/80*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta
***3/4


----------



## PacoAwesome

My MOTD would be Naomichi Marufuji vs. Shuji Kondo 2008. I know there is a lot of other matches in Puro that are better, but I just love that match. Also, I'm a Kondo fan.


----------



## Yeah1993

Japan MOTDs:

1. Kawada v Hashimoto 2/22/04
2. Kobashi v Takayama 4/25/04
3. Tenryu v Kawada 10/28/00
4. Ishikawa/Otuska/Sawa v Ikeda/Usuda/Super Tiger II 7/26/08
5. Misawa v Akiyama 2/27/00

I think. Ishikawa v Ikeda 4/24/05 is probably as good as Misawa v Akiyama.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Pretty much agree with Yeah1993 there, though Ishikawa v Greco 2008, Kobashi v Takayama 2000 (same body of match as their 2004 encounter, and despite having a lesser finishing stretch compared to the almighty 2004 stretch, I thought the majority of the work and in particular Kobashi's selling was better in the 2000 match) and Misawa/Takayama 2001 or 2002 for the GHC Title would all be pushing the top 5 spot for me as well, with Kobashi/Takayama probably the best out of the matches I've just discussed.

Co-sign on Ikeda/Ishikawa 2005 being AWESOME as well, completely different matches but I thought it absolutely smoked Kobashi/Sasaki 2005 and Kobashi/Akiyama 2004 when I watched it about 8 months ago.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

The '00 and '04 Kobashi/Takayama matches are both terrific. I watched the '00 match for the first time last year and thought it was fucking awesome. I don't remember enough about his performance in the '04 match at this point, but Kobashi's performance being better in the '00 match isn't crazy at all. 



Halfnelson said:


> I missed out on the 05 vote, those dudes seem to fly through years, but I think the tag won. It would definitely be in my top 2 for the year though I think I'd have Ishikawa/Ikeda ahead of it. That may just be because it's been so long since I watched the tag and I watched the Futen match again a few weeks ago. It's a pretty tough call.


I watched the Ikeda/Ishikawa match fairly recently and it's by far my favourite match they've had together. I don't really love the BattlArts matches the way I used to, but the FUTEN match is just a fucking whirlwind of violence and ill will. Haven't watched the tag in...IDK, three years, maybe. When I started putting together an '05 list Ikeda/Ishikawa was my #1, and the only match I thought could knock it off would be the tag. But then I never got around to re-watching it and the idea of sending in a ballot was dropped not long after that. Watching stuff from a WCW Poll and the All Japan 80s set took up enough of my time.


----------



## antoniomare007

The MEN’s Teioh/Shinobu vs Mashimo/Madoka tag from 08' is one the best tag matches of the last decade in Puro imo, at least worthy of being mentioned in a shortlist.


----------



## ダニエル

MOTD talk for Japan should include Honda/Kobashi GHC Title match in 2003. You won't find better matwork in pro-style work than what Honda pulled out. Plus, you have some of the finest spot work to go with it. Great transitions & counters (as you'd expect from Honda) but also a bunch of unexpected crowd heat and charisma. There are of course a _bunch_ of good matches in the shout - that would need to be watched closely next to each other to work out which is better - but Honda/Kobashi is easily Top-10 consideration.


----------



## Yeah1993

Kobashi/Honda v Akiyama/Aki Saito is probably a top ten as well. I still need to see Kawada v Naoya Ogawa from December (I think) because I heard it was a possible MOTYC. Been sitting on my hard drive for months now.


----------



## MF83

Quick list off the top of my head:

1. Kawada/Fuchi vs. Nagata/Iizuka 2000 

2. Mashimo/Madoka vs Teioh/Shinobu 2008
3. Sasaki/Nakajima vs. Kobashi/Shiozaki 2005
4. Tenryu vs. Mutoh 6/8/2001
5. Kobashi vs. Takayama 2004
6. Liger/Inoue vs. Kanemaru/Kikuchi 2002
7. Nagata vs. Takayama 2002
8. Kobashi vs. Honda 2003
9. Ishikawa/Sawa/Otsuka vs. Ikeda/Usuda/Super Tiger 2008
10. Sugiura/Shiozaki vs. Nakamura/Milano 2009

Honorable mention to the Dragon Gate 12 man, four team, trios title match from 2003. Can't give it a position but that is the best spotfest I will ever see.


----------



## Bubz

Ah, I forgot Akiyama/Misawa from '00. Maybe Akiyamas best match and a definite candidate.


----------



## TelkEvolon

antoniomare007 said:


> The MEN’s Teioh/Shinobu vs Mashimo/Madoka tag from 08' is one the best tag matches of the last decade in Puro imo, at least worthy of being mentioned in a shortlist.


This one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IRxue6LRII


----------



## seabs

> IVP Videos
> Due to the request of Dragon Gate IVPvideos.com will no longer be carrying any Dragon Gate related footage. Thanks.


*Fuckers.

Also SMASH is finishing up in 2 shows time.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

God damn....

Dragon Gate doesn't want anyone talking about it.....


----------



## seabs

*It's so stupid that a promotion with a that runs events outside of Japan wouldn't want fans having access to their home shows when they don't release them on DVD abroad.

I mean how many wrestling fans would have got into New Japan or All Japan without buying tapes from sites like IVP.

It's kinda funny now that they had an endorsement for their Dragon Gate PPV DVDs with english commentary from Ricochet.*


----------



## antoniomare007

TelkEvolon said:


> This one?
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IRxue6LRII


that's the one!


----------



## seabs

*Watched it today. It's great and holy cow Shinobu is the greatest in it but I didn't think it was MOTD worthy. Felt like it was lacking something to really push it up that high it didn't really get going until 10 minutes in.*


----------



## Cactus

*Legend Pro - Legend The Pro-Wrestling (2012/01/08)*

Ebessan vs Kikutaro
_What you come to expect out of these two. Semi-amusing match that I would of probably enjoyed more if I knew Japanese._
***

Bear Fukuda, Hiro Saito & Taro Kurashima vs Hayato Mashita, Super Tiger II & Tiger Shark
_Heavily-influenced by shoot wrestling, this match's highlight was the rough beating Mashita took from the heel team._
***½*

Alexander Otsuka & Tomoaki Honma vs Masato Tanaka & Tomohiro Ishii
_The long slap exchange at the beginning of the match REALLY annoyed me. I intially thought that the wrestlers were just trying to create a fun match for the crowd and not necessarily a good match, but it soon turned into your typical Tanaka brawl, much to my approval._
***¾*

El Samurai vs Original Tiger Mask
_It's cool to see Samurai and Tiger Mask make a rare appearance, but this match was quite dull. The last two minutes were pretty cool though. A nice little back-and-forth finishing stretch._
****

Daichi Hashimoto vs Riki Choshu
_The opening matwork was simple yet very effective. It put over Choshu as the experienced veteran and makes Daichi look like a rookie with something to prove. The match is mostly in Choshu's favor but not one soul in that building wanted him to win. The crowd was solely behind Daichi and rightfully so. He puts some much emotion in his desperation attacks you can't help but root for Baby Shinya._
****½*

Mitsuya Nagai & Tatsumi Fujinami vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Yuki Ishikawa
_The first five minutes of this great ten minute match is mostly matwork that really isn't pretty. There isn't any flawless transitions and nobody makes any progress but I do think this helped the match The mat-wrestling was mostly a struggle that nobody benefited from and now they all sre pissed off and just want to kick and punch the crap out of each other now. Fujiwara was really the star of the show. Even in his sixties, he can still pull out a great performance like this. He was the grizzled vet that added to tension to the opening parts of the match after bitch-slapping his opponents._
******

*Overall:*
I was expecting a fun show with plenty of rare appearances from familiar faces, but I got treated to two MOTYCs. The last two matches are must-see and it's up to you if you want to see the rest of the show.​


----------



## smitlick

Dragon Gate shits me so fucking much. How in the fuck do they think people actually know any of there workers or care at all about Dragon Gate USA? Its because they obtain the DVDs from Traders or Download it illegally. They are really trying to kill there US market.


----------



## TelkEvolon

smitlick said:


> Dragon Gate shits me so fucking much. How in the fuck do they think people actually know any of there workers or care at all about Dragon Gate USA? Its because they obtain the DVDs from Traders or Download it illegally. They are really trying to kill there US market.


I've noticed over the years it has been sweeped to the side and almost forgotten. You hear more talk about BJW, DDT and others.

It's had no YouTube prescence for years and people can only really find it if they are already looking for it.

Isolationists.


----------



## ダニエル

Although I don't necessarily think it's great for DG's business & exposure, it's not surprising at all. Don't forget that Americans aren't the only ones who can order from IVP. Gaora don't want their pay-tv material available for incredibly cheap prices, and Japanese people can easily buy from IVP. Whether they do or not, you'd have to ask Shoen, but it could well be happening. I also wouldn't be surprised if DG have discovered that the AMerican adventures aren't profitable, and that they're doing good enough business as is in Japan.


----------



## IVPvideos

ダニエル;11007298 said:


> Although I don't necessarily think it's great for DG's business & exposure, it's not surprising at all. Don't forget that Americans aren't the only ones who can order from IVP. Gaora don't want their pay-tv material available for incredibly cheap prices, and Japanese people can easily buy from IVP. Whether they do or not, you'd have to ask Shoen, but it could well be happening. I also wouldn't be surprised if DG have discovered that the AMerican adventures aren't profitable, and that they're doing good enough business as is in Japan.


I have about four or five Japanese customers and they are always interested in the older stuff, especially the AJPW and NJPW Best of sets.

Honestly I am not too upset about this because that is the nature of the business that I am in. Some of the Dragon Gate USA stuff airs on their TV so maybe that is the reason behind it. I know that they have known I exist since before Dragon Gate USA started as I thought for sure that they would tell me to stop shilling it then. No worries, they are well within their right to do so and I really can't complain about that.


----------



## Chismo

DIAMOND RING debuts:


Spoiler: Diamond Ring



*Diamond Ring "KENSUKE OFFICE CHANGES", 11.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
2,070 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Kikutaro & Numazu Man besiegen Masao Inoue & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa (14:54) als Numazu Ichikawa nach einer Lariat von Inoue pinnte.
2. Ultimo Dragon, Taiji Ishimori & Satoshi Kajiwara besiegen Kazunari Murakami, NOSAWA Rongai & Takeshi Minamino (12:49) nach dem
Asai DDT von Ultimo gegen Minamino.
3. Fujita "Jr." Hayato besiegt Kento Miyahara (10:09) mit dem K.I.D.
4. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama besiegen Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya (23:18) nach einer Short Range Strong Arm Lariat von Kobashi gegen Kitanomiya.
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Shingo Takagi (23:29) mit einem German Suplex Hold.


Source: purolove.com

Sounds like a good show. I'll definitely check out the last two matches.


----------



## Bubz

on paper, Shingo/Nakajima sounds so awesome.


----------



## seabs

*Still hopeful for SHINGO vs Nakajima on that match time. *


----------



## ywall2breakerj

As long as they don't do pointless limb work that they later no sell like Go and Nakajima did in their matches it should be fun.

*Kawada vs Kobashi-15.1.1995.*
Best. Match. Ever. Features the best limb work ever, awesome selling and DANGEROUS MOVEZ~! that are done for actual reasons. Me needz 2 watch more Kawada!

*******


----------



## antoniomare007

In other Puro knews, SMASH closes down in March (financial problems seem to be the reason). Tajiri vs Finlay will still take place though.

Also, I'm loving this All Japan results:



Spoiler



AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR EXCITE SERIES 2012", 11.02.2012 (GAORA TV)
Matsushita IMP Hall
1,050 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Minoru Tanaka besiegt Yasufumi Nakanoue (7:10) mit dem Minoru Special.
2. Baka x Hentai Wrestler Again: Hiroshi Yamato vs. Hikaru Sato - Time Limit Draw (15:00).
3. KENSO, Yutaka Yoshie, Kaz Hayashi besiegen Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Masanobu Fuchi (22:50) nach einem Double Kneedrop von KENSO gegen Fuchi.
4. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya besiegen Taiyo Kea, Seiya Sanada & KAI (21:30) nach einem Last Ride von Suwama gegen Sanada.
5. Masayuki Kono vs. Yuji Nagata - Double Countout (8:16).
5a. Masayuki Kono vs. Yuji Nagata - Double Countout (3:50).
5b. Masayuki Kono vs. Yuji Nagata - No Contest (1:15).
6. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) besiegen Akebono & Ryota Hama (11:18) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Sekimoto gegen Akebono (3rd defense).


----------



## Scavo

JoeRulz said:


> DIAMOND RING debuts:
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Diamond Ring
> 
> 
> 
> *Diamond Ring "KENSUKE OFFICE CHANGES", 11.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 2,070 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> 1. Kikutaro & Numazu Man besiegen Masao Inoue & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa (14:54) als Numazu Ichikawa nach einer Lariat von Inoue pinnte.
> 2. Ultimo Dragon, Taiji Ishimori & Satoshi Kajiwara besiegen Kazunari Murakami, NOSAWA Rongai & Takeshi Minamino (12:49) nach dem
> Asai DDT von Ultimo gegen Minamino.
> 3. Fujita "Jr." Hayato besiegt Kento Miyahara (10:09) mit dem K.I.D.
> 4. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama besiegen Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya (23:18) nach einer Short Range Strong Arm Lariat von Kobashi gegen Kitanomiya.
> 5. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Shingo Takagi (23:29) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
> 
> 
> Source: purolove.com
> 
> Sounds like a good show. I'll definitely check out the last two matches.


Holy shit at last two matches! Should be awesome. Nakajima-Takagi has a LOT of potential, we shall see.


----------



## Scavo

2/12 NJPW results:




Spoiler: The New Beggining



*NJPW "THE NEW BEGINNING", 12.02.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium*

1. Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI besiegen Tomoaki Honma & King Fale (7:51) nach einem Jackknife Hold von Takahashi gegen Fale.
2. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Jushin Thunder Liger, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (8:35) nach dem Oni Koroshi von Yano gegen Tonga.
*3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title:* Davey Richards & Rocky Romero besiegen Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) (15:10) nach einer Powerbomb von Richards gegen Taguchi - Titelwechsel.
4. Elimination Match: Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (23:08).
Archer eliminierte KUSHIDA mit dem Blackout (7:14). Archer eliminierte Tiger mit dem Texas Tornado (7:56). Archer warf Inoue über das Top Rope (10:32). Makabe warf TAKA über das Top Rope (11:11). Suzuki warf Nagata über das Top Rope (19:43). Suzuki eliminierte Makabe mit einem Gotch-Style Piledriver (23:08).
*5. IWGP Tag Team Title:* Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) besiegen Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (17:47) nach einer Lariat von Kojima gegen Bernard (1st defense).
*6. IWGP Intercontinental Title:* Hirooki Goto besiegt Masato Tanaka (c) (13:26) mit dem Shouten Kai - Titelwechsel.
7. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito besiegt Shinsuke Nakamura (17:38) mit einer Stardust Press.
*8. IWGP Heavyweight Title:* Kazuchika Okada besiegt Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) (~23:00) mit dem Rainmaker - Titelwechsel.


*Credit to purolove.com*

:mark: at the results.


----------



## MF83

ywall2breakerj said:


> As long as they don't do pointless limb work that they later no sell like Go and Nakajima did in their matches it should be fun.
> 
> *Kawada vs Kobashi-15.1.1995.*
> Best. Match. Ever. Features the best limb work ever, awesome selling and DANGEROUS MOVEZ~! that are done for actual reasons. Me needz 2 watch more Kawada!
> 
> *******


Watch 6/9/95 if you haven't.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

MF83 said:


> Watch 6/9/95 if you haven't.


I certainly will.

*Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi-12.6.1998.*
I could watch Kawada and Kobashi beat the hell out of each other all day long. I absolutely LOVE the delay before Kawada's Powerbombs, it puts the move over so well. 

*****3/4*


----------



## ダニエル

If it's more Dangerous K awesome that you're after, check out his '93 match against Hansen and his '00 match against Tenryu (assuming, you have not yet seen them of course!).


----------



## ywall2breakerj

ダニエル;11010770 said:


> If it's more Dangerous K awesome that you're after, check out his '93 match against Hansen and his '00 match against Tenryu (assuming, you have not yet seen them of course!).


I've seen the whole Misawa series and a couple of random matches, now I'm starting with the Kobashi matches but unfortunately that's pretty much it. 

Youtube doesn't seem to have Kobashi-Kawada from the Champion's Carnival 97 final :cuss:


----------



## Chismo

Holy shit at the New Japan results. It truly is - the new beginning.


----------



## seancarleton77

Why New Japan? WHYYYYYYY!? I'm depressed now.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Kawada vs Hase-5.2.1999.*
Awesome mat wrestling, awesome selling, awesome MOOOOOVEEEZ~! etc.

******


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 30/4/81*

Terry Funk vs Dory Funk Jr
***3/4

*All Japan - 6/10/81*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Umanosuke Ueda & Buck Robley
***1/4

*All Japan - 7/10/81*

Terry Funk vs Ric Flair
***1/2

*All Japan - 30/11/81*

Terry Funk vs Bruiser Brody
****

*All Japan - 3/12/81*

Terry Funk vs Ashura Hara
***

*All Japan - 13/12/81*

Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka
****1/2


----------



## seancarleton77

It's the end of the world as we know it and.... FUCK NJPW!


----------



## smitlick

Pro Wrestling ZERO1 "ZERO1_ELEVEN~11th Anniversary Show", 3/2/2012 [Fri] @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

(-) Special Tag Match ~ ZERO1 vs. DIAMOND RING: Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima


----------



## Chismo

Uh, oh... That could be a legit MOTYC. Daichi is getting better and better.


----------



## Defrost

JoeRulz said:


> Uh, oh... That could be a legit MOTYC. Daichi is getting better and better.


I loved the match he had with Choshu on that Legend show


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Just saw Teioh/Shinobu vs Mashimo/Madoka.

Holy crap, and I thought Eddie Kingston's selling at High Noon was awesome. Shinobu deserves an Oscar for that performance. That match had me at the edge of my seat, especially at the end.

Two side notes 

1) I can't believe I forgot how much I love watching Men's Teioh work. The dodging, the moves, the mannerisms. Why am I such a mark for just about every former member of KAIENTAI?

2) Mashimo's theme is sick. I'm downloading it.


By the way, star wise, it's a ****1/2 for me.


----------



## seabs

smitlick said:


> Pro Wrestling ZERO1 "ZERO1_ELEVEN~11th Anniversary Show", 3/2/2012 [Fri] @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo
> 
> (-) Special Tag Match ~ ZERO1 vs. DIAMOND RING: Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima


*:mark:

Okada winning the IWGP Title sucks imo. Tana's reign still had legs and was a success. Okada doesn't look ready to be on that level yet and the fans don't seem to have taken to him at that level either. Guessing it'll only be a shortish reign though. The decision was made before WK btw, nothing to do with the new owners. Jr. belts changing hands again just shows how stale that division is and it doesn't help that Devitt and Taguchi aren't on their best form right now either. They really need for Liger to start working bigger junior matches again to freshen it up or give some CMLL guys title shots. Davey's the next challenger for Devitt's belt too. Goto faces Takahashi for his belt and Takayama/Archer challenge Tenzan/Kojima.

Full Anniversary card.



NJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW", 04.03.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Tama Tonga, Takaaki Watanabe & Hiromu Takahashi
2. Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii
3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Jado & Gedo
4. Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
7. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

Click to expand...

*


----------



## MF83

Tanahashi just built the foundation of the future ace of Japan with that. Literally. He's 24 and just put on a legit MOTYC imo and outperformed Tanahashi handily. Not just that, but it went best case scenario-ly. With that and other factors such as his natural charisma, his look and size sans bulk that will come, and wrestling ability, the boy is going to be much bigger than Tanahashi ever was. Seriously. Brilliant move as if Naito wins, then it was classic Japanese transitional champion booking in order for a Naito (c) vs. Tanahashi title match to be monumentous rather than, "oh, this should be good" to have a "the future" theme on their sure sell out 40th anny show. If not, the crowd's afterward will be huge to pay to see a new champion each time out. My opinion, of course, but I support it 100%.


----------



## Neutronic

I still don't get how Okada got a title shot

He literally went from, jobber TNA fired to random title challenger.

It'd be different if he had credentials from NJPW already but he hasn't even held another title


----------



## Rah

Okada is champ? 

I knew I should have VBookie'd that. :no:


----------



## Zatiel

Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama Vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Masahiro Kakihara - AJPW February 28, 1998

So this was my favorite thing I've seen in a while. It's easy to forget that Takayama could ever move, let alone kick ass swiftly, and he was rocking the chest kicks on Kobashi. I'd never seen Kakihara before at all and he made an amazing impression. While wrestling guys much bulkier than him, more established in this promotion than him, and using grappling and striking to get impressive advantages, he used facials and body language to come across as a total heel ass. I was happier watching Kobashi finally Lariat the punk into oblivion than I was with any crazy vintage All Japan finishing stretch sprint I've seen lately. Also, Akiyama was an awesome second. Also, Kobashi is the best superhero wrestler ever.


----------



## TelkEvolon

> Incoming! Subscribe to KOfficeDRing for Kensuke Office & Diamond Ring on YouTube!


Awesome! Can't wait to check this show out.


----------



## Bubz

Thats pretty cool they are going on the tube.


----------



## Chismo

Great opening ceremony, really cool.


----------



## Zatiel

Any word on why Okita retired? I liked him.


----------



## Chismo

*Kensuke Office Changes*​
*Masao Inoue & Stalker Ichikawa vs. Kikutaro & Numazu Man*

Haha, this was a great comedy opener. Japanese strange humour at it's best. The YT version is heavily clipped, but judging from highlights, you can tell everyone was having a great time. Kikutaro is pretty damn hilarious.
*Rating: N/A*


*Ultimo Dragon, Taiji Ishimori & Satoshi Kajiwara vs. Kazunari Murakami, NOSAWA & Takeshi Minamino*

Good 6-man tag action, Ultimo Dragon is still the man, Ishimori can be wild, but the man of the match was Kazunari Murakami. He's like a damn animal, very rough and fierce. Good match overall.
*Rating: **1/4*

*Kento Miyahara vs. Fujita Jr. Hayato*

Great, great Junior match. Miyahara is very talented and has a good look. Hayato, on the other hand, is pretty damn small, but he's scary at the same time, I guess that haircut helps a lot, lol. Anyway, this was only 10 minutes long, but they went back-and-forth style, and it worked very well. Miyahara's growing frustration was really good storytelling. Eventually, Hayato applies K.I.D. out of nowhere and wins by T.K.O. Miyahara is pissed off at the referee, and I guess we will see the rematch down the road. I love this match a lot, great action and story.
*Rating: ***3/4*

*Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Mitsuhiro Kitamiya*

Holy shit, this was great! The storytelling was really fucking great here, it was about Kenskay's latest trainee Kitamiya, he wanted to prove he belongs there, with big boys. And really, Kitamiya fought like a man, his sequences with Akiyama were awesome. Akiyama was like ''GTFO, you kid, I will eat you!'', but Kitamiya showed tremendous guts, and he stood up every time. It was so easy to cheer him, the crowd was firmly behind him, and the pep talk from Kenskay was a nice touch. 23 minutes of great tag team action, this is so easy watch. Of course, the chop battle Vol. 36 between Kobashi and Kenskay was inevitable, but it was okay. At the end, Kitamiya ate the pin, but he earned respect, from Kobashi, Akiyama and from the crowd. The star is born, I'm really impressed with Kitamiya, he looks like MiSu 2.0, and wrestles the similar, grappling style. Great match.
*Rating: ***3/4*

*Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. SHINGO*

And there you go, this is your first D-Ring main event. Awesome, kick-ass match, so easy to wacth. They went back-and-forth style mostly, but we got few control segments too. SHINGO is such a great powerhouse, but he has no chance against Jima's M-16 strikes, so he works his legs, but not for long enough to be efficient. Jima still strikes like a motherfucker. The finishing stretch was very exciting, SHINGO was on the verge of victory, but Jima used his strikes as a defense this time, and after few blows won the match with German Suplex Hold. Awesome, awesome match, they really stiffed the hell out of each other, the storytelling was very simple and nice. MOTYC, easily, and great showcase for D-Ring's first main event.
*Rating: ****1/4*


Awesome first D-Ring show, hopefully they continue to upload on YouTube, I fucking love that move. I love the show-structure, with only 5 mathces - hilarious opener, solid 6-man tag, and the last 3 matches were really, really great, with the main event being legit MOTYC. The man who impressed the most was Kitamiya, definitely. Kenskay is a good teacher.


----------



## McQueen

Kenskay looks so fucking dapper in a suit.

Nakajima doesn't.


----------



## Bubz

Wow, sounds awesome. I'll be watching that later. is it on Youtube now?


----------



## Chismo

It is.


----------



## wildpegasus

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shingo was aces. My fav match of the year from what I've seen so far.

This may have been the first time I've seen Kitamya. I really liked what I saw. The guy has fire.

So what's the story behind Diamond Ring?

You know watching this and the NJPW show. I've got to say I really loved the production quality of both of these shows. It makes everything feel so alive which is of utmost importance. NJPW has always been awesome in this regard. The WWE may have all the money these days but they can't replicate that majic I get from Diamond Ring or NJPW.


----------



## Chismo

wildpegasus said:


> Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shingo was aces. My fav match of the year from what I've seen so far.
> 
> This may have been the first time I've seen Kitamya. I really liked what I saw. The guy has fire.
> 
> So what's the story behind Diamond Ring?
> 
> You know watching this and the NJPW show. I've got to say I really loved the production quality of both of these shows. It makes everything feel so alive which is of utmost importance. NJPW has always been awesome in this regard. The WWE may have all the money these days but they can't replicate that majic I get from Diamond Ring or NJPW.


http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2012/01/11/kensuke-office-to-be-renamed-as-diamond-ring/

It's basically Kensuke Office evolving from a Dojo holding shows to a legit wrestling company.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW - The New Beginning 2012*

YOSHI-HASHI & Yujiro Takahashi vs King Fale & Tomoaki Honma
****

Captain New Japan, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tama Tonga vs Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano
_More of a fun match than a good one._
*****

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
_Started of as a well-timed and structured spotfest that evolved into a great match with plenty of gripping near-falls._
****½*

*Ten Man Tag Team Elimination Match*
Wataru Inoue, Yuji Nagata, KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask & Togi Makabe vs Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yoshihiro Takayama
*****

*IWGP Tag Team Title Match*
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
_Dull as dogshit until the ending._
***½*

*IWGP Intercontinental Title Match*
Masato Tanaka (c) vs Hirooki Goto
_Goto no-selling the superplex only to stand up and get taken back down again early in the match really irritated me and I just wasn't feeling the near-falls after that._
***¾*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tetsuya Naito
_These two never fail to put on a good match together, even if this wasn't one of their best effort due to some awkward transitions and an over-reliance on 2.9 counts._
****¼*

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada
_I liked how Tana was seen as the vet in the match, dominating Okada with headlocks and Okada only gaining control after taking advantage of Tana's mistakes. Epic match that had my heart-racing on some of the near-falls. I do wish the selling had more continuity._
******

*Overall:*
The undercard was surprisingly good and most of the main matches did not react my expectations, but it's was all entertaining stuff bar the TenKoji/Bad Intentions match.​


----------



## Chismo

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Giant Bernard (NJPW, 7/18/2011)*

Man, I see people talking about Tana/Nagatas, Tana/Kojimas and Tana/Gotos, but no one talks about this match. And this is my New Japan MOTY for 2011, and #2 in Puro overall, right behind SUWAMA/Akiyama. This match was perfectly structured and perfectly executed. The storytelling was smashing, especially the callbacks on their 2006 IWGP match. The drama and suspense were great, because this is Giant F'N Bernard we're talking about, and he damaged Tanahashi strong enough to make everyone believe he's walking away with that title. Of course, it made Tanahashi's comebacks much more significant. Great selling from both guys too, it's very appreciated. To sum up, this match is brilliant, both of them are on top of the game, and played their characters to perfection. 
*Rating: ****3/4*


----------



## seabs

*All Together Results:*


Spoiler: All Together Results






> NJPW/NOAH/AJPW "ALL TOGETHER", 19.02.2012 (PPV/TV Asahi/G+/Samurai! TV)
> Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
> 3,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> 1. ALL TOGETHER Opening Match CHEER UP NIPPON: Great Sasuke , Tiger Mask , Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori besiegen Jado , Gedo , Kenou & Taro Nohashi (11:12) nach dem Sasuke Special 10 Ver. 10.2 Segway von Sasuke gegen Nohashi.
> 2. HERO IS COMING!!: Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima & Kentaro Shiga besiegen Captain NOAH (Mohammed Yone) , Captain All Japan (Ryota Hama) & Captain New Japan (10:24) nach dem Anaconda Vice von Tenzan gegen Captain New Japan.
> 3. SHINE ON TOMORROW: Yoshinobu Kanamaru , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegen Jushin Thunder Liger , Kotaro Suzuki , Minoru Tanaka & KAI (14:38) nach der King Kong Lariat von Kondo gegen KAI.
> 4. BRAVE NEW WORLD: Takashi Sugiura & Yujiro Takahashi besiegen Togi Makabe & Manabu Soya (11:46) nach einem Olympic Slam von Sugiura gegen Soya.
> 5. SUN PLAZA QUARREL FESTIVAL: Yuji Nagata , Kensuke Sasaki , Akebono & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Masayuki Kono & Taichi (13:58) nach einer Body Press von Akebono gegen Taichi.
> 6. BE STRONG JAPAN: Hirooki Goto , Akitoshi Saito & Jinsei Shinzaki besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (13:30) nach dem Shouten Kai von Goto gegen Iizuka.
> 7. THIS IS "PROWRESTLING": Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto besiegen Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (20:20) nach einer Moonsault Press von Muto gegen Akiyama.
> 8. FIGHTING TOGETHER NOW: Hiroshi Tanahashi , Takeshi Morishima & Suwama besiegen Go Shiozaki , Tetsuya Naito & Seiya Sanada (23:13) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Shiozaki.


----------



## Chismo

They killed PuroClassics. Fuck!


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> They killed PuroClassics. Fuck!


Is there no god?


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> They killed PuroClassics. Fuck!


 WTF.

Senor Lariato is on Daily Motion now though, and there are other puro uploaders on there too.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*KENTA vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - 06/13/08*




Great match here, as Nakajima steps up in a big way to go toe to toe with KENTA, matching him kick for kick, slap for slap and forearm for forearm, the match is fast paced and action packed with both men pulling out all of the stops to try and get the win, including some crazy legwork. Nakajima targets the legs and KENTA works the mid section, both dishing out a ton of punishment to the other. Awesome strike battles are scattered throughout as well as some great spots. A fun, hard hitting encounter that really saw Nakajima step up to the plate and take the bull by the horns.

*****1/2*


----------



## TelkEvolon

Bubz said:


> WTF.
> 
> Senor Lariato is on Daily Motion now though, and there are other puro uploaders on there too.


The problem is that DailyMotion feels so clunky compared to YouTube, I'll mainly stick to whoever lingers around on YouTube. There is still some good stuff being put out.


----------



## Bubz

That Nakajima/KENTA match is probably one of my favourite KENTA matches. Their series of matches in 08 were all good.


----------



## bigbuxxx

JoeRulz said:


> They killed PuroClassics. Fuck!


That made me slightly sad but shame on me for not having a back up channel for all the hours of work I put into it. For some reason RapidShare doesn't work for me and just stops working after it hits 0.5% of any d/l so it's impossible to recreate that channel.


----------



## antoniomare007




----------



## seabs

*Man I love Yuji more with every passing day.*


----------



## Bubz

antoniomare007 said:


>


What Pimps.


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Man I love Yuji more with every passing day.*


He's a couple of big profile matches away from owning Korakuen Hall just like Daisuke and Kasai.


----------



## Concrete

*El Generico vs. Isami Kodaka(UNION 01/03/12:***3/4*
On the brink of being a MOTYC but not quite there for me. I love El Generico and he brought his usual goodness to the table. I have no idea who Kodaka is but I was kinda meh towards him. Overall though a good match that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere really. There was a few sick spots in this match like when Generico Michinoku Drivered Kodaka from the apron through a table. A fun match that I was happy to watch. Just proves that you don't need to bust out a classic to make a match worth someone's time.


----------



## Chismo

Little late, but SMASH 25 results:



Spoiler: SMASH 25



*SMASH.25, 19.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo JCB Hall
3,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

1. Ultimo Dragon, Yusuke Kodama & Koji Doi besiegen Hisamaru Tajima , YO-HEY & Jiro Kuroshio (6:17) nach dem Asai DDT von Ultimo gegen Kuroshio.
2. Nanae Takahashi , Tomoka Nakagawa & Kagetsu besiegen Makoto, Lin Bairon & Aki Shizuku (8:40) nach einer Death Valley Bomb von Kagetsu gegen Makoto.
3. Hokuto Pro Army vs. IWA Japan Army Last Decisive Battle: Takuya Kito, Konaka = Pale One & Lou Rururu besiegen Keizo Matsuda, Takashi Okano, Keisuke Yamada & Katsumi Hirano (9:48) nach einem Schoolboy von Kito gegen Matsuda.
4. Shinjiro Otani , Masato Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka besiegen Starbuck, Hajime Ohara & Jessica Love (12:40) nach dem Sliding D von Tanaka gegen Love.
5. Hardcore Match: Sabu & Jun Kasai besiegen KENSO & VENENO (15:45) nach einem Arabian Facebuster von Sabu gegen VENENO.
6. AKIRA Produce - New Japan Pro-Wrestling Alumni: AKIRA & Hisakatsu Oya besiegen Tatsumi Fujinami & El Samurai (10:57) nach der Musasabi Press von AKIRA gegen Samurai.
7. *SMASH Diva Title*: Shuri besiegt Kana (c) (12:50) mit einem High Kick - Titelwechsel.
8. *SMASH Title*: Dave Finlay (c) besiegt TAJIRI (22:23) mit einem Tombstone Piledriver (1st defense).





Spoiler: Dragon Gate



*Dragon Gate "TRUTH GATE 2012", 20.02.2012
Kobe ***** Hall
*
0. Eita Kobayashi besiegt Yosuke Watanabe (4:49) mit einer Moonsault Press.
1. Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Gamma besiegen Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi & Super Shenlong II (12:13) nach dem Twister von Mochi gegen Shenlong.
2. Masato Yoshino besiegt Jimmy Kagetora (10:01) nach der Lightning Spiral.
3. CIMA, Don Fujii & Rich Swann besiegen Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong & Yasushi Kanda (14:24) mit einem Gedo Clutch von Fujii gegen Kong.
4. CIMA Royale: PAC besiegt Cyber Kong, Don Fujii, Dragon Kid, Gamma, Eita Kobayashi, Masato Yoshino, Rich Swann Super Shenlong II & Yasushi Kanda (18:45). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: Don Fujii eliminiert Gamma mit einem Gedo Clutch (9:34). Eita Kobayashi eliminiert Super Shenlong II mit einer Moonsault Press (11:52). Swann wurde über das Top Rope geworfen. Don Fujii eliminiert Kobayashi nach einem Chokeslam. Masato Yoshino wirft Cyber Kong & Don Fujii über das Top Rope. PAC eliminiert Yasushi Kanda mit einem German Suplex Hold. PAC eliminiert Dragon Kid mit einem Bible Cutback-Cradle. PAC eliminiert Masato Yoshino mit einem German Suplex Hold (18:45).
5. *No Ropes Match:* BxB Hulk besiegt YAMATO (21:37) nach dem First Flash.
6. *No Ropes Match:* Akira Tozawa besiegt Shingo Takagi (18:25) mit einem Package German Suplex Hold. 

Holy shit at the last two results. PAC is the next Dream Gate challenger.





Spoiler: DDT



*DDT "INTO THE FIGHT 2012", 19.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,408 Fans - Super No Vacancy
*
1. Sexxxy Eddy & Keita Yano besiegen Shigehiro Irie & DJ Nira (11:56) nach dem Sex on the Beach von Eddy gegen Nira.
2. Masa Takanashi, Tsukasa Fujimoto & Yuiga besiegen Akito, Hiroshi Fukuda & Hikari Minami (8:11) nach einem Inside Cradle von Takanashi gegen Fukuda.
3. Establishment vs. Dissidents: Shiro Koshinaka, Sanshiro Takagi, Masashi Aoyagi & Takao Soma besiegen Hiro Saito, Tomo Matsunaga, Kei Ishii & Hoshi Tanki (10:02) nach einem Boma Ye von Soma gegen Matsunaga.
4. Aim! Pro-Wrestling Grand Prix Best Tag Team: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi besiegen Michael Nakazawa & Hikaru Sato (13:02) nach einem Golem Splash von Okabayashi gegen Nakazawa.
5. KO-D Tag Team Title: Yuji Hino & Yasu Urano (c) besiegen Masao Inoue & Makoto Oishi (16:59) nach einem Tombstone Piledriver von Urano gegen Oishi (3rd defense).
6. Special Tag Match: HARASHIMA & El Generico besiegen Kenny Omega & KUDO (21:19) nach dem Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!! von Generico gegen KUDO.
7. *KO-D Openweight Title*: Danshoku Dino (c) besiegt Antonio Honda (31:19) mit einem Gotch-Style Danshoku Driver (1st defense).



ZERO1 "ZERO1_ELEVEN ~ 11TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW", 02.03.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. International Jr. Heavyweight Title & NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Takuya Sugawara (c) vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (c)
2. *NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title*: Masato Tanaka & Zeus (c) vs. Steve Corino & The Sheik
3. *World Heavyweight Title*: KAMIKAZE (c) vs. Akebono
4. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima


----------



## Rah

enlightenedone9 said:


> *El Generico vs. Isami Kodaka(UNION 01/03/12:***3/4*
> On the brink of being a MOTYC but not quite there for me. I love El Generico and he brought his usual goodness to the table. I have no idea who Kodaka is but I was kinda meh towards him. Overall though a good match that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere really. There was a few sick spots in this match like when Generico Michinoku Drivered Kodaka from the apron through a table. A fun match that I was happy to watch. Just proves that you don't need to bust out a classic to make a match worth someone's time.


Nice to see that someone else saw that match and liked it, too. It wasn't truly incredible but it definitely was fun for its duration and you could definitely do far worse with 25 minutes of your time than see this.

I was a little more easy on the match, though, and bumped the rating up to **** as I thought it juuust scraped the bottom of the 4-star barrel. Not truly a MOTYC but nothing less than good, either.


----------



## Concrete

I was really stuck on whether to give it **** or not so I think we were on the same wavelength on this one. It was like ***3/4-**** so yeah. A really fun match that made 25 minutes feel like a breeze without going EXTREMELY insane. 
*La Sombra vs. Volador Jr.(01/22/12):*****
Now this another one of those matches where I didn't know if I wanted to go up to **** but I did. This match had problems. There were some moments where they looked like they weren't exactly sure where was the next step. There were also a lot of spots that looked blatantly set up. That being said this match was full of great action and I couldn't say no to this match even though I picked these apart in my head. I don't watch a lot of lucha so maybe that's why it came off so well to me but some of the stuff they were doing was simply awesome. An extremely athletic contest. I might be overrating this match but it won't end up in my top ten by the end of the year so it isn't really that big of a deal.


----------



## Cactus

> [NOAH News] It has been announced that Kenta Kobashi will be unable to compete for the present time. Following his match at ALL TOGETHER on 2/19, Kobashi is suffering from a right knee contusion, a severely bruised knee, as well as ligament damage. There is no official recovery time announced, Kobashi said it could be two months, but we will have to wait and hear from the official medical reports.
> Kobashi wishes that his fans support him as he aims to return sooner than later.
> 
> ~ NOAH still has the tag title match listed, but due to Kobashi's injury the match is said to change. So I am not sure at this time if that means a new partner for Shiozaki or a whole new team to compete.
> 
> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 in YOKOHAMA", 3/18/2012 [Sun] 16:00 @ Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium
> 
> (-) GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions] Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. [Challengers] Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki
> ~ first defense.


----------



## Bubz

Ah man, as hard as it is to say, Kobashi really should hang up the boots. How many injuries can one guy take?


----------



## asdf0501

Kobashi needs to retire since 4 or more years ago. I really see him ending like Misawa in any moment...

And doesn't matters if affect NOAH, the company is in the toilet with or without Kobashi


----------



## wildpegasus

Kobashi should do what makes him happy. If he wants to keep on wrestling than go for it! Health wise, yeah he should have retired years and years ago but he like so many others obviously like wrestling better than their physical health.


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi obviously never wants to give up wrestling, ever. Thats awesome, but like the poster above said, he might to end up like Misawa very soon if he keeps it up and thats obviously something no one wants to see. He's got to have some sense left in that brian of his to realise he's going to kill himself.


----------



## Cactus

I really do think that Kobashi feels he _has_ to keep wrestling. When he got cancer years ago, Misawa post-poned his retirement plans to stop NOAH from going in the shitter. I think Kobashi thinks he owes it to Misawa to carry on for the greater-good of NOAH. Thankfully though, even if he does carry on competing, he's almost physically incapable from doing any dangerous spots. The worst spots he takes are a couple of stiff strikes and the only back bump I've seen him do since his return is a simple back suplex that's too shitty to be dangerous.


----------



## Zatiel

He's my favorite wrestler ever and I'd like him to retire. His issues are scary. He wrestled hard as hell for over fifteen years, so of course that caught up with him. While he has to be allowed to make his own decisions, damn do I wish the rest of the NOAH office would make him hang it up. He can't turn the company around, and he's not even really booked in a position to do that anyway. Let him be a corner man, or read the scrolls for the belts, or on commentary full-time, but for God's sake, don't let him become another tragedy.


----------



## Rah

Cactus said:


> *I really do think that Kobashi feels he has to keep wrestling. When he got cancer years ago, Misawa post-poned his retirement plans to stop NOAH from going in the shitter. I think Kobashi thinks he owes it to Misawa to carry on for the greater-good of NOAH.* Thankfully though, even if he does carry on competing, he's almost physically incapable from doing any dangerous spots. The worst spots he takes are a couple of stiff strikes and the only back bump I've seen him do since his return is a simple back suplex that's too shitty to be dangerous.


I see it mostly as that, too.

I think, though, another reasoning for not retiring is the need for accomplishment. Kobashi strikes me as the person who would rather die doing something he loves than someone happy enough to retire from in-ring action and die, peacefully (and possibly alone), in their own home.

It's this need for accomplishment that is very strong within the Japanese culture, too. Looking at his retirement in that light, I don't think a Western person will be able to truly understand the reasoning behind his continual delay of retirement. 









(Damn Google Books and it's inability to let me select+copy text :no This highlights back onto Cactus' post, as well.


----------



## TelkEvolon

I think you'll see Kobashi wrestling in a wheelchair before you see him retire.


----------



## Bubz

Anyone seen the All Together show? Anything worth watching off it?


----------



## seancarleton77

Kobashi = Japanese Undertaker, he just can't quit.


----------



## Scavo

Spoiler: NOAH "THE NAVIGATION IN FEBRUARY 2012"



NOAH "THE NAVIGATION IN FEBRUARY 2012", 25.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans

1. Masao Inoue besiegt Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya (10:31) mit einem Crab Hold.
2. Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara besiegen Lance Bravado & Harlem Bravado (10:16) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Miyahara gegen Harlem.
3. *XNL* Title: Super Crazy (c) besiegt Ricky Marvin (17:58) durch Pinfall (9th defense).
4. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Yoshinobu Kanamaru & Genba Hirayanagi - Double KO (6:30).
5. Yoshihiro Takayama & MAYBACH Taniguchi besiegen Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji (13:29) nach einer Modified Powerbomb von Taniguchi gegen Yone.
6. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) besiegt Taiji Ishimori (24:20) mit einem Right High Kick (2nd defense).
7. *GHC Heavyweight Title & GHC Tag Team Title Skirmish*: Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Sugiura & Go Shiozaki besiegen Takeshi Morishima, Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (22:41) nach einer Moonsault Press von Shiozaki gegen Saito.


- Nach seinem Heel Turn hat sich Shuhei Taniguchi tatsächlich den Beinamen MAYBACH zugelegt.
- Nakajima verteidigt den Jr. Title als nächstes am 07.03. gegen Genba Hirayanagi.
- Der Ausfall von Kenta Kobashi ist ein Verlust für NOAH, aber zumindest für die Show am 18.03. hat NOAH einen würdigen Ersatz gefunden. Niemand geringeres als Keiji Muto wird an der Seite von Shiozaki in den Ring steigen. Update: im dem Match wird es nicht um den GHC Tag Team Title gekämpft!


- credit: purolove.com


----------



## Bubz

Intrested in the Main Event and the Jr title match, both sound good on paper.


----------



## seabs

*Mutoh's replacing Kobashi in the tag title match teaming with Shiozaki btw. Pretty good replacement for sure.

Taniguchi adding MAYBACH in caps to his name is awesome btw. Doesn't fit him one bit but it's awesome and obviously KENTA's idea.*


----------



## Chismo

I think the Tag Team titles are NOT on the line now.

And yeah, MAYBACH name is fucking awesome, hopefully Taniguchi does well in NO MERCY, I really like the guy.


----------



## antoniomare007

at least now he has a look...

---

Random thought. I want a Big Japan vs All Japan Captain's Fall Elimination Match

Sekimoto/Okabayashi/Hashimoto/Yoshihito/Kasai(or Shinobu) *vs* Suwama/Akebono/M.Soya/Sanada/T.Soya

Korakuen might explode...

PS: although it looked kinda awkward, it was cool to see Sekimoto finally German Akebono. 

PS 2: smh @ nobody mentioning that we are gonna have Daisuke/Okabayashi vs Suwama/Soya III on 3.20 at Sumo Hall (I smell a title change)


----------



## Zatiel

To expose all ignorance, what does "MAYBACH" mean or reference?

Honestly like his look. He never had good facial expressions, so you might as well cover them up all crazy-like.


----------



## MF83

^ KENTA likes rap. It has something to do with Rick Ross.



Some HUGE and exciting new developments coming from today's New Japan press conference. 

- First and most importantly, *they have a new TV deal with BS Asahi. Come April they will have a full hour show airing Thursdays at 11pm in at least 70% of all homes countrywide.* The whole "pro wrestling doesn't matter in Japan" myth seems to be holding less weight now. Funny how the new and smaller backers have allowed them a muuuch better slot than anyone in the country has for a long time now. This alone may help gain plenty of new fans to help launch at least a mini surge in popularity again. Maybe.


EDIT:


> from puroresufan.com director Stuart:
> Bushiroad, the new owners of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, today held a live presentation to announce some details on the future direction of the company. Here are the main things revealed at the event:
> 
> - “WRESTLE KINGDOM 7 IN TOKYO DOME” has already been confirmed for 1/4/13. They seem to have dropped the Roman numeral numbers for various concepts such as this so it’s listed as 7 instead of VII.
> - The “G1 CLIMAX 22″ was also announced with two dates revealed: 8/3 Korakuen Hall and 8/12 Sumo Hall (the final).
> - The yearly Sumo Hall event in October has been given a “more intelligible name” and from now on will be called “KING OF PRO WRESTLING IN RYOGOKU”, named after a new card game Bushiroad will be releasing.
> - The historic “G1 TAG LEAGUE” name is so more and the concept will be renamed to the “WORLD TAG LEAGUE” while the end-of-year tour will be called “ROAD TO TOKYO DOME” to make it more of a coherent lead-in to the January super-show.
> - Other minor tours will be renamed such as the January/February series becoming “NEW YEAR GOLDEN ROAD”.
> - The most intriguing one is that something called the “WORLD WAR LEAGUE” will begin in Spring 2013, hinting at something new, possibly international based and a replacement for the New Japan Cup?
> 
> - New Japan will begin to produce a new 60 minute show on BS Asahi with the tentative name of “WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS”.
> - New Japan will begin to produce a new late-night radio show on AM1422 with the tenative name of “NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING RADIO”.
> - TOKYO MX will beging to rebroadcast the famous “Tiger Mask” anime with the idea it could reach young kids who would then become interested in New Japan, where of course the fourth generation of Tiger Mask has wrestled for years now.
> 
> - As mentioned, Bushiroad will release a new trading card game called “KING OF PRO WRESTLING”, a release that has been planned for some time, even before the company bought out New Japan. The first booster pack is scheduled to come out around the time of the 10/8 Sumo Hall show and players will be able to discover combos with tag teams and many other cool features.
> 
> - The well known Good Smile Company have began making a brand new range of New Japan figures and the president of the company, Aki Takanori, had some banter with wrestlers present today – such as being politely asked by Tenzan to make his head smaller than on usual Tenzan action figures! Kojima wants people to be able to press a button and hear his voice.
> 
> - New Japan wrestlers will begin to use the power of Twitter more, to communicate with fans. Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi can now be found @tanahashi1_100. Others are already on Twitter such as Nagata, Naito, Devitt, Nakamura, Captain New Japan, and Kanemoto.
> 
> - Sumo legend Akebono will return to New Japan from the summer and by the sounds of it will make New Japan his main home from that point onwards. He said he is looking forward to returning and dying New Japan the colour of Akebono.
> 
> The ultimate aim of New Japan under Bushiroad seems clear – to become bigger, better, and more accessible to new fans. And not just Japanese fans as it is clear that Bushiroad wants to make New Japan more of an international company and expand beyond the comfort zone of Japan. The renaming of shows/tours, the release of card games and action figures, the rebroadcast of Tiger Mask… all point towards a new direction for New Japan with new names and ideas, without changing the traditional feel of the company too much.
> 
> Here's a full list of upcoming events -
> 
> 
> 
> ■今後の主な大会予定
> ●2012年7月シリーズ
> 『NJPW40th Anniversary tour キズナロード』
> 
> ●『G1 CLIMAX 22』
> 2012年8月3日（金）後楽園ホール
> 2012年8月12日（日）両国国技館
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ●2012年9月シリーズ
> 『NJPW40th Aniversary tour ボルテージロード』
> 
> ●2012年10月8日（祝・月）
> 『キングオブプロレスリングin 両国』
> 
> ●2012年10月後半～11月前半
> 『NJPW 40th Aniversary tour ワールドタッグリーグ戦』
> 
> ●2012年11月後半～12月前半
> 『ロード・トゥ・東京ドーム』
> 
> ★2013年1月4日（金）
> 東京ドーム大会　開催決定！
> 『レッスルキングダム7 in 東京ドーム』
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ※2013年主な大会予定
> ●2013年1月後半～2月前半
> 『新春黄金ロード』
> 
> ●2013年春
> 『ワールドリーグ戦』
> 
> ※チケット、開始時間などは、後日あらためて発表します。
Click to expand...


----------



## antoniomare007

great news!

At least Bushiroad is trying and all the stuff in the press conference sounds like a simple and effective plan. The fear of them expending too much money in useless stuff is dying down (at least to me).

Kinda shocked about Akebono though. He was doing his best work in the Big Japan feud and now he'll be gone in a couple of months


----------



## Chismo

Great, great news from New Japan. The new owners seem to take the more documentary approach, more "legit", if I may say so, I like it. Looking forward to see thier TV show, hopefully it will be something like ECW's Hardcore TV, with the match highlights, interviews, and other stuff in order to accelerate feuds and stories. New Japan is awesome.


----------



## Bubz

*NOAH - The Navigation in February 2012*

*Nakajima vs Ishimori*
I always say this about Nakajima, but I'll say it again here, he knows how to do a limb workover really well, and then use it to constantly gain the advantage later in the match. He did it here amazingly well, but ishimori's selling was quite bad throughout which took away from the great job Nakajima was doing. He sometimes would hold his leg for a second, but then was running around like a crazy person and hitting all his offense which pretty much all invovled using his knees or feet, hitting all his usual stuff like kicks, knees, lungblowers, dropkicks etc which annoyed me a bit. But that's the negative stuff out the way. Nakajima was awesome here, like I said working over the leg and then when Ishimori made his comebacks he would always go back to the leg to get the advantage back. The sequence leading to the finsih was awesome stuff and the nearfall off the 450 was great. So there was a few things that nagged me mostly to do with Ishimoris selling, but the good stuff far outweighed the bad, a lot like Nakajima/Marvin from last year, but I thought this was better. ****

Nakajima is so good imo, he's easily my favourite Junior in Japan. To me, he's like if some scientist took Davey Richards and extracted all the shit and injected some wrestling logic into his brain. If you put him in the ring with someone who can sell (like SHINGO) you will pretty much be guaranteed a MOTYC.


----------



## seabs

*Fine with the TV show as long as they still get the Samurai TV and J-Sports shows broadcast in full. 

Akebono is an interesting one. I think he's fucking awesome right now but I'm not too sure how well he'll fit into the New Japan roster. Less Akebono in Z1 and invading Big Japan makes me sad though.*


----------



## antoniomare007

and the nnnnneeeeeeeewwwwww



Spoiler: wwww
































can't wait to watch that match on Sunday :mark:


also...








[/IMG]


----------



## Rah

What constitutes a Juniour in Puro/Zero1 wrestling?

I always had thought it to be for the younger guys, then I see the ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Champion (Tsuyoshi Kikuchi) is 47.


----------



## Chismo

Just heard that Akira Tozawa renamed the Blood Warriors stable into MAD BLANKEY. No kiddin'.










Tozawa is so awesome, he can do whatever he wants.


----------



## antoniomare007

Rah said:


> What constitutes a Juniour in Puro/Zero1 wrestling?
> 
> I always had thought it to be for the younger guys, then I see the ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Champion (Tsuyoshi Kikuchi) is 47.


under 100 kg = Jr Heavyweight. Although kayfaibin' weights is common.


----------



## Bubz

Tozawa is my favourite DG guy, and that's a ridiculously awesome name lol.

And wow, I had no idea Kikuchi still wrestled! Jesus i'm out of the loop aren't I. Does he just wrestle for Zero1?


----------



## Chismo

Plus, he kicked out Naruki Doi (after doing the same with CIMA and Ricochet). 

What. A. Boss.


----------



## Bubz

Would you mind filling me in on who's in the DG stables atm? I haven't really followed it much for a while. Plus I'd like to watch more of it and DGUSA.


----------



## Chismo

An older article, but useful: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/...More-.html?soid=1103872774606&aid=A87yowmGhNs

http://dgusa.tv/roster-core.htm


----------



## Rah

JoeRulz said:


> Just heard that Akira Tozawa renamed the Blood Warriors stable into MAD BLANKEY. No kiddin'.


Not to seem like a bitch, or anything, but Blood Warriors was kind of corny. MAD EFFING BLANKEY, though? Balls-crazy and just damn works.



antoniomare007 said:


> under 100 kg = Jr Heavyweight. Although kayfaibin' weights is common.


Ah, in my head I separated the two terms. Thanks, repped. (Y)



Bubz said:


> Tozawa is my favourite DG guy, and that's a ridiculously awesome name lol.
> 
> And wow, I had no idea Kikuchi still wrestled! Jesus i'm out of the loop aren't I. Does he just wrestle for Zero1?


Nah, he's freelance - wrestling mainly Union, Legend, Fukumen, DDT, AJPW, FREEDOMS and Zero1 (so, like, everything but NJPW, really). 

I wouldn't call his appearances sporadic, but he's usually got something on every week. Considering he's freelance it's quite understandable.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Decided to re-up all the 90s (and some 80s) AJPW. Will probably do NJPW 80s/90s channel next week as well. 

AJPW channel is ClassicPuro.


My apologies to mods if this isn't welcome but ppl should see old AJPW


----------



## Chismo

bigbuxxx said:


> Decided to re-up all the 90s (and some 80s) AJPW. Will probably do NJPW 80s/90s channel next week as well.
> 
> AJPW channel is ClassicPuro.
> 
> 
> My apologies to mods if this isn't welcome but ppl should see old AJPW


Great stuff, man. Awesome.


----------



## seabs

*New Japan spoilers


Spoiler: 4/3 Results







NJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW", 04.03.2012 (WPW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,040 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA besiegen Tama Tonga, Takaaki Watanabe & Hiromu Takahashi (11:10) nach dem Midnight Express von KUSHIDA gegen Watanabe.
2. YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan (10:19) nach einer Swanton Bomb von YOSHI-HASHI gegen Captain.
3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask besiegen Jado & Gedo (8:36) nach einem Tiger Suplex Hold von Tiger gegen Gedo.
4. Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue besiegen Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (12:35) nach einem Backdrop Hold von Nagata gegen Taichi.
5. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (14:37) nach dem Kirishima von Yano gegen Kojima.
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson (14:18) nach dem Boma Ye von Nakamura gegen Anderson.
7. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) besiegt Tetsuya Naito (28:50) mit dem Rainmaker (1st defense).

Click to expand...

Main event going that long has killed some of my interest in it. Guessing Yano/Iizuka will get a tag title shot soon.


*


----------



## seancarleton77

Two things I do not want to see in New Japan, 30 minute Naito matches and 30 minute Rainmaker matches, even if this match is good, that's going to take a saint like patience to sit through.


----------



## seabs

*It's in K.Hall though and it's a IWGP Title match in front of a sell out crowd in K.HALL so it shouldn't be as bad as NOAH Title matches going 30 minutes in Differ for example.*


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 11/9/82*
Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen
***3/4

*All Japan - 13/12/82*
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody
****1/4


----------



## Chismo

NJPW “40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW” sounds good, tbh. Especially the matches under 5, 6 and 7.


----------



## Bubz

I'll probably watch the Naito/Okada match if some people give good reviews, but otherwise I can't be doing with it since I really don't like either of them.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 14/4/83*
Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen
***3/4

*All Japan - 20/4/83*
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody
***1/4

*All Japan - 22/4/83*
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody
***3/4

*All Japan - 30/8/83*
Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr & Giant Baba vs Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody & Terry Gordy 
***

*All Japan - 31/8/83*
Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy
****

*All Japan - 8/12/84*
Funks vs Hansen/Brody
****3/4


----------



## C-Cool

I watched the main event for the NJPW “40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW” (Okada vs. Naito).

I don't usually do a lot of match reviews, so I wouldn't use my views as a barometer at all, but to me it was awesome. I came in with low expectations (more on Okada than Naito, I like Naito more), but both of them impressed me with this match.

Okada had to be carried less than he did with Tanahashi, but he has many good things going for him, IMO. Hopefully he can fully adapt to the main event role he currently has before he gets the title taken from him (and hey, if he doesn't, he can always talk to Shinsuke Nakamura on how to recover from that... or maybe someone else). Naito usually impresses me, with exceptions (two of those exceptions being match pairings, one of them being Jeff Hardy, so it wasn't his fault), and this match isn't one of those exceptions.

I don't want to spoil much of the match, but I suggest that you watch that, and a few of the other matches from this event.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW 40th Anniversary Show*

Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs Hiromu Takahashi, Takaaki Watanabe & Tama Tonga
_They gave the jobber team a chance and it looked like they legit had a chance at beating the faces and made the match extremely enjoyable too._
****½*

Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Captain New Japan & Tomoaki Honma
_Boring._
**½*

Gedo & Jado vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
****

Wataru Inoue, Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe vs Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
_Exactly what you would expect out of any Suzuki Army versus Blue Justice match. Super fun match mostly because of the heels simply being great heels. They really need to book MiSu versus Nagata in singles action soon, maybe even MiSu versus Makabe along they way too._
****¼*

Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
***¾*

Masato Tanaka, Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi vs Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Karl Anderson
_The match started off with some great matwork from all parties and planted the seeds for some future singles feuds. Also had an awesome finishing stretch with Anderson and Nakamura._
****½*

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
_We all know I'm a mark for great limbwork and it's going to be no surprise that I loved this match. Okada weakened Naito's neck to set up for his Rainmaker and Naito went all Mutoh-style and took out Okada's leg via basement dropkicks. Plus, 99% of the moves here are all aimed at those body parts. Add on top of that those nuclear near-falls we always get in IWGP title matches and you're looking at my current MOTY. _
*****¼*

*Overall:*
Recommended.​


----------



## MF83

I'll add another review in here. I guess first time readers should know that I have been doing these for a long time over at SSS and Re: the high ratings - What may seem overrated to you is me keeping a consistent scale over thew last few years, regardless of my increasingly "refined" standards. My (user)name is MF83 and I love pro wrestling.

***Contains Spoilers***


83 Spoiler-Free: *~ NJPW 40th Anniversary Show ~ @ Korakuen Hall...* _PPV Edition_!

- President Sugabayashi ushers in the Bushiroad era and sets up _the_ intro package of all intro packages. 

3/6/2007! Oh Kotetsu, you wonderful soul. 
3/6/2009! Old man Animal ftw!
Fujinami! Fujiwara! Choshu! OG Tiger Mask! MUTOH! CHONO! SASAKI~!!!! Others~!
An expanded version of the youtube 40 anny video! Gets a man all nostalgic and whatnot. 
The BushiRoad man welcomes us all!

*1. *Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Tama Tonga, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe:
Good opener designed to make KUSHIDA and Tonga look like a couple of bosses. A55 pleasingly stayed in the background and Hiromu didn’t do much. Watanabe though, man. Those elbows, yesh. I lost it for that supersonicspeedy inside cradle. *usual Watanabe future leader of the free world line* I really want Watanabe vs. Okada. Interesting that KUSHDIA wins via Midnight Express, what with the main happening and all.* **3/4*

*2. *Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii:
Fun, fun fun! Y-H has a prettier swanton than any I’ve seen.* **1/2*
*
3. *Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo & Jado:
T’was okay, I guess. Worse and featuring less antics than I had hoped for. Remember when Jado had a killer lariat? Man's recent "lariat" makes a WWE comeback clothesline look Hansen-esque.* *1/2
*
*4. *Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi:
On the other hand, this was better than I had hoped for and plenty anticful. I see that Taichi ending coming many a mile away every time it occurs, but each time it leaves me smiling. The Chain finally makes its return after the match. Chain deathmatch ASAP please. ****1/4*

*5. *Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka:
Nogami-san got dragged around the ring by the neck, and bah gawd, he continued to commentate! He is a man’s man if I ever did see one. This was Yano and Kojima in a contest to be the most entertaining, their partners being afterthoughts. Suffered from the usual Iizuka and modern Tenzan problems but helped tremendously by this being one of the few rare times a year that Kojima is motivated and tries. 2012 Yano is 2012 Yano and thus, fun was had. Kojima even earned chants going into his death lariat (a rarity for any closer to get chants these days) but he gets Yansacked ftw! "Yano, To-Ru!"! Nogami got a standing O and chants after the match - Nogami Jaasutiiiiiiiiisu I really enjoyed this. ****1/2*

- I hope Yano wins a tag strap again. Please let him team with this man:





(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccbvUhZPkIM)

*6.* Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi:
Okay, now that was a Shinsuke pop. _ CHAOS Smooth_ (as I now dub them) make for a damn fine trio. Yujiro has taken to wearing sunglasses and a sleeveless sweater reading "BAD". He cuts another promo, give him a PurOscar! *puts above video on youtube* As expected, the work gets progressively better, but who should take it to infinity nd beyond? Why, Machine Gun ft. Shinsuke of course! Anderson just knows how and when to escalate a match, a skill he seems to have at his disposal more so than any other wrestler in the company. And Shinsuke is but the perfect foil for such a string of maneuvers. They bring that shit home hard too with a great finishing stretch! Great Shin Nihon Sprint . ******


- Holy shit, it's the old announcer *Hidekazu*(?) *Tanaka*~! I would be marking so much harder if he weren’t still working IGF and LEGEND regularly. I would be marking even harder if he was wearing his old blue and yellow toy soldier looking garb. Regardless, take it away, Takada-san! 







: “IWGP Hebi-kyu senshuken shiai…”

*7. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship – Kazuchika Okada © vs. Tetsuya Naito: 
The Rainmaker proves himself once again, especially with his superb facials and overall selling. I say overall selling because he didn’t sell his leg as well as the Tanahashi match, but we’ll get to that. He made it rain (made it rain), made it rain NAN-DAYO?! That was incredible . I must say that I made a point to type during the match just how much I enjoyed the opening rolling. The two styles and personas mesh well and it kept the crowd molten throughout. I’m glad Naito waited such a long time to bring the leg work back into his repertoire because it was that much more effective, and what work it was! So too was Okada's fantastic neck work and I love the D.I.D. "Down in Debt" name, regardless of which it is of the two holds they called it as. That Okada uses elbows like Misawa would, to actually hurt the neck, rather than as a weak face strike to set up an Irish whip or something, is very refreshing. The middle was kept exciting due to logical submission setups and death selling during, but after reading other reviews I have to say that this did drag in a few parts to the point that it lowered my enjoyment a bit. Don’t take that as a negative write off, because that two guys with this little experience pulled such a high caliber match off is remarkable. The finish is brilliant. Definite MOTYC, but I prefer Tanahashi vs. Okada for the organic heat, better selling and the story it told. *****1/2-****3/4 (85%)*

I recommend another very enjoyable and uniquely historic event at Tokyo Korakuen Hall.


----------



## seabs

> AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 14", 20.03.2012 (GAORA TV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. Akebono, Taiyo Kea, Ryota Hama & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Osamu Nishimura, KENSO, Yutaka Yoshie & Yasufumi Nakanoue
> 2. *All Japan vs. New Japan* - Special Singles Match: Seiya Sanada vs. Satoshi Kojima
> 3. *AAA Offer Match* - Special Singles Match: SUGI vs. Ronin
> 4. *Akira Raijin Return Match:* Akira Raijin, Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka vs. KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & Gillette
> 5. *Stack of Arms vs. Aogi-gun - Cage Death Match:* Yuji Nagata vs Masayuki Kono
> 6. *All Asia Tag Team Title:* Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Suwama & Takumi Soya
> 7. *AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Kenny Omega (c) vs. Shuji Kondo
> 8. *AJPW World Tag Team Title:* Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo (c) vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya
> 9. *Triple Crown:* Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Keiji Muto


*Bossy as fuck card. 2, 5, 6 and 7 have tons of potential to rock. Main event could end up being awful but if the crowd are hot and it doesn't go too long it could also be great. Predicting both the tag titles and the Jr. Belt change hands.*


----------



## Chismo

Ultimo Dragon vs. Great Sasuke announced for the next IGF show. Awesome.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Awesome six man tag right here!


----------



## Cactus

Dammit. Sekimoto (and Okabayashi to a certain extent) needs to stop being so consistently good. It's hard to keep up. At this point, I can see them realistically ending up as my worker of the year.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Belt*
******

*Okada vs Naito for the IWGP Belt*
WOW. LOVED THIS. Great performances by both of them, loved how every time someone gained the advantage the other one would attack the weakened limb. Don't see any problems with the finishing sequence as it had my interest at all times and IMO lasted as long as it should've as did the match. MOAR RAINMAKER~!

*****1/4*

My current MOTY.


----------



## Tony Tornado

Can someone tell me what the hell is going on with Shuhei Taniguchi? Why does he have that stupid mask on?


----------



## seabs

*He turned heel and joined No Mercy. KENTA named him Maybach Taniguchi because he's a Rick Ross fan. No idea why he has a mask. I guess to make him look more like a monster? He looks like a poor mans Cyber Kong.*


----------



## Tony Tornado

Seabs said:


> *He turned heel and joined No Mercy. KENTA named him Maybach Taniguchi because he's a Rick Ross fan. No idea why he has a mask. I guess to make him look more like a monster? He looks like a poor mans Cyber Kong.*


Thanks man.


----------



## Bubz

Seabs said:


> *He turned heel and joined No Mercy. KENTA named him Maybach Taniguchi because he's a Rick Ross fan. No idea why he has a mask. I guess to make him look more like a monster? He looks like a poor mans Cyber Kong.*


The Cyber Kong thing is exactly what I thought when I first saw him. The guy was super boring before to be fair, at least it adds something to him lol.


----------



## seabs

*The Morishima/Sugiura Title match on 3/18 has been changed to Morishima/Marufuji. Sugiura's out injured with a herniated disc. It's still a title match though.*


----------



## Bubz

Oh god, Marufuji. Could be good if Morishima destroys him. Also, I wish 'Shima was still as big as he was when he was in ROH so he could be an awesome monster champ.


----------



## Emperor DC

Sugi.


----------



## wildpegasus

Guys, is there a spoiler free puroresu thread at the forum here? If not, we should get one. I'm really getting into New Japan now as well as following Diamond Ring/NOAH and other great stuff. I would like to read about what's happening on the scene without getting spoiled.


----------



## jawbreaker

generally all results here are spoiler tagged until they air


----------



## Rah

Placing this here as he's a Puro guy, and I'm hoping more people will see this than if I put it in the Lucha thread.







Prince Devitt arrived in Mexico two days ago, and is ready for his busy tour of Mexico with CMLL. He stated he's looking forward to working in front of Mexico's passionate fans and the chance to wrestle in a building as historic as Arena Mexico.

Matches announced (so far):
*CMLL (MON) 03/19/2012 Arena Puebla*
La Máscara, La Sombra, Prince Devitt vs Olímpico, Psicosis, Volador Jr.*
*CMLL (TUE) 03/20/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara*
Atlantis, Máscara Dorada, Prince Devitt vs Averno, Ephesto, Mephisto

I'm admittedly much more excited for the Guadalajara match but some Volador/Devitt goodness is equally anticipated. It's just too bad the tecnicos trio is so stacked despite an inherently average (at best) Rudo team.

*not the same Psicosis from The Mexicools

[partial source: thecubsfan.com]

*Edit: he has been pulled from all matches, and replaced with Shocker and Marco Corleone (Mark Jindrack) respectively. Rumour has it that its due to injury.* Dammit...


----------



## MF83




----------



## Rah

^ That was amazing.

Wasn't too sure when I first watched this, but I see it's ended up on PuroresuSpirit's recommended list for 2012. I'll dump it here instead of the MotY thread:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpdymf_suwama-vs-seiya-sanada-ajpw_sport


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> ^ That was amazing.
> 
> Wasn't too sure when I first watched this, but I see it's ended up on PuroresuSpirit's recommended list for 2012. I'll dump it here instead of the MotY thread:
> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xpdymf_suwama-vs-seiya-sanada-ajpw_sport


*Starts off great with the potential to be a MOTYC but it just falls totally flat. Booking was bad to have it just go 2 falls. Sanada selling the fuck out of that head shot was awesome and set the match up nicely but the 2nd fall dragged and Sanada never got to make a super comeback and they lost the crowd.*


----------



## antoniomare007

don't want to make a thread as I don't have a legit source, but according to Alan4L in the DVDVR board...

WWE signed Giant Bernard!


----------



## smitlick

Yeah Meltzer posted it as well so seems legit.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Awesome news if it is true, should of got Anderson while they were at it.


----------



## Punkhead

Albert denies it, so they really signed him.


----------



## Bubz

If they have thats awesome. He's a brilliant big man, one of the best in the world.


----------



## Rah

Holding thumbs that Karl Anderson comes over, too.



Seabs said:


> *Starts off great with the potential to be a MOTYC but it just falls totally flat. Booking was bad to have it just go 2 falls. Sanada selling the fuck out of that head shot was awesome and set the match up nicely but the 2nd fall dragged and Sanada never got to make a super comeback and they lost the crowd.*


Yeah, I was thinking that, too. 

When I saw the match being pimped I seemed to remember the good more than the bad, but when I watched it I wasn't sure. It just felt like for every great quality there was an equally bad one.

Thanks for watching.


----------



## Punkhead

Does anybody here follow Dragon Gate? What is going on there?


----------



## sharkboy22

How the heck do you guys keep up with all this Puro? I'm always behind. Anyway would like some recommendations, in particular from NJPW. I'm not a fan of the stiff style of wrestling in NOAH at all. As a matter of fact the last NOAH event I watched was Navigation With A Breeze, way last year. Anyway, the ONLY Puro match I've seen for the year was Tanahashi vs Okada (great match btw), so what have I missed out since then?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

sharkboy22 said:


> How the heck do you guys keep up with all this Puro? I'm always behind. Anyway would like some recommendations, in particular from NJPW. I'm not a fan of the stiff style of wrestling in NOAH at all. As a matter of fact the last NOAH event I watched was Navigation With A Breeze, way last year. Anyway, the ONLY Puro match I've seen for the year was Tanahashi vs Okada (great match btw), so what have I missed out since then?


Okada vs Naito was even better. Welcome the Rainmaker as the king of your world and only good things will happen. Everyone says BJPW is awesome but I don't have the time to watch it.


----------



## sharkboy22

ywall2breakerj said:


> Okada vs Naito was even better. Welcome the Rainmaker as the king of your world and only good things will happen. Everyone says BJPW is awesome but I don't have the time to watch it.


Isn't BJW a deathmatch company?


----------



## seancarleton77

sharkboy22 said:


> Isn't BJW a deathmatch company?


Not exactly. It was at one point, but there are only about two violent hardcore style matches on every big BJW card. Big Japan is above NJPW & Dragon Gate this year as far as number of great matches go, by the way.


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: NOAH 3/18 Results






> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN YOKOHAMA", 18.03.2012 (G+)
> Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
> 3,500 Fans - No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Taiji Ishimori besiegt Harlem Bravado (7:26) mit einem 450° Splash.
> 2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara (12:49) nach dem Touch Out von Kanemaru gegen Kajiwara.
> 3. Maybach Taniguchi besiegt Kento Miyahara (7:02) mit einer Modified Powerbomb.
> 4. Kensuke Sasaki besiegt Mohammed Yone (16:24) mit einer Northern Light Bomb.
> 5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) besiegen Super Crazy & Ricky Marvin (24:11) nach dem Mass Driver von Suzuki gegen Marvin (5th defense).
> 6. GHC Tag Team Title: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (c) besiegen Keiji Muto & Go Shiozaki (30:04) nach dem Sternness Dust von Akiyama gegen Shiozaki (1st defense).
> 7. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) besiegt Naomichi Marufuji (12:25) mit einem Backdrop Suplex (1st defense).
> 
> 
> - Nach dem Main Event wurde Morishima von Maybach Taniguchi attackiert.


*No comment on #6. Morishima/Marufuji going 12 has me interested though.*





> NOAH Tag League teams
> 1. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito
> 2. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima
> 3. Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji
> 4. Go Shiozaki & Tamon Honda
> 5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi
> 6. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara
> 7. Eddie Edwards & Colt Cabana
> 8. Shinjiro Otani & X


*Hopefully Otani's partner is someone good to give me some sort of interest in this.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

BJW is where it is at, "deathmatch company" stigma is long gone for those who have seen any of their stuff over the past year.

My number one Pro Wrestling company at the moment, has such a great level of consistancy. The variety of the shows make it far easier to watch for me, than almost anything else.

Also, the drama and action of display in the deathmatches makes them nothing to scoff at.


----------



## seancarleton77

The tag league looks great!! Let's hope Otani teams with Daichi! By the way Muto going 30 hurts my head. Main event looks like the best thing to happen in NOAH since Morishima beat Go.


----------



## TelkEvolon

1. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - The old guard.
2. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima - Hell of a a team right here.
3. Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji - Eh, shame Sugiura isn't in.
4. Go Shiozaki & Tamon Honda - Interesting pairing, looking forward to see how they world.
5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi - Wish it was KENTA & Maybach, but this team should do some destruction.
6. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara - Fine team, it's time for Miyahara to start stepping up
7. Eddie Edwards & Colt Cabana - Odd...
8. Shinjiro Otani & X - Could be interesting. 

Probably 4 teams I am interested in. But it looks like it wil be a good bunch of matches coming out of this.


----------



## seancarleton77

KENTA doesn't have shit on Takayama, Taniguchi needs the exposure this tournament can offer.


----------



## Bubz

Morishima/Marufuji sounds like it could be great at that length. Shima needs to be destroying people in a short amout of time imo, hopefully thats what they go with.


----------



## TelkEvolon

seancarleton77 said:


> KENTA doesn't have shit on Takayama, Taniguchi needs the exposure this tournament can offer.


I think it would of made for some more interesting match ups.

I wanted to see KENTA & Maybach vs Marufuji & Sugiura


----------



## seancarleton77

Bubz said:


> Morishima/Marufuji sounds like it could be great at that length. Shima needs to be destroying people in a short amout of time imo, hopefully thats what they go with.


Enough of the clockwork 30 minute GHC Heavy title matches with 2 or 3 false finishes and then an actual finish.


----------



## TelkEvolon

> Third times a charm! Come to ProWrestlingAARK for all your NOAH matches, moments and segments! Currently uploading NOAH's 2012 shows!
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/user/ProWrestlingAARK


(Y)


----------



## Punkhead

Is Shinsuke Nakamura still in NJPW?


----------



## Bubz

Yeah he is.


----------



## Chismo

TelkEvolon said:


> 1. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito - The old guard.
> 2. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima - Hell of a a team right here.
> 3. Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji - Eh, shame Sugiura isn't in.
> 4. Go Shiozaki & Tamon Honda - Interesting pairing, looking forward to see how they world.
> 5. Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi - Wish it was KENTA & Maybach, but this team should do some destruction.
> 6. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara - Fine team, it's time for Miyahara to start stepping up
> 7. Eddie Edwards & Colt Cabana - Odd...
> 8. Shinjiro Otani & X - Could be interesting.
> 
> Probably 4 teams I am interested in. But it looks like it wil be a good bunch of matches coming out of this.


Daichi Hashimoto needs to happen with Otani. Glad to see TAMON back. I'm pulling for Big Tak & Maybach, and Kenskay & Miyahara.


----------



## seabs

*Yokoyama would be a better partner for this than Daichi. *


----------



## TelkEvolon

Really looked forward to seeing Nakajima & Morishima vs Sasaki & Miyahara


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, Kenskay vs. Nakajima would be balls awesome now.


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> Yeah, Kenskay vs. Nakajima would be balls awesome now.


I'm kinda suprsied that we never see any of the Diamond Ring guys have "sparring" matches or anything like that.

Nakajima vs Sasaki would be badass.


----------



## Punkhead

Daichi Hashimoto needs another young up and comming wrestler. Do you know anyone like him?


----------



## Emperor DC

It seems weird to be saying it, but I'll miss seeing Giant Bernard, even though I'll be seeing him a lot more on WWE TV.

I do have to say too, Lord Tensai is a pretty badass name.


----------



## antoniomare007

TomasThunder619 said:


> Daichi Hashimoto needs another young up and comming wrestler. Do you know anyone like him?


well, Kazuki Hashimoto did a damn good job in the 1/2 6 man tag. Hashimoto on Hashimoto violence~! is where's it's at. He's the closest thing to "young guy that gets it" that can work with Daichi but he's in Big Japan so it's gonna be hard seeing them work against each other in important matches.


----------



## ダニエル

antoniomare007 said:


> He's the closest thing to "young guy that gets it"


Hayato, Hyugaji, Kenou, Miyahara, Nakajima, Kitanomiya...

Hashimoto Kazuki is fine and all, but I think there are better young workers out there in terms of 'getting it'.


----------



## Chismo

Miyahara and Kitanomiya are pretty damn awesome.


----------



## seancarleton77

I agree. Don't forget Takumi Soya.


----------



## antoniomare007

Nakajima is a 8 year pro at this point, he's young but he's almost a veteran at this point.

Hayato is hit or miss and only seems to work in short sprints.

Haven't seen enough of the other guys to have an opinion.



seancarleton77 said:


> I agree. Don't forget Takumi Soya.


true, want to see more matches before putting him in Kazuki's level though.



Anyways...results from All Japan's big Sumo Hall show:



Spoiler: results!



*AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR PRO-WRESTLING LOVE IN RYOGOKU VOL. 14", 20.03.2012 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
9,000 Fans*

1. Akira Raijin Return Match: KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & Gillette besiegen Akira Raijin, Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka (12:10) mit einer Shooting Star Press von Gilette gegen Raijin
2. Akebono, Taiyo Kea, Ryota Hama & Masanobu Fuchi besiegen Osamu Nishimura, KENSO, Yutaka Yoshie & Yasufumi Nakanoue (7:39) mit einer Running Body Press von Akebono gegen Nakanoue.
3. AAA Special Singles Match - SUGI Return Match: SUGI besiegt RONIN (4:50) mit einem Dragon Rana.
4. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi © besiegen Suwama & Takumi Soya (19:13) mit einem German Suplex Hold von Sekimoto gegen Soya (4th defense).
5. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega © besiegt Shuji Kondo (21:01) mit dem One-Winged Angel (4th defense).
6. Stack of Arms vs. Aogi-gun - Cage Death Match: Yuji Nagata besiegt Masayuki Kono (18:44) durch KO (Backdrop).
7. All Japan vs. New Japan - Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima besiegt Seiya Sanada (14:08) nach einer Lariat.
8. AJPW World Tag Team Title: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya besiegen Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo (16:40) nach einem Axe Bomber von Omori gegen Cuervo - Titelwechsel.
9. Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama © besiegt Keiji Muto (18:21) mit dem Sternness Dust (3rd defense).



another well booked show for AJPW imo


----------



## Bubz

That Cage death match sound like it could be awesome, especially with the way those two just beat the shit out of eachother.


----------



## Chismo

God, that Cage Deathmatch sounds brutal.


----------



## Rah

Match #5 needs more love, dammit. Match #6 will be reserved for my 100th match (which will probably be soon, anyway) and #9 has potential, too.

SO.MUCH.EXCITE. :mark:


----------



## TelkEvolon

Hell yeah, looks like a kickass card. There is a lot to look forward to.


----------



## seancarleton77

AJP is the best booked promotion in Japan since 2011.


----------



## ダニエル

Sorry Sean, I'm not on the Soya T bandwagon yet. Found him pretty dull thus far.



antoniomare007 said:


> Hayato is hit or miss and only seems to work in short sprints.


He's a lot more hit and a lot less miss than Hashimoto K. I don't particularly mind that Hayato doesn't work forced juniors epics (I prefer it) but he _has_ worked in matches that aren't sprints and worked well in them. Matches vs Sasuke, Kenou, the elimination tag from last year (One of the best matches in Japan for 2011) etc. Sure, Hayato's best work is in 10-15min matches, but it's not like Hashimoto works 30min matches like a Misawa or Terry Funk. Kazuki's mostly fairly boring outside of fast paced 10-15min tags where other guys carry the bulk of the load.

There are a lot of good Hayato matches out there. Also, Hyugaji is absolutely excellent. Find his material and give it a watch.


----------



## Punkhead

Hi! I just watched DDT Dramatic Fantasia 366. It was the first DDTshow which I've seen. Is it always like this? Comic matces, untalented wrestlers, ladders being even better champions than their wrestlers and Daishoku Dieno as their top star and holding their main title?


----------



## smitlick

TomasThunder619 said:


> Hi! I just watched DDT Dramatic Fantasia 366. It was the first DDTshow which I've seen. Is it always like this? Comic matces, untalented wrestlers, ladders being even better champions than their wrestlers and Daishoku Dieno as their top star and holding their main title?


yes its a mainly comedy promotion.


----------



## Rah

Antonio Honda vs Danshoku Dino
"INTO THE FIGHT 2012"
19.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)

Let's see how untalented you think they are now.


----------



## Chismo

DDT's main events and title matches are usually good, and sometimes even great.


----------



## Rah

Indeed, the match I linked is still in my Top 10 - 10th place, but albeit still top ten.


----------



## Punkhead

Rah said:


> Antonio Honda vs Danshoku Dino
> "INTO THE FIGHT 2012"
> 19.02.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> 
> Let's see how untalented you think they are now.


WOW! I didn't mean that ALL of them are untalented. Some are really great.


----------



## antoniomare007

> "40th Anniversary Year GAORA SPECIAL 2012 Champion Carnival" Participants
> 
> Suwama (2008 Winner)
> Taiyo Kea (2006 Winner)
> Takao Omori
> KENSO
> Masayuki Kono
> Seiya Sanada
> Manabu Soya
> Ryota Hama
> Yuji Nagata (2011 Winner)
> Akebono
> Yutaka Yoshie
> Daisuke Sekimoto
> Yuji Okabayashi
> Winner of Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Takumi Soya


----------



## Flokiyo

Just got Chikara: King of Trios 2010 nights 1, 2, and 3 in the mail today. I'm pumped to watch that now.

I also ordered Chikara Best of 2009 DVD from Smartmarkvideo, and here's a little note if you're ordering older events from Chikara.

Buy it from Smart Mark. Chikara is still getting their money, but what they do is, if you buy an older DVD from chikarapro.com, they just order the DVD from smart mark video, then send it to you. Just cut out the middle man and order it from Smart mark. You get it in less than a week, as opposed to 2 weeks.


----------



## seancarleton77

This Carnival has fireworks written all over it!!!

"40th Anniversary Year GAORA SPECIAL 2012 Champion Carnival" Participants

Suwama (2008 Winner)- Excellent choice! Has to be the favourite.

Taiyo Kea (2006 Winner)- You had to have someone fill this spot, credible enough.

Takao Omori - As long as he's not going 20 minutes or more he should do great.

KENSO - Zero percent chance of good wrestling matches with KENSO involved.

Masayuki Kono - Kono will break out here, he's really coming into his own (that does not sound right).

Seiya Sanada - Natural selection.

Manabu Soya - Her comes the beast!

Ryota Hama - Good choice!

Yuji Nagata (2011 Winner)- Excellent! Nagata is always great in tournaments.

Akebono - The fucking mammoth, watch him tear shit up! 

Yutaka Yoshie - Let's hope it's the serious bad as Yoshie ala Mark Henry 2011 and not Yoshie that resembles Mark Henry in 2010.

Daisuke Sekimoto - This should make for a lot of interesting matches!

Yuji Okabayashi - Okabayashi is possibly the best wrestler in Big Japan, and he can prove it here. Expect the unexpected!

Winner of Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Takumi Soya - Let's go Takumi!! Soya vs. Soya would be outstanding.


----------



## Chismo

That's an excellent lineup, but I wanted to see MiSu again. Anyway, I have a feeling Daiskay will win this one.


----------



## Bubz

Wow, some of the matches that could come from that sound amazing.


----------



## smitlick

IVP Videos posted this on there Facebook










Picture is much bigger on the Facebook


*FMW - 5/5/93 - No Rope Explosive Barbed Wire Time Bomb Death Match*
Terry Funk vs Atsushi Onita
****1/4


----------



## Rah

smitlick said:


> *FMW - 5/5/93 - No Rope Explosive Barbed Wire Time Bomb Death Match*
> Terry Funk vs Atsushi Onita
> ****1/4


That match was great stuff. Saw it ages back.

Now, normally I'm a fan of Dragon Gate but what they've been putting out this year (or, rather, what I've been watching) has been middle-of-the-road at best. Maybe I'm just getting jaded with the style, but I saw this pimped by two people in the 2012 MotYC thread a while back and decided to give it a go:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xp1tjx_blood-warriors-vs-junction-three-dragon-gate_sport

I'm glad it wasn't the whole match as I'm sure I would have found it even more of an epic clusterfuck. The interference at the 30 minute mark was somewhat surreal but my suspension of disbelief only goes so far. Ugh.


----------



## Bubz

Talking of DG, I watched the Shingo/Tozawa and Hulk/Yamato no rope matches from this year and thought they were really awful.


----------



## Rah

The stipulation was fine, great even, until it seemed to get overboard (or maybe I'm just blind to its usage?) in the past few months.

Shingo/Tozawa was another clusterfuck, but that at least had _some_ good/entertaining moments to justify me wasting my time on it.


----------



## Chismo

Didn't see those Japan matches, but Hulk/YAMATO No Rope/No DQ match from DGUSA Revolt! was really awesome.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah I really like the stipulation, but the matches were just bad. I haven't seen the DGUSA ones from last year though, might give them a download later on.


----------



## antoniomare007

just went you thought NOAH couldn't be in worse shape...


> Pro Wrestling NOAH just announced that General Manager Ryu Nakata and Counselor Haruka Eigen had ties to the Yakuza from 2003 to 2010, working with them to sell tickets to the company's live events.
> 
> All of the major Japanese media covered the story, which will give the promotion a bad public image. Virtually every promotion in sports and entertainment in Japan has Yakuza tie-ins, but it's probably best analogized like the steroid issue in sports in the U.S. It's commonplace in every major sport, deep down everyone knows it, but if it comes out that somebody used it publicly, it's a black mark against them. Pride went down largely because of these revelations.
> 
> Exactly how this will fall out is unknown, but expect fall out very quickly.
> 
> NOAH was, at least among Japanese sports fans, the most popular promotion in the country for much of the last decade, but fell on hard times in recent years once losing its network television outlet. A financially-strapped NTV, due to the recession, canceled pro wrestling, one of the longest lasting shows in the history of television in any country, dating back more than 50 years. The death of president Mitsuharu Misawa was another gigantic blow. Without strong television, the company was unable to create new stars who could sell tickets like Misawa and the frequently injured and physically destroyed Kenta Kobashi.


Source: F4WONLine


----------



## Chismo

I wish Yakuzas owned 100% of NOAH, not just tentative...


----------



## Bubz

Poor, poor NOAH.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

At this point they should just beg AJPW to merge with them. Like, Marufuji should get on his knees and stuff...


----------



## Chismo

Hell no, NOAH needs to stay.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

JoeRulz said:


> Hell no, NOAH needs to stay.


Why? Is there something except 30 minute Kanemaru draws that would extinct?


----------



## Chismo

ywall2breakerj said:


> Why? Is there something except 30 minute Kanemaru draws that would extinct?


:kobe

First you're talking from a business staindpoint, now you're mentioning booking and Kanemaru... I don't even...


----------



## Raven*

I love NOAH. I'll miss the company if it closes.


----------



## TelkEvolon

HUGE NOAH fan, love the style, love the roster.

First Puro company I ever seriously started following.

So many great matches, so many epic wars.


I'll keep the FIGHTING SPIRIT~! flowing


----------



## Bubz

I missed this last year due to me only getting properly in to puro at the end of 2010, and only following NJPW and NOAH because I had quite a hectic year last year and couldn't devote too much time to wrestling. This year though I have the time to follow more companys.

*Suwama vs Sanada - AJPW 31/7/11*
I watched this based on Seabs recommendation because I liked their match in 2012 a lot, and it definitely delivered. Great limb workover by Suwama and great selling and comeback by Sanada. I'm becoming a huge Suwama fan the more I see and Sanada is really impressive too. That spot he does were he jumps over the top rope to the outside and hits a dropkick is nuts. I loved how Sanada used his other arm to strike and sold his arm all the way until the finishing stretch where I think he could have sold it a little better but he still occasionally would hold on to it and try and get some life back in to it. So yeah this was great and would easily make my MOTY list for 2011. *****1/4*

I did actually like the story in their match this year just as much though, and maybe even a little more but thats not taking anything away from this match.


----------



## Raven*

http://www.fightopinion.com/2012/03/23/damage-control-noah-yakuza/

More information on their troubles. It looks like it's truly the end for NOAH.


----------



## Rah

I watched the final SMASH show, today, and I'm pleased they had a very good closing match. A bit disappointed with Ohara's very inconsistent selling work, but the Akira mat/limb-work and everything after the hot-tag to Tajiri was balls awesome. You could see they were nervous and knew they had to end off the show with something great, but they did enough to make this memorable and for the crowd go home happy.

Tajiri thanking everyone for supporting SMASH throughout its short existence and the crowd loudly chanting "we love SMASH" was a good ending point for the promotion but I still can't help but think the Finlay/Tajiri match and post-match sequence would have truly cemented the promotion's closing as iconic. Meh, just a small gripe for an otherwise good show.

KUSHIDA Vs Yusuke Kodama also proved you don't need to have a good match for it, at least, to be fun. A lot of wrestlers could learn from that.

On a different topic, Devitt has been cleared to wrestle tonight and will (hopefully) start a mini-feud with Volador. CANNOT.FAP.HARD.ENOUGH.


----------



## UnsungZer0

Rah said:


> I watched the final SMASH show, today, and I'm pleased they had a very good closing match. A bit disappointed with Ohara's very inconsistent selling work, but the Akira mat/limb-work and everything after the hot-tag to Tajiri was balls awesome. You could see they were nervous and knew they had to end off the show with something great, but they did enough to make this memorable and for the crowd go home happy.
> 
> Tajiri thanking everyone for supporting SMASH throughout its short existence and the crowd loudly chanting "we love SMASH" was a good ending point for the promotion but I still can't help but think the Finlay/Tajiri match and post-match sequence would have truly cemented the promotion's closing as iconic. Meh, just a small gripe for an otherwise good show.
> 
> KUSHIDA Vs Yusuke Kodama also proved you don't need to have a good match for it, at least, to be fun. A lot of wrestlers could learn from that.
> 
> On a different topic, *Devitt has been cleared to wrestle tonight and will (hopefully) start a mini-feud with Volador.* CANNOT.FAP.HARD.ENOUGH.


 And in what promotion would this be in? I'm pretty new to Puro (and indy/foreign wrestling), but I've been loving what I've seen so far.


----------



## Chismo

*SUWAMA vs. Seiya Sanada (AJPW, 3/4/2012)*

Great 2/3 falls match. The storytelling was very nice with SUWAMA being a tough badass against young Sanada. This was basically 25 minutes of SUWAMA making the man out of him, and it worked perfectly. Very effective storytelling, with great wrestling from both, especially from SUWAMA. Sanada's underdog sequences were good too. God I love SUWAMA, he's so fucking awesome, he just keeps getting better and better. Very smart wrestler, easily one of the BITW currently. Plus, he reminds me on Takayama - another huge plus in my book. Great match, but not "epic" enough to reach the ****+ territory.
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## smitlick

TehBlackGamer said:


> And in what promotion would this be in? I'm pretty new to Puro (and indy/foreign wrestling), but I've been loving what I've seen so far.


Devitts in Mexico for CMLL


----------



## Rah

Yeah, sorry, I should have restated that for those who didn't see my original post about it.








I'm so glad CMLL have rechanged their opinion about Volador (the CM Punk of CMLL) this year. They didn't give NJPW permission to bring him over for some of their shows last year, and yet now they've brought Devitt in specifically for their little program. I'm not sure if there's a wrestler I'd be happier in Devitt working with.

*The AJPW Cage Deathmatch (and rest of show)* are now on SenorLARIATO's Dailymotion account. (Y)


----------



## seancarleton77

Someone needs to take Old Yeller out back and put a slug in the ear. RIP NOAH... eventually.


----------



## Cactus

Shame about NOAH, but it would be cool to see them dissolve into All Japan. While on the subject...

*NOAH Great Voyage In Yokohama 2012*

Harlem Bravado vs Taiji Ishimori
_Good. You know what you are getting with the Ishimori openers._
***¾*

Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara vs Genba Hirayanagi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
_Way too much overkill on the near-falls._
**½*

Kento Miyahara vs Maybach Taniguchi
_Entertaining brawl that spilled all over the arena. Fun match to establish Maybach as a mean motherfucker._
****

Kensuke Sasaki vs Mohammed Yone
_Two salty overweight veterans hitting each other hard; A good example of why I love puro._
****¼*

*GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match*
Atsushi Aoki & Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs Ricky Marvin & Super Crazy
_Plenty of cool looking spots with a cool finish, regardless of the few botches._
****½*

*GHC Tag Team Title Match*
Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama (c) vs Go Shiozaki & Keiji Muto
_The first 15 minutes stunk and bored me to death, but the last 10 or so minutes were great. Muto is finally starting to grow on me. He may be naff in the ring, but something about him made me mark out when he started out dishing out Shining Wizards to everyone. Insanely charsimatic, I guess._
****¼*

*GHC Heavyweight Title Match*
Takeshi Morishima (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji
_I've only seen a handful of Marufuji matches, but does he always dish out his entire finishing arsenal of moves in 10 minutes? Seriously, this was a 12 minute throwaway GHC defence; a top rop shiranui is not necessary here. Add on top of that most of Marufuji's offense to Morishima looked ridiculously fake. There's no way a 200 pounder can arm drag a 300+ pounder like he's Ricky freakin' Steamboat. Anyways, the match was entertaining for what it was, but I was expecting much more. _
***¾*

*Overall:*
Avoid. ​


----------



## Bubz

Yep, thats Marufuji for ya.

Also, I agree, I thought the Akiyama/Saito vs Go/Mutoh tag was incredibly entertaining once they finished that LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG ass workover on Go and it went into the tag to Mutoh and the finishing stretch. It was definitely too long but the second half was very entertaining.


----------



## Chismo

*Yuji Nagata vs. Masayuki Kono (AJPW, 3/20/2012)*

One of the stiffest matches I've ever seen. It was a simple, yet super effective Cage Match. The story was told through sick, stiff and decapitating blows. Kono is usually average, but he brought his A-game for this match. Nagata is great, of course, and his comeback near the end was well done. I liked the drama in the end, but it was not about whos's gonna win, it was about how much punishment can Kono take. This was excellent, and my new All Japan MOTY.
*Rating: ****1/4*


----------



## seabs

*3/20 All Japan show disappointed the fuck out of me. So much potential on the card and a lot of it really wasn't all that good. 

Juniors 6 man blew. 

BJW Tag was maybe the biggest disappointment all year so far. They basically had a 15 minute long finishing stretch. Started off well with Soya getting worked over but then he tagged out before it even begun and they just worked an average finishing sprint. I assumed it got cut early because they were short on time but then it just kept going and going and going. Nobody looked good out of it. 

Watched the first 10 minutes of Omega vs Kondo and skipped the rest. Omega's heel shtick is neat but the Jr. style for All Japan singles matches sucks because most of them don't have enough character.

I liked Nagata vs Kono but it was still a letdown. I couldn't feel any legit hate between them. They hit hard and they bled and everything but I never felt any hate like there was in the All Japan tag they had. Finish was great though.

Kojima vs Sanada was nothing. Sanada's been booked like too much of a chump lately. Losing in 2 falls to Suwama and then looking really bad vs Kojima. He'll win Champions Carnival this year now though.

Hoped so badly Daisuke, Yuji and Nagata would be in CC this year. It better all be televised. Isn't enough dates for one big block though so I guess there'll be 2 blocks with them working non tournament matches on some dates. Please give me Nagata and Sanada vs at least one of the Big Japan guys.

Akiyama/Mutoh was the MOTN for me which is sad. Not because it was a bad match but because the rest of the card should have far eclipsed it. Good match but nothing all that special really.

As for NOAH, the sooner they shut down now the better for all of pro wrestling. There's too many promotions in Japan right now for the number of really great workers so condensing them into one less promotion will benefit everyone. All Japan can make use of the heavyweights as their heavy division is weak for main eventers and New Japan can add some much needed depth to their Jr. division. NOAH's juniors working New Japan matches would be the best thing to happen to puro wrestling in ages. They're all really great wrestlers but the booking of Jr. matches is horrendous. New Japan's matches rarely go over 20 minutes bar IWGP Title matches. 

The more likely scenario though is the majority of the top guys just move to Diamond Ring and they start doing more shows.*


----------



## Bubz

I really liked the BJ/AJ tag from the show and Omega/Kondo was really good too imo, I have yet to watch the rest though.


----------



## Chismo

*Pro-Wrestling Love In Ryogoku Vol. 14*​

*KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & Gillette vs. Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka & Akira Raijin*

Fun opener, some stupid shit, but mostly entertaining.
*Rating: ***


*SMOP, Taiyo Kea & Masanobu Fuchi vs. KENSO, Osamu Nishimura, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yutaka Yoshie*

Did not watch.
*Rating: Did not watch.*


*SUGI vs. Ronin*

Cute little match. Not good, but somehow entertaining, it was 5 minutes of fancy and flashy moves. Cute.
*Rating: *3/4*


*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Team Destruction* _All Asia Tag Team Championship_

Really, really liked this. The more I watch Daiskay and Yuji, the more I fucking love them. Now I feel bad for not catching more time for their 2011 tags, but I'm getting there. One helluva match this was, IMO. SUWAMA and Soya tried, but Daiskay and Yuji are just too experienced tag team dogs. I liked Soya's underdog surviving. MOTYC.
*Rating: *****


*Kenny Omega vs. Shuji Kondo* _World Jr. Heavyweight Championship_

What a match! Omega's heel work was top notch here, he's really great. His role is similar to Aries' in TNA - dandy, cocky heel, but he can back it up inside the ring. He made this match, and he made Kondo's role important. All Kondo had to do is not to botch his comeback moves, and the result is one excellent match, IMO. Great nearfalls in this match too. MOTYC.
*Rating: *****


*Yuji Nagata vs. Masayuki Kono*

One of the stiffest matches I've ever seen. It was a simple, yet super effective Cage Match. The story was told through sick, stiff and decapitating blows. Kono is usually average, but he brought his A-game for this match. Nagata is great, of course, and his comeback near the end was well done. I liked the drama in the end, but it was not about whos's gonna win, it was about how much punishment can Kono take. This was excellent, and my new All Japan MOTY.
*Rating: ****1/4*


*Satoshi Kojima vs. Seiya Sanada*

Good match, but nothing special. I liked the story, but I feel like Sanada had to win this one. But anyway, this didn't hurt him badly, I guess.
*Rating: ***


*Dark Cuervo & Dark Ozz vs. Get Wild* _World Tag Team Championship_

This was a mess, tbh. It was all over the place, and the action was nothing special. The crowd was rooting for Omori and Soya, and it helped a lot in the end, after they won. Cuervo and Ozz were trying too hard.
*Rating: *3/4*


*Jun Akiyama vs. Keiji Mutoh* _Triple Crown Championship_

Two bald motherfuckers going at it! Great Triple Crown match that felt big and important. I liked how they went full force ballistic from the moment the bell rang. Akiyama almost captured the win right away, so Mutoh needed to cut him off with his Dragon Screws in order to prevent Akiyama from using his knees. Akiyama's selling was mostly good, I like how they told the story that Mutoh worked Akiyama's leg, but not for long/hard enough to shut down his knee arsenal. Great strategies and counters from both, some really smart shit right there. Akiyama is great (old news), and Mutoh worked very well here, he showed he can still deliver, even with doing the most simple things. Another great title defense for Akiyama, his reign is rocking. I liked the post match stuff with SUWAMA and KENSO. I guess SUWAMA is ready for a rematch.
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## antoniomare007

Big Japan's card for tomorrow. The semis for the Strong Climb tournament look fun, and we are gonna get a 6-man StrongBJ tag 




> BJW, 26.03.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, Mototsugu Shimizu & Adam Cole vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, Jun Ogawauchi & Amigo Suzuki
> 2. *Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Semi Final:* Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Sami Callihan
> 3. *Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Semi Final:* Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Bad Bones
> 4. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Ryuji Ito, Takashi Sasaki & Shadow WX vs. Jun Kasai, Ryuji Yamakawa & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa
> 5. Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match: Abdullah Kobayashi, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka
> 6. Yuji Okabayashi, Kazuki Hashimoto & Masashi Otani vs. Shinya Ishikawa, Shinobu & Takumi Tsukamoto
> 7. *Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Final:*


----------



## Chismo

Speaking of Big Japan...

*Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW, 2/26/2012)*

Wow! This was fucking beautiful. There's nothing like two heavyweights going back-and-forth and full ballistic. Everything in the match made sense. Slower parts, fast parts, everything was top notch. I liked the fact that no one had too long control sessions, it fit the "tag team partners collide" story very well. The clash of the titans. Legit MOTYC.
*Rating: ****1/4*

After watching this, I gotta ask: is there more matches like this in Big Japan? I've seen some Daiskay/Yuji tags, but I'm talking about singles action. Also, I heard this was like third Daiskay/Yuji match, where can I find the previous two?


----------



## antoniomare007

I'm sure youtube or dailymotion have their first two matches. I remember being in the minority who really liked their first fight, their second one was more praised (rightfully so, as it was better than the 09' one) but they are both inferior to their third encounter.

Big Japan doesn't have a lot meaningful singles matches (unless it's a deathmatch) but every now and then the StrongBJ guys get to work their magic in one on one action. It's probably for the better though, StrongBJ works best in multi-man matches.



oh, the dates are 29/6/09 & 2/1/2011


----------



## Rah

*







AJPW Pro-Wrestling Love In Ryogoku Vol. 14​*
1) *Akira Raijin, Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka Vs Gillette, Hiroshi Yamato & KAI*
Tidy opener
*Rating:* 2.25+

2)* KENSO, Osamu Nishimura, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yutaka Yoshie Vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama), Masanobu Fuchi & Taiyo Kea*
Throw-away leftovers match that the crowd didn't really eat up - most probably because SMOP drooled over it for the most part. Watching the two super-heavyweights of Hama and Yoshie smack the oily, chicken-tasting sweat off each other was somewhat entertaining but this match was anything but good.

Funny how Yoshie looks like the aborted love child of Daisuke Sekimoto and Danshoku Dino, too.
*Rating:* 1.75

3) *SUGI Vs RONIN*
RONIN, YOU WORTHLESS SACK OF CRAP, I LOVE YOU. ALSO, ALLCAPS IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE CAPSLOCK KEY THAT LOST ITS LIFE WHEN SEEMINGLY 90% OF JAPAN'S LOW-CARD TALENT WAS NAMED.
*Rating:* 1.75

4) *Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi Vs Suwama & Takumi Soya*
Another smartly wrestled match with Okabayashimoto (I know, that didn't work) going for the youngling and weakening him down as opposed to going toe-to-toe with the better wrestler in Suwama. The hot tag was made, however, and the veteran laid all sorts of offence on the champs.

In singles the champs wouldn't have stood a chance against Suwama but their combined strength ('Yashi is a beast, period) and tag team experience helped them pull out the win against the challengers. A good showing for all men and hopefully the start for Soya to pick up steam. I managed to see a match of his the other day and was going to go for a joke about "soya" being a cheap imitation but he seemingly impressed me. I wouldn't say he's anything but average at this point, but another few years or so of training and working out in the gym and I'm sure he'll look and wrestle legit.

Until then he can play the rookie in peril with Suwama and I'll have fun watching it. One of the better Seki/Okabayashi matches this year, too.
*Rating:* 4

5) *Kenny Omega Vs Shuji Kondo*
Great, great, GREAT finishing stretch! 

The match started a bit slower than I'd have hoped, and the Kondo moments fell a bit flat but, ffs, Kenny can do little wrong in his work. He's not the smoothest or most technical worker going, but his mannerisms and entertainment factor are second-to-none, imo - a rich man's Dolph Ziggler. 

The slowness of the start, I suppose, was mostly due to building the latter bits of the match with Kenny taking a vicious neck bump to the ring apron which he sold solidly for the rest of the match. I loved how he reciprocated the spot to Kondo's own head and neck giving him time to massage down his injury and spray some muscle freeze onto his throbbing neck. Kenny pretending it to be deodrant and spraying his dick was epic, too.

I'd have prefered a better offence from Kondo but the good definitely outshone the bad here - especially a finishing stretch that made me actually think Kondo would win. That, Kenny's antics, a springboard super-powerbomb and witnessing Omega deliver a fantastic Croyt's Wrath to the much larger Kondo make this match a definite watch from this show. 

Probably won't be as well liked by others but dammit if I didn't love this.
*Rating:* 4+

6) *Yuji Nagata Vs Masayuki kono*
A bit of an underwhelming ending. I loved how they ended the match with a KO but I just felt disappointed for some reason - almost as if I had hyped this match up too much.

The exploder suplex and just about everything else definitely didn't live up to the hype, either. Still, it could have been worse. A lot worse. Kono underperformed, imo, but it still had enough going for it not to fall below what many fans thought this was capable of.
*Rating:* 4+

7) *Seiya Sanada Vs Satoshi Kojima*
Seemingly under-rated by you guys. I wasn't blown away but I wasn't upset with it, either. The comments about Sanada looking weak didn't make sense, too, as the surprise lariat caught an on-offence Sanada off-guard and gave Kojima the victory that, imo, would have been Sanada's. It called back to the injury he was working from the ring-side DDT. He wasn't going to win a pinfall against Suwama, too. It was about him standing up to the beast, rather than actually beating him - similar vein to Kono/Nagata.

Maybe the AJPW's "SHIYANING STAH~!" isn't too bright, currently, but it's not like he probably won't bounce back. Though, even if he doesn't, I can't say I'll truly care.
*Rating:* 3

8) *Dark Cuervo & Dark Ozz (c) Vs Get Wild (Manabu Soya & Takao Omori)*
It's Cuervo and Ozz, who actually cares?
Rating: 1.5+

9) *Keiji Mutoh Vs Jun Akiyama*
Phenomenal considering how physically limited Mutoh has sadly become. They knew this and worked well within the limitations, rather putting on a Smartly wrestled match than one focusing on flashy, offence-driven back and fourth action. Mutoh attempting to negate Jun's knee offence with his dragon-whips and keeping him grounded with his Shining Wizard glory was a great sequence that transitioned into Akiyama hulking up and not taking shit from Mutoh's offence. I loved how the knee became a factor after the dragonwhips in striking the hell out of Mutoh's head, almost as a "screw you" exclamation point. 

Probably the best Mutoh will look for the rest of the year and possibly what remains of his career. This was just a means for elivating Akiyama, though, before he has his rematch with Suwama next. That match will definitely blow this out the water but, if you don't go in expecting a MotYC, you'll be mightily happy with this match. 
*Rating:* 3.75+

*OVERALL*
A very fun show with three MotYC in a row and a great main event that geared up to a future rematch between the two great talents of Akiyama and Suwama. The rest of the matches were fine, too, and didn't take up more time than they should (with the exception of the tag title match) with each having a somewhat meaningful role to play. 

This is easily my Show of the Year, so far, and a card that made me actively seek out every match on the card (well, three of which I did as my OCD wouldn't let me leave three matches open, but anyway). If you're to watch any show make sure it's this one.
*Rating:* 8.75/10​


----------



## Rah

JoeRulz said:


> Also, I heard this was like third Daiskay/Yuji match, where can I find the previous two?


I couldn't find any of their matches still online or any mention of them on Cagematch until antoniomare007 supplied the dates. 



Seabs said:


> *3/20 All Japan show disappointed the fuck out of me. So much potential on the card and a lot of it really wasn't all that good. *


I'd suggest trying to forget the event happened and coming back to it in a month or two's time. I'm guessing you were just too over-hyped for it because the event seemingly delivered for the rest of us.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, the show was great, IMO. Three MOTYCs and the crowd was great, I don't know what (some) people want. This was probably the SOTY so far, together with DGUSA Open The Golden Gate and possibly SMASH 25.


----------



## seabs

*Callihan better not win. He wins EVERYTHING! Hoping for Daisuke/Sasaki but it seems like it'll be Daisuke/Sami. Interesting they let Bad Bones get that far. At least you get another bossy 6 man out of it. Sucks no Sasaki/Shinobu as the final though *

*Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 2/16/2005*
_Kawada is unreal in this. One of the greatest single performances in a match from Kawada here. Every little thing he does is perfect and combined with the mega match that they worked together that sets up something really fucking special and this was REALLY FUCKING SPECIAL. Match long story progression of Kojima having to prove himself to the great Kawada and slowly but surely finally getting there was beautiful. At the start Kawada would just shrug off Kojima's strikes and Kojima hits really fucking hard. Then as you progress through the match Kojima keeps coming at him with his strikes and then Kawada gets to a point where he starts getting pissed off with him for it and retaliates by murdering Kojima every time he attempts to hit him. It all builds to the end when Kojima finally starts to knock Kawada off his feet with his strikes. The finish where Kawada keeps coming back from Kojima's lariats but they slowly take more out of built on that so perfectly. The one where Kawada kicks straight out is insane. Match builds perfectly to the finish they do, both in story and pace. Goes almost 30 minutes but you never notice that it's a long match because of how well worked it is and the fact that they have gripped into the match for the full length. There's no portion in the middle where they slow down for a couple of minutes to let everyone catch their breath and prepare for the big home run. The slow wear down of Kawada throughout was immense and he does so many little things that are beyond incredible, especially with his selling. I loved how he'd go for the powerbomb and when Kojima held his ground he'd just smash his face on the apron or kick his head in and then go straight back to the powerbomb. I should mention that it's far away from being a one man show too because Kojima is great in it too and more than plays his role in the story and the match perfectly too. AMAZING._

*******

*KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru - NOAH 7/18/2005*
_God this reminded of me how fucking great both KENTA and NOAH were back in the day. Starts off with KENTA beating the piss out of Kanemaru and that's about as good of a start to a match that you'll get. KENTA works the arm early on and Kanemaru sells it really well. Goes nowhere in the end but I guess it didn't last that long and it's not like they chucked it away and had a poor match. They had a fucking brilliant match. Kanemaru's flurry of jumping DDT's to regain control was a good transition. Whole match was good but then the final 5 minutes it really took off which is what you want it to do. Amazing sequence which leads into KENTA eating a brainbuster but popping right back up to destroy Kanemaru's face with his knee before he dies from it. I can see why someone would dislike that spot but it got a huge reaction and then they both died for a while after so fine. Plus the slow motion replay of the knee is nuts. KENTA hit some incredible knee strikes in this. GTS kickout was super and led to KENTA really losing it with Kanemaru and just murdering him with his kicks for kicking out of his finisher. Awesome finish. Fully restored my faith that the NOAH Jr. stuff should hold right up. I'll love anything with a crazy hot crowd like this one but the match was really great as well which just makes me love it even more._

*****1/4*

*Jun Akiyama & Makato Hashi vs Minoru Suzuki & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 7/18/2005*
_Loved this too. Hashi and his taped up head ruled. That diving headbutt off the top to the floor right at the start was amazing. Him and Marufuji work the opening segment really well together leading up to the powerbomb spot which started the control segment. Terrific spot btw. Hashi holding on for his life and Suzuki kicking away at his fingers was great. MiSu's an awesome cocky heel in control with his facials and his swagger. Him and Marufuji make a great little heel team actually. Slap segments with Hashi and Suzuki rule. The one with Suzuki and Akiyama later in the match was even better though. Post tag to Akiyama the match kinda crumbles a bit though. Post slapfest between Akiyama and Suzuki to be more precise actually. Just goes on too long after the tag and there was no need for them to keep going as long as they did. Kinda lost parts of the crowd for it too. Shame because it would have been an easy vote if the finishing portion was as good as the finish in KENTA/Kanemaru. _

******

*Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - NOAH 4/24/2005*
_Tenner says that Shiozaki takes a beating in this one. Spoiler: he does. Right from the off Tenryu and Kobashi ignite their sheer hate for each other and Kobashi makes Tenryu live to regret it. There's a spot where Tenryu just lobs a table at Kobashi on the outside and Kobashi just gets rid of the table and gives Tenryu the best "cross me and again and I'll fucking MURDER you" face ever. Tenryu crosses him again and he gets murdered. His chest actually dies! I've seen loads of great Kobashi chopfests but nobody's chest ever ended up like that. They don't meet again until the end but even during Shiozaki's own personal murder here they constantly go at each other. Tenryu lobbing the water bottle at Kobashi across the ring after he's had his sip is wonderful and there's the spot where Tenryu is about to murder Go on the floor and Kobashi comes across to warn Tenryu off like the bossiest motherfucker ever. Shiozaki's super in this as the rookie. Basically the perfect rookie performance actually. Takes a great beating and shows tons of fiery spunk with his strikes. When he goes after Tenryu is the fucking best because Tenryu just lets him get a few shots in and then just punches him right in the face. Tenryu's "I've had enough of you hitting me now" punches are the fucking best. Shiozaki gets in some crazy strikes of his own too though, in particular them slaps right at the end. He almost gets his big moment too when he has Tenryu down and goes up top for his moonsault and the crowd start going bonkers for it only for Tenryu to nonchalantly get up and throw him back down to rookieville. Absolutely ridiculous match in all the right ways. The Tenryu/Kobashi exchanges are fucking crazy and Shiozaki's fucking super in it too. Tenryu mocking Kobashi's winning pose post match after he won was just the perfect cherry on the cake._

*****3/4*

*Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki - NOAH 1/8/2005*
_This is great but the fact that it's one of the weaker Kobashi title matches during his GHC Reign tells you how fantastic his reign was. Kobashi kills Suzuki at the start with his chops so Suzuki decides he's taking no more of that shit and goes to working over the arm to take it out. MiSu's a fucking awesome cocky heel in control with his facials and mannerisms. One of the best heels in control of a match actually. Finish felt a bit flat though and the last third of the match never gets to the strong heights of the first two thirds which hurt the match overall. Won't vote for it myself but it's still a comfortable nomination. Fuck all of Kobashi's 03-05 run is nomination criteria._

*KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita - NOAH 5/8/2005*
_This is basically what all NOAH Jr. Tags have turned into these days. This has the redeeming quality of KENTA and Marufuji being dickheads during the middle of it though but Fujita isn't good enough to make me care about them being dicks to him. Home run is very long and by the point they'd got to it I'd stopped really caring about it but I can see someone really loving it if they weren't already lost. _

*Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima - NOAH 3/5/2006*
_Meh. Morishima starting off by pummelling Misawa rocked. Morishima looked super in this but Misawa didn't really compliment him anywhere near enough. Be interesting to see how much great Misawa stuff is there post say ... 03? What I've seen of him post 03 has never been all that great. Certainly isn't someone who I'd say grew into being a great old man wrestler. I guess he was so broken down by this point that it was tough to work great singles matches anyway. He takes a decent enough beating from Morishima but it never feels like he's busting his gut to get Morishima over which really should have been the sole focus of this. Tiger Driver off the apron looked neat but it didn't have much effect as a spot. NOAH were great at doing bombs off the apron to the floor but this wasn't a case. See Kobashi vs Akiyama. Hated the finish. Misawa took all of Morishima's strikes and bombs and then just rose back up to kill him with elbows and win._

*Kenta Kobashi vs KENTA - NOAH 3/5/2006*
_Million times better in execution of doing what it's purpose was than Misawa vs Morishima. The 3/5 NOAH show had 3 big singles matches which pit the old guard vs the new guard to basically put over the new generation. Pretty ironic given NOAH's current state. This put KENTA over huge as Kobashi's equal. KENTA vs Heavyweight is an awesome formula but at the same time such a missed opportunity for NOAH that they didn't capitalise more on it over the years and give KENTA the title run rather than Marufuji. On top of that you've got the great student vs teacher dynamic to play around with too and the two mesh really well together. Loved KENTA not holding back with his strikes and trying to murder Kobashi. Kobashi gives the greatest "You're gonna die now bitch" faces ever. He fucking kills KENTA at points in this with his hands. There's one chop he hits right in the face that they show a slo mo replay off that looks brutal. KENTA hits an incredible looking springboard hurracanrana off the apron to the floor that serves as a super transition spot too. This is the type of spot I talked about above that NOAH does so well but didn't work in the Misawa match. Leads to KENTA working over the arm for a bit which they do a neat job with. Doesn't go anywhere after but in fairness KENTA never really had control of the match after to go back to it and had to rely on his short term strikes so it was fine. There's a couple of minutes here and there in the last five or so where it falls a bit flat which is the only thing stopping me from calling it a lock at this point. Should be a safe bet that it'll feature in my bottom half though. Kobashi felling the need to use the Burning Hammer to put this punk away put KENTA over more than KENTA beating the entire roster in a gauntlet match._

*****1/4+*


----------



## Bubz

*AJPW 20/3/12*

*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Suwama & Takumi Soya*
Awesome tag match!! Yeah this was pretty much a sprint, but man I was marking out towards the end big style. Soya is pretty much the sacrificial lamb here to Sekimoto and Okabayashi. Everyone played their parts well but again it's Daisuke who comes out looking the best for me. The man is a machine. Okabayashi and Suwama were great too. The finishing stretch was great and I thought it was over on more than three occasions. I also loved how strong they make Suwama look.
******

*Kenny Omega vs Shuji Kondo*
This was maybe my favourite Omega heel performance to date. He was brilliant and his heel stuff just gets better every time. Kondo is good but I've never been that impressed by him and it was the same here. The crowd really wanted him to win though so that was good. Omega does have some big faults though, his matches always go too overkill for me, but here it was a good amount apart from Kondo kicking out of his main finisher twice, the one kickout was awesome and even though I thought it was over when he hit his second one, I would have rather it ended there instead of him kicking out again. But the stertch of the match after that was really great so I was glad it did continue in the end.
******

*Yuji Nagata vs Masayuki Kono - Steel Cage match*
I thought the first half of the match was just good but slightly dull, but in the second half it got REALLY good. Once Nagata hit the exploder off the top rope the match had this important, epic feel to it. There wasn't a lot apart from forearms, knees, headbutts and strikes, but it worked because this wasn't a wrestling match, this was a fight. The finish was pretty amazing.
******

*Jun Akiyama vs Keiji Mutoh*
Wow, I loved this. A simple yet effective story with Mutoh going after the leg to stop Akiyama using his knees. Akiyama is probably in my top 3 guys in Japan and I believe he can carry most people to a good/great match, but Mutoh worked within his limitations and delivered as well. Yeah he only used the Dragon Screw and Shining Wizards, but it didn't matter to me, he made it work. I'm going to admit I marked out every time he got up from an exploder and hit the Shining Wizard, usually a spot like that would have annoyed the hell out of me (I think it happened 3 times in a row) but here it just felt right and added to the match. I also liked the finishing stretch a lot, maybe Mutoh kicked out of too much stuff and I wasn't a fan of Akiyama completely no selling the Moonsault but apart from that they definitely made this match way better than it should have been and I really liked it even with the limited Mutoh offense and this felt like a big time match all the way through.
******

Well, 4 **** matches imo, thats pretty fucking awesome. The cage match was kind of dissapointing, but it was still great, and everything past the top rop exploder was gold imo. Apart from that, the matches I expected to deliver definitely did just that (apart from Sanada/Kojima). The stuff after the main event was great with Suwama and Akiyama. Suwama/Akiyama rematch? Yes please!

Ah, I need to get on that Kawada/Kojima match!

Seabs, whats this list your making with these matches btw?


----------



## Chismo

*Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi & Shinobu vs. Ryuichi Kawakami, Shinya Ishikawa & Yoshihito Sasaki (BJW, 6/27/2011)*

Great Trios Match. It goes 11 minutes only, but it's action & story packed. Shinobu shined here, and Daiskay & Yuji rocked too, of course. The other trio is unknown to me, with the exception of Sasaki, I've seen some of his work, he's good. Anyway, great 6-man tag.
*Rating: ***1/2*


----------



## mk92071

Anyone else see Infinity 252? It was amazing and just shows how DG is on a roll.

Ricochet vs. Naruki Doi - ***3/4
Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, and Gamma vs. Genki Horiguchi, Ryo Saito, and Yasushi Kanda - ****
Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk vs. Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora - ****
CIMA vs. Pac - ****

I'd definitely recommend this episode.


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> Seabs, whats this list your making with these matches btw?


*Top 100 matches of 2000's*


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm not THAT knowledgeable about 97-99 All Japan, so what was Jun Akiyama doing then? I guess what I'm really asking is how he compares with the rest of his career. I watched 2000s Akiyama over the past couple of years, and I really couldn't dig him that much beside this and that. Flipside, I'm watching the 1996 Yearbook, and goddamn, Akiyama's been absolutely excellent in everything. Shocked. Honestly, he's looked every bit as good as, if not better than fucking MISAWA (in 1996) in practically every match so far. As far as "guy pushing his weight with the big leagues" go, he's about the best I've ever seen in that role. It's been all tag matches so far, and Kawada and Taue were definitely two of the best in the world that year (personally would say Kawada was THE best), plus there's Steve Williams, and I guess it can be a little hard to judge without any singles, but he's just been so noticeably off the charts. So, was 97-99 Akiyama anything like this?


Also note-worhty that anybody defending John Laurinitis as a worker should watch this stuff. Wasn't really good at all.


----------



## Chismo

Akiyama's great in any year, tbh. Talking about 97-99, he's Kobashi's tag team partner, and they wrestled 7-8 awesome matches (Kakihara & Takyama, Hansen & Vader, Misawa & Ogawa, Hansen & Taue, No Fear, Vader & Albright...). He's also had few singles gems (Takayama, Omori, Kobashi for the TC, Ogawa, Misawa (x2) and Hase).


----------



## MF83

Y'all are severely underselling the immensity that was Akiyama/Mutoh. Brilliant match. 

Akiyama dogs it from time to time, usually at home with the same people. Given any motivation he's incredible. 1996 was a great year for him. Early NOAH until the decline as well. 

Seabs, I'm interested in your takes/reviews/ratings on:

NOAH 2/17/2002 – Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue
AND Kobashi Return Match: Misawa/Kobashi vs. Akiyama/Nagata (Great damn show)
NJPW 8/29/2002 – IWGP Junior Tag Championship – Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka © vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
Kawada/Fuchi vs. Nagata/Iizuka NJPW 12/14/2000
Tenryu vs. Mutoh AJPW 6/8/2001
Tenryu vs. Kojima AJPW 7/7/2002
The 4 way trios match from 8/30/2003 Toryumon
Sasaki vs. Miyamoto BJW 3/14/07
Tanahashi vs. Nagata 4/13/2007
Tanahashi vs. Goto 11/11/2007
Ishikawa, Sawa & Otsuka vs Ikeda, Usuda & Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26/08
Kanemoto vs. Hayato 12/22/09
Miyamoto/Sasaki vs. Kodaka/Takeda, BJPW 3/26/09
Nakamura & Goto vs Misawa & Sugiura 1/4/09
Sugiura/Shiozaki vs Nakamura & Milano Collection AT NOAH 3/1/09


----------



## Yeah1993

I definitely don't think Akiyama was great every year. I actually enjoy most Akiyama before 2004 (and some in/after 2004 obv.), but in 1996 he just looked like a whole 'nother wrestler. I've been able to watch the year of his side by side with (practically) everyone else's, and he looks better than a lot of people who have high-prasied 1996s. Smokes Malenko. Looks WAY better than Mysterio. Shit, his 1996 is better than Shawn Michaels' to me, I think. I've been scratching my head wondering what everyone sees in him, but sweet shit his 1996 made me single-handedly "get it." I don't think he was the best in the world, or top 5 even (would have to think about that but probably not), but given my thoughts on him I've had since first exposure it really did take me by surprise. I'd even seen some of this 96 stuff long ago but I don't rememeber thinking he was anywhere near this good. I'm wondering now where I'll stand on the post-2003 stuff I didn't love.


----------



## Chismo

*Kengo Mashimo & Madoka vs. Men's Teioh & Shinobu (BJW, 5/23/2008)*

What a match! Go watch this. Amazing tag team stuff. Can't believe how great this was. All four guys were busting their asses, and the Shinobu's underdog stuff was top notch. The drama and suspense were off the charts. Amazing stuff, Top 5 from 2008. Teioh and Mashimo are awesome. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IRxue6LRII
*Rating: ****1/2*


----------



## Bubz

I love Akiyama. Akiyama/Misawa from '00 (?) is probably his best match ever imo and one of my favourite Misawa matches too, and his tags with Misawa are awesome as well.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah, I haven't seen a 1-on-1 match or performance from Akiyama as good as the 2000 Misawa match.


----------



## Bubz

Kawada/Kojima 05 was incredible. Not sure I would go the full 5 for it, but it's very very close. Kawada was simply amazing.

btw, what is Kawada doing now? Is he still any good in the ring? I would imagine he is, I mean someone like him just doesn't stop being good unless they are really fucked up like say, Kobashi. I saw a Kawada match from 08 I think but nothing past that point.


----------



## MF83

He runs a noodle shop. Last match was in a 6 man on the last day of the 2010 G-1 and his last appearance was at Kojima's anniversary show last year.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I read somewhere a week or two ago that he announced he has no intention of stepping in a ring for a match again.

Kawada/Fuchi vs. Nagata/Iizuka NJPW 12/14/2000 - i loved this match and the result. Fuchi was gold.


----------



## antoniomare007

so the Strong Climb tournament winner is...



Spoiler: Big Japan results



BJW, 26.03.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,206 Fans

1. Tsutomu Oosugi, Hercules Senga, Mototsugu Shimizu & Adam Cole besiegen Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, Jun Ogawauchi & Amigo Suzuki (9:24).
2. *Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Semi Final:* Yoshihito Sasaki besiegt Sami Callihan (11:28) mit einer Lariat.
3. *Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Semi Final:* Daisuke Sekimoto besiegt Bad Bones (11:12) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
4. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Ryuji Ito, Takashi Sasaki & Shadow WX besiegen Jun Kasai, Ryuji Yamakawa & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa (14:16) nach einem Dragon Splash von Ito gegen Yamakawa.
5. Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match: Shuji Ishikawa , Masashi Taketa & DJ Hyde besiegen Abdullah Kobayashi, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka B
(17:27) nach einer Giant Press von
6. Shinya Ishikawa, Shinobu & Takumi Tsukamoto besiegen Yuji Okabayashi, Kazuki Hashimoto & Masashi Otani (12:29) nach einem Octopus Hold von Ishikawa gegen Okabayashi.
7. *Ikkitousen - Strong Climb - Final:* Yoshihito Sasaki besiegt Daisuke Sekimoto (15:29) mit einer Lariat.



fuck yeah!


----------



## Bubz

Holy shit, that final match could be so good.


----------



## Zatiel

Eat it, foreigners!


----------



## Chismo

*Yuji Okabayashi & Shinobu vs. Yoshihito Sasaki & Kazuki Hashimoto (BJW, 7/25/2011)*

Good 9 minutes of simple tag team action. You could really feel the hatred here, there was plenty of stiff blows. All four guys are good, but Yuji and Shinobu are even awesome. Shinobu's lariats are impressive for a man of his size, and Yuji is a damn beast. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJZe...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFlh3ufbLat3L7jND8V-yVeE=
*Rating: **1/2*


*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Bad Bones & Robert Dreissker (BJW, 7/25/2011)*

Decent stuff. Daiskay barely wrestled in this one, it's a shame. Taniguchi is a nothing wrestler, but he's charismatic and his comedy connected with the crowd. Robert Dreissker looked good here.
*Rating: ***


*SMOP vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki (BJW, 1/2/2012)*

The YouTube comment describes this match perfectly: "Like﻿ a pair of buses fighting a pair of SUVs." Very good shit here. Akebono and Hama are fucking huge. They are smart too, because they know they can't harm Daiskay, so they concentrate their pounds on Sasaki. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD4-PNw6hCU
*Rating: **1/2*


*Shinobu vs. Kazuki Hashimoto (BJW, 2/26/2012)*

This was a good match that could be even better if Shinobu's selling was better. The storytelling was action packed with stiff kicks and hatred. Shinobu is good, but his selling is poor in key moments. Hashimoto is better.
*Rating: **1/2*


*Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Brahman Shu (BJW, 2/26/2012)*

Incredibly entertaining 10 minutes of greatness. Both guys are super over, especially Shu, who is super awesome and charismatic. Why I never heard about him, I'm mad at myself now. His brother was at ringside, he seems like an awesome dude too. This was one helluva mix of comedy and great wrestling. Watch this match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfr7...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFowiuhFY6lnztJ_xPKleCk0=
*Rating: ***1/2*


*Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu vs. Devon Moore & Rory Mondo (BJW, 10/23/2011)*

Good stuff. Didn't see much from Moore and Mondo, but they looked very good here, especially Moore, who had one breathtaking sequence. He was really over with the crowd, more than Sasaki and Shinobu. The later two added an interesting detail to the story of the match with fighting each other in the middle of the match, lol. Anyway, good match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEFR...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFqwt_MTo6YKyn2_okqJW96w=
*Rating: **1/2*


*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Masashi Takeda (BJW, 10/23/2011)*

Awesome, awesome shit. Kobayashi & Takeda chose to go pound-for-pound (instead of hardcore) with Daiskay & Yuji, and it made them the underdogs, and it made the crowd rooting for them. Great storytelling. Few decapitating moves from Takeda on Yuji. Great match, highly recommended. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdVh...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFnMr0tNIXjPbwgY5diXciX8=
*Rating:***1/2*


----------



## Rah

^ Are you from the future? 

As for *SMOP vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki (BJW, 1/2/2012)* that's the first sub 3.5 star rating I've seen.


----------



## Chismo

I fucked up with the dates twice, lol.

I liked that 1/2 tag. It was good, but not great. They did a good job in building to Daiskay & Yuji vs. SMOP, which happened the following day, I believe.


----------



## Bubz

I actually liked the Sekimoto/Sasaki vs SMOP tag more than the Sekimoto/Okabayashi vs SMOP tag, but both were awesome. I think I have both around the **** area.


----------



## c-m_punk

everyone seems to love BJW these days so i started watching again and so far its great.

one question now that bjw focuses more in wrestling than violence is Ryuji Ito still the top guy?


----------



## seancarleton77

c-m_punk said:


> everyone seems to love BJW these days so i started watching again and so far its great.
> 
> one question now that bjw focuses more in wrestling than violence is Ryuji Ito still the top guy?


Sasaki just announced he's the non-Death Match World Champion, I'm pretty sure Ito & Abdullah just took a step or two down the totem pole in BJW.


----------



## Chismo

I'm in the Big Japan mood, and I'm having a blast watching all those matches on YT.

*Kengo Mashimo & Madoka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki (BJW, 7/13/2008)*

Wow, another gem from Mashimo & Madoka. They really impressed me today, with two smashin' matches. This one was really great, the tag teaming at it's best. Great pacing, rhytm and FIP sequences. Sekimoto's and especially Mashimo's selling was very good. With more drama, this could've easily enter the **** territory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UISJ...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFnyAIni5eGhV5enIvPBg860=
*Rating:***3/4*


*Shinjiro Otani vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW, 12/2/2001)*

Sekimoto was awesome even 10 years ago. He was only 20 here, but you could see the intelligence and the abilities for storytelling. But Otani was a boss here, he made the match great with an awesome heel work. Combine that with Sekimoto's cool hulking up and really stiff kicks, and the final result is something really cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUZV...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFjTL1iC1XpqIkob5E5kOjkI=
*Rating: ***1/2*


*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa (BJW, 11/22/2011)*

Sekimoto & Okabayashi go hardcore, it was strange to see them in underdog roles. This was one helluva deathmatch, with sick spots and awe inspiring bumps. Kasai and Numazawa are insanely over, they can barely move, but man - they can fight like pitbulls. You can see why Kasai is a fucking legend. Great, great match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8imgiyb53M&feature=related
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## Cactus

*AJPW Pro-Wrestling Love In Ryogoku Vol. 14 *

Akira Raijin, Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka vs Gillette, Hiroshi Yamato & KAI
_Gillette's near-botch at the end of the match could of been brutal, but he was fine. I guess you could say it was a close shave. YEEEEEEEAAAAH~! Ehh.... Decent spotty juniors match, complete with a botch here and there._
****

KENSO, Osamu Nishimura, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yutaka Yoshie vs Akebono & Ryota Hama, Masanobu Fuchi & Taiyo Kea
_This ended prematurely in my opinion. This could of been a pretty good match if they let them go at it for 5 minutes longer._
****

RONIN vs SUGI
***

*All Asia Tag Team Title Match*
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Suwama & Takumi Soya
_Those hench bastards Sekimoto and Okabayashi once again put on a potential MOTYC. This time it's them trying to keep control of the much weaker Soya and avoiding the equally powerful Suwama like the plague. Great match with a great ending, even if that Boston Crab did feel out of place._
****¾*

*AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title Match*
Kenny Omega (c) vs Shuji Kondo
_It's my first time seeing Omega and I'm a fan already. His heel work is amazing and he just comes off as a right arse to the crowd. Not to mention his epic moveset. There's nothing too in-depth I can really say why I loved this match other than it was just a great face versus heel back-and-forth match filled with plenty of sick moves._
******

*Cage Death Match*
Masayuki Kono vs Yuji Nagata
_I was a bit underwhelmed by this to be honest. It really lacked the intensity I was hoping for, and maybe the stiffness too. These two really didn't make it seem like their hatred warranted a cage deathmatch. Maybe Funaki/Nagata in a cage would of been better, when Funaki heals of course._
****¼*

Satoshi Kojima vs Seiya Sanada
_At this point in the card, I really couldn't care for this. This should of went on before the the cage and the first Tag Title match. It was decent for what I can recall._
***½*

*AJPW World Tag Team Title Match*
Dark Cuervo & Dark Ozz (c) vs Get Wild Manabu Soya & Takao Omori
_This has the same problem as the last match. I just couldn't give a shit._
***¼*

*Triple Crown Title Match*
Jun Akiyama vs Keiji Muto
_Mutoh and Akiyama spamming the Shinning Wizards and whatever-the-fuck-you-call-Akiyama's-knee made this match super-entertaining and it didn't come off as Kurt Angle level of move spamming; each Wizard/Knee felt like it was contributing to the ending of the match. Not too mention, Mutoh's cool comeback at the end helps this match become even more entertaining._
******

*Overall:*
Great show, but show of the year? Currently, yes. At the end of the year, not a chance. A tad overrated in my opinion. Still highly recommended though.​


----------



## seancarleton77

Cactus said:


> RONIN vs SUGI


I think you're overrating that pile of pig excrement massively, try negative five stars. If I work booking for All Japan I would black list them both along with no talent Gillette.


----------



## Chismo

I guess I'm the only one who sees the tentative MOTYC potential in the Nagata/Kono match, lol.


----------



## seancarleton77

Wrong. STACK OF ARMS VS. AOGI-GUN -.Cage Death Match (KO or Give Up to win): Nagata Yuji vs. Kono Masayuki = 83% or ****1/4


----------



## Chismo

Hellyeah!


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> I'm in the Big Japan mood, and I'm having a blast watching all those matches on YT.
> 
> *Kengo Mashimo & Madoka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki (BJW, 7/13/2008)*
> 
> Wow, another gem from Mashimo & Madoka. They really impressed me today, with two smashin' matches. This one was really great, the tag teaming at it's best. Great pacing, rhytm and FIP sequences. Sekimoto's and especially Mashimo's selling was very good. With more drama, this could've easily enter the **** territory. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UISJ...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFnyAIni5eGhV5enIvPBg860=
> *Rating:***3/4*
> 
> 
> *Shinjiro Otani vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW, 12/2/2001)*
> 
> Sekimoto was awesome even 10 years ago. He was only 20 here, but you could see the intelligence and the abilities for storytelling. But Otani was a boss here, he made the match great with an awesome heel work. Combine that with Sekimoto's cool hulking up and really stiff kicks, and the final result is something really cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUZV...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFjTL1iC1XpqIkob5E5kOjkI=
> *Rating: ***1/2*
> 
> 
> *Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa (BJW, 11/22/2011)*
> 
> Sekimoto & Okabayashi go hardcore, it was strange to see them in underdog roles. This was one helluva deathmatch, with sick spots and awe inspiring bumps. Kasai and Numazawa are insanely over, they can barely move, but man - they can fight like pitbulls. You can see why Kasai is a fucking legend. Great, great match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8imgiyb53M&feature=related
> *Rating: ***3/4*


Great reviews, Big Japan is just sooooo easy to watch. Big Japan on YouTube is even easier.


----------



## Bubz

Just watched Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Furnas/Froffat from 92 again and it remains easily in my top 5, maybe not best but favourite matches of all time. The single best pro wrestling crowd I've ever seen to back up a great match with a great story. Too amazingly awesome for stars.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*SUGI vs Ronin *

It was meant to be a crazy quick spot-fest and was it ever. About 5 minutes of wild out of context random moves, they pretty much all came off looking awesome and got a reaction off of me for nearly every one, ton of fun to watch and succeeded in what it was trying to do. 

*****


Now I need someone to protect me from SeanCarleton


----------



## Bubz

I've decided to work my way through Kobashi's GHC title run (the matches I can get a hold of anyway) starting with the match he won the title in. I've only seen a handful of matches from his reign so now that I'm pretty much done with Uni (YES! YES! YES!) I can watch as much shit as I want.

I decided to review the match while I was watching it just for the crack, so this has ended up being longer than it was intended to be lol, but there is so much great stuff to talk about in this match... 

*Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa - GHC Title match (NOAH 01/03/03)*
This was one of the first Puro matches I ever watched, and I didn't like it. I thought Puro would never be my cup of tea, fast forward three or so years and my opinion on this match has completely changed. A combination of getting more into Puro over the last couple years and watching tons of 90's AJPW with these guys and seeing their history together, and I finally see the love that this match gets. I used to think this was just a bunch of ridiculous spots for the sake of it, but now I see that this is so much more than that.

This has an insanely HUGE atmosphere around it, and why wouldn't it, it's Misawa/Kobashi. Good chain wrestling at the start with Misawa instantly going after Kobashi's arm. Kobashi tries relentlessly to hit his big moves straight away going for his half nelson and sleeper suplexes as soon as he gets the slightest chance but Misawa won't let it happen. Misawa in retaliation hits a SICK backdrop suplex as if to say 'Fuck you, I can hit them but you can't'. Misawa works over the arm a bit more, until Kobashi chops him. The chop just pisses him off and he knocks Kobashi loopy with an elbow, and then starts going for his more high flying based offense, but he makes a mistake and goes flying into the guardrail in a disgusting spot that legit busts him open near the mouth, Man that looked so brutal.

Misawa is pretty fucked, but to add insult to injury, Kobashi hits a half nelson suplex on the outside. Kobashi works over the neck for a while. He starts hitting Misawa with some insanely hard chops to the neck and shoulder area, fuck taking one of those. He goes all out to try and put Misawa away early because he knows this guy isn't going down easily, so he hits two half nelson suplexes in a row! Then theres an amazing moment where Kobashi chops the shit out of Misawas neck, and Misawa hulks the fuck up and just stares at Kobashi as if to say 'you fucking what bitch?'. Kobashi just responds by hitting a backdrop suplex. Awesome.

Misawa shortly after starts to make a comeback and theres an incredible sequence leading to Misawa hitting a tiger suplex to gain the advantage. The crowd is molten by this point, the camera cuts to the crowd and there is a little girl covering her ears and crying because the crowd is so loud. Cruel but awesome lol.

Theres a short part here I think the match could have done without where Misawa hits a tiger driver, then a stretch plum type submisson, and then another tiger driver. Kobashi kicked out of one of Misawas biggest moves twice (that has been known to end a lot of matches) in the space of 2 minutes, maybe not even that. The crowd didn't react to these spots anywhere near as much as they did to everything else. I don't think anyone bought the match ending there because the lead up to it wasn't big enough but there is no way that was going to take anything away from what came before and what was still to come.

Things pick straight back up after that with a half nelson suplex that Misawa just stands up after, wobbling around in a great fighting spirit spot and he goes for an elbow but Kobashi says fuck you and hits a sick sleeper suplex. I loved how Misawa then keeps going for comebacks but Kobashi constantly puts him back down, and everything is always centred on Misawas neck. Misawa eventually is able to hit a suplex on the ramp and then one of the most ridiculous INSANE spots I've seen when he hits Kobashi with a tiger suplex OFF THE RAMP~! What a crazy spot. Misawa is now in firm control and Kobashi's selling is absolutely amazing. I don't know how fucked he was after that ramp spot, but he was either legit fucked up or this was the greatest selling I've ever seen. His eyes are dazed and he just stumbles around, even after he fights his way out of the tiger driver and he manages to hit a huge lariat were he just falls on top of Misawa for the cover. It's not enough and he hits an awesome brainbuster and Misawa still won't go down. Kobashi is still falling all over the place as he helps himself up with the ropes, but Misawas neck is now completely done for after taking everything to it, literally every single bit off offense Kobashi threw at him was directed at the neck. Kobashi knows it's over now and hits the BURNING HAMMER for the win.

Absolutely incredible match. Yeah theres a lot of big spots and moves, but within the context of the match as well as their history, they all made complete sense. Boy am I soooo glad I decided to give this match another chance. Amazing. *******


----------



## Caponex75

In my opinion, THE best wrestler to ever grace this earth. Kenta Kobashi is superfantastico if you ask me.


----------



## Chismo

I've seen all of Kobashi's GHC clashes, but never in order. I was jumping all over the place, from V7 to V2, to V5, V10, V4, etc. 

One of the best/greatest reigns ever. Anywhere.


----------



## Bubz

Theres probably a few I'll miss out because of not being able to find them anywhere, but I'm going to try and have my thoughts on most of them up by tomorrow. I know how good the Akiyama and Takayama matches are but I'll watch them again anyway and see if my views have changed, but I doubt it.


----------



## MF83

Ditch should have them all, no?

Tomoaki Honma has been terminated due to a "personal problem".

Fuck~! Though, this may lead to a return to either his first home of BJW or his second of AJP. Hopefully it's Big Japan so he can show Daisuke how to be a truly great wrestler. His big league coaching alone could help the lot of them. This is probably actually good news in the end but I'm really going to miss the man responsible for saving more nothing lower/mid card matches than any other wrestler in NJ history.


----------



## Chismo

*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Team Destruction (BJW, 12/18/2011)*

Excellent shit. Tag team MOTYC, easily. Every move, every expression, every transition tells a story. SUWAMA is batshit awesome, he's great as an unstoppable monster. Top 5 in the world, easily. He's just sooo good. Takumi Soya is being put over here, in a very meaningful way. That resiliant fucker just won't die. Also, there was an awesome FIP session with Sekimoto, and that guys probably has the best hulking up in the business. Excellent match, great structure, great pace, great action and storytelling in general, all the way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VF5...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFg1PzW2LBYtfIyuVfTgvAHA=
*Rating: *****


*Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs. Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka (BJW, 5/5/2011)*

Iron Cage Tag Team Deathmatch. Kasai's and Numazawa's theme song is WAIT & BLEED FROM SLIPKNOT! Now this was a lot of fun, but I cannot give it any high ratings because the first half of the match was a little bit campy and too "fake", and some spots were too cooperative. But down the road, the match just becomes better and better, with the great storytelling. I like how Miyamoto and Kodaka changed my opinion during the match, because in the first half I was like "WTF? These two skinny guys are baaad!", but after awhile, they've really impressed me, they showed a tremendous guts and heart, and I couldn't help myself but root for them. Kasai and Numazawa are two legends, I guess, and not only they're great hardcore wrestlers, they're also great showmen, especially Kasai. This match turned out to be great, with awesome and exciting finishing stretch, and the selling of the outcome was HUGE, therefore you could see that the match was very important. This was one helluva entertaining match, BUT, I cannot give it high rating because of some stupid shit from the first half. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwpk...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFufraRTNPUVOr-r6XV3BIIA=
*Rating: *3/4*


*Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei vs. Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu (BJW, 2/2/2012)*

Now THIS is how you do a campy hardcore match. Wow! 10 minutes of incredibly entertaining wrestling. Brahmans are incredible, they can fight, they can grapple, and they are great showmen, mega over with the crowd. Sasaki and Shinobu occasionally fight each other, lol. This was a lot of back-and-forth fun. Watch this pure entertainment. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_Ih...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFkX1xemd_0Y_B21Gyz7QtP4=
*Rating: ***1/2*


*Yuji Okabayashi vs. Manabu Soya (BJW, 1/2/2012)*

Great shit right here. Awesome and strong psychology and simple/great storytelling. There's nothing like two tough heavyweights going full force. Superb work from both guys, this was great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWq2...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFvkGgUYniIA83YxLSZHVSzk=
*Rating: ***1/2*


----------



## antoniomare007

Joe, have you watched the 6/27 StrongBJ tag from last year?


----------



## Chismo

The trios match? Not yet, but I'm going to.


----------



## Zatiel

Kobashi is an absolutely incredible wrestler. Maybe the best facial expressions of any male wrestler from any culture, he could bump like a fiend, sold like nobody's business, and with some help from booking managed to come off feeling like he could both beat anyone and be beaten by anyone. Especially in the second half of his career that made him seem capable of elevating any opponent.


----------



## Cactus

Kobashi is the most likeable wrestler on the planet. I don't think I've ever rooted against him. He may not be the greatest wrestler to ever live (but he's pretty damn close) but he certainly is my favorite.

Saying that, I really need to check out his entire GHC reign. I watched his title win against Misawa earlier today and it's still holding up as the GOAT singles match for me. Anyone know where I can download it in it's entirety?


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi is probably my favourite wrestler of all time. He's an absolute master on almost every level imo.

Cactus I'll PM you a link to it once I find it in a minute.

It's on youtube too but the quality isn't the best though.


----------



## Chismo

I fucking love Kobashi. This gif (made by me) is maybe my favorite Kobashi moment of all time:


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> I fucking love Kobashi. This gif (made by me) is maybe my favorite Kobashi moment of all time:


Haha, thats probably my favorite part of that match. Theres a similar bit in the Akiyama 04 match too. Kobashi is such a badass.


----------



## MF83

Tenryu is the greatest wrestler of all time, far and away in my opinion. Misawa and Kawada are better than Kobashi, Jumbo too probably. But he's definitely top 5. Agreed with most likeable for sure.

Oh, and this is the full list of Kobashi's reign:


Misawa Mitsuharu vs. Kobashi Kenta (1st Mar 2003)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Honda Tamon (13th Apr 2003)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Chono Masahiro (NJPW – 2nd May 2003)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Bison Smith (26th Aug 2003)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Nagata Yuji (12th Sep 2003)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Ogawa Yoshinari (1st Nov 2003)

Kobashi Kenta vs. Sano Takuma (25th Jan 2004)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Rikio Takeshi (6th Mar 2004)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Takayama Yoshihiro (25th Apr 2004)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Akiyama Jun (10th Jul 2004)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Taue Akira (10th Sep 2004)
Kobashi Kenta vs. Saito Akitoshi (24th Oct 2004)
Kobashi Kenta vs. “The Gladiator” Mike Awesome (4th Dec 2004)

Kobashi Kenta vs. Suzuki Minoru (8th Jan 2005)
Rikio Takeshi vs. Kobashi Kenta (6th Mar 2005)


----------



## Martyn

Why he didn't defend the GHC title for a two months after that match with Chono at the Dome?


----------



## antoniomare007

Never been a huge Kobashi fan, love him as an underdog and of course appreciate his greatness but he never "clicked" with me as with others. I agree with MF83 that there are probably 5-6 guys clearly better than him. And I would take Hashimoto over him in a heartbeat, even though Hash doesn't have a "catalog" of matches as impressive as Kobashi.


----------



## Derek

Martyn said:


> Why he didn't defend the GHC title for a two months after that match with Chono at the Dome?


It was closer to 4 months and it was because between those defenses he and Tamon Honda won the tag titles and had one defense before Kobashi defended the heavyweight title against Bison.


----------



## Yeah1993

1. Kawada
2. Misawa
3. Fujiwara
4. & 5. Jumbo/Tenryu (undecided)
6. Kobashi
7. & 8. Hashimoto/Tamura (also undecided)
9. Liger
10. Fujinami

that'd be my Japan top 10, I think. Honestly, though, that's a ridiculously changeable list. Give me five new Tamura matches and I'd probably put him top 5. Give me five new Fujinami matches and I'd probably put him at 8 or 9. Give me time to re-watch Liger's 89-94 and I'd probably put him a few spots higher. I'm pretty set that those ten guys are the ten guys I'd use for a while in a Japan top 10, though, no matter the order.


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi is easily my favorite wrestler ever from Japan, I wouldn't call him the best though. Kawada might be at the top of my 'Best' list. I have to see more Jumbo and Tenryu though in order to from a better opinion on them. I've seen enough Jumbo though to know that he's up there.


----------



## antoniomare007

Fujiwara is the one more people should watch though, he's the Jerry Lawler of puro (kinda).


----------



## Yeah1993

As far as "favourite" goes, I'd have more Japanese guys over Kobashi than on a "best" list, like TAKA Michinoku.


----------



## antoniomare007

that's two of us (not the TAKA part, although he is awesome).


----------



## Rah

mk92071 said:


> Anyone else see Infinity 252? It was amazing and just shows how DG is on a roll.
> 
> Ricochet vs. Naruki Doi - ***3/4
> Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, and Gamma vs. Genki Horiguchi, Ryo Saito, and Yasushi Kanda - ****
> Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk vs. Jimmy Susumu and Jimmy Kagetora - ****
> CIMA vs. Pac - ****
> 
> I'd definitely recommend this episode.


If you missed this post, here's a re-bump simply for the epicness that was on this card.


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> If you missed this post, here's a re-bump simply for the epicness that was on this card.


*It was on 2 back to back shows actually.*


----------



## MF83

Seabs, are you planning on watching/which of these have you watched? 


MF83 said:


> I'm interested in your takes/reviews/ratings on:
> 
> NOAH 2/17/2002 – Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue
> AND Kobashi Return Match: Misawa/Kobashi vs. Akiyama/Nagata (Great damn show)
> NJPW 8/29/2002 – IWGP Junior Tag Championship – Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka © vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
> Kawada/Fuchi vs. Nagata/Iizuka NJPW 12/14/2000
> Tenryu vs. Mutoh AJPW 6/8/2001
> Tenryu vs. Kojima AJPW 7/7/2002
> The 4 way trios match from 8/30/2003 Toryumon
> Sasaki vs. Miyamoto BJW 3/14/07
> Tanahashi vs. Nagata 4/13/2007
> Tanahashi vs. Goto 11/11/2007
> Ishikawa, Sawa & Otsuka vs Ikeda, Usuda & Super Tiger II BattlArts 7/26/08
> Kanemoto vs. Hayato 12/22/09
> Miyamoto/Sasaki vs. Kodaka/Takeda, BJPW 3/26/09
> Nakamura & Goto vs Misawa & Sugiura 1/4/09
> Sugiura/Shiozaki vs Nakamura & Milano Collection AT NOAH 3/1/09
> __________________


----------



## seabs

*I haven't got to any of them yet.*

*Jun Akiyama vs Masa Inoue - NOAH 4/23/2006*
_Inoue is incredible in this. Great hierarchy establishment type match without either guy looking bad. Inoue gets a title shot but is basically out of place in a title match with Akiyama so he has to be smart and come up with a crafty game plan to execute. His game plan rules. Initially rush was great and Inoue then following it up by grinding the pace to a halt when it didn't work was super. Crowd really gets behind Inoue in his effort too and as a result get on Akiyama's back which he's wise enough to realise and adapt pretty well too bar when he was trying too hard to get them to boo him after the DDT on the floor. Spot where Inoue gets Akiyama in a figure four on the ramp and leaves him there until the count gets to 18 was incredible. He drops the hold at 18 and as he's trying to storm back to the ring he starts selling the leg as well because he was in the lock too for ages. He takes a great beating too. Akiyama isn't the greatest ass kicker ever and his knees in particular suck but he does the job and Inoue does the rest for him. Ending with Inoue taking a bunch of running knee strikes and charging back up after each one was great, especially how he popped back up less and less after each one to sell each one more and more._

*****1/4+*


----------



## Rah

Seabs said:


> *It was on 2 back to back shows actually.*


It was on the same TV show (Infinity 252), actually.


----------



## seabs

*No I meant two different live events.*


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW Wrestlekingdom VI

IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAH TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero "NRC" vs. Prince Devitt & Taguchi Ryusuke "Apollo 55" ***3/4 (Great way to open the show)

AERIAL KINGDOM: Jushin Thunder Liger, Mascara Dorada, KUSHIDA & Tiger Mask IV vs. TAKA Michinoku, Taichi, Atlantis & Valiente **3/4 (Pretty fun).

TOKYO MONSTER WAR: Tanaka Masato & Takahashi Yujiro "Complete Players" vs. MVP & Shelton Benjamin **3/4 (Shelton gave only his cool moves, which is good. MVP looked good, I guess he's improved in Japan).

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson "Bad Intentions" vs. Tenzan Hiroyoshi & Kojima Satoshi "TenKoji" ***1/2 

NJPW VS NOAH BATTLE CONCENTRATION II: Nakamura Shinsuke & Yano Toru vs. Shiozaki Go & Marufuji Naomichi ****

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Tanahashi Hiroshi vs. Suzuki: ***1/4-***1/2

Overall Rating: For what I saw it was good, *7.5*.


----------



## Bubz

MiSu/Tanahashi is becoming insanely underrated. It's an awesome match. I think I saw one other person give it over ****.


----------



## Rah

Apparently Big Van Walter Vs Daisuke Sekimoto from wXw's 16 Carat is amazing; Cagematch are flipping their lid over it with seven 10/10 votes so far.

Then again, they're vote-spamming almost every match which either means the tournament is amazing or they're just being German patriots. You know, über alles and whatnot.



Seabs said:


> *No I meant two different live events.*


Indeed, but I'd argue "TV cards" are cards nonetheless - which is what I was referring to.


----------



## seabs

BUBZ said:


> MiSu/Tanahashi is becoming insanely underrated. It's an awesome match. I think I saw one other person give it over ****.


*Me? :mark:*


----------



## Bubz

Yeah it was, I just looked back at the MOTYC thread lol.

*Kawada/Taue vs Misawa/Akiyama 6/12/96*
Absolutely incredible match. Up there with the majority of the tags that invovled Kobashi. Kawada is the greatest seller I've ever seen, plain and simple. Awesome control segments and then it just turns in to an all out war with amazing performances, especially from Kawada and Taue. Just awesome. *******


----------



## TelkEvolon

Has anyone got a review for this match? Looks pretty badass but I don't remember hearing much about it.


----------



## antoniomare007

Champion Carnival's blocks have been announced~!

*A BLOCK:*
- Suwama (2008 Winner)
- Takao Omori (1/2 World Tag Team Champion)
- KENSO
- Masayuki Kono
- Ryota Hama
- Yuji Nagata (2011 Winner)
- Daisuke Sekimoto (1/2 All Asia Tag Team Champion)
*
B BLOCK:*
- Taiyo Kea (2006 Winner)
- Seiya Sanada (2011 Runner-Up)
- Manabu Soya (1/2 World Tag Team Champion)
- Akebono
- Yutaka Yoshie
- Yuji Okabayashi (1/2 All Asia Tag Team Champion)
- Winner of Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Takumi Soya on 4/14


:mark: @ Block A. Soooo many cool matches. I guess Nagata wins his block and Sanada or Soya wins block B?


----------



## septurum

So, just interested because I've never seen or heard of one. Has Giant Baba had any good matches? He's a legend but I haven't heard of any great or even good matches he was in.


----------



## antoniomare007

Destroyer....that's all it needs to be said.


----------



## septurum

Thanks, I will check a few of their matches out.


----------



## MF83

We're in the process of discovering the best old matches right now (get in on it!). I think I like the Robinson match a bit better, but they're both (Robinson & Destroyer '69) close to or five stars in my book. 
http://www.puroresu.tv/forums/topic/323-best-of-puroresu-before-the-80s/


----------



## septurum

This one seems to be a bit underrated:

Jun Akiyama vs Suwama (AJPW 10-23-2011)- **** 1/4


----------



## TelkEvolon

What a weekend of wrestling, ROH, DGUSA, WWE and now the BJW Strong Climb finals show comes online!


----------



## antoniomare007

I know this weekend is filled with shows between ROH, DGUSA and Wrestlemania. But please, PLEASE go watch the final day of the Big Japan's Strong Climb tournament. The Final is just beautiful pro wrestling and the rest of the matches (including the non-tournament stuff) are all fun to watch. 

There's at least 5 matches worth a look, well 4 if you are not into deathmatch stuff. It's not filled with MOTYC's as the All Japan show but the mainevent is better than anything on 20/3 and the rest of the card flows very nicely.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - 11/11/10 - J Sports Crown - Super J Tag League*

*1. Super J Tag League - Block B*
AKIRA & KUSHIDA vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
***1/4

*2. Super J Tag League – Block A*
La Sombra & Mascara Dorada vs NOSAWA Rongai & FUJITA
**1/2

*3. Super J Tag League – Block A*
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Jushin Liger & El Samurai
***

*4. Special Six Man Tag Match* 
Shinsuke Nakamura, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs Manabu Nakanishi, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask
**3/4


----------



## antoniomare007

Some news...

-Kota Ibushi returns on 4/5 at Korakuen Hall. He will be facin....El Generico!

-DDT's "April Fools" show results (wow!)


Spoiler: results



*DDT "APRIL FOOL 2012", 01.04.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,277 Fans - No Vacancy*

1. Tetsuya Endo Debut Match: Hiroshi Fukuda & Akito besiegen Takashi Dai & Tetsuya Endo (9:22) nach einem Modified Figure-Four Leglock von Akito gegen Endo.
2. Antonio Honda besiegt Nico Valentine (9:02) mit einem Horizontal Cradle.
3. Genba Hirayanagi & Takao Soma besiegen Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa (8:18) nach einem Boma Ye von Soma gegen Nakazawa.
4. AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kenny Omega (c) besiegt Shigehiro Irie (16:34) mit dem One-Winged Angel (5th defense).
5. Anytime and Anywhere Battle Royal: Yuji Hino besiegt Yasu Urano mit dem World's #1 German Suplex Hold (23:56). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: Masao Inoue, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Hoshitango, Masa Takanashi, Keisuke Ishii, Keita Yano, DJ Nira, Makoto Oishi, Daisuke Sasaki, KUDO, HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano.
6. KO-D Openweight Title: Sanshiro Takagi besiegt Danshoku Dino (c) (19:17) mit einer Sit-Down Sunflower Bomb - Titelwechsel.
7. *KO-D Openweight Title: Masa Takanashi besiegt Sanshiro Takagi (c) (2:04) mit einem Takatonic - Titelwechsel.*



-New Japan Cup, Day 1 results



Spoiler: results



NJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN CUP 2012", 01.04.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium
5,600 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. New Japan Cup - Round 1: La Sombra besiegt YOSHI-HASHI (9:41) mit dem Paquera Tapatio.
2. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Karl Anderson besiegt Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8:00) mit dem Gun Stun.
3. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Hirooki Goto besiegt Yujiro Takahashi (9:55) mit dem Shouten Kai.
4. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt MVP (9:45) mit dem Boma Ye.
5. Ryusuke Taguchi, Captain New Japan & KUSHIDA besiegen Kazuchika Okada, Jado & Gedo (14:35) nach dem Caribbean Death Grip von Captain gegen Gedo.
6. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Togi Makabe besiegt Lance Archer (8:47) mit einem King Kong Kneedrop.
7. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Minoru Suzuki besiegt Yuji Nagata (15:31) mit einem Gotch-Style Piledriver.
8. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Tetsuya Naito besiegt Satoshi Kojima (17:53) mit einem Polvo de Estrella.
9. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi besiegt Toru Yano (17:25) mit dem High Fly Flow.



Quarterfinals are...



Spoiler: next show



*NJPW, 05.04.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
*
1. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Hirooki Goto vs. La Sombra
2. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki
3. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson
4. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito



-There's a rumor that New Japan's president is in Miami and that he will make a big announcement on Monday. Take it with a grain of salt though, haven't seen anyone credible reporting this.


----------



## bigbuxxx

those quarterfinal matches have promise.


----------



## septurum

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (All Japan-1/20/97)- *****

Just might be my favorite match ever.


----------



## MF83

NJPW Facebook: "A forerign wrestler has sent a video message to New Japan, which will be put on NJPW-YouTube at 15:00 today (Japan Std. Time). Who is he ?"

AKA in 5 minutes


----------



## MF83

Bit underwhelmed at the person, but a surprisingly excellent promo.


----------



## antoniomare007

meh.


----------



## septurum

Might get a few good matches out of him.


----------



## topper1

septurum said:


> Might get a few good matches out of him.


I haven't cared for anything he has done since his return to the indys. He even had a subpar match with Tozawa who was on fire at the time in PWG.


----------



## Chismo

septurum said:


> This one seems to be a bit underrated:
> 
> Jun Akiyama vs Suwama (AJPW 10-23-2011)- **** 1/4


****3/4

It was fucking incredible. Puro MOTY.


----------



## antoniomare007

to all the people talking about this "Yes!" thing...remember, Korakuen Hall did it first :side:


----------



## septurum

Samoa Joe vs Kenta Kobashi (ROH)- *****

Ok. THIS just may be my favorite match of all time.


----------



## MF83

Indisputable Factopinionoid: 6/9/95 tag is the best match of all time.


----------



## Cactus

MF83 said:


> Indisputable Factopinionoid: 6/9/95 tag is the best match of all time.


If you disagree, you are lying to yourself.


----------



## Bubz

MF83 said:


> Indisputable Factopinionoid: 6/9/95 tag is the best match of all time.


Absolutely


----------



## TelkEvolon

It's no 4/3/12 tag match! 

:flip


----------



## Bubz

LOL


----------



## antoniomare007

Daichi will be Otani's partner in the Global League.


----------



## cobray

antoniomare007 said:


> to all the people talking about this "Yes!" thing...remember, Korakuen Hall did it first :side:


You mean the Big Japan show? During Bad Bones vs Sekimoto?
Well no, ROH fans did that first.


----------



## antoniomare007

oh I know, but it seems the internet is no place for a joke.


----------



## septurum

MF83 said:


> Indisputable Factopinionoid: 6/9/95 tag is the best match of all time.


Top 5 for me.


----------



## MF83

Curious as to what you'd put higher?


----------



## Rah

MF83 said:


> Curious as to what you'd put higher?


The RandomShitNo-One BotheredToWatchButRatesAnyway spotfest (26/08/1968) always makes me feel good whenever I don't watch it.


----------



## Bubz

Rah said:


> The RandomShitNo-One BotheredToWatchButRatesAnyway spotfest (26/08/1968) always makes me feel good whenever I don't watch it.


Oh man, this post completely fucked me over lol.


----------



## antoniomare007

Hey man, that tag match is the only classic IWE ever produced. The work from Mitsuo Sakuragi is outstanding and I was shocked with the great job Rukawa did as the FIP. 











:side:


----------



## Yeah1993

People should watch old IWE to see Andre the Giant look fucking awesome.


----------



## McQueen

You mean with the fro, or actually being mobile and kicking ass?


----------



## Yeah1993

Being mobile and kicking ass. He was a giant shitkicker, but he'd actually get dominated more than you'd think and bump around the ring more than anybody else in the match. The crowd would live and die with him, really. He'd laugh at his opponent when they were in trouble and serve as a great cross of comedy/seriousness. _Sort_ of like how KAIENTAI would act.

KAI EN TAI.


----------



## MF83

I'm not sure which match you're even talking about, is there a link?

Naito/Kojima & Nagata/Suzuki are both excellent.


----------



## antoniomare007

He's probably talking about his matches with Inoki, Killer Khan and/or Stan Hansen.

I always thought Andre was just a circus act, but when I started watching his late 70's-early 80's work I was blown away. He was fucking awesome.

It's too bad there isn't a lot of footage of him in his prime.


----------



## MF83

The 68 IWE classic or am I missing an in-joke ha?


----------



## antoniomare007

:lmao

awesome.


----------



## MF83

I figured but I couldn't risk something like that. :lol


----------



## sharkboy22

OKADA/Naito is actually a pretty damn goodmatch but it has its flaws. I just hated how sometimes Naito would completely ignore all the leg work he had previously done at times. The finish also left a bad a taste in my mouth. I haven't seen the match in some weeks so correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the match end in a clothesline? And just minutes prior to that, OKADA was dropping Naito on his head? A guy gets hit some high impact moves and still kicks out, but a clothesline ends the match?

Then another thing was the piledrivers. I think I just have to accept the fact that in Puro a piledriver deals the same damage as a headlock. But the one thing I liked was OKADA selling the injured leg really well after delivering the two piledrivers (the one inside the ring and the other outside). He made it look like it was the only thing keeping him back from winning. But there were times Naito would just completely ignore the leg work. It wasn't often but it happened.

I not a big puro guy or as a matter of fact any wrestling match on the whole that involves stiff kicks chops, elbows,no selling and head dropping but NJPW doesn't feature such shit (at least from what I've seen) It's mostly NOAH and AJPW that do that sort of thing, so I stay as far away as possible from those promotions.

But I really liked OKADA/Naito. I'm not really that big a fan of either guy but OKADA is a really good performer in the ring. He has good psychology and sells well. For some odd reason he's like a Japanese Randy Orton to me with his mannerisms. This is a damn good match. I don't see it being MOTY but it's one of the best for the year thus far.

******


----------



## Yeah1993

antoniomare007 said:


> He's probably talking about his matches with Inoki, Killer Khan and/or Stan Hansen.
> 
> I always thought Andre was just a circus act, but when I started watching his late 70's-early 80's work I was blown away. He was fucking awesome.
> 
> It's too bad there isn't a lot of footage of him in his prime.


Some of his stuff from like 1972-74 is great as well (which was what I was talking about), but that Hansen match is ridiculously insane. If I had to take ten matches to a desert island that would be one of them. He was such a great wrestler.



MF83 said:


> The 68 IWE classic or am I missing an in-joke ha?


I wasn't getting this joke either, I just saw "IWE" and brought up Andre's name.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

sharkboy22 said:


> The finish also left a bad a taste in my mouth. I haven't seen the match in some weeks so correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the match end in a clothesline? And just minutes prior to that, OKADA was dropping Naito on his head? A guy gets hit some high impact moves and still kicks out, but a clothesline ends the match?


1.It's a Wrist Lock transitioned into a Lariat which he calls the Rainmaker
2. Yeah the "clotheslines end the much" thingy is something everyone is suprised by when they first watch puro. As time goes by you'll see that a regular Lariat (which the Rainmaker, as you can see if you pay attention, isn't) makes perfect sense as a finishing move. You swing your arm and kill your opponent. It also targets the neck so it fit petfectly into all the neck work Okada did. While at first it may look like a regular WWE comeback clothesline, you'll eventually see and HEAR (god, are some of them stiff) that it's much, much more.


----------



## Bubz

*BJW 26/3/12 Strong Climb Final - Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yoshihito Sasaki*
I loved the start with Sekimoto going straight in with his game plan of going after the neck and hitting a backdrop driver. It set the tone for the rest of the match, and Sekimoto was awesome and very methodical going after the neck. I loved Sasaki's first comeback attempt hitting the spear only to sell the neck amazingly allowing Sekimoto to get back up first and continue laying down the law. Again, Sekimoto was so great in this match, I loved how he changed the powerbomb/boston crab combo into an STF so as to go right after the neck again. Sasaki's comeback was well done, but my only problem with the match was that he seemed to forget about his neck in the finishing stretch even though Sekimoto didn't and continued hitting moves all directed at that body part. The actual finish was great with Sasaki throwing everything he had in his striking range and completely laying into Sekimoto who's selling was absolutely incredible. Some of the exchanges were so awesome, I do think the headbutts were way to much though, I mean they were fucking sick and you could clearly hear them legit headbutting eachother. I wish that hadn't had happened, I genuinely couldn't tell if Sekimoto was legit fucked or if his selling was just amazing, but I think and hope it was the latter. Great match though, I just wish Sasaki had sold his neck a lot better in the finishing stertch as it could have elevated this to true greatness, but Sekimoto's performance was legit incredible here.
*****1/4*

Sekimoto is easily front runner for my WOTY so far by the way.


----------



## canmewda

I thought Okada/Naito was an easy ****1/2 maybe more. Phenomenal match


----------



## smitlick

*IWA Japan - 13/11/94*

Terry Funk & Hiroshi Ono vs Shoji Nakamaki & Nobutaka Araya
***3/4

*IWA Japan - 8/1/95*

Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack
****1/4


----------



## Bubz

So, I've been working my way through some of Kobashi's GHC title run. I started with the Misawa match which I reviewd a few pages back. Anyway, heres my thoughts and ratings on the matches I could search out on youtube and dailymotion. I didn't review the Akiyama defence because I didn't really need reminding of how good that was, but these are matches I either hadn't seen before or had seen a long time ago. Match ratings:

Kobashi/Misawa - *******
Kobashi/Nagata - *****1/4*
Kobashi/Takayama - *****3/4*
Kobashi/Akiyama - *******
Kobashi/Taue - *****1/4*
Kobashi/Saito - *****1/4*
Kobashi/Suzuki - *****1/2*

I put the reviews in spoiler tags because it would have been a very long post otherwise and I didn't want to make the people who don't care have to scroll down loads lol...



Spoiler:  match reviews



*Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa (1/3/03)*
This was one of the first Puro matches I ever watched, and I didn't like it. I thought Puro would never be my cup of tea, fast forward three or so years and my opinion on this match has completely changed. A combination of getting more into Puro over the last couple years and watching tons of 90's AJPW with these guys and seeing their history together, and I finally see the love that this match gets. I used to think this was just a bunch of ridiculous spots for the sake of it, but now I see that this is so much more than that.

This has an insanely HUGE atmosphere around it, and why wouldn't it, it's Misawa/Kobashi. Good chain wrestling at the start with Misawa instantly going after Kobashi's arm. Kobashi tries relentlessly to hit his big moves straight away going for his half nelson and sleeper suplexes as soon as he gets the slightest chance but Misawa won't let it happen. Misawa in retaliation hits a SICK backdrop suplex as if to say 'Fuck you, I can hit them but you can't'. Misawa works over the arm a bit more, until Kobashi chops him. The chop just pisses him off and he knocks Kobashi loopy with an elbow, and then starts going for his more high flying based offense, but he makes a mistake and goes flying into the guardrail in a disgusting spot that legit busts him open near the mouth, Man that looked so brutal.

Misawa is pretty fucked, but to add insult to injury, Kobashi hits a half nelson suplex on the outside. Kobashi works over the neck for a while. He starts hitting Misawa with some insanely hard chops to the neck and shoulder area, fuck taking one of those. He goes all out to try and put Misawa away early because he knows this guy isn't going down easily, so he hits two half nelson suplexes in a row! Then theres an amazing moment where Kobashi chops the shit out of Misawas neck, and Misawa hulks the fuck up and just stares at Kobashi as if to say 'you fucking what bitch?'. Kobashi just responds by hitting a backdrop suplex. Awesome.

Misawa shortly after starts to make a comeback and theres an incredible sequence leading to Misawa hitting a tiger suplex to gain the advantage. The crowd is molten by this point, the camera cuts to the crowd and there is a little girl covering her ears and crying because the crowd is so loud. Cruel but awesome lol.

Theres a short part here I think the match could have done without where Misawa hits a tiger driver, then a stretch plum type submisson, and then another tiger driver. Kobashi kicked out of one of Misawas biggest moves twice (that has been known to end a lot of matches) in the space of 2 minutes, maybe not even that. The crowd didn't react to these spots anywhere near as much as they did to everything else. I don't think anyone bought the match ending there because the lead up to it wasn't big enough but there is no way that was going to take anything away from what came before and what was still to come.

Things pick straight back up after that with a half nelson suplex that Misawa just stands up after, wobbling around in a great fighting spirit spot and he goes for an elbow but Kobashi says fuck you and hits a sick sleeper suplex. I loved how Misawa then keeps going for comebacks but Kobashi constantly puts him back down, and everything is always centred on Misawas neck. Misawa eventually is able to hit a suplex on the ramp and then one of the most ridiculous INSANE spots I've seen when he hits Kobashi with a tiger suplex OFF THE RAMP~! What a crazy spot. Misawa is now in firm control and Kobashi's selling is absolutely amazing. I don't know how fucked he was after that ramp spot, but he was either legit fucked up or this was the greatest selling I've ever seen. His eyes are dazed and he just stumbles around, even after he fights his way out of the tiger driver and he manages to hit a huge lariat were he just falls on top of Misawa for the cover. It's not enough and he hits an awesome brainbuster and Misawa still won't go down. Kobashi is still falling all over the place as he helps himself up with the ropes, but Misawas neck is now completely done for after taking everything to it, literally every single bit off offense Kobashi threw at him was directed at the neck. Kobashi knows it's over now and hits the BURNING HAMMER for the win.

Absolutely incredible match. Yeah theres a lot of big spots and moves, but within the context of the match as well as their history, they all made complete sense. Boy am I soooo glad I decided to give this match another chance. Amazing.
*******

*Kenta Kobashi vs Yuji Nagata (12/9/03)*
First time watching this match, and it's obvious from the start this is a big time match. From what I understand Nagata had just finished his long ass IWGP title reign and had come to NOAH for a taste of more gold. The crowd is all over Nagata as the outsider and they boo the hell out of him and the way he plays up to it is amazing with this cocky smile across his face. Theres an amazing moment right at the start when they lock up against the ropes and Nagata refuses the clean break and chops Kobashi. He backs off and has this total bad ass look on his face like 'yeah bitch, I aint here to play around'. Kobashi just looks down at the floor and then slowly looks up at Nagata with the most amazing intensity and badassness as if to say 'OK son, shits about to get real'. The way the crowd pops for such a small facial expression is amazing and it just shows how awesome Kobashi is at getting the crowd invovled through his mannerisms. The man is a god.

They square off again and Nagata throws a big boot that seriously pisses Kobashi off this time, as he just charges Nagata into the corner by the throat and just lays the fuck into him with all kinds of chops. Nagata hits one of the sickest boots I've ever seen, only for Kobashi to respond with a huge chop and they just square up to eachother in brutal fashion! This is intense!

They basically decide to calm things down a bit and go to some wrestling holds, because lets face it, they don't want any of the other guy when they are pissed. This lasts maybe 2 minutes at the most as they just start hitting eachother really fucking hard and bring tons of hate. Nagata manages to block a chop with a kick and this sets up the arm work nicely that follows. Sadly it doesn't last long though but Kobashi as always follows up on the neck that he chopped that the shit out of earlier. Theres a sequence with fighting spirit to the maximum as they both no sell some suplexes, but Kobashi eventually put Nagata down with 3 sick half nelson suplexes in a row, and yu gradually saw him get weaker with each one. This made the earlier 'no selling' things a bit more acceptable as it put it over as fighting spirit and not just plain old no selling.

At one point Nagata hits like 6 enzuguris in a row that gradually take Kobashi down one by one, but it's still not enough to put him away. Nagata didn't work over the arm enough to prevent Kobashi's lariats though, and that eventually led to his downfall. The finishing run was awesome and wasn't too overkill. I wish the arm work had been done better and played more of a role, but these guys just wanted to beat the hell out of eachother and thats what they did. I've seen some blood feuds that didn't have as much intensity as the start of this match. Great stuff.
*****1/4*


*Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama (25/04/04)*
Takayama is all about the mind games at the start, chilling in the corner even once the bell rings and leading Kobashi to think they are going to lock up but hitting the ropes instead. He knows he might be one of the only guys who can out strike Kobashi, and he's cocky as fuck about it. They eventualy do lock up and it turns into an all out slugfest! These guys hit harder than almost anyone and it is stiff as hell. Kobashi formulates a game plan though and takes it to the mat and wears down Takayama with headlocks and more mat based stuff and it allows him to start hitting his chops and strikes without Takayama retaliating. Kobashi makes a mistake though and allows Takayama to lock in a guillotine choke to stop Kobashi in his tracks and wear him down. This opened the door for big Tak to take control and kick the shit out of Kobashi. Theres an awesome bit were Kobashi takes a sick knee while he's in the tree of woe and he falls to the outside, Takayama just decides to chill out in the corner and let Kobashi back in the ring. What a boss. Kobashi tries to fight back but his chop is blocked by a HUGE knee to the arm and it sets up the armwork amazingly and Kobashi's selling is just so damn good. Takayama works over the arm now and theres a sick spot on the outside with a German suplex off the apron to Kobashi as Kobashi was trying to crawl back in the ring, Tak just grabbed him and delivered it. Almost like he was obsessed with keeping Kobashi on the putside to deliver more punishment and would do anything to stop him from getting in the ring.

When they do get back in the ring Takayama just continues to hit Kobashi as hard as he can while still going after the arm. Kobashi tries to make comebacks, even using his other arm and his head to strike like a pro, but he constantly gets cut down and kicked/punched/kneed whatever the hell Takayama feels like doing, even using Kobashi's own half nelson suplex against him. The finishing stretch is what really cements this match as a classic for me. Takayama KICKS THE LIVING FUCK out of Kobashi! Holy shit that was insanely stiff, screw taking any of those shots. Kobashi fights through the pain and delivers some sick looking hakf nelsons and an even sicker looking brainbuster because Tak is so damn big it looks really dangerous. Kobashi hits a huge lariat and Takayama is basically DEAD by this point. Kobashi has to life him up off the floor and it really looks like dead weight. It ends with fittingly, the absolute SICKEST moonsault EVER with Kobashi's knees landing on Tak's face!

Amazing match and an absolute war. The crowd as with most of Kobashi's title defenses was amazing and only made the match better. One of my favourite NOAH matches ever and up there with the best of them.
*****3/4*


*Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue (09/10/04)*
Holy shit, Taue takes it to Kobashi straight away and it instantly makes this feel like a big deal. Taue dominates for a while, even hitting a great looking kick to the head that Kobashi sells amazingly (again). At this point Kobashi's selling is second only to Kawada for me, and even then it's a close call. Kobashi hits an AWESOME slingshot body press over the top rope to the outside. That was seriously impressive for someone like Kobashi to do that. These guys are bringing it, it's like they are telling the young guys that they can still fuck shit up as good as anyone else on the roster. They slow things down as expected and Taue eventually goes after Kobashi's leg but sadly it doesn't last that long as they then start going for bigger moves. Taue is still in control and he hits several german suplexes, his finisher on the ramp and then off the apron! Another awesome apron spot from NOAH. NOAH's slow motion replays were also awesome.

Kobashi's selling is once again incredible as he sells the apron spot for ages as he takes even more of Taues big moves including an awesome sit out powerbomb. Kobashi keeps trying comebacks but Taue is just daminating this match completely. Taue hits a fucking hurricanrana and the crowd goes crazy for that and so did I, no way anyone expected him to pull off something like that. He follows it up with a diving body press! The crowd is now pretty much 100% behind Taue, but it's too late as Kobashi finds a way back in to the match and destroys Taue with chops to the neck, a half nelson suplex and finally a WRIST CLUTCH BURNING HAMMER~! Sick finish to a great and very surprising match. Taues performance was amazing, but Kobashi's selling really deserves praise too.
*****1/4*


*Kenta Kobashi vs Akitoshi Saito (24/10/04)*
Saito's entrance is awesome and he comes off as a total badass. Really quick great start to the match and Saito sends a message straight away that he isn't to be messed with or taken lightly with a backdrop driver. Kobashi of course sells it on the outside for long enough to make it seem like Saito really has his number. Saito is in the ring just shouting at Kobashi to get up. Saito gets the upper hand once Kobashi has recovered and beats him in nasty headbutt exchange and destroys him with Knees in the corner. Saito decides to try and go after the leg of Kobashi, but at one point just strikes him instead and this just pisses Kobashi off big style. He goes on a rampage and dominates the match for a bit, until Saito gets a hope spot in by giving Kobashi the most disgusting Brainbuster ever performed by a human being on the ring apron. The lower back of Kobashi just bends over the ring apron, I actually threw my hands over my head and shouted 'fucking hell!', it was so sick. There is no way Kobashi isn't in major pain from that spot. I thought Saito might go after the back but he goes after the arm instead once they are both up and he's awesome going after the arm. The finishing stretch is pretty amazing, especially the sequence were Saito gets right up from a half nelson suplex and the takes another one. The actual finish was so fucking good, as Saito punches Kobashi in the face, Kobashi is just infuriated by this and proceeds to just knock Saito the fuck out with two massive right hands to the face followed by one of the most intense angry 'Mothafucker' faces ever and then a brainbuster.

Great stiff bomb fest of a match, and fairly short in comparison with most other Kobashi defenses. I wish the arm work had gone further, but I'm not complaining because the finishing stetch was just way to awesome. DON'T MAKE KOBASHI ANGRY!
*****1/4*


*Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki (08/01/05)*
First of all, let me say I mark the fuck out for MiSu, and Kobashi is probably my favourite wrestler ever, but for some reason I had never seen this before. Oh god, the start of this is so fucking good with Suzuki just playing with Kobashi and using his size and speed to his advanatge. The way he avoids Kobashi's chops and hits a slap to the face every time and taunts him is awesome to watch and exactly why I love the guy. He comes off as such a complete dick that it's awesome to see a character like him in puro, but also impossible not to route for him, especially since he's usually the smaller guy in a match. I love how when Kobashi finally thinks he's got him where he wants him in the test of strength, MiSu again just basically toys with him by using his quickness and fucking awesome counter wrestling to escape and lock in an armbar. Awesome sequence and an even more awesome Kobashi moment after as he gets to the ropes, MiSu is loving it, and Kobashi gives him one of his great looks, this time a kind of 'OK, you're good, I seem to have underestimated you' look.

When Kobashi finally catches Suzuki in a headlock, the crowd reaction is huge and I don't think a headlock has ever been more awesome as the crowd and I both know this is where Kobashi can really fuck Suzuki over lol. I love how he keeps the headlock on no matter what because he can't afford to let him go as he'll just use his quickness and submission skills to get the advantage if he gets out. Kobashi finally makes the mistake of thinking Suzuki is worn doen enough to let go and try for a bigger move, but MiSu escapes to the apron, and in an absolutely awesome as fuck spot, he dodges a chop from Kobashi on the apron and just laughs in his face, only for Kobashi to chop him in the face! So awesome, MiSu is incredible at character work in a match. Kobashi gets the headlock locked in on the outside, and with the most determination ever, brings Suzuki in the ring while still with the headlock applied. MiSu finally gets to the ropes, but Kobashi finally gets MiSu were he wants him and chops the shit out of him, and then chops him REALLY hard in the face! MiSu collapses in the corner with an awesome 'what the fuck have I done' expression.

Kobashi sets him up in the corner for a chop, but he catches Kobashi's arm and again pulls an epic 'you're fucked now' face, because he knows this is how he can beat Kobashi, by working over a limb and using his superior submission wrestling. MiSu is awesome at going after a limb and this is a great example of that. He kept avoiding Kobashi's chops and going straight for the arm. There was an awesome hope spot for Kobashi as he Suzuki goes for a over the shoulder armbreaker, but Kobashi catches him in a sleeper suplex and he rolls to the outside. Kobashi is amazing at selling the arm, so it allows Suzuki to recover by the time Kobashi goes outside to get him, and he manages to put Kobashi in a sleeper hold on the outside. I loved how Kobashi was so desperate to escape that he just crawled off the ramp, but the damage was done anyway. MiSu is again back in control and he's great again. There was a random suplex exchange that really didn't need to be there at this point, because it didn't lead to much other than a hope spot for Kobashi to get the advantage back, but they could have done something better for that. After that exchange though MiSu is back in control but Kobashi hits a desperation lariat as MiSu is getting way to cocky for his own good. 

The finish was fucking awesome here, as it was very quick and one sided, but it worked really well. MiSu took too much time getting cocky and that was his ultimate downfall as it allowed Kobashi to just fuck him up like he had been waiting to the whole match. Kobashi hits another lariat only for MiSu to fire up and hit some strikes, but Kobashi just thinks 'fuck this' and he hits about 4 backdrops in a row, after the third, MiSu is pretty much dead and not moving, but he gets hit with a final one for good measure. Kobashi picks his seemingly lifeless body back up, but with the last tiny amout of energy left in him, MiSu hits the most pitifull slaps ever and then just collapses with only Kobashi holding him up, and then Kobashi nails a HUGE short arm lariat for the win. Fucking great match, it was so simple, but sometimes thats the best type of match.

I absolutely loved pretty much everything about it apart from the suplex exchange that didn't really serve a purpose. From MiSu's character and limb work to Kobashi's selling and the simplicity of the finish. The way it put across the whole idea that if Suzuki makes one mistake and doesn't stick to his game plan , he's pretty much fucked was so awesome.
*****1/2*



The only other matches I really wanted to see was the Honda match which I hear is amazing and the Bison Smith and Sato matches. I couldn't get my hands on them sadly. Even without seeing them though there is no denying the quality of this title reign. Astonishing set of matches and Kobashi is the fucking man!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

The Honda match is probably only second best to the Takayama defence for me. Honda is a genuine underdog which really helps with the layout of the match because he's just such a natural guy to root for and it was great to see a sort of 'breakout match' for Honda compared to the Akiyama, Nagata, Takayama and Taue defences where both guys were more evenly matched. Honda busts out some of the best pro wrestling matwork you'll see and its not nearly as overkill territory with some of the finishers which is even better.

That Taue match is insane though, one of Taue's last legit awesome performances and matches.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Kobashi vs Saito and vs Honda are both on ditch.com


----------



## Bubz

The Honda match link is down on there, I looked for them all on there first.

My favourite is the Akiyama defence though, absolutely love that match.


----------



## Shotakan

You should see the Ogawa title defense. You will never want to see Kobashi kill a little shit more in your life.


----------



## Bruce L

I've never understood why the Taue defense isn't more highly-regarded than it is. I'd never heard a word about it until I got IVP's "Top 25 Matches in NOAH" DVD set, and was damn near blown away. Part of that is probably because I didn't have the highest of expectations; as big a Holy Demon Army mark as I am, I never expect much out of Taue in singles matches for some reason. But that's a match that more than holds up on its own merits, and stands perfectly strongly alongside his 2006 match with Marufuji, and I'd say a little bit above the much-loved 2003 match with Nagata, on the list of "Taue in NOAH" gems.


----------



## Shotakan

No one ever expects much out of Taue, because he looks like a guy from the 70's. Then he has a series of amazing matches and people focus more on his flashy opponents/partners in those matches.


----------



## DarloKid

where do you guys watch all this puro stuff at ?


----------



## Shotakan

http://ditch.lcwe.com/ Though he's currently in the process of moving shit around do to first megaupload "folding", Fileserve changing their policy to only being able to download your own uploads, and rapidshare sucking a big fat cock.

DVDR is also a good place to look at for whole shows, as well as the multimedia forum here.


----------



## flag sabbath

plus plenty of it's all over youtube


----------



## Shotakan

Isn't most of it in parts, though?


----------



## flag sabbath

Shotakan said:


> Isn't most of it in parts, though?


Having survived the VHS years that really isn't an issue.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*BJW:*
http://www.youtube.com/user/BiggestJapan?ob=0&feature=results_main

*AJPW:*
http://www.youtube.com/user/KingsRoadJapan?ob=0&feature=results_main

*NOAH:*
http://www.youtube.com/user/ProWrestlingAARK?ob=0&feature=results_main

That's where I watch.


----------



## Shotakan

flag sabbath said:


> Having survived the VHS years that really isn't an issue.


Fair enough.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Easter long weekend, no better time to watch some Christ-like beatings from BJW.

Figured i'd jump on the BJW & Youtube 'watch & review' train.


----------



## antoniomare007

watch the 26/3 show, guaranteed fun and a legit MOTYC.


----------



## TelkEvolon

antoniomare007 said:


> watch the 26/3 show, guaranteed fun and a legit MOTYC.


Is that the recent Strong Climb finals?


----------



## septurum

DarloKid said:


> where do you guys watch all this puro stuff at ?


I watch almost 100% on youtube and dailymotion. I have ordered a few dvds here and there as well.


----------



## antoniomare007

TelkEvolon said:


> Is that the recent Strong Climb finals?


yup


----------



## MF83

Google any old promotion and "rudos" and you will be guaranteed to find links. ie. "njpw rudos"


----------



## smitlick

*ZERO1 - 17/11/10 - MUST*

*1. International Jr. Heavyweight Title Contendership, 4 Way Match*
Takuya Sugawara vs Minoru Fujita vs Mineo Fujita vs Munenori Sawa
**1/2

2. Masato Tanaka vs Kohei Sato
***3/4

*3. International Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Ikuto Hidaka vs Fujita "Jr" Hayato
****

*4. World Heavyweight Title*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Shinjiro Otani
***3/4


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Yuki Ishikawa v Kenji Takashima, BattlARTS 08/21/2011*

Fuck me what a great 8 minute affair, is there anyone better than Ishikawa in Japan when he's on like he is here? Match is a simple Student v Teacher affair and they do some wonderful matwork that you know, looks unco-operative and each hold is fought for and earned with vigour and tenacity. Doesn't feel like they're tossing this stuff out there because they can't think of another way to open a match. Takashima is awesome countering a lot of Ishikawa's holds and constantly going for a strike whenever possible, there's this great sense of hate as well with every strike that makes you buy both men slowly getting more pissed and thus when the match breaks down into more of a sluggish affair it works wonderfully as Ishikawa needing to put this punk in his place rather than aimlessly transitioning into a strike exchange. Some of the headbutts are frankly sickening as well, and the finish is wonderful with Ishikawa finally countering Takashima on the mat and dominating into a submission for the win. The fact this was one of the first times Ishikawa had successfully managed to win the mat battle without giving up control also worked as a really satisfying payoff to the prior matwork where Takashima was primarily the aggressor. Also the gradual breakdown of Takashima with suplexes and takedowns was really impressive, he hit the mat with such resistance and force that you bought each fall as bringing the match closer to an end.

****3/4-*****


----------



## Cactus

Check this out. I'm not big on the shoot style side of professional wrestling but matches like Fujiwara/Sayama and this really show how freakin' badass it can be. Nine minutes and four seconds of the most intense action I have ever seen in my 12 years as a fan. More intense than anything I have ever seen in the WWE. Straight from the get-go, Nakano rejects Funaki's handshake with a kick and sends him into a violent rage, creating one of the loudest crowds I've ever heard in the process. Now go and watch the video to see the rest of the match. *******


----------



## WOOLCOCK

That match has always been a favourite of mine and remains one of the best sub 10 minute matches of all time.

I wouldn't put it at ***** (awesome to see you put it that high however), but it is without doubt one of the greatest shoot style matches: pretty boy star Funaki v fat slob Nakano. Wonderful character dynamic and a clear hierarchy where Funaki should be winning with ease, but as the match continues you just sense Nakano isn't going down on this particular night and now the pretty boy is in for the fight of his life. Wonderful action, frighteningly stiff and a wonderful story on top of it, incredible match.

I'd probably have it around *****1/4-****1/2*. Incredible for the time it gets but I just prefer Volk Han/Tamura from RINGS January 1997. You seen that match btw Cactus? If you think the above is the full 5 then I can't see you not loving Han/Tamura: take away hate filled stiff strikes with the all time best matwork inside a wrestling ring and the absolute best demonstration of counter wrestling where every hold is fought for despite being exchanged at a breathtakingly fast pace.


----------



## Cactus

Whenever I pimp out a shoot style match, I always get some Volk Han pimped right back in my direction. Truth be told, I really want to like the the guy, but after the five or so matches of his I've tried to sit through, I just find myself bored to death and I can't even get through one match. I think it's a case of me loving some strong character work in my shoot style. I think it's what stopping it from being predetermined MMA. I will try and give that video a watch though.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Can anyone give me a link for the captain's fall elimination match between Sterness and Burning on 5/14/03


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Cactus said:


> Whenever I pimp out a shoot style match, I always get some Volk Han pimped right back in my direction. Truth be told, I really want to like the the guy, but after the five or so matches of his I've tried to sit through, I just find myself bored to death and I can't even get through one match. I think it's a case of me loving some strong character work in my shoot style. I think it's what stopping it from being predetermined MMA. I will try and give that video a watch though.


YOU'RE KILLING ME MAN. If you come out of that match bored then a part of me shall die inside. That being said I can understand why you want more character and emotion, though for me when you realise Han is like a Misawa esque god in RINGS and combine that with the speed at which they trade counters on the math you find a lot more suspense and drama. Really a case of being able to communicate a story through the actual holds rather than in between the wrestling.


----------



## sharkboy22

ywall2breakerj said:


> 1.It's a Wrist Lock transitioned into a Lariat which he calls the Rainmaker
> 2. Yeah the "clotheslines end the much" thingy is something everyone is suprised by when they first watch puro. As time goes by you'll see that a regular Lariat (which the Rainmaker, as you can see if you pay attention, isn't) makes perfect sense as a finishing move. You swing your arm and kill your opponent. It also targets the neck so it fit petfectly into all the neck work Okada did. While at first it may look like a regular WWE comeback clothesline, you'll eventually see and HEAR (god, are some of them stiff) that it's much, much more.


Oh, ok thanks man. Like I said, I'm not a big puro guy and I don't go out of my way looking for at it all but if a match gets mentioned I check it out.


----------



## antoniomare007

This happened on a non taped show so who knows when it's gonna be available....


Shinobu & Yoshihito Sasaki are your new Big Japan Tag Team Champions!.


Oh, and it seems that Big Japan is creating a "Strong BJ" singles belt. Yoshihito is gonna face Big Van Walter to determine the first champion at the 5/5 in Yokohama (Abby defends the DM Title against Ishikawa on that show too). 

I think it's great that we are gonna get more singles action out of the Strong BJ guys, but I pray to Baby Jesus that this doesn't mean less awesome 6-man matches


----------



## smitlick

*FMW 5/5/96*
Terry Funk & Mr Pogo vs Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka
****

*IWA-Japan 20/8/95 - King of the Death Match Final*
Terry Funk vs Cactus Jack 
****1/2


----------



## Derek

New Japan Cup semi-finals and finals today:




Spoiler



Semis: Goto defeated Makabe and Tanahashi defeated Anderson.

Goto defeated Tanahashi to win his 3rd New Japan cup.

Tough spot in that if Goto doesn't win the title, he'll continue to be labeled as a guy who always comes up short, making it even more difficult to build him back up the next time he gets a shot, or if they do ever give him the title. And losing the belt now would be bad for Okada, who is really starting to come into his own, and to take the title off of him so soon would be bad for his career.


----------



## TelkEvolon

YES! YES! YES!


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Like seeing that Anderson is getting some sort of a push after the break up with bernard but most likely it won't go anywhere other than a few nice wins here and there.


----------



## TelkEvolon

BKKsoulcity said:


> Goto will 100% not win the title.


:banplz:



Shuddup!

You will 100% not will the title!




.... Damnit! You're probably right.


----------



## MF83

BKKsoulcity said:


> Like seeing that Anderson is getting some sort of a push after the break up with bernard but most likely it won't go anywhere other than a few nice wins here and there. Goto will 100% not win the title.


What's a spoiler tag?


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tanahashi vs Naito from NJCup Night 3 (4/5/12) is awesome. Not quite as good as their match from October '11 for the belt but this is worth a look. ****-****1/4.

Haven't watched the others yet but I expect Anderson/Nakamura was also a great match and will get to that later today.


----------



## MF83

Much preferred Anderson/Nakamura personally.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Still haven't seen it but hoping to get to it tomorrow. If Anderson/Naka is better I'm in for a treat.


----------



## Bubz

I hated Naito/Tanahashi personally. Nakamura/Anderson was really enjoyable.

I'm hoping some of the final night matches are great.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 30/11/10 - Winter Navigation 2010*

1. KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs Bison Smith & Delirious
**3/4

2. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
***

3. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita
***

*Apache Army - 25/3/11*

1. Makoto Hashi vs Luke Gallows
*1/2

2. Big Van Vader, Jesse White & Tomohiko Hashimoto vs Kintaro Kanemura, Tetsuhiro Kuroda & Tomohiro Waki
**


----------



## wildpegasus

Kenny Omega is getting more and more awesome by the day. He's quickly becoming one of my favs of all time.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, I fucking love Omega's character, he's really on the roll. And not to mention his ubercool moveset...


----------



## MF83

NJPW/AJP announce joint "WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE!" 40th Anniversary Show July 1st, 2012 @ Sumo Hall 

Purolove:



> Angespornt durch den großen Erfolg der beiden All Together Benefizshows und anlässlich des 40-jährigen Bestehens beider Ligen haben New Japan und All Japan heute bei einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz in Tokyo angekündigt am 01.07.2012 eine Supershow in der Sumo Hall abzuhalten!
> 
> Details zur Card gibt es zurzeit natürlich noch nicht. Es ist allerdings schon bekannt, dass 8 bis 9 Matches geplant sind. Als Hauptattraktion soll es einen Double Main Event mit IWGP Heavyweight Title und Triple Crown Matches geben! All Japan Präsident Uchida sagte bei der PK, dass er sich eine Teilnahme von Jun Akiyama wünschen würde, man aber abwarten muss ob er die Titel im anstehenden Match gegen den Sieger des diesjährigen Champion Carnival erfolgreich verteidigen kann.
> 
> Die Show, die den Namen "WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE!" tragen wird, stellt zweifelsohne eines der Highlights dieses Jahres dar und bietet einen würdigen Rahmen für die 40-jahrfeiern der Traditionsligen.



Yes, that's a double main event of both a Triple Crown Championship match and IWGP Championship match. Makes me wonder why this isn't at least in Budokan. Regardless, it is surely going to be spectacular.


----------



## Bubz

Awesome stuff.


----------



## Chismo

I wanna see Akiyama/Sekimoto or Nagata there.


----------



## Bubz

Akiyama against a few of the NJPW guys would be awesome. Depends if he's still got the belts by then though I guess.


----------



## antoniomare007

Hopefully we get some interpromotional matches and not just NJ vs NJ and AJ vs AJ. This seems like the perfect time for Funaki's revenge on Nagata, although I don't remember how long he's supposed to be out.

I really want to see Suwama against Nakamura in some shape or form too.



JoeRulz said:


> I wanna see Akiyama/Sekimoto or Nagata there.


As much as I love Daisuke, there's almost no chance he gets a TC shot in a show like this.


----------



## seancarleton77

HUGE news!!! I smell the best Japanese card in years coming.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> Hopefully we get some interpromotional matches and not just NJ vs NJ and AJ vs AJ. This seems like the perfect time for Funaki's revenge on Nagata, although I don't remember how long he's supposed to be out.


6 months was reported for Funaki.


----------



## seancarleton77

Funaki could probably make the show for the grudge match, I sure as hell hope he does anyway.


----------



## Chismo

What I want:

- Okada vs. Tanahashi rematch for the IWGP Hewiki
- Akiyama vs. SUWAMA rematch for the Triple Crown
- Nagata vs. Funaki in a Cage Match
- Omega vs. Ibushi (Jr. Hewiki Champ vs. Jr. Hewiki Champ)


----------



## Derek

Funaki is supposed to be back around this time, and the match with Nagata makes too much sense not to happen here.

I'd personally like to see some AJ vs. NJ matches, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was more along the lines of the All Together shows.

Sumo Hall over Budokan makes sense since both companies use that as their venue for big shows in Tokyo.


----------



## Chismo

*Ricochet vs. Naruki Doi (Dragon Gate, Infinity 252)*

This was an awesome, fast paced, high octane shit. The thing is, fucking Gaora only aired 10 out of 16 minutes, so on the moments it looked like there was no selling at all, but you'll see they clipped it if you watch carefully. Great Junior match with the storytelling centered about athleticism and upmanship. Recommended.
*Rating: ****


*The Jimmyz vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Gamma (Dragon Gate, Infinity 252)*

Open The Triangle Gate Titles are on the line here. It's the Vets against The Jimmyz. Yeeeaaah! Another really great match. Not only the action was satisfying, but there was some really hilarious shit. I was laughing my ass off for a couple of times, great comedy. No need to write anything special, it was simply one great trios match with a lot of fun. Recommended.
*Rating: ***3/4*


*Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk vs. The Jimmyz (Dragon Gate, Infinity 252)*

HOLY BALLS! Why is no one talking about this super duper awesome match? This was balls-to-the-walls awesome. This was an epitome of the tornado/lucha tag style. I thoroughly enjoy any match where I get to see Hulk kick people and do Mouse, so this was no exception. His strikes are uber awesome, he can kick you from any position imaginable. And when you add the BITW candidate Tozawa, crazy Susumu and the underrated KAGEORA, with the tag titles on the line - you get nothing but the awesomeness. The storytelling is very simple here. You got the two evenly matched teams who hate each other and want to win the match at any cost. Which leads us to one helluva athletic rush hour with smashing, decapitating moves and with incredible nearfalls and great drama. My #2 for Puro so far, right behind Okada/Naito. Fucking incredible.
*Rating: ****3/4*


*CIMA vs. PAC (Dragon Gate, Infinity 252)*

Great match. I loved the face vs. face dynamics, it was the good storytelling with the result being something great. CIMA is mega over with the crowd, and PAC got his pops too. Both guys had the support of their stablemates at ringside, so the overall feel was even more attractive and important. The match was structured very well, it had some good selling and few really, really attractive sequences.
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## TelkEvolon

> BJW "ENDLESS SURVIVOR", 05.05.2012
> Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
> 
> 1. BJW vs. ZERO1: Kazuki Hashimoto, Takumi Tsukamoto & Masashi Otani vs. Shito Ueda , Daichi Hashimoto & Nick Primo
> 2. Makoto Oishi , Shiori Asahi , Tsutomu Oosugi & Hercules Senga vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, Mototsugu Shimizu & Amigo Suzuki
> 3. Osamu Nishimura vs. Shinya Ishikawa
> 4. Hardcore Match: Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka vs. Masashi Taketa & Shinobu
> 5. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Ryuji Ito, Takashi Sasaki & Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Shadow WX, Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba
> 6. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Jun Kasai & "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa
> 7. BJW Strong Heavyweight Title, Decision Match: Yoshihito Sasaki © vs. Big Van Walter
> 8. BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title: Abdullah Kobayashi © vs. Shuji Ishikawa


Looks great!


----------



## Chismo

The matches under 6 and 7 look great. The guys under 6 had a great deathmatch last year, this one should be good at least. Sasaki/BVW could rock the world if Sasaki brings his A-game.


----------



## antoniomare007

Hashimoto on Hashimoto violence part 2!!! :mark:


----------



## Chismo

*Naruki Doi vs. YAMATO (Dragon Gate, 3/22/2010)*

OTDG Title match. Doi holds the title for 15 months now, and YAMATO is one of the top dogs, so this match has that big feel. Great stuff here, they chose a very methodical approach to begin the match with, the work was very mat and submission based. They were focusing on their opponents' limbs, but the work was not tough and long enough to make some serious damage, and that way they could skip the complicated and long term selling. The match picked up eventually, the finishin stretch was okay, but not "epic" enough to elevate the match even more. Still, it made sense. YAMATO is awesome, I like how he tends not to complicate things, he's gonna use Sleeper or Gallaria as long as it's necessary in order to take you down.
*Rating: ***1/4*


*Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Susumu Yokosuka (Dragon Gate, 4/24/2011)*

Good stuff, nothing special, though. It was your basic, fast paced & high octane DG tag. 13 minutes of good stuff.
*Rating: **1/2*


----------



## MF83

Chono vs. Tenzan, 9/15/04

Match is only about half the length of the video. An in-depth recap:

- "_Damn, I woulda neva thought that it woulda been like this........... *FUCK Y'ALL ****** WANNA DO?*_" **A wild Chono appears!* With... _*CTU*_?!*
- *Recent G-1 Champion, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, enters _Korakuen Hall_, sees the sea of Black clothing in front of him and asks, "*WTF?! GTFO~!* What _is_ this shenanigan?!"*
- *Chono, with an _evil_ grin on his face, quotes to himself the legendary entrance tune, "_I'll Show You, You'll See!_"*

....

**BLOOD**


----------



## Groovemachine

Holy Moly! This year's New Japan Best of the Super Juniors tournament entrants have been announced via Facebook:



> 1. Prince Devitt (Current IWGP Jr & CMLL/NWA Historic Middleweight Champion)
> 2. Ryusuke Taguchi
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger
> 4. Tiger Mask IV
> 5. KUSHIDA
> 6. BUSHI [AJP] ~ tournament debut
> 7. Low Ki [CHAOS] ~ tournament debut
> 8. Davey Richards [CHAOS/NRC] (Current IWGP Jr Tag Champ)
> 9. Rocky Romero [CHAOS/NRC] (Current IWGP Jr Tag Champ)
> 10. Jado [CHAOS]
> 11. Gedo [CHAOS]
> 12. TAKA Michinoku [KAIENTAI DOJO/Suzuki-gun]
> 13. Taichi [Suzuki-gun] ~ tournament debut
> 14. Black Tiger 7 [Suzuki-gun]
> 15. PAC [DRAGON GATE UK] ~ tournament debut
> 16. Daisuke Sasaki [free/DDT] (2nd year competing)
> 17. Alex Koslov [free] ~ tournament debut
> 18. Angel de Oro [CMLL] ~ tournament debut
> (Credit: 411mania)


Wow. Low Ki...Pac...Koslov...YES PLEASE!!!


----------



## Chismo

PAC makes this tournament must-see now, IMO. PAC/Liger needs to happen.


----------



## Tony Tornado

Damn good line-up.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

BEEN WAITING FOR BOSJ ALL YEAR!!! This is going to be sick. Loving the dark horse PAC.


----------



## MF83

Gedo's Law dictates that the losing finalist from the year previous' tournament becomes winner the next year. They're basically fighting to see who loses to Taguchi more than anything! Can't wait!


----------



## Bubz

Wow @ PAC being in it this year. Some great stuff should go down.


----------



## smitlick

Anyone know whos playing Black Tiger?


----------



## TelkEvolon

No idea who is going to win this year. fairly mixed bunch of guys.

I'm thinking Sanada maybe, pretty sure it will be one of AJPW's newly dubbed "Seven Samurai" who are meant to take the belt off of Akiyama.

Nagata, Sekimoto & Okabayashi should also have great showings.


----------



## Tony Tornado

Can someone explain to me how Pro Wrestling NOAH broadcasts their shows? Do they have a TV deal? I want to see the Global Tag league with Colt and Eddie and I don't know if all of their matches are on TV or DVD. Some are televised and others are not?


----------



## TelkEvolon

Tony Tornado said:


> Can someone explain to me how Pro Wrestling NOAH broadcasts their shows? Do they have a TV deal? I want to see the Global Tag league with Colt and Eddie and I don't know if all of their matches are on TV or DVD. Some are televised and others are not?


Just use YouTube.


----------



## MF83

Some of them are and some aren't. Purolove.com posts a monthly TV schedule or puroresufan's forum usually has tour listings telling which shows are airing and which aren't. They have a couple small niche cable deals right now. The RUDOS folks cap their shows and that's how we've come to see them over the last year or so. Before that, it was always a mystery when and if something would pop up.


----------



## antoniomare007

There's also the Di Colisseo stuff that shows matches from shows that aren't taped for G+ or SamuraiTV.


----------



## MF83

Nah, that airs on G+.

Purolove's March 2012 schedule:



> Television Schedule März 2012
> 
> SAMURAI! TV
> 
> 01.03.2012: DDT 19.02.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Dramatic Fantasia #364) (60 Min)
> 02.03.2012: ZERO1 02.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (180 Min / Near Live)
> 
> 06.03.2012: NJPW/NOAH/AJPW "ALL TOGETHER" 19.02.2012 @ Sendai Sun Plaza Hall (120 Min)
> 08.03.2012: DDT 24.02.2012 @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING (Dramatic Fantasia #365) (60 Min)
> 09.03.2012: NOAH 04.03.2012 @ Tokushima Municipal Gymnasium (120 Min)
> 
> 15.03.2012: DDT 11.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Dramatic Fantasia #366) (60 Min)
> 16.03.2012: NJPW 10.03.2012 @ Nagoya International Conference Hall (120 Min)
> 17.03.2012: AJPW 23.10.2011 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (180 Min)
> 18.03.2012: AJPW 11.03.2012 @ Lazona Kawasaki Plaza Sol (120 Min)
> 
> 21.03.2012: SMASH.26, 14.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (120 Min)
> 22.03.2012: DDT 11.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Dramatic Fantasia #367) (60 Min)
> 23.03.2012: NJPW 11.03.2012 @ Act City Hamamatsu (120 Min)
> 24.03.2012: Ice Ribbon 20.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (120 Min)
> 25.03.2012: Stardom 20.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (120 Min)
> 
> 27.03.2012: RJPW 16.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (120 Min)
> 29.03.2012: DDT 18.03.2012 @ Shin-Kiba 1st RING (Dramatic Fantasia #368) (60 Min)
> 30.03.2012: NJPW 17.03.2012, 18.03.2012 & 19.03.2012 (120 Min)
> 31.03.2012: BJW 26.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (120 Min)
> 
> GAORA TV
> 
> 09.03.2012: Dragon Gate 20.02.2012 @ Kobe ***** Hall (Infinity #351) (60 Min)
> 11.03.2012: AJPW 04.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (B-Banquet #309) (120 Min)
> 
> 20.03.2012: OZ Academy 26.02.2012 @ Shinjuku FACE (Puroresu King #253) (120 Min)
> 23.03.2012: KAIENTAI DOJO 26.02.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Puroresu King #254) (120 Min)
> 23.03.2012: Dragon Gate 03 & 04.03.2012 @ Osaka, Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2 (Infinity #352) (120 Min)
> 24.03.2012: AJPW 20.03.2012 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (B-Banquet Special) (210 Min)
> 
> NITTELE G+
> 
> 10.03.2012: NOAH 07.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (NOAH Special) (210 Min)
> 
> 15.03.2012: NOAH 22.01.2012 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Di Colosseo #479) (120 Min)
> 
> 19.03.2012: NOAH 22.01.2012 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Di Colosseo #480) (120 Min)
> 23.03.2012: NOAH 18.03.2012 @ Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium (NOAH Special) (240 Min)
> 
> SKY-A
> 
> 16.03.2012: Osaka Pro 26.02.2012 @ Matsushita IMP Hall (150 Min)
> 
> TV ASAHI CH.
> 
> 08.03.2012: NJPW 12.02.2012 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (World Pro Wrestling Complete Edition #49) (210 Min)
> 
> PPV
> 
> 04.03.2012: NJPW 04.03.2012 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (Live)


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, I meant the big G+ shows.


----------



## smitlick

antoniomare007 said:


> There's also the Di Colisseo stuff that shows matches from shows that aren't taped for G+ or SamuraiTV.


The usually show replays of stuff already shown.


----------



## Tony Tornado

TelkEvolon said:


> Just use YouTube.


I know some of them are on Youtube but, for example, according to profightdb.com there were already two more days of matches, I wanted to know if those days are going to be televised like the first day or if they're similar to house shows.

Thanks to everyone who replied.


----------



## smitlick

The 11/4, 14/4 & 15/4 shows are on TV. Not sure about anything after that.


----------



## MF83

This is simply a post to tell you all to watch the video in my sig. To make it worthwhile, I'll even post the Champions Carnival Schedule. Note the line that says that every match will be streamed on nico!




> From Irving
> 
> The "Rite of Spring" is back! The full cards are below for this year's Champion Carnival. This year, every Carnival match will air in some format whether it be semi-live or digest form on GAORA or live via All Japan's Sun-Smiling internet service http://ch.nicovideo.jp/channel/ch610. Each show will air completely live and free of charge, so if you choose to stay up you can follow this year's edition very closely!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/12/12 (GAORA TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Masanobu Fuchi & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Ryota Hama & Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. Champion Carnival - Block B: Takumi Soya vs. Yuji Okabayashi Image
> 3. Champion Carnival - Block B: Masayuki Kono vs. Daisuke Sekimoto Image
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea vs. Akebono
> 5. Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Minoru Tanaka vs. KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: KENSO vs. Yuji Nagata Image
> 7. Champion Carnival - Block A: Seiya Sanada vs. Manabu Soya
> 8. Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama vs. Takao Omori
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/22/12
> Fujioka Citizen Hall
> 
> 1. KENSO vs. Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka vs. Taiyo Kea & Manabu Soya
> 3. Suwama, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. Akebono, Masanobu Fuchi & KAI
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Yuji Okabayashi Image
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block B: Seiya Sanada vs. Takumi Soya
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Ryota Hama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto Image
> 7. Champion Carnival - Block A: Takao Omori vs. Yuji Nagata Image
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/23/12
> Saitama Ecos Ageo
> 
> 1. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Masayuki Kono, Minoru Tanaka & Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. Suwama, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. Seiya Sanada, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato
> 1. Champion Carnival - Block B: Akebono vs. Yuji Okabayashi Image
> 2. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea vs. Takumi Soya
> 3. Champion Carnival - Block A: Ryota Hama vs. Yuji Nagata Image
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block A: KENSO vs. Daisuke Sekimoto Image
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/26/12
> Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Taiyo Kea vs. Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. Takao Omori, Masanobu Fuchi & Hiroaki Moriya vs. KENSO, Ryota Hama & Rising KID
> 3. Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Minoru Tanaka vs. Seiya Sanada, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Akebono vs. Yutaka Yoshie
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block B: Manabu Soya vs. Takumi Soya
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama vs. Masayuki Kono
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/28/12
> Tottori Big Ship
> 
> 1. Masanobu Fuchi vs. Manabu Soya
> 2. Ryota Hama & Takumi Soya vs. KAI & Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 3. Suwama, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. Masayuki Kono, Minoru Tanaka & Hiroshi Yamato
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Seiya Sanada vs. Akebono
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea vs. Yutaka Yoshie
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Takao Omori vs. KENSO
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/29/12
> Fukuyama Big Rose
> 
> 1. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Akebono, Ryota Hama & Shuji Kondo
> 2. Masayuki Kono, Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka vs. Seiya Sanada, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato
> 3. Champion Carnival - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Takumi Soya
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea vs. Yuji Okabayashi Image
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block A: Yuji Nagata Image vs. Daisuke Sekimoto Image
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama vs. KENSO
> 
> 
> AJPW, 4/30/12
> Ibara City Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Kaz Hayashi, Sakigake & Shiga BOY vs. Minoru Tanaka, SUSUMU & SEIKI
> 2. Akebono, Ryota Hama & Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Manabu Soya, Yutaka Yoshie & Masanobu Fuchi
> 3. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya vs. Taiyo Kea, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Seiya Sanada vs. Yuji Okabayashi Image
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block A: KENSO vs. Masayuki Kono
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Takao Omori vs. Daisuke Sekimoto Image
> 
> 
> AJPW, 5/2/12
> Niigata Hive
> 
> 1. KENSO vs. Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. KAI & Takumi Soya vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Yamato
> 3. Suwama, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. Masayuki Kono, Minoru Tanaka & Masanobu Fuchi
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Manabu Soya vs. Akebono
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea vs. Seiya Sanada
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Takao Omori vs. Ryota Hama
> 
> 
> AJPW, 5/4/12
> Nagoya International Conference Hall
> 
> 1. Taiyo Kea, Akebono & Takumi Soya vs. Taiyo Kea, Yutaka Yoshie & Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. Seiya Sanada, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Minoru Tanaka
> 3. Champion Carnival - Block B: Manabu Soya vs. Yuji Okabayashi Image
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block A: Masayuki Kono vs. Yuji Nagata Image
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block A: KENSO vs. Ryota Hama
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto Image
> 
> 
> AJPW, 5/5/12
> Matsushita IMP Hall
> 
> 1. Takao Omori & Hiroshi Yamato vs. KENSO & Yasufumi Nakanoueno
> 2. Taiyo Kea, Seiya Sanada & KAI vs. Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Minoru Tanaka
> 3. Champion Carnival - Block B: Akebono vs. Takumi Soya
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Manabu Soya vs. Yutaka Yoshie
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block A: Masayuki Kono vs. Ryota Hama
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama vs. Yuji Nagata Image
> 
> 
> AJPW, 5/6/12
> Takaoka Eco Hall
> 
> 1. KENSO vs. Yoshiaki Yago
> 2. Kaz Hayashi & Minoru Tanaka vs. KAI & Hiroshi Yamato
> 3. Akebono & Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya
> 4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Seiya Sanada vs. Yutaka Yoshie
> 5. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea vs. Manabu Soya
> 6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Takao Omori vs. Masayuki Kono
> 7. Champion Carnival - Block A: Suwama vs. Ryota Hama
> 
> 
> AJPW, 5/7/12 (GAORA TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Champion Carnival - Semi Final:
> 2. Champion Carnival - Semi Final:
> 3. Champion Carnival - Final:


----------



## seabs

*That's awesome then if we get to see everything. Does anyone if nico is available in every country and what the quality of the videos are like on there to stream?*


----------



## Chismo

> The "Rite of Spring" is back! The full cards are below for this year's Champion Carnival. This year, every Carnival match will air in some format whether it be semi-live or digest form on GAORA or live via All Japan's Sun-Smiling internet service http://ch.nicovideo.jp/channel/ch610. Each show will air completely live and free of charge, so if you choose to stay up you can follow this year's edition very closely!


Marking out, bro!


----------



## antoniomare007

shit is beautiful brehs :bron3


----------



## Chismo

YAMATO, SHINGO and few rookies have a new unit - Akatsuki (暁), which means Dawn, or Daybreak.


----------



## smitlick

*Zero1 - Pro Wrestling Beginning - 1/1/11*

*1. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles*
Takuya Sugawara & Kaijin Habu Otoko vs Hikaru Sato & Munenori Sawa
***1/4

*2. World Heavyweight Title*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Ikuto Hidaka
****1/4

*3. New Year's Day Special Six Man Tag Match* 
Shinjiro Otani & Yoshihiro Takayama & Akebono vs Masato Tanaka & Kohei Sato & Ryouji Sai
***


----------



## antoniomare007

results from Day 1 of the Carnival!



Spoiler: CC results



AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2012", 21.04.2012 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,700 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Yutaka Yoshie & Masanobu Fuchi besiegen Ryota Hama & Yasufumi Nakanoue (13:33) mit einer Diving Body Press von Yoshie gegen Nakanoue.
2. Champion Carnival - Block B: Yuji Okabayashi [2] besiegt Takumi Soya [0] (13:28) mit einem Boston Crab.
3. Champion Carnival - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto [2] besiegt Masayuki Kono [0] (7:08) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
4. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea [2] besiegt Akebono [0] (7:07) nach einem TKO.
5. BUSHI Farewell Match: Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka & Shuji Kondo besiegen KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI (9:50) nach dem Power Plant von Hayashi gegen BUSHI.
6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Yuji Nagata [2] besiegt KENSO [0] (15:37) mit einem Backdrop Hold.
7. Champion Carnival - Block B: Manabu Soya [2] besiegt Seiya Sanada [0] (14:30) nach dem Wild Bomber.
8. Champion Carnival - Block A: Takao Omori [2] besiegt Suwama [0] (19:27) nach einem Axe Bomber.



Here are the next shows times (Eastern Time btw) 



> 4/22: 3am
> 4/23: 6am
> 4/26: 5:30am
> 4/28: 5am
> 4/29: 4am or 6am
> 4/30: 2am
> 5/2: 6am
> 5/4: 4am
> 5/5: 3am
> 5/6: 2am
> 5/7: 6am


----------



## MF83

Yeah, today's is streaming right now! Takumi Soya vs. Seiya Sanada! Get in on it! http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv88775455


----------



## seabs

*Can you only watch them live for free or can you watch them afterwards? Can't figure out how to get them to play.*


----------



## MF83

The streams are live. I believe some are airing on GAORA and others aren't


----------



## MF83

The streams are live. They are making regular shows on GAORA for a few of them but I'm not sure which and what the fate of the rest are. Either way, watching it live was lots of fun with people on other boards.


----------



## MF83

It`s online! http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv88775659


----------



## Chismo

Champion Carnival, Day 2:


Spoiler: Day 2



*AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2012", 22.04.2012
Fujioka Citizen Hall
1,250 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

1. KENSO besiegt Hiroshi Yamato (13:56) mit dem Hagakure.
2. Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka besiegen Taiyo Kea & Manabu Soya (10:34) nach einem Backslide von Tanaka gegen Soya.
3. *Champion Carnival - Block B*: Yutaka Yoshie [2] besiegt Yuji Okabayashi [2] (10:48) mit einer Diving Body Press.
4. *Champion Carnival - Block B*: Seiya Sanada [2] besiegt Takumi Soya [0](11:08) mit dem This Is It.
5. Akebono, Masanobu Fuchi & KAI besiegen Suwama, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo (13:40) nach einer Body Press von Akebono gegen Hayashi.
6. *Champion Carnival - Block A*: Ryota Hama [2] besiegt Daisuke Sekimoto [2] (10:29) mit der Meat Bomb.
7. *Champion Carnival - Block A*: Yuji Nagata [4] besiegt Takao Omori [2] (16:25) mit einem Backdrop Hold.


- Champion Carnival Standings:

Block A:
1. Yuji Nagata [4]
2. Takao Omori [2]
-. Ryota Hama [2]
-. Daisuke Sekimoto [2]
5. Suwama [0]
-. KENSO [0]
-. Masayuki Kono [0]

Block A:
1. Taiyo Kea [2]
-. Manabu Soya [2]
-. Yuji Okabayashi [2]
-. Yutaka Yoshie [2]
-. Seiya Sanada [2]
6. Akebono [0]
-. Takumi Soya [0]





Spoiler: NOAH Global Tag League, Day 7



*NOAH "GLOBAL TAG LEAGUE 2012", 22.04.2012 (G+)
Sapporo Teisen Hall
1,200 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

1. Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegt Kikutaro (8:39) mit einem Horizontal Cradle.
2. Taiji Ishimori besiegt Genba Hirayanagi (10:31) mit einem 450 Splash.
3. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Ricky Marvin & Zack Sabre Jr. (12:54) mit dem Assault Point von Aoki gegen Sabre.
4. Naomichi Marufuji & Mohammed Yone besiegen Takumi Sano & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (14:58) als Marufuji Kikuchi pinnte.
5. Maybach Taniguchi besiegt Go Shiozaki (14:24) nach der Maybach Bomb.
6. *Global Tag League*: Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara [7] besiegen Eddie Edwards & Colt Cabana [2] (16:46) mit einem German Suplex Hold von Miyahara gegen Edwards.
7. *Global Tag League*: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito [8] besiegen Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima [7] (24:48) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Morishima.

- Global Tag League Standings:

1. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito [8]
2. Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima [7]
-. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara [7]
4. Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji [6]
5. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto [4]
6. Go Shiozaki & Tamon Honda [2]
-. Eddie Edwards & Colt Cabana [2]
8. Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi [0]





Spoiler: Dragon Gate



*Dragon Gate "THE GATE OF PASSION 2012", 22.04.2012
Hakata Star Lane
2,000 Fans*

1. BxB Hulk & Fake Naoki Tanisaki besiegen Don Fujii & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa (8:26) nach dem First Flash von Hulk gegen Stalker.
2. YAMATO besiegt Mondai Ryu (6:17) mit dem Galleria.
3. Jimmy Susumu besiet Eita Kobayashi (12:21) mit dem Mugen.
4. Shingo Takagi, Chihiro Tominaga & Super Shenlong III besiegen Super Shisa, Jimmy Kagetora & Kotoka (10:32) mit einer Moonsault Press von Tominaga gegen Kotoka.
5. *Four Way 6-Man Tag Match*: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & Ricochet besiegen CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid und Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee !!, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito & Jimmy Kanda und Akira Tozawa, Cyber Kong & Kzy (37:56).
- Ryo "Jimmy" Saito besiegt Dragon Kid mit einem Dragon Suplex Hold (28:28).
- Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee !! besiegt Akira Tozawa mit dem Backslide from Heaven (32:06).
- Masato Yoshino besiegt Ryo "Jimmy" Saito mit dem Sol Naciente (37:56).



Lineups:



> *Dragon Gate "DEAD OR ALIVE 2012", 06.05.2012 (PPV)
> Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium*
> 
> 1. Super Shisa & Kotoka vs. Rich Swann & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa
> 2. *King of Chop Tournament Final Re-Match*: Eita Kobayashi vs. Fake Naoki Tanizaki
> 3. Akatsuki vs. Mad Blankey Loser Revival Elimination Match: Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, Kzy & Mondai Ryu vs. Shingo Takagi, YAMATO, Chihiro Tominaga & Super Shenlong III
> 4. *Open the Twin Gate Unified Tag Title*: Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii
> 5. *Open the Brave Gate Title*: Ricochet (c) vs. Dragon Kid
> 6. *Open the Triangle Gate Title*: Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Kanda & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! (c) vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & PAC
> 7. *Open the Dream Gate Title*: CIMA (c) vs. Cyber Kong
> 
> With the new unit battleground heating up, the Loser Revives elimination match returns. For those that don't remember, the rules are:
> 
> When a member of your team is eliminated, they can be brought back into the match by eliminating someone from the other team. Using this match as an example; If Tominaga is eliminated, he will be able to return to the match when someone from MB is eliminated. If a team is down two or more and get an elimination they get to pick who revives back to the match. The extra One Hit Comeback stipulation on this match adds captains to the mix. One person on each side will be designated as captain, and the match can be won straight away by eliminating them. Last year in the same venue, Takagi was down 4 against 1 vs. BW but still won the match by getting a pin on DK.
> 
> This event will air on PPV.





> *NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012″, 5/3/12 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center*
> 
> 1. Strong Man, Wataru Inoue, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
> 2. Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo & Taichi
> 3. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
> 4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Low Ki
> 5. *IWGP Tag Team Title*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
> 6. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama
> 7. Special Singles Match: Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1 & Yujiro Takahashi
> 9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto


----------



## MF83

KENSO vs. Sekimoto is about to start. Kea/Takumi was good!


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: NOAH genius






> 7. Global Tag League: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito [8] besiegen Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima [7] (24:48) nach dem Sickle of Death von Saito gegen Morishima.


*SAITO? Fuck off.*


----------



## Bubz

^^^ LOL!

That NJPW card looks really good.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Makes sense.... From the perspective of AJP*W*


----------



## seancarleton77

Now I've got to get into this Champions Carnival!


----------



## TelkEvolon

seancarleton77 said:


> Now I've got to get into this Champions Carnival!


Been meaning to watch it live, but I guess I'll just catch it on the 'Tubes.


----------



## smitlick

*DDT - Sweet Dreams - 30/1/11*

*1. DDT Tokyo Beginning of Fight 2011 Special Tag Match*
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs HARASHIMA & KUDO
***1/2

*2. KO-D Openweight Title Unification Match*
Antonio Honda vs Dick Togo
****1/4


----------



## Zatiel

I'm with Seabs. NOAH? Oh... come on.


----------



## MF83

There are many worse options!

IVP has a FREE 2 disc best of Hero in Japan to DOWNLOAD on their front page.



> Chris Hero/Mazada vs. Ryuji Ito/Daiuske Sekimoto
> Chris Hero & Doug Williams vs. Yoshinori Ota & Mohammed Yone
> Chris Hero/Bobby Fish/Bison Smith vs. Ricky Marvin/Takeshi Rikio/Akitoshi Saito
> Chris Hero & Briscoe Brothers vs. KENTA/Akitoshi Saito/Taiji Ishimori
> Chris Hero -vs- Takashi Okita.
> Chris Hero vs. Go Shiozaki
> Chris Hero vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
> Chris Hero vs. Akihiko Ito
> Chris Hero & Bison Smith & Eddie Edwards vs. Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & Akihiko Ito
> Chris Hero vs. Takashi Suguira
> Chris Hero vs. Kensuke Sasaki


----------



## Caponex75

MF83 said:


> It`s online! http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv88775659


Wait....I can watch Japan wrestling live now?! :mark:


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 29/1/11 - The First Navigation 2011*

1. Akitoshi Saito & Yutaka Yoshie vs Ricky Marvin & Bobby Fish
**

2. Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & KENTA vs Mohammed Yone, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
*3/4

3. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi
***3/4

4. Jun Akiyama, Yoshihiro Takayama & Bison Smith vs Takashi Sugiura, Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki
***1/2

*5. GHC Jr Heavyweight Title*
Kotaro Suzuki vs Eddie Edwards
****1/4


----------



## Bubz

Anything worth watching from the Champions Carnival so far? Night 1 is up on Daily Motion now so I might give it a watch later on.


----------



## Chismo

*Jun Kasai vs. Ryuji Ito (BJW, 11/20/2009)*

Razor Board Deathmatch. WOW is all I can say for this match. I didn't really know too much about Kasai until recently, but the more I watch, the more I see why his status in Japan is legendary. The beginning is very careful, slow and methodic, the middle parts are pretty good, with some cool high spots, but the final chapter is absolutely mind-blowing. Dramatic and exciting. Sick spots, tacks, razors, barbed wire, head-dropping moves, etc. These guys really created something special, and you could feel it at the end. Brilliant deathmatch. Jun Kasai is an absolutely amazing deathmatch wrestler, and works the crowd ala Hulk Hogan. Go watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_w_...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFluY6e9eECaL2nn2b3IDzWc=
*Rating: ****1/4*




Spoiler: CC, Day 3



AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2012", 23.04.2012
Ecos Ageo
380 Fans

1. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Yutaka Yoshie besiegen Masayuki Kono, Minoru Tanaka & Yasufumi Nakanoue (8:20) nach einem Axe Bomber von Omori gegen Nakanoue.
2. Champion Carnival - Block B: Taiyo Kea [4] besiegt Takumi Soya [0] (10:31) mit einem TKO.
3. Champion Carnival - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto [4] besiegt KENSO [0] (13:22) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
4. Suwama, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo besiegen Seiya Sanada, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato (12:48) nach einem Last Ride von Suwama gegen Yamato.
5. Champion Carnival - Block B: Akebono [2] besiegt Yuji Okabayashi [2] (5:50) mit einer Running Body Press.
6. Champion Carnival - Block A: Yuji Nagata [6] besiegt Ryota Hama [2] (9:44) mit dem Nagata Lock.


- Champion Carnival Standings:

Block A:
1. Yuji Nagata [6]
2. Daisuke Sekimoto [4]
3. Takao Omori [2]
-. Ryota Hama [2]
5. Suwama [0]
-. KENSO [0]
-. Masayuki Kono [0]

Block A:
1. Taiyo Kea [4]
2. Manabu Soya [2]
-. Yuji Okabayashi [2]
-. Yutaka Yoshie [2]
-. Seiya Sanada [2]
-. Akebono [2]
7. Takumi Soya [0]


Credit: purolove.com


----------



## antoniomare007

:mark: :mark:

I.NEED.TO.SEE.THIS



Spoiler: Zero1vsBigJapan



*ZERO1 "ZERO1 OVER THE RAINBOW", 24.04.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*

4. ZERO1 vs. BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto besiegen Kohei Sato & Daichi Hashimoto (17:49) nach einem go2sleep von Kazuki gegen Daichi. 












I fucking love Hashimoto on Hashimoto violence.


----------



## seancarleton77

Hey Daichi, the other Hashimoto makes you look like a bitch!


----------



## bigbuxxx

I have no idea who that is but that just makes me want to watch.

Is NJPW's semis and finals of the NJPW cup ever going to come out?


----------



## antoniomare007

seancarleton77 said:


> Hey Daichi, the other Hashimoto makes you look like a bitch!


I'm soooo glad they followed up on the 6 man tag from February. The interaction between the Hashimoto's was awesome and a feud between them could be outstanding. 



bigbuxxx said:


> I have no idea who that is but that just makes me want to watch.


If you watch Strong BJ matches since the 2nd half of 2010 you are gonna find the awesomeness of Kazuki Hashimoto.


----------



## MF83

bigbuxxx said:


> I have no idea who that is but that just makes me want to watch.
> 
> Is NJPW's semis and finals of the NJPW cup ever going to come out?


The RUDOS capper had a recording error I believe and they are releasing a replay or Something "in May". Of course, the usual traders have probably had it since it aired if you wanna pay for it.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> :mark: :mark:
> 
> I.NEED.TO.SEE.THIS
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Zero1vsBigJapan
> 
> 
> 
> *ZERO1 "ZERO1 OVER THE RAINBOW", 24.04.2012
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 4. ZERO1 vs. BJW: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto besiegen Kohei Sato & Daichi Hashimoto (17:49) nach einem go2sleep von Kazuki gegen Daichi.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I fucking love Hashimoto on Hashimoto violence.


Hash vs. Hash is interesting, but Daiskay vs. Sato is real deal.


----------



## Cactus

bigbuxxx said:


> I have no idea who that is but that just makes me want to watch.
> 
> Is NJPW's semis and finals of the NJPW cup ever going to come out?


RUDOS isn't going to release it until May.


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> *Jun Kasai vs. Ryuji Ito (BJW, 11/20/2009)*
> 
> Razor Board Deathmatch. WOW is all I can say for this match. I didn't really know too much about Kasai until recently, but the more I watch, the more I see why his status in Japan is legendary. The beginning is very careful, slow and methodic, the middle parts are pretty good, with some cool high spots, but the final chapter is absolutely mind-blowing. Dramatic and exciting. Sick spots, tacks, razors, barbed wire, head-dropping moves, etc. These guys really created something special, and you could feel it at the end. Brilliant deathmatch. Jun Kasai is an absolutely amazing deathmatch wrestler, and works the crowd ala Hulk Hogan. Go watch this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_w_...DvjVQa1PpcFNCQ81wlyNRFluY6e9eECaL2nn2b3IDzWc=
> *Rating: ****1/4*


I'd go as high as ****1/2 such an iconic deathmatch in my mind, so many wild spots, so much drama and so much violence. Kasai is a legend and has one of the best looks in the business.

Loving that BJW is getting a lot more attention nowadays. Most consistant wrestling promotion in the world, great roster, great variety, great deathmatch, great regular matches and GREAT BRAHMANS! Also, it's just so easy to watch.


----------



## Chismo

TelkEvolon said:


> I'd go as high as ****1/2 such an iconic deathmatch in my mind, so many wild spots, so much drama and so much violence. Kasai is a legend and has one of the best looks in the business.
> 
> Loving that BJW is getting a lot more attention nowadays. Most consistant wrestling promotion in the world, great roster, great variety, great deathmatch, great regular matches and GREAT BRAHMANS! Also, it's just so easy to watch.


Yeah, I might go even higher on a re-watch, it's hard to see every little thing in matches epic like that one.

And YES, Big Japan is balls-to-the-walls awesome, not just in 2011 and 2012. Basically any match from ANY year is good, and if not good, then at least ENTERTAINING, in a beautiful and innocent trashy manner. I admit, I was one of those ignorants ("Deathmatchezzz!~"), but I was open minded and I'm enjoying the hell out of it now. And I have no problems with deathmatches whatsoever now. And I see why their fans worship Kasai, Kobayashi, Ito, Numazawa, BRAHMANS, etc.

Long story short, Big Japan is awesome.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MF83 said:


> The RUDOS capper had a recording error I believe and they are releasing a replay or Something "in May".





Cactus said:


> RUDOS isn't going to release it until May.


Thanks guys.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Nice condensed version of BJW's Strong Climb.


----------



## ThunderAngel

Ganryujima Island Death Match. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito
Does anyone have any ratings for this match and is it worth a watch? Also does anyone know the story behind this match?


----------



## bigbuxxx

can i get some recommendations on Nagata matches? 

i've seen his stuff vs tanahashi, MiSu, the G-1 '11, and w/Iizuka vs Kawada/Fuchi from 12/14/00.


----------



## Yeah1993

Watched Taue/Nagata 6/6/03 again yesterday and it's awesome. Amazing Taue performance especially.


----------



## bigbuxxx

do you have a link to that match? checked google, ditch, youtube, puro media (found a MU file ).


----------



## Yeah1993

I watched it on DVD, but Ditch has it up, you probably looked in the wrong section (it's from NOAH )


----------



## Bubz

*Kobashi vs Honda (NOAH 13/4/03)*
Finally got around to watching it as the d-lo link for it has been down for awhile. Incredible match, and my favorite Kobashi GHC defence right behind the Akiyama match and just edging out the Takayama match. I loved how Kobashi had to change his game plan in the match and actually wrestle on the mat with Honda for the majority. The finishing stretch was so awesome that the crowd, and even myself knowing the result, bought into Honda actually winning which beforehand must have been a ridiculous thought. Kobashi's face after Honda kicked out of the sleeper suplex was one of the best 'you can't be serious? What do I have to do?' faces ever. The crowd wasn't into it that much at the start, because lets face it, nobody would have believed Honda could de-throne Kobashi, but by the end they bought every single move and nearfall from both men. Awesome match. *******


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> I watched it on DVD, but Ditch has it up, you probably looked in the wrong section (it's from NOAH )


thanks. that was a really good match with great performances by both. thought there was no way it would end where it did.


----------



## seabs

*So what time does the All Japan show with Nagata vs Sekimoto start tomorrow UK time?*


----------



## Bubz

Holy shit Nagata/Sekimoto! Sounds interesting to say the least.


----------



## antoniomare007

I'm still not sure if it's at 4am or 6am (ET).


----------



## MF83

It's almost over.

Nagata/Sekimoto was great!


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: NOAH Tag League Finals






> NOAH "GLOBAL TAG LEAGUE 2012", 29.04.2012 (G+)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 2,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Genba Hirayanagi besiegt Masao Inoue (7:13) mit einem Inside Cradle.
> 2. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin (4:55) nach dem Mass Driver von Suzuki gegen Ishimori.
> 3. Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegt Zack Sabre Jr. (5:22) mit dem Touch Out.
> 4. Global Tag League: Eddie Edwards & Colt Cabana [5] besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi [0] (6:07) als Taniguchi disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Global Tag League: Go Shiozaki & Tamon Honda [6] besiegen Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara [7] (14:38) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Miyahara.
> 6. Global Tag League: Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima [11] besiegen Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto [6] (20:34) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Hashimoto.
> 7. Global Tag League: Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji [11] besiegen Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito [10] (18:58) nach einem Frankensteiner von Marufuji gegen Saito.
> 8. Global Tag League - Final: Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Takeshi Morishima & Katsuhiko Nakajima (14:11) als Yone Morishima nach einem Shinsei Muscled King pinnte.


*At least they drew a good crowd for it.*



*Nagata vs Sekimoto was great I thought too. Some selling issues but ok. What I expetced and hoped for. These 2 have got a MOTY in them in front of a hot Korakuen crowd. Hopefully Sekimoto refusing Nagata's hand after leads to something in All Japan but came off more as Sekimoto being a douche and a bad loser.

Okabayashi/Kea went 30 minutes. Was painfully obvious after 15 minutes they were doing a time limit draw. First 10 minutes was just restholds and a lot of the match was restholds actually.*


----------



## Bubz

Okabayashi imo isn't ready to wrestle a 30 minute match with someone like Kea who also shouldn't be wrestling matches at that length.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate Infinity 207 - 23/1/11*

1. Masaaki Mochizuki vs Ryo Saito
***1/4

2. BxB Hulk vs Cyber Kong
***1/2

3. CIMA, Gamma & Naruki Doi vs K-ness, Masato Yoshino & Susumu Yokosuka
***1/2

*Dragon Gate Infinity 208 - 6/2/11*

*1. Open The Brave Gate Title*
PAC vs Naoki Tanizaki
***1/2

*2. Open The Twin Gate Title*
Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii vs Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito
****


----------



## antoniomare007

is anyone on youtube or dailymotion upping this Carnival shows?


----------



## Cactus

Who's bright idea was it to give Maybach Taniguchi ZERO wins in the tag league? You know, the guy who's getting a GHC title shot in a few days? Dude has no momentum what so ever right now. NOAH booking, you crazy.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Cactus said:


> Who's bright idea was it to give Maybach Taniguchi ZERO wins in the tag league? You know, the guy who's getting a GHC title shot in a few days? Dude has no momentum what so ever right now. NOAH booking, you crazy.


Didn't he beat the shit out of everyone with CHAIRZ~?


----------



## smitlick

*BJW - 27/10/01 - Award Tour 2001*

The Wifebeater & Mad Man Pondo vs Zandig & Van Hammer
***

*BJW - 25/11/01 - Crossover 2001*

1. Nick Gage & Trent Acid vs Ruckus & Justice Pain
**1/2

2. Zandig vs The Winger
*

*3. Daisuke Sekimoto Flame Series 4th*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs The Wifebeater
**1/2

4. Jun Kasai & BADBOY Hido vs Shadow WX & Mad Man Pondo
**


----------



## Bubz

antoniomare007 said:


> is anyone on youtube or dailymotion upping this Carnival shows?


Senor Lariato on Dailymotion is. He had the first show up a few days ago.


----------



## seabs

antoniomare007 said:


> is anyone on youtube or dailymotion upping this Carnival shows?


*Doubt anyone's gonna rip the live feed off nico. It's a shame they don't show replays of them. I guess GAORA will show a Cha,pions Carnival special but everything will most likely be clipped to a few minutes. Odd that this years tournament is bigger but they only get the first and last day aired on TV as opposed to last years when every match was aired.*


Cactus said:


> Who's bright idea was it to give Maybach Taniguchi ZERO wins in the tag league? You know, the guy who's getting a GHC title shot in a few days? Dude has no momentum what so ever right now. NOAH booking, you crazy.


*He got DQ'd in ever match. He usually let the match go 10 minutes before getting DQ'd too. Just to be nice. Wrestlers don't care about the rules is never a good storyline in wrestling. *


----------



## Bubz

Go Shiozaki vs Maybach Taniguchi from the 22/04/12 NOAH show was really good if a little slow in the middle. Maybach is booked like a real heel which is good, but I still find him bland as hell even with his new gimmick and attire.


----------



## rafz

Misawa Mitsuharu vs. WWE Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis - AJPW 28/02/1998

_WOW! That was a amazing contest, first time I see Big Johnny in a singles match and man that was awesome, great combination of several Ace's Crusher from everywhere with a great performance by Misawa as usual._

*****1/2*


----------



## Yeah1993

Waatched a few big NOAH matches yesterday.

Kobashi/Akiyama 7/10/04- Still overrated. Not a great match at all. I just don't see it.

Kobashi/Akiyama 12/23/00- Why is it when the 04 match is brought up no one goes 'HEY, this one SMOKES it'? Because it does. Fantastic match, and unless my re-watch of Misawa/Takayama 4/01 makes me think otherwise, this is the second greatest match in NOAH history. There were a couple parts of this I didn't like, but it's just an outstanding match that I'd never watched before.

Kobashi/Takayama 4/25/04- Aaaaaaaaand this is the GREATEST match in NOAH history.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: CC



*AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2012", 30.04.2012
Ibara City Gymnasium
850 Fans
*
1. Akebono & Ryota Hama besiegen Manabu Soya & Yasufumi Nakanoue (9:56) nach einer Meat Bomb von Hama gegen Nakanoue.
2. Minoru Tanaka, SUSUMU & SEIKI besiegen Kaz Hayashi, Shisa BOY & Sakigake (13:23) nach dem HEAT Clutch von Tanaka gegen Hayashi.
3. Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Masanobu Fuchi besiegen Taiyo Kea, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato (13:45) nach einem Last Ride von Suwama gegen Yamato.
4. *Champion Carnival - Block A*: Masayuki Kono [4] besiegt KENSO [2] (13:11) mit einem Giant Kneedrop.
5. *Champion Carnival - Block B*: Seiya Sanada [6] besiegt Yuji Okabayashi [3] (15:45) mit dem This Is It.
6. *Champion Carnival - Block A*: Daisuke Sekimoto [6] besiegt Takao Omori [2] (21:12) mit einem German Suplex Hold.






Yeah1993 said:


> Waatched a few big NOAH matches yesterday.
> 
> *Kobashi/Akiyama 7/10/04- Still overrated. Not a great match at all. I just don't see it.*
> 
> Kobashi/Akiyama 12/23/00- Why is it when the 04 match is brought up no one goes 'HEY, this one SMOKES it'? Because it does. Fantastic match, and unless my re-watch of Misawa/Takayama 4/01 makes me think otherwise, this is the second greatest match in NOAH history. There were a couple parts of this I didn't like, but it's just an outstanding match that I'd never watched before.
> 
> Kobashi/Takayama 4/25/04- Aaaaaaaaand this is the GREATEST match in NOAH history.


----------



## Bubz

KENSO needs to get the hell out of a CC tournament. He's awful.


----------



## seabs

*Richards hasn't made it to Japan in time for him and Romero to defend the belts on the 3/5 PPV against Liger/Tiger Mask IV so New Japan have vacated the belts. Can't make out from the translation if it's a traffic accident he's had or a problem with his flight. He still has the physical belt in the US too. Gedo's been added to the match in his place and it's non title.

Upcoming Z1 cards*


> ZERO1 "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S", 10.05.2012
> Hakodate Citizen Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Raideen & Masaki Ikeda vs. Nick Primo & Marcus Bean
> 2. Ikuto Hidaka, Craig Classic & Menso~re Oyaji vs. Takafumi Ito, Takuya Sugawara & Mineo Fujita
> 3. Masato Tanaka & Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs. Mikey Broderick & Sean O'Shea
> 4. Sai vs. Hashimoto First Singles Confrontation: Ryouji Sai vs. Daichi Hashimoto
> 5. Shinjiro Otani & Shito Ueda vs. Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE
> 
> 
> ZERO1 "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S", 13.05.2012
> Sapporo Teisen Hall
> 
> 1. Shito Ueda & Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs. Nick Primo & Masaki Ikeda
> 2. Ryouji Sai & Raideen vs. Tomoaki Honma & Marcus Bean
> 3. Jr. Special Tag Match: Ikuto Hidaka & Menso~re Oyaji vs. Takafumi Ito & Mineo Fujita
> 4. International Jr. Heavyweight Title & NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Takuya Sugawara (c) vs. Craig Classic
> 5. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title: Masato Tanaka & Zeus vs. Mikey Broderick & Sean O'Shea
> 6. Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE
> 
> 
> ZERO1 "ZERO1 POWERxPOWERExPOWER", 16.05.2012
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. ZERO1 vs. BJW: Daichi Hashimoto & Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs. Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto
> 2. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title: Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora (c) vs. Takafumi Ito & Mineo Fujita
> 3. Shinjiro Otani, Ryouji Sai & Zeus vs. Kohei Sato, KAMIKAZE & Tomoaki Honma
> 4. ZERO1 vs. NOAH Special Tag Match: Masato Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori
> 5. World Heavyweight Title vs. NWA World Premium Heavyweight Title: Akebono (c) vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (c)
> 
> 
> ZERO1 "THE PREMIUM BATTLE IN KOBE", 27.05.2012
> Kobe ***** Hall
> 
> 1. Alexander Otsuka vs. Yoshikazu Yokoyama
> 2. Jr. Special Tag Match: Magnitude Kishiwada & Craig Classic vs. Takuya Sugawara & Mineo Fujita
> 3. NWA United National Heavyweight Title: Shito Ueda (c) vs. Yusaku Obata
> 4. THE BIG "DAN" GUNS First Kansai Landing: Masato Tanaka, Zeus & The Bodyguard vs. Kohei Sato, Ryouji Sai & KAMIKAZE
> 5. Special Tag Match: Shinjiro Otani & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Daichi Hashimoto


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, it sucks for Davey.


> “No Remorse Corps” Davey Richards & Rocky Romero have been forced to vacate the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title after Richards was involved in a traffic accident that has made his trip to Japan impossible. He is off upcoming shows and as mentioned the title is vacant but it won’t be decided tomorrow, with the undercard being adjusted to have normal matches instead. New Japan will announce a playoff for the vacant belts at a later date.
> 
> 
> *NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012″, 5/3/12 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center*
> 
> 1. Strong Man, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Jado & Tomohiro Ishii
> 2. Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo & Taichi
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Rocky Romero & Gedo
> 4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Low Ki
> 5. *IWGP Tag Team Title*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
> 6. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama
> 7. Special Singles Match: Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka ZERO1 & Yujiro Takahashi
> 9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto





> *DRAGON GATE
> 5/6/2012 Aichi, Aichi Prefectural Gym ~ DEAD or ALIVE 2012*
> 1. Super Shisa, Kotoka vs. Rich Swann, Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa
> 2. KING OF CHOP Finals Return Match: Eita Kobayashi vs. Nakoi Tanisaki
> 3. Akatsuki vs. MAD BLANKEY Loser Revives One Hit Comeback Elimination Match: Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, Kzy, Mondai Ryu vs. YAMATO, Shingo Takagi, Chihiro Tominaga, Super Shenlong III
> 4. *Open the Twin Gate*: Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kagetora vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii
> 5. *Open the Brave Gate*: Ricochet vs. Dragon Kid
> 6. *Open the Triangle Gate*: Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Kanda, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, PAC
> 7. *Open the Dream Gate*: CIMA vs. Cyber Kong
> 
> 
> *5/10/2012 Tokyo, Korakuen Hall
> -King of Gate 2012 A Block First Round-*
> Akira Tozawa vs. Naruki Doi
> Masato Yoshino vs. BxB Hulk
> Jimmy Susumu vs. Dragon Kid
> YAMATO vs. Shingo Takagi
> 
> *5/11/2012 Kanagawa, Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse
> -King of Gate 2012 B Block 1st Round-*
> Don Fujii vs. Mondai Ryu
> Cyber Kong vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!
> Eita Kobayashi vs. Kzy
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Jimmy Kanda





> *5. Special Tag Match: Shinjiro Otani & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Daichi Hashimoto*


:jordan2:kanye:balo


----------



## Bubz

Seabs said:


> *Richards hasn't made it to Japan in time for him and Romero to defend the belts on the 3/5 PPV against Liger/Tiger Mask IV so New Japan have vacated the belts. Can't make out from the translation if it's a traffic accident he's had or a problem with his flight. He still has the physical belt in the US too. Gedo's been added to the match in his place and it's non title.I]*


_

Ah fuck. Was really looking forward to that. NRC tag matches in NJ are usually really fun, and especially with Liger in there to. Not looking forward to it anywhere near as much now._


----------



## Manu_Styles

It suck for him. He seems to be very proud of the title carrying it around everywhere he goes


----------



## seabs

_*Shit I forgot that Dragon Gate PPV was this weekend. Fallen right behind on DG this year. CIMA/Kong really doesn't interest me as a main event but matches 3-6 look strong.

Insane weekend of Puro starting with the New Japan PPV, DG PPV, Big Japan 5/5 show which still looks great even with Daisuke/Yuji vs Kasai/Namazawa being replaced with Daisuke/Yuji vs Brahmans and then the last few days of Champions Carnival with Suwama vs Sekimoto and Nagata and then the final day. Fuck. I've still got the last 2 Big Japan showw to watch too.

Edit: oh fuck Ibushi vs Generico is on the 4th too. :mark:*_


----------



## seancarleton77

Takayama & Daichi against Otani sounds good, Marufuji should do fine permitting he keeps his offence reality based.

Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Rocky Romero & Gedo - Well that match was just greatly improved! No Davey, no problem.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah1993 said:


> Kobashi/Takayama 4/25/04- Aaaaaaaaand this is the GREATEST match in NOAH history.


Watched this this morning for the second time in a week and it truly is a fantastic match. If only NOAH crowds could get a buzz like that going for main events nowadays.

I'm a big fan of 11/5/05 Kenta Kobashi/Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima and Go/KENTA vs Sasaki/Nakajima from 6/22/09.

Haven't watched Misawa/Takayama in a long long time and will give that a look tonight or tomorrow.


----------



## Yeah1993

bigbuxxx said:


> I'm a big fan of 11/5/05 Kenta Kobashi/Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima


I'll probably be watching this, Misawa/Kobashi 03 and Kobashi/Sasaki 05 today. Never seen Kobashi/Sasaki, should be interesting.


----------



## Bubz

That 05 NOAH tag is awesome, but I'm sure I remember prefering the match with KENTA in place of Go.


----------



## Scavo

NJPW Results:



Spoiler: NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012



*NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012", 03.05.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Fukuoka International Center*

1. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado besiegen Strong Man, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (7:12) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster von Ishii gegen Tonga.
2. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA (8:16) mit eibem Gedo Clutch von Taichi gegen KUSHIDA.
3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask besiegen Gedo & Rocky Romero mit einem Crucifix Hold von Tiger gegen Gedo.
4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Low Ki besiegt Prince Devitt (c) mit dem Ki Krusher '99 - Titelwechsel.
5. *IWGP Tag Team Title:* Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) (16:47) mit dem Oni Koroshi von Yano gegen Kojima - Titelwechsel.
6. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama besiegen Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe (13:43) nach einem Gotch-Style Piledriver von Suzuki gegen Makabe.
7. Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Karl Anderson (12:15) nach dem Boma Ye.
8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi (13:59) mit dem High Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen Takahashi.
9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title:* Kazuchika Okada (c) besiegt Hirooki Goto (24:55) nach dem Rainmaker (2nd defense).

*Notizen:*
- Hiroshi Tanahashi forderte Kazuchika Okada zu einem Titelmatch heraus!





Spoiler: random



Low Ki wins, lol.



Credit to _purolove.com_


----------



## Bubz

Scavo said:


> NJPW Results:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012
> 
> 
> 
> *NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012", 03.05.2012 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center*
> 
> 1. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado besiegen Strong Man, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (7:12) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster von Ishii gegen Tonga.
> 2. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA (8:16) mit eibem Gedo Clutch von Taichi gegen KUSHIDA.
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask besiegen Gedo & Rocky Romero mit einem Crucifix Hold von Tiger gegen Gedo.
> 4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Low Ki besiegt Prince Devitt (c) mit dem Ki Krusher '99 - Titelwechsel.
> 5. *IWGP Tag Team Title:* Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) (16:47) mit dem Oni Koroshi von Yano gegen Kojima - Titelwechsel.
> 6. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama besiegen Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe (13:43) nach einem Gotch-Style Piledriver von Suzuki gegen Makabe.
> 7. Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Karl Anderson (12:15) nach dem Boma Ye.
> 8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi (13:59) mit dem High Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen Takahashi.
> 9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title:* Kazuchika Okada (c) besiegt Hirooki Goto (24:55) nach dem Rainmaker (2nd defense).
> 
> *Notizen:*
> - Hiroshi Tanahashi forderte Kazuchika Okada zu einem Titelmatch heraus!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: random
> 
> 
> 
> Low Ki wins, lol.
> 
> 
> 
> Credit to _purolove.com_





Spoiler: NJPW



Really didn't expect the Jr title result!


----------



## bigbuxxx

BUBZ said:


> That 05 NOAH tag is awesome, but I'm sure I remember prefering the match with KENTA in place of Go.


I had forgot about this match. That is also A++.

Thanks for putting the NJPW results in spoilers. :gun::gun::cuss: @ the Lo Ki topic.


----------



## Chismo

Scavo said:


> NJPW Results:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012
> 
> 
> 
> *NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012", 03.05.2012 (WPW/PPV)
> Fukuoka International Center*
> 
> 1. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado besiegen Strong Man, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (7:12) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster von Ishii gegen Tonga.
> 2. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA (8:16) mit eibem Gedo Clutch von Taichi gegen KUSHIDA.
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask besiegen Gedo & Rocky Romero mit einem Crucifix Hold von Tiger gegen Gedo.
> 4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Low Ki besiegt Prince Devitt (c) mit dem Ki Krusher '99 - Titelwechsel.
> 5. *IWGP Tag Team Title:* Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) (16:47) mit dem Oni Koroshi von Yano gegen Kojima - Titelwechsel.
> 6. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama besiegen Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe (13:43) nach einem Gotch-Style Piledriver von Suzuki gegen Makabe.
> 7. Special Singles Match: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Karl Anderson (12:15) nach dem Boma Ye.
> 8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi (13:59) mit dem High Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen Takahashi.
> 9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title:* Kazuchika Okada (c) besiegt Hirooki Goto (24:55) nach dem Rainmaker (2nd defense).
> 
> *Notizen:*
> - Hiroshi Tanahashi forderte Kazuchika Okada zu einem Titelmatch heraus!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: random
> 
> 
> 
> Low Ki wins, lol.
> 
> 
> 
> Credit to _purolove.com_





Spoiler: New Japan



...aaand, Goto fails again. But I'm somehow glad Okada is still the champ, bcuz Okada/Tana II could be BALLS AWESOME.

Totally shocked to see Lol Ki winning the title now, tbh. I guess he feuds with Ibushi now, which is good.

Didn't see TenKoji losing their titles either. But ok, I guess... Yano and Iizuka are two helluva heels.

The matches under 6, 7 and 8 look very attractive, I'm glad MiSu and BIG TAK won. Since Shinskay won, can't wait to see a rubber match between him and Anderson.

The main event - like I said, Goto fails yet again. Can't wait to see that match. Okada is on fire this year, let's see how he works with Goto.


----------



## antoniomare007

I'm so uninterested in New Japan Junior division it's not even funny *shrugs*


It seems that the new Strong BJ Title is gonna be an interpromotional one. BJW, wXw and CZW's logos are on the belt.


----------



## Manu_Styles

Strong BJ Title..Sekimoto more in the US and Europe is a must


----------



## antoniomare007

Yoshihito (as the Strong Climb winner) and Big Van Walter are gonna face to determine the first champion so it's probably gonna be a while before Daisuke gets to hold the belt.


----------



## seabs

_*Sasaki/Walter is gonna be amazing if the crowd are hot enough and give Walter enough heat.

Okabayashi/Soya from CC today was awesome. Really terrific powerhouse match with both guys really stepping up. Nagata/Kono was ight and Suwama/Sekimoto was disappointing but picked up at the end. Okabayashi/Soya more than made up for it though.*_


----------



## antoniomare007

yeah, Yoshihito is gonna get destroyed (again, lol) so if the Yokohama crowd rallies behind him it could be something similar to the MOTY that was Sasaki vs Sekimoto.


----------



## smitlick

*Zero1 - 17/2/11 - Go For The Birth*

1. Ikuto Hidaka, Minoru Fujita & Munenori Sawa vs Takuya Sugawara, Daijiro Matsui & Diamond Konley
***3/4

2. Masato Tanaka vs Fujita "Jr" Hayato
***3/4

*3. World Heavyweight Title*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs KAMIKAZE
***1/2

*NOAH - 19/2/11 - The Navigation Saturday 2011 in Maebashi*

1. Kotaro Suzuki & Taiji Ishimori vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
***1/4

2. Naomichi Marufuji vs Ricky Marvin
**1/2

3. Mohammed Yone, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara
***


----------



## Thomazbr

Wasn't Sawa retired or something like that?
I miss his matches at EVOLVE


----------



## antoniomare007

Thomazbr said:


> Wasn't Sawa retired or something like that?
> I miss his matches at EVOLVE


He is.


----------



## Thomazbr

Oh my bad.
i thought that match was from 2012


----------



## seabs

*Nagata/Suwama today was fucking terrific. Some selling issues such as Nagata totally ignoring that awesome ankle lock segment but the drama and the near falls more than made up for it. Helped watching it live, not knowing and actually caring about the winner. Top 5 for this year so far. ****1/4*


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate Infinity 209*

1. Dragon Kid & Ricochet vs Super Shisa & PAC
***

2. Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk & Susumu Yokosuka vs CIMA, Naruki Doi & Gamma
***1/2

*Zero1 - 6/3/11 - 10th Anniversary - Pro Wrestling*

*1. NWA Jr Heavyweight Title*
Craig Classic vs Munenori Sawa
**3/4

*2. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Titles*
Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE vs Steve Corino & Atsushi Sawada
**1/2

*3. Destructive Prince Daichi Hashimoto Debut Match*
Masa Chono vs Daichi Hashimoto
***1/4

*4. ZERO1 vs New Japan*
Masato Tanaka vs Yuji Nagata
***3/4

*5. World Heavyweight Title*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Ryouji Sai
***1/4

6. Yoshihiro Takayama vs Shinjiro Otani
***1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

Big Japan's "Endless Survivor" show results:



Spoiler: 1st Strong BJ champ is...



BJW "ENDLESS SURVIVOR", 05.05.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
1,650 Fans

1. BJW vs. ZERO1: Kazuki Hashimoto, Takumi Tsukamoto & Masashi Otani besiegen Shito Ueda , Daichi Hashimoto & Nick Primo (11:20) nach einem PK von Hashimoto gegen Primo.
2. Makoto Oishi , Shiori Asahi & Masaki Okimoto besiegen Mototsugu Shimizu, Jun Ogawauchi & Amigo Suzuki (6:44) nach dem Cactus Flower von Oishi gegen Shimizu.
3. Osamu Nishimura besiegt Shinya Ishikawa (12:10) mit einem Reverse Figure-Four Leglock.
4. Hardcore Match: "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka besiegen Masashi Taketa, Saburo Inematsu & Shinobu (14:03) nach einem GOD-Style Piledriver auf einen Stuhl von Numazawa gegen Shinobu.
5. Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Ryuji Ito, Takashi Sasaki & Ryuji Yamakawa besiegen Shadow WX, Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba (19:39) nach einem Reverse Tiger Driver auf ein Barbed Wire Board von Yamakawa gegen Inaba.
6. *All Asia Tag Team Title:* Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) besiegen Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (18:49) nach einem Golem Splash von Okabayashi gegen Shu (4th defense).
7. *BJW Strong Heavyweight Title, Decision Match:* Yoshihito Sasaki besiegt Big Van Walter (15:40) mit einem Lariat - Titelwechsel.
8. *BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title, 306 Fluorescent Lighttubes & Free Weapons Death Match:* Abdullah Kobayashi (c) besiegt Shuji Ishikawa (20:43) mit dem Diving Bakachinga Elbow Drop (2nd1st defense).



another awful attendance in Yokohama, but at least the show sounds fun.


----------



## antoniomare007

oh, and a jam packed Korakuen Hall watched Ibushi's return match against El Generico










:mark:


----------



## 2K JAY

Low-Ki is the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champ. So happy about this!


----------



## smitlick

*Zero1 - 27/3/11 - Yasukuni Shrine Festival*

*1. NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Titles* 
Takuya Sugawara & Kaijin Habu Otoko vs Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa
***1/4
Sawas scarf is amazing

*2. Hounou Pro-Wrestling Special Tag Match*
Big Van Vader & Jesse White vs Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto
***1/2

3. Ryouji Sai & Kohei Sato vs Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto
***1/2


*Osaka Pro - 26/3/11 - Spring Samba Series*

1. Zeus & The Bodyguard vs Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
***1/4

*2. Special Six Man Tag Match*
Billy Ken Kid, Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada vs Kuuga, Orochi & Tadasuke
***


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: CC Semis



Nagata vs Kea
Suwama vs Akebono

Praying this means we get Nagata vs Suwama as the final. Should be incredible as the final in Korakuen. Their match the other day rocked and their CC match last year was awesome too. I'd be really disappointed if Akebono beat Suwama. I love Akebono but the quality of the final would really drop if he beats Suwama. Nagata/Kea is surely am obvious outcome. Kea beating Soya on the last day to earn that spot was odd. Soya would have benefited tons from losing to Nagata in the semi of his debut CC. Both semis should be fun matches if they don't go too long over 10 min. Fine with either Nagata or Suwama winning and facing Akiyama. Probably be Suwama so they can do Suwama/Akiyama II, plus Nagata won last year and having the same outsider win two years in a row would be strange.



Final streams live on nico tomorrow. Starts at 11am UK time. Airs on GAORA so it'll probably be in the media forum later that day too.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

When is NJPWs latest ppv going to be released?


----------



## seancarleton77

Kea is terrible in anything that goes over 15, let's hope he didn't make it to the semis and Akebono & Suwama did.


----------



## seabs

bigbuxxx said:


> When is NJPWs latest ppv going to be released?


*Looks like RUDOS missed it again so who knows. Maybe someone else will upload it like the good old days.

BOSJ blocks and cards*


> New Japan Pro-Wrestling - "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~"
> 
> Block A:
> - Prince Devitt
> - Jushin Thunder Liger
> - Gedo
> - KUSHIDA
> - BUSHI
> - Taichi
> - PAC
> - Rocky Romero
> - Angel de Oro
> 
> Block B:
> - Tiger Mask
> - Davey Richards
> - Ryusuke Taguchi
> - Jado
> - Low Ki
> - TAKA Michinoku
> - Black Tiger
> - Alex Kozlov
> - Daisuke Sasaki
> 
> NJPW, 27.05.2012 (Asahi Newstar)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Alex Kozlov
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Low Ki
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Davey Richards
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Taichi vs. Angel de Oro
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. KUSHIDA
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. PAC
> 
> 
> NJPW, 28.05.2012
> Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Black Tiger vs. Alex Kozlov
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Davey Richards
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Taichi
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Gedo
> 
> 
> NJPW, 30.05.2012
> Shinshu Sky Park Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado vs. Alex Kozlov
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Black Tiger vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Gedo vs. Angel de Oro
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Taichi vs. PAC
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Rocky Romero
> 
> 
> NJPW, 31.05.2012
> Well Sunpia Tsuruga
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Davey Richards vs. Black Tiger
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jado
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Gedo vs. BUSHI
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Angel de Oro
> 
> 
> NJPW, 01.06.2012
> Iwade Municipal Citizen Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado vs. Black Tiger
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Alex Kozlov
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: PAC vs. Angel de Oro
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. BUSHI
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Taichi
> 
> 
> NJPW, 02.06.2012 (J Sports)
> Kyoto KBS Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Davey Richards vs. Alex Kozlov
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki vs. Black Tiger
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. PAC
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Gedo
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rocky Romero
> 
> 
> NJPW, 03.06.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> Akashi Municipal Industrial Exchange Center
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Low Ki
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Gedo vs. PAC
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Angel de Oro
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. KUSHIDA
> 
> 
> NJPW, 05.06.2012
> Kasukabe Convention Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Davey Richards vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado vs. Low Ki
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Black Tiger
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Rocky Romero vs. PAC
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Gedo vs. Taichi
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: BUSHI vs. Angel de Oro
> 
> 
> NJPW, 06.06.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Alex Kozlov
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki vs. Davey Richards
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TAKA Michinoku
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Rocky Romero vs. Angel de Oro
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Taichi
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. BUSHI
> 
> 
> NJPW, 07.06.2012
> Tochigi Bunka Center Sub Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Daisuke Sasaki
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado vs. Davey Richards
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Alex Kozlov
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Gedo vs. Rocky Romero
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: BUSHI vs. Taichi
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Angel de Oro
> 
> 
> NJPW, 09.06.2012
> Nagoya International Conference Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Black Tiger
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki vs. Alex Kozlov
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Davey Richards
> 4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Jado
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Rocky Romero vs. Taichi
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: BUSHI vs. PAC
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Gedo
> 8. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Prince Devitt
> 
> 
> NJPW, 10.06.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Semi Final:
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Semi Final:
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Final:


*They haven't listed a PAC/Devitt match but I'm assuming that will happen on the 6/6 show and they just missed it. Block B looks so weak. Not super hyped about the tournament as a whole but Liger's got some potentially great matches with BUSHI, KUSHIDA, PAC & Devitt. Can't see anyone other than Devitt/PAC/Davey/Ki/Taguchi advancing.

Also:*


> NJPW "DOMINION 6.16", 16.06.2012 (WPW)
> Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
> 
> 1. IWGP Tag Team Title: Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
> 2. Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki
> 3. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi


*Really want MiSu to move onto something new now. Been stale all this year. Tana/Okada should be great. Wouldn't be shocked if Tanahashi wins the belt back but I think they need to roll with Okada now and have Naito win it after winning G1 this year.*


----------



## xzeppelinfootx

Alot of random things interest me from the Super Juniors schedule. Richards/Low Ki, Michinoku/Kozlov, PAC/KUSHIDA. Maybe not the strongest tournament this year but an interesting one.


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: CC Winner



Kea beat Suwama in the final. 

Baffling outcome. Nobody benefits from it. Kea/Akiyama was done twice last year, once even for Triple Crown. Kea doesn't need push either. Suwama/Nagata would have been an incredible final and was set up nicely by their 30 minute draw in the block. Plus I bet Suwama/Akiyama would draw quite well after their last match. Whatever. Semis and Final were all good matches but nothing memorable or must see. The 2 Trios matches were great though. First for Fuchi being incredible and the second was your typically great Strong BJ tag. Stream died on me for the last minute so I missed the end bar the pin. Felt like a **** match but I'll download the show when it's up and watch the finish.

All Japan booking of the last few tournaments has been really poor. Sanada/KAI vs Funaki/Kono as the Tag League final was odd too and KAI winning the Jr. League as champ only to lose his next title match was odd too.


*


----------



## Bubz

Spoiler: CC Winner



Seriously? wtf. I reall don't like Kea at all, and I don't think he's very good either. Nagata/Suwama would have been so much fucking better. Does anyone care about Kea?


----------



## seancarleton77

Sean Carleton is not amused.


----------



## 777

Curious to see how Angel de Oro fares on the international stage as this year's CMLL representative @ BOSJ. The kid has got some good moves, let's see how he adjusts to the differing styles.


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: CC Winner



Akiyama vs Kea been added to the New Japan/All Japan supershow. Card must surely get better from this point forward.


*


----------



## TasteOfVenom

1994 Super Junior's dvd is for free right now other then shipping and handling.


----------



## smitlick

Actually isn't it just a free download?


----------



## TasteOfVenom

smitlick said:


> Actually isn't it just a free download?


Yeah; but if you can't open iso's you can get it free other then shipping and handling.


----------



## smitlick

Oh ok... Didn't know that he did that. He doesn't seem to advertise that.


----------



## TasteOfVenom

smitlick said:


> Oh ok... Didn't know that he did that. He doesn't seem to advertise that.


When put it in my cart still showed up as free. Granted Shipping and handling is like $6 bucks but that is a flat rate.


----------



## jawbreaker

Where can I get up ons this sweet deal?


----------



## Bubz

94 BOSJ for free? Sounds awesome even though I've already got a few of the matches downloaded.

Anyone else mark for the Akiyama appearance on RAW?


----------



## TasteOfVenom

jawbreaker said:


> Where can I get up ons this sweet deal?


http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=8148


----------



## Bubz

*Taue vs Nagata* from NOAH in 03 is a bloody awesome match. Taue is so good in it and easily the star of the match, but I don't see it as the complete carry job that some poeple do, I think Nagata more than did his fair share to make the match great. I loved his arm work that lead to the finish, something he doesn't do enough of these days to lead up to his arm bar. Great finishing stretch and the start was aweosme too with Taue trying to put Nagata away quickly with his chokeslam. Great stuff, one of Taue's best performances ever and up there with Taue/Kobashi from 04 and Kobashi/Nagata from 03 in terms of each guys best matches in the company. ****1/2

I still prefer Taue/Marufuji from 06 though which is my favourite Taue singles performance and Fuji was carried to his best match ever imo.


----------



## TasteOfVenom

I just got NJPW Super J cup 1994 and puro sampler


----------



## Yeah1993

I don't REALLY think it's one of Taue's best performances ever (which says a lot about him because he was fantastic in it), but it really is awesome. I'll be totally frank- I think this absolutely blows away a lot of the NOAH that people talk as great. Better than Misawa/Kobashi, better than Kobashi/Akiyama (04 on- the 00 one is outstanding), better than Kobashi/Sasaki, better than any tag from NOAH I've seen. It's probably my NOAH MOTY behind Kobashi/Honda, but I'll have to watch more. Still got some "big" NOAH matches from the 2000s to watch.

I finisbhed the IVP NOAH top 25 last week or so. Except for Marufuji/KENTA; disc froze and I have it on other DVDs anyway. But anyway, here's what I thought were the top....seven of the set:

1. Kobashi v Takayama 4/25/04
2. Kobashi v Akiyama 12/23/00
3. Kobashi v Honda 4/13/03
4. Taue v Nagata 6/6/03
5. KENTA v SUWA 9/18/05
6. Kobashi v Taue 10/9/04
7. Misawa v Kobashi 3/1/03


that'll look weird to a lot of people. I was gonna do a top ten, but the bottom three..........little idea what they'd be.


----------



## Bubz

It looks fine to me. It's so long since I saw Kobashi/Akiyama from 00, maybe one of the first puro matches I saw actually, that I can't really remember it. Probably give it a watch soon. The others I would probably agree with actually but in a slightly different order. I would definitely have Kobashi/Akiyama from 04, but I know you don't like that match and I can completely understand why.

I guess this would be my top 10 NOAH matches...

1 Kobashi/Akiyama 04
2 Kobashi/Honda 03
3 Kobashi/Misawa 03
4 Kobashi/Takayama 04
5 Taue/Marufuji 06
6 Taue/Nagata 03
7 Kobashi/Taue 04
8 Kobashi/MiSu 04
9 Go & Kobashi/Nakajima & Sasaki 05
10 Go/Sasaki '10

I had to really think about the last two spots. I think I like Go/Sasaki more than most people.


----------



## EmbassyForever

OK. Just saw the matches between Misawa and Kobashi (all!!). it took long time, but totally worth it. I'm speechless.


----------



## TasteOfVenom

At some point going to get Ultimo Dragon collection


----------



## bigbuxxx

EmbassyForever said:


> OK. Just saw the matches between Misawa and Kobashi (all!!). it took long time, but totally worth it. I'm speechless.


All of them? I still haven't seen but the 1/20/97 and 3/1/03 matches. I've almost exhausted all the 90s AJPW but Kobashi's singles matches and I'll get to those soon. Still haven't seen a Kawada vs Kobashi match so I'm looking forward to those.

Watched the May '96 match of Taue/Kawada vs Akiyama/Misawa and that was great. I'm not a fan of Akiyama nowadays but in this match he was great and I actually felt bad for him (deja vu from cena/lesnar) taking such a beating especially from Kawada. Fantastic match.

Also saw their RWTL match from 96 that wasn't the finals and if I had to throw a star rating on it I'd put it at ****1/2. Akiyama shines again while taking a beatdown and actually went through a table. Misawa also get the holy hell beat out of him.


----------



## EmbassyForever

bigbuxxx said:


> All of them?


Yes


----------



## seabs

*Richards is out of BOSJ due to injuries, replacement TBA.



Spoiler: NOAH Results







NOAH "THE NAVIGATION IN MAY 2012", 09.05.2012 (G+)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,700 Fans

1. Atsushi Kotoge besiegt Zack Sabre Jr. (8:27) mit einem Front Cradle.
2. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste besiegen Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin (11:24) mit einer Dynamic Bomb von Nicholls gegen Marvin.
3. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi (9:06) mit einem German Suplex Hold von Miyahara gegen Hirayanagi.
4. Go Shiozaki, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki besiegen Shinjiro Otani, Ikuto Hidaka & Daichi Hashimoto (19:30) nach einer Short-Range Lariat von Shiozaki gegen Hashimoto.
5. GHC Tag Team Title Skirmish: Akitoshi Saito besiegt Naomichi Marufuji (14:16) nach dem Death Brand.
6. GHC Tag Team Title Skirmish: Jun Akiyama besiegt Mohammed Yone (11:38) nach einem Wrist-Clutch Exploder.
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanamaru besiegt Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) (15:27) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster - Titelwechsel.
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) besiegt Maybach Taniguchi (25:33) nach einem Backdrop (2nd defense).

Click to expand...

Undercard looks interesting at least ....

Kanemaru beating Nakajima is horrible but ok. 1,700 for that card is horrible.



Tokyo Sports reported NOAH are running Sumo Hall 7/22 with NOAH vs All/New Japan matches. Sounds like it could be the closest to actual dream interpomotional matches of the supershows.*


----------



## EmbassyForever

Hey guys have you watched Ryuji Ito vs Yuko Miyamoto from 04.05.2010? (BJJ)
If yes, what's your opinion about this match?


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: uh, oh...



7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanamaru besiegt Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) (15:27) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster - Titelwechsel.


:snrub:Rock2:kobe2



Spoiler: MAYBACH



8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) besiegt Maybach Taniguchi (25:33) nach einem Backdrop (2nd defense).


AAAARGH! Too many minutes here.


----------



## Bubz

Spoiler: GHC Jr Title match



Wait, what? Why? 8*D



Noah vs All/New Japan show has real potential. Whats Akiyama going to do though? Is he more of a NOAH or AJ guy?


----------



## TasteOfVenom

Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone & KENTA (NOAH)
Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW)
Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi [c] vs. CIMA, Don Fujii & Naruki Doi ( Dragon Gate)
200 Light Tubes Death Match for the BJPW Death Match Title: Takashi Sasaki vs. Naoki Numazawa (BJPW)
Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi (AJPW)
Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota (Final Fall Only) (AJW)


So what do ya'll think of this puro sampler lineup?


----------



## antoniomare007

Sekimoto/K.Hashimoto vs Sato/D.Hashimoto was very good. It lacked drama for a MOTYC nomination, it match was more of a showcase for the young guns and their feud with some good spots from the vets thrown in between.

Man, I hope if/when Zero1 books D.Hashimoto vs K.Hashimoto they don't make them go anything longer than 13 minutes. They are pretty great at what they do for such little time as pros, but they are still too raw for having an epic.


----------



## Derek

WeAreTheFallen said:


> Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone & KENTA (NOAH)
> Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW)
> Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi [c] vs. CIMA, Don Fujii & Naruki Doi ( Dragon Gate)
> 200 Light Tubes Death Match for the BJPW Death Match Title: Takashi Sasaki vs. Naoki Numazawa (BJPW)
> Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi (AJPW)
> Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota (Final Fall Only) (AJW)
> 
> 
> So what do ya'll think of this puro sampler lineup?


I got the sampler years ago and it does a great job of giving you a feel for different styles in Puro if you are relatively new to it. I remember it being totally worth the price at the time, so if it is still pretty cheap, it's worth getting imo.


----------



## TasteOfVenom

Derek said:


> I got the sampler years ago and it does a great job of giving you a feel for different styles in Puro if you are relatively new to it. I remember it being totally worth the price at the time, so if it is still pretty cheap, it's worth getting imo.


It was free so it's relatively fair. They had Battlarts with this card for free.

Yuki Ishikawa & Shoichi Funaki vs. Daisuke Ikeda & Katsumi Usuda
Katsumi Usuda vs. Alexander Otsuka
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Shoichi Funaki
Taka Michinoku vs. Minoru Tanaka
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda
Katsumi Usuda vs. Carl Greco
Alexander Otsuka vs. Minoru Tanaka
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Carl Greco
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Ono
Katsumi Usuda vs.Yuki Ishikawa
Daisike Ikeda vs. Katsumi Usuda
Minoru Tanaka vs. katsumi Usuda
Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Naohiro Ishikawa
Minoru Tanaka vs. Shoichi Funaki
Taka Michinoku vs. Minoru Tanaka


----------



## Yeah1993

That's not a card (as in a card for a show), it's disc 1 of a 17 disc a "best of" made by Jeff Lynch. And it's awesome.


----------



## TasteOfVenom

Yeah1993 said:


> That's not a card (as in a card for a show), it's disc 1 of a 17 disc a "best of" made by Jeff Lynch. And it's awesome.


17 discs' holy crap; should have gotten it.


----------



## Yeah1993

Only the frist disc was free, FWIW. but it really is an amazing set.


----------



## smitlick

WeAreTheFallen said:


> Kenta Kobashi, Tamon Honda & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone & KENTA (NOAH)
> Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW)
> Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid & Genki Horiguchi [c] vs. CIMA, Don Fujii & Naruki Doi ( Dragon Gate)
> 200 Light Tubes Death Match for the BJPW Death Match Title: Takashi Sasaki vs. Naoki Numazawa (BJPW)
> Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi (AJPW)
> Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai vs. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota (Final Fall Only) (AJW)
> 
> 
> So what do ya'll think of this puro sampler lineup?


I remember the BJW match being really good.


----------



## EmbassyForever

I just finished watching BJW: Endless Survivor. Man, that was TERRIBLE!!!!
For what all this hype?

Next is AJPW Champions Carnival Final


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - New Year Shining Series - 10/1/11*

1. Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs MAZADA & Minoru
**3/4

*2. Triple Crown*
Suwama vs Taiyo Kea
****

Might be alone in my enjoyment of Suwama/Kea but i really enjoyed it. Only downside in me not rating it higher was the lack of heat for the last 5 or so.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: King Of Gate



*Dragon Gate "KING OF GATE 2012", 10.05.2012 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,700 Fans*

1. Eity Kobayashi & Kotoka besiegen Chihiro Tominaga & Super Shenlong III (3:48) mit einer Moonsault Press von Kobayashi gegen Shenlong.
2. PAC & Rich Swann besiege Jimmy Kagetora & Shisa BOY (8:34) mit einer High-Angle Shooting Star Press von PAC gegen Kagetora.
3. Super Shisa, Kenichiro Arai & K-ness besiegen Jimmy Kanda, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! (9:44) mit dem Yoshi Tonic von Shisa gegen Kanda.
4. *King of Gate - Round 1*: Dragon Kid besiegt Jimmy Susumu (13:26) mit einem World Liner Cutback-Cradle.
5. *King of Gate - Round 1*: YAMATO besiegt Shingo Takagi (13:01) mit einem Sleeper Hold.
6. Open the Triangle Gate #1 Contendership: CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii besiegen Cyber Kong, Naoki Tanisaki & Mondai Ryu (13:07) nach dem Twister von Mochizuki gegen Kong.
7. *King of Gate - Round 1*: Akira Tozawa besiegt Naruki Doi (15:30) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
8. *King of Gate - Round 1*: Masato Yoshino besiegt BxB Hulk (18:40) mit dem Sol Naciente Kai.


----------



## Chismo

...and Brian Kendrick is replacing Davey Richards on BOSJ tournament. Yay...


----------



## TelkEvolon

How predictable.... : P


----------



## seabs

> DDT & DRAGON GATE Joint Production "Come Back DDG", 6/5/2012 [Tue] 18:30 @ Higashinari Citizens Center in Osaka
> 
> (-) Special Dark Match: Micheal Nakazawa [DDT] vs. Stalker Ichikawa [DDT]
> ~ Special Referee: Gorgeous Matsuno
> 
> (-) Danshoku Rumble: Danshoku Dino [DDT], Antonio Honda [DDT], Gorgeous Matsuno [DDT], Don Fujii [DG], Ryo "Jimmy" Saito [DG] & Rich Swann [DG]
> (-) 6 Man Tag: HARASHIMA [DDT], KUDO [DDT] & Shigehiro Irie [Team Dera] vs. Akira Tozawa [DG], Cyber Kong [DG] & Kzy [DG]
> (-) Ken Ohka [DDT] & Masa Takanashi [UNION] vs. Super Shisa [DG] & Shisa BOY [DG]
> (-) Kota Ibushi [DDT] vs. BxB Hulk [DG]
> (-) Sanshiro Takagi [DDT] & Takao Soma [DDT] vs. Masaaki Mochizuki [DG] & Kotoka [DG]
> (-) Kenny Omega [DDT] & Keisuke Ishii [DDT] vs. Shingo Takagi [DG] & YAMATO [DG]
> 
> ~ match order has not been decided.


_*Ibushi paired up with Hulk *_


----------



## Bubz

*Misawa vs Vader - AJPW Triple Crown 2/5/99*
FUCK YEAH! 8*D *******


----------



## antoniomare007

about damn fucking time someone else pimped that match


----------



## TasteOfVenom

I miss Misawa


----------



## Punkhead

Who is that masked wrestler from DDT? His mask looks like tiger or something.


----------



## smitlick

TomasThunder619 said:


> Who is that masked wrestler from DDT? His mask looks like tiger or something.


Thats Super Shisa from Dragon Gate


----------



## rzombie1988

Seabs said:


> _*Ibushi paired up with Hulk *_


Of course. Both are near the top of the company and both attract the girls, which both companies thrive on.


----------



## Cactus

A 2-Disc Dynamite Kid DVD set is now a free download over at IVP Videos.

*Super J Cup - First Stage*

*Super J Cup Opening Round Match*
Dean Malenko vs Gedo
_I'm not one to go on about booking decisions, but fuck, the wrong man won. Who really wants to seeing Gedo in three matches in one night? I'd love to of seen Malenko of advance but it was not the case here. He does manage to carry Gedo to decent match though. Malenko has some slick matwork and he got the time to show it off here._
***3/4*

*Super J Cup Opening Round Match*
Shinjiro Ohtani vs Super Delfin
_I've always heard great things about Ohtani and I can really see why by his showing here. The rookie is going against the much more experienced Delfin and attacks his leg straight after the bell rings and he really rips it apart. A great ruthless rookie performance._
****1/2*

*Super J Cup Opening Round Match*
Black Tiger vs TAKA Michinoku
_A short but really fun spotfest. _
*****

*Super J Cup Opening Round Match*
El Samurai vs Masayoshi Motegi
_One of the two only weak matches on the card. This dragged considering it was only seven minutes._
**1/2*

*Super J Cup Opening Round Match*
Ricky Fuji vs ***** Casas
_The other weak match, but not as bad as the last. I was expecting much more out of *****._
****

*Super J Cup Opening Round Match*
Jushin Liger vs Hayabusa
_Liger carried the debuting Hayabusa to pretty good match. Liger would dominate the most of the match, but Hayabusa would fight back with top-rope attacks. A tactic which would later be the reason for him losing the match._
****1/2*

*Super J Cup Quarter-Final Match*
Super Delfin vs Gedo
_You can see how the current indy scene drew inspiration from this style of wrestling, however this captures the negative side of things such as 2.9 falls overkill and other things._
***1/4*

*Super J Cup Quarter-Final Match*
Wild Pegasus vs Black Tiger
_These two are so crisp and their execution of certain moves are absolutely flawless. This was just a treat to watch. They had the audience in the palms of their hand. Super hot crowd thanks to the impeccable timing of the spots._
****3/4*

*Super J Cup Quarter-Final Match*
Great Sasuke vs El Samurai
_I really wished the legwork went some where in this. For the first 5 minutes, Samurai only worked on Sasuke's leg but Sasuke eventually says 'fuck this' and starts pulling out the Sasuke Specials with ease. This would usually be a major gripe but the spots that followed were so entertaining that I just have to overlook that flaw._
****1/2*

*Super J Cup Quarter-Final Match*
Jushin Liger vs Ricky Fuji
_Fun to see Liger bust out a good portion of his moveset onto a defenseless Fiji but other than that this was pretty forgettable._
***1/2*

*Super J Cup Semi-Final Match*
Wild Pegasus vs Gedo
_A quick and entertaining sprint to finally eliminate that little shit Gedo from this tournament._
*****

*Super J Cup Semi-Final Match*
Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke
_One Liger's best grumpy fucker performance. Even without seeing his face, his body language tells us all. The New Japan Superstar has no time for that indy darling's shit. Liger tears away at Sasuke's arm and adds fuel to Sasuke's comeback. Sasuke's use of his aerial defense to combat Liger looked very believable too and really made the crowd pop. Also features the coolest botch in the history of pro-wrestling and it actually helps the match. What stops this from getting the full five? It probably has to be Sasuke completely devaluing his finisher by not teasing it at all. _
*****1/2*

*Super J Cup Final Match*
Great Sasuke vs Wild Pegasus
_Like his other matches in this tournament, the match is built around Sasuke's comeback. It's a simple formula that makes the crowd go nuts. Sasuke gets beaten down, hits a few high-risk moves and then both men trade beautifully executed and timed spots until it's time to call it a day. However, what stops this from being five stars is the fact I really wished there was something 'deeper' in the match. Something like a callback spot. Call it being over-analytical, but I really need something like that for me to go ***** on a match. _
*****3/4*

*Final Thoughts:*
If you haven't seen this show before, go see it. If you have, see it again. I come go on and say how this event could of been better if guys like Malenko, ***** and Ohtani won a match or two instead of fucking Gedo and Fuji but this show is still one of the best tournaments I have ever seen. ​


----------



## TelkEvolon




----------



## McQueen

If you like Gedo you'll love J-Cup 95


----------



## seabs

rzombie1988 said:


> Of course. Both are near the top of the company and both attract the girls, which both companies thrive on.


*Yeah but Hulk isn't very good and Ibushi would probably have a much better match with a ton of DG guys like SHINGO/YAMATO/Mochi/Tozawa/Fuji*


----------



## superbeasto

Can you guys give me a list of what you think are some of the best Daisuke Sekimoto matches?
Need em for a custom comp that IVP Videos is considering doing


----------



## smitlick

Finally got to see an All Japan Sekimoto/Okabayashi Tag. Slowly working my way through 2011. A little behind.

*All Japan - Excite Series 2011 - 6/2/11*

1. Kaz Hayashi vs Shuji Kondo vs Minoru
***1/2

2. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya
****1/4

3. Suwama & KAI vs Minoru Suzuki & Hiroshi Yamato
***1/4


----------



## rzombie1988

superbeasto said:


> Can you guys give me a list of what you think are some of the best Daisuke Sekimoto matches?
> Need em for a custom comp that IVP Videos is considering doing


Put his matches with Yuji Okabayashi on there. I had their first meeting near *****.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Should just be a Sekimoto/Okabayashi set with their singles matches and tag team matches.


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - 22/11/10*

*1. Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match*
Ryuji Ito & Abdullah Kobayashi vs Masashi Takeda & Takeshi Minamino
**3/4
Missing far to much of the match.

*2. BJW Tag Team Title, Barbed Wire Execution Match*
Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki
***3/4


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> *2. BJW Tag Team Title, Barbed Wire Execution Match*
> Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki
> ***3/4


This was a great match, and their match from April that year is fucking wonderful.


----------



## smitlick

JoeRulz said:


> This was a great match, and their match from April that year is fucking wonderful.


Only reason I didn't give it ****+ was the whole lack of Numazawa doing anything beside beaten the fuck up. His team really shouldn't have won the match.


*Big Japan - Death Vegas - 19/12/10*

*1. Barbed Wire Board Death Match*
Takashi Sasaki, Shadow WX & Kankuro Hoshino vs Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Shinobu
***3/4

*2. Strong BJ* 
Daisuke Sekimoto & Shuji Ishikawa vs Shinya Ishikawa & Yuji Okabayashi
***1/2

*3. Ladder Death Match* 
Jun Kasai vs Masashi Takeda
***1/4

*4. ETC (Extreme, Table, Chair) Death Match* 
Yoshihito Sasaki vs Jaki Numazawa
***1/2

*5. BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title, 450 Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match* 
Ryuji Ito vs Abdullah Kobayashi
***1/2


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH The Navigation in May - Day 2
*
*Atsushi Kotoge vs Zack Sabre Jr.*
_*Rating: *3/4*_

*Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs Ricky Marvin & Taiji Ishimori*
_*Rating: ***_
*
Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara vs Genba Hirayanagi & Yoshihiro Takayama*
_The aging Kenskay and Takayama can be god-awful nowadays if they aren't working with the right guys and this was the case here. Hirayanagi & Miyahara really aren't the guys to carry them to a decent match. Hirayanagi's little MiSu antics were cool but not enough to save this wreck._
_*Rating: **_

*Atsushi Aoki, Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs Daichi Hashimoto, Ikuto Hidaka & Shinjiro Otani*
I really enjoyed this for Go's interactions with Hashimoto and Otani alone. Otani had the hard-to-please crowd in his hands during his slapfest with Go. Daichi and Go had a little thing running where Go shrugged off Baby Hash's kicks and just chopped the tar out of him. Daichi later then no sold 3 of Go's lariats and it just got silly. That topped with the stupid junior stuff from the other three guys ruined my enjoyment and the match unnecessarily going 20 minutes .
_*Rating: **1/4*_

*Akitoshi Saito vs Naomichi Marufuji*
_Pretty fun match. Nothing overly offensive from Marufuji apart from him starting off the match with a superkick. Aside from that, I thought his performance was good, even using his athleticism to spike himself on potential match ending lariats. My only complaint is that I wish the well executed arm work on Saito went somewhere._
_*Rating: ***1/4*_
*
Jun Akiyama vs Mohammed Yone*
_Cool finish but everything else was pretty dull._
_*Rating: **1/2*_

*Katsuhiko Nakajima © vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru - GHC Junior Heavyweight Title*
_All of Nakajima's defenses feel the same and this was no exception, but to say I didn't enjoy this would be lying._
_*Rating: ***1/4*_

*Takeshi Morishima © vs Maybach Taniguchi - GHC Heavyweight Title - No Rules Match*
_Patchy quality to say the least. The brawling portion of the match was fun but the finishing stretch draaaaged. It also didn't help matters that Maybach couldn't pull of most of his moveset on the behemoth that is Morishima._
_*Rating: ****_

*Overall:*
_Another poor showing from NOAH. Avoid._


----------



## EmbassyForever

Just finisihed watching Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong vs Kenta and Oki. It was weird to see Edwards and Strong working as a team, but the match was damn great. Kenta is still awesome and i wish i could see him more. Overall this match was really awesome, the crowd was hot as hell here... ****1/4


----------



## MF83

BUBZ said:


> Spoiler: GHC Jr Title match
> 
> 
> 
> Wait, what? Why? 8*D
> 
> 
> 
> Noah vs All/New Japan show has real potential. Whats Akiyama going to do though? Is he more of a NOAH or AJ guy?


It's All Japan vs New Japan as they have a new relationship and are both in their 40th years as companies. Nagata is staying in All Japan and BUSHI in New Japan so far as part of this deal. I don't think NJ will be having much more contact with NOAH since the Yakuza thing (I'm speculating because of them firing Honma just for having Yakuza connections). I'm not even sure if AJ and NOAH have worked together since, outside of Akiyama who seems to be almost freelancing at this point. 

Yay for Spanky though!


Oh, and that BattlARTS disc is quality.


----------



## smitlick

Catching up on some Infinity

*Dragon Gate - 25/2/11*

CIMA, Gamma & Ryo Saito vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Kenichiro Arai
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - 1/3/11*

1. PAC vs Ricochet
***1/4

2. Yasushi Kanda, Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito vs YAMATO, Cyber Kong, KAGETORA & Shingo Takagi
***1/2

3. Masaaki Mochizuki vs Gamma
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - 4/3/11*

Masato Yoshino, PAC, BxB Hulk & Susumu Yokosuka vs Naruki Doi, Ricochet, CIMA & Naoki Tanizaki
***3/4

*Dragon Gate - 27/3/11*

Ryo Saito & Naoki Tanizaki vs YAMATO & Cyber Kong
***1/4

*Dragon Gate - 12/4/11*

Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito vs YAMATO & Shingo Takagi
****

*Dragon Gate - 14/4/11*

1. CIMA, Ricochet & Dragon Kid vs BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka & PAC
***3/4

2. Masato Yoshino vs Masaaki Mochizuki
***3/4


----------



## Chismo

> *NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN NAGOYA", 03.06.2012 (G+)
> Nagoya Sports Center*
> 
> 1. *NOAH vs. NJPW Special Tag Match*: Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
> 2. *NOAH vs. AJPW Special Six Man Tag Match*: Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Suwama , Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo
> 3. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge
> 4. *GHC Heavyweight Title*: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Akitoshi Saito


Meh... The only match I'm looking forward to is under *2*. That match could be balls awesome.


----------



## smitlick

*Kensuke Office - Take The Dream 2010 in Osaka - 16/10/10*

Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki
***1/4

*New Japan - J Sports Crown - Super J Tag League - 12/11/10*

1. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs Jushin Liger & El Samurai
***

2. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa
***1/4

3. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs NOSAWA & FUJITA
**1/2


EDIT

Also theres a new Puro downloading site out if nobodies seen the link yet its
http://gaijinpuro.us/


----------



## Kotre

Seabs said:


> *Yeah but Hulk isn't very good and Ibushi would probably have a much better match with a ton of DG guys like SHINGO/YAMATO/Mochi/Tozawa/Fuji*


Ibushi is capable of having a good match with a blow up sex doll. I know nothing of BxB Hulk, but I've seen enough of Ibushi to know that just because he could be having a much better match with someone else doesn't mean the match he's got won't still be worth watching.


----------



## MF83

smitlick said:


> Also theres a new Puro downloading site out if nobodies seen the link yet its
> http://gaijinpuro.us/


Yeah, that's the RUDOS person/people.


----------



## Genking48

Is it like smartmark where you pay and you receive a link to direct download or, does it work in some other way?


----------



## Bubz

Anyone watched the New Japan cup final yet? Without spoiling anything, the two guys had a great match last year but I see the match is like 40 minutes long or something and I'm not sure if I could watch these two guys wrestle for that long. I watched Tanahashi/Anderson from the same show and that was pretty good.


----------



## seabs

*It's 25 minutes. It's good but I wasn't into it enough to care about it. I imagine if someone really gets into it then they'd love it. *

*Meiko Satomura vs Aja Kong - Sendai Pro Wrestling 7/9/2006*
_God damn this was incredible. Should finish in my top 20, maybe top 10 if stuff doesn't hold up. Satomura puts in an truly incredible babyface performance and it's complimented by an equally incredible performance from Kong. Kong's basically the Joshi version of Vader and not just in size and ring work but in quality too. Match is laid out and paced amazingly well with Satomura constantly coming back after everything Kong throws at her and managing to throw everything she has back at her. Kong's an incredible monster in the sense that she's not only dominant and looks great at being dominant but this isn't the WWE formula of babyface vs monster where the monster is taken down after a five move comeback. Satomura throws everything she has at Kong and Kong still keeps coming back at her and she looks truly unbeatable. Kong's an awesome bitch in this too, flipping off the crowd and using goofy boxes. There's a spot where Satomura kicks out of a big move and Kong just goes for the box because she doesn't care about playing fair, she just cares about winning. Arm work from Satomura in the beginning pays off big in the end and really tips it over the edge from really good match into classic match. Gets totally forgotten about in the middle but then they do this awesome spot where Kong goes for the elbow off the top and Satomura catches it in an armbar and suddenly the weakening of the arm at the start comes into play and Kong's arm gets really hurt and becomes a problem for the monster. Spot looked nifty as fuck too in the execution. They each kick out of big stuff at the end but it builds to the finish and adds to the character dynamics better and better with each near fall. Satomura looks like a greater babyface everytime she fires back after a near fall and Kong looks even more like a monster when she takes Satomura's best shots and still won't be beaten. Kong's selling of the arm in the last 5 is awe inspiring and she gets the idea of the arm injury slowly toppling the monster as Satomura works on it more and more done perfectly. There's an awesome spot too where Kong uses a spinning back kick right at the end when she's selling her arm rather than using lariats and back fists like she used in that position previously. Bit where she takes her punch glove off and start hitting Satomura with her bare fist because she's desperate to end the match and win by any means possible but Satomura knows she has to take this chance and just rides them out was amazing too. Phenomenal match._

*****3/4*


----------



## DarloKid

quick question do Noah and NJPW release official dvd's and if so where would i buy these from ?


----------



## 777

Just accidentally came across Savage/Liger from New Japan in 96. What an odd little match.


----------



## seabs

DarloKid said:


> quick question do Noah and NJPW release official dvd's and if so where would i buy these from ?


*No. You're best bet is to either download them or wait a month or so for a site like ivpvideos or slambamjam to get the DVD in.*


----------



## Chismo

Does Big Japan release all of their Strong Climb matches on DVD or something? Cuz I really want to see this year's edition in full.


----------



## MF83

Do not go into the NJ Final match with expectations because it's a huge let down. The semi-finals on the other hand... one in particular is my second favourite NJ match this year.


----------



## seabs

JoeRulz said:


> Does Big Japan release all of their Strong Climb matches on DVD or something? Cuz I really want to see this year's edition in full.


*Big Japan do home releases of some shows that don't air on TV but I'm not sure if any of them Strong Climb shows will be. There's a chance but I wouldn't say a big one. You almost definitely wont get all of the matches in complete format. Sucks because Sasaki/Shinobu and Sasaki/Hashimoto looked great from the clipped format they showed on the roundup show.*


----------



## Chismo

> You almost definitely wont get all of the matches in complete format.


Yeah, this sucks.  Same goes for NOAH and their GL and GTL tournaments, and New Japan's BOSJ.


----------



## seabs

*Takashi Sasaki, Abdullah Kobayashi, Shadow WX & MASADA vs Yuki Miyamoto, Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Mens Teioh - BJW 1/2/2007*
_This rocked. Starts off as basically 4 different singles matches all going wild and crazy at once and it's really hot. Eventually calms down to a traditional tag match. Always makes me smirk when Big Japan matches follow legal tag rules and rope breaks. Especially in the hardcore matches. It's for the good of the match though because the Miyamoto story rocked. 1st FIP spell was really good and then he gets the tag and they start shaping up for a FIP segment on the other team but Miyamoto's rookiness catches up with him and ends up stuck in another peril spell of his own. Really dug their twist on a traditional tag match. Everyone looks great in this and I mean everyone and when it's a 8 man tag and everyone looks great in it then it's a fucking great match shitface. Miyamoto definitely stood out as the star though and that's how it was booked so mission acomplished. Super babyface performance on his behalf. Post match Sasaki/Miyamoto fight rocked too and was a great lead in to their title match. _

*****1/4+*

*Takashi Sasaki vs Yuki Miyamoto - BJW 3/14/2007*
_Dug this a lot too but not as much and not enough to consider voting for it. Carries on where it left off in the 8 man with the great Miyamoto underdog story. Once again he looks great in this and he's allowed to look great too more importantly. Thought Sasaki was super making Miyamoto look great but also keeping the established hierarchy of him as champion and Miyamato as the young challenger. Crowd is molten for it too and adds a ton to the match. I understand where Andy was coming from about the finish. Table spot of the scaffold is about as big as you can get and ideally should have been the finish. Didn't personally have a significant problem with it. Gave Miyamoto a huge kickout spot that was a good as a win for him. The other stuff after was nowhere near as big if you like but I saw it as the scaffold spot killed him and then the other 2 spots killed of all the adrenaline he was running off. Scaffold spot would have been better though coming off Miyamoto kicking out of something equally huge to keep that spot. _

******

*KENTA vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 10/29/2006*
_Didn't hold up for me like I was hoping it would but it held up enough for me to put it on my list for now. Thought it was really high end stuff before but now I'd settle on it just being a great juniors match. First half is ok. They start off slow and tentative but it gets the big match feel over and set the second half up quite nicely. Marufuji's initial sell from the kick that causes the rib injury was actually really good. Selling isn't top tier consistent but it's good enough and there's some really nice single spots of selling the ribs. Moonsault spot over the rail is a total disaster. I wonder how many people actually think a spot like matches them like the match more. Take the Armageddon 06 Ladder match for example. Would anyone say the match was worse without Mercury's face exploding or less memorable? Spot fucking sucked for everyone involved but it sticks and makes the match memorable. KENTA's face gets destroyed by Marufuji's trailing leg and because Marufuji got his distances wrong he lands throat first on the rail which looked just as bad KENTA's face. Gets great though in the second half after that spot. Marufuji jumping up to the top rope just to plant KENTA's face on the ring post and then he falls back into the ring was a super spot. KENTA's counter of the sliced bread which led to him just launching Marufuji from the top rope into the rail was awesome too. That spot leads to the teases of death on the ramp too. Crowd sells the teased ramp spots perfectly with the mix of excitement and fear. Sets up everything they do after nicely too with both men realising it's all or nothing now and they give everything they have to keep the other down and also have to give everything they have when they're on the back foot just to survive. They do go into no-sell and 2 count territory but I thought the ramp spot set the theme for the finish up so well that I didn't care. Crowd are going nuts by this point so it's all good. Never though they went too far either. _

*****1/4+*

*Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 6/17/2006*
_God this was even better than I remembered it. Makes both sets of teams look top notch in their own different way without ever hurting their opposition. KENTA & Marufuji manage to get in an even and competitive 30 minute draw with the bulldozers but they never lose the heavy/junior dynamic which was brilliant. Match really kicks off once KENTA and Morishima tag in and they go nuts on each right from the off. KENTA vs Heavy dynamic is one of my favourite dynamics ever and makes KENTA look GOAT. Said that WILD 2 are bulldozers and they fucking bulldoze KENTA at times. TOTAL ANNIHILATION. Marufuji could have been better but he didn't actively insult me so I guess that passes as good. Few fluffed spots and the last 5 minutes didn't totally blow me away like the first 15 prepared me for but that's being picky._

*****1/2*


----------



## Bubz

Haven't seen that KENTA/Fuji match in years. I loved the hell out of it last time though but back then I was just in to huge spots and shit like that. Think I'll give it a watch to see if it holds up.


----------



## Chismo

KENTA/Marufuji 10/29/2006 is still a ****3/4 match for me, even after all these years and re-watches. Fantastic stuff, and much better than their January 2006 match. Their 1 hour war from 2008 deserves a re-watch too, seen that match only once.

EDIT: And yeah, that KENTAfuji vs. Wild II match is balls awesome too. Tag MOTD candidate, easily. The drama was unbelievable. ****1/2


----------



## TelkEvolon

Made my first IVP Videos order, picked up all the Kensuke Office shows. $65 with the 30% off discount code.

A good deal.


----------



## The Streak

Well up for seeing Pac in the super juniors, will hopefully be the making of him big time.


----------



## Sunglasses

The KENTA/Fuji GHC title Match is one of my favorite matches of all time. Maybe it's because i love them both, but.. I haven't seen any better junior singles match past 2000 match than this, I think. The first 15 minutes are perfect. the botched moonsault of the toprope looks sick, but it fits perfectly into this and puts it one level higher. At the end they go and do it all but like Seabs said they never made it over the top. Have seen this over and over again and it makes fun everytime i've watched this. ****3/4 for me.


----------



## Chismo




----------



## Kamikaze™

I know he's been doing it for a while now, but I never got round to asking. But what exactly is Shinsuke Nakamura's gimmick at the moment; he comes across as Drunken Master.


----------



## Bubz

Not sure if he has a gimmick other than being a rockstar, rebel, cocky dick lol. It seems like they've stopped his mega push he was on at the end of last year which is really sad because he's awesome, especially with his new persona. I wanted him to dethrone Tanahashi.


----------



## MF83

Super rookie -> sekigun shoot cred worker -> Chono's BLACK prodigy -> sekigun ace -> sekigun failure, actively shitty wrestler at the top... All hope lost when -> In 2009 he and Yano boot Makabe and Honma out of GBH, forming CHAOS and he's a bland heel. He gets the Boma Ye and knee based offense going and gets "cool". He gets the belt and turns into a top notch worker toward the end of his reign, with confidence and worldclass work. Latter half of 2010 and into 2011 we see round one of Swagsuke. He was just a bad ass wobbly charisma bucket and pretty much the best drunk seller ever but come NJ Cup it gets a bit over the top. Easily my favourite of his 43 personas that was. The random smiles and antics were just magnificent. Goes to Mexico, refuckulates his self into a stoic version of this sort of rockstar gimmick. Wins the cup but loses again and starts to bend and stretch again into his cocky, amazing current self. Since the CHAOS formation his move set and character have constantly evolved. No gimmick, just greatness.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - J Sports Crown - Super J Tag League - 13/11/10*

1. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs NOSAWA & FUJITA
**3/4

2. Apollo 55 vs La Sombra & Mascara Dorada
**1/2

3. Satoshi Kojima, Super Shisa & Masaaki Mochizuki vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Samurai & Jushin Liger
**3/4

4. Jado & Gedo vs Rocky Romero & Davey Richards
***1/2



NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN NAGOYA", 03.06.2012 (G+) 
Nagoya Sports Center 

1. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Bobby Fish 
2. Kotaro Suzuki & Masashi Aoyagi vs. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin 
3. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs. Luke Gallows & Roderick Strong 
4. NOAH 3 Big Opposition I - NO MERCY vs. BRAVE vs. Diamond Ring Special Six Man Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama, Maybach Taniguchi & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara 
5. NOAH 3 Big Opposition II - BRAVE vs. NJPW Special Tag Match: Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue 
6. NOAH 3 Big Opposition III - SAT vs. AJPW Special Six Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Suwama , Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo 
7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge 
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Akitoshi Saito


----------



## Genking48

Isn't Shinsuke Nakamura's gimmick something with bringing Strong Style back or something along those lines?

But anyways, in Super junior news (since I don't remember hearing about them here)

Brian Kendrick has replaced Davey Richards in the tournament, and Hiromu Takahashi has replaced Black Tiger 7(NOSAWA Rongai) in the tournament.


----------



## Chismo

Some results:


Spoiler: NOAH and WNC












WNC "STARTING OVER", 24.05.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,700 Fans

1. Koji Doi besiegt Jiro Kuroshio (9:58) nach einem Elbow Drop.
2. Masaya Takahashi Debut Match: Masaya Takahashi besiegt Takuya Kito (4:22) mit einem Jackhammer.
3. Ultimo Dragon, Yusuke Kodama & Lin Bairon besiegen Yoshiaki Yago, Tomoka Nakagawa & Josh O'Brien (17:55) mit einer Rolling Press von Bairon gegen O'Brien.
4. Kana & Shuri besiegen Makoto & Riho (16:10) mit einem Chickenwing-Sleeper Hold von Kana gegen Makoto.
5. Toru Yano besiegt Hajime Ohara (6:57) mit dem Oni Kuroshi.
6. TAJIRI & Mikey Whipwreck besiegen Jado & Gedo (15:27) nach einem Buzzaw Kick von TAJIRI gegen Gedo.
7. Dave Finley besiegt AKIRA (18:18) nach einem Tombstone Piledriver. 


NOAH "THE NAVIGATION IN MAY 2012", 26.05.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,200 Fans

1. Atsushi Kotoge besiegt Shane Haste (10:12) mit einem Front Cradle.
2. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Mikey Nicholls (11:34) mit einem Figure-Four Leglock.
3. Yoshinobu Kanamaru besiegt Zack Sabre Jr. (10:23) mit dem Touch Out.
4. Kensuke Sasaki, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama, Maybach Taniguchi & Genba Hirayanagi (15:38) als Hirayanagi disqualifiziert wurde.
5. Taiji Ishimori besiegt Atsushi Aoki (16:36) mit einem Revolucion.
6. Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki besiegen Takeshi Morishima & Ricky Marvin (7:40) nach dem Mass Driver von Suzuki gegen Marvin.
7. GHC Tag Team Title: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (c) besiegen Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji (31:15) nach dem Death Brand von Saito gegen Yone (2nd defense).



Lineups:


> NOAH "MITSUHARU MISAWA MEMORIAL NIGHT", 13.06.2012 (G+)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Luke Gallows, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish
> 2. Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi vs. Tamon Honda & Masao Inoue
> 3. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori
> 4. Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Match: Takeshi Morishima, Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Akitoshi Saito
> 
> 
> 
> NOAH "THE NAVIGATION IN JUNE 2012", 30.06.2012
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Yoshihiro Takayama 20th Anniversary Match: Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Akitoshi Saito
> 
> 
> 
> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN NAGOYA", 03.06.2012 (G+)
> Nagoya Sports Center
> 
> 1. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Bobby Fish
> 2. Kotaro Suzuki & Masashi Aoyagi vs. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin
> 3. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs. Luke Gallows & Roderick Strong
> 4. NOAH 3 Big Opposition I - NO MERCY vs. BRAVE vs. Diamond Ring Special Six Man Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama, Maybach Taniguchi & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara
> 5. NOAH 3 Big Opposition II - BRAVE vs. NJPW Special Tag Match: Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
> 6. NOAH 3 Big Opposition III - SAT vs. AJPW Special Six Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Suwama , Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Akitoshi Saito


----------



## MF83

Takumi Soya is retiring from jaw injury complications.


----------



## seabs

*Awww man 

Gallows on a NOAH tour could be great.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

Those NOAH shows look pretty interesting. Nice mix of talent.


----------



## Chismo

Super Juniors.



Spoiler: BOSJ results



NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~", 27.05.2012 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: BUSHI [2] besiegt Rocky Romero [0] (5:23) mit einer Bushi Roll.
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Daisuke Sasaki [2] besiegt Jado [0] (8:57) mit einem Sasaki-Style Hurricanrana.
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Alex Kozlov [2] besiegt TAKA Michinoku [0] (8:22) nach dem Russian Strike.
4. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Brian Kendrick [2] besiegt Tiger Mask [0] (6:34) nach dem Sliced Bread #2.
5. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga (15:51) nach dem Rainmaker von Okada gegen Tonga.
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Angel de Oro [2] besiegt Taichi [0] (9:28) mit dem Arras de Oro.
7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: PAC [2] besiegt Jushin Thunder Liger [0] (10:20) mit einer 360 Shooting Star Press.
8. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki [2] besiegt Ryusuke Taguchi [0] (14:10) nach einem Diving Footstomp.
9. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA [2] besiegt Prince Devitt [0] (12:56) mit dem Midnight Express.

Credit: purolove.com

Can't wait to see the matches under 7, 8 and 9.





MF83 said:


> Takumi Soya is retiring from jaw injury complications.


What? I'm shocked. He's so fucking talented.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 New Japan Alive - 11/12/10*

1. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
**3/4

*2. IWGP Tag Team Title Match*
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue
***1/2

*3. IWGP Jr Heavyweight Title Match*
Prince Devitt vs Davey Richards
***1/4

4. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto
***1/2

*5. IWGP Heavyweight Title*
Satoshi Kojima vs Shinsuke Nakamura
***1/2


----------



## seancarleton77

Tinkerbell said:


> Brian Kendrick has replaced Davey Richards in the tournament, and Hiromu Takahashi has replaced Black Tiger 7(NOSAWA Rongai) in the tournament.


Phenomenal news! NOSAWA would have stunk up the joint and Richard can't hang with Kendrick.


----------



## antoniomare007

MF83 said:


> Takumi Soya is retiring from jaw injury complications.













what the hell man?


----------



## TasteOfVenom

Heard in July Magnus is to do some work for NOAH.


----------



## Derek

WeAreTheFallen said:


> Heard in July Magnus is to do some work for NOAH.


Joe mentioned he was going to be wrestling abroad, so he could possibly be joining him.

Sad news about Soya. Never saw much of him, but heard he had a ton of potential. Word is the jaw injury he suffered last year was so bad the doctors said it will never fully heal, so his career had to be cut short.


----------



## Chismo

Some results:


Spoiler: results



WNC, 26.05.2012
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
272 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

0. Yusuke Kodama vs. Tomoya Kawamura - Time Limit Draw (3:00).
1. Hajime Ohara besiegt Amigo Suzuki (8:25) mit einem Finnish Forearm.
2. Hoshito Takahashi besiegt Jiro Kuroshio (5:26) mit einem Jackhammer.
3. Tadasuke & HAYATA besiegen Takuya Kito & Lin Bairon (9:30) nach einem Horizontal Cradle von HAYATA gegen Kito.
4. AKIRA, Koji Doi & Shuri besiegen The Bodyguard , Josh O'Brien & Tomoka Nakagawa (9:28) nach der Musasabi Press von AKIRA gegen O'Brien.
5. Kana besiegt Makoto (11:13) mit einem Chickenwing Armlock.
6. Hardcore Match: TAJIRI & Mikey Whipwreck besiegen Yusuke Kodama & YO-HEY (12:57) nach einem Stunner von Whipwreck gegen Kodama.
7. Dave Finlay besiegt Zeus (10:53) mit einem Tombstone Piledriver.


WNC, 27.05.2012
Hiroshima Industrial Hall
400 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Victory Shanghai & Lin Bairon besiegen SEIKI & Makoto (9:58) nach einem Jumping High Kick von Shanghai gegen SEIKI.
2. Hoshito Takahashi besiegt Hikaru Michimoto (2:08) mit einem Jackhammer.
3. Hardcore Match: 504 besiegt Takuya Kito (9:33) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
4. WNC vs. Hiroshima Union Army Singles Elimination Match: HAYATA , Sakigake, Amigo Suzuki & KENICHI besiegen YO-HEY, Jiro Kuroshio, Josh O'Brien & Koji Doi (12:35).
Sakigake besiegte O'Brien mit einem Sliding D (1:58). Kuroshio besiegte Sakigake mit einer Huracanrana (3:40). HAYATA besiegte Kuroshio mit einem Small Package Hold (5:23). YO-HEY besiegte HAYATA mit einem Bamboo Dragonfly (7:00). KENICHI besiegte YO-HEY mit einem Cross Armbreaker (9:03). Doi besiegte KENICHI mit einem Elbow (10:18). Suzuki besiegte Doi mit einem Tiger Suplex Hold (12:35).
5. Hajime Ohara besiegt Yusuke Kodama (13:25) mit einem Finnish Forearm.
6. Dave Finlay, AKIRA & Shuri besiegen TAJIRI, Mikey Whipwreck & Kana (19:48) nach einem Tombstone Piledriver von Finlay gegen TAJIRI.

AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR RISE UP TOUR 2012", 27.05.2012 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,650 Fans

1. Osamu Nishimura & MAZADA besiegen Hiroshi Yamato & Yasufumi Nakanoue (7:03) nach einem Inside Cradle von Nishimura gegen Nakanoue.
2. Akebono & Ryota Hama besiegen KENSO & Masao Inoue (8:40) nach einer Body Press von Akebono gegen Inoue.
3. Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka besiegen Suwama & Masanobu Fuchi (9:10) nach einem Cross Armbreaker von Kono gegen Fuchi.
4. Takumi Soya Return Match: Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering besiegen Manabu Soya & Takumi Soya (13:42) nach dem This Is It von Sanada gegen Takumi.
5. Champion Carnival AFTER THAT: Taiyo Kea besiegt Takao Omori (14:08) mit einem TKO.
6. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) besiegen Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo (18:06) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Sekimoto gegen Hayashi (6th defense).
7. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: KAI besiegt Kenny Omega (c) (20:15) mit dem Splash Plancha - Titelwechsel.


ZERO1 "ZERO1 ELEVEN THE PREMIUM BATTLE IN KOBE", 27.05.2012
Kobe ***** Hall

1. Alexander Otsuka besiegt Yoshikazu Yokoyama (8:59) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
2. Kobe Special Tag Match: Daisuke Harada & Nick Primo besiegen Masashi Aoyagi & Marcus Bean (11:33) als Primo Bean pinnte.
3. Jr. Special Tag Match: Takuya Sugawara & Mineo Fujita besiegen Magnitude Kishiwada & Craig Classic (10:42) nach einem Diving Senton von Fujita gegen Classic.
4. NWA United National Heavyweight Title: Shito Ueda (c) besiegt Yusaku Obata (16:32) mit einer Lariat (3rd defense).
5. THE BIG "DAN" GUNS First Kansai Landing: Kohei Sato, Ryouji Sai & KAMIKAZE besiegen Masato Tanaka, Zeus & The Bodyguard (20:19) nach dem Nachi Waterfall von Sai gegen Bodyguard.
6. First Prince & Emperor Tag - Special Tag Match: Shinjiro Otani & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Yoshihiro Takayama & Daichi Hashimoto (20:31) nach dem Shiranui von Marufuji gegen Hashimoto.


----------



## TasteOfVenom

I know this is no TNA thread but heard they are interested in using King Fale while he is in America on a learning excursion.


----------



## Chismo

BOSJ, Day 2 results:


Spoiler: BOSJ, Day 2



NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~", 28.05.2012
Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena
600 Fans

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Alex Kozlov [4] besiegt Hiromu Takahashi [0] (6:43) nach dem Russian Strike.
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA [4] besiegt BUSHI [2] (10:51) mit dem Midnight Express.
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki [4] besiegt Daisuke Sasaki [2] (8:03) mit dem Dragon Clutch.
4. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan (12:21) mit dem Akakiri von Yano gegen Captain.
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Gedo [2] besiegt Jushin Thunder Liger [2] (7:43) via Pinfall.
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: TAKA Michinoku [2] besiegt Brian Kendrick [2] (10:51) mit dem Heavy Killer.
7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Taichi [2] besiegt Prince Devitt [0] (10:59) mit einem Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch.
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI (19:12) mit einer Stardust Press von Naito gegen YOSHI-HASHI.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - Circuit 2010 New Japan Alive - 12/12/10*

1. The Motor City Machine Guns vs Apollo 55
***1/4

2. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito
***1/2

3. Satoshi Kojima vs Hirooki Goto
***

*New Japan - The Road to Kingdom Battle X'Mas - 23/12/10*

Satoshi Kojima & Kota Ibushi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt
***1/2


----------



## seabs

> ZERO1 "ZERO1 IMPACT", 14.06.2012
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 2. ZERO1 vs. BJW: Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kazuki Hashimoto


*:mark:

Rest of the card is irrelevant.*


----------



## Tony Tornado

Did the Low Ki vs Devitt title match ever get released? I can't seem to find it anywhere.


----------



## MF83

Hasn't aired on Asahi yet. And from the looks of it, RUDOS is no longer offering free uploads on puroresu. With that in mind:


*NJPW 2012 LIVE FINAL @ Osaka IMP Hall*

- Nickelback AND Linkin Park as hype music. I can imagine literally nothing better to help out with the excitement building process.

- Nakanishi on commentary.

1. Hiromu Takahashi and Takaaki Watanabe vs. KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi:
Give Watanabe the IC Title. Looking forward to seeing Hiromu in the BOSJ. In hindsight, this came off as if Hiromu was always going to be in the tournament. He looked really good and looked like he was trying to belong. I appreciate Taguchi taking at least one shot to the arm he would tap one of them out with moments later. The little things like that and the surprisingly decent mat wrestling at the beginning make this worth watching. 

2. Yano/Iizuka/Jado/Gedo vs. JuTenKojiMasuku:
Gedo attacks Liger to randomly start the match. Once things cooled down, Jado was assaulted with a blatantly illegal double strike combo from Tenzan Mask. Most men would have succumbed instantly to such a _vicious_ series of strikes. Jado, an innocent victim not wanting to let himself or his faction down, mustered an almost unhuman amount of grit to inch his way closer and closer to the outstretched arm of Toru Yano. Unfortunately, Jado's body seemed to give out all at once when he was _>this<_ close. What a damn shame. How a referee can blow such a call and continue employment without penalty, let alone termination, makes me question the integrity of New Japan Pro Wrestling. I recommend skipping this match out of protest.

3. Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Suzuki-gun:
Wild, messy, fun match. TAKA is finally letting some of his personality shine through, instead of strictly playing second fiddle to Taichi. Some kind of setup for a future match or two happened afterwards and the best part about this entire segment is Suzuki-gun beating up youngin's' post-match.

4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tama Tonga:
This oughta be tremendous. I believe Shinsuke is the best extended squasher in all of pro wrestling. He helped Tonga look legitimate, in particular selling a simple back elbow as if it was murder. Crowd was very into this because of things like that. One of those perfectly satisfying throwaway matches. ***1/2

5. Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Masato Tanaka vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Captain New Japan:
Tanahashi and Naito take turns stepping in front of each other to stare down Okada like on night one of the BOSJ, while the crowd chants for the Captain of course. This turned out to be pretty good in the end. What makes it better than average is Okada being a hate magnet. Tanahashi and Naito both brought a couple of good exchanges to Okada and those alone make this worth a watch, if nothing else. *****

6. *IWGP Intercontinental Title Match* - Hirooki Goto *(c)* vs. Tomohiro Ishii:
They start hot. All is well and good until the match falls victim to the "Goto Formula" and for a second, all hope is lost. That might just be me because I've been down on Goto lately, but that doesn't really matter because all of a sudden Ishii says, "well fuck this shit" and awakens everyone watching. He completely saves the match and gives a remarkable performance. He turns it on, and makes this an ultimately great match. There is one spot at the end you simply have to see, and I'm not going to spoil it. What a fucking ending stretch. I-SHI-I! I-SHI-I! I-SHI-I!!! ******

*I'm satisfied, and for once my opinion might actually matter to you since the RUDOS uploading change-up may significantly lower the amount of stuff that shows up from here on out. This only cost me $5 from GaijinPuro.us and if that can be managed within your budget, I recommend you seek this if for nothing else than Nakamura/Tonga and the main event.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *:mark:
> 
> Rest of the card is irrelevant.*


:mark:

That match better not go longer than 12 minutes!!


----------



## TelkEvolon

......And feature Kazuki whooping that "Tween Hashimoto"


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - European Navigation 2011 Night 1*

1. Danny Garnell vs Robbie Dynamite
**1/2

2. Dan Head & Doug Williams vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Takashi Sugiura
**3/4

*3. GHC Tag Titles*
Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Morishima vs Doug Williams & Nigel McGuiness
***1/2

4. Kotaro Suzuki vs Ricky Marvin
**3/4

5. Taiji Ishimori vs Satoshi Kajiwara
**1/2

6. Kings of Wrestling vs Takeshi Morishima & Atsushi Aoki
***1/4

7. Zack Sabre Jr vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
***

8. KENTA & Bobby Fish vs Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
***1/2

*9. GHC Heavyweight Title*
Dave Mastiff vs Takashi Sugiura
***1/2


*NOAH - European Navigation 2011 Night 2*

1. Taiji Ishimori vs The Saint
**1/2

2. Max Voltage vs Ricky Marvin
**1/2

*3. GHC Tag Team Titles*
Doug Williams & Scorpio vs Naomichi Marufuji & Minoru Suzuki
***1/2

4. Jonny Storm vs Ricky Marvin
**3/4

5. James Mason vs Bobby Fish
**1/2

6. Atushi Aoki vs Satoshi Kajiwara
**1/4

7. Takeshi Morishima & Shuhei Taniguchi vs The Kings of Wrestling
****1/4

8. Go Shiozaki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
***3/4

9. KENTA vs Zack Sabre Jr
****

*10. GHC Heavyweight Title*
Takashi Sugiura vs Kotaro Suzuki
***1/2

Couldn't believe how good the KOW vs MoriGuchi match was.


----------



## rzombie1988

I just reviewed a few matches on my blog below. Stayed tuned in July for live Japanese wrestling reviews!


----------



## Cactus

*Zero-1 PowerxPowerxPower*

*Hiroyo Matsumoto vs Yuhi *
_Surprisingly decent for a throwaway joshi opener. Yuhi looked very young (I'd say about 18-19 at the most) but was great here._
_*Rating: **3/4*_

*Takuya Sugawara vs Craig Classic vs Raideen vs Menso~re Oyaji vs Yusaku Obata vs Shito Ueda vs Nick Primo vs Marcus Bean vs Sean O'Shea vs Mikey Broadrick - Battle Royal*
_Piss-poor timed battle royal. Nothing really flowed well but it had some cool and funny moments at least. _
*Rating: *1/2*

*Daichi Hashimoto & Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto *
_I hope I'm not the only one who hates how Daichi feels he has to throw DRAMATIC ELBOWS~! in all of his matches. I can stomach them when they are used in the finishing stretch, but using them three minutes into the match just irritants me. Anyways, it didn't hurt the match too much though. I got to see some Hashimoto on Hashimoto violence and I'm partially satisfied._
_*Rating: **1/2*_

*Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora (c) vs Takafumi Ito & Mineo Fujita - NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title *
_The heel/face dynamic was pretty confusing. The Jimmies (who remind me of a more athletic Jado and Gedo) resorted to heel tactics yet still got cheered and got a comeback. It's nothing too major. Aside from that, the match was very good. Ito was the star though. He looked like an old-school shooter and would catch the Jimmies flawlessly in mid-air and lock them in Fujiwara armbars and leg grapevines. _
*Rating: ***1/2*
*
Shinjiro Otani, Ryouji Sai & Zeus vs Kohei Sato, KAMIKAZE & Tomoaki Honma *
_Otani and Honma really know how to rile up a crowd and that made for a great match alone._
_*Rating: ****_

*Masato Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka vs Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori *
_I thought this was just going to be a dose of underwhelming Ishimori/Marufuji flippy shit and it was for the first part. However when the Hidaka made the hot tag to Tanaka, the place exploded. This all lead to MaruMori upping it up a notch and go balls to the walls with spots. Well-timed and structured spotfest and Marufuji's best performance since his match with Suigura last November._
_*Rating: ****
*_

*Akebono (c) vs Daisuke Sekimoto (c) - World Heavyweight Title vs NWA World Premium Heavyweight Title*
_Talk about disappointing. At the start of the match, a worried looking Sekimoto looked at the behemoth that is Akebono. How is this short statured man going to take down this beast of a man? It's the perfect backstory. ...then Sekimoto hits a german on Akebono and starts working him over with easy two minutes in. Ergh. Not only that, but this barely went eight minutes. It's a title unification match, not an opener. There was a cool moment when Sekimoto powered up after getting splashed, but apart from that this is skippable._
_*Rating: ** *_

*Overall:*
Give it a watch. Good showing from Zero-1.


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 5/3/11 - Great Voyage 2011 In Tokyo*

*1. Disobey vs Kensuke Office*
Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Okita, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara vs Mohammed Yone, KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
**1/2

*2. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title* 
Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin
***1/2

*3. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Kotaro Suzuki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
****1/4

*4. GHC Tag Team Titles* 
Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
***1/2-***3/4

*5. GHC Heavyweight Title* 
Takashi Sugiura vs Giant Bernard
***1/4


----------



## TelkEvolon

smitlick said:


> *NOAH - 5/3/11 - Great Voyage 2011 In Tokyo*
> 
> *1. Disobey vs Kensuke Office*
> Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Okita, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara vs Mohammed Yone, KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
> **1/2
> 
> *2. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*
> Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin
> ***1/2
> 
> *3. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*
> Kotaro Suzuki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
> ****1/4
> 
> *4. GHC Tag Team Titles*
> Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
> ***1/2-***3/4
> 
> *5. GHC Heavyweight Title*
> Takashi Sugiura vs Giant Bernard
> ***1/4


Just seen the last 4 matches on Youtube, Nakajima & Suzuki work so well together.


----------



## smitlick

I love Kotaro.. Very underrated


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: BOSJ & NOAH Results






> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~", 30.05.2012
> Shinshu Sky Park Gymnasium
> 600 Fans
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Daisuke Sasaki [4] besiegt Hiromu Takahashi [0] (5:02) mit dem NOW OR NEVER 2011.
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Alex Koslov [6] besiegt Jado [0] (9:57) nach dem Russian Strike.
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Angel de Oro [4] besiegt Gedo [2] (8:15) mit dem Arras de Oro.
> 4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan besiegen Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI (10:19) als Iizuka disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: PAC [4] besiegt Taichi [2] (10:43) mit einer 360 Shooting Star Press.
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask [2] besiegt Ryusuke Taguchi [0] (9:41) mit einem Jackknife Hold.
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt [2] besiegt Rocky Romero [0] (11:15) mit dem Bloody Sunday.
> 8. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga (19:38) nach dem Rainmaker von Okada gegen Tonga.





> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~", 31.05.2012
> Well Sunpia Tsuruga
> 500 Fans
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Brian Kendrick [4] besiegt Hiromu Takahashi [0] (5:50) nach dem Sliced Bread #2.
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: BUSHI [4] besiegt Gedo [2] (8:16) mit einem Firebird Splash.
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] besiegt Jado [0] (9:43) mit dem Dodon.
> 4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan besiegen Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (11:14) als Iizuka disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki [6] besiegt TAKA Michinoku [2] (10:24) nach einem Diving Footstomp.
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Rocky Romero [2] besiegt KUSHIDA [4] (12:15) nach einem Diving Double Kneedrop.
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Angel de Oro [6] besiegt Jushin Thunder Liger [0] (8:21) mit einem La Magistral.
> 8. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga (15:30) nach dem Rainmaker von Okada gegen Tonga.





> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~", 01.06.2012
> Iwade Municipal Citizen Gymnasium
> 750 Fans
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jado [2] besiegt Hiromu Takahashi [0] (5:55) mut dem Crossface of JADO.
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask [4] besiegt Daisuke Sasaki [4] (7:14) nach einem Avalanche-Syle Double-Arm Suplex.
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [2] besiegt Taichi [2] (7:35) nach einem Vertical-Drop Brainbuster.
> 4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan besiegen Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI (14:54) als YOSHI-HASHI disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi [4] besiegt Alex Koslov [6] (14:54) nach dem Dodon.
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Angel de Oro [8] besiegt PAC [4] (9:46) nach einem Hijack Backbreaker-Style Facebuster.
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt [4] besiegt BUSHI [4] (8:03) mit dem Bloody Sunday.
> 8. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga (18:42) nach dem Rainmaker von Okada gegen Tonga.





> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~ THE DOOR TO THE GLORY ~", 02.06.2012 (J Sports)
> Kyoto KBS Hall
> 1,200 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Brian Kendrick [6] besiegt Alex Koslov [6] (6:31) mit einem Horizontal Cradle.
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Tiger Mask [6] besiegt TAKA Michinoku [2] (6:40) mit einem Tiger Suplex Hold.
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [4] besiegt Rocky Romero [2] (7:53) mit einem Air Scissors Drop.
> 4. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan (9:41) als Kojima disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki [8] besiegt Hiromu Takahashi [0] (7:43) mit dem Dragon Clutch.
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt [6] besiegt Gedo [2] (11:14) nach einem Diving Footstomp.
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA [6] besiegt PAC [4] (9:33) mit dem Midnight Express.
> 8. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga besiegen Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI (18:04) mit dem High Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen YOSHI-HASHI.





> NJPW, 03.06.2012 (Samurai! TV)
> Akashi Municipal Industrial Exchange Center
> 1,560 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
> 
> 1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi [6] besiegt Daisuke Sasaki [4] (6:55) nach dem Dodon.
> 2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: TAKA Michinoku [4] besiegt Jado [2] (8:31) mit dem Heavy Killer No. 2.
> 3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [6] besiegt KUSHIDA [6] (8:18) mit einem Air Scissors Drop.
> 4. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan (9:01) als Tenzen disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: PAC [6] besiegt Gedo [2] (14:36) mit einer Shooting Star Press.
> 6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Low Ki [10] besiegt Tiger Mask [6] (11:14) mit dem Ki Krusher '99.
> 7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Prince Devitt [8] besegt Angel de Oro [8] (8:10) mit dem Bloody Sunday.
> 8. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga besiegen Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (18:14) mit dem High Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen Ishii.
> 
> - Best of the Super Jr. Standings
> 
> Block A:
> 1. Prince Devitt [8]
> 2. Angel de Oro [8]
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger [6]
> -. KUSHIDA [6]
> -. PAC [6]
> 6. BUSHI [4]
> 7. Taichi [2]
> -. Gedo [2]
> -. Rocky Romero [2]
> 
> Block B:
> 1. Low Ki [10]
> 2. Brian Kendrick [6]
> -. Alex Kozlov [6]
> -. Tiger Mask [6]
> -. Ryusuke Taguchi [6]
> 6. Daisuke Sasaki [4]
> -. TAKA Michinoku [4]
> 8. Jado [2]
> 9. Hiromu Takahashi [0]





> NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN NAGOYA", 03.06.2012 (G+)
> Nagoya International Conference Hall
> 2,000 Fans - No Vacancy
> 
> 1. Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegt Bobby Fish (11:22) mit einem German Suplex Hold.
> 2. Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin besiegen Kotaro Suzuki & Masashi Aoyagi (10:32) nach einem Horizontal Cradle von Ishimori gegen Aoyagi.
> 3. Luke Gallows & Roderick Strong besiegen Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste (8:55) nach einem Modified Facebuster von Gallows gegen Haste.
> 4. NOAH 3 Big Opposition I - NO MERCY vs. BRAVE vs. Diamond Ring Special Six Man Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama, Maybach Taniguchi & Genba Hirayanagi besiegen Kensuke Sasaki, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara (13:21) nach einer Maybach Bomb von Taniguchi gegen Kajiwara.
> 5. NOAH 3 Big Opposition II - BRAVE vs. NJPW Special Tag Match: Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue (18:54) als Marufuji Inoue nach einem Shinsei Muscled King pinnte.
> 6. NOAH 3 Big Opposition III - SAT vs. AJPW Special Six Man Tag Match: Suwama , Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo besiegen Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki (22:33) nach einem Last Ride von Suwama gegen Aoki.
> 7. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) besiegt Atsushi Kotoge (18:41) mit dem Touch Out (1st defense).
> 8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) besiegt Akitoshi Saito (24:18) mit einem Backdrop Suplex (3rd defense).





.


----------



## Chismo

Wow, didn't even realize NOAH's show is today. Seems like a good show overall, but I'm not sure I want to watch Saito in a GHC Hewiki match. The matches under 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 interest me.


----------



## Kamikaze™

It's funny really, I thought Saito was released by NOAH at the beginning of the year to cut costs and was only to make sporadic appearances. But he's been working for NOAH all year, he's tag champ and receiving shots at the GHC Heavyweight Championship now.


----------



## seabs

*I think you're thinking about Sano who's now Freelance. Confident Saito resigned in January.*


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - Great Voyage 2011 In Fukuoka - 21/3/11*

1. Masao Inoue vs Shane Haste
**1/2

2. Atsushi Aoki vs Bobby Fish
***

3. Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi
**1/2

4. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Jun Akiyama & Naomichi Marufuji
***1/2

*5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Kotaro Suzuki vs. Taiji Ishimori
****1/4

*6. GHC Heavyweight Title*
Takashi Sugiura vs Trevor Murdoch
***3/4
Would love to see Elgin vs Murdoch

*NOAH - Navigation In March 2011 - 27/3/11*

1. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara vs Bobby Fish & Shane Haste
***

2. Mohammed Yone vs KENTA
***

3. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki
***1/2


----------



## rzombie1988

I just got done watching three terrible NEO main events from 2001 for my blog. Awful booking.


----------



## MF83

Dontaku will be up in the next day I'd hope.
The gaijinpuro.us release schedule for June:



> HD PPV: 6/16 NJPW Dominion (2012-06-16)
> 
> Samurai TV:
> 5/31 Occupation Of The Indies #488
> 6/01 AJPW Rise Up Tour Day #5 (2012-05-20)
> 6/02 Pancrase Progress Tour #7 (2012-06-02)
> 6/03 Shootboxing Road To S Cup Act #3 (2012-06-03)
> 6/05 BJW Korakuen Hall (2012-05-25)
> 6/07 Occupation Of The Indies #489
> 6/08 NJPW Best Of The Super Jrs #19 Day #7 (2012-06-03)
> 6/09 NJPW Best Of The Super Jrs #19 Day #9 (2012-06-06)
> 6/10 NJPW Best Of The Super Jrs #19 Final (2012-06-10)
> 6/10 Toruyumon Mexico Dragonmania VII (2012-05-12)
> 6/12 Michinoku Pro Korakuen Hall (2012-06-03)
> 6/14 Occupation Of The Indies #490
> 6/15 DEEP #58 Impact
> 6/19 Zero1 Impact (2012-06-15)
> 6/21 Occupation Of The Indies #491
> 6/22 Battle Selection #4
> 6/23 Pro Wrestling NOAH The Navigation In May Day #2 (2012-06-06)
> 6/24 Lucha Fanfest V
> more soon
> 
> TV Asahi:
> 6/05 NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (2012-05-03)
> 
> A+ Sky Sports:
> 6/05 Osaka Pro 13th Anniversary Show (2012-04-29)
> 
> J-Sport 3 HD:
> 6/08 NJPW Best Of The Super Jrs #19 Day #6 (2012-06-02)
> 
> Gaora:
> 6/01 Dragon Gate Infinity #257
> 6/04 AJPW B Banquet #310
> 6/07 Dragon Gate Infinity #258
> 6/07 OZ Academy The Golden (2012-05-20)
> 6/17 ZST Battle Genesis Vol #10 (2012-05-27)
> 6/18 Kaientai Dojo Club Super K In Korakuen Hall (2012-06-01)
> 6/20 Dragon Gate Infinity #259
> 6/21 Dragon Gate Infinity #260
> 6/25 AJPW B Banquet #311
> 6/29 KRUSH #19
> 
> NTV G+ HD:
> 6/04 Pro Wrestling NOAH di Colosseo #487
> 6/07 Pro Wrestling NOAH Great Voyage In Nagoya (2012-06-03)
> 6/12 Pro Wrestling NOAH di Colosseo #488
> 6/15 Pro Wrestling NOAH Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Night (2012-06-13)
> 6/18 Pro Wrestling NOAH di Colosseo #489
> 6/25 Pro Wrestling NOAH di Colosseo #490


----------



## KingJames23

MF83 said:


> Dontaku will be up in the next day I'd hope.
> The gaijinpuro.us release schedule for June:


Are all those NJPW events being released for download? Thought he might have stopped making them available. Have missed NJPW this year :sad:


----------



## seabs

*Not for free. You have to buy the DVD Image.

Why don't they just do DVD5's btw? DVD9's cost more on the site and they cost way more to buy blanks to burn on too. DVD5 would be just be way to easier to offer for everyone and the prices would be cheaper.*


----------



## smitlick

I think its so that they dont have to do 2 Disc DVD5s


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH The Navigation in May - Day 6*

*Genba Hirayanagi vs Kentaro Shiga*
_Lackluster comedy match, but Shiga locking Hirayanagi out of the arena for the count-out was pretty funny._
***

*Atsushi Kotoge vs Zack Sabre Jr.*
***3/4*

*Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Ricky Marvin*
_If you like headlocks that last a majority of the match, you'll love this! Boring for the most part._
***

*Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Taiji Ishimori & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi*
_A perfect example of what I want out of these kind of NOAH shows. Not a MOTYC by any means, but certainly a fun match. From Kikuchi headbutting everything in sight to Ishimori and Suzuki going at it at lightning speed, there wasn't a moment where I was bored with this._
****1/2*

*Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi vs Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste*
_I like Taniguchi, but this Maybach gimmick has really worn out it's welcome. There's only some many times you can aimlessly brawl around the arena before it gets old. _
****

*Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Akitoshi Saito vs Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji *
_What you'd expect out of a gloried NOAH house show main event. Uneventful for the most part but with a entertaining finishing stretch and that's exactly what I got here._
***3/4*

*Overall:*
If you find yourself with too much time on your hands and fancy watching this NOAH throwaway show to kill some time; don't. Everything is bland and boring except from the Juniors tag match and that's not even something I'd recommend non-fans go out of their way to see.


----------



## MF83

Yeah, other traders split shows over two and sometimes three DVD5s. Lynch would charge $12 (2x$6) for Dontaku when a DVD9 is being sold for $9.


----------



## Chismo

More of BOSJ... And NOAH.


Spoiler: BOSJ & NOAH



NJPW, BOSJ:

Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block B Match
Tiger Mask [8] defeats Hiromu Takahashi [0] (6:50)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block B Match
Alex Koslov [8] defeat Daisuke Sasaki [4] (10:05)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block A Match
Taichi [4] defeats KUSHIDA [6] (2:33)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block A Match
Jushin Thunder Liger [8] defeats BUSHI [6] (7:10)
Eight Man Tag Team Match
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) defeat Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tama Tonga & Tetsuya Naito (16:37)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block A Match
Rocky Romero [6] defeats Angel de Oro [8] (10:38)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block B Match
TAKA Michinoku [6] defeats Ryusuke Taguchi [8] (11:11)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block B Match
Low Ki [14] defeats Brian Kendrick [8] (10:37)
Best Of The Super Juniors XIX Block A Match
PAC [8] defeats Prince Devitt [8] (17:24)
Notes (German!)
Aktuelle Tabellen:

Block A:
1. PAC [8]
-. Prince Devitt [8]
-. Angel de Oro [8]
-. Jushin Thunder Liger [8]
5. KUSHIDA [6]
-. BUSHI [6]
-. Rocky Romero [6]
8. Taichi [4]
9. Gedo [2]

Block B:
1. Low Ki [14]
2. Brian Kendrick [8]
-. Ryusuke Taguchi [8]
-. Alex Kozlov [8]
-. Tiger Mask [8]
6. TAKA Michinoku [6]
7. Daisuke Sasaki [4]
8. Jado [2]
9. Hiromu Takahashi [0]

- Mit 14 Punkten ist Low Ki als Gruppensieger bereits für das Halbfinale qualifiziert.
- Kazuchika Okada pinnte Tetsuya Naito nach dem Rainmaker.



NOAH:

Singles Match
Ricky Marvin defeats Zack Sabre Jr. (8:16)
Three Way Dance
Kotaro Suzuki defeats Kentaro Shiga and Taiji Ishimori (11:54)
Singles Match
Katsuhiko Nakajima defeats Atsushi Kotoge (11:12)
Singles Match
Naomichi Marufuji defeats Shane Haste (10:25)
Singles Match
Takeshi Morishima defeats Mikey Nicholls (9:28)
Tag Team Match
Kensuke Office (Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara) defeat Bobby Fish & Roderick Strong (17:40)
Singles Match
Luke Gallows defeats Mohammed Yone (9:36)
Six Man Tag Team Match
No Mercy (Genba Hirayanagi, Maybach Taniguchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeat Special Assault Team (Atsushi Aoki, Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama) (19:42)
Notes (German!)
- Im Main Event pinnte Maybach Taniguchi Jun Akiyama nach der Maybach Bomb.


----------



## bigbuxxx

A bit more than a year ago I discovered the greatness that is puro wrestling. One of the first matches I watched was Sasaki vs Kobashi from 7/18/05 because it's the #1 match in the OP of this thread and thought it was one of the stupidest matches I'd ever seen. Watched it for a second time a couple days ago and definitely appreciate the match a lot more and thought it was awesome. Would give it somewhere north of 4.5*. 

Also glad that match happened when it did because I just finished Kobashi/KENTA vs Sasaki/Nakajima from 6/14/08 and Kobashi looks like he didn't belong in a ring at all. To think he still wrestles today .

Okada vs Goto from Dontaku: around ***3/4 I think. Didn't have much flow to it and went at least 5 minutes to long. The awkward botch by them when Okada slipped off doing his finisher. One saving grace to this match was the angle they shot the finish at with Goto nearly losing his head when Okada finally delivered the "rainmaker". Def. .gif worthy.


----------



## MF83

*NJPW 5/3/2012:* DONTAKU @ _Fukuoka International Center_

- I want everyone to keep in mind that we are in the Fukuoka International Center for this event. That means do not go into this expecting a molten crowd all night. It's just not how they roll there and it has been that way for a long while. I know some people's enjoyment of wrestling is based more or less around how hot a crowd is. While they were not molten, it was clear that the crowd enjoyed most everything they saw. Whereas signature moves are noisemakers everywhere else, Fukuoka acts like a collective smark and only loudly reacts to the goods. It makes things feel special really, so please don't let them hinder your enjoyment. 

- Officially trying to not overrate things anymore and keep a better, more consistent scale. Also going to try and make the review spoiler-free. I figure a big show that I've been spoiled on is as good a time as any to switch it up!

1. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado vs. Strong Man, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga:
Fun, fun, fun opener. Great to see Strong Man back in NJPW. Fun with Captain, Jado, Strong Man, and the final Tonga/Ishii stuff is wicked. Yummy ending sequence and final spot. Great little PPV opener. I'd say this reaches ★★★ because of the fun factor and dat finish.

2. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA:
Taguchi shines in this one. He has been really consistent of late. TAKA makes his presence known much more than he usually does and I'm very good with that. The heel team makes this very entertaining. The match itself is not that special... until the outstanding final moments. Love x infinity that finish. I don't care if you watch the match but seek the finish!

3. Rocky Romero & Gedo vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask:
Rocky makes it known that while he has to surrender the title, he is and will remain the champion for an undisclosed amount of time. In short, this is a quick Tiger Mask match in that it is formulaic and below average. FOREVER! and Liger's post-match speech (Rocky demasked Tiger) really aided in making the titles feel important and that's really all that matters in a lose-lose situation as this. 

4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Prince Devitt (c) vs. Low Ki:
Incredible match. Low Ki comes in and puts on the best performance of the entire evening in this match. I'd liken this to a top notch NOAH junior match... that actually has pacing and selling. This is like a 90s NJ junior match even. For the most part, it really is that good. Devitt is taped on his left side midsection and that sets the basis for the layers upon layers of awesome psych in this one. Ki's early control is never boring and shows his improvement as an all around wrestler. Interconnecting callbacky contiuationary countery goodness wrapped inside a logical layout. The transitions and the flow of momentum are beautiful. They bust out two or three sequences that straight blew me away. If I had to complain, it would be that Devitt could have been more expressive in selling the pain of a few holds. That's the only thing I can pick at this for and I'll not spoil it. Again, Ki was pure genius here and this is must see IMO. The look on the winner's face is genuine. All this without reaching overkill and ending when it should have. Mmm. ★★★★½ [86%]

Particulars -


Spoiler



- Devitt's earliest point of control has Ki in a double leg lock. Ki misses a fucking top rope to table ghetto stomp and sells an ankle, and does so minorly throughout, including after a wicked abesigiri counter off a Devitt spin kick try! Unintentional almost surely, but the bad ankle lands on the bottom rope when Low Ki lands a shallow Phoenix right onto Devitt's knees. Guess who's gut hurts after that? Guess who follows that up? GD, what pinpoint string offense! Also seen earlier when Ki takes the Devitt Dive like a champ! Devitt lands on the back on Ki's head and neck... so when they get back in Devitt does the double stomp to said area... which gets followed up with a headfirst push into the buckle and a reverse Bloody Sunday~! The whole corner spot sequence at the end is similar and just brilliant, and should have been botched numerous times but it was executed perfectly. I was fucking applauding. Yeah.




5. *IWGP Tag Team Title:* Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
WILDEST FUCKING IIZUKA INTRO IN YEARS (for the IIzuka lovers out there)! He actually seems like a legitimate, to-be-feared 1980s style heel again. One of the better Nogami moments here. This is fairly average in the middle but the ride home makes it all worth it. Great sports entertainment match and finish, and big props to Marty (sounds like Marty Isaami, not checking) for taking a vicious bump. ★★★¼ 

6. *Special Tag Match:* Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama
It's in this match that I noticed the projection style entranceway with its rising/lowering screen thing which is a cool addition (even if it did get stuck momentarily here and there). Went into this with low expectations. Makabe and Takayama are broken, Nagata doesn't try at home and Suzuki only tries when everyone else wants to. Well, whaddaya know, they all went into this and put on a quality wrasslin' match. Opening minutes are wonderful old men being wonderful old men. HQ antics in this from everyone. Suzuki-gun as a stable were great. Takayama being agile and channeling TAKA at one point <3. Takayama hates poor Marty (fuck it, right or wrong that's his name now). He and at least two others get spit on. Two or three really cool counters and unique spots. [Yeah, credit this whole show for incorporating innovative spots and layouts into their matches. The shift back toward a more classic NJ style seems to have stuck.] This is a good, satisfying match. I think this is the type of match the Ditch's of the world will enjoy. A unique layout featuring hard hitting heavyweights without overkill or downtime, featuring a quality finish. Takayama being an air traffic controller, Nagata bringing it, Makabe being a motivated fucking rhino, and MiSu simply trying helps bring this to the bottom tip of four. ★★★¾-★★★★. [79%]

7. *Special Singles Match:* Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Remember the new translucent entrance curtain I was talking about? Yeah, Shinsuke gets mad love the second he appears. Anderson too gets a respectable pop. Oh Fukuoka. Man, when sequences paid off, the pops in this made the good stuff feel special. They just die when they think Anderson botches something when little do they know... These two are brilliance in a basket. Anderson does not go the leg route this time, and they each attack the others' arms as background psych to the main dual neck work. I hope Shinsuke continues to use the fake-out kick to the face, and you may have already seen his improvement to the corner knee.  This picks up at "K.A. Point" and doesn't turn back. A punch-the-air finish at the end of a great finishing stretch. Solid ★★★★ [81%]

8. *Special Tag Match:* Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka Image & Yujiro Takahashi
If you were a random viewer, you'd think the only person the crowd cared about on this whole show was Tanahashi. Boy, is he over in this one and has them in the palm of his hand throughout (except on the flippy senton of course). First chunk is standard everyone, to the point it almost turned boring. Keyword - almost. Then, Yujiro lights it up with a few decent moves and it turns into an almost handicap match with Naito being the odd man out. Hey man, it worked and ran just the right length. I expect you'll get right into this. ★★★½ Naito is not pleased afterward... Dun, dun, dun.

9. *IWGP Heavyweight Title:* Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
Okay, Okada's money entrance is right up there with Taker's. They all have to wait for it to stop raining to begin the pre-match. It sets Okada apart and makes him feel like a king. His mannerisms go a long way as well. The boy has a presence to him, that's for sure. "Ni-ju-yon sai chanpion" gets repeated many a time. You know who gets name dropped? "Shibata Katsuyori" and "Steve Jobs". Awesome. Okay, this is a little rough around the edges. It's sloppy a couple times and they screw up a Rainmaker dodge spot partway through (though the champ saves the spot), but that's about it. Okada keeps getting better and better; he simply belongs. What facials, what character, what selling, what a fucking wrestler he is. Goto decides to put on his first great performance in about a year too. He really makes it seem like this is his. That smile, you'll know the one. He busts out some old tricks and leaves the "Goto formula" at home. Hey, why not? Okada shows up with his brand of strikes again. I marked huge for a couple of them. The ending is up there with the Tanahashi finish for epicness. They both sell their necks like champs, and I appreciate Goto noticeably doing so after the tombstone. The move doesn't end you, but it will take out your neck, and that's a great thing to me. Again, messy at times and it dragged the littlest bit in the middle, but this is a great match in the end. ★★★★¼ [83%]

Afterward -


Spoiler



Tanahashi arrives: "GEDO! Sh!". Beyond challenging Okada for his title, he challenges him to speak for himself. Okada receives loud chants and says something that goes over very well. Long live the Rainmaker.



_I want to reiterate the uniqueness point I made in the old dudes tag. They're really shying away from 2.9sy finishes in less important matches and that means the matches feel more special at the end. Strong Style hath returned (kind of). 1, 4-9 are all worth a watch (and #2's finish!). The Jr. Title match is a top 10 end of the year MOTYC. 4 matches around ★★★★ or better. One of the best shows of the last bunch of years. *SEEK THIS EVENT~!*_


----------



## AmericanRudeboy

Is the Devitt/Ki title match online somewhere?


----------



## MF83

Yeah, they released this free I'd guess because it would have been free had it been out on time. "Dontaku rudos" into Google will do the trick.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - Excite Series 2011 - 11/2/11*

1. Kaz Hayashi vs Shuji Kondo
****

2. Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
***1/2


----------



## Bubz

AmericanRudeboy said:


> Is the Devitt/Ki title match online somewhere?





MF83 said:


> Yeah, they released this free I'd guess because it would have been free had it been out on time. "Dontaku rudos" into Google will do the trick.


It's on Dailymotion too for anyone who doesn't want to download it .

I'll be watching the show tonight, really excited. I haven't been that pumped for a show for a while.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I'm gonna have to agree with MF83, the finish to the Taichi&Taka/KUSHIDA&Taguchi match was freakin hilarious. I don't think I've seen a heel tactic like that before.


----------



## Bubz

*NJPW Dontaku 3/5/12*

Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki vs Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe was enjoyable enough but
nothing great. Loved the finish though. I mark for MiSu.

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Karl Anderson*
Great match. Nakamura is so awesome. None of Anderson's leg work that never leads anywhere
so that was good, and he only worked over the arm for like a minute so it was fine that Nakamura just kind of shrugged it off. These guys always have great finishing stretches and this was no different. Nakamura's offense just looks so sick and Anderson's strikes looked awesome, especially that awesome bycicle kick when Shinsuke was tied up in the ropes. Lots of fun. ****3/4*

*Low Ki vs Prince Devitt*
Great match here with the story being Lowki going after Devitt's injured ribs. Lowki was great at doing so, and Devitt was awesome selling the ribs. The workover was sweet and it wasn't too long so it didn't drag, and I absolutely loved the sequence that led to Devitt's comeback. The finishing stretch was really good, and even though Devitt kicked out of the double foot stomp and the Ki Crusher, it didn't seem like overkill. I honestly would have liked the workover to maybe last a little longer to get the feeling that Devitt was seriously in trouble, but it was fine the way it was I guess. Ki won over the crowd with his performance here which was cool, and I thought he was really good and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in Japan, I think it suits him better than the US indy's. Anyway, great stuff but it was missing something to really elevate it for me. Saying that it was the most I've enjoyed either guy for quite a while. ******

*Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto*
This was awesome. I'm guessing I might like this more than a few people though. Started slow with some chain wrestling but ended up with Goto realising Okada's game plan to try and go after the neck so he turned the tables and Goto went after Okada's neck. It was surprising to see Okada as the heel being worked over early on but he turned it around after hitting a boot over the railing and Goto landed right on his head, that looked nasty as hell, it must have been an accident but it set up Okada's neck work perfectly. He again busted out those swanky submissions and everything he did looked great when he was in control. There was a real nice submission exchange nearer the end with both guys going after the other guys neck. I'm starting to like the way Okada uses the tombstone now. Some of the sequences were so slick, like Goto going for that run behind lariat but Okada countering it with an amazing dropkick. They really messed up one spot which was a counter and it looked pretty bad but they recovered it and from then on the finishing stretch absolutely made up for it. It was sick and probably a better finish than the Naito/Okada match. Both just throwing big moves all aimed at the neck was aewesome. I loved all the counters Goto had for the Rainmaker, and the last one especially looked so fucking smooth and well executed. The finish itself was awesome, I love the way Okada builds up the Rainmaker throughout the finishing stretch, but I kind of wish he would get rid of that Death Valley Driver he does, It's probably the only thing he does that doesn't look that great, and I think the Air Raid neckbreaker is enough of a devastating signature move to not need anything else before the Lariat. Both guys sold really well throughout too which helped a lot, I thought Goto did especially well with the selling since he was worked over longer. Great match, not on the level of the Naito/Okada match, but Okada is the truth. His entrance completely owns as well. *****1/4*


----------



## smitlick

*ZERO1 - 16/4/11 - ZERO1 WRESTLER'S*

*Destructive Prince vs. Bullet*
Shinjiro Otani & Daichi Hashimoto vs Masato Tanaka & Kenta Kakinuma
**1/2

*Dragon Gate Infinity 216 - 22/4/11*

YAMATO & Cyber Kong vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Masato Yoshino
***1/4

*Dragon Gate Infinity 217 - 24/4/11*

1. Masaaki Mochizuki & Susumu Yokosuka vs Masato Yoshino & BxB Hulk
***1/2

*2. Open The Triangle Gate Title*
CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ricochet vs Shingo, Cyber Kong & KAGETORA
***3/4


----------



## MF83

Day 6 of BOSJ was alright, not great but I wasn't expecting much on a J SPORTS 3 show. Crowd favoring Okada to Tanahashi was pretty cool, as was Okada and Nakamura's double boot (Nakanishi namedropping Baba/Tsuruta on that move call for the f'n win). Best match was either Ki/Hiromu or Gedo/Devitt but calling either any more than ***1/2 is pushing it. At least the never ending TenKojiCNJ/YanIshIizuka 6 man had an original finish on this night. I'd hold out for a free download if I were you


----------



## seabs

*Wasn't PAC/KUSHIDA any good? Probably only going to buy the Finals and the PAC/Devitt show unless Devitt/Oro ends up being great.*


----------



## Chismo

Semis:


Spoiler: semis



PAC vs. Taguchi and Low Ki vs. Devitt

I see Taguchi winning.


----------



## seabs

*I would have been so pissed at you fucking up the spoiler tags if I cared more about who was in the Semis and who wasn't



Spoiler: BOSJ



Called them 4 being the Semis :mark:

Going for Devitt/Taguchi Final with Taguchi winning. No need to do Ki/Taguchi 3 times in under a month when Taguchi beats Ki. Plus Devitt/Taguchi can be the longer match it wasn't last year. Oh and it's one less Ki match too 


*


----------



## Chismo

It's painful to write spoiler tags all the time, you gotta add spoiler code to editor.

EDIT:


Spoiler: BOSJ Finals



*NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~", 10.06.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,050 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

1. Jado & Gedo besiegen Daisuke Sasaki & Angel de Oro (5:39) mit dem Crossface of JADO von Jado gegen Sasaki.
2. Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Brian Kendrick besiegen KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi (7:33) nach dem Russian Strike von Koslov gegen Takahashi.
3. *Best of the Super Jr. - Semi Final*: Ryusuke Taguchi besiegt PAC (10:38) nach dem Dodon.
4. *Best of the Super Jr. - Semi Final*: Low Ki besiegt Prince Devitt (8:50) mit einem Sharpshooter.
5. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI besiegen Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan (9:50) mit dem Akakiri von Yano gegen Captain.
6. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (12:53) mit einem Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch von Taichi gegen Liger.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii mit dem Hig Fly Flow von Tanahashi gegen Ishii.
8. *Best of the Super Jr. - Final*: Ryusuke Taguchi besiegt Low Ki (17:01) nach einem Milano-saku Dodon's Throne.


----------



## MF83

Bit more c&p'd from myself elsewhere 

Any extra "me time" I've had over the last couple days I've spent watching the BOSJ. No time for any sort of reviews. MVP from day 6 and day 7 is Gedo. Yes. vs. PAC is vintage Gedo. Rating: "OKAY!" hehehe. vs. Devitt was lots of fun too, made for a unique layout. BOSJ is the one time of year where he gets to do things, man he even teased a Superfly vs. Devitt, when was the last time we saw that?

Ki was just behind on both nights. He got one of the best matches of day 6 from young Hiromu, that's for sure. Day 6 isn't worth watching really. PAC/KUSHIDA is a huge letdown, the two heavy 6 mans are suck and decent (Nakanishi namedropping Baba/Tsuruta on the Okada/Nakamura double boot ftw!) respectively.

Day 7 however, mmm. Lots of good without any great AKA an easy riding 2 hour show. Though, Jado vs. TAKA (my most anticipated match heading in) did not disappoint. Kobashi/Kensuke has got nothing on the chop battle these two had. Absolute must see undercard classic. ***** KUSHIDA/Liger was really good, Low Ki got a decent match out of Tiger Mask, and as I said above - Gedo vs. PAC was OKAY! Okay... Okay! Okay... okay, okay? Okay bitch, fucking punk, stupid kid, okay! NO FRY BITCH! Okay... PAC sold as good as a flippidy can sell leg work and it's between that and KUSHIDA/Liger for MOTN. Main event six man was super solid itself, however, and Jado/TAKA... oh baby. 

*tl;dr* Day 6/7 Goods: ***1/2-***3/4 = Ki/Hiromu, Jado/TAKA, PAC/Gedo, Devitt/Gedo, KUSHIDA/Liger, Day 7 main event


----------



## Kamikaze™

Spoiler: BOSJ Results



To be brutally honest, I like Taguchi a bit but not enough to win this tournament. I don't feel he deserves it, he is talented but he doesn't have as much talent as the other guys in this tournament nor the look. I think PAC should've won it personally; having been watching this guy since he was around the UK scene to his debut in DG to now and he's is a beast now. He's come heaps and bounds in so many different aspects, his physique is incredible, he's moved from a spot monkey to a technician with amazing high flying talent and he has charisma and star presence. He in my opinion is definitely one of the top Juniors around now days.


----------



## Derek

Spoiler: BOSJ



There's no way they were going to give to anybody but Taguchi. Devitt didn't need to win it, Ki just won the Jr title so losing in the finals naturally sets up a rematch for the title, and Pac isn't with New Japan (or has worked extensively with the company like Ibushi had when he won it last year).

Also, with the BOSJ in recent years, the bookers love to have the guy who lost in the finals the year before win it that year. 

Not a Taguchi fan, but not a shock that he won.


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - 2/1/11*

*1. Hardcore Match*
Shadow WX & The Brahmans vs Kankuro Hoshino, Mototsugu Shimizu & Shinobu
**3/4

*2. Barbed Wire Board Death Match*
Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs Takashi Sasaki & Kamui
***1/4

*3. New Years Special Singles Match*
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuji Okabayashi
***1/2

*4. Fluorescent Lighttubes Death Match*
Ryuji Ito, Yuko Miyamoto & Abdullah Kobayashi vs Masashi Takeda, Isami Kodaka & Takeshi Minamino
***


----------



## Genking48

The card for NJPW "DOMINION 6.16" and just to be sure people aren't going all madcrazy about me spoiling BOSJ for them I'll put the card in spoiler tag.


Spoiler: Result of BOSJ



Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs. Kota Ibushi , Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki

Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan vs. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Rocky Romero

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title, Decision Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. MVP & Shelton Benjamin

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Low Ki (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

IWGP Tag Team Title: Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima

Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Masato Tanaka

Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi


----------



## seabs

*Card looks crazy strong. Hopefully Devitt and Taguchi aren't injured too bad from the last day of BOSJ. Winner of Makabe/Suzuki will probably face the winner of Okada/Tanahashi.*


----------



## Bubz

Okada/Suzuki would be a match I'd like to see. Not a fan of Makabe at all.


----------



## Zatiel

The opener for Dominion looks hot as Hell.


----------



## MF83

Well, since MiSu won at Dontaku and is busy filling in for Takayama and whatnot, Makabe challenging would be awesome. He hasn't had a shot in since his rematch and is still the most over babyface in the company. He's in great shape again, is motivated and has perfected his character. I'm all for it and would be cool with him winning. Though, Naito wants a triple threat title match and that whole angle probably isn't over so we'll see I guess.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I've not seen any of Makabe's title matches but it still baffles me how he became IWGP champ...he's the opposite of entertaining.


----------



## MF83

If you've not seen any of Makabe's title matches then you've probably only seen injured and recovering Makabe. He has only recently started looking good again.



Spoiler: BOSJ FINALS Review



- There will be spoilers

BOSJ Final Day at Korakuen

- The finish they show to Takahashi/TAKA is beautiful! HIROMU~!
- Taguchi and Kendrick would make quite the sleazy tag team.
- Rocky Romero successfully creates a new chant - "Taichi [wa-kai-are(sp?)] - FO-RE-VER!"
- PAC vs. BUSHI and Liger vs. Devitt looked like they were great. The whole 6/9 show did. I hope it pops up somehow.
- Devitt and PAC advancing eh? I heard all this talk of Oro and figured he would be doing something in the semis. PAC advancing is interesting. PAC might be the best gaijin interview out there. He speaks looks genuine in speaking kayfabe with the right terms. He's won me over, smarky selling issues within his previous league matches aside. I hope NJPW either steals him or there is some kind of Dragon Gate feud. "Hell no. Fuck Dragon Gate". 
- Super J this, Super J that. Does anyone have what it takes to take down the undefeated _IWGP J Champion tonight_? It's almost as if Taguchi beating a damaged-from-participating-in-a-revenge-match and undefeated-in-league-competition Low Ki would put Taguchi in a big way, avenge Taguchi's earlier loss while setting up an anticipated title/rubber match AND be an all around feel good moment at the same.


1. Angel de Oro & Daisuke Sasaki vs. Jado & Gedo
A Jado Flair dominated opener. That's really all you need to know. He randomly taps Daisuke like a boss. What is the appeal of Daisuke Sasaki? I do not get it. Angel de Oro receives a standing O post match. Cool, cool! I hope he comes back.

2. Rocky Romero, Brian Kendrick & Alex Kozlov vs. KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
The foreigners should have come out to the Spanky Swagger Song instead of Romero's theme, but this is ultimately forgivable because the match is RIDICULOUSLY FUN. Kendrick finally gets a chance to shine and he looks great doing so. First chunk built around funny gaijin miscommunication, second chunk is well paced/timed highspots, third chunk is a quality finishing stretch. This is the goods right here. ★★★½+ Apparently all three foreigners will be around for FOREVER~! I sure hope so.

3. BOSJ XIX Semi-Final Match: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. PAC
Taguchi counters PAC's high-flying by working one of the finer technical wrestling strategies I've seen in a while. He works the arm ever so beautifully without having to resort to armbreakers and strikes, each maneuver progressively more damaging while unique. The best part is that many of the holds he employs work both the arm and neck at the same time. He uses this not only as a means of attempted submission, but the neck-aimed impact moves he uses at the end all target PAC's injured shoulder as well. PAC's struggle and selling are great. The counters were good, most of the transitions decent, and each man looked great at the final bell. A match without nearfall spam that winds up having a satisfying, logical finish is almost always a good match. A very smart match featuring a very good Taguchi performance. ★★★★

4. BOSJ XIX Semi-Final Match: Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki
This is an odd way to work something advertised as a revenge match. It's really intense a couple of times yet meh in-between those sequences. Ki randomly stomps Devitt's leg at one point and applies a Scorpion (of all locks). The subsequent finish falls flat because it feels rushed and there was no real struggle. Good, not great. ★★★¼

5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI
God dammit, this series of 6 mans' has just been the worst, but since we're on an A show at Korakuen so I'll give it a chance. 


Spoiler: MENTAL PLAY-BY-PLAY



It would ideal for me if Kojima eats the long workover, Tenzan hot tags and Captain fights to the end. However, it will probably be Tenzan getting worked over and the other two getting a turn before a Tenzan finish. After the shorter than usual brawl, Tenzan starts. Sugoi... Wait, Kojima steals a Yano chair and saves the match from purgatory. Wait, many chairs! Hardcore, dude! TenKoji each got DQ'd for using chairs on the lead-in shows. Tenzan threw a chair and the butt end hit Y-H in the head, nice. Kojima removes the turnbuckle pad? Iizuka of all people is the one getting fucked? TenKoji wrestling heelish? WHAT DA? Vintage TenKoji! Hell yes! Kojima working like he's leading the VDM brings about some actual hate. If Tenzan doesn't botch Calf Branding then this match officially passes... He scores! What the shit? Yano's fresh, aw crap, here it comes... Yangolians, Yano.To.Ru! Quick reversal! Tenzan's gone! Lovely. Captain finally tags in late. That's twice that Kojima has saved his team from a long, tedious workover! 3D! Super face charge up! YANO DICK PUNCH WIN! YES YES YES!


A best case scenario match right here. ★★★+ Epic angle after a shockingly decent match. Looking forward to the tag title match.

6. Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
Starts run-of-the-mill but all of a sudden Tiger shows fire for the first time in about two centuries thanks to MiSu. A superb Taichi/Liger finishing segment that you just have to see follows. ★★★¼ A quality hype match for Dominion. 

7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs. Okada Kazuchika, Shinuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii
The crowd officially doesn't care about Goto anymore unfortunately. This CHAOS combination is NWOesque in that they are reliable cool heels. Shinsuke received the most pre-match chants but was barely in this. This match was well laid out but Tanahashi was messy toward the end multiple times so it killed both his popularity and the match's ultimate potential. Naito is all "hell no" to tagging Tanahashi, rethinks the idea, and then ends up tagging him in anyway. Interesting. Tanahashi's comparison to Cena never really held up until recently. He has taken to enduring absurd amounts of offense by whole teams, not just one opponent, and quickly coming back and winning. Still, they gave Ishii a good finishing stretch and he produced two legit nearfalls which is awesome. Ishii and Honma used to offset each other as midcard fall guys and their spots seemed permanent. Now, YOSHI-HASHI is ranked below Ishii and by some stroke of luck Ishii is getting a small push, and that is wonderful. Tanahashi's weak performance just made Okada even more popular and that's fine by me heading into Dominion. 3 in a row for good hype matches. ★★★¾

8. *Best of the Super Juniors XIX Final Match:* Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Low Ki
There is a 166% chance that Taguchi wins this barring unforeseen shoot circumstances. Shit gets good real fast when Low Ki almost Crazy Cyclone's Taguchi's eye out. Taguchi's instantly red and swelling eye makes for a cool inadvertent doctor check ten count spot that adds to the match. Taguchi gets noticeably stiffer with his offense in general following that. Taguchi breaks Ki's ribcage on a table that refused to break. At least that's what it looks like because Low Ki sells that shit like death until he leaves the arena. So you've got at least one injury and two pissed off, stiff working workers in front of a hot crowd. Needless to say, it gets intense. That's a bonus of pure psychological luck for a match that while not flawless, is organic and wrestled well. The crowd is a testament to the negative predictability factor because they know what's up before the finish. They still end up stomping and enjoying it, but this is no Goto/Tanahashi 2011 for heat marks. I see others liking this more than Devitt/Ki which I seem to be a lot higher on than most, but it's not quite at the same level for me personally. Excellent match though. ★★★★¼ Winner: Rysuke Taguchi via Jado's Law in ~366 days.

- So, Low Ki wins next year unless he's not around anymore. Him beating KUSHIDA would be cool. Taguchi gets rejected while trying to hug Milano after the match. You simply do not mess with a man's fine Italian vest! Tis an odd motley crew for the interview beer bash. Tiger Mask makes a speech while he, Goto, Oro, PAC and KUSHIDA enjoy a six pack with the champ. Our very own Enuhito parks himself behind Milano and enjoys playing to the camera during the post-show commentary whilst _Wonderful Tonight_ plays in the background. That's the cue to wrap it up before anyone else can follow (I believe Linkin Park, Evanescence and Eminem respectfully would have followed) Sir Eric. 


7 good matches and a quick, fun opener. You cannot go wrong with this show.


----------



## Kamikaze™

I would personally love to see Minoru Suzuki raping Okada in several different ways; though I just couldn't see him winning, so I don't think he'll get the shot.

Hoping the Juniors legends take those Junior Tag straps, haven't been entertained by anything Taka or Taichi have done for ages; though Taichi is definitely improving.

As for the Junior Heavyweight Championship match; I definitely hope Ki retains.


----------



## Cactus

*Rusher Kimura vs Jumbo Tsuruta - AJPW & IWE 1976/03/28*
_Rookie Tsuruta is great stuff. Kimura doesn't take him seriously initally but Jumbo holds his own against Kimura in not only the mat game but the slapfest too. Kimura tries to keep his cool, but you can tell he is getting pissed off as indicated by his brilliant facial expressions. That's the overall theme of the match. The slap exchange spots were very ahead of it's time and it didn't come off as overkill. They were only used after a stalemate was reached. The suplex trading at the end of was a different story however. At one point, the guy who just got suplexed gets right back up before the guy who did the move and returned the favor! I wasn't too keen on the ending at first. As this was a promotion versus promotion match, the ending gave me 'Yay! You're both winners!' vibe and I felt cheated out of a decisive ending. However, as soon the two starting chest-slapping each other again. I felt weirdly satisfied. A great example of a non-decisive finish._
*Rating: ★★★★¼ *


----------



## smitlick

*DDT - Judgement 2011 - DDT 14th Anniversary - 27/3/11*

*KO-D Openweight Title*
Dick Togo vs Kota Ibushi
****1/2


----------



## Cactus

*Giant Baba vs Billy Robinson - AJPW 1976/07/24*
_Robinson made this an absolute treat to watch. He makes all his moves make sense, has great facial expressions and can work on limbs like he's Fit fuckin' Finlay. That doesn't mean Baba was terrible by any means. To protect himself after Robinson went to work on his exposed knee, Baba pisses off the angry Manc by chopping him into a blind rage that ends up costing Robinson the first fall after running into a back suplex. Later in the second fall, Robinson learns to keep his cool and stick to the objective of working on Baba's leg. Baba desperately protects himself by kicking away. This really shown the vulnerability of Baba's injuries. They do rush through the second fall, but it's expected. The final fall is where everything reaches boiling point. They brawl all over the place but stay consistent with the earlier themes of the match. Easily the best pre-80's match I have ever seen._
_*Rating: ★★★★★ *_


----------



## Chismo

Results:


Spoiler: Results












*ZERO1 "ZERO1 ~IMPACT~", 14.06.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*

1. Robby Eagle & Marcus Bean besiegen Craig Classic & Yoshikazu Yokoyama (8:28) mit einem Firebird Splash von Eagle gegen Classic.
2. Tomoaki Honma besiegt Ryouji Sai (10:16) nach dem Kokeshi.
3. *ZERO1 vs. BJW*: Daichi Hashimoto besiegt Kazuki Hashimoto (12:07) nach einem Vertical-Drop DDT.
4. Ikuto Hidaka & Kaijin Habu Otoko besiegen Takuya Sugawara & Mineo Fujita (12:12) mit dem Disco II von Hidaka gegen Fujita.
5. *NWA United National Heavyweight Title*: Shito Ueda (c) besiegt James Raideen (15:38) nach einer Doctor Bomb.
6. Takeshi Morishima , Mohammed Yone & Naomichi Marufuji besiegen Shinjiro Otani, Kohei Sato & KAMIKAZE (24:33) nach einem Backdrop von Morishima gegen KAMIKAZE.
7. *World Heavyweight Title*: Akebono (c) besiegt Masato Tanaka (15:16) mit einer Yokozuna Press (2nd defense).










*NOAH "MITSUHARU MISAWA MEMORIAL NIGHT", 13.06.2012 (G+)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

1. Atsushi Kotoge besiegt Kikutaro (8:20) mit dem Kill Switch.
2. Daisuke Ikeda & Takuma Sano besiegen Genba Hirayanagi & Kentaro Shiga (8:22) nach dem Dai-Chan Bomber von Ikeda gegen Shiga.
3. Mohammed Yone & Ricky Marvin besiegen Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara (11:52) nach einem Muscle Buster von Yone gegen Kajiwara.
4. Luke Gallows, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish besiegen Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. (10:20) mit einer Dynamic Bomb von Gallows gegen Sabre.
5. Maybach Taniguchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru besiegen Tamon Honda & Masao Inoue (13:30) nach der Maybach Bomb von Taniguchi gegen Inoue.
6. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) besiegen Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori (29:31) mit einem Tiger Driver von Suzuki gegen Ishimori (7th defense.)
7. *Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Match*: Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Takeshi Morishima, Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka (21:48) nach dem Limit Break von Shiozaki gegen Morishima.


Can't wait to catch that Zero1 event.


----------



## antoniomare007

12 minutes of Hashimoto on Hashimoto violence = :mark:


----------



## smitlick

*K-Dojo - 17/4/11 - 9th Anniversary Club-K Super evolution9*

1. TAKA Michinoku vs HIROKI
**3/4

*2. Champion of STRONGEST-K Title*
Yuji Hino vs Quiet Storm
***1/4

*3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles*
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi
***1/2



*Kensuke Office - 11/2/11 - Take The Dream 2011 in Korakuen*

*1. Kensuke Office vs. NJPW ~ Kensuke Sasaki 25th Anniversary Match* 
Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita vs Manabu Nakanishi & King Fale
**

2. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kengo Mashimo vs BxB Hulk & Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
***



*Michinoku Pro - 8/5/11*

1. Jinsei Shinzaki, Yapperman #1 & Yapperman #2 vs Ultimo Dragon, Takeshi Minamino & Rasse
**1/2

2. Dick Togo vs Kesen Numajiro
***1/2

3. Kenou, Ken45, Kenbu & Kinya Oyanagi vs Fujita Jr Hayato, Shu Sato, Kei Sato & KAGETORA
***1/4

*4. Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Title*
The Great Sasuke vs Rui Hyugaji
***1/4



*New Japan - 4/1/11 - Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo*

*1. IWGP Tag Team Titles - Three Way Match* 
Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs Beer Money vs Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man
**3/4

*2. ROAD TO FANTASTICAMANIA* 
La Sombra & Máscara Dorada vs Jushin Liger & Héctor Garza
**1/2

*3. NO JUSTICE, NO LIFE* 
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
****1/4

*4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title* 
Prince Devitt vs Kota Ibushi
****1/4

*5. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion I* 
Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada
***

*6. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Combustion II* 
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Go Shiozaki
***1/2

*7. IWGP Heavyweight Title* 
Satoshi Kojima vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
****


----------



## Genking48

Results from todays NJPW show, DOMINION is in progress, follow away!



Spoiler: NJPW DOMINION Results



1. Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki beat Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI 10:48 when Ibushi used the Sit-down Last Ride on BUSHI.

2. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Rocky Romero beat Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan in 9:26 after Ishii used a vertical-drop Brainbuster on Captain.

3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title, Decision Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi in 9:20 after Tiger Mask used a Tiger Suplex Hold on Michinoku. 
- Jushin busted out the Kishin gimmick, his mask was ripped and revealed a painted face, he also used the poison mist. http://kakutolog.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2012/06/16/120616_njpw3.jpg

4. MVP & Shelton Benjamin beat Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga in 10:19 after Benjamin used the Paydirt on Tonga.

5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Low Ki (c) beat Ryusuke Taguchi in 12:32 after the Warrior's Wrath. 
- Kota came out after the match and challenged Low Ki for a match for the IWGP Jr. title, to which Low Ki accepted, it will probably be on the NJPW/AJPW joint card, on 7/1. 

6. IWGP Tag Team Title: Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (c) went to a double ring-out with Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima in 2:41.
- The match was then restarted.
6b. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (c) went to a no contest with Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima in 12:26 after the ref threw the match out.

7. Shinsuke Nakamura & Masato Tanaka beat Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito in 13:28 after Tanaka used the Sliding D on Naito. 

8. Togi Makabe beat Minoru Suzuki after the King Kong Knee Drop.

9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Kazuchika Okada (c)
- After the match, both Tanaka and Makabe challenged Tanahashi to a title shot.


----------



## Chismo

Well, I was expecting that. Looks like a great show, hopefully it comes out sooner that Dontaku.


----------



## antoniomare007

Haven't seen any New Japan in ages, gotta catch up at some point.


The participants for this year's Fire Festival are:

1. Shinjiro Otani
2. Masato Tanaka
3. Kohei Sato
4. Ryouji Sai
5. KAMIKAZE
6. Shito Ueda
7. Go Shiozaki
8. Mohammed Yone
9. Daisuke Sekimoto
10. Tomoaki Honma 

Unfortunately, only the final day is in Korakuen Hall.


----------



## Chismo

Daiskay/Go needs to happen.


----------



## Coffey

Spoiler: NJPW Dominion



I like Tanahashi so him getting the title back doesn't bother me. Okada's run sure was fun though!


----------



## Kamikaze™

Spoiler: NJPW Dominion Results



Very pleased with most of the results except the IWGP championship match. I don't think Tanahashi needed it as much as Okada did, I feel it's too early to drop Okada and he hasn't been built enough. His only real contender was Gotoh.


----------



## seabs

*Sekimoto/Shiozaki will happen. The issue if it's on one of the aired shows or not. Only the first and last days get aired normally and I assume it's the same this year too.*


----------



## Caponex75

JoeRulz said:


> Daiskay/Go needs to happen in Korakuen Hall.


Fixed for accuracy. 




Spoiler: Dominion reaction



Oh and that IWGP title match result is retarded and disgusting.


----------



## seabs

*Jesus don't post stuff like that without tags. Just a reaction like that basically spoils the result. Spoiler tag anything to do with the show until it's available because even reactions that don't say who won like that basically give the result away.*


----------



## Chismo

Caponex75 said:


> Fixed for accuracy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Dominion reaction
> 
> 
> 
> Oh and that IWGP title match result is retarded and disgusting.





Spoiler: Dominion reaction



Why? It's impossible that Okada defeats Tanahashi twice, ffs. His reign was damn awesome, and the purpose was to make him a "player", and they succeeded. Tanahashi is New Japan's greatest wrestler, and to job him twice in few months just like that would be an actrocity. This is a perfect booking, IMO.



EDIT: The next Jr. Heavyweight Title match:


Spoiler: Jr. Title



Low Ki(c) vs. Kota Ibushi


----------



## Caponex75

Meh with these spoiler tags. I remember when this site was ran by MEN and we used death threats to tell people to not post spoilers. Such a forgotten age.



Spoiler: Dominion



Tanahashi is quickly becoming the John Cena of puro. The year reign was smart and a great idea ESPECIALLY since it put over a new guy but you don't put the title back on that same freaking guy. I get it that Tanahashi is "The Ace" but geez....let someone else reign for a change. If anyone should of beat Okada that is a former title holder, it should of been Nakamura. Other than that, why the fuck should I give a shit about another Tanahashi reign? I don't even care if he fights Goto again. That ship has sailed.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Spoiler: NewJapanResults



Screw that, I would've had Okada tap Tanahashi out. Doesn't get bigger than that. Then if they want another Tanahashi reign they can build him back up and maybe have a reason for me to give a shit about him. I don't see the point in the short title reigns NJPW has started doing. The "Tanahashi is NJPW's greatest wrestler" thing is silly. In kayfabe, even if you are the biggest draw or what not, without the belt YOU ARE NOT the best. If anything, Tanahashi just uses the belt as an accessory. It's like-look at me! I'm a pretty little girl! I have pretty hair and cool abs! And I have a belt too! If his star power IS big enough for him to draw without the belt, what does he need the belt for? This makes Okada's win and therefore his entire reign seem like a fluke.


----------



## Genking48

Spoiler: Dominion



Come on guys, be like me and mark out, Kishin Liger dammit!


----------



## Chismo

Caponex75 said:


> Meh with these spoiler tags. I remember when this site was ran by MEN and we used death threats to tell people to not post spoilers. Such a forgotten age.
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Dominion
> 
> 
> 
> Tanahashi is quickly becoming the John Cena of puro. The year reign was smart and a great idea ESPECIALLY since it put over a new guy but you don't put the title back on that same freaking guy. I get it that Tanahashi is "The Ace" but geez....let someone else reign for a change. If anyone should of beat Okada that is a former title holder, it should of been Nakamura. Other than that, why the fuck should I give a shit about another Tanahashi reign? I don't even care if he fights Goto again. That ship has sailed.





Spoiler: Dominion



No way, Nakamura was your choice? He's a heel, lol. Anyway, the way I see it, Tana will probably reign until Wrestle Kingdom, and then - enter NAITO. It makes perfect sense. Tana/Naito after a 6-month reign, it doesn't get bigger than that.





ywall2breakerj said:


> Spoiler: NewJapanResults
> 
> 
> 
> Screw that, I would've had Okada tap Tanahashi out. Doesn't get bigger than that. Then if they want another Tanahashi reign they can build him back up and maybe have a reason for me to give a shit about him. I don't see the point in the short title reigns NJPW has started doing. The "Tanahashi is NJPW's greatest wrestler" thing is silly. In kayfabe, even if you are the biggest draw or what not, without the belt YOU ARE NOT the best. If anything, Tanahashi just uses the belt as an accessory. It's like-look at me! I'm a pretty little girl! I have pretty hair and cool abs! And I have a belt too! If his star power IS big enough for him to draw without the belt, what does he need the belt for? This makes Okada's win and therefore his entire reign seem like a fluke.





Spoiler: Dominion



Tanahashi is New Japan's TOP DOG, him without belt is not a permanent solution.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Spoiler: stuff



He is not Rocky Romero. He can not hold the belt FOREVAH~! And him without a belt IS a solution. What if he gets injured? What if a fangirl freaks out and kills him? (I should note that something similar actually HAPPENED to him once, dawg got stabbed). One man can not be the only solution for NJPW. They have protected the shit out of Tanahashi. They could do much, much more to him then one lose and he'd still keep his credibility. And it's not like he wouldn't get 56 IWGP Hewiki reigns more anyway....


----------



## Chismo

ywall2breakerj said:


> Spoiler: stuff
> 
> 
> 
> He is not Rocky Romero. He can not hold the belt FOREVAH~! And him without a belt IS a solution. What if he gets injured? What if a fangirl freaks out and kills him? (I should note that something similar actually HAPPENED to him once, dawg got stabbed). One man can not be the only solution for NJPW. They have protected the shit out of Tanahashi. They could do much, much more to him then one lose and he'd still keep his credibility. And it's not like he wouldn't get 56 IWGP Hewiki reigns more anyway....


:kobe The numbers don't lie, New Japan remains on fire and the healthiest it has been in many years.


----------



## seancarleton77

Blah. Come on Japan, let's see some great wrestler, 2012 is a shadow of what 2011 was.


----------



## Derek

Spoiler



It's not the end of the world. Do I disagree with them taking the belt off Okada so quickly? Yes, but its not like Okada won't have more chances. 

I can't see this reign lasting too long. Maybe even losing to the G1 winner. Already they have him lined up to face Makabe or Tanaka for the title, and either of those would be a fresh title match, even after Tana's record breaking reign.


----------



## Genking48

Dominion was fucking packed I hear, last time they were this packed (aside from Wrestle Kingdom) was the 1999 G1 Climax final, crowd pic:


----------



## Chismo

Dominion return:


Spoiler: RETURN!



Kishin Liger!


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> Dominion return:
> 
> 
> Spoiler: RETURN!
> 
> 
> 
> Kishin Liger!


:mark:



Spoiler: Dominion result



Very surprised at Tana getting the belt back. Okada is pretty much solidified now as a top worker so that reign did wonders for him, and he's definitely getting it back at some point imo. Looking forward to the match. I would have liked for Okada to hold it longer obviously, but at least we know we can get more good matches from Tana, I'm not his biggest fan but I always find myself enjoying his matches and he can have a good match with most people. Makabe and Tanaka are already two fresh match ups for his new reign that sound like they should deliver. Not a Makabe fan at all but I have faith that the match will be good.


----------



## Genking48

JoeRulz said:


> Dominion return:
> 
> 
> Spoiler: RETURN!
> 
> 
> 
> Kishin Liger!





Spoiler: PICTURE TIME!



Did someone say *Kishin Liger*!










Just look at Taichi shitting himself being all like "Gotta get the fuck outta here!"


----------



## Chismo

> NJPW/AJPW "NJPW & AJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ SUMMER NIGHT FEVER IN RYOGOKU ~ WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE!", *01.07.2012 (WPW/Asahi Newstar/GAORA TV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. KENSO, Captain New Japan & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI
> 2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Lion Dragon, BUSHI & SUSHI vs. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & Hiromu Takahashi
> 3. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 4. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & KUSHIDA vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka
> 5. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
> 6. Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering
> 7. Suwama & Shuji Kondo vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada
> 8. AJPW & NJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I: Keiji Muto, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 9. AJPW & NJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I ~ Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea
> 10. AJPW & NJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I ~ IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Togi Makabe *


*
No big All vs. New singles matches, but still one helluva card. And they're building to the Naito vs. Sanada clash.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

God damn Japan and their tag matches!


----------



## Genking48

Tag matches are epic fun in Japan!


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Kenta Kobashi vs Masahiro Chono-5/2/03*

The opening portion is really good. The middle part drags on but has a few cool Backdrops so I'll forgive them. The ending is great, loved Tenzan teasing to throw in the towel, it really put over Kobashi's offence. Not as good as some other Kobashi GHC title matches, but I'll give it a pass.

****1/2 *


----------



## Bubz

> NJPW/AJPW "NJPW & AJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ SUMMER NIGHT FEVER IN RYOGOKU ~ WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE!", *01.07.2012 (WPW/Asahi Newstar/GAORA TV)
> Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
> 
> 1. KENSO, Captain New Japan & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI
> 2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Lion Dragon, BUSHI & SUSHI vs. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, KAI, Hiroshi Yamato & Hiromu Takahashi
> 3. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 4. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & KUSHIDA vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka
> 5. All Asia Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
> 6. Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering
> 7. Suwama & Shuji Kondo vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada
> 8. AJPW & NJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I: Keiji Muto, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 9. AJPW & NJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I ~ Triple Crown: Jun Akiyama (c) vs. Taiyo Kea
> 10. AJPW & NJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I ~ IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Togi Makabe *


*

Matches 4, 5 and 7 are the ones that stand out to me, especially Nakamura and Okada as a tag team in there with Suwama who has been great this year.

Slightly disappointing but still looks good.*


----------



## antoniomare007

That card sucks. The only interesting matches are the Nagata/Funaki and Suwama/Nakamura tag.

Daisuke & Okabayashi are probably gonna lose their titles so SMOP too


----------



## Genking48

So Keiji Muto, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii, is like, nWo Japan vs CHAOS


----------



## MF83

Why does that card suck? Every match has potential to be good and 4, 7, 9 & 10 all have MOTYC written on them and i wouldnt rule 2 or 5 out either. Makabe vs Tanahashi will be immense and if we get yet another new champ in Makabe I'll be thrilled. He was soo good come the end of his first reign, he's improved since and now his neck is healed! Akiyama retaining is in the best interest but I can see him dropping it too. Really pumped for this show. 

DOMINION comes out tomorrow apparently. Only been spoiled on the Jr Tag Title and obviously the main. Real excited.


----------



## smitlick

NOAH have seemingly brokered a deal with TNA

Samoa Joe, Magnus & Christopher Daniels are coming in

Pro Wrestling NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 in RYOGOKU ~Takeshi Rikio's Retirement Ceremony~", 7/22/2012 [Sun] 15:00 @ Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo

Newly Announced:
(-) GHC Heavy Tag Championship Match: [Champions] Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. [Challengers] Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus [TNA]
~ 4th Defense.

(-) GHC Junior Heavy Championship Match: [Champion] Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. [Challenger] Christopher Daniels [TNA]
~ 2nd Defense.

credit - Puroresu Spirit


----------



## Chismo

Fuck yeah! Also, KENTA's return and Shima/Go rematch are announced for that show too.


----------



## Derek

I love that there is a random Yone vs. Fujiwara match on that show.


----------



## Bubz

That tag match sounds great to me. Joe vs Akiyama would be something I'd like to see.


----------



## Bruce L

smitlick said:


> Newly Announced:
> (-) GHC Heavy Tag Championship Match: [Champions] Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. [Challengers] Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus [TNA]
> ~ 4th Defense.


Looking forward to this. I know Joe is considered kind of a joke in Japan for some reason, but if he and Akiyama bring it this could really be a hell of a match.


----------



## Bubz

He's better than most people on the NOAH roster when he brings his A game, and I don't think he'll go to Japan and not bring it especially against someone like Akiyama.


----------



## rzombie1988

I'm tempted to maybe go to that NOAH show with Joe vs Akiyama, but I don't know. I kind of have a personal ban on NOAH ever since they didn't allow me to take a picture with the now dead Mitsuharu Misawa that I drove 4 hours for. I'm actually moving to Japan in a few days and will be doing tons of live show reports, news, video reviews and just about anything you can imagine on my blog.

I reviewed a ton of stuff on my blog lately. Tons of classic All Japan, Mr. Pogo using BUSH TRIMMERS and SCROPIONS on people, tons of joshi reviews and even the only two good Abdullah the Butcher matches ever.


----------



## antoniomare007

BUBZ said:


> He's better than most people on the NOAH roster when he brings his A game, and I don't think he'll go to Japan and not bring it especially against someone like Akiyama.


He didn't brought it against fucking Misawa...


----------



## MF83

Has Joe added anything to his arsenal in the past 5 years (serious question)? If not, he'll still be seen as a joke.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> He didn't brought it against fucking Misawa...


Dude, it was one fucking match, and it was in 2007. And it was not a bad match, actually.

EDIT: Akebono vs. Onita announced to happen on August 26th in a No Rope Barbed-wire Barricade Mat Double Hell Megaton Current Blast Deathmatch.


----------



## Cactus

How much does GaijinPuro charge for their NJPW PPVs and big NOAH shows nowadays?


----------



## Kamikaze™

What's the chances of KENTA's return match being vs. Marufuji for the 1,878,123rd time.


----------



## Bubz

antoniomare007 said:


> He didn't brought it against fucking Misawa...


I can't remember anything about that match, I watched it years ago and wasn't really into Puro back then.



MF83 said:


> Has Joe added anything to his arsenal in the past 5 years (serious question)? If not, he'll still be seen as a joke.


tbh, I don't really know. He hasn't been given the chance to show anything since being TNA champ apart from the Aries match at Slammiversary which was awesome.



JoeRulz said:


> EDIT: Akebono vs. Onita announced to happen on August 26th in a No Rope Barbed-wire Barricade Mat Double Hell Megaton Current Blast Deathmatch.


Most awesome match name ever?



Kamikaze™ said:


> What's the chances of KENTA's return match being vs. Marufuji for the 1,878,123rd time.


God I hope not.


----------



## Chismo

BUBZ said:


> Most awesome match name ever?


Absolutely, lol.


----------



## smitlick

Cactus said:


> How much does GaijinPuro charge for their NJPW PPVs and big NOAH shows nowadays?


You need an invite to buy there now...


----------



## Genking48

And they're pretty darn slow on putting up Dominion :/ I'd hoped to watch it yesterday.


----------



## MF83

6 or 8 bucks. I come home two nights in a row expecting Dominion and nope. I fucking hate Dragon Gate Infinities #259 & #260. :cuss: :mark:


----------



## Chismo

I CAME!


----------



## Chismo

EDIT: fucking double post


----------



## Bubz

Wow, all of Kobashi's GHC reign in 1 video? Fucking awesome. Probably my favourite title reign ever out of any promotion tbh.


----------



## lariatooooo!!!

Holy fuck, haven't seen anything of 2012 so far. Could anyone post some suggestions if I forgot something?

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Suwama AJPW 2012/01/02
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Akebono & Ryuto Hama AJPW 03.01.2012
Go vs. Morishima
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW 12.02.2012
Nakajima-Shingo
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

... what else?


----------



## antoniomare007

Daisuke vs Yoshihito! (Strong Climb Tournament Final 26/3)


----------



## Bubz

lariatooooo!!! said:


> Holy fuck, haven't seen anything of 2012 so far. Could anyone post some suggestions if I forgot something?
> 
> Daisuke Sekimoto vs Suwama AJPW 2012/01/02
> Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Akebono & Ryuto Hama AJPW 03.01.2012
> Go vs. Morishima
> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - NJPW 12.02.2012
> Nakajima-Shingo
> Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito
> 
> ... what else?


Okada vs Goto and PAC vs Devitt BOTSJ.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Does anyone know where I can watch some Wrestling New Classic shows?

I honestly thought they'd show up on Youtube like SMASH did, but to no avail.


----------



## smitlick

I haven't seen any of them being mentioned as being taped for TV


----------



## Kamikaze™

Spoiler: NOAH 30/06/2012 Results and 22/07/2012 Updated Card from PuroLove.com



NOAH "THE NAVIGATION IN JUNE 2012", 30.06.2012 
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 
1,500 Fans 

1. Zack Sabre Jr. Studying Abroad Match: Atsushi Aoki besiegt Zack Sabre Jr. (13:38) mit einem Horizontal Cradle. 
2. NO MERCY vs. TMDK: Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste besiegen Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi (12:50) als Nicholls Hirayanagi nach einem Union Neckbreaker Drop pinnte. 
3. Kotaro Suzuki besiegt Atsushi Kotoge (16:16) mit einem Super Mass Driver. 
4. Naomichi Marufuji besiegt Maybach Taniguchi (11:01) durch DQ. 
5. Special Six Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Akitoshi Saito besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Takuma Sano & Hiromitsu Kanehara (23:03) nach dem Go Flasher von Shiozaki gegen Sano. 
6. BRAVE vs. Diamond Ring Survival Tag Match: Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone, Taiji Ishimori & Ricky Marvin vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara (37:57). 
- Ishimori & Marvin besiegen Nakajima & Kajiwara (15:42) nach einem Front Cradle von Marvin gegen Kajiwara. 
- Nakajima & Miyahara besiegen Ishimori & Marvin (4:07) nach einem Running Low Kick von Nakajima gegen Marvin. 
- Morishima & Ishimori besiegen Nakajima & Miyahara (2:45) nach einem Backdrop Suplex von Morishima gegen Nakajima. 
- Sasaki & Miyahara besiegen Morishima & Ishimori (2:38) nach einem German Suplex Hold von Miyahara gegen Ishimori. 
- Morishima & Yone besiegen Sasaki & Miyahara Sasaki & Miyahara (12:45) nach einem Muscle Buster von Yone gegen Miyahara. 

- 

NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN RYOGOKU", 22.07.2012 (G+) 
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

1. von Erich Brothers Japanese Debut Match: Ross von Erich & Marshall von Erich vs. Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste 
2. Special Singles Match: Mohammed Yone vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara 
3. Special Singles Match: Maybach Taniguchi vs. TAJIRI 
4. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) vs. Ricky Marvin & Super Crazy 
5. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Christopher Daniels 
6. KENTA Return Match: KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
7. GHC Tag Team Title: Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (c) vs. Samoa Joe & Magnus 
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Go Shiozaki

Personal Thoughts:

- Sucks that Zack Sabre Jr from two tours is now 0-27 in W-L record; he's really talented, over and from what I've read very liked backstage. Nobody expects him to be GHC Jr Champ, but through a few wins his way over like Miyahara, Ishimori or Hirayanagi are more than deserved

- TMDK are awesome, definitely want to see them as GHC Jr Tag Champs

- Survival match sounds cool

- Called KENTA's return match, was obvious really. 

- After the second short reign, I can't really take Shiozaki seriously anymore. I still don't believe him as an Ace. They just build him up and then knock him down out of nowhere.

- I'm personally interested to see if the Von Erich boys are any good


----------



## antoniomare007

that swag


----------



## Chismo

So, it's KENTA/Marufuji, Vol. 735? SMH...



antoniomare007 said:


> that swag


Epic shit.



Aaaaand, here we go:



Spoiler: WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE!



*NJPW/AJPW "NJPW & AJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ SUMMER NIGHT FEVER IN RYOGOKU ~ WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE!", 01.07.2012 (WPW/Asahi Newstar/GAORA TV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
11,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy
*
1. KENSO , Masanobu Fuchi & Captain New Japan besiegen Jado , Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI (7:02) nach dem Caribbean Death Grip von Captain gegen Gedo.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger , Tiger Mask , Shiryu, BUSHI & SUSHI besiegen Prince Devitt , Ryusuke Taguchi , KAI , Hiroshi Yamato & Hiromu Takahashi (8:50) nach einem Firebird Splash von BUSHI gegen Takahashi.
3. Takao Omori , Hirooki Goto , Manabu Soya & Karl Anderson besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (12:09) nach dem Gun Stun von Anderson gegen Taichi.
4. Masakatsu Funaki , Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka besiegen Yuji Nagata , Wataru Inoue & KUSHIDA (9:48) nach einem Hybrid Blaster von Funaki gegen KUSHIDA.
5. *All Asia Tag Team Title*: Akebono & Ryota Hama besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) (12:35) nach dem Ryota Hammer von Hama gegen Okabayashi - Titelwechsel.
6. Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering besiegen Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga (12:21) nach einer Revolution Bomb von Doering gegen Tonga.
7. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada besiegen Suwama & Shuji Kondo (14:13) nach dem Rainmaker von Okada gegen Kondo.
8. *NJPW & AJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event I*: Keiji Muto , Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima besiegen Toru Yano , Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (12:09) nach einer Moonsault Press von Muto gegen Ishii.
9. *NJPW & AJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event II - Triple Crown*: Jun Akiyama (c) besiegt Taiyo Kea (23:26) mit dem Sternness Dust (4th defense).
10. *NJPW & AJPW 40th Anniversary Triple Main Event III - IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) besiegt Togi Makabe (22:41) mit dem High Fly Flow (1st defense).


5. 
7. 
9. HELLYEAH!
10. 



Credit: purolove.com


----------



## antoniomare007

Spoiler: 40th Anniversary show



There was no way Sekimoto/Okabayashi would win that match again. I just hope they keep working with All Japan.

14 minutes for the only match I was really looking forward to watch is disappointing.

Glad that Akiyama retained.



Wasn't very interested in that show when the card was announced, that feeling hasn't changed after reading the results *shrugs*


----------



## Genking48

This thread is in dire need of some Dragon Gate love!
Enter, *RESULTS*



Spoiler: Dragon Gate show GATE OF MAXIMUM Finale - 01 Jul 2012



*7/1/2012 Osaka, BODYMAKER COLLOSEUM - 1500 Attendance*
0. Kotoka (5:27 Harmony) Kzy
1. BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki, Cyber Kong{W} (15:26 Twister Cutback → School Boy) Masaaki Mochizuki{L}, Don Fujii, Gamma
2. Akira Tozawa{W}, Mondai Ryu (8:35 Package German Suplex Hold) Super Shisa, Shisa BOY
3. Twin Gate Singles Match: YAMATO (8;34 Gallara) Jimmy Kagetora
4. Twin Gate Singles Match: Shingo Takagi (12:21 MADE IN JAPAN) Jimmy Susumu
5. CIMA{W}, Dragon Kid (16:05 Meteora) Ricochet, Rich Swann{L}
6. Open the Triangle Gate: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, PAC{W} (18:05 360 Shooting Star Press) Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Kanda, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!{L}
*4th Defense for WORLD-1 International

After match two, Tozawa & Mondai Ryu ran down the city of Osaka. Tozawa talked about his upcoming match with CIMA. Kzy turned to Yagi and demanded a match for World. Fans booed. He said he would team with Mondai Ryu and would face any challenge. Fans booed. Stalkers' music began playing but quickly changed to a Wild Thing arrangement version. Stalker came out, and was speaking in a manner similar to Atsushi Onita. Indeed, he would be teaming with Mr. Onita to face Mondai Ryu & Kzy at World! He finished by throwing water all over the place.

-akatsuki- celebrated their complete sweep of the Twin Gate skirmishes. Takagi went as far as to say himself or YAMATO could be replaced by Tommy or Shenlong and they would still be too strong for the Jimmys. Both sides promised to win in Kobe.

After the semi-final, CIMA spoke. First he asked Ricochet & DK to have a clean fight in their upcoming match. Then he brought up Magnitude Kishiwada. Last time around in Osaka, CIMA promised himself, Gamma, & Kishiwada would team up. Kishiwadas' schedule made it impossible today. However, he is free on the 11th when they do their even for Kansai TV in Osaka. So, the all Osaka native trio will rage there.

The MB team from the opener came out after the main. Naturally, they challenged for the Triangle Gate. Mocchy blocked it, saying they had already been promised the next title shot back in Kyoto. Yoshino told him that he used that up yesterday and couldn't just get another title match. He accepted the MB challenge. After some more prodding by Mocchy, Yoshino continued his take on all comers stance and agreed to a 3 way for World. Yoshino then passed off closing speech duties on the Jimmys.

Horiguchi began to do so, but Naoki Tanizaki invaded again. He gave essentially the same speech as yesterday, but then produced a pair of eye glasses. He asked to join the Jimmys! He asked Horiguchi if he was just pretending to not know him yesterday. Horiguchi again asked him who he was. As did Kanda. As did Susumu. However, Kagetora remembered him. He asked him to go drinking with him. The others finally let on that they were just messing with Tanizaki. They remembered him. Thus, Naoki Tanizaki has joined the Jimmys. He didn't get a Jimmy name just yet, though.

World now looks like this:

*7/22/2012 Hyogo, Kobe World Kinen Hall ~Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2012~*
-Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa, Atsushi Onita vs. Mondai Ryu, Kzy
-Open the Triangle Gate 3 Way: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, PAC vs. BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki, Cyber Kong vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Gamma
-Open the Brave Gate: Dragon Kid vs. Ricochet
-Open the Twin Gate: Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kagetora vs. YAMATO, Shingo Takagi
-Open the Dream Gate: CIMA vs. Akira Tozawa



credit: iheartdg.com


----------



## Chismo

The Kobe Festival card is as good as it gets. CIMA/Tozawa is the biggest match possible in Dragon Gate now, and I reckon Tozawa will win, because he's DG's Top Dog for the future. 

Also, the 3-Way trios and the Jimmyz/TakaYAMA tags look unreal.


EDIT:


Spoiler:  New Japan/All Japan stuff













* New Japan and All Japan celebrated their 40th anniversary years in style with a successful joint show that packed Sumo Hall and entertained the crowd. It was announced that *there will be a second joint anniversary show in Taiwan this October!*

* Keiji Mutoh and Daichi Hashimoto appeared after the main event to announce that they will both appear at New Japan’s “WRESTLE KINGDOM VII IN TOKYO DOME” super-show on 1/4/13. It will be a fateful New Japan debut for Daichi, son of the legendary Shinya Hashimoto who was one of the biggest and most beloved stars in New Japan history.

* Hiroshi Tanahashi’s sixth reign as IWGP Heavyweight Title started with a huge match against Togi Makabe, surprisingly the first time these two have ever met for the belt. With both being so popular there were split calls but the flow of the match put Tanahashi in something of a pseudo-heel role and he was booed in parts while Makabe won much support. As expected this turned into a very hot match with lots of near falls but there could be only one winner and it was the “Ace of the Universe” as Tanahashi pinned Makabe following a barrage of High Fly Flows. Tanahashi will have little time to rest as he must make his V2 defense against Masato Tanaka on 7/22 in Yamagata.

* Following his successful V4 defense of the Triple Crown over Taiyo Kea in a match that was reminiscent of the 90s battles featuring the Four Corners of Heaven (Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi/Taue), *Akiyama was politely challenged by Masakatsu Funaki*.

* With the legendary Muto to help them out, Tenzan and Kojima finally got one over on CHAOS with the former nWo Japan trio besting Yano, Iizuka & Ishii when Muto dropped his moonsault press on Ishii to give TenKoji some momentum going into the IWGP Tag Team Title decision match against Yano & Iizuka.

* The CHAOS duo of Nakamura & Okada defeated All Japan’s power fighting combination of Suwama & Kondo and mocked the losers after the match, causing Suwama to go into a frenzy where he had to be held back and was mocked even further as Okada did the Rainmaker pose.

* There was said to be a good chemistry between New Japan’s *Naito* and All Japan’s *Sanada* with the feeling that these two could have a good rivalry if given the chance.

* There was a scuffle between Nagata and Funaki after the fourth match as their feud continues to intensify.



EDIT II: 



> *NJPW, 22.07.2012 (WPW)
> Yamagata City Sports Center*
> 
> 1. Tama Tonga, Maximo , Captain New Japan & BUSHI vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI
> 2. KUSHIDA vs. Low Ki
> 3. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*: Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov
> 4. Special Elimination Match: Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
> 5. *IWGP Tag Team Title, Decision Match*: Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
> 6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Naito & Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada & Yujiro Takahashi
> 7. *IWGP Intercontinental Title*: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> 8. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Masato Tanaka


Also:

- Funaki/Nagat announced for July 29th at Korakuen
- there are strong rumours that SUWAMA/Nakamura and Sanada/Naito will happen this year down the road


----------



## Bubz

SUWAMA/Nakamura :mark:

Also match number 7 from the NJ/AJ show sounds great.


----------



## antoniomare007

That 22/7 show looks fucking sick, can't wait.

They should save Suwama vs Nakamura for Wrestle Kingdom.


----------



## seancarleton77

Does anyone know where a fella might find Ishii vs. Goto? I have a feeling it's the best Puroresu match of 2012.


----------



## Bruce L

seancarleton77 said:


> Does anyone know where a fella might find Ishii vs. Goto? I have a feeling it's the best Puroresu match of 2012.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTJEmYp7JOI


----------



## MF83

Doubt it's the best match you'll see this year, but it's vintage Ishii for sure.


"* There was said to be a good chemistry between New Japan’s Naito and All Japan’s Sanada with the feeling that these two could have a good rivalry if given the chance."

Lol. Seriously, who wrote that? (Edit: Ah, come on Stu!) Sanada killed that match dead and nobody cared. Worst match of the night. That Akiyama/Kea statement is also way off the mark. 

Suwama/Nakamura rumors are odd since it was Suwama and Okada who were beefing. 

Review:


Spoiler: review



July 1st, 2012 - All Japan Pro-Wrestling & New Japan Pro Wrestling "WE ARE PRO-WRESTLING LOVE" 40th Anniversary Show @ Tokyo Ryougoku Kokugikan 

- Phenomenal opening video package. One can already tell that there are a lot of single-promotion-only fans in the house tonight. What an atmosphere.

1. Captain New Japan, Masanobu Fuchi & KENSO vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Gedo & Jado
- Pretty much what was to be expected. Lots of fun, KENSO shenanigans, Fuchi slams, Jado flops, and a big ol’ Captain finish (Carribean Death grip still has to go).

2. HT:A55F4 vs. Team Junior Masuku
- KAI should have received the last introduction rather than Devitt, being that he actually has a relative title. A match I’ll sum up by dubbing it an entertaining pleasure of a match. The Hiromu chop spot was hilarious, and we even got a 360 ten man jump spot! SUSHI was a good base for the unmasked rotation in the middle, Hiromu was featured, nobody screwed anything up (other than Tiger’s Driver… almost) and neither of KAI or Yamato bothered me like they usually do. Dives well placed with a fun finish. Well done! * ***1/2*

3. Takao Omori, Manau Soya, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku 
- The machine gun sound prompting Goto’s music sounds great. Those two teaming would be a pretty smart decision. Nothing like a big arena rendition of _Kaze Ni Nare_. The Axe Bomber connection didn’t connect with me until Taichi tagged in and called out Omori. Holy fucking Takao piledriver. They could have lost this to messiness in the middle but it all came back together nicely. One of the most easily telegraphed finishes in recent times but that didn't spoil a bout such as this. ****1/2 *Soya and Goto shook hands a couple times. Interesting. 

4. Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka vs. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & KUSHIDA
- I like KUSHIDA getting involved in this beef. The elders start and bah gawd, what tension! It begins with a sick opening segment featuring an unusually stiff and stern Funaki. Everyone else was just there to kill time between Nagata and Funaki portions. The venomous glare in Funaki’s eyes is just haunting after Nagata Justice Knee’s Kono. Epic Funaki squash finish and a Blue (black?) Justice pose to boot. BRAWL! You’d think those two legitimately wish to murder each other. Intense, man. Not as good as the Dome but the goodness is pure and the mediocre, minimal. So much hate! * ***1/2* 

5. *All Asia Tag Team Championship:* Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi © vs. Akebono & Ryoto Hama
- Ah, I meant to watch their last match before this viewing this show. Oh well. Damn, Sekimoto is popular in Sumo Hall. This started molasses slow but wound up being very good! Akebono brought personality and Hama was Hama. Sekimoto kept this together with the little things, putting on a tryout level ring general performance. Oka was okay, but didn’t shine like he could have. If they handled the beginning better this would be a solid four stars. ****3/4*.

6. Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga
- AllJannouncer couldn’t handle the task of pronouncing Tama Tonga’s name and went all pubescent in a funny moment, haha. The chants for the two youngstars were surprisingly even early on (keyword “early”). 
- Sanada is embarrassingly dreadful for the spot he has. He is the proverbial broom that NJ-gun had to work with. 
- After sucking the life from this match while looking like a confused puppy, Sanada fucks up his counter to Naito’s jumping elbow, killing the little bit of momentum they managed to procure. Doering doesn’t respond to Naito’s neckbreaker spin cue and Naito has to fucking shoot him into it. Boo that team, seriously. Tonga is pretty much the best “match loser” in the business right now, yet Doering messed up his first bomb somehow and it killed the finish. Weak stuff, former tag champs. Boooooooo. Naito was stellar in this, displaying a more tweener persona that the Shinsuke series seemingly impregnated into his very soul. Tonga was as good as Tonga gets but again, the All Japan team bombed. Naito looked legitimately mad after the match but made the most of it with a thoroughly entertaining arena exit. Moving on. 

7. Shinsuke Nakamura & Okada Kazuchika vs. Suwama & Shuji Kondo
- Okada losing the title rightfully puts him in the early entrance spot, thankfully. So then, this match is a battle of former Toryumoners partnering with their respective promotions' top workers (and my personal two promotion favourites). That, I can dig. Suwama knows what’s about to happen and he just can’t contain that smile of his on the way to the ring. Shinsuke knows this is the first time he’s received a real spotlight in ages, and you can just see in his face that he’s about to make the most of it. 
- Match summed up: Suwama and Kondo play heels against CHAOS Supreme. If that doesn't sell you, well then... Further: Swagsuke was off the fucking chain, Okada was the most over as a face while hanging in and often above the rest of them, Kondo was fucking Yatsu if we’re comparing this to Choshu Army vs. Jumbo/Tenryu (AKA “*I secretly love everything you do but* BOOOOOOOOOO!”), and Suwama executed everything right about his recent heelish performances as only as a true ace could. Each one of these men are well above average workers that understand how to add that extra bit of wrestlegold to any given match; the best bit here being that each of them brought their all. The result was a match on par with early NOAH/NJ feud levels of awesome. To be fair, there were small bits of messiness due to unfamiliarity but nothing outright sloppy or botched. Suwama vs. Okada was the big pairing in this. Suwama just couldn't let him pose... It’s unfair to rate because I was marking out for the entire match but I'll call it *****+ and must see*. 

- *SUNRISE~!!!!!* _BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE_









-Stan shares some gratitude on behalf of both promotions. 

- Nogami closeup. You know what time it is.
8. Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. MuTenKoji
- Ryougoku Kokukigan gave Mutoh 1990's level entrance chants. Chilling. Iizuka actually attacked fans with his finger bag and at least two of them looked authentic and fought back, which is kind of refreshing. Nogami gets his ass beat! Nagata strong style slap to Nogami! *minutes pass* The match is worth it for the final combo and especially the Nogami-centric aftermath. JUSTICE!

- Hase and Sakaguchi in the house! 

9. *Triple Crown Chamoionship:* Jun Akiyama © vs. Taiyo Kea 
- Hansen introduces the TC match in the preview video, talking about the championship formation and whatnot. 
- If you’re good with shit crowds then I reckon you will enjoy this. Way too slow for a match in the death slot, but on its own it would have made a great main event for the live audience. Way too many fall attempts though. All match, after every little move, they would attempt falls. That’s almost the opposite of oudou stylings, c’mon now men. Kea flubbed the ’91 unfortunately. I sound down on this, but I enjoyed it a helluva lot.* ***3/4-****ish*.

10. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Togi Makabe
- Makabe is bandaged at the knee, evidently stemming from the MiSu match. Makabe outpops Tanahashi as expected, so it looks natural when we get the long anticipated return of... Tweenerhashi?! “_Tanahashi dai buuingu_!!!” I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear that, especially because of the initial actions that caused such a ruckus. Makabe sells fairly flawlessly here. Tanahashi brings his A game and they reach that epic title match atmosphere _organically_ by not following any formula. Multiple great exchanges, sequence and counters, plus the transitions were smooth as was key for this. Surprising moment when out of nowhere, Makabe channels his inner Tyler Reks. A great ten or so minute finishing stretch, paced remarkably well. Every moment in the last many minutes felt important and believable as the potential first link in some possible match ending chain. Better than Okada/Goto, for sure. Fantastic match. *****1/4+*

- Out comes Mutoh and NJPW/Bushiroad Owner to have a kayfabe conversation about a joint Taiwan doubleshot! Mutoh brings out Daichi and from what I gather he’s doing something at the Tokyo Dome. Cool. That whole segment made one particular woman across from the hard camera bawl uncontrollably. Puroresu Love!

Absolutely obtain this.


----------



## leglock

Lmao.


----------



## Chismo

Random Puro watch and re-watch session:


- Genichiro Tenryu vs. KENTA (NOAH, 10/8/2005) ***3/4

- Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinya Ishikawa (BJW, 5/25/2012) ***1/2

- Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takuma Sano (NOAH, 8/1/2004) *** (Big Tak TKOing Sano = awesome)

- Mitsuharu Misawa & Masahiro Chono vs. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue (NOAH, 1/10/2003) ***3/4 (Chono = BOSS)

- Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Wild II (NOAH, 12/6/2003) ***1/2 

- Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (NOAH, 7/23/2011) **3/4

- Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata (ZERO1, 3/2/2001) ***3/4

- Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Jun Akiyama & Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH, 3/21/2011) **1/2

- Jun Akiyama vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH, 7/10/2011) *** (No one should mess with Jun, not even Jima)

- Go Shiozaki vs. Shuhei Taniguchi (NOAH, 5/8/2011) ****** (Whoever doubts Taniguchi, needs to check this one out)

- Bad Intentions vs. Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie (NOAH, 7/23/2011) ***

- Bad Intentions vs. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi (NOAH, 10/31/2011) ***3/4 (Awesome)

- Fit Finlay vs. TAJIRI (SMASH 25) ***3/4 ("Keep wrestling classic!")

- Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa (BJW, 4/28/2010) *****3/4* (Batshit crazy masterpiece, Jun FUCKING Kasai!)

- Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa (BJW, 11/22/2010) ***3/4


----------



## Bruce L

All these reports of Sanada's sucktitude make me sad. The guy was the clear MVP of one of last year's standout series (Sanada/Soya vs. Sekimoto/Okabayashi), plus had a darn good Triple Crown match with Suwama, and was being talked up as the future of the company; now it's like he can't do anything right. Bummer, especially with Takumi Soya supposedly being done.


----------



## seabs

*Picked up some shows from GP after they let me have access again (the steps they went to removing my access were quite scary). Quick thoughts:*

*DDT 24/6/2012*
_Can#t believe it's been nearly a year since I watched a DDT show. So sad. 6 man opener only gets the last half shown but it looked a really good match. DDT Battle Royale's are always at the worst fun. HARASHIMA/Irie was good but too short. The Fujiwara 8 man rocked. Must see for any Fujiwara fans. Omega has the audacity to do his stop sign enziguri at Fuji and yell STOP YOU OLD MOTHERFUCKER at him. GEEK squad being scared shitless of Fujiwara was great. Tag Titles match was the least match on the card which was a shame but it was by no means bad. Ibushi/Hino is my current MOTY. Already talked about it._

*ZERO-1 14/6/2012*
_Hash on Hash violence got clipped down to 6 minutes. Major bummer. Still holding out for a Hash/Hash tag with Otani in there but I'm not holding my breath anymore. Got clipped down that much because the fucking NOAH 6 man had to go over 25 minutes. Typical. Thankfully Otani was in it and Otani's the greatest and manage to make another NOAH match good. 4 NOAH matches this year worth my time. 2 of them were Otani tags. Could see people who aren't as low on NOAH as me giving it ****+ ratings. Akebono/Tanaka was alright. Nothing great. Poor Tanaka looked like he had no fun working this match with Akebono._

*NJPW 20/05/2012*
_Solid show with a terrific main event. Ishii/Goto rocked. Talked about it already. Nakamura/Tonga was really good for a sub 10 minute match too. Tonga's so good right now. Great Job/FIP worker._

*NJPW 3/6/2012*
_Card full of good matches even if nothing is great. PAC/Gedo was MOTN. Jado/Gedo matches on smaller shows like this are always tons of fun these days. Add that into a well worked match with PAC. Great stuff. Other BOSJ matches were all good and/or fun but short on time._

*NJPW/AJPW 1/7/2012*
_Thought this was a good all round show but lacked a great match and the double main event didn't do much for me personally. First 3 multi man matches were all good. Fuchi doing body slams is enough to please me. 10 Man Jr. Tag is what you'd expect. Not long enough to be anything more than good though. Chuffed Anderson got the pin in the 8 man. Really disappointed with the Nagata/Funaki tag. Nagata really needs some partners who can bring the hate to Kono and Minoru. Loads of tension between Nagata and Funaki but it never really broke down into seething hatred like I wanted it to during the match and the rest was bad filler. Funaki doing the BJ salute after and causing another brawl hopefully means they'll really bring it to each other next time.

BJ/SMOP Tag was really good. 2nd best match on the show for me. Pleasantly surprised at how over Sekimoto was on a show like this. Okabayashi/Hama had a super finishing stretch. Sanada/Naito tag was good too. Sanada/Naito portions of it were great. Tonga good as ever. Doering fucking sucks though. Sanada's gone cold lately in terms of momentum and tagging him with Doering is hardly gonna help. Fuck NO at Sanada sucking. Okada/Nakamura vs Suwama/Kondo was my MOTN. Suwama is so fucking good right now and Okada and Nakamura were great in this too. Suwama killing Okada on the outside was greatness. Bit flat in the second half up to the finish which was a shame though and stopped me calling it a MOTYC. Suwama/Okada is the way to go ahead of Suwama/Nakamura. Obviously both of them need to happen though. Suwama/Okada seems the most likely option for either one of the Taiwan shows or WK.

Mutoh 6 man was the only match I didn't watch as I had zero interest in it. If anything was better than the commentator guys lariat then I'll watch it. Doubt I'm watching it though. Didn't think Akiyama/Kea was any good. Akiyama/Funaki doesn't have me interested at all either. Tanahashi/Makabe was good but not great. Crowd didn't really know who to cheer for and the leg work was inconsistent. Strong finish though as you'd expect from any Tanahashi match. Basically the same as their G1 match from last year. Daichi confirmed for Wrestle Kingdom :mark: Marked when he came out even though I had no idea what was going on. Figured it out though because I'm a clever cookie. _


----------



## Chismo

> Hash on Hash violence got clipped down to 6 minutes.


Is there any chance we will ever see this match in full length?


----------



## seabs

*Not realistically. From what they showed it didn't seem like a great match but they need to be in tags really at this stage. *


----------



## smitlick

@Seabs How are you watching those (i know your downloading them from GP) but are you burning them to disc first or just watching on computer? If so how are you going about watching them on the computer?


----------



## Chismo

I was watching some Dragon Gate today, and of course it pisses me off when I gotta watch heavily clipped matches, but when they do it with No Rope/No DQ matches, such as YAMATO/Tozawa, YAMATO/Hulk, and especially Shingo/Tozawa (great match), I want to drop an attomic bomb on them. They only showed like 50% of those matches.


----------



## Genking48

smitlick said:


> @Seabs How are you watching those (i know your downloading them from GP) but are you burning them to disc first or just watching on computer? If so how are you going about watching them on the computer?


Now this wasn't directed at me but anyways, watching GaijinPuro on the computer? it's just a iso file, so just have daemon tools, mount image and you're there.


----------



## jawbreaker

smitlick said:


> @Seabs How are you watching those (i know your downloading them from GP) but are you burning them to disc first or just watching on computer? If so how are you going about watching them on the computer?


VLC will play .iso files.


----------



## Chismo

jawbreaker said:


> VLC will play .iso files.


- Sasaki/Callihan 3/26
- Sasaki/Sekimoto 3/26
- Sekimoto/Okabayashi 2/26
- Sasaki/Big Van Walter 5/5
- Sekimoto & Walter/Okabayashi & Sasaki 4/28
- Sekimoto & Okabayashi/Sasaki & Ishikawa 5/25
- Okabayashi, K. Hashimoto & M. Otani/Ishikawa, Shinobu & Tsukamoto 3/26
- Sekimoto, Okabayashi & K. Hashimoto/SMOP & Nakanoue 2/2
- Sasaki/Okabayashi 6/18 I think

There are 2-3 great deathmatches, don't know if you like that style.

EDIT: Ooops, wrong thread, but still...


----------



## smitlick

jawbreaker said:


> VLC will play .iso files.


Ah ok. Thats all I was really asking because I don't have any discs lying around.


----------



## seabs

*If you have WinRAR then you can extract the TS folder from the iso image and play the VOB video files.*


----------



## Concrete

*Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenou (C) vs. Fujita “Jr” Hayato: ****

There was a lot of good stuff going on in this match as well as quite a bit of not so good things. I'd honestly never seen either guy before this match but I now want to see some more of Kenou. He did some work in this one. Fujita on the other hand helped this match just by the fact that the crowd liked him so he could be a good FIP

The thing that prevented me from thinking this was any better than a pretty good match is the UNGODLY amount of kicks to the chest. I don't think I'd ever seen so many in one match. It was fricking ridiculous to the point that I was truly frustrated which doesn't usually happen to me during a wrestling match.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - 22/1/11*

1. Jushin Liger vs La Sombra
**3/4

2. Shinsuke Nakamura, Averno & Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Mistico & Prince Devitt
**3/4

*New Japan - 23/1/11*

1. Jado & Gedo vs Maximo & Danshoku Dino
**

2. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
***3/4


----------



## Emperor DC

How is Gallows doing over in NOAH?

Showing any signs of being the latest American to go over there and step to the next level?

That reminds me, I need to dig out some Karl Anderson and MVP.


----------



## I AM A MAAAAN

Hey guys, I recently moved to Japan for work based reasons and I'm on a lengthy contract based mostly in Japan so I thought now would be as good a time as any to try and get back into watching some Japanese wrestling that's airing. I've got a couple of shows DVD'd that aired lately but what would you guys say are the best shows to look out for wrestling wise. I caught the New Japan/All Japan supershow that was on the other night and I liked that a lot.

Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask too.


----------



## 11rob2k

DeeCee said:


> How is Gallows doing over in NOAH?
> 
> Showing any signs of being the latest American to go over there and step to the next level?
> 
> That reminds me, I need to dig out some Karl Anderson and MVP.


iv just started trying to get into puro and saw this Gallows match today


----------



## TelkEvolon

I AM A MAAAAN said:


> Hey guys, I recently moved to Japan for work based reasons and I'm on a lengthy contract based mostly in Japan so I thought now would be as good a time as any to try and get back into watching some Japanese wrestling that's airing. I've got a couple of shows DVD'd that aired lately but what would you guys say are the best shows to look out for wrestling wise. I caught the New Japan/All Japan supershow that was on the other night and I liked that a lot.
> 
> Apologies if this is the wrong place to ask too.


The upcoming 7.22 NOAH show looks all kinds of awesome

*GHC Heavyweight Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
Takeshi MORISHIMA (Champion) vs. Go SHIOZAKI (Challenger) 

*GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
Jun AKIYAMA & Akitoshi SAITO vs. Samoa JOE & MAGNUS (TNA) 

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
Yoshinobu KANEMARU (Champion) vs. Chris DANIELS (Challenger) 

*Special Singles Match*
Naomichi MARUFUJI vs. KENTA 

*Special Singles Match*
Maybach TANIGUCHI vs. TAJIRI 

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
Kotaro SUZUKI & Atsushi AOKI (Champion Team) vs. 
SUPER-CRAZY & Ricky MARVIN (Challenger Team) 

*Special Singles Match*
Muhammad YONE vs. Yoshiaki FUJIWARA 

*Special Tag Match [Von Erich's Brothers Debut in Japan]*
Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich vs. 
Mikey NICHOLLS & Shane HASTE


----------



## seabs

TelkEvolon said:


> The upcoming 7.22 NOAH show looks all kinds of awesome
> 
> *GHC Heavyweight Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
> Takeshi MORISHIMA (Champion) vs. Go SHIOZAKI (Challenger)
> 
> *GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
> Jun AKIYAMA & Akitoshi SAITO vs. Samoa JOE & MAGNUS (TNA)
> 
> *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
> Yoshinobu KANEMARU (Champion) vs. Chris DANIELS (Challenger)
> 
> *Special Singles Match*
> Naomichi MARUFUJI vs. KENTA
> 
> *Special Singles Match*
> Maybach TANIGUCHI vs. TAJIRI
> 
> *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match 60 min Time Limit*
> Kotaro SUZUKI & Atsushi AOKI (Champion Team) vs.
> SUPER-CRAZY & Ricky MARVIN (Challenger Team)
> 
> *Special Singles Match*
> Muhammad YONE vs. Yoshiaki FUJIWARA
> 
> *Special Tag Match [Von Erich's Brothers Debut in Japan]*
> Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich vs.
> Mikey NICHOLLS & Shane HASTE


*They added Ishimori vs Takanashi and apprently Ibushi is booked for the show too. Can't see it drawing super though outside of KENTA/Marufuji and Morishima/Shiozaki.*


----------



## Chismo

The match-card is stacked, though, outside of KENTAH/Marufuji Vol. 829...


----------



## I AM A MAAAAN

I was a big NOAH fan and that card looks very strong so I'll make sure to look out for that. Thanks!


----------



## Genking48

Results from Dragon Gate show 7/6 RAINBOW GATE Kickoff from iHEARDTdg



Spoiler: results



*7/6/2012 Tokyo, Korakuen Hall*
0. Super Shenlong III (6:23 Modified Pinfall) Kzy
1. BxB Hulk, Cyber Kong{W} (6:38 Cyber Bomb) Kenichiro Arai, Kotoka{L}
2. Dragon Kid, Gamma{W} (9:01 Gamma Special) Jimmy Kanda, Shachihoko BOY{L}
3. Naoki Tanisaki (10:10 Night Ride) Jimmy Kagetora
4. PAC{W}, Rich Swann (11:58 High Angle Shooting Star Press) K-ness, Super Shisa{L}
5. Mascara contra Pasaporte Falls Count Anywhere Handicap Match: CIMA (12:23 Meteora) Akira Tozawa, Mondai Ryu{L}
6. 4 Way 6 Man Tag: Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Magnitude Kishiwada def. Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Susumu, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. YAMATO, Shingo Takagi, Chihiro Tominaga vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Ricochet
-Doi (27:00 Bakatare Sliding Kick) Tominaga
-Kishiwada (33:36 Last Ride) Saito
-Mochizuki (38:36 Sankakugeri to the Face) Doi

All the participants for the main event came out for the opening MC. Not much of note, aside from everyone mocking Horiguchi & Tominaga for their unfortunate hair loss situation. 

Tanisaki said there was an impostor in the Jimmys, and he had some words of warning for him.

Strangely, PAC bowed to all four sides of the arena after his match...

After taking Mondai Ryus' mask, CIMA also decided to take his hair. Perceiving this as a betrayal of the agreed terms, Mondai Ryu said he would do the same and continue to wear his mask.

Tozawa blamed the loss entirely on being saddled with Mondai Ryu. At Kobe World it will be 1 on 1, with no MB involvement. Without the baggage, he will win. CIMA questioned his words about his supposed friends. He said Tozawa wouldn't beat him. Next month in Korakuen he will still have the Dream Gate title. Because he is CIMA.

Mochizuki threw the Veteran Army win back at W1i, saying that the combined experience of 125 years beat them today, and promised to repeat the result at World. Yoshino basically blew him off, saying only that it certainly wasn't going to happen. He then turned his attention to the Summer Adventure Tag League. He proclaimed that DoiYoshi would be returning to win it for a fourth time. Mochizuku called him selfish for blowing off the loss today. He also pitched the idea of making the tag league into a trios league. The other units agreed with the idea. Mochizuki left the decision up to Yoshino, since Speed Muscle created the league in the first place. Yoshino agreed, and once again returned to the DoiYoshi talk. They wanted the Twin Gate. They challenged the winners at World to face them next month in Korakuen Hall. Both TakaYAMA & the Jimmys accepted. All sides left the Veteran Army to close the show. They did the customary closing speech, and announced the East Osaka trio of CIMA, Gamma, & Kishiwada would be the first team in the trios league.

The Summer Adventure Trios Tag League (not an official name) will kick off on 8/2 in Korakuen Hall and run through 8/19 in Hakata Star Lanes.


----------



## Tanner1495

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emYqODZvXVo&list=UUITkaAxgdCOW7N-EF5mBTvQ&index=2&feature=plcp This man is a god, thought you guys may like having this here.


----------



## Chismo

Tanner1495 said:


> http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emYqODZvXVo&list=UUITkaAxgdCOW7N-EF5mBTvQ&index=2&feature=plcp This man is a god, thought you guys may like having this here.


That uploader is epic, I was marking like a little bitch when I saw the Kobashi's GHC reign uploaded a couple of weeks ago.


----------



## Bubz

Kobashi Triple Crown Histiry video is what I'll be watching later lol. Still quite a few of those I haven't seen yet. Got to get on that seeing as Kobashi is my favourite wrestler ever.


----------



## Chismo

After his tag team match in Dragon Gate yesterday, PAC apparently bowed to all four sides of the arena after his match.


> Regarding PAC and his actions yesterday. The bowing to all four sides and waving to the fans is being regarded as a farewell to Japan. It hasn't (officially) progressed beyond rumours & speculation at this point. We will update as soon as we can.


Credit: iheartdg.com

Interesting as fuck. Hopefully he goes to TNA, if this is true.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Wow, that's pretty big. PAC and Dragon Gate go hand in hand.


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - 20/3/11*

1. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
***3/4

2. Yuji Nagata vs Shinsuke Nakamura
****

*New Japan 3/4/11*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata
****1/4


----------



## MF83

Grade One Motherfucking Climax 2012:

*Block A:*
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Yuji Nagata
- Satoshi Kojima
- Karl Anderson
- Shelton Benjamin
- Toru Yano
- Yujiro Takahashi
- Minoru Suzuki
- Naomichi Marufuji


*Block B:*
- Togi Makabe
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan
- Hirooki Goto
- Tetsuya Naito
- MVP
- Rush
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Kazuchika Okada
- Lance Archer


----------



## Sunglasses

Looks great! Glad to see Marufuji in it


----------



## MF83

*NJPW, 01.08.2012 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
*
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Rush 
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Anderson
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin


*NJPW, 03.08.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*

1. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Lance Archer vs. Rush 
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. MVP
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada


*NJPW, 04.08.2012 (J Sports)
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium*

1. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. MVP
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Rush 
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Lance Archer
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima


*NJPW, 05.08.2012 (WPW)
Osaka BODYMAKER Colosseum (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium)*

1. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi
2. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP vs. Rush 
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Shelton Benjamin
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji 


*NJPW, 07.08.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall*

1. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Rush 
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Yujiro Takahashi
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. MVP
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano


*NJPW, 08.08.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium*

1. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Rush 
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Lance Archer
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. MVP
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki


*NJPW, 10.08.2012 (J Sports)
Niigata City Gymnasium*

1. G1 Climax - Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Lance Archer
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Shelton Benjamin
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. MVP
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Rush 
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Toru Yano
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada


*NJPW, 11.08.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall*

1. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rush 
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Minoru Suzuki
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. MVP
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata


*NJPW, 12.08.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan*

1. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP vs. Lance Archer
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs. Naomichi Marufuji 
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shelton Benjamin
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson
9. G1 Climax - Final:

purolove.com


----------



## seabs

*Ugh at Benjamin and Marufuji not only being in it but also facing each other. If Tanahashi has good matches with both of them then he's fucking inhuman. Tanahashi should definitely be in the Final from that block. Hopefully he faces Naito.*


----------



## MF83

I gotta disagree and say Tanahashi absolutely should not make the finals. He's two time IWGP this year alone and is going in as champion unless the world explodes and Tanaka wins or he gets injured or something. If anyone has ever not needed a finals run, it's him. Looking at his matches makes me think he'll go undefeated four or five times before losing just enough to drop out of the running. I'd bet that whoever wins this is taking it from him, and having him lose twice in a row to that winner is silly. I'd say the winner of Suzuki/Nagata vs. the winner of Goto/Naito on the last day is your finals with the young wrestler going over (ideally Naito over Nagata for me). 

Quality wise - Holy fucking B Block. The combo of Nakamura, Okada, Naito, Makabe, Goto & Rush could create 15 good matches alone. Throw in sporadic goodies from Archer, MVP & Tenzan and you're looking at like 20 potentially good-great matches, and could realistically end up with ten or more matches hitting in and around that four stars zone from that block alone. Crazy! Okada/Shinsuke will be the catalyst for the CHAOS explosion feud too epic to predict.

A Block has a lesser chance at hitting as many good matches, but there are still a whole bunch of good looking combos. Marufuji/MiSu is interesting given their past together. They're all very entertaining wrestlers which will make for a fun block, if nothing else.


----------



## Bubz

Looks like a great tournament. Fuji vs Benjamin sounds so bad lol. To be honest most of Benjamins matches sound bad.


----------



## seabs

*He didn't make the final last year when he was champ so it's not a biggy if he does the make the final. He is the champ after all too. Hasn't won a G1 since 2007 either so he's kinda due one. Block A is pretty weak in terms of potential finalists. Only Nagata and MiSu really have an outside shot imo. MiSu isn't really a main event guy and Nagata hasn't been a top of the card guy lately either. He won NJ Cup last year too. Plus with Tana in the Final if he loses then it perfectly sets up the title match. Nagata vs Naito or Okada final could work but I think anything else than them 2 without Tanahashi would be a let down.

Ideal situation would be Naito beating Tana in the Final setting up a title match between the two but Tana beating Naito in the final would work just as well and then maybe build a bit longer to that title match at say Wrestle Kingdom.*


----------



## antoniomare007

HOLY FUCKING SHIT at all these matches taking place in Korakuen:

-Naito vs Nakamura
-Goto vs Nakamura
-Naito vs Okada II
-Tanahashi vs Nagata

:mark:


----------



## Chismo

MF83 said:


> Grade One Motherfucking Climax 2012:
> 
> *Block A:*
> - Hiroshi Tanahashi
> - Yuji Nagata
> - Satoshi Kojima
> - Karl Anderson
> - Shelton Benjamin
> - Toru Yano
> - Yujiro Takahashi
> - Minoru Suzuki
> - Naomichi Marufuji
> 
> 
> *Block B:*
> - Togi Makabe
> - Hiroyoshi Tenzan
> - Hirooki Goto
> - Tetsuya Naito
> - MVP
> - Rush
> - Shinsuke Nakamura
> - Kazuchika Okada
> - Lance Archer


Very strong tournament, both blocks look awesome. We're gonna get Tana vs. Nagata, MiSu and Anderson in Block A, and Okada/Naito, Goto/Naito, Goto/Okada in Block B.

I predict Tanahashi/Okada and Naito/Anderson in the Semis.


----------



## seabs

*There's no semis

:alves*


----------



## Chismo

AAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Tanahashi/Naito in Finale then.


----------



## Sunglasses

Last 2 matches have been added to the big NOAH show in two weeks! I'm looking really forward to this!

*Pro Wrestling NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 in RYOGOKU ~Takeshi Rikio's Retirement Ceremony~", 7/22/2012 [Sun] 15:00 @ Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo*

(1) "Return to Origin" Synchronized showdown!: Taiji Ishimori vs. Masahiro "Masa" Takanashi [DDT]

(2) Von Erich’s Japanese Debut Match: Ross & Marshall Von Erich vs. “TMDK” Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste

(3) NOAH vs. DIAMOND RING ~ Teacher & Student Showdown: Akira Taue & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima

(4) Fujiwara-ism Tradition Special Single Match: Mohammed Yone vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara [Fujiwara-gumi]

(5) NOAH vs. DDT: Atsushi Kotoge vs. Kota Ibushi [DDT]

(6) Maybach Taniguchi [NO MERCY] vs. TAJIRI [WNC]

(7) KENTA's Return Match: KENTA [NO MERCY] vs. Naomichi Marufuji [BRAVE]
~ KENTA has been out of action since Dec. 11, 2011.

(8) GHC Junior Heavy Tag Championship Match: [Champions] Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. [Challengers] Super Crazy & Ricky Marvin
~ 8th Defense.

(9) GHC Junior Heavy Championship Match: [Champion] Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. [Challenger] Christopher Daniels [TNA]
~ 2nd Defense.

(10) GHC Heavy Tag Championship Match: [Champions] Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. [Challengers] Samoa Joe & Brutus Magnus [TNA]
~ 4th Defense.

(11) GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: [18th Champion] Takeshi Morishima vs. [Challenger] Go Shiozaki
~ 4th Title Defense.


----------



## FunkyMonkeyAS73

KENTA and Marufuji again should be a treat. Hope KENTA has learned some cool things while being injured. 

Would be cool(impossible) if Daniels won.


----------



## Bubz

Looks like such a good card. The crowd better turn up for it though.


----------



## Zatiel

That NOAH card looks incredible. Hope it appears in full form soon. Marufuji and KENTA are class opponents for each other, Kotoge and Ibushi could do something special, and both TNA matches are interesting pairings. Just seeing Akiyama and Joe square off is tantalizing.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah I can't wait to see Joe and Akiyama in the ring together. Granted I'm probably a bigger fan of both than a lot of people on here though.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Now we need Aries in NOAH.


----------



## antoniomare007

Blocks for the Fire Festival are:

Block A
Shinjiro Otani
Ryouji Sai
Tomoaki Honma
Shito Ueda
Go Shiozaki

Block B
Daisuke Sekimoto
Masato Tanaka
Kohei Sato
Kamikaze
Mohammed Yone


Otani vs Go could be amazing and the type of match Go needed in NOAH 2 years ago.

Tanaka vs Daisuke is always a treat for me.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah Shiozaki/Otani and Sekimoto/Tanaka better make air. They're the 2 big matches from the blocks so it should happen. See Shiozaki winning this which would be great.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Will NJPW's ppv from June be available anytime soon? I've avoided spoilers and pretty anxious to watch it.


----------



## MF83

17th I believe.


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 11/7/87*
Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Tiger Mask
***

*All Japan - 17/7/87*
Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Shinichi Nakano & Yoshiaki Yatsu
***3/4

*All Japan - 23/7/87*
Stan Hansen & Ted DiBiase vs Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara
***1/2

*All Japan - 31/8/87*
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu
****1/4

*All Japan - 20/9/87*
Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen
***1/2

*All Japan - 10/10/87*
Jumbo Tsuruta vs Genichiro Tenryu
***3/4

*All Japan - 22/11/87*
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka
***

*All Japan - 26/11/87*
Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu
***1/4

*All Japan - 5/12/87*
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu
***3/4

*All Japan - 11/12/87*
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy
***3/4

thanks Seabs for this...


----------



## 11rob2k

Hello, i'v been trying to get into puro for about a month now, i'v been watching old njpw and noah matches on youtube and i'm liking what i'm watching, but im having trouble finding up to date show, most of what i have been watching is from the 90's and early 2000's. Is there anywhere i can watch more up to date shows from this year or a good news site that gives out results from the latest show? Any help would be great.


----------



## seabs

*purolove.com for results. Our Media section for links.*


----------



## smitlick

*AJPW - 31/8/93*
Steve Williams vs Kenta Kobashi
*****


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: King of DDT



Omega won the tournament. Ibushi vs Omega for the title at Budokan. Takagi vs MiSu on that card too apparently. Really nervous for how they're gonna draw there but I'm hoping they do well. Hopefully they can stack the midcard with outsiders seeing as they've let NOAH, New Japan and All Japan use their top guys recently. Expecting CIMA to be on the show somewhere too.


*


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *
> 
> 
> Spoiler: King of DDT
> 
> 
> 
> Omega won the tournament. Ibushi vs Omega for the title at Budokan. Takagi vs MiSu on that card too apparently. Really nervous for how they're gonna draw there but I'm hoping they do well. Hopefully they can stack the midcard with outsiders seeing as they've let NOAH, New Japan and All Japan use their top guys recently. Expecting CIMA to be on the show somewhere too.
> 
> 
> *





Spoiler: King of DDT



SHINGO/MiSu = :jordan2


----------



## seabs

*Sanshiro Takagi not SHINGO

ique2*


----------



## smitlick

*New Japan - 3/5/11*

1. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
***3/4

2. Yuji Nagata vs Masato Tanaka
***3/4

3. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
****1/4


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *Sanshiro Takagi not SHINGO
> 
> ique2*


Oh, fuck off... :gun:


----------



## Bubz

:lmao

Planning on making my through that Kobashi triple Crown history video that was posted a few pages ago. Might as well post my thoughts on the matches...

*Kenta Kobashi vs Steve Williams(AJPW 03/09/94)*
Really good match, not the best between these two though. It started amazingly well, and I was thinking it could top their other matches I'd seen, but it dragged a bit in the middle, it went about 45 minutes and it really didn't need to. The story was great though, Kobashi had never beaten Williams but this time it was for the Triple Crown, so Kobashi had more motivation to get the win. The near falls towards the end were great after it picked up again for the last 5 minutes or so. Really thought Kobashi had it on a couple of occasions since I didn't know if this was the match he won his first triple crown in (not to good with my AJPW history after 93 really). Anyway it had a great story and two really good performances but the dragged out middle period let it down a bit for me. ******


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Random non-match thought:

Whoever that one commentator is in NJPW who's a constant victim of Takashi Iizuka attacks, needs to learn how to run when his music comes on.


----------



## Chismo

BUBZ said:


> :lmao
> 
> Planning on making my through that Kobashi triple Crown history video that was posted a few pages ago. Might as well post my thoughts on the matches...


Do it, please. I've already seen those matches long time ago, but I'm planning to make that trip again. So many awesomeness.


----------



## Flux

Never really followed Puro much other than some Dragon Gate the occasional NJPW and AJPW match, but nothing major really, just matches that interested me on paper. So for a complete beginner to puro, can some of ya'll whip up a list of MUST SEE matches - I'm sure from there I can build my way up, it's just starting which is the hard part I suppose. whetehr it's one match, or 100 matches, I don't mind.

Thanks in advance (Y)


----------



## Genking48

[FAIL POST IGNORE]


----------



## MF83

So here's a stack of lists to help you in your quest!



Spoiler: Puroresu.tv Best of 2011



1. Nakamura Shinsuke -vs- Suzuki Minoru (NJPW; 2011/08/14) – 655 Points, 6 Ballots
2. Dick Togo -vs- Antonio Honda (DDT; 2011/01/30) – 635 Points, 5 Ballots
3. Takayama Yoshihiro -vs- KENTA (NOAH; 2011/01/15) – 545 Points, 5 Ballots
4. Fujita Hayato 'Jnr' -vs- Kanemoto Kouji (NJPW; 2011/05/26) – 520 Points, 5 Ballots
5. Akiyama Jun -vs- Suwama (AJPW; 2011/10/23) – 480 Points, 4 Ballots
6. Kenou, ken45°, Kenbai, Yapper Man #1 & Yapper Man #2 -vs- Fujita 'Jr' Hayato, KAGETORA, Minamino Takeshi, Sato Shu & Sato Kei (M-Pro; 2011/06/05) – 435 Points, 4 Ballots
7. Sasaki Kensuke -vs- Sugiura Takashi (NOAH; 2011/11/14) – 405 Points, 4 Ballots
8. Nagai Mitsuya -vs- Suruga Manabu (Fu-ten; 2011-01-30) – 400 Points, 3 Ballots
9. Sekimoto Daisuke & Okabayashi Yuji -vs- Soya Manabu & Hama Ryota (BJW; 2011/04/28) – 375 Points, 3 Ballots
10. Tanahashi Hiroshi -vs- Goto Hirooki (NJPW; 2011/06/18) – 360 Points, 3 Ballots
11. Nakajima Katsuhiko -vs- Suzuki Kotaro (NOAH; 2011/03/05) – 330 Points, 3 Ballots
12. Yano Toru -vs- Tanahashi Hiroshi (NJPW; 2011/08/13) – 325 Points, 4 Ballots
13. Tanaka Minoru & Hidaka Ikuto -vs- Usuda Katsumi & Yamamoto Yujiro (BattlARTS; 2011/11/05) – 325 Points, 3 Ballots
14. Tanaka Masato -vs- Honma Tomoaki (NJPW; 2011/12/23) – 285 Points, 3 Ballots
15. Ikeda Daisuke -vs- Ishikawa Yuki (BattlARTS; 2011/11/05) – 280 Points, 2 Ballots
16. Mochizuki Masaaki -vs- Tozawa Akira (DG; 2011/08/13) – 270 Points, 4 Ballots
17. KENTA -vs- Shiozaki Go (NOAH; 2011/11/27) – 260 Points, 2 Ballots
18. Tanahashi Hiroshi -vs- Naito Tetsuya (NJPW; 2011/10/10) – 240 Points, 2 Ballots
19. Ishii Tomohiro -vs- Nagata Yuji (NJPW; 2011/11/12) – 235 Points, 3 Ballots
20. Shiozaki Go -vs- Takayama Yoshihiro (NOAH; 2011/09/23) – 225 Points, 3 Ballots
21. Akiyama Jun -vs- Nakajima Katsuhiko (NOAH; 2011/07/10) – 215 Points, 3 Ballots
22. Dave Finlay, Murat Bosporus & Big Boy -vs- Fujiwara Yoshiaki, Tajiri & Ohara Hajime (SMASH; 2011/12/30) – 195 Points, 2 Ballots
23. Ishikawa Yuki & Suzuki Hideki -vs- Ikeda Daisuke & Super Tiger II (BattlARTS; 2011/02/27) – 180 Points, 2 Ballots
24. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato -vs- Sawa Munenori (ZERO1; 2011/09/17) – 175 Points, 2 Ballots
25. Nakamura Shinsuke -vs- Tenzan Hiroyoshi (NJPW; 2011/08/05) – 170 Points, 2 Ballots
26. Dave Finlay -vs- Starbuck (SMASH; 2011/11/24) – 160 Points, 2 Ballots
27. Tanahashi Hiroshi -vs- Nagata Yuji (NJPW; 2011/12/04) – 140 Points, 1 Ballot
28. Ishikawa Yuki -vs- Yamamoto Yujiro (RJPW; 2011/10/25) – 125 Points, 2 Ballots
29. Nakajima Katsuhiko -vs- Suzuki Kotaro (NOAH; 2011/09/23) – 125 Points, 1 Ballot
30. Ōno Takeshi -vs- White Moriyama (Fu-ten; 2011-01-30) – 120 Points, 1 Ballot



Best of Puroresu Before 1980 is still going on (and needs your help!): http://www.puroresu.tv/forums/topic/323-best-of-puroresu-before-the-80s/



Spoiler: Ditch's Top 50 AJPW 1990s Project



1. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 6/9/95
14 votes, 960 points, 12 top 10 votes, 12 top 5 votes
5 #1 votes

2. Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, 12/6/96
14 votes, 926 points, 14 top 10 votes, 12 top 5 votes
1 #1 vote

3. Misawa vs Kawada, 6/3/94
14 votes, 905 points, 13 top 10 votes, 11 top 5 votes
3 #1 votes

4. Kobashi vs Misawa, 1/20/97
14 votes, 897 points, 14 top 10 votes, 9 top 5 votes
1 #1 vote

5. Jumbo vs Misawa, 6/8/90
14 votes, 826 points, 11 top 10 votes, 8 top 5 votes
1 #1 vote

6. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 4/20/91
14 votes, 771 points, 9 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
1 #1 vote

7. Jumbo vs Misawa, 9/1/90
14 votes, 766 points, 7 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
1 #1 vote

8. Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/29/93
14 votes, 759 points, 8 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
1 #1 vote

9. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 5/21/94
14 votes, 695 points, 6 top 10 votes, 2 top 5 votes

10. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 12/3/93
13 votes, 679 points, 8 top 10 votes


11. Kawada vs Kobashi, 6/12/98
14 votes, 677 points, 7 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes

12. Misawa vs Taue, 4/15/95
14 votes, 623 points, 1 top 10 vote

13. Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/21/97
14 votes, 613 points, 3 top 10 votes, 1 top 5 vote

14. Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, 10/15/95
14 votes, 581 points, 4 top 10 votes, 1 top 5 vote

15. Hansen vs Kawada, 2/28/93
14 votes, 574 points, 2 top 10 votes

16. Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 5/25/92
13 votes, 559 points, 2 top 10 votes

17. Williams vs Kobashi, 8/31/93
13 votes, 508 points, 3 top 10 votes

18. Kawada vs Williams, 4/16/94
13 votes, 501 points, 1 top 10 vote

19. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 5/22/92
13 votes, 498 points, 1 top 10 vote

20. Misawa vs Kawada, 7/24/95
12 votes, 492 points, 2 top 10 votes


21. Williams vs Kobashi, 9/3/94
11 votes, 420 points, 1 top 10 vote

22. Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & Ace, 6/7/96
12 votes, 418 points, 2 top 10 votes

23. Jumbo vs Kawada, 10/24/91
12 votes, 409 points

24. Misawa vs Taue, 9/10/95
11 votes, 395 points

25. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 9/30/90
11 votes, 364 points, 1 top 10 vote

26. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 10/19/90
10 votes, 357 points

27. Misawa vs Williams, 7/28/94
9 votes, 349 points, 1 top 5 vote

28. Hansen vs Kobashi, 4/16/93
10 votes, 335 points, 1 top 10 vote

29. Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 7/2/93
10 votes, 329 points

30. Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/31/98
11 votes, 326 points


31. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, 6/5/92
10 votes, 319 points, 1 top 10 vote

32. Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, 3/4/95
9 votes, 304 points, 1 top 10 vote

33. Misawa & Akiyama vs Kawada & Taue, 5/23/96
11 votes, 326 points

34. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 1/24/95
10 votes, 290 points

35. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 12/7/90
9 votes, 285 points

36. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 11/29/91
9 votes, 256 points

37. Kawada vs Taue, 4/8/95
8 votes, 250 points

38. Kawada vs Taue, 1/15/91
9 votes, 242 points

39. Misawa vs Kawada, 10/21/92
7 votes, 238 points, 1 top 5 vote

40. Misawa vs Kawada, 7/29/93
7 votes, 227 points


41. Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, 12/10/94
8 votes, 220 points

42. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 10/15/91
7 votes, 214 points

43. Kobashi vs Kawada, 10/18/96
7 votes, 190 points

44. Kawada vs Kobashi, 10/23/93
7 votes, 166 points

45. Kawada vs Kobashi, 1/19/95
8 votes, 163 points

46. Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Ogawa, 3/6/99
7 votes, 161 points

47. Kawada vs Albright, 10/25/95
8 votes, 160 points

48. Misawa & Kawada vs Gordy & Williams, 12/6/91
6 votes, 155 points

49. Misawa vs Kawada, 3/27/93
5 votes, 144 points

50. Misawa vs Kobashi, 6/11/99



DVDVR lists:



Spoiler: MOTY Lists 2000-2009



2000
1. Kawada & Fuchi vs Nagata & Iizuka, New Japan December 14th, 16 votes, 435 points
2. Sasaki vs Kawada, New Japan October 9th, 15 votes, 433 points
3. Misawa vs Akiyama, All Japan February 27th, 16 votes, 383 points
4. Kobashi vs Akiyama, NOAH December 23rd, 14 votes, 286 points
5. Kawada & Tenryu vs Hansen & Kea, All Japan July 23rd, 14 votes, 284 points
6. Kobashi vs Omori, All Japan April 15th, 12 votes, 221 points
7. Kawada vs Tenryu, All Japan October 28th, 12 votes, 200 points
8. Kobashi vs Takayama, All Japan May 26th, 11 votes, 195 points
9. Liger, Tanaka & Makabe vs Delfin, Murahama & Tsubasa, New Japan December 14th, 11 votes, 171 points
10. SUWA vs Dragon Kid, Toryumon August 24th, 12 votes, 166 points
11. Kobashi vs Akiyama, NOAH August 6th, 11 votes, 145 points
12. Hashimoto & Iizuka vs Ogawa & Murakami, New Japan January 4th, 9 votes, 140 points
13. Tenryu vs Sasaki, New Japan January 4th, 10 votes, 135 points
14. Ishikawa vs Murakami, Battlarts November 26th, 8 votes, 128 points
15. Kanemoto & Tanaka vs Liger & Makabe, New Japan September 12th, 11 votes, 120 points
16. Vader vs Kobashi, All Japan February 27th, 7 votes, 108 points
17. Sano vs Tanaka, Battlarts January 30th, 7 votes, 102 points
18. Misawa vs Kawada, All Japan March 31st, 5 votes, 77 points
19. Vader vs Kawada, All Japan February 17th, 8 votes, 71 points
20. Mita, Shimoda & Maekawa vs Ito, Nakanishi & Takahashi, AJW November 23rd, 3 votes, 62 points
21. Tanaka vs AKIRA, New Japan December 10th, 7 votes, 60 points
22. Kobashi vs Kawada, All Japan January 12th, 3 votes, 58 points
23. Chono vs Fuchi, All Japan September 2nd, 4 votes, 56 points
24. Tenzan & Kojima vs Nagata & Iizuka, New Japan November 30th, 6 votes, 55 points
25. Kong vs Satomura, GAEA May 16th, 2 votes, 50 points
26. Kobashi vs Misawa, All Japan April 11th, 4 votes, 49 points
27. Kanemura vs Yamakawa, BJPW February 22nd, 3 votes, 44 points
28. Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Taue, NOAH August 5th, 3 votes, 43 points
29. Yamakawa vs Honma, BJPW January 2nd, 4 votes, 42 points
30. Kong vs KAORU, GAEA February 13th, 2 votes, 41 points


2001
1. Hashimoto & Nagata vs Misawa & Akiyama, Zero-One March 2nd. 10 votes, 239 points
2. Misawa vs Takayama, NOAH April 15th. 8 votes, 214 points
3. Tenzan & Kojima vs Barton & Steele, New Japan December 11th. 9 votes, 186 points
4. Tenryu vs Mutoh, All Japan June 8th. 8 votes, 167 points
5. Kawada vs Kojima, New Japan June 6th. 9 votes, 160 points
6. Mutoh vs Nagata, New Japan August 12th. 6 votes, 149 points
7. Tenryu & Fuchi vs Kawada & Araya, All Japan June 30th. 8 votes, 130 points
8. Misawa vs Akiyama, NOAH July 27th. 7 votes, 126 points
9. Mutoh & Hase vs Akiyama & Nagata, New Japan October 8th. 6 votes, 107 points
10. Mutoh vs Kawada, All Japan April 14th. 7 votes, 104 points
11. 3-way tag, Toryumon August 14th. 6 votes, 102 points
12. Misawa & Ogawa vs Hashimoto & Otsuka, NOAH January 13th. 6 votes, 88 points
13. Tanaka vs Murahama, New Japan April 20th. 4 votes, 84 points
14. Jado & Gedo vs Sasuke & Tiger Mask 4, Michinoku Pro August 19th. 5 votes, 65 points
15. Honda vs Ikeda, NOAH September 1st. 4 votes, 63 points
16. Sasaki vs Kawada, New Japan January 4th. 4 votes, 60 points
17. Momoe Nakanishi, Takahashi, Ito & Watanabe vs Toyota, Maekawa, Mita & Shimoda, AJW February 28th. 2 votes, 60 points
18. Pentagon, Sasuke the Great & Apache vs Hamada, Sasuke & Togo, Michinoku Pro March 10th. 3 votes, 53 points
19. Misawa vs Taue, NOAH May 18th. 5 votes, 52 points
20. Hokuto vs Satomura, GAEA April 29th. 2 votes, 49 points
21. Akiyama & Vader vs Kobashi & Taue, NOAH January 13th. 3 votes, 47 points
22. Takaiwa vs Marufuji, NOAH December 9th. 3 votes, 41 points
23. Kong vs Satomura, GAEA December 15th. 3 votes, 40 points
24. Kawada vs Tenzan, New Japan January 4th. 3 votes, 39 points
25. Misawa vs Akiyama, NOAH April 11th. 3 votes, 38 points
26 (tie). Tanaka vs AKIRA, New Japan May 28th. 3 votes, 38 points
26 (tie). Ohtani vs Sekimoto, Big Japan December 2nd. 3 votes, 38 points
28. Kanemoto & Tanaka vs Wagner & Silver King, New Japan February 3rd. 2 votes, 31 points
29 (tie). Otsuka vs Sugiura, Zero-One April 18th. 3 votes, 30 points
29 (tie). Tanaka & Gedo vs Ishikawa & Yone, Battlarts June 2nd. 3 votes, 30 points
31. Otsuka & Tiger Mask 4 vs Carl Malenko & Hidaka, Battlarts February 13th. 2 votes, 29 points, 1 top 5 vote - draft pick


2002
1. Misawa & Kobashi vs Akiyama & Nagata, NOAH February 17th - 8 votes, 229 points, 6 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote, 4 #1 votes
2. Tenryu vs Kojima, All Japan July 17th - 7 votes, 225 points, 7 top 5 votes, 4 2nd place votes, 3 #1 votes
3. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Liger & Inoue, NOAH February 17th - 9 votes, 210 points, 6 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 1 #1 vote
4. Nagata vs Takayama, New Japan May 2nd - 9 votes, 179 points, 3 top 5 votes
5. Liger & Tanaka vs Kikuchi & Kanemaru, New Japan August 29th - 8 votes, 175 points, 4 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote
6. Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga, NOAH October 19th - 8 votes, 154 points, 3 top 5 votes
7. Takayama vs Nishimura, New Japan August 10th - 8 votes, 149 points, 2 top 5 votes
8. Takayama vs Misawa, NOAH September 23rd - 7 votes, 120 points, 1 2nd place vote
9. Tenryu vs Kojima, All Japan February 24th - 7 votes, 98 points, 1 top 5 vote
10. Rikio & Morishima vs Akiyama & Saito, NOAH September 23rd - 6 votes, 98 points, 1 top 5 vote
11. Tenryu & Araya vs Kea & Miyamoto, All Japan April 27th - 5 votes, 94 points, 1 top 5 vote
12. Tenryu & Hirai vs Kojima & Hayashi, All Japan October 6th - 5 votes, 92 points, 2 top 5 votes
13. Hashimoto vs Tanaka, Zero-One March 2nd - 5 votes, 88 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
14. Takayama vs Sasaki, New Japan August 3rd - 6 votes, 66 points, 1 top 5 vote
15. Kanemoto vs Hashi, New Japan August 29th - 5 votes, 65 points, 1 top 5 vote
16. Liger & Tanaka vs Kikuchi & Kanemaru, NOAH April 7th - 5 votes, 62 points, 1 top 5 vote
17. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Samurai & Naruse, NOAH September 23rd - 5 votes, 61 points
18. Sekigun vs WAR 8-man tag, All Japan September 16th - 4 votes, 60 points, 2 top 5 votes
19. Ohtani vs Tanaka, Zero-One July 31st - 5 votes, 55 points
20. Chono vs Takayama, New Japan August 11th - 5 votes, 43 points
21. 3-way tag, Toryumon July 14th - 5 votes, 37 points
22. Nagata vs Sasaki, New Japan June 7th - 3 votes, 37 points
23. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Jado & Gedo, NOAH December 7th - 2 votes, 36 points, 1 top 5 vote
24. Crazy MAX vs Italian Connection, Toryumon September 8th - 4 votes, 35 points
25. Nagata vs Murakami, New Japan December 12th - 2 votes, 31 points
26 (tie). 3-way tag, Toryumon July 7th - 2 votes, 28 points
26 (tie). Dragon Kid vs Darkness Dragon, Toryumon September 8th - 2 votes, 28 points
28. Ogawa vs Takayama, NOAH September 7th - 2 votes, 26 points
29. Toyota & Hotta vs Ito & Nakanishi, New Japan May 2nd - 2 votes, 22 points
30. Takayama vs Nakanishi, New Japan June 7th - 2 votes, 21 points
31. Emblem vs Kanemura & Kuroda, Zero-One June 29th - draft pick


2003
1. Misawa vs Kobashi, NOAH March 1st- 10 votes, 289 points, 8 top 5 votes, 3 2nd place votes, 5 1st place votes
2. Kobashi vs Honda, NOAH April 13th- 10 votes, 273 points, 8 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote, 4 1st place votes
3. Taue vs Nagata, NOAH June 6th- 10 votes, 199 points, 5 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
4. 4-way tag, Toryumon August 30th- 9 votes, 192 points, 4 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 1 1st place vote
5. Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Honda, NOAH June 6th- 10 votes, 160 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
6. KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi, NOAH September 12th- 8 votes, 160 points, 5 top 5 votes
7. Akiyama vs Tenzan, New Japan August 17th- 10 votes, 146 points, 1 top 5 vote
8. Burning + Marufuji vs Sternness 8-man, NOAH August 23rd- 8 votes, 133 points, 3 top 5 votes
9. KENTAFuji vs Liger & Murahama, NOAH July 16th- 8 votes, 129 points, 1 top 5 vote
10. Kobashi vs Ogawa, NOAH November 1st- 5 votes, 88 points, 2 top 5 votes
11. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Liger & Kanemoto, NOAH January 26th- 4 votes, 83 points, 2 top 5 votes
12. Kanemoto vs AKIRA, New Japan March 23rd- 5 votes, 81 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
13. Do Fixer vs M2K, Toryumon June 29th- 4 votes, 80 points, 2 top 5 votes
14. Kawada vs Ogawa, Zero-One December 14th- 4 votes, 71 points, 1 top 5 vote, 1 2nd place vote
15. Akiyama, Saito & Izumida vs Rikio, Morishima & Ikeda, NOAH March 16th- 4 votes, 59 points
16. Morishima & Marufuji vs Akiyama & Hashi, NOAH March 30th- 5 votes, 55 points
17. Kojima vs Ohtani, All Japan September 6th- 4 votes, 50 points
18. Akiyama vs Tenzan, New Japan August 10th- 4 votes, 49 points
19. Nagata vs Yoshie, New Japan August 10th- 2 votes, 44 points, 1 top 5 vote
20. Magnum Tokyo vs Milano Collection AT, Toryumon December 16th- 3 votes, 43 points
21. Kobashi vs Nagata, NOAH September 12th- 4 votes, 41 points
22. Hashimoto vs Tanaka, Zero-One November 7th- 2 votes, 41 points, 1 top 5 vote
23. Hashimoto vs Kojima, All Japan June 13th- 4 votes, 40 points
24. Misawa & Chono vs Kobashi & Taue, NOAH January 10th - 3 votes, 38 points
25. Misawa vs Sano, NOAH June 6th- 3 votes, 36 points
26. Burning vs Sternness 8-man, NOAH February 18th- 3 votes, 34 points
27. KENTAFuji vs Juvi & Marvin, NOAH November 1st- 3 votes, 33 points
28. Honda vs Saito, NOAH March 30th- 2 votes, 31 points
29. Ki vs Styles, January 5th- 3 votes, 30 points
30. Nagata & Tanahashi vs Rikio & Morishima, NOAH December 6th- 2 votes, 30 points, top 5 vote


2004
1. Kobashi vs Takayama, NOAH April 25th- 10 votes, 324 points, 10 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 6 1st place votes (low vote: 3rd place)
2. Misawa & Ogawa vs Marfuji & KENTA, NOAH April 25th- 10 votes, 249 points, 7 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 2 1st place votes
3. Kobashi vs Akiyama, NOAH July 10th- 9 votes, 243 points, 7 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 2 1st place votes
4. Kobashi vs Taue, NOAH September 10th- 10 votes, 197 points, 5 top 5 votes
5. Kawada vs Hashimoto, All Japan February 22nd- 7 votes, 176 points, 7 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes
6. Misawa & Ogawa vs Saito & Inoue, NOAH September 10th- 8 votes, 148 points, 3 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
7. Fujita vs Tanahashi, New Japan June 5th- 10 votes, 144 points
8. Tamura vs Ito, U-Style August 18th- 9 votes, 138 points, 1 top 5 vote
9. Takayama vs KENTA, NOAH June 27th- 9 votes, 137 points, 1 top 5 vote
10. Takayama vs Sasaki, New Japan August 8th- 9 votes, 124 points
11. Tamura vs Kohsaka, U-Style February 4th- 7 votes, 119 points, 2 top 5 votes
12. Tenryu vs Tenzan, New Japan February 15th- 8 votes, 118 points
13. Kobashi, Rikio & Hashi vs Akiyama, Morishima & Kikuchi, NOAH January 10th- 8 votes, 108 points, 1 top 5 vote
14. Kawada vs Shibata, New Japan November 3rd- 7 votes, 95 points, 1 top 5 vote
15. Kanemaru vs Low Ki, NOAH September 10th- 6 votes, 73 points
16 (tie). Nishimura vs Kanemoto, New Japan August 8th- 5 votes, 64 points
16 (tie). Tenzan vs Tanahashi, New Japan August 15th- 5 votes, 64 points, 1 top 5 vote
18. Marufuji & KENTA vs Samurai & Inoue, NOAH January 10th- 3 votes, 51 points, 1 2nd place vote
19. Burning vs Sternness 6-man, NOAH June 23rd- 4 votes, 43 points
20. Kobashi vs Saito, NOAH October 24th- 4 votes, 42 points
21. Misawa vs Kojima, All Japan July 18th- 3 votes, 40 points
22. Akiyama & Hashi vs Rikio & Suzuki, NOAH April 25th- 3 votes, 36 points
23. Florida Express vs Do Fixer, Dragon Gate September 17th- 4 votes, 33 points
24. Morishima, Taue & Sano vs Akiyama, Takayama & Izumida, NOAH March 6th- 4 votes, 27 points
25. Kondo vs Dragon Kid, Toryumon July 4th- 3 votes, 26 points
26 (tie). Kawada vs Omori, All Japan July 18th- 2 votes, 26 points
26 (tie). Tenzan vs Nakamura, New Japan August 15th- 2 votes, 26 points
28. KENTAFuji vs SUWA & Marvin, NOAH October 24th- 2 votes, 25 points
29. Marufuji vs KENTA, NOAH November 13th- 1 vote, 24 points, 1 top 5 vote
30. Nishio vs Hikaru, AJW July 18th- 2 votes, 22 points
31 (tie). Kondo vs Dragon Kid, Toryumon April 28th - draft pick


2005
1. Sasaki & Nakajima vs Kobashi & Shiozaki, NOAH November 5th - 7 votes, 229 points, 7 top 5 votes, 5 1st place vote
2. Kobashi vs Sasaki, NOAH July 18th - 7 votes, 194 points, 6 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes 1 1st place vote
3. KENTA vs SUWA, NOAH September 18th - 7 votes, 145 points, 3 top 5 votes
4. Ishikawa vs Ikeda, Futen April 24th - 5 votes, 116 points, 3 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes
5. Kawada vs Kojima, All Japan February 16th - 7 votes, 112 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 1st place vote
6. Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki, NOAH March 5th - 6 votes, 108 points, 2 top 5 votes
7. Akiyama & Tenryu vs Kobashi & Shiozaki, NOAH April 24th - 6 votes, 107 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
8. Do Fixer vs Blood Generation, Dragon Gate July 3rd - 5 votes, 103 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
9. Misawa vs Kawada, NOAH July 18th - 6 votes, 86 points, 1 top 5 vote
10. Akiyama & Tenryu vs Kobashi & Taue, NOAH September 18th - 5 votes, 81 points
11. Akiyama vs Shibata, Wrestle-One August 4th - 6 votes, 78 points, 1 top 5 vote, 1 2nd place vote
12. Jado & Gedo vs Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue, New Japan March 4th - 6 votes, 63 points
13. Akiyama & Koshinaka vs Minoru Suzuki & Marufuji, NOAH November 5th - 4 votes, 60 points
14. Kobashi, KENTA & Marvin vs Misawa, Sugiura & Kanemaru, NOAH April 3rd - 5 votes, 57 points
15. Akiyama & Kanemaru vs Kobashi & Hashi, NOAH August 19th - 4 votes, 55 points, 1 top 5 vote
16 (tie). Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki, NOAH January 8th - 3 votes, 51 points, 2 top 5 votes
16 (tie). Minoru Suzuki & Marufuji vs Akiyama & Hashi, NOAH July 18th - 3 votes, 51 points, 1 top 5 vote
18. Marufuji & KENTA vs Hidaka & Fujita, Differ Cup May 8th - 4 votes, 46 points
19. Morishima & Yone vs Shibata & KENTA, NOAH November 5th - 3 votes, 45 points, 1 top 5 vote
20. Sekimoto vs Kobayashi, Big Japan November 22nd - 4 votes, 41 points
21. Marufuji & KENTA vs Kanemaru & Sugiura, NOAH June 5th - 3 votes, 33 points
22. Blood Generation vs Do Fixer, Dragon Gate March 6th - 2 votes, 33 points, 1 top 5 vote
23 (tie). Mochizuki vs Ryo Saito, Dragon Gate February 6th - 2 votes, 25 points
23 (tie). Rikio vs Taue, NOAH November 5th - 2 votes, 25 points
25 (tie). Akiyama vs Hashi, NOAH April 3rd - 2 votes, 22 points
25 (tie). Blood Generation vs Mochizuki, Taka & Yokosuka, Dragon Gate September 7th - 2 votes, 22 points
27. Taue vs Morishima, NOAH December 4th - 2 votes, 21 points
28 (tie). Nakamura vs Tanahashi, New Japan January 4th - 1 vote, 20 points
28 (tie). Ishikawa vs Otsuka, Big Mouth Loud September 11th - 1 vote, 20 points
30. Milano vs Ryo Saito, Dragon Gate January 15th - 1 vote, 18 points


2006
1. KENTA / Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takeshi Rikio / Takeshi Morishima (NOAH; 7/16)
2. Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW; 4/30)
3. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Akira Taue (NOAH; 3/5)
4. Mitsuhara Misawa vs. Takeshi Morishima (NOAH; 3/5)
5. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW; 12/10)
6. Kaz Hayashi vs. Shuji Kondo (AJPW; 8/27)
7. Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Takashi Sasaki (BJW; 3/31)
8. Koji Kanemoto vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW; 8/12)
9. Kenta Kobashi / Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiru Tenryu / Katsuhiko Nakajima (Kensuke Office; 2/11)
10. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH; 10/29)
11. Masato Tanaka vs. Ryouji Sai (Z1; 7/29)
12. Brian Danielson vs. KENTA (NOAH; 12/02)
13. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura (MUGA; 9/25)
14. Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue (NOAH; 1/22)
15. Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH; 4/23)
16. Minoru vs. Tiger Mask (NJPW; 6/18)
17. KENTA / Katsuyori Shibata vs. Akira Taue / Go Shiosaki (NOAH; 9/9)
18. AKIRA vs. Shuji Kondo (AJPW; 1/8)
19. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH; 1/22)
20. Jun Akiyama vs. Masao Inoue (NOAH; 4/23)
21. BADBOY Hido / Takashi Sasaki / Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Jun Kasai / Men’s Teioh / Jaki Numazawa (BJW; 11/27)
22. Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai; 7/9)
23. Giant Bernard vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW; 6/18)
24. Jaki Numazawa vs. Takashi Sasaki (BJW; 6/26)
25. Masato Tanaka / Kintaro Kanemura / Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Daisuke Sekimoto / Yoshito Sasaki / Hi69 (BJW; 4/28)
26. Takashi Sugiura / Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takeshi Morishima / Takeshi Rikio (NOAH; 9/9) - draft pick


2007
1. Tanahashi vs Nagata, NJ 4/13 (19 votes, 452 points, 13 top 5 votes, 2 #1 votes)
2. Kobashi & Takayama vs Misawa & Akiyama, NOAH 12/2 (17 votes, 439 points, 13 top 5 votes, 7 #1 votes)
3. Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto, NJ 11/11 (16 votes, 406 points, 12 top 5 votes, 2 #1 votes)
4. T. Sasaki vs Miyamoto, BJPW 3/14 (15 votes, 302 points, 8 top 5 votes, 3 #1 votes)
5. KENTA & Ishimori vs Marufuji & Ibushi, NOAH 7/15 (12 votes, 259 points, 10 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
6. Nagata vs Makabe, NJ 7/6 (11 votes, 241 points, 7 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
7. Akiyama & Rikio vs Takayama & Sugiura, NOAH 4/28 (14 votes, 238 points, 5 top 5 votes)
8. Muscle Outlaw'z vs Typhoon vs New Hazard, DG 6/5 (8 votes, 121 points, 1 top 5 vote)
9. Suzuki vs Mutoh, AJ 7/1 (5 votes, 121 points, 3 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
10. Briscoe Brothers vs Marvin & Suzuki, NOAH 1/21 (6 votes, 119 points, 1 top 5 vote, 1 #1 vote)
11. Nagata vs Tanahashi, NJ 10/8 (9 votes, 118 points)
12. Minoru vs Taguchi, NJ 7/6 (7 votes, 118 points, 1 top 5 vote)
13. T. Sasaki, Kobayashi, Shadow WX & MASADA vs Teioh, Kasai, Numazawa & Miyamoto, BJPW 1/2 (9 votes, 117 points, 1 top 5 vote)
14. Ultimo vs Sasuke, MPro 8/30 (7 votes, 114 points, 3 top 5 votes)
15. Morishima & Yone vs Akiyama & Rikio, NOAH 4/1 (7 votes, 109 points)
16. Tenzan vs Hirooki Goto, NJ 10/8 (8 votes, 108 points, 1 top 5 vote)
17. Kondo vs Nakajima, AJ 2/17 (8 votes, 102 points)
18. Danielson vs Shiozaki, ROH 7/16 (6 votes, 94 points, 1 top 5 vote)
19. Takayama & Sato vs Omori & Ohtani, Zero-One 2/18 (5 votes, 91 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
20. Misawa vs Sano, NOAH 4/28 (4 votes, 90 points, 2 top 5 votes ,1 #1 vote)
21. Suzuki vs Nagata, NJ 1/4 (6 votes, 86 points, 1 top 5 vote)
22. Sekimoto, Mammoth & K. Inoue vs Nakanishi, Yujiro & Hirasawa, BJPW 7/30 (5 votes, 79 points, 1 top 5 vote)
23. Tanahashi vs Kanemoto, NJ 2/18 (6 votes, 76 points, 1 top 5 vote)
24. Morishima vs Marufuji, NOAH 12/2 (5 votes, 70 points)
25. Nagata vs Koshinaka, NJ 5/2 (5 votes, 63 points)


2008
1. Mashimo & Madoka vs Teioh & Shinobu, Big Japan 5/23. 12 votes, 342 points
2. Ishikawa, Sawa & Otsuka vs Ikeda, Usuda & Super Tiger II, Battlarts 7/26. 14 votes, 341 points
3. Hidaka & Sawa vs Ishikawa & Yoshikawa, Battlarts 8/31. 15 votes, 304 points
4. Burning vs Kensuke Office Survival Match, KO/SEM 8/17. 12 votes, 303 points
5. Misawa vs Morishima, NOAH 3/2. 11 votes, 198 points.
6. Kobashi, Honda & Taniguchi vs Morishima, Marufuji & Sugiura, NOAH 2/21. 10 votes, 197 points.
7. Kobashi & KENTA vs Saski & Nakajima, NOAH 6/14. 11 votes, 178 points.
8. SHINGO & Hulk vs KENTA & Ishimori, Dragon Gate 3/20. 11 votes, 166 points
9. Tanahashi vs Suwama, All Japan 4/9. 10 votes, 163 points
10. Kobashi, Honda & KENTA vs Takayama, Sano & Aoki, NOAH 3/2. 9 votes, 160 points
11. Yoshitune vs Hayato, Michinoku Pro 12/12. 9 votes, 136 points
12. Akiyama & Rikio vs Sasaki & Nakajima, NOAH 4/27. 8 votes, 130 points
13. Usuda vs K. Yano, Battlarts 11/16. 7 votes, 125 points
14. Marufuji vs Kondo, All Japan 11/3. 7 votes, 117 points
15. Ishikawa vs Greco, Battlarts 6/1. 5 votes, 117 points
16. Tanaka vs Kanemoto, New Japan 4/13. 11 votes, 116 points
17. Briscoe Brothers vs Marufuji & Ibushi, NOAH 9/6. 8 votes, 116 points
18. Ishikawa vs Super Tiger II, Battlarts 10/25. 7 votes, 116 points
19. Sekimoto & Y. Sasaki vs T. Sasaki & Miyamoto, Big Japan 1/2. 6 votes, 104 points
20. Men's World 8-man, Big Japan 10/27. 6 votes, 99 points
21. Tanaka vs Nagata, New Japan 10/13. 7 votes, 98 points
22. SHINGO & Dragon Kid vs Doi & Yoshino, Dragon Gate 8/28. 5 votes, 96 points
23. KENTA & Marufuji vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, NOAH 5/24. 6 votes, 91 points
24. Ibushi & KAGETORA vs Kondo & Oyanagei, El Dorado 2/27. 7 votes, 90 points
25. Tanaka & Hidaka vs Kanemoto & Taguchi, Zero-One 3/2. 6 votes, 90 points
26. Kimura vs Miyamoto, Hardcore Ladies 5/4. 8 votes, 89 points
27. Ishikawa & Sawa vs Hara & Super Tiger II, Battlarts 11/16. 4 votes, 84 points
28. Marufuji vs KENTA, NOAH 10/25. 4 votes, 81 points
29. Danielson vs KENTA, NOAH 10/13. 5 votes, 80 points
30. Kasai & Numazawa vs T. Sasaki & Miyamoto, Big Japan 6/23. 6 votes, 78 points
31. Otsuka vs Super Tiger II, Battlarts. 4 votes, 76 points - draft pick
32. Tanaka vs Sekimoto, Big Japan 4/28. 4 votes, 74 points - draft pick


2009
1. Sasaki & Nakajima vs Shiozaki & KENTA, NOAH June 22nd - 13 votes, 340 points
2. Miyamoto & T. Sasaki vs Isami Kodaka & Takeda, Big Japan March 26th - 12 votes, 295 points
3. Nakamura & Goto vs Misawa & Sugiura, New Japan January 4th - 18 votes, 274 points
4. Sugiura & Shiozaki vs Nakamura & Milano Collection AT, NOAH March 1st - 16 votes, 263 points
5. Kanemoto vs Hayato, New Japan December 22nd - 13 votes, 252 points
6. Akiyama vs KENTA, NOAH May 17th - 14 votes, 224 points
7. Nakajima vs KENTA, NOAH March 1st - 8 votes, 202 points
8. KENTA vs Suzuki, NOAH January 25th - 11 votes, 192 points
9. Goto & Okada vs Sugiura & Aoki, New Japan May 5th - 11 votes, 176 points
10. Tanahashi vs Nakamura, New Japan February 15th - 9 votes, 152 points
11. Hayato vs Ken Ou, Michinoku Pro September 5th - 7 votes, 127 points
12. KENTA vs Nakajima, Kensuke Office February 11th - 6 votes, 119 points
13. Miyamoto & T. Sasaki vs Isami Kodaka & Takeda, Big Japan May 28th - 6 votes, 118 points
14. Tanahashi vs Tanaka, New Japan August 15th - 7 votes, 115 points
15. Kawada & Taue vs Akiyama & KENTA, NOAH October 3rd - 8 votes, 114 points
16. Tanahashi vs Nakanishi, New Japan May 6th - 6 votes, 107 points
17. Ishii vs Inoue, LOCK-UP April 12th- 7 votes, 101 points
18. Hayato vs Sasuke, Michinoku Pro June 19th - 7 votes, 95 points
19. Kanemaru & Suzuki vs Jado & Gedo, NOAH October 3rd - 6 votes, 94 points
20. Shiozaki vs Sugiura, NOAH December 6th - 4 votes, 87 points
21. Ito & Shuji Ishikawa vs Isami Kodaka & Takeda, Big Japan April 28th - 5 votes, 86 points
22. Takayama vs Kojima, All Japan September 27th - 4 votes, 77 points
23. Ibushi vs Ishimori, DDT April 5th - 3 votes, 76 points
24. Takayama vs Suwama, All Japan August 30th - 6 votes, 71 points
25. Kojima, KAI & H. Yamato vs Kobashi, Kikuchi & A. Ito, All Japan August 30th - 5 votes, 71 points
26. Nakamura vs Ohtani, New Japan October 12th - 5 votes, 70 points
27. Sasaki & Morishima vs Misawa & Shiozaki, NOAH May 6th - 4 votes, 70 points
28. Nakanishi vs Tanahashi, New Japan July 20th - 5 votes, 69 points
29. Sasaki, Morishima & Nakajima vs Tenryu, Ogawa & Kotaro, NOAH September 27th - 5 votes, 67 points
30. Ikeda & Ono vs Ohba & Suruga, Futen April 9th - 3 votes, 66 points
31. Shelley & Sabin vs Devitt & Taguchi, New Japan July 5th - 4 votes, 55 points - draft pick
32. Nagata vs Nakanishi, New Japan August 11th - 4 votes, 53 points - draft pick
33. Ken Ou vs Hayato, Michinoku Pro December 12th - draft pick
34. Takayama vs Sugiura, NOAH October 3rd - 4 votes, 49 points - draft pick
35. KENTA vs Aoki, NOAH September 21st - 4 votes, 48 points - draft pick


2010 - http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=55762
2011 - http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=59342&st=0


Spoiler: Top 50 1980-1989 NJPW



rank match points
1 5-on-5 Gauntlet Challenge (4/19/84) 7,807
2 Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81) 7,726
3 Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs. Hiro Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (9/12/88) 7,535
4 Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki (3/26/86) 7,531
5 Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/9/87) 7,224
6 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (6/12/86) 6,914
7 Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89) 6,867
8 5-on-5 Challenge (5/1/86) 6,862
9 Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan (4/1/82) 6,824
10 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/3/83) 6,659
11 Inoki/Fujiwara/Sakaguchi/Hoshino/Mutoh vs. Fujinami/Choshu/Maeda/Kimura/Super Strong Machine (8/19/87) 6,591
12 Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. George Takano & Super Strong Machine (3/16/89) 6,516
13 Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/6/86) 6,510
14 Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Dick Murdoch, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Masa Saito & Seiji Sakaguchi (9/17/87) 6,399
15 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader (4/24/89) 6,370
16 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (8/4/83) 6,352
17 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/21/83) 6,316
18 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (1/2/87) 6,283
19 Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader (6/27/89) 6,154
20 Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis (12/7/84) 6,117
21 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (7/7/83) 6,083
22 Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (4/27/87) 6,025
23 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) 5,991
24 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/5/86) 5,939
25 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Vader (4/24/89) 5,839
26 Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch (6/19/86) 5,734
27 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Victor Zangiev (4/24/89) 5,732
28 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (9/25/80) 5,729
29 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (1/10/86) 5,686
30 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (6/24/88) 5,537
31 Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (5/25/87) 5,421
32 Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/12/86) 5,388
33 Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Scott Hall, Bob Orton & Dick Murdoch (11/17/88) 5,281
34 Riki Choshu & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Super Strong Machine & George Takano (7/13/89) 5,211
35 Antonio Inoki vs. Vader (7/29/88) 5,204
36 Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (12/7/89) 5,188
37 Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/3/80) 5,151
38 Nobuhiko Takada vs. Hiro Hase (3/11/88) 5,125
39 Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Kantaro Hoshino & Naoki Sano (8/8/89) 5,110
40 Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu (2/22/89) 5,091
41 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (8/29/87) 5,029
42 Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/80) 4,940
43 Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda & Kengo Kimura vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi (12/8/83) 4,927
44 Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (7/13/89) 4,903
45 Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura vs. Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi (12/12/85) 4,892
46 Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (9/1/87) 4,875
47 Kengo Kimura vs. Masa Saito (NJ TV 6/10/87) 4,837
48 Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Antonio Inoki vs. Akira Maeda & Tatsumi Fujinami (9/7/87) 4,822
49 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (5/27/88) 4,739
50 Akira Nogami, Tatsutoshi Goto, Keiichi Yamada, Kantaro Hoshino & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi, Hiroshi Hase, Hiro Saito, Norio Honaga & Kensuke Sasaki (4/27/88)





Spoiler: Top 50 AJPW 1980-1989



1 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
2 Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
3 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
4 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
5 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
6 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
7 Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
8 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
9 Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
10 Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
11 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
12 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
13 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
14 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
15 Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
16 Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
17 Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
18 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)
19 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
20 Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
21 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
22 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
23 Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
24 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
25 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
26 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
27 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
28 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
29 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
30 Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
31 Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
32 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
33 Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
34 Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
35 Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
36 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
37 Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)
38 Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
39 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
40 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
41 Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
42 Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
43 Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
44 Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
45 Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
46 Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
47 Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
48 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
49 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
50 Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)





Spoiler: Top "Other Japan" 1980-1989



1. Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda (11/10/88 UWF) [4296 pts]
2. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (12/5/84 UWF) [4268 pts]
3. Nobuhiko Takada vs Bob Backlund (12/22/88 UWF) [4255 pts]
4. Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu (2/21/85 JPW) [4253 pts]
5. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (7/17/85 UWF) [4217 pts]
6. Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano (7/24/89 UWF) [4076 pts]
7. Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (9/7/84 UWF) [3982 pts]
8. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (1/7/85 UWF) [3928 pts]
9. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (9/11/85 UWF) [3815 pts]
10. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (8/13/88 UWF) [3789 pts]
11. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (7/24/89 UWF) [3756 pts]
12. Super Tiger/Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda/Yoshiaki Fujiwara
(7/23/84 UWF) [3674 pts]
13. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (5/12/88 UWF) [3592 pts]
14. Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi (10/6/89 FMW) [3590 pts]
15. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (9/11/85 UWF) [3580 pts]
16. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Akira Maeda (3/2/85 UWF) [3537 pts]
17. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada (10/22/84 UWF) [3416 pts]
18. Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (10/25/89 UWF) [3386 pts]
19. Yoji Anjoh vs Masakatsu Funaki (6/14/89 UWF) [3349 pts]
20. Super Tiger vs Akira Maeda (9/11/84 UWF) [3312 pts]
21. Super Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada (9/6/85 UWF) [3308 pts]
22. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (5/21/89 UWF) [3248 pts]
23. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (5/4/89 UWF) [3223 pts]
24. Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki (5/21/89 UWF) [3179 pts]
25. Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi (6/2/89 Ultimate Karate Ikki
Kajiwara Memorial) [3112 pts]
26. El Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo (4/11/84 UWF) [3096 pts]
27. Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda (1/10/89 UWF) [3089 pts]
28. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (12/5/84 UWF) [3072 pts]
29. Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (7/8/85 UWF) [3016 pts]
30. Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/24/85 UWF) [2979 pts]
31. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Hiro Saito/Shunji
Takano/Super Strong Machine (11/2/85 JPW) [2953 pts]
32. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (2/18/85 UWF) [2832 pts]
33. Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (8/13/89 UWF) [2788 pts]
34. Yoji Anjoh vs Minoru Suzuki (10/25/89 UWF) [2752 pts]
35. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Akira Maeda (7/13/85 UWF) [2732 pts]
36. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Masakatsu Funaki (5/4/89 UWF) [2711 pts]
37. Super Tiger vs Marty Jones (3/2/85 UWF) [2668 pts]
38. Akira Maeda vs Super Tiger (1/7/85 UWF) [2601 pts]
39. Super Tiger/Joe Malenko vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Osamu Kido (5/25/85
UWF) [2594 pts]
40. Akira Maeda vs Gerard Gourdeau (8/13/88 UWF) [2415 pts]
41. Super Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada (7/21/85 UWF) [2412 pts]
42. Yoji Anjoh vs Minoru Suzuki (4/14/89 UWF) [2395 pts]
43. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Osamu Kido (9/6/85 UWF) [2394 pts]
44. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (10/22/84 UWF) [2318 pts]
45. Nobuhiko Takada vs Marty Jones (2/18/85 UWF) [2305 pts]
46. Mighty Inoue/Higo Hamaguchi vs Carlos Plata & El Doberman
(11/27/80 IWE) [2257 pts]
47. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Osamu Kido (2/18/85 UWF) [2249 pts]
48. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoji Anjoh (8/13/89 UWF) [2187 pts]
49. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (8/29/85 UWF) [2095 pts]
50. Shozo Kobayashi/Haruka Eigen vs Mighty Inoue/Isamu Teranishi
(6/29/80 IWE) [2085 pts]





Old but the top 20 NJPW 90s matches - http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/forum/showthread.php?44982-DVDVR-TOP-20-NJPW-Matches-Of-The-90-s



Spoiler: DVDVR Top 20 Indy 1990s Japan matches



T0P 20 MATCHES
1) TAKA Michinoku/Sho Funaki/Dick Togo/Shiryu/Men's Teioh vs. Gran Naniwa/Super Delfin/Tiger Mask IV/Masato Yakushiji/Gran Hamada - M. Pro "3rd Anniversary Show" (10/10/96) - 527 Points (8-8-1)
2) Nobuhiko Takada vs. Vader - UWFi "Pro Wrestling World Tourney '94" (8/18/94 - Finals) - 307 (2-4-5)
3) Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma - Big Japan (6/20/99 - Death Match) - 298 (2-0-3)
4) Great Sasuke vs. Magnum Tokyo - Toryumon (2/7/99 - Middleweight Title Tourney Finals) - 296 (1-2-3)
5) Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa - BattlARTS Young Generation '99 (8/29/99 - Finals) - 240 (4-1-1)
6) Ultimo Dragon vs. Jushin Liger - WAR Super J Cup (12/13/95 - Semis) - 204 (0-0-1)
7) Great Sasuke/ Tiger Mask IV/ Shiryu vs. Super Delfin/ Gran Naniwa/ TAKA Michinoku - M. Pro (3/16/96) - 192 (2-0-1)
8) Hayabusa vs. Mr Gannosuke - FMW 9th Anniversary Show (4/30/98 - Unified Title) - 159 (1-1-0)
9) Rey Misterio, Jr. vs. Psicosis (12/13/95 - Super J Non tourney match) - 156 (0-1-1)
10) Great Sasuke/Gran Hamada/Super Delfin/Gran Naniwa/Tiger Mask IV vs. Dick Togo/Men's Teioh/TAKA Michinoku/Shiryu/Sho Funaki - M. Pro (12/9/96 - Elimination Match) - 144 (0-0-1)
11) TAKA Michinoku vs. Minoru Tanaka - M. Pro/BattlARTS (10/17/99) - 135 (0-2-0)
12) Shiima Nobunaga vs. Magnum Tokyo - Toryumon (2/5/99 - Welterweight Title) - 126
13) Great Sasuke/Gran Hamada/Gran Naniwa/Super Delfin/Masato Yakushiji vs. Teioh/Togo/TAKA/Funaki/Shiryu - M. Pro (12/16/96) - 122 (2-0-1)
14) Taka Michinoku vs. Hayabusa - FMW (11/16/96) - 108 (0-1-0)
15) Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit - WAR Super J Cup (12/13/95) - 107
16) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS (6/27/98) - 97 (1-0-2)
17) Shinjiro Otani vs. Ultimo Dragon - WAR Super J Cup (12/13/95) - 96 (1-0-0)
18) Nobunaga/Suwa/Fuji vs. Tokyo/Kid/SAITO - Toruymon (2/3/99 - Elimination Match) - 94 (1-1-1)
19) Hayabusa vs. Masato Tanaka - FMW (5/19/98) - 93 (0-1-0)
20) Ultimo Dragon vs. Great Sasuke - WAR "Crush Night" (10/11/96 - J Crown) - 89





Spoiler: Top Joshi 90s matches



TOP 20 JOSHI MATCHES OF THE 90’s

1) Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto - AJW "Dream Slam 1" (4/2/93) = 465 points (7-7-2)
2) Kong/Inoue/Inoue/Hasegawa vs. Kansai/Ozaki/Suzuki/Fukuoka - JWP (7/31/93 - Thunder Queen) = 382 (5-3-4)
3) Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki - AJW "Dream Slam 2" (4/11/93) = 272 (2-2-3)
4) Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki - AJW "Dream Rush" (11/26/92 - 2/3 Falls WWWA Tag Titles) = 251 (2-2-4)
5) Yumiko Hotta vs. Lioness Asuka - AJW "Queendom III" (3/26/95 - UFC rules) = 198 (0-1-2)
6) Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita vs. Kaoru Ito/Tomoko Watanabe - AJW 9/21/97 - Cage Death Match) = 189 (0-1-0)
7) Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota - AJW "V*Top Tournament" (11/20/94) = 165 (0-0-1)
8) Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong - AJW "WrestleMarinpiad II" (11/14/90 - WWWA Title Cage Match) = 158 (1-0-0)
9) Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada - AJW (8/15/92 - Hair vs. Hair) = 155 (1-0-0)
10) Double Inoues vs. Manami Toyota/Sakie Hasegawa - AJW "Queen's Holy Night" (8/30/95 - 2/3 Falls WWWA Tag Title) = 144 (0-1-0)
11) Meiko Satomura vs. Aja Kong - GAEA (9/15/99) = 112
12) Mayumi Ozaki vs. Dynamite Kansai - JWP (3/17/95 - Street Fight) = 103
13) Akira Hokuto/Shinobu Kandori vs. Aja Kong/Bull Nakano - AJW "Queendom II" (3/27/94) = 94
14) Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto - AJW "Destiny" (9/2/95) = 81 (0-0-1)
15) Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue - AJW (5/7/95 - WWWA Title) = 80 (0-1-0)
16) Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda - FMW (5/5/96 - Exploding Barbed Wire) = 65 (0-0-1)
17) Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong - AJW "Queendom III" (3/26/95 - WWWA Title) = 65
18) Dynamite Kansai vs. Aja Kong - AJW "Queen's Holy Night" (8/30/95 - WWWA Title) = 63
19) KAORU/Yamada vs. Etsuko Mita/Mima Shimoda - GAEA (4/4/99 - Street Fight) = 63
20) Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki - AJW "St. Battle Final" (12/6/93 - WWWA Tag Title) = 62


----------



## Bubz

FluxCapacitor said:


> Never really followed Puro much other than some Dragon Gate the occasional NJPW and AJPW match, but nothing major really, just matches that interested me on paper. So for a complete beginner to puro, can some of ya'll whip up a list of MUST SEE matches - I'm sure from there I can build my way up, it's just starting which is the hard part I suppose. whetehr it's one match, or 100 matches, I don't mind.
> 
> Thanks in advance (Y)


Heres some of my favorite matches from a few companies that I would recommend to anyone...

*AJPW*
Misawa/Kobashi v Kawada/Taue (9/6/95)
Misawa/Kobashi v Kawada/Taue (12/3/93)
Misawa v Jumbo (1/9/90)
Misawa v Kawada (3/6/94)
Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Kroffat/Furnas (25/5/92)
Misawa vs Kobashi (20/1/97)
Misawa vs Kobashi (11/6/99)
Misawa v Taue (CC Final 95) - never got around to finding the exact date to this one
Kawada v Hansen (28/2/93)
Tsuruta/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi (19/10/90)
Tsuruta/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi (20/4/91)
Kawada/Taue vs Misawa/Akiyama (6/12/96)
Misawa v Vader (2/5/99)

*NJPW*
Wild Pegasus v Black Tiger II (BOSJ 96) 
Jushin Liger v Naoki Sano (31/01/90)
Jushin Liger v El Samurai (30/4/92)
Jushin Liger v Shinjiro Ohtani (9/2/97)

*NOAH*
Kobashi v Akiyama (10/7/04)
Misawa v Kobashi (01/03/03)
Shiozaki v Sasaki (24/07/10)

There's tons and tons more awesome stuff from each of those promotions (especially AJ) but these are the ones that I think of as my favorite matches of all time from Japan basically.


----------



## Bubz

*NJPW/AJPW 7/1/12*

*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Ryota Hama & Akebono*
Another really good match from these two teams. Sekimoto/Okabayashi trying to outpower SMOP was the usual storyline from the match, but it was still very entertaining. ***3/4

*Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada vs Suwama & Shuji Kondo*
Okada/Nakamura SWAG :mark:. Suwama :mark:. Oh yeah and Kondo is there as well. We get Suwama and Nakamura trading holds, Suwama takes a cheapshot at Okada, Okada tags in and he is OVER! Good stuff. Suwama and Kondo playing the dominating team was great with a really good control segment, and when Nakamura eventually got the tag in he was even more over than Okada! Basically just breaks down in to the finishing stretch which was loads of fun. Any combination of these guys in singles matches would be awesome. I thought the Okada/Suwama exchanges were great, but then along comes the Nakamura/Suwama exchanges and they were even better! Suwama was a beast in this. The right guy went over the right guy too which was a bonus. This was further comfirmation that Okada is indeed legit. Really fun stuff, just what I wanted from a match with three of my favorite guys in Japan right now. ******

*Jun Akiyama vs Taiyo Kea - Triple Crown*
I wasn't sure about watching this since I don't care for Kea but I'm a huge Akiyama fan so I watched it. Turned out to be really good. I thought both guys going after the neck worked really well, especially since both guys offense is mostly focussed on that area. A couple of good control/workover segments from both, and then the finishing stretch was really good, helped along by the fact everything was aimed at the necks of each guy. There wasn't much long term selling at all which hurt the match and kept it from being great though. Still a very good match. ****3/4 - *****

I'll probably watch Tana/Makabe tomorrow, or maybe wait until I've seen Tana/Okada from the event before that hasn't been put online yet.

edit: sorry for the double post.


----------



## 11rob2k

Seabs said:


> *purolove.com for results. Our Media section for links.*


Cheers for this, I'll have a look around the media section and see what there is.


----------



## Chismo

Also cagematch.net, puroresuspirit.com and puroresufan.com/njpw.

EDIT:



> [ZERO1 News] In an odd turn of events the ZERO1 Committee has announced that Daichi Hashimoto will be replacing Shito Ueda in the upcoming Fire Festival tournament.
> They mentioned that it took hours of deliberation for them to finally come to this change.
> 
> ~A BLOCK~
> ☆ Shinjiro Otani
> ☆ Ryoji Sai
> ☆ Tomoaki Honma [free]
> ☆ Go Shiozaki [NOAH]
> ☆ Daichi Hashimoto [FF Dedut]
> 
> ~B BLOCK~
> ☆ Daisuke Sekimoto [2011 Winner/BJW]
> ☆ Masato Tanaka
> ☆ Kohei Sato
> ☆ KAMIKAZE
> ☆ Mohammed Yone [NOAH]


----------



## Bubz

Tana's first title defense against Makabe was really good but it had some selling issues. Never been a big Makabe fan but he was really entertaining in this. Wrote more about it in the MOTYC thread.

I wonder if Tanahashi will continue to get booed through his reign like he did here, he was great at changing up his stuff and playing up to the boo's. Would be an epic heel turn even though that's never going to happen.


----------



## antoniomare007

They added Daichi?

Well fuck, either Go vs Otani or Daichi vs Otani wont make tape/wont be in Korakuen


----------



## Bubz

Go vs Otani sounds awesome. Will that definitely not be shown?


----------



## seabs

*Daichi/Otani already happened this year so I can live with that not being taped but it probably will. Ueda does nothing for me so that's definitely an improvement.

Oh and Ibushi/Omega vs Dino/YOSHIHIKO II signed for Korakuen this month.



Spoiler: reaction














*


----------



## 11rob2k

After looking around the media section for a bit yesterday i thought a good way to get started with puro was to watch Kenta so i downloaded a few matches they where:

KENTA vs Takeshi Moreshima (15-08-2001)
KENTA vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa (31-08-2001)
KENTA & Akira Taue vs Jun Akayama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (14-07-2001)
KENTA & Tatsumo Sano vs Jun Akayama & Kotaro Suzuki (26-07-2002)
KENTA & Naomichi Marafuji vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Makoto Hashi (03-01-2003)
KENTA & Naomichi Marafuji vs Juventud Guerrera & Ricky Marvin (11-01-2003)

The four tag matches where all great, KENTA & Tatsumo Sano vs Jun Akayama & Kotaro Suzuki has to be the best matches from the lot that i watched really enjoyed it great match from beginning to end.

Also got Low Ki vs Prince Devitt which i'm watching now, ok match so far nothing great.

I'v been trying to burn the Kenta matches onto a dvd with windows media player, but it keeps failing at 99% , the files in AVI format, i don't know if that has something to do with it, if someone could help me with that it would be great.


----------



## seabs

*Use ConvertXToDVD. It's much easier to make a custom disc with that. Just drag, drop and then convert and burn.*


----------



## MF83

While we're on the subject, what's a good free program to convert DVD5 .VOB files into .avi files and the like?


----------



## Lane

Im not too familiar with the non deathmatch BJW guys so please bare with me

BJW 6/21/12
Konaka, Onryo & Taro Nohashi vs Hercules Senga, Oosugi & MEN's Teioh 
***
Good short opener. Teioh is still awesome and I was impressed with the guys he teamd with. They were enjoyable to watch.

Isami Kodaka, Shuji Ishikawa & Miyamoto vs Hoshino, Takeda & Inaba Barbedwire boards**1/2-***
Solid match. Nothing spectacular. I wouldnt mind seeing the two big men having a singles match.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Masashi Otani vs Shinobu & Shinya Ishikawa 
***1/2
Very good match. If givin more time it would of been a 4 star match. Shinobu is a damn animal.

Ryuji Ito & Ryuji Yamakawa vs Shadow WX & Takashi Sasakihardcore match
***
I have no idea what Yamakawa said in the promo but led to him putting on an afro and dancing to thats the way i like it. I'm sold.
A PS2 kicked Ryuji Itos ass by sending him over the top rope.
Good match but a little sloppy.

Yoshihito Sasaki(c) vs Yuji OkabayashiBJW, wXw, and CZW Unified World Title
****
Through the majority of this match they did some great spots but it was just missing something to get a 4 star rating but around the final 2 and a half minutes where Sasaki just loses every care in the world and delevers a series of vicious headbuts that leaves him a crimson mask just did enough to edge it to 4 stars.

Abdullah Kobayashi(c) vs Jaki NumazawaBJW Tokyo City deathmatch for the BJW Deathmatch Title***
Jacki looks like a scary mofo during his enterance. Completely different from his useual crazy self.
Lots of flying glass and some sick spots most noteable was the tiger suplex onto the razor blade chair. Abby looked like he was hurting bad and I admire both of them for pushing through and keeping the match from looking bad.

Also, can someone recomend me some youtube channels that put up puro events that happend not to long ago? I want to check out more promotions (Pretty much anything) but want it to be up to date happenings.


----------



## 11rob2k

This is a good one has some up to date matches
http://www.youtube.com/user/ProWrestlingAARK/featuredhttp:/

also this looks ok, just found it today, think its a new one
www.youtube.com/user/MiscPuro

Edit, i'v just download an Owen Hart in NJPW 1998 set going to check that out tomorrow when i have time,


----------



## Lane

Thanks, Rob. Also, is there any stuff for Dragon Gate?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

WAIT WHAT? I promise to watch a series of matches today and actually follow through with it (still need to fulfill that promise to watch Finlay/Steen BOLA)? PROGRESS!!

*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr v Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik, AJPW RWTL Final (12/15/77)*

Christ on a cracker this was amazing, largely thanks to Terry Funk and his truly inspirational babyface performance. I mean Sheik was superb as this dastardly cunning heel on the outside constantly looking to maim one of the Funk's, and god bless him Abdullah will stick a fork in you and cut you like there's no tomorrow, but apart from that and one hell of a brutal elbow he nor Sheik are what you'd call talented in the ring. Its just a total fight right out of the gate and Funk's throwing his trademark awesome punches and the whole thing just feels like a bar fight, the actual wrestling moves aren't too pretty bar Dory's lovely uppercuts but the whole atmosphere is just amazingly dark and gritty and it feels more like some grubby Memphis/Monterrey Bloodbath than an AJPW match. The workover of Terry is insane with the fork and the blood loss from his right arm, and he bumps and visibly sells the frustration and pain on his face amazingly, holding his hand out trying to crawl to Dory and constantly building up the moment where he reels off a desperation southpaw punch to delay the torture Abdullah and Sheik are dishing out. The build to Dory finally getting control of the spike and 3 japanese dudes leaping out of their chairs and motioning for Sheik to get spiked was just incredible and despite the finish not being to everyone's cup of tea, I thought it worked well in paying off to the violence which preceeded the finish and felt like something the Sheik would do in the heat of the moment. They were out to brutalise the Funks, rather than simply win the match and they did just that. Also thought the way the Funks got over the brotherly concern for one another's well being (Terry dragging Dory out after he gets hit in the throat, and Dory bailing to check on Terry as he's getting his bloodied arm bandaged) was just superb attention to detail and really pulled you into their struggle against these couple of evil bastards and made you demand they kick their ass and get the win. If you can get past the slightly rough execution of a few moves, the overwhelming crowd heat, emotion, drama and passion in Terry Funk's performance will just leave you breathless, and its not like the other 3 were piss poor or anything, its just there was no way in hell this match reaches the heights it does without that damn wrestling genius pulling out one of his finest performances.


*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs. Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik, AJPW (12/9/1978)*

Terrific follow up to their '77 encounter, and in many ways I actually preferred this to that match. Match is again a total seedy pub fight (Motherwell Rules to quote The Thick of It) with Sheik actually really impressing me as this nutjob skulking and plotting new ways to tear the flesh off of the Funks. I particularly dug the spots where he and Abdullah would assist one another in concealing the weapons, and the bearhug spot which Sheik then capitalised on by repeatedly driving the fork into a defenceless Terry. Both Funk's spill a ton of blood in this, and Terry is superb again playing to the back row with his punch drunk selling, pleading to the ref about the illegal objects, there's also this awesome moment where he sort of looks at his hand and looks in disbelief at the trickles of blood that have been drawn from his head from Sheik and you just sense something inside of him change, he also does an amazing job in making every punch and headbutt feel like its the last bit of offence he has left in him and just stumbling and flopping to the floor after taking another move. And holy hell was he incredible upon re-entering the ring and staring down Abdullah with blood streaming down his face, felt like every climax in a horror movie with the pure hero daring the psycho into a final showdown and Terry just unloads with incredible boxing stance punches and just channels this inner hatred and summons up the mother of all comebacks to down Abdullah. Match gets thrown-out and in amongst all the chaos you lose track of just what is going down. Dory particularly impressed me in the closing stretches as he and Sheik just take this intense disliking to one another and Dory becomes a different animal when he spots his own blood, him having to be forcibly held back at the end with the spike in his hand was incredibly dramatic and again felt like some western/horror where the hero gets pushed to breaking point due to the abuse he's taken from this psycho and just does not care what he has to do to get his hands on the scumbag.


*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik, AJPW 2/3 Falls (7/15/79)*

OK. MOTHERFUCKING INCREDIBLE....IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. Jesus Christ if you'd have told me the '77 match could end up being my 3rd favourite after I first watched it I'd have laughed you off, but this is without doubt the best of the bunch so far. They take all the great aspects of the first two matches: hot crowd, awesome brawling, plenty of blood, Abdullah and Sheik being king sized heels, Terry and Dory putting in awesome selljobs and pulling you in via raw emotion to invest in their comeback and just manage to make 10x better than what we'd seen before. Terry and Dory bump around incredibly from every shot, collapsing and making you feel their pain, the comebacks are enthralling and my god Funk entering the ring with blood trickling down his face, staring down Abdullah and screaming into his face before unleashing everything in his arsenal is without doubt one of the most dramatic and spine-tingling moments I've ever seen inside a pro wrestling ring. And then the motherfucker tops it by taking a dramatic bump to the floor and demonstrating his unrivalled selling ability by looking legit concussed from the fall and milking the drama in whether or not he can continue for everything its worth. This all builds into Dory putting in a superhuman effort against these two psychotic monsters before being overwhelmed and re-enter Terry to a thunderous ovation before he unleashes one last bit of offence to rescue his brother. Whole ending with Funk valiantly trying to overcome the blood loss and potential concussion/neck damage only to ultimately be too weak to fend off Abdullah and basically collapsing to the mat and dragging the ref with him, and drawing a no contest with all four men just set on trying to peel each other's skin off was just perfect pro wrestling. The crowd was with them every step of the way, they timed the Funks being overwhelmed by 2 on 1 odds perfectly, Terry managed to create two of the most emotionally powerful moments I've seen in a wrestling match and The Sheik and Abdullah put in their best effort yet by utilising every aspect of the heel playbook behind the ref's back, with some of their weapon shots looking as nasty as I've seen, particularly Abdullah driving the fork into Dory's neck during the opening fall. The angle and snap he got off of each shot complete with Dory's reactionary sell just looked vicious and disgusting. Absolutely incredible match and whilst I don't expect the final encounter to top this effort, seeing how well they've structured each match I have no doubt they'll lay out a satisfying payoff to the series. Almost forgot to mention, Funk staggering around with a bloody mouth after biting the cut on Sheik's forehead perfectly summarised his transformation into this deranged psychopath.


*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr vs Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik AJPW, RWTL Final (12/13/1979) *

Ok, so at this point I should probably learn not to dismiss the next match in this enthralling series, because once again I have to go back on my word and say for my money this was the best of the lot. They work more of a STF match here with an extended heat segment on Funk who does perhaps his greatest bit of selling after Abdullah butchers his fecking EAR with the fork. His screeches are chilling and he hobbles around, rolls into the audience like he's ashamed for anyone to see his cut, then the poor bastard gets his wrist and hand torn up by a relentless butcher, and there's this great moment where Funk tries to fight through the pain and choke Abdullah out, but has to give up and from there on he becomes a target for Sheik and Abdullah to torture him and let me tell you, everything Funk does from here on out is pitch perfect. His face tells the story on top of him contorting his body and writing in agony, he looks on the verge of tears as he grips his fingers like he's suffered nerve damage in his hand.....and that moment where he lands a desperation right hand only to clench his fingers in agony and sell the unimaginable pain he risked trying to hurt Abdullah was nothing short of magnificent. Dory is super off the tag as well, and I can't stress how amazingly they built to that hot tag like it was the last remaining hope the Funks had to win the match. The visual of a bloodied Dory choking the life out of Abdullah was incredible, and I'll give props to the Butcher for having some tremendous facial expressions and mannerisms to signify when he's on the backfoot, there was this excellent delayed bump he took off of a double team from the Funks and he just delays on the bump enough to sell the thought to you that it wasn't enough to knock him down, and then he does go down and you ignore the lunacy in the extended theatrics and just embrace it as pro wrestling 101. Honestly this match was just perfection, building off of the prior 3 matches between the teams, somehow retaining the aura of hatred and uncensored violence and keeping the characters as dynamic and enthralling as ever. The Funks just come out of this looking like the most badass and resilient babyfaces there ever were, and between the cunning and maniacal Sheik and the pure lunacy of The Butcher you have two of the more tenacious and menacing heels I've seen in a long time. Every match in this feud to me is The Terry Funk show, with this outing being his absolute best effort in the feud, but credit should go to the other three as well for bringing their own character work, drama and emotion to make the exchanges as gripping and enthralling as they were.

I honestly cannot say enough good things about these series of matches, anyone who's anyone needs to see them and come back and try to dispute that a) Terry Funk is the greatest/smartest/most naturally talented pro wrestler of all time, b) that Terry Funk is without doubt the most emotive, charismatic performer in the industry's history. Everything he did, from the bumping, to the selling, to the dramatic punches, to the mannerisms, to the subtle selling, to the unique boxing stances to his incredible transformation to pure deranged lunatic whenever his blood was spilled was just indescribeable. I can try my best to sell you on his performances in these matches, but you seriously just have to witness them for yourself and try to do justice to the work he put in. I'm legit in awe.


----------



## MF83

10 million points. I agree with basically everything you say there, right down to the point about the last being the favourite. I hope you watched until well after the bell because that leads to a whole other set of wild in the coming year(s). It's a damn shame that Ditch is only hosting the '77 tag (though he said he was putting the 2/3 up soon...) because nobody is really aware of the rest of the series! One of the greatest feuds ever and easily my favourite discovery from the pre-80s project. Get on the tube and watch this shit, the rest of you~!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah the post match antics in every match were super, I'd love to see Abdullah/Sheik just for the pure lunacy they'd unleash against one another. Sheik impressed me as this sly, cunning heel, he felt like the small guy in a horror film who isn't the biggest of the monsters but who's probably the toughest and most resilient and just will not go away. I'm still struggling to fathom how fireballs, spikes and that amount of blood could be seen in an AJPW when only 9 years prior you had the cleanest of clean matchups in Baba/Destroyer.

But yes I'd be shocked if any long term poster on here didn't come out of those matches thoroughly impressed, I could understand a few maybe having issues with a couple of moments of execution, but that's really splitting hairs and I'm still shocked how well they managed to wrestle considering Abdullah and Sheik are hardly regular guys you associate with incredible matches: Abdullah is fun for brutality and some inaususpicious brawls but I never would have expected him to be as good at conveying changing emotions through his facial expressions.


----------



## Bubz

RIGHT! Watching them today . Haven't seen anywhere near enough Funk.


----------



## 11rob2k

Just got done with a few Owen Hart matches from New japan in 1988

Owen Hart vs Hiroshi Hase 1/4/88 ****

Owen Hart/Steve Williams vs Antonio Inoki/Nobuhiko Takada 1/11/83 **** 1/2

Owen Hart/Steve Willams/Buzz Sawyer vs Hiroshi Hase/Riki Chosu/Mr Saito 1/25/88 ***

Owen Hart/Buzz Sawyer vs Tatsumi Fujinami/ Kengo Kimura 2/1/88 ***


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 219 - 12/5/11*

Masaaki Mochizuki vs Shingo Takagi
***3/4


----------



## EmbassyForever

9 hours of Kenta Kobashi GHC Heavyweight History has arrived :ex:


----------



## Bubz

My favourite title reign ever. Just awesomeness.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Here's what i talked about but now on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpnaalVZ6-0


----------



## erockstar_

Holy shit, EmbassyForever, this is a sick link. I was like, how is this video 9 hours?!


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Dead or Alive 2011 - 5/5/11*

*1. Open The Brave Gate Title*
PAC vs Naruki Doi
***1/4

*2. Captain's Fall Loser Revives Survival Elimination Match - Blood WARRIORS vs. KAMIKAZE* 
Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong, Taku Iwasa & KAGETORA vs CIMA, Gamma, Dragon Kid & Ricochet
***3/4

*3. Open The Dream Gate Title*
Masaaki Mochizuki vs YAMATO
****


----------



## erockstar_

I'm looking for a specific match that I watched a few years ago. The wrestling promotion was one of the Japanese companies and the match definitely included Naomichi Marufuji. It was tag team match that included an awesome spot where one wrestler was caught in the middle of the ropes and another wrestling did a flying leg drop from the post. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I know it isn't much but it was such a great match and now I can't remember any details.


----------



## TelkEvolon

erockstar_ said:


> I'm looking for a specific match that I watched a few years ago. The wrestling promotion was one of the Japanese companies and the match definitely included Naomichi Marufuji. It was tag team match that included an awesome spot where one wrestler was caught in the middle of the ropes and another wrestling did a flying leg drop from the post. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I know it isn't much but it was such a great match and now I can't remember any details.


Sounds like something KENTA would do.....






The spot you're talking about might of happend at 15:55?


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 16/4/11*

1. Ricky Marvin vs Shane Haste
**1/4

2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita
**1/2

3. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs Naomichi Marufuji, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori
***

4. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano
***1/4

*NOAH - 23/4/11*

1. Taiji Ishimori vs Shane Haste
**3/4

2. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Atsushi Aoki
***1/4

3. Yoshinari Ogawa, Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin vs KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
***1/4

4. Bison Smith & Masao Inoue vs Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
***

Sano & Genba for some reason are greatly entertaining to me.


----------



## 11rob2k

NJPW - New Dimension 2010/04/04

1. Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Kyosuke Mikami ***3/4

2. King Fale Debut Match - Manabu Nakanishi vs King Fale ***

3. Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & Wataru Inoue vs Masato Tanaka, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo   ***

4. Togi Makabe vs Tomoaki Honma   *** ¼ 

5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Karl Anderson ****

6. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match - Naomichi Marufuji (C) vs Jushin Liger **** (wanted to rate this higher, I really enjoyed the match but there was a few spots I thought could have been done better) 

7. IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match - Shinsuke Nakamura (C) vs Hirooki Goto ****


This is the first NJPW show i'v watch from start to finish, and for the most part i enjoyed it some very good matches.


----------



## seabs

*GaijinPuro been down the past few days for anyone else now?*


----------



## TelkEvolon

Seabs said:


> *GaijinPuro been down the past few days for anyone else now?*


*- Notice from RUDOS -*

_



Yet again we have been targeted by people who think we should not be allowed to operate the way we do, we are sorry for the downtime but we have to take care of some things now, to prevent situations like this in the future, It is currently not possible to operate without getting insulted and even threatened on a daily basis. This downtime will approximately take until August, and we are deeply sorry to disappoint you guys and girls like this, but please understand it is not just up to us. Thanks to everyone supporting us since 2008. We will see you soon.

Click to expand...

_***Rumors*** I've heard that they deleted their 12TB archive and are spooked, someone ratted them out.


----------



## Cactus

Is it really that hard for the puro companies to run iPPVs for non-Japanese fans? The whole RUDOS thing shows their clearly is a market it for it. I'm not trying to sound like I know how to run a multi-million dollar wrestling company but NJPW did say they were planning on branching out in February to non-Japanese areas and I haven't seen anything from them yet.


----------



## seabs

> Its all over. RUDOS was traced by DGUSA and they froze their Paypal Account. I dont have access to their site anymore.
> 12TB of Wrestling Media has been lost.


:downing


----------



## Genking48

Seabs said:


> :downing


B-b-but my puro :Bischoff


----------



## TelkEvolon

Maaaaan, DGUSA don't f*ck around.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

God damn it, Gabe. (I know, it's probably not him, but still, gotta blame someone)

Well, I guess I'm going to have to start buying Puro DVDs. Somehow.

I would LOVE for one of these guys to direct us to ways we westerners can watch Puroresu. Seriously, instead of screwing us over, how about helping us out?


----------



## Manu_Styles

Fuck! This means no more Puro?


----------



## Lane

http://new.ivpvideos2.com/


----------



## seabs

*It's still easy to get hold of it, you just have to wait a couple of months like before rather than getting it a couple of days after it aired. Right before G1 as well *


----------



## MF83

Dan Ginnetty sells DVDs $3 each and he has like fucking everything ever from the major promotions and gets all the new stuff as well. Those full year DVD sets from 1982-1998 All Japan and everything but 2000-2001 NJPW that come out are because of his work with Japanese collectors. Lynch has an extensive, extensive catalogue from everything everywhere and sells his for $6 a DVD. Max/JacquesRougeau is responsible for a lot of the new DVDs that come out these days, he's got a listed catalog on Ditch's forum and sells his for $5 each. IVP and RudoReels do downloads and are cheap too. There are more, but these are the best, main traders these days. All their info is in this thread on DVDVR http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=44700

Edit: Yeah, fuck that timing. Srsly.


----------



## Yeah1993

who's the dude with the 2010 (and other) Futen shows? Is it the Daniel with his name in katakana?


----------



## MF83

Daniel went ahead of the curve and obtained Futen from his own source when Max stopped dropping his "Puro Bombs" (he's back now) but it's generally Max who gets Futen first... I think. Lynch gets most of the brand new stuff fron pretty much everywhere else first though. He's got an email newsletter with updates every month and a PDF well over 100mb of all his shows.


----------



## scrilla

I don't watch puro so it's not a big deal to me, but one of the guys that ran gaijinpuro came off like a major douche so I'm glad his little double charge scam got shut down.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*BJW Endless Survivor 2012 Review:*

*BJW vs. Zero 1:* 
Kazuki Hashimoto, Takumi Tsukamoto & Masashi Otani vs. Daichi Hashimoto, Shito Ueda & Nick Primo **

Makoto Oishi, Shiori Asahi, & Masaki Okamoto vs. Mototsuga Shimmizu, Jun Ogawauichi, & Amigo Suzuki **1/2 

Osamu Nishimura vs. Shinya Ishikawa ***1/4

Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka, & Jaki Numazawa vs. Shinobu, Masashi Takeda, & Saburo Inematsu ***3/4

*Barbed-wire Board Deathmatch:* 
Ryuji Ito, Ryuji Yamakawa, & Takashi Sasaki vs. Shadow WX, Kankuro Hoshino, & Masato Inaba ***3/4

*AJP All Asia Tag Team Championship:*
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. The Brahmans ***1/2

*BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship:*
Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Big Van Walter ***1/2

*BJW Deathmatch Championship:*
Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa ***

Really good show, i didn't liked the main event so much because Kobayashi is really really slow. Their match at 2010 looked million times better and i'll watch it soon (any opinions about this, btw?).​


----------



## seabs

MF83 said:


> Dan Ginnetty sells DVDs $3 each and he has like fucking everything ever from the major promotions and gets all the new stuff as well. Those full year DVD sets from 1982-1998 All Japan and everything but 2000-2001 NJPW that come out are because of his work with Japanese collectors. Lynch has an extensive, extensive catalogue from everything everywhere and sells his for $6 a DVD. Max/JacquesRougeau is responsible for a lot of the new DVDs that come out these days, he's got a listed catalog on Ditch's forum and sells his for $5 each. IVP and RudoReels do downloads and are cheap too. There are more, but these are the best, main traders these days. All their info is in this thread on DVDVR http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=44700
> 
> Edit: Yeah, fuck that timing. Srsly.


*Max's computer died so he says he's out again for 2-3 months 

Never brought from Dan before but Lynch is the fucking greatest. Usually the first to get stuff in and super service. IVP's download page might be the best for value if you're ok burning yourself but he hasn't had much new stuff in for a while now.*


scrilla said:


> I don't watch puro so it's not a big deal to me, but one of the guys that ran gaijinpuro came off like a major douche so I'm glad his little double charge scam got shut down.





Spoiler: long post that'll make you smirk






> Ajpw b-banquet 311 is out of sync. The GPuro track plays at the start of the show and causes the whole show to be 20 seconds behind on the audio.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: GAiJiNPURO <[email protected]>
> Date: Mon, 02 Jul 2012 11:01:06
> To: <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: regarding reselling
> 
> what are you using to watch AJPW ? because its literally 2 separate VOB
> sets, the audios have nothing to do with one another there not in the
> same container man, so something about t he way your decoding is the
> issue here. explain how your watching AJPW, we test every single title
> before uploading it, also with programming thats over 85% 16:9 we
> maintain the original aspect ratio intentionally, because the bitrate
> goes to the letterboxing and diminishes the quality of the over all
> product in previous releases. its a preference. samurai is going hd
> sooner than later here and this wont be an issue anymore, but lets
> address what your using to watch, mount the disc with
> www.slysoft.com/en product Virtual Clonedrive , once the iso is
> mounted, use Media Player Classic by doing File, Open DVD and check the
> product out it cannot possibly be using the intro audio track if your
> using a proper mounting system on your pc and a proper decoder, i also
> recommend you install the latest FFDshow package to ensure you have a
> good decoder system.. i appreciate you asking and not spreading lies
> about our product being out of sync. if you need my help i can install
> the required products on your machine my self via teamviewer just say
> so, and ill handle it myself.
> 
> - Management @ Gaijin Puro
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Its the same when I play it on either my DVD Player or MPC. I'm using convertxtodvd to burn the image and its not an issue with any of the other images. I wonder if its messed up when I convert it to dvd5. It hasn't done that before though.
> Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone from Virgin Media
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> heres the bottom line, you have no right to complain about our product when your not using it for its intended purpose, we didnt design this so you could down sample it, with shitty decoders (which are built into that horrific program, and are clearly not reading the 2 separate VTS sets correctly) and shotty programming code. If you mount the original DVD9 image you will see it works perfectly as intended, its not our job to teach you how to down sample our product so you can sell it for cheaper, and so on, thats your responsibility to figure out on your own.
> 
> So test the product as i explained, and you will see its FINE, and we did a flawless job producing the media. that ConvertxDVD crap is for retails made a specific way, there not good at what t hey do, a slight variation and suddenly it doesnt know how to reproduce anything.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jesus christ there's no need for that aggressive attitude. I'm only asking if there was an issue. Not everyone can afford dvd9's to burn onto. Stop thinking the whole world is against you and your site, it's not.
> Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone from Virgin Media
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> its not an aggressive attitude, its our stance on what i told you to begin with, not to transcode our media, and the first time you have a problem low and behold, thats left out of the initial pm when your complaining about our product, then it turns out in the 2nd response you messed it up your self, and tried to blame us for it. its all in the phrasing, dont start out by blaming us for your own problems and perhaps we would be much nicer about our response, but seriously, your on your own trying to change our product to something else, im not helping with that. if it means you dont buy from us anymore.. well thats life. i dont support making DVD5 and crapping up our originals and shitting people out of proper quality copies DVD9 is 60 cents on the dollar in bulk, there not expensive anymore dude we explained this when we first started as why we are doing both now. but the choice is yours. dont paint a picture of us being mean or unreasonable when you accused us of producing a title that was not working as intended when you arent using it as intended.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ok I extracted the VOB files from the iso image and the VOB files are out of sync too because the intro track plays when the show starts causing the show audio to be 20 seconds behind throughout. I'm playing it with I'm playing it with MPC from the original DVD files and its an issue. Isn't an issue on any of the other shows with the intro track on.
> Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone from Virgin Media
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> im going to level with you, its simply impossible what your saying is happening, if your following my directions, there 2 completely different VTS sets, there not in the same set of files let alone the same file, so for you to tell me that it plays the intro and forces it to be out of sync is not logical.
> 
> Now i also told you how to do this, and it doesnt sound like you followed my directions, i told you to mount the iso with virtual clonedrive, to simulate the DVD9 disc being burnt. the once it loads up as a virtual drive you need to do File Open DVD in MPC, thats how you play it back correctly, no one told you to dump the VOBs from the disc image, this is the bottom line, the image of the disc keeps the structure 100% intact so it plays as we intended it to play. if you remove the vobs from there your expecting apps to read it correctly when there not designed to do that. you have to do it the way i explained or your just complaining and not reading my directions here bud. if you need me to remote on your pc and do this for you just say the word and ill do it it will take me 2-3m to fix it up for you and prove my point. you must have the decoder package i told you installed as well, FFDShow latest build as well because this handles the contents of the video and audio decoding correctly on your pc as well, theres numerous factors in the process to ensure it works for you correctly, but the main thing is stop extracting things from the iso, and expecting them to work the way you want them to, thats not how we designed it.
> 
> Let me know if teamviewer is required here to set your system up real fast so you can properly simulate the burnt dvd9.
> 
> - Management @ Gaijin Puro
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: GAiJiNPURO <[email protected]>
> > Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:37:50
> > To: <[email protected]>
> > Subject: Re: regarding reselling
> >
> > the staff and i spoke, and we insist you let us remote and fix the
> > problem we don't want to pander around your not following directions
> > correctly, because this has gone on for days now, and you have made
> > absolutely no headway, i don't see you figuring this out on your own,
> > not everyone is video savvy, there's a reason not everyone on the planet
> > does what we do. so i'm asking you to please just let me help you over
> > skype and team viewer so we can resolve your problem immediately with no
> > more delay i'm sure your busy, but so are we and we cannot afford the
> > bad press because a customer doesn't understand something we explained
> > just let us fix it.
> >
> >
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gaijin Puro <[email protected]>
> Date: Wed, 04 Jul 2012 16:42:33
> To: <[email protected]>
> Subject: Re: regarding reselling
> 
> On 7/4/2012 4:27 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> > Right then.
> >
> > Mounted the iso with virtual clonedrive like you said and loaded the dvd up with MPC. Still the same problem. I followed your exact instructions and did it your way. All my codecs are up to date too and I used FFDShow.
> > Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone from Virgin Media
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please give us the exact name of the original .7z file. We are going to
> replicate what you are seeing on your end, because we are not finding it
> so far. Furthermore, we have been in contact with 3 other customers and
> they confirm it is working for them. Please respond back ASAP.
> 
> -Management @ GaijinPuro
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gaijin-ajpw-311
> 
> I've downloaded it twice and ran through the same process with two separate versions of the archive
> Sent from my BlackBerry smartphone from Virgin Media
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...




> System 22:18:04
> System is getting started. [04 July 2012 22:18:04]
> 
> A representative will be connected, please be patient.
> 
> 
> 
> Claudio enters the chatroom.
> 
> 
> Claudio 22:18:21
> alright
> 
> lets get you set up here
> 
> 
> 
> now it goes without saying Matt, that im sorry if you felt like we weren't trying to assist you
> 
> 
> 
> that is simply not the case ok
> 
> 
> 
> im 2m from extracting the 7z i downloaded it again locally.
> 
> 
> 
> im going to verify the issue locally. sit tight ok.
> 
> 
> Matt 22:20:46
> kk
> Claudio 22:24:33
> oki it appears your correct.
> 
> this has not happend as of yet.
> 
> 
> 
> and upon verifying the project files before creating the dvd it looks like the audio was placed in that vts set, then the ajpw was.
> 
> 
> 
> ill redo this title right now
> 
> 
> 
> and get you a replacement.
> 
> 
> 
> shouldnt take long to encode
> 
> 
> 
> then about 3-4 hours to upload it
> 
> 
> 
> its easier to just completely redo it
> 
> 
> 
> then to try and fix it
> 
> 
> 
> you with me matt ?
> 
> 
> Matt 22:26:53
> ok then
> Claudio 22:27:08
> thank you for bringing this to our attention
> 
> i personally check every single title this was the one that wasnt checked
> 
> 
> Matt 22:27:53
> also I really think you should refund this purchase as the minimum
> Claudio 22:28:17
> if you dont want it anymore ill refund you.
> 
> but if you expect me to process a download for you
> 
> 
> 
> thats not reasonable to ask
> 
> 
> 
> i offered to personally check it on your machine
> 
> 
> 
> i didnt blow you off when this happend
> 
> 
> 
> you choose to wait days to get back to me.
> 
> 
> 
> and wait a long time to respond to me.
> 
> 
> 
> im taking my time right now to make it right for you the same day, and you think you should get it free ?
> 
> 
> Matt 22:29:29
> ive wasted money now on discs on a dvd that wouldnt work because of an error on your end
> Claudio 22:29:46
> and im rectifying the issue
> 
> but you wasted a couple of 10 cent dvdrs
> 
> 
> 
> no disrespect
> 
> 
> 
> that doesnt justify a refund
> 
> 
> 
> when im fixing it for you immediately same day we talk
> 
> 
> 
> im going to level with you bud
> 
> 
> 
> i dont want this type of person shopping with us
> 
> 
> 
> when im willing to fix the issue immediately ahead of all other work.
> 
> 
> 
> and you go out of your way and demand a refund because of some cheap dvd5 media being used 2 times
> 
> 
> 
> you REALLY think thats fair to ask of us ?
> 
> 
> 
> when were the only company offering this type of media + were invite only
> 
> 
> 
> + we let you back in
> 
> 
> 
> after you ripped our media against our wishes
> 
> 
> 
> ?
> 
> 
> Matt 22:32:49
> if I pay for a product and the product is faulty because of an error on your end then I don't think it's unreasonable. this is after all your error and your customer service was pretty terrible when I told you there was an error and you claimed it was impossible and that it was my fault when it turns out in the end it was indeed a problem on your end
> 
> i appreciate you fixing the issue now you're aware of it though yes
> 
> 
> Claudio 22:33:10
> then the SAME day
> 
> i fix it and get it to you
> 
> 
> 
> when if it was anyone else
> 
> 
> 
> you wold be waiting for a week
> 
> 
> 
> for the mail
> 
> 
> 
> you took days to resolve this issue
> 
> 
> 
> not us..
> 
> 
> 
> you take too long to respond
> 
> 
> 
> we could have resolved this the first day had you responded quickly
> 
> 
> 
> we have thunderbird open man
> 
> 
> 
> we get emails immediately
> 
> 
> 
> listen, i dont want customers that expect free stuff when we are not charging to fix it
> 
> 
> 
> were fixing the problem right now when im finished talking to you
> 
> 
> Matt 22:34:35
> sorry for having to go to university and only having so long free each day
> Claudio 22:34:37
> im giving it to you again free of charge despite the cost in bandwidth
> 
> no need to be short with me because we both have busy days
> 
> 
> 
> but im sorry man, you used 2 dvdr discs
> 
> 
> 
> thats worth 20 cents
> 
> 
> 
> in usd
> 
> 
> 
> in a 100 pk for 20$
> 
> 
> 
> you cannot expect me to give you the full refund back
> 
> 
> 
> and still give you the media
> 
> 
> 
> if you want a refund, im going to have to ask you to no longer do business with us.
> 
> 
> 
> i dont want customers that try and bully us around
> 
> 
> 
> when were see the error and fix it
> 
> 
> 
> we also have 0 other problems yet
> 
> 
> 
> in almost 100 titles.
> 
> 
> 
> the 1 you happen to notice, we see it we resolve the problem same day no one else could have managed it
> 
> 
> 
> its STILL not good enough for you ?
> 
> 
> 
> so your choice bud
> 
> 
> 
> refund and deleted from the shop
> 
> 
> 
> or let me give you the title and we move on and you stop acting like you deserve a refund for spending 20 cents on dvds
> 
> 
> 
> not trying to be an asshole here.. even though im sure when you tell this story to everyone
> 
> 
> 
> you will paint us up like were total jerks
> 
> 
> 
> because we didnt thnk you deserved a refund
> 
> 
> 
> you STILL downloaded it costed us the bandwidth
> 
> 
> 
> its going to cost to upload it again and send to you again
> 
> 
> 
> were going to eat that because its the right thing to do
> 
> 
> 
> by you.
> 
> 
> 
> now can i please get busy on getting your copy up and we can move on from this and ill relink you to your product
> 
> 
> 
> later this evening
> 
> 
> Matt 22:37:46
> honestly I probably wouldn't mind that much but you tried to make out this was my error when in fact it wasn't.
> Claudio 22:38:02
> listen man, theres multiple staff
> 
> trying to assist throughout the day
> 
> 
> 
> i personally didnt tell you, that you were at fault
> 
> 
> 
> however, due to how these are designed its understandable that the user could have a problem
> 
> 
> 
> for example VLC plays back wrong
> 
> 
> 
> even on correctly assembled products
> 
> 
> 
> so there training is to make sure things are configured correctly
> 
> 
> 
> now we know the situation and we can resolve it.
> 
> 
> 
> if i were you i wouldnt make a big deal out of this considering were fixing it immediately free of charge
> 
> 
> 
> no additional shipping charges (if it were mailed) or media costs etc
> 
> 
> 
> were eating everything here and fixing it.
> 
> 
> 
> so i would appreciate it if you could be a civil adult about this, and let me resolve your issue, as fast as possible and relink you to your product.
> 
> 
> 
> i dont forsee this being a problem in the future either.
> 
> 
> Matt 22:40:16
> if you don't feel i should be refunded for your error and poor customer service when trying to resolve the problem then ok send me a new download link for it and we'll move on but i seriously think you should get your staff to work on their attitude when someone contacts them with a problem and not to have them make out it's the customers fault and not theirs when it is theirs
> Claudio 22:40:42
> bottom line
> 
> when you goto a store to buy a disc
> 
> 
> 
> dvd whatever
> 
> 
> 
> you never leave with it free.
> 
> 
> Matt 22:40:55
> your staff said it was "impossible" to be a problem on their end and it in fact ended up being a problem on their end
> Claudio 22:40:58
> this situation is no different.
> 
> why must you harp on this ?
> 
> 
> 
> when im fully prepared to deliver a working copy
> 
> 
> 
> immediately
> 
> 
> 
> thats the customer service you should be worried about
> 
> 
> 
> getting what you paid for
> 
> 
> 
> not complaining about how things didnt work out and now that there resolved, we can easily fix the problem for you
> 
> 
> 
> listen man, im going to be real with you, i was against you coming back because you ripped our media for free users
> 
> 
> 
> but i authorized it when you said you were sorry ok
> 
> 
> 
> i think considering you did wrong by us 1 time
> 
> 
> 
> and we just had to DEAL with that title being leaked
> 
> 
> 
> and loose business because of it
> 
> 
> 
> and all im asking you to do here is let me replace the product
> 
> 
> 
> what you did was much more rude tbh
> 
> 
> 
> i appologize if you felt insulted. but im going to need you to get over it
> 
> 
> 
> and let us move on from this subject
> 
> 
> 
> so i can get your product product again before the night is out
> 
> 
> Matt 22:44:04
> look I'll take the replacement link without a refund but I honestly think you and your staff need to look back at the attitude they showed when I came to them with an issue. no matter which way you look at it was unprofessional
> Claudio 22:44:22
> you were not respectful
> 
> leaking our media either
> 
> 
> 
> so imo.. were even now
> 
> 
> 
> and you should let this go
> 
> 
> 
> im going to fix your issue
> 
> 
> Matt 22:44:39
> also there's no urgent rush to get a new link up straight away mate. It's nearly 11pm my time so I won't use the link until tomorrow
> Claudio 22:44:44
> but im through appoliogizing to you
> Matt 22:44:53
> and there was no rule about uploading stuff when I did it
> Claudio 22:44:53
> i said im sorry about the problem
> Matt 22:44:57
> you made that rule after
> Claudio 22:44:58
> and i meant what i said
> 
> yes there was
> 
> 
> 
> it was made day 1
> 
> 
> 
> not going to debate this with you
> 
> 
> 
> you didnt realize it so you claim
> 
> 
> 
> so we let it go
> 
> 
> 
> but you effected our business man
> 
> 
> 
> its common sense
> 
> 
> 
> if you give our shit away for free
> 
> 
> 
> then no ones going to buy it from us
> 
> 
> 
> to pretend you dont get that is a waste of everyones time
> 
> 
> 
> im going to let it slide
> 
> 
> 
> and so you are
> 
> 
> 
> you bro
> 
> 
> Matt 22:45:47
> I don't have a problem with you personally. I appreciate you going out of your way to fix this issue. it's whoever was emailing me that I have the issue with about their customer service attitude they had with me
> Claudio 22:45:54
> ill get it up and replaced this evening.
> 
> like i said.. you need to get over it ok
> 
> 
> 
> the problem is being resolved.
> 
> 
> 
> we cannot offer free media
> 
> 
> 
> and im going to be real with you, the staff right now is telling me we should never have let you back in. so please for your access.. let this shit slide man
> 
> 
> 
> you will get what you paid for
> 
> 
> 
> thats what ultimately matters ok
> 
> 
> Matt 22:47:26
> side question, do you believe a new japan show to become your product when you put it onto a dvd and no longer new japan's product?
> Claudio 22:47:26
> when your in our situation
> 
> why are you asking us such a rude question
> 
> 
> 
> listen bud.
> 
> 
> 
> im just going to refund your money
> 
> 
> 
> and i think were going to part ways here
> 
> 
> Matt 22:48:11
> it's not rude, i just want to know your stance for the future
> Claudio 22:48:14
> because your being smug now about legality and such
> 
> when lets be honest if you had a problem with this
> 
> 
> 
> you shouldnt have ordered from us.
> 
> 
> 
> its absolutely rude
> 
> 
> 
> you know as well as i do
> 
> 
> 
> that the product is copyrighted with in japan
> 
> 
> 
> and not outside
> 
> 
> Matt 22:48:45
> honestly I'm not being smug, i just want to know your stance so there's no more confusion in the future to avoid more problems
> Claudio 22:48:45
> the laws are different than usa copyrights
> 
> which is why you dont see it plastered all over everything
> 
> 
> 
> like in usa
> 
> 
> 
> but when it comes to media WE personally supply
> 
> 
> 
> and make dvds and blurays
> 
> 
> 
> we expect those invited
> 
> 
> 
> to follow our rules
> 
> 
> 
> which you agreed too...
> 
> 
> 
> so none of this matters quite frankly.
> 
> 
> Matt 22:49:35
> i just want to be clear on the rules mate
> Claudio 22:49:39
> you either follow or rules, or your not welcome here.
> 
> the rules are what i told you the other day before letting you back in
> 
> 
> Matt 22:49:53
> thats why i want to be clear on what you consider to be your product
> Claudio 22:49:53
> u dont make rips of our media
> 
> for free
> 
> 
> 
> if you buy it from us..
> 
> 
> 
> its our product
> 
> 
> 
> if you were invited to buy here
> 
> 
> Matt 22:50:11
> and i havent made any rips since you gave me my access back
> Claudio 22:50:19
> you got it from us you know very well what it means
> Matt 22:50:35
> ok cool, thanks for clearing it up
> Claudio 22:50:43
> what wasnt clear..
> 
> you knew all of this already
> 
> 
> 
> you buy it from us
> 
> 
> 
> its our product..
> 
> 
> 
> we dont sell cheese and crackers man
> 
> 
> 
> thats why i felt the line of questioning was rude
> 
> 
> 
> and smug
> 
> 
> 
> and i still do
> 
> 
> 
> going to let you go now
> 
> 
> 
> so i can get back to work
> 
> 
> 
> any other cheap shots you wanna take
> 
> 
> 
> before i leave ?
> 
> 
> Matt 22:51:54
> well thanks for fixing the issue and I'm sorry if you thought i was being smug or unreasonable. I wasn't
> Claudio 22:52:11
> its how it comes off which matters the most chief
> 
> were the only game in town
> 
> 
> 
> dont ruin this for yourself because you are too inquisitive ok
> 
> 
> 
> im going to get busy on the replacement right now
> 
> 
> 
> and get it uploading with in the hour
> 
> 
> 
> have a nice evening.
> 
> 
> System 22:52:55
> The representative has left the conversation. If you have further questions please leave a message: Leave message. Thank you!


----------



## smitlick

lmao... I got attacked as well when I asked questions at F4W... Lovely person this Claudio


----------



## Chismo

What the fuck have I just read?


----------



## Lane

I know its more than likely a stupid question but I want to be shure. Does IVP sell dvds or is it stricly download/burn?


----------



## leglock

LOL that they think they're the only people that have that media. 

Dumb fuckers.


----------



## Bix

FWIW, Gabe is either claiming it wasn't him, or claiming it wasn't DGUSA. Or maybe that it wasn't just DGUSA/WWN. It's not really clear.


----------



## seabs

Lane said:


> I know its more than likely a stupid question but I want to be shure. Does IVP sell dvds or is it stricly download/burn?


*Both. You can buy anything on his site and he puts most of it up to download yourself. If you want anything putting on the download page then just email him and he'll put it up.*


----------



## Lane

Awesome news. Thanks Seabs. Anything anyone would recomend? Ill probably make an order in the next week or 2. Any recomendations on best ofs and any shows from 2011-2012.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Lane said:


> Awesome news. Thanks Seabs. Anything anyone would recomend? Ill probably make an order in the next week or 2. Any recomendations on best ofs and any shows from 2011-2012.


Best of KENTA in 2009 & Best of Kota Ibushi, NOAH's 11/27/2011 show, NOAH's top 25 matches. The two "All Together" shows.


----------



## Chismo

Lane said:


> Any recomendations on best ofs and any shows from 2011-2012.


Any New Japan PPV, Dragon Gate's Kobe Festival and Final Gate, Diamond Ring 2/11/2012, anything from BJW and All Japan's 3/20/2012 show.


----------



## seabs

*If you're looking to get introduced to the current crop of wrestlers in Japan then try and get all the G1 Climax shows from last year. All really solid shows at worst. At minimum definitely get the final day. *


----------



## Lane

What dates are the New Japan ppv shows and G1 Climax shows?


----------



## seabs

*http://www.purolove.com/njpw/results/results11.php

14/8/2011 is the best puro show from last year. BJW 22/11 is just as great too. Both are really perfect introductions to each company too. 3/4 and 10/10 are probably the 2 other best New Japan shows from last year, both have 2 legit MOTYC's on them and the usual solid New Japan midcard. 17/7 and 16/10 Dragon Gate PPVs from last year are both great shows and serve as very strong introductions to Dragon Gate. The other 2 PPVs from 2011 are good but not as strong as them 2. 1st All-Together show is a super introduction to All Japan/New Japan/NOAH all at once on top of being a very fun, solid show. DDT 24/6/2012 show is probably the best intro to DDT and has my MOTY for 2012 on. That and/or 24/7/2011 DDT show. I'd say if you got some of them then you can get a really good feel for most of the puro promotions around right now and go from there.

As for the best of's that he has, the Top 25 NOAH Matches set is awesome for an introduction to most of the essential NOAH stuff. Beware that NOAH is nothing like it used to be anymore. Without sounding like too much of a shameless shill either, my 2011 MOTYC Set has basically everything essential match quality wise from Japan on.*


----------



## Lane

Thanks everyone. Currently have eight down on a list.

What are some all time classic shows that are worth getting? Sorry for all the questions haha


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Lane said:


> Thanks everyone. Currently have eight down on a list.
> 
> What are some all time classic shows that are worth getting? Sorry for all the questions haha


Only one I can think of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0jyhPBhVbk&feature=plcp


----------



## seabs

*If you're into Joshi stuff then one of the Dreamslams is widely regarded by people who have seen it as the best show ever. 1st one I think but I haven't seen enough Joshi to really say. 

Don't really know much about full shows, I've tended to just pick up comps for watching older stuff.

Edit:


Spoiler: Z1 Fire Festival Day 1







ZERO1 "MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL ~ FIRE FESTIVAL 2012" , 20.07.2012
Belle Salle Roppongi

1. Yoshikazu Yokoyama besiegt Jo Kyung-ho (10:13) mit einem Camel Clutch.
2. Ikuto Hidaka, Robbie Eagles & Jonathon Grisham besiegen Takuya Sugawara, Mineo Fujita & Johnny Vandal (11:03) nach einer Shooting Star Press von Grisham gegen Vandal.
3. KAMIKAZE, Shito Ueda & Craig Classic besiegen James Raideen, Yusaku Obata & Jay Coffey (12:08) nach einer Lariat von Ueda gegen Coffey.
4. Fire Festival - Block A: Ryouji Sai [2] besiegt Daichi Hashimoto [0] (13:15) mit dem Sidmouth.
5. Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka vs. Kohei Sato - Time Limit Draw (30:00)
6. Fire Festival - Block A: Shinjiro Otani [2] besiegt Tomoaki Honma [0] (21:23) mit einem Dragon Suplex.

Click to expand...





Sekimoto vs Tanaka and Otani vs Shiozaki are on the final so they'll make tape :mark:*


----------



## Lane

In that case then Seabs, what Misawa and Kobashi comps would you recomend?


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

There's a low-quality, clipped version of Tanahashi/Okada on Youtube.

So hyped right now. Someone needs to post a hq version!


----------



## seabs

Lane said:


> In that case then Seabs, what Misawa and Kobashi comps would you recomend?


*Everything?

As far as them 2 to go, you can't go wrong, especially 90's wise. There's tons of Misawa and Kobashi comps on IVP. 11 disc Misawa one looks really bossy. I've got a WON 5* Comp that covers everything essential All Japan wise. That Top 25 NOAH set that I mentioned before is filled up with Misawa/Kobashi from NOAH too. Any Misawa or Kobashi comp you buy you won't regret assuming it turns up.*


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 24/4/11*

1. Yoshinari Ogawa vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
***

2. KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs Atsushi Aoki, Taiji Ishimori & Shane Haste
***

3. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara
**3/4
Hero is wearing Claudios tights here for whatever reason


----------



## Chismo

It's busy day in Nippon...



Spoiler: NOAH



*NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2012 IN RYOGOKU", 22.07.2012 (G+)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
*
1. Starting Point Revolution ~ Classmates Confrontation: Taiji Ishimori besiegt Masa Takanashi (4:41) mit einem 450° Splash.
2. von Erich Brothers Japanese Debut Match: Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste besiegen Ross von Erich & Marshall von Erich (6:26) nach einer Shooting Star Press von Nicholls gegen Marshall.
3. NOAH vs. Diamond Ring - Master & Student Tag Confrontation: Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima besiegen Akira Taue & Genba Hirayanagi (7:39) nach einer Lariat von Sasaki gegen Hirayanagi.
4. Special Singles Match - Yoshiaki Fujiwara-ism Legend: Mohammed Yone besiegt Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6:00) mit einem High Kick.
5. Special Singles Match - NOAH vs. DDT: Kota Ibushi besiegt Atsushi Kotoge (9:22) mit einem Sit-Down Last Ride.
6. Special Singles Match - NO MERCY vs. WNC: Maybach Taniguchi vs. TAJIRI
7. KENTA Return Match: Naomichi Marufuji besiegt KENTA (11:00) mit dem Tiger Flowsion.
8. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*: Super Crazy & Ricky Marvin besiegen Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki (c) (12:58) - Titelwechsel.
9. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) besiegt Christopher Daniels (7:55) mit dem Touch Out (2nd defense).
10. *GHC Tag Team Title*: Samoa Joe & Magnus besiegen Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito (c) (11:40) nach einem Muscle Buster von Joe gegen Saito - Titelwechsel.
11. *GHC Heavyweight Title*: Takeshi Morishima (c) besiegt Go Shiozaki (24:35) mit einem Backdrop Suplex (4th defense).
- Takeshi Rikio Retirement Ceremony





Spoiler: DDT



*DDT "ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2012", 22.07.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,513 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

0. Tsukasa Fujimoto & Mio Shirai besiegen Chou-un-Shiryu & Hiroshi Fukuda (5:22) nach einem Cazadora von Fujimoto gegen Fukuda.
1. Poison JULIE Sawada, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Akito, Rion Mizuki, DJ Nira & Tetsuya Endo besiegen Yuji Hino , Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki & Hoshitango (10:30) nach einer Moonsault Press von Endo gegen Honda.
2. Sanshiro Takagi, Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi besiegen Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa & Tanomusaku Toba (7:58) nach einem Flying Cross Armbreaker von Sakaguchi gegen Nakazawa.
3. *KO-D Tag Team Title*: KUDO & Makoto Oishi (c) besiegen Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie (9:21) nach einem Diving Double Kneedrop von KUDO gegen Ishii (3rd defense).
4. MIKAMI Return Match: Tatsumi Fujinami besiegt MIKAMI (7:01) mit einem Bow and Arrow Hold.
5. Hardcore Match: Shuji Ishikawa besiegt HARASHIMA (16:57) mit einem Splash Mountain auf einen Stuhl & eine Leiter.
6. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega besiegen Danshoku Dino & YOSHIHIKO (21:24) nach dem Croyth's Wrath von Omega gegen Dino.





Spoiler: NJPW



*NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ KIZUNA ROAD", 22.07.2012 (WPW)
Yamagata City Sports Center
3,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy*

1. Tama Tonga, Maximo , Captain New Japan & BUSHI besiegen Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI (7:48) nach dem Caribbean Death Grip von Captain gegen Gedo.
2. KUSHIDA besiegt Low Ki (7:10) mit einem Modified Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold.
3. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title*: Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov besiegen Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (c) (13:44) als Romero Tiger nach dem Contract Killer pinnte - Titelwechsel.
4. Special Elimination Match: Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi besiegen Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (16:46).
Makabe warf Taichi über das Top Rope (9:23). Makabe eliminierte TAKA mit einem King Kong Kneedrop (9:39). Archer warf Makabe über das Top Rope (10:41). Suzuki warf Nagata über das Top Rope (14:15). Archer warf Devitt über das Top Rope (15:41). Archer eliminierte Taguchi mit dem Blackout (16:46).
5. *IWGP Tag Team Title, Decision Match*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima besiegen Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (13:43) nach einer Lariat von Kojima gegen Iizuka - Titelwechsel.
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Naito & Karl Anderson besiegen Kazuchika Okada & Yujiro Takahashi (15:30) nach einer Stardust Press von Naito gegen Takahashi.
7. *IWGP Intercontinental Title*: Shinsuke Nakamura besiegt Hirooki Goto (c) (16:50) mit dem Boma Ye - Titelwechsel.
8. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) besiegt Masato Tanaka (26:15) mit dem High Fly Flow (2nd defense).


----------



## seabs

*Never realised all 4 shows were on the same day. Well I knew they were all 7/22 but I didn't realise they were ALL the same day.



Spoiler: DG PPV Results



Dragon Kid retained vs Ricochet. SHINGO/YAMATO won the Twin Gate belts vs Jimmyz. Doi/Yoshino/PAC retained Traingle Gate. PAC got the pin on Hulk for the 2nd fall and bowed to all 4 corners again. Guessing they just replace PAC with Ricochet or Swann and keep the belts on them. CIMA beat Tozawa too. Sucks. Full results should be up on iheartdg soon.





Spoiler: New Japan



Sorta figured KUSHIDA might win when it was made non title. Guessing Ibushi loses now and they do KUSHIDA/Ki at one of the G1 shows. Yay at Nakamura winning the IC Title.





Spoiler: NOAH



Surprised they gave the tag belts to Joe/Magnus. Guess they don't mean much these days though. Show looks shockingly good even with the results. Holy shit at a Kanemaru title defence only going 8 minutes. Only the main event over 13 minutes :mark: Sugiura return confirmed for 8/25 and seems as though they're building to a Ibushi/Ishimori match.



Oh and there was also a big Osaka Pro show today too which drew over 4,500.

and to end on some extremely sad news.*


> Doesn't sound good for much more puro from 2012 on DVD. Dan's Japan contact has disappeared and so has lynchs. I presume it's the same person.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: thoughts



- yeah, the NOAH show looks very watchable with every match being 5-13 min long
- not happy with KENTA losing
- so happy that Joe and Magnus took the straps, shame that Daniels did not
- Ibushi/Ishimori might deliver some SciFi ninja shit
- yeah, I believe KUSHIDA is going to dethrone Low Ki eventually, and I'm fine with it, KUSHIDA is very good
- Shinskay new IC champ is great news, and so is Tanahashi retaining
- too bad Tozawa didn't win


----------



## Bubz

Spoiler: NOAH, New Japan results



The NOAH show looks awesome, their best looking show for fucking ages! Joe/Magnus getting the tag belts is so unexpected, but it's awesome. More Joe in Japan might cause him to become even more motivated and become super badass again. Joe/Akiyama singles match pls!

New Japan show sounds good too, Nakajima winning the IC belt is great, that man deserves GOLD! Tanahashi/Tanaka should be great.


----------



## MF83

> Doesn't sound good for much more puro from 2012 on DVD. Dan's Japan contact has disappeared and so has lynchs. I presume it's the same person.


NOOOOO~!


Where are the Puro.se Swedes when you need them?


----------



## smitlick

Apparently NOAH drew 8000 for the 22/7 show.


----------



## MF83

Which would optimistically be 5000 legit. Oh well, it's still their best in ever.


----------



## Rickey

Spoiler



Joe and Magnus! :shocked: I actually thought Daniels would win instead but I'm cool with this too. Also I'm glad there's a bunch of 'short' matches for NOAH, easier to watch. Can't wait to see them on youtube. Along with checking out some of the DDT and NJPW matches.


Finally got spoiler tags right again. :snrub


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 29/4/11*

1. Mikey Nicholls vs Shane Haste
**1/2

2. Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Takashi Okita
**1/2

3. Kotaro Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taiji Ishimori vs KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genbra Hirayanagi
**3/4

4. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli
***1/4


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: Full DG Results






> 7/22/2012 Hyogo, Kobe World Kinen Hall ~Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2012~
> 1. Windows vs. Jimmys: K-ness, Kenichiro Arai, Super Shisa{W}, Shisa BOY (10:04 Yoshitonic) Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Kanda, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Naoki Tanizaki{L}
> 2. Chihiro Tominaga, Super Shenlong III{W} (6:37 School Boy) Kotoka{L}, Rich Swann
> 3. Evil Ways Calling!: Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa, Atsushi Onita{W} (11:29 Thunder Fire Power Bomb onto Barbed Wire Table) Mondai Ryu, Kzy{L}
> 4. Open the Brave Gate: Dragon Kid (24:13 Dragonrana) Ricochet
> *DK succeeds in his 2nd Defense
> 5. Open the Twin Gate: YAMATO, Shingo Takagi{W}(21:05 Last Falconry) Jimmy Susumu{L}, Jimmy Kagetora
> *The Jimmys fail in their 1st Defense, -akatsuki- become the 22nd Champions
> 6. Open the Triangle Gate 3 Way: Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, PAC vs. BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki, Cyber Kong vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Gamma
> -Doi (20:50 V9 Clutch) Gamma
> -PAC (25:50 360 Shooting Star Press) Hulk
> *W1i succeed in their 5th Defense
> 7. Open the Dream Gate: CIMA (28:45 Meteora) Akira Tozawa
> *CIMA succeeds in his 5th Defense
> 
> Onita was in typical form after the match. He told CIMA to be a man and let him bring an exploding barbed wire match to DG. CIMA replied with one word. "FIRE!"
> 
> President Okamura gave his customary speech after intermission. He didn't have much of note to say, just re-affirming the loyalty to the homebase in Kobe while expanding throughout the world.
> 
> Tozawa did end up having MB seconding him. However, he did stay true to his word to fight a solo battle. Mondai Ryu attempted to interfere and received a bicycle kick from Tozawa for his trouble.
> 
> CIMA gave the standard closing speech. He said he wasn't sure who or what generation his next challenger would be from, but he would beat them. Because he is CIMA. He also seemed to accept the offer from Onita, in his excitement.
> 
> He then called out PAC. He came out with the rest of W1i. It was time to say farewell, as this was his final night with Dragon Gate in Japan. Soon the entire roster joined them in the ring. Each and everyone had a chance to say a few words to the Man Gravity Forgot. They ranged from brief words of respect, to memories of prior battles, to YAMATO asking him to come get drunk in Roppongi one more time. There was one common theme, though. That he was a member of the Dragon Gate family, an incredible performer, and we will never forget him. He gave his own brief speech, before his theme song played one final time.






*NOAH claimed 8000 which like MF83 says is probably a few 1000 less for the actual number. About what I expected from that card. Isn't a terrible number given their current state and the amount of competition they were going up against on the same day. New Japan drew 3,5000, Osaka Pro drew 4,500, DDT drew 1,500 in K.Hall and apparently DG was a sell out in Kobe so that's like another 9000+. All Japan have a small show today too. That's like probably around 25,000 legit over the day which is great. 

In comparison to other Ryogoku shows, the 7/1 All/New Japan supershow drew 11,000. G1 Final last years drew 11,500. DG's Kobe World Hall show drew over 9,000 last year and again this year it seems. DDT drew 8,660 in Ryogoku last year. I really hope DDT outdraw them again this year at Bodukan. All Japan's Ryogoku show this year drew 9,000 and last year they drew 8,000, 8,000 and 8,500 in their 3 Ryogoku shows last year. If think it's their biggest gate in 2 years though since they claimed 11,000 in Budokan for the 2010 Global League Final. Used purolove for all the figures btw. 

Didn't have enough drawing power on it to do a big number despite quality wise looking strong. KENTA/Marufuji and Morishima/Shiozaki were the only matches capable of drawing and they're limited. Guys like Crazy/Marvin/Daniels/Joe/Magnus in title matches were never gonna draw a big number unless they had strong back up which they didn't.*


----------



## smitlick

*NOAH - 8/5/11*

1. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara & Satoshi Kajiwara vs Atsushi Aoki, Taiji Ishimori & Mikey Nicholls
**1/2

2. Go Shiozaki vs Shuhei Taniguchi
****1/4

3. Mohammed Yone vs Genba Hirayanagi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & KENTA
**3/4

*4. GHC Jr Heavyweight Title*
Kotaro Suzuki vs Ricky Marvin
***1/2
Beside the overkill, I can't ever believe that Ricky will win the Jr Title. Theres absolutely no reason as 

to why they went so long without Ricky winning here.

*5. GHC Tag Team Titles*
Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito
***

*6. GHC Heavyweight Title*
Takashi Sugiura vs Minoru Suzuki
***1/4


----------



## Lane

Current list of shows im looking to but is looking like this.

NOAH top 25 matches
NOAH 6/13/12

Best of Vader v.5
Best of PAC
Best of Prince Devitt 2011 v.4

NJPW/AJPW-We Are Pro Wrestling Love
NJPW in USA 6/22/11
NJPW 8/14/11

DDT 6/24/12

Michinoku Pro 12/11/11

BJPW Death Match Survivor 2011
BJPW-10/26/11


----------



## seabs

Lane said:


> Current list of shows im looking to but is looking like this.
> 
> NOAH top 25 matches
> NOAH 6/13/12
> 
> Best of Vader v.5
> Best of PAC
> Best of Prince Devitt 2011 v.4
> 
> NJPW/AJPW-We Are Pro Wrestling Love
> *NJPW in USA 6/22/11*
> NJPW 8/14/11
> 
> DDT 6/24/12
> 
> Michinoku Pro 12/11/11
> 
> BJPW Death Match Survivor 2011
> BJPW-10/26/11


*fyi, all of this is clipped in some form or another so you don't get any full matches, closer to 1/2 - 3/4. *


----------



## Lane

Oh, Thanks Seabs. Wont be getting that then.


----------



## MF83

Get the 2010 and 2011 NJPW Destruction events.

Also, goodhelmet's 54 disc Kawada set.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: pics


----------



## MF83

You missed the best one!


----------



## seabs

> That pretty much sums it up. In mid April, I emailed my contact, saying I was ready for another batch of new stuff. It has been 2 months since the last batch arrived in mid-February, so I wanted to make sure we didn't have to wait too long for the next batch.
> 
> He replied, saying he was in Australia and would get back to Japan on 4/30. He said he would send me the list of shows he had recorded for me then.
> 
> That was almost 3 months ago. No word from him since.
> 
> I sent him several emails since 4/30, some were flagged so I would get a notification when the email was opened. None of my emails have even been opened in that time.
> 
> He was incommunicado for some time last year, before emailing me out of the blue, saying he had shipped a new batch of stuff.
> 
> I am hoping he gets things sorted out, but until he replies to my emails, I have no clue what is going on.
> 
> That all being said, he recorded EVERY puroresu show that aired on any channel from early 2004 all the way to early 2012.
> 
> Not a bad run....
> 
> Dan Ginnetty "


.


----------



## Martyn

Its really sad. I really want to see Dominion and 7/22 WPW. I'd like to pay for New Japan PPVs. iPPV streams would be perfect in current situation. A stream with shows on Samuari TV for free and ppvs for few bucks. Maybe we can all sign some petiton for ippvs and send this to New Japan? It shouldnt be a big problem for them to organise this and they might get some extra buys from all over the world.


----------



## smitlick

Should I go searching for this man?


----------



## 11rob2k

Kenta Kobashi GHC title history

1.Kenta Kobashi VS Mitsuharu Misawa(01-03-2003) **** 1/2
2.Kenta Kobashi VS Tamon Honda(13-04-2003) ****
3.Kenta Kobashi VS Masahiro Chono(02-05-2003) ****
4.Kenta Kobashi VS Bison Smith(26-08-2003) **** 1/4
5.Kenta Kobashi VS Yuji Nagata(12-09-2003) **** 3/4
6.Kenta Kobashi VS Yoshinari Ogawa(01-11-2003) **** 3/4
7.Kenta Kobashi VS Takuma Sano(25-01-2004) ****
8.Kenta Kobashi VS Takeshi Rikio(06-03-2004) **** 1/4
9.Kenta Kobashi VS Yoshihiro Takayama(25-04-2004) ****
10.Kenta Kobashi VS Jun Akiyama(10-07-2004) **** 1/2 
11.Kenta Kobashi VS Akira Taue(10-09-2004) ****
12.Kenta Kobashi VS Akitoshi Saito(24-10-2004) ****
13.Kenta Kobashi VS The Gladiator(04-12-2004) **** 1/4 
14.Kenta Kobashi VS Minoru Suzuki(08-01-2005) **** 1/2
15.Kenta Kobashi VS Takeshi Rikio(05-03-2005) ****

Took me about 3 days to watch all of this, well worth it amazing set of matches, there wasn't one match one the video that i didn't like, i might have rated some matches to high, but iv never really been good with giving matches star ratings.

Does anyone know if theres any where i could get the J-Crown tournament from, i really want to see that.


----------



## Chismo

**** for Kobashi/BIG TAK is the lowest I've ever seen, and ****1/2 for Kobashi/MiSu is teh highest I've ever seen.


----------



## sXeMope

Planning an order from IVP. Just curious if anyone has seen these shows/DVDs and can say if they're good or not. I'm basically trying to stock up on Jr. Heavyweight stuff

Planning on getting all these

IWA King of the Deathmatch 1995
Best of NJPW Super Juniors 1998
Best of Low-Ki V.4
Best of Low-Ki V.5
NJPW Top of the Super Juniors 1995
NJPW 1996 J-Crown Tourny
Freedoms 01/25/2012
Osaka Pro 2004 Super J Cup
BJPW 10/21/2011 (Triangle Of Ultraviolence)
NJPW Best of the Super Jrs. 1997
Michinoku Pro Mask Tournament 1999
NJPW Best of Super Juniors 1993

And just gonna throw it out there, but if anyone here likes deathmatch wrestling, I highly recommend the BJPW Deathmatch Survivor League 2011. Not a bad match on it IMO. Too much to give any detailed review but Takeda/Kasai is amazing IMO. Every Takashi Sasaki match is also great. He's very under-rated IMO. Not a fan of Hoshino but his matches were decent. Totally worth the money


----------



## Stardust Genius

sXeMope said:


> Just curious if anyone has seen these shows/DVDs and can say if they're good or not.
> BJPW 10/21/2011 (Triangle Of Ultraviolence)


That DVD has only the tournament matches of this review (third post).


----------



## seabs

*Pretty sure the Samurai TV version has most of the matches clipped. wXw have all the triangle shows from that weekend on their site which have the matches in full with non tournament matches too.*


----------



## Bubz

11rob2k said:


> Kenta Kobashi GHC title history
> 
> 1.Kenta Kobashi VS Mitsuharu Misawa(01-03-2003) **** 1/2
> 2.Kenta Kobashi VS Tamon Honda(13-04-2003) ****
> 3.Kenta Kobashi VS Masahiro Chono(02-05-2003) ****
> 4.Kenta Kobashi VS Bison Smith(26-08-2003) **** 1/4
> 5.Kenta Kobashi VS Yuji Nagata(12-09-2003) **** 3/4
> 6.Kenta Kobashi VS Yoshinari Ogawa(01-11-2003) **** 3/4
> 7.Kenta Kobashi VS Takuma Sano(25-01-2004) ****
> 8.Kenta Kobashi VS Takeshi Rikio(06-03-2004) **** 1/4
> 9.Kenta Kobashi VS Yoshihiro Takayama(25-04-2004) ****
> 10.Kenta Kobashi VS Jun Akiyama(10-07-2004) **** 1/2
> 11.Kenta Kobashi VS Akira Taue(10-09-2004) ****
> 12.Kenta Kobashi VS Akitoshi Saito(24-10-2004) ****
> 13.Kenta Kobashi VS The Gladiator(04-12-2004) **** 1/4
> 14.Kenta Kobashi VS Minoru Suzuki(08-01-2005) **** 1/2
> 15.Kenta Kobashi VS Takeshi Rikio(05-03-2005) ****
> 
> Took me about 3 days to watch all of this, well worth it amazing set of matches, there wasn't one match one the video that i didn't like, i might have rated some matches to high, but iv never really been good with giving matches star ratings.
> 
> Does anyone know if theres any where i could get the J-Crown tournament from, i really want to see that.


Indeed an awesome set of matches. What a reign. I think you've overrated some and underrated others personally. Takayama match is damn near *****, and the Nagata match is nearer **** for me.


----------



## Bruce L

This is inspiring me to rate the Kobashi reign myself, and making me realize how much of it I haven't seen.



1.Kenta Kobashi VS Mitsuharu Misawa(01-03-2003) *****

2.Kenta Kobashi VS Tamon Honda(13-04-2003) ****¼

3.Kenta Kobashi VS Masahiro Chono(02-05-2003) N/S

4.Kenta Kobashi VS Bison Smith(26-08-2003) N/S

5.Kenta Kobashi VS Yuji Nagata(12-09-2003) ****½

6.Kenta Kobashi VS Yoshinari Ogawa(01-11-2003) N/S

7.Kenta Kobashi VS Takuma Sano(25-01-2004) N/S

8.Kenta Kobashi VS Takeshi Rikio(06-03-2004) N/S

9.Kenta Kobashi VS Yoshihiro Takayama(25-04-2004) ****¾

10.Kenta Kobashi VS Jun Akiyama(10-07-2004) *****

11.Kenta Kobashi VS Akira Taue(10-09-2004) ****¼

12.Kenta Kobashi VS Akitoshi Saito(24-10-2004) N/S

13.Kenta Kobashi VS The Gladiator(04-12-2004) N/S (Very surprised I haven't seen this one, as I was a big Mike Awesome fan back in the day)

14.Kenta Kobashi VS Minoru Suzuki(08-01-2005) ***½

15.Kenta Kobashi VS Takeshi Rikio(05-03-2005) N/S


----------



## Bubz

I forgot to say as well, the Honda match is bloody amazing.


----------



## Yeah1993

Kobashi/Honda is 2003 MOTY. 

I should go through the Kobashi GHC stuff I haven't seen/don't remember as well.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Bruce L said:


> This is inspiring me to rate the Kobashi reign myself, and making me realize how much of it I haven't seen.
> 
> 14.Kenta Kobashi VS Minoru Suzuki(08-01-2005) ***½



Damn, man! That might be the lowest I have seen that rated, that has to be one of the top ones in my mind. Big strong face vs slick cocky heel.


----------



## Bruce L

TelkEvolon said:


> Damn, man! That might be the lowest I have seen that rated


Maybe so, but it's also by a wide, wide margin my favorite MiSu singles match.


----------



## Yeah1993

I probably liked that about as much as Bruce did. Suzuki is overrated.


----------



## Bubz

That match is awesome. Around ****1/4. I'd agree with it being MiSu's best singles match.


----------



## Chismo

Nah, MiSu's best singles matches are with Tanahashi (WK) and Nagata (WK).


----------



## Yeah1993

the PWFG match v Naoki Sano in 1991 probably smokes anything he ever did and anything he will ever do.


----------



## EmbassyForever

I just finished watching Kobashi-Nagata, so far an amazing set. I really liked his match with Bison, a great storytelling. Thanks for the ratings, btw.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Rainmaker appreciation:





*Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito-29.1.2012.*
You get their usual stuff wit lots of strikes from Okada and Nakamura and Naito and Tanahashi jumping around, toward the end there's a really cool moment where you think the faces are gonna win and then Tanahashi misses a plancha and Team Swag regains the control.
I really like the ending as well because it both gives Okada a clean win over Tanahashi and still leaves you with the mystique of would he have pinned Tanahashi if Shinsuke didn't hid the Boma Ye? 
And, belive it or not, Tanahashi did leg work 
About it:
Tanahashi does, literally, TWO moves on Okada's leg. Then like, 5 minutes later, he does a Low Dropkick which Okada sells like death, yet it turns out he was playing possum and catches Tanahashi of guard with the Air Raid Crash Neckbreaker which includes dropping his opponent on the leg. Genius stuff.


*****1/4*




*Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto-3.5.2012.*
Very good for the most part with a weird Rainmaker botch and a few moments where it seemed like they had no direction and Okada had to buy time bi-smiling with DAT SMILE.

Featured a great finishing stretch and few convincing nearfalls.

****1/2*



*Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Suwama & Shuji Kondo-1.7.2012.*


Sometimes in wrestling, the sheer clash of charachters makes everything epic. Suwama in all his bossyness, Nakamura, the Son Of God as the drunk mercyless badass, Okada in all his SWAG trolling Suwama and Kondo, the tired junior bartender that no one really cares about but is still there to eat the pin. FEEL IT~!


******


----------



## smitlick

*All Japan - 21/3/11*

1. Kaz Hayashi & KAI vs Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI
**1/2

2. TARU, Rene Dupree & MAZADA vs Big Van Vader, Jesse White & Ryota Hama
**
OMFG. Hama in a Vader suit is amazing.

*3. All Asian Tag Titles*
Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi
****1/4

4. Keiji Muto vs Daichi Hashimoto
**1/2

5. Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki vs Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger
***1/4

*6. AJPW Jr Heavyweight Title*
Minoru vs Shuji Kondo
****


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: Results







AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR JR. HYPER LEAGUE 2012", 29.07.2012 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,800 Fans

1. SUSHI, Gillette & Andy Wu besiegen Hikaru Sato, MAZADA & Aegyptus Aerial (10:57) nach dem Tekkamaki von SUSHI gegen MAZADA.
2. Jr. Hyper League - Semi Final: Hiroshi Yamato besiegt Koji Kanemoto (19:18) mit einem Cross-Arm Suplex Hold.
3. Jr. Hyper League - Semi Final: Shuji Kondo besiegt KAI (7:25) mit einem Inside Cradle.
4. KENSO Nomination Match: Taiyo Kea, Masanobu Fuchi & Masao Inoue besiegen Akebono, KENSO & Ryota Hama (11:07) nach einem Inside Cradle von Inoue gegen Hama.
5. Suwama & Kaz Hayashi vs. Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka - No Contest (13:22).
6. Special Singles Match: Masakatsu Funaki besiegt Yuji Nagata (9:38) mit einem Hybrid Blaster.
7. AJPW World Tag Team Title: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya (c) besiegen Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering (14:28) nach einem Wild Bomber von Soya gegen Sanada (1st defense).
8. Jr. Hyper League - Final: Hiroshi Yamato besiegt Shuji Kondo (14:28) mit einem Cross-Arm Suplex Hold.

Click to expand...

:yes at Yamato winning.




NJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY LAST REBELLION", 29.07.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,040 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Captain New Japan & KUSHIDA besiegen Jado & Gedo (7:22) nach einem Buzzsaw Kick von KUSHIDA gegen Gedo.
2. Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI & Tama Tonga (9:09) nach einem German Suplex HOld von Inoue gegen BUSHI.
3. Karl Anderson, MVP, Shelton Benjamin & Rush besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (10:15) nach dem Paydirt von Benjamin gegen Taichi.
4. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima besiegen Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (10:09) nach einem Backdrop Hold von Nagata gegen Ishii.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (17:12) nach einer Stardust Press von Naito gegen YOSHI-HASHI.
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi besiegt Low Ki (c) (19:30) mit einem Phoenix Splash - Titelwechsel.
7. NWA World Historic Middleweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) besiegt Volador Jr. (13:05) mit einem Avalanche-Style Bloody Sunday.

Click to expand...

Tad surprised Ibushi won after Ki dropped a fall to KUSHIDA last week too. Thought he was winning before it though. Glad he won it back. Get the feeling Ki might be done with New Japan for the time being.






NOAH, 09.08.2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. NOAH vs. Diamond Ring 1st: Ricky Marvin vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya
2. NOAH vs. Diamond Ring 2nd: Taiji Ishimori vs. Satoshi Kajiwara
3. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title Skirmish, 3 Way Match: Super Crazy vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
4. BRAVE vs. von Erich Brothers: Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone vs. Marshall von Erich & Ross von Erich
5. NOAH vs. Diamond Ring 3rd: Go Shiozaki vs. Kento Miyahara
6. KENTA is back to KORAKUEN: KENTA vs. Atsushi Kotoge
7. Special Tag Match: TAJIRI & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Maybach Taniguchi & Genba Hirayanagi
8. S.A.T vs. ZERO1 Special Six Man Tag Match: Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Masato Tanaka , Ikuto Hidaka & Daichi Hashimoto

Click to expand...

Shiozaki/Miyahara in K.Hall could be awesome.*


----------



## seancarleton77

I'm not much into Juniors in 2012, but I love the result of AJP's Hyper League.


----------



## Martyn

G1 Climax show from Osaka with Nakamura/Okada and Tanahashi/Marufuji matches will be broadcasted on iPPV!

http://blog.livedoor.jp/hbkidcool/archives/51856467.html


----------



## MF83

Yep, just made a thread because this is bigger than the Official Puro Match/DVD Discussion thread!


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Darn it! I was trying to watch G1 Climax live, but Keyhole doesn't have Asahinyusuta!


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan 21/3/11*

*Ikkitosen ~Death Match Survivor~ - Block B - Fluorescent Lighttubes, Kenzan & Iron Cage Death Match*
Jun Kasai vs Masashi Takeda
***1/2

*Dragon Gate - Infinity 223 - 8/6/11*

CIMA, Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk, Yasushi Kanda & Akira Tozawa vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi, YAMATO & Gamma
****1/4


----------



## antoniomare007

Does anyone know when the G-1 shows will be online? I'm starving


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Unless someone is willing to move to Japan and FEED US, not soon.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> Does anyone know when the G-1 shows will be online? I'm starving


When hell freezes over.


EDIT


Spoiler: some G1



*NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ G1 CLIMAX 22 ~THE ONE AND ONLY~", 05.08.2012 (WPW/iPPV)
Osaka BODYMAKER Colosseum (Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium)
6,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House*

1. G1 Climax - Block A: Yujiro Takahashi [6] besiegt Yuji Nagata [4] (9:31) mit dem Tokyo Pimps.
2. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP [4] besiegt Rush [4] (7:53) mit dem Irreversible Crisis.
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Lance Archer [4] besiegt Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2] (10:57) mit dem Dark Days.
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson [6] besiegt Shelton Benjamin [4] (9:15) mit dem Gun Stun.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano [2] besiegt Minoru Suzuki [2] (8:05) mit dem Urakasumi.
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe [2] besiegt Tetsuya Naito [4] (14:10) mit einem King Kong Kneedrop.
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] besiegt Kazuchika Okada [4] (16:16) mit dem Boma Ye.
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Naomichi Marufuji [4] besiegt Hiroshi Tanahashi [4] (21:29) mit dem Tiger Flowsion.


*- G1 Climax Standings*

*Block A:*
1. Yujiro Takahashi [6]
-. Karl Anderson [6]
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi [4]
-. Yuji Nagata [4]
-. Shelton Benjamin [4]
-. Naomichi Marufuji [4]
7. Minoru Suzuki [2]
-. Toru Yano [2]
9. Satoshi Kojima [0]

*Block B:*
1. Tetsuya Naito [4]
-. Shinsuke Nakamura [4]
-. Kazuchika Okada [4]
-. Hirooki Goto [4]
-. Lance Archer [4]
-. MVP [4]
-. Rush [4]
8. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2]
-. Togi Makabe [2]


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: G1



Marufuji asked for a Title match after apparently. Yipee. If you didn't know he's moved up to heavyweight perm now after beating KENTA.





Spoiler: Z1 FF



Tanaka beat Go in the Final. Tanaka/Sekimoto and Go/Otani on the last day sound :mark:



New Japan iPPV did 20,000 reported buys*


----------



## Bubz

I can't wait to see Nakamura/Okada.


----------



## dele

Does anyone know when the BJW 7/30 show is going to air?


----------



## Cactus

*Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader - UWFi 12/5/1993
*
First of, I don't think I've seen a more classy atmosphere for a pro-wrestling match. Danny Hodge and Billy Robinson are standing aside Lou Thesz as he delivers a speech putting over the title that Takada and Vader are fighting for. Both men come down to the ring as their respective national anthems play. The bell sound and the audience go from a respected hush to an intense roar.

I was initially disappointed that this wasn't a 'big bully' Vader performance due to UWFi's rule banning closed fists but it wouldn't really fit in with the whole classy atmosphere they have going on here. Vader is instead the big behemoth that uses his sheer size and open handed potato shots to neutralize Takada. This gives Takada a great sense of uselessness and he sells the threat of Vader well. Takada's defense to Vader squashing him is his hard-hitting leg kicks. When he first pulls out a barrage of kicks, Vader goes down and the crowd explodes into a frenzy. Both men did a great job of making Vader look dominant and keeping Takada as a credible underdog without him looking like a total wimp. I don't think I could of asked for more here.
*
★★★★¼ *

*Nobuhiko Takada vs Super Vader - UWFi 8/18/1994*

While it may be lack the whole 'classy' vibe the first match had, the second match compensates by featuring a lot of elements that the first match lacked. The first match didn't feature that many memorable spots. This match has plenty. Vader's power game was in full force here, delivering german suplexes and powerbombs to Takada with ease and Takada returns the favor with lots of memorable high kicks and submission attempts.

There's a big shift in the character dynamics too. Vader's still using his power and open palm strikes. Takada has got Super Vader figured out and takes control of him with well-timed strikes and many attempts to lock on the armbar that finished of the behemoth during their last match. Takada dominates most of the match and not once does he look unbelievable doing so. My only complaint here is that they did go overboard with the knockdowns. Some of them felt excessive and they didn't actually achieve or add anything to the match.
*
★★★★½*


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *
> 
> 
> Spoiler: G1
> 
> 
> 
> Marufuji asked for a Title match after apparently. Yipee. If you didn't know he's moved up to heavyweight perm now after beating KENTA.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Z1 FF
> 
> 
> 
> Tanaka beat Go in the Final. Tanaka/Sekimoto and Go/Otani on the last day sound :mark:
> 
> 
> 
> New Japan iPPV did 20,000 reported buys*


:mark: can't wait till 2014 to see the final day of the Fire Festival.


No comment on the G-1 spoiler. It's not even worth it.


That's a pretty damn good number for an iPPV. Hopefully it would be more accessible next tim around


----------



## ywall2breakerj




----------



## Chismo

dele said:


> Does anyone know when the BJW 7/30 show is going to air?


Not so soon, probably. The last Puro show I've seen was the AJPW/NJPW show from July 1st. And it's August 8th today.


----------



## dele

^^ Well fuck.


----------



## seabs

*It aired 7/8 but who knows when it'll be available.

NOAH Jr. Tag League Teams



- Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi
- Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge
- Super Crazy & Ricky Marvin
- Ikuto Hidaka & Daichi Hashimoto
- Shiori Asahi & Hiro Tonai
- Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
- Eddie Edwards & Bobby Fish
- Paul London & Zack Sabre Jr.
- Kaiser & Gaston Mateo

Click to expand...

Yes they got desperate enough to bring in Paul London. According to BIG DAVE the original plan was for Davey and Sabre to win the Tag League but they pulled out on Davey. Really hope Zack still gets the win. If not then there's another reason to despise Davey.*


----------



## Lane

Really like the team of Eddie and Fish.


----------



## Zatiel

Trying to remember an awesome trios tag from DG earlier this year. I remember it was Gamma and two of the young guys against the heels. Maybe Shisa Boy? Maybe Tominaga or Kotoka? The young guys made a comeback and gave the fight of their lives, but I can't remember the exact match-up or episode number.

Any help?


----------



## Chismo

Try here. http://iheartdg.com/


----------



## Zatiel

Quite sensible, Joe. Been failing through their records so far.


----------



## seabs

Zatiel said:


> Trying to remember an awesome trios tag from DG earlier this year. I remember it was Gamma and two of the young guys against the heels. Maybe Shisa Boy? Maybe Tominaga or Kotoka? The young guys made a comeback and gave the fight of their lives, but I can't remember the exact match-up or episode number.
> 
> Any help?


*Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki & Kzy vs Gamma, Shachihoko Machine & Chihiro Tominaga - Open The Traingle Gate Championships - Dragon Gate 19.11.2011



Spoiler: G1 Final







NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ G1 CLIMAX 22 ~THE ONE AND ONLY~", 12.08.2012 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
11,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. G1 Climax - Block B: MVP [8] besiegt Lance Archer [8] (10:50) mit dem Irreversible Crisis.
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8] besiegt Shinsuke Nakamura [8] (12:48) mit einer Moonsault Press.
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto [8] besiegt Tetsuya Naito [8] (11:05) mit dem Shouten Kai.
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada [10] besiegt Togi Makabe (9:33) mit dem Rainmaker.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Shelton Benjamin [8] besiegt Satoshi Kojima [8] (9:04) mit dem Paydirt.
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano [6] besiegt Naomichi Marufuji [8] (9:55) mit dem Urakasumi.
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [8] besiegt Minoru Suzuki [8] (9:03) mit einem Backdrop Hold.
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson [10] besiegt Hiroshi Tanahashi [10] (11:15) mit dem Gun Stun.
9. G1 Climax - Final: Kazuchika Okada besiegt Karl Anderson (23:19) mit dem Rainmaker. 

- The large Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba and former New Japan wrestler and current MMA fighter Katsuyori Shibata emerged after the eighth match in the hall! Shibata was until 2005 one of the most promising talents of New Japan, and was considered one of the Three Musketeers New, one designation for the three emerging young stars of the period (Tanahashi, Nakamura, Shibata). Because of his charismatic appearance Shibata was long regarded as the greatest hope for the trio. Unhappy about his role and due to his affable nature, he left New hard and toured Japan for 2 years as a freelancer in leagues such as BIG MOUTH LOUD and NOAH, before he began his law in January 2007 unerfolgreiche MMA career (4 wins, 11 losses, 1 draw) . A return to New Japan would catapult the already incredibly strong competition at the top of the league to unprecedented dimensions.

Click to expand...

:mark: x 1000 at Anderson making the final and beating Tanahashi. Hope he gets a title shot by the end of the year. Brilliant booking of Okada continues. Only issue I have is that he's probably gonna lose to Tana again now though. Oh shit if Shibata comes back to this roster too.


*


----------



## Martyn

New Japan is on fire. I want to pay to see their events.


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: G1













Fuck yeah at Machinegun! Okada is great choice, of course, but I was totally expecting Naito's win. And Super No Vacany at Ryogoku yet again, New Japan is on the fucking roll.


----------



## antoniomare007

Holy mother of motherfucking fucks!



Spoiler: G1



SHIBAAATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!



:mark: :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> Spoiler: G1 Final
> 
> 
> 
> Brilliant booking of Okada continues. Only issue I have is that he's probably gonna lose to Tana again now though.
> 
> 
> [/I][/B]





Spoiler: G1 winner



Apparently, he wants his shot at the Dome. If that's the case, he's gonna win.


----------



## Martyn

Spoiler: G1



Tana/Okada III and Nakamura/Shibata at the Dome. Book it!


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: G1



I kinda like the idea of Okada saving his shot for the Dome Show actually. If that's the case then Tana/Naito needs to be the last title before that show. They've got enough fresh Tana defences to get through before next year with Marufuji and Anderson and throw another big defense in that can be brought as a Dome Main Event like Goto and Nakamura. But yeah Tana/Okada and Naito/Okada series are both at 1 a piece so either of them at the Dome would be insane. Add all this to Shibata coming back in and Daichi debuting at Dome next year. Insane. Could just do with buffering the tag and junior divisions a touch.


*


----------



## antoniomare007

Man, if they book it right. New Japan has a real chance of getting 30,000-40,000 people legit at the Dome since like, forever.


----------



## seabs

*


Spoiler: All Japan Results







AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR SUMMER IMPACT 2012", 12.08.2012 (GAORA TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans

1. Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang besiegen Yasufumi Nakanoue & Andy Wu (5:51) nach dem Yang Time von Yang gegen Wu.
2. SUSHI besiegt MAZADA (6:08) mit dem Tekkamaki.
3. All Asia Tag Team Title Skirmish: Osamu Nishimura, KENSO & Masao Inoue besiegen Akebono, Ryota Hama & Masanobu Fuchi (11:08) als Hama ausgezählt wurde.
4. Seiya Sanada besiegt Joe Doering (6:01) mit einem Japanese Leg Roll Clutch Hold.
5. Triple Crown Skirmish - All Japan vs. NOAH: Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Tanaka besiegen Jun Akiyama & Atsushi Aoki (9:54) nach einem Hybrid Blaster von Funaki gegen Aoki.
6. Wild Street Fight: Takao Omori vs. Manabu Soya - No Contest (5:53).
7. Suwama & Shuji Kondo besiegen Masayuki Kono & Koji Kanemoto (15:09) nach einem Last Ride von Suwama gegen Kono.
8. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Yamato besiegt KAI (c) (21:14) mit einem Cross-Arm Suplex - Titelwechsel.

Click to expand...




Yamatooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :mark:

Sekimoto and Okabayashi are challenging Soya/Omori for the World Tag Titles btw :mark:*


----------



## Zatiel

Seabs said:


> *Naruki Doi, Naoki Tanizaki & Kzy vs Gamma, Shachihoko Machine & Chihiro Tominaga - Open The Traingle Gate Championships - Dragon Gate 19.11.2011*


*

That's it! Thanks Seabs, you're a life-saver. Also, holy crap, I can't believe that was November.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *
> 
> Sekimoto and Okabayashi are challenging Soya/Omori for the World Tag Titles btw :mark:*


They've come so far










Too bad we gotta wait till Christmas to watch all this piff.


----------



## seabs

*Xmas? Such an optimist :lol*


----------



## antoniomare007

Seabs said:


> *Xmas? Such an optimist :lol*


----------



## Cactus

I've been watching a RINGS show I've brought from IVP Videos and I was planning to review the whole thing, but I'm 3 quarters through the show and nothing sticks in my mind as memorable beside the odd nice looking throw or strike. To be honest, the majority of these matches might as well of been shoots because there really was nothing 'pro-wrestling' about them. I'll only review the matches that stick out in my mind.

*Dick Vrij vs Nobuaki Kakuda - RINGS 10/29/1992*

You really can't go wrong with shoot-style squash matches. Dick Vrij reminds me of Ivan Drago from the Rocky movies. He's a badass East-European machine but Vrij is more of a well.... dick. His performance here makes him come off as completely unstoppable. Kakuda takes his beating well and Dick's dickish-ness just gets you behind Kakuda.

*★★★*

*Volk Han vs Akira Maeda - RINGS 10/29/1992*

Shit son, I am officially climbing onto the Volk Han bandwagon. This man simply cannot have a bad match. This features some of the strongest character dynamics you can squeeze into a hyper-realistic shoot style match without it looking fake. Volk shows us enough emotion that he is pissed off but it doesn't look too over-the-top and camp with it. Typical Volk Han performance.

*★★★★¼*


----------



## Yeah1993

Vrij's pretty awesome, but I'm not sure I've ever seen him in a match above ten minutes. He and Han have probably the greatest two minute match ever in 98. And yeah, Han is Han. If you look at match-for-match, he's probably the best ever.


----------



## Chismo

New Japan news and cards:



Spoiler: G1 spoilers and news













The next IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match will be held on 9/23 in Kobe -* H. Tanahashi vs. N. Marufuji (NOAH)*.




> Hiroshi Tanahashi makes his V2 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title at Kobe World Hall on September 23rd against NOAH star Naomichi Marufuji. This comes after two events that make the match slightly against the tradition of the G1 winner quickly challenging the champion. G1 Climax 2012 winner Kazuchika Okada, as mentioned in my report yesterday, doesn’t want to challenge for the title on a mid-level like the Kobe one and has decided to postpone his attempt to regain the belt taken from him by Tana in June until “WRESTLE KINGDOM VII” on 1/4/13 at the Tokyo Dome. Of course this could well mean he doesn’t face Tanahashi by then as even if he beats Marufuji it’s not implausible that he will have to defend the title again before the year is out. And Marufuji has earned this shot because he upset Tanahashi in the G1 Climax group stage and issued a challenge then. The two go into this bout 1-1 as Tanahashi defeated Marufuji on 12/9/03 in an exciting match for the U-30 Openweight Title. Tanahashi will miss the first two shows of the next tour as he is heading to CMLL in Mexico for a few weeks.
> 
> KUSHIDA also gets his shot at the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Kota Ibushi, earned when he upset Low Ki in a non-title match shortly before Ki dropped the belt to Ibushi. Speaking of Low Ki, he returns for the upcoming tour along with a colourful cast of foreigners. IWGP Jr. Tag Team Tag Team Champions, Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero, are back too, joined by CMLL stars Mascara Dorada and Averno, while a man New Japan fans will be familiar with, Alex Shelley formerly of the Motor City Machine Guns, who recently left TNA Wrestling, returns to the company. Shelley along with Chris Sabin held the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title back in 2009 and they had a prolific feud with NO LIMIT (Yujiro & Naito) before dropping the belts to Apollo 55 (Devitt & Taguchi). Shelley is paired with the babyfaces in the two matches he is announced in so far. Finally, there is another return to New Japan as former WWE World Tag Team Champion, Harry Smith, son of the late “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith, is back for the first time since 2005 when he was part of Chono’s group and had a singles match with Tanahashi.
> 
> President Sugabayashi is wary of Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuyori Shibata after their unexpected appearance at yesterday’s G1 finale. The president made references to the “Dark Ages” of New Japan when there was lots of faux-MMA type matches and strange booking that led to the company’s decline that it has worked so hard to recover from. Sugabayashi said there will be no more “half-baked mock wrestling” in New Japan, which explains his wariness although both Shibata (by New Japan) and Sakuraba (by UWF-I and Billy Robinson) are fully trained pro wrestlers.
> 
> *NJPW, 9/7/12 (J SPORTS)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall*
> 
> 1. Wataru Inoue & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
> 2. Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Shelley, BUSHI & Mascara Dorada vs. Low Ki, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Averno
> 3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
> 4. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Harry Smith & TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo
> 5. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Naomichi Marufuji Pro Wrestling NOAH & Mohammed Yone Pro Wrestling NOAH
> 6. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada
> 7. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*: Kota Ibushi Dramatic Dream Team (c) vs. KUSHIDA
> 
> NJPW, 9/8/12
> Saitama Asukaru Satte
> 
> 1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Takaaki Watanabe
> 2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo
> 3. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley & Mascara Dorada vs. Low Ki, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Averno
> 4. Wataru Inoue, Tama Tonga & BUSHI vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 5. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Harry Smith & TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo
> 6. Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
> 
> NJPW, 9/12/12
> Toyama Techno Hall
> 
> 1. Tetsuya Naito, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
> 2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
> 
> NJPW, 9/13/12
> Nagano Sports Park Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Tetsuya Naito, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
> 2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
> 
> NJPW, 9/15/12
> Matsusaka City Gymnasium
> 
> 1. Tetsuya Naito, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
> 2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI
> 
> *NJPW, 9/17/12 (Samurai! TV)
> Saitama Kusunoki Hall*
> 
> 1. Tetsuya Naito, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI
> 2. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
> 
> 
> *NJPW “DESTRUCTION ’12″, 9/23/12 (WPW/PPV)
> Kobe World Hall*
> 
> 1. *IWGP Heavyweight Title*: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji Pro Wrestling NOAH


----------



## smitlick

*BJW - 18/4/11*

*1. Hardcore Match*
Ryuji Ito & Shinobu vs Braham Shu & Brahman Kei
**1/2

*2. Fluorescent Lighttubes Board Death Match*
Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Kankuro Hoshino vs Shadow WX, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka
***

3. Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi & Ryuichi Kawakami vs Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Kazuki Hashimoto
***3/4

*4. Ikkitosen Death Match Survivor Final Compilation Death Match*
Takashi Sasaki vs Masashi Takeda
***1/2


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Marufuji continuing to wrestle in main event/plus 15 minute matches is at this stage a more heinous recurring joke than Vince Mcmahon's treatment of JR.

Ok, blatant hyperbole. But the point stands.


----------



## seabs

*Tad dissapointed Smith is working with MiSu's faction after finding out he got booked but still fucking excited at Smith and Shelley working a New Japan tour. The depth in their roster without even taking into account the working relationships they have is ridiculous. *


----------



## Chismo

Ibushi/Shelley needs to happen.


----------



## Cactus

*NOAH - Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Night*

*Atsushi Kotoge vs Kikutaro*
I was expecting a lot more from Kikutaro (...and Kotoge to a lesser extent). He never usually fails to amuse me but this match was pretty abysmal outside the few funny moments.
*★*

*Daisuke Ikeda & Takuma Sano vs Genba Hirayanagi & Kentaro Shiga*
I could be mistaken but it looks like Ikeda was attempting a few comedy spots. The fact I can't tell if they were ment to be funny should give you some sort of idea on how well they came off. Ikeda should stick to what he does best; hurting people.
*★*

*Mohammed Yone & Ricky Marvin vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara*
I enjoyed the interactions between Marvin and Nakajima, but for the most part this was just some silly juniors action featuring an unmotivated Yone.
*★★
*
*Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. vs Luke Gallows, Roderick Strong & Bobby Fish*
ZSJ is really growing on me. He has the ability to garner sympathy from the crowd and he can bump like Ziggler. Gallows is playing the out-of-control monster character. It's very simular to Takashi Izumida's gimmick; only Gallows does it much better. ZSJ and Gallows really compliment each other here.
*★★★¼*
*
Tamon Honda & Masao Inoue vs Maybach Taniguchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru*
Forgettable.
*★¾*

*Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki © vs Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori - GHC Jr. Heavyweight Titles*
These four guys where trying to wrestle a 5 star epic but a lot of the stuff in the match feel flat on it's face. The momentum shifts in this match were very poor. It never felt like one team was ever in control and it caused the match to have a real lack of drama excluding when Aoki kept trying to lock on various armbars onto Ishimori, who sold them like death. I will give these guys credit though. I knew who was going to win going into this but that didn't stop the few odd moments when I thought the losers were going to prevail. It's just that a lot of the other near-falls went way over overkill levels. I suspect the same sort of fans that thought Richards vs Edwards from last year was a five star match will have give this match a very high rating.
*★★★¼*

*Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Akitoshi Saito vs Takeshi Morishima, Kensuke Sasaki & Shiro Koshinaka*
Full of plenty of pointless yet fun strike exchanges. Typical NOAH house show-styled main event. The audience popped big for Koshinaka and his butt butts.
*★★¾*

The post-show memorial was pretty touching. Kobashi was clearly trying to hold back the man tears.
*
Overall:*
A tad disappointing to be honest. Two matches are worth checking out if you want some NOAH in your life, but avoid the rest.


----------



## MF83

G1 final is awesome. Obvious spoiler warning - Www.Dailymotion.com/video/xssu4b

Audio is behind but still. What a fucking finish.


----------



## seabs

*FYI it's not the full match but the reaction


Spoiler: .



Anderson gets at the start is so :mark:


*


----------



## MF83

G1 Finals clip show is out. Hot damn, is that company on fire right now. From the clipped undercard that was shown in the 90 minutes with commercials, either Shinsuke/Tenzan or Yano/Marufuji of all things look like they could have been the second best match of the night! YANO-TO-RU!


----------



## Chismo

I refuse to watch clipped New Japan.


----------



## smitlick

The biggest show of the year is nearing 

DDT "NIPPON BUDOKAN PETER PAN 2012 ~ DDT 15TH ANNIVERSARY", 18.08.2012 (Samurai! TV) 
Tokyo Nippon Budokan 

0. Special Muscle Offer Match: 
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie vs. Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa vs. Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Isami Kodaka & Hiroo Tsumaki vs. Poison JULIE Sawada & Rion Mizuki 
2. Iron Man Heavy Metal Title, Royal Rumble: DJ Nira (c) vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga vs. Gorgeous Matsuno vs. Gota Ihashi vs. Akito vs. YOSHIHIKO vs. Cherry vs. NOZOMI vs. Hiroshi Fukuda vs. Ken Ohka vs. Mio Shirai vs. Daichi Kakimoto vs. Toru Owashi vs. Batten Tamagawa vs. Chou-un Shiryu vs. Yuzuki Aikawa vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara 
3. Konosuke Takeshita Debut Match: El Generico vs. Konosuke Takeshita 
4. 5 vs. 5 Football Match: Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tetsuya Endo & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Yuji Hino , Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Tanomasaku Toba & Yoshiko 
5. KO-D Tag Team Title: KUDO & Makoto Oishi (c) vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & MIKAMI 
6. Special Singles Match, Handicap Weapon Rumble: Sanshiro Takagi vs. Minoru Suzuki 
7. Special Tag Match, Hardcore Match: Togi Makabe & HARASHIMA vs. Ryuji Ito & Shuji Ishikawa 
8. Special Singles Match: Danshoku Dino vs. Invisible Man 
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Kenny Omega

The football match should be interesting and Ibushi vs Omega will surely be great.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah I'm kinda worried about how well that card can draw in that arena. If they do a big number then it'll be on the DDT branding alone. *


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*PRO WRESTLING NOWA-Rikioh Takeshi Retirement Ceremony*

PLANET EARTH-7 BILLION PEOPLE-SUPER~DUPER NO VACANCY


*1.Taiji Ishimori vs. Masahiro Takanashi*

A quick, enjoyable opener.....but.......they just had to have leg work in there, didn't they? They knew they'd no sell it and they knew.......it doesn't matter. It's a 4 minute match anyway.....

***1/2*

*2.Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich vs TDMK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)*


Much better than I expected. TDMK's selling of Von Erich's Elbows reminded me of Jumbo's selling of Kikuchi's Elbows, which tells you how great of a job they did of making the Von Erichs look good. The transitions in which TDMK regained control were simple double teams which made you think that the experience factor actually means something.
And the finish is SICK. Don't make the mistake of fast forwarding through this.

****1/4*


*3. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Akira Taue & Genba *

Crowd no sells Genba.
Crowd no sells Nakajima.
Crowd no sells KENSKE.
Crowd throws streamers for Taue.
I love the crowd.


It's a nice little comedy match that doesn't go long. Worth checking out.

***3/4*

*4.Mohammed Yone vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara*

Yone looks…..motivated?
Fujiwara's head is hard. And I mean hard.

*****

*5.Atsushi Kotoge vs Kota Ibushi*

Exactly what I wanted this to be. Fun junior action with absolutely no overkill.
Spotty, but not in a bad way.

****1/4*

*6.MAYBACH Taniguchi vs Tajiri*
Tajiri plays the heel outsider role….and does it very well.
Liked the post match stuff as well, Genba's all like stop stomping him! 
And then he's like screw it and starts stomping Tajiri as well. Gotta love Genba.
Better than what I had expected.

*****

*7.Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA*
Pretty good untill KENTA counters Marufuji's plancha with a knee. 
The injured one, to be exact. Then he does double stomps and all that crazy shit even though Marufuji worked on his leg. Not good.
KENTA goes for the Sitout Powerbomb and his left leg gives out modifying the move. Me likes.

Then the leg selling stops mattering. It's all about doing stuff that looks cool.


I will say that Marufuji's counters to the Go 2 Sleep were great, and he was responsible for the majority of the good stuff in this. Slowing down has done wonders for him this year.



I found myself greatly enjoying it after I gave up the "sell the injured leg" thing, but objectively speaking this is in no way great.
***3/4* Add as much stars ad you'd like if you don't care about selling.



*8.Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Ricky Marvin & Super Crazy-GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships*


So. Much. Fun. Oh, how much did they put into those 15 or what minutes……unreal.
I think the limited time actually helped them as there isn't a second wasted in this match. 
They "got it". They got the GHC Heavyweight 30+ minute not broken down Misawa feel in a 15 minute tag. 
That's when you know it's special. 

****3/4*

*9.Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Christopher Daniels-GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*
It was pretty mediocre apart from Daniels doing the best taunt ever. Then they kicked out of finishers. AT 1.
And then came the flat finish. 


****

*10. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Samoa Joe & Magnus-GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championships*

Poor Magnus, crowd didn't react to anything he did, lol.
Joe got himself a single streamer thrown…..that's…..something at least.
Good with a rushed ending.

*****

*11.Takeshi Morishima vs Go Shiozaki-GHC Heavyweight Championship*

Meh. Boring for the most part untill the finishing stretch. Oh, this has shitty leg work as well. 
Not nearly as shitty as the KENTA-Marufuji match though.
Yay….

***3/4*







The Rikioh retirement ceremony itself was really cool. I, for one, really liked him.


*Overall*: NOAH's best show this year, no doubt about it. Apart from the junior tag nothing really hits the very good-great range but I found it to be really enjoyable as a whole show.
I'd give it 7.5/10 in entertainment value as the main event didn't live up to my already not very high expectations, the Kanemaru-Daniels nonsense, and everyone being obsessed with bad legwork....but I really enjoyed it.


----------



## EmbassyForever

ywall2breakerj said:


> *PRO WRESTLING NOWA-Rikioh Takeshi Retirement Ceremony*
> 
> PLANET EARTH-7 BILLION PEOPLE-SUPER~DUPER NO VACANCY
> 
> 
> *1.Taiji Ishimori vs. Masahiro Takanashi*
> 
> A quick, enjoyable opener.....but.......they just had to have leg work in there, didn't they? They knew they'd no sell it and they knew.......it doesn't matter. It's a 4 minute match anyway.....
> 
> ***1/2*
> 
> *2.Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich vs TDMK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)*
> 
> 
> Much better than I expected. TDMK's selling of Von Erich's Elbows reminded me of Jumbo's selling of Kikuchi's Elbows, which tells you how great of a job they did of making the Von Erichs look good. The transitions in which TDMK regained control were simple double teams which made you think that the experience factor actually means something.
> And the finish is SICK. And the finish is surprisingly good. Don't make the mistake of fast forwarding through this.
> 
> ****1/4*
> 
> 
> *3. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Akira Taue & Genba *
> 
> Crowd no sells Genba.
> Crowd no sells Nakajima.
> Crowd no sells KENSKE.
> Crowd throws streamers for Taue.
> I love the crowd.
> 
> 
> It's a nice little comedy match that doesn't go long. Worth checking out.
> 
> ***3/4*
> 
> *4.Mohammed Yone vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara*
> 
> Yone looks…..motivated?
> Fujiwara's head is hard. And I mean hard.
> 
> *****
> 
> *5.Atsushi Kotoge vs Kota Ibushi*
> 
> Exactly what I wanted this to be. Fun junior action with absolutely no overkill.
> Spotty, but not in a bad way.
> 
> ****1/4*
> 
> *6.MAYBACH Taniguchi vs Tajiri*
> Tajiri plays the heel outsider role….and does it very well.
> Liked the post match stuff as well, Genba's all like stop stomping him!
> And then he's like screw it and starts stomping Tajiri as well. Gotta love Genba.
> Better than what I had expected.
> 
> *****
> 
> *7.Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA*
> Pretty good untill KENTA counters Marufuji's plancha with a knee.
> The injured one, to be exact. Then he does double stomps and all that crazy shit even though Marufuji worked on his leg. Not good.
> KENTA goes for the Sitout Powerbomb and his left leg gives out modifying the move. Me likes.
> 
> Then the leg selling stops mattering. It's all about doing stuff that looks cool.
> 
> 
> I will say that Marufuji's counters to the Go 2 Sleep were great, and he was responsible for the majority of the good stuff in this. Slowing down has done wonders for him this year.
> 
> 
> 
> I found myself greatly enjoying it after I gave up the "sell the injured leg" thing, but objectively speaking this is in no way great.
> ***3/4* Add as much stars ad you'd like if you don't care about selling.
> 
> 
> 
> *8.Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Ricky Marvin & Super Crazy-GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships*
> 
> 
> So. Much. Fun. Oh, how much did they put into those 15 or what minutes……unreal.
> I think the limited time actually helped them as there isn't a second wasted in this match.
> They "got it". They got the GHC Heavyweight 30+ minute not broken down Misawa feel in a 15 minute tag.
> That's when you know it's special.
> 
> ****3/4*
> 
> *9.Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Christopher Daniels-GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*
> It was pretty mediocre apart from Daniels doing the best taunt ever. Then they kicked out of finishers. AT 1.
> And then came the flat finish.
> 
> 
> ****
> 
> *10. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Samoa Joe & Magnus-GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championships*
> 
> Poor Magnus, crowd didn't react to anything he did, lol.
> Joe got himself a single streamer thrown…..that's…..something at least.
> Good with a rushed ending.
> 
> *****
> 
> *11.Takeshi Morishima vs Go Shiozaki-GHC Heavyweight Championship*
> 
> Meh. Boring for the most part untill the finishing stretch. Oh, this has shitty leg work as well.
> Not nearly as shitty as the KENTA-Marufuji match though.
> Yay….
> 
> ***3/4*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Rikioh retirement ceremony itself was really cool. I, for one, really liked him.
> 
> 
> *Overall*: NOAH's best show this year, no doubt about it. Apart from the junior tag nothing really hits the very good-great range but I found it to be really enjoyable as a whole show.
> I'd give it 7.5/10 in entertainment value as the main event didn't live up to my already not very high expectations, the Kanemaru-Daniels nonsense, and everyone being obsessed with bad legwork....but I really enjoyed it.


I'm watching the show now and the next match is Daniels vs Kanemaru, so far my opinions are totally different than yours lol.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Why am I not bothered by that....


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NOAH Great Voyage 2012 in RYOGOKU(Takeshi Rikio Retirement Ceremony):*

1.Taiji Ishimori vs. Masahiro Takanashi - **

2.Ross Von Erich & Marshall Von Erich vs TDMK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) - **3/4

3. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Akira Taue & Genba - **

4.Mohammed Yone vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - N/A

5.Atsushi Kotoge vs Kota Ibushi - ***

6.MAYBACH Taniguchi vs Tajiri - **1/2

7.Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - ***1/2

8.Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Ricky Marvin & Super Crazy-GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships - ***1/2
Crazy was great

9.Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Christopher Daniels-GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship - **1/4

10. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs Samoa Joe & Magnus-GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championships - **1/2
The fact i knew the result pretty much ruined the match for me

11.Takeshi Morishima vs Go Shiozaki-GHC Heavyweight Championship - ***1/2

Finally a good show from NOAH..


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> 4. 5 vs. 5 Football Match: Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tetsuya Endo & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs. Yuji Hino , Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Tanomasaku Toba & Yoshiko
> 
> 9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Kenny Omega


:mark::mark::mark:


----------



## Caponex75

Am I the only one that thought Shima vs. Shiozaki was a MOTY?! You got to be kidding me.


----------



## MF83

Yeah, probably. [email protected] perched up top and adjusting his tights while he's supposed to be loopy and waiting for Go to kill him. Aside from that, the first fifteen minutes are dull, the leg work was shrugged off, the no-sell spots didn't work and the finish isn't even strong.


----------



## antoniomare007

Yeah, it was a good match but not a MOTYC by any means imo.


----------



## Bubz

I thought the match Shima won the belt off Go earlier this year was really great, haven't seen many people agree with that either apart from maybe JoeRulz iirc. Probably give this one a watch later today.

KENTA/Fuji can fuck right off.


----------



## MF83

DDT show sounds amazing. Can't wait to see it. From what they show on that clipped TV version of Makabe/Suzuki from Dominion it looks surprisingly great.


----------



## antoniomare007

Results from DDT's Budokan show. 



Spoiler: Results



DDT "NIPPON BUDOKAN PETER PAN 2012 ~ DDT 15TH ANNIVERSARY", 18.08.2012 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
10,124 Fans

0. Special Muscle Offer Match: Musle Sakai besiegt Chou-un "Bones" Shiryu (11:07) nach einer Death Valley Bomb.
1. Gauntlet Tag Match: Takao Soma & Yukio Sakaguchi besiegen Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie, Hikaru Sato & Michael Nakazawa, Isami Kodaka & Hiroo Tsumaki, Poison JULIE Sawada & Rion Mizuki (9:01) nach einem Diving Guillotine Drop von Sakaguchi gegen Nakazawa.
2. Iron Man Heavy Metal Title, Royal Rumble: Yoshiaki Fujiwara besiegt DJ Nira (c), Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Gorgeous Matsuno, Gota Ihashi, Akito, YOSHIHIKO, Cherry, NOZOMI, Hiroshi Fukuda, Ken Ohka, Mio Shirai, Daichi Kakimoto, Toru Owashi, Batten Tamagawa & Yuzuki Aikawa - Titelwechsel.
3. Konosuke Takeshita Debut Match: El Generico besiegt Konosuke Takeshita (10:36) nach dem Brainbustaaaaahhhhh!!!!!.
4. 5 vs. 5 Football Match: Masa Takanashi, Daisuke Sasaki, Hoshitango, Tetsuya Endo & Tsukasa Fujimoto besiegen Yuji Hino , Yasu Urano, Antonio Honda, Tanomasaku Toba & Yoshiko mit 2:0 nach Elfmeterschießen.
5. KO-D Tag Team Title: Tatsumi Fujinami & MIKAMI besiegen KUDO & Makoto Oishi (c) (9:05) mit der Volcanic Bomb von MIKAMI ggeen Oishi - Titewechsel
6. Special Singles Match, Handicap Weapon Rumble: Minoru Suzuki besiegt Sanshiro Takagi (17:33) nach einem Gotch-Style Piledriver.
7. Special Tag Match, Hardcore Match: Togi Makabe & HARASHIMA besiegen Ryuji Ito & Shuji Ishikawa (14:33) nach einem Swan-Dive Somato von HARASHIMA gegen Ishikawa.
8. Special Singles Match: Invisible Man besiegt Danshoku Dino (16:16).
9. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) besiegt Kenny Omega (37:26) mit einem Phoenix Splash (2nd defense).



Great attendance if true. It's awesome how DDT has been able to establish the Peter Pan show name as the main draw.


Oh, they will run a double header next year at Budokan. And Shanshiro Takagi said they want to hold the 20th anniversary show at the Tokyo Dome


----------



## seabs

*IVP will have Dominion and 2 G1 shows in by the end of the week








*


----------



## MF83

He has 8/4 for free download right now! 8/10 for purchase


----------



## antoniomare007

Day 3 of the G-1 has been upped on XWT.


----------



## TelkEvolon

KENTA vs Marufuji Collection

13.11.2004 -
Singles Match

22.01.2006 -
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match

29.10.2006 -
GHC Heavyweight Championship Match

25.10.2008 -
GHC & AJPW Junior Heavyweight Championship Match

06.06.2010 -
Singles Match

22.07.2012 -
KENTA Return Match


----------



## MF83

Kojima/Suzuki and Tanahashi/Yujiro, both around the low end of ****. 8/10 was clearly a "B show" (no Shibsuke either) but it's still worth watching.


----------



## Concrete

*Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (1/4/01):*****
_This was just one hell of a match. To be completely honest I don’t watch a ton of puro and pretty much none of the much heralded stuff from the 90s so I know of Kawada and Sasaki but much in the same way I know of guys like Babe Ruth, Jim Brown, and Wilt Chamberlain. Kawada goes straight after Sasaki from the get go and pretty much sets the pace for the rest of the match. When less than 3 minutes into the match you have Kawada kicking Sasaki’s face off and you have Sasaki coming right back at Kawada trying to take his head off with lariats things are going to be intense. This match was also only about 10 minutes long so it short, sweet, and to a brutal point._

*Yuji Nagata vs. Keiji Muto (8/12/01):****3/4*
_I was really debating whether I thought this was a ****1/2 or ***** match but in the end I just couldn’t give it the full five but decided to split it and give it ****3/4. It was a classic in every sense of the word though. Such a technical display put on by these two it was a complete treat to watch. Nagata took whatever submission was given to him. First he was working the arm, then at another point he was taken down but Muto left his head exposed so a guillotine choke it was, then Nagata came after the leg of Muto. Muto tried ripping off the leg of Nagata with dragon screws and break it with multiple figure-fours. And did I mention the dropkicks. SO many dropkicks to the leg of Nagata I thought the man was going to have trouble walking. The coolest thing though that I saw that made the crowd roar was when Nagata is getting ready for the exploder, the crowd is about to blow the roof off the place, he hits it, Muto no-sells it then hits the Shining Wizard and both men are down. The roof was officially off at that point. Watch this match, you won’t regret it._

*NWA/UPW/ZERO-ONE International Jr. Heavyweight Champion Low Ki vs. AJ Styles (1/5/03):***3/4*
_Think if you would of an X-Division match in Japan and that’s how it felt to me. Still really fun and awesome spots but not the best match you’ll ever see since it is mostly cool stuff without much, IMO, to latch on to. This was back from the time where it Low Ki seemed to care and didn’t think he was the greatest so he didn’t have to try. That being said Low Ki wasn’t going to pull back to make it any less than 95% real. AJ got dropped on his head quite a bit and got his lip busted open by what I guess would have been one of Ki’s insanely stiff kicks. All I could think about during this was how I wish the X-Division could go back to this sort of match based heavily on athletic ability but no, we get Kenny King and Zioma Ion._ 

*Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang vs. Fuego (Amazing Red) & Super Dragon (1/13/03):***3/4*
_A junior tag match just how I like it. This match starts with Fuego and Dragon kicking Kaz and Yang out of the ring and hitting duel tope con hilos. Next thing you know Yang is getting an insane amount of air and flying to the outside. So that’s all types of fun. The only thing I was a little disappointed in was that Super Dragon to go boss on Yang and beat him senseless. Instead he was actually the guy getting worked over. This match looked like this match was going well but nothing special until Yang and Kaz hitting some ridiculous double team moves that if they had led to the finish would have made the match even a little better in my eyes._


----------



## seabs

*8/4 G1 show is pretty passable bar Tanahashi/Kojima but the 8/10 G1 show is great without anything being MOTYC level. Naito/Archer, Nagata/Benjamin, Kojima/Suzuki and Tanahashi/Yujiro were all really good.*


----------



## Bubz

Looking forward to catching some of the G1 this year. Still can't believe Benjamin is in it. He actually had a good match with Nagata?


----------



## Zatiel

Bubz said:


> Looking forward to catching some of the G1 this year. Still can't believe Benjamin is in it. He actually had a good match with Nagata?


Nagata is one of the most competent wrestlers in the world. At ten minutes on the undercard, with low crowd expectations, and their ability to literally kick each other around the ring, and both guys being able to grapple with high intensity, they totally could do something fun. I'm psyched to watch it. I'd only be worried if it was something a lot longer.


----------



## Coffey

Am I crazy if I think Kazuchika Okada is Wrestler of the Year so far? The guy just doesn't seem to have bad matches & his title reign was a lot of fun.


----------



## Zatiel

Walk-In said:


> Am I crazy if I think Kazuchika Okada is Wrestler of the Year so far? The guy just doesn't seem to have bad matches & his title reign was a lot of fun.


I was wondering this yesterday. His G1-Climax finale was great. The Gotoh and Naito defenses were class. Both Tanahashi matches were fun, and he's done some good work in tags. At the very least, he's on top of my list for New Japan.

Wish that match with Nakamura would show up...


----------



## Coffey

Zatiel said:


> I was wondering this yesterday. His G1-Climax finale was great. The Gotoh and Naito defenses were class. Both Tanahashi matches were fun, and he's done some good work in tags. At the very least, he's on top of my list for New Japan.
> 
> Wish that match with Nakamura would show up...


Yeah. I'm definitely going to make an Okada 2012 compilation DVD so I can catalog his year, it's worth keeping.


----------



## Corey

Anyone know how good the vid quality is on Highspots comps from Japan? I'm looking into gettin this one (http://www.highspots.com/p/24124.html) because it looks fucking awesome and it's 40% off right now. Anyone seen anything on it?


----------



## Yeah1993

I only have a couple of highspots sets but the VQ is good.


----------



## MF83

Get the All Japan 150 from Goodhelmet instead. Much better value without all the extra below average stuff on that Highspots set and 4+ hours per disc.


----------



## MF83

enuhito said:


> 多重ロマンチックさん
> 蝶野正洋、黒いジュニアヘビー級に転向　IWGP2階級制覇も！？プロレスラー・蝶野正洋選手がリビルドの末、なんと26年ぶりに体重を100キロ以下に落とすことに成功。これからはヘビー級ではなく、ジュニアヘビー級戦士としてリングを漆黒に染めることを宣言した。野望は大きく、将来的にはIWGPジュニアヘビー級挑戦も！？
> 
> Masahiro Chono became Junior heavy weight. Does he aim to get IWGP jr? Chono has lost his weight to Junior heavy weight. He said he is gonna be fight as Jr heavy weight wrestler. Is he gonna challegge IWGP jr Ibushi?
> http://blog.livedoor.jp/ryosijj/archives/51973440.html


This is bizarrely awesome.


----------



## TelkEvolon

From what I hear, Masakatsu Funaki won the Triple Crown..... In like 5 minutes,,,


----------



## Bubz

:|


----------



## Derek

TelkEvolon said:


> From what I hear, Masakatsu Funaki won the Triple Crown..... In like 5 minutes,,,


4:37. At least it wasn't with a small package.

Jesus Akiyama loses titles in the shittiest ways.


----------



## seabs

> AJPW "40TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR SUMMER IMPACT 2012", 26.08.2012 (GAORA TV)
> Ota Ward Gymnasium
> 3,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy
> 
> 1. All Japan 40th Anniversary Battle Royal: Great Kabuki besiegt Ryota Hama mit einem Thrust Kick (13:24). Reihenfolge des Ausscheidens: KENSO, Andy Wu, SUSHI, MAZADA, Yasufumi Nakanoue, Shuji Kondo, Masao Inoue, Masanobu Fuchi & Ryota Hama.
> 2. Shiryu 20th Anniversary Special Six Man Tag Match: Great Sasuke , MEN'S Teioh & Shiryu besiegen Jinsei Shinzaki , TAKA Michinoku & Yone Genjin (8:20) als Sasuke Genjin pinnte.
> 3. Joe Doering besiegt Seiya Sanada (8:02) mit einer Revolution Bomb.
> 4. Suwama besiegt KAI (11:52) mit einem Wild Bomber.
> 5. AJPW World Tag Team Title: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya (c) besiegen Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (20:43) nach einem Wild Bomber von Soya gegen Okabayashi (2nd defense).
> 6. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Yamato (c) besiegt Minoru Tanaka (21:48) mit einem Cross-Arm Suplex Hold (1st defense).
> 7. Kaz Hayashi 20th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi besiegen Keiji Muto & Jimmy Yang (20:02) nach dem Power Plant von Hayashi gegen Yang.
> 8. Triple Crown: Masakatsu Funaki besiegt Jun Akiyama (c) (4:37) mit einem Hybrid Blaster - Titelwechsel.


*Main Event totally baffles me. Don't see any benefits or reasoning for doing it. Isn't like Funaki is a young guy being given a big push who benefits from winning the title in that way. So shitty on the fans who came to see that match. Should always go at least 10 minutes for a Triple Crown Title Main Event Match so the fans at least feel as though they got their moneys worth from the main event. Hope it isn't a long reign because I have no interest in a Funaki title run.*


----------



## Derek

Seabs said:


> *So shitty on the fans who came to see that match.*


From what I've read elsewhere fans were really behind Funaki, so they were just happy he won. But what baffles me is why Akiyama agreed to this. Again.


----------



## seabs

*I'm sure they still would have preferred a more competitive match. At least the show as a whole sounds good. Is odd that a guy like Akiyama went with it unless him and AJ are on bad terms but I haven't heard anything of it.

Also I don't know if this was posted but WO reported that Mutoh wanted to bring in Flair to tag with him but couldn't reach an agreement on their current budget. Shame if that was the plan. Would have been cool if nothing else to see a Flair/Mutoh tag in Japan in 2012.*


----------



## smitlick

So Akiyama isn't injured or something?


----------



## asdf0501

Maybe this is some kind of gimmick for Akiyama, you know: "Guy who always lose the belt in the most idiotic way possible"


----------



## antoniomare007

As soon as I saw the time of the match, bad memories from Inokism and Fujita came to mind.


----------



## smitlick

And Naito is out for 6 months with a Knee Injury


----------



## seabs

*Man that sucks so bad. Guess it kinda confirms Tanahashi/Okada for Tokyo Dome.*


----------



## Bubz

Jesus, Akiyama losing the fucking triple crown like that is ridiculous. To Funaki as well, just...why?


----------



## Caponex75

I don't mind Akiyama losing like that as it kinda makes sense. Guy was killing guys in long matches and it makes sense for someone to just take it to him without giving Akiyama enough time to figure them out. I'll wait to see it before I judge. It's not impossible to have a very fun under 5 min match. KENTA/Marvin had a fun as hell two minute match before.


----------



## seabs

*The point isn't how good the match will be, I'm confident it'll be better than them going the normal 25 minutes but it's pretty shitty booking to do a Triple Crown Title switch in a match like that.*


----------



## smitlick

*Big Japan - 28/4/11*

1. Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinya Ishikawa vs Shinobu & Kazuki Hashimoto
**1/2

*2. Barbed Wire Board Death Match*
Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Masashi Takeda vs Yuko Miyamoto, Isami Kodaka & Kankuro Hoshino
**3/4

3. Big Van Walter vs Ryuichi Kawakami
**

*4. Fluorescent Light Tubes Death Match*
Takashi Sasaki & Shadow WX vs Ryuji Ito & Abdullah Kobayashi
***1/2

*5. All Asian Tag Titles*
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Ryota Hama & Manabu Soya
****1/4


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> And Naito is out for 6 months with a Knee Injury


Fucking hell. FUCK!


----------



## seabs

*New Japan 6/16 show is one of the best shows I've ever seen.

DDT vs New Japan 6 man was the perfect juniors opener. Ibushi and BUSHI need to have a series of matches and then team together like yesterday. Sasaki's chop block on Devitt as he was going for Bloody Sunday was awesome and played nicely off Devitt's knee injury from the BOSJ semi. Ibushi/BUSHI finishing strecth was really fun as you'd expect. ****

Liger/TM4 vs Taichi/TAKA is my favourite juniors match in like forever and MOTN bar Tanahashi/Okada. BOSJ Final day they did an angle where Taichi destroyed Liger's mask to pieces and the whole match plays superbly off that angle. Taichi/TAKA are amazing goofy heels in this. The low blow followed by TAKA counting his own quick 3 ruled. That and the ring boy beating with TAKA humiliation. The Kishin Liger turn is one of my favourite wrestling moments all year. Crowd go nuts for it and Liger GOATs it up like only Liger can do. Taichi's reactions to Kishin Liger were every bit as great too, especially when he's crawling away after the match. Couldn't believe how closely Liger powerbombed Taichi to the spike stuck in the table. Adored this. ****1/4

Anderson/Tonga vs MVP/Benjamin somehow ended up being the weakest match I watched (only one I skipped was the CHAOS 6 man) even though it was very good. Tonga is a guy who people need to start appreciating more. Benjamin's New Japan tags have actually been good because he's been able to just run through his spots and work with insanely talented workers. ***1/2

Taguchi/Ki was very good but I just didn't care for it. Those who do care for it will really like it though. About on par with their BOSJ final. Of all the pairs to have 3 big matches in about a month this would have been one of the last pairings I would have chosen. Very good match though. ***1/2+

Yano/Iizuka vs TenKoji exceeded all my expectations thanks to an amazing crowd. Skipped it initially but I watched it at the end of the show as I figured the amazing crowd could make it fun. They sure as hell did. Brawling segment was fantastic and set the tone perfectly with the double count out. Yano's reaction to getting a cheap defence was awesome. Feared the match might die down after the restart but they kept it as wild and chaotic as it was before and remained great. DQ finish was superb, especially the ref bump into the chair. As good a match as these teams are ever going to have. Crowd added so much to it. ****

Nakamura/Tanaka vs Goto/Naito was great. FIP segment was sped up but it was still great. Naito's a great peril wrestler and Swagamura is naturally great in control of a FIP. Naito and Tanaka have a really fun finishing strecth which features the most amazing pin break up ever by Nakamura. ****+

Makabe/MiSu was very good but I thought it dragged at the end and that hurt an otherwise really good match. Leg work was really good and I thought Makabe was great in it. Made him look super ahead of his title shot. Thought it would have benefited from Makabe being on the attack more at stages. ***3/4

Tanahashi/Okada was excellent. Actually thought Okada outworked Tanahashi in this quite comprehensively. His leg selling was phenomenal and he hits the best dropkick maybe ever. Last 10 minutes are incredible dramatic and feature some amazing counters and near falls, all while staying consistent with Okada's leg selling. If anyone's buying this from IVP beware that it misses about 3 minutes at some point and the second half switches to a lower quality source. If I wasn't checking what time it started and finished at I wouldn't have known though. Better than their first match but just behind Okada/Naito. Probably top 5 for this year off the top of my head. ****1/2*


----------



## Bubz

Holy shit, can't wait to catch that whole show. Okada delivers again. Awesome.


----------



## Derek

Somebody put the final 10 minutes or so of Tanhashi/Okada on Youtube not long after it aired in Japan. The crowd was on fire, so I'm looking forward to checking out that show soon.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Anyone have a link to that show?

I saw the clipped version on XWT but is the full show up yet anywhere?


----------



## smitlick

blink_41sum_182 said:


> Anyone have a link to that show?
> 
> I saw the clipped version on XWT but is the full show up yet anywhere?


www.ivpvideos.com


----------



## EmbassyForever

Seabs said:


> *New Japan 6/16 show is one of the best shows I've ever seen.
> 
> DDT vs New Japan 6 man was the perfect juniors opener. Ibushi and BUSHI need to have a series of matches and then team together like yesterday. Sasaki's chop block on Devitt as he was going for Bloody Sunday was awesome and played nicely off Devitt's knee injury from the BOSJ semi. Ibushi/BUSHI finishing strecth was really fun as you'd expect. ****
> 
> Liger/TM4 vs Taichi/TAKA is my favourite juniors match in like forever and MOTN bar Tanahashi/Okada. BOSJ Final day they did an angle where Taichi destroyed Liger's mask to pieces and the whole match plays superbly off that angle. Taichi/TAKA are amazing goofy heels in this. The low blow followed by TAKA counting his own quick 3 ruled. That and the ring boy beating with TAKA humiliation. The Kishin Liger turn is one of my favourite wrestling moments all year. Crowd go nuts for it and Liger GOATs it up like only Liger can do. Taichi's reactions to Kishin Liger were every bit as great too, especially when he's crawling away after the match. Couldn't believe how closely Liger powerbombed Taichi to the spike stuck in the table. Adored this. ****1/4
> 
> Anderson/Tonga vs MVP/Benjamin somehow ended up being the weakest match I watched (only one I skipped was the CHAOS 6 man) even though it was very good. Tonga is a guy who people need to start appreciating more. Benjamin's New Japan tags have actually been good because he's been able to just run through his spots and work with insanely talented workers. ***1/2
> 
> Taguchi/Ki was very good but I just didn't care for it. Those who do care for it will really like it though. About on par with their BOSJ final. Of all the pairs to have 3 big matches in about a month this would have been one of the last pairings I would have chosen. Very good match though. ***1/2+
> 
> Yano/Iizuka vs TenKoji exceeded all my expectations thanks to an amazing crowd. Skipped it initially but I watched it at the end of the show as I figured the amazing crowd could make it fun. They sure as hell did. Brawling segment was fantastic and set the tone perfectly with the double count out. Yano's reaction to getting a cheap defence was awesome. Feared the match might die down after the restart but they kept it as wild and chaotic as it was before and remained great. DQ finish was superb, especially the ref bump into the chair. As good a match as these teams are ever going to have. Crowd added so much to it. ****
> 
> Nakamura/Tanaka vs Goto/Naito was great. FIP segment was sped up but it was still great. Naito's a great peril wrestler and Swagamura is naturally great in control of a FIP. Naito and Tanaka have a really fun finishing strecth which features the most amazing pin break up ever by Nakamura. ****+
> 
> Makabe/MiSu was very good but I thought it dragged at the end and that hurt an otherwise really good match. Leg work was really good and I thought Makabe was great in it. Made him look super ahead of his title shot. Thought it would have benefited from Makabe being on the attack more at stages. ***3/4
> 
> Tanahashi/Okada was excellent. Actually thought Okada outworked Tanahashi in this quite comprehensively. His leg selling was phenomenal and he hits the best dropkick maybe ever. Last 10 minutes are incredible dramatic and feature some amazing counters and near falls, all while staying consistent with Okada's leg selling. If anyone's buying this from IVP beware that it misses about 3 minutes at some point and the second half switches to a lower quality source. If I wasn't checking what time it started and finished at I wouldn't have known though. Better than their first match but just behind Okada/Naito. Probably top 5 for this year off the top of my head. ****1/2*


Wow i'm going to watch it today!!


----------



## seabs

*Some awesome news coming out of All Japan. 

Sato is Yamato's next challenger which means another Yamato/Sato war :mark: 

Suwama is the next Triple Crown Challenger :mark:

KAI is moving up to heavyweight which should make his matches better to watch.

Doering gets another tag title shot with a X opponent ep

But they have a new GAORA TV Title with a 8 man knockout tournament to crown the first champ involving:
- Seiya Sanada
- Masayuki Kono
- Manabu Soya
- Ryota Hama
- Yasufumi Nakanoue
- Yuji Okabayashi
- Akira Honma
- Kazushi Miyamoto

:mark:*


----------



## Kamikaze™

Seabs said:


> *I'm sure they still would have preferred a more competitive match. At least the show as a whole sounds good. Is odd that a guy like Akiyama went with it unless him and AJ are on bad terms but I haven't heard anything of it.
> 
> Also I don't know if this was posted but WO reported that Mutoh wanted to bring in Flair to tag with him but couldn't reach an agreement on their current budget. Shame if that was the plan. Would have been cool if nothing else to see a Flair/Mutoh tag in Japan in 2012.*


Sounds perfect for the Dome if anything, maybe even with Sting in a six man just for nostalgia's sake. 

Really confused about the Akiyama result; it definitely builds Funaki's momentum as a legitimate fighter and strong champion from the outset, but also kind of shits on the previous challengers that went 25+ minutes with Akiyama. There must be a Nagata defence down the line though.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

smitlick said:


> www.ivpvideos.com



Well I meant free but I found a link to the full show on XWT. Thanks. If it's really awesome I might just buy it.


----------



## Bubz

*NJPW Dominion*
Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki vs Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI - ****1/2*
Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs Taichi & TAKA Michinoku - ******
MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga - *****
IWGP Jr Title - Low Ki vs Ryusuke Taguchi - ****3/4*
IWGP Tag Titles - Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - ****1/2*
Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs Masato Tanaka & Shinsuke Nakamura - *****1/4*
Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe - ******
IWGP Title - Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - *****1/2*



Spoiler: quick match reviews



*NJPW Dominion 16/6/12*

*Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki vs Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI*
Tons of fun! Great way to start a show and get the crowd in to it. Loads of good sequences and spots. Nothing else much to say apart from this was so enjoyable, and the right way to do a 6 man spotfest. ****1/2*

I skipped the next 6 man, but only because I wasn't really in the mood for another one straight after.

*Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs Taichi & TAKA Michinoku*
Another incredibly fun match. Taichi going after Ligers mask again, then the Liger beat down and TAKA and Taichi being amazing heels, then KISHIN F'N LIGER turns up and it's fucking mark out central. Liger is God. Great match with great a great heel/face dynamic. Last few minutes are just awesome fun. ******

*MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga*
Didn't really pay attention lol but this was alright I guess, nothing really of note but it was enjoyable, but not something worth going out of you're way to see. *****

*IWGP Jr Title - Low Ki vs Ryusuke Taguchi*
Loved the quick start with Taguchi taking it straight to Ki with high impact stuff. The leg work by Ki was good and a good middle section to the match, and it kind of played into the finish too which is always good, especially in a Jr's match. I was worried that they might forget about the leg work in favor of spots when Taguchi made his comeback and hit some of his stuff, but he sold the leg reasonably well and they went back to the leg after and it helped lead into the finish. Really good Jr's title match. ****3/4*

*IWGP Tag Titles - Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima*
I only watched this because I like Kojima, and occasionally Tenzen when he can be arsed. This was really good though, especially the start of the match and the DQ and then the restart. Crowd brawling seems so rare in japan that when they do it, it feels hate filled and like they want to kill each other, and it felt like that here. It was really cool to see. The middle section of the match kind of lost me, it dragged a bit when Tenzen was getting dominated by the heels, but the final stretch of the match was again really enjoyable, especially when the chairs got introduced to the match. Not amazing but an enjoyable brawl and quite a bit of fun. ****1/2*

*Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs Masato Tanaka & Shinsuke Nakamura*
Man this was awesome as tits! I loved every second, and it's my tag match of the year. Great opening portion and then a great workover on Naito and a great comeback. Then we got Goto and Nakamura coming in off the hot tags and they have some awesome sequences and exchanges, but then the finishing stretch with Naito and Tanaka is probably the best I'll see in a tag match all year. Just so much fun and really well strung together, and that pin breakup by Nakamura was indeed fucking amazing. Loved the finish and the crowd was great too. *****1/4*

*Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe*
This was a great stiff match up with two great performances. Loved MiSu throwing his dickish heel shtick out the window and just focusing on hurting Makabe and being a general overall badass. Makabe was great too, made Suzuki look that much better. Really liked the leg work, especially the heel hook that Suzuki locked in for ages. I also thought MiSu coming out on top of all the strike exchanges at first was great and then towards the end when Makabe starts thowing out the lariats, he has no chance. The finish was great too. Really liked this a lot. ******

*IWGP Title - Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi*
This just fucking ruled on every level. I don't want to go in to too much detail, especially about the last 5-10 minutes, because it's just so great that you should go into this not knowing that much. Basically Tanahashi goes after the leg, Okada sells amazingly. Then Okada goes after the neck, Tanahashi sells amazingly. Then they have an absolutely balls awesome finishing stretch, and the neck and leg work both play in to the finishing stretch in some way or another. Okada once again focuses everything at the neck, and Tana uses the previous leg work as a go back to point to stop Okada gaining momentum. The crowd is amazing, Tanahashi's expressions are great, but Okada is the fucking truth. This guy might just be my new favourite wrestler right now, he just 'gets' it and is brilliant at being a pro wrestler in ever way. This match owned, and it's my number 2 of the year, just behind Okada/Naito. *****1/2*


A bloody brilliant show, and far and away the best show of the year.


----------



## Chismo

Fuck, I really have to catch up with Puro from July and August.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

I didn't think it was as good as everyone is saying it was but I never watch Puro so what the fuck do I know. 


Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki vs Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI - *** 3/4
Hinsuke Nakamura & Masato Tanaka vs Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito - *** 1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada - **** 1/4 (awesome match)


----------



## The Streak

Anyone recommend a 'starter set' on ivp for some of the best puro of all time and one for the best recent stuff? Wanna get into it.


----------



## MF83

MF83 said:


> So here's a stack of lists to help you in your quest!
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Puroresu.tv Best of 2011
> 
> 
> 
> 1. Nakamura Shinsuke -vs- Suzuki Minoru (NJPW; 2011/08/14) – 655 Points, 6 Ballots
> 2. Dick Togo -vs- Antonio Honda (DDT; 2011/01/30) – 635 Points, 5 Ballots
> 3. Takayama Yoshihiro -vs- KENTA (NOAH; 2011/01/15) – 545 Points, 5 Ballots
> 4. Fujita Hayato 'Jnr' -vs- Kanemoto Kouji (NJPW; 2011/05/26) – 520 Points, 5 Ballots
> 5. Akiyama Jun -vs- Suwama (AJPW; 2011/10/23) – 480 Points, 4 Ballots
> 6. Kenou, ken45°, Kenbai, Yapper Man #1 & Yapper Man #2 -vs- Fujita 'Jr' Hayato, KAGETORA, Minamino Takeshi, Sato Shu & Sato Kei (M-Pro; 2011/06/05) – 435 Points, 4 Ballots
> 7. Sasaki Kensuke -vs- Sugiura Takashi (NOAH; 2011/11/14) – 405 Points, 4 Ballots
> 8. Nagai Mitsuya -vs- Suruga Manabu (Fu-ten; 2011-01-30) – 400 Points, 3 Ballots
> 9. Sekimoto Daisuke & Okabayashi Yuji -vs- Soya Manabu & Hama Ryota (BJW; 2011/04/28) – 375 Points, 3 Ballots
> 10. Tanahashi Hiroshi -vs- Goto Hirooki (NJPW; 2011/06/18) – 360 Points, 3 Ballots
> 11. Nakajima Katsuhiko -vs- Suzuki Kotaro (NOAH; 2011/03/05) – 330 Points, 3 Ballots
> 12. Yano Toru -vs- Tanahashi Hiroshi (NJPW; 2011/08/13) – 325 Points, 4 Ballots
> 13. Tanaka Minoru & Hidaka Ikuto -vs- Usuda Katsumi & Yamamoto Yujiro (BattlARTS; 2011/11/05) – 325 Points, 3 Ballots
> 14. Tanaka Masato -vs- Honma Tomoaki (NJPW; 2011/12/23) – 285 Points, 3 Ballots
> 15. Ikeda Daisuke -vs- Ishikawa Yuki (BattlARTS; 2011/11/05) – 280 Points, 2 Ballots
> 16. Mochizuki Masaaki -vs- Tozawa Akira (DG; 2011/08/13) – 270 Points, 4 Ballots
> 17. KENTA -vs- Shiozaki Go (NOAH; 2011/11/27) – 260 Points, 2 Ballots
> 18. Tanahashi Hiroshi -vs- Naito Tetsuya (NJPW; 2011/10/10) – 240 Points, 2 Ballots
> 19. Ishii Tomohiro -vs- Nagata Yuji (NJPW; 2011/11/12) – 235 Points, 3 Ballots
> 20. Shiozaki Go -vs- Takayama Yoshihiro (NOAH; 2011/09/23) – 225 Points, 3 Ballots
> 21. Akiyama Jun -vs- Nakajima Katsuhiko (NOAH; 2011/07/10) – 215 Points, 3 Ballots
> 22. Dave Finlay, Murat Bosporus & Big Boy -vs- Fujiwara Yoshiaki, Tajiri & Ohara Hajime (SMASH; 2011/12/30) – 195 Points, 2 Ballots
> 23. Ishikawa Yuki & Suzuki Hideki -vs- Ikeda Daisuke & Super Tiger II (BattlARTS; 2011/02/27) – 180 Points, 2 Ballots
> 24. Fujita “Jr.” Hayato -vs- Sawa Munenori (ZERO1; 2011/09/17) – 175 Points, 2 Ballots
> 25. Nakamura Shinsuke -vs- Tenzan Hiroyoshi (NJPW; 2011/08/05) – 170 Points, 2 Ballots
> 26. Dave Finlay -vs- Starbuck (SMASH; 2011/11/24) – 160 Points, 2 Ballots
> 27. Tanahashi Hiroshi -vs- Nagata Yuji (NJPW; 2011/12/04) – 140 Points, 1 Ballot
> 28. Ishikawa Yuki -vs- Yamamoto Yujiro (RJPW; 2011/10/25) – 125 Points, 2 Ballots
> 29. Nakajima Katsuhiko -vs- Suzuki Kotaro (NOAH; 2011/09/23) – 125 Points, 1 Ballot
> 30. Ōno Takeshi -vs- White Moriyama (Fu-ten; 2011-01-30) – 120 Points, 1 Ballot
> 
> 
> 
> Best of Puroresu Before 1980 is still going on (and needs your help!): http://www.puroresu.tv/forums/topic/323-best-of-puroresu-before-the-80s/
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Ditch's Top 50 AJPW 1990s Project
> 
> 
> 
> 1. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 6/9/95
> 14 votes, 960 points, 12 top 10 votes, 12 top 5 votes
> 5 #1 votes
> 
> 2. Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Akiyama, 12/6/96
> 14 votes, 926 points, 14 top 10 votes, 12 top 5 votes
> 1 #1 vote
> 
> 3. Misawa vs Kawada, 6/3/94
> 14 votes, 905 points, 13 top 10 votes, 11 top 5 votes
> 3 #1 votes
> 
> 4. Kobashi vs Misawa, 1/20/97
> 14 votes, 897 points, 14 top 10 votes, 9 top 5 votes
> 1 #1 vote
> 
> 5. Jumbo vs Misawa, 6/8/90
> 14 votes, 826 points, 11 top 10 votes, 8 top 5 votes
> 1 #1 vote
> 
> 6. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 4/20/91
> 14 votes, 771 points, 9 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
> 1 #1 vote
> 
> 7. Jumbo vs Misawa, 9/1/90
> 14 votes, 766 points, 7 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
> 1 #1 vote
> 
> 8. Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/29/93
> 14 votes, 759 points, 8 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
> 1 #1 vote
> 
> 9. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 5/21/94
> 14 votes, 695 points, 6 top 10 votes, 2 top 5 votes
> 
> 10. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 12/3/93
> 13 votes, 679 points, 8 top 10 votes
> 
> 
> 11. Kawada vs Kobashi, 6/12/98
> 14 votes, 677 points, 7 top 10 votes, 3 top 5 votes
> 
> 12. Misawa vs Taue, 4/15/95
> 14 votes, 623 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 13. Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/21/97
> 14 votes, 613 points, 3 top 10 votes, 1 top 5 vote
> 
> 14. Kawada & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, 10/15/95
> 14 votes, 581 points, 4 top 10 votes, 1 top 5 vote
> 
> 15. Hansen vs Kawada, 2/28/93
> 14 votes, 574 points, 2 top 10 votes
> 
> 16. Can-Am Express vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, 5/25/92
> 13 votes, 559 points, 2 top 10 votes
> 
> 17. Williams vs Kobashi, 8/31/93
> 13 votes, 508 points, 3 top 10 votes
> 
> 18. Kawada vs Williams, 4/16/94
> 13 votes, 501 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 19. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 5/22/92
> 13 votes, 498 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 20. Misawa vs Kawada, 7/24/95
> 12 votes, 492 points, 2 top 10 votes
> 
> 
> 21. Williams vs Kobashi, 9/3/94
> 11 votes, 420 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 22. Misawa & Akiyama vs Williams & Ace, 6/7/96
> 12 votes, 418 points, 2 top 10 votes
> 
> 23. Jumbo vs Kawada, 10/24/91
> 12 votes, 409 points
> 
> 24. Misawa vs Taue, 9/10/95
> 11 votes, 395 points
> 
> 25. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 9/30/90
> 11 votes, 364 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 26. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kobashi, 10/19/90
> 10 votes, 357 points
> 
> 27. Misawa vs Williams, 7/28/94
> 9 votes, 349 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 
> 28. Hansen vs Kobashi, 4/16/93
> 10 votes, 335 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 29. Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama vs Kawada, Taue & Ogawa, 7/2/93
> 10 votes, 329 points
> 
> 30. Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/31/98
> 11 votes, 326 points
> 
> 
> 31. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kobashi, 6/5/92
> 10 votes, 319 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 32. Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, 3/4/95
> 9 votes, 304 points, 1 top 10 vote
> 
> 33. Misawa & Akiyama vs Kawada & Taue, 5/23/96
> 11 votes, 326 points
> 
> 34. Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue, 1/24/95
> 10 votes, 290 points
> 
> 35. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 12/7/90
> 9 votes, 285 points
> 
> 36. Jumbo & Taue vs Misawa & Kawada, 11/29/91
> 9 votes, 256 points
> 
> 37. Kawada vs Taue, 4/8/95
> 8 votes, 250 points
> 
> 38. Kawada vs Taue, 1/15/91
> 9 votes, 242 points
> 
> 39. Misawa vs Kawada, 10/21/92
> 7 votes, 238 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 
> 40. Misawa vs Kawada, 7/29/93
> 7 votes, 227 points
> 
> 
> 41. Misawa & Kobashi vs Williams & Ace, 12/10/94
> 8 votes, 220 points
> 
> 42. Jumbo, Taue & Fuchi vs Misawa, Kawada & Kikuchi, 10/15/91
> 7 votes, 214 points
> 
> 43. Kobashi vs Kawada, 10/18/96
> 7 votes, 190 points
> 
> 44. Kawada vs Kobashi, 10/23/93
> 7 votes, 166 points
> 
> 45. Kawada vs Kobashi, 1/19/95
> 8 votes, 163 points
> 
> 46. Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Ogawa, 3/6/99
> 7 votes, 161 points
> 
> 47. Kawada vs Albright, 10/25/95
> 8 votes, 160 points
> 
> 48. Misawa & Kawada vs Gordy & Williams, 12/6/91
> 6 votes, 155 points
> 
> 49. Misawa vs Kawada, 3/27/93
> 5 votes, 144 points
> 
> 50. Misawa vs Kobashi, 6/11/99
> 
> 
> 
> DVDVR lists:
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: MOTY Lists 2000-2009
> 
> 
> 
> 2000
> 1. Kawada & Fuchi vs Nagata & Iizuka, New Japan December 14th, 16 votes, 435 points
> 2. Sasaki vs Kawada, New Japan October 9th, 15 votes, 433 points
> 3. Misawa vs Akiyama, All Japan February 27th, 16 votes, 383 points
> 4. Kobashi vs Akiyama, NOAH December 23rd, 14 votes, 286 points
> 5. Kawada & Tenryu vs Hansen & Kea, All Japan July 23rd, 14 votes, 284 points
> 6. Kobashi vs Omori, All Japan April 15th, 12 votes, 221 points
> 7. Kawada vs Tenryu, All Japan October 28th, 12 votes, 200 points
> 8. Kobashi vs Takayama, All Japan May 26th, 11 votes, 195 points
> 9. Liger, Tanaka & Makabe vs Delfin, Murahama & Tsubasa, New Japan December 14th, 11 votes, 171 points
> 10. SUWA vs Dragon Kid, Toryumon August 24th, 12 votes, 166 points
> 11. Kobashi vs Akiyama, NOAH August 6th, 11 votes, 145 points
> 12. Hashimoto & Iizuka vs Ogawa & Murakami, New Japan January 4th, 9 votes, 140 points
> 13. Tenryu vs Sasaki, New Japan January 4th, 10 votes, 135 points
> 14. Ishikawa vs Murakami, Battlarts November 26th, 8 votes, 128 points
> 15. Kanemoto & Tanaka vs Liger & Makabe, New Japan September 12th, 11 votes, 120 points
> 16. Vader vs Kobashi, All Japan February 27th, 7 votes, 108 points
> 17. Sano vs Tanaka, Battlarts January 30th, 7 votes, 102 points
> 18. Misawa vs Kawada, All Japan March 31st, 5 votes, 77 points
> 19. Vader vs Kawada, All Japan February 17th, 8 votes, 71 points
> 20. Mita, Shimoda & Maekawa vs Ito, Nakanishi & Takahashi, AJW November 23rd, 3 votes, 62 points
> 21. Tanaka vs AKIRA, New Japan December 10th, 7 votes, 60 points
> 22. Kobashi vs Kawada, All Japan January 12th, 3 votes, 58 points
> 23. Chono vs Fuchi, All Japan September 2nd, 4 votes, 56 points
> 24. Tenzan & Kojima vs Nagata & Iizuka, New Japan November 30th, 6 votes, 55 points
> 25. Kong vs Satomura, GAEA May 16th, 2 votes, 50 points
> 26. Kobashi vs Misawa, All Japan April 11th, 4 votes, 49 points
> 27. Kanemura vs Yamakawa, BJPW February 22nd, 3 votes, 44 points
> 28. Kobashi & Akiyama vs Misawa & Taue, NOAH August 5th, 3 votes, 43 points
> 29. Yamakawa vs Honma, BJPW January 2nd, 4 votes, 42 points
> 30. Kong vs KAORU, GAEA February 13th, 2 votes, 41 points
> 
> 
> 2001
> 1. Hashimoto & Nagata vs Misawa & Akiyama, Zero-One March 2nd. 10 votes, 239 points
> 2. Misawa vs Takayama, NOAH April 15th. 8 votes, 214 points
> 3. Tenzan & Kojima vs Barton & Steele, New Japan December 11th. 9 votes, 186 points
> 4. Tenryu vs Mutoh, All Japan June 8th. 8 votes, 167 points
> 5. Kawada vs Kojima, New Japan June 6th. 9 votes, 160 points
> 6. Mutoh vs Nagata, New Japan August 12th. 6 votes, 149 points
> 7. Tenryu & Fuchi vs Kawada & Araya, All Japan June 30th. 8 votes, 130 points
> 8. Misawa vs Akiyama, NOAH July 27th. 7 votes, 126 points
> 9. Mutoh & Hase vs Akiyama & Nagata, New Japan October 8th. 6 votes, 107 points
> 10. Mutoh vs Kawada, All Japan April 14th. 7 votes, 104 points
> 11. 3-way tag, Toryumon August 14th. 6 votes, 102 points
> 12. Misawa & Ogawa vs Hashimoto & Otsuka, NOAH January 13th. 6 votes, 88 points
> 13. Tanaka vs Murahama, New Japan April 20th. 4 votes, 84 points
> 14. Jado & Gedo vs Sasuke & Tiger Mask 4, Michinoku Pro August 19th. 5 votes, 65 points
> 15. Honda vs Ikeda, NOAH September 1st. 4 votes, 63 points
> 16. Sasaki vs Kawada, New Japan January 4th. 4 votes, 60 points
> 17. Momoe Nakanishi, Takahashi, Ito & Watanabe vs Toyota, Maekawa, Mita & Shimoda, AJW February 28th. 2 votes, 60 points
> 18. Pentagon, Sasuke the Great & Apache vs Hamada, Sasuke & Togo, Michinoku Pro March 10th. 3 votes, 53 points
> 19. Misawa vs Taue, NOAH May 18th. 5 votes, 52 points
> 20. Hokuto vs Satomura, GAEA April 29th. 2 votes, 49 points
> 21. Akiyama & Vader vs Kobashi & Taue, NOAH January 13th. 3 votes, 47 points
> 22. Takaiwa vs Marufuji, NOAH December 9th. 3 votes, 41 points
> 23. Kong vs Satomura, GAEA December 15th. 3 votes, 40 points
> 24. Kawada vs Tenzan, New Japan January 4th. 3 votes, 39 points
> 25. Misawa vs Akiyama, NOAH April 11th. 3 votes, 38 points
> 26 (tie). Tanaka vs AKIRA, New Japan May 28th. 3 votes, 38 points
> 26 (tie). Ohtani vs Sekimoto, Big Japan December 2nd. 3 votes, 38 points
> 28. Kanemoto & Tanaka vs Wagner & Silver King, New Japan February 3rd. 2 votes, 31 points
> 29 (tie). Otsuka vs Sugiura, Zero-One April 18th. 3 votes, 30 points
> 29 (tie). Tanaka & Gedo vs Ishikawa & Yone, Battlarts June 2nd. 3 votes, 30 points
> 31. Otsuka & Tiger Mask 4 vs Carl Malenko & Hidaka, Battlarts February 13th. 2 votes, 29 points, 1 top 5 vote - draft pick
> 
> 
> 2002
> 1. Misawa & Kobashi vs Akiyama & Nagata, NOAH February 17th - 8 votes, 229 points, 6 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote, 4 #1 votes
> 2. Tenryu vs Kojima, All Japan July 17th - 7 votes, 225 points, 7 top 5 votes, 4 2nd place votes, 3 #1 votes
> 3. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Liger & Inoue, NOAH February 17th - 9 votes, 210 points, 6 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 1 #1 vote
> 4. Nagata vs Takayama, New Japan May 2nd - 9 votes, 179 points, 3 top 5 votes
> 5. Liger & Tanaka vs Kikuchi & Kanemaru, New Japan August 29th - 8 votes, 175 points, 4 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote
> 6. Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Shiga, NOAH October 19th - 8 votes, 154 points, 3 top 5 votes
> 7. Takayama vs Nishimura, New Japan August 10th - 8 votes, 149 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 8. Takayama vs Misawa, NOAH September 23rd - 7 votes, 120 points, 1 2nd place vote
> 9. Tenryu vs Kojima, All Japan February 24th - 7 votes, 98 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 10. Rikio & Morishima vs Akiyama & Saito, NOAH September 23rd - 6 votes, 98 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 11. Tenryu & Araya vs Kea & Miyamoto, All Japan April 27th - 5 votes, 94 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 12. Tenryu & Hirai vs Kojima & Hayashi, All Japan October 6th - 5 votes, 92 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 13. Hashimoto vs Tanaka, Zero-One March 2nd - 5 votes, 88 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 14. Takayama vs Sasaki, New Japan August 3rd - 6 votes, 66 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 15. Kanemoto vs Hashi, New Japan August 29th - 5 votes, 65 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 16. Liger & Tanaka vs Kikuchi & Kanemaru, NOAH April 7th - 5 votes, 62 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 17. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Samurai & Naruse, NOAH September 23rd - 5 votes, 61 points
> 18. Sekigun vs WAR 8-man tag, All Japan September 16th - 4 votes, 60 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 19. Ohtani vs Tanaka, Zero-One July 31st - 5 votes, 55 points
> 20. Chono vs Takayama, New Japan August 11th - 5 votes, 43 points
> 21. 3-way tag, Toryumon July 14th - 5 votes, 37 points
> 22. Nagata vs Sasaki, New Japan June 7th - 3 votes, 37 points
> 23. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Jado & Gedo, NOAH December 7th - 2 votes, 36 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 24. Crazy MAX vs Italian Connection, Toryumon September 8th - 4 votes, 35 points
> 25. Nagata vs Murakami, New Japan December 12th - 2 votes, 31 points
> 26 (tie). 3-way tag, Toryumon July 7th - 2 votes, 28 points
> 26 (tie). Dragon Kid vs Darkness Dragon, Toryumon September 8th - 2 votes, 28 points
> 28. Ogawa vs Takayama, NOAH September 7th - 2 votes, 26 points
> 29. Toyota & Hotta vs Ito & Nakanishi, New Japan May 2nd - 2 votes, 22 points
> 30. Takayama vs Nakanishi, New Japan June 7th - 2 votes, 21 points
> 31. Emblem vs Kanemura & Kuroda, Zero-One June 29th - draft pick
> 
> 
> 2003
> 1. Misawa vs Kobashi, NOAH March 1st- 10 votes, 289 points, 8 top 5 votes, 3 2nd place votes, 5 1st place votes
> 2. Kobashi vs Honda, NOAH April 13th- 10 votes, 273 points, 8 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote, 4 1st place votes
> 3. Taue vs Nagata, NOAH June 6th- 10 votes, 199 points, 5 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 4. 4-way tag, Toryumon August 30th- 9 votes, 192 points, 4 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 1 1st place vote
> 5. Akiyama & Saito vs Kobashi & Honda, NOAH June 6th- 10 votes, 160 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 6. KENTAFuji vs Kanemaru & Hashi, NOAH September 12th- 8 votes, 160 points, 5 top 5 votes
> 7. Akiyama vs Tenzan, New Japan August 17th- 10 votes, 146 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 8. Burning + Marufuji vs Sternness 8-man, NOAH August 23rd- 8 votes, 133 points, 3 top 5 votes
> 9. KENTAFuji vs Liger & Murahama, NOAH July 16th- 8 votes, 129 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 10. Kobashi vs Ogawa, NOAH November 1st- 5 votes, 88 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 11. Kikuchi & Kanemaru vs Liger & Kanemoto, NOAH January 26th- 4 votes, 83 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 12. Kanemoto vs AKIRA, New Japan March 23rd- 5 votes, 81 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 13. Do Fixer vs M2K, Toryumon June 29th- 4 votes, 80 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 14. Kawada vs Ogawa, Zero-One December 14th- 4 votes, 71 points, 1 top 5 vote, 1 2nd place vote
> 15. Akiyama, Saito & Izumida vs Rikio, Morishima & Ikeda, NOAH March 16th- 4 votes, 59 points
> 16. Morishima & Marufuji vs Akiyama & Hashi, NOAH March 30th- 5 votes, 55 points
> 17. Kojima vs Ohtani, All Japan September 6th- 4 votes, 50 points
> 18. Akiyama vs Tenzan, New Japan August 10th- 4 votes, 49 points
> 19. Nagata vs Yoshie, New Japan August 10th- 2 votes, 44 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 20. Magnum Tokyo vs Milano Collection AT, Toryumon December 16th- 3 votes, 43 points
> 21. Kobashi vs Nagata, NOAH September 12th- 4 votes, 41 points
> 22. Hashimoto vs Tanaka, Zero-One November 7th- 2 votes, 41 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 23. Hashimoto vs Kojima, All Japan June 13th- 4 votes, 40 points
> 24. Misawa & Chono vs Kobashi & Taue, NOAH January 10th - 3 votes, 38 points
> 25. Misawa vs Sano, NOAH June 6th- 3 votes, 36 points
> 26. Burning vs Sternness 8-man, NOAH February 18th- 3 votes, 34 points
> 27. KENTAFuji vs Juvi & Marvin, NOAH November 1st- 3 votes, 33 points
> 28. Honda vs Saito, NOAH March 30th- 2 votes, 31 points
> 29. Ki vs Styles, January 5th- 3 votes, 30 points
> 30. Nagata & Tanahashi vs Rikio & Morishima, NOAH December 6th- 2 votes, 30 points, top 5 vote
> 
> 
> 2004
> 1. Kobashi vs Takayama, NOAH April 25th- 10 votes, 324 points, 10 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 6 1st place votes (low vote: 3rd place)
> 2. Misawa & Ogawa vs Marfuji & KENTA, NOAH April 25th- 10 votes, 249 points, 7 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 2 1st place votes
> 3. Kobashi vs Akiyama, NOAH July 10th- 9 votes, 243 points, 7 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes, 2 1st place votes
> 4. Kobashi vs Taue, NOAH September 10th- 10 votes, 197 points, 5 top 5 votes
> 5. Kawada vs Hashimoto, All Japan February 22nd- 7 votes, 176 points, 7 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes
> 6. Misawa & Ogawa vs Saito & Inoue, NOAH September 10th- 8 votes, 148 points, 3 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 7. Fujita vs Tanahashi, New Japan June 5th- 10 votes, 144 points
> 8. Tamura vs Ito, U-Style August 18th- 9 votes, 138 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 9. Takayama vs KENTA, NOAH June 27th- 9 votes, 137 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 10. Takayama vs Sasaki, New Japan August 8th- 9 votes, 124 points
> 11. Tamura vs Kohsaka, U-Style February 4th- 7 votes, 119 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 12. Tenryu vs Tenzan, New Japan February 15th- 8 votes, 118 points
> 13. Kobashi, Rikio & Hashi vs Akiyama, Morishima & Kikuchi, NOAH January 10th- 8 votes, 108 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 14. Kawada vs Shibata, New Japan November 3rd- 7 votes, 95 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 15. Kanemaru vs Low Ki, NOAH September 10th- 6 votes, 73 points
> 16 (tie). Nishimura vs Kanemoto, New Japan August 8th- 5 votes, 64 points
> 16 (tie). Tenzan vs Tanahashi, New Japan August 15th- 5 votes, 64 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 18. Marufuji & KENTA vs Samurai & Inoue, NOAH January 10th- 3 votes, 51 points, 1 2nd place vote
> 19. Burning vs Sternness 6-man, NOAH June 23rd- 4 votes, 43 points
> 20. Kobashi vs Saito, NOAH October 24th- 4 votes, 42 points
> 21. Misawa vs Kojima, All Japan July 18th- 3 votes, 40 points
> 22. Akiyama & Hashi vs Rikio & Suzuki, NOAH April 25th- 3 votes, 36 points
> 23. Florida Express vs Do Fixer, Dragon Gate September 17th- 4 votes, 33 points
> 24. Morishima, Taue & Sano vs Akiyama, Takayama & Izumida, NOAH March 6th- 4 votes, 27 points
> 25. Kondo vs Dragon Kid, Toryumon July 4th- 3 votes, 26 points
> 26 (tie). Kawada vs Omori, All Japan July 18th- 2 votes, 26 points
> 26 (tie). Tenzan vs Nakamura, New Japan August 15th- 2 votes, 26 points
> 28. KENTAFuji vs SUWA & Marvin, NOAH October 24th- 2 votes, 25 points
> 29. Marufuji vs KENTA, NOAH November 13th- 1 vote, 24 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 30. Nishio vs Hikaru, AJW July 18th- 2 votes, 22 points
> 31 (tie). Kondo vs Dragon Kid, Toryumon April 28th - draft pick
> 
> 
> 2005
> 1. Sasaki & Nakajima vs Kobashi & Shiozaki, NOAH November 5th - 7 votes, 229 points, 7 top 5 votes, 5 1st place vote
> 2. Kobashi vs Sasaki, NOAH July 18th - 7 votes, 194 points, 6 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes 1 1st place vote
> 3. KENTA vs SUWA, NOAH September 18th - 7 votes, 145 points, 3 top 5 votes
> 4. Ishikawa vs Ikeda, Futen April 24th - 5 votes, 116 points, 3 top 5 votes, 2 2nd place votes
> 5. Kawada vs Kojima, All Japan February 16th - 7 votes, 112 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 1st place vote
> 6. Ohtani & Takaiwa vs Misawa & Kotaro Suzuki, NOAH March 5th - 6 votes, 108 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 7. Akiyama & Tenryu vs Kobashi & Shiozaki, NOAH April 24th - 6 votes, 107 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 8. Do Fixer vs Blood Generation, Dragon Gate July 3rd - 5 votes, 103 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 2nd place vote
> 9. Misawa vs Kawada, NOAH July 18th - 6 votes, 86 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 10. Akiyama & Tenryu vs Kobashi & Taue, NOAH September 18th - 5 votes, 81 points
> 11. Akiyama vs Shibata, Wrestle-One August 4th - 6 votes, 78 points, 1 top 5 vote, 1 2nd place vote
> 12. Jado & Gedo vs Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue, New Japan March 4th - 6 votes, 63 points
> 13. Akiyama & Koshinaka vs Minoru Suzuki & Marufuji, NOAH November 5th - 4 votes, 60 points
> 14. Kobashi, KENTA & Marvin vs Misawa, Sugiura & Kanemaru, NOAH April 3rd - 5 votes, 57 points
> 15. Akiyama & Kanemaru vs Kobashi & Hashi, NOAH August 19th - 4 votes, 55 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 16 (tie). Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki, NOAH January 8th - 3 votes, 51 points, 2 top 5 votes
> 16 (tie). Minoru Suzuki & Marufuji vs Akiyama & Hashi, NOAH July 18th - 3 votes, 51 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 18. Marufuji & KENTA vs Hidaka & Fujita, Differ Cup May 8th - 4 votes, 46 points
> 19. Morishima & Yone vs Shibata & KENTA, NOAH November 5th - 3 votes, 45 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 20. Sekimoto vs Kobayashi, Big Japan November 22nd - 4 votes, 41 points
> 21. Marufuji & KENTA vs Kanemaru & Sugiura, NOAH June 5th - 3 votes, 33 points
> 22. Blood Generation vs Do Fixer, Dragon Gate March 6th - 2 votes, 33 points, 1 top 5 vote
> 23 (tie). Mochizuki vs Ryo Saito, Dragon Gate February 6th - 2 votes, 25 points
> 23 (tie). Rikio vs Taue, NOAH November 5th - 2 votes, 25 points
> 25 (tie). Akiyama vs Hashi, NOAH April 3rd - 2 votes, 22 points
> 25 (tie). Blood Generation vs Mochizuki, Taka & Yokosuka, Dragon Gate September 7th - 2 votes, 22 points
> 27. Taue vs Morishima, NOAH December 4th - 2 votes, 21 points
> 28 (tie). Nakamura vs Tanahashi, New Japan January 4th - 1 vote, 20 points
> 28 (tie). Ishikawa vs Otsuka, Big Mouth Loud September 11th - 1 vote, 20 points
> 30. Milano vs Ryo Saito, Dragon Gate January 15th - 1 vote, 18 points
> 
> 
> 2006
> 1. KENTA / Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takeshi Rikio / Takeshi Morishima (NOAH; 7/16)
> 2. Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW; 4/30)
> 3. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Akira Taue (NOAH; 3/5)
> 4. Mitsuhara Misawa vs. Takeshi Morishima (NOAH; 3/5)
> 5. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW; 12/10)
> 6. Kaz Hayashi vs. Shuji Kondo (AJPW; 8/27)
> 7. Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Takashi Sasaki (BJW; 3/31)
> 8. Koji Kanemoto vs. Yuji Nagata (NJPW; 8/12)
> 9. Kenta Kobashi / Kensuke Sasaki vs. Genichiru Tenryu / Katsuhiko Nakajima (Kensuke Office; 2/11)
> 10. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH; 10/29)
> 11. Masato Tanaka vs. Ryouji Sai (Z1; 7/29)
> 12. Brian Danielson vs. KENTA (NOAH; 12/02)
> 13. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura (MUGA; 9/25)
> 14. Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue (NOAH; 1/22)
> 15. Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH; 4/23)
> 16. Minoru vs. Tiger Mask (NJPW; 6/18)
> 17. KENTA / Katsuyori Shibata vs. Akira Taue / Go Shiosaki (NOAH; 9/9)
> 18. AKIRA vs. Shuji Kondo (AJPW; 1/8)
> 19. KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH; 1/22)
> 20. Jun Akiyama vs. Masao Inoue (NOAH; 4/23)
> 21. BADBOY Hido / Takashi Sasaki / Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Jun Kasai / Men’s Teioh / Jaki Numazawa (BJW; 11/27)
> 22. Aja Kong vs. Meiko Satomura (Sendai; 7/9)
> 23. Giant Bernard vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (NJPW; 6/18)
> 24. Jaki Numazawa vs. Takashi Sasaki (BJW; 6/26)
> 25. Masato Tanaka / Kintaro Kanemura / Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Daisuke Sekimoto / Yoshito Sasaki / Hi69 (BJW; 4/28)
> 26. Takashi Sugiura / Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takeshi Morishima / Takeshi Rikio (NOAH; 9/9) - draft pick
> 
> 
> 2007
> 1. Tanahashi vs Nagata, NJ 4/13 (19 votes, 452 points, 13 top 5 votes, 2 #1 votes)
> 2. Kobashi & Takayama vs Misawa & Akiyama, NOAH 12/2 (17 votes, 439 points, 13 top 5 votes, 7 #1 votes)
> 3. Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto, NJ 11/11 (16 votes, 406 points, 12 top 5 votes, 2 #1 votes)
> 4. T. Sasaki vs Miyamoto, BJPW 3/14 (15 votes, 302 points, 8 top 5 votes, 3 #1 votes)
> 5. KENTA & Ishimori vs Marufuji & Ibushi, NOAH 7/15 (12 votes, 259 points, 10 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
> 6. Nagata vs Makabe, NJ 7/6 (11 votes, 241 points, 7 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
> 7. Akiyama & Rikio vs Takayama & Sugiura, NOAH 4/28 (14 votes, 238 points, 5 top 5 votes)
> 8. Muscle Outlaw'z vs Typhoon vs New Hazard, DG 6/5 (8 votes, 121 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 9. Suzuki vs Mutoh, AJ 7/1 (5 votes, 121 points, 3 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
> 10. Briscoe Brothers vs Marvin & Suzuki, NOAH 1/21 (6 votes, 119 points, 1 top 5 vote, 1 #1 vote)
> 11. Nagata vs Tanahashi, NJ 10/8 (9 votes, 118 points)
> 12. Minoru vs Taguchi, NJ 7/6 (7 votes, 118 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 13. T. Sasaki, Kobayashi, Shadow WX & MASADA vs Teioh, Kasai, Numazawa & Miyamoto, BJPW 1/2 (9 votes, 117 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 14. Ultimo vs Sasuke, MPro 8/30 (7 votes, 114 points, 3 top 5 votes)
> 15. Morishima & Yone vs Akiyama & Rikio, NOAH 4/1 (7 votes, 109 points)
> 16. Tenzan vs Hirooki Goto, NJ 10/8 (8 votes, 108 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 17. Kondo vs Nakajima, AJ 2/17 (8 votes, 102 points)
> 18. Danielson vs Shiozaki, ROH 7/16 (6 votes, 94 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 19. Takayama & Sato vs Omori & Ohtani, Zero-One 2/18 (5 votes, 91 points, 2 top 5 votes, 1 #1 vote)
> 20. Misawa vs Sano, NOAH 4/28 (4 votes, 90 points, 2 top 5 votes ,1 #1 vote)
> 21. Suzuki vs Nagata, NJ 1/4 (6 votes, 86 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 22. Sekimoto, Mammoth & K. Inoue vs Nakanishi, Yujiro & Hirasawa, BJPW 7/30 (5 votes, 79 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 23. Tanahashi vs Kanemoto, NJ 2/18 (6 votes, 76 points, 1 top 5 vote)
> 24. Morishima vs Marufuji, NOAH 12/2 (5 votes, 70 points)
> 25. Nagata vs Koshinaka, NJ 5/2 (5 votes, 63 points)
> 
> 
> 2008
> 1. Mashimo & Madoka vs Teioh & Shinobu, Big Japan 5/23. 12 votes, 342 points
> 2. Ishikawa, Sawa & Otsuka vs Ikeda, Usuda & Super Tiger II, Battlarts 7/26. 14 votes, 341 points
> 3. Hidaka & Sawa vs Ishikawa & Yoshikawa, Battlarts 8/31. 15 votes, 304 points
> 4. Burning vs Kensuke Office Survival Match, KO/SEM 8/17. 12 votes, 303 points
> 5. Misawa vs Morishima, NOAH 3/2. 11 votes, 198 points.
> 6. Kobashi, Honda & Taniguchi vs Morishima, Marufuji & Sugiura, NOAH 2/21. 10 votes, 197 points.
> 7. Kobashi & KENTA vs Saski & Nakajima, NOAH 6/14. 11 votes, 178 points.
> 8. SHINGO & Hulk vs KENTA & Ishimori, Dragon Gate 3/20. 11 votes, 166 points
> 9. Tanahashi vs Suwama, All Japan 4/9. 10 votes, 163 points
> 10. Kobashi, Honda & KENTA vs Takayama, Sano & Aoki, NOAH 3/2. 9 votes, 160 points
> 11. Yoshitune vs Hayato, Michinoku Pro 12/12. 9 votes, 136 points
> 12. Akiyama & Rikio vs Sasaki & Nakajima, NOAH 4/27. 8 votes, 130 points
> 13. Usuda vs K. Yano, Battlarts 11/16. 7 votes, 125 points
> 14. Marufuji vs Kondo, All Japan 11/3. 7 votes, 117 points
> 15. Ishikawa vs Greco, Battlarts 6/1. 5 votes, 117 points
> 16. Tanaka vs Kanemoto, New Japan 4/13. 11 votes, 116 points
> 17. Briscoe Brothers vs Marufuji & Ibushi, NOAH 9/6. 8 votes, 116 points
> 18. Ishikawa vs Super Tiger II, Battlarts 10/25. 7 votes, 116 points
> 19. Sekimoto & Y. Sasaki vs T. Sasaki & Miyamoto, Big Japan 1/2. 6 votes, 104 points
> 20. Men's World 8-man, Big Japan 10/27. 6 votes, 99 points
> 21. Tanaka vs Nagata, New Japan 10/13. 7 votes, 98 points
> 22. SHINGO & Dragon Kid vs Doi & Yoshino, Dragon Gate 8/28. 5 votes, 96 points
> 23. KENTA & Marufuji vs Kobashi & Kikuchi, NOAH 5/24. 6 votes, 91 points
> 24. Ibushi & KAGETORA vs Kondo & Oyanagei, El Dorado 2/27. 7 votes, 90 points
> 25. Tanaka & Hidaka vs Kanemoto & Taguchi, Zero-One 3/2. 6 votes, 90 points
> 26. Kimura vs Miyamoto, Hardcore Ladies 5/4. 8 votes, 89 points
> 27. Ishikawa & Sawa vs Hara & Super Tiger II, Battlarts 11/16. 4 votes, 84 points
> 28. Marufuji vs KENTA, NOAH 10/25. 4 votes, 81 points
> 29. Danielson vs KENTA, NOAH 10/13. 5 votes, 80 points
> 30. Kasai & Numazawa vs T. Sasaki & Miyamoto, Big Japan 6/23. 6 votes, 78 points
> 31. Otsuka vs Super Tiger II, Battlarts. 4 votes, 76 points - draft pick
> 32. Tanaka vs Sekimoto, Big Japan 4/28. 4 votes, 74 points - draft pick
> 
> 
> 2009
> 1. Sasaki & Nakajima vs Shiozaki & KENTA, NOAH June 22nd - 13 votes, 340 points
> 2. Miyamoto & T. Sasaki vs Isami Kodaka & Takeda, Big Japan March 26th - 12 votes, 295 points
> 3. Nakamura & Goto vs Misawa & Sugiura, New Japan January 4th - 18 votes, 274 points
> 4. Sugiura & Shiozaki vs Nakamura & Milano Collection AT, NOAH March 1st - 16 votes, 263 points
> 5. Kanemoto vs Hayato, New Japan December 22nd - 13 votes, 252 points
> 6. Akiyama vs KENTA, NOAH May 17th - 14 votes, 224 points
> 7. Nakajima vs KENTA, NOAH March 1st - 8 votes, 202 points
> 8. KENTA vs Suzuki, NOAH January 25th - 11 votes, 192 points
> 9. Goto & Okada vs Sugiura & Aoki, New Japan May 5th - 11 votes, 176 points
> 10. Tanahashi vs Nakamura, New Japan February 15th - 9 votes, 152 points
> 11. Hayato vs Ken Ou, Michinoku Pro September 5th - 7 votes, 127 points
> 12. KENTA vs Nakajima, Kensuke Office February 11th - 6 votes, 119 points
> 13. Miyamoto & T. Sasaki vs Isami Kodaka & Takeda, Big Japan May 28th - 6 votes, 118 points
> 14. Tanahashi vs Tanaka, New Japan August 15th - 7 votes, 115 points
> 15. Kawada & Taue vs Akiyama & KENTA, NOAH October 3rd - 8 votes, 114 points
> 16. Tanahashi vs Nakanishi, New Japan May 6th - 6 votes, 107 points
> 17. Ishii vs Inoue, LOCK-UP April 12th- 7 votes, 101 points
> 18. Hayato vs Sasuke, Michinoku Pro June 19th - 7 votes, 95 points
> 19. Kanemaru & Suzuki vs Jado & Gedo, NOAH October 3rd - 6 votes, 94 points
> 20. Shiozaki vs Sugiura, NOAH December 6th - 4 votes, 87 points
> 21. Ito & Shuji Ishikawa vs Isami Kodaka & Takeda, Big Japan April 28th - 5 votes, 86 points
> 22. Takayama vs Kojima, All Japan September 27th - 4 votes, 77 points
> 23. Ibushi vs Ishimori, DDT April 5th - 3 votes, 76 points
> 24. Takayama vs Suwama, All Japan August 30th - 6 votes, 71 points
> 25. Kojima, KAI & H. Yamato vs Kobashi, Kikuchi & A. Ito, All Japan August 30th - 5 votes, 71 points
> 26. Nakamura vs Ohtani, New Japan October 12th - 5 votes, 70 points
> 27. Sasaki & Morishima vs Misawa & Shiozaki, NOAH May 6th - 4 votes, 70 points
> 28. Nakanishi vs Tanahashi, New Japan July 20th - 5 votes, 69 points
> 29. Sasaki, Morishima & Nakajima vs Tenryu, Ogawa & Kotaro, NOAH September 27th - 5 votes, 67 points
> 30. Ikeda & Ono vs Ohba & Suruga, Futen April 9th - 3 votes, 66 points
> 31. Shelley & Sabin vs Devitt & Taguchi, New Japan July 5th - 4 votes, 55 points - draft pick
> 32. Nagata vs Nakanishi, New Japan August 11th - 4 votes, 53 points - draft pick
> 33. Ken Ou vs Hayato, Michinoku Pro December 12th - draft pick
> 34. Takayama vs Sugiura, NOAH October 3rd - 4 votes, 49 points - draft pick
> 35. KENTA vs Aoki, NOAH September 21st - 4 votes, 48 points - draft pick
> 
> 
> 2010 - http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=55762
> 2011 - http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/index.php?showtopic=59342&st=0
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Top 50 1980-1989 NJPW
> 
> 
> 
> rank match points
> 1 5-on-5 Gauntlet Challenge (4/19/84) 7,807
> 2 Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81) 7,726
> 3 Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs. Hiro Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (9/12/88) 7,535
> 4 Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki (3/26/86) 7,531
> 5 Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/9/87) 7,224
> 6 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (6/12/86) 6,914
> 7 Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89) 6,867
> 8 5-on-5 Challenge (5/1/86) 6,862
> 9 Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan (4/1/82) 6,824
> 10 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/3/83) 6,659
> 11 Inoki/Fujiwara/Sakaguchi/Hoshino/Mutoh vs. Fujinami/Choshu/Maeda/Kimura/Super Strong Machine (8/19/87) 6,591
> 12 Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. George Takano & Super Strong Machine (3/16/89) 6,516
> 13 Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/6/86) 6,510
> 14 Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Dick Murdoch, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Masa Saito & Seiji Sakaguchi (9/17/87) 6,399
> 15 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader (4/24/89) 6,370
> 16 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (8/4/83) 6,352
> 17 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/21/83) 6,316
> 18 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (1/2/87) 6,283
> 19 Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader (6/27/89) 6,154
> 20 Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis (12/7/84) 6,117
> 21 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (7/7/83) 6,083
> 22 Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (4/27/87) 6,025
> 23 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) 5,991
> 24 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/5/86) 5,939
> 25 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Vader (4/24/89) 5,839
> 26 Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch (6/19/86) 5,734
> 27 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Victor Zangiev (4/24/89) 5,732
> 28 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (9/25/80) 5,729
> 29 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (1/10/86) 5,686
> 30 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (6/24/88) 5,537
> 31 Nobuhiko Takada & Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (5/25/87) 5,421
> 32 Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/12/86) 5,388
> 33 Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Scott Hall, Bob Orton & Dick Murdoch (11/17/88) 5,281
> 34 Riki Choshu & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Super Strong Machine & George Takano (7/13/89) 5,211
> 35 Antonio Inoki vs. Vader (7/29/88) 5,204
> 36 Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (12/7/89) 5,188
> 37 Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/3/80) 5,151
> 38 Nobuhiko Takada vs. Hiro Hase (3/11/88) 5,125
> 39 Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs. Kantaro Hoshino & Naoki Sano (8/8/89) 5,110
> 40 Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu (2/22/89) 5,091
> 41 Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (8/29/87) 5,029
> 42 Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/80) 4,940
> 43 Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda & Kengo Kimura vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi (12/8/83) 4,927
> 44 Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (7/13/89) 4,903
> 45 Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura vs. Antonio Inoki & Seiji Sakaguchi (12/12/85) 4,892
> 46 Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kazuo Yamazaki (9/1/87) 4,875
> 47 Kengo Kimura vs. Masa Saito (NJ TV 6/10/87) 4,837
> 48 Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Antonio Inoki vs. Akira Maeda & Tatsumi Fujinami (9/7/87) 4,822
> 49 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (5/27/88) 4,739
> 50 Akira Nogami, Tatsutoshi Goto, Keiichi Yamada, Kantaro Hoshino & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi, Hiroshi Hase, Hiro Saito, Norio Honaga & Kensuke Sasaki (4/27/88)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Top 50 AJPW 1980-1989
> 
> 
> 
> 1 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
> 2 Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
> 3 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
> 4 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
> 5 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
> 6 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
> 7 Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
> 8 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
> 9 Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
> 10 Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
> 11 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
> 12 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
> 13 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
> 14 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
> 15 Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
> 16 Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
> 17 Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
> 18 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)
> 19 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
> 20 Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
> 21 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
> 22 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
> 23 Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> 24 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
> 25 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
> 26 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> 27 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
> 28 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80)
> 29 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
> 30 Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
> 31 Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
> 32 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84)
> 33 Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
> 34 Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
> 35 Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
> 36 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
> 37 Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)
> 38 Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
> 39 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
> 40 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
> 41 Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (7/31/84)
> 42 Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko (10/11/89)
> 43 Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84)
> 44 Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
> 45 Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
> 46 Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Ricky Fuyuki & Toshiaki Kawada (9/2/89)
> 47 Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/30/88)
> 48 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
> 49 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (8/1/82)
> 50 Hiro Saito vs. Masa Fuchi (6/12/86)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Top "Other Japan" 1980-1989
> 
> 
> 
> 1. Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda (11/10/88 UWF) [4296 pts]
> 2. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (12/5/84 UWF) [4268 pts]
> 3. Nobuhiko Takada vs Bob Backlund (12/22/88 UWF) [4255 pts]
> 4. Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu (2/21/85 JPW) [4253 pts]
> 5. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (7/17/85 UWF) [4217 pts]
> 6. Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano (7/24/89 UWF) [4076 pts]
> 7. Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (9/7/84 UWF) [3982 pts]
> 8. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (1/7/85 UWF) [3928 pts]
> 9. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger (9/11/85 UWF) [3815 pts]
> 10. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (8/13/88 UWF) [3789 pts]
> 11. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (7/24/89 UWF) [3756 pts]
> 12. Super Tiger/Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda/Yoshiaki Fujiwara
> (7/23/84 UWF) [3674 pts]
> 13. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (5/12/88 UWF) [3592 pts]
> 14. Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi (10/6/89 FMW) [3590 pts]
> 15. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (9/11/85 UWF) [3580 pts]
> 16. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Akira Maeda (3/2/85 UWF) [3537 pts]
> 17. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada (10/22/84 UWF) [3416 pts]
> 18. Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (10/25/89 UWF) [3386 pts]
> 19. Yoji Anjoh vs Masakatsu Funaki (6/14/89 UWF) [3349 pts]
> 20. Super Tiger vs Akira Maeda (9/11/84 UWF) [3312 pts]
> 21. Super Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada (9/6/85 UWF) [3308 pts]
> 22. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (5/21/89 UWF) [3248 pts]
> 23. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (5/4/89 UWF) [3223 pts]
> 24. Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki (5/21/89 UWF) [3179 pts]
> 25. Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi (6/2/89 Ultimate Karate Ikki
> Kajiwara Memorial) [3112 pts]
> 26. El Gran Hamada vs Perro Aguayo (4/11/84 UWF) [3096 pts]
> 27. Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda (1/10/89 UWF) [3089 pts]
> 28. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada (12/5/84 UWF) [3072 pts]
> 29. Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (7/8/85 UWF) [3016 pts]
> 30. Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/24/85 UWF) [2979 pts]
> 31. Riki Choshu/Yoshiaki Yatsu/Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Hiro Saito/Shunji
> Takano/Super Strong Machine (11/2/85 JPW) [2953 pts]
> 32. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (2/18/85 UWF) [2832 pts]
> 33. Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (8/13/89 UWF) [2788 pts]
> 34. Yoji Anjoh vs Minoru Suzuki (10/25/89 UWF) [2752 pts]
> 35. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Akira Maeda (7/13/85 UWF) [2732 pts]
> 36. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Masakatsu Funaki (5/4/89 UWF) [2711 pts]
> 37. Super Tiger vs Marty Jones (3/2/85 UWF) [2668 pts]
> 38. Akira Maeda vs Super Tiger (1/7/85 UWF) [2601 pts]
> 39. Super Tiger/Joe Malenko vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Osamu Kido (5/25/85
> UWF) [2594 pts]
> 40. Akira Maeda vs Gerard Gourdeau (8/13/88 UWF) [2415 pts]
> 41. Super Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada (7/21/85 UWF) [2412 pts]
> 42. Yoji Anjoh vs Minoru Suzuki (4/14/89 UWF) [2395 pts]
> 43. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Osamu Kido (9/6/85 UWF) [2394 pts]
> 44. Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki (10/22/84 UWF) [2318 pts]
> 45. Nobuhiko Takada vs Marty Jones (2/18/85 UWF) [2305 pts]
> 46. Mighty Inoue/Higo Hamaguchi vs Carlos Plata & El Doberman
> (11/27/80 IWE) [2257 pts]
> 47. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Osamu Kido (2/18/85 UWF) [2249 pts]
> 48. Kazuo Yamazaki vs Yoji Anjoh (8/13/89 UWF) [2187 pts]
> 49. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki (8/29/85 UWF) [2095 pts]
> 50. Shozo Kobayashi/Haruka Eigen vs Mighty Inoue/Isamu Teranishi
> (6/29/80 IWE) [2085 pts]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Old but the top 20 NJPW 90s matches - http://www.talkwrestlingonline.com/forum/showthread.php?44982-DVDVR-TOP-20-NJPW-Matches-Of-The-90-s
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR Top 20 Indy 1990s Japan matches
> 
> 
> 
> T0P 20 MATCHES
> 1) TAKA Michinoku/Sho Funaki/Dick Togo/Shiryu/Men's Teioh vs. Gran Naniwa/Super Delfin/Tiger Mask IV/Masato Yakushiji/Gran Hamada - M. Pro "3rd Anniversary Show" (10/10/96) - 527 Points (8-8-1)
> 2) Nobuhiko Takada vs. Vader - UWFi "Pro Wrestling World Tourney '94" (8/18/94 - Finals) - 307 (2-4-5)
> 3) Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma - Big Japan (6/20/99 - Death Match) - 298 (2-0-3)
> 4) Great Sasuke vs. Magnum Tokyo - Toryumon (2/7/99 - Middleweight Title Tourney Finals) - 296 (1-2-3)
> 5) Daisuke Ikeda vs. Yuki Ishikawa - BattlARTS Young Generation '99 (8/29/99 - Finals) - 240 (4-1-1)
> 6) Ultimo Dragon vs. Jushin Liger - WAR Super J Cup (12/13/95 - Semis) - 204 (0-0-1)
> 7) Great Sasuke/ Tiger Mask IV/ Shiryu vs. Super Delfin/ Gran Naniwa/ TAKA Michinoku - M. Pro (3/16/96) - 192 (2-0-1)
> 8) Hayabusa vs. Mr Gannosuke - FMW 9th Anniversary Show (4/30/98 - Unified Title) - 159 (1-1-0)
> 9) Rey Misterio, Jr. vs. Psicosis (12/13/95 - Super J Non tourney match) - 156 (0-1-1)
> 10) Great Sasuke/Gran Hamada/Super Delfin/Gran Naniwa/Tiger Mask IV vs. Dick Togo/Men's Teioh/TAKA Michinoku/Shiryu/Sho Funaki - M. Pro (12/9/96 - Elimination Match) - 144 (0-0-1)
> 11) TAKA Michinoku vs. Minoru Tanaka - M. Pro/BattlARTS (10/17/99) - 135 (0-2-0)
> 12) Shiima Nobunaga vs. Magnum Tokyo - Toryumon (2/5/99 - Welterweight Title) - 126
> 13) Great Sasuke/Gran Hamada/Gran Naniwa/Super Delfin/Masato Yakushiji vs. Teioh/Togo/TAKA/Funaki/Shiryu - M. Pro (12/16/96) - 122 (2-0-1)
> 14) Taka Michinoku vs. Hayabusa - FMW (11/16/96) - 108 (0-1-0)
> 15) Chris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit - WAR Super J Cup (12/13/95) - 107
> 16) Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - RINGS (6/27/98) - 97 (1-0-2)
> 17) Shinjiro Otani vs. Ultimo Dragon - WAR Super J Cup (12/13/95) - 96 (1-0-0)
> 18) Nobunaga/Suwa/Fuji vs. Tokyo/Kid/SAITO - Toruymon (2/3/99 - Elimination Match) - 94 (1-1-1)
> 19) Hayabusa vs. Masato Tanaka - FMW (5/19/98) - 93 (0-1-0)
> 20) Ultimo Dragon vs. Great Sasuke - WAR "Crush Night" (10/11/96 - J Crown) - 89
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Top Joshi 90s matches
> 
> 
> 
> TOP 20 JOSHI MATCHES OF THE 90’s
> 
> 1) Shinobu Kandori vs. Akira Hokuto - AJW "Dream Slam 1" (4/2/93) = 465 points (7-7-2)
> 2) Kong/Inoue/Inoue/Hasegawa vs. Kansai/Ozaki/Suzuki/Fukuoka - JWP (7/31/93 - Thunder Queen) = 382 (5-3-4)
> 3) Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki - AJW "Dream Slam 2" (4/11/93) = 272 (2-2-3)
> 4) Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki - AJW "Dream Rush" (11/26/92 - 2/3 Falls WWWA Tag Titles) = 251 (2-2-4)
> 5) Yumiko Hotta vs. Lioness Asuka - AJW "Queendom III" (3/26/95 - UFC rules) = 198 (0-1-2)
> 6) Mima Shimoda/Etsuko Mita vs. Kaoru Ito/Tomoko Watanabe - AJW 9/21/97 - Cage Death Match) = 189 (0-1-0)
> 7) Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota - AJW "V*Top Tournament" (11/20/94) = 165 (0-0-1)
> 8) Bull Nakano vs. Aja Kong - AJW "WrestleMarinpiad II" (11/14/90 - WWWA Title Cage Match) = 158 (1-0-0)
> 9) Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada - AJW (8/15/92 - Hair vs. Hair) = 155 (1-0-0)
> 10) Double Inoues vs. Manami Toyota/Sakie Hasegawa - AJW "Queen's Holy Night" (8/30/95 - 2/3 Falls WWWA Tag Title) = 144 (0-1-0)
> 11) Meiko Satomura vs. Aja Kong - GAEA (9/15/99) = 112
> 12) Mayumi Ozaki vs. Dynamite Kansai - JWP (3/17/95 - Street Fight) = 103
> 13) Akira Hokuto/Shinobu Kandori vs. Aja Kong/Bull Nakano - AJW "Queendom II" (3/27/94) = 94
> 14) Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto - AJW "Destiny" (9/2/95) = 81 (0-0-1)
> 15) Manami Toyota vs. Kyoko Inoue - AJW (5/7/95 - WWWA Title) = 80 (0-1-0)
> 16) Megumi Kudo vs. Combat Toyoda - FMW (5/5/96 - Exploding Barbed Wire) = 65 (0-0-1)
> 17) Manami Toyota vs. Aja Kong - AJW "Queendom III" (3/26/95 - WWWA Title) = 65
> 18) Dynamite Kansai vs. Aja Kong - AJW "Queen's Holy Night" (8/30/95 - WWWA Title) = 63
> 19) KAORU/Yamada vs. Etsuko Mita/Mima Shimoda - GAEA (4/4/99 - Street Fight) = 63
> 20) Manami Toyota/Toshiyo Yamada vs. Dynamite Kansai/Mayumi Ozaki - AJW "St. Battle Final" (12/6/93 - WWWA Tag Title) = 62


The 90s AJPW stuff is head and shoulders above everything else in wrestling history in my opinion, so I'd take those matches and watch them in chronological order. And PM me if you want the motherload of links to find the vast majority of all of this.


----------



## smitlick

The Streak said:


> Anyone recommend a 'starter set' on ivp for some of the best puro of all time and one for the best recent stuff? Wanna get into it.


Get The Puro Sampler for 99c


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Dominion 2012 Review:*

Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki vs Prince Devitt, KUSHIDA & BUSHI - ***3/4

Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs Taichi & TAKA Michinoku -****1/2
I know it's the highest rating you are gonna see but man.. the match was perfect imo.

MVP & Shelton Benjamin vs Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga - ***1/4
surprisingly Benjamin looked really good.

*IWGP Jr Title* 
Low Ki vs Ryusuke Taguchi - ***1/2
Fucking lol at Kota's promo.. Kota vs Low Ki sounds awesome to me

*IWGP Tag Titles* 
Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4

Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs Masato Tanaka & Shinsuke Nakamura - ****

Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe - ***3/4

*IWGP Title*
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - ****1/2

What a show​


----------



## The Streak

MF83 said:


> The 90s AJPW stuff is head and shoulders above everything else in wrestling history in my opinion, so I'd take those matches and watch them in chronological order. And PM me if you want the motherload of links to find the vast majority of all of this.


I'm now going through the 90's AJPW list from 50 upwards on youtube but I'd love some links for whatever you've got, I'll PM you now. Massive thanks for the list, appreciate the effort in that!!


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Been watching a lot of Puro as part of a Top 100 Matches of the Decade project. All the following matches are currently on my list and things I've been most impressed by the last week or so:

*Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea (All Japan 7/23/00)*

FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. This is just absolutely everything you want it to be given 3 of the guys involved, and Kea more than holds his own as the spunky rookie in comparison to his comrades trying to leather seven shades of shit out of Tenryu and Kawada. Tenryu's ability to display utter distain and contempt for his opponents is well documented, and by god does he just look PISSED at Hansen especially throughout, feels like they're two old guys who haven't seen each other in years who then run into another at the most inconvienient of times, "remember me?", "aye, ya cunt". There's this one spot I should hate where Kea suckers Tenryu with a superkick and Tenryu just stands unaffected on the apron, but by god does Tenryu's just stoic badass stance and sudden jolt as it dawns on him what that punk just pulled manage to somehow make me not criticise the sequence. Hansen himself is fucking INCREDIBLE, there's a 3 minute spell early in the match where he's just fucking murdering Kawada and Tenryu with chops and kicks, feels like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino before the movie was even made, just a badass old man mad at the world and these damn kids and just hurling abuse at the closest person he finds. Plus his selling of every chop and kick is just astounding, he crumbles and shakes his head to get some sense of perspective, he sells each strike to his neck like its just collapsed his entire body..just amazing. He also has a couple of astounding nonschalant adventures into the ring to punt Tenryu in the skull to break up a pin, seriously at one point its like the ref hesitates to count because he expects Hansen to enter and *BAM* Hansen just casually punts Tenryu like he's not even fit to lick his boot. Kawada is Kawada, brutally stiff and sells like an absolute king, highlight of the match might have been his exchange with Hansen in his peril segment, just battling it out before he collapses to his knees off an elbow and then does this beautiful delayed retreating stumble into the corner after a knee to the temple, he also does really well in working a sense of hierarchy with Kea and making every exchange between them feel intense and about Kea proving himself as a man. He's an absolute DICK throughout as well, crowd boos him everytime he breaks up pins and makes Kea look a bitch, and then when they recreate the nobody potatoes me setup spot by dual kicking Hansen, only for the crazy old bastard to have one last bit of fight in him and lariat the fuck out of Tenryu to a massive pop he just casually breaks up the biggest cover of Kea's life. WHAT A DICK. 

Match is just entirely compromised of some brutal looking strikes (got to love it when Kea just punts Tenryu's kidney to hit a German) which are sold like death, a ton of emphatic and brilliant bumps, some great selling from Kawada and Hansen, Tenryu having some epicly choice facial expressions when locking up with Kea (he eats a boot at one point and just pulls this perfect 'what in the fuck was that, this ain't how its supposed to go down' expression. Tenryu and Hansen are also just perfect on opposite corners, feels like the other is defined by the other's continued existence. Match might also have my favourite transition spot out of FIP segment, Kawada just counters Kea in midflight with a fucking sick sounding roundhouse kick which sounded like it dislodged two teeth. THE SOUND, JESUS WEPT. Finish is also satisfyingly horrific, Kawada manages to subdue a resilient Kea whilst Tenryu and Hansen slug it out on the streets of Tokyo on the outside, he gets a powerbomb and appears to be running towards the corner only to stop and then drop Kea in a horrific looking way. Seriously might have eclipsed the Benoit-Eddie Nitro Powerbomb for sheer insanity in the bump, and this match deserved nothing less as the finish.


*Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya vs Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi (All Japan 6/30/01)*

So yeah, remember when Andy said any juniors stuff he voted for would be matches filled with hate instead of cutesy spots and perfunctory matwork which goes nowhere? Well HATE is the best way to describe this match, HOLY FUCK is Tenryu arguably at his most dick-headed self here and his brutalising of Araya is staggering to watch. He busts him hardway with a stiff as hell punch to the top of the eye and throughout he's just an ass kicking machine, there's a couple of amazing moments where he just stands around contemplating his next move and just settles on punting Araya dead in the skull. Spot of the match has to be Tenryu busting out a stiff as shit lariat and then just casually punting Araya dead in the eye with zero fucks given for his safety. Araya to his credit sells that moment in particular superbly, its like he just wakes up and thinks in disbelief 'what in the fuck did I do to you to deserve this?'. He's brilliant throughout as the spunky kid trying to take on Tenryu and Fuchi, and the crowd really rally behind him when he gets into a full on war with Tenryu near the end. They do a great job at making him look tough and resilient in constantly coming back for more without delving into him just popping up for some hokey fighting spirit bullshit. There's this brilliant moment where he eats the Tenryu lariat and staggers up to his feet with this teary eyed expression before collapsing back to his knees in pain. Kawada sells fucking well as usual, a couple of really great delayed sells of Tenryu punches and enziguri's to the skull and he eats a beauty of a right hook square in Tenryu's jaw to set up Araya's fiery comeback spell. Fuchi is damn good as well, just schooling the youngster and being a cocky shit throughout, but he's never allowed to be as violent as Tenryu and Araya's workover automatically makes his story and role more prominent in the success of the match. Tenryu's facial expressions were also AMAZING here, whether he's conveying disgust at Araya not doing the polite thing and dieing before him, or getting pissed at the mere sight of Kawada or selling the shock in the force of Kawada's offence in particular. There's this great moment where Araya just forearms Tenryu and he just stares the fuck out of him and has to be held back by the ref from entering the ring and committing murder. Match might also have my favourite babyface transition spot where Araya gets irish wipped into the corner and as Tenryu runs for a lariat Araya just runs full force and headbutts the absolute shit out of him before tagging in Kawada. Absolutely fucking bonkers. Strikes and Tenryu's facial expressions alone would be enough to make my ballot, but take in the underdog story they develop in every Tenryu/Araya exchange and the great pacing and you've got a match pushing its way into the top 50. WATCH IT.


*Mariko Yoshida vs. Megumi Fujii, (ARSION 05/24/03)*

Excellent grappling/shoot style match between two women who do it better than most men could dream of. Fujii is an MMA girl I believe whereas Yoshida is a skilled pro wrestler and they work a really great story around Fujii dominating a vast majority of the grappling and takedowns with Yoshida usually being close to finding an opening but always having it shut down by the more skilled Fujii. I dug the rounds system meaning that both competitors were denied what looked to be a submission win in the opening two rounds with the time limit working against them. Also dug how Yoshida was stubborn in continuing with grappling Fujii but by the third round her arm's quite damaged and she's had numerous close escapes from defeat...so she sets about turning it into more of a bomb throwing affair and hits a couple of ridiculous boots to the face of Fujii, including one where Fujii was crawling on the mat which looked absolutely disgusting. Finish was also quite good with Yoshida finally managing to create an opportunity and Fujii being unable to shut it down this time. Both women went for the win at all costs and the matwork managed to be 'visually impressive' whilst still looking gritty and unco-operative and with everything being fought for. Fujii also trying to submit Yoshida with her own submission move was also really awesome in a taking her to school sort of way. Not amongst the high end shoot stuff (namely because Fujii is so far ahead of Yoshida its not even funny) but definitely on the tier below that and well worth anyone's time. The other folks here who dig shoot style (Andy, Moops, Sterling) will love this and I could see guys like Cal and Seabs who might not be fans of the style finding this more pleasing, only goes like 14 minutes as well so its to the point and doesn't go longer than it needs to.


*Jun Akiyama vs Mitsuharu Misawa, (All Japan 02/27/00)*

Superb teacher vs student battle. Akiyama controls about 90% of the match and it just works, he loses out in the early battles as Misawa proves despite Akiyama's moments of choice counters, he's still the man and the one who can dictate the pace. Akiyama seizing the opportunity and then working over Misawa is really good, its not a consistent workover body part wise but I took it more as him just trying anything to contain and weaken Misawa and keep his confidence growing as he controlled more and more of the match without Misawa getting back into things. A couple of really Finlay esque elbows/knee drops right on the bridge of the nose from both men which was a nice little touch to the subtle anger both men had to put the other away. Misawa's comeback was really well done in hitting enough of his signature offence to put over Akiyama's dominance and establish Misawa needed to weaken Akiyama to even the odds, but also moving at a slower pace and grimacing noticeably when going for certain moves to put over the earlier damage. Akiyama is amazing in the finishing stretch, he gets a couple of really strong false finishes and they somehow make the spot where Misawa pops up after a big move feel like a key moment in the story: he goes to elbow Akiyama but its like Akiyama subconcsiously told himself Misawa wouldn't stay down and he catches him for a second exploder and Misawa just collapses instantly when he tries to get up. From there the camera just focuses in on Akiyama's realisation of what he's just accomplished and you see him man up and tell himself Misawa is going to be put down and he won't choke, him winning via the wrist clutch exploder was also an excellent setup after the exploder proved to only be able to contain rather than finish Misawa. Only slight issue I had was a spike tombstone being used as a setup spot for another move, but otherwise this avoided any of the pitfalls I have about puro main events these days and was paced impeccably.


*Kiyoshi Tamura v Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (U-Style 2/4/04)*

Incredible matwork, in fact is there any matwork in a 00s match that tops this? Everything feels hard fought and competitive, and they establish parity by letting both men look skillful and dangerous in the exchanges, but in such a way that the pace is slow enough to put over the caution and respect both men have for the other whilst creating some drama in amongst the impressive grappling. Pacing between matwork and strike exchanges is wonderful, Tamura going down a point after an extended opening of matwork forces him to try his hand at catching Kohsaka off guard with a strike and christ does he catch him off guard, Kohsaka's desperate attempt to catch the leg and work a hold only to collapse upon impact was beautiful. Incredible drama down the finishing stretch as well, with Tamura slowly losing points and constantly having to enter each exchange one point worse off than Kohsaka, really ties into the final exchange tremendously with Tamura looking to be 40-15 down and with seemingly little to no hope, until Kohsaka's eagerness draws him into more matwork and Tamura spots his only chance, fact its very similar in execution to the Kohsaka/Volk Han 98 finish just fills my heart with joy. Oh and the guy in the background visibly relieved at the finish is stupendous, half convinced he bet his house on the victor and was about to find himself homeless.


*Kiyoshi Tamura vs Hiroyuki Ito, (U-Style 08/18/04)*

Another excellent bout here, Ito is such a terrific underdog taking the fight to the far more savvy and skilled Tamura. He comes right out of the gates like he can't afford to let Tamura dictate the pace or show too much respect to him, and seeing Tamura valiantly try to counter and escape Ito's holds only to have concede 2 points via rope breaks in the early going really gets you invested in not only how Tamura can overturn the deficit, but also in how Ito can maintain the advantage. Next few minutes are just a masterclass from Tamura, feels like a true champion who's best gets brought out in moments of sheer adversity and he proceeds to set the pace and manages to wrangle 2 points from Ito in the process. Final few moments however are where the brilliant pacing and structure pays off, Ito tees off on Tamura recognising it as perhaps his best chance against Tamura's mat skills and he connects with a couple of nice strikes which Tamura sells in a Fujiwara esque KO sell as Andy mentions. Really gets you invested in both when you see Ito sucking up air on the ropes whilst Tamura clearly looks flustered, Ito's proven to be more than a handful but the longer the match goes on the more you struggle to believe his stamina can survive against Tamura's deadly accuracy, and sure enough he goes for one kick too many and gets picked off by the veteran. Classy match, an engaging underdog story with some gripping selling from Tamura throughout.


*Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka vs Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi (New Japan, 12/14/00)*

JESUS CHRIST, top 10 at the absolute minimum. Just an incredible match with a shitload of drama and tension and some wonderful stories developing, Iizuka is the young lion hopelessly outmatched but with the fire to prove himself in the biggest match of his career, Kawada and Nagata are the two ass kickers and everytime they lock up its in short spurts with both men trying to take the other down. You get the feeling every kick and strike is a difference maker especially with how both are the respective leaders but they pace the build to each time they meet superbly so it doesn't come off as tame but rather a tease as to what they can do without ever going too long and making the match solely about them. The real star in this though is Masa Fuchi, HOLY SHIT is he amazing here. He starts out tentative and fearful as the old man who's probably past it and likely is doing the job of a younger man and you can sense that fear in the early lock-up with Iizuka, but somewhere he just snaps and its like he realises to himself, "I'M MASA FUCKING FUCHI" and just goes on an absolute tear stretching Iizuka with some old school submssions and then standing on his face like the cockiest bastard in the world. Its like something inside of him just clicks and suddenly he's 10 years younger and everything is going his way, its a really superb story that dominates the middle and plays alongside Iizuka's long beatdown and him slowly but surely trying to hang with Kawada & Fuchi and keep the match alive. So many awesome spots that are timed incredibly well to pop the crowd, Iizuka's desperation suplex to break the what seemed forever workover of him gets an amazing response and feels like everything he had left, the finishing stretch is one of the best I've ever seen in Puro tbh. Everyone's selling the wear and tear and you get guys going nearly two minutes before they re-enter to try and help their partner/enter the fray, instead of guys going in and out its like they're going prepping themselves on the outside and then entering when they're committed to seeing the match out. The selling is incredible as well, Fuchi's stumbling into the ring upon entry and Kawada does some awe inspiring selling of his leg after Iizuka gets a superb nearfall with a leg submission after Nagata weakened Kawada's left leg, seriously Iizuka sets him up for a huge german and Kawada just collapses twice before Iizuka can actually hold him in position. Fuchi getting put in a submission by Nagata to prevent him breaking Iizuka's submission and then collapsing to his knees the minute he tries to stand up after being let out of it was beautiful. Finish is perfect as well and totally comes as unexpected, you never get the feeling where they're heading is obvious and what could have been seen as a mediocre finish to a classic match just somehow feels like the only way the match could have ended.


*Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka (Big Mouth Loud, 09/11/05)*

I could watch these two grapple all day, feels like the Japanese equivalent of Finlay/Regal. Sensational grappling which builds a beautiful 'human chess' story, even things like Ishikawa eating air on an attempted enziguri and immediately shifting into a defensive guard puts over how both men can beat the other in an instant: everything feels like its a struggle to win. Nothing is given up easily at all, and the strikes feel more like a perverse way to one up the other when the matwork can't separate them, not to mention I loved how on a couple of occasions both men would use the strikes to try and shoot in with the other not expecting it. Also adore how they fight for every counter, they don't sit in the hold but straight away look for an escape the minute an ankle or arm is even slightly bent in a way which could draw about a submission. Headbutts in this are also fucking horrific, first one felt disgusting to hear but the second one was definitely the worst, Otsuka does a Fujiwara esque shoot in headbutt and Ishikawa just sells it superbly as he richochets back into the ropes. Finish is wonderful and puts over the straightforward grappling, and Ishikawa's prior offence progressively weakening Otsuka really adds to the eventual submission.


*Tatsumi Fujinami vs Osamu Nishimura - (MUGA 09/25/2006)*

Excellent 70s style 2/3 falls match, built on some really choice matwork which won't make you consider either to be on the level of a Tamura/Volk Han, but still leaves you impressed with the brilliance in the simplicity of this match, and how they make certain moves feel huge. Figure four dominates this match, Nishimura counters it in the opening minute and rolls up Fujinami to take a 1-0 lead. From here they work a really nice matwork section where Fujinami tries to impose his veteran instincts to control Nishimura, but also realising the perilous position he's in with Nishimura looking to be close to his level and already 1 fall up. LOVED how Fujinami took control by injuring Nishimura's leg with some kicks, kind of put over that both men were dangerous with their strikes as well as their grappling, and made Fujinami's subsequent onslaught throughout look more dramatic and convincing with Nishimura's selling. Figure Four then securing the submission and taking us to a third fall was an excellent payoff to how Nishimura won the opening fall, and served as a nice demonstration that Fujinami could out-manoeuvre Nishimura at crucial times and wasn't too be overlooked. Final fall has some really choice selling from both men, especially loved Fujinami's delayed sell of a desperation Nishimura kick and how that served to give Nishimura something to try and exploit in the closing stages. Nishimura however being unable to further work the leg served as a nice explanation to me for how Fujinami managed to walk around and not sell the leg like it was something which could hurt him, its not like he was sprinting around the ring, but I felt like his momentary sense of pain had gradually decreased with Nishimura basically being on one leg rendering him practically immobile. Finish is absolutely perfect given how the opening 2 falls ended, Fujinami got the submission in the prior fall but Nishimura proved he could counter Fujinami's offence when he needed to, and this plays wonderfully in drawing you into Nishimura being able to escape or having to submit. Fujinami's brief leg injury also playing into the finish just put this over the edge for me, excellently worked with a really simple structure and match outline without resorting to anything stupid to pop the crowd.


*Meiko Satomura vs Aja Kong - (Sendai Pro Wrestling 7/9/2006)*

Not going to have this as high as Seabs, but its still an excellent match overall with strong performances by both women, with Kong overall being better IMO. I can understand Seabs' argument that Satomura constantly throwing everything Kong throws at her straight back helped progress both the resilience of Satomura as well as the dominance of Kong, and truth be told that's something I felt made me tolerate the lack of a true heat segment compared to say when Eddie Edwards works that sort of match, but I'd be lieing if I said Kong not getting a true spell of dominance irked me a little bit. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Kong generally always being one step ahead in the strike battles, thus adding to her monstrous image and making Satomura's eventual progression in the exchanges mean more by the end...its just that from time to time I thought Satomura could have just sold a bump better rather than immediately getting up to try and take the fight to Kong (suplex by Kong on the ramp is probably the best illustration of that minor quibble). I thought the mini sequence where both no sold consecutive death valley drivers was done shockingly well and was made less irritable by the character dynamics built up in each exchange prior, plus Satomura being killed immediately by Kong the minute she got to her feet at least served to continue the theme of Satomura's resiliency alone not being enough to curb Kong. Armwork therefore served as a great hope-spot for Satomura, I didn't mind it not coming into play in the middle, since it broke down into more of a fight rather than Satomura controlling and blatantly ignoring the arm, minute she got a chance through Kong's arrogance she immediately took it. Kong's selling was flat out mesmerising, even in the opening exchanges after a couple of kicks she's shaking the arm and then entering the next lock up with her right arm hidden away, always a fan when wrestlers will sell the effects of their opponents' strikes even when its only a couple of strikes, really helps add legitimacy to the threat of the strike rather than the opponent having to hit flurries to make their offence feel dangerous. Seabs covered the selling near the end perfectly, great progression with Kong trying to fight through the pain but slowly losing more and more exchanges with the arm proving a liability, her selling the arm the minute she connected with that lariat I mentioned after Satomura popped up from the death valley driver, as well as her trying to hold her arm up to the crowd in defiance only to grimace in agony and then throwing left handed strikes and laying desperately onto Satomura in pin attempts were all just amazing little touches that reinforced the damage and peril she was in. I also really dug how Satomura could believably fight through the two backfists, with Kong's power noticeably reduced to the arm, made what could otherwise have thrown people off the sequence appreciate it more since they took the time to outline why Kong's offence was now proving ineffective for the most part. Great match, though anything past my top 40 seems a stretch at this point.


*Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - (AJPW 2/16/2005)*

Oh hell yes, I'd agree with Moops that I thought Kawada was immensely better here, felt like the way the match was layed out and how dominant and terrific he was working as the ace that he could have worked anyone from Kojima to Dino and still made this work. Not trying to slight Kojima there, since Kawada's performance is stupendous, but I do feel that he was placed into a role of which he did well in but was ultimately plugged into a formula which you never felt could falter with how well Kawada was working. Strike battle progression is just what I want from Puro Main Events, Kawada looking like the ace early and then Kojima slowly establishing parity throughout the match and building into the finish is far more satisfying than endless even exchanges in the beginning. Felt the way they slowly had Kawada react and sell each blow in each exchange also meant that moments where he popped up from a big move fitted into the character dynamic, especially in that epic sequence where Kawada gets up from a lariat which finally downs him, both men then club each other with lariats with neither moving, but Kojima then hits the big lariat to put Kawada down for the first time in the match. If they'd have worked even early I could have groaned at that spot, but as it was it felt like the moment where Kojima's suffering and defiance had finally softened Kawada up enough to strike him down. LOVED Kawada's facial expressions throughout, whether it was conveying a sense of disbelief that Kojima would dare strike him in the beginning, to getting slowly pissed at his defiance and having to work hard for every big bit of offence (particularly his powerbomb and backdrop driver) and his selling of the arm was typical Kawada greatness: hobbling into covers, selling it after big blows, screaming in agony when its double axed etc. So many cool little touches as well I thought, like Kojima getting struck with a desperation Gamengiri (loved the close-up on Kawada's perplexed face at Kojima now being the dominant one, made the following gamengiri feel like a moment of defiance from him) and doing a great delayed sell where it looked like he had enough in the tank to barely keep on his feet...only to plummet just as the crowd were about to pop thinking it was now Kawada's offence which was proving useless. Finishing stretch was also magnificent, again in other circumstances I might have found the Kawada kickout at 1 to be over the top, but the way it played off of his performance as 'the ace' and then forcing Kojima to hit harder the next time was layered in storytelling and made what would otherwise have been a worthless spot mean something, Kawada also sold the damage of each lariat at the end marvellously, loved him standing only to half sink to his knees before staggering up to be hit by the final blow. Feels like it could land anywhere from 40-60 on my list, but no complaints with it potentially landing exceptionally high on other ballots.


Ishikawa/Otsuka as much as I love their matches is most likely going to drop off sadly by the end. Kawada & Fuchi vs Nagata & Iizuka could be as high as my top 5, Hansen & Kea vs Kawada & Tenryu will be in my top 30 at the lowest as well.


----------



## Chismo

*We Are Pro-Wrestling Love!(Summer Night Fever In Ryogoku)*


CHAOS (Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. KENSO, Masanobu Fuchi & Captain New Japan *1/2 _(Fuchi FTW!)_

*10-Man Tag*
Apollo 55, Hiromu Takahashi, Hiroshi Yamato & KAI vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Shiryu, BUSHI & SUSHI **

*8-Man Tag*
Get Wild, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Suzuki Army **1/2

Stack of Arms vs. Blue Justice Army & KUSHIDA *** _(fuck, I need to find Nagata/Funaki ASAP)
_
*All Asia Tag Team Championship*
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi © vs. SMOP ***1/4

Seiya Sanada & Joe Doering vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga **1/2 _(building to Naito/Sanada)_

Team Destruction vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

TenKoji & Keiji Mutoh vs. CHAOS ( Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii) **3/4 _(insanely entertaining)_

*Triple Crown Championship*
Jun Akiyama © vs. Taiyo Kea ***1/2 _(really good)
_
*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Togi Makabe ***1/2 _(really good, MOTN)_


No MOTYCs, but still a rock solid show with at least 5 good matches.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Kota Ibushi vs Kenny Omega 8-18-12 - **** 1/2

I was freaking out during some of those spots. Crazy shit. One of my top 5 matches of the year.


----------



## seabs

*Been going through the encore greatness of BJW Commercial Releases.

Okabayashi vs Omori from 1/17/2011 was one heck of a slugfest. They really killed each other with strikes. Okabayashi's injured arm constantly being the difference maker was a sweet recurring story. Really great match. ****+

Sasaki vs Ishikawa from that show was good too. Not the level of Oka/Omori or even close but it's satisfying.

Sekimoto vs Sasaki from 4/3/2011 was a tad disappointing given who it was. They didn't really give much away until the end and I thought it suffered because of that. Still good though.

Sasaki/Ohashi vs Shinobu/Kawakami from 7/31/2011 was the perfect bonus Sasaki/Shinobu violence that I wanted. Such a shame they never did the big singles match on TV and it just ended with a forgettable title reign.

Sekimoto/Okabayashi/Hashimoto vs Bones/Dreissker/Shinya was a super 6 man tag. 7/31 show again. Hash took a great beating, Dreissker was a great fatty, Sekimoto was great off the hot tag, Okabayashi was Okabayashi. Ishikawa was .... good! Some seriously great one on one stretches at the end too. ****

Sekimoto/Okabayashi vs Ishikawa/Kawakami. It's a Seki/Oka tag from 2011. Go figure. Crowd most certainly don't give off a Korakuen vibe but they do give a silently respectful dojo vibe and they actually play up really nicely to that vibe in the first half. This is probably the best Shinya performance I've seen and him and Oka work a tremendous little headlock exchange. Didn't realise it was a 30 minute draw so at first I thought the hot tag was dragging a little but then when I realised where they were going I got back into it. Sekimoto/Kawakami finish really hot. This was great. ****

Sekimoto/Okabayashi/Shinobu vs Brahmans/Ito from 9/26 was really fun. Brahmans shtick is fun as long as it's not too far up the card. Okabayashi rules the world in this and we get monster Oka covered in black mist again. Oka doing Dusty punches followed by a big lariat and woooooooooooing after a chop will always live long in my heart. *


----------



## smitlick

Nakanishi is returning to New Japan in November


----------



## Corey

What's the best IVP Vader comp from Vol. 1 through 4? Idk if I can go wrong with any of them from the looks of it.


----------



## Chismo

The comp with Misawa and Kobashi matches. Tag, singles, whatever.


----------



## seabs

*SMOP given up the All Asia Tag Belts due to Akebono being out for a few months. Wonder if they give Hama the TV Belt now. Hope they give the belts back to Strong BJ but I'm not sure what they'd do with them at that level again now.*


----------



## antoniomare007

Yo, dele!!


----------



## bigbuxxx

is Kane's rape dungeon under there?


----------



## McQueen

Holy fuck is that a pane of glass.


----------



## antoniomare007

Indeed it is. Jun Kasai is not human.


----------



## superbeasto

What match is that Jun Kasai pic from? I need it!!!


----------



## Corey

*IVP - The Best of Barry Windham*

Barry Windham vs. Genichiro Tenryu - **1/2
_All Japan 12/5/1983_

Barry Windham & Ron Fuller vs. Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen - **
_Real World Tag League '83_

Barry Windham & Ron Fuller vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu - **1/4
_Real World Tag League '83_

Barry Windham vs. The Great Kabuki - **1/4
_1983?_

Arn Anderson & Barry Windham vs. Masa Saito & Masahiro Chono - **1/4
_WCW/NJPW Supershow 3/21/1991_

*G1 Climax - First Round*
Barry Windham vs. Keiji Mutoh - JIP
_New Japan 8/6/1992_

The New Blackjacks (Barry Windham & Justin Bradshaw) vs. Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace - ***1/4
_Real World Tag League 11/15/1997_


*Overall: 5.5/10*​
- Nothing really _bad _on this disc, just a lot of average stuff. I'm assuming this truly is the best of Windham though as I guess he didn't do much overseas. Match vs. Tenryu was pretty decent, nice little 8 minute showcase for Windham. Would've been cool to see them have a rematch a few years later though, with double the time and crowd. Could've been a classic. First RWTL matches are a breeze. Brody/Hansen is a giant squash but a fun one to watch. Versus Jumbo/Tenryu they get a lot more offense in but lose very suddenly. Easy day at the office for the Japs.

- The Great Kabuki's entire offense are thrust kicks or chops. That's it. WCW match features the worst haircut of all time. Windham looks EXACTLY like Captain Kangaroo. Look it up folks!

- Of course the match I wanted to see most (vs. Mutoh) was only the last half of the match. Solid stuff but nothing special. The last match on the disc is by far the best. Bradshaw looks like a fucking beast, kinda forget how awesome that guy was. Real good stiff match with a hot ending. Even if you're the biggest Windham fan out there, the disc is passable.​


----------



## Rah

superbeasto said:


> What match is that Jun Kasai pic from? I need it!!!


*24.08.2012 FREEDOMS Death Match Tournament 2012 *
Jun Kasai Vs MASADA (Final Glass Board Death)


----------



## seabs

> AJPW, 23.09.2012
> Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
> 
> 1. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Yamato (c) vs. Hikaru Sato
> 2. AJPW World Tag Team Title: Takao Omori & Manabu Soya (c) vs. Joe Doering & X
> 3. Triple Crown: Masakatsu Funaki (c) vs. Suwama
> 4. Special Tag Match: Keiji Muto & Kevin Nash vs. Taiyo Kea & Seiya Sanada


*#4 is actually happening. I guess the report that Mutoh wanted to tag with Flair on that show was true but they had to go with a cheaper alternative.*


----------



## smitlick

I seriously couldn't believe it when I saw it.... WTF is Muto thinking..


----------



## seabs

*They wouldn't have broken the bank for him and that match will probably deliver a reasonable spike in attendance. Surprised they put it on a show that already has Funaki/Suwama for the Triple Crown as a draw though.*


----------



## Bubz

Fuck, I really want SUWAMA to win the Triple Crown back.


----------



## Rah

Going by Funaki beating Jun in under 5 minutes I don't think he's letting the title go any time soon.


----------



## seabs

*If they were putting it back on Suwama then I'm pretty sure they would have just had Suwama win it back from Akiyama after their first match. Obviously I'd rather him have the belt right now because it means more big Suwama matches but he's having big matches without it I guess. At least 2 of Suwama/Shiozaki, Suwama/Okada and Suwama/Nakamura NEED to happen by the end of the year.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Funaki really beat Akiyama in < 5 mins? lol. my guess is Akiyama is injured more than they are building killer Funaki.


----------



## Chismo

smitlick said:


> I seriously couldn't believe it when I saw it.... WTF is Muto thinking..


Translation: "OMG, it's not gonna be a four star match, fuck them all!" 

In all seriousness, though, I don't see what's wrong with this. Nostalgic booking which hurts no one.


----------



## Bruce L

Seabs said:


> *At least 2 of Suwama/Shiozaki, Suwama/Okada and Suwama/Nakamura NEED to happen by the end of the year.*


Seconded.


----------



## Rah

bigbuxxx said:


> Funaki really beat Akiyama in < 5 mins? lol. my guess is Akiyama is injured more than they are building killer Funaki.


For a short match it was still entertaining, though.





I'm going to straight up quote from another board, considering I think it's said so truthfully:


> I think you're all missing the point to Akiyama's short matches (this, the Ogawa match and countless others). Akiyama likes to work finishers into the early stages of his matches. If you don't occasionally have them effective, they will forever be heatless. Wait until you see a rematch or another high profile Akiyama match. A couple of big bombs will be thrown early on and THIS match will position those moments to succeed in making the crowd lose their shit. It's long-term booking, and crucial to maintaining the heat in Akiyama's preferred match layout. Want to know why KENTA's busaiku knee kick gets no heat? It hasn't been effective since 1837. Akiyama losing means that any finishers he takes within 5 mins for the next year will get heat that they otherwise wouldn't.





Seabs said:


> *If they were putting it back on Suwama then I'm pretty sure they would have just had Suwama win it back from Akiyama after their first match. Obviously I'd rather him have the belt right now because it means more big Suwama matches but he's having big matches without it I guess. At least 2 of Suwama/Shiozaki, Suwama/Okada and Suwama/Nakamura NEED to happen by the end of the year.*


Didn't Suwama have his chance at the Champions Cup in May? Akiyama versed Suwama, that much I positively know, but was it for the triple crown? Or is this the match you mean? If so there isn't means for Suwama to go over here, especially with reports pre-video release stating that Funaki didn't simply fluke a win from the champ.

My guess is either Funaki retains strongly for a good long reign (most likely) or Suwama goes over Funaki positioning Akiyama to bring up the fact he beat him in May and set up a rematch (highly unlikely and horrendously illogical booking). Rematches don't just fall from Japan, either. I have a feeling this is going to be Funaki's year (well, quarter year) at very least.

Completely agreed on wanting Suwama/Okada, though. Fap material right there.


----------



## Chismo

> I think you're all missing the point to Akiyama's short matches (this, the Ogawa match and countless others). Akiyama likes to work finishers into the early stages of his matches. If you don't occasionally have them effective, they will forever be heatless. Wait until you see a rematch or another high profile Akiyama match. A couple of big bombs will be thrown early on and THIS match will position those moments to succeed in making the crowd lose their shit. It's long-term booking, and crucial to maintaining the heat in Akiyama's preferred match layout. Want to know why KENTA's busaiku knee kick gets no heat? It hasn't been effective since 1837. Akiyama losing means that any finishers he takes within 5 mins for the next year will get heat that they otherwise wouldn't.


This is why Puro is real deal. There's no storytelling this deep anywhere else.

Btw, I hope they book Funaki/Nagata Cage Deathmatch for the TC down the line.


----------



## Corey

*IVP - The Best of Harley Race*

Harley Race vs. Giant Baba - *** 1/2
_12/9/1975_

Harley Race vs. Abdullah The Butcher - N/A
_5/13/1976_

*NWA World Title - 2 out of 3 Falls*
Harley Race (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta - *** 3/4
_6/11/1977_

*NWA World Title*
Harley Race (c) vs. Mil Mascaras - ***
_9/12/1980_

Harley Race vs. Ric Flair - *** 1/4
_5/22/1984_


*Overall: 7.5/10*​
- I was very surprised by how well I enjoyed the match with Baba, although the first 10-15 minutes are quite frustrating. At every open opportunity Baba goes for (and usually lands) a side headlock takeover and it's INCREDIBLY annoying. Constant headlocks or chinlocks? Come on guy, give me somethin different. But anyway once that shit ends it's a damn good match. Such a basic dynamic back in those days and it's very refreshing to see Harley slow the pace down and apply such a simple move like a head scissors and make it into a big turning point in the match where it takes Baba 3-4 minutes to get out of it. Bit of a human chess match, really enjoyed it. Awesome blade job from Harley too, great performance from him.

- The match with Abdullah technically only lasts like a minute or two because it becomes this huge brawl on the outside where Harley ends up bleeding from several parts of his body and then somehow gets a wooden crutch, breaks it, and uses it like a spike to stab the shit out of Abby. Eventually it goes out in the crowd and ends with a bloodied Race standing tall, bashing himself in the head with a chair and ramming his face into the ring post. Pretty fuckin awesome stuff.

- The match with Tsuruta is the best of the disc and is just a really crisp wrestling match with great storytelling. Race gets caught by Jumbo's quickness and loses the first fall but then throughout the rest of the match never lets Jumbo get any big flurries goin. Always managed to get out of the way of a cross body or step aside from a dropkick. Smart wrestling from Race and it did a great job in showing that Jumbo was a very good wrestler, but Harley was still the man and the kid wasn't ready to step up just yet.

- When the match with Mascaras rolled around Harley had a totally different look. Put on 20 or 30 pounds and had a much more rugged look. And of course he was now a full blown heel. Big contrast of styles in their match, Mascaras seemed to control it completely throughout. Move after move he'd hit until Harley got sick of it and hit a low blow or grabbed a chair. Pretty wild match that went all over the place until the ref finally called it a no contest. Mil never seemed to wanna sell much of what Race did, just cared about hitting his moves or getting to the next spot it seemed. Is this a recurring theme of his? Fun little match.

- It was weird seeing Flair/Race without something on the line, as Kerry Von Erich was in the midst of his short stint as NWA Champ. Just seemed like an exhibition match from two guys that knew each other extremely well. This is basically these two sleepwalking their way through a good match, but the crowd was hot the whole way through. Really cool to hear them yell Woo! and get behind every big move that was hit from the two Americans. Match had a couple flashes of brilliance, especially when Flair blocked the knee drop and swung it over into the figure four. Finishing sequence was nicely done as well, and it's really weird to see Flair lose 100% clean. Good match but the two had better obviously.

- I must stress how much I really enjoyed watching this. It's an IVP custom comp and the guy did a really good job of picking matches that showcased how smart of a wrestler Harley was while also showing he was one big badass. Definitely recommended for the matches from the 70s. Made me appreciate the guy a lot more.​


----------



## seabs

Spoiler: New Japan results






> NJPW "NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ ROAD TO DESTRUCTION", 07.09.2012 (J Sports)
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka besiegen Wataru Inoue & Hiromu Takahashi (6:42) Oni Korushi von Yano gegen Takahashi.
> 2. Low Ki, Averno , Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov besiegen Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Shelley, Máscara Dorada & BUSHI (12:42) mit dem Devil's Wings von Averno gegen Dorada.
> 3. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI besiegen Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan (9:05) nach dem Tokyo Pimps von Takahashi gegen Captain.
> 4. Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima besiegen Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Harry Smith & TAKA Michinoku als TAKA disqualifiziert wurde.
> 5. Special Tag Match: Naomichi Marufuji & Mohammed Yone besiegen Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga (14:21) mit der Tiger Flowsion von Maurufuji gegen Tonga.
> 6. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson besiegen Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada (17:00) nach dem Gun Stun von Anderson gegen Nakamura.
> 7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) besiegt KUSHIDA (20:10) mit einem Sitout Last Ride (1st defense).


*Naito wrestled with his knee heavily taped up so I guess the reports weren't accurate. I'd rather him just take the time off to let it fully heal. Feels like he's been working through little injuries for way too long already. Ibushi gave Ki and Taguchi title shots after retaining (but no BUSHI title match ).*


----------



## smitlick

I'll be really impressed with New Japan if the Okada MITB storyline leads to him never losing till 1/4 next year and then beating Tanahashi for the Title.


----------



## MF83

Spoiler ^


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> Spoiler: New Japan results
> 
> 
> 
> *Naito wrestled with his knee heavily taped up so I guess the reports weren't accurate. I'd rather him just take the time off to let it fully heal. Feels like he's been working through little injuries for way too long already. Ibushi gave Ki and Taguchi title shots after retaining (but no BUSHI title match ).*


Yet another very fucking promising stuff from NJ. And fuck yeah at Naito still wrestling.


EDIT:



> --- Jushin Liger In Pro Wrestling NOAH 4-Hour Video Collection ---
> 
> A collection of matches to take place in Pro Wrestling NOAH featuring what many consider to be the greatest Junior Heavyweight wrestler of all time.... Jushin "Thunder" Liger!
> 
> 
> 17.02.2002 - Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
> 
> 07.04.2002 - Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
> 
> 29.06.2003 - Jushin Liger, Takehiro Murahama & Ricky Marvin vs KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji & Kotaro Suzuki
> 
> 16.07.2003 - Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama vs KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji
> 
> 06.03.2004 - Jushin Liger vs Makoto Hashi
> 
> 10.07.2004 - Jushin Liger vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
> 
> 15.10.2009 - Jushin Liger vs Taiji Ishimori
> 
> 24.10.2009 - Jushin Liger vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
> 
> 31.10.2009 - Jushin Liger vs Delirious
> 
> 31.10.2009 - Jushin Liger vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru


----------



## seabs

MF83 said:


> Spoiler ^


*Not sure what that spoiled

Thoughts on having a separate puro thread for all news/results/spoilers and keeping this one just for match reviews?*


----------



## MF83

My bad, I thought that was Destruction itself and him saying Tanahashi won. Carry on.

That sounds good to me


----------



## Chismo

Seabs said:


> *Thoughts on having a separate puro thread for all news/results/spoilers and keeping this one just for match reviews?*


Yes, it would be much easier to catch up.


----------



## bigbuxxx

JoeRulz said:


> Yes, it would be much easier to catch up.


+1


----------



## bigbuxxx

Does anybody have a link to Nagata vs Takayama from 5/2/02? I've found 5/2/03 but want to see the previous encounter. Ditch has it listed on his site but it's file not found


----------



## seabs

bigbuxxx said:


> Does anybody have a link to Nagata vs Takayama from 5/2/02? I've found 5/2/03 but want to see the previous encounter. Ditch has it listed on his site but it's file not found


*The link works.*


----------



## bigbuxxx




----------



## MF83

Message him and he'll fix it


----------



## seabs

*http://ifile.it/9o2h3kx/NagataVsTakayama5-2-02.avi




'Style-by-style' pages. Last update 3/31/12; will no longer be updated.

Click to expand...

Did you read that? Use the "All Matches" links and none of them links will be dead as he reuploaded nearly everything.*


----------



## sXeMope

antoniomare007 said:


> Yo, dele!!


Damn. Had no clue FREEDOMS had a tournament this year, but this one picture makes me really want to see it


----------



## bigbuxxx

Seabs said:


> *http://ifile.it/9o2h3kx/NagataVsTakayama5-2-02.avi*


*

tx seabs. never realized there was an alternate way of getting matches on the site.*


----------



## seabs

*http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other...sion-thread-beware-spoilers.html#post11992248

Use this now for posting any results/discussion spoilers in. Just use this for match reviews/old talk/etc.*


----------



## Rah

Big Daddy Doom with two random BJW ring boys back in the day. Anyone willing to hazard a guess as to who they are now?


----------



## smitlick

Ito & Sekimoto?



*Dragon Gate Infinity 224 - 18/6/11*

*Open The Brave Gate Title*
PAC vs Ricochet
***1/4

*Open The Triangle Gate Decision Match*
BxB Hulk, CIMA & Naruki Doi vs Gamma, Masato Yoshino & YAMATO
***1/2


*Dragon Gate Infinity 225 - 19/6/11*

*Open The Twin Gate Titles*
Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi vs Dragon Kid & PAC
***3/4

*Open The Dream Gate Title*
Masaaki Mochizuki vs Yasushi Kanda
***1/4


----------



## Corey

*All Japan Classics #41*

*NWA International Heavyweight Title*
Dory Funk Jr. (c) vs. Bruiser Brody - ** 1/2
_4/21/1982_

Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory & Terry Funk - ** 1/4
_4/22/1982_

*PWF World Heavyweight Title*
Giant Baba (c) vs. Stan Hansen - * 1/4
_6/1/1982_

*NWA International Heavyweight Title*
Dory Funk Jr. (c) vs. Billy Robinson - **
_Charlotte, NC 3/7/1982_

*NWA United National Title*
Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Harley Race - ***
_4/22/1982_

*PWF World Heavyweight Title*
Giant Baba (c) vs. Stan Hansen - **
_4/22/1982 (what a shitty night that was for the fans)_


*Overall: 4/10*​
- This disc pissed me off so much I don't even have the energy to rant on it. It just sucked. Recommendation to avoid unless you just wanna see a bunch of blood, no selling, and non-finishes.​


----------



## Chismo

The 6/21/2012 Show


The Speed of Sound & Men's Teioh vs. Konaka, Onryo & Taro Nohashi *N/A* _(heavily clipped) _

*Barbed Wire Boards Deathmatch*
Isami Kodaka, Yuko Miyamoto & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Masashi Takeda, Masato Inaba & Kankuro Hoshino *** _(good, entertaining 6-man sprint)
_
Daisuke Sekimoto & Masashi Otani vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu ***1/2 _(clipped a little bit, but still damn good, Shinobu was awesome here)_

*Free Weapons Deathmatch*
Ryuji Ito & Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Takashi Sasaki & Shadow WX *** _(campy, but funny too)_

*Strong Heavyweight Championship*
Yoshihito Sasaki © vs. Yuji Okabayashi ****** _(fucking hell, this was great; Yoshihito is one sick fuck)_

*Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship* *(444 Fluorescent Light Tubes Tokyo Death City Deathmatch)*
Abdullah Kobayashi © vs. Jaki Numazawa ***1/2 _(this was damn good, liked this a lot)_


Great, entertaining, enjoyable, so easy to watch - this is your standard Big Japan awesomeness. The undercard was very good and entertaining, and it was highlighted with the Sekimoto vs. Shinobu tag. It was an awesome contest. The Strong Title match was excellent, they built very well to a climax, Yoshihito had to sacrifice his skull for win. Damn, he's one sick fucker! The main event was balls entertaining, Kobayashi's best defense thus far, and Numazawa was doing what he does best – making his opponents look like $1 mil. The only flaw with this show is the TV time restriction, so the Brahmans vs. Kazuki Hash tag match didn't air on this show.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate - Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2011 - 17/7/11*

1. Akira Tozawa vs Shingo Takagi
***1/2

*2. Open The Twin Gate Titles*
Dragon Kid & PAC vs Ricochet & CIMA
****

*3. Open The Dream Gate Title*
Masaaki Mochizuki vs BxB Hulk
****


----------



## Corey

*All Japan Classics #42*

*NWA World Heavyweight Title*
Ric Flair (c) vs. Ricky Steamboat - *** 1/4
_6/4/1982_

*NWA World Heavyweight Title*
Ric Flair (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta - **** 1/2
_6/8/1982_

*PWF World Title*
Giant Baba (c) vs. Terry Gordy - *
_Atlanta, GA 2/28/1982_

Terry Funk & Dick Slater vs. Jerry Lawler & Don Diamond - * 3/4
_St. Petersburg, FL 2/20/1982_

*NWA United National Title*
Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Mil Mascaras - ** 1/4
_7/30/1982_


*Overall: 6/10*​
- Flair/Steamboat *always *had good matches, and this is just another one. Nowhere near the level of what they'd do later in the decade but still a fun match. Even though Steamboat was 29 I still think he was young and looked a little inexperienced at times. You could kinda tell when the gears were churnin in his head, having to think of his next move. His speed and athleticism were off the charts, but they caught him in the end.

- Flair/Tsuruta was so damn good it's hard for me to put into words as to _why _I liked it so much. It just had this big match feel with perfect pacing and such a basic structure. It was basically the epitome of old school wrestling and/or why I love it so much. You don't have to do a bunch of head drops or flips or big spots to work a crowd or work your ass off. This was just two incredible wrestlers trying to one up each other for 30 minutes and it kept building and building to the stalemate finish, which I thought was just fine. I don't speak Japanese, but I could tell that when Flair escaped Tsuruta on the outside and Jumbo made his way back in the ring it had to have been on a 19 count or something. Really thought that was gonna be it. Just do yourself a favor and find this on YouTube and watch it asap. Instantly became one of my favorite Flair matches ever.

- I certainly don't know why they included the matches from the states on here, cause they both sucked. Baba/Gordy isn't worth your time. It's one of the best examples of how slow, boring, and awful looking Baba was at the time period. Gordy certainly tried to carry things at times but Baba wouldn't sell and the finish was terribly flat. The Memphis-like tag match started off great. The heels dominated for a while on Lawler and I thought he'd eventually make the hot tag and we'd have a formulaic match like I usually enjoy but then out of nowhere things just completely broke down and it felt like a tornado match. I assumed it would be a no contest but then they randomly went back to the old style. Lawler eventually made the tag but Diamond was pinned not long after coming in. Terrible structure in that one, disappointed me.

- Jumbo/Mascaras caught me way off guard. The first half of the match was completely how I thought it would go, a lot of mat wrestling and mutual respect. Then all of a sudden they get into a slugfest, Jumbo gets busted open heavily on the outside and starts trying to rip Mil's mask off. The match is thrown out (seemingly everything was in these days) but after what felt like an eternity of trying to kill each other, they somehow get the match restarted, but only for 5 minutes. They keep brawling it out, the 5 minutes end, and then it's like they don't hate each other anymore. They walk out and that's the end of that. Really weird spectacle.​


----------



## stryker360

where the hell do you guys get your puro, and how do you stay current? I'd like to get into puro more since i'm caught up on the U.S indy scene at the moment and have only really watched puro in passing.


----------



## seabs

stryker360 said:


> where the hell do you guys get your puro, and how do you stay current? I'd like to get into puro more since i'm caught up on the U.S indy scene at the moment and have only really watched puro in passing.


*You can either get them on discs from traders or download from our puro section.*


----------



## Rah

stryker360 said:


> where the hell do you guys get your puro, and how do you stay current? I'd like to get into puro more since i'm caught up on the U.S indy scene at the moment and have only really watched puro in passing.


http://www.dailymotion.com/Jahmale_Hepburn

No need for anything else in terms of what you're looking for, really. Jun Akiyama, Suwama, Okada, Tanahashi, Naito, Goto, Marafuji, KENTA (if those two are your cup of tea), Daisuke Sekimoto, Prince Devitt, Kota Ibushi, CIMA, Kenny Omega and Akira Tozawa are all names that should deliver most times (with the latter names offering a more fast paced match than the former powerhouses).

I'm taking it as if you're new to Puro (so forgive me if you're not) so just follow a few reviews that you see going along in this or the 2012 MotY thread and just search for them on here for a while until you familiarise yourself with what names/styles/promotions you enjoy. But for every NOAH, NJPW and AJPW event released this guy has it uploaded almost instantly.

And on that note, I just noticed Devitt/Volador. Holy sweet fuck.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Rah said:


> http://www.dailymotion.com/Jahmale_Hepburn


----------



## xzeppelinfootx

That and senorlariato on Dailymotion as well keeps me purty damn up to date.


----------



## Bubz

Jahmale Hepburn's channel is where I watch a lot of stuff or from the puro media section. You'll get pretty much everything from there.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW 40th Anniversary Last Rebellion 29/07/2012 Review:*

Captain New Japan & KUSHIDA vs Jado & Gedo - **

Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI & Tama Tonga vs Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask - **1/2
_Am i the only one who thinks that Tonga is awesome?_

Karl Anderson, MVP, Shelton Benjamin & Rush vs Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi - **3/4
_IMO Taichi and Taka are the best heels today, amazing work from both_

Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - N/R
_Skipped_

Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito - ***1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:*
Low Ki (c) vs Kota Ibushi - ***3/4

*NWA World Historic Middleweight Title:*
Prince Devitt (c) vs Volador Jr. - ***1/2

Really fun show​


----------



## Chismo

You skipped Ishii and Iizuka's match? It's a sin.


----------



## EmbassyForever

JoeRulz said:


> You skipped Ishii and Iizuka's match? It's a sin.


Haha i'll watch this later, after i watched the first matches i just wanted to see the double main events..


----------



## Corey

*IVP - The Best of Kurt Angle*

Kurt Angle & Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko - *** 1/2
_NJPW 2/18/2007_

*IWGP 3rd Belt Championship*
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Kurt Angle - *** 3/4
_IGF 6/29/2007_

Kurt Angle vs. Kendo Kashin - ** 3/4
_IGF 12/20/2007_

*IWGP 3rd Belt Championship*
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Yuji Nagata - **** 1/4
_NJPW Wrestle Kingdom II 1/4/2008_

*IWGP 2nd & 3rd Belt Unification*
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kurt Angle (c) - ***
_NJPW 2/17/2008_


*Overall: 8/10*​
- Tag match was much better than expected. Bernard looked like one hell of a monster, Tomko was vicious, Angle came out like a house of fire, and Nagata was Nagata. Really good sprint and a solid debut for Angle.

- Although it may not be from 2003, I really enjoyed Angle vs. Lesnar. They did a nice job of making Lesnar look like a beast with his control segment, and then it was pretty damn sweet when Angle countered the powerbomb and went overhead into an ankle lock. It does become a bit of a finisher fest towards the end, but what the hell, I liked it.

- Kendo Kashin is the shitstain that wrestled as Dragon Soldier B in ROH's Best of the American Super Juniors Tournament, so I'm pretty much not a fan of his. He was replacing Booker T in this match, so I'm sure the fans couldn't have been too happy about it. Not sure if the match would've been any better, but anyways. Solid enough match for such a random opponent, it just seemed like it took way too much for Angle to actually put him away. Cool to see Angle break out the figure four in honor of The Destroyer being at ringside.

- Angle/Nagata was flat out excellent. Great mat wrestling and submissions throughout. The figure four spot was really well done, as was all of Angle's leg work. Shame it never actually went anywhere though. Awesome counters down the stretch. Loved it when Angle swung out of the crossface and hit an Angle slam. Last ankle lock looked awesome as well. Definitely recommended viewing.

- Angle/Nakamura I wasn't really feelin too much. It's the classic example of why a lot of people aren't fans of Angle. Almost the whole match felt like a finishing stretch, WAY too many ankle locks. Rather annoying at times. In the beginning of the match I thought they'd go the route of Angle being the dominant heel and the young Nakamura making the comeback and getting the fans behind him. That wasn't really the case as he didn't really get that much offense in and having Angle tap just seemed really weird to me. It was my first time seeing Nakamura and they really didn't book it well enough to make me wanna see more of him. Had its moments but Angle annoyed me and it was a little on the short side.

- Overall I actually really enjoyed this. There's hype videos and background stuff before all the major matches and match quality is obviously quite solid. The Nagata match si worth the money alone and the rest is just a bonus.​


----------



## Yeah1993

Man, that Angle/Lesnar was terrible to me. Sloppy as shit and the finisher stuff near the end was on mind-blowing levels of crappy. Shocked that it was Lesnar's last match before the Cena MOTYC this year. It was, right?


----------



## Corey

Yeah1993 said:


> Man, that Angle/Lesnar was terrible to me. Sloppy as shit and the finisher stuff near the end was on mind-blowing levels of crappy. Shocked that it was Lesnar's last match before the Cena MOTYC this year. It was, right?


Yeah, pretty sure it was. I knew someone would eventually come out and say they hated it. haha. The finisher stuff I can totally understand you being annoyed by but I definitely think it's a better match if you go in not expecting much like I did. Didn't notice much sloppiness either. The finisher shit is so much worse in the Nakamura match.

EDIT: Have you seen the Nagata match? I always feel like someone's gonna have some gripes about an Angle match somewhere, no matter how good it may be imo.

Anyone seen his match with Tanahashi from 5/4/09?


----------



## Yeah1993

I don't remember seeing anything else Angle did in Japan other than the match with Brock. Nagata's a guy who can seem to bust out a great match on any given year so I'll at least somewhat look forward to that one.


----------



## Bubz

I remember liking the Nagata match. Nagata is great though, and Angle can have a good match with a better worker so it's no surprise really.


----------



## stryker360

Rah said:


> http://www.dailymotion.com/Jahmale_Hepburn
> 
> No need for anything else in terms of what you're looking for, really. Jun Akiyama, Suwama, Okada, Tanahashi, Naito, Goto, Marafuji, KENTA (if those two are your cup of tea), Daisuke Sekimoto, Prince Devitt, Kota Ibushi, CIMA, Kenny Omega and Akira Tozawa are all names that should deliver most times (with the latter names offering a more fast paced match than the former powerhouses).
> 
> I'm taking it as if you're new to Puro (so forgive me if you're not) so just follow a few reviews that you see going along in this or the 2012 MotY thread and just search for them on here for a while until you familiarise yourself with what names/styles/promotions you enjoy. But for every NOAH, NJPW and AJPW event released this guy has it uploaded almost instantly.
> 
> And on that note, I just noticed Devitt/Volador. Holy sweet fuck.


cool, thanks for the suggestions. I had actually found both hepburn and seniorlariato on dailymotion I just wasn't sure if they were the best places. do all shows become available? I sometimes find it tough to find every night, and I try and be as thorough as possible.


----------



## seabs

*Angle/Tanahashi is skippable.*


----------



## Chismo

> [BJW News] Big Japan announced the teams that will be participating the 2012 Big Japan Tag League.
> 
> http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2012/09/12/bjw-2012-tag-league/
> 
> There will be 12 teams involved this year with 6 teams per block. The tournam
> ent has been split into 2 completely different blocks. With the Strong style taking control of the A Block and Deathmatch rules for the B Block.
> The tournament is set to begin on September 25 at the Korakuen Hall with the semi-finals and final match taking place on November 24.
> 
> *[A BLOCK, Strong Block]*
> Yuji Okabayashi [BJW] & Shinobu [666] (reigning tag champs)
> Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki
> Osamu Nishimura [free] & Shinya Ishikawa
> Daichi Hashimoto [ZERO1] & Kazuki Hashimoto
> Tsutomu Osugi & Hercules Senga [Free]
> Amigo Suzuki & Jun Ogawauichi [SECRET BASE]
> 
> *[B BLOCK, Deathmatch Block]*
> Abdullah Kobayashi & Drake Younger [CZW]
> Yuko Miyamoto [666] & Isami Kodaka [UNION]
> "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa & Takashi Sasaki [FREEDOMS]
> Shadow WX & Shuji Ishikawa [UNION]
> Shu Brahman & Kei Brahman
> Ryuji Ito & Takumi Tsukamoto


Teh Hashimotos! Daiskay and Yoshihito! Abby and Drake! :mark:


----------



## antoniomare007

They better book Daisuke & Yoshihito vs The Hashimotos for Day 1 :mark:


----------



## Corey

*IVP - The Best of Eddie Guerrero: Vol. 2*

*Top Of The Super Juniors IV - Quarterfinal*
Eddie Guerrero vs. Dean Malenko - ** 3/4
_6/14/1993_

*Super J Cup '94 - First Round*
Black Tiger vs. Taka Michinoku - ** 3/4
_4/16/1994_

*Super J Cup '94 - Quarterfinal*
Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) - *** 1/4
_4/16/1994_

*Best Of The Super Juniors II*
Black Tiger vs. Koji Kanemoto - ****
_6/23/1995_

*Best Of The Super Juniors II*
Black Tiger vs. Dean Malenko - *** 1/2
_7/7/1995_

*Best Of The Super Juniors II - Semi Final*
Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) - *** 3/4
_7/13/1995_

*Best Of The Super Juniors III - Block B*
Black Tiger vs. Shinjiro Otani - *** 1/4 (slightly clipped)
_6/5/1996_

*Best Of The Super Juniors III - Semi Final*
Black Tiger vs. Chris Benoit - Clipped! (but what I saw was awesome)
_6/11/1996_

*Best Of The Super Juniors III - Finals*
Black Tiger vs. Jushin Liger - ****
_6/12/1996_

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Great Sasuke (c) vs. Black Tiger - *** 1/4
_Skydiving J - 6/17/1996_


*Overall: 9/10*​
- First few matches are all good, in fact the first Benoit match (which is the same one from Benoit's Hard Knocks dvd) is a great watch with a really odd choice for a finish. But shit gets real with the Kanemoto match. Oh so good. Tremendous mat wrestling in the first half. Honestly saw Eddie use some things I'd never seen him do before. Of course he used them in just about every match after that, but that's not the point. The one downfall is that the crowd was 100% dead the first half, but when they take it the outside and do some high spots, those fuckers wake up and get into it. Eddie's heel tactics come into play as well, those get some reactions. Absolutely great match with something for just about everyone. Best of the disc imo.

- The other matches from BOSJ II are also very good. Malenko/Eddie from 1995, I shouldn't have to say anything. Everything was so crisp and executed well. Structure was very similar to the Koji match, actually had some of the same spots. Great watch. The 2nd Benoit match was just nuts. Balls to the wall action with no disregards for their body. They just threw caution to the wind and it was quite entertaining, but from a match ratings standpoint I think it would've been better if they slowed it down in a couple points and sold some spots, but that's a minor quibble. Finish came out of nowhere and was just crazy dangerous.

- Relentless. That was the word to describe Eddie in his match with Otani. Absolutely relentless attack on his leg throughout the entire match. It was quite fun to watch actually. Otani's selling was pretty comedic at times and the crowd was insanely behind him. The finish leaves a pretty bad taste in your mouth though. Otani no sells the leg and hits two moves to pick up the win. Very Cena/Lesnar like except it didn't involve any chains or steps and the moves weren't quite that painful looking.

- A little disappointed that the final Benoit match was clipped. You come into it 10 minutes in with Eddie in a sleeper hold and Benoit already drenched in sweat. What I saw was the last 10 minutes, and that alone seemed like a **** effort at least. Kinda came off like Benoit was the heel now, idk. Anyone seen the whole match?

- The one thing I looked forward to over all the rest on this was the Liger match. I've never seen Eddie have any interaction with him before and it striked me a huge fancy. Match fuckin delivered too. More fantastic wrestling in the first half, but the difference here was that it wasn't just Eddie dominating his opponent. Liger seemed like the first guy that could match him hold for hold and would counter his submissions into another one. I can't remember if it was from this match (I watched all this in one sitting last night), but there's a moment where Liger (or someone) tries to use the tornado ddt against him and Eddie gets all pissy about it and fucks em up. Just a random thought. But anyway, another great match and what felt like a really special moment for Eddie.

- The Sasuke match was pretty good but they seemed a little off their game. Couple minor slip ups and problems in execution prevented it from being more enjoyable. Nothing too major, just stuff you see them do all the time really. Finish came really suddenly, and what happened post match seemed like it was something incredibly important and historic. Pretty sure it's the start of the J Crown Title or whatever that was called, as everyone threw their belts in the middle of the ring.

- For fans of Eddie or fans of the junior style in the 90s, this is the set you want. Excellent match quality up and down and a fantastic look at the depth of the rosters for New Japan when they had the big tournaments. Highly, highly recommended.​


----------



## Yeah1993

Of all the matches they clip it's Benoit/Eddie. That's probably the best match of Chris Benoit's career.


----------



## antoniomare007

yup. 

They way he worked the headlock and kept cutting Eddie off, made a dead crowd come alive and go crazy in the final minutes. To this day that's one of my favorite matches ever. Only behind Liger/Sano III when it comes to the GOAT Jr.s match.


----------



## Bubz

antoniomare007 said:


> yup.
> 
> They way he worked the headlock and kept cutting Eddie off, made a dead crowd come alive and go crazy in the final minutes. To this day that's one of my favorite matches ever. Only behind Liger/Sano III when it comes to the GOAT Jr.s match.


Agree completely with all of this. Amazing match.


----------



## Corey

Ok well I had a review for the Benoit match fully typed and ready and I accidentally hit backspace, so I'm not typin that shit again. I found the match on youtube and I'll just say I agree fully. Outstanding match with a brilliant performance from Benoit. So many little things he did like selling the neck after the back suplex and not letting Eddie truly use the ropes to break from the tiger suplex were great. ***** 1/2 *for sure. As for the Liger/Sano matches (all 3), I should be getting to those in the next week or so.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Its amazing watching that match and seeing how they manage to establish parity between both men by highlighting how their respective strengths are essential to winning the match. Benoit is superior in the technical exchanges and despite Eddie not being made to look grossly inferior, its clear he NEEDS to create distance and use his superior agility and quickness to beat Benoit. Both of those competing dynamics dominate the entire match and ensure the match moves along in one constant direction instead of stopping and starting, and without any half hearted matwork to begin before running ropes and heading into a finishing stretch.

I still can't quite fathom how that sort of match cannot be replicated in this day and age. Nowadays juniors seem to think 'parity' consists of at best a 2 minute fast flurry of hold trading before they indulge in strike exchanges, big spots and a huge finishing stretch. Benoit & Eddie just perfectly illustrated how to create parity between the two characters and let the exchanges develop from there.

Anyways, watched some puro the past few days, going on a Tenryu 1992-1994 binge today and tomorrow so looking forward to rewatching the best of the New Japan/WAR feud and in particular the trio of Tenryu/Hashimoto singles matches.

*Tenryu & Kitahara vs Koshinaka & Kimura - (New Japan 10/23/92)*

Oh man pretty much the beginning of the New Japan/WAR feud and Korakuen is fucking rabid throughout. Koshinaka and Kimura are just fucking bullies to the highest degree and beat the piss out of Kitahara throughout, and manage to create a nice underdog story with Kitahara trying to take the fight to both but ultimately needing TENRYU to bail him out of predicaments. TENRYU was just fucking godly in this, there's this incredible moment where Kimura walks round the ropes and tries to punk him out, and TENRYU just starts to ominously stride towards him and pushes the referee aside. TENRYU also gets cut hardway from some stiff punches, and he has at least 6 awesome blood soaked visualsa of him just looking on with both Koshinaka and Kimura with sheer contempt as blood pours down the side of his face. The seconds are also brilliant throughout in constantly trying to kill each other and in the process threatening to send the match into a wild and uncontainable massacre. TENRYU just casually murdering Kohsinaka repeatedly with powerbombs even after the match is over warmed my coccles, fuckin' TENRYU man!


*Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs Hiroshi Hase - (New Japan 12/13/94)*

One of the finest IWGP bouts I can recall seeing. Most of the match is spent of the mat with both men jockeying for position and constantly looking for a limb to target and exploit, despite neither man actually really securing any advantage in making a limb a target point they do a remarkable job at continuing the matwork and making it feel important and crucial to an advantage developing in the match. Throughout this Hase manages to create a truly subtle but splendid underdog story with him being out-hit in the first strike exchange and looking almost helpless after finding no way of dominating Hashimoto on the mat or in the strikes. Also, Hase continually hanging with Hashimoto the longer the match progressed really added to his underdog story, he wasn't throwing repeated bombs at Hashimoto but every minute that passed with Hashimoto not being able to actively dominate Hase just made you believe a little bit more, and as a result when they eventually get desperate and start to go for their big moves it feels warranted and necessary to winning the match, rather than the earlier portion of the match feeling empty and worthless. Every bit of struggle Hase has to overcome just to hit the uranage is incredible and keeps the crowd invested and Hashimoto's final combo flurry was a perfectly fitting finish to finally put Hase down. Without doubt the greatest spinning wheel kick I've ever seen in a match as well.


*Shinya Hashimoto vs Naoyo Ogawa - (New Japan 3/1/00)*

Amazing spectacle with Hashimoto trying to beat the shoot style machine who a year earlier made him his 270 pound bitch. Crowd is ridiculously molten for everything Hashimoto does and the repeated shots of Fujinami and Inoki looking on in the crowd truly adds to the story of Hashimoto defending the honour of New Japan against this invader. Some of Hashimoto's strikes were incredible and I LOVED the spot where he stalled on the ring only to bait Ogawa near the ropes and hit a sweeping leg kick to finally ground him as it really came off as Hashimoto using all his pro wrestling expertise to school the more inexperienced Ogawa. Both men had some really tremendous strike exchange flurries with the crowd continually losing their shit everytime Hashimoto creates an opening. Finish also came off really well to me, Ogawa looks weakened and in danger of losing and tries to snap Hashimoto's neck off the canvas at every opportunity and it finally proves too much with Hashimoto being unable to register the referee's count. Really felt like Hashimoto had taken Ogawa as far as he could and Ogawa's onslaught came off far more like a worried animal seizing on any opportunity instead of the ruthless and trouble-free maestro from their '99 bout.


*Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki - (UWF 7/24/89)*

Oh man, its been a while since I rewatched this one but it still held up as a truly sensational match and only reinforces my now week long belief that Yoshiaki Fujiwara is the GOAT to ever set foot inside a ring. Between the flawless and gritty matwork that dominates both men's exchanges, Fujiwara just adds so much character and story into the match its remarkable. Little touches like him signalling to grab for the ropes, only to wave his finger and then slowly counter as well as this awesome spot where he manages to establish guard position and casually stroll away as Yamazuki is left periless on the mat were just sensational character moments. His facial expressions are also fucking majestic, whether he's looking stoic and calculating or looking pissed off at Yamazaki's continued kicks and headbutts, they're all just beautiful in capturing his emotions and adding intrigue to his next focus of attack. Whole ending stretch is sublime with Yamazaki being 1 takedown away from losing the match, so he resorts to a flurry of kicks and headbutts to keep Fujiwara at bay, only to piss Fujiwara off who manages to shoot in and unleash a barrage of headbutts to score the winning takedown with a minute to spare. Also, it can't be overstated just how excellent of a seller Fujiwara is, I adore the spot he employs against strikers where he'll catch a kick whilst absorbing the impact and slowly collapsing to the mat with him unable to hold on to the kicking leg. It just really adds mystique to every exchange he's involved in with you expecting him to catch as many kicks as he eats. FUJIWARA, the GOAT.


----------



## Jimix

The Hash/Hase is the best match I've seen of Hashimoto with his match against Liger. And the same with Fujiwara/Yamazaki being the best match I've seen from him with his match against Riki Choshu.


----------



## Corey

Hey Segunda, do you do match ratings anymore? I ask because I enjoy reading your reviews but it's easier for me to grasp exactly _how good_ a match was when a rating is tacked onto it.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Not really tbh, though if you want the rating I'd have attached to each match at a time when I still did them:

TENRU tag: ****1/4-****1/2

Hashimoto/Hase: ****1/2

Hard to rate Hash/Ogawa. Not really much wrestling rather than a spectacle. I'd just say its something everyone should watch.

Fujiwara/Yamazaki: ****3/4


----------



## Corey

Well shit, I need to see me some more Hashimoto. Thanks btw, no need for you to rate matches just for me, just thought I'd ask.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Its no problem man, I get why people want a rating. I can say a match is 'awesome' but that could be anything from just under **** to just below *****. Plus I mean if a match is under 10 minutes I could call it awesome but could I actually give it a really high rating?

Hashimoto is a guy that definitely needs plenty of viewing. The big 3 singles vs Tenryu, the '94 Fujiwara IWGP match, the '96 G1-Climax vs Choshu, tags in the big New Japan/WAR feud, Kawada 2004 match, Zero-1 match vs Tanaka, Vader 1989 match etc. Tremendous offence, deadly strikes and a surprisingly adept seller and bumper for such a big man.


----------



## Corey

To my knowledge I think I've only seen two singles matches from Hash. The first being against Muta from 9/23/92. That basically felt like a squash but it was fun. The other's when he won the IWGP Title from Nobuhiko Takada on 4/29/96. Pretty stiff and exciting 13 minutes. No worries though, I have more I could watch right now and even more on the way. Gotta love IVP.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

There's also a really great match between him and Corino from 2001 on some US Indy show, its on youtube. Excellent match built around Hashimoto looking like a killer with his strikes, and Corino trying to explore different avenues to wrestle control of the match away from Hashimoto. Corino sells some of the strikes the best I've ever seen anyone sell Hashimoto's offence. Helps he also looks like an incredibly skinny and tiny man compared to the monstrous Hashimoto.


----------



## antoniomare007

Jack Evans 187 said:


> To my knowledge I think I've only seen two singles matches from Hash. The first being against Muta from 9/23/92. That basically felt like a squash but it was fun. The other's when he won the IWGP Title from Nobuhiko Takada on 4/29/96. Pretty stiff and exciting 13 minutes. No worries though, I have more I could watch right now and even more on the way. Gotta love IVP.


I remember you reviewing a couple of Hash's matches a long ass time ago. Me & McQueen couldn't believe you weren't into that fat stiff bastard










Segunda, can't wait to read your thoughts on the last Tenryu/Hashimoto match (the one from February 94'). One of my favorite matches, and one that I can't get sick of watching. Two guys who can't stand each other beating the living shit out of one another in front of a red hot Sumo Hall. You just KNOW something huge is on the line and the two of them fight accordingly.


----------



## Corey

antoniomare007 said:


> I remember you reviewing a couple of Hash's matches a long ass time ago. Me & McQueen couldn't believe you weren't into that fat stiff bastard
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Segunda, can't wait to read your thoughts on the last Tenryu/Hashimoto match (the one from February 94'). One of my favorite matches, and one that I can't get sick of watching. Two guys who can't stand each other beating the living shit out of one another in front of a red hot Sumo Hall. You just KNOW something huge is on the line and the two of them fight accordingly.


Hahaha. Pretty good memory ya got there. But yeah, I remember some tag match when I first saw him and I was like shit, this guy doesn't do anything but kick people. Can't blame me though cause there's a LOT of fat guys in Japan who don't do much.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Managed to track down this old review of Hashimoto/Fujiwara for the IWGP title in '94. Shame I have no way of tracking down a link for anyone who wishes to watch it thesedays.



> *Shinya Hashimoto vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara - (New Japan 06/01/1994)*
> 
> Fujiwara may very well be my favourite wrestler of all time, and Hashimoto himself is excellent so right from the get go I was expecting a really really great match and unlike Kawada vs Fujiwara  this delivered all the greatness I expected and more. This is paced very differently from your AJPW classics from around this time, there's plenty of action mixed with periods of lulls where both men jockey for position. Fujiwara has the reputation of being the most lethal man in wrestling history on the mat or on his feet so I dug how both men were nervous and careful when locking up, it played out like Hashimoto respecting Fujiwara may have his number and both men strategising for a limb to target.
> 
> No sooner has the match started and Fujiwara takes Hash down with ease into a Fujiwara armbar, straight away he's established his dominance and this sequence sets out the rest of the match pacing. Hash really sells the armbar well on the next lock up, he holds his left arm backwards and goes in one handed nervous about the armbar and it really puts over the struggle both men are in as well as making the last sequence mean something. Hash soon uses his kicks and puts Fujiwara's taped up right leg in the corner and then points to his injured shoulder and now you know it's on!! Fujiwara has some of the best facials in history (no that doesn't sound gay) and his selling of this spot is tremendous.
> 
> The other operating story in this is Fujiwara on defence. Throughout he tries to catch Hashimoto's kicks and turn into a submission and there's one sweet spot where he catches a loose kick and takes Hash down into a cross arm breaker. What Fujiwara does so well though is gradually piss off Hash more and more, he chokes him in the corner, slaps the taste out of his mouth before a lock up, avoids a spin kick from Hash and does the fucking GREATEST DANCE in the corner afterwards :lmao :lmao . You can see Hashimoto is getting pretty fucked off with all of this and keeps going for the kicks and Fujiwara takes enough kicks to let you know he's not got them all scouted but occasionally manages to block one kick and regain the advantage. People often call him the greatest defensive seller and this match is a good illustration, you can just see him trying to antagonise Hashimoto into a mistake and it pays off towards the end with Hash motioning Fujiwara to get in the cente of the ring. Also dug Fujiwara using a sick headbutt to lock in another armbar attempt which again Hash tries to fight like death.
> 
> The finish is particularly magnificent. Hash manages to lock in the DDT but Fujiwara attempts a couple of counters before ultimately falling to the knees to the gut and then takes a horrific bump on the DDT (I think its in a youtube video entitled 'Shinya Hashimoto hates your neck'). This DDT is good enough to win by pinfall or TKO but the crowd wills Fujiwara on (its his one and only ever IWGP championship match despite being one of the first NJPW graduates) to keep fighting. Hash unloads with a variety of kicks before hitting a second sick DDT for the win.
> 
> A match so simple in its execution but equally magnificent. Each exchange is treated like an incredible struggle and Fujiwara is magnificent in setting out the story of being in control and trying to force Hashimoto into a game of human chess. Terrific stuff.


----------



## Yeah1993

Did you watch the pro-shot or the handheld? I think I might have both on disc and could upload them sometime to mah youtube account if they aren't online. Surprised Ditch never put it up.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I believe it was the pro shot, pretty sure it was *Kawada=god* on here who linked me to a megaupload link in the media requests section. That would be super considering its one of the finest New Japan let alone IWGP title matches and is something I'd struggle to see anyone here actively disliking (unless they're not fans of eithe guy going into it).

May have to call you Seabs1993 if you keep coming up trumps with match requests


----------



## Yeah1993

Seabridge generally puts stuff up within two days of when he says he was going to. I take like five weeks.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Hey so as long as we get the good stuff (Navarro vs Engendro was so totally worth the wait and hype) I ain't complaining. Not like I got anything better to do than wait for your uploads .


----------



## Bubz

If you do put that up, I'm getting on that shit. Hashimoto is one guy from Japan along with Fujiwara I've seen nowhere near enough of.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Pretty sure when someone puts the words 'Fujiwara' and 'not seen enough of' a small kitten dies. You've got that on your conscience BUBZ.

Bear in mind when someone then utters the words 'Fujiwara' and 'overrated/not worth the hype' Chris Brown & Jessie J continue to make music, and Adam Sandler continues to make what can only be described as the most loosely phrased 'comedy'.


----------



## Bubz

Not seen enough of Fujiwara. FUCK KITTENS! 8*D

Nah, kinda like kittens tbh, and I'm going to watch some stuff soon hopefully lol.


----------



## Yeah1993

Unless they've seen every Fujiwara match that's made tape, nobody's seen enough Fujiwara.


----------



## Corey

*NOAH - Spring Navigation '07 (4/28/07)*

Junji Izumida & Makoto Hashi vs. Mitsuo Momota & Tsutomu Hirayanagi - ** 1/2

Akira Taue, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kentaro Shiga, Kishin Kawabata, & Joe Legend - ** 1/4

KENTA, Mohammed Yone, & Taiji Ishimori vs. Bryan Danielson, Daniel Cross, & Ted Dibiase Jr. - ** 3/4

Bison Smith, Akitoshi Saito, & Masao Inoue vs. Tamon Honda, Yoshinari Ogawa, & Tsuyochi Kikuchi - **

CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, & Dragon Kid vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Ricky Marvin, & Ippei Ota - *** 1/2

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) vs. Mushiking Terry - *DUD*

*GHC Tag Team Titles*
Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura - ****

*GHC Heavyweight Title*
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Takuma Sano - **


*Overall: 5.5/10*​
- Once you get past the first 4 tag matches, it finally picks up with the Dragon Gate match. You know exactly what to expect. It's just fast paced, high flying goodness. CIMA/Marufuji exchanges were really cool, love to see a singles match between them. Gotta feel bad for Ota though cause he literally took all the punishment.

- Holy mother of god that Jr. Title match was so bad. Started off well with Takaiwa throwing bombs and trying to win immediately but once Terry countered one move, he just stopped and the match started like any other one would. Takaiwa's control segment was pretty boring and then he just kept doing move after move and covering for a 2 count. It was literally a good 5 hard clotheslines and 3 or 4 head drops for two counts. In fact on the biggest head drop of them all, one that looked like it could legit win the match (it was some weird powerbomb converted into a cradle shock), he just stands there and lets Terry get back up. WTF? After some more of that shit, Terry makes his "comeback" and they start pulling spots that should've happened way earlier in the match. From that point on, Takaiwa gets ZERO offense in. Terry just keeps hitting move after move until a couple half tiger/dragon suplexes get him the shitty win. OH, I didn't even mention the botches. They botched like 3 things and those were the times they actually sold something, it made no sense. Absolutely terrible structure and a giant piece of shit. I never wanna see Takaiwa wrestle again, thank you. Suzuki didn't help things much, sloppy little bastard... Rant over.

- Well after that terrible display of wrestling, they come back and have a pretty awesome tag title match. 27 minutes worth of 4 badasses beating the living hell out of each other. It's one of those time where you're like, seriously, how much more can these guys really take? Hats off to all 4 for taking an ass whippin. I know nothing about Sugiura's career, but this definitely seemed like the kind of match that would "make" someone in that sense.

- The main event was just really frustrating. Sano's opening flurry is just fucking painful to watch. He beats the fuck out of Misawa, amazing he didn't crush his sternum. I thought after a few minutes of this that it could be really great in the sense that Misawa would play the underdog and have a nice comeback and all that jazz; ya know, a thing called structure. That of course didn't happen. Misawa CONSTANTLY got the absolute piss kicked out of him. I mean, I don't mind a good roundhouse kick to the gut or a nice double stomp, but my god one man can only take so much. Another problem was Misawa's offense consistently completed of foreams and a couple emerald fusions. Both guys just looked really limited in their movesets. I felt so terrible for Misawa, that man shouldn't have been in there. Really disappointing.​


----------



## antoniomare007

Ditch not having it doesn't come as a surprise tbh. Don't think the Fujiwara match was that good, I mean I enjoyed it but never thought it was something special.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah I looked around and Ditch didn't really love the match, apparently. Guess that explains why he never upped it.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I've never seen a Fujiwara match  Recommendations?


----------



## Yeah1993

bigbuxxx said:


> I've never seen a Fujiwara match  Recommendations?


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xae7f4_yoshiaki-fujiwara-vs-riki-choshu-nj_sport

If this doesn't make you fan I don't know what to tell you. Yes I do: you're dead to me.

Actually Choshu doesn't get his dues either. Might be the most badass wrestler there is.


----------



## Corey

Currently been watching the Best of Mil Mascaras in Japan (fucking mistake) and I just need to rant on this guy for a few minutes. Seriously, he looks like the most difficult guy to work with I've ever seen. He doesn't sell for anyone whatsoever. You have him in a submission, he'll act like he's hurt for about 2 seconds and then instantly find a way to counter it or just flat out escape from it. He can't even take the simplest bump. Every single move has to seem like the struggle of a lifetime, a basic suplex ends up looking terrible and he must land on the mat with both arms at his side no matter what. What a fucking shitty worker. And that walk? Wtf is that? Suck your gut in and pace around on your tiptoes for an entire match. Yeah, he's got some flashy submissions for sure but jesus. Talk about overrated and overhyped. I've NEVER seen the man lose clean in the final or only fall of a match.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Road To Destruction 2012/09/07:*

1) Wataru Inoue & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka - *3/4
Too short to be something good

(2) Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Shelley, BUSHI & Mascara Dorada vs. Low Ki, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Averno - ***1/4

(3) Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI - **1/4

(4) Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Harry Smith & TAKA Michinoku - **1/2

(5) Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Mohammed Yone - ***1/2

(6) “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura - ***1/2

*(7) IWGP Jr. Heavy Championship Match:*
Kota Ibushi vs. KUSHIDA - ***3/4

Really good & short (2 hours) show, can't wait to watch the event in the next day

*NJPW Road To Destruction 2012/09/08:*

(1) Hiromu Takahashi vs. Takaaki Watanabe - **

(2) Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo - **3/4

(3) Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley & Mascara Dorada vs. Low Ki, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Averno - **3/4

(4) Wataru Inoue, Tama Tonga & BUSHI vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii - **

(5) Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Harry Smith & TAKA Michinoku - **

(6) Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI - ***​


----------



## bigbuxxx

does anybody know of links to download last years njpw events? every place i look the links don't work from the megaupload, etc. being shutdown. even torrent spots i can't find them


----------



## WOOLCOCK

In between the New Japan/WAR feud, decided to check out this match after seeing Andy pimp it real hard. Safe to say it didn't disappoint:

*Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya v Taiyo Kea & Kiyoshi Miyamoto (All Japan, 4/27/02)*

Holy crap, Tenryu was indeed other-worldly in this one, without doubt the sort of performance you'd link to someone who wants to understand why this Tenryu chap is supposedly the real deal. Spot where he checks on Miyamoto's bloodied nose only to casually punt him in the skull and depart the ring was just extraordinary and would serve as the revolving trend which dominated the match. Tenryu's exchanges with Kea & Miyamoto were amazing throughout, between the strikes, the facial expresions and the bumping off of the strikes they were some of the most engaging and impressive strike exchanges I've seen in Puro for what feels like an eternity, the spot where Miyamoto slaps Tenryu and he goes from a look of shocked disbelief to mocking and daring Miyamoto to try it again was incredible in its own right but is still the 2nd best exchange of the match after Tenryu's slap exchange with Kea: my god the facial expressions and resulting bump Tenryu provided for us in that exchange was indescribeable and there were even more moments where his selling of strikes just left you with your jaw open at how brilliant they were. Miyamoto was really good as well as the rookie fighting through a bloodied nose from the 2nd minute onwards and really played a part in making the Tenryu exchanges as great as they were. GOOD GRIEF at the beating Tenryu lays on Miyamoto when he next enters the ring after their slap exchange, Miyamoto flopping on the floor with a quivering lip was a hell of a visual and perfectly put over the shit-kicking Tenryu unleashed on him. Tenryu also walking across the ring just to punch Kea square in the jaw also warmed my heart, TENRYU!~

Now, New Japan vs WAR feud!


*Tenryu, Ishikawa & Kitahara vs Koshinaka, Kimura & Aoyagi (New Japan, 11/23/92)*

God damn, the heat for Kitahara was astounding. I know his tights were an insult to fashion but good grief Snitsky would have wished for this much heat when he punted a fake baby into the audience. Match is a really good addition in developing the piercing hatred that dominates both camps, feels incredibly chaotic and on the verge of a breakdown throughout with guys constantly chipping away at each other with every opportunity they get. Kimura looked to be legit wounded from an Ishikawa running knee as well, looked ridiculously brutal and appeared to be a misscommunication with Kimura leaving himself no chance to protect himself and Ishikawa running like a gazelle. Tenryu was used in small doses but what we got was the typical Tenryu greatness with some meaty strikes, incredible bumping and selling of his opponent's strikes and some pretty swank facial expressions, bit where he casually punts Koshinaka to break up a pin and then motions he'll beat the piss out of the ref if he even thinks of barking orders at him was tremendous. Tenryu's bump and shocked facial expression off of Aoyagi's spinning wheel kick near the end was inspiring, looked like he was about to fall flat on his arse out of the ring. Everyone played their part well and really got over the tension and hate that was to explode in the coming months and Tenryu got to look like the WAR world beater with the beating he was able to withstand followed by the powerbomb for the instant win. Powerbomb itself looked ridiculously brutal as well with the angle that Kimura's head snapped back off of the mat, all hail TENRYU!


*Genichiro Tenryu vs Shiro Koshinaka (New Japan, 12/14/92)*

Really good match which made Tenryu look like a force to be reckoned with as well as giving Koshinaka a nice loyalist underdog story with him trying unsuccessfully to find ways to put down and contain Tenryu. Action is frantic and jam packed with meaty strikes and I loved how they had Tenryu take over and bloody Koshinaka without ignoring the earlier arm work which had seen Koshinaka control the opening portion. Tenryu's punts and general disgust at Koshinaka was supreme but I would have preferred to see him noticeably grimace a bit more when utlising the injured arm, and I really hated Koshinaka popping up from a DDT to continue the attack as it really didn't feel believeable even with the move being delivered by Tenryu's damaged arm. Tenryu taking the time to hold the arm after the powerbomb was a subtly nice touch however that gave a small glimmer of hope that Koshinaka's efforts had not been in vain, and the resulting crossbody roll through counter made for a tremendous false finish with Tenryu literally getting his shoulder up as the 3 count would have been made. Finishing stretch reflected the whole match with Tenryu looking impervious and well ahead of Koshinaka but still being succeptible to his own arrogance as well as the earlier arm work. Doubt it'll be close to Tenryu's best stuff in the 92-94 period but it serves as a nice continuation of Tenryu's emerging dominance over New Japan and Koshinaka being the latest victim to have no answer to the powerbomb and overwhelming destruction of TENRYU!~


----------



## Yeah1993

Kitahara gets heat, but watching this stuff the crowd probably loathe Ishikawa more. T.Ish is fucking great. Have you watched any of it from 93 or are you doing it chronological order?* Because shit picks up and every tag is really great no matter who's in it. The Tenryu/Hashimoto tensions are unreal, and I had no idea Choshu was still the most bad motherfucker on the planet in the 90s. I'm going to make a totally honest statement when I say I don't think I've seen Tenryu/Hashimoto 8/8/93 and I can't imagine the level of transcendental brutal violent motherfucking asskicking badassery the match may have.

*prob read reviews and forgotten.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW The New Beginning 2012 Review:*

YOSHI-HASHI and Yujiro Takahashi vs. King Fale and Tomoaki Honma: **

Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga, Jushin Liger, and Captain New Japan: **1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:*
Apollo 55(c) vs. NRC (Davey Richards and Rocky Romero): ***3/4

Elimination Tag Team Match:
TAKA Michinoku, Taichi, Lance Archer, Yoshihiro Takayama, and Minoru Suzuki vs. KUSHIDA, Tiger Mask IV, Wataru Inoue, Yuji Nagata, and Togi Makabe: ***1/2
Takayama is injured or something? because i didn't saw him in recent shows.

*IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:*
Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyshi Tenzan(c) vs. Bad Intentions: ***1/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:*
Masato Tanaka(c) vs. Hirooki Goto: ***1/2

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***1/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:*
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****1/4

Another awesome show. I also watched NJPW G1 Climax Day 7. Nothing bad but nothing memorable. Hopefully Night 3 is better.​


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah1993 said:


> Kitahara gets heat, but watching this stuff the crowd probably loathe Ishikawa more. T.Ish is fucking great. Have you watched any of it from 93 or are you doing it chronological order?* Because shit picks up and every tag is really great no matter who's in it. The Tenryu/Hashimoto tensions are unreal, and I had no idea Choshu was still the most bad motherfucker on the planet in the 90s. I'm going to make a totally honest statement when I say I don't think I've seen Tenryu/Hashimoto 8/8/93 and I can't imagine the level of transcendental brutal violent motherfucking asskicking badassery the match may have.
> 
> *prob read reviews and forgotten.


I've seen bits and pieces of the 93-94 stuff (recall reading Andy's thoughts on the feud on his blog and convincing myself I'd rewatch from scratch) but tbh most of it is a total blur. Matches I've watched so far have been really awesome in furthering the angle but I have no doubt the best is yet to come in terms of bringing the hate with some even better performances, think its Hashimoto/Choshu vs Tenryu/Ishikawa that I'm just dying to watch.

Aye Tenryu/Hashimoto have 3 singles matches in the space of 8 months and I can't wait to watch each one as well as the tags they're involved in.

Ishikawa was really good in that tag, felt like the guy who's a nobody but right before the match Tenryu convinces him New Japan and their wrestlers are responsible for all the shit in his life and he puts in this really terrific 'rabid dog' performance where he's just chomping at the teeth to get in the ring and lariat the fuck out of the New Japan guys. Wouldn't surprise me if there was umpteen lines of cocaine found in his dressing room after the match.


----------



## Horselover Fat

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Hey Segunda, do you do match ratings anymore? I ask because I enjoy reading your reviews but it's easier for me to grasp exactly _how good_ a match was when a rating is tacked onto it.


bro star ratings went out of style when yeah1993 stopped


----------



## Yeah1993

Ah yes, what a historic day it was indeed.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

At this point *Yeah* I choose to believe everytime I see the word 'indeed' in your posts its because of your devotion towards Kaientai.

Hoping to watch more of the New Japan/WAR Feud today, got side-tracked yesterday (and probably today and tomorrow).


----------



## Corey

For anyone interested, IVP Videos guy just made another Puro Sampler to replace the old one. Looks pretty fuckin sweet, plus you can download it for free or buy the DVD for 25 cents. Match listing (I'm unaware of dates for now but I'll give ones when I watch/review it):

Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask
Big Van Vader vs. Stan Hansen
The Great Muta -vs- Hulk Hogan
Black Tiger (Eddy Guerrero) vs. Jushin Lyger
Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone
Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams, Big Bubba, and Richard Slinger
Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs. Takashi Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Ryuji Ito & Abdullah Kobayashi - Fluorescent Light Tube Death Match
Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada
American Dragon & James Gibson vs. Jado & Gedo
Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi


----------



## smitlick

can't believe the lack of Sekimoto & Danshoku Dino


----------



## Corey

*IWGP Heavyweight Title*
Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Lord Steven Regal _(4/16/1995)_

Pretty unique match here. The first one I've ever seen that's centered around someone's nose. Hash's nose gets bloodied so Regal relentlessly attacks it with straight punches and grinding forearms. Not only does it look painful, but I can only imagine how annoying it would be. Once you think it's finally done bleeding, he smacks you around some more and it's pouring all over his forearm. Nice little story with Regal always wanting to take the match to the mat cause he never wins the standing strike battles. Certainly not a match for everyone, nothing flashy to it. Really felt like a real fight on the streets with some occasional wrestling moves thrown in. Regal looked like a very worthy challenger. **** 1/2*


*Best of NOAH GHC 2001*

*GHC Heavyweight Title Tournament - 1st Round*
Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori - ** 1/2 
_4/1/2001_

*Quarter Finals*
Jun Akiyama vs. Takeshi Rikio - **
_4/8/2001_

*Semi Final*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama - ***
_4/11/2001_

*Semi Final*
Vader vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - ***
_4/12/2001_

*Finals*
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - **** 1/4
_4/15/2001_


*Overall: 7/10*​
- Obviously this disc was about the 16 man tournament to crown the first GHC Heavyweight Champion. Really they should've just called it 'Jun Akiyama's journey in the tourney + two other matches'. They were stuck up this guy's ass with several interviews and 3 of the 5 matches on here were his. They showed highlights from every other match in the tournament and I would've loved to had seen Vader vs. Akira Taue & Scorpio vs. Kentaro Shiga in the 1st round, even though I know the latter had no implications later in the tournament whatsoever.

- Akiyama/Omori wasn't anything special. Match went pretty long but the structure was a little weird. In the first few minutes they were hitting big moves and having fighting spirit moments, then it randomly slowed down and Akiyama attacked Omori's right arm. Omori then had a control segment and back to Akiyama's armwork for several minutes. His idea of selling was occasionally shaking it and smacking it around, still hitting all his moves with no troubles. So that was a waste. I'm completely unfamiliar with Omori, and he showed me nothing to get excited about seeing him ever wrestle again. 

- The two semi final matches were pretty solid. Misawa/Akiyama was a 15 minute sprint with a countout finish and a restart to a clean finish. Just a lot of moves and spots on the outside. Vader/Takayama was a nice slugfest that saw Takayama get dominated until Scorpio got involved and threw the ref around, getting Vader DQed. I guess they didn't want Vader losing clean, or maybe he didn't want it...

- Ohhh my the finals were awesome. Felt like it was gonna be Takayama's night, guy was on point. Dished out one hell of a beating, including a straight kick to the chest that ended up going a little high and split open Misawa's chin on impact. Misawa's late surge was good and he had some nice counters and sweeps into submission holds. Pretty awesome match all around, CHECK IT OUT MAN!​


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW USA Tour 2011 Vol 2 Review:*

NJPW, 13.05.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Rahway Recreation Center, USA 
1,800 Fans - No Vacancy 

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe Vs Rhino & Charlie Haas - N/R
Clipped.

NJPW, 14.05.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
New York Basketball City, USA 
2,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy 

4. Rhino, Davey Richards & Homicide Vs Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi & Kazuchika Okada - N/R
Clipped but looks really fun

*5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:*
Prince Devitt (c) Vs Low Ki - ***1/2

NJPW, 15.05.2011 (Samurai! TV) 
Philadelphia Asylum Arena, USA 
1,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House 

2. Charlie Haas, Tiger Mask, Kazuchika Okada & Josh Daniels Vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo - **1/4

*3. JAPW Light Heavyweight Title:*
Jushin Thunder Liger (c) Vs Kenny Omega - ***1/4

4. Satoshi Kojima & Dan Maff Vs Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson - **3/4

*5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title:* 
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) Vs Homicide & Low Ki - **3/4

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Davey Richards - **3/4

*8. South Philadelphia Street Fight:* 
Rhino Vs Togi Makabe - ***

Good matches, when i can watch the full shows? how they called?​


----------



## seabs

*JAPW never released them.*


----------



## sXeMope

Anyone have/see either of these shows?
SWS 12/12/1991
SWS 03/30/1991

IVP added them to the site, and the cards look great, but I'm just curious as to if it's just one of those things that looks good on paper but horrible when done. (Yes, I realize it's only $6 for both of them, but I'm cheap.)


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Road To Destruction 2012.09.17:​​*

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Takaaki Watanabe - **1/2

2. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Gedo - **1/2
Can't wait to Shelley & KUSHIDA vs Romero & Koslov, should be an awesome match

3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Mascara Dorada vs. Low Ki, Jado & Averno - **3/4
Would like to see a match between Ki and Liger in the future

4. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & BUSHI vs. Lance Archer, Harry Smith, TAKA Michinoku & Kengo Mashimo - **3/4

5. Tetsuya Naito, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI - **1/2

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii - ***​


----------



## Corey

*NJPW U-30 Openweight Title*
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (_Wrestling World '05)_

I really liked the first few minutes of this. A quick feeling out leads to each guys hitting a couple real big moves. Good stuff, but then it just starts to drag heavily. Soooooo many constant submission attempts, which sometimes isn't a problem if you're attacking a body part and it's a story of the match, but this was like the same two or three submission that never worked (until the end of course). Armbars and dragon sleepers, maybe a boston crab for like 15 miutes straight. It had its moments, but it wasn't all that exciting down the stretch and I've still seen nothing from Nakamura that would make me a fan of his.* ** 1/2*​

*NJPW - Commercial Toukan Vol. 2*

*Super Grade Tag League '91 - Semi Final*
Vader & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Bam Bam Bigelow & Masahiro Chono - ***
_10/7/1991_

*Super Grade Tag League '91 - Finals*
Vader & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu & Masa Saito - *** 1/4
_10/7/1991_

Jushin Liger & OZ (Kevin Nash) vs. Scott Norton & Hiro Saito - **
_10/17/1991_

Koji Kanemoto vs. Michiyoshi Ohara - *
_12/11/1991_

Jushin Liger vs. Tatsumi Fujinami - ** 1/4
_12/17/1991_

*Isalnd Death Match*
Hiroshi Hase vs. Tiger Jeet Singh - *DUD*
_12/18/1991_


*Overall: 5/10*​
- The first two tag matches are enjoyable, mostly thanks to Vader. That's one badass mofo, and he must've had somethin goin on with Choshu cause those two couldn't stay away from each other. Real heated exchanges. The 3rd tag match was pretty fun for nostalgic purposes. I was amazed at how absolutely gigantic Nash looked. I know it's an Asian stereotype, but seriously, he towered over literally everyone in that arena. The Liger/Norton exchanges were really fun too.

- No clue why the Kanemoto match was on here. He was really young and it was about 5 minutes. Liger/Fujinami was pretty disappointing. A ton of stalling and too many rest holds, really started to drag. Plus the last few minutes were basically a finisher fest with Fujinami winning with a fucking back suplex... REALLY... REALLY, MIZ!?

- Well that fucking Island Death Match sucked balls. I got this out of curiosity for that match. It's a unique idea, you throw two guys on a remote island with a ring (somewhat of a ring) and let them beat the shit out of each other. Problem was, it was boring as fuck. For about 15 minutes they basically wrestled a normal style match, with tons of rest holds that at times actually looked like it would hurt, but what the fuck are you doing? It's a DEATH MATCH, go grab a weapon or bash his head into the post or something, don't lock in a knee bar for 5 minutes. Wasn't booked right imo, and once they finally got into the hardcore stuff, both guys were gassed out of their minds so it was just two bloody guys choking each other or laying on the ground gasping for air. I do give props to both of them for some amazing blade jobs, but this bored me to death. Oh and apparently the way to win was Mr. Saito came in and basically declared whether the other guy could actually wrestle anymore. I think Hase won with his STO thing, idk.​


----------



## sXeMope

To be fair, Tiger Jeet Singh is a pretty horrible wrestler. In terms of deathmatches anyways. I`ve never seen him take a bump. (Although I skipped through mostly ever match I`ve ever seen involving him, but I hear he rarely took anything)

For anyone who cares, I watched the IVP Puro Sampler #2 today. The Vader/Hansen match is the one where Vader's eye came out of it's socket. The rest of the matches were decent. Nothing really memorable, but it serves it's purpose in showing what puro has to offer to someone just getting started. Would have been nice to see a comedy match of some kind though. I skipped over a lot of it tbh. Muta/Hogan or Tiger/Dynamite was probably the best on the card. the KOW match was meh. The BJW match was joined in progress at anywhere from 5-15 minutes in. They were bleeding and had broken quite a few tubes when it started. I'd still recommend it to anyone just starting to get into puro. More so than the original sampler, Although both together really give someone a good introduction.


----------



## Cactus

If you thought that Island Deathmatch was bad, check out the one with Inoki that goes on for 125 minutes. The fuck where they thinking?


----------



## Corey

sXeMope said:


> To be fair, Tiger Jeet Singh is a pretty horrible wrestler. In terms of deathmatches anyways. I`ve never seen him take a bump. (Although I skipped through mostly ever match I`ve ever seen involving him, but I hear he rarely took anything)
> 
> For anyone who cares, I watched the IVP Puro Sampler #2 today. The Vader/Hansen match is the one where Vader's eye came out of it's socket. The rest of the matches were decent. Nothing really memorable, but it serves it's purpose in showing what puro has to offer to someone just getting started. Would have been nice to see a comedy match of some kind though. I skipped over a lot of it tbh. Muta/Hogan or Tiger/Dynamite was probably the best on the card. the KOW match was meh. The BJW match was joined in progress at anywhere from 5-15 minutes in. They were bleeding and had broken quite a few tubes when it started. I'd still recommend it to anyone just starting to get into puro. More so than the original sampler, Although both together really give someone a good introduction.


How was Liger/Guerrero? No way that could've been anything less than good.



Cactus said:


> If you thought that Island Deathmatch was bad, check out the one with Inoki that goes on for 125 minutes. The fuck where they thinking?


Holy fuck, no thank you.


----------



## Bruce L

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship — Prince Devitt (c) vs. Atsushi Aoki* (July 11, 2010)

The first time I watched this match, it made me a fan of Atsushi Aoki for the first time, and it holds up extremely well. I hadn't really "gotten" Aoki before this because his focused, technical style doesn't seem to me to mesh particularly well with the standard NOAH junior style, which even at its finest is more sizzle than steak. Here, freed up to actually tell a match-long story, he delivered the goods. His arm work looked brutal, gave him a great base to go back to whenever he got control, and Devitt sold his every move like death. This is one of those matches that seems to predict my complaints about long-term selling creating a very phony atmosphere, and ward them off by making sure Aoki never left the arm alone for long enough for Devitt to forget about it, until it was time for him to make a comeback and hit a big move of his own. Devitt, for his part, was Devitt, which was one of the best things a wrestler could be in 2010 (and still isn't so bad); and it was a New Japan/NOAH match at Korakuen Hall, so the crowd was great. Just a hell of a pro wrestling match all around. ****


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Climax XXII Day 5 Review:*

1. Tetsuya Naito vs. Rush - **1/2

2. Shelton Benjamin vs. Yujiro Takahashi - **1/4

3. Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson - **3/4

4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto - ***

5. Lance Archer vs. Kazuchika Okada - **3/4

6. MVP vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - **3/4

7. Minoru Suzuki vs. Noamichi Marufuji - ***1/4

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano - ***3/4

Great show, everything was good and the main event surprised me by how good that was.​


----------



## Chismo

Jack Evans 187 said:


> - Well that fucking Island Death Match sucked balls. I got this out of curiosity for that match. It's a unique idea, you throw two guys on a remote island with a ring (somewhat of a ring) and let them beat the shit out of each other. Problem was, it was boring as fuck. For about 15 minutes they basically wrestled a normal style match, with tons of rest holds that at times actually looked like it would hurt, but what the fuck are you doing? It's a DEATH MATCH, go grab a weapon or bash his head into the post or something, don't lock in a knee bar for 5 minutes. Wasn't booked right imo, and once they finally got into the hardcore stuff, both guys were gassed out of their minds so it was just two bloody guys choking each other or laying on the ground gasping for air. I do give props to both of them for some amazing blade jobs, but this bored me to death. Oh and apparently the way to win was Mr. Saito came in and basically declared whether the other guy could actually wrestle anymore. I think Hase won with his STO thing, idk.​


Hopefully you don't judge Hase by this pile of shit of a match. Because he's one of the finest dudes ever. So underrated.


----------



## Corey

JoeRulz said:


> Hopefully you don't judge Hase by this pile of shit of a match. Because he's one of the finest dudes ever. So underrated.


Haha, no sir. Seen plenty from Hase, especially his classics against Muta. I'm a fan of his.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax XXII Day 8 Review:​​*

1. Rush vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - **3/4

2. Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano - **3/4

3. Shelton Benjamin vs. Minoru Suzuki - ***1/4
Suzuki is such a great worker and his entrance is fucking awesome. Best benjamin's appearance in really long time

4. Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yujiro Takahashi - ***

5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito - **1/2

6. MVP vs. Kazuchika Okada - **3/4

7. Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto - ***1/2
Great hard-hitting match as expected

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata - ***1/4-***1/2

Overall another great show, the atmosphere in this awesome venue also added to my enjoyment from the show​


----------



## Chismo

BiggestJapan has just uploaded 4-5 matches from BJW's 7/30 show. YEAAAAH!


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Climax Day 3 Review:*

01. Karl Anderson vs Yujiro Takahashi - **3/4

02. Shelton Benjamin vs Toru Yano - **

03. Hirooki Goto vs MVP - **3/4

04. Rush vs Kazuchika Okada - **1/2 

05. Lance Archer vs Shinsuke Nakamura - **3/4

06. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Togi Makabe - **3/4
I wish it was longer because the match became really good at the end

07. Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji - ***1/4
Maru's selling to Nagata hitting him with a nasty knee-shot was amazing

08. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Satoshi Kojima - ***3/4

Overall really good show, some results were huge surprise for me but i won't spoile that for you.​


----------



## Lane

BJW 7/30/12 review coming tonight/sometime tomorrow.


----------



## Lane

BJW 7/30/12 review

Random notes
-Like that the anoucing is being done in english...by a German...in Japan
-Really enjoy Havoc and Numazawa as a tag team. The fact that they look like a team makes it better
-So damn odd seeing the japanese popping for DJ Hyde enterance and then a respectful clap for the introduction. Even chanting his name.
-Drake is fn ripped. Glad to see him in such great shape.
-Nice to see all the CZW guys around ringside for the mainevent showing unity



Sami Callihan, Masashi Takeda, & Shinobu vs Ryuji Ito, Shu & Kei
Hardcore six man. **

Well...this was something. Not bad at all but just a match. The comedy in it was funny.

Danny Havoc & Jaki Numazawa vs Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka
TLC. ***
Just a fun match. The bumps were really good in this and Yuko kinda killed a japanese table. Nice to see a gaijin like Havoc pick up the pinfall over an established guy like Yuko.

DJ Hyde vs Ryuji Ito vs Takashi Sasaki
Three way alcohol deathmatch *1/2
Now by no means was this match bad but it was just there. It was enough to hold the crowd over and they seemed to of an enjoyed it as did I. But it was nothing more than comedy and DJ looked so uncomfortable and awkward being a face a few times.

Drake Younger vs Abdullah Kobayashi
BJW lightube deathmatch ****

Great deathmatch with some sick spots. Told a really good story and Drake could easily be a maineventer in BJW.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2012 Review:*

Jado, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tama Tonga, Captain New Japan, and Strongman: **1/4

Taichi and TAKA Michinoku vs. KUSHIDA and Ryusuke Taguchi: **3/4

Gedo and Rocky Romero vs. Tiger Mask IV and Jushin Thunder Liger: ***

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:*
Prince Devitt(c) vs. Low Ki: ****1/4
Awesome match, Devitt's selling was amazing, Low Ki's having a really great year so far IMO

*IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:*
Hiroyshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima(c) vs. Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano: **1/2

Yoshihiro Takayama and Minoru Suzuki vs. Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata: ***1/4

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson: ***1/2

Yujiro Takahashi and Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***1/2

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:*
Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Hirooki Goto: ****1/2
Holly balls amazing match, the last mins were amazing, surprised that this match isn't as hyped as Okada vs Tana/Naito. 

Amazing show, one of the best of the year​
BTW - why Richards left NJPW? i know he had car accident and he missed this show, he's no longer there because of this? and what about to Takayama? haven't saw him in long time


----------



## Chismo

BIG TAK was injured (he returned).


----------



## mk92071

Anybody have opinions on Vader/Misawa 5/2/96 match? I just watched it and thought it was phenomenal. Probably ****1/4. Loved Vader's offense and the stiff strikes.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW 2012.03.04 40th Anniversary Show Review:​​*

Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi, Takaaki Watanabe & Tama Tonga - ***1/4

Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Captain New Japan & Tomoaki Honma - ***1/4-***1/2
Was a big surprise for me, didn't expected this to be so good

Gedo & Jado vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask - **1/4

Wataru Inoue, Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku - ***1/4

Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4

Masato Tanaka, Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Karl Anderson - ***1/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match:*
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito - ****1/2
Amazing match, Okada was really great this year with 4 MOTYC, my WOTY. Oh, and the Ring-Maker is such an awesome finisher.

One of the best shows of the year, extremely short (hour and 20 mins i believe) and so easy to sit through.​


----------



## EmbassyForever

*DDT 2012.09.30:*
Kota Ibushi vs El Generico - ***1/2

It was good, they had their cool spots and everything but the crwod didn't cared/knew Generico which sucked and the match itself wasn't nothing more than cool MOVEZ.


----------



## flag sabbath

BJW 25/9/12 show is up on youtube. Just watched Sekimoto & Sasaki vs Hama & Nakanoue - it's fairly short, but all-action; hurt slightly by the crowd having little doubt over the outcome ****1/4*

Has anyone watched the 30/7 show yet? Any ratings or recommendations? Thanks.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*AJPW 2012/01/03 B Banquet 305 Review:*

Keiji Muto, Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs Taiyo Kea, Masanobu Fuchi & Kaz Hayashi - **3/4

Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka vs Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya - ***1/4

KENSO & BLACK BUSHI vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kikutaro - N/R
Clipped but was really funny

*All Asia Tag Team Title: *
Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Akebono & Ryota Hama - ***3/4

*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title:* 
Kenny Omega (c) vs Hiroshi Yamato - ****1/4+

*Main-Event : AJPW World Tag Team Title:* 
Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo (c) vs Seiya Sanada & KAI - ***3/4

This was my first AJPW show and it was awesome. Sure it won't be the last one.​


----------



## Chismo

EmbassyForever said:


> *AJPW 2012/01/03 B Banquet 305 Review:*
> 
> Keiji Muto, Takao Omori & Manabu Soya vs Taiyo Kea, Masanobu Fuchi & Kaz Hayashi - **3/4
> 
> Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka vs Suwama, Shuji Kondo & Takumi Soya - ***1/4
> 
> KENSO & BLACK BUSHI vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kikutaro - N/R
> Clipped but was really funny
> 
> *All Asia Tag Team Title: *
> Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Akebono & Ryota Hama - ***3/4
> 
> *AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title:*
> Kenny Omega (c) vs Hiroshi Yamato - ****1/4+
> 
> *Main-Event : AJPW World Tag Team Title:*
> Dark Ozz & Dark Cuervo (c) vs Seiya Sanada & KAI - ***3/4
> 
> This was my first AJPW show and it was awesome. Sure it won't be the last one.​


You should definitely check out their 3/20 Ryogoku show. Balls awesome.



flag sabbath said:


> Has anyone watched the 30/7 show yet? Any ratings or recommendations? Thanks.


A lot of fun, as usual with Big Japan. Drake/Abby was good (but had a disturbing moment), the Brahmans/Callihan 6-man tag was campy but super awesome, and the other two matches I saw were solid and entertaining. Recommended.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*BJW 2012.03.26 Review:*

Adam Cole, Mototsugu Shimizu & Speed Of Sounds (Hercules Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi) vs. Amigo Suzuki, Brahman Kei, Brahman Shu & Jun Ogawauchi - N/R (clipped)

*Ikkitousen Strong Climb Semi Final Match*
Sami Callihan vs. Yoshihito Sasaki - ***3/4

*Ikkitousen Strong Climb Semi Final Match*
Bad Bones vs.Daisuke Sekimoto - ***1/2

*Barbed Wire Board Death Match *
Jaki Numazawa, Jun Kasai & Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Ryuji Ito, Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki - N/R (clipped)

*Fluorescent Light Tubes Death Match*
Abdullah Kobayashi, Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto vs. DJ Hyde, Masashi Takeda & Shuji Ishikawa - ***1/4

Shinobu, Shinya Ishikawa & Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Kazuki Hashimoto, Masashi Otani & Yuji Okabayashi - ***1/2

*Ikkitousen Strong Climb Final Match *
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yoshihito Sasaki - ****1/4

Awesome show, and if there's anything i've learned after watching this show... Sasaki is insane. Fucking insane. Those headbutts..​


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Currently re-watching KOPW via Ustream.

So far, every match is what I thought it was. Nothing under 2 1/2 stars.


And I am officially a mark for Laughter7. They are like current Lesnar, but more striking oriented. Freakin' monsters in the ring.


----------



## Obfuscation

^^I was literally about to ask if anyone is going to watch it. I'm fully sold on that card. Pretty annoyed that Naito got jobbed out in less than 6 minutes tho. Unless Yujiro improved, Naito deserves better. Suppose it's going with the current program atm.

I'm PUMPED


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Hailsabin said:


> ^^I was literally about to ask if anyone is going to watch it. I'm fully sold on that card. Pretty annoyed that Naito got jobbed out in less than 6 minutes tho. Unless Yujiro improved, Naito deserves better. Suppose it's going with the current program atm.
> 
> I'm PUMPED



I was shocked when that happened. It made sense, booking wise, in order to sell Yujiro as a legit threat to Tanahashi. More so than him getting the win on Tana during a random multi person tag match.

But yeah, the IPPV was incredible. After the Jr. matches, every match either shocked the hell out of me, were awesome, or both.

Multiple MOTYCs, with Tana/Suzuki almost being a lock.


----------



## Obfuscation

It gets me because it feels like a backwards step for Naito. Got to build up Yujiro too. I understand that, fine. Couldn't it have been fairly competitive at least? Maybe once I see it I'll feel less inclined to mini-rant. (plus I mark for Naito too so there you go)

Fantastic. Can't wait to watch. I know what I'm going to be doing later tonight. NJPW when it wants to be awesome is usually always awesome. :mark:


----------



## antoniomare007

The iPPV was amazing. Regardless if you think it really is the SOTY, it has WAAAYYYY too much good to great stuff not to be highly appreciated.


----------



## MF83

I just read he's having surgery so there's that. (Spoiler-free thread, no?) 

Watched my first show in over a month. Laughter7 tag, both tag title matches, all four stipulated singles matches, and yes, even the opener, are all decent to great and I would call this the best overall show in many a year.

Top Matches:
1. Tanahashi/Suzuki - I read someone say Melzter's giving this five so we'll be hearing about it for a while if that's true. I don't think it was thaaat good but that was a career performance for MiSu, no doubt.
2. Laughter7 vs NJPW - Vintage NJPW! <3
3. MITB Case Match - tighter than the G1 match without the same level ending, though not to say this wasn't great as well.

- Hon. Mention to the Heavy Tag Title - Who the fuck thought this would be as good as it was? 

- Junior matches too. Probably liked the IC match less than most from what I'm reading but Goto is just the worst IMO so there's some bias. NO LIMIT match was very good for what it was. Opener was tons of fun. 

A massive success I think.


----------



## Bubz

Pumped to watch this show. Haven't watched a full puro show in ages and this'll be my first in a while. It'll be interesting to see if it's as good a show as the last big NJ show with Tana/Okada II which is currently my show of the year.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW King of Pro Wrestling iPPV Review:*

Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii - ***

*IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH; *
Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) (c) vs Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) - ***1/2

*IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH; *
Kota Ibushi (c) vs Low Ki - ***1/2

*IWGP TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH; *
TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) - ***

Tetsuya Naito vs Yujiro Takahashi - N/R

Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - **3/4

*TOKYO DOME IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERSHIP MATCH; *
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Karl Anderson - ****

*IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH; *
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Hirooki Goto - ***1/2

*IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH; 
*Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Minoru Suzuki - ****3/4



Spoiler: Review with spoiles



Full review:

Opener: Really good way to open the show. crowd was hot, the heels were great and the end was a big surprise for me. I was glad to see Strong Man too, he's the perfect guy for those matches.

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Romero and Koslov are awesome and even better than NRC. They are so entertaining. KUSHIDA and Shelley worked well too. The match itself was great, really good spots, fast-paced action, etc etc. Exactly what I expected from these great wrestlers.

IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Wasn't your typical balls to the wall crazy action Ibushi matches, this was more like Devitt vs Ki from Dontaku. Really loved this match but i'm not a fan of the booking. Why they t belt from Low Ki if he won this again one month later? eh, whatever. Really happy to see Devitt back, looking forawrd to his future match with Ki.

IWGP TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Good match, nothing much to say, the crowd was on fire. I was shocked that Smith and Archer won. Smith really fit great in Japan.

Tetsuya Naito vs Yujiro Takahashi - More an angle than a match.

Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - Awesome crowd.

TOKYO DOME IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERSHIP MATCH: An amazing finishing stretch and awesome match in general, Okada is my wrestler of the year right now, it's amazing that he's only 24. 

IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Like someone said somewhere here, usual from this two. Wonder what will be next for Goto, i think that Anderson will be the next challenger for Nakamura.

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Incredible match, don't have too much to say, just watch that. Didn't had too much (i don't think even six-seven) pindalls and they didn't went too crazy, just an excellent match with the a simple story. One of if not THE best matches of the year.


----------



## Chismo

*Fit Finlay vs. AKIRA (WNC, Starting Over)*

Another good gem from Finlay, this was really nice. The same pace was already seen in the TAJIRI match, but this is where AKIRA performed very well, he was a real sympathetic good guy, and he was pacing his offense really good. The work was really fine, with crisp mat workovers and counters, and the finishing stretch was very simple and realistic. One head dropping move and BANG - lights out! Not only it makes stuff more realistic, but also makes all the previous work mean much more.
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## EmbassyForever

*AJPW Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 14 Review:*

Kaz Hayashi, Minoru Tanaka, and Akira Raijin vs. KAI, Hiroshi Yamato, and Gillette: **1/2

Akebono, Ryota Hama, Taiyo Kea, and Masanobu Fuchi vs. Osamu Nishimura, KENSO, Yutaka Yoshie, and Yasufumi Nakanoueno: **1/2

SUGI vs. RONIN: ** (LULZ)

*AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship Match:*
Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi(c) vs. Suwama and Takumi Soya: ****1/4+

*AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:*
Kenny Omega(c) vs. Shuji Kondo: ****

*Steel Cage Deathmatch:*
Yuji Nagata vs. Masayuki Kono: ***3/4

Seiya Sanada vs. Satoshi Kojima: N/R

*AJPW World Tag Team Championship Match:*
Dark Ozz and Dark Cuervo(c) vs. Takao Omori and Manabu Soya: ***3/4

*AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship Match:*
Jun Akiyama(c) vs. Keiji Mutoh: ****1/4​


----------



## seabs

*G1 Day 2 show rocked and Naito/Okada II totally delivered. Kojima/Yujiro and Archer/Rush were both good bottom of the card type matches and served their purpose. Nagata/Yano was tons of fun and everything you'd want from a G1 match between them. Anderson/MiSu was very good. I actually watched Benjamin/Marufuji so I think that warrants me staying on this an extra 5 years than I'm mean too. If I was ever gonna watch these 2 in a singles match though it'd have to be on a G1 show. It wasn't good but it didn't make me regret watching it because it was short, it was New Japan, it was a hot crowd and the finish was actually very good thanks to Marufuji taking the best bump off Shelton's leapfrog slam spot off the top rope and the crowd being into the finish. Makabe/MVP was a good Makabe heavy style match. Goto/Nakamura was very good. Naito/Okada II was magnificent. I'll talk about it more in the MOTYC Thread where it belongs. Isn't on the level of their title match but you're an idiot if you expect that from Day 2 of G1. It really wasn't as far away from that quality of match as you'd think though. ONE DOWN, FOUR TO GO.*


----------



## seabs

*G1 8/7:
Skipped the second half of Benjamin/Yujiro. Rush/Naito, Anderson/Kojima, Archer/Okada and MVP/Nakamura were all good. Tenzan/Goto was ok. Suzuki/Marufuji was actually very good. Tanahashi/Yano was great.

G1 8/8:
Marufuji/Anderson was decent. Yano/Yujiro was fun thanks to Yano. Skipped Tenzan/Rush about 4 minutes in. Bad! Archer/Goto was decent. Naito/MVP was very good. Kojima/Nagata was very good. Nakamura/Makabe was disappointing. Second half of the match wasn't all that good. Tanahashi/Suzuki was pretty poor. Dead crowd didn't help but a better crowd would have probably only made it decent.*


----------



## Bubz

*NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 8/10/12* Quick ratings

Nagata/Nakanishi/Strong Man vs Yano/Iizuka/Ishii ***1/2*

Romero/Koslov vs KUSHIDA/Shelley ****1/4*

Ibushi vs Low Ki ****3/4*

Tenzan/Kojima vs Archer/Smith *****

Naito vs Takahashi ****

Makabe/Inoue vs Sakuraba/Shibata ****1/4*

Okada vs Anderson ******

Nakamura vs Goto ****1/2*

Tanahashi vs Suzuki *****1/4+*

Actual review is in the show's own thread, but yeah it was a really great, enjoyable show with a fantastic main event.


----------



## seabs

*G1 8/11:
Nakamura/Rush was decent. Yano/Kojima was very good. Suzuki/Benjamin was very good. New Japan's booked Benjamin perfectly. Short matches and just let him run through his signature stuff which gets a big pop. Marufuji/Yujiro was terrible. Naito/Tenzan was ok but too long. Okada/MVP and Makabe/Goto were both good. Tanahashi/Nagata was good but suffered by being a bit too formulaic and not special enough.

10/8:
Opener was tons of fun. Great to see Nakanishi back but even better to see STRONG MAN back. God I need more Strong Man in New Japan. He's way too much fun. Nakanishi looked like a guy who's been out for over a year. Really good opener and booked perfectly. Jr. Tag was surprisingly fun and very good. KUSHIDA does an awesome impression of Sabin working with Shelley. Crazy chemistry with their double teams for the time they've been together. I love how insistent KUSHIDA is pointing to his imaginary watch to get the team name over. So glad as well that Davey was Davey and Koslov got his shot with New Japan. Him and Romero are super fun. Ibushi/Ki was very good too. Finish hurt it though. Liked the Jr. tag more. Tag Titles match was ok. Least enjoyable match on the show. Glad Archer has a major title though. He's improved so much like everyone who tours with New Japan has. Yujiro/Naito was a neat angle to get Yujiro over and set the next title match up. Shame it's Yujiro though but this worked really well. Laughter7 tag was fun. Laughter7 is an amazing name for them two btw. Somehow tops Forever Hooligans. Thought it was too competitive and Laughter7 didn't kill Inoue for long enough but it was fun. Can't fucking wait for them to starting facing the big guns in tags and all shit to blow up. Makabe/Nagata tag at WK would be bossy. Okada/Anderson was great. Nakamura/Goto I wasn't that into but it was good. G1 match was better. Main event was magnificent. Talked about it in detail in the MOTYC Thread.

6/16 show is better and I'm happy saying it's better by a comfortable margin. Of course though Meltzer didn't call that show of the year so everyone doesn't jump all over it like they have with this. *


----------



## Bubz

Seabs said:


> *6/16 show is better and I'm happy saying it's better by a comfortable margin. Of course though Meltzer didn't call that show of the year so everyone doesn't jump all over it like they have with this. *


Yeah that's still my show of the year, really doubt it'll be topped tbh. Four matches in the **** or higher range, brilliant show.


----------



## Obfuscation

*NJPW 40th Anniversary Show 3/4/12:*
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito ~ ****1/2

What a finish. I knew Naito didn't win, yet I still got caught up in his nearfalls. Naito GLOATING after he landed out of the german suplex, while the fans were going bonkers, was :mark:

Gonna go find that 6/6 show you guys were mentioning. Saw the card and I HAVE to give PAC vs Devitt a watch. I really do have to.


----------



## Bruce L

Hailsabin said:


> Gonna go find that 6/6 show you guys were mentioning. Saw the card and I HAVE to give PAC vs Devitt a watch. I really do have to.


They're actually talking about the June 16th show, which is supposedly also a strong show of the year candidate.

The June 6th show is just a random Super Juniors show that's not really anything to get excited about as a whole -- but yes, you do have to see Devitt/PAC, which is considerably better than anything from 6/16 other than the main event.


----------



## Obfuscation

My love for junior heavyweight style must have assured me that's what it was. 

No worries. 6/16 it is.


----------



## seabs

*I've got working links in the Puro Media Forum for the 6/16 show and the PAC/Devitt match Cody. Go fish them out. 6/16 show I'd consider one of the best top to bottom shows I've ever seen anywhere, not just Japan and PAC/Devitt is awesome, probably the best juniors match in recent years.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Superb.

Might as well go and watch the first Tanahashi/Okada Championship match while I'm at it. Hype myself up for the rematch at the 6/16 show.


----------



## sXeMope

Anyone here ever buy DVDs from Bahu? (The guy who runs fmwwrestling.us) Looked through his collection and I really want to have those Hayabusa DVDs, and I was wondering if he's legit


----------



## MF83

Yeah, he's the king of sleazy indies online and I believe he lives there and is actually a friend of the BJW crew. He's legit.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Watched Misu vs Tanahashi and it was marvelous, as expected. Really enjoyed the little things. Especially Tana playing the air guitar then throwing MiSu to the ground and not following up like a boss. I've mentioned before itt how I hate the 'i slap you you slap me games' but MiSu brought this to a new level when he kept slapping despite Tana answering with some of his own. Just a couple of great moments out of a match filled with them.

I think Tana vs Okada was a bit better than this though and a big reason is because he showed more diversity, making it fresh and more exciting, and not going through the formulaic match he has all to often (like vs MiSu, albeit still an awesome match).


----------



## Obfuscation

*New Japan Pro Wrestling* - *King of Pro Wrestling 10/8/12*


1) *Manabu Nakanishi Return Match:*
Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, & Strong Man vs Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano, & Tomohiro Ishii ~ ***


2) *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:*
Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov(c) vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA ~ ***3/4


3) *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*:
Kota Ibushi(c) vs Low Ki ~ ****


4)* IWGP Tag Team Championship*:
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima(c) vs Lance Archer & Davey-Boy Smith Jr. ~ ***1/4


5) Tetsuya Naito vs Yujiro Takahashi ~ *


6) Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba ~ ***1/2


7) *IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership in Tokyo Dome*:
Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Karl Anderson ~ ****


8) *IWGP Intercontinental Championship*:
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs Hirooki Goto ~ ***3/4


9) *IWGP World Heavyweight Championship*:
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs Minoru Suzuki ~ ****3/4​

Unreal iPPV. 

That main event was one of my favorite forms of human chess that I've ever seen. The constant destruction of Tanahashi's arm and Suzuki's knee/leg...wow. Never seen rope pyschology used to near perfection in a match like that. Those guys RELIED on those ropes. They used them as part of the story. They weren't just there to break one meaningless hold in the first minute of the match. They were there because that was their only sanctuary for having either of the tenacious wrestlers release the holds. Loved that.

Poor Naito. He's got HEART.

Other note worthy moments were: the Okada/Anderson fantastic finishing stretch, Laughter7 being totally LEGIT, Jr. Heavyweight Championship ruling and even using the slight off finish for a good excuse for Ki to KILL Ibushi w/the super fisherman buster, and NAKAMURA SWAG. (I want that hair cut. badly.)

Nothing left to say other than :mark:


----------



## bigbuxxx

Haven't watched a full NJPW card in a while but going through the rest of the matches from 8/10 now realize how awesome it is again. I mark for just about everybody. NJPW easily has the best talent in the world and I'm glad they made a belt for the guys they don't want to elevate to Tanahashi/Okada level.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm happy with the IWGP Intercontinental Championship being created. It's a great way to keep tops stars, like Nakamura, elevated without being IWGP World Champ or #1 contender all the time. 

Roster is totally legit. I love just about everyone on it too.


----------



## Chismo

*Jun Kasai vs. Jaki Numazawa (BJW, 8/6/2005)*

_This is one of the rare Razorboard Deathmacthes, produced by Jun Kasai. This match had your typical hardcore beginning, but when Numazawa powerbombed the Crazy Monkey through the motherfucking razorboard, the all hell broke loose, and the match turned into a violent and bloody dance of death. And it was really good, but the finishing sequence was disconnected in execution, which kind of ruined the overall mood, hence why I’m giving the match one snowflake only. But, I enjoyed the match a lot, it was very entertaining._
*Rating: **


*El Generico vs. Isami Kodaka (Union Pro, 1...2...3...Union!)*

_TLC Match for the DDT Extreme Title. So yeah, this was a lot of fun. Generico was not an underdog here, he was a clear badass punisher, it was so refreshing and nice to see him beating the shit out of others for once. Poor Kodaka took a BEATING in this one, including two sick Michinoku Drivers. Kodaka played his usual underdog character pretty well. Watching his hardcore and deathmatch battles, I’m pretty fucking amazed how the fuck he didn’t break his body yet. They beat him to death in every damn match. Impressive, that skinny motherfucker. Anyway, this was a damn good hardcore match, makes me want to watch their 2011 match ASAP._
*Rating: ***3/4*


*Yuji Hino vs. Kota Ibushi (DDT, What Are You Doing? 2012)*

_This was a damn fine KO-D Title match. Yuji Hino was a true BOSS here with his powerful offense, and every time Ibushi tries to accomplish something with his ninja shit, he simply cuts him off with some sick CHOPS. Damn, those hurt! This was a smart, well wrestled match, and not your typical Ibushi rush hour (not that Ibushi rush hours are bad), the pace was slower here, because Hino controlled it. This match made me a Yuji Hino fan. Like I said, this was really good, but the lack of spectacle and bigger drama prevent this from being a MOTYC, which is shame, because this match had a potential to reach a legendary status._
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## rzombie1988

MF83 said:


> Yeah, he's the king of sleazy indies online and I believe he lives there and is actually a friend of the BJW crew. He's legit.


BAHU lives in the US and is a good guy who I met twice. Like myself he goes on wrestling tours in Japan and gets to meet a lot of guys at shows. Especially for Indy guys, it's very easy to meet them. Not so much though with NJPW and AJPW.



JoeRulz said:


> You should definitely check out their 3/20 Ryogoku show. Balls awesome.
> 
> 
> A lot of fun, as usual with Big Japan. Drake/Abby was good (but had a disturbing moment), the Brahmans/Callihan 6-man tag was campy but super awesome, and the other two matches I saw were solid and entertaining. Recommended.


I reviewed most of the show in my blog. I liked Drake vs Abby and it was quite gross. Them using the syringes is just begging for an accident to happen. Drake had some really nasty cuts here. The WXW tag was good as was the Brahman's match.



sXeMope said:


> To be fair, Tiger Jeet Singh is a pretty horrible wrestler. In terms of deathmatches anyways. I`ve never seen him take a bump. (Although I skipped through mostly ever match I`ve ever seen involving him, but I hear he rarely took anything)
> 
> For anyone who cares, I watched the IVP Puro Sampler #2 today. The Vader/Hansen match is the one where Vader's eye came out of it's socket. The rest of the matches were decent. Nothing really memorable, but it serves it's purpose in showing what puro has to offer to someone just getting started. Would have been nice to see a comedy match of some kind though. I skipped over a lot of it tbh. Muta/Hogan or Tiger/Dynamite was probably the best on the card. the KOW match was meh. The BJW match was joined in progress at anywhere from 5-15 minutes in. They were bleeding and had broken quite a few tubes when it started. I'd still recommend it to anyone just starting to get into puro. More so than the original sampler, Although both together really give someone a good introduction.


Tiger Jeet Singh is a candidate for the worst wrestler of all time. He was a terrible poor man's Sheik. I've never seen him in anything even decent and the only decent thing about him is his entrance where he attacks the audience. He has no wrestling IQ and I can't think of anyone worse as a main eventer. Even Big Daddy was better than him.


----------



## Chismo

rzombie1988 said:


> I reviewed most of the show in my blog. I liked Drake vs Abby and it was quite gross. Them using the syringes is just begging for an accident to happen. Drake had some really nasty cuts here. The WXW tag was good as was the Brahman's match.


Yeah, they're nuts, I mean, Abby has a needle stabbed through his fucking cheek, and yet he receives a Stunner from Drake. It was cringeworthy.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

1. Manabu Nakanishi Returns Match: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii - ** 1/2
2. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov © vs. Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - *** 1/4
3. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi © vs. Low Ki - *** 1/2
4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer & Harry Smith - ** 1/2
5. Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi - DUD (skip this, it's an injury angle/for storyline purposes)
6. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - ***
7. IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership in Tokyo Dome: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Karl Anderson - *** 3/4
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Hirooki Goto - *** 1/2
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Minoru Suzuki - *** 1/2

What was so great about the main event? Tanahashi worked the leg and Suzuki worked the arm. Throw in some sleeper holds, then a miraculous comeback out of nowhere, and it's *****? I don't get it. I'm new to Puro and didn't know anything about the storyline, so maybe that's why but I was very disappointed with all the hype this is getting.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Naito is actually injured which is why it was short and baddish. Naito is pretty fun to watch imo.

I finished watching the show yesterday and thought it was awesome. The only match I really didn't like was Romero/Koslov vs Shelley/KUSHIDA...just too much overkill in that match. They should have had the partners kicking people off of each other but instead it was miracle kickouts. Okada/Anderson had the same problem but not to the same degree. Every match was entertaining and def. a great show.


----------



## smitlick

blink_41sum_182 said:


> 1. Manabu Nakanishi Returns Match: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii - ** 1/2
> 2. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov © vs. Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - *** 1/4
> 3. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi © vs. Low Ki - *** 1/2
> 4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer & Harry Smith - ** 1/2
> 5. Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi - DUD (skip this, it's an injury angle/for storyline purposes)
> 6. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - ***
> 7. IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership in Tokyo Dome: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Karl Anderson - *** 3/4
> 8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Hirooki Goto - *** 1/2
> 9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Minoru Suzuki - Don't even want to say because I'd get murdered for my opinion
> 
> What was so great about the main event? Tanahashi worked the leg and Suzuki worked the arm. Throw in some sleeper holds, then a miraculous comeback out of nowhere, and it's *****? I don't get it. I'm new to Puro and didn't know anything about the storyline, so maybe that's why but I was very disappointed with all the hype this is getting.


If you can back up your opinion with a sound argument, nobodies going to murder you for your rating. Its your opinion, theres no point in having ratings if everyone agrees with each other.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

My review for NJPW's King Of Pro Wrestling Show:

*Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii*

Meh. Yano promoting his DVD and the heel shenanigans at the end were the highlights. That says it all really.

****

*
Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov vs KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships*
Fun. A few overly coreographed spots, but they didn't detract from the match that much.

***3/4*


*
Kota Ibushi vs Low Ki - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*

Low Ki is awesome. The beginning was as well, and I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU~! when they started working a normal wrestling match. Ki did his best to carry Ibushi by being BOSS while cutting of ibushi's silly flips but Ibushi didn't really add anything to the match except a few cool spots. Also needed a few more minutes.

****1/4*



*Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. - IWGP Tag Team Championships*

OK match. Nothing really spectacular to see here. They came up with a cool finishing stretch and gaijins did well cutting of TenKoji.
My complaints:


TENZAN IS NOT THE UNIFIED TRIPLE CROWN IWGHC CHAMPION OF THE UNIVERSE. THAT IS NOT RIGHT. TENZAN DA BEST 
Davey Boy Jr.'s mannerisms are too cheesy. Like......Cena cheesy.

***3/4*


*Tetsuya Naito vs Yujiro Takahashi*

Naito's leg selling was entertaining. That's really all there is to say about this one.

***1/2*


*Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata*
Chaotic, anarchic, stiff and insanely fun. I love how Laughter 7 get bigger reactions at just ATTEMPTING submissions than anyone does for actually locking them in.

*****

*
Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson-Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Contendership*

Loved everything about this one. Okada selling Elbows like a big deal, Anderson's arm work, even the attempts of stealing each others moves, everything was executed perfectly, flew naturally and felt like a big deal. These two have great chemistry.

******

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hirooki Goto-IWGP Intercontinental Championship*

Nakamura is awesome. Goto is not. Thankfully there's enough Nakamura kicking Goto's ass and not a lot of weak forearm exchanges and Gotoism. A fine Nakamura carry job.

****1/4*

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki-IWGP Heavyweight Championship*

So yeah, here it goes...........


I don't think this was anything special really. Everything before the air guitar spot was pretty irrelevant. I didn't mind the spot itself as it fits into Tanahashi's persona. Suzuki looked pissed after it and I was ready to see him slap the shit ouf of Tanahashi. Instead we get a LOCK UP? Really? If they started the match with it, I'd be fine. But MiSu expresses his anger with a LOCK UP? Really? Then the arm work started and as soon as Tanahashi was back in control he slaped MiSu with his left arm. That particular detail really seemed like a big fuck you to all Misu's effort. Tanahashi's arm selling wasn't fine, it was awful. It never seemed like Tanahashi's arm was hurt. At all. MiSu's selling of Tanahashi's leg work, along with Misu's crisp offence, was easily the highlight off the match.


I thought a big problem in their Wrestle Kingdom match was that it was just......directionless. Like the Sekimoto vs Suwama matches were. Here, they filled that time with slaps. And I would have loved that IF it was set up like it could've been with the air guitar spot or if it was just two badass dudes beating the shit out of each other like the Sugiura/KENTA and Misu/Akiyama slap exchanges were. But it wasn't.


Someone said Tanahashi did a great job of selling fainting. I didn't think so. It looked like a bad wrestling cliche where the face somehow manages to reach the ropes. Yay.


That's pretty much it regarding my thoughts on the main event.


I didn't think it was a bad match or anything. I'd have it at ****1/2*

*
Overall*: A very good show. Didn't think of it as highly as some other people did, but I reckon there will surely be something someone, no matter what his taste is, will enjoy in this show. Check it out.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

ywall2breakerj said:


> My review for NJPW's King Of Pro Wrestling Show:
> 
> 
> *Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Minoru Suzuki-IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
> 
> So yeah, here it goes...........
> 
> 
> 
> I didn't think it was a bad match or anything. I'd have it at ****1/2*
> 
> *
> Overall*: A very good show. Didn't think of it as highly as some other people did, but I reckon there will surely be something someone, no matter what his taste is, will enjoy in this show. Check it out.


Ok since I'm not alone, I agree. I'd give it *** 1/2. I guess I'm just not a fan of matches where all they do the entire match is attack an injured limb. It bores me.


----------



## djmathers1207

Who has seen the match with Kota Ibushi and El Generico from 2 days ago?


----------



## Chismo

I have all 3 Kota/Generico from this year downloaded from DM, but I need to catch some free time to watch them, lol.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

djmathers1207 said:


> Who has seen the match with Kota Ibushi and El Generico from 2 days ago?


Well, it's on xwt, but I'm lazy >_<


----------



## Chismo

*Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate, Infinity 269)*

_Aw, hell yeah, finally… Shingo and Mochi tearing it up! Two of the best in Dragon Gate, which means a guaranteed watch from me. Mochi is a very smart wrestler, and he wastes no time in setting the pace of the match with his devastating strikes. And you can feel the match is not going to last too long, it’s the logical consequence of his strikes and an impact they make on human body. It totally opposes a Davey R. match where they exchanges strikes with each other for 30 minutes. God, I wish Japs take over the entire fucking world… Anyway, this was really good, it’s not a MOTYC, but it’s the highly enjoyable match with the hot Korakuen crowd and I really dug the finish. Nice booking._
*Rating: ***1/2*


----------



## djmathers1207

you can download from there?


----------



## Chismo

Huh? I downloaded the match from DailyMotion via KeepVid...


----------



## Russian Hooligan

NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling:

Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii **1/2
Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov vs. Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA ***1/4
Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki ***3/4
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer & Harry Smith ***1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi DUD
Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson ****
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto *** 1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki **** 1/2


----------



## gremlin

blink_41sum_182 said:


> Ok since I'm not alone, I agree. I'd give it *** 1/2. I guess I'm just not a fan of matches where all they do the entire match is attack an injured limb. It bores me.


I more or less agree, having said that i thought it was slightly better than ***1/2 maybe pushing **** simply because it was very well put together and it did get me somewhat excited for the finish without excessive use of finishers and insane near falls, which is sort of rare for big NJPW main events. Having said this when watching the show (before hearing anything about it) I assumed it would be the Okada/ Anderson match getting the buzz, I thought that was really good, Okada has been on such a roll through 2012, his singles matches are always fantastic and he has delivered when he has had to step up on the big stage (the couple of matches with tanahashi, the matches with Anderson (This and the G1 final) and the IWGP title match with Naito were all ****+ in my opinion)


----------



## djmathers1207

Kota Ibushi vs. Kenny Omega ****1/4


----------



## EmbassyForever

Can anyone recommend some DG's shows? or best matches from 2011-2012? they have really great wrestlers and now it's a good time for me to start watching them.. thanks


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Continuing the Tenryu New Japan/WAR project~

*Genichiro Tenryu, Ashura Hara & Takashi Ishikawa vs Keiji Mutoh, Akira Nogami & Shinya Hashimoto, (New Japan 02/05/1993)*

Oh christ, this right here is what its all about. Everyone bar Mutoh pretty much brings the hate necessary to get over the boiling hot feud, but man oh man is the build to Hashimoto vs Tenryu magnificent here. Both men are by far the two best performers in the match, they only lock up a few times but Hashimoto just beats the crap out of Tenryu with kick after kick and Tenryu bumps and sells like a saint for everything, the moment where he sort of stumbles into the corner reeling off of Hashimoto's onslaught whilst trying to give a bit back only to be unable to stand straight and have Hara and Ishikawa defend him was glorious. Their exchanges afterwards are pretty brief but they pack so much hatred into every blow it doesn't matter, moment where all of the New Japan team lay siege to Tenryu's fallen body on the mat was outstanding and was only bettered by Tenryu being a cocky prick when covering Nogami only to be caught by a fucking tremendous kick to the chin from Hashimoto which he sells like an absolute king collapsing into the corner whilst checking his jaw isn't broken. 

Nogami was probably the 3rd best guy in the match, chock full of furry and a relentless babyface energy in defending his company from the invader scum, and he has some really great exchanges against Tenryu where Tenryu sells the audacity of Nogami to try and even touch Tenryu so beautifully. Ishikawa and Hara were pretty much in it for sporadic bursts of offence and to bump for the New Japan team, but Ishikawa in particular was really violent and just comes off as this coked up psycho ready to taste New Japan blood. Post match pull apart again builds beautifully to Tenryu/Hashimoto with Hash having to be restrained by guys who look terrified to be holding a 290 pound monster who's spoiling for a fight. Still, fuck a dumb Keiji Mutoh.


*Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs Riki Choshu & Tatsumi Fujinami, (New Japan 3/23/93)*

Another fine continuation in the ongoing saga here and a match which probably has me convinced this feud can't produce anything less than a good match. Choshu and Fujinami's interactions with Tenryu are the real highlight here, little things like Choshu entering the ring off a tag and taking the time to boot an already downed Tenryu on the apron even when he's not legal just add to the bubbling hatred. Loved the opening with Fujinami taking it to Tenryu and hitting a pretty amazing dive to the floor which had the crowd going bonkers. The bread and butter of the match really revolves around Ishikawa getting isolated and absorbing the onslaught of New Japan's diamonds in the rough and making you feel Tenryu's winning streak may be foiled by the opposition, only for him to hit a beautfiful kick to counter a second Fujinami dive late in the match and which served as a great callback spot to the early dive. Tenryu's selling was again off the charts great and was typified by the moment Fujinami caught him entering the ring to cheapshot him and reels off a string of stiff slaps which forces Tenryu to finally collapse to the mat in agony and looking almost like he was dribbling from his mouth. 

There were also some really great subtle touches thrown in to keep the crowd alive, Choshu only going halfway into the spinebuster in order to stop Ishikawa having a clear way to cheapshot him was really bossy as was Ishikawa's heat tactics in stealing the Dragon Sleeper and Sharpshooter to further piss off the already irate New Japan fans. Finishing stretch is pretty fucking stellar, just tease after tease with the highlight being Fujinami countering a Tenryu lariat into an attempted dragon suplex only for Ishikawa to counter with a lariat to the back of the head and Tenryu to soon follow up with the devastating powerbomb which Fujinami never recovers from, and which soon leads to Ishikawa picking up one of the biggest wins to date in his career.


*Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs Riki Choshu & Shinya Hashimoto, (WAR 4/2/93)*

Oh fucking hell, this was just in another stratosphere of greatness, violence and grandeur of hatred. Everyone puts in a stellar performance here, but once again its Tenryu and Hashimoto who shine brightest. The stare off when they enter the ring....fuck me. 6/17 cannot come soon enough in this feud. Ishikawa is excellent as the underdog scrapping for every bit of blood that comes his way, he just has this great ability to pick his spots and be like that scrappy little terrier that just will not quit until he's fully depleted his victim, his flurry of offence leading to Tenryu PASTING Choshu into the ring post to bloody him was incredible and from there the match just went to another level in terms of pacing and sheer insanity. I can't even begin to describe to you just how many fucking excellent moments we got in this match, they just created this perfect blend of chaos and batshit insanity in everything they did, and the continued tease to Tenryu/Hashimoto was just criminal with what they treated us to: that fucking bump Tenryu takes off the spinning wheel kick...just indescribeable how he flings himself at such a reckless pace into the ropes but shit on a stick if it doesn't look incredible everytime.

Tenryu was just a relentless prick going after Choshu's cut with repeated punts and stomps to the wound, and the visuals of the ref having to forcibly cling to Tenryu to get him to stop whilst he still kicked and flung boot after boot to Choshu was just beautiful. Hashimoto was equally destructive whenever he was in the match and they really booked him tremendously as the shining beacon of hope New Japan had in ending Tenryu's ever continuing rampage of destruction. Finishing stretch is absolutely bonkers with people clobbering each other left and right with chops, punches, slaps, lariats, suplexes and all sorts of brutality. Hashimoto finally scoring a win for New Japan in the feud really served as a huge moment in terms of his star rising, and not 5 seconds after the match is Tenryu slapping the piss out of him and engaging in another pull apart fight. Ending visuals of Hashimoto and Choshu bleeding with Tenryu looking on cocky as ever was incredible, Tenryu/Choshu 4/6 tomorrow :mark:


----------



## Chismo

EmbassyForever said:


> Can anyone recommend some DG's shows? or best matches from 2011-2012? they have really great wrestlers and now it's a good time for me to start watching them.. thanks


http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist...rn_dragon-gate-final-gate-2011/1#video=xnuvr8
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2aj7c_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-infinity-263/1#video=xui166
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist...lood-warriors-produce-11-30-11/1#video=xuib8k
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2ai2r_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-7-17-11/1#video=xuiaup
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2ai2k_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-10-16-11/1#video=xui594
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x2ae09_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-infinity-271/1#video=xuh8av
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x29xmc_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-infinity-270/1#video=xuallm
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x29g8e_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-infinity-269/1#video=xu13pd
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x27r1d_Jahmale_Hepburn_dragon-gate-ddt-6-5-12/1#video=xt5jc4
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist...ragon-gate-infinity-262-7-1-12/1#video=xsbqdv

Watch pretty much anything with Shingo, Susumu, Mochizuki, CIMA, Ricochet, PAC, Swann, Dargon Kid and YAMATO. Dragon Gate is awesome.


----------



## djmathers1207

Kota Ibushi vs. El Generico 9/21/12 ****1/2-****1/4 

Better than their match from DDT Max Bump


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I've only seen parts of the feud, but now I want to follow it right along with Segunda Caida. Because I'm a Tenryu mark.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Genichiro Tenryu vs Riki Choshu , (New Japan 4/6/93)*

Overall this was really really good, atmosphere was absolutely fantastic whenever Choshu looked to be on top and him basically wrestling the match of his life to try and put an end to Tenryu was a really engaging story. First half of the match is rather tepid but its all about building to the explosion and making the crowd wait for them to start throwing bombs and lumping the shit out of each other. Tenryu's punts looked vicious and I love how during this time they're really put over as lethal and dangerous on top of his usual offence. Bit where Choshu slaps the shit out of him after an intial lock up was brilliant and Tenryu's shocked 'oh that's how we're gonna do it' expression just sealed it. Second half of the match really kicks into another gear like you want this to. Choshu lands a fucking hideous (in a good way) superplex which looked to have collapsed Tenryu's spine on impact, and he follows this up with some really good consistent lariats targeting Tenryu's damaged neck and head before hitting one of the nastiest knee drops I can recall seeing: looked absolutely filthy and Tenryu's superb selling just added to the horrific visual. Tenryu sort of progressively staggering after each blow and looking more and more hampered by his injury really added to the heated atmosphere and really got you behind Choshu, in many ways the way they explored this actually made me not hate Choshu's surprise backdrop after Tenryu hits his diving elbow: really felt like it was timed well enough to come off as an important spot to highlight Choshu's resolve and make him a continuing thorn in Tenryu's side. 

Thought the way they teased the struggle in hitting the powerbomb was really well done, especially when Tenryu managed to hit it later on but got only get marginal impact because of the strain it put on his head and neck. Last couple of minutes are amazing, crowd loses their shit for everything Choshu throws at Tenryu who staggers and looks more and more beaten with every blow he takes and the finish is suitably satisfying for the crowd reaction alone (though from a booking perspective I probably do question the choice in winner).


*Genichiro Tenryu & Takashi Ishikawa vs Shinya Hashimoto & Michiyoshi Ohara , (New Japan 6/14/93)*

The first Hashimoto/Tenryu singles match takes place 3 days after this, so its really more aimed at making you want to see these two monsters lump seven shades of shit out of each other, but in amongst all the hatred and contempt for the other's existence they work a really great pseudo STF tag built on Ohara getting mercilessly mauled by Tenryu and Ishikawa. Tenryu's just an absolute cock to poor Ohara and lays into him with a barrage of stiff chips, knees, lariats, slaps and numerous other attacks. Hashimoto though isn't one to be outdone and he manages to connect with a few scorching kicks, especially one on Tenryu when he's against the ropes which looked to have dislodged a couple of teeth. Ohara to his credit sells everything well from the WAR team and really brings this overwhelmed by the occasion passion to everything he hits, and he and Ishikawa have this neat little sub story developing with Ohara looking to topple Ishikawa and allow Hashimoto entry into the ring. Last few minutes are pretty chaotic with Hashimoto roundhousing any motherfucker in sight, and Tenryu hitting one of the filthiest enziguri's of his career which looked like it bent Hashimoto's skull upon impact. Tenryu and Hashimoto fighting amongst themselves lead to a nice completion of the bubbling Ishikawa/Ohara sequences with Ishikawa just having a little bit more to put away the resilient Ohara. 

Have to say as well the opening few minutes were about as good as I've seen the 'two guys blatantly ignoring the rules and just trying to fight one another' story done in a ring. The tension and atmosphere helped make the standoffs seem much bigger and Hashimoto taking the time to lariat Tenryu on the apron the minute he and Ishikawa are about to lock up just really cemented me wanting to see them fight like yesterday.


*Genichiro Tenryu vs Shinya Hashimoto , (WAR 6/17/93)*

:mark:

Well shit on a stick, just when you think your expectations may be too severe and hinder whatever enjoyment you can get out of a match, these two go and do their thing and wouldn't ya know it...it rules. First few minutes really establish this Clash of the Titans atmosphere and both men sell the caution in their game remarkably well, the visual of Hashimoto in the corner not taking his eyes off of Tenryu as the ref drastically tries to force a break...god damn. They really pack a lot of explosive violence into short bursts to really get over the threat each other poses with their offence, but Hashimoto targeting the leg really creates an intriguing second half of the match with Tenryu rendered practically immobile and having to find a new gameplan to escape from his growing nemesis. A few people could argue the leg selling doesn't go anywhere near the end, i.e Hashimoto not going for submissions but I thought it served a great purpose in not only getting over the threat of Hashimoto but also in the way it forced Tenryu to have to pick his moments and really take an ass-kicking in a bid to win. Hashimoto also always using the leg as the base of any attack whether he was on the offensive or defensive also helped keep the limbwork relevant in the grand context of the match, and of course Tenryu sold it like death and really established the physical pain and battle he was in. 

Last few minutes are just astonishingly dramatic and electric with very few kickouts. Both men's occasionally sloppy but always destructive looking offence as well as the resultant bumping really make you feel the match could end at any moment, and I loved how both men would use their striking to establish an opening to hit a bigger move: i.e Tenryu using his chops and kicks to ground and weaken Hashimoto long enough to hit the powerbomb. There were a couple of outstanding nearfalls that were sold superbly by both men, and Tenryu's facial expression immediately after the match is over perfectly summarised the preceeding 18 minutes of war he'd just gone though. Tenryu's pained facial expression mid powerbomb due to the strain his injured leg was being put under was also a really bossy little touch that added so much in the grand scheme of things I thought it would be rude not to mention it. For those who have seen the additional two singles matches after this, which is generally considered the best? I'm pretty sure *antoniomare007* prefers their February 1994 encounter but I'm almost adamant the 8/8 match from 93 is usually brought up as their best?


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Kid Kamikaze10 said:


> I've only seen parts of the feud, but now I want to follow it right along with Segunda Caida. Because I'm a Tenryu mark.


Ok, finding matches for this feud is WAY harder than I thought.

Does any online store have the WAR/NJPW feud?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

The 2/5/93 and 4/2/93 tags are on youtube, just search Tenryu vs Choshu and both should appear. Failing that Tenryu & Ishikawa. PM'd you the place to find the rest of the links, feud starts around september of 92 and then carries on throughout 93 with the final Hashimoto/Tenryu match coming in February 94.


----------



## Manu_Styles

I just watch the trilogy El Generico vs Kota Ibushi. What´s your favourite match? Mine is the II just an amazing match with a lot of crazy stuff


----------



## Bubz

Segunda Caida said:


> The 2/5/93 and 4/2/93 tags are on youtube, just search Tenryu vs Choshu and both should appear. Failing that Tenryu & Ishikawa. PM'd you the place to find the rest of the links, feud starts around september of 92 and then carries on throughout 93 with the final Hashimoto/Tenryu match coming in February 94.


After I've watched a bunch more stuff for the decade, I'm probably going to start the NJPW/WAR stuff. I swear I've seen a Tenryu vs Hashimoto match before.


----------



## MF83

First time through that feud is heavenly. Someone buy the weeklies from Ginnetty dammit!


----------



## Yeah1993

Speaking of Ginnetty, does he have a site or listing?


----------



## MF83

[email protected] He doesn't have a catalogue like Lynch so you have to ask but he goes for $3 a DVD and has everything NJPW did from 82-2012 (aside from some parts of 2001/2002), everything AJPW 82-98 and put out that old school joshi set from the 70s an 80s earlier this year. He has most of everything else from what I understand. Just ask.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Ok, a side note for some of these NJPW/WAR matches.

Holy shit, Heisei Ishingun were fucking rowdy during this period. It's like each match they are involved in leads to some massive brawl. I love it!


----------



## bigbuxxx

rewatched Tanahashi vs Goto from 11/11/07 and that finish should've definitely been the finish of Tana vs MiSu from earlier this month. HFF on the legs into the Texas Cloverleaf and a tapout would've been so great.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

How has Okada vs. Nakamura in their G1 Climax meeting not gotten any love? It was a really fun match and possibly a sign of great things to come from these two as I would love to see a feud between these two CHAOS members. Okada will be getting the strap back at Wrestle Kingdom either way and Nakamura needs a fresh face to verse in the main event scene(Don't think anyone wants to see another Nakamura vs. Tanahashi meeting) so this needs to go down.


----------



## Obfuscation

I wouldn't object to another Nakamura vs Tanahashi match. Might not be the newest bout, but it would be awesome per usual.


----------



## Chismo

Okada/Shinskay feud is gonna be BIG in 2013, and it writes itself. Okada will win the strap at the Dome (obviously), and turn face, it's unevitable.


----------



## Obfuscation

If that does go down then, well I'm sold on the main event picture for next year.


----------



## bigbuxxx

i am an idiot


----------



## seabs

BKKsoulcity said:


> How has Okada vs. Nakamura in their G1 Climax meeting not gotten any love? It was a really fun match and possibly a sign of great things to come from these two as I would love to see a feud between these two CHAOS members. Okada will be getting the strap back at Wrestle Kingdom either way and Nakamura needs a fresh face to verse in the main event scene(Don't think anyone wants to see another Nakamura vs. Tanahashi meeting) so this needs to go down.


*Where did you watch it?*


----------



## Bubz

That's what I wondered. I'm sure people would be talking about it if they'd seen it.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

BKKsoulcity said:


> How has Okada vs. Nakamura in their G1 Climax meeting not gotten any love? It was a really fun match and possibly a sign of great things to come from these two as I would love to see a feud between these two CHAOS members. Okada will be getting the strap back at Wrestle Kingdom either way and Nakamura needs a fresh face to verse in the main event scene(Don't think anyone wants to see another Nakamura vs. Tanahashi meeting) so this needs to go down.


I've been waiting to watch this match since it was announced.

You got a link to that show?


----------



## TelkEvolon

--- Diamond Ring 30.09.2012 ---

*1. CHANGO, Kazunari Murakami & Kenichiro Arai vs Kikutaro, Marines Mask II & Namazu Man*
This is your standard D-Ring/K-Office opening match/comedy affiar, loads of hijinks and a lot of fun. While it might have a lot of the same gags we've seen before, for me, it never get's old, we also get a couple of cool moves from Marines Mask & Namazu Man. The main focus is Kikutaro & Murakami and features many call-backs to their previous encounters in Kensuke Office. Good fun. Namazu Man's in-ring character and wrestling quality have both only more and more refined over time.
***3/4*

*2. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs Tomoaki Honma* 
A very dry match which is moistened up by some hard-way blood, Kitamiya showing a bit of fire and Honma going savage when he smells blood in the water. The most interesting thing was the post-match attack. Kitamiya seems like a good investment and has looked pretty impressive so far, especially in his tag match with Sasaki against Akiyamka & Kobashi on the 11.02.2012 Diamond Ring show.
***3/4*

*3. K-ness, Masao Orihara & NOSAWA Rongai vs Menso-re Oyaji, Ryuji Hijikata & Satoshi Kajiwara*
This was another very dry match with nothing really happening and a bit of a brawl post-match, there is not a whole lot to talk about, it felt like a painfully generic wrestling match. Kajiwara's flying head scissors takedown is pretty sweet and he is getting more and more fluid in the ring.
***1/4*

*4. Jun Akiyama vs Kento Miyahara*
Now this was a good battle that really went all out and all over, Miyahara looking to prove himself and Akiyama looking to give him a challange, plenty of big moves get unleashed and both guys bring the fight in a big way. Diamond Ring has a future star on their hands with Miyahara really stepping it up to the plate in the last 2 years.
****3/4*

*5. Kensuke Sasaki & Tsurugi vs Takeshi Morishima & Takashi Sugiura* 
A fine tag team match, Tsurugi didn't offer much but Sasaki let the chops fly with Morishima and Sasaki going at it hard. It was a solid tag team match that came across a bit inconsistent at times with Tsurugi coming in and doing nothing after Sasaki has just unleashed hell. I think that match could of been up at 4 stars with someone else. Sasaki still gives and takes with the best of them and doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon.
****1/4*

*6. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Masato Tanaka*
This match was a great war, as expected; tons of kicks, forearms and elbows, with things get heated fast, especially when Tanaka starts trying to use weapons to get the job done. Some awesome exchanges and transitions take place with both men landing a beating on the other man, in a match that takes multiple finishing blows before it is finally all over. Nakajima just get's better and better and looks to be one of the brightest shining lights in the future of puroresu.
*****1/4*


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW The Memory Meeting Of Kasaboko Summit In Niigata 2012/10/06*

Hiromu Takahashi vs Takaaki Watanabe - Clipped but was pretty good.

Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs Captain New Japan & BUSHI - **3/4

Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado - **1/2

Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI - ***1/4

Minoru Suzuki vs Ryusuke Taguchi - **3/4

Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi vs Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito - **1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs Kazuchika Okada & Gedo - ***3/4
It was great to see KUSHIDA in the Main Event. The match was great and every second of Okada and Tanahasi in the ring was awesome.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*IVP - The Best of Kurt Angle*

Kurt Angle & Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko - ***1/4+

*IWGP 3rd Belt Championship* 
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Kurt Angle - ***3/4

Kurt Angle vs. Kendo Kashin - ***1/4

*IWGP 3rd Belt Championship* 
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Yuji Nagata - ***3/4

*IWGP 2nd & 3rd Belt Unification* 
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kurt Angle (c) - ***1/2

EDIT:

*NJPW Road To Power Struggle Niigata 2012.10.27*

Forever Hooligans & Gedo vs. Time Splitters & ***** Casas - ***

Captain New Japan vs. YOSHI-HASHI - *3/4

CHAOS (Jado, Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano) vs. Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku) - **1/2

BUSHI & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Taichi) - **3/4

Apollo 55 & Karl Anderson vs. CHAOS (Brian Kendrick, Low Ki & Shinsuke Nakamura - ***1/4+
Could've easily been higher but the crowd really didn't cared about Kendrick which kinda hurt the ending

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe - ***1/4

Pretty disappointed because the card looked great on paper but still good show


----------



## Obfuscation

*HUSTLE PPV #6 - 10/23/04​*

1) Kaz Hayashi & Leonardo Spanky vs Super Crazy & Amazing Red ~ ***1/4


2) Mr. USA & Shamoji Fujii vs Russian 54 & Piranha Monster XX ~ *


3) Hustle Kamen Gold & Hustle Kamen Silver vs El Hatena Uno & El Hatena Dos ~ DUD


4) *Hardcore Match*:
Masato Tanaka, Kintaro Kanemura, & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, Jun Kasai ~ ***


5) *Three Way Match*:
Dan Bobish vs Giant Silva vs Mark Coleman ~ DUD x5


6) *Hair vs Hair Match*:
Wataru Sakata vs Commander Anjoh Umanosuke ~ *


7) Riki Choshu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Monster C & Monsieur de Barbarosa ~ **3/4


8) Naoya Ogawa vs. Tiger Jeet Singh ~ 1/2*​

Chalk full of HUSTLE goodness. Don't let the ratings fool you. HUSTLE is one of those promotions you simply have to see to believe, or get. I love em.

Although that three way can gtfo. I mean fuck it was HORRIBLE. I don't give out "negative" snowflakes a la Meltzer and company, but I was tempted to hand out my first with that one. Main event was nothing noteworthy either. I think that's simply because I can't stand Tiger Jeet Singh.

Onto the stuff worth discussing: KAWADA tag was fun, although short. Those KICKS~ That reaction for Choshu upon his music hitting was glorious. Opening tag was a blitzkrieg of fun. Hot damn those guys when at 88 miles per hour there. 1.21 GIGAWATTS, MARTY style. Mr. USA was AWESOME. HUSTLE Kamen Gold & Silver were decent. Funny that Alberto Del Rio was in the silver. Bet some WWE fans wouldn't even believe it. Hair vs Hair was a solid way to advance the storyline with MONSTER controlling things. That hardcore match...YES. Talk about immediate fun. Those kind of bouts seem to fit much more in HUSTLE than they do in New Japan. (duh, I know right?) Once again, that crowd is too much fun. The backstage segments/hype videos were too good too. I love the fighting opera scenarios. It's literally like a soap opera. Only done on purpose.

Also, during intermission we got a HUSTLE music video. It was just delightful.


----------



## Bubz

Anything Kawada is even remotely involved in is immediately at least fun. I do enjoy HUSTLE from what I've seen, it's just ridiculous but in a very fun way. They also gave us Kawada vs Foley in 04 which was a really good little match. I mean c'mon, it's TOSHIAKI KAWADA AND MICK FOLEY. Any company that can put that match together is worth watching.


----------



## Obfuscation

Oh yeah, Kawada brought his A-Game in the fun department. Plus he was wearing a yellow jumpsuit a la Kill Bill. That made the beat-down about 10x better. 

Good call on the Kawada/Foley match. For the Triple Crown too. So naturally I was hoping Foley could take the victory, haha. Believe that was my first match I saw from the promotion. It's on youtube. I should relive Mick getting killed by those kicks.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I'm watching the G1 Finals right now.

And man, Toru/Marufuji is like the match for anyone who hates Marufuji. It felt like a complete satire on his wrestling style. Ok, more his moveset, but still.

Even though I'm a Marufuji fan, I LOVED this match.


----------



## Obfuscation

*HUSTLE PPV #1 - 1/4/04​​*


1) *Four Way Match*:
Low Ki vs Jun Kasai vs MIKAMI vs King Adamo ~ **


2) Zebraman vs Ikuto Hidaka ~ *3/4


3) Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs Dos Caras Jr & El Solar ~ ***


4) Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka vs The Predator & Kevin Randleman ~ **1/2


5)* Handicap Match*:
Giant Silva vs Katsuhisa Fujii & Kohei Sato ~ DUD


6) Shinya Hashimoto vs Vader ~ 1/2*


7) Dusty Rhodes, Steve Corino, & Tom Howard vs Mil Mascaras, Dos Caras, & Sicodelico Jr ~ **3/4


8) Toshiaki Kawada vs Mark Coleman ~ ***


9) Naoya Ogawa vs Bill Goldberg ~ **​

The show that started it all. Have to tell you, the card on paper got me really excited. Most delivered too. In fact, all did pardon the SADLY disapointing Hashimoto/Vader affair. Oh that one being a snoozefest was a total surprise. Then Kawada/Coleman shocks me by being seriously entertaining. Not so much on Kawada's part, but Coleman who I wasn't sure would ever have a single match worth seeing. The lucha trio vs white guys was probably one of the most interesting matches I've seen. Thanks to the random assortment out there. What made it really awesome was that the Rhodes/Corino feud was brought back into play. I was hoping that would show some life considering their history. And oh yeah it did. Have to give the MOTN lean to the Japan vs Mexico tag although Kawada/Coleman is close. The tag delivered as I figured it would. Not familiar w/El Solar prior to this, but I was already a fan of the other 3. Worst match of the night goes to the obvious Giant Silva match. The only bad thing about HUSTLE in the early days was the use of this guy. He's Khali level bad only _worse_. He literally almost falls down when he walks. It's brutal. Thankfully, this match was short. 

One more note on the show: I loved the tease, well really the start, of the heel group MONSTER. Ogawa stirring the pot only to realize that his lack of wanting to listen to authority would make him target #1. So great.


----------



## topper1

Hailsabin said:


> Plus he was wearing a yellow jumpsuit a la BRUCE LEE.


Fixed that for you


----------



## seabs

Kid Kamikaze10 said:


> I'm watching the G1 Finals right now.
> 
> And man, Toru/Marufuji is like the match for anyone who hates Marufuji. It felt like a complete satire on his wrestling style. Ok, more his moveset, but still.
> 
> Even though I'm a Marufuji fan, I LOVED this match.


*Marufuji was god awful in that match. Thankfully Yano is absolutely magnificent and fucking rules, especially when the crowd are pro Yano. Marufuji did his best to drag it down but it was still really fun thanks to Yano being a boss. Aren't too many guys anywhere who have entertained me in their matches this year as consistently as Yano has. 

On the topic of the show, the show as a whole kinda disappointed me. Expected a lot more out of Tanahashi/Anderson. Final I thought was very good but not MOTYC level. Finishing stretch was obviously great but the rest of the match felt a bit too directionless. Their match last month was a lot better.*


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I liked the finishing stretch for the G1 Finals match way more than the one from KOPW.

But yeah, their WK title shot match was better. Clearer direction from the beginning up.


----------



## septurum

Anyone else disappointed with Masakatsu Funaki's Triple Crown run so far? I don't think he should have gotten the belt in the first place. Never liked him.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lets just say when he got the gold it wasn't doing me any favorite to check out AJPW anytime soon.


----------



## Chismo

septurum said:


> Anyone else disappointed with Masakatsu Funaki's Triple Crown run so far? I don't think he should have gotten the belt in the first place. Never liked him.


Only seen his short Omori defense. Personally, I love the booking, he reinvented himself and came up with a "devastating finishing combo", and that's what his matches are centered about. He destroyed Nagata, Akiyama and Omori with the combo, and every match was 6-9 minutes long. And I'm glad they booked Suwama as the only one who can push Masa to the limit. I don't mind Funaki being the champ, it will be interesting to see who dethrones him.


----------



## septurum

JoeRulz said:


> Only seen his short Omori defense. Personally, I love the booking, he reinvented himself and came up with a "devastating finishing combo", and that's what his matches are centered about. He destroyed Nagata, Akiyama and Omori with the combo, and every match was 6-9 minutes long. And I'm glad they booked Suwama as the only one who can push Masa to the limit. I don't mind Funaki being the champ, it will be interesting to see who dethrones him.


I did like his match with Suwama but Funaki really had nothing to do with why I liked it. Everything else in his run has been lackluster. I especially hate the way he won it. Akiyama is way better than that.


----------



## Derek

Yeah, but losing the title in a shitty way is almost a trademark of Akiyama.


----------



## septurum

I've never thought of that but I see what you are saying. He never seems to lose titles in a good way.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I'm not as much of a AJPW fan, but I actually have liked Funaki's reign. Then again, I like Masakatsu Funaki in general, so that probably helps.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Omfg, can't wait for Tana/Okada at WK7. INB4 *****


----------



## seabs

*I hate people going into a match saying it's gonna be 5* but if the crowd are on it like they probably will be then there's every chance they can have a match of that level. Can't remember the last time I felt that kind of hype for a match. Possibly Shawn/Taker II @ Mania. Exclude that and it'd go way way back.*


----------



## Obfuscation

I won't slap a star rating on it till I see it, but I'm very confident Tanahashi vs Okada III is gonna tear the fucking house down. One of the first matches might steal it for 2013.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax Final Day 12.08.2012:* 

*MVP vs. Lance Archer* - **1/2

*Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura* - ***1/4

*Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito* - ***1/4

*Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe* - ***

*Shelton Benjamin vs. Satoshi Kojima* - ***1/4+
Whoever said NJPW's booked Benjamin perfectly was damn right, this match was even better than his match with Suzuki, judging by his ROH matches I didn't thought he still able to look THAT good.

*Toru Yano vs. Naomichi Marufuji* - ***1/2

*Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki* - Clipped  but looked like an awesome match from the last mins and crowd was really into it

*Karl Anderson vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi* - ***1/2

*G1 Climax Final* - ***3/4

Overall great show with HOT crowd (what's the name of the venue? I think the G1 show with Nagata-Tana as the Main Event and Dominion were there, the crowd is always amazing there from I've seen), some matches didn't hit the full potentiel due the time they were given but it's understandable because they had to wrestle again later.


----------



## seabs

*Nagata/Suzuki wasn't clipped 

The venue is Ryogoku. Dominion was in there. The G1 show main evented by Tanahashi/Nagata was in Korakuen. New Japan crowds are nearly always great. This isn't a coincidence. *


----------



## EmbassyForever

Seabs said:


> *Nagata/Suzuki wasn't clipped
> 
> The venue is Ryogoku. Dominion was in there. The G1 show main evented by Tanahashi/Nagata was in Korakuen. New Japan crowds are nearly always great. This isn't a coincidence. *


Really? I watched Suzuki/Nagata (and Tana/Andesron & Finals) here

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt0oz4_yuji-nagata-vs-minoru-suzuki-njpw_sport

Because of speed problem with Part 3 & 4. As you can see it's clipped for some reason.. Well I'll try to watch it somewhere else because the match looks really great


----------



## seabs

*Download the file I posted on here then. It's in full on there. That one is from a different source.*


----------



## Matt_Yoda

Me in a puro thread, feels weird...

*Kota Ibushi vs. BxB Hulk (5/6/2012)- ***3/4*

Didn't even know DDT/DragonGate held another DDG show. Really fun match between these guys and I never realized either how small BxB Hulk is or how large Ibushi has gotten, hilariously worse that Larry Dallas towers over both of them. You know what you get these guys, some good back and forth with signature spots mixed with some really good sequences. Only qualm was that Kota controlled the majority of the match much like last time. Kota's weird in that his body mannerisms are great but he absolutely shows zero facial emotion. Hulk yelling fuck got a chuckle out of me admittedly. I was primarily interested in this match to see if it would top their original DDG match and it's really a testament to how far both these guys have come in 5 years since that match.


----------



## Obfuscation

BxB Hulk is so BOSS. (Y)

*HUSTLE PPV #3 - 5/8/04*

1) Kaz Hayashi & Leonardo Spanky vs Taka Michinoku & Low Ki ~ ***1/2


2) Mascarita Sagrada, Oscar Sevilla, Cynthia Moreno, & Pimpinela Escarlata vs. Gran Apache, Fabi Apache, Mini Abismo *****, & Polvo de Estrellas ~ ****


3) Dusty Rhodes vs Steve Corino ~ ***


4) Tiger Jeet Singh vs Zebra Man ~ DUD


5) Riki Choshu vs King AdaMONSTER ~ *


6) Shinjiro Otani & Wataru Sakata vs Mark Coleman & Dan Bobish ~ ***


7) *Dynamite Hardcore Death Match*
Masato Tanaka, Tomoaki Honma, & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs The Gladiator, Sabu, & Kintaro Kanemura ~ ***


8) *AJPW Triple Crown Championship*
Toshiaki Kawada(c) vs Mick Foley ~ ***1/2


9) Shinya Hashimoto & Naoya Ogawa vs Kevin Nash & Scott Hall ~ *​

Speaking of BOSS, that's exactly what this PPV was. Main event wasn't special, but I knew that going in. Still had a blast seeing Nash & Hall a part of the show. Granted their appearance was small potatoes to the man, the myth, the legend that is MICK FOLEY. His match vs Kawada was just as much fun as I remembered. Only thing not worth watching was, of course, the Tiger Jeet Singh squash. He's garbage. At least Dusty & Corino came out to beat him up post match. That pleased me. And ended up having a purpose. Although, sadly, TNA would swoop in and sign Dusty causing the eventual Rhodes/Corino vs Sabu/Singh tag to never take place. I only wanted to see it for more Dusty and continuing the program w/Corino.

MOTN goes to the fabulous lucha tag. Wonderful, brilliant, and all the other adjectives to say there. That's the lucha I adore. Not the majority of junk that's out nowadays. Oh and, Fabi Apache. What a babe. Opener was hot. Not a surprise when looking at the talent pool. Taka & Low Ki teaming = :mark:

Yeah, that 6 man was off the charts entertainment. Although it had GIANT SILVA be the final surprise weapon to the match which lead me to scream FUCK - since I thought I went a whole PPV w/o seeing him.


----------



## Yeah1993

Mascarita Sagrada is the greatest fucking human being to ever live.


----------



## Obfuscation

There was a partition that separates the crowd from the ring and he literally clears ALL of it via a springboard crossbody to land onto the bulk of his opponents. Highlight of the match.


----------



## ROHWashingtonstate

He's great for sure, but I would still pay to see Devitt or Ibushi over any current luchador for sure!! They can do it all.


----------



## Chismo




----------



## Obfuscation

Oh I know what I'm watching tomorrow. :mark:


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Power Struggle 2012 Review:* 

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title* 
Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (c) vs. Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - **3/4

Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, ***** Casas & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado - **1/2

Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi - ***

*IWGP Tag Team Title* 
Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title* 
Low Ki (c) vs. Prince Devitt - ***1/2

Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - N/R

*Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contendership* 
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto - ***3/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Title* 
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Karl Anderson - ***1/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Title* 
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Yujiro Takahashi - ***1/2 (re-watched)

Review with spoilers:



Spoiler: Review with spoilers



Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (c) vs. Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - **3/4
Really glad that KUSHIDA and Shelley won, they're really exciting and even in short match they brought the best. The match was so short because Koslov was injured, if you saw the 4/11 show (i'm in the first half so far) you know that he injured his leg after bad superkick. I thought they'll do something similar to Bryan/Sheamus after the pre-match stuff but glad they didn't. Really appreciate that Koslov did wrestled and was a part of the match. Time Splitters vs Taichi and TAKA sounds awesome to me, hope it'll be happen at the 1/4 show.

Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, ***** Casas & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado - **1/2
Your typical 5 vs 5 match. Nothing bad, nothing special. Became better towards the end and with more time (and Strong-Man! why he wasn't there?) this could've been higher.

Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi - ***
It was an entrating match. Enjoyed seeing Suzuki kicking Taguchi's ass and Nagata was awesome as always. Shocking finish was Taichi pin Nagata :lol

Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4
Really similar to their last match, I think that now is the time to split TenKoji. I don't know why but Davey doesn't fit as well as I thought in NJ so far, Archer right now is the better man and he's carring the team. The divison right now is dead, hope NJPW will do something about it.

Low Ki (c) vs. Prince Devitt - ***1/2
This match was awesome. Lots of unperdictable countrs and without the bad finish it could easily be in the 4* territory. Low Ki did some great stuff there, he's really underrated this year, I don't why there's hate on him. Devitt didn't need the win in my opinion and Ki just won the belt so I don't the result...

Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - N/R
Hm, it was only 4-5 mins so I don't really know how to rate this.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto - ***3/4
This was exactly what you'd exepct from these two. Just another awesome match from Okada and strong showing frm Goto. Loved everything here.

Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Karl Anderson - ***1/4
Great match but I felt like something was missing. The TKO on the barricade was sick. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Yujiro Takahashi - ***3/4
First of all, this was much better than I thought it would. Takahasi surprised me here and he looked much better than usual. Tanahasi was Tanahasi and he looked like millon bucks as always. The match was great, they did everything by the book and did felt that long but it's just not on the same level with Tana/Okada I & II, Goto/Okada or Suzuki/Tana.

Overall really good show, of course not as good as Dominion or KOPW but still great.


----------



## rzombie1988

*NJPW Power Struggle iPPV*

Overall thoughts: This wasn't a PPV, it was a house show. Most of the matches didn't get enough time and the work was noticeably down from the first PPV. I got the feeling that the workers stepped it up for the first PPV because it was special but after that, they figured there was no reason to go all out here. Nothing was bad but nothing was what it should have been. Some of it was due to the match-ups and some of it was due to time and alot of it was due to little heat from the crowd. Everyone underachieved here and the most interesting people on the show (Forever Hooliganz) may not even be around due to other bookings. I don't recommend this one and it was not even as close to as good as the first one.

I reviewed the NJPW Power Struggle iPPV here with pics/gifs/quotes:
http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/njpw-power-struggle-11112012-ippv-review.html

Some pics from it:

























Did anyone else see this? Any thoughts?


----------



## MTheBehemoth

JoeRulz said:


>


Thanks


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 05.08.2012 Review:*

*Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata* - **3/4

*MVP vs. Rush* - *3/4 (This was just bad and MVP was really sloppy)

*Lance Archer vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan* - ***1/4+

*Karl Anderson vs. Shelton Benjamin *- ***1/4 (That black guy there was Shelton Benjamin? To me he looked like a total different person compared to the guy I'm seeing in ROH every week)

*Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki* - ***1/2

*Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito* - ***1/2

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada* - ***3/4+ 

*Naomichi Marufuji vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi* - ***1/2-***3/4


----------



## Coffey

I'm just sitting down to watch NJPW Power Struggle now. I'm excited. Nothing this year has been better or more entertaining for me than New Japan. The top of their cards this whole year have been great. I'm a mark.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW Power Struggle 2012 iPPV Review*

*Rocky Romero & Alex Kozlov © vs KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match*
Felt quite different your typical tag match. They kicked off the match with the heels attacking the faces which kick-started the face-in-peril segment. It was decent until the match abruptly ended.
*★¾*

*Jado, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI vs Captain New Japan, Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, ***** Casas & Tiger Mask*
Is it me or are these CHAOS brawls getting a lot better recently? Because I've just recently started to get into them. Just over-the-top fun. Liger is still one of the most expressive men in pro-wrestler. He can exhume so much emotion with his great body language alone and you can't even see the man's face! This is all evident in the spot where Liger stomps his own team-mate, trying to will him on. Super fun ten man tag match.
*★★★*

*Minoru Suzuki & Taichi vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata*
Any Suzuki-Gun match is automatically better than average because of 'dem ANTICS~! The whole story of this match is that MiSu & co are dominating Taguchi by using illegal tactics and stop him from reaching Nagata for the tag. It's a simple narrative executed very well. Hell, even Taguchi was okay in this. He has a great slap exchange with MiSu. Things get even better when Nagata finally gets in. He's a fresh man so he's very intense and comes off as highly-charismatic during the finishing stretch. MiSu and Nagata even throw in some fun callback spots from their previous encounters too. These men can do no wrong together.
*★★★¼*

*Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer © vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - IWGP Tag Team Title Match*
Decent yet formulaic match you'd expect out TenKoji. At least this had an enjoyable finishing stretch.
*★★½*

*Low Ki © vs. Prince Devitt - IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match*
These guys have awesome chemistry together. Those who loved their match back in May won't be disappointed here. It's at a much quicker speed and features many comeback spots relating to their last match. Ki's schtick really entertains me, and I'm no fan of Devitt but he really did well here. It goes a bit over-the-top at the end, but with the great brawling and a great ending that leaves the door open to another rematch, I'm not complaining.
*★★★★*

*Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue*
Laughter7 once again entertain me by simply beating the shit out of someone. My main gripe here was that Inoue got too much offense in and should of just been a whipping boy like in their last match. They keep away from doing too many Makabe/Laughter7 interactions YET AGAIN further hyping me up to see a singles match.
*★★★¼*

*Kazuchika Okada © vs Hirooki Goto - IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Match*
Just last month in the last NJPW iPPV review, I shat on Goto for being too dry and uncharismatic and his performance here just goes against everything I said. He played the spunky challenger very well here and Okada is Okada. One thing that is starting to bug me during Okada's matches are how some of the reversals in the finishing stretch were getting a bit cutesy for my liking and are bordering just above indy-wank level but other than that this is a good match.
*★★★¼*

*Shinsuke Nakamura © vs Karl Anderson - IWGP Intercontinental Title Match*
Interesting to see Nakamura work as a face, especially when he's trying to go for his finisher. Other than that, I found this to drag and I don't see why these guys needed to bust out their entire moveset for a match like this. Save it for the big matches, guys.
*★★½*

*Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Yujiro Takahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Starts of very similar to the first Tanahashi vs Okada match in that Tana dominates but Takahashi eventually takes control after a series of Tanahashi's mistakes. Takahashi was great in this' doing little things like biting and hair pulling put him over as a menacing little shit. The match takes a big drop in quality when it becomes clear that this is going your typical Tanahashi formulaic performance. You can see it a mile away and it stops you from fully getting sucked into to the near-falls, minus when Takahashi hit his finisher. Throwaway defense.
*★★★*

*Overall:*
A step down in quality from their last show, but still a highly consisted event.


----------



## Chismo

*Yuji Nagata vs. KENTA (NOAH, Global League 2012 - Day 8)*

_Not a good match, tbh. Really solid, but not good. Which is disappointing, since this is their first 1-on-1 meeting. What I liked is the story had a clear direction of Nagata owning KENTA permanently, showing his craftiness and experience over KENTA's faux heavyweight schtick. That was good. Plus, the strikes and blows were really stiff, they were beating each other silly. But, with all that being said, the match somehow lacked a depth and charm. No "charisma", if that makes any sense. Not enough for the *** teritory._
*Rating: **3/4*


----------



## Concrete

*Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinya Hashimoto (02/22/2004):****1/2*

_This will be the point in my life where I say I have not watched a ton of Hashimoto. That’s actually not true. I have watched MAYBE one match of his against Tenryu in a best of the 90s comp. I wasn’t too high on it considering all the great things I have heard about Hashimoto. This match made me want to hunt down this man’s best. He was a god damn treat in this match. I’m pretty sure if he wanted to he could have forced Kawada to drop dead right from the start with his death stare. That being said with the talent in this match it shouldn’t be all too surprising this is awesome. This match doesn’t rely on big bumps and near falls to be awesome. Hashimoto attacks Kawada’s leg and its real nice. Kawada sells it for a bit afterwards. Kawada attacks Hashimoto’s injured arm which is logical and well done here. My favorite of the match is essentially my favorite part of every Kawada match I’ve seen, JUMPING HEAD KICKS!!! I don’t know why I get such a pleasure from watching Kawada doing them. Hashimoto has big part of it this time though. The way he dangles there on the brink of falling had me on the edge of my sweet wondering if this kick would be the one. The towel finish was well done as well. 
_


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax Day 2 03.08.2012 Review:* 

*Yujiro Takahashi vs Satoshi Kojima* - **3/4

*Rush vs Lance Archer* - *** (Archer is actaully really good, love his work in NJPW)

*Yuji Nagata vs Toru Yano *- ***

*Karl Anderson vs Minoru Suzuki *- ***1/4

*Shelton Benjamin vs Naomichi Marufuji* - **1/2 (Meh, nothing special, both needs a better wrestler to carry them)

*MVP vs Togi Makabe* - *3/4 (really poor, both were sloppy and I'm just not a fan of MVP in Japan, everything he does looks so dull)

*Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura* - ***3/4

*Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada *- ****1/2 (Thought it was as good as their first match, MOTYC no dobut about it)


----------



## Chismo

*The Great Muta vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (AJPW, Pro-Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 7)*

_Aaah, 13 minutes of Triple Crown greatness. Takayama is the G.O.A.T. in working these 10-15 min long matches, where his shoot background comes into play in such a monstrous way, and there are no many long control segments, just BIG TAK going Chewbacca on his opponents. Brutal and bloody title match, short 'n' sweet. Really good stuff._
*Rating: ***3/4*


----------



## Yeah1993

Hashimoto >> Jumbo, Kobashi, Liger, Fujinami and honestly I might have him above Tenryu.


----------



## Concrete

I watched Tenryu vs. Kojima which was my first match for Tenryu outside of the match with Hashimoto that I've seen. I have to watch that again at some point because it was pretty difficult for me to get into. I just felt like Tenryu was hitting brainbusters left and right to the point where they were pointless. I was wicked tired though so somewhere down the road I'll give it another watch.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I guess Tenryu can be an "acquired taste" at first (or maybe all the time). Right now, though, I'm at a point where he does pretty much everything I want in a pro-wrestler. Tremendous facial expressions, probably the best "Fuck you for I despise you" wrestler ever, master "storyteller," amazing subtle seller, awesome striker...if I could only watch one wrestler for the rest of my life, I'd pick Tenryu. 




Yeah1993 said:


> Hashimoto >> Jumbo, Kobashi, Liger, Fujinami and honestly I might have him above Tenryu.


Other than Tenryu, I agree with that. I'd have him over Jumbo, Kobashi and Liger comfortably. Fujinami is close and I would go back and forth on that, because Fujinami is fucking awesome and arguably the best wrestler of the 80s, but right now I'd go with Hash. Wouldn't have Hash that far below Tenryu, but for me Tenryu is borderline GOAT (definitely my #1 all time wrestler from Japan, at least), so pretty much every wrestler in history goes below him by default.


----------



## Yeah1993

It took me like two years to really, really 'get' Tenryu and even now I'm less of a fan than most of the pro-Tenryus. He'd still be like, top 15 all time to me though. 100000% top 20 if not. Probably more around 14-17.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I'd probably be in the same boat vis a vis Tenryu > Hashimoto. Hashimoto is tremendous and he might be my favourite ever 'company ace' champion although peak Misawa could have something to say about that. He's a great striker, super seller, very good at laying out a traditional title match and building to the bigger moments and he's a tremendous base for a smaller opponent to work against.

Andy pimped Tenryu better than I can though. He's got that innate charm where you're always watching him in any setting expecting him to do something amazing at any moment. His execution can be rugged and a little sloppy at times but more often than not it works in a 'oh god that HAD to hurt' way rather than 'sheeesh that looked weak'. He's great in title matches, heated tags and really knows how to build a feud and advance matches. Watching the New Japan vs WAR feud (need to get back on that actually) made me even more of a fan of Tenryu with how he grew in every match and become more aggressive and cocky towards the New Japan guys and really managed to get you invested in the direction the angle was going.

Only guys in puro I'd consider to be above Hashimoto (or would have to spend a lot of time in finally putting Hashimoto above them) would be Fujiwara, Misawa, Tenryu & Kawada. If we take gaijins into the equation then Funk's years in Japan might just put him above Hash, though its certainly close. Hansen as well would be another contender but I'd need to revisit a lot of his work in Japan before definitively putting him ahead of Hashimoto.


----------



## Obfuscation

I have to see more Hashimoto matches from his prime. All I've watched lately were some matches from latter years, including the bulk of early HUSTLE shows, and he's been incredibly fun although I know he was capable of much more. His crap match with Vader on HUSTLE #1 nearly broke my heart. Why it wasn't good...I literally cannot form words to explain.

Tenryu is the BOSS. I think anyone who watches Puro ranks him near or at #1.

Liger is treated like god in my eyes. So that's my answer towards him.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Ok, all those long posts you made were cute but Fujinami is still teh best rasslah evah.


----------



## Yeah1993

Segunda Caida said:


> *He's got that innate charm where you're always watching him in any setting expecting him to do something amazing at any moment.* His execution can be rugged and a little sloppy at times but more often than not it works in a '*oh god that HAD to hurt*' way rather than 'sheeesh that looked weak'.


I honestly get that more with Hashimoto. Tenryu is Tenryu and I can't disagree with anything said, but Shinya seems to do something in almost every match I see him in that stands out as being incredible. In the Takada 96 match he sweeps the leg, in a Hirata tag he karate chops a belt into someone's head, in one of the Tenryu matches he does a spin kick while Tenryu's on the turnbuckle (or something), in a Vader match he delivers like the greatest ring-post shot ever, in the 2002 Tanaka match he just BRUTALLY jumps onto Tanaka off of the apron. I'm not going 'Tenryu DOESN'T do this and that', but Hashimoto's got that same feel and he's got my eyes popping out of my head more. I prefer Hash on offense to Tenryu as well. I definitely think he looks more violent.


----------



## antoniomare007

Reading Yeah2012 pimp Hashimoto warms my heart.


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

Hashimoto is definitely a better striker, but Hashimoto is maybe the best striker in wrestling history. Also a master of violence and capturing a sense of utter contempt for opponents. Tenryu and Hash are both masters at that, but in different ways. Tenryu will walk up to a guy with a broken nose, while the guy with the broken nose is writing around on the mat, and he'll nonchalantly kick him in that broken nose (this has happened). Hash is the guy that breaks the nose in the first place (this has also happened). I don't know if there's anybody that can make absolutely everything seem incredibly violent like Hashimoto can. Hansen, maybe, but again, that's a different kind of violence. Hansen is a fucking whirlwind of piss and vinegar and wildness and carnage. Anybody that's within reach gets caught in the fallout. Hash comes across as being more deliberate, like his violence is funnelled and directed towards someone in particular. Hash and Tenryu are both kings of milking and creating the huge moments in matches. That bit from the '96 Hash/Takada match that Australian mentions where Takada tries to take Hashimoto's head off with a roundhouse kick and Hash ducks it so he can sweep the leg...that is such an incredible moment. The pop that shit gets is insane. And, fuck, that match might be the best sub-15 minute match ever. 

I don't think there's much of anything between the two. Both are great and I wouldn't spend a ton of time trying to argue the 'Tenryu > Hashimoto' point.


----------



## rzombie1988

I've been writing for years that Hashimoto vs Takada was the best sub-15 minute match ever and I still have it as my MOTY for 1996 along with one of my top 10 matches of all time. Everything about it is just pure awesomeness and wrestling at its finest. Nobuhiko Takada should have been the wrestler of the year for 1996 due to all the awesome big money matches he did. It's a shame that NJPW and Riki Choshu wanted to play games with him as I would have signed him for as much money as he wanted.

As for kicks, I'd pick Kana as the best kicker.


----------



## Chismo

I'm just mad Giant Baba refused to please Takada's big money appetite in order to sign him back in 96/97.  Imagine All Japan with Takada, that would also mean Takayama' earlier signing too.


----------



## Bubz

enlightenedone9 said:


> *Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinya Hashimoto (02/22/2004):****1/2*
> 
> _This will be the point in my life where I say I have not watched a ton of Hashimoto. That’s actually not true. I have watched MAYBE one match of his against Tenryu in a best of the 90s comp. I wasn’t too high on it considering all the great things I have heard about Hashimoto. This match made me want to hunt down this man’s best. He was a god damn treat in this match. I’m pretty sure if he wanted to he could have forced Kawada to drop dead right from the start with his death stare. That being said with the talent in this match it shouldn’t be all too surprising this is awesome. This match doesn’t rely on big bumps and near falls to be awesome. Hashimoto attacks Kawada’s leg and its real nice. Kawada sells it for a bit afterwards. Kawada attacks Hashimoto’s injured arm which is logical and well done here. My favorite of the match is essentially my favorite part of every Kawada match I’ve seen, JUMPING HEAD KICKS!!! I don’t know why I get such a pleasure from watching Kawada doing them. Hashimoto has big part of it this time though. The way he dangles there on the brink of falling had me on the edge of my sweet wondering if this kick would be the one. The towel finish was well done as well.
> _


Honestly think this is my match of the last decade.

Kawada still remains my favourite wrestler ever (bar Austin maybe, but that's for completely different reasons, obvs), even after seeing loads of Hashimoto and Tenryu this year. Honestly thinking I prefer Tenryu to Hash at this point, but both guys fucking rule. Definitely nothing wrong with anyone preferring one over the other.


----------



## Coffey

Man, four hours is a really, really long time. Even for NJPW, I struggle to watch it in one, or even two, sittings. That's just way too long of a show. I can't imagine being there in person.


----------



## Yeah1993

antoniomare007 said:


> Reading Yeah2012 pimp Hashimoto warms my heart.





Yeah1993 said:


> What are your favourite Hash & Chsoshu matches btw? Haven't seen as much from either guy as I'd like to.


Remember this? This was two years ago. 



JoeRulz said:


> I'm just mad Giant Baba refused to please Takada's big money appetite in order to sign him back in 96/97.  Imagine All Japan with Takada, that would also mean Takayama' earlier signing too.


Ehhhh. Takada's not THAT good. There are some who think he's a great wrestler and some who think he stinks. I'm neither, but he's very, very hit or miss. His best stuff is really great but at his worst he can suck enjoyment out of a match for me. Again, I'm not on the 'he sucks' side, but I'm not really sure I'd even call him a top 25 for shoot style alone.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah1993 said:


> Ehhhh. Takada's not THAT good. There are some who think he's a great wrestler and some who think he stinks. I'm neither, but he's very, very hit or miss. His best stuff is really great but at his worst he can suck enjoyment out of a match for me. Again, I'm not on the 'he sucks' side, but I'm not really sure I'd even call him a top 25 for shoot style alone.


Agreed. He's hit or miss indeed, but my wish for Takada in AJPW is based on the endless pool of possibly awesome opponents and variety of matches there, not on Takadda himself.


----------



## antoniomare007

Yeah1993 said:


> Remember this? This was two years ago.










I do. It took a while, but it's nice seeing more people on this board appreciate the greatness of that fat bastard.


----------



## septurum

couple of random youtube matches:

Colt Cabana & Eddie Edwards vs Daichi Hashimoto & Shinjiro Otani (NOAH 4-11-12) ** 3/4 - Pretty fun match but the botches bring this one down a bit. 

KENTA vs Yuji Nagata (NOAH 11-17-12) *** 1/2 - Was expecting a bit more considering the two involved but I still ended up being pretty pleased with it. Very stiff and physical. Would like to see a rematch and maybe get a MOTY contender from these two. Definitely a good match though.


----------



## Yeah1993

Y'all peoples' top 20 Japanese wrestlers?

1. Toshiaki Kawada
2. Mitsuharu Misawa
3. Yoshiaki Fujiwara
4. Shinya Hashimoto
5. Genichiro Tenryu
6. Jumbo Tsuruta
7. Yuki Ishikawa
8. Kiyoshi Tamura
9. Kenta Kobashi
10. Jushin Liger
11. Tatsumi Fujinami
12. Akira Taue
13. Riki Choshu
14. Dick Togo
15. Yoshihiro Takayama
16. Naoki Sano
17. Yoji Anjoh
18. Daisuke Ikeda
19. Jun Akiyama
20. Shinjiro Ohtani


This would change so often that my head hurts. I'm not including gaijin. I could have put Volk Han there because he only wrestled in Japan but fuck it I don't need to hurt my head even more. I'd need to see more of a guy like Yatsu to know if I want to place him. I didn't add women for that reason, as well. Honourable mentions to Otsuka, Kikuchi, Fuchi, Sasuke, TAKA, Hase, Yamazaki, Kimura, etc, etc, et fucking cetera.


----------



## asdf0501

Something like this i believe:

1. Genichiro Tenryu
2. Yoshiaki Fujiwara
3. Toshiaki Kawada
4. Shinya Hashimoto
5. Mitsuharu Misawa
6. Jumbo Tsuruta
7. Tatsumi Fujinami
8. Yuki Ishikawa
9. Dick Togo
10. Akira Taue
11. Kenta Kobashi
12. Jushin Liger
13. Kiyoshi Tamura
14. Yoshihiro Takayama
15. Yoshiaki Yatsu
16. Masa Fuchi
17. Daisuke Ikeda
18. TAKA michinoku
19. Yoji Anjoh
20. Alexander Otsuka 

Sadly i wasn't able to put Sano and Kimura. If you count Gaijins, then Hansen and Han will be at worse between 4 and 6. 

And yeah at this time i certainly belive that Togo is the best Jr ever.


----------



## Chismo

1-20. YOSHIHIRO TAKAYAMA


----------



## Bubz

Couldn't do a top 20, purely because there's so many guys that get pimped that I haven't seen enough work from.

Top 10 though (based purely off guys who's work I've seen a lot of, so it'd be fair to rank them)

Kawada
Liger
Tenryu
Misawa
Hashimoto
Kobashi
Taue
Jumbo
Takayama
Ohtani

At this point Kawada is my favourite wrestler of all time. If I could include Hansen, he'd probably be top 5 in all honesty.


----------



## Concrete

I'm aware this isn't an MMA thread but with all this talk about Volk Han I thought I'd mention his retirement match in MMA is set for December 16th against non-other than current AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion Masakatsu Funkaki in the RINGS promotion. Wouldn't have mentioned it usually but one of the top shoot fighters to ever live, also an accomplished MMA fighter, versus a world champion, who is also an accomplished MMA fighter, in a fight seems something that I'd at least mention given Volk Han popping up.


----------



## Chismo

*ZERO1 Fire Festival 2011 – Day 7*
*Finals*: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Kohei Sato

_Finals. Awesome match. The funny thing is, in all Sekimoto matches, how they start really slow and methodical, with a lot of one upmanship, and you may think and go “this guy, eh… really?”, but then, as match progresses, you suddenly become aware of Sekimoto’s greatness and his amazing ability to suck you in. The way he builds things in his matches in simply tremendous, hence why his climax moments are always so awesome and dramatic. This match is Sekimoto 101 exactly. Sato did his job well too, so this was not a carryjob. Awesome heavyweight battle._
*Rating: ***3/4*


*ZERO1 Pro-Wrestling Nippon!*
*ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship*: Kohei Sato © vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

_Similar to their Fire Festival match, but longer and better. Awesome shit, another great showcase of Sekimoto’s immense storytelling skills. This was a true heavyweight battle, plenty of stiff strikes and strength testing, but it never got annoying. Sekimoto was busting out some impressive moves left and right down the road, and the finishing stretch was exciting. They didn’t spam stuff, everything was cooled down. I loved how Sekimoto pulled off few moves he rarely uses, such as Flying Elbow, it was a nice touch, and displayed the struggle in the clash. Great match._
*Rating: *****


----------



## rzombie1988

I'm sure I'm going to get alot of flak for this but I didn't like the NJPW World Tag League iPPV.

I reviewed it here:
http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/njpw-world-tag-league-finals-1222012.html

I didn't think any of the matches were that great and the heat was really awful all night long. As with Power Struggle, I didn't really feel that anyone really went all out or even tried to perform at their best minus a few people. I hated the Nakanishi/Strongman tags but I did like the semi-main and I thought Archer/Smith did alright. Other than that, no thanks


----------



## MF83

1. Tenryu
2. Kawada
3. Misawa
4. Fujinami
5. Liger
6. Fujiwara
7. Hashimoto
8. Tsuruta
9. Taue
10. Kobashi
11. Choshu
12. Hase
13. Akiyama 
14. Takayama
15. Yatsu

Yeah, that's good enough. Very glad to see Jumbo has decreased in GOAT favorability. 

Though after yesterday, Ishii really wants to work himself on there.


----------



## Obfuscation

Liger, Tenryu, Misawa, & Nakamura based purely on personal bias.

Rest seem to follow in line.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW World Tag League 2012 Finals iPPV Review

BUSHI, Masaaki Mochizuki, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata vs Kengo Mashimo, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku*
First part of the match was some silly junior X-Division nonsense and Suzuki and Nagata looked pretty unmotivated on this night, so this was pretty bad.
*★*
*
Jado & YOSHI-HASHI vs Diamante Azul & Rush*
Rush is shite. His offense looks terrible, he fucks up a lot and to top it all off, he can't even do a simple face-in-peril segment. Half a star for this because of Jado Flair.
*½★*

*Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue - World Tag League 2012 Semi Final Match*
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. Archer and Smith's control segment were fun and Inoue continues to show his worth as a good whipping boy.
*★★★*
*
Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - World Tag League 2012 Semi Final Match*
It's very refreshing to see TenKoji not work as faces for a change. The match picked up during the finishing stretch and Tenzan took a nasty bump which looks to have legit hurt him. Either that or the mulleted man has worked me good.
*★★½*

*Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi vs Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man, MVP & Shelton Benjamin*
Inoffensive tag match that's only quality that really stuck out was that the dirty finish that further hyped up the Nakanishi/CHAOs feud some more. I am curious to see what match we will get at WrestleKingdom from this feud.
*★★¼*
*
Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba*
The rating isn't that high but these four weren't out there to wrestle a 5 star match but were there to hype up WrestleKingdom and only tease any Shinskay/Laughter7 interactions and they did a great job of that. These guys really know how to work a crowd. Ishii's performance stood out as great here. He took a nasty beating and got a great believable comeback until he was put away.
*★★★½*

*Gedo & Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA*
Fun back-and-forth match. Not too much I can say about this other than I enjoyed it and the right man won and the right man took the deciding fall.
*★★★*

*Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer - World Tag League 2012 Final Match*
This felt rather vanilla aside from Archer being awesome as usual. The finishing stretch had it's moments of greatness though. For example, I was 99% sure that Goto & Anderson would pick up a win here, but a number of near-falls managed to convince me otherwise.
*★★½*
*
Overall:*
Match quality isn't the best but this show does a decent job of hyping up WrestleKingdom. Only match I'd say you should really go out of your way to see is match 6.


----------



## Bubz

Nakamura/Ishii vs Laughter7 was good, but nothing really great imo. It did what it was supposed to though. Nakamura was in the match for all of 1 minute it seemed, so I don't know how you could say he was lazy here. Ishii was great, Shibata was good for what little he was in the match, stiffing the hell out of Ishii, but Sakuraba isn't very good imo. He just seems awkward and is really bad at transitions. I enjoy laughter7's stuff, but they need to learn to sell stuff.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I personally have loved every single Laughter7 match, even with Sakuraba's limited selling. 

This one included, because frankly, Ishii was too awesome. He took an asskicking like a G.A.M., and dished it out too.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW World Tag League 2012 Finals iPPV Review:*

BUSHI, Masaaki Mochizuki, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata vs Kengo Mashimo, Minoru - *3/4

Jado & YOSHI-HASHI vs Diamante Azul & Rush - *1/4

*World Tag League 2012 Semi Final Match* 
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue - **3/4

*World Tag League 2012 Semi Final Match* 
Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima - **3/4

Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi vs Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man, MVP & Shelton Benjamin - *1/4 (it's really hard to enjoy Strong Man's matches when the fans are so quiet and doesn't give a crap about what's going)

Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba - *** (really enjoyable, in my opinion Sakuraba is awesome and even if Shibata still needs to learn how the sell and his timing sometimes is bad I'm still enjoying every second of him in the ring, can't wait to their matches at 1/4 show, Ishii was fantastic as people said here)

Gedo & Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA - **3/4 (meh, nothing special, not close to be as good as their last match)

*2012 Final Match* 
Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer - *** (became really good towards the end)

So overall the show really wasn't something special and you have no reason to watch this to be honest. Shouldn't be an iPPV. Nothing really stood out and crowd ruined the matches for me, I hope NJPW will never run shows there.


----------



## Chismo

*Global League 2012 - Day 1*


1.	BRAVE (Ricky Marvin, Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge) vs. NO MERCY (MAYBACH, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi)

_Clipped, heavily. All they showed is MAYBACH busting out some power moves on the Juniors._

*N/A*


2.	Eddie Edwards & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Akitoshi Saito & Kotaro Suzuki

_Very clipped too._

*N/A*


3.	*Block B*: Shane Haste vs. Naomichi Marufuji

_This was clipped too, but they showed the majority, and it was really solid. Haste is a guy with big potential, and this win was shocking, hopefully NOAH continues to invest. Marufuji’s hair looks horrible, tbh, he comes across as a Nakamura wannabe. Fail._

**1/2


4.	*Block A*: Kento Miyahara vs. KENTA

_Really stiff and intense, like every KENTA match. Nothing special, though, but the potential was evident, hopefully they meet in a big match down the road (but not for the GHC Hewiki title), because there’s a MOTYC potential in this pairing._

**1/2


5.	TenKoji vs. Takashi Sugiura & Mohammed Yone

_Basic as fuck, absolutely nothing special, the only noteworthy thing happened after the match, when Kojima challenged Morishima for the Heavyweight Title. Oh, and Yone can fuck off already._

**


6.	*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Shuji Kondo © vs. Atsushi Aoki

_Can’t believe it, they clipped even this. Not too much, but still, this is a title match, ffs. Putting the Jr. strap on Kondo was a terrible idea, and who ever came up with that, needs to be fucked in the ass, with no lube. This was solid, but nothing memorable happened, the work was average, and there were few awkward transitions. Oh, NOAH, you’re so painfully average right now._

**1/2


7.	*Block A*: Mikey Nicholls vs. Takeshi Morishima

_Holy shit, this was bad! Thank God they only went 6 minutes, otherwise, this would’ve been a total disaster. So sloppy, so… Meh._

*


8.	*Block B*: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Jun Akiyama

_Fuck it, this was 12 minutes long, but they only aired 7. Of course. However, I gotta feeling the full version would add nothing, tbh, because the match was going-through-motions, there was no depth and charm. Another really average showcase, which is disappointing considering the names involved._

**1/2


9.	*Block A*: Yuji Nagata vs. Go Shiozaki

_Fucking hell, talking about a letdown! Sheeeeeit, this was boring. And bad. Oh yeah, this felt like a typical, dull and bland Davey Richards match, only slower and more methodical. I swear, Go Shiozaki has no fucking idea how to work a match in pre-finishing stretch parts. He has become unwatchable in 2012, it’s sad really. This shit dragged, it was almost painful. At least the previous matches on the card flew by, but this was just long and vanilla. Ouch._

*1/2


Well, the snowflakes tell the entire story. Not even one good match from the show. Not even one, folks. Five average ones, but nothing hit the *** mark, and the main event was just boring. Sad, sad, sad. But it’s not even about the snowflakes. The lack of energy, that depressing green ring… This felt like a bad ZERO1 show from the past (now, ZERO1 is much better than NOAH, btw). Korakuen had many empty seats, not even Yuji Nagata could pack’em in. That tells you enough about the state of NOAH. No one looks like a star over there nowadays. Not even Go, not even KENTA. Definitely not Marufuji. Maybe Shima, and that’s it. Nakajima is Kenskay’s guy, and Akiyama doesn’t give a shit anymore, it seems. Fuck this show.​


----------



## Obfuscation

JoeRulz said:


> 3.	*Block B*: Shane Haste vs. Naomichi Marufuji
> 
> _This was clipped too, but they showed the majority, and it was really solid. Haste is a guy with big potential, and this win was shocking, hopefully NOAH continues to invest. *Marufuji’s hair looks horrible, tbh, he comes across as a Nakamura wannabe. Fail.*_
> 
> **1/2​


:lmao

Trying to steal that Nakamura SWAG.


----------



## Chismo

Holy shit, this is awesome. Hopefully they make something like this again.


----------



## septurum

Yeah1993 said:


> Y'all peoples' top 20 Japanese wrestlers?


Mine:

1) Kenta Kobashi
2) Jumbo Tsuruta
3) Mitsuharu Misawa
4) Shinsuke Nakamura
5) Go Shiozaki
6) Toshiaki Kawada
7) KENTA
8) Hiroshi Tanahashi
9) Naomichi Marufuji
10) Great Muta
11) Suwama
12) Yoshihiro Takayama
13) Takeshi Morishima
14) Jun Akiyama
15) Katsuhiko Nakajima
16) Hirooki Goto
17) Shinya Hashimoto
18) Masato Yoshino
19) Kensuke Sasaki
20) Masato Tanaka

Others: Taiji Ishimori, CIMA, Kotaro Suzuki, Fujita Jr. Hayato, Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Nagata.


----------



## Obfuscation

BJW is the new wrestling opera to fill the void of the dearly departed HUSTLE.

I'm officially sold.


----------



## TelkEvolon

JoeRulz said:


> Holy shit, this is awesome. Hopefully they make something like this again.


I am pretty sure this was the 3rd Shakespeare Series BJW has done, great stuff and I can also only hope for more events like this.


----------



## Chismo

Just got my hands on the Vader/Takada UWFi super clash trilogy. :mark: Gonna watch it soon.


----------



## dele

Just caught up on BJW. Jeezus, Kobayashi as champion is just fucking painful. I'm honestly rooting for Ito to beat him in December because Abby's matches are becoming flat out unwatchable.


----------



## Chismo

Ito's reign would be same old structure, same old spots. But yeah, Abby's reign has run it's course. Masashi Takeda needs the title run.


----------



## dele

JoeRulz said:


> Ito's reign would be same old structure, same old spots. But yeah, Abby's reign has run it's course. *Masashi Takeda needs the title run.*


In the worst fucking way man. I was just saying I'll take stiff punch, half nelson suplex, body slam, dragon splash over fucking Kobayashi right now. The guy can't move he's so beat up.


----------



## mk92071

I watched the GOAT match today. You guessed it. YOSHIHIKO vs. Kota Ibushi. Holy fuck. *****. If you haven't seen this watch it NOW.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsn3n0_kota-ibushi-c-vs-yoshihiko-c_sport#.UMFxDIZTGuI

The most entertaining thing on the fucking planet. Wow. 19 minutes is the greatest spot in wrestling history.


----------



## Nervosa

mk92071 said:


> I watched the GOAT match today. You guessed it. YOSHIHIKO vs. Kota Ibushi. Holy fuck. *****. If you haven't seen this watch it NOW.
> 
> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsn3n0_kota-ibushi-c-vs-yoshihiko-c_sport#.UMFxDIZTGuI
> 
> The most entertaining thing on the fucking planet. Wow. 19 minutes is the greatest spot in wrestling history.


Go see YOSHIHIKO and Danshouko Dino vs. Omega and Ibushi: I think Its the best YOSHI match, mostly because of the Taker Comeback.


----------



## seabs

*Everyone needs to watch more YOSHIHIKO. GOAT. They did a rematch of the tag this year btw and it ruled again.*


----------



## Bubz

YOSHIHIKO :mark:


----------



## Chismo

Speaking of DDT, I will watch their notable matches from this year, because they had so many awesome pairings. Here's what I've downloaded thus far:

- Ibushi/Generico trilogy
- Ibushi/Omega
- Ibushi/Hino _(already seen this - ***3/4, but deserves a re-watch)_
- Ibushi/Hulk
- Omega/Ishii
- few YOSHIHIKO tags

More?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Dick Togo vs Antonio Honda (1/30/11)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xp...io-honda-ddt_sport?search_algo=2#.UMHnuHcybk8

Its a really terrific match. Hopefully you're aware of the statistical fact that Dick Togo rules the fucking world. Match is almost like a Memphis war by the end, especially as Honda really delivers a performance to rival that of Togo and make the match even more captivating. Lawler would have been proud of the closing few minutes.

Oh fuck, when glancing at your post I thought you said 'last year' for some reason. Its still worth a watch anyway if you haven't seen it.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, watched that match last year. Terrific.


----------



## Nervosa

Found the tag rematch...so excited!


----------



## seabs

JoeRulz said:


> Speaking of DDT, I will watch their notable matches from this year, because they had so many awesome pairings. Here's what I've downloaded thus far:
> 
> - Ibushi/Generico trilogy
> - Ibushi/Omega
> - Ibushi/Hino _(already seen this - ***3/4, but deserves a re-watch)_
> - Ibushi/Hulk
> - Omega/Ishii
> - few YOSHIHIKO tags
> 
> More?


*HARASHIMA vs Shuji Ishikawa - DDT 22.07.2012*


----------



## Nervosa

the second Golden Lovers vs. Dino/YOSHIHIKO match was funny, but a big step down from the first. no Taker comeback makes me sad.


----------



## septurum

Lord Santa Claus IV. said:


> *Everyone needs to watch more YOSHIHIKO. GOAT.*


Just watched my first YOSHIHIKO match. Umm.... :shock


----------



## seabs

*Well it was never going to match the first match but I thought it was really good in it's own right. YOSHIHIKO JOY~!

Watched some stuff fron NOAH's Global League. Quickly remembered why NOAH is so bad these days. Akiyama/Nakajima was one of the few NOAH pairings I enjoy but their match from GL sucked. Every NOAH match is the same. Generic opening, transition via guard rail spots, normally some pointless crowd brawling and then do their moves and the juniors do terrible superkicks. The clipping was horrendous too. First of all there's no way that Akiyama/Nakajima from the first day of the Global League should have 5 minutes clipped off it, especially when it only goes 12 minutes to begin with. Then they come up with the worst clipping ever. Rather than just clip 3-4 minutes out of the middle or have it JIP they try and show the full 12 minutes in highlights form and clip out all the time spent setting spots up. It's truly horrendous. Nagata/Shiozaki wasn't good. Largely due to the crowd being silent. Hilarious that they claimed 2,000 for this show. 1,500 would be a stretch. There's been AJPW and BJW Korakuen shows recently that have struggled to draw 1,000 and it wasn't that empty but for a show as significant as this with a strong card and Nagata/Tenzan/Kojima it was embarrassing. Not sure why most of them turned up because they didn't care about anything. If they worked the same match next year on a New Japan PPV then it probably would have been very good but wrestling doesn't work without crowd involvement, hence why NOAH doesn't work anymore.*


----------



## Chismo

Go/Nagata was bad because it was bad, not because of the silent crowd. And the crowd was silent because the match was bad.


----------



## seabs

*NOAH crowds are silent regardless. There's a Akiyama/Nakajima tag from this year that's really good but the crowd were silent for it. Only NOAH crowd I've seen from this year that had an active crowd was the Tag League Final Day which produced 2 great matches.*


----------



## septurum

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> BJW is the new wrestling opera to fill the void of the dearly departed HUSTLE.


DDT Pro says hi.


----------



## Obfuscation

Couldn't get into much from DDT other than Ibushi, Omega, or Dino.

Besides, I felt they were more of the Japanese WWE than they were along the lines of HUSTLE. Hey, if I'm WAY off then please link to to some wacky & awesome moments and matches. I'd love to give it another chance.


----------



## Derek

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> Hey, if I'm WAY off then please link to to some wacky & awesome moments and matches.


Have you not seen a Yoshihiko match?


----------



## septurum

Yes, YOSHIHIKO is as bizarre as it gets.

So...rank your top 5 puro promotions. Must be active:

1) NJPW
2) AJPW
3) NOAH
4) DDT Pro
5) Zero1


----------



## Bubz

I don't watch 5 puro promotions consistently right now sadly, but from what I've seen...

NJPW
AJPW
BJW
NOAH
DDT

NOAH might be in the shitter right now (which is why they're this low), but there's no denying the awesomeness that was NOAH 03-06.


----------



## seabs

*Right now? I'm down on everything bar New Japan tbh. Dragon Gate was awesome last year with the JIII/BW feud but I've barely watched any this year and haven't really wanted to. All Japan started the year off hot but it's gone back to where it was a few years ago with the same old. Core Roster isn't really strong enough. My interest in Big Japan has dwindled massively in the second half of the year. Tag League didn't look interesting and the Strong Title wasn't really needed because there isn't enough depth for that title and it means less Strong BJ tags which is where they excel. ZERO-1 hasn't produced anything noteworthy all year. NOAH lol. DDT tends to deliver more often that not at least.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

1. M-Pro
2. D-Ring
3. BJW 
4. AJP
5. NOAH


----------



## Obfuscation

DDT offically went up a million times more in my book after watching that.






IS HE KOTA IBUSHI'S MORTAL ENEMY OR WHAT?


----------



## Chismo

Not in order:

- BJW
- AJPW
- NJPW
- Dragon Gate
- ZERO1 or DDT, can't really decide


Also:



> [DDT News] All the card of "NEVER MIND 2012" have been set. With two big title matches to headline the show.
> 
> 2012 is such a great year for DDT. With the successful Budokan show, DDT begin to head for the next chapter and now they will end
> this year with another big show.
> 
> The main event saw El Generico will make his 3rd KO-D title defend against Kenny Omega. Everyone knows that Omega just headlined the main event in Budokan show this year and have epic battle with his best friend Kota Ibushi for this title. But fail to capture it and begin to taking his time off from DDT. Then El Generico shock the world by pinned Ibushi for the champ. Not just one time, but two. He then make his 2nd defend by beat MIKAMI, who won 7 way battle royal to get this match. After the match, Omega who just come back from a break make a challenge to Generico, which he accepted. With both of them already have some past matches in PWG. This match should be fun to watch.
> 
> The second main event is set as Keisuke Ishii will defend his DDT Extream title against Yasu Urano and Isami Kodaka. After the Budokan show, Ishii has become the most break out star this year by forming Team Dream Future stable with follow young generation like Takao Soma and Shigehiro Irie. They begin to take on veteran wrestler one by one. Ishii then move to next step by challenge Shuji Ishikawa for DDT Extreme title. After some help from his friend and four Kneel Kicks, Ishii finally captured the biggest title of Union pro. This lead Isami Kodaka to come out and challenge Ishii to bring the title back to their home promotion. But things got complicated when Ishii got pin by Yasu Urano. So Urano also have right to challenge for the title too. GM Amon then have no choice but to make this match a 3 Way. This will be once again bis task for Ishii. Will he walk out as a champ with two veteran in his way?
> 
> Also, TenKoji will come to DDT to team with Sanshiro Takagi to take on entire Monster Army. So that makes it a handicap match.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *
> DDT "NEVER MIND 2012" , 12/23/2012
> [Sun] 12:00 @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo*
> 
> (0) Dark Match: Tetsuya Endo vs. DJ Nira
> 
> (1) Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oish vs. Takao Soma & Shigehiro Irie
> (2) 4 Way Tag: MIKAMI & Gorgeous Matsuno vs. Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Michael Nakazawa vs. Hikaru Sato & Masa Takanashi vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Akito
> (3) Kota Ibushi & Gota Ihashi vs. HARASHIMA & Hiro Tsumaki
> (4) 3 vs. 4 Handicap Match: Sanshiro Takagi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan(NJPW) & Satoshi Kojima(NJPW) vs. Antonio Honda, Yuji Hino, Hoshitango & Daisuke Sasaki
> 
> (5) *DDT Extreme Championship 3 Way Match*: [20th Champion] Keisuke Ishii vs. Yasu Urano vs. Isami Kodaka
> ~ 1st Defense.
> 
> (6) *KO-D Openweight Championship Match*: [43rd Champion] El Generico vs.[Challenger] Kenny Omega :mark:
> ~ 3rd Defense.
> 
> Post by Thumbster


----------



## Obfuscation

Yep. I'm sold on DDT now. Any promotion that puts El Generico vs Kenny Omega as their main event is well, WELL worth my time to view.


----------



## Bubz

If I were making a list of puro promotions as of right now, it would consist of New Japan because that's all I watch now. I'm with Seabs in that I stopped caring and/or watching BJW and AJPW half way through the year. Mainly because I stopped hearing rave reviews and pimped matches and I just don't have the time to watch them really.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW New Japan Cup '12 - Day 1* 

La Sombra vs YOSHI-HASHI: N/R (Clipped, but from I've seen it was fine)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Karl Anderson: ***

Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi: ***

Shinsuke Nakamura vs MVP: N/R (clipped)

Togi Makabe vs Lance Archer: ***

Minoru Suzuki vs Yuji Nagata: ***

Tetsuya Naito vs Satoshi Kojima: ***1/2+

Toru Yano vs Hiroshai Tanahashi: ***1/2

Great show and with hotter crowd I could enjoy the show more.​


----------



## septurum

Tiger Mask, Great Sasuke and Mil Mascaras vs Dynamite Kid, Dos Caras and Kuniaki Kobayashi (Michinoku Pro-10/19/96) ** 3/4 - This is Dynamite's very last match and it is just sad to see how broken down he had become. Despite his appearance, I think he gave it his best effort and combined with the other 5 guys, they managed to pull out a decent match.


----------



## TelkEvolon

A collection of crazy matches, chain match that goes out into the streets, wild hardcore cage match, barbed wire board match, no-rope barbed wire match and all matter of wild brawls and battles including 3 of the famous "Great Space Wars".


----------



## septurum

Wow, this is a train wreck of a match. The Great Antonio decided to get cute in this match and Inoki beat the shit out of him. Damn.


----------



## Obfuscation

You almost feel bad for the blob since it was such an unfair fight.


----------



## Bubz

Oh god, that match.


----------



## septurum

Great Antonio went into business for himself and no sold Inoki's offense. Then he started shooting on Inoki with stiff shots to the back of the neck. Great Antonio deserved it.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*Michinoku Pro - 10.10.1996 - These Days!*


*1. Johnny Saint vs Naohiro Hoshikawa*
Really cool little technical exhibition match wrestled under "British Rules" (using a Boxing-like round system) that also serves as Johnny Saint's retirement match. This match is a ton of fun and filled with heaps of exciting and interesting holds, transitions & interactions that kept me entertained the entire time. I think I would of enjoyed it more as a regular match, but it also gave them a good reason to keep starting fresh and ending up somewhere different each time.

Johnny Saint is a class act, his antics and unique style always amaze and surprise, he seems to pull stuff out of thin air, while also making most wrestlers look like they're wrestling in stop-motion. Hoshikawa is also very impressive, more than holding his own against Saint, both men do a great job at keeping the match flowing while keeping things different. A real gem of a match.


*2. Wellington Wilkins Jr. vs Lenny Lane* 
The biggest problem with this match was the clipping, it was very jarring at points, especially the ending. This match was for the PWA Heavyweight Championship and there isn't too much to this match as it is pretty short with a post-match fight going for just as long. Still, I had fun watching this as Wilkins opens the match with a combo of takedowns really taking Lane by surprise right from the start, following that are some heavy hits and an exchange of sick looking tombstones, not to mention a late/falling avalanche suplex that has wild force behind it, whipping the guy across the ring. All in all, I can't really complain, it was quick, had some cringe worth action and an interesting post-match segment. Just wish the clipping has of been smoother.


*3. Daisuke Ikeda & Satoshi Yoneyama vs Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka*
Great, great stuff right here. This is something of a BattlArts skirmish match featured on an M-Pro show. Ikeda & Baby Yone are fired up and let the kicks fly right from the start, just mincing Otsuka as if they were at the end of the month and still had $200 kick credit left..... And it wasn't going to carry over to the next month. Otsuka & Ishikawa don't take long to wise up and start trying to rip the legs off of Yoneyama & Ikeda, it's great stuff and just an awesome hate fight, plenty of closed fist shots, headbutts and nasty suplexes, this is pure action and an absolute blast to watch with all men putting on a great show and making everyone want to go and find their BattlArts DVD collection.


*4. Dynamite Kid, Don Caras & Kuniaki Kobayashi vs Mil Mascaras, Tiger Mask & Great Sasuke* 
Now here is a special match featuring many all-star classics, including a unheathly thin Dynamite Kid in his final match. A special mention needs to go to Sasuke's bad ass "Gold Class" entrance which features ladies carrying out his many many belts that he held at the time. This was a solid tag match, but it really wasn't about the match quality as much as it was seeing all these classic stars going at it, it's much more of a spectacle than anything else, but it still offers some cool in-ring action, so it's not all for show.

Of course, there were some awkward moments here and there and Dynamite Kid is well beyond past it to a point where he hurts the match, but just the imagery of Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask or Dos Caras vs Mil Mascaras conjures up a feeling inside you. I think taking it in as a total package, this is an iconic match that delivers in creating a great moment with all the guys that they have, it's not going to blow you away, but it is a solid effort and an awesome moment to see in Pro Wrestling.


*5. TAKA Michinoku, Shoichi Funaki, Shiryu, MEN’S Teioh, & Dick Togo vs Super Delfin, Tiger Mask 4, Masato Yakushiji, Gran Naniwa & Gran Hamada*
The most iconic match in Michinoku Pro history and considered to be one of the greatest multi man tag matches of all time. Compared a Dragon Gate multi man tag match, this comes across as very grounded and "sensible". Kaientai DX heel it up and taking every inch they can get, totally abusing the rules and working like a street gang to try and put down the M-Pro's Heroes. This match features a ton of quick tags and everyone get's a good showing and when it really picks up, you have people flying all over the place and the big moves some rolling out with some great near-falls that you can't believe didn't get the win. This match is an all time classic and one that I feel only gets better with a second viewing as there is so much to take in.

As a side note. Yakushiji plays the elusive man in this match, taking almost no damage besides a kick to break up a pin and Michinoku diving on him.


*6. Hayabusa vs Jinsei Shinzaki* 
Now this was just an odd match, it was the most methodical spot match I remember seeing, right from word go it was big move after big move, it felt like when you're looking for a finishing move for a Create-A-Wrestler and you're scrolling though a list, watching the animations, odd ending also that features a Undertaker/HBK Mania-type moment. It was just a bizarre match, there isn't a whole lot to see, it was just moves, felt like a PWG DVD trailer. It doesn't go for very long and is worth watching just to stroke your beard and ponder as to what exactly is going on.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yakushiji eats a pretty bad asskicking in some of the other 96 M-Pro big tags IIRC, some of which I actually liked more than 10/10/96. I think their best one was 12/16/96.


----------



## Corey

Couple Dragon Gate matches I watched:

*Roderick Strong vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
*_WrestleJam 7/10/2006_

Here we have a match that basically contradicts itself. Structure wise it made perfect sense, but execution wise it was way off. It's obviously Roddy's chops vs. Mochi's kicks. That's exactly how it goes down until Strong misses a chop on the outside and nails his hand against the ring post. Shit look like it hurt. So we have some armwork, makes sense. Short term memory loss, Roddy no sells it. We go back to the outside, Mochizuki misses a kick and nails his left leg against the ring post. Time for some leg work! Well there's that damn short term memory again, that's no sold as well. If you can get around that glaring problem, it's actually a really good back and forth match wrestled at a blistering pace. Some nice strike exchanges and backbreakers of course, but the no selling of injuries takes it down a notch. **** 1/4


Open The Dream Gate Championship
*Naruki Doi (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
_Gate of Maximum 2009 (6/11/09)_

So these two are partners in World-1 and I'm not 100% sure how this match came about, but I'm not gonna complain considering the show they put on. I've seen very little from either guy in their actual home country, so my opinion on both is based squarely on what they've done in the states. This match opened my eyes quite a bit. First, the obvious part. The opening sequences here were insane. Seriously looked like you were watching it in fast forward. Yoshino eventually tweaks his knee on the outside, so Doi attacks that instantly. Yoshino eventually weathers the storm and goes after Doi's left arm. Big, big props to both guys for keeping these isolated body parts the story of the contest for nearly the entire match. Superb selling all the way through. If the limb didn't keep them from doing a move, once they did hit it they would at least acknowledge the fact that they're in pain. Yoshino's performance in general was just fantastic. His scouting of the Muscular Bomb the entire match was really well done (as was the scouting from both guys considering they're tag partners) & his selling of the leg exceeded my expectations by far. There was actually a moment where Doi was selling the wrong arm, but then Yoshino just decides to attack both and make it easier.  The finishing stretch was absolutely mark-out worthy. I found myself rooting for Yoshino, the clear underdog, and MAN some of those nearfalls were close. Yoshino no selling the Doi 555 off the middle rope was so awesome. Amazing match that was paced unlike anything I'd ever seen from either guy. I haven't seen any other Puro from 2009 but I'd be hard pressed to say this wouldn't make AT LEAST someone's Top 20 for the year. One of the best from any company imo. Please go watch this. ***** 1/2*​


----------



## Obfuscation

If you link me, I'll watch.

_*HINT HINT*_


----------



## Corey

I didn't find it anywhere online, but I can rip it and should have it upped by the end of the night tomorrow.


----------



## Obfuscation

:mark:

I'd definitely give it a watch if you do so.


----------



## seabs

*Don't believe I've seen that match but their title match from Final Gate 2010 is great and really got slept on at the time. That was after Doi turned on Yoshino when he won the belt.*


----------



## Obfuscation

It's something I should look into by the sound of it. I don't know why I haven't pursued much Dragon Gate over the last few years. Guess they appear in America so much, I get my fix via that.

Oh, and watch some much needed NJPW matches. The Goto/Ishii interaction during a 6 man was boss. I can't wait to watch their singles match tomorrow (or today to be exact) Goto with the right opponent still works for me. He's not bad, just not as good as other guys on the roster, imo. I'd take him over Yujiro 7 days out of the week.


----------



## Nervosa

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> Oh, and watch some much needed NJPW matches. The Goto/Ishii interaction during a 6 man was boss. I can't wait to watch their singles match tomorrow (or today to be exact) Goto with the right opponent still works for me. He's not bad, just not as good as other guys on the roster, imo. I'd take him over Yujiro 7 days out of the week.


For me, Ishii deserves a lot more credit than Goto does. Goto was great even two years ago, but he has lost the plot. I actually really dig Yujiro's shtick. 

Yujiro > Goto

Goto may not even be in the top 10 heavywieghts in New Japan, for me.


----------



## seabs

*Tanahashi
Okada
Nakamura
Suzuki
Archer
Nagata
Ishii
Anderson
Naito
Makabe
Kojima
Yano

so yeah that sounds fair enough. New Japan's heavyweight division is so ridiculously stacked right now though. I'd put Tonga ahead of him too. Tonga's been so great in multi man tags this year. Kinda like the babyface equivalent of Ishii to an extent. Smith too as I guess he's a regular now. Not a fan of Yujiro. Technically fine but I hate watching his matches. I'm not saying that Goto is useless either. I just think he needs one of those higher tier guys to have a great match and he isn't capable of producing anything good without someone who's on a higher level than he is.*


----------



## Nervosa

Lord Santa Claus IV. said:


> *Tanahashi
> Okada
> Nakamura
> Suzuki
> Archer
> Nagata
> Ishii
> Anderson
> Naito
> Makabe
> Kojima
> Yano
> *


Surely Tanaka belongs in here too. He's better than some of the guys in here. 

I like Yujiro, but I do think everyone you listed is probably better.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

No love for Tenzan :sad:


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

ywall2breakerj said:


> No love for Tenzan :sad:


I personally love Tenzan, but even I have to admit he's lost a step or five. Especially compared to Kojima.


----------



## septurum

No Nakanishi love either...


----------



## seabs

*Tenzan is useless in singles matches now. Same for Nakanishi after his latest injury. He looks really broken down. Him and Strong Man are still a super fun team though. Tanaka I don't really like and isn't technically on the New Japan roster although I guess in reality he's as good as. His matches are really formulaic and predictable. I lose interest everytime he does a table spot (every singles match) like it's a suplex.*


----------



## Yeah1993

Has Tenzan ever been that good?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I'm not trying to argue he's like some super elite worker or anything like that. He's a charismatic worker whose matches I always end up enjoying. I'd take him over a guy like Makabe in a hearbeat.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nervosa said:


> For me, Ishii deserves a lot more credit than Goto does. Goto was great even two years ago, but he has lost the plot. I actually really dig Yujiro's shtick.
> 
> Yujiro > Goto
> 
> Goto may not even be in the top 10 heavywieghts in New Japan, for me.


Only brought up Goto b/c he's not well received. He wouldn't make my list either. But, I don't mind him. Yujiro is trash.

I like Tenzan. Had a BOSS match up with Nakamura last year. He's fun in tags with Kojima. That seems to be the best area suited for him.


----------



## Corey

Yo Seabs, got a link for that Final Gate 2010 match? Also, anyone know where I can upload this match? Without megaupload I'm lost & sendspace didn't work.


----------



## seabs

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> Only brought up Goto b/c he's not well received. He wouldn't make my list either. But, I don't mind him. Yujiro is trash.
> 
> I like Tenzan. *Had a BOSS match up with Nakamura last year.* He's fun in tags with Kojima. That seems to be the best area suited for him.


*That was really all Nakamura and Korakuen tbf. Tenzan did his part well but red hot Nakamura + Red hot Korakuen is a pretty faultless formula regardless of the third party. He had a great match with Kojima at the G1 Final last year too. These days he's awful most of the time but he can deliver with the right guy in a big atmosphere. The Yano/Iizuka tag from Dominion this year for example. 

Not convinced he was ever that great but I really haven't seen enough to say one way or the other.*


Jack Evans 187 said:


> Yo Seabs, got a link for that Final Gate 2010 match? Also, anyone know where I can upload this match? Without megaupload I'm lost & sendspace didn't work.


*Filefactory seems best. I always get good speeds off there on a free account. 

I'll upload it today (Y)*


----------



## Bubz

I'd probably have Goto in the top 10 heavyweights from New Japan, albeit near the bottom. Seems I'm in the minority on that one. I think he's good and has the ability to pull out exciting matches and I enjoy some of his sequences. But I definitely see him as a guy who does need that higher level guy to work with to pull out something really great. Saying that though it's kind of hard to say because I've only ever really seen him against one of those guys, especially this year.

I have no knowledge on Yujiro's quality whatsoever, haven't watched the Tanahashi match yet. I think it was Nervosa who liked it so I might give it a whirl.

Also, not sure on Tanaka. I think he has the tendency to go way too far with overkill in his matches. Love him in tags though. The tag from Dominion is my tag match of the year.


----------



## Bruce L

I'm a Goto fan. He's certainly not my favorite New Japan heavyweight, but the ability to have consistently ****+ matches with top-tier guys like Tanahashi and Nakamura isn't a quality to be undervalued. Last year, he had an amazing match against Naito on 2-20, and his match with Anderson was one of the best of last year's G1.

EDIT: I thought Tanahashi/Yujiro was very good, FWIW. Sort of a lesser version of Okada/Tana from Dominion -- good in the same way, albeit a bit less so. ★★★★¼, by my count.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lord Santa Claus IV. said:


> *That was really all Nakamura and Korakuen tbf. Tenzan did his part well but red hot Nakamura + Red hot Korakuen is a pretty faultless formula regardless of the third party. He had a great match with Kojima at the G1 Final last year too. These days he's awful most of the time but he can deliver with the right guy in a big atmosphere. The Yano/Iizuka tag from Dominion this year for example.
> 
> Not convinced he was ever that great but I really haven't seen enough to say one way or the other.*


Won't deny the points you laid out. I managed to get into Tenzan's work during the bout. Besides, I'm so sold on Nakamura that I can see him _(and know he can)_ bring out strong elements vs anyone he works with. For whatever reasons they were, it was a great match.

I have no major faults with him. He does what he does and I can watch him no problem. I'll stick with tags at the end of the day. I think those do suit him better.

I'm sure Tanahashi vs Yujiro is actually good. I haven't seen one negative review on it yet. While I don't think Yujiro has any special qualities whatsoever, Tanahashi is unreal. Especially in the big match situations. I'll buy it on that aspect alone.


----------



## Nervosa

I did like it. I didn't love it but it was definitely fun. I don't even think yujiro was carried: I thought he brought it. Tanahashi, is one size fits all in most matches. Granted, that one size is AWESOME, but I've always had a problem with how formula he is. Yujiro made him wrestle different here, so I liked it from that angle.


----------



## Obfuscation

If Yujiro brought something then great. I'm all for having a reason to like the guy. Imo, he hasn't given me anything yet.


----------



## Nervosa

I make no promises, because I know most people do not care for Yujiro much, but I thought it was at the very least decent.


----------



## DOPA

Can anyone link me AJPW Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 14 please? Download or stream, I don't mind.


----------



## septurum

It's in the multimedia section.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Yujir-Tanahashi was good...that's it. Their G1 match was better. The Tanahashi formula was a too big obstacle in Yujiro's mission to once again carry him.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Kid Kamikaze10 said:


> I personally love Tenzan, but even I have to admit he's lost a step or five. Especially compared to Kojima.


Can't really say that Kojima is a much better worker than Hiroshi. More charismatic(and it helps him in his matches)? Yes. But that's about it.
Anyways, being in a tag team is a better option for both of them, not just Tenzan.

BTW, I always wanted to know - What Kojima is saying/shouting when he does his forearm to the corner/top rope elbow drop combo?


----------



## MF83

Well, here comes a post - 

chopchopchopchopchopchopchop "Yoooosh" *whip, running/jumping elbow* "ICHAUZO BAKAYARO!" *elbow drop*

Kojima is probably the most overrated wrestler today. People just assume he's this all time great but he has been in very few classic matches. Off the top of my head, when Tenryu carried him in All Japan, the 2006 G1 Finals vs Tenzan and, yeah. The way he carries himself adds a lot to his aura of greatness. You can really tell he was influenced by Mutoh. People bitch about the Tanahashi formula but the Kojima formula is in every single match and does not change. He can also be quite lazy. 

Tenzan is perhaps the single most hit and miss wrestler in puroresu history. He has been in his fair share of great matches but ranges from shitty to average normally. He is capable of and has pulled out some masterful performances, usually randomly and out of thin air, every single year since the mid 90s. When he turns that shit on, man, his charm is similar to Kobashi, only Kobashi was so good that he couldn't ever really be an underdog.

I agree with Tanaka being formulaic and not all that.

I really like seeing this new Ishii bandwagon. I wasn't going to upload the Goto IC match but then gaijinpuro went away and it had to be done, I'm pleasantly surprised by the love it has received. He has always been good but nothing has changed about his level of worksmanship since the RIKI Pro days. He just got lost in the shuffle once he joined NJPW, especially after Choshu lost power/left, but his BFF status with Shinsuke has helped him out a lot of late. Him, Wataru, and Honma used to be the perennial jobbers but since Wataru's push flopped and Honma was fired, that bottom barrel level has been scrapped and it seems Ishii is getting some kind of mini reward push and I love it. 

Goto is such a frustrating case. He seemed to lose "it" last year, when he switched his style from "Power Technician" to "generic power wrestler #234". It's like he stopped giving a shit and it has shown in almost all of his performances since. He has been a victim of booking, to be fair, as he really needed that win vs. Tanahashi last year. I believe he would have reached the next level with that win and reign, but now he's gone from being the Fourth Hero, set to overtake Makabe as number three, to somewhere in the bottom half of the top ten in kayfabe rankings. His IC reign sucked and it proved he can't carry a match. Goto is a great challenger/underdog, he can be terrific at gaining sympathy when he doesn't have to lead a match, but when he DOES have to call a match, well...

Yujiro will get there with time. He was great as a face and whenever he crosses that line he is very good. His problem was his blandness which his heel turn, and this brilliant playboy gimmick have really helped turn around. When he does eventually about face and is able to drop his plodding control style, I think he'll have his own bandwagon.

Someone once described Naito as "introverted". This is his only problem, to me. He's fucking terrific in almost all regards but it seems like he lacks that final layer of confidence.

NOBODY liked Nakamura in the three or four years before 2009. He had lost confidence since his debut and his in-ring style wasn't getting over. He did not connect with the audience and he was rather like present Goto, to be honest, which is a big reason why I won't ever doubt another wrestler's ability to evolve into something great. He finally gained that confidence toward the end of his title reign and then by late 2010-early 2011, oh boy, drunk-sell Shinsuke came along and it was the best he has ever been. THAT was "Swagsuke" (I gave him that name . Blame Odd Future). He dropped all that in order to be utterly incredible in every single G1 match in 2011 and to be fair, his character had gotten a bit out of hand before then. It slowly came back with this new goofy, loose armed version we see today but it's not the same, and his dropping the flippidy jujigatame and punch spots, and getting too predictable has hurt his 2012. Booking him to lose so many big matches has helped send him from solidified number two to under Makabe and Okada in terms of kayfabe rankings. New fans should really check out his stuff between the 2010 and 2011 G1s. I want to say vs Nagata in the 2011 NJ Cup was a perfect example of his old-new self. His evolution has really been a treat. 

The 2012 NJPW bandwagon is delightful to see but 2011 was better overall. This idea that NJPW has improved so staggeringly is a misconception. They've just gotten better coverage, really, but who cares? To be fair, they've added old strong style elements which has improved lower card matches a lot. 

Makabe continually improves himself and his slow burn from shit to good worker and fan favourite ichiban is remarkable. 

Tanahashi has gotten better this year. He has smartened up and dropped a bunch of bad habits. 

Okada has been well protected by good match structure, gimmick, and opponents. He's a very good wrestler and calling his 2012 the best is even acceptable, but any day now he risks becoming overexposed. He admitted to never having seen a Fujinami or Inoki match before, and calling him the prototypical modern wrestler sums him up perfectly. He lacks mid-match psychology but as we, the IWC, only tend to care about finishes, he's the new king. My goodness, can the man sell though and that dropkick is beautiful, every time.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Everyone should watch a Fujinami match. Fujinami is the best wrestler ever. He should be treated as such :cuss:


To hell with Inoki though.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

MF83 said:


> Well, here comes a post -
> 
> chopchopchopchopchopchopchop "Yoooosh" *whip, running/jumping elbow* "ICHAUZO BAKAYARO!" *elbow drop*


Thanks.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nervosa said:


> I make no promises, because I know most people do not care for Yujiro much, but I thought it was at the very least decent.


I generally find your opinion/views favorable so I'll take your word for it. I was gonna watch the match regardless of the praise or lack their of. Knowing I should expect something watchable is fine by me. I think I'll slam through Power Struggle tonight actually. Or part of it since I think it's another 4 hour show. Might want to _try_ and get some sleep.


----------



## Nervosa

MF83 said:


> Well, here comes a post -
> 
> chopchopchopchopchopchopchop "Yoooosh" *whip, running/jumping elbow* "ICHAUZO BAKAYARO!" *elbow drop*
> 
> Kojima is probably the most overrated wrestler today. People just assume he's this all time great but he has been in very few classic matches. Off the top of my head, when Tenryu carried him in All Japan, the 2006 G1 Finals vs Tenzan and, yeah. The way he carries himself adds a lot to his aura of greatness. You can really tell he was influenced by Mutoh. People bitch about the Tanahashi formula but the Kojima formula is in every single match and does not change. He can also be quite lazy.
> 
> Tenzan is perhaps the single most hit and miss wrestler in puroresu history. He has been in his fair share of great matches but ranges from shitty to average normally. He is capable of and has pulled out some masterful performances, usually randomly and out of thin air, every single year since the mid 90s. When he turns that shit on, man, his charm is similar to Kobashi, only Kobashi was so good that he couldn't ever really be an underdog.
> 
> I agree with Tanaka being formulaic and not all that.
> 
> I really like seeing this new Ishii bandwagon. I wasn't going to upload the Goto IC match but then gaijinpuro went away and it had to be done, I'm pleasantly surprised by the love it has received. He has always been good but nothing has changed about his level of worksmanship since the RIKI Pro days. He just got lost in the shuffle once he joined NJPW, especially after Choshu lost power/left, but his BFF status with Shinsuke has helped him out a lot of late. Him, Wataru, and Honma used to be the perennial jobbers but since Wataru's push flopped and Honma was fired, that bottom barrel level has been scrapped and it seems Ishii is getting some kind of mini reward push and I love it.
> 
> Goto is such a frustrating case. He seemed to lose "it" last year, when he switched his style from "Power Technician" to "generic power wrestler #234". It's like he stopped giving a shit and it has shown in almost all of his performances since. He has been a victim of booking, to be fair, as he really needed that win vs. Tanahashi last year. I believe he would have reached the next level with that win and reign, but now he's gone from being the Fourth Hero, set to overtake Makabe as number three, to somewhere in the bottom half of the top ten in kayfabe rankings. His IC reign sucked and it proved he can't carry a match. Goto is a great challenger/underdog, he can be terrific at gaining sympathy when he doesn't have to lead a match, but when he DOES have to call a match, well...
> 
> Yujiro will get there with time. He was great as a face and whenever he crosses that line he is very good. His problem was his blandness which his heel turn, and this brilliant playboy gimmick have really helped turn around. When he does eventually about face and is able to drop his plodding control style, I think he'll have his own bandwagon.
> 
> Someone once described Naito as "introverted". This is his only problem, to me. He's fucking terrific in almost all regards but it seems like he lacks that final layer of confidence.
> 
> NOBODY liked Nakamura in the three or four years before 2009. He had lost confidence since his debut and his in-ring style wasn't getting over. He did not connect with the audience and he was rather like present Goto, to be honest, which is a big reason why I won't ever doubt another wrestler's ability to evolve into something great. He finally gained that confidence toward the end of his title reign and then by late 2010-early 2011, oh boy, drunk-sell Shinsuke came along and it was the best he has ever been. THAT was "Swagsuke" (I gave him that name . Blame Odd Future). He dropped all that in order to be utterly incredible in every single G1 match in 2011 and to be fair, his character had gotten a bit out of hand before then. It slowly came back with this new goofy, loose armed version we see today but it's not the same, and his dropping the flippidy jujigatame and punch spots, and getting too predictable has hurt his 2012. Booking him to lose so many big matches has helped send him from solidified number two to under Makabe and Okada in terms of kayfabe rankings. New fans should really check out his stuff between the 2010 and 2011 G1s. I want to say vs Nagata in the 2011 NJ Cup was a perfect example of his old-new self. His evolution has really been a treat.
> 
> The 2012 NJPW bandwagon is delightful to see but 2011 was better overall. This idea that NJPW has improved so staggeringly is a misconception. They've just gotten better coverage, really, but who cares? To be fair, they've added old strong style elements which has improved lower card matches a lot.
> 
> Makabe continually improves himself and his slow burn from shit to good worker and fan favourite ichiban is remarkable.
> 
> Tanahashi has gotten better this year. He has smartened up and dropped a bunch of bad habits.
> 
> Okada has been well protected by good match structure, gimmick, and opponents. He's a very good wrestler and calling his 2012 the best is even acceptable, but any day now he risks becoming overexposed. He admitted to never having seen a Fujinami or Inoki match before, and calling him the prototypical modern wrestler sums him up perfectly. He lacks mid-match psychology but as we, the IWC, only tend to care about finishes, he's the new king. My goodness, can the man sell though and that dropkick is beautiful, every time.


This post was awesome, thank you. I really appreciate your experience.

I really miss the flippy armbar and I miss the straight punch even more. I like this current shinsuke a lot, but I miss the one from his last title reign. I loved that reign and it could have gone as long as possible. In fact, when he dropped the belt, I kinda stopped watching New Japan until this year. 

Was 2011 really all that good? The Goto/Tanahashi match seemed like the only one that got MOTY praise, and I kinda thought it was overrated as is. Again, I didn't watch 2011, so I'm just asking why you liked it so much.

I still don't get Makabe yet. I guess I just remember the 2010 crap. 

agree on Naito. He is just a little confidence away from being right there with Okada, Tana, and Nakamura. Would you include Suzuki in that list of NJPW's elite?

As much as I bow to your experience, I gotta disagree about Okada's midmatch stuff. I really think his neckwork, while formula, is really good. I love all the variations of 'DID.'


----------



## Obfuscation

Once again I'll state it:

I liked Nakamura's work before 2009.


----------



## Corey

Fuck trying to upload this Doi/Yoshino match. It's over 400MB so I'm having no luck whatsoever. Apologies go out, Hailsabin1990. 

The only two cents I can add to this conversation is that I've seen a few matches from Nakamura. I don't really like anything about him at all.  The matches were from like '06-'08 though so maybe he's improved since.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Fuck trying to upload this Doi/Yoshino match. It's over 400MB so I'm having no luck whatsoever. Apologies go out, Hailsabin1990.
> 
> The only two cents I can add to this conversation is that I've seen a few matches from Nakamura. I don't really like anything about him at all.  The matches were from like '06-'08 though so maybe he's improved since.


No worries.

I'm surprised. I've always been into his work. Well, since the point of about late '08 into '09 is where he really hit his stride. You need to check it out. He's still my favorite on the roster.


----------



## Corey

I was annoyed by his constant attempts at an armbar, far more annoying than the psychology Del Rio applies in his matches. I didn't like his look either, although that doesn't make much difference. Only seen a couple matches against Angle & Tanahashi, so my opinion doesn't mount to much anyway. 

Anyone seen any of these Dragon Gate Matches:



> 11.23.06 - Osaka, Japan (Osaka Prefectural Gym)
> Ryo Saito & Genki Horiguchi vs. Shingo & Cyber Kong
> BxB Hulk, Jushin Liger, Jack Evans & Matt Sydal vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Magnitude Kishiwada & Kevin Steen
> CIMA vs. Gamma (Hair vs. Hair)
> Susumu Yokosuka vs. Don Fujii (Open The Dream Gate Title Match)
> 
> 12.22.06 - Tokyo, Japan (Korakuen Hall)
> Gamma vs. Ryo Saito (King of the Gate Semi-Finals)
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Dick Togo (King of the Gate Semi-Finals)
> Don Fujii & Yasushi Kanda vs. BxB Hulk & Jack Evans vs. Susumu Yokosuka & K-ness vs. Genki Horiguchi & Super Shenron (Four Way Tag Team Elimination)
> Ryo Saito vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (King of the Gate Finals)
> 
> 3.25.07 - Mie, Japan (Tsu City Gym) - MEMORIAL GATE 2007
> Matt Sydal vs. Genki Horiguchi (Open The Brave Gate Title Match)
> Gamma, Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi vs. CIMA, Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka (Open The Triangle Gate Title Match)
> Don Fujii vs. Jushin Liger (Open The Dream Gate Title Match)


----------



## Derek

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> I liked Nakamura's work before 2009.


I did too. In fact, I find "Swag" Nakamura to be annoying at times. But he's shown that he still has motivation, which is good considering he's been a top guy for so long. He's been smart in that he's been able to change his character and evolve over time.


----------



## Bubz

MF83's post was great, and I agree with almost everything apart from the last part about Okada. To me, the reason his finishing runs are so good is because he does work the neck throughout the mid portion of the match, and he does it really well and I enjoy his methodical stuff just as much as his fast paced action packed finishes. One of the reasons I love the guy so much is because he does go into crazy non-stop mode for the last 5 or so minutes of his matches, but he never loses sight of what he did before and so everything works and fits into place perfectly.


----------



## seabs

*Great post by MF83. Agreed on 2011 New Japan being even stronger than 2012. There's been more legit MOTYCs this year but I'd say 2011 was even stronger overall. Off the top of my head I think 2010 was even better than 2011 and 2012 too. They've been on a fucking roll for years now, similar to PWG. It's great to see more fans watching the product even if they are for odd reasons. Meltzer giving Tanahashi/Suzuki 5* and calling KOPW one of the best shows ever added a lot of attention along with the international audience being able to buy the show and watch it live rather than for free on youtube like they could before. People are odd in that sense.*


----------



## Nervosa

Like, I said, I didn't watch much from last year, but I agree 2010 was awesome. Nakamura vs. Goto was the shit.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I was annoyed by his constant attempts at an armbar, far more annoying than the psychology Del Rio applies in his matches. I didn't like his look either, although that doesn't make much difference. Only seen a couple matches against Angle & Tanahashi, so my opinion doesn't mount to much anyway.


Match vs Angle wasn't anything special. I mark since it was the right man going over.

Which Tanahashi match was it? I usually love when they duke it out. 2/15/09 match is :mark:



Derek said:


> I did too. In fact, I find "Swag" Nakamura to be annoying at times. But he's shown that he still has motivation, which is good considering he's been a top guy for so long. He's been smart in that he's been able to change his character and evolve over time.


I love the SWAG. It's fitting atm. He's not highlighted as a complete main eventer right now so he's adapted a style to work more fitting of his upper midcard level. His evolution has been lots of fun. While I do want the legit punch to return badly, I like how he decides to change things up. He's only 32. He'll have plenty more to give us. The prospects from him are high. I know he'll be back on top again.


----------



## MF83

He has had shoulder issues for a while now too. 


About Okada's mid match stuff. Yeah, his movesets targets what he'll go for later which is nice, but I was referring more to his tendency to just run through spots without reason in the middle of matches. He's looked lost a few times. I mean, he's barely had any time to master control segments but again, his matches are laid out so well that there's no real way to screw them up and that will come sooner than later anyway. Talk about a bright future.


----------



## Corey

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> Match vs Angle wasn't anything special. I mark since it was the right man going over.
> 
> Which Tanahashi match was it? I usually love when they duke it out. 2/15/09 match is :mark:


Wrestling World '05. Match annoyed me.


----------



## Obfuscation

Blanking on it. I should try and find it. See how it appeals to me.

I strongly recommend the bout I listed. If you can find it. _(Nervosa understand that. Maybe Seabs can help...)_


----------



## MF83

Nakamura had less than three years experience and Tanahashi wasn't very good yet, and Inoki made them main event a terrible Tokyo Dome show... For the U-30 Title. I liked the match but I can see how some/most wouldn't. It's on one of the Toukon Retsuden shows on YouTube, just google it (though, I remember they had streaming issues during that match).


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll give it a look right now. Thanks. (Y)


----------



## MF83

Number 7 is probably the worst thing that ever happened inside a wrestling ring, and nothing says 1/4 show like a non-title "first guy to win 2 in a row" gauntlet three way wherein the IWGP champ jobs.. Oh, the horror of Inokism:


NJPW "TOUKON FESTIVAL ~ WRESTLING WORLD 2005", 1/4/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) (Look!)
Tokyo Dome
46,000 Fans

1. Wataru Inoue & Katsushi Takemura vs. Jado & Gedo went to a draw (15:00) when the time limit expired.
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Jushin Thunder Liger beat Koji Kanemoto (10:30) with a cradle.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask beat Heat (c) (14:17) with a Tiger suplex hold to become the 47th champion.
4. Amaresu Exhibition Match: Yuji Nagata beat Katsuhiko Nagata (5:00) by 15-11.
5. Minoru Suzuki beat Takashi Iizuka (9:45) with a sleeper hold.
6. Satoshi Kojima beat Osamu Nishimura (19:26) with a lariat.
7. Ron Waterman won an 8 Man Ultimate Royal (21:55). Participants: Yuji Nagata, Blue Wolf, Masayuki Naruse, Toru Yano, Manabu Nakanishi, Mitsuya Nagai, Ron Waterman & Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar
- Round 1: Ron Waterman beat Masayuki Naruse (2:35) by referee stop.
- Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi beat Toru Yano (3:09) with an armlock.
- Round 1: Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar beat Mitsuya Nagai (5:46) with a shoulder hold.
- Round 1: Yuji Nagata beat Blue Wolf (5:49) with a heel hold.
- Semi Final: Ron Waterman beat Manabu Nakanishi (1:02) with a front neck lock.
- Semi Final: Yuji Nagata beat Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar (1:53) by referee stop.
- Final: Ron Waterman beat Yuji Nagata (1:41) with a V1 armlock.
8. Dogfight: Masahiro Chono beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Riki Choshu (18:07).
- Masahiro Chono beat Riki Choshu (6:34) with a sliding Yakuza kick.
- Masahiro Chono beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan (11:33) with an FTS.
9. IWGP U-30 Openweight Title: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) (24:45) with a cross armbreaker to become the 2nd champion.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ron Waterman :lmao


----------



## MF83

http://youtu.be/U0gKZ2hYIPA hahaha yeah, here it is. Dan (Ginnetty) and Riki had lost some interest in the NJ product by then, I think it's fair to say. :lol. Boo to no world's stupidest battle royal on this version though.


----------



## Obfuscation

Right on. I'm gonna check out Nakamura/Tanahashi for sure. Maybe the entire event for the fun of it. I do need to watch Power Struggle 2012 first though.


----------



## Chismo

*Hyper Battle 2004 - Day 9*


1.	Jushin Liger, Koji Kanemoto, Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tiger Mask, Wataru Inoue, Heat & Masayuki Naruse

***1/2


2.	Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Toru Yano

_This was before Yano's goofball schtick. Less then four minutes, but so good, man, Yano's tenryuesque philosophy made this for an awesome watch. He’s gonna be a great grumpy old man some day._

**1/2


3.	Osamu Nishimura vs. Katsushi Takemura

**


4.	Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Makai #1 & Mitsuya Nagai

*1/2


5.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: World Class Tag Team © vs. Bryan Danielson & Curry Man

_Gedo and Jado had the LONG control segment (almost 10 min) on Dragon & Daniels, and the match was doomed, I swear, but then the finishing stretch happened, and it was beautiful. It was long, exciting, but toned down and relatively simple. Dragon & Daniels were an awesome pairing. Watch this match._

***3/4


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kazunari Murakami & Tadao Yasuda

_This was very chaotic. Tana took a BEATING. #payingdues_

**


7.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Scott Norton

_Short match, but damn, loved this. MiSu’s grappling craftiness against Norton’s lumberjack toughness. Semi shoot style done right, these kind of matches don’t need many minutes to be full of greatness in every department of pro wrestling._

**1/2


8.	Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

_Jesus Christ, what a short ‘n’ sweet semi squash by SEXYAMA! Shibata had no chance, it was like wrestling a bear. This is what Makabe needs to pull on him at WK. Sheeeeeit, this is the best 3 min match I’ve ever seen. BIG TAK’s 00-stroke run is in the G.O.A.T. territory, why no one talks about it?_

***1/2


9.	Masahiro Chono & Yuji Nagata vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Manabu Nakanishi

**


10.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan © vs. Kensuke Sasaki

_Excellent heavyweight slugfest, they held nothing back. No slow parts, it was just two big dudes going ballistic. This was Kenskay’s powerhouse peak, IMO, and Tenzan has always been very underrated. Great chemistry between them. Awesome match. Unfortunately, this was when MMA took over New Japan, so there was a post-match confrontation between Kenskay and fucking Bob Sapp._
*
****1/4*


Very good show, with a bunch of solid/good stuff, and the MOTYC main event. The opener, the Jr. tag, and TAK/Shibata were all damn good bouts too. Seriously, go watch those, the whole show is on XWT. Even the bad/average stuff just flew by, because the matches were short.​


----------



## EmbassyForever

Gotta watch Takayama vs Shibata


----------



## Obfuscation

I like the irony that Tenzan gets put under the microscope for possibly not doing anything noteworthy. Then here comes a review where Tenzan's match received high praise. :hmm:

btw, nice review, JR.


----------



## Chismo

Back in day, Tenzan used to put one or two obligatory MOTYCs almost every year. Thank God they reformed TenKoji this year, at least he's doing something relevant. 

Btw, am I the only one who loves pronouncing "TENZAN" over and over again, it sounds so cool...


----------



## MF83

Haha yes! "TEN-ZAN!" whisper-shout chants ftw.


----------



## Obfuscation

I usually just imagine Tony Schiavone having a hard time saying it back at Starrcade '95.


----------



## Chismo

Ah, Antonio Inoki... The whacko that completely drove me away from NJPW back then. Lesnar, Sapp, Shibata boner, random MMA guys taking over... And that Dome 2005 show was a fucking "pinnacle".






Speaking of Inoki, do you remember this? :lmao The match sucks... SEND FOR INOKI! And lol at DOC runnin' away like a bitch.


----------



## seabs

*Akiyama, Shiozaki, Suzuki, Aoki and Kanemaru departures all confirmed by NOAH. From 2013 they'll all be freelance unless someone picks them up on contract. 

Akiyama will probably just work where he likes as a freelancer at this stage in his carear. Kanemaru will probably do the same but with less dates. I expect Shiozaki, Aoki and Suzuki to be picked up by New Japan. Definitely Aoki and more than likely Shiozaki at least. Hopefully All Japan bring Go in and finally do Shiozaki/Suwama off their HATE tags last year. All 5 could still work NOAH as freelancers. Be interesting if any of them do. Saito has been freelance all year for example and still works NOAH as a freelancer. Be interesting to see if Saito sticks around too as I'm pretty sure he's a Akiyama guy. Or a Kobashi guy. Same outcome. I expect Shiozaki and Akiyama to work Kobashi's retirement show at least. Kobashi retirement show will probably be a ALL TOGETHER type show I imagine will multi promotion participation. 

Oh and All Japan have seriously booked AKEBONO VS JOE DOERING with the winner being Funaki's next challenger for the Triple Crowd. Remember how hot All Japan was getting this next year. Yeah.*


----------



## Ham and Egger

I watched KENTA/Nagata match and it was one of the worst matches I've ever seen. There was no structure, no drama and if asked to describe the match in one word I'd say: SLAP! :no:


----------



## Chismo

That's KENTA, what do you expect?

Btw, Keiji Mutoh and Uchida are pushing it hard to produce Kobashi's retirement show in Budokan.


----------



## Obfuscation

:lmao at the PISSED Inoki video.

Adding more LULZ to the way of of Akebono vs Joe Doering. That's why I lost all interest in caring for AJPW. Crap like that.

Still surreal to me that all those guys are out of NOAH now. Akiyama will probably be ok. Some of the others I'm really curious where they'll turn up.


----------



## Chismo

I'm fine with Akebono/Doering, whoever wins, it's just a filler defense for Masa Funaki. The real deal should be in March, they're doing a show in Sumo Hall, which means we can expect something like Funaki/Mutoh, or if the NOAH fellas come, then Funaki/Akiyama II or Funaki/Shiozaki.


----------



## TelkEvolon

Everyone (me at least) wants Shiozaki vs Suwama.


----------



## B-Boy21

I don't really know where to put this but I'll write this here. The NJPW show King of Pro Wrestlilng from 10/8/2012 was amazing. I haven't enjoy wrestling that much in a long time. One of the best wrestling shows ive ever seen

-Nagata,Nakanishi and Strong Man vs Yano, Iixuka and Ishii- ***1/4 Really fun six man to start the show.
-Romero and Koslov vs KUSHIDA and Shelly ***1/2 Really good Jrs tag.
-Ibushi vs Low Ki- ****1/4 This wasn't as good as their first encounter but damn these guys can put on a great match.
- TenKoji vs Killer Elite Squad - ***1/2 This was really good. Normally I don't enjoy watching TenKoji or Archer but damn.
- Natio vs Takahashi- DUD really too short to be a match but this was really enjoyabler
- Makabe and Inoue vs Laughter7- ***1/2 Have no clue who either Sakuraba or Shibata are but therepretty good.
-Okada vs Anderson ****1/2 easy match of the night. Better then the G1 match between these too
- Nakamura vs Goto- ****1/4 Another awesome match. Loved the ending.
- Tanahashi vs Suzuki ****1/4 Its a great match but I don't think its close to a MOTYC though.

Top to bottom this was awesome.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

From the MOTYC 2012 thread.

I'm throwing in this one. Tokyo Sports was right.

Tomohiro Ishii vs Masato Tanaka, NEVER Tournament, November 15 2012 - **** 1/2 

Absolute Strong Style war. From the get go, there were strike exchanges. No holding back. Just throwing forearms, chops, headbutts, slaps, and enough fighting spirit to create another generation of Indy copycats (*cough*AmericanWolves*cough*).

However, like a good strong style fight, there was lots of selling, more from Ishii than Tanaka. There was a time when Ishii looked totally spent, and Tanaka was egging him on for a good minute or so, building up Ishii's spirit for the next half of the match. There are other fun moments like this. And it wasn't like they hate each other: they are on the same stable. Hell, they HUGGED after the match.

Yet they fought like it was for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. So awesome.


If you liked Ishii vs Goto, great. This is better.


----------



## Obfuscation

Watched an Ice Ribbon show from 9/23/12 today. I'd post more in depth thoughts only, the vast majority of the event was clipped sadly. I'm rolling pretty hard on my Joshi love atm. I'll continue to watch more right now. Gonna probably go on a KANA or Hailey Hatred fix. Hatred winning the midcard championship on the show I watched was :mark:


----------



## MF83

Takaaki Watanabe is going to blow Okada out of the water one day. I've been so impressed with everything he's done since his first match and the duty of young lion is beneath him already, as seen by his almost veteran-like performance against the fresh blood on the NEVER show. Hot damn, is he talented.


----------



## Concrete

Stocking Filled w/HAYLEY JOY~! said:


> Watched an Ice Ribbon show from 9/23/12 today. I'd post more in depth thoughts only, the vast majority of the event was clipped sadly. I'm rolling pretty hard on my Joshi love atm. I'll continue to watch more right now. Gonna probably go on a KANA or Hailey Hatred fix. Hatred winning the midcard championship on the show I watched was :mark:


Have you seen Kyoko Kimura vs. Natsuki Taiyo from 8/5/12 yet? Highly recommended. I posted about it in the MOTYC thread. Supa Savage.


----------



## seabs

MF83 said:


> Takaaki Watanabe is going to blow Okada out of the water one day. I've been so impressed with everything he's done since his first match and the duty of young lion is beneath him already, as seen by his almost veteran-like performance against the fresh blood on the NEVER show. Hot damn, is he talented.


*Him and Hiromu Takahashi look really great prospects. *


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I'm on the Hiromu Takahashi bandwagon.


----------



## Chismo

MF83 said:


> Takaaki Watanabe is going to blow Okada out of the water one day. I've been so impressed with everything he's done since his first match and the duty of young lion is beneath him already, as seen by his almost veteran-like performance against the fresh blood on the NEVER show. Hot damn, is he talented.


Absolutely agreed. Huge prospect. Funny thing is, I was just about to start a discussion about New Japan's potential breakthroughs in 2013, so yeah, Wata is #2 on my list, right behind YUJIRO.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Minoru Suzuki vs TAKA Michinoku-Kaientai Dojo 13.11.2012*

Starts slowly but we eventually get stiffness, fun matwork and these two outdicking each other. Fun little match.


****1/4*


----------



## Bubz

Btw, Generico/Ibushi from DDT (21/10/12) fucking ruled. Wrote about it in the MOTYC thread, everyone should watch it imo.


----------



## Chismo

This forum needs more of INOKISM~:























From his recent PAKISTAN tour:














































He has converted to islam, and changed his name into Muhammad Hussein.


----------



## Concrete

Can I get some people's Top matches in Japan from the 80s? I don't care about promotion or style but if you can give me a little variety even better.


----------



## MF83

Slooooooowly making my way through the NJPW DVDVR 80s set, personally. I might could up the whole thing to Classics, maybe. Someone else recently upped the top 25 UWF matches of the 80s onto XWT-classics, so there's that too. 

Here is my top 25 for the All Japan one:

1. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89) 96%
2. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) 92%
3. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83) 90%
4. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88) 88%
5. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84) 88%
6. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89) 88%
7. Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84) 87%
8. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV) 87%
9. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89) 86%
10. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80) 85%
11. Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80) 85%
12. Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83) 85%
13. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
14. Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
15. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
16. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
17. Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/6/83)
18. Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
19. Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
20. Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
21. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
22. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
23. Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
24. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
25. Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85) 




Spoiler: DVDVR 1980s NJPW Top 25



1. 5-on-5 Gauntlet Challenge (4/19/84) = 7807 points
2. Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81) = 7726 points
3. Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs. Hiro Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (9/12/88) = 7535 points
4. Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki (3/26/86) = 7531 points
5. Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/9/87) = 7224 points
6. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (6/12/86) = 6914 points
7. Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89) = 6867 points
8. 5-on-5 Challenge (5/1/86) = 6862 points
9. Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan (4/1/82) = 6824 points
10. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/3/83) = 6659 points
11. Inoki/Fujiwara/Sakaguchi/Hoshino/Mutoh vs. Fujinami/Choshu/Maeda/Kimura/Super Strong Machine (8/19/87) = 6591 points
12. Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. George Takano & Super Strong Machine (3/16/89) = 6516 points
13. Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/6/86) = 6510 points
14. Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Dick Murdoch, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Masa Saito & Seiji Sakaguchi (9/17/87) = 6399 points
15. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader (4/24/89) = 6370 points
16. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (8/4/83) = 6352 points
17. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/21/83) = 6316 points
18. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (1/2/87) = 6283 points
19. Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader (6/27/89) = 6154 points
20. Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis (12/7/84) = 6117 points
21. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (7/7/83) = 6083 points
22. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (4/27/87) = 6025 points
23. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) = 5991 points
24. Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/5/86) = 5939 points
25. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Vader (4/24/89) = 5839 points





Spoiler: DVDVR "Other Japan" 1980s Top 25



1 Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda 4,296 UWF 11/10/88
2 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger 4,268 UWF 12/05/84
3 Nobuhiko Takada vs Bob Backlund 4,255 UWF 12/22/88
4 Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu 4,253 JPW 02/21/85
5 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger 4,217 UWF 07/17/85
6 Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano 4,076 UWF 07/24/89
7 Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara 3,982 UWF 09/07/84
8 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,928 UWF 01/07/85
9 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger 3,815 UWF 09/11/85
10 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,789 UWF 08/13/88
11 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,756 UWF 07/24/89
12 Super Tiger/Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda/Yoshiaki Fujiwara 3,674 UWF 07/23/84
13 Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,592 UWF 05/12/88
14 Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi 3,590 FMW 10/06/89
15 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,580 UWF 09/11/85
16 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Akira Maeda 3,537 UWF 03/02/85
17 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,416 UWF 10/22/84
18 Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara 3,386 UWF 10/25/89
19 Yoji Anjoh vs Masakatsu Funaki 3,349 UWF 06/14/89
20 Super Tiger vs Akira Maeda 3,312 UWF 09/11/84
21 Super Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,308 UWF 09/06/85
22 Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,248 UWF 05/21/89
23 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,223 UWF 05/04/89
24 Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki 3,179 UWF 05/21/89
25 Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi 3,112 UKIKM 06/02/89





Spoiler: DVDVR AJPW 1980s Top 25



1 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
2 Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
3 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
4 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
5 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
6 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
7 Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
8 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
9 Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
10 Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
11 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
12 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
13 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
14 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
15 Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
16 Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
17 Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
18 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)
19 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
20 Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
21 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
22 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
23 Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
24 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
25 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)


----------



## Concrete

MF83 said:


> Slooooooowly making my way through the NJPW DVDVR 80s set, personally. I might could up the whole thing to Classics, maybe. Someone else recently upped the top 25 UWF matches of the 80s onto XWT-classics, so there's that too.
> 
> Here is my top 25 for the All Japan one:
> 
> 1. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89) 96%
> 2. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) 92%
> 3. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83) 90%
> 4. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88) 88%
> 5. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84) 88%
> 6. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89) 88%
> 7. Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84) 87%
> 8. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV) 87%
> 9. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89) 86%
> 10. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80) 85%
> 11. Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80) 85%
> 12. Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83) 85%
> 13. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
> 14. Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
> 15. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
> 16. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
> 17. Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/6/83)
> 18. Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
> 19. Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
> 20. Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
> 21. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
> 22. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
> 23. Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)
> 24. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
> 25. Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR 1980s NJPW Top 25
> 
> 
> 
> 1. 5-on-5 Gauntlet Challenge (4/19/84) = 7807 points
> 2. Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (9/23/81) = 7726 points
> 3. Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs. Hiro Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (9/12/88) = 7535 points
> 4. Antonio Inoki, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Umanosuke Ueda & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido, Nobuhiko Takada & Kazuo Yamazaki (3/26/86) = 7531 points
> 5. Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/9/87) = 7224 points
> 6. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Akira Maeda (6/12/86) = 6914 points
> 7. Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89) = 6867 points
> 8. 5-on-5 Challenge (5/1/86) = 6862 points
> 9. Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan (4/1/82) = 6824 points
> 10. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/3/83) = 6659 points
> 11. Inoki/Fujiwara/Sakaguchi/Hoshino/Mutoh vs. Fujinami/Choshu/Maeda/Kimura/Super Strong Machine (8/19/87) = 6591 points
> 12. Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. George Takano & Super Strong Machine (3/16/89) = 6516 points
> 13. Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/6/86) = 6510 points
> 14. Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Dick Murdoch, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Masa Saito & Seiji Sakaguchi (9/17/87) = 6399 points
> 15. Shinya Hashimoto vs. Vader (4/24/89) = 6370 points
> 16. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (8/4/83) = 6352 points
> 17. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (4/21/83) = 6316 points
> 18. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (1/2/87) = 6283 points
> 19. Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader (6/27/89) = 6154 points
> 20. Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis (12/7/84) = 6117 points
> 21. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (7/7/83) = 6083 points
> 22. Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (4/27/87) = 6025 points
> 23. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) = 5991 points
> 24. Akira Maeda vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (2/5/86) = 5939 points
> 25. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Vader (4/24/89) = 5839 points
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR "Other Japan" 1980s Top 25
> 
> 
> 
> 1 Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda 4,296 UWF 11/10/88
> 2 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger 4,268 UWF 12/05/84
> 3 Nobuhiko Takada vs Bob Backlund 4,255 UWF 12/22/88
> 4 Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu 4,253 JPW 02/21/85
> 5 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger 4,217 UWF 07/17/85
> 6 Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano 4,076 UWF 07/24/89
> 7 Super Tiger vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara 3,982 UWF 09/07/84
> 8 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,928 UWF 01/07/85
> 9 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Super Tiger 3,815 UWF 09/11/85
> 10 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,789 UWF 08/13/88
> 11 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,756 UWF 07/24/89
> 12 Super Tiger/Nobuhiko Takada vs Akira Maeda/Yoshiaki Fujiwara 3,674 UWF 07/23/84
> 13 Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,592 UWF 05/12/88
> 14 Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi 3,590 FMW 10/06/89
> 15 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,580 UWF 09/11/85
> 16 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Akira Maeda 3,537 UWF 03/02/85
> 17 Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,416 UWF 10/22/84
> 18 Nobuhiko Takada vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara 3,386 UWF 10/25/89
> 19 Yoji Anjoh vs Masakatsu Funaki 3,349 UWF 06/14/89
> 20 Super Tiger vs Akira Maeda 3,312 UWF 09/11/84
> 21 Super Tiger vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,308 UWF 09/06/85
> 22 Akira Maeda vs Kazuo Yamazaki 3,248 UWF 05/21/89
> 23 Kazuo Yamazaki vs Nobuhiko Takada 3,223 UWF 05/04/89
> 24 Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki 3,179 UWF 05/21/89
> 25 Atsushi Onita vs Masashi Aoyagi 3,112 UKIKM 06/02/89
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: DVDVR AJPW 1980s Top 25
> 
> 
> 
> 1 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89)
> 2 Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88)
> 3 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86)
> 4 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89)
> 5 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/83)
> 6 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
> 7 Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89)
> 8 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)
> 9 Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
> 10 Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83)
> 11 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
> 12 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
> 13 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
> 14 Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV)
> 15 Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80)
> 16 Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (7/15/89)
> 17 Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83)
> 18 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)
> 19 Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86)
> 20 Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81)
> 21 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
> 22 Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
> 23 Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> 24 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
> 25 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)


THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! So much help.


----------



## Obfuscation

:lmao @ 1:55 of the Inoki SLAPPING video.

Incredible.


----------



## MF83

enlightenedone9 said:


> THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! So much help.


No problem!

I'd suggest starting with the puroresu.tv Best Puroresu Before 1980 though! Apologies for the double pimp since I already made a thread, but for those of you who haven't seen that, it's on xwt-classics and pwtorrents!


Giant Baba -vs- The Destroyer (JPWA; 1969-03-05) 
Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Billy Robinson (AJPW; 1977-03-05)
Giant Baba -vs- Billy Robinson (AJPW; 1976-07-24) 
Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Terry Funk (AJPW; 1976-06-11) 
Antonio Inoki -vs- Billy Robinson (NJPW; 1975-12-11) 
Gou Ryūma -vs- Fujinami Tatsumi (NJPW; 1979-10-02)
Mil Máscaras -vs- The Destroyer (AJPW; 1974-07-25) 
Billy Robinson -vs- Verne Gagne (IWE; 1974-11-20) 
Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Billy Robinson (AJPW; 1977-03-11)
The Funks -vs- Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (AJPW; 1979-07-15) 
Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Rusher Kimura (AJPW & IWE; 1976-03-28) 
Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Jack Brisco (AJPW; 1976-08-28) 
Gou Ryūma -vs- Fujinami Tatsumi (NJPW; 1978-11-30) 
The Funks -vs- Billy Robinson & Horst Hoffman (AJPW; 1977-12-06) 
The Funks -vs- Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza (AJPW; 1978-12-05) 
Giant Baba -vs- Bruno Sammartino (JPWA; 1967-03-07) 
Antonio Inoki -vs- Jack Brisco (JPWA; 1971-08-05) 
Dory Funk Jr. -vs- Horst Hoffmann (AJPW; 1975-12-15) 
Dick Murdoch -vs- Karl Kox (AJPW; 1976-12-09) 
Gou Ryūma -vs- Fujinami Tatsumi (NJPW; 1978-07-27) 
The Funks -vs- Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik (AJPW; 1977-12-15) 
Mil Máscaras -vs- Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW; 1977-08-25) 
Giant Baba -vs- Fritz Von Erich (JPWA; 1966-12-03) 
Yamamoto Kotetsu & Hoshino Kantarō -vs- Animal Hamaguchi & Mighty Inoue 
Don Leo Jonathon -vs- The Destroyer (AJPW; 1975-12-13)
Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- The Funks (AJPW; 1978-12-15) 
Antonio Inoki -vs- Chris Markoff (JPWA; 1969-05-16) 
Antonio Inoki & Sakaguchi Seiji -vs- Lou Thesz & Karl Gotch (NJPW; 1973-10-14) 
The Destroyer -vs- Toyonobori (JPWA; 1965-02-26)
The Funks -vs- Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (AJPW; 1979-12-13)


----------



## EmbassyForever

Oh fuck yeah look what I just found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7Tk94-RNWA


----------



## Obfuscation

RAINMAKER. 

Pretty bossy.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Here's another one  

Been waiting for this too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1EkAdNo0jk


----------



## Chismo

Nothing tops this one, though:







*AJPW Pro-Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol. 9*
CAGE MATCH: Masakatsu Funaki vs. Minoru Suzuki

_Great match, this was an old school battle, it was based on the “less is more” doctrine. So simple, yet so effective. The cage was used only few times, but it felt important and big every time. The match was based on painful submissions and vicious strikes. And don’t let me even start about selling. Because it was exceptional. Does anyone else find it very surprising that best sellers in Puro today are guys with shoot backgrounds?_
*Rating: ****1/4*

Link:


----------



## Yeah1993

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-NEDgQIP8I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything.


----------



## Obfuscation

I never thought Taka's WWF song could get any better. I KICK YOUR ASS

Nakamura wins for my favorite NJPW entrance song. Naito & Okada aren't far behind.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

TAKA is coming.....motherfucker. <3


----------



## Bubz

Big Tak clearly has the best entrance theme EVER!  It's so badass and fits him perfectly.


----------



## Chismo

Right behind Chono's, I agree.

Fuck everyone who disagrees:









Shit, I used to make BIG TAK's gif all the time, I have a bunch of them on my old PC.


----------



## seabs

*Nothing beats Yoshihito Sasaki's theme right now. FUN. Nakamura's so is great too. Liger's is probably the all time GOAT theme.*


----------



## Chismo

Scrap that. I totally forgot about Ryuji Ito's:


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Seabs said:


> *Nothing beats Yoshihito Sasaki's theme right now. FUN. Nakamura's so is great too. Liger's is probably the all time GOAT theme.*


You mean the FMW theme?


----------



## Chismo

Old review, but never published here:










*Flashing Tour 2012 - Day 8*


1.	Ryota Hama, KENSO & Andy Woo vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Masayuki Kono & Yasufumi Nakanoue

*1/2


2.	SUSHI vs. Aegyptus Aerial

1/2*


3.	*Tournament for the VACATED All Asia Tag Team Championship – Semi-Finals*: Stack of Arms (Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto) vs. Tokyo Gurentai

**


4.	*Tournament for the VACATED All Asia Tag Team Championship – Semi-Finals*: Team 246 vs. Turmeric Storm

**


5.	*AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Hiroshi Yamato © vs. Hikaru Sato

_Now we're talking, this was a good match, with a lot of psychology and one-upmanship. They worked the semi-shoot style, but in a very compelling manner._

***1/2


6.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: GET WILD © vs. Joe Doering & Zodiac

**1/2


7.	Keiji Mutoh & Kevin Nash vs. Taiyo Kea & Seiya Sanada

_This was good, liked it. Plenty of psychology from Nash, that’s what he always does good, and he worked very well overall. He even took 3 bumps. Thumbs up for this one._

***1/4


8.	*Triple Crown Championship*: Masakatsu Funaki © vs. Suwama

_Very good match. Human chase game, both guys displayed some crafty tactics and strategies. Damn fine selling too, and the finishing stretch was well done, especially after the Akiyama callback earlier in the match. I love how they’ve build Funaki’s finishing combo as a death threat that can end a match at any time, it brings excitement._

***1/2


Solid show, but wouldn’t recommend the whole thing, just find and watch the ***+ matches.​


----------



## McQueen

I have no idea if hes still using it because i'm so far behind on wrasslin in general but I always loved Yuji Nagata's theme he was using a few years ago.


----------



## Corey

Couple matches I watched last night from the All Japan Classics series:

*NWA United National Title (Vacant)*
Ricky Steamboat vs. Genichiro Tenryu
_2/23/1984

_This match really made me appreciate the art that is professional wrestling. The UN title was vacated after the death of David Von Erich, so that automatically makes it pretty meaningful. Whenever the term 'human chess match' is used, this is the type of match they'd be referring to. Both guys really made every move count & there were some truly beautiful looking counters. Excellent sequence where Tenryu has Steamboat in a head scissors for several minutes, then he finally escapes (after a failed escape that Tenryu OWNED), locks in the Figure 4, and both guys roll all the way out to the floor with the hold still locked in the entire time. Finishing sequence looked like something way before its time. Really good match where both guys were both in amazing shape in their careers. ******

*AWA World Heavyweight Title - Special Referee: Terry Funk
*Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Nick Bockwinkel
_2/26/1984_

This bored the daylights out of me. Really no structure to it, just a bunch of random moves & brawling on the outside. There was maybe a 3 or 4 minute sequence that I actually enjoyed & that's when Bockwinkel was in pure desperation mode doing everything he could to put Jumbo away. He'd constantly throw him outside the ring (could the AWA Title change hands on a countout or something?), throw him into the post, and hit a beautiful looking brainbuster from the apron back inside the ring. Funk was just there to count really loud I think.  Besides that, it's a really long match that seemingly goes nowhere and ends in a double countout after 28 minutes. All Japan seemed notorious for shit like that in the 80s... *** 1/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *Nothing beats Yoshihito Sasaki's theme right now. FUN. Nakamura's so is great too. Liger's is probably the all time GOAT theme.*


LIGER'S ultra Japanese culture theme. :mark:


----------



## Issues_Sunshyne

I'm watching my first ever Japanese wrestling match at the moment, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki.

Suzuki has just got into the ring... Let's see what this is about!


----------



## bigbuxxx

may not be the match that will get you or anybody into puro. 

Watch Naito vs Okada from March or Okada vs Tanahashi from June and that'll do it.


----------



## antoniomare007




----------



## MF83

Reviewing DVDVR's Best of NJPW: 1980-1984

I've had a good amount of time to watch some wrestling over the last couple weeks of holidays and watched discs 4 to the middle of disc 6. Watched the final '84 bout this evening and that seems like a good place to cut it off for now. I'll come back to this thread whenever I do get around to an update. This has maybe been the most pleasurable compilation I've had the joy of experiencing and I recommend it to everyone! I ran through it when it originally came out but that was back in the days of drug abuse and as a result I recall very little, so this is basically like running through the set fresh while still understanding most wrestlers' gimmicks and roles. There will probably be typos and such as I don't feel like editing this further than the reformatting process. 

Anyway, my take on the first five years of the 80s decade from King of Sports: 



*Andre the Giant vs. Stan Hansen (NJPW; 1981/09/23)* 
This is easily one of the smartest pro wrestling matches that I’ve ever experienced in my time as a fan. Absolutely stellar work from both men through and through and my first official five star match. Why?
The workrate: Something was happening always. Andre working the lariat arm like William Regal. It’s a thing of beauty and comes into play multiple times. Hansen provides his infamous brawl barrage and the chemistry obviously works out.
The “spot dodge” factor: Each man dodges multiple times and dodge spots are awesome normally, added into a match as this is a fat bonus. The dodge spots are big factors surrounding both of the match’s big spots.
The bodyslam psychology: It begins as seemingly just another day for Andre when he rather easily counters Hansen’s first attempt to slam him, by grabbing the injured arm. Looking to put away his foe, Andre starts throwing suplexes and strikes. Hansen’s “resthold comeback” is full of struggle and when he toe kick’s Andre, the tension in the air is at maximum. He nails the slam, but further than that, the aftersell of both men is priceless. Hansen’s display of successful exhaustion and new confidence not only in his game, but knowing that Andre has a weakness (back), is executed perfectly. Andre is human after all! Beyond that, Andre temporarily loses that air of invincibility, visibly loses confidence, and shows lack of physical dominance for the first time in New Japan. 
Andre’s camel clutch escape and Hansen’s armdrag: <3 
The midway countout and Gordi’s point about all involved performing to full potential: Mr. Takahashi and the New Japan representative play their roles perfectly during the countout/restart break. Mr. Takahashi making things suspenseful in his announcement and the suit’s “acting”. Skaaland is perfect as a wise heel manager here. I absolutely love how Hansen and Andre both cut it out the second they realized what has happened and begin the petition for a restart. It shows they want the win rather than just the violence a match like this brings. Heel Andre runs to his Skaaland for advice and to help persuade the officials while Hansen does his job as face to rile the crowd support into a frenzy.
The face and heel performances: Hansen babyfacing is amazingly energetic and varied. I’m tempted to say that this face performance is up there with some of Terry Funk’s best because while less dramatic reaching high points, it is continues from beginning to end and less blatant. He’s vibrant at all the right times and completely loveable in his quest for nothing more than to fight and down the giant. Andre gives us a verbal dialogue to go along with his body language and his special brand of heel tactics. A+ in selling, timing, and expression (body and facials) from both men.
The finish: Hansen finally hits the Western lariat and that moment is rightfully a highlight reel regular. True to the equality theme, they sell equal amounts of time. Hansen had to use his injured arm to try to finish off Andre and in doing so worsened the injury. Andre was knocked out of the ring, but as just previously stated, the arm wasn’t fully functional so though he got taken out temporarily, he was vertical at the same time that Hansen was. His confidence had taken another hit though. He couldn’t beat Hansen his way so he grabs his own elbow pad to try and beat Hansen with his own medicine. That would not happen as Mr. Takahashi, irritating Andre by trying to check for weapons inside the pad, eats Western (Europe) Lariat and the match ends than ending it there. Both men, still willing and able, continue fighting each other and then the ring boys, until Hansen is forced out of the ring. The symbolism with both men standing tall at the end, with Andre in the ring and Hansen whipping a chair, is the sugar on top for the theme of “irresistible force meeting the immovable object”. In the end, the force remains active and the object remains in its same position. 
★★★★★ or *91%*

*5-on-5 Gauntlet (4/19/84)* Alright, didn’t love this last time. Let’s see if that changes. Okay, one for one; that first fall ruled. Two for two, the hand offense could have been a bit more varied but that was still much better than I recall. Interesting that _that_ was the first time the sasori tapped a person on this set. That damn second rope is an Achilles heel for the Dragon. Three for three, what a fucking Fujinami performance. Okay, Yatsu/Takada was much better this time through. Takada was actively good-great, as was the fall itself once the spot-fall sequences ended. Four for four then. Sadly, Kimura/Yatsu is as subpar as I remembered it to be and automatically removes the match from potential five star territory. To their credit, the superplex/leg lariat combo was a good way to re-rile the place after all that mediocrity. Animal brings goodies to his bout with Kimura and they manage another successful fall. Love the Fujiwara fall still. My goodness, that smile. Make it or break it, oh final fall… Ok, that was much better than I remember. 89% Can’t give it five because of Yatsu/Kimura but my goodness was that incredible. I do “get it” now. Essentially a collection of close-to-or four star matches and a blemish. Remarkable stuff.

*Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan (4/1/82) *– Gotta watch this again because it’s that good; Fuchking amazing. Detractions are messiness and tiny bits of confusion along the way but those are small detractions indeed. Khan attacks Andre’s ankle. Andre sells like a god. A motherfucking god. He does neck work on Khan, just awesome cravats and sleepers. *literally shows Takahashi by applying it on him!* “That is not a choke!” My favourite spot of the match is probably Andre going for the double leg hold a la Hashi’s single leg to work Khan’s neck. It’s potentially lethal. ONE HANDED MONGOLIAN to the ankle~! Andre covering his ears to protect from said chops at the end! Wonderful near-finish I guess when Andre hits boot but not running press. Seriosuly, everything he did that would realistically affect the ankle, he sold. Like the god damn king of the world. 88%

*Fujinami Tatsumi vs. Choshu Riki (4/3/83)* – OH FUCK YEAH. Things broke down in the late '82 six man after Fujinami would not cooperate with Choshu and got bitchslapped for it. The rest of the match featured slap exchanges and after it was over, Choshu attacked Fujinami, grabbed the mic and made some comment about him not being a dog or some such business. I wish I watched their first singles match from a little while after that, before this, in hindsight.
Choshu went out there to prove himself and did he ever! It helped that he was challenging in a featured title match as he did not fuck around in the slightest. I loved a lot about this, little-thing wise. Starts heavy with a Choshu jump-job ending in DOUBLE lariat before the bell, putting over the lariat for the match. The slaps continue and boost things between early matwork. During early holds, Fujinami’s prevention of the backdrop was just lovely and sold it as a mega threat for later on. They paced the holds wonderfully, and just when you think it’s starting to drag, boom, “DO-RA-GON~!”. The action is just so tight. The sasoris were set up and executed well. Fujinami struggling against Choshu actually sitting down with them to prevent the rope escape was so refreshing and enjoyable. I *loved* Fujinami’s counter out of the juji into the bow and arrow, which was not only pretty, but practical as it sent Choshu outside for some floor-play and a near-20 count. I legitimately thought Fujinami had it after both his German and O’connor roll attempts, and Choshu’s shocked “two?!” after the German only helped things. Choshu’s murder lariat to end it was perfect and as a callback to his shocked reaction to the nearfall earlier, his “three?!” afterward was icing. Crowd saw something special as apparent by their post-match celebration. Tremendous. Sprinkles on that icing in the form of Masa coming in jumping like a teenaged girl and Fujinami's suggestion there was hair pulling enraging Choshu during his award ceremony. This feud must continue and I couldn’t be happier! ★★★★¾ or 88% I could see myself five starring this on a rewatch.

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Killer Khan (11/3/83)* – Dragolian Chops! Khan sells a dropkick by checking if he lost a tooth. Not once, but twice. <3 Love Fujinami stealing another move by laying a perfect double knee as that;s only gonna come back to bite him in the ass. Also love him failing to lock in a scorpion and instead swiftly switching it into a drop down figure four. Love Khan taking over via small package and the punches that followed. Love Fujinami surprising Khan with quickness, multiple times. Love Mr. Takahashi not breaking Khan’s rope escape tries after he used heel tactics. Love Khan screaming to sell Dragon’s ground kicks. Jesus, I love the pinpoint accuracy of Fujinami’s diving knee. Love Kong’s one armed Russian legsweep. LOVE Khan’s diving knee and the fact that I completely bought the nearfall without any kind of finish forecasted. Also love how it was only from the second rope to make his third rope try seem like a much bigger deal. Loved him “kicking out” by just lazily lifting his right arm, and it only worked because Fujinami had him pinned Northernly. Dislike the countout ending.  Genius match though. Was set to hit ****1/2 before the admittedly lame ending. The highest of ****1/4 84%

*Tiger Mask vs. Gran Hamada (11/6/81)* – This was much better than I remember it being. Easily the smoothest around the edges Tiger Mask match so far. The transitions are natural and the momentum shifts are spaced well apart. The type of match when it could have ended at any point, made both look strong, making everyone wonder why this wasn’t the feud Tiger Mask would be remembered for. It’s as if Hamada was right mad at Tiger for taking his potential spot as new junior ace because he gave Tiger less than anyone ever did here. Tight and even until the satisfying non-finish. ****1/4 83%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (8/4/83)* – First thing to be noticed is the evening out of the chants to the point that “Choshu!” calls come close to equalling “Dragon!” calls before the bell. This was a war. It lacked some of the finer points of their prior matches; the little charms and super sells and such. However, it was a rollercoaster that hardly slowed down. They have a chain somewhere in the early half that lasts a good three or four minutes. What makes this chain special, though, is that each move they incorporated was semi-threatening, well worked, and flowed to the next hold with such graceful struggle, and I really appreciated it as a fan. After barely making it is after 20, Fujinami survived what I thought was finally going to be the Scorpion he tapped to. Instead, he downed Choshu on the outside with a couple big moves and won, nay, survived. Great match and shin champion… but wait, I take that back! Fujinami does not accept a tainted championship. Good show, chap. He’d accept it due to real life circumstances in the near future, but for now, he is noble. ****1/4 83%

*Tatsumi Fujinami & Antonio Inoki vs. Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis (12/7/84)* Okay, this wound up being fantastic. The second time in for each of the natives was needless and boring but everything outside of that was quite good. Fujinami had to be in there for ten minutes at the start and the workover was all good enough to hold attention. There were a couple really good hot tags in here, especially Inoki’s second last time in. The final segment featuring legal Fujinami was very good. When Inoki got in there with Dick, they stopped, captured the moment and built up tension in a really cool restart. Breakdown with chairshots and Fujinami biting Murodch back was scrumptious puroresu. The end was terrific. Yeah. ****1/4 83%

*Bob Backlund vs. Stan Hansen (9/30/80)* – Wonderful pro wrestling. The best of Hansen vs. inoki… only there’s an even better (at this point) Backlund in there with him. The arm work chunk was unnecessary and probably detracts from what this could have been, and the finish wasn’t the best for a countout. Still though, damn good shit, and bonus points for the post match fistfight. ****1/4 83%

*Choshu Riki vs. Fujinami Tatsumi (4/21/83)*
Fujinami comes taped at the knee, and the roles are reversed as Choshu is presented as the man/champ. He even sends Animal to the back as to not distract or interfere. Such struggle once again. Slap themes continue in this one, most conspicuously when after a dragon screw, Fujinami can’t twist on a figure four, so instead he slides into mount and slaps Riki senseless. Good psychology here, demonstrating that Fujinami WILL make it to the ropes unless you hurt him first, and when you do hurt him, well, at this point, he’ll still get there! Four sasoris and Tats will not give, so Choshu dumps him outside, hangs him by the leg on the rail, cheaply waits til fifteen and pops back in for the countout. From here it’s clear that next time will be about the submission. Storytelling, I dare say. Great selling here. It suffers from some unfortunate miscommunication in the middle but this is still very good. Bonus marks for Fujinami fighting through a continued beatdown after the bell, and for Choshu giving an interview while stomping Fujinami. So good. ★★★★+ 82%

*Tatsumi Fujinami & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Dynamite Kid & Steve Keirn (1/18/80)* – Its only glaring flaw is a weak, lackluster beginning portion. Dynamite is immense here, Japanese are great faces, Keirn is a bit weak but hangs with the rest of them and they produce a fresh, exciting, exhibition tag. 82%

*Tiger Mask vs. Bret Hart (2/5/82)*
I thought this was a tremendous encounter and Tiger Mask’s best so far. Bret works tight and more importantly, this keeps Tiger working tight. Dynamite, for all his supposed godliness, let’s things get too loose and thus messy. It’s paced just right, they work in some good leg work on Bret, everything is uniquely laid out and fun to watch. The finish is awesome. Clean and fun. Minor issues docks this to 82%.

*Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (9/11/80) *Epic Hansen flavoured brawl. He just beats the fuck out of Inoki for twenty minutes, getting everyone in an outrage by throwing 8 hammer throws but never the lariat. Blind Hansen striking, and especially kicking (jumping knee and dropkicking) Inoki right in the face many times. Inoki was fin to lose this thing and it was a desperate struggle for him to survive and ultimately try and win via countout. It loses points for the weak finish. 
Countout is fine, but that Hansen randomly started Argentine’ing Inoki, both times sloppily and the second almost botch, it lost its magic. Especially because when he decided to Argentine Inoki (first is excusable) the second time, that was where you throw the lariat. The countout itself was fine, but definitely illogical to the point of hurting the match. **** 81% 

*Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5/82)* – Original for these two. Didn’t feel forced and got to be a very good juniors match in the end. **** 81%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Tony Londos (9/19/80)* Fucking amazing British Brawl technical bout, fast paced and ingeniously worked. Exhibitiony without building heat, but what a treat to watch. Tats brings it to a bringer and they make four stars. **** 81%

*Tiger Mask vs. Steven Wright (4/1/82)* - Really, really good. Wright lays some amazing mat work on us and the workrate is optimal throughout. Finish is out of nowhere and Tiger shakes off some pretty decent legwork but this is an excellent exhibition match. 81%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (9/21/83)* – Holy slowed down Power Hall, Batman. Choshu locks a sasori and gets a great facial out of Dragon. Fujinami eludes Choshu once inside, but instead of further chickening out, instead, he lies right down on his back in the middle of the ring and tells Choshu to bring it. Awesome moment which confuses and catches Choshu off guard when Fujinami quickly scrambles to his feet and nails a lightning enzuigiri. He gets in a full spinning toehold for good measure before locking in the figure four. BEAUTIFUL segment, that. He follows with a dropkick, scorpion, figure four combo. These men do not submit! A good counter sequence afterwards before they screw up a two-man floor dump. Not sure if I like or dislike Fujinami obviously goading Choshu into lariating the post. Double countout as we hit pause on this feud after 6 matches in one year! Fans want a restart. Mr. Takahashi goes to ringside to investigate this notion but not two seconds pass before the boys are back at it. They keep it up and as Fujinami is running the ropes, Animal trips him up. Backdrop! KILLER KHAN COMES IN, COUNTS THREE AND I LOVE PRO-WRESTLING. That keeps this safely in the four star territory. Their first match sucked (I went back and watched it. I do wish it was included JIP for the violent chair shot filled ending but the first twenty minutes were painful) but outside of that this feud has been all quality. **** 81%

*Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda & Kengo Kimura vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi (12/8/83)* – This marks the debuts of Yatsu and the act of the ring announcer parroting the ref’s counts for the set. Choshu and Fujinami line up and match disdain before Yatsu and Maeda make clear some beef. This is sure to be a wild one. God, I love the sasori-and-arrow switch. This is the first frantic Choshuism tag and it does not disappoint. Driveby stomps, countless quick tags, high quality double teams and the first good Kimura appearance. The second time the six of them make it outside together, it all breaks down as weapons come into play and a whole bunch of other shit. Hell yeah. This is the goods. 80%

*Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/3/80)* - Tight brawling action throughout. Inoki targeted the arm and set that as his base for psychology. That work would have been better if he went for more than one juji ¾ of the way in, but it does a good job showing how Inoki weakened the effect of the Western lariat. Huge perfect jumping knee to the face from top to outside at one point. Reached four by the end. **** 80% **** 80%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Ron Starr (9/30/80)* - Mmm, silky smooth headlock/cravate play! An epic Fujinami performance. Facials, selling, generalship, mmm. Starr provided the assualt allowing for Fujinami to provide really the first case of long term limb selling ive seen in New Japan, history wise, via Fujinami’s arm. Everything flows in yet another great Fujinami match. **** 80%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Steve Keirn (11/6/80)* – Scrumptious strong style to close out the year. Good work throughout. Sick leg work by Tats but nothing came of it as the unrelated finish came after the sleeper counter that countered the leg work (though, he sold after the bell). Loved the sleeper counter. Good chaining. Yeah. Not quite four, but damn close. ***3/4 79%

*Bob Backlund vs. Riki Choshu (8/24/84)* – Fan of the fact that Choshu rejected the handshake. Intentional or not, even bigger fan of Backlund swinging his arms in imitation of Choshu pre-gong. Is Fujinami injured? Having some serious Dragon withdrawals about now but too lazy to check ‘84 TV schedule. Decent mat wrestling kicks things off as they… tangle up in Cerulean blue. Bob high angle bridges out of what I believe is the first of many Riki headscissors of the set. Only Bob Backlund is going to bridge roll out of arm scissors, twice, then effortlessly deadlift Choshu and leisurely release him up top. Yes. Only Choshu is going to be able to pull off such a tight cross body from that position. Love the effortless transition from scorpion to figure four amidst Bob escapes. Doesn’t even lock it in, that’s how you do an “even spot”. Lovely pro wrestling, folks. (Un)intentional Choshu low blow heats things up and Backlund comes back with a pair of slick elbows and a crawling ram headbutt! God damn, does Bob sell the lariat. Choshu has been very much like Flair in that every time he heads up top, he’s coming down hard. Airplane spin before the textbook failed double scramble countout. Such a good, fun, exhibitiony fight of a match. ***3/4 79%

*Tiger Mask & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi & Gran Hamada (2/10/83)* - Starts off all nice and typical. Then, the rudos get angry and try to de-mask TM. From there it really heats up and Hoshino gets in a sweet punch rush. They get divey and it ends as Tiger does a running plancha sending the jealous Hamada guillotining into the crowd. Ah, the reminders of the over-the-rail match finish. Yes, the final Tiger/Dynamite is coming soon to a computer screen near you! 78%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Isamu Teranishi (10/8/81)* – Well and good test of interpromotional strength stuff to start. Fujinami with a swank counter to a pin, Teranishi just won’t let go of the wrist lock so Fujinami just starts unloading stiff “Fire Pro Wrestling” chest punches, and chops, and then Teranishi voluntarily lets go to headbutt him as if it were 1995! Awesome! Tatsadvantage, goes for Dragon Suplex, Teranishi scissors Fujinami’s leg, trips him into the sitting toe hold, and transitions into a fucking horse collar. PRO WRESTLING! Do-ra-gon! Teranishi punches a la open handed slaps meaning his second row knuckes are connecting~! Strong style slaps! Dragon punch! Loads of goods before the go home during which it looks like there was some shoot struggle. They did a shoulder throw spot twice but it didn’t appear to be the spot either time. Shortly after, Fujinami whips him again, goes behind, does a ropebounce jrlch but instead of pinning rolls through and does a German AKA Doug Williams finisher. (Chaos Theory?) Teranishi did a couple dropkicks early that Fujinami no-sold as well. That kind of thing detracts but the intensity, the punches, the matwork, it’s all good. ***3/4 78%

*Gran Hamada vs. Babyface (4/3/80) *77% - This is the infamous “Hamada does Tiger Mask before Tiger Mask even debuts” match. Fun and definitely influential! 

*Tatsumi Fujinami & Akira Maeda vs. Riki Choshu & Higo Hamaguchi (12/2/83)* – This match is weird. The first half is excellent and it seems as though they’re building to a great tag team match as Choshu locks in a couple sasoris and it looks to finally be the first submission in that manner of this set on Maeda. Fujinami gets in a cool frustration spot and next thing ya know, Ishingun have weakly transitioned into leg locks and it becomes obvious that we’re headed to a draw. Maeda is really green in this match and gets stretched hard for it, which is always a plus. He and Animal kill the crowd before trying a headbutt war spot that just fails unfortunately. It heats up again toward the end and finishes quite strong with countery callback lariat goodness. Hard to rate but 77% sounds good. 

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (7/7/83)* – Early figure four allows for some fantastic realism in Choshu’s selling after the fact. This was a match of evenness. My favourite part was Choshu landing elbow drops and Fujinami ground kicking him every time he got back up. Fujinami counters a lariat with his own and follows it up with the maneuver Choshu stole from him in the first place. The second Fujinami Scorpion attempt sees him taunt Mr. Takahashi and count along with him as he DQ’s him on the five count. Awesome non-finish. Animal is in and attacking Fujinami but he does not break! Maeda (Dragon’s second) fights him off, and even as the rest of Riki Team attacks Fujinami, he will not break! After a full minute or so, Sakaguchi finally convinces him to break and raises his arm. Fans want a restart but it is not to be. 76%

*Antonio Inoki, Akira Maeda & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi, (2/9/84)* – Holy poop, it’s 1984 and a wild Fujiwara appeared! He’s got a taped forehead and so does Choshu. Animal is adamantly opposed to Fujiwara during introductions. This is all quite promising… and it does not disappoint. Really weird to have a featured multi-man without Fujinami in it but it’s kind of refreshing too. Fujiwara was already oh so good here. His “show” begins as he breaks the chain of double teams a ways in, dismissing Maeda to the apron so he can face Animal one on one. They grapple and Animal hammer punches his bandaged forehead and opens up the cut. The selling, oh, the selling. His survival crawls while in one of Ishingun’s clutches late in the game was so realistic. I love bossman Choshu pointing at everything that moves and directing traffic as well as everything about Ishingun at this point. They get to brutalizing Fujiwara so much so that Kotetsu hops the rail and eventually Mr. Takahashi calls it when the double/triple teams get to be too much. Inoki reminds us all how he got to be ace of world with such expression while dishing haymakers. Fights break out and eventually Teranishi and Kobayashi join in as (most of) Ishingun stands tall. Fujiwara is livid during post-post-match crowd appeal. Just lovely. 76% 

*Chavo Guerrero vs. Kengo Kimura (9/30/80)* Chavo is a lot better than his match against Fujinami. He works a decent ground game and this eventually turns into a hot little finish wherein Chavo bests Kengo by backdropping him on the floor, but Kengo is able to hold him between the middle ropes for the double countout. ***3/4 76%

*[*]George Takano vs. Stan Lane (7/24/81)* – They work on the ground unspectacularly, but active enough that I paid attention the whole way through. At first point of Takano uncooperation, Lane hits the first knee strikes for the natural transition into third gear. He later unloads a perfect back spin kick, high kick, and rolling solebutt to my utter surprised delight. A simple, effective finish with a clothesline/sleeper otoshi. Would love to see that used as a regular finisher. Good match. 75%

*Hulk Hogan vs. Antonio Inoki (IWGP League Final) (6/2/83)* - Hogan is a bit clumsy at times but this is a fine Inoki performance. He’s agile with his actions and executes some nice flash submissions. I love the end. Hogan axe bomber’s Inoki into the rail and Inoki barely makes it onto the apron before getting axe bombered off and into the rail. He is dead but his fucking underlings drag his carcass into the ring. Hogan oscilates like a madman appealing for the win and eventually Mr. Takahashi rules Inoki (who’s mouth is open with tongue hanging out <3) unfit to continue. 75%

*Tiger Mask & Kengo Kimura vs. Bret Hart & Dynamite Kid (7/16/82)* Fun! Muchos dropkickos. 75%

*[*]Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu (5/18/84)* – Inoki does well enough selling knee damage but Fujinami he is not when it comes to selling desperation while locked in the sasori. I like Inoki’s original comeback orchestrated voluntarily off his back as it shows his cleverness while simultaneously demonstrating Choshu’s dominance standing and grappling, which is quite the advantage indeed next to shacho. Speaking of clever, they manage to put over the backdrop threat via struggled prevention before Choshu gets the knee crusher instead. By then Inoki really had done a nice job keeping the selling honest and consistent and it all fit together quite nice. Sasori spot really doesn’t work against Inoki since there’s zero chance he’s submitting and Choshu appears deflated on attempt number three. Gotta repeat that I really enjoyed inoki’s selling. Realistic in that he worked around the injury as if it were real and sold it visually without it becoming conspicuous. I thought for the briefest second that Inoki would take the countout loss. They flubbed the finish but made it work in an, “Haha oh dear, that’s our Inoki! *sitcom credit still*” kind of way. ***1/2 74%

*Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (1/28/82)* - Better than their first match on here but not by much. Same problems with the botches, spottiness, poor transitions, lack of flow, but the impressiveness of what they were doing sticks. ***1/2 74%

*Tiger Mask, Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Baby Face, Dynamite Kid & Abdullah the Butcher (1/8/82)* – 73% Chaos. Minibeef between Abdullah and Tiger. Dynamite does cool things. Fujinami is the FIP and Inoki doesn’t do a whole lot of anything. First fall sits better with me then second fall, which was spotty but intense yet ultimately ends unspectacularly with a guardrail DQ. Wahoo makes his way out for the post match brawl setting up a future bout I suppose. 

*Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger (5/26/82)* - Lots of meh until BT heels it up at the end and meets his comeuppance to lose his title. Put over our new hero well, especially with the moonsault finish. Tiger’s moonsault was weird because he never followed the vertical axis, seemed scared to commit to the backflip or something so it was always sideways. Good stuff though. 74%

*Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (4/23/81)* – Makes Tiger Mask look good and lays the foundation. Definitely not as good as I remember. Messy, confused, a botch, but still very entertaining. ***1/2 73%

*Tatsumi Fujinami, Seiji Sakaguchi & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Higo Hamaguchi (3/22/84)* – Sakaguchi Bom ba Ye?...-oh, I see. Inoki gets jumped before the bell by Teranishi and Kobayashi who along with Hamaguchi, lay him via varied chair shots and general ambush. So, he’s out. Kengo has one boot on and tries to insert himself into the mix but old reliable launches himself into Ishingun instead and we have ourselves a new (and improved?) six man. Intentional or not, I love that Sakaguchi makes the hot tag after landing a corner rebound big boot on Choshu, since the corner rebound lariat has been Choshu’s go-to hope reversal. Loved the spot where Choshu gets knocked back with Fujiwara in Sasori setup, and Animal mauling Fujiwara’s face while Sakaguchi unloads repeated knee stamps on Choshu’s face. HUGE random Sakaguchi chokeslam. Must.Cherish.FIP.Fujiwara. Riki Lariato sends Fujiwara into a leftover Ishingun ambush and that’s game. Oh, it’s 5 vs 5 gauntlet time. 73%

*Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (2/8/80)* 72% Good psych in this. Dodging dropkicks and lariats respectively, Inoki works ground but Hansen’s roughness is too much. He lariats Inoki off the apron for the smart countout win!

*Antonio Inoki vs. Andre the Giant (6/11/84)* – Andre sporting ruthless mutton chops here. Andre appears to have a headache, or maybe it’s just the overwhelming chants for his opponent getting to him. Either way, Inoki striking him awake was straight out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon or something. Love Andre’s impersonation of the classic cocked fist, crowd appealing Inoki stance (complete with troll face). To my dismay, the goodness ends after Andre rag dolls the president and we get five minutes of nothing restholds. Two fucking positions in five minutes, that after a tedious mat section before “the toss”. I dozed off and had to re-endure the better part of a three minute ground wristlock transitioned from a two minute toehold, ouch. Awesome Andre reappears dancing to the tune of Inoki chants in a memorable moment. The “meat” of the match finally comes along when Inoki starts chopping down Andre’s leg. To be fair, they have sprinkled a few little David/Goliath fail spots throughout the thing. Inoki’s second kneedrop looked botchy but on a replay Andre got his leg in the air to connect with Inoki’s, and considering his health and that his actions throughout suggest intoxication, that was actually a really impressive spot. As the leg assault continues, Inoki’s connection with the audience peaks and he once again proves why he was the man, superworker or not, and his enzuigiri connection shortly thereafter may as well have been a medal winning soccer goal, and is definitely a set highlight. At this point, Andre says fuck it and tosses Inoki outside, and once again into the crowd. Lame DQ? Nah, mildly clever crowd-out win for Inoki. The utter shit early portion is made up for with an good final stretch. Great Andre here for the most part. This went 25 minutes with high highs and low lows. Hard to rate, low ***1/2 sounds good. 72%

*Andre the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan (12/9/82)* – Andre good, Hogan good, match is pretty good, 80s finish is good. Goody! 72%

*Tiger Mask & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Pete Roberts & El Solitario (9/4/81)* – love when Tiger applauds after Roberts finally escapes his wristlock and follows it up by ultratrolling him with the new Tiger Spin. Good match, Fujinami is so good at this point and Tiger Mask was really confident. It slows down a bit too much in the middle but this is a good match. ***1/2 71%

*Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura vs. Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch (12/8/84)* – Gaijin jump the natives at the bell, and they wind up getting tossed onto the tables. No “into the crowd” DQ, mind you, as there are no guard rails this evening. The match is designed to make Kimura look good and he does for the most part. Adonis shined brightest though, and he’s a real revelation for me on this set. Dick had fun yelling at the crowd but he looked to kind of phone it in a bit. North-South do well to keep themselves in control and I disagree with whoever said they smothered the faces here. It kept it interesting and the comebacks hot. Dick just no-sold Kengo’s leg lariat which killed things at one point. Fujinami snaps at one wicked point and comeuppance occurs as the gaijin both end up on top of each other on the rind side table. Very house show-y but not bad at all. 70%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hiroshi Hamaguchi (9/24/82)* – 70% Good, not special.

*Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Andre the Giant & Rene Goulet (12/10/81)* - Fun match, as all Andre matches are. Japanese work Goulet’s arm while dodging illegal Andre attacks. Eventually, Goulet breaks free and doesn’t sell his arm or do anything more of note. Inoki and Fujinami survive Andre attacks and hit a double body slam spot. Then, Inoki randomly slams Andre as if it were nothing in an awkward moment. Inoki fights with Goulet as Andre downs Fujinami. 70%

*Antonio Inoki & Kengo Kimura vs. Adrian Adonis & Bob Orton Jr. (3/4/83)* - American team was really entertaining and displayed great tag team strategy. Their gelling helped create a really fun match and Kengo did well eating all their shit between brief inoki comeback tags. Simple tag team wrestling. Not bad at all. ***1/4

*Tiger Mask & Kengo Kimura vs. ***** Navarro & El Signo (10/30/81)* - Platform for Tiger Mask to unload spots. Bird’s eye camera, four by four slow motion replays, this was a spotfest exhibition if there ever was one. Very disjointed, fairly fun! ***1/4 69%

*Dick Murdoch vs. Abdullah the Butcher (7/7/83)* - Doesn’t take long before Dick is bleeding. <- Ha. Abby hide-a-fork before Dick comes back with some good punches. He gets the fork from Abby but loses it to the crowd. He nails about the sickest brainbuster ever, one of the few things I do recall about my first time through these matches, and shortly thereafter this thing gets lost to a countout. ***1/4

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Steve Keirn (2/3 Falls) (2/1/80)* 68% - Two straight, first fall is weak but ends with Keirn busting open a bandaged Tats and losing by DQ. Second fall is good and ends after Fujinami survival and a German counter pin for two straight.

*Chavo Guerrero vs. Kengo Kimura (11/3/80) *– Better Kengo but this suffers from being clipped and though they each did well, they had less chemistry. Chavo wins countout. 67%

*Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (4/23/81)* – Quick match. Inoki tries a couple subs, Hansen throws a couple whips, hits a lariat for two, Inoki hits two enzuis, a diving standing knee/foot strikes and a knee drop for the win. Great finish but the match is too short for more than a weak ***1/4 66%

*Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Chavo Guerrero (5/9/80)* - Nothing special until the hot finish. 66%

*Gran Hamada, Kantaro Hoshino & Tiger Mask vs. Missionaries De La Muerte (1/14/83)* 64% - This went too long. It was fine and (el) dandy for the first portion but they paced it to be a two time through babyface cycle but went and doubled it. As a result, the last five or so minutes were tedious. 

*Antonio Inoki vs. Stan Hansen (5/9/80)* Disjointed. Decent brawling but forgettable. 62%

*Tiger Mask vs. El Canek (12/8/81)* – Weak match with an exciting finish. 61%

*Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 4/21/83 (Meltzer ***** match)* - When VLC rolled onto the next match after this I was left scratching my head, thinking, "WTF? How did I once love this match?" After all their matches together, I honestly enjoyed this the least. It's... it's not even good? Reading the DVDVR posts about this match is really interesting because you've got the one guy defending it as this all time classic and almost everyone else dismissing it (http://board.deathvalleydriver.com/topic/49901-tiger-mask-vs-dynamite-kid/). I enjoyed their match previous to this one quite a bit, it even crossed the four star threshold for me, but right now I can't comprehend just how and why this match gained such notoriety? It's like learning the truth about Santa Claus or something. I've been let down by old matches before, but this is dumbfounding me right now. I had this second last at that point. **3/4

*Nobuhiko Takada vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (3/9/84)* – Yikes, Takada-san! Something tells me that he is (briefly) better than the green Maeda around this time period. Former 2000s young lion, Hiroshi Nagao looked identical to Takada circa 3/9/84. Meh. Inoffensive but not good.

*Riki Choshu vs. Greg Valentine (9/7/84)* – bleh, they lacked chemistry. Neither guy was bad but the match just wasn’t good. BYE BYE RIKI. />/>

*Antonio Inoki vs. Billy Crusher (9/17/84)* – full nelson turnbuckle face smashes from the (un)Masked Superstar and that this was in Pakistan aside, nothing special about this match. 

*Akira Maeda vs. Killer Khan (5/17/83)* - Big pile of meh.

*Hulk Hogan vs. Abdullah the Butcher (5/26/82)* A nothing brawl.

REWATCH:
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid (2/5/80) 
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Tony Rocco (9/11/80) – Technical. Wasn’t paying attention though due to hunger, fatigue and general disinterest. Looked rock solid, if too spread out, and Id guess in the four star range.
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dick Murdoch (7/6/82) 
The Cobra vs. Hiroshi Saito (11/9/84) – Saito has a Japanese Jimmy Hart manager, what the? I wasn’t paying attention but it had some dives and heel tactics and stuff, and ends with a random throw into the crowd. Rewatch, I guess. 
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dick Murdoch (7/23/82) 
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kengo Kimura (9/25/80)
Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (11/4/82)
Tiger Mask vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi (1/6/83)


MVP Awards:

1. *Fujinami Tatsumi* - stellar in everything he appeared in, and that was the majority of these matches. 
2. Choshu Riki - Watching his rise again with full understanding was the best part about this. From the six man tag when he and Dragon throw down, through the amazing 4/3 match and onward until his exodus, I just loved his run here and he's fighting hard for that number one _favourite_ spot.
3. Andre the Giant - Everything he's done I've marked out for. Period.
4. Killer Khan - Ditto, only just slightly less so, and he had the blemish that was the Maeda match. 
5. Tiger Mask - Hate him all you want but he was in a bunch of goodies. The Dynamite series was a let down but he was carried to a few really good matches with a surprising number of opponents.

Honourable mention to Dick Murdoch who could easily fit in there on any other given day.


----------



## Bubz

Any thoughts on Wrestle Kingdom without spoilers??


----------



## asdf0501

Yeah1993 said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-NEDgQIP8I >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything.


There is only one theme better than that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsyXTnYPZFQ


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7 Review:* 

*Pre-Show:*

Wataru Inoue, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga vs. Jado, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii - *1/2

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA> & BUSHI - **1/4

*Main-Show:* 

Manabu Nakanishi, MVP, Strongman & Akebono vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Bob Sapp - **1/2

*NEVER Openweight Championship Match:* 
Masato Tanaka vs. Shelton Benjamin - **1/4

*IWGP Tag Championship Match:* 
“Killer Elite Squad” Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith, Jr. vs. “Sword & Guns” Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson - ***

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - ****1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavy Championship Triple Threat Match:* 
Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi - ***3/4+

Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***3/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:* 
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - ****1/2

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:* 
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - ****1/4



Spoiler: full review



*Pre-Show:* 

Wataru Inoue, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga vs. Jado, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii - *1/2
Not good at all, Tonga's finisher really sucks, would love seeing future match between Ishii and Inoue.

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA> & BUSHI - **1/4
Very fun, I wish there will be a rematch and they will get more time. KUSHIDA vs Liger needs to happen at this year BOSJ. Takahashi was pretty good here.

*Main-Show:*

Manabu Nakanishi, MVP, Strongman & Akebono vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Bob Sapp - **1/2
Your typical CHOAS match, glad Sapp and Akebono were here, they added a lot to the match and without them I'd skip it because I saw it too many times. Didn't knew MVP was in this match actually and IIRC he only did his "Ballin'" spot lol

NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Masato Tanaka vs. Shelton Benjamin - **1/4
What I exepcted this to be seriously.. both throwing big moves in short match but the crowd didn't cared about it at all which didn't helped it. It was ok I guess.

IWGP Tag Championship Match: “Killer Elite Squad” Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith, Jr. vs. “Sword & Guns” Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson - *** 
This match was great, enjoyed it a lot. Archer and Davey Boy working really well with guys in their size, this whole division has big potentiel and I wish that NJ will crete more teams. Anyway, the match was very good, Archer was great heel as usual and Anderson shined here, glad Goto took the pin. 

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - ****1/4
Holly shit, Suzuki's entrance was EPIC!!!! maybe my fave entrance ever. Suzuki rules. Probably I enjoyed the match more than others because I can watch them wrestle each other every day every night but it was very emotional and the crowd was super into it. Awesome. 

IWGP Jr. Heavy Championship Triple Threat Match: Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi - ***3/4
Holly fuck Low Ki as Hitman was badass. Low Ki is awesome, don't care what others has to say about him. This pic is just amazing - https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A_x52ulCAAAfXnD.jpg:medium. The match was exactly what I wanted it to be and the right guy pinned. Wonder what they are going to do with Low Ki now.

Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***3/4 
It was an all-out war as I hoped, happy that the match was short. Shibata is actually great and I wish we will see more of him (future match with Tanahashi sounds good to me)

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - ****1/2 
I don't have too much to say about this match and Okada/Tanahashi because others said my exact thougts. This match was similar to Lesnear vs Cena but just shorter and even better in my eyes. Early MOTY for me.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - ****1/4
Incredible match, was shocked when Okada kicked out from the Fly Flow, never saw someone kicking out from this. Well, I don't agree about the result but the match was superb.

Overall the iPPV was amazing and man, this is just the beginning for NJPW. BTW the crowd was fantastic!!! shocked by how alive they were compared to last year



EDIT: Missed TenKoji vs. Muta/Otani. **3/4 for me, fun match and the crowd was hot but went little longer than should've.


----------



## Nervosa

No Spoiler Wrestle Kingdom

Sapp, Iizuka, Yano, Yujiro vs. Akebono, MVP, Nakanishi, Strong Man **1/2
Shelton vs. Tanaka***1/4
KES vs. Sword and Guns: ***3/4
Suzuki vs. Nagata ****
Low Ki vs. Devitt vs. Ibushi:****1/4
TenKoji vs. Muta/Otani (feed cut)
Makabe vs. Shibata ***1/2
Nakamura vs. Sakuraba ****1/2
Okada vs. Tanahashi****1/4


----------



## Yeah1993

asdf0501 said:


> There is only one theme better than that
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsyXTnYPZFQ


Actually this here might be the greatest song I've heard in my miserable twenty years of existence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MbSgYIfk4c



The idea of everyone loving a Kazushi Sakuraba match in 2013 is really fucking awesome. I haven;t seen much of him yet, but in 1996 UWFi he looked liked the kind of guy who could have an outstanding career had he not moved to shoots. Glad he's back in the graps.


----------



## EmbassyForever

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xw...tirement-announcement-noah_sport#.UOiokeRSjM4
Kobashi retires


----------



## Bubz

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7: Evolution*

Manabu Nakanishi, MVP, Strong Man & Akebono vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Bob Sapp
****

*NEVER Openweight Title:* Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
*****

*IWGP Tag Team Title:* Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson
****1/4*

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
******

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Prince Devitt (c) vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi
****1/2*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani
****

Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata
*****
*
*IWGP Intercontinental Title: *Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
*****3/4* (This fucking match right here 8*D)

*IWGP Heavyweight Title:* Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada
*****1/4*

Wrote about the show in general in the spoilers thread, and the ****+ matches in the MOTYC thread. Everyone WATCH NAKAMURA/SAKURABA RIGHT NOW!


----------



## rzombie1988

I reviewed Wrestle Kingdom 7 with pics, gifs and even a few japanese quotes here:


Spoiler: Overall thoughts



Part 1- http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/njpw-wrestle-kingdom-7-review.html
Part 2- http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/njpw-wrestle-kingdom-part-2-review.html

Good show but certainly not the greatest show ever and really not even NJPW's best iPPV. I don't even think it was my favorite Tokyo Dome show ever. There was a ton of decent to good matches here with the main event being the match of the night but there were also questionable booking decisions that harmed the show. Coming out of this, I don't see alot of intriguing matches for NJPW due to the Shibata/Okada losses. Have them win and I could come up with multiple interesting and fresh scenarios. If you like good wrestling, there is lots of it here and you won't be disappointed.

Some shots from the show:


----------



## MF83

Seriously? You come into the NO SPOILERS thread, after Seabs makes a thread saying no spoilers for a week outside of the appropriate thread, with not one but two links to generate hits for your fucking blog and spoil things?! :no:


----------



## mskin21

Whats everyone's top 5 puro shows of 2012? Been looking to catch up.


----------



## Obfuscation

Maybe I should have gone home today. It appears I must see Nakamura vs Sakuraba right now. Before I do anything else. 

Now I'm regretting being a lively individual. Dammit.


----------



## EmbassyForever

mskin21 said:


> Whats everyone's top 5 puro shows of 2012? Been looking to catch up.


1. Suzuki vs Tanahashi (****3/4)
2. Okada vs Tanahahsi II (****3/4)
3. Okada vs Naito I (****1/2)
4. Okada vs Naito II (****1/2)
5. Goto vs Okada (****1/2)


----------



## Chismo

Wrestle Kingdom 7 review, bitches!



Spoiler: WK 7 REVIEW













1.	CHAOS (Jado, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Captain New Japan, Wataru Inoue & Tama Tonga

*


2.	Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi

**


3.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka) & Bob Sapp vs. Akebono, MVP & Muscle Orchestra

_Weak opener. Needed more of Ishii and Yujiro, and less of Nakanishi and Strong Man._

*1/2


4.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Masato Tanaka © vs. Shelton Benjamin

_Basic as fuck._

**


5.	*IWGP Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad © vs. Sword & Guns

***


6.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata

_Excellent match, loved this. MiSu’s character work was pure gold. This was fitting for a big Dome rubber match. Basic, yet so great and effective storytelling about one-upmanship. They made little and simple things look like million bucks. Not to mention fantastic mind games, especially from MiSu. Awesome, awesome match, and I would go even higher on the snowflakes if Nagata won with the armbreaker._

******


7.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Prince Devitt © vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi

_Low F’N Ki fucking stole the whole damn show with his Hitman outfit. It made for an awesome visuals. Anyway, this was a very good 3-Way, really nice and simple booking. Few great moves. They didn’t go over-the-top, thank God. Devitt confirms his Jr. Ace status, big win for him._

***1/2


8.	TenKoji vs. Keiji Mutoh & Shinjiro Otani

_Solid nostalgia match, nothing special. Good to see Mutoh and Otani back in the Dome._

**1/2


9.	Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata

_Good match. Probably needed to be better, but nevermind. Shibata was surprisingly good here. Didn’t really care for Makabe’s face-in-peril segments. The table spot rocked, however, the finish was not very good, IMO, but that’s just nitpicking, I guess. I really appreciated how they ended the match after Makabe’s finisher, it was a nice dose of realism. Shame that Shibata lost, though._

***


10.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

_Oh boy, this could’ve gone either way in terms of match quality, but thank God it ended up being really good. I was skeptical after 2-3 minutes in, though. They were way too defensive. Not that there’s anything wrong with that in general, but it bugged me here because their mat work looked too soft and awkward. But hey, this is SHINSKAY we’re talking about, right? As soon as he pulled some swag out of his ass, the match got much better. He’s a psychological master, and it makes his matches sooo good. That bitchslap to Sakuraba… And you gotta give Sakuraba a lot of credit too, this is probably his best singles performance ever. Looked very dangerous and compelling on offense. The match was really exciting down the stretch, I’m so glad I watched this unspoiled._

***1/2


11.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Kazuchika Okada

_Yes, we all expected and wanted to see Okada as the new Champion. Now can we stop judging the match because of it, please? Because this was absolutely fantastic. You know you’re watching something great when it lasts over 33 minutes, and you’re disappointed it ended and want more. Well, that’s how I felt. Thank God I watched this unspoiled, because all those counters on Rainmaker wouldn’t be so exciting and dramatic. One-upmanship, mind games, great wrestling in general, selling, counters, big fight feel, drama, struggle, suspense… This match was total package, I swear. And it happened in the Tokyo Dome. Tanahashi retaining was a shock, though. I wonder why they didn’t crown Okada here. But nevermind, this match was almost perfect in my book, therefore I’m going full boat here._

*******


Great show overall. Nothing really newsworthy, but it was a nice spectacle with a lot of good/great wrestling and moments. The main matches delivered, that’s all that matters to me. Thumbs up for WK 7.​


----------



## EmbassyForever

DDT - El Generico (c) vs Kenny Omega - ***3/4
Great match, finally Generico was over in DDT as he should have been in the series with Ibushi which helped the match a lot. I wish it was a little longer but the out-of-nowhere finish was actually great.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Spoiler: WK7






> 11. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Kazuchika Okada
> 
> Yes, we all expected and wanted to see Okada as the new Champion. Now can we stop judging the match because of it, please? Because this was absolutely fantastic. You know you’re watching something great when it lasts over 33 minutes, and you’re disappointed it ended and want more. Well, that’s how I felt. Thank God I watched this unspoiled, because all those counters on Rainmaker wouldn’t be so exciting and dramatic. One-upmanship, mind games, great wrestling in general, selling, counters, big fight feel, drama, struggle, suspense… This match was total package, I swear. And it happened in the Tokyo Dome. Tanahashi retaining was a shock, though. I wonder why they didn’t crown Okada here. But nevermind, this match was almost perfect in my book, therefore I’m going full boat here.
> 
> *****


I could see giving this 5*. I haven't made up my mind on stars because I just watched the first time and enjoyed the fuck out of it. I also thought their second match was a GOAT match but after watching a second time I didn't really enjoy it all that much. Gonna watch this a second time today or tomorrow and again in a month or two and see if it still has IT. My initial impression is that it will hold because while Tana worked the leg it wasn't a long control segment on the leg and this had DRAMA. I marked like a little kid when they leaned on each other to pick and hold themselves up. To me that was a GOAT moment and really goes to your point from the other thread that they're equals. Had Okada won I'd throw this at 5* because it would be epic and memorable.


----------



## Cactus

Spoiler: WK7



*NJPW Wrestlekingdom 7 in the Tokyo Dome*

*Wataru Inoue, Tama Tonga & Captain New Japan vs Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado*
Tama Tonga's finisher was ...weird.
★¼

*Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi vs Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & BUSHI*
The opening matwork was pretty good and Takahashi continues to grow on me with every match I see of his. I hope a push is in store for him in the future.
★★

*Manabu Nakanishi, MVP, Strong Man & Akebono vs Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Bob Sapp*
This match was an awkward mess and overall pretty bad, but I got some enjoyment out of it in the same way as I do when I'm watching a bad action movie. Enthusiastic Nogami on commentary and Bob Sapp added a lot to this match by simply being over-the-top.
★

*Masato Tanaka © vs Shelton Benjamin - NEVER Openweight Title*
Benjamin is the drizzling shits; he has zero charisma and was busting out german and northern light suplexes like they were side headlocks here. Tanaka managed to get a serviceable match out of him though. I also thought the finish here was pretty good.
★★¼

*Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. © vs Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson - IWGP Tag Team Title*
This was pretty decent. The finishing stretch was very back-and-forth especially. Like most IWGP title matches nowadays, the final part of the match was really the saving grace of the match. That's not to say the stuff before the final 5 minutes was bad, it was just extremely uneventful.
★★¾

*Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki*
I don't care how many times these two have faced each other; it'll never get old. This match was mostly about one-manship and features many back-and-forth strike exchanges but these two know how to do them right and they do new stuff to make them not feel too similar to their other encounters. Nagata's comeback during the sleeper was awesome and highly-charismatic. His selling gets a tad selective in the final minutes, but it didn't hurt the match too much.
★★★★
*
Prince Devitt © vs Low Ki vs Kota Ibushi - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title*
Really fun flippity-shit match. Plenty of insane spots to be found in this one but there were plenty of awkward looking moments too. I love Low-Ki's random but awesome Hitman costume.
★★★

*Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani*
I don't think anyone was expecting a great match here. What I got here was solid stuff. The only thing that sticks out are the huge reactions the highly charismatic team of Muto and Otani got. Crowd reactions can't make a bad match good, but they can make them much more watchable.
★★½

*Togi Makabe vs Katsuyori Shibata*
An entertaining short brawl. Shibata mostly just beats the shit out of Makabe for most of the match until Makabe gets a lucky move in and it's all quite similar to Cena/Lesnar from last year, just nowhere near it's level though.
★★★

*Shinsuke Nakamura © vs Kazushi Sakuraba - IWGP Intercontinental Title*
We are only 6 days into the year and I can comfortably say that this is definitely going to be a top 5 match of the year. Saku dominates Nakamura for most of the match and Nakamura is just awesome at busting out the desperation moves. I also marked big for the Landslide and Nakamura eating a knee in the same way he did from Takayama from years before. All-in-all, this was a great match that made Nakamura look like a true champion, made the title look very important and also kept Saku looking pretty dangerous himself, despite his loss. I hope both Sakuraba and Shibata stick around as they could really freshen up the main event scene.
★★★★½

*Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Kazuchika Okada - IWGP Heavyweight Title*
The first 20 minutes of this was really boring and it felt like they were just going the distance for the hell of it. They could of established everything they did in the first 20 minutes in a few minutes and not bore me to death. The match picks up as soon as Tana uses the Rainmaker taunt. It manages to escape being your usual Tanahashi formulaic back-and-forth finishing stretch and Okada kicking out of the High Fly Flow was pretty unexpected. I feel the more Tanahashi matches I watch, the less I'm going to like him. I can't see the other matches between these two holding up on a re-watch either.
★★★

*Overall:*
A step-up from last year's show, that's for sure.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Not MOTYC but still worth mention.

*NEVER: Masato Tanaka vs Tomohiro Ishii - ***1/2* 
Other pals talkes about this match enough, don't have too much to write that they didn't. Great strong-style match as exepcted, Ishii is awesome.

*NJPW 10.03.2012: Prince Devitt (c) vs Davey Richards - ***1/2* 
Yep, they had a match in 2012. The match was very good, and believe it or not - Richards was great in this match. Didn't went balls to the walls as always and actually worked smartly and in much slower pace than usual. Man, Richards in Japan is like a diffrent person to Davey Richards in North America. Enjoyed the match a lot and you can't go wrong with PRINCE DEVITT.


----------



## spandak2

MF83 said:


> While we're on the subject, what's a good free program to convert DVD5 .VOB files into .avi files and the like?


convert files from vob to avi, you may try freemake video converter, free and works well.


----------



## Corey

For those interested, IVP had a gigantic update today, including Wrestle Kingdom VII & a Best of Okada Series:

NJPW 1/4/2013 DVD (3 Discs)
http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=9867

NJPW 1/4/2013 Download (3 Discs)
http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=9868

Best of Okada in 2012, Vol. 1-4
http://new.ivpvideos2.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=okada


----------



## Obfuscation

Spoiler: Wrestle Kingdom VII Review



*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VII​*
1) Manabu Nakanishi, Strongman, MVP, & Akebono vs Yujiro Takahashi, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, & Bob Sapp ~ *1/4


2) *NEVER Openweight Championship*
Masato Tanaka(c) vs Shelton Benjamin ~ **1/2


3) *IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Killer Elite Squad(c) _(Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr)_ vs Sword & Guns _(Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson)_ ~ ***1/2


4) Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki ~ ****1/4


5) *IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship* - *Three Way Match*
Prince Devitt(c) vs Low Ki vs Kota Ibushi ~ ****


6) Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Ohtani ~ ***


7) Togi Makabe vs Katsuyori Shibata ~ ****


8) *IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs Kazushi Sakuraba ~ ****1/2


9) *IWGP World Championship*
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs Kazuchika Okada ~ ****​




Rewatched it and the only things that lowered was the awesome three way by a 1/4* and Tanaka/Shelton being a bit less in the good department as I recall. It's still quite a bit of fun with a nice ending, imo. Great event and should be seen by any and everyone. Nakamura steals another show. He's the absolute best.


----------



## Corey

Best of Tanahashi in 2012 Vol. 1-4 available at IVPvideos.com. Got all dem dere MOTYC from last year.


----------



## Obfuscation

Didn't Seabs have one first? :hmm:


----------



## manga4life

So, how did you guys feel about Power Struggle 2012 from NJPW? I enjoyed it, mainly for the singles bouts since I'm not a big fan of tag-team wrestling and multi-man contests, but I loved the Jr. Heavyweight and IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches on this card as well as Okada vs Goto. Seeing Low Ki in NJPW made me smile, especially seeing him wearing the respected Jr. Heavyweight Championship around his waist, too bad he lost it to Devitt (even though I think he's good too). Lot's to like, how did you all feel about it?


----------



## Nervosa

I know no one cares about this, but I had to post it just out of how funny it sounds.

From, iheartdg.com:

_"After that match, he thanked the fans for their continued support. He brought up Ichikawa & Kotoka and how they are generally very bad wrestlers. He asked Mochizuki what could they possibly do about this. Mocchy admitted that Mondai Ryu was a world class level of terrible, but for the other two he just noted that a lot of his friends used their matches for a bathroom break. It was decided that Mondai vs. Kotoka vs. Ichikawa would take place in the February Korakuen, with Ultimate Bathroom Break rules. Fans are welcome to use the facilities, take a smoke break, return phone calls, stretch their legs, or whatever other activities they would normally hold off on while there are interesting wrestlers in the ring."_


----------



## seabs

Hailsabin said:


> Didn't Seabs have one first? :hmm:


*I made one of his title run before Okada beat him. That one probably has all the stuff from his post Dominion title run too. Mine is a lot better :side:*


Nervosa said:


> I know no one cares about this, but I had to post it just out of how funny it sounds.
> 
> From, iheartdg.com:
> 
> _"After that match, he thanked the fans for their continued support. He brought up Ichikawa & Kotoka and how they are generally very bad wrestlers. He asked Mochizuki what could they possibly do about this. Mocchy admitted that Mondai Ryu was a world class level of terrible, but for the other two he just noted that a lot of his friends used their matches for a bathroom break. It was decided that Mondai vs. Kotoka vs. Ichikawa would take place in the February Korakuen, with Ultimate Bathroom Break rules. Fans are welcome to use the facilities, take a smoke break, return phone calls, stretch their legs, or whatever other activities they would normally hold off on while there are interesting wrestlers in the ring."_


*Wowzas.*


----------



## Chismo

_
"...I have heard people say that if I stay in Japan that I will be a big fish in a small pond, but I do not agree. If people think Japan is a small pond, then I will rebuild the pond with my own hands and make it as large as the Pacific Ocean.”_


----------



## Flux

Didn't know where else to post it, and a lot of the WWE section don't have a clue about who he is, but PAC debuted on NXT this past week and he's kept his Corkscrew SSP (Y)


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *I made one of his title run before Okada beat him. That one probably has all the stuff from his post Dominion title run too. Mine is a lot better :side:*


Sure. It certainly is.


----------



## seabs

> ZERO1 "CHANGE THE WORLD", 03.02.2013
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> 1. Shinjiro Otani vs. Kazuki Hashimoto BJW
> 2. NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title, Decision Match: Akebono & Daisuke Sekimoto BJW vs. Kohei Sato & Zeus
> 3. Special Six Man Tag Match: Atsushi Onita, Masato Tanaka & Sabu vs. Kintaro Kanemura, Leatherface & BADBOY Hido


*Match 1. GET FUCKING EXCITED.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Too mesmerized by the 3rd match to notice the first.

wait, is mesmerized the right word?


----------



## antoniomare007

Haven't seen anything from Kazuki (or Big Japan for that matter) since like July, I miss that fucker.


----------



## KingKicks

Quick WK 7 ratings.

*Wrestle Kingdom VII*

Akebono, Manabu Nakanishi, MVP and Strong Man vs. Chaos *½*

NEVER Open Weight Title Match*
Masato Tanaka vs. Shelton Benjamin **¼ 

IWGP Tag Team Title Match*
Killer Elite Squad vs. Sword and Gun ***¼*

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki ****

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match*
Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi ****½-***¾ *

Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima vs. Keiji Mutoh and Shinjiro Otani ***¼
*
Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata* ***-***¼

IWGP Intercontinental Title Match*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba *****¼

IWGP Heavyweight Title Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada ******​


----------



## manga4life

Spent some time today watching NJPW "Dominion 2012" just for kicks and I really liked the event. The tag-team matches were okay but like I've said before, I'm more of a 1 on 1 competition guy and the singles matches really delivered here. The Low Ki title defense was awesome, and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense was awesome too, both matches kept me at the edge of my seat and I'm really appreciative of the great title bouts NJPW puts on.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I probably picked a terrible time to ask for this, but I need help finding matches from the NJPW/UWF feud. Namely the infamous 1984 five man elimination tag match.

I heard that Ditch's stuff got taken out alone with filecloud, so uh... Help?


----------



## MF83

That match should be on his site. Also, I upped the full 15 disc 1980s NJPW DVDVR set to PWT a few weeks back. The match you speak of is before the UWF feud and it's an elimination gauntlet series of singles matches really. That was Choshu's army vs. New Japan though, not UWF vs NJPW. Choshu went to All Japan and UWF formed at the end of 1984 and thus, 1985 was effing dreadful for the most part. UWF came back at the start of '86 and Choshu mid-'87. I've reviewed almost every good match from that feud here (apologies for being like annoying blog guy but this is just easier than reorganizing and listing them), that set being the only thing I've really watched in the last while. That match in particular is so much better after having seen the rise of Choshu and his character and style changing EVERYTHING, as well as getting to know the little feuds between other team members.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Anyone watched the show in the K. Hall before WK? the card looks good.


----------



## seabs

*Makabe/Ishii and Liger/Suzuki from it are certainly worth your time.*


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

MF83 said:


> That match should be on his site. Also, I upped the full 15 disc 1980s NJPW DVDVR set to PWT a few weeks back. The match you speak of is before the UWF feud and it's an elimination gauntlet series of singles matches really. That was Choshu's army vs. New Japan though, not UWF vs NJPW. Choshu went to All Japan and UWF formed at the end of 1984 and thus, 1985 was effing dreadful for the most part. UWF came back at the start of '86 and Choshu mid-'87. I've reviewed almost every good match from that feud here (apologies for being like annoying blog guy but this is just easier than reorganizing and listing them), that set being the only thing I've really watched in the last while. That match in particular is so much better after having seen the rise of Choshu and his character and style changing EVERYTHING, as well as getting to know the little feuds between other team members.


Thanks for the link and the explanation MF83!


----------



## antoniomare007

From Stuart's site



> Bushiroad chief Takaaki Kidani held a talk show several days ago and gave no indication that he has resigned his post in New Japan/Bushiroad yet as has been strongly rumoured. Several wrestlers were there including Tanahashi, Makabe, and Taguchi. Kidani announced that New Japan will run Sumo Hall in April which is very unusual and for the first time in quite a while there will be two Sumo Hall shows in this year’s G1 Climax as New Japan starts to upscale again after a fantastic business year in 2012 and an impressive paid attendance for this month’s Tokyo Dome show.


So confused right now. But I guess as long as Bushiroads keeps pushing New Japan it's a good thing. I just hope they don't go overboard with the "big shows" just for the sake of having them in big buildings.


----------



## MF83

Kid Kamikaze10 said:


> Thanks for the link and the explanation MF83!


No problem. It is maybe the best collection of wrestling I've ever experienced, way more enjoyable than 80s AJPW in comparison, and I'd recommend it to anyone! What I love is how every match has original layouts, there are so many high end players and combinations, and because of the diversity in matches and wrestlers watching the thing does not me burn out like almost every other comp has! 

It can go from technical to bloody to shoot style to Choshuism tags to juniors to psychology matches to spotfests to gauntlets to elimination matches to death matches to angle matches to combinations of all the above and it's all so fucking tasty. Grab it off PWT now if you haven't already!


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

MF83 said:


> No problem. It is maybe the best collection of wrestling I've ever experienced, way more enjoyable than 80s AJPW in comparison, and I'd recommend it to anyone! What I love is how every match has original layouts, there are so many high end players and combinations, and because of the diversity in matches and wrestlers watching the thing does not me burn out like almost every other comp has!
> 
> It can go from technical to bloody to shoot style to Choshuism tags to juniors to psychology matches to spotfests to gauntlets to elimination matches to death matches to angle matches to combinations of all the above and it's all so fucking tasty. Grab it off PWT now if you haven't already!


Going to right now, but in the meantime, since Ditch's site is working again, I've been watching 80s NJPW from there.

A few comments

1) Man, people say there's a big difference between US and Japan Hogan. The difference between US and Japan Andre the Giant is even bigger! He's absolutely awesome when around guys like Stan Hansen. Sucks that his body deteriorated like it did.

2) The more I watch the Juniors, the less I like Tiger Mask 1 and Dynamite Kid. More TM than DK. However, Gran Hamada is great. 

3) The Foreigners. A bunch of them I've only heard about instead of watched, but a bunch of them are really fun to watch. Really fun. Tony Rocco, Billy Robinson, Murdoch and Adonis, etc. 

4) I'm starting to get why Inoki is such an icon, but damn it, the rise of Choshu is just more entertaining. 

5) (random) In about twenty years, I want to look like a black Masa Saito. I'm dead serious. He's a great wrestler too. Because of him and Fujiwara, I was siding with UWF the whole time.

6) I will never forget the name Tatsumi Fujinami. That man is the truth. As a junior or a heavy.


----------



## Yeah1993

Andre at his best was incredible. 

And yeah, Inoki is like the "Hulk Hogan" of New Japan (and owner, duh), but Choshu's a million times better wrestler and just one of the most charismatic people ever. 

Saito wasn't on team UWF; he never worked for that company. He just had a big feud with Inoki going and sometimes they'd team him up with Fujiwara and others to oppose Inoki and Fujinami/Kimura/whoever else. He even worked against UWF guys (including a stupidly bloody match with Maeda. You'll know the one with how Ditch describes it). He was a part of Choshu's team against Inoki and all those guys before Choshu decided to take all his dudes and head to AJ, though. I could be wrong about some of that, but he definitely never worked for UWF. He is, though, motherfucking awesome. I'm eager to see him in All Japan & AWA.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Yeah1993 said:


> Andre at his best was incredible.
> 
> And yeah, Inoki is like the "Hulk Hogan" of New Japan (and owner, duh), but Choshu's a million times better wrestler and just one of the most charismatic people ever.
> 
> Saito wasn't on team UWF; he never worked for that company. He just had a big feud with Inoki going and sometimes they'd team him up with Fujiwara and others to oppose Inoki and Fujinami/Kimura/whoever else. He even worked against UWF guys (including a stupidly bloody match with Maeda. You'll know the one with how Ditch describes it). He was a part of Choshu's team against Inoki and all those guys before Choshu decided to take all his dudes and head to AJ, though. I could be wrong about some of that, but he definitely never worked for UWF. He is, though, motherfucking awesome. I'm eager to see him in All Japan & AWA.


Oops. Yeah, you're right. This is the second time I've mistaken the Choshu stuff with the UWF stuff.

Still, twenty years from now, whether I'm homeless or rich, I'm going to look like a black Masa Saito, lol.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Just saw the Saito/Maeda "match".


What the hell was that? Talk about a Muta Scale moment gone wrong.


----------



## MF83

Andre's matches with Hansen and Khan are both in or near the five star range. The Hansen match is nearly guaranteed to be my NJ match of the decade.

The Choshu Revolution is pretty much _the_ turning point in puroresu history. It changed everything from a booking and style standpoint. The Fujinami feud launched them both into superstardom. Find the six man with them and Inoki vs Abdullah, Allen and Jones from late 82 to see the breakdown between Choshu and Fujinami take place. 1983 and 1984 are revolutionary gold. Then, the boys go to All Japan and Choshu's presence essentially creates Tenryu as the worker he would become, which causes the resisting Jumbo to stop being lazy in order to keep up with Tenryu who had surpassed him, all leading to the awesome twilight Jumbo ace run he'd begin by '88. In other words, Choshu is the indirect creator of King's Road too.

Being that Choshu was a midcarder at the time of his ascension, Masa Saito (his trainer) was technically the head of the stable the first time round, although he was travelling all around the world as he did. Saito doesn't actually make the NJPW set in a match until 1987, once he gets out of American jail with his new aptly named Prison Hold. He was so fucking good and a psychological master. The '87 Inoki vs Saito match (not the island deathmatch) is Muta Scale done right!

Frank Jewett's detailed article on Ishin-gundam. http://www.otherarena.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=609


----------



## flag sabbath

*AJPW 2/1/2013:*

Suwama & Doering vs. Akebono & Hama *****
Soya & Omori vs. Funaki & Kono ****1/4*
Yamato vs Kondo ****1/2*

*AJPW 3/1/2013:*

Kea, Muto, Fuchi, Funaki & Michinoku vs. Suwama, Omori, Soya, Yamato & Hama *****
Doering vs. Akebono **1/2*
Kanemoto & Tanaka vs. Kondo & Hayashi ******
Sanada vs. Honma ****1/4*


----------



## MF83

Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth on Rikidozan. This is surreal:


----------



## McQueen

You could have just said David Lee Roth so if anyone in here said "Who is David Lee Roth?" I could find them and kill them.


----------



## Nervosa

Jeez, that video was so awesome.


----------



## Obfuscation

He name drops Undertaker in it too. :mark:

Roth is even cooler after watching that video.


----------



## MF83

*Shinya Hashimoto vs. Naoya Ogawa*

(4/12/97) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aXLu8l43of4
(5/3/97) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a_WqyApumDk
(1/4/99) http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3130046 http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3131336 http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3135788
(10/11/99) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MZrcfcUZK_8
(4/7/00) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6oHGGPokqj8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ey6gEjXk5sI

Beware the spoilers! Some very important history:

Shinya Hashimoto was the ace of NJPW. By some measures, his 1996-1997 IWGP reign is the highest grossing title reign anywhere, ever. Naoya Ogawa is an Olympic silver medalist in Judo who was originally brought into NJPW for a "Different Style Fight" in a non-title match against the champ during his blockbuster reign. What became of the feud is some of the worst booking/backstage bullshit to ever happen in pro wrestling, but it brought with it awesome matches. This was the beginning of 'Inokism', the bizarre chain of events stemming from Antonio Inoki's bright idea that MMA and Pro Wrestling could become a mixed entity... somehow. 

So Ogawa comes in for his special non-title match with the champ, wearing his gi and taking a licking before shocking the audience by unleashing his dreaded STO and following up with a choke sleeper for the win. He earns himself a title shot a month later and Hashimoto gets his win back to retain his title. Ogawa sticks around and loses to Muta and Don Frye a couple of times and scores a couple of smaller victories. After retiring in 1998, Antonio Inoki decided to open UFO, an MMA promotion. Ogawa would train with Satoru Sayama and others in the ways of MMA. He punched president Seiji Sakaguchi at a conference, quit NJPW and joined UFO. Booker Riki Choshu vowed that NJPW would quit supporting UFO. Ogawa was scheduled for a rubber match with Hashimoto on 1/4/99 and in an effort to gain publicity and legitimacy for UFO, Inoki convinced Ogawa to take liberties with and beat the shit out of Hashimoto. Hashimoto was unaware he was about to be shot on and would end up being hospitalized after the match. This one-sided ass-kicking tarnished his character and NJPW in general. (Enuhito's youtube video explaining 1.4 Incident in detail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VveLsHFoUcg) 

Somehow, everyone agreed that they would fight again, this time for the NWA Title. Inoki had the decision changed again at the last minute and instead of giving their former ace the revenge victory he so desperately needed, they had him go down decidedly in an albeit classic match and finish. They had a tag match at the January 4th, 2000 Dome show and afterwards, Hashimoto wanted yet another match with the stipulation that if he lost, he would retire. He shaved his hair for the match and he lost once again! 

Hashimoto was initially going to return as the leader of a NJPW offshoot stable but more backstage drama left him creating ZERO1-MAX. Ironically, Ogawa would join Zero1 and be the number two star before leading the HUSTLE revolution and inevitably going back to Inoki under the IGF banner. Inoki would continue to be insane and almost killed New Japan. 


Matches

1. (10/11/99) - I watched this twice. The first time through left me questioning if it even broke the four star threshold. However, I knew my view was tainted knowing I had allowed myself to come in dismissive and sucked into mark anger over the 1/4 incident and at the monumental stupidity of the booking here. "Let's take our ace, tainted by getting his ass handed to him unprofessionally in an infamous shoot incident... and job him to the exact same guy!" As well, the shift in atmosphere from "fuck yeah! Different Style FIGHT!" to "Okay, let's pretend this is real!" was uncomfortably present. I wanted to counter some things Daniel said in my writeup and without specific examples, watched it again I did.

I appreciated their callbacks to the 1/4 incident in worked form even more on the second view. That headbutt spot was fucking perfect. I'd actually agree with almost everything Daniel said about the match with the exception of his description of Ogawa's selling. Not that it was less than good or even great, but it was a little inconsistent towards the end and not of the general quality needed to be dubbed on par with the best selling ever. That's about it for my stubborn nitpicking though. What I paid more attention to the second time through was the final section, specifically Ogawa's cut-offs and the miniature hope spots Hashimoto would squeeze in. The layout is stunningly intricate and Hashimoto rivals Terry Funk in expressiveness; I'd argue it even more impressive because it was not cartoon-like nor a trademark of himself. On top of that, he had to call the match for the most part, something Terry rarely did. Hashimoto expertly executing his role deserves an Oscar equivalent for how perfectly he played it. Keys to the match's success were Ogawa's timing, facials, selling and cooperation with Hashimoto's work. Props given where due. ★★★★★ or 90%

2. (4/7/00) - I also watched this twice. Hashimoto's performance in this match is chilling. If he won the 1999 Terry Funk award for expression, he sure as shit retained in 2000. Speaking of Terry Funk, this reminds me of Terry's initial retirement match in how Hashimoto wrestles as if it really were his last match. His attitude, language and aura in general is unique to any of his matches. He comes in with dead eyes and he dominates. He is there to survive and to destroy, not to fight. He has an answer to everything Ogawa throws at him. The apron suimengiri and STO->DDT counters are up there with the suimengiri from the Takada match in terms of highlight reel moments, and a bunch of other counters added so much. Flaws to the match include the opening portion of the bout being weak, the pacing was a bit off in the first half, an overall weaker Ogawa performance and the bewildering Murakami interference spot. Although bit more microscopic, Hashimoto defenselessly giving into the first STO that would begin Ogawa's career ending string of offense, given that the superbly demonstrated psychological theme of the match was Hashimoto's preparation and focus to prevent and adapt to all things threatening, was a glaringly poor transition the second time through. The feud's climax is transcendent. Without its flaws this match surpasses their fourth match. As it is, ****3/4 or 87%

3. (5/3/97) - Essentially a collection of callback spots from their first match worked a lot tighter and more interestingly so than in match #1. The final stretch is wrestling gold. The good kind of unsatisfying; the kind that begs for more. 78%

4. (4/12/97) - 60% Ogawa looks fine for a debut match. He still has an air of humility about him and Hash backpacks him to something acceptable.

5. (1/4/99) - "Cancerous to the industry" It's shoot-shaky and troubling from the get go. Ogawa unleashes a barrage of cheap shots that did hospitalizing injury. Awkward and abominable. The aftermath was fun for me waiting for Choshu to punch Ogawa. 5% for entertainment factor.


Bonus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsyu9s3qiNM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnurR2X7X0o
(1/4/2000) Hashimoto/Iizuka vs. Ogawa/Murakami - Murakami's sloppiness brings with it shoot atmospheric excitement and this match is wacky chaos. The way it works out is as if they tried displaying the deteriorating 'health' of the seconds à la some video game and it was wicked to see. Ogawa only tagged in once Murakami truly needed the tag, and that kind of logic doesn't usually apply. The build to the clash of the titans is what the match is about and like I said, it was done exceptionally well. It all breaks down in the end as Hashimoto applies a double wrist lock on the floor (professional wrestling!) and Iizuka earns himself a humongous win. Hashimoto probably needed the fall but this was a damn good Dome spectacle. ★★★★ or so.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Great write up *MF83*. I've watched the 1/4/99, 10/11/99 and 4/7/00 matches and enjoyed all of them (the 1/4/99 more for the surreal imagery and atmosphere of Hashimoto being mauled than actual quality). Hashimoto excels at the destructive violence and managing to channel his charisma and aura/presence into magnifying his matches and giving them this energetic and frenzied atmosphere: so sticking him with Ogawa who had the credentials to believably overwhelm Hashimoto and build to all of his desperation counters and comebacks was a truly magical chemistry. I remember actually being genuinly bothered at the finishes to 10/11/99 and 4/7/00, not so much in terms of how it ended from a quality standpoint, but more because I was so genuinly heartbroken that we didn't get the ending we truly deserved on the back of Hashimoto's beautiful and heroic performances against the merciless and frightful Ogawa.


----------



## Chismo

Only seen one Shinya/Ogawa match, so this is awesome.


----------



## antoniomare007

I fucking hate that feud. Not only was my beloved fat bastard buried, but it was a huge factor for Inokism taking over and almost destroying New Japan.

It's too painful for a rewatch


----------



## manga4life

Wow, I just got finished watching King of Pro Wrestling and I'm blown away at how good of an event this show was! The Jr. Heavyweight Championship bout between Kota Ibushi (c) and Low Ki was spectacular, so many awesome moves and these two truly tore the house down with so many near falls and epic attacks that I nearly fell off my seat. Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito was a fun match too (but short), I really like Yujiro and his "bad boy" style and I look forward to seeing more of him in singles competition as 2013 rolls along. The Okada vs Anderson match was really good too, Okada is really.....well.....amazing and I feel like I could watch him for hours on end, I don't feel that way about just any wrestler so that's pretty special. The Shinsuke Nakumura vs Goto match was pretty damn thrilling too, I thought at least two or three times that Goto had the former Heavyweight Champion beaten but it was to no avail as the IC Champ got the win. Amazing stuff! The main event was just awesome, Tnahashi vs Suzuki was just pure gold and the bout thrilled beyond my expectations, I can see now why this event received so much praise among the Puro crowd.


----------



## Chismo

The press-conf for the upcoming big AJPW show:






Flair shows up.

Oh, and the show is sold out. 

Akiyama and Co. reformed Burning.


----------



## Obfuscation

Am I the only one who actually is looking forward to Flair's match?

certainly put Muta over well. I know a LOT won't agree with that of course. At least he didn't claim he was better than Kawada.


----------



## Kamikaze™

I am excited for Flair and Mutoh teaming, it's the kind of thing Flair should be doing. Flair started out in TNA well but then it all went downhill. These special attraction matches are perfect for Flair, was hoping that Flair's next venture in Japan would've been for NJPW and maybe even at the Dome. But this is still great and Flair at the conference showed that he still has a love for the business.


----------



## Chismo




----------



## EmbassyForever




----------



## DOPA

*AJPW 1/2 New Year Shining Series*

*KENSO vs. SUSHI*: * 1/4

*Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto vs. Osamu Nishimura & Andy Woo*: **

*Seiya Sanada & Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto*: **

*Suwama & Joe Doering vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama*: ** 1/2

*Taiyo Kea, Minoru Suzuki & MAZADA vs. Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi & Masanobu Fuchi*: *** 1/4

*World Tag Team Championship Match: GET WILD VS SOA*: *** 1/2

*World Junior Heavyweight & GHC Junior Heavyweight Double Championship Match: Hiroshi Yamato vs Shuji Kondo*: *** 3/4

* New Year Heavyweight Battle Royal*: * 1/2


----------



## B-Boy21

I know there was alot of Hate on here for the Kenta vs Nagata from 11/17/2012 but I have to say I really enjoyed it. Very stiff. I would say its a four star match. I could feel the hate that they brought to the match which for me made it well worth a watch.

Also Shiozaki vs Morishima from 11/11/12 was also Great. Not as good as their match up from last January but still a great match. ****1/4


----------



## Chismo

I have a feeling you love the match just for being stiff. It's... wrong.


----------



## manga4life

Just watched the Tanahashi/Suzuki IWGP Heavyweight Championship bout from King of Pro Wrestling for like the 5th time this week again tonight, what a wonderful title match. The raw emotion from the competitors, the hard hitting moves, the technical output, the crowd involvement, and the fact that no near falls were counted until the end made for a stellar match. 

Kudo's to these two.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

JoeRulz said:


>


LOL @ Keiji and Flair.


----------



## DOPA

*AJPW New Year Shining Series 3/1/13*

I can't rate the first two matches as the streams I watched cut out on those two matches during parts.

*Masayuki Kono vs. Kazushi Miyamoto* **

Solid match undercard, very short though.

*Taiyo Kea, Keiji Mutoh, Masakatsu Funaki, Masanobu Fuchi & TAKA Michinoku vs. Suwama, Takao Omori, Manabu Soya, Ryota Hama & Hiroshi Yamato* *** 1/4

Really fun 10 man tag. Didn't really hit the next level though.

*Triple Crown #1 Contender Match: Akebono vs. Joe Doering* DUD

Just horrible. Akebono was awful in this match.

* Asia Tag Championship Match:“Junior Stars” Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto vs.“Team 246″ Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo* **** 1/4

Awesome match, early MOTYC

*GAORA TV Championship Match: Seiya Sanada vs. Tomoaki Honma*: *** 1/2

Very good match, told a good story. Ending of the match hurt it a bit for though, execution of it was poor.

*New Year Junior Heavyweight Battle Royal:* *

A lot of botches at the start, horribly worked. The comedy aspects of it saved it from being a DUD and were somewhat entertaining. But bad match.


----------



## Corey

*IVP Puro DVD Sampler

*Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask - ***
_NJPW WWF Big Fight Series II - 4/23/1981

_*IWGP Heavyweight Title
*Big Van Vader (c) vs. Stan Hansen - *** 1/2
_NJPW Super Fight - 2/10/1990_

Hulk Hogan vs. The Great Muta - *** 1/4
_NJPW Wrestling Dontaku - 5/3/1993

_*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title
*Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. Black Tiger II - *** 3/4
_NJPW Fighting Spirit - 2/3/1996

_The Kings of Wrestling vs. Takeshi Morishima & Mohammed Yone - ***
_NOAH 1/25/2009
_
Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, & Jun Akiyama vs. Steve Williams, Big Bossman, & Richard Slinger - JIP
_AJPW 9/29/1993_

*Fluorescent Light Tube Deathmatch
*Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs. Takashi Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Ryuji Ito & Abdullah Kobayashi - JIP
_Big Japan 7/30/2007

_Aja Kong & Bull Nakano vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada - JIP
_AJW ??/??/????_

Bryan Danielson & James Gibson vs. Jado & Gedo - *** 1/4
_NJPW 10/10/2004_

*Best of the Super Juniors XVII - Block A
*Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi - ***
_NJPW 6/8/2010_


- No need to give it on overall rating since it;s just a sampler but you can download it for free right over here: http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=9192

- Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask is their first ever meeting & also the debut of Tiger Mask. Historic stuff for sure. The similarities between Dynamite & Davey Richards are crazy, fun little match.

- Vader vs. Hansen is the infamous eye gouge match. It's known for that reason but even without that happening it's a pretty awesome brawl. Just a shit ton of stiffness and two guys getting their asses beat.

- Muta vs. Hogan features the most wrestling moves you'll EVER see Hogan perform. Busts out some fancy armbars and even an enziguri. Muta's antics were good as usual but there was an odd botch where the camera shows Muta putting a pill in his mouth for the mist, then he spits on Hogan and misses his face totally & spits it on his chest. Good match.

- Liger/Tiger was the best match of the disc. Just a really great 12 minute sprint with an awesome performance from Eddie. He was just relentless in trying to put Liger away and even in a mask he's so damn good at working a crowd. Only thing I didn't like was the finish.

- 3 quick notes. Claudio is a FUCKING MACHINE! Jado was FUCKING CHISELED! Kota Ibushi is FUCKING AMAZING!​


----------



## Corey

*AJPW Selection 7 & 8

*Giant Baba vs. Jumbo Tsuruta - *** 1/4
_5/1/1976_

*Champion's Carnival - Finals
*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater - **** 1/4
_5/2/1980

_*Champion's Carnival - Finals
*Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen - **** 1/4
_4/21/1993

_*Champion's Carnival - Finals
*Steve Williams vs. Toshiaki Kawada - **** 1/4
_4/16/1994

_*Overall: 9.5/10*


- Baba/Tsuruta was a bit on the slow side at times (what wasn't in the 70s?) but Jumbo really made it watchable. He basically threw everything in his arsenal at Baba and attempted to carry him to something watchable, which he pretty much succeeded in. Unfortunately, the finish leaves a shitty taste in your mouth. Jumbo hits a huge flying knee, yet they get right back up, Baba swats away a dropkick attempt and hits that stupid ass back suplex for a 3 count. :no:

- Tsuruta/Slater was a work of art. Beautiful storytelling throughout and a perfect example of passion and determination. In the early minutes Slater is ALL OVER Jumbo, never giving him any room to breathe and constantly attacking a body part. Finally Jumbo reverses a piledriver attempt and backdrops him over the ropes to free himself, then he gives Slater a taste of his own medicine while being on the attack. From then on it's a pure battle of one-upmanship and who wants it more. 'You hit your piledriver, when then I'll hit mine! Nice suplex, bet I can do it better! Came off the top rope ey? I can do it too, let's see who can hit the bigger move!' Incredible match with a top notch performance from a one-eyed, bloodied Dick Slater. No joke, he was wearing an eye patch. Quite possibly one of my favorite Puro matches ever.

- Misawa/Hansen was stiff as balls. The first half sorta seemed like a real fight with all the nasty forearms and kicks to the face, plus Misawa would flat out not cooperate with anything Hansen wanted to do half the time. Really cool moment & the match takes a huge turn when both guys go for their signature strikes and their arms collide, causing Hansen to be in a SHIT TON of pain. If he wasn't seriously hurting from damaged fingers or a wrist than he was just selling the fuck out of that arm. From there on out it's pure gold with Hansen fighting as a one armed man and doing everything he could to put Misawa away. Love the finish & love the postmatch image even more with Hansen using the streamers to create a makeshift sling. Awesome!

- My Jesus how I need to see more of Dr. Death. That's one crazy bastard. They did an amazing job of portraying how Kawada was clearly outmatched and overpowered by Williams and for 3/4 of the match, he got his ass beat pretty badly. Great camera angles showed how genuinely intimidated and surprised he was by Williams, until he's finally able to get a flurry of strikes in to take the advantage. I was a little worried that if Kawada were to win that he wouldn't get enough offense in to make it believable but boy was I wrong. The last few minutes were an absolutely perfect way and frankly the only way Kawada could've won that match. Crazy that after hitting powerbomb after powerbomb, kick after kick, he still never showed any sign of confidence or belief in himself. Another really, really great match here fellas.

- Guy's this fucking disc rocks so hard. Buy it here: http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php/cPath/3/products_id/3790​


----------



## Obfuscation

A great Dick Slater match? I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE!

I really have to stop saying I need to buy stuff off of IVP and do it already. Hate not owning any Puro sans the matches released on the Benoit DVD.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Random match reviews

*NOAH Second Navigation (2010.2.28) - Morishima vs Kowada - **3/4*
An alright "Kawada vs Monster" match. Kinda short (10 mins) but it's Kawada 2010, so I'm totally fine with that. The striking exchange before the end was really good.

*AJPW (2006.9.17) - Kojima Vs Kondo - **3/4*
This was slow. And I mean SLOW. Some alright little spots here and there but overall - disappointing (like most of Kojima's matches).


----------



## seabs

HayleySabin said:


> A great Dick Slater match? I DIDN'T THINK IT WAS POSSIBLE!


*Corner. Sit.*


----------



## GOD OF CUNT

I'm not even close to being a big Dick Slater fan, but shit, that dude has plenty of good stuff (although I'm actually not that high on the Jumbo match).


----------



## djmathers1207

About the KENTA/Nagata match, I actually enjoyed it and I think it is an underrated match. ****


----------



## MTheBehemoth

DragonGate Infinity 172

King Of Gate 2010 Match
Genki vs Shingo - **3/4

King Of Gate 2010 Match
K-Ness vs BxB Hulk - ***
Note to BxB Hulk's opponents - Never work on his leg. Motherfucker aint gonna sell it.

King Of Gate 2010 Match
Gamma vs Dragon Kid - Clipped

King Of Gate 2010 Match
Mochizuki Masaaki vs Masato Yoshino - ***1/4

Open The Triangle Gate championship match
Kagetora, Tozawa and YAMATO vs Don Fuji, Mochizuki Masaaki and Akebono - Clipped


----------



## MTheBehemoth

*Zero-1 (March 2, 2010)
Tanaka & Mochizuki Masaaki vs Hidaka & Sawa - ***3/4*
Fun. Overchoreographed at times and the ending was a mess, but aside from that - very good and pretty much what you expect to see from these guys. Hidaka/Tanaka's chemistry, Sawa being silly, Masaaki kicking stuff, etc.

*AJPW (2010.1.3 Korakuen)
Suwama & Masayuki Kono vs. Seiya Sanada & Osamu Nishimura - **1/2*

*NJPW G1 Climax 2005
Kawada vs Minoru Suzuki - ***3/4*
Perfect story for these characters. Suzuki was Great at playing his part. Awesome finish.


----------



## Chismo




----------



## Corey

*AJPW Selection Vol. 9 & 10

*The British Bulldogs vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas - *** 3/4
_5/12/1989

_*Real World Tag League - Finals
*Bruiser Brody & Stan Hansen vs. Giant Baba vs. Jumbo Tsuruta - *** 1/4
_4/28/1983_

*NWA International Tag Team Titles - 2 out of 3 Falls
*Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (c) vs. The Road Warriors - **
_3/9/1985_

The Road Warriors vs. Tarzan Goto & Takashi Ishikawa - SQUASH
_5/31/1985_

*NWA International Heavyweight Title
*Jumbo Tsuruta (c) vs. Bruiser Brody - ** 1/4
_3/27/1988_

*Real World Tag League - Finals
*Steve Williams & Terry Gordy vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada - *** 1/2
_12/6/1991_

*Overall: 7/10

*- Davey Boy Smith was yoked out his fucking mind in '89, I couldn't get over it. Such an agile guy for his massive size. Super fun tag match with some great exchanges of showing off between Davey & Furnas, who was pretty jacked as well. Finish was a little flat but the other 17 minutes were awesome. This makes me wanna see a lot more All Japan tags from the time...

- Thankfully Brody/Hansen vs. Jumbo/Baba was a total sprint with LITTLE involvement from Baba. Another fun match with a really hot crowd.

- Road Warrior matches were throwaways unfortunately. Vs. Jumbo & Tenryu was going along fine but had two lame ass finishes, then just gets thrown out in typical All Japan fashion. The other lasted 90 seconds.

- Brody vs. Jumbo was shockingly average. First 10 minutes were nothing but rest holds, then Brody gets destroyed, seemingly forgets all of that occured, and wins with two moves. :no: I love Brody's wild antics, he's entertaining and and all that jazz, but I think I've seen enough from the guy to say that he was a pretty shitty worker. Rarely sold for anyone and I don't think I've EVER seen the guy get pinned.

- Miracle Violence Connection vs. Misawa & Kawada had its good and bad. I basically enjoyed everything they did in the first 20 minutes. It got to a point where MVC took the Japs outside and laid out Misawa with a powerbomb on the floor, giving them the 2-on-1 advantage against Kawada, which was incredibly smart. That created some great moments with Kawada kicking out of some finishers, then turning the tides and dumping Williams to the floor and locking a sleeper on Gordy. Once you hit that point the match seemingly lost all steam, got really disjointed, and went into overkill mode. Just 2 count after 2 count from the same stuff. Would've been better with time shaved off, 25 minutes was a bit too much.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Doug Furnas :mark:


----------



## mk92071

Anybody have ratings/reviews for the Dynamite Kid/Tiger Mask series? Plan on watching them tonight since there only looks to be 5 or 6 matches. Much appreciated.


----------



## MF83

They do not hold up well at all. I was generous with my ratings here, from my DVDVR 1980s NJPW review (they only included the better singles matches of the series):

Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (8/5/82) – Original for these two. Didn’t feel forced and got to be a very good juniors match in the end. **** 81%

Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (1/28/82) - Better than their first match on here but not by much. Same problems with the botches, spottiness, poor transitions, lack of flow, but the impressiveness of what they were doing sticks. ***1/2 74%

Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid (4/23/81) – Makes Tiger Mask look good and lays the foundation. Definitely not as good as I remember. Messy, confused, a botch, but still very entertaining. ***1/2 73%

Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 4/21/83 (Meltzer ***** match) - When VLC rolled onto the next match after this I was left scratching my head, thinking, "WTF? How did I once love this match?" After all their matches together, I honestly enjoyed this the least. It's... it's not even good? Reading the DVDVR posts about this match is really interesting because you've got the one guy defending it as this all time classic and almost everyone else dismissing it. I enjoyed their match previous to this one quite a bit, it even crossed the four star threshold for me, but right now I can't comprehend just how and why this match gained such notoriety? It's like learning the truth about Santa Claus or something. I've been let down by old matches before, but this is dumbfounding me right now. I had this second last at that point. **3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

I remember thinking the world of those the first time I watched them. Only own the first match and it holds up for me. Agreed with the **** snowflakes. Rest...that be a mystery. If I dislike the "5 star" match like you, it'll only sway me to think less and less of Meltzer's opinion. He and I have different tastes on quite a bit.


----------



## Yeah1993

The best Sayama/Dynamite Kid match is probably ***1/4.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shoot, why did I say the first match was the one I had. Meant the first on MF83's list aka 8/5/82.


----------



## Chismo




----------



## Obfuscation

He's going to be on everything over there. Haha.


----------



## Bubz

Lol okada. What a superstar!


----------



## antoniomare007

Once he gets the title back he's probably gonna hold on to it for like 2 years


----------



## Rah

He wasn't going to dig a new Pacific Ocean and fill it with any old water but, rather, gold-dusted SWAG~JUICE.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

antoniomare007 said:


> Once he gets the title back he's probably gonna hold on to it for like 2 years


Not enough time.


----------



## Corey

Has anyone seen any of these matches? :


Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (10/19/1985) 16:45
Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/1985) 35:00
Ric Flair & Rick Martel vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Tenryu (10/22/1985) 18:00
Ric Flair vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (3/7/1987) 14:00
Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (3/10/1987) 17:30
Ric Flair vs. Hiroshi Wajima (4/12/1987)18:30
I don't have any high hopes for the Wajima or Yatsu matches but the rest looks promising.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Thre's anything good from the NJPW/CMLL shows? the tag match with Tanahashi and Nakamura looks good


----------



## Rah

I haven't seen much (if any that I can recall) of Misterioso Jr. but he's been touted as good. I don't think that match will lead to much aside from pitting Shinsuke/Sombra on the following night. That should be pretty fun.

Rojo/Devitt and Rojo/Sombra should be okay, too, while I'm guessing Mascara/Volador should deliver. I'd have liked to have seen some Rush douchebaggery against Shinskay but I'll take a Rush/Okada exchange any day.


----------



## Chismo

GOAT smiley that needs to be added:










credit: why2cj


----------



## ywall2breakerj

JoeRulz said:


> GOAT smiley that needs to be added:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> credit: why2cj


I second this.


----------



## manga4life

Wrestle Kingdom 7 was freaking unbelievable! I'm not one for multi-tag matches or tag-team matches in general but I enjoyed the ones presented in this event and I especially loved the Tenzan/Kojima vs Mutoh/Otani match, that was really special in my eyes. I really loved the Minoru vs Nagata bout, that was intense and hard hitting and my jaw is still on the floor after that one, these two are simply amazing. The triple threat for the Jr. Heavyweight Title was sick, all 3 of these guys are great champions and Devitt is the absolute best light heavyweight in the world right now, what a stellar championship match! The Intercontinental Title match between Nakamura and Sakuraba was sick too, these two really got it on and showed their wares in this huge bout, I absolutely loved this one. Makabe and Shibata was okay but nothing special, I did enjoy it and I do kinda like Togi a little bit. Benjamin and Tanaka was kind of cool, It's great to see Benjamin in NJPW and I was a huge Tanaka fan back in this ECW days in the late 90's, I don't really follow the NEVER title and could care less about it (unrecognized by me). And the main event for the Heavyweight Championship was just unreal, Okada is just absolutely amazing and Tanahashi is probably the absolute best in the world, these two tore down the house and gave us a stellar contest that made both men all the better when it was over. I loved it.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Shinsuke Nakamura vs La Sombra was good. Could've been better if the finish wasn't so random. If I had to rate it I'd give it ***1/4


----------



## Rah

FantasticaMania is online? The fuck?


----------



## Obfuscation

I was thinking the same thing. I looked earlier tonight. Found nothing.


----------



## DOPA

Yeah the NJPW/CMLL event is online on Dailymotion. I dunno if there is anything worth watching from it though. I'm still waiting for the 2/3/2012 show from NJPW to see Tanaka vs Ishii. I dunno if that will ever see the light of day.


----------



## flag sabbath

I've watched the first Fantastica Mania show (18/1) & half of the second (19/1). So far, there's nothing must-see - it's mostly short, fun matches with simple finishes. Nothing much over *** so far.


----------



## EmbassyForever

KENTA vs TAkeshi Morishima - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKunYNNNm5Y

Looking forward to watch this one


----------



## DOPA

I reviewed the NOAH GHC title match on the 2013 MOTYC thread. Great match.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll still give some of FantasticaMania a shot. Looks like a blast and worth a bit of a look.

Morishima vs KENTA on youtube. Wonderful.


----------



## seabs

*So who else has been following the Puro feud of 2013 so far: Puro King vs Everyone!*


----------



## Chismo

Crusade said:


> Yeah the NJPW/CMLL event is online on Dailymotion. I dunno if there is anything worth watching from it though. I'm still waiting for the 2/3/2012 show from NJPW to see *Tanaka vs Ishii. I dunno if that will ever see the light of day*.


It will, it was a live Korakuen show, it's just a matter of time.

Btw, what about Destruction '12?


----------



## Corey

I need some help, fellas. Anyone have like a guide to last year's G1 or just remember off hand which matches were the best? I'm looking at you one this one, *Seabs*. I have three volumes in front of me on IVP and idk which one to buy. Or can I really go wrong with any of them? Check it:

Karl Anderson:
http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=9938

Tanahashi:
http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?cPath=731&products_id=9906

Okada:
http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?cPath=731&products_id=9869


----------



## flag sabbath

Best match from the first two Fantastica Mania shows is indeed Nakamura vs. Sombra at around ***1/2. Okada fans should check out his six-man from night two, if only to witness the big man performing a boss top con hilo!


----------



## EmbassyForever

Yeah, I'm interested in seeing Devitt and Okada in the same ring. Tanhashi and Sombra vs Okada and Misterioso sounds good on paper too.


----------



## Rah

flag sabbath said:


> I've watched the first Fantastica Mania show (18/1) & half of the second (19/1). So far, there's nothing must-see - it's mostly short, fun matches with simple finishes. Nothing much over *** so far.


Eh, that's sort of my excitement with NJPW/CMLL events (and, at times, my gripes) in a nutshell.

It's hardly a MotYC stacked show, but I don't necessarily care. I fully enjoy the matches and that's all I need. Yet I know certain combinations will give you a great match or more interesting dynamic/story. So, in that sense, it disappoints me. But that's just the way life is. I can't book the matches and that's fine. I'll enjoy my Lucharesu - all three days worth.


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> Best match from the first two Fantastica Mania shows is indeed Nakamura vs. Sombra at around ***1/2. Okada fans should check out his six-man from night two, if only to witness the big man performing a boss top con hilo!


To no surprise. I think that was the key match on everyone's radar after seeing the cards/results.


----------



## Ham and Egger

*NOAH (1.27.2013) Kenta vs Takeshi Morishima(c) for GHC title* *** 1/2



I went into this match with high hopes but the match fell I little flat for me. I used to like KENTA back in the day but he needs to do better exchanges and spots because the only thing I can remember him doing is throwing a kick! There was one or two cool spots in the match that I enjoyed ( KENTA's super double foot stomp to the outside was cool). Both guys sold pretty well and KENTA did a better job of it because it actually hindered him in match. My biggest gripe was the ending which was ridiculous with KENTA being overkilled and somehow pulls out the sub victory after practically looking like he was in a coma.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Yo guys, here's Tanaka vs Ishii - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxdw0v_masato-tanaka-c-vs-tomohiro-ishii-njpw_sport

And Anderson/Devitt vs Tanahashi/Taguchi - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx...nderson-prince-devitt-njpw_sport#.URXksB1SjM4

ENJOY


----------



## 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. 8*D


----------



## 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.


----------



## Chismo

*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?


----------



## Chismo

Well, that's the "***1/2" one. Not so epic, though.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jeez I totally glossed over that. Thanks rum.

Anyways, toss in another * to it and that's my thoughts. So yeah, it's an epic.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Tenryu, Suzuki, Morishima & Takayama vs Nagata, Nakanishi, Kojima & Tenzan (29/12/12):* So yeah, that's a scary collection of talent in one match, even if the majority are past their prime. Anyway, I figured anyone with a love of puro would want to see this lot stiff the hell out of each other. ****1/4*
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx...tenryu-minoru-suzuki-takes_sport#.URixrKXF-So


----------



## DOPA

Decided to watch a few past puro matches. Won't be giving full reviews, just some quick thooughts.

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW 2/15/2009)*: ***** 1/2*

Awesome match. Makes me even more of a fan of Nakamura's and makes me appreciate Tanahashi as well. I'm starting to notice Tanahashi has a bit of a formula to his matches but that doesn't hinder how excellent this match was.

*Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (AJPW 1/20/1997*: *******

As far as puroresu in the 90's is concerned I'm a complete noob so I went ahead and watched Misawa vs Kobashi from early 97'. Without going into too much detail and saying stuff that has probably already been said this is an absolute classic match. Simply amazing from beginning to end. The psychology and storytelling behind this was first class, Kobashi's selling is superb and some of Misawa's spots were insane. The finish was done absolutely perfectly and might be one of the best endings to a match I've ever seen. I'm so glad I took the time to watch this. I am definitely going to watch more of their matches together in future.

*KENTA vs Bryan Danielson (NOAH 2/12/2006*: ***** 1/4*

Decided to watch this because of how much I loved their match at ROH's Glory By Honor V Night 2. Whilst this wasn't as good as that match it was definitely an excellent match. Danielson's working here was superb as usual and KENTA sold well throughout the match. Very good pacing throughout and the ending 5-6 minute sequence was awesome.


----------



## sXeMope

I may have asked here before and forgot to check back, but does anyone know where I can buy Dragon Gate DVDs? I know about OpenTheDragonGate, and I'm in the process of downloading some of the episodes, but I mean in regards to PPVs.


----------



## Tanner1495

flag sabbath said:


> *Tenryu, Suzuki, Morishima & Takayama vs Nagata, Nakanishi, Kojima & Tenzan (29/12/12):* So yeah, that's a scary collection of talent in one match, even if the majority are past their prime. Anyway, I figured anyone with a love of puro would want to see this lot stiff the hell out of each other. ****1/4*
> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx...tenryu-minoru-suzuki-takes_sport#.URixrKXF-So


What promotion ran this!? I haven't clicked the video yet, but oh my damn :mark:


----------



## Chismo

Genichiro Tenryu Project


----------



## MF83

Testing out Dailymotion with a 3:41 glimpse at Jado's debut match from FMW Battle Creation on 12/10/1989. He gets KTFO by an angry Masa Kurisu after taking one hell of a beating. You must see it. 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xx...ji-akiyoshi-fmw-1989-12-10_sport#.URlv2Wf66yh


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*Prince Devitt & Taguchi vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (11/1/2009)- *****
-Back when I followed puro I remember my cousin being the biggest Devitt mark on the planet lol (I was Goto’s). Anyways this was a really good tag team match between these guys. They worked some tag fundamentals at a solid pace and really kicked it up during the second half. A55 did a good job of making Bernard look like an immovable object while directing most of their onslaught on the smaller Anderson. Some solid back and forth between both teams and some nice near falls and double team as well as some really good spots like Bernard’s delayed double arm suplex and sit down last ride, Devitt’s reverse compo kick and somersault plancha and the spinning roundhouse kick countered into the diamond cutter. Finish comes when Bernard and Anderson hits a Combo Breaker on Devitt for the fall. Great tag match.

*CIMA, Dragon Kid & Ricochet vs. Susumu Yokosuka, PAC & BxB Hulk (4/14/2011)-*****
-Fantastic six man action, just absolute insanity from bell-to-bell. They start with the feeling out process then afterwards I can’t begin to call all of the spots/stretches/combinations that took place in the match but you got a lot of signature offense including Tornillos, SSPs, Frankensteiners, Bombers, etc. and they were able to cram it just north of 10 minutes. Definitely one of my favorite DG matches from 2011, I've damn near seen it like 20 times it never gets old for me.


----------



## Obfuscation

Crusade said:


> Decided to watch a few past puro matches. Won't be giving full reviews, just some quick thooughts.
> 
> *Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (NJPW 2/15/2009)*: ***** 1/2*
> 
> Awesome match. Makes me even more of a fan of Nakamura's and makes me appreciate Tanahashi as well. I'm starting to notice Tanahashi has a bit of a formula to his matches but that doesn't hinder how excellent this match was.


(Y)

One of my favorites.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

*NJPW G1 Climax 2009
Masato Tanaka vs Tajiri - **1/4

NOAH 22.06.2009
KENTA & Go Shiozaki vs Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima - *****
Good stuff. Entertaining chopping wars between Go and Kensuke. Go accidentally(?) chopping Nakajima's face was hilarious and awesome at the same time. Good finish and that ankle lock/Misawa's photo spot was prett sweet as well. KENTA was the least interesting worker in this match, but the fucker is over with NOAH fans. Damn it.


----------



## Caponex75

MTheBehemoth said:


> *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.


You got the link for that match? Been looking for the full one.

Oh and Sugy & Shiozaki vs. Milano & Nakamura is fucking amazing. I'd give it ****1/2 just for Shiozaki's Antonio Banderas hair


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Caponex75 said:


> You got the link for that match? Been looking for the full one.


Just checked Youtube and it's there.


----------



## DOPA

*Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (NOAH 1/3/2003)*: *******

Another Misawa/Kobashi classic. Not as incredible as their 1997 match I reviewed but still amazing to say the least. The ending of the match really cemented my rating as it was a match with great psychology and storytelling surrounding Kobashi's come back at the end which was exhilarating to watch. Simple awesome.

*Kenta Kobashi vs Minoru Suzuki (NOAH 8/1/2005)*: **** 1/2*

Not the best Kobashi or Suzuki match in the world. I did really like the story behind the match with Suzuki being the disrespectful punk to Kobashi the veteran with the slaps especially. I really liked the work on Kobashi's arm by Suzuki which was sold well typically by Kobashi throughout. However, the opening 5-10 mins dragged. Kobashi spent far too long headlocking Suzuki which whilst I got the point of him using it was relied on far too much. In fact, its the reliance and repetition of the same moves by both men that really stops it from getting any higher. Sometimes in a match going back to the same move in terms of psychology really benefits a match but I honestly thought it stopped it from hitting that next level. It was still a very good match with what they worked with but this could have been a whole lot better in my opinion.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Crusade, I just finished watching their 10/31/98 match for the first time and it is gold. I think slightly below 1/20/97 and slightly above 3/1/03. Also watched their 3/26/95 meeting which is pretty damn good as well. It's only a 20 minute match so it's different and this was a time where Kobashi wasn't quite at Misawa's level (in kayfabe terms) yet.


----------



## DOPA

That 98 match is next on my Misawa/Kobashi list then (Y).


----------



## Bubz

Not a fan of their 98 match, 99 match is great though, their most overlooked match imo.

I've got that Kobashi/Misu match a whole star above you crusade. Love it.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Haven't seen the 99 yet. On my list of things to watch. Up next is Kobashi/Kawada hour draw from 95. Have watched so many things multiple times it's nice to find those gems I haven't seen yet.

Crusade, you should check out 6/9/95 Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue. There is a huge back story to it but just the match itself is fine (the best match I have ever watched).


----------



## DOPA

Bubz said:


> Not a fan of their 98 match, 99 match is great though, their most overlooked match imo.
> 
> I've got that Kobashi/Misu match a whole star above you crusade. Love it.


Different strokes for different folks I suppose regarding the Suzuki/Kobashi match. I'll get round to watching that tag match was well Buxxx. Got a lot of puroresu to watch.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Same for me. I was never a big fan of Kobashi which is why I'm only now getting around to his singles stuff. Huge fan of the other 3 though. I've seen that MiSu/Kobashi match but totally forget it, gonna give that another go later today.


----------



## Groovemachine

I watched the Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue tag without knowing any of the backstory and thought it was incredible. A rare case where the match speaks for itself, an easy 5 stars.


----------



## Obfuscation

I think that's a big positive when it does come to Puro. Stories aren't too overly complicated and you get the general gist of the matches just by watching the action itself.

Has anyone tried to watch ever Misawa vs Kobashi singles match in one setting? Could it be possible to handle all of it? Yeah. I've done it with Flair vs Steamboat. I need to do it with these guys. Like ASAP.


----------



## MF83

I quickly tell you the ten best All Japan matches in my opinion!

Baba vs. Robinson (2/3 Falls)
Choshu/Yatsu vs Jumbo/Tenryu (1/26/86)
Hansen/Gordy vs. Tenryu/Kawada (88 RWTL Final)
Tenryu vs Jumbo 6/89 
1990 rendition of Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi
Hansen vs. Kobashi 93 
Hansen vs. Kawada 93
Misawa vs. Kawada 94
6 9 95
Misawa vs. Kobashi (I want to say '97 but I can't remember which is which. One I really like more than the others. Pick one. They're all excellent)


----------



## ywall2breakerj

HayleySabin said:


> Has anyone tried to watch ever Misawa vs Kobashi singles match in one setting? Could it be possible to handle all of it? Yeah. I've done it with Flair vs Steamboat. I need to do it with these guys. Like ASAP.


I did with both Misawa vs Kobashi and Misawa vs Kawada.


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm not in love with any Misawa/Kobashi that isn't 1/20/97. Second best is probably 3/31/96 and I wouldn't call it a classic. That really feels like one of those 'I should watch it again it was probably me' matches, though. I mean it was really fucking excellent, but not "THAT". Y'know? 


And yeah, the "story = complicated" talking point in Japan wrestling is overrated. Truth is, there is a lot of story in a Japan (mostly All Japan) match you won't know about, but it's not because you won't "get it". The general story of the match is easy to understand, it's the throw-backs to previous matches that people miss. Watching stuff in order can help, but there's no reason someone can't just watch a random great match and think it's great.


----------



## Chismo

I love all Misawa/Kobashi matches, and I think I have them all over ***.


----------



## Bruce L

As somebody who originally watched 6-9-95 in a vacuum of puro knowledge but has since gone back, watched all the previous All Japan classics, and has re-watched it several times with the backstory, I can honestly say that anybody who says the big All Japan matches from the '90s aren't _better_ if you know the backstory is just plain wrong. That said, they're absolutely phenomenal even without it. It's just that watching with the prior knowledge, to me, is a richer experience than I get from any other wrestling.


----------



## antoniomare007

I think that's the consensus though. It's known that watching all those classics after seeing the previous encounters between the guys involved makes the matches even better.

Thing is, some people make it out like it's impossible to "get" 90's All Japan without knowing the back story and that's just plain wrong. Most of the classics can still be considered great if you just randomly select them and watch.

Funny enough. I think the best singles match they produced (6/3/94) needs the back story for it to be truly appreciated. I don't buy someone watching it for the first time and thinking it's the GOAT singles match without previous knowledge.


----------



## bigbuxxx

antoniomare007 said:


> Thing is, some people make it out like it's impossible to "get" 90's All Japan without knowing the back story and that's just plain wrong. Most of the classics can still be considered great if you just randomly select them and watch.


I don't think it's a necessity but it'll enhance viewing pleasure immensely. 6/9 is sure incredible. I've watched it at least 20 times since I discovered puro in mid '11.


----------



## Bubz

6/9/95 is still my favourite match ever. I definitely think that if someone even just watched the tag from 93, they'd appreciate it that much more.


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW New Begining 2013:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5wQYg3efF1QeW3Nyfq
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k7IlBMkRWZSkUk3Nyjc
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k4i3Uwu5lanai23Nyon
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k3TVOGM3tD4Wr03NytY
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k1X5aQ9Vgvztac3NyBw
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k5oMKOhrxz3fAh3NyG6
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k3n8vo95QH9siL3NyJS
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k19rkuhFbZsi3P3NyOe
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2VDXaqzC7Bzxs3NyVn

Enjoy


----------



## Obfuscation

Best Valentines Day ever.

Does that sound lonely? Fuck it. NJPW :mark:


----------



## Chismo

I'm waiting it to hit XWT, so I can watch it like a man. Oh, and UNSPOILED!


----------



## Obfuscation

I usually stream it via youtube so it's not a stretch for me. Anything to see it, I say.


----------



## vanboxmeer

I have to say, Gedo playing sympathetic babyface manager was amusing.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW The New Beginning 2013*

CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano, Jado, YOSHI-HASHI, and Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tama Tonga, and Tiger Mask IV: ***1/2*

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:
Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA(c) vs. Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov: ****1/2*

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:
Prince Devitt(c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi: ****1/2+*

IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:
Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.(c) vs. Ten-Koji: ****1/4*

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe: ***1/2
*
Katsuyori Shibata and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wataru Inoue and Hirooki Goto: ***3/4*

Kengo Mashimo vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: *****

Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada: *****1/4*

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Karl Anderson: *****1/2*

Another great show from NJPW. Anderson/Tanahashi was amazing, I liked even better than Okada/Tanahashi WK7 but not quite as much as Nakamura/Sakuraba. Anyway great show from NJPW, really enjoyed it.

8.25/10


----------



## seabs

sXeMope said:


> I may have asked here before and forgot to check back, but does anyone know where I can buy Dragon Gate DVDs? I know about OpenTheDragonGate, and I'm in the process of downloading some of the episodes, but I mean in regards to PPVs.


*Email Jeff Lynch. He's the best source at the best price. SlamBamJam too. Sources for PPVs are really dry right now. None of last years Dragon Gate PPVs made it out in full, just digest versions from free TV. I don't think the last All Japan PPV made it out in full either. Basically anything on Samurai TV or GAORA will be available at some point but PPV is much more uncertain to be capped. Fortunately New Japan being on iPPV now makes them shows far more accessible. *


antoniomare007 said:


> I think that's the consensus though. It's known that watching all those classics after seeing the previous encounters between the guys involved makes the matches even better.
> 
> Thing is, some people make it out like it's impossible to "get" 90's All Japan without knowing the back story and that's just plain wrong. Most of the classics can still be considered great if you just randomly select them and watch.
> 
> Funny enough. I think the best singles match they produced (6/3/94) needs the back story for it to be truly appreciated. I don't buy someone watching it for the first time and thinking it's the GOAT singles match without previous knowledge.


*That consensus kinda put me off getting into 90's All Japan for a while. You don't need to watch anything previous to get how great the top matches are. It might slightly enhance your enjoyment but it wont damper it. Matches like the 6/9/95 tag are too amazing for any sort of backstory not being available to restrict someone realising that match is a fucking classic. Don't put all that stuff off thinking you'll watch everything leading up to a match first because you won't get through EVERYTHING leading up to it even if you try. Every top All Japan match you can appreciate without any backstory.*


Bubz said:


> 6/9/95 is still my favourite match ever. I definitely think that if someone even just watched the tag from 93, they'd appreciate it that much more.


*(Y)

Nothing touches it for me. Art. Absolute masterpiece.*


----------



## MTheBehemoth

*Dragon Gate Kobe World 29.07.2009

Super Shisa, Shisa Boy and K-Ness vs Real Hazard (Kong,Arai,Kanda) - **1/4*
Just a 'meh' opener. Babyface team got sloppy at the end. Cyber Kong was entertaining and that's pretty much all your positives here. Blah.

*Stalker Ichikawa vs Abdullah The Butcher - -**
Don' like Ichikawa. I'm a fan of guys like Danshoku Dino or HG, but absolutely not digging Stalker's gimmick. And his opponent here was Abdullah...Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeh...

*Anthony W. Mory & Super Shenlong vs NOSAWA and MAZADA - ***
Just a ...match. Shenlong trying to be funny after Ichikawa's match and Cyber Kong being kinda silly in the 1st match felt like an overkill.

*Naoki Tanizaki vs Kzy - **1/2*
Started off strong but then turned into a complete mess.

*No1 contendership for the Triangle Gate Championship
Warriors-5 (Gamma, Susume Yokosuka, KAGETORA) vs Akebono, Don Fuji, Mochizuki Masaaki - ****
Not bad. Decent action, Akebono was used well here and the match made the new contenders look strong/dangerous.

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship
Kamikaze (Tozawa,Taku Iwasa, Dragon Kid) vs. World-1 (BxB Hulk, PAC, Masato Yoshino) (c) - ***3/4*
Good 6-man Dragon Gate-style match. Not a classic, but DG guys doing their thing in multi man tags without too many botches and 2343 kick-outs always works.

*Open The Twin Gate Championship
Shingo Takagi and YAMATO vs Ryo Saito and Genki Horiguchi (c) - ***1/4*
DG made YAMATO look good here and the right team still won. That was good. Everything else - Real Hazard doing their heel shit lucharesu style and some occasional decent action. Meh.

*Open The Brave Gate Title and Open The Dream Gate Title are on the line
CIMA (c) vs Naruki Doi (c) - *****
MOTN and a very good main event. Surprisingly decent selling of a leg work, especially for a DG match. A well-paced match as well (surprise No2). CIMA was the star of this match; very smooth, fine selling and told a good story in and after the match.

Overall - 7.25


----------



## Bubz

Can't wait to watch new beginning this weekend. I'm unspoiled too so that makes it even better. Okada/Suzuki :mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

I don't know why I didn't wait a week for the show to be released. Guess I walked into the spoilers like I do with the indies. Being a knucklehead thinking I'd have to wait a month or two to view. Not one of my better decisions.


----------



## flag sabbath

I was going spoiler-free until New Japan plonked a big fat one on my facebook newsfeed to hype up the best matches from New Beginning doing the rounds in 3D movie theatres!


----------



## Bubz

:lmao ridiculous!


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd unlike them if they got me with that. Good thing I never check my Facebook. For the next time an iPPV comes around.


----------



## seabs

*Stayed spoiler free for the main event yesterday. Then I figured the full show probably wasn't showing up for a while and checked the results only to come in here and find it was all on DailyMotion already. Went unspoiled for the main event at least. That's the main one to go unspoiled for.*


----------



## Obfuscation

My brother is going to have that luxury tomorrow. This is what I get for frequenting the Puro threads unlike him.

I'll mark out nonetheless.

btw, has anyone here seen Nakamura vs Sombra from 1/19? That stuff was like really, really good. Hasn't gotten mentioned much so it deserves a plug. Everyone is a Nakamura fan. So watch it if you haven't.


----------



## Bubz

I literally put that match on and then stopped watching after 2 minutes because I realised I had tons of other stuff to do . I'll watch it tonight before new beginning as my Friday treat .


----------



## Obfuscation

You won't be disappointed. (Y)


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW The New Beginning 2013 Review* 

CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano, Jado, YOSHI-HASHI, and Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tama Tonga, and Tiger Mask IV: ** (These matches are getting boring)

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:* 
Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA(c) vs. Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov: ***1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:* 
Prince Devitt(c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi: ***1/2+

*IWGP Tag Team Championship Match:* 
Lance Archer and Davey Boy Smith Jr.(c) vs. Ten-Koji: ***3/4 (When I saw that it was the next match I was like "ugh, again?" but man the crowd was super hot and this match was awesome)

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe: **1/2

Katsuyori Shibata and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Wataru Inoue and Hirooki Goto: ***1/2 (Goto vs Shibata is going to be balls awesome)

Kengo Mashimo vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***

Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazuchika Okada: ***3/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:* 
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Karl Anderson: ****1/4​


----------



## seabs

*9/23 New Japan PPV is good but nothing great on it. The 3 trios matches are the highlights. Shibata/Sakuraba squash is just 3 minutes of brilliance and Hiromu looks as great as I hoped getting the shit beaten out of him for 3 straight minutes. Inoue didn't even tag in. Wonderful. Takahashi got a few spots in too which was neat. Pretty much perfect for a 3 minute squash. Ibushi/Taguchi was fine. Tanahashi/Marufuji wasn't actively bad but it wasn't something you'll regret not seeing.*


----------



## Obfuscation

7 matches down on New Beginning 2013. Fun show overall. Have to say I was let down quite a bit by Killer Elite Squad vs TenKoji III. The first time I've really found Tenzan to fall flat much to the level of where some says he always has.


----------



## bigbuxxx

back in the late 90s when ecw was big i bought a hardcore Japanese tape. It had Headhunter A and B against each other in a glass casket match and I've always wanted to see that again. Does anybody know where that could be?


----------



## bme

bigbuxxx said:


> back in the late 90s when ecw was big i bought a hardcore Japanese tape. It had Headhunter A and B against each other in a glass casket match and I've always wanted to see that again. Does anybody know where that could be?


Think this is it

@45:02


----------



## Corey

bigbuxxx said:


> back in the late 90s when ecw was big i bought a hardcore Japanese tape. It had Headhunter A and B against each other in a glass casket match and I've always wanted to see that again. Does anybody know where that could be?


HOLY FUCK. Flashbacks, I think I had that exact same tape...


----------



## bigbuxxx

thanks bme, that was the match. i think the tape i had it on had the match in full because it was a lot longer than 5 minutes and easy to see they cut off some time in the match since they went from outside to inside in the next shot.


----------



## Obfuscation

I really need to own some Puro outside of the few matches added on the Chris Benoit Hard Knocks DVD set. I love the stuff far too much to not own any. I know it's easy to access online, but damn. Watching it on a big screen has to be a bit more fun than my good sized computer screen. No matter what match it is.


----------



## Rah

This should be it:


----------



## Corey

HayleySabin said:


> I really need to own some Puro outside of the few matches added on the Chris Benoit Hard Knocks DVD set. I love the stuff far too much to not own any. I know it's easy to access online, but damn. Watching it on a big screen has to be a bit more fun than my good sized computer screen. No matter what match it is.


As long as you a DVD burner, it's just $1.50 for a download over at IVP. And he has a free download every monday night.


----------



## bigbuxxx

if you get a usb flash drive you can transfer to a tv that has the right stuff to use it or a ps3 and probably other things.


----------



## Chismo

1.	CHAOS (Jado, Toru Yano, Takashi IIzuka, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Tama Tonga & Manabu Nakanishi

*


2.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) © vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero)

***


3.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*: Prince Devitt © vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

***


4.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) © vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

***1/2


5.	Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe

***


6.	Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue

**1/2


7.	Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kengo Mashimo

***1/2


8.	Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki

******


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Karl Anderson

******


Not as great as WK 7, obviously, but close enough. Aside from an opener, this was a beautifully consistent show, there was a whole bunch of good stuff, and the final two matches were excellent, with a human chess game called Okada/Suzuki being the MOTN. Great show, watching it unspoiled felt great.​


----------



## Obfuscation

KES vs TenKoji III = (N)

I was bored. Shock and awe status.


----------



## Chismo

It was a really good match, very enjoyable. Kojima tore the house down.


----------



## Obfuscation

Eh, did nothing for me. Felt their previous matches before it demolished the third time around. Tenzan was pretty dull during the entire duration. Where we differ is I'd take the Laughter7 tag over it.


----------



## Chismo

Not even close.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shibata & Sakuraba have that great hook to them. One strike from Shibata in the start entertained me more than the entire 14 minutes of the Tag Team Championship match.

This is actually legit.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto (11/11/2007)-*****
-I remember the absolute pimping of this match back in the day and it still hold up extremely well. Very well paced, absolute insanity with great back and forth and what’s crazy is that these guys weren’t even hitting their strides yet. Man those nearfalls still get me and a great finishing stretch + hot crowd that bought into everything to top everything off. Tanahashi was just starting to live up to his hype and of course my love for Goto goes without saying. Definitely top 10 puro MOTY from 07.

*Shingo Takagi & Hulk vs. KENTA & Ishimori (3/20/2008)-*****
-Despite my qualms with Dragon Gate back in 2008, this is one of my favorite matches ever from that year, if not my MOTY. Some great momentum trading, lots of crazy signature offense on both sides and they each got the opportunity to shine in their respective roles within the match all spread out through roughly 25 minutes. Hulk/Ishimori provided the lucha, Shingo/KENTA provided the stiffness. The finishing stretch was balls in true Dragon Gate fashion. Can’t go wrong with this caliber of talent, they’re all so great.


----------



## Ham and Egger

Is it just me or does Kengo Mashimo looks like a Japanese Matt Hardy? I wasn't really a fan of his work against Shinsuke Nakamura at the last IPPV.


----------



## Obfuscation

He's impressed me already from his minimal work this year. Looking forward to seeing more of Mashimo in 2013.


----------



## Ham and Egger

Really? This guy moves very slow and looked lost in the ring half the time.


----------



## Obfuscation

He looked no different here than he did on 2/3. Came fast and hard against Nakamura. Great pick up on where their work started in the tag. I appreciated the nuance.


----------



## Ham and Egger

HayleySabin said:


> He looked no different here than he did on 2/3. Came fast and hard against Nakamura. Great pick up on where their work started in the tag. I appreciated the nuance.


I havne't watched his 2/3 match or any other matches of his. He doesn't have a good look or personality to be honest. He can go back to the Kaientai Dojo for all I care.


----------



## Obfuscation

Looks fine to me, I guess. I don't concern myself with looks in the wrestling biz.


----------



## Nervosa

Mashimo is freaking awesome. Go find the best Japanese indy tag of all time if you don't believe it. (Shinobu/teioh vs. Mashimo/Madoka) 

I, too was super disappointed by the Nakamura match. In all honesty, I think it was just a really off night for both guys, because they are usually money.


----------



## Chismo

Happy Birthday!











Edit:










*Day 1*


1.	Tama Tonga & Titan vs. OKUMURA & Euforia

*


2.	Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI & Diamante vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rey Escorpión

**1/2


3.	Rush vs. YOSHI-HASHI

_Rush is awesome, and is sooo damn good._

***


4.	TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Volador Jr. vs. La Máscara, Máscara Dorada & Maximo

_~FUN!~_

**1/2


5.	Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Atlantis vs. World Class Tag Team (Jado & Gedo) & Mephisto

***


6.	Prince Devitt vs. Dragon Rojo Jr.

**1/2


7.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Misterioso Jr.

_Very good, enjoyable match, Nakamura was absolutely awesome here._

***1/2


The show was a lot of fun, it just flew by. The main event was really cool, and everything else was solid or decent.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Haha, I LOVE how we had the complete different mindset on Rush vs YOSHI-HASHI. I hated it. Rush doesn't do much of anything for me.

Dorada is a god. Match would have been better if Mascara didn't botch so much. Dorada held it together to be fun, nonetheless.


----------



## Rah

HayleySabin said:


> Haha, I LOVE how we had the complete different mindset on Rush vs YOSHI-HASHI. I hated it. *Rush doesn't do much of anything for me*.


:daniels

@JoeRulz, I beg of you to watch Rush/Terrible just for Rush's mannerisms.


----------



## Obfuscation

If it means anything I thought Terrible/Rush was solid. 8*D


----------



## DOPA

Rush/Terrible is the best CMLL match of the year so far.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd gladly take a few others over it.


----------



## Adam_Cole

Proktore jel to CMLL i NJPWov neki zajednički event? 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki - ****

Sorry...


----------



## Rah

Adam_Cole said:


> Proktore jel to CMLL i NJPWov neki zajednički event?


Godišnje.
:avit:



HayleySabin said:


> I'd gladly take a few others over it.


How dare you have a completely different opinion on something so subjective.:


----------



## Adam_Cole

Dodo or Jeri or Proktor?

Ili si neki od drugih, jesi na OWFans forumu?


----------



## Rah

Adam_Cole said:


> Dodo or Jeri or Proktor?
> 
> Ili si neki od drugih, jesi na OWFans forumu?


Oh, no. 

I'm not on another forum. Raspitivati se ywall2breakerj. He is Croatian.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I find it disturbing no one's made a GIF of Tenryu face-punching someone before. Right up there with DAT CANCER KIDNEY ELBOW on the list of awesome never made GIFS.





So, Kawada and Tenryu had, like, this match for the Triple Crown in 2004, and they like, stiffed each other.....and it worked. Who would've thought? Marching through Kawada's GOAT TC run is so much fun. vs Tenzan & Sasaki are also ****+ for sure. vs Don Frye will entertain you if you like shoot punches. If you don't then fuck you.


----------



## Bubz

Not sure I've seen their '04 match, the '00 match is literally one of my favourite matches ever though.


----------



## Chismo

> All Japan Pro-Wrestling will be undergoing a change going forward from today as it has been announced that they will be undergoing a change of ownership. Nobuo Shiraishi [40] of Speed Partners has acquired 100% of the All Japan’s shares and will be owner and President of All Japan as of a corporate restructuring that will take place as of November 1, 2013.
> Shiraishi also announced that Akira Misaka [42] (pictured bottom right) has been appointed as Vice-President under him.
> 
> Not much has been stated in state of the sale of the promotion, but
> Shiraishi stated that the goal is for All Japan to reclaim a themselves as a premiere promotion in Japan. The new own wishes to see All Japan be able to host their own show at the Tokyo Dome within 3 years.
> Shiraishi declared a revolution and looks forward to the growth and strengthening of All Japan Pro-Wrestling.


UPDATE:


> The contracts will be terminated and renegotiated. All Japan will declare bankruptcy _(the goal is to preserve operations and rehabilitate financially to keep running. A company goes through corporate reorganization or the company's assets are liquidated to repay their creditors if reorganization doesn't work)_ and change the company name to ALL JAPAN. A major tidbit is that both NTV and TBS have expressed interest in the new ALL JAPAN, with a possible airdate coming next April.
> 
> Uchida and Muto's roles are negotiated but it looks like they will be in charged of the wrestling while three new owners handle the business.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> How dare you have a completely different opinion on something so subjective.:


What can I say. I'm a rebel.


----------



## seabs

*If they pump money into the promotion then it sounds good.*


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Bubz said:


> Not sure I've seen their '04 match


INJUSTICE











http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=podr2DxmRe0
Watch and rate in stars and stuff.


----------



## Tanner1495

Wait, who did Kawada defend the title against during this reign? List and starz and stuff please


----------



## asdf0501

Kawada vs Hashimoto is my MOTY in 2004 and the best match of his reign, but that is mostly a Hash awesome performance. There is also a great Kawada vs Jamal (Umaga) defense up there.

And great news for AJPW, not so much about bankruptcy, but it seems that Puroresu is getting atractive again for investors and more money means more publicity and hopefully more popularity, so everything to gain and little to lose.


----------



## flag sabbath

Tanner1495 said:


> Wait, who did Kawada defend the title against during this reign? List and starz and stuff please


http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=24&page=5&reign=32


----------



## Groovemachine

Can anyone recommend me some good Fujita Jr Hayato matches prior to me seeing him live next weekend? I'm not that familiar with him. Just watched his match vs Kenny Omega from the 2010 BOTSJs which was pretty boss.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

His 2011 BOSJ match against Kanemoto is one of my all time favourites and I'm not even kidding.


----------



## seabs

*The Kanemoto singles matches are all short and awesome. The Sasuke and Kenou matches from last year are both worth watching. Devitt match from BOSJ 2011 too.

More on the All Japan buyout. Some interesting stuff in there and blatant KENSO bashing is always enjoyable.*


> Thanks to Irving for supplying the following statement:
> 
> As everyone knows by now, All Japan has officially announced that the promotion has been purchased by Japanese investment firm, Speed Partners. This comes after almost 10 year’s worth of speculation as to All Japan’s financial situation due to very questionable choices made early in the Muto Regime, choices that haunted the promotion right up until last November when SP purchased the company for a reported 200 million yen.
> 
> In order to understand the meaning of this transfer of power, one must know the history behind the reasoning of All Japan being sold off to a company most would think know little about professional wrestling. In 2002, New Japan legend Keiji Muto transferred to AJPW out of protest to the company’s increasing focus on the MMA world. At this time, the company was viewed as having been saved as not only did Muto join, he brought along top young star Satoshi Kojima, top junior Kendo Kashin, former WCW cruiserweight Kaz Hayashi, and a few key members of New Japan’s booking team. By September of 2002, Motoko Baba, widow to All Japan founder Giant Baba, transferred her stocks to Keiji Muto, and the Muto-era was off to a bang. However, record house attendances and new blood weren’t enough to keep things smooth sailing for long as poor booking choices such as Kojima and Taiyo Kea not getting victories over Genichiro Tenryu, the failed W1 project with MMA promotion K1/FEG, and of course the Goldberg/Kronic fiascos ruined any momentum All Japan had quickly built for itself (lets not forget about spending money on the rights to use Metallica music at their shows..).
> 
> Throughout 2003 through 2008, the promotion experienced hellacious growing pains which saw overhauls in fight producers (bookers), talent, and numerous scandals (some of which I have never disclosed) rock the promotion. All this in spite of dramatically changing the way the promotion was booked, and having successful stints, such as recapturing national television (“Pro-Wres LOVE” from 2004 to 2005), and the incredible 2005 year (the year of package pro-wrestling and “gaijin heaven”). It just seemed the promotion couldn’t catch a break. The mighty blow being served after waning popularity caused them to withdraw from Nippon Budokan, the holy place for All Japan.
> 
> Muto kept things afloat over the years through numerous sponsorships. Some partnerships were heavily scrutinized, like the deal made with a soft-porn company, while others worked in their favor akin to their relationship with Sanrio. The Sanrio deal would eventually turn from less of a sponsorship after initially funding All Japan’s Sumo Hall events from 2006 to 2007 into more of a merchandising deal, allowing them to use the Hello Kitty brand to spawn creative merchandising and branding concepts, but it was apparent that without real money, All Japan was doomed.
> 
> Now, for all Muto did wrong, he did do right as well, securing Kohei Suwama, who is now the ace of the promotion, and focusing on building a healthy dojo that was churned out almost 20 recruits since 2002. Taking the booking and making it meet the wrestling, which for a while was lacking, and making the product one of the most interesting groups in all of Japan. All this while groups such as the Kensuke Office, Voodoo Murders, F4, GURENTAI, and RO&D flourished and kept the group alive when the money was dead.
> 
> Fast forward to 2011. Everything that happens is for a reason, and when Jun Akiyama made claims that he wanted to challenge for the TC, won, and immensely enjoyed his stint in the group, the wheels were set in motion. Rumors of Akiyama wanting to transfer to All Japan ran amuck on the Japanese boards, but everyone wondered where the group would get the money, and quickly dismissed any notion of it actually happening. Deals aren’t made overnight, and in November of 2012, news broke that Jun Akiyama and 4 more of NOAH’s main wrestlers wished to leave the promotion and head for All Japan. Again, money was discussed amongst fans, little did we know that the deal was already done.
> 
> On 2/25/2013, All Japan held a press conference to announce that it had been sold to Speed Partners with a wealth of details being announced. One, that the deal was sealed in November of 2012 (the same month Burning turned down contracts from NOAH). Enter Nobuo Shiraishi, president of SP, and now president of All-Japan Systems, the new governing body for All-Japan. Shiraishi has already made headlines with his optimistic, yet stern approach to revamping All-Japan. Already threatening anyone who didn’t pull their weight on the card to be removed (directly aimed towards KENSO), and requesting Shuji Kondo be made a permanent heavyweight. He has also stated that he planned on evaluating every freelance wrestler participating in All Japan, and would remove them too if they did not add to the promotion. Couple all of this with promising to make All Japan an island unto itself as of this April, and aiming towards running the Tokyo Dome and knocking New Japan off of it’s #1 status within a year. He has also made revelations of a Dome tour in three years, and that the group has been in serious negotiations with national tv networks TBS, and yes, NTV.
> 
> Shiraishi while radical has been also reasonable, stating that any staff member already on good terms with the company would be kept on, so it doesn’t seem that any personnel will be thrown out in favor of those who don’t know what they’re doing (ala WCW). This means that Muto and Masayuki Uchida will stay around has leaders of the actual wrestling, but it looks like Shiraishi will have final say over what is produced.
> 
> It is an exciting time for All Japan fans, and after covering the group since 2004, I somewhat can breathe a sigh of relief that this group will have the chance to prove what a lot of us have already known for years. That they too can be on top!


----------



## DOPA

Sounds very interesting and mostly good news for All Japan. Aiming to run the Tokyo Dome and become the #1 company in Japan within a year seems very ambitious by the new owners. Let's hope they know what they are doing in the business sides of things.


----------



## seabs

*Reading that they want to stop All Japan contracted talent working for other promotions too. That's worrying as a fan and for them expanding. It'd more than likely stop them using outside talent themselves and that's bad for puroresu as a whole. They simply don't have the roster to work Tokyo Dome shows without outside help, even with the Burning acquisitions. I can't see them getting close to New Japan's level of current success. There just isn't the capacity or talent available for there to be two independent puro promotions that big right now.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Well, my interest in the promotion as a whole isn't massive, but I hope these major turn of events don't lean the company in a direction that will result in any dire straights. BURNING or not, the promotion needs to play it safe. New management better wise up and realize the facts.

Speaking of BURNING, I have to view their apparently great 6 man contest.


----------



## antoniomare007

Interesting that they want to make All Japan "an island" when the most interesting they've been in years was when they let all their titles go to outsiders.

I don't like the "taking over the n°1 spot within a year" approach though. That screams rash and dumb decisions. I hope that quote was just hyperbole by Shiraishi.

Three years is a good goal for a Tokyo Dome show. A LOT can happen in that period of time. They need a decent TV deal to pull it off though.


----------



## seabs

*Akiyama
Suwama
Muto
Funaki

are the only guys in All Japan who could draw big numbers and 3 of them are very old and not long term options. Not sure how they'd realistically compete with New Japan with the current roster, even if they took the best from elsewhere they couldn't compete with New Japan. If they want big success then they need to work together not against one another. Ambition is great but not if it's unrealistic. Best stuff from All Japan in recent years has been the BJW invasion, Nagata coming in more often and Akiyama's title run. Notice the trend. Akiyama is at least regular now and they could do some big figures with Akiyama against guys like Suwama, etc but all the really big stars in Japan are with New Japan.*


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> I don't like the "taking over the n°1 spot within a year" approach though. That screams rash and dumb decisions. I hope that quote was just hyperbole by Shiraishi.


Eh, that was just the big talk for the press. He's not that delusional. 

And yeah, they need to increase their presence on TV. Massively, maybe even double it.


----------



## MF83

And now, since I have figured out DVD conversion (finally... PM me if I owe you an upload of something) unless you have the source or a comp, I present a fresh match to the IWC:

Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (12/7/1989)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxumpt#.US-O_Fekpbw

My initial reaction: This was fucking incredible and maybe the most underrated match of the decade. I’m thinking when people went through the 80s NJ set, that because this was the last of the nominated matches, I see burnout and seeing it as the final chore to finish things possibly lessening enjoyment for some. On its own, this is probably my favourite of their many matches. After putting himself on the map by pinning Choshu in three minutes in the IWGP tournament earlier in the year, Hashimoto takes the initiative to prove with foreshadowing maturity as to why he belongs in the main event and the talent he displays in this match is almost shocking compared to what he had done up to that point and the relatively little that he would do before the WAR feud.


Spoiler: spoilery thoughts



He focuses on the arm, clearly demonstrating his intent as preventative to the lariat instead of trying to submit Choshu, and I really appreciate that. It’s the kind of strategy psychology I enjoy where I’ve seen written about it that it came off as too resthold-like to which I call bullshit. Why I call bullshit is because while calculatingly destroying Choshu’s number one weapon, Hashimoto keeps it spicy as he does destructive damage by way of the strike and throw as only he can. They set the recurring foundation for all their bouts to come with Hashimoto pridefully resisting the lariats and his selling is marvelous in this. Choshu’s selling of Hash’s offense was great too, and beyond the aforementioned lariat prevention, how Choshu adapts to using the dragon sleeper works on the “my main weapon is injured. I can’t sasori you and I can’t lariat you, but this is deadly without requiring use of my arm” level as well as it does on a tribute level to Fujinami who was out with his career dampening injury. This was power wrestling 101, folks. Choshu pulling out running elbow drops, running gamengiris, and fucking dragon sleepers summed up the largely unspoken versatility of his peak and of his decade. There could be no better match to close out NJPW in the 1980s than this, because it amalgamated both the dominating styles from the 80s and 90s coupled with that this happens to be the last broadcasted Japanese NJPW match of the decade, all while demonstrating this decade/generational bridge of things to come is just lovely in hindsight.


 A power struggle on many levels, with excitement, layers of psychology, and optimal pacing. I love this match and I hope you will too. ★★★★½


----------



## Chismo

> Some matches for 3/10 were released.. The Triple Crown tag features a KO only rule at the request of Suwama...
> 
> *Korakuen*
> 
> All Asia Tag Team Title Skirmish - AJPW vs. Burning: Koji Kanemoto vs. Atsushi Aoki
> All Asia Tag Team Title Skirmish - AJPW vs. Burning: Minoru Tanaka vs. Kotaro Suzuki
> GAORA TV Title: Seiya Sanada © vs. Masayuki Kono
> World Tag & World Jr. Title Skirmish - AJPW vs. Burning: Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Kaz Hayashi vs. Jun Akiyama, Go Shiozaki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
> Triple Crown Skirmish Special Tag: Masakatsu
> Funaki & Akebono vs. Suwama & Joe Doering


KO only :mark:


----------



## Rah

My knowledge on early NJPW is pretty damn shocking so if I had come across this match without MF83's little blurb I'd have sworn both wrestlers to be experienced vets. They're both so damn talented - especially Hashimoto who was only five years into his career.



Spoiler: write-up



The beginning quarter or so was reminiscent of the Legend Pro tag I had watched earlier today yet done right. It was all about STRANTH and perfectly captured Hashimoto's struggle to gain his status. The weariness of each other, especially when breaks were called by the ref, and the viciousness in offence really legitimised what was at stake here, too. I absolutely adored Hashimoto not only trying to negate the lariat by working on Choshu's arm but also having some glimmer of cockiness in hoping his opponent would submit. When Choshu simply continued to take the pain in his stride, Hashimoto grew angry and drove Choshu's face into the canvas with a vicious DDT.

What was probably most praise-worthy, though, was its spectacular pacing. It established itself early on and gradually built itself up until the monumental climax in which the entire crowd was eating out of the palm of their hands, myself included. The double lariats within quick succession offered perhaps the best selling of the entire match, with Hashimoto not only keeping Choshu's offense strong (despite the weakend arm) yet also put himself over as an incredibly tough bastard. His head and neck had taken a beating the entire match, and the final dragon sleeper was one of many, too. Yet, noting his determination to win, Hashimoto would have rather passed out than consciously secede a victory to Choshu. He was too far gone, however, and the transition to a pin brought the match to a quicker conclusion.



★★★★ 1/2+

I've got to spread some rep first, but thank you for this treat. It's not often I get motivated to delve into the past when, really, I should.


----------



## antoniomare007

A great Hash match that I haven't seen? :mark:

Bless you MF83, you just made my day


----------



## Obfuscation

Akebono & Joe Doering kind of make me turned off to the KO only tag. I could see myself caring more if it was a singles.

Liking the Burning vs AJPW series. (Y)


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Shinya Hashimoto vs Riki Choshu, New Japan (12/7/89)*

Yeah this was an excellent match built around a tremendous showcase peformance from Hashimoto complimented by an underrated yet accomplished performance from Choshu. Rah noted the monumental triumph in the match lied in its pacing and I'd have to agree. The beginning establishes the tension and weariness both have for the other as well as keeping the exchanges short and sweet and executing a slow pace that draws you into each exchange, rather than boring you and leaving you unexcited. I always adore cautious breaks out of a lock-up and both men cheapshotting the other to let them know they were in for a fight were great spots to highten the ever increasing tension. Hashimoto showing early control only to be outsmarted and outwrestled by Choshu, leading to him just laying into Choshu with precision and brutal strikes was a great sequence to make Hashimoto look a phenom and his control in the middle was perfectly described by MF83 as a means to weaken Choshu's main weapon rather than forcing a submission and rendering the limbwork pointless. The frantic DDT after Choshu frustrates Hashimoto by not lieing down looked disgustingly stiff and Choshu sold it really well. He really feels like an overlooked seller when it comes to puro. Everything he did here was simple but executed and timed brilliantly and he managed to convey desperation and empathy from the crowd in such a sincere manner.

Build into the finish is marvellous. Choshu rallying and hitting two consecutive lariats, which Hashimoto sells spectacularly as being hit with not quite a moving train but still something powerful enough to drop him to a knee whilst simultaneously trying to stagger to a standing position and prove he can overcome Choshu's spent arm. Thought Choshu signalling for a third lariat but at the last minute alternating to a running gamengiri was a tremendous veteran instinct spot to highlight his experience edge whilst also giving the limbwork from Hashimoto a payoff in being enough to weaken and stifle the Choshu lariat..but exposing Hashimoto underestimating Choshu's intelligence and versatility. Ending sequence with Hashimoto clinging to life in the dragon sleeper to no avail was fantastically done and sold excellently by both men to serve as a satisfactory and conclusive finish.

Excellent performances, succint pacing to envoke continuous tension in each sequence, great Hashimoto showcase mixed with a experienced and professional performance from Choshu. Yeah, you all want in on this.


----------



## Chismo

*Day 2*


1.	TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Tama Tonga & Maximo

_Incredibly entertaining match. Everything clicked. Taichi is a fucking genius. This match MUST GET NOTICED!_

***1/2


2.	World Class Tag Team (Jado & Gedo) & Misterioso Jr. vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Titan

**1/2


3.	Mascara Dorada & Diamante vs. Mephisto & OKUMURA

**1/2


4.	Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & BUSHI

***


5.	Atlantis vs. Euforia

**1/2


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush vs. Kazuchika Okada, Rey Escorpión & Volador Jr.

***1/2


7.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. La Sombra

_Amazing match, both guys were top notch. Nakamura continues his amazing streak._

******


The main event was excellent, also three good matches, and the rest was decent at worst. Great show, really enjoyed it. The opener is one of the most amusing matches of the year.​


----------



## Obfuscation

HOW did you like Atlantis vs Euforia? Match was a steaming pile of Big E. Langston.

Opener wasn't anything I cared for much outside of the heel antics. Maximo is crap.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (10/8/2007)*
-I’ve seen this match before but not since it's original airing and it goes without saying this was awesome this was great this was fantastic. Very good pacing throughout the match and some back and forth; Goto got busted open bad and one spot where Tenzan slapped him so hard blood splattered off of his face (ewww) another spot was a ref assisted Spinning Wheel Kick, Anaconda Vice and lots of Lariats. Tenzan worked over Goto like nobody’s business and Goto made a big comeback and the crowd got behind Goto big time. Finish came when Goto hit the Shouten for the win. Excellent match, not sure where I originally ranked this back in the day but it was great. Goto’s return from Mexico (and graduation to heavyweight) in 2007 was god-tier and Tenzan brought the fight. Great stuff.

Thanks again for the recommendation MF83.


----------



## antoniomare007

Watching that 12/7 Hashimoto vs Choshu match and then their 96' G-1 Climax encounter is such an awesome experience. Makes the "CHOOOSUUUUUUUUUUU" spot mean even more than before.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Masato Tanaka & Shinjiro Otani vs Shigeo Okumura & Hideki Hosaka-AJPW 12.04.2003*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzMF9nWYClw

Otani is the greatest. That is all you need to know. SO. MUCH. FUN. Watch out for the hilarious post match bit as well.


----------



## Gareth Mallroy

I can't wait for tomorrow. The crowd will probably be on Devitt's side, but I'm hoping it's Tanahashi who wins. Of course, the thought of him losing would make the Cup very interesting...


----------



## antoniomare007

So Shirashi had an interview with Tokyo Sports were he said that he wasn't waiting 3 years and wanted to do a Tokyo Dome show for next March and that the plan now is being able to do 4 Dome shows in 3 years (don't know if that's total or 4 in 1 year). He also threw a jab at New Japan and said Nagata and Nakamura are the only good wrestlers on their roster.

It seems that Funaki ain't happy with the change of command and he might be leaving All Japan soon.



This shit has disaster written all over the place, lol.


----------



## Chismo

antoniomare007 said:


> So Shirashi had an interview with Tokyo Sports were he said that he wasn't waiting 3 years and wanted to do a Tokyo Dome show for next March and that the plan now is being able to do 4 Dome shows in 3 years (don't know if that's total or 4 in 1 year). He also threw a jab at New Japan and said Nagata and Nakamura are the only good wrestlers on their roster.
> 
> It seems that Funaki ain't happy with the change of command and he might be leaving All Japan soon.
> 
> 
> 
> This shit has disaster written all over the place, lol.


That sounds awesome. I mean, the word wars, not the plans. Shiraishi seems like one tough SOB.

As long as they don't go OTT, this is exactly what Puro needs.


EDIT: Kasai/Numazawa pics:



Spoiler: ...


----------



## manga4life

I can't wait for Tanahashi vs Devitt, I'm hoping to see Tanahashi get the big win but I wouldn't put it past Devitt to sneak one out over the Heavyweight Champion. If Devitt wins then I fully expect him to get an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match in the near future, probably after the NJPW Cup winner, but man......I can tell this match is going to be fantastic. The top Heavyweight in the world (my opinion) versus the top light-heavyweight/Junior Heavyweight in the world (my opinion) one on one.....man, the excitement inside of me builds.


----------



## Chismo

*Day 3*


1.	Taichi vs. Maximo

***


2.	TORNEO CIBERNETICO: CHAOS (Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI), OKUMURA & Misterioso Jr. vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Titan, Mascara Dorada, Diamante & BUSHI

_Ishii <3_

**1/2


3.	Rey Escorpión vs. Rush

_Rush continues to impress me, he’s the man._

***1/2


4.	*CMLL World Middleweight Championship*: Dragon Rojo Jr. © vs. La Sombra

***1/4


5.	*CMLL Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship*: La Mascara © vs. Volador Jr.

**1/2


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Atlantis vs. Kazuchika Okada, Mephisto & Euforia

***1/2


Another awesome show, so much fun everywhere, and almost everything is so easy to watch. The main event was borderline great. Long live Lucharesu!​


----------



## Matt_Yoda

I'll never understand the Rush hype, he (and his brother) does nothing for me but opinions and all that. I will say that I am disappointed with Rojo/Sombra, two of my favorites in CMLL I think they can do better. Great review JR.


----------



## Rah

He isn't a blow-away wrestler by any means, but you cannot deny his mannerisms and douchebag behaviour isn't worth rewarding. It's second-to-none at times, imo.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

Rah said:


> He isn't a blow-away wrestler by any means, but you cannot deny his mannerisms and douchebag behaviour isn't worth rewarding. It's second-to-none at times, imo.


You're probably right, liked some of his tags last year (I love Corleone lol) however I can hardly ever get into his matches but he may surprise me one of these days it's happened with others that's for sure.


----------



## Chismo

I love Rush because he's so old school. He "gets it". He was the man of the weekend (w/Taichi, Maximo and Tanahashi).

Speaking of him:

Terrible/Rush (CMLL 1/26/2013) ***1/2 _(this match is all about Rush being awesome)_


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Jun Akiyama & KENTA, NOAH (10/3/09)*

One of the first shows post Misawa's passing hence Kawada and Taue being there. Match is really well structured and pits KENTA in his best role against a pissy heavyweight who doesn't like him whilst allowing Kawada to churn out a great performance even in 2009. Kawada/KENTA exchanges are bossy throughout and the opening exchange might be the best. Kawada sportingly breaks clean and then KENTA feigns doing so before delivering a stiff as fuck slap and oh my god Kawada's expression is incredible. In not even a second his face goes from shock to grumpy pissed vinegar veteran and he subsequently beats the piss out of KENTA immediately after as a retort. Kawada's amazing thoughout, just wasting people with kicks including a bossy moment where KENTA fakes to fly at Taue but alters his direction at the last minute and flies into Kawada on the apron only for Kawada to regroup and re-enter the ring with KENTA mid submission and turn his head towards Kawada dropping a stiff as fuck kneedrop on the bridge of the nose. T'was beautiful. Taue is either really good or really bad depending on your interpretation. He's old, body is broken down and he's near immobile but at times it renders his execution more rugged and dangerous in its execution and it adds to the charm and hatred that drives the action. He and KENTA have some fun exchanges with KENTA being a merciless dick and standing up for the pint sized people Taue probably has wash his cars. Akiyama really has little to no role outside of the odd exchange and one unfortunate miscommunication resulting in a weak lariat Kawada has to sell as more than it needed to be. 

Final few minutes are wonderful as KENTA goes for broke and throws the kitchen sink at both leading to an amazing spot where KENTA goes for the rolling elbow and Kawada just nukes him with a harrowingly jaw shattering gamengiri. Poetic violence indeed. Finish isn't taken near overkill and is booked well enough to make KENTA look resilient and defiant as well as popping the crowd with some nostalgia in terms of the chokesam/backdrop combo and Taue's Tiger Driver.


----------



## Obfuscation

JoeRulz said:


> I love Rush because he's so old school. He "gets it".* He was the man of the weekend* (w/Taichi, Maximo and Tanahashi).
> 
> Speaking of him:
> 
> Terrible/Rush (CMLL 1/26/2013) ***1/2 _(this match is all about Rush being awesome)_


:|

lol @ Maximo too. Guy fucking sucks.


----------



## seabs

HayleySabin said:


> :|
> 
> lol @ Maximo too. Guy fucking sucks.


*:barkley

Hopefully people see the pun.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Right under their noses.


----------



## Chismo

- Omega/Kodaka (DDT Sweet Dreams! 2013) ***3/4
- Omega/HARASHIMA (DDT Into the Fight 2013) ****

Very quality stuff. Both matches were pretty brutal, especially the SHIMA one. Kenny is on the roll, this reign could be all kinds of awesome.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ah yes. 3 months in and I haven't even watched any DDT yet.

Perhaps soon. Or perhaps when my fix for 90's wrestling wears off. _(it won't)_


----------



## DOPA

I found Omega/Kokada disappointing. Hopefully the Harashima match is better.


----------



## Chismo

*NJPW Osaka Dream Night*

CAGE MATCH for the *IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Yoshihiro Takayama © vs. Masahiro Chono

_Good cage match, but nothing special. They barely used the structure, but that was not the problem. The problem was they dragged things down the road, especially in the final chapter. Too much KO attempts watered the pace and rhythm down. However, I really appreciated the slow paced tactical style they worked, and there was plenty of BIG TAK awesomeness and viciousness to make this match good._

***


*NJPW King of Sports*

CAGE MATCH for the *IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship*: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Kazunari Murakami

_This was the most vicious Tanahashi I’ve ever witnessed. Short ‘n’ sweet, stiff as fuck grudge match, I’d go higher on snowflakes, but overbooking and interferences bugged me._

***​


----------



## MF83

Eh yo Suave and the rest of youz, check this one out:


History: Choshu was just another up and coming heavyweight while Fujinami was junior ace of NJPW. Choshu went and won the UWA World *Heavyweight* Championship in Mexico while Fujinami graduated to heavyweight. Yet, when Choshu returned and they teamed in a six man, Fujinami still outranked Choshu in match introductions. Choshu was none too pleased and Fujinami showed no remorse or respect to the returning Choshu. They exchanged slaps throughout and after Inoki managed to squeak out the win for the team, hell broke loose as Choshu beat down the Dragon and infamously stated, "I am not a dog that lets you bite me!".

They fought two times prior to the following match. The first ended with a chair battle and the second one hardly got under way before a humongous pull-apart brawl ensued. This time, Fujinami's WWF International Title was to be put on the line, and the prestige of the championship kept things clean and catalyzed one of the most important, yet underrated and largely unspoken about matches in puroresu history.

1983-04-03: Fujinami Tatsumi (c) vs. Chōshū Riki

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6dv6d_tatsumi-fujinami-vs-riki-choshu-3-a_sport

Needless to say, Choshu went out there to prove himself and boy, did he ever. The title stipulation kept things focused and clean. Lest we forget the slaps theme. I loved a lot about this, from before the bell to after the match.


Spoiler: le spoilz



It starts heavy with a Choshu jump-job ending in DOUBLE lariat before the bell, putting over the lariat for the match. The slaps continue and boost things between early matwork. During early holds, Fujinami’s prevention of the backdrop was just lovely and sold it as a mega threat for later on. They paced the holds wonderfully, and just when you think it’s starting to drag, boom, “DO-RA-GON~!”. The action is just so tight. The sasoris were set up and executed well. Fujinami struggling against Choshu actually sitting down with them to prevent the rope escape was so refreshing and enjoyable. I *loved* Fujinami’s counter out of the juji into the bow and arrow, which was not only pretty, but practical as it sent Choshu outside for some floor-play and a near-20 count. I legitimately thought Fujinami had it after both his German and O’connor roll attempts, and Choshu’s shocked “two?!” after the German only helped things. Choshu’s murder lariat to end it was perfect and as a callback to his shocked reaction to the nearfall earlier, his “three?!” afterward was icing. Crowd saw something special as apparent by their post-match celebration. Tremendous. Sprinkles on that icing in the form of Masa coming in jumping like a teenaged girl and Fujinami's suggestion there was hair pulling enraging Choshu during his award ceremony.


 ★★★★¾ or 88% I could see myself five starring this on a rewatch. These two _made each other_.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I love Fujinami with all my heart. And I will repeat that untill someone other than Matt starts appreciating him.

edit: my 500th post is Fujinami appreciation!? Awesome. Good job self.


----------



## antoniomare007

Was Choshu the first "bad ass" that got over huge in Japan?


----------



## MF83

Masa Saito, Umanosuke Ueda, Rusher Kimura and Killer Khan all played heel or tweener types, but Choshu was definitely the first straight up rebellious motherfucker to get in there and main event. Choshu vs. Fujinami was the first big native vs native feud in Japan, as it was all about heroic natives vs. evil gaijin before that (although IWE had feuds with both All Japan and New Japan). Choshu vs. Fujinami was the birth of Choshuism. Choshu's sped up way of working, in singles and especially in tags, changed _everything_ in-ring for NJPW. Some of the six mans from those days are competitive with modern Dragon Gate when it comes to workrate. Ishingundan was the first Revolution Army, before Tenryu came out with his own REVOLUTION stable later on in the 80s. 

Speaking of Tenryu, Choshu gets fed up and goes to All Japan at the end of '84. Jumbo is a stubborn and conservative fuck so Tenryu takes on the role of Choshu's main enemy. Tenryu's whole damn career character as a main eventer is thanks to Choshu, as is Jumbo's twilight "aw shit, I gotta adapt or get overshone by Tenryu" run. All Japan's sped up style and transition into oudou in the 90s is directly linked to the Choshuism era. 

Choshu goes back, becomes ace of NJPW, then books the uber successful 1990s. He has tons of good to great matches and is top five (arguably number one) most influential, no doubt. He deserves so much more appreciation and was so much more than the lariat/scorpion dude that people think of him as. Yeah. Watch the match~!


----------



## antoniomare007

Oh yeah man, I know the story. When I was first getting into 80's puro and started reading about the evolution of the style I was literally with the







face the whole time. Specially Maeda/Choshu/Jumbo changing everything about how puro was going to be worked in the coming years.


----------



## Chismo

*Day 2*


1.	Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & BUSHI vs. Tama Tonga, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe

_Not even the FACT that Tiger Mask IV sucks ass couldn’t prevent this from being a good trio match. Hiromu and Takaaki will put the current heavyweights to shame in few years._

***


2.	Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero), Jado & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley), Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue

_Good match, loved how they kept Goto out for the majority of the match, which made his hot tag big deal. Also, Jado Flair rocks. But you already knew that._

***


3.	Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Cpt. New Japan

**


4.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe & Manabu Nakanishi

_Another good match, and nice build to Yujiro/Makabe._

***


5.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Kengo Mashimo & Hiro Tonai)

_Awesome, great match. CHAOS is insanely over in this feud, especially in Korakuen, and especially Okada. They adore him. Anyway, this trio match was a great prelude to Shinsuke/Kengo and Okada/Suzuki PPV matches, full of heat and teasers. I loled when Okada was trying to play by the book, only to be punched in the face by MiSu because of it. Nakamura and Kengo had few exchanges that were better than their TNB match. And babyface Gedo is priceless._

******


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Karl Anderson & Prince Devitt

_Very good prelude tag, nonstop action here. Devit pinning Tanahashi was newsworthy, and Karl got his share of offense to build the title match._

***1/2


7.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Masato Tanaka © vs. Tomohiro Ishii

_Oh my, loved this, even more than their first encounter. Ishii was crazy over, Korakuen was dying to see him win. Fantastic performance, and this is where he earned himself future IC title reign. He fucking made sure there’s some top notch selling in the match, he completely annihilated Tanaka’s infamous/annoying selling habits. The match was quite brutal, full of manliness and smashmouth work. (Y)_

*****1/2*


Awesome show, you just can’t go wrong with New Japan in Korakuen.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Glad to see someone else dug the CHAOS vs Suzuki-Gun trios match. In fact, you thought higher of it than myself. And I really, really got into it. Brilliant booking assisted in helping put over the tension in a stellar way. As if you needed a reason to get behind a Suzuki vs Okada match on iPPV, that match pushed the hype to an enormous degree.

Thought Ishii/Tanaka could have shaved some time off to help benefit the match. Wrote my complete thoughts on it in the MOTYC thread so I won't parrot anything that's been stated before to a major degree. I liked it; didn't love it.

Oh and Tiger Mask IV hasn't been the world's worst craphead in 2013. The tags with Liger have helped him be involved in matches that are you know...good as of late. In my personal opinion of course. vs Time Splitters being the best example.


----------



## Chismo

Tanaka and Ishii removing their pads and going HAM~ is one of my favorite moments in wrestling this year.












1.	Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu

**1/2


2.	Karl Anderson, Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga vs. Aogi-gun (Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Super Strong Machine & Cpt. New Japan)

***


3.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) © vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask

***1/2


4.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Togi Makabe & Manabu Nakanishi

**1/2


5.	Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Kengo Mashimo) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo)

_Fucking hell, this was amazing. God bless MiSu!_

*****1/2*


6.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Lance Archer

***1/2


7.	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt

_This was amazing as well, they exceeded my expectations. Awesome counters, and great character work from both. Devitt is legit now._

******


Fantastic show. The CHAOS/SZKG match was incredible.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Ishii/Tanaka was quite a bit of fun. Hoping he can nab the NEVER championship to make it worth a little something later this year.

(Y) @ digging the iPPV. Wasn't Tanahashi/Devitt too good? Devitt was on point in the match. Loved the aggression. Not to mention I loved both points of Tanahashi's work - getting fed up with Devitt's nasty kicks so he FINALLY goes to his dragon screw work - & his expressions to the amount of heat he got while on the offensive. It has to go somewhere. I think. He seemed very bothered by it. If it can lead to some heel tension down the road, wow @ the prospects. Or maybe even Devitt. His aggression hasn't hindered following the match either.

Elimination match was the tops. All you can say. What work. Fans ate it up & so did I. CHAOS vs Suzuki-Gun program OWNS.


----------



## Chismo

HayleySabin said:


> Ishii/Tanaka was quite a bit of fun. Hoping he can nab the NEVER championship to make it worth a little something later this year.
> 
> (Y) @ digging the iPPV. Wasn't Tanahashi/Devitt too good? Devitt was on point in the match. Loved the aggression. Not to mention I loved both points of Tanahashi's work - getting fed up with Devitt's nasty kicks so he FINALLY goes to his dragon screw work - & his expressions to the amount of heat he got while on the offensive. It has to go somewhere. I think. He seemed very bothered by it. If it can lead to some heel tension down the road, wow @ the prospects. Or maybe even Devitt. His aggression hasn't hindered following the match either.
> 
> Elimination match was the tops. All you can say. What work. Fans ate it up & so did I. CHAOS vs Suzuki-Gun program OWNS.


It wasn't an iPPV. :tak

The main event, you're spot on there. Devitt heeling it up was awesome, and I hope he turns in full capacity down the road. Loved the match, and Tanahashi is one mighty b'stard in turning points and finishing stretches in his matches. People booo him during big bouts recently, but love and approve him in post-match stuff.

CHAOS/SZKG is No. 2 in 2013, behind Tanahashi/Okada. TAKA is genius.


----------



## Chismo

*New Year 2013 - Day 1*


1.	KENSO vs. SUSHI

_Oh, KENSO, where art thou?_

**


2.	Junior Stars (Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto) vs. Osamu Nishimura & Andy Wu

**1/2


3.	Turmeric Storm (Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto) vs. Seiya Sanada & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

***


4.	LAST REVOLUTION (Suwama & Joe Doering) vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama)

**1/2


5.	GURENTAI (Minoru Suzuki, Taiyo Kea & MAZADA) vs. Keiji Mutoh, Masanobu Fuchi & Kaz Hayashi

_This was actually really good. Too bad we won’t be seeing MiSu in All Japan anymore. _

***1/2


6.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: GET WILD (Takao Omori & Manabu Soya) © vs. Stack of Arms (Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono)

_Solid, but disappointing, given the names and importance. The match was too soft and sloppy, and some transitions were awkward._

**1/2


7.	*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight & GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championships*: Hiroshi Yamato © vs. Shuji Kondo ©

_Awesome match, they built things properly, and sold everything, loved it. Kondo was particularly great in this one, he used his physique and heavyweight background extremely well. It’s good that he’s coming back into heavyweights._

***3/4


8.	14-MAN BATTLE ROYAL: Keiji Mutoh vs. Taiyo Kea vs. Suwama vs. Joe Doering vs. KENSO vs. Ryota Hama vs. Seiya Sanada vs. Yasufumi Nakanoueno vs. Masayuki Kono vs. Osamu Nishimura vs. Takao Omori vs. Manabu Soya vs. Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto

_Harmless fun._

*​


----------



## Obfuscation

JoeRulz said:


> It wasn't an iPPV. :tak
> 
> The main event, you're spot on there. Devitt heeling it up was awesome, and I hope he turns in full capacity down the road. Loved the match, and Tanahashi is one mighty b'stard in turning points and finishing stretches in his matches. People booo him during big bouts recently, but love and approve him in post-match stuff.
> 
> CHAOS/SZKG is No. 2 in 2013, behind Tanahashi/Okada. TAKA is genius.


The naive nature of myself. Don't know why I jumped to it when it aired on TV.

Getting excited for the New Japan Cup non-tournament trios match only b/c of the prospects involving Tanahashi/Devitt. More teases? Anymore aggression shown by Devitt? We'll see. :mark:

TAKA never fails.


----------



## Chismo

Kasai/Numazawa (BJW 3/1/2013) ***3/4

Not great, but still damn good. It's amazing how two broken deathmatch veterans can still work the way they worked at this point. Loved the post-match stuff.


----------



## DOPA

Couple of Kondo matches I need to catch up with. He's been the fucking man this year, been in some stellar matches. I wouldn't be surprised by the end of the year if he wasn't my sleeper pick for worker of the year.


----------



## Obfuscation

Oh man AJPW. Still haven't even given some of the pimped matches a watch yet. :lol

Maybe tomorrow...maybe.


----------



## bme

NJPW 41st Anniversary

Nagata, Inoue, Machine & Captain vs. Anderson, Tonga & Taguchi *
KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. Liger & Tiger Mask ***
Makabe, Tenzan, Kojima & Nakanishi vs. Yano, Iizuka, Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI **
Okada, Ishii, Jado & Gedo vs. Suzuki, Smith Jr., Mashimo & TAKA ***1/2
Nakamura vs. Lance Archer **
Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt ***1/2

- Want Ishii/Suzuki and Nakamura/Okada going for the tag titles.
- Looking forward to Devitt and Tanahashi's future work together.


----------



## flag sabbath

JoeRulz said:


> Kasai/Numazawa (BJW 3/1/2013) ***3/4
> 
> Not great, but still damn good. It's amazing how two broken deathmatch veterans can still work the way they worked at this point. Loved the post-match stuff.


I'll second this. Having slogged my way through CZW 14, this was a bloody breath of fresh air. No matter how unpleasant things get, these guys are still primarily concerned with taking the crowd on a wild ride - building tension, delivering twists & shocks - and Korakuen responds with a rabid enthusiasm completely absent from the combat zone.


----------



## Chismo

flag sabbath said:


> I'll second this. Having slogged my way through CZW 14, this was a bloody breath of fresh air. No matter how unpleasant things get, these guys are still primarily concerned with taking the crowd on a wild ride - building tension, delivering twists & shocks - and Korakuen responds with a rabid enthusiasm completely absent from the combat zone.


Do you have any idea what the post-match stuff was about? Did they reform/retire 045 Junkies or what? Because, it was very emotional.


----------



## flag sabbath

No idea - I guess we'll be able to tell soon enough from upcoming line-ups.


----------



## antoniomare007

JoeRulz said:


> Do you have any idea what the post-match stuff was about? Did they reform/retire 045 Junkies or what? Because, it was very emotional.


Haven't seen the show but IIRC that match was supposed to be Jaki's last or something along those lines.


----------



## Chismo

No, Jaki wrestled two days after, against Drake in a cage deathmatch.


----------



## antoniomare007

Well I'll be damned. Then who the hell was retiring from Big Japan? I could swear I read something like that not long ago...or maybe I'm just getting old and imagining things, I guess this is what being McQueen feels like.


----------



## TelkEvolon

I think it may of been the final Kasai/Numazawa match?


----------



## Chismo

*New Year 2013 - Day 2*


1.	Osamu Nishimura vs. Yasufumi Nakanoueno

*N/A*


2.	KENSO & MAZADA vs. SUSHI & Andy Wu

**


3.	Masayuki Kono vs. Kazushi Miyamoto

**1/2


4.	GET WILD (Takao Omori & Manabu Soya), Suwama, Ryota Hama & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Keiji Mutoh, Taiyo Kea, Masanobu Fuchi & TAKA Michinoku

_Fuchi’s face when he got tagged in to go against Hama was priceless. :lmao_

***


5.	*No. 1 Contendership for the Triple Crown Championship*: Joe Doering vs. Akebono

_Such a disappointment._

*1/2


6.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) © vs. Team 246 (Shuji Kondo & Kaz Hayashi)

_Great match, these guys were busting their asses off here. The finishing stretch was immense, very exciting with plenty of nearfalls, but in a compelling manner, they didn’t go into overkill. Kondo and Minoru tore the house down._

******


7.	*GAORA TV Championship*: Seiya Sanada © vs. Tomoaki Honma

***


8.	9-MAN JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT BATTLE ROYAL: Hiroshi Yamato vs. Koji Kanemoto vs. TAKA Michinoku vs. Shuji Kondo vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Masanobu Fuchi vs. MAZADA vs. SUSHI vs. Andy Wu

*​


----------



## seabs

*What the fuck were you expecting from Akebono/Doering to be disappointed by it?*


----------



## Obfuscation

Was going to ask the same thing. Fact those two are even considering top contenders for the Triple Crown completely turn me off to watching AJPW.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

New Japan Cup is out! Was hoping to see some reviews already


----------



## Obfuscation

Available now? I'll get on that ASAP.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

HayleySabin said:


> Available now? I'll get on that ASAP.


Download only though. Nothing on Dailymotion yet.


----------



## Obfuscation

Download just finished. (Y)

Tonight is going to be all kinds of fun.


----------



## Rah

NJ Cup is on Senor Lariato's page.


----------



## Obfuscation

Half way through the show and it's gone up and down. To no surprise Ishii has been the star so far in terms of a performance. Matched up well with Kojima - overall match was really a blast to watch. I do have faith in the second half of tournament matches to pull through in a big way.


----------



## Groovemachine

Checked out Ishii vs Kojima from the New Japan Cup, a solid ***1/2 at least. Loved their scuffle on the outside early on, with them furiously trading elbows, only for them to realise the count of 19 and both dive back in the ring. Fantastic stuff.


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, my first impression of Ishii vs. Kojima was ***1/2. Maybe **1/4 for Goto vs. Tama.


----------



## Obfuscation

I was bored during the bulk of Goto vs Tonga. (N)

Yano got dealt a bad hand in Nakanishi. Guy is so slow. Not to mention the finish...

Anderson vs Tenzan was what you'd expect - solid stuff.


----------



## seabs

IVP Videos said:


> IVPvideos.com is proud to announce that we have worked out a deal with someone in Japan to upload the newest events within days of them airing. The first title is listed for DVD and will be available for download within the hour. NJPW 3/3/2013 anniversary show with Prince Devitt vs. Tanahashi. Look for MANY more new releases listed within days of them occuring. The puro drought is officially over.


*Oh shit. Said he might be able to get PPVs too :mark:*


----------



## Obfuscation

Sounds splendid. :mark:


----------



## aivaz

There hasn't been a 'puro drought' for months, idgi


----------



## Rah

Typical shilling behaviour, nothing more.

Unless I'm wrong and this encompasses every promotion and not just the big three and Dragon Gate. Stardom, for example, is seemingly released onto Dailymotion months behind it's tape date. Even then I'm sure there are a lot more events than that which I can get my hands on.


----------



## Obfuscation

Stardom would be more fun to watch if half of their shows weren't clipped. _(faaakin bullshit)_

tbhayley, their main event on the Anniversary show this year wasn't too special. Willing to watch more out of the joy I get watching Joshi though.


----------



## Chismo

*New Year Shining Series 2013 - Day 2*


1.	Turmeric Storm (Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto) vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Andy Wu

**


2.	Shuji Kondo, MAZADA & SUSHI vs. KENSO, Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang

**1/2


3.	Seiya Sanada vs. Yasufumi Nakanoueno

***


4.	Koji Kanemoto vs. Hikaru Sato

**1/2


5.	Minoru Tanaka vs. Hiroshi Yamato

**1/2


6.	Joe Doering vs. Manabu Soya

***


7.	Suwama vs. Takao Omori

***


8.	Stack of Arms (Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono) vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama)

**1/2


Decent show, three good matches, nothing was bad at all, and the most important thing is – nothing dragged. Just two hours of solid wrestling.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Lance Archer proved he's the MAN in his match vs Okada from the New Japan Cup show. Match was awesome mostly in part to him. Fuxin ARCHER. :mark:


----------



## DOPA

*AJPW Burning vs All Japan - 5 Match Series 23.02.2013*

*Atsushi Aoki vs Hiroshi Yamato: *** 1/4*

*Kotaro Suzuki vs Kaz Hayashi: *** 1/4+*

*Go Shiozaki vs Manabu Soya: ***

*Jun Akiyama vs Takao Omori: ****

*Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Shuji Kondo - AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: *** 3/4*

Nothing outstanding except for the main event but so much fun to watch. Really enjoying Burning in AJPW.

Gonna watch the NJPW cup round 1 now.


----------



## Chismo

*New Japan Cup 2013 - Day 1*


1.	*Round 1*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii

***3/4


2.	*Round 1*: Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga

**1/2


3.	*Round 1*: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano

*


4.	*Round 1*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson

***


5.	Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & Cpt. New Japan

***


6.	*Round 1*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe

**1/2


7.	*Round 1*: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki

***1/2


8.	*Round 1*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer

***1/2


9.	*Round 1*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

***1/2


Is it surprise that Ishii delivers yet another MOTN at Korakuen? I think not. That match was freakin’ awesome. Very good show overall, every match was solid at least, except for Nakanishi/Yano. Your usual suspects delivered their standard goodies, but Kojima displaying his forgotten swag again, and KES stepping the fuck up against Shinskay and Okada were the highlights.​


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW New Japan Cup Night 1:*

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii - ***1/2

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga - **1/2

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Manabu Nakanishi vs Toru Yano - ** (Man Nakanishi needs to retire.. he's so slow)

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Karl Anderson - **3/4

*Special Six-Man Tag Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & Captain New Japan - ***1/2 (I may be in minority but I really enjoyed this match, I like Devitt's new atitude)

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi - **1/2

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki - **3/4

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Kazuchika Okada vs Lance Archer - *** 

*New Japan Cup - Round 1*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. - ***​


----------



## bigbuxxx

Randomly looking through ditch and found some great stuff I'd never heard of before. All 3 of these matches are ****-****1/4+ and you should go out of your way to see if you haven't.

Go/Kobashi vs Tenryu/Akiyama - 4/24/05
Taue/Kobashi vs Tenryu/Akiyama - 9/18/05
Kobashi/Sasaki vs Tenryu/Nakajima - 2/11/06

I'm partial to the last one but the finish of the second is incredible.

Does anybody have any recommendations for heavyweight vs junior or good tags with juniors and heavyweights like the ones above? I've seen KENTA vs Takayama x2, vs Kobashi x2, and vs Tenryu. Does any other jr. actually take on the big guys? Any US matches are welcome to, for instance Bryan/Morishima or Punk/Joe.


----------



## Rah

^^ It isn't often Hansen's the little dude but he is here:


----------



## seabs

*Man Okada/Archer is being seriously underrated. Match ruled for just over 10 minutes. Ishii/Kojima was good but it felt like Kojima was kinda just along for the ride. Ishii was great in it though. Goto managed to have a uninteresting match with Tama Tonga. New feat for Goto. Tonga ruled though. Nakanishi can still be fun in tags but it's probably time for him to really pull it back now. Fluffed the finish up bad. Anderson/Tenzan was nothing. It's a Tenzan singles match though so expected. 6 man was fun. CNJ was the star of it. For real. Dynamic between him and Devitt was wonderful. Devitt equally ruled in this too. Makabe/Yujiro was eh. Hated the ref bump finish. I hope it doesn't become too regular after this and Archer/Nakamura. Nagata/Suzuki I thought was somewhere on par with their WK match. Okada/Archer ruled. Smith/Nakamura was decent. I'd prefer Smith to stick to tags. Shinsuke's twitter thingy is appropriately booming with swag. New Japan gone twitter crazy now it seems. Yay. Decent show. Felt off at a lot of points though and the crowd was unusually in and out of matches.*


----------



## mk92071

Kyoko Inoue and Takako Inoue vs. Manami Toyota and Sakie Hasegawa - 8/30/95
Anyone have a review for this? I watched it yesterday and I had very mixed feelings about it. There seemed to be such a lack of selling throughout alot of the match (especially the tombstones early on). Seemed like a ton of head drops that weren't needed and the finish seemed over kill. I still really enjoyed this match since it was very exciting and had plenty of nearfalls. This just didn't seem great.


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *Man Okada/Archer is being seriously underrated. Match ruled for just over 10 minutes. Ishii/Kojima was good but it felt like Kojima was kinda just along for the ride. Ishii was great in it though. Goto managed to have a uninteresting match with Tama Tonga. New feat for Goto. Tonga ruled though. Nakanishi can still be fun in tags but it's probably time for him to really pull it back now. Fluffed the finish up bad. Anderson/Tenzan was nothing. It's a Tenzan singles match though so expected. 6 man was fun. CNJ was the star of it. For real. Dynamic between him and Devitt was wonderful. Devitt equally ruled in this too. Makabe/Yujiro was eh. Hated the ref bump finish. I hope it doesn't become too regular after this and Archer/Nakamura. Nagata/Suzuki I thought was somewhere on par with their WK match. Okada/Archer ruled. Smith/Nakamura was decent. I'd prefer Smith to stick to tags. Shinsuke's twitter thingy is appropriately booming with swag. New Japan gone twitter crazy now it seems. Yay. Decent show. Felt off at a lot of points though and the crowd was unusually in and out of matches.*


http://www.wrestlingforum.com/15354682-post5450.html

:hayley1


----------



## Rah

Match was fine. Good in parts but that ending was meh.


Anyone else perturbed by Lance-Vance using taunts/mannerisms from more successful WWE counterparts? E.g the clique hand gesture before the Jackknife and the HHH water bottle bullshit.


----------



## Obfuscation

Doesn't register with me. Only considered it asshole-ish tactics by the rugged American.

Ending was something I had no problem with for being abrupt. Allows Okada's new submission finisher to almost earn itself instant credibility. There can be weardown work for it in the next matches. For this case, I liked how he was dominated for the majority only to catch Archer in the hold and force the quick tap out. Let everyone know how "dangerous" the move is going to be.


----------



## Chismo

Honestly, Davey Boy Jr. was even better than Archer.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Definitely agree on the Archer/Okada match being good. Archer's offence is really unique but Okada's new finisher is pissing me off. Camel clutch with a figure four?


----------



## seabs

HayleySabin said:


> http://www.wrestlingforum.com/15354682-post5450.html
> 
> :hayley1


*I saw that!

Nobody else seemed to love it as much as us though.*


Rah said:


> Match was fine. Good in parts but that ending was meh.
> 
> 
> Anyone else perturbed by Lance-Vance using taunts/mannerisms from more successful WWE counterparts? E.g the clique hand gesture before the Jackknife and the HHH water bottle bullshit.


*Doesn't bother me. I never even thought of it like that actually. It comes off as his own shtick rather than mimicking someone else. When someone is stealing something from someone else you know about it. The guys who did them in WWE aren't the only guys to have ever done that shtick too.*


----------



## Rah

But I don't remember anyone else doing the Clique horns before going for a powerbomb nor doing the drink water/stand on turnbuckle/flex-pose/spew water into air routine.

There's assimilating work into your own (Rocky Romero's screaming a la Killer Khan) and then there's just becoming a smorgasbord of mannerisms that aren't your own. That and his stomps are abysmally pathetic. Never really liked either man before but I can see Davey going further than Vance (at least in terms of selling themselves to me).

If we're nominating that match, then I'll pimp this:
Alexander Otsuka, Fujita Jr Hayato & Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Kenou, Taro Nohashi & GAINA (Michinoku Pro 3/3)


EDIT: that said, I enjoy it when people call out matches like this. I'd have skipped over many gems if it wasn't for Seabs' little "now hold on just a minute, playa" routine with regards to undervalued match-ups.


----------



## rockdig1228

Just finished watching the first day of the New Japan Cup, so now I'm all caught up on the big shows in 2013. My favorite matches on the card were Ishii/Kojima, Archer/Okada, and Smith Jr/Nakamura. Man, Ishii and Kojima just beat piss out of each other, it was awesome!

When it comes to Okada's new finisher, I don't mind it at all - it's never going to be a move that comes out of nowhere due to the setup, but it didn't feel overly complicated to apply IMO. At least it looks painful and Archer tapping out to it puts it over. Also Rah, I didn't even think about Archer's mannerisms being a ripoff of Kliq members... the water spitting seemed more like a way to antagonize the crowd so I didn't immediately make the HHH comparison. But regardless, it got the desired reactions from the crowd so I don't mind him doing those things.


----------



## Rah

I can't for the life of me find the exact gif I need so you'll have to work with me, here.

It's not the spitting water into the face of the fans during his entrance (I loved Kenny Omega doing that so I cannot really find fault here), but the turnbuckle taunt at the end of his entrance.
Where HHH goes:








But, you know, with water like this:


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW New Japan Cup - Day 1:*

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii*
Ishii continues to be the fuckin' man and Kojima was just there. I felt this match did rely a tad too much on strike exchanges and the middle section was just them trading big moves but once the match hits the finishing stretch, It gets really good. I can overlook this match's short-comings because I felt completely invested into the match's ending.
★★★½

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga*
Goto tried to play the experienced vet here but isn't that charismatic enough to pull it off. Thankfully though, Tonga is also the fuckin' man and made me believe that he had a chance against Goto. Tonga was great at building up to his springboard crossbody thingy he does and made it feel like a big deal when he finally hit it. Tonga's definitely one to watch.
★★★

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Manabu Nakanishi vs Toru Yano*
Just awful. Nakanishi is so painfully slow to watch here, he made Yano look bad. Who's idea was it to put Nakanishi in the Cup in the first place?
*DUD*

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Karl Anderson*
Completely forgetful.
★½

*Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan*
Decent match mostly due to Devitt's new heel persona and the surprisingly good matwork from the juniors. However, I wasn't a fan of Captain New Japan getting in the amount of offense on Tanahashi; it makes the champion look week and frankly I felt the match loses it flow near the end.
★★¾

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi*
Serviceable brawl but I really don't care for the ref bump.
★★

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki*
In my Dome show review, I said these two could do no bad together. ...I was wrong. This was a mess and it felt like both men were phoning it in. They were recycling spots from their Dome match and did so with little effort which caused for a total lack of drama during the near-falls.
★¾

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Kazuchika Okada vs Lance Archer*
Pretty bad match if I'm honest. Okada during the final stretch looked really bad and Archer couldn't keep up with Okada's over-complicated and unnecessary bullshit. Don't get me wrong though, Archer made this match somewhat watchable. I enjoy his schtick and I actually brought into some of his near-falls.
★½

*New Japan Cup Round 1:
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.*
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would have and it looked like both men brought their A-game as they were going on last. I can say this was one of the better performances I have seen out of Davey Boy as he hasn't really impressed me in like... forever. Good back-and-forth match and one of the few brighter spots on this weak show.
★★★


----------



## DOPA

*New Japan Cup 2013 - Day 1*

1. Round 1: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii: **** 1/2+*

2. Round 1: Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga: ***3/4*

3. Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano: *DUD*

4. Round 1: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson: *****

5. Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & Cpt. New Japan: ****1/2*

6. Round 1: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe: ****

7. Round 1: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki: ***3/4*

8. Round 1: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer: ****1/2*

9. Round 1: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: ****1/4*


- Ishii was a boss again in this match. Kojima also put on an excellent performance. This was the match of the night.

- Goto vs Tonga I thought was pretty good and nowhere near as bad some people made it out to be. Though it was a little bit too slow paced throughout, but I didn't have a massive issue with it as they did enough to keep me engaged.

- God that third match was simply awful. Horribly worked and a horribly executed finish. Yano is flat out terrible in my book and shouldn't be in NJPW at all. Terribly out of shape and a terrible terrible worker. At least Steen who some people complain is out of shape can work a great match unlike this buffoon. Nakanishi was slow and sluggish which didn't help matters. Terrible match.

- Anderson/Tenzan was what you would expect, solid match.

- I'm actually one of the few who really enjoyed the special 6 man tag. Really enjoyed the working of the juniors, Devitt is a badass in his new heelish role and I really enjoyed the comedy aspect of this. Very good.

- Didn't dig Makabe's match. Nothing really clicked for me and I didn't like the ref bump finish. Pretty mediocre.

- Suzuki/Nagata was probably the most disappointing match of the night. It was pretty good but nowhere near up to the standards these two have set for their matches. It felt a bit like a recap of all their matches tbh.

- Okada/Archer was really really good. Archer after not showing me anything against Nakamura put on a stellar performance here. Archer was fucking fantastic in this and made the match for me. This coming from a hardcore Okada mark. And Okada's new submission looks awkward. Me wants Rainmaker back!

- Main event was really good too. Nakamura's antics made me chuckle. Guy is oozing with charisma and his selling makes opponents look so strong. Definitely was the case here with Davey Boy who also played his part well in this match. Good closer.

Overall really good show from NJPW. Very fun to sit through most of this. 3-4 very good matches, the rest was mostly solid except the one DUD. The rest of the tournament should be fun to sit through.


----------



## rockdig1228

Crusade said:


> - I'm actually one of the few who really enjoyed the special 6 man tag. Really enjoyed the working of the juniors, Devitt is a badass in his new heelish role and I really enjoyed the comedy aspect of this. Very good.


I forgot to mention this one along with some of the tournament matches I enjoyed - really liked this tag match too. Comedy spots were enjoyable and a breath of fresh air, especially in the middle of a card full of intense matches.

Since we're on the topic of Devitt being more heelish, when did Tanahashi start to become more of a prick during his matches? I don't remember the WK7 match against Okada having any heel tendencies... the Anderson matchup at New Beginning not so much either, though the crowd was behind Machine Gun pretty firmly... then at the 41st Anniversary show against Devitt he really started to heel it up a bit. What gives, am I missing something?


----------



## seabs

*He did in stages throughout 2012. It's kinda odd because he doesn't work matches heel when he does it. He just acts like a cocky dick sometimes. I don't really get it but it's not big enough of an issue to bother me.*


----------



## MF83

Watch this bad boy and thank Rah for reviving its greatness:

Riki Choshu vs Killer Khan (AJPW; 1986-07-31)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x93imv_20-riki-choshu-vs-killer-khan-aj-7_sport

Ooooooh yeah. Can't help smiling watching an All Japan match featuring two former New Japan stablemates fighting each other in a typically New Japan venue supervised by the future senior New Japan official. Choshuism~! I did not remember Khan sending his seconds to the back. He wanted a clean bout to see who was the better man and that set the tone early. 

This had all that was necessary for a bloodbath brawl and more: power-driving Choshu feet, Killer Khan charisma, hatred, violence, blood, viciousness, etc. I love how each missed their big moves only to hit their protected threats later, but only after huge anticipatory build which led to legitimate nearfalls. 

Khan's deranged "3?!" pleas _made_ that middle section, and I'm grateful that Choshu didn't get the instant comeback from the presumed stall tactic. Fitting with Khan's relatively clean tactics in the match, I enjoyed the ring entries and him opting to not go for a weapon on that floor cycle, which we would usually expect from him. A very nice cover-up of the first flubbed rail spot with subsequent face rams right into the steel began a stellar blade job. Wonderful expression from Khan and his selling was terrific. 

I'm such a Choshu mark and my hands were waving all over the place at the end. [**index finger downward thrust, throat slice, index finger downward thrust**_ = One of the wrestling mannerisms I just can't help emulate in life sometimes._] He demonstrated vile yet somehow tweeneryly stoic hatred in a way that only he can. I need to restate how much I love the follow-through of his strikes. 

One of the only flaws in the match is the rather weak transition in momentum from Khan to Choshu. Choshu just kind of half-ass eye rakes him and Khan probably oversells it. That's really my only gripe and I liked this a lot more than I did last time. ★★★★½ or *86%*


----------



## rockdig1228

Seabs said:


> *He did in stages throughout 2012. It's kinda odd because he doesn't work matches heel when he does it. He just acts like a cocky dick sometimes. I don't really get it but it's not big enough of an issue to bother me.*


Thanks for clearing that up. I got the vibe that he was doing it to be more a dick to Devitt than anything else, it just seemed a little odd and out of left field from what I've watched of their shows this year. My goal is to go back and watch as much from 2012 as I can find, so hopefully things will be even clearer then.


----------



## Rah

I don't feel like rewriting a review for it, seeing it's in the linked URL there but if you're to watch anything today, make sure it's Khan/Choshu.

GREATNESS.


----------



## Obfuscation

JoeRulz said:


> Honestly, Davey Boy Jr. was even better than Archer.


Nah...

though Smith did well in his match too, imo.



Seabs said:


> *I saw that!
> 
> Nobody else seemed to love it as much as us though.*




-----------

*NJPW New Japan Cup 2013 - Night One​*
1) *First Round Match*
Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima ~ ***1/2


2) *First Round Match*
Hirooki Goto vs Tama Tonga ~ *3/4


3) *First Round Match*
Toru Yano vs Manabu Nakanishi ~ DUD


4) *First Round Match*
Karl Anderson vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ~ **1/2


5) Hiroshi Tanahashi & Time Splitters _(Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA)_ vs Apollo55 _(Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi)_ & Captain New Japan ~ ***1/4


6) *First Round Match*
Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi ~ ***1/4


7) *First Round Match*
Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki ~ ***3/4


8) *First Round Match*
Kazuchika Okada vs Lance Archer ~ ****


9) *First Round Match*
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey-Boy Smith Jr. ~ ***1/2​

~ Shared my thoughts on Archer/Okada already. Excellent match.

~ Nagata vs Suzuki was a wonderful abbreviation of their WKVII match; loved it too. I stand by the point that they can do no wrong when working vs each other. I ate it up and wanted seconds.

~ Poor Yano getting dealt a bad hand against Nakanishi. Who put Nakanishi in this? Randomly let Liger have a spot instead. Nobody would have cared. :side:

~ I seem to be the only guy who dug Makabe vs Yujiro II. Ref bump in this match worked for me MUCH more than it did in the Nakamura/Archer match. Yujiro continues to roll as a dirty bastard and actually making me a fan. No doubt my Makabe marking lent itself to why I really got into this.

~ Ishii is the MAN.


----------



## Bubz

Need to see Okada/Archer asap tbh.


----------



## Obfuscation

(Y)

One of my favorites of the year right now.


----------



## obby

Just saw Okada/Naito from last year for the first time.

Damn good match, wow.


----------



## Obfuscation

One of the best from last year.

Next up should be Tanahashi vs Okada II & Tanahashi vs Suzuki King of Pro Wrestling.

Among some others. G1 climax brought out some wonderful sprints. Believe Anderson vs Shelton being one of the best.


----------



## Rah

Rah said:


> I don't feel like rewriting a review for it, seeing it's in the linked URL there but if you're to watch anything today, make sure it's Khan/Choshu.
> 
> GREATNESS.


Anyone, anyone at all?


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW DESTRUCTION 23.09.2012 Review:*


Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii vs Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga - **1/4

Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Gedo - ***

Low Ki vs Daisuke Sasaki - **1/4

Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Harry Smith vs Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan - *** (The crowd was HOT for this one)

Togi Makabe vs Kengo Mashimo - **1/4

Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata vs Wataru Inoue & Hiromu Takahashi - N/R
*
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Kota Ibushi vs Ryusuke Taguchi - ***3/4

Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson - ***1/2

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - ***1/2-***3/4​


----------



## Chismo

*New Year Shining Series 2013 – Day 8*


1.	Shuji Kondo & MAZADA vs. SUSHI & Andy Wu

*1/2


2.	Turmeric Storm (Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto) vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Masayuki Kono

_Fuchi is fucking awesome._

**1/2


3.	KENSO vs. Kaz Hayashi vs. Jimmy Yang

*1/2


4.	*BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship*: Manabu Soya © vs. Yoshihito Sasaki

**1/2


5.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) © vs. Jonetsu Hentai Baka (Hiroshi Yamato & Hikaru Sato)

_Really good match, Yamato and Sato are new kings of wackiness._

***3/4


6.	LAST REVOLUTION (Suwama & Joe Doering) & Masahiro Chono vs. Takao Omori, Ryota Hama & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

***1/4


7.	Keiji Mutoh & Reid Flair vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & Seiya Sanada

**3/4


8.	*Triple Crown Championship*: Masakatsu Funaki © vs. Akebono

***


Not the best show from the ring work perspective since there were only three good matches, but it was significant and newsworthy because of the Burning debut, Chono wrestling again, and Ric Flair’s appearance. Soya/Sasaki was the only disappointment, tbh. Funaki/Akebono was good, and the All Asia tag was awesome.​


----------



## Cactus

EmbassyForever said:


> *NJPW DESTRUCTION 23.09.2012 Review:*
> 
> 
> Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii vs Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga - **1/4
> 
> Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Gedo - ***
> 
> Low Ki vs Daisuke Sasaki - **1/4
> 
> Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Harry Smith vs Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan - *** (The crowd was HOT for this one)
> 
> Togi Makabe vs Kengo Mashimo - **1/4
> 
> Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata vs Wataru Inoue & Hiromu Takahashi - N/R
> *
> IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Kota Ibushi vs Ryusuke Taguchi - ***3/4
> 
> Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson - ***1/2
> 
> *IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Naomichi Marufuji - ***1/2-***3/4​


Eh. Nothing looks remotely interesting to me on that show and Tanahashi/Marufuji looks like it could be legit awful so I'm going to skip it but I did check out Laughter7's match and it was pretty sick for a 3 minute squash. Poor Takahashi just got murdered.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

I was about to bring that up.

That Laughter7 match looked like straight up child abuse. Props to Takahashi for taking all that.


----------



## Rah

Cactus said:


> Eh. Nothing looks remotely interesting to me on that show and Tanahashi/Marufuji looks like it could be legit awful so I'm going to skip it but I did check out Laughter7's match and it was pretty sick for a 3 minute squash. Poor Takahashi just got murdered.


I've seen quite a bit of love for that Marufuji/Tanahashi match, around. Take it for what it's worth, but it could be worth the time.


----------



## seabs

*Unless you're a Marufuji fan I wouldn't bother. There's nothing must see on it but the 3 Trios matches are all good and the Laughter7 squash is awesome.*


----------



## Chismo

*Excite Series 2013 - Day 2*


1.	KENSO vs. Andy Wu vs. MAZADA

*1/2


2.	Turmeric Storm (Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto) vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Reid Flair

_Fuchi’s performance = FIVE STARS!_

**1/2


3.	LAST REVOLUTION (Suwama, Joe Doering & Shuji Kondo) vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama) & SUSHI

***


4.	Stack of Arms (Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono) vs. Seiya Sanada & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

***1/2


5.	Burning (Jun Akiyama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki) vs. GET WILD (Takao Omori & Manabu Soya) & Kaz Hayashi

_Burning's first fully televised match. This was great. And wow, the Burning guys seem so... fresh. They looked motivated as hell, and you could tell they're happy campers now. Fuck NOAH, seriously. Everybody had a story here: Omori giving Akiyama a nice warm welcome with stiff forearms, because they have a legitimate beef dating back from the 90s, Manabu Soya trying to hang with those two, and trying to justify his partnership with Omori, then there's Hayashi defending the honor of the Junior division, Kotaro and Kanemaru trying to send a message to the Juniors backstage, etc. Kotaro/Hayashi will be a gem down the road. Plus, the crowd was hot. Great match. Too bad this is the only fully televised Burning tag from the tour, but at least AJPW has uploaded clipped shows on their YT channel._

*****1/4*


6.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Jonetsu Hentai Baka (Hiroshi Yamato & Hikaru Sato) © vs. Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka)

_Fighting spirit, manliness, bare feet and wackiness._

***3/4


Great show.​


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: NJC - Day 2












*New Japan Cup 2013 - Day 2*


1.	Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Cpt. New Japan & BUSHI

**1/2


2.	CHAOS (Gedo, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Togi Makabe

***


3.	Shinsuke Nakamura & Jado vs. TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer

***


4.	*Round 2*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

***


5.	*Round 2*: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii

_Nervosa, you whiny little miserable bitch._
*
****1/2*


6.	Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

***1/2


7.	Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & Tama Tonga

***1/2


8.	*Round 2*: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki

_Shitload of fun, amazing. Yano’s post-match reactions were priceless. :lmao_

******


9.	*Round 2*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson

***


Stellar show. Yano/MiSu and the manliness called Goto/Ishii were amazing.​


----------



## EmbassyForever

Spoiler: NJC - Day 2





*New Japan Cup 2013 - Day 2*


Shinsuke Nakamura & Jado vs. TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer - ***

*Round 2*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - **1/2

*Round 2*: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****+ (Strong style at it's best)

Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi - ***1/4

Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & Tama Tonga - ***

*Round 2*: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki ** (Why the fuck this was only 5 minutes? I mean, it was fun and everything, but half of the match went to Suzuki's sleepr hold.. Their G1 match was sooo much better)

*Round 2*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson - ***1/4 (Fun for it was, nothing amazing but still solid match)
​


----------



## Nervosa

> Nervosa, you whiny little miserable bitch.


Why, because I hate Goto, or because I spoiled the match in a thread that nowhere indicates that spoilers aren't allowed?


----------



## Chismo

No, because you're whining and complaining for 3 months now. _"Oh no, Okada and Ishii lost, stop the presses!"_

And I was even carefully scrolling down the page, but your "A lost to piece of shit B" line caught me off guard, especially because it had nothing to do with the match you were talking about. Smh... It was just to express your bitterness.


----------



## Nervosa

Wait, so now we can't even complain about booking? Sorry dude, that makes no sense. To this day, people talk about how bad the booking of the Invasion angle was, not out of bitterness, but just out of the missed opportunity it was. I'm certainly more than entitled to do the same with a recent booking decision affecting the current product.

I was wrong to post about a different match in my review, and I apologize for that, even though I think its a pretty easy mistake to make in a thread that has never had a problem spoiling results in the past. But name calling just because I express being unhappy about who goes over? If you got rid of anyone who expresses displeasure about results, the entire WWE section of this board would have to be booted just because of '18 seconds' last year.


----------



## Chismo

Do not try to spin this shit.


----------



## Nervosa

No, I totally screwed up, and I shouldn't have spoiled the result.

But if you wanted to talk about wrestling in a place where no one expresses displeasure about results, I think you're in the wrong place. I'm certainly not the first, or the the only person who does it.


----------



## Manu_Styles

I don´t read here much about them but Michinoku Pro is really good this year


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW New Japan Cup - Day 2*

*Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs Captain New Japan & BUSHI*
As weird as it sounds, Captian New Japan was the man of the match. He tried to save the match for his team but fails in a comedic fashion.
★★½

*Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe vs Takashi Iizuka, YOSHI HASHI & Gedo*
Considering many of the participants in this match have the potential to be down-right awful, this blew away my expectations and was a good little brawl. Even the worst guys in this match helped the match in a small way. For example, YOSHI-HASHI helped out by having small but sick bump and Makabe added to the match by using his charisma to help a hot tag segment work better.
★★★

*Shinsuke Nakamura & Jado vs Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku*
To be honest, I enjoyed this match more than the title match Archer and Nakamura had the other month. Just a fun and simplistic house show match as opposed to the 'epic' title match where most stuff falls flat. I particularly enjoyed Jado's performance here. He was great doing the comedy antics with TAKA.
★★½

*New Japan Cup Quarter-Final:
Yujiro Takahashi vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.*
Davey Boy is getting in my good books if he keeps having matches like this and his match with Nakamura. It's the little subtle things like not being able to bridge after a Northern Lights Suplex because of the damage his knee that made this match stick out. This match had an interesting set-up as it pitted Takahashi's stoogey offense against Smith's power. It was executed well but left both me and the crowd in confusion who to get behind and it resulted in a pretty silent crowd.
★★★¼

*New Japan Cup Quarter-Final:
Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto*
Do you really want a review? It's an Ishii match and it delivers and then some. Go see it now. Goto wastes no time trying to work down Ishii and tries to take him out quickly but Ishii is tougher than Goto thinks. I really loved the mirrored striking sequences and I don't think I've been sucked into the drama of a wrestling match for a long time and this match got me on the end of my set; especially during one of the dueling clothesline sequences. My only complaint here would probably be that I felt that this went on a tad too long and that Goto added in a few near-falls for the hell of it.
★★★★¼

*Katsuyori Shibata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata*
This went on much longer and was worked in a more traditional style than your typical Laughter7 match. Nakanishi was booked smartly here and didn't hurt the match at all. His performance was pretty decent by his standards anyway. He didn't slow down Laughter7 and bring them down to his level and just worked the segments that he was in as a brick shithouse and didn't try and do some fancy matwork that he has no business attempting. I loved the strike exchanges Nagata had with his opponents, even with Nagata's selective selling.
★★★

*Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga*
This match was filler in ever sense of the word but it was still pretty entertaining. A high-paced sprint that made me care.
★★¾

*New Japan Cup Quarter-Final:
Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano*
I appreciate that these guys were trying to do something different but a lot of stuff fell flat. They tried to create drama when Yano kept getting locked in the rear naked but to me it almost looked like a resthold at times. I do think Yano should of got a bit more of decent offensive moves in. I get it, Yano's meant to be a conniving little shit who uses roll-ups and low-blows but a few more legit moves getting added to his arsenal wouldn't hurt.
★★¾

*New Japan Cup Quarter-Final:
Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson*
Your typical awkward looking Okada back-and-forth match with little regards to long-term selling. Not the worst I've seen from him but certainly not the best either.
★★

*Overall:*
Good and consistent show from NJPW. A very fun way to kill 2 hours. Give it a watch.


----------



## Nervosa

Not feeling Ishii/goto as much as everyone, it seems. I vastly preferred last year's match for a reason that Seabs alludes to here:



> Part of Ishii's charm is the hierachial angle his matches have with him being so low on the hierarchy and working like a dude at the bottom of the card that's fighting his way up and the other guy works like a guy at the top of the card. Goto didn't wrestle like the superior and never established any sort of hierachy dominance. This sort of pairing rules when you get the hierachy story done right but they went way too your turn my turn with it. Watch some old Rick Rude matches and see how great he was at working the hierachy angle in matches.


The best thing about last years match is that it forced Ishii to dig in and create a comeback. I'm a stickler for structure, so a match that is as back-and-forth like this will rarely be too exciting for me. I like watching Ishii dig deep and surprise people with a comeback. This was just two guys rushing each other. Entertaining as hell for sure, but the structure in last year's match, and hell, even the structure in Kojima/Ishii from the first round played a lot more to Ishii's strengths. I'd easily put both of those matches in the **** range, whereas I guess I would put this around ***1/2.


----------



## Srdjan99

Can you please recommend me some good MVp matches from Japan?


----------



## aivaz

Manu_Styles said:


> I don´t read here much about them but Michinoku Pro is really good this year


All anyone talks about here is New Japan don't worry about it

Going to a hair stylist equates to having an 'interesting character' or something idk


----------



## seabs

Nervosa said:


> Not feeling Ishii/goto as much as everyone, it seems. I vastly preferred last year's match for a reason that Seabs alludes to here:
> 
> 
> 
> The best thing about last years match is that it forced Ishii to dig in and create a comeback. I'm a stickler for structure, so a match that is as back-and-forth like this will rarely be too exciting for me. I like watching Ishii dig deep and surprise people with a comeback. This was just two guys rushing each other. Entertaining as hell for sure, but the structure in last year's match, and hell, even the structure in Kojima/Ishii from the first round played a lot more to Ishii's strengths. I'd easily put both of those matches in the **** range, whereas I guess I would put this around ***1/2.


*Glad I'm not the only one who thought that. I'm all for Ishii working bigger matches but if it comes at the expense of him dropping the Ishii formula and working even with everyone trading stiff strikes then it's not worth it.*


Srdjan99 said:


> Can you please recommend me some good MVp matches from Japan?


*Anything from G1 2011. Kojima, Suzuki, Goto and Nakamura matches were all really good.*


----------



## Bubz

Seabs have you seen this Ishii/Goto match yet? I wasn't a huge fan of last years match to be honest and if this is even more strike for strike than that one I'm afraid I'll hate it.


----------



## Rickey

Okada vs. Anderson 10. 8. 2012 :mark: Those ending counters :mark: That rainmaker! :mark: That hype crowd going "Whoa...whoa..." That commentator almost losing his voice by the end of the match. Thanks so much for the recommendation. (Y) for that match.

I have Tanahashi vs. Anderson on the backburner now, gonna watch them along with some Stardom matches later on.


----------



## Obfuscation

^^(Y)

Oh man @ Tanahashi vs Anderson. One of my top favorite of the year right now. Around top 3, personally. No doubt you'll love it. _(well...maybe.)_


----------



## Rah

Manu_Styles said:


> I don´t read here much about them but Michinoku Pro is really good this year


Pretty sure I pimped a great tag match a week ago as a rebuttal to the Okada/Lance love. That and my Killer Khan match seemingly got over-looked. :sad:


----------



## Obfuscation

*NJPW - New Japan Cup 2013 Night Two*


1) Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs BUSHI & Captain New Japan ~ *


2) Togi Makabe & TenKoji _(Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)_ vs CHAOS _(Takashi Iizuka, Gedo, & YOSHI-HASHI)_ ~ ***


3) Shinsuke Nakamura & Jado vs Lance Archer & Taka Michinoku ~ ***


4) *New Japan Cup Second Round Match*
Yujiro Takahashi vs Davey-Boy Smith Jr. ~ ***


5) *New Japan Cup Second Round Match*
Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii ~ ****1/4


6) Hiroshi Tanahashi & Time Splitters _(Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA)_ vs Apollo55 _(Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi)_ & Tama Tonga ~ ***1/4


7) Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs Laughter7 _(Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata)_ ~ ****


8) *New Japan Cup Second Round Match*
Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano ~ ***


9) *New Japan Cup Second Round Match*
Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson ~ **3/4​

~ Lazy time review here. Plain and simple the ratings elaborate on what I dug. 

~ Pardon a dull opener outside of general Liger enjoyment, it did nothing for me. Rest was a ton of fun, if not actually pretty great. 

~ Ishii vs Goto was an unbelievable 17 minute war. All helped out by Ishii. He led it. I like Goto, but no question the life behind it was purely Ishii. The Death Valley Driver spot from the top rope was SIIIIIIIIICK. Among nearly 99% of the match via their lethal lariats, furious forearms, & hilariously hectic headache-inducing headbutt. 

~ Laughter7's string of continuous amazing matches rolls along. Not surprised I loved it the most either. Noticing a pattern to where I seem to be one of their biggest advocates no matter which match it is. To my amazement Nakanishi brought it in spades during it. Damn near removed the taint of his terrible performance vs Yano on the first night of the New Japan Cup. Nagata continue to still be the fuxin man. NAGATA PEOPLE, NAGATA. :mark:

~ Tama Tonga is a hell of an athlete. His lead into the corner looked SURREAL. As if he was slingshotted into Tanahashi. I couldn't have been the only one to notice it, right?

~ YOSHI-HASHI earned a bit of respect from me for his excellent sick bump in the trios match.

~ Yano is awesome and I dug his match for the majority. CHAOS vs Suzuki-Gun has a new wrinkle behind it.

~ Okada vs Anderson was solid...but sort of almost felt as if they were on auto-pilot. Only a ten minute match, yet felt as if they held back. I liked the match so I suppose you can say their "lazy" attempts trump some people's best out there. idk. I was expecting King of Pro Wrestling type match again. My own doing.



Spoiler: Okada vs Anderson details



Also whoever claimed in this thread or the other that the Rainmaker was done as Okada's finisher...well, I think your facts may have been a touch off. Don't even recall Okada trying once for his new submission. Only for Okada to win via hitting the Rainmaker.



Damn good show. (Y)


----------



## Chismo

It takes two to tango, Goto was very good in the match. 

And fuck Samurai TV for clipping Yano/Misu, they only aired 6 out of 10 minutes. But hey, 6 minutes of greatness, enough to reach the **** waters. Amazing.


----------



## Rah

Y'all need to stop blaming posters and rather blame Puroresu Spirit for the "facts" on the Rainmaker's retirement. Meh.


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> Seabs have you seen this Ishii/Goto match yet? I wasn't a huge fan of last years match to be honest and if this is even more strike for strike than that one I'm afraid I'll hate it.


*Talked about it in the spoilers thread. Wasn't crazy for it.*


Rah said:


> Y'all need to stop blaming posters and rather blame Puroresu Spirit for the "facts" on the Rainmaker's retirement. Meh.


*It was pretty short sighted for anyone to believe it after watching the Archer match where he goes for the rainmaker. It was an unbelievably stupid "report" based on the finish to one match and it should be pretty easy to see it was bullshit from watching the match. There were some people buying into the report even AFTER watching the match. Moral of the story: Trust what you see in the ring, not what you read on the internet.*


----------



## Rah

Started writing a reply to that but I can't be arsed. 

I'll agree, though, that whatever you read should be taken with a pinch of salt. I just suppose there's more bias towards news boards/sites that translate Japanese wrestling (or Spanish lucha, for that matter) in that they are possibly our only English sources. I've noted myself niavely believing whatever they publish as opposed to my usually skeptical stance on Meltzer/LoP/PWTorch.


----------



## EmbassyForever




----------



## Obfuscation

You sure about the clipping of MiSu vs Yano? b/c I time all the matches myself and every single occasion pardon the rare one per show, the New Japan times are WAYYYYY ahead over mine. Unsure if any portion of the match was clipped. Don't remember any significant transitions to hint to so.

For an example Ishii vs Goto wasn't clipped, yet the NJ time for it was around 18:48. Where as my time stopped at 17 minutes flat. So...idk. Only going by what I see here.


----------



## Nervosa

Rob Conway...........best Wrestler in the World.............


----------



## Obfuscation

So he did unseat Kahagas. 

Just look at him.


----------



## Chismo

HayleySabin said:


> You sure about the clipping of MiSu vs Yano? b/c I time all the matches myself and every single occasion pardon the rare one per show, the New Japan times are WAYYYYY ahead over mine. Unsure if any portion of the match was clipped. Don't remember any significant transitions to hint to so.
> 
> For an example Ishii vs Goto wasn't clipped, yet the NJ time for it was around 18:48. Where as my time stopped at 17 minutes flat. So...idk. Only going by what I see here.


Samurai TV clips matches every time, The Sopranos style. But they're very skilled in doing it, you barely notice, so props for that.


----------



## Obfuscation

I know for a fact that the Ishii/Goto match had zero clipped from it. So, the question of the whole timing notion being off still leaves me puzzled. It's like Chikara too. Matches shown in full yet their times are always way off from mine. Most promotions usually are. I never get it. Far too many time limit draws don't even go the allotted distance.


----------



## Rah

Do you think that, perhaps, your watch may be wrong? :hayley2


----------



## Obfuscation

Nope. Not when I hit the button at the sound of the bell once it beings and right away once it ends. Impossible to screw that up. Thinking these timers are like Fire Pro Wrestling to where they jump fast to uphold the match going longer than they actually do.

Even other sites acknowledge this too. Such as Benoit vs Scorpio from SuperBrawl III. Slated in kayfabe that the match clocked in at about 19:59. One second to spare with the 20 minute time limit. Yet, while I time it, it's in the 18 minute mark once Scorpio snakes out the victory. See. There is a method behind all of this. :sabin


----------



## leglock

Ring Announcers in Japan are also the time keepers. You'll notice them looking at a timer and announcing when 5, 10, 15, etc minutes have passed. When a match is finished, they record the "official" match time in an actual record book.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yep, yep. I've noticed that plenty.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Spoiler: NJC D3 Review



*NJPW - New Japan Cup 2013 Final iPPV - 03.23.13 Review:
*
Aogi-gun (Super Strong Machine & Yuji Nagata) & BUSHI vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask - **1/4

*New Japan Cup 2013 Semi Final Match: *Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Hirooki Goto - ***

*New Japan Cup 2013 Semi Final Match:* Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano - ***3/4 (This match was so much fun, better than Suzuki/Yano from G1)

CHAOS (Jado, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku) - ***1/4

Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi), Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA), Captain New Japan & Hiroshi Tanahashi - ***1/4 (Devitt's post-match promo :mark:

*New Japan Cup 2013 Final Match:* Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada - ***3/4 (I don't know.. I can see people giving this 4*+ but for some reason I found this match a little too much, IMO they went to overkill here, but still very good bout)​


----------



## DOPA

Spoiler: NJPW Cup Round 2



*New Japan Cup 2013 - Day 2*


Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Cpt. New Japan & BUSHI: ***1/4*

CHAOS (Gedo, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Togi Makabe: ***3/4*

Shinsuke Nakamura & Jado vs. TAKA Michinoku & Lance Archer: ****1/4*

Round 2: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: *****

Round 2: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii: *****1/2*

Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi: ****1/2*

Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi) & Tama Tonga: ****1/4*

Round 2: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki: ****

Round 2: Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson: ****1/4*

Some thoughts:

- Goto/Ishii was amazing. Ishii obviously is the man but I don't think enough credit is being given to Goto. He was also really good in this match. Easily top 3 of the year match for me thus far.

- Misu/Yano wasn't as bad as I expected it to be thanks to Suzuki carrying the action and finish being executed well. But this still wasn't that great, went 5 mins. Suzuki relied too heavily on the sleeper which didn't come off as what he intended I assume. Yano wasn't given much offense thankfully, he doesn't deserve it against Suzuki and it would have been unrealistic booking. Also :lmao at him blatantly stealing the thumbs from RVD. Someone mentioned that Archer stole the water spitting from HHH but at least he makes it his own and whilst Jado uses Flair's gimmick it is obviously done for comedy which he does exceptionally well at. Yano pretty much just uses part of RVD's sthick and does nothing to make it his own. Thank god he was facing Suzuki to make him look good at the finish.

- Okada/Anderson was good but a bit disappointing for their standard. I agree with Hayleysabin that they seemed to hold back a little bit but I still really enjoyed it for the time it went. Also glad to see the rainmaker again.

- Laughter 7 and Nagata are awesome, that is all that needs to be said. The exchanges between Sakuraba and Nagata were fucking awesome :mark:

- CHAOS vs Suzukigun multi tag was so much fun. I love Jado, he is extremely entertaining and funny to watch. The exchanges with him and Taka were a pleasure to watch. Archer and Nakamura were also great here as expected. Taka's selling of the Boma Ye was GODLY :mark:

- Rest of the card was solid. Another notable point are how good Smith's selling was during his match with Takahashi which made Takahashi look like a genuine threat.

Another really strong show from NJPW. Really enjoyed watching this thing. Time to watch the NJPW cup final.


----------



## Alden Heathcliffe

EmbassyForever said:


>


WHY?


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: NJC 2013 - Final












*New Japan Cup 2013 - Final*


1.	Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & BUSHI

**


2.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Togi Makabe

**


3.	*Semi-Finals*: Hirooki Goto vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

**1/2


4.	*Semi-Finals*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano

***1/2


5.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku)

***1/2


6.	Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley), Hiroshi Tanahashi & Cpt. New Japan vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi), Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

***


7.	*Finals*: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada

_Great finale, I appreciated the opening and middle parts, although nothing special was happening there, but it’s always nice to see Okada working his opponent’s neck as a base for the Rainmaker. But the last chapter of the match was amazing, very exciting and dramatic. Not to mention I really thought Goto winning the tournament (again) was lock, so Okada’s victory was such a pleasant surprise, didn’t see that coming, tbh._

*****1/4*


Although not as great as Day 2, this was still a damn enjoyable show, with solid to good matches in the undercard, and with excellent main event.​


----------



## Cactus

Spoiler:  New Japan Cup Final



*NJPW New Japan Cup 2013 Finals*

*Super Strong Machine, Yuji Nagata & BUSHI vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask*
I got some enjoyment out of the Nagata/Nakanishi strike exchanges; even though they were barely touching other and there was little to no selling shown. It just goes to show how well a boatload of charisma can do a pretty decent job of masking any flaws you may have as a worker. But overall, this was a total mess.
★¼
*
Takashi Iizuka, YOSHI-HASHI & Yujiro Takahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe*
Poor brawling and a completely naff control segment on Tenzan; A totally empty match up until the Makabe hot tag. Things do pick up when Makabe gets tagged in. Makabe is a pretty poor worker most of time, but he's great at playing the fresh babyface that gets tagged in after a hot tag.
★½

*New Japan Cup Semi-Final:
Hirooki Goto vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.*
Smith Jr. had yet another very good performance here. He was on fire during this year's cup. This time he's playing a heel again, and he's still adding subtle little things into his matches like kicking off the ropes when he had Goto in a headlock to bring them both down to the mat. It's stuff like this that's made Smith Jr. a treat to watch recently. Goto felt like he was just following the lead though here.
★★★¼

*New Japan Cup Semi-Final:
Kazuhiko Okada vs Toru Yano*
This match started out very fun, light-hearted and didn't take itself too seriously but it manages to knock it up a gear during the finishing stretch and manages to create some pretty dramatic near-falls from Yano. This did however felt like a bit of a Yano carryjob though; Okada still looks awkward as a babyface and his new submission is pretty poor.
★★★¼

*Jado, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku*
Everyone in this match bar Nakamura/Archer had great interactions with each other. Jado was great playing the babyface and added a new dimension to his 'Jado Flair' character. Very funny stuff. Ishii was also fantastic as always. I really hope he gets a singles match with either Suzuki or Archer some when because of what we saw here.
★★★½

*Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan & Hiroshi Tanahashi*
Similar to the other Tanahashi vs Devitt tag matches from this current tour but with the added antics of one Captain New Japan. Is it weird that he's really growing on me as of late?
★★★

*New Japan Cup Final:
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto*
I felt this delivered in a satisfactory fashion. Both guys were pretty decent in this even though I had to watch the first 10-15 minutes at 2x speed. It's just a thing I have with current NJPW main events; I find them some what boring and draggy in the beginning parts of the match. Oh well. This was pretty good in the finishing stretch though. Fun back and forth match with some great bumping from Okada.
★★★¼

*Overall:*
Skip the first two matches and you're looking at yet another good New Japan show.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

My humble review of:
*Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima-AJPW 17.7.2002.*
I'm not a Kojima guy. I never was and I never will be. I like his shtick but I roll my eyes every time someone brings him up as a great worker. This is his career performance and I'm _still_ not sure I'd call him the better worker. Daniel says Tenryu was never much for constructing matches, and he sure fooled me here. He was so good at making _every single detail_ matter and by the end of the match both me, Stan Hansen and Budokan wanted Kojima to win _so_ badly. Tenryu knows he is no Jumbo when it comes to Jumbo-selling for his opponent, but he sure knows how to adjust. This is match-related, so I'll put it in the spoiler tag, it doesn't contain the result of the match but it does contain its content and I advise you to read it after you've watched it(my whole analysis pretty much ended up in it but oh well):


Spoiler: spoiler



First, they use legwork as a transition into a Kojima control segment. Tenryu is aware of his overness, and he doesn't run away from it. The fans chant for Tenryu to get to the ropes as he desperately crawls towards them. What makes this segment work is Tenryu's BRILLIANT selling, even when Kojima wasn't directly attacking his leg he'd go back to it every now and then without it getting cartoonish for the sake of it. Subtle is the way I like it. Also, I must commend these men for their awesome facial expressions which I will showcase in as pictures in my next spoiler tag. Facials are a very important part of selling the drama, and probably the crucial one when it comes the "resthold limbhold". Even though a Kojima Sasori Gatame isn't likely to end a match, if sold right it can achieve the drama of a Bret Hart holding a bloody Austin in a Sharpshooter, and it was here. The crowd is now red hot, and Kojima had his fair share of supporters going into the match, so what transition will they choose that will make the crowd cheer Kojima like he is their saviour? A low blow straight away? It might seem like a good idea, but it feels cheap and forced. It's american, not japanese. So, instead of that, Tenryu hit a low blow on Kojima in the middle of the legwork segment. Because japanese fans remember. So, when they transitioned from the legwork into the WARRIOR STRIKE EXCHANGES~! and Kojima started winning them, the fans were pleased. The finishing stretch is breath taking. One could argue it was too much, but exhaustion and weak covers are a good enough excuse for me, and the finisher hitting actually had a purpose behind it, not to mention a move that was "below" the Brainbuster ended the match because it was followed by a quick and effective cover. TENRYU GENIUS.




There's a really cool mini-narrative with Kojima stealing Tenryu's move(s), and it serves as his revenge for Tenryu mocking his tag team partner in their previous encouter. However, if I hadn't been able to "connect" the two I'd doubt my rating would change by more than 1-2%. It served as a really cool visual pun, not as great storytelling. I came into this match expecting stifness and big spots, and I got _so much more_....but you needn't worry, it's ungodly stiff too!



Spoiler: something finishing stretch related



Someone once described this as nothing more than a bunch of Brainbusters. I will find and Guh Punch that individual.






Spoiler: Epic facials































*******


----------



## Chismo

*Pro-Wrestling Love in Ryogoku 2013 ~Basic & Dynamic~*


1.	Jonetsu Hentai Baka (Hiroshi Yamato & Hikaru Sato) vs. SUSHI & Andy Wu

_Not bad, not bad at all. Yamato and Sato are so entertaining to watch as a team, their gimmick works. This was also Wu’s best performance thus far, IIRC. Solid opener._

**1/2


2.	Masanobu Fuchi & Osamu Nishimura vs. KENSO & Reid Flair

_Fuck, this was only 7 minutes long, and yet they clipped it. It was not bad, from what I’ve checked. Fuchi’s old man schtick never fails to entertain me. And fuck me, but I’m really enjoying KENSO’s matches this year, he’s a perfect lowcard act._

**


3.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) © vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki

_Hopefully this match will not get forgotten due to final two matches being newsworthy, because this was great. Koji and Minoru are the best duo of 2013 thus far._

******


4.	*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship*: Yoshinobu Kanemaru © vs. Kaz Hayashi

_Good match, Kanemaru looks much better in All Japan, and it reflects on his work. This was really good, but the finishing stretch had one or two nearfalls too much, the overkill mode._

***


5.	LAST REVOLUTION (Masahiro Chono, Joe Doering & Shuji Kondo) vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama) & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

_Poor Nakanoueno got his ass kicked all around the ring here, this is how you pay your dues. Chono looked really good._

***


6.	Keiji Mutoh & Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Masayuki Kono

_Bad match, they were way too soft and disconnected. Big Tak and Frye trying to recreate their Pride fight, though, was cool, and Kono’s appearance reeks of Okada too much._

*3/4


7.	Seiya Sanada vs. KAI

_Not bad, but still underwhelming return match for KAI, mainly because Sanada’s workovers were really dull. KAI didn’t exactly set the world on fire either, but he was watchable. Hopefully he does well in the heavyweight division. Champion’s Carnival will be the real test for both guys._

**1/4


8.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: GET WILD (Takao Omori & Manabu Soya) © vs. Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki

_Yep, this was great, and I mean REALLY great. Having watched and followed their almost 2-month feud, I appreciated this even more. This match was pure badassery, manliness and power struggle. Survival of the fittest, intensity, perseverance. Soya went on hiatus with style, he got his ass and head kicked silly. The match was a really long and exhausting battle, full of strategic workovers and face-in-peril segments, highlighted by awesome climax. _

*****1/4*


9.	*Triple Crown Championship*: Masakatsu Funaki © vs. Suwama

_Pure brilliance, but as others said, this match is not for everyone. I loved it, they wrestled a smart, tactical match where every transition and comeback were hard earned and persistent. The selling was absolutely top notch, particularly from Suwama. They made nice callbacks on their 9/23 title match. Funaki’s strikes were vicious, particularly in the finishing stretch, loved the KO attempts. This was human chess game, old school war, the best All Japan match since Suwama/Akiyama from 2011._

*****3/4*


Finally, a big All Japan show that is on par with New Japan’s big shows. Two title tags and the main event are highly recommended.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Oh cool, I just finished watching the 10/3 show & it was fine, but a tad underwhelming - I guess they were building to 17/3, which I'm now proper hyped for.


----------



## DOPA

Wow, that AJPW show looks awesome. I'll probs watch it.


----------



## DOPA

Spoiler: NJ Cup Final



*NJPW Cup Final*

Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & BUSHI:****


CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Togi Makabe: **1/2*


Semi-Finals: Hirooki Goto vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: *****


Semi-Finals: Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano: ******


CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku): ****1/2*


Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley), Hiroshi Tanahashi & Cpt. New Japan vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi), Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga: ****1/4*

Finals: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada: *****1/4*


- First two matches were throwaways but other than that this was essentially another really good event by NJPW.

- Unsurprisingly, Okada had the two best matches but what was surprising to me at least was how great and damn entertaining his match with Yano was. I've given Yano a lot of shit for his two other garbage performances against Nakanishi and Suzuki but I got to admit he was fantastic in his match with Okada and added a lot to the story of the match. Really funny and entertaining throughout and I legitimately thought he could win at certain points. I'm glad he's proven me wrong at least this time.

- The NJ cup final was an excellent excellent match. Built up fantastically well throughout and the finishing 5 mins were outstanding. Really exciting dramatic stuff. They really teased the hell out of Goto potentially winning who threw everything at Okada. Okada was over as fuck in this match too and the crowd were behind him for the majority of the match.

- I've really enjoyed this years NJ cup overall. There were some questionable booking decisions here and there but for the most part the tournament was great. Having said that, Okada winning only makes sense if he beats Tanahashi for the title at Invasion Attack. So he's got to win in my book.


----------



## DOPA

*Pro-Wrestling Love in Ryogoku 2013*

Andy Wu & SUSHI vs. Jonetsu Hentai Baka (Hikaru Sato & Hiroshi Yamato): *** 1/2*

KENSO & Reid Flair vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Osamu Nishimura: ***

Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) (c) vs. Burning (Atsushi Aoki & Kotaro Suzuki): *****+*

Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. Kaz Hayashi: **** 1/4*

Last Revolution (Joe Doering, Masahiro Chono & Shuji Kondo) vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama) 
& Yasufumi Nakanoue: *** 1/2*

Don Frye & Keiji Muto vs. Masayuki Kono & Yoshihiro Takayama: **3/4*

KAI vs. Seiya Sanada: ***1/2*

Get Wild (Manabu Soya & Takao Omori) (c) vs. Burning (Go Shiozaki & Jun Akiyama): *****1/2*

Masakatsu Funaki (c) vs. Suwama: *****1/4*


- The Junior tag title match and the last two matches made this a great show. Burning have been fantastic since arriving to AJPW. They've really been adding to the product and it shows. Especially that epic heavyweight tag war with Get Wild which is one of my matches of the year so far.

- If AJPW produce quality shows like this on a more regular basis then I will definitely have to follow them a lot more closely from now on.


----------



## Rah

*Manami Toyota vs Akira Hokuto (AJW Destiny 02/09/1995)*
★★★ 3/4
LINK
_
Yeah, Toyota bumps off the ropes like a 5th day trainee but everything else was relatively great comparably to what you're to find on WWE or TNA programming. Hell, it even showed veteran mastership at times. The last time I saw botches being transitioned, mid-flow, into a different move in covering it up was one of the Casas' matches. One of. One. It's hardly ever done, and something I mark really hard for because it adds a realism to the product and my respect to their expertise. An expertise, too, that (in this match) reminded me so much of the Generico/Steen match-up from PWG's Steen Wolf. It, of course, wasn't as good but boy are people wrong in calling either match a spotfest. It's all about HATE.

Both women showed that they'd rather drastically shorten not only their careers but their lives, as well, in ensuring they wouldn't lose. I absolutely adored how they told a story both within their physical movements and their facial reactions. It really adds depth to the feud that they're portraying - an art lost on many wrestlers, sadly. While losing was a big priority in avoiding, victory was also not the aim of either wrestler. The victory was secondary to beating their opponent to an inch of their life in proving who was the alpha female. Hokuto could have left Toyota in a heap after the second table bomb but the sight of Toyota still clinging to hope was one she couldn't stand. Should they have mixed up their offence and not relied solely on the same table spot? Perhaps, but it was effective in portraying its brutality each time. The same goes for Toyota, too, in levelling Hokuto with two of her finishers instead of a more than sufficient single execution. Forget the rules, because these types of matches are your notable exceptions.

Hey, Chris Brown, what do you think of women being stiffed?







_​


----------



## Tanner1495

If anyone could list some awesome GRUMPY~ Tenryu matches from post 2000 for me it would be awesome, besides the three tags with Kobashi opposing him


----------



## Obfuscation

Tanner1495 said:


> If anyone could list some awesome GRUMPY~ Tenryu matches from post 2000 for me it would be awesome, besides the three tags with Kobashi opposing him


There goes my universal plug of Tenryu & Akiyama vs Kobashi & Shiozaki.

--------

Rah, cheers on the review for that. Love me some Hokuto action. Who doesn't like tough Joshi dames beating the daylights out of each other? _(also, double cheers on channeling Sugar Dunkerton by having a Chris Brown female abuse reference. ~!)_


----------



## Rah

HayleySabin said:


> Love me some Hokuto action. Who doesn't like tough Joshi dames beating the daylights out of each other?


People who think women's wrestling is all about bewbs and fake slaps?



Tanner1495 said:


> If anyone could list some awesome GRUMPY~ Tenryu matches from post 2000 for me it would be awesome, besides the three tags with Kobashi opposing him


Keiji Muto Vs Tenryu Genichiro (8/06/2001 AJPW)
Tenryu Genichiro Vs Satoshi Kojima (24/02/2002 AJPW)
Tenryu Genichiro Vs Satoshi Kojima (17/07/2002 AJPW)
Tenryu Genichiro Vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (15/02/2004)
Tenryu Genichiro Vs Yuji Nagata (08/08/2004 NJPW)
Shibata Katsuyori Vs Tenryu Genichiro (13/08/2004 NJPW)
Tenryu Genichiro Vs Yoshinari Ogawa (18/07/2005 NOAH) **watch that whole show, it's packed with three or four outstanding matches!**


So, well, almost everything, really.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> People who think women's wrestling is all about bewbs and fake slaps?


WOW section folk don't count. 8*D


----------



## leglock

Tenryu vs. Ishikari 6/8/03


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Genichiro Tenryu vs Masayuki Kono-AJPW 13.6.2003.
Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya-AJPW 8.2.2003.-ungodly stiff
Genichiro Tenryu vs Kazushi Miyamoto-AJPW 16.2.2003. ^
Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima-AJPW 24.2.2002.
Genichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi vs Arashi & Nobutako Araya-AJPW 3.1.2003.
Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutako Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto-27.4.2002.
Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutako Araya-AJPW 31.3.2003.
Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima-AJPW 17.7.2002.
Toshiaki Kawada vs Genichiro Tenryu-AJPW 28.10.2000.
Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada-AJPW 18.01.2004.
Taiyo Kea vs Genichiro Tenryu-AJPW 27.10.2001.
Genichiro Tenryu vs KENTA-2005-10-08


----------



## seabs

_*Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - AJPW 7/23/2000 not mentioned. For shame.*_


----------



## Tanner1495

ywall2breakerj said:


> *Genichiro Tenryu vs Masayuki Kono-AJPW 13.6.2003.
> Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya-AJPW 8.2.2003.-ungodly stiff
> Genichiro Tenryu vs Kazushi Miyamoto-AJPW 16.2.2003. ^
> Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima-AJPW 24.2.2002.
> Genichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi vs Arashi & Nobutako Araya-AJPW 3.1.2003.
> Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutako Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto-27.4.2002.
> Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutako Araya-AJPW 31.3.2003*.
> Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima-AJPW 17.7.2002.
> Toshiaki Kawada vs Genichiro Tenryu-AJPW 28.10.2000.
> Genichiro Tenryu vs Toshiaki Kawada-AJPW 18.01.2004.
> Taiyo Kea vs Genichiro Tenryu-AJPW 27.10.2001.
> Genichiro Tenryu vs KENTA-2005-10-08


The matches in bold I can not find anywhere, so if you have any links or anything, that'd be fantastic!

Also Seabs, I can not find that match anywhere, I can only find Hansen/Maussman vs Kawada/Tenryu, but it says it is from 7/23/2000, here is a link to show you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qutCCj-Drk&list=WL957C9F48A70652FF so any clarification would be wonderful , also thank you guys for helping me out!


----------



## flag sabbath

Kea was previously known as Mossman


----------



## ywall2breakerj

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jd9XOp7jUU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDIjQk2t1Q4


Can't find the other. Unfortunately I only have one match currently (Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutako Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto-27.4.2002.). I can upload it to dailymotion if you'd like.


----------



## Tanner1495

ywall2breakerj said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jd9XOp7jUU
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDIjQk2t1Q4
> 
> 
> Can't find the other. Unfortunately I only have one match currently (Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutako Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto-27.4.2002.). I can upload it to dailymotion if you'd like.


If it wouldn't be too much trouble that would be fantastic!


----------



## MF83

Acquire the 2004 G1 Climax. He was legitimately the MVP.


----------



## Tanner1495

MF83 said:


> Acquire the 2004 G1 Climax. He was legitimately the MVP.


I have looked for it everywhere, but can never find it :cussin:


----------



## Corey

Tanner1495 said:


> I have looked for it everywhere, but can never find it :cussin:


I'm sure you don't mean buying it (cause no else does that apparently ) but if you are:

http://new.ivpvideos2.com/index.php?cPath=1_45&sort=1a&page=3


----------



## seabs

*Genichiro Tenryu vs Masayuki Kono-AJPW 13.6.2003. - http://theditch.us/TenryuVsKono6-13-03.avi
Genichiro Tenryu vs Nobutaka Araya-AJPW 8.2.2003. - http://theditch.us/TenryuVsAraya2-8-03.avi
Genichiro Tenryu vs Kazushi Miyamoto-AJPW 16.2.2003. - http://theditch.us/TenryuVsMiyamoto2-16-03.avi
Genichiro Tenryu vs Satoshi Kojima-AJPW 24.2.2002. - http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ioaun1mwa3yz3eu
Genichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi vs Arashi & Nobutako Araya-AJPW 3.1.2003. - http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wbi8i2p4tn1txbd
Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutako Araya vs Taiyo Kea & Kazushi Miyamoto-27.4.2002. - http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yimacmfadx9c2ue

ditch's links.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Use spoiler tags to avoid anything nobody wants to see but...

can someone shoot over the New Japan Road match listing? The recent one to follow the New Japan Cup Finals iPPV. If I know there was no championship match I can peruse various sites without the fear of a spoiler.


----------



## aivaz

Not sure what you mean. There have been no title matches on the shows, won't be until the Road to Invasion show. Just doesn't happen on the house shows.


----------



## Obfuscation

Wasn't sure if it was a house show this time around, more or less. Figured I'd ask just to be on the safe side. It fluxuates with which events get shown or not.


----------



## flag sabbath

HayleySabin said:


> Use spoiler tags to avoid anything nobody wants to see but...
> 
> can someone shoot over the New Japan Road match listing? The recent one to follow the New Japan Cup Finals iPPV. If I know there was no championship match I can peruse various sites without the fear of a spoiler.


Here's a match list - there's a link to results on the page. Can't see anything that would qualify as spoilers: http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=93680&page=2


----------



## Obfuscation

(Y)

Think I may have jumped the gun with my brainfart. By proxy of the last post it dawned on me that it may just be a house show and nothing seen via Samurai TV. Oh well. Thanks again.


----------



## flag sabbath

The same page has a list of upcoming shows with 'event', 'tv show' & 'ppv' distinctions. 25/3 was a house show, 5/4 is TV & 7/4 ppv.


----------



## Tanner1495

Can someone help me out? I was wondering if this was the RWTL '88 match, or if it is shortly after RWTL, thanks in advance!


----------



## leglock

Final day of the tag league.


----------



## Rah

UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
*Sakuraba Kazushi (UWF-I) Vs Ōtani Shinjirô (NJPW 17/06/1996)*
★★★ 3/4 
LINK

_Towards the beginning it all felt a bit co-operative and unrealistic in how a lot of the transitions between holds weren't fought for or defended against (especially considering this is meant to be half shoot-style) but it definitely picked up about a quarter of the way through. Perhaps chalk it up to my inexperience in shoot-wrestling but the matwork, otherwise, was fine in my books. Nothing as exciting as Sakuraba's Dome match but nothing that bores the piss out of you like a lot of the forced mat-based work you see strewn across wrestling today. It's honestly great to see matches like this because the meshing of styles only enhances the realism of pro-wrestling what with Otani's "fake moves" looking like legit, badass pain-inducers that could rival Saku's fight-style approach. Though some good selling from both participants did help in delivering that atmosphere.

Overall, a great match-up that does all it needed within its (very) short time-frame._​


----------



## Chismo

*U-SPIRITS again*


1.	Mitsuya Nagai vs. Takaku Fuke

*1/2


2.	KEI Yamamiya vs. Daijiro Matsui

*1/2


3.	Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Hikaru Sato

**1/2


4.	Katsunori Kikuno vs. Takufumi Ito

*N/A*


5.	Yoshiki Takahashi vs. Kenichi Yamamoto

*1/2


6.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Hans Nijman

***


7.	Hiromitsu Kanehara vs. Yuki Kondo

***1/4


I like shoot style pro-wrestling, but most of these guys went hardcore to those waters. There was very little drama, almost no theatrics at all, and no co-operation whatsoever. One match was too short, three matches were really boring, Tak/Sato was short but sweet, MiSu/Nijman and the main event were good.​


----------



## Rah

An event where you can create the epic moments of shoot fighting and then don't? Yeah, that's what that show was. It wasn't bad just, well, kinda boring.


----------



## Ham and Egger

Here's a short documentary about Ice Ribbon.


----------



## EmbassyForever

GREAT match here between Shelley and Devitt.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy...jpw-04-05-13_sport?search_algo=2#.UV9RMKI73M4


----------



## Nervosa

EmbassyForever said:


> GREAT match here between Shelley and Devitt.
> 
> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy...jpw-04-05-13_sport?search_algo=2#.UV9RMKI73M4


Can't forget this either:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy...kamura-ishii-njpw-04-05-13_sport#.UV-xWzdfaSo


----------



## Obfuscation

downloaded the entire event right now so...:mark: :mark: :mark:

can't wait for the two championship matches.


----------



## Rah

One of the lesser performances from Shelley, if I'm honest. 

His facial expressions and attempts were downright laughable at times. A flatter finish than I'd have hoped and the same, generic mat-based "flashiness" that starts every Devitt match didn't do this pairing justice, either. This was one of my dream matches, and it just fell so flat compared to what I had hoped. Devitt getting his nose drilled, however, was downright nasty.

How was the main? I should watch it for Ishii and Shinskay but their opponents really, really turn me off.


----------



## cobray

Killer Elite Squad vs Nakamura & Ishii - IWGP Tag Title - NJPW 05.04.2013

- Man this match was deliciously fantastic. Surprisingly the star of this match was KES, especially Davey Boy Smith Jr. They wrestled as if their career depended upon this match and the result? A high energy match that feels like it went by 10 minutes. Smith really take this push of his very seriously, his improvements in the last 2 months is incredible.
- There's a surprising lack of Nakamura and Smith interaction, but Ishii lariating, headbutting and brainbusting people never gets old. There's a great spot in the match where he lariats Smith so hard that Smiths body got stuck by the ropes.
- Loved Smiths variation of the Backdrop Driver.
- The emphasis of the deadliness of the Killer Bomb by the announcer really gives you a sense of how dangerous the move really is. The finishing stretch was fantastic, and you know the match is good when even the commentator is marking out and screaming for Ishii. Fantastic match.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW Road to Invasion Attack 4/5/2013*

Ryusuke Taguchi vs KUSHIDA: *** 1/2*

Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan: ****

Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado: ***1/4*

Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama: *** *

Kazuchika Okada & Gedo vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & BUSHI: **** 1/4*

Prince Devitt (c) vs Alex Shelley: ******

Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii: *****1/4*


- Both title matches of the night delivered, especially the tag title match which was stellar. Okada and Tanahashi's tag match was a good little preview of what's to come at the iPPV as well. Rest of the show wasn't that great. Despite two great matches and one good one, this is one of NJPW's weakest shows thus far this year.


----------



## Alden Heathcliffe

Smith is surprisingly tall, even more so when standing next to Ishii. I like Archer's skull mask and biker jacket.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

After the TenKoji Match, I loved every single match.

Suzuki-Gun vs CHAOS was an awesome continuation of the Suzuki hates Yano storyline, the most underrated storyline in current NJPW. I mean, this is a guy that has Okada's number, has almost taken the title from Tanahashi, and yet, it's YANO TORU that's gotten under Minoru Suzuki's skin since G1 Climax. I love it. Suzuki probably wants to KILL Toru now.

Devitt vs Shelley was fantastic. One of the reasons why Alex is my favorite TNA wrestler of all time is because he literally is one of the best in the world when it comes to pin variations. Probably better than Quackenbush, which IMO is a serious feat. He was able to show this during the match.

And the Tag Title further shows that when you put Nakamura or Ishii in the ring, expect greatness. And KES are awesome in their monster team roll.


----------



## Chismo

...


Spoiler: Road to Invasion Attack












*Road to Invasion Attack*


1.	Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA

_Decent opener, they had me worried at first, but they put their shit together down the road._

**1/2


2.	Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Cpt. New Japan

_Nakanishi fucking stole this one._

**1/2


3.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Togi Makabe

_Decent match, Honma and Tanaka being ringside really hooked me up for their Ryogoku tag. Tanaka had few reactions that were priceless._

**1/2


4.	CHAOS Dark Instigators (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka) vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama

_Highly enjoyable, especially the pre-match attack, and ESPECIALLY the post-match reactions from Yano and MiSu. MiSu going batshit crazy was :lmao. Can’t wait for their Ryogoku match._

***


5.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & BUSHI vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo

_I thought this was awesome, they previewed Tanahashi/Okada perfectly, I fucking LOVED how Tana pulled MiSu on Okada during that clean break. BUSHI had few amazing sequences, they really put him over here, even with taking the fall._

***1/2


6.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Prince Devitt © vs. Alex Shelley

_Damn good match, but I wouldn’t call it great or something. It was your regular Devitt title match with ordinary structure and pacing, highlighted by kickouts, false finishes and impressive visuals. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, though, I’m just saying I’ve seen this match many times already._

***1/2


7.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) © vs. CHAOS Invincible (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii)

_So much fun, great title match. Ishii is the true hero of Korakuen, a perfect underdog. Archer and Davey Boy are crazy good right now._

******


Good show, with an average lowcard, good midcard, and great main event.​


----------



## flag sabbath

In case anyone missed it, there's a nice little Ishii pack up on XWT & it's a freeleech job.


----------



## Obfuscation

*NJPW Road To Invasion Attack 4/5/13*


1) Ryusuke Taguchi vs KUSHIDA ~ ***1/2*


2) Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan ~ *****


3) Togi Makabe & TenKoji _(Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) _vs CHAOS _(Yujiro Takahashi, Jado, & YOSHI-HASHI)_ ~ *****


4) Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama vs Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka ~ ****1/4*


5) Hiroshi Tanahashi & BUSHI vs Kazuchika Okada & Gedo ~ *****


6) *IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Prince Devitt(c) vs Alex Shelley ~ ******


7) *IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Killer Elite Squad(c) _(Lance Archer & Davey-Boy Smith Jr)_ vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii ~ *****1/4*​

~ Lazy review. Long story short, as one can tell I loved this event. Good stuff from top to bottom. With the latter two championship matches being full blown excellent. Watch them now. I'm begging NJPW to stop being this great and making all other promotions out there look bad. It's not fair anymore. Oh and Toru Yano is rapidly becoming the most entertaining member of the New Japan roster. It's a tough spot to fill with all the contenders. That's a problem you want to have though. :mark:

Oh, and it was so great seeing this man return: :tak


----------



## Chismo

YANO-TO-RU!


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, someone needs to make a gif animation of Yano's delirious post-match facial expressions from Road to Invasion Attack.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Not MOTYC or anything, but Shingo vs Swann is really fun. Good match.


----------



## Rah

EmbassyForever said:


> Not MOTYC or anything, but Shingo vs Swann is really fun. Good match.


HIIIIIIGH TENSION~!


----------



## Smith_Jensen

For those who care, here are Dave Meltzer's star ratings for NJPW Invasion Attack

KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi - ****

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine & Akebono vs. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Bob Sapp - ***1/4

El Terrible & Tama Tonga vs. La Mascara & Valiente - ***1/4

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi - ****1/4

Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki - ***1/2

Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata - ***3/4

Ron Conway vs. Satoshi Kojima - ***1/4

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - ****1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - *****

Source: http://www.profightdb.com/cards/njpw/invasion-attack-16933.html

Dave must have been very impressed. Not a match below ***. I can't disagree on his rating on Okada vs Tanahashi. That was a great match. I also have it around ****3/4-*****.


----------



## DOPA

Those ratings are insane, even mine aren't as high as that for some of those matches.



Spoiler: NJPW Invasion Attack



Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi: **** 1/2*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Akebono, Manabu Nakanishi, and Super Strong Machine VS Bob Sapp, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI: *****

El Terible & Tama Tonga Vs La Mascara Vs Valiente: ****1/4*

Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi Vs Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma: ****1/4*

Minoru Suzuki Vs Toru Yano: *****

Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto Vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata: ****3/4*

Rob Conway Vs Satoshi Kojima: ***3/4*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.: ****3/4+*

Kazuchika Okada Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi: *******

Second best show of the year behind WK7, amazing show.


----------



## Chismo

BIG DAVE


----------



## DOPA

edited my last post with my ratings of Invasion Attack, just in case anybody actually cares


----------



## aivaz

Smith_Jensen said:


> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - *****
> 
> Source: http://www.profightdb.com/cards/njpw/invasion-attack-16933.html


:delrio


----------



## RKing85

I know this is a loaded question, but I am about to do a big New Japan order from ivpvideos. I plan on getting every January 4 show, and of course the Super J cups. Are there any other must have shows?

And I have never ordered from ivp before. How is their service?


----------



## bigbuxxx

I would get the entire 2011 G-1 tourney, 6/16/12, and KoPW from 10/12. Probably more but those are the first that come to mind.


----------



## Corey

RKing85 said:


> I know this is a loaded question, but I am about to do a big New Japan order from ivpvideos. I plan on getting every January 4 show, and of course the Super J cups. Are there any other must have shows?
> 
> And I have never ordered from ivp before. How is their service?


Service is fantastic. Chris is a class act and if you make a big order he'll more than likely throw in a free disc without telling you (he has with me at least)

There's so many fucking New Japan shows out there that you'll probably get 325 different recommendations... BUT if I had to make one, I'd grab the 4/29/1996 show. An AWESOME, bloody spectacle in Muta vs. Shinzaki, an excellent juniors match in Liger vs. Sasuke, and super fun NJPW vs. UWF sprint in the main event (Hashimoto vs. Takada). Plus some other WCW names, a MANLY 6-man, & Fujinami vs. Tenryu.


----------



## RKing85

thanks. I'm looking at probably 30 dvd's for my first order. I am a very casual New Japan fan and I want to become a bigger fan.


----------



## Corey

Grab some 'Best Of's' for some of the guys you're more familiar with, it'll help you branch out into becoming more familiar with certain companies. With me, getting complete shows just wasn't the best way to go because there was so many guys on the cards that I knew zero things about and it was hard to really care.


----------



## leglock

NOAH "FINAL BURNING IN BUDOKAN", 11.05.2013
Tokyo Nippon Budokan

1. *Feel the Dengerzone*: Masanobu Fuchi vs. Hitoshi Kumano
2. *This is the NOAH Junior*: SUWA & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge
_<Kenta Kobashi Retirement Ceremony>_
3. *BURNING vs. BURNING*: Tamon Honda & Kentaro Shiga vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki
4. *Js Spirits vs. Revolution*: Takeshi Morishima & Masao Inoue vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Yoshinari Ogawa
_<Break>_
5. *NOAH vs. NJPW*: Takashi Sugiura, Mohammed Yone, & Akitoshi Saito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, & Satoshi Kojima
6. *Four Men GET Together*: Naomichi Marufuji & Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori
7. *Final Burning in Budokan - Kenta Kobashi’s Retirement Commemorative 8 Man Tag Match*: Kenta Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, Keiji Muto, & Kensuke Sasaki vs. KENTA, Go Shiozaki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & Maybach Taniguchi

Sad Kikuchi isn't on the card, wish it was him instead of Shiga. Retirement ceremony is after the second match so there is a chance he will show up there with Hansen, Kawada, Taue, Chono, and other folks. (Those names are not confirmed, I'm just saying.) Very surprised Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano aren't on the show, since they're the GHC Tag champs and faced Kobashi at All Together. Kind of surprised that Yamato and KAI aren't on the show, since they were in Kobashi's All Japan match from 2009 and because AJP is going to be Kobashi's new promotion. Would have been nice if Makabe, Tenzan, Nakanishi, Okada, Nakajima, Miyahara, and Kitamiya were on the card as well. There are a ton of guys who have Kobashi history (or are good) and have a name that are still active...

Anyway, I'm definitely looking forward to a number of matches on the card and seeing a bunch of the guys. Should be a good show. FEEL THE DENGERZONE!!


----------



## Obfuscation

Morishima & Tenryu interactions.

_*splooge*_


----------



## BKKsoulcity

NJPW INVASTION ATTACK-

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) ***** (NEVER A DULL MOMENT)
Davey Boy Smith JR. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) ****


----------



## malek

Loved Devitt vs Shelley, and it is my match of the year so far. Really good storytelling for "junior" title, and who said that Shelley CAN'T sell ???


----------



## RKing85

I much prefer full events to compilations.


----------



## MF83

RKing85 said:


> I much prefer full events to compilations.


I hear ya but get the best of 1980s NJPW comp from goodhelmet. Best compilation you'll ever watch. I believe IVP sells it as well. 15 four plus hour discs of amazing wrestling.


----------



## aivaz

Damn IVP has a LOT of 2013 stuff that isn't widely available, didn't expect that


----------



## ExMachina

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom III*
04.01.2009

_Averno & Great Bash Heel vs. Mistico, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi_
★★★

_Jushin Thunder Liger & Takuma Sano vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue_
★★¾

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles*
_No Limit vs. The Motor City Machine Guns_
★★★¾

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title*
_Low Ki vs. Tiger Mask_
★★

_Great Bash Heel vs. Legend & The Main Event Mafia_
★★

*ZERO1 World Heavyweight Title*
_Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka_
★★★

_Jun Akiyama vs. Manabu Nakanishi_
★★¾

*IWGP Tag Team Titles*
_Most Violent Players vs. Team 3D_
★★

_Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura vs. RISE_
★★★★¼

*IWGP Heavyweight Title*
_Keiji Muto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi_
★★¾​


Average show for me. The opener was a good 10 minute sprint or so. Nice little exhibition, not much to talk about. Then we had a pretty average tag team match. I absolutely did not like Sano or Inoue. I wish this was just Liger vs. Kanemoto, they really helped my score a lot. Loved them. After this was the juniors tag team title match. I thought it was really good for the time, would have been even better with 5 more minutes. Good structure for a sprint and didn't dissolve into tag match where we forget who the legal man was. Naito sells like a boss.

Ki and Mask match was weak as hell. It was pretty much just 10 minutes of them doing what seemed close to nothing. Pretty forgetful, Low Ki didn't seem interested and Tiger Mask is painfully average. At least in this match anyway, next. Eight man tag match followed. Below average attraction match. Short and possibly pointless. Crowd had fun, I was not as invested. ZERO 1 title match was too fucking short. Though what's here is pretty fun, but rushed as hell and it feels like it to. Disappointing but not a bad match.

Not a fan of Nakanishi. The match was fine I guess. An average 10 minute affair. Though some good stuff peeks through. Next was a hardcore match for the tag titles. As far as the "hardcore" aspect goes, it was sub-par. A cool table spot though. As for the wrestling, it was what it was. 4 average wrestlers, wrestling relatively average. Though MVP's mannerisms are hilarious, particularly Yano's. We then have the highlight of the night. Good structure, good pacing and crisp wrestling. Enjoyed this tag match a lot and I loved the finish.

As for the main event? Some curious match development and some dodgy wrestling make for a dull bout here. Close to no variety or depth here. Tons of leg work from both but feels somewhat aimless as the match drags on. Then the match just goes overkill in the end for me. If I ever see another dragon screw or shining wizard, it'll be too soon. I loved it though when Tanahashi tries to bridge a suplex, but he can't hold it because his knee got worked over earlier. Then he gets frustrated and starts slapping the shit out of it. Good drama, though what's to come after this, drains it all away.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

I was waiting for Invasion Attack on XWT but the file is 10 gb. Here's the whole show. I'm downloading the MP4 of it now and it's only 1.3 gb.






http://youtu.be/vkqe73q3eoU


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Invasion Attack Review:
*
Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA vs Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi: **** 1/2* (Great fast-paced opener but honestly I thought this could've been even better, Devitt's post match stuff was good)

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Akebono, Manabu Nakanishi, and Super Strong Machine VS Bob Sapp, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI: ***1/4* (Just really don't care for these matches anymore)

El Terible & Tama Tonga Vs La Mascara Vs Valiente: ***1/2* (Good but I couldn't get into it for some reason)

Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi Vs Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma: ****** (That was awesome, period)

Minoru Suzuki Vs Toru Yano: ****1/4*

Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto Vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata: ****3/4* (Man this was such an awesome match but I wish it had a clean finish, Sakabura is the man, can't believe that after this terrible injury he got up and shook Nagata's hand, he's a machine)

Rob Conway Vs Satoshi Kojima: ****1/2* (Really enjoyed it and felt it was very good, this match reminds me of TenKoji vs CHAOS from Dominion - it wasn't a wrestling masterpiece match but still very enjoyable mostly because of the crowd and how they worked the match)

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr.: *****1/2* (I may overrating this but in my opinion this match was fantastic, Nakamura kick-outs were great, DB Smith is awesome)

Kazuchika Okada Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi: *****3/4* (Already shared my thought about this one)

I love the Ryogoku. Such an awesome venue for wrestling and the crowd is always red hot.


----------



## Nervosa

Invasion Attack Review

Longer reviews of the best 5 matches in the MOTY thread

Time splitter vs. Apollo 55
***1/4

Good, quick action, but sloppy at times especially when Shelley slipped off of KUSHIDA’s back. This was fun, if a little empty. I also found it funny how many times Taguchi attempted the dodon in one match. Some people gave this 4 stars, but this was way to short and didn’t have nearly enough substance.

Tenzan, Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine & Akebono vs. Iizuka, Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Sapp
***1/4

Ishii, tenzan, Nakanishi and Akebono were great, Iizuka and YOSHI were fine, and Sapp and Machine were AWFUL. As a result, this ended up as a surprisingly fun, if clustered, affair. 

I will say the future of CHAOS will be very interesting depending how the Suzukigun feud unfolds. Ishii, Yano, Okada, and Shinsuke are kinda camping on their own as tweeners, and their reactions don’t match their teammates too much.

El Terrible & Tama Tonga vs. La Mascara & Valiente
**1/2

This was fine, I guess. Valiente stood out but Tonga was really bland. If I never see this again I won’t really care. Maybe I just don’t get lucha, but there just doesn’t seem to be much substance in most of the matches I watch.

Makabe and Honma vs. Yujiro and Tanaka
***3/4

Ok, so coming into this match, I liked Tanaka, hated Makabe and was pretty ambivalent towards Honma and Yujiro. But Honma was freaking incredible here. They played to the strengths of both teams, having most of the action be between Honma and Tanaka, which is surprising since those two are just kinda extra’s for the Makabe/yujiro program. I know a lot of you like Makabe, but I just don’t see it. He was very dull, here. I mean, great lariats, for sure, but not much else. Yuijro has seriously shown NOTHING from what made him so watchable at times last year. But that’s being negative….let’s be positive here. Honma was a freaking house of fire in this. He took a beating well, he was captivating, and the crowd went nuts for this. Tanaka showed how much he has been missed in CHAOS tags. This was a surprisingly great midcard treat.

Yano vs. Suzuki
***3/4
Yeap, awesome. Misu is back to being Misu with incredible heel heat. The beginning of the match was priceless though, with Yano going straight out of the ring and assaulting Taichi before the match even started. Suzuki chases him off, and rolls back in the ring…..so Yano rolls back out and beats up Taichi again. Hilarious. Yano working as the ‘eddie-style’ babyface who cheats is awesome. I just love Yano’s work all year this year. If CHAOS splits into a heel half and a face half, I kinda hope yano has a cheating face push, because the little one he has had lately has been so fun.


Laughter7 vs. Goto and Nagata
***1/2

Goto is totally watchable in a midcard role. As soon as he gets pushed, or gets placed in singles matches, he starts sucking, but here, him and Shibata’s stuff was great. Man that submission sequence with Sakuraba and Nagata was freaking amazing. I really desire to see a Nagata in a title match soon, because I think he has another great singles match in his. 

Obviously, I echo all previous thoughts that the injury really hurt what would have been a great match. I don’t think this was on its way to being a top MOTYC, but what was here was great nonetheless. Get well soon, Sakuraba, for sure.

Kojima vs. Conway
**1/4

Yeap…this was pretty bad. The crowd hated Conway, and they really desperately wanted to care, but man, it was just boring. Conway wasn’t really bad, just so slow. He had no clue how to pace himself. I think Bruce Tharpe was the only one enjoying it. Nothing botched, nothing stupid…but so, so boring. Some WWE castoffs adjust well to timing matches differently. Some don’t, and Conway is one who just looks lost if he isn’t wrestling WWE formula.

Nakamura vs. Smith Jr.
****

All this time, I thought Archer was the true talent of the team. Turns out BOTH KES members are awesome. Smith was amazing here, and his power workover was just awesome. He came off as so dominant and so problematic for shinskay, as if Nakamura simply hadn’t wrestled this kind of power before. The other thing I was really impressed with was Jr’s ability to work the crowd, which helped them really pop during Nakamura reversals. Nakamura has become great at timing his false comebacks, and Smith using power to halt each and every one was great. Shinskay's striking in this match is just amazing. He may be the best in the world when it comes to strikes.


Okada vs. Tanahashi
****3/4
full review in the MOTY thread, but this was incredible. Great armwork, great story to the match, good psychology. Okada's facial expressions make the match, for me. 


Overall, I would call this show of the year. The top 4 matches here are not as good as the top 4 matches at Wrestle Kingdom, but this show had a way better main event and undercard. Plus, this had more Yano. Plus, Ishii was actually on the maincard. 

Anyway, yeah, show of the year.


----------



## Merc_With_A_Mouth

As someone who doesn't catch as much AJPW as I would like to (for whatever reason, it is just the one fed in Japan that goes under my radar more often than not as far as recent stuff goes), I would like to check out some of Suwama's matches. Anyone have some good recommendations of his from the last year or two? Anyone else I should really check out from the promotion?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

vs Takayama 2009 Triple Crown match (!!!)
vs Suzuki 2010 Triple Crown match (!!!)
vs Funaki 2010 Triple Crown Match (!)
vs Nagata 2011 Triple Crown Match
vs Sanada 2011 Triple Crown Match
vs Akiyama 2011 Triple Crown match (!!!!!)
vs Sanada 2012 2/3 Falls


----------



## Rah

> vs Akiyama 2011 Triple Crown match (!!!!!)


I don't care if you have to murder a prostitute to watch this, but DO IT.


----------



## MF83

Rah said:


> I don't care if you have to murder a prostitute to watch this, but DO IT.


Post of the year. :lol


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I must've missed the part where he talks about how great Tatsumi Fujinami is. Speaking of which.....

*FUJINAMI vs Keiji Mutoh-NJPW 11.12.2001*
Muto brings nothing except cool Shining Wizard variations and restholds. CAN Fujinami carry him to a very good pro wrestling match? Yes. Yes he can. If flashy matwork and counters sound like thy thing look no further because Doragon brings it big time. The fact that he sells exhaustion instead of just slowly climbing to the top rope to set up a spot is such a fine touch. Dig it!

****3/4*


----------



## bigbuxxx

Gave a rewatch to Makabe/Shibata from WrestleKingdom. First time I've rewatched and the second time was a lot more satisfying. On my first watch I thought it was good but meh but on this viewing I thought it was great and given a few more minutes and a slightly better finish (preferably Shibata going over esp since Sakuraba lost) I'd have it on the level of Nakamura/Sakuraba. **** for Makabe/Shibata.

While watching I thought to myself "Goto would be an awesome opponent for Shibata" and then realized they're facing on 5/3 so I :mark:. Also looking forward to a Nagata/Shibata match :mark:


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Invasion Attack:

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (C) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - *** 1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (C) vs. Kazuchika Okada - **** 1/4


Usually not a huge fan of limbwork but it really worked in this match and wasn't overdone. Awesome match.


----------



## Obfuscation

bigbuxxx said:


> Gave a rewatch to Makabe/Shibata from WrestleKingdom. First time I've rewatched and the second time was a lot more satisfying. On my first watch I thought it was good but meh but on this viewing I thought it was great and given a few more minutes and a slightly better finish (preferably Shibata going over esp since Sakuraba lost) I'd have it on the level of Nakamura/Sakuraba. **** for Makabe/Shibata.


(Y)

Same thoughts as me. Well, except I loved it on the first watch & I didn't mind Makabe getting his win after months of frustration. So maybe it was more along the lines of same rating. Who needs detail, great match. That's how a big match should be done in a sub-ten minute span.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah I really liked that match. Thought they worked it pretty much perfectly, and for me Makabe winning in the fashion he did was satisfying.


----------



## Obfuscation

Certainly. Makabe's triumph was the ticket walking into the match unless Shibata was flat out going to dominate some more. I can see Shibata winning his upcoming singles match to make up for the original loss.


----------



## Coffey

I am stoked beyond belief for Okada/Suzuki. I think Minoru might be my favorite in the world right now. I've seen some people talking about him "taking matches off" or whatever but when the spotlight is on him, you know he's gonna step it up. Plus, I mean, I'm kinda burned out on Okada/Tanahashi as a feud.


----------



## Rah

wrestling observer said:


> "Kazuchika Okada has recently bought a new home, a new car, and furniture spending $100,000 in cash and is now broke and is selling his memorabilia including his Money in the Bank briefcase and his IWGP title ring."


Let the puns/comments on irony commence!


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Not nearly as awesome as KENTA calling Yano, Iizuka and Yujiro non-drawing vanilla midgets.....or close to it anyway :side:


----------



## Chismo

Rah said:


> Let the puns/comments on irony commence!


That's awesome, modern pro-graps needs more flamboyant dudes who know how to live the life, dammit.


----------



## Obfuscation

Legit story?

Okada living it up and falling hard all in no time.


----------



## duttanized

Does anybody out here have the AJ Styles/Tanahashi match from 2008 in New Japan? I'd really like to see it!


----------



## Lazyking

I'm a very casual Puro fan. If someone catches my attention, I'll watch a match on Youtube.. Heard talk of the Okada/Tanahashi match at Invasion attacks and thought I'd check it.

***** 

Amazing match, was literally on the edge of my seat, cringing at the arm work by Tanahashi. Okada sold like a champ, I also loved the build to the piledriver and how when it was finally hit, you knew it was over.

This is the kind of match that makes me want to spend a shitload of money at IVP lol.


----------



## xXSegemoXx

Just about any Tanahashi match is going to get 4 stars or more. The guy is just great.


----------



## flag sabbath

AJPW's Champion Carnival opener from 18/4 is a one match show (see the MOTYC thread for my Suwama vs. Shiozaki write-up). The undercard is pretty poor all told, with three pedestrian non-tournament matches & three weak Carnival offerings. Akiyama vs. Kenso is actively bad thanks to Kenso's erratic selling & laughable fighting spirit overload. Sanada vs. Omori is as boring as you'd expect with a really lame finish. And Funaki vs. Kai is okay for an extended squash.


----------



## Obfuscation

Saw your plug for Suwama vs Shiozaki. Honestly, the prospects of that slugfest almost makes me salivate. Here's to hoping an All Japan match from this year can click for me. _(granted I've lazed on watching the other Burning matches at this rate. Maybe I'll be inspired to cram the rest following watching this match.)_


----------



## EmbassyForever

Watched some NOAH..


*NOAH 18-07-2005 Destiny
*
Masashi Aoyagi, SUWA & Takashi Sugiura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Mitsuo Momota & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - ***1/2*

Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Morishima vs. Go Shiozaki & Tamon Honda - *****

Akira Taue, Haruka Eigen, Jun Izumida & Takuma Sano vs. Dark Agents (Akitoshi Saito, Kishin Kawabata & Masao Inoue) & Shiro Koshinaka - ****

Black Mask (Ricky Marvin) vs. Mushiking Terry - ***3/4*

*GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match: *Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs. KENTA - *****1/2*

*GHC Tag Team Title Match:* Minoru Suzuki & Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs. Jun Akiyama & Makoto Hashi - *****1/4 *(Suzuki was absolutely amazing here)

Takeshi Rikio (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ***3/4*

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshinari Ogawa - *****

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kenta Kobashi - *****3/4* (CHOPS!!!!)

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada - ****3/4*

*NOAH GREAT VOYAGE 2013 in OSAKA Review:
*
Maybach Taniguchi Jr. & Genba Hirayanagi vs Takaku Fuke & Nanyjo Hayato - *N/R*

Ross von Erich & Marshall von Erich vs Lance Bravado & Harlem Bravado - ****

Colt Cabana & Jason Jones vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara - ***3/4* (Really fun, say what you wanna say about Cabana - the man knows how to work a crowd)

*NOAH vs. NJPW Special Tag Match: *Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Atsushi Kotoge - ***1/2*

*NOAH vs. NJPW Special Tag Match: *Mohammed Yone & Ryuji Hijikata vs Yuji Nagata & Takaaki Watanabe -* ** *(Didn't cared for this and the crowd was dead)

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: *Taiji Ishimori vs Shuji Kondo - *****1/4* (AWESOME match, simple yet effective story, great nearfalls that totally had me and DAT Lariat at the end was amazing)

*GHC Tag Team Title: *Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Maybach Taniguchi -* ***1/4 *(I don't know, felt like the match dragged a lot and shouldn't be this long)

*GHC Heavyweight Title:* KENTA vs Takeshi Morishima - ****1/2 *(Good but not great, something was missing in my opinion, the match could've had more drama)

Overall good show from NOAH and the best I saw from them in 2012-2013 so far​


----------



## Corey

Yeah, Destiny is arguably the GOAT NOAH show. I could watch Kobashi & Sasaki chop each other all day (gave that the full 5 btw). You should also check out Departure (7/10/04), has a 5* main event in Kobashi/Akiyama.

----------------

Thought I'd post this for anyone who may wanna buy some Puro today. Quoted from *IVPVideo's Facebook*:

_*Don't forget that today is the final day to save 35% off your entire DVD order from IVPvideos.com by using the coupon code KOW. Don't delay, buy today!*_


----------



## Lazyking

If only I had some cash.

I have feeling I'm gonna get big into NJPW again or at least try to. Who's got a top ten matches of this year for me?


Also, recommended Vader Matches? I love that guy so much.


----------



## Corey

Lazyking said:


> If only I had some cash.
> 
> I have feeling I'm gonna get big into NJPW again or at least try to. Who's got a top ten matches of this year for me?
> 
> 
> Also, recommended Vader Matches? I love that guy so much.


Swing over to the 2013 MOTYC thread on the first page or two for people's full lists. Okada/Tanahashi from earlier this month seems to be the majority pick for the year thus far.

As far as Vader goes, I haven't seen as much from him as I'd like to but definitely check out the infamous "eye pop out" match between him and Hansen at Super Fight 1990. Super fun slugfest.


----------



## flag sabbath

Lazyking said:


> I have feeling I'm gonna get big into NJPW again or at least try to. Who's got a top ten matches of this year for me?


My Top 33 (yeah, I know) matches of 2013 are here: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/14713121-post599.html

Thirteen are from New Japan, 11 in the top 20, and there are several hovering just outside that other folks have rated higher.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Yeah, Destiny is arguably the GOAT NOAH show. I could watch Kobashi & Sasaki chop each other all day (gave that the full 5 btw). You should also check out Departure (7/10/04), has a 5* main event in Kobashi/Akiyama.
> 
> ----------------
> 
> Thought I'd post this for anyone who may wanna buy some Puro today. Quoted from *IVPVideo's Facebook*:
> 
> _*Don't forget that today is the final day to save 35% off your entire DVD order from IVPvideos.com by using the coupon code KOW. Don't delay, buy today!*_


Yeah it's next show I'm going to check out, heard nothing but amazing reviews for Akiyama/Kobashi (Y)


----------



## Chismo

Kobashi/Akiyama = MOTD.


----------



## Rah

Lazyking said:


> I have feeling I'm gonna get big into NJPW again or at least try to. Who's got a top ten matches of this year for me?


Weirdly, I have exactly 10 NJPW matches in my match of the year list:




Spoiler: list



★★★★ ½
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) Vs Kazushi Sakuraba (05/01/2013 NJPW)

★★★★ ¼
Masato Tanaka Vs Tomohiro Ishii (03/02/2013 NJPW)
Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Kazuchika Okada (07/04/2013 NJPW)
Tomohiro Ishii Vs Hirooki Goto (17/03/2013 NJPW)
Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. Vs Nakamura Shinsuke & Ishii Tomohiro (05/04/2013 NJPW)
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) Vs Kazuchika Okada (05/01/2013 NJPW)

★★★★
Shinsuke Nakamura Vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. (07/04/2013 NJPW)
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) Vs Karl Anderson (10/02/2013 NJPW)
Yuji Nagata Vs Minoru Suzuki (05/01/2013 NJPW)
Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto Vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata (07/04/2013 NJPW)


----------



## darkclaudio

NOAH Destiny 2005:

GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c) vs KENTA - ***1/2
GHC Tag Team Championship Match: Minoru Suzuki & Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Jun Akiyama & Makoto Hashi ****
Kensuke Sasaki vs Kenta Kobashi ****1/2

NOAH Great Voyage 2013:

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Taiji Ishimori vs Shuji Kondo (c) ***1/4


----------



## Obfuscation

To the cats who've been checking out AJPW this year, shoot me over the top matches so far. No need for links if you mind, just the matches so I know what to slam through. Time to play that ol catch up. Yes, I am too lazy to sit through 50+ pages thumbing the MOTYC thread to pick and choose what to find.


----------



## flag sabbath

See my link on the previous page


----------



## Obfuscation

(Y)


----------



## ChainGangRed

Never sure where to post joshi stuff on this site since there is a Puro section and an Indy's Women section...but anyways...

I am looking for some Aja Kong match suggestions. Of course there are the matches with Bull Nakano and there is also the great 5-Star Match with Manami Toyota (the very first joshi match I ever watched), but I'm looking for some other entertaining matches from Aja so if anyone has any suggestions, give me a heads up.


----------



## flag sabbath

Nothing especially noteworthy from New Japan's first Road To Dontaku TV show. Shelton Benjamin has a long way to go to reach Archer & Smith's monster-gaijin levels. Some nice hype-building exchanges from Okada and Suzuki (although they were eclipsed by a beastly standoff between Nagata and Ishii). Gotta love Yano & Iizuka, the fucking lazy cheats.

Looking forward to the 8-man Elimination from show two.


----------



## Lazyking

*Tanahashi vs. Okada IWGP title series of matches..
*

Tanahashi	Okada	The new beginning	2/12/2012	****
Tanahashi	Okada	Dominion 6/16/2012	****
Tanahashi	Okada	Wrestle Kingdom 7	1/4/2013	****1/2
Tanahashi	Okada	Invasion Attacks	4/7/2013	*****

For my first ratings of Puro and being a puro novice, these are my ratings.. I liked all 4 but the last two raised the bar. I have to rewatch invasion attacks to see if that five stars hold.. I think it will because it feels the most focused..

I do have a question though... in NJPW, can you win the title on a countout? Some of the spots make little sense to me if you can't..


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Yes you can.


----------



## Obfuscation

Wrestle Kingdom match in the Tanahashi/Okada series is their easy pick for weakest, if you ask me. Dominion & Invasion Attack have it trumped on a high level. New Beginning has it edged out in the end too. I liked the Wrestle Kingdom match, but I thought it could have benefited from a bit of time diminished. Didn't need to go as long as it did. A portion of the middle point of the match hit a lull.


----------



## Desecrated

Taking my first look into some current day Puro, got a few questions.

Why is Akebono on top of some AJPW cards, among other ones?
And excluding Invasion Attack which I've downloaded, any other must see cards of 2013?

Cheers.


----------



## flag sabbath

Desecrated said:


> Taking my first look into some current day Puro, got a few questions.
> 
> Why is Akebono on top of some AJPW cards, among other ones?
> And excluding Invasion Attack which I've downloaded, any other must see cards of 2013?
> 
> Cheers.


For New Japan, WrestleKingdom 7 is the other essential show. All Japan's best this year is Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku from 17/3.


----------



## Rah

Seconding the AJPW 17/03 show. Absolute class throughout.


----------



## DOPA

Preach it guys, right with ya.


----------



## Desecrated

flag sabbath said:


> For New Japan, WrestleKingdom 7 is the other essential show. All Japan's best this year is Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku from 17/3.


What is the match quality on WK7 like? Solid all round card?


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Desecrated said:


> Taking my first look into some current day Puro, got a few questions.
> 
> Why is Akebono on top of some AJPW cards, among other ones?
> And excluding Invasion Attack which I've downloaded, any other must see cards of 2013?
> 
> Cheers.


NJPW The New Beginning '13 is another watchworthy show.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Desecrated said:


> What is the match quality on WK7 like? Solid all round card?


I think most would agree that Okada/Tanahashi, Sakuraba/Nakamura, Makabe/Shibata, MiSu/Nagata are all ***3/4+. The Jr. triple threat is up there to.


----------



## aivaz

Desecrated said:


> Why is Akebono on top of some AJPW cards, among other ones?


Because he's a good, if limited, worker. Anti big-men bullshit is the worst


----------



## Desecrated

aivaz said:


> Because he's a good, if limited, worker. Anti big-men bullshit is the worst


The latter bit would be valid if I was bashing his quality of work rather than being curious, having seen Wrestlemania 21.

Cheers for the recommendations though guys. Will spawn at Invasion Attack, and then go onto WrestleKingdom.


----------



## aivaz

That bit wasn't referring to you. Akebono's just a guy who needs some love in general


----------



## Obfuscation

Well, I was wanting ot watch Funaki vs SUWAMA again so I might as well just watch the entire 3/17 show. Kanemaru vs Hayashi should OWN.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

aivaz said:


> Because he's a good, if limited, worker. Anti big-men bullshit is the worst


I agree with this. I thought Mark Henry's WHC run would reduce the whole "big men automatically suck" thing.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd take numerous big men workers over various small high flyers. Someone like AR Fox is hard for me to stomach where as watching a clash between monsters tends to entertain me more.


----------



## MF83

Jerry F'n Blackwell.


----------



## Manu_Styles

NJPW 2013 04 21 Road to Wrestling Dontaku is any good? CHAOS vs Suzuki-Gun looks like a fun ME.


----------



## Chismo

*Excite Series 2013 – Day 10*


1.	Turmeric Storm (Tomoaki Honma & Kazushi Miyamoto) vs. Masanobu Fuchi & Andy Wu

*1/2


2.	Yutaka Yoshie & SUSHI vs. KENSO & Reid Flair

**


3.	Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka vs. Seiya Sanada & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

**1/2


4.	Suwama, Joe Doering, Hikaru Sato & MAZADA vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Koji Kanemoto & SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama)

***


5.	Atsushi Aoki vs. Hiroshi Yamato

**1/2


6.	Kotaro Suzuki vs. Kaz Hayashi

**1/2


7.	Go Shiozaki vs. Manabu Soya

**1/2


8.	Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori

*1/2


9.	*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship*: Shuji Kondo © vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

_Really good main event, with great crowd involvement, and the ringside heat was intense as well, because this was the rubber match of the evening between Burning and All Japan. Awesome match, it felt very important._

***3/4


Except for awesome main event, and good 8-man elimination tag, this was a completely forgettable show from in-ring perspective, but it was important in order to display Burning and their agenda.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Easy way to save yourself a couple of hours? Don't watch Champion Carnival Day Two. It takes place in a morgue & only Suwama vs. Kono touches ***. So. Damn. Dull.


----------



## Chismo

Well, I'm crazy, and I'm religiously following All Japan this year, so I need to watch it, although I expect a nice handful of DUDs.  Speaking of which, watched the whole Day 1, plus re-watched Funaki/KAI and Suwama/Go:












*Champion Carnival 2013 – Day 1*


1.	Masayuki Kono vs. Hiroshi Yamato

***


2.	Burning (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki) vs. Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) & SUSHI

**1/2


3.	LAST REVOLUTION (Joe Doering, Shuji Kondo & Kaz Hayashi) vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama) & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

*1/2


4.	*Block B*: Jun Akiyama vs. KENSO

**1/2


5.	*Block A*: Seiya Sanada vs. Takao Omori

*


6.	*Block B*: Masakatsu Funaki vs. KAI

***1/2


7.	*Block A*: Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki

***1/4


Solid tournament opener, but nothing was must-see, just few solid and good bouts. Funaki/KAI was really good, the MOTN. I’m down on the main event after the re-watch, I mean it’s good, but nothing special, it kind of disappointed because the draw was so obvious from the moment they announced it.













*2/8/2013*


1.	Speed of Sounds (Hercules Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi) & SUSUMU vs. MEN’s Teioh, Mototsugu Shimizu & Onryo

**1/2


2.	Abdullah Kobayashi & The Brahmans (Shu & Kei) vs. Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) & Amigo Suzuki

**


3.	Yuji Okabayashi & Shinobu vs. Ryuichi Kawakami & Shinya Ishikawa

**1/2


4.	LIGHTTUBE & BARBED WIRE BOARD DEATHMATCH: Jun Kasai & Masashi Takeda vs. Jaki Numazawa & Takumi Tsukamoto

***1/2


5.	Daisuke Sekimoto, Yoshihito Sasaki & Kazuki Hahsimoto vs. Manabu Soya, Ryota Hama & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

***1/2


6.	LIGHTTUBE SETSUBUN DEATHMATCH: Shuji Ishikawa, Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki vs. Ryuji Ito, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka

_Amazing stuff, my current DMOTY. Kodaka took a beating, even more than usual, and that speaks volumes._

******


It’s been awhile since watching a full BJW show, and man, I miss this fun. So easy to sit through, I fucking adore this promotion.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Huh. Mixed thoughts on Shiozaki vs Suwama. Eh, I'll watch eventually. I dig all the Burning chaps to keep up with their work in AJPW.


----------



## flag sabbath

Pleased to report that Champion Carnival Day Three is a vast improvement on the previous night's snoozefest. After a routine opener & a dodgy juniors six-man (something is just way off here), everything else is well worth a look. Even Sanada vs. Hama and Funaki vs. Akebono manage to be watchable, there's a lively Last Revolution vs. Omori & Co. six-man, Shiozaki vs. Kono is very good (***1/2), and the Akiyama vs. Kai main event far surpassed my expectations (****).

Unfortunately, Day Four is another flat show - nothing terrible, nothing great, just a steady plod of instantly forgettable matches.

More of the same from the Day Five undercard - a couple of solid bouts (Shiozaki vs. Omori, Suwama vs. Sanada), but nothing special.


----------



## xbestintheworldx

flag sabbath said:


> Pleased to report that Champion Carnival Day Three is a vast improvement on the previous night's snoozefest. After a routine opener & a dodgy juniors six-man (something is just way off here), everything else is well worth a look. Even Sanada vs. Hama and Funaki vs. Akebono manage to be watchable, there's a lively Last Revolution vs. Omori & Co. six-man, Shiozaki vs. Kono is very good (***1/2), and the Akiyama vs. Kai main event far surpassed my expectations (****).
> 
> Unfortunately, Day Four is another flat show - nothing terrible, nothing great, just a steady plod of instantly forgettable matches.
> 
> More of the same from the Day Five undercard - a couple of solid bouts (Shiozaki vs. Omori, Suwama vs. Sanada), but nothing special.


Agreed, been watching the Series and have thus far found Day Three the most enjoyable. With that being said, though, some of the comparable stuff is so bad that even a semi-decent match shines. Main Event was surprisingly good (well, perhaps not surprisingly, but like Flag Sabbath it exceeded what I assumed it would be like).


----------



## duttanized

Any idea who will be in the BOSJ tournament this year? I'm awaiting to see the list of competitors!


----------



## Genking48

Here you go:


----------



## duttanized

THANKS DUDE!


----------



## seabs

*That's the best way to ever to find out the participants. Let out the girliest scream ever when RICOCHET came up. Trent in New Japan already :mark:

Oh and every show will be aired this year. Couple that aren't on TV but will be streamed on nice. fuck fuck fuck fuck.*


----------



## Manu_Styles

BOTSJ line up looks great, is a shame Kota and Hayato aren´t involve this year but Ricochet is going to open a lot of eyes this year i hope NJ bring him more after this, Trent on the other hand i don´t know, i read he had a good match with AR Fox in the last FIP show but also he had a bad showing at PWG so i will wait to see him here.


----------



## EmbassyForever

KUSHIDA vs Shelley, Omega vs Shelley, KUSHIDA vs Devitt in a rematch and OMEGA VS RICHOCHET please.

Marked out when I saw Ricochet appeared. Glad to see that Trent is getting more and more bookings. Should be a great tourny.


----------



## flag sabbath

Main event of CC Day Five, Kanemoto & Tanaka defending against Aoki & Suzuki is pretty good, maybe ***1/2-***3/4. There are lots of exciting near-falls back-and-forth towards the end, but some indie-rrific moments hold it back from being a motyc.


----------



## seabs

*How do you know he had a bad showing at PWG? I'm judging by your location that you weren't there.*


----------



## Manu_Styles

Seabs said:


> *How do you know he had a bad showing at PWG? I'm judging by your location that you weren't there.*


I said i read he had a bad showing at PWG and a good match with AR Fox at FIP, i will have to wait until the PWG dvds arrive to see if he was good or not. I liked Trent´s NXT matches so i hope he kepts the level or improve it now in the indies and Japan.


----------



## EmbassyForever

I guess his matches weren't as fast/exciting as other matches on the card so some people felt like it was a letdown. In my opinion he would fit much better in NJPW than the indies.


----------



## seabs

*I haven't seen any of his Indy matches but he's a good little worker. People might be disappointed if they start expecting MOTN calibre matches from him though. He'll do well in BOSJ with the time constraints and guys he's working with. *


----------



## duttanized

How do you guys usually watch NJPW? Also has anybody bought stuff from IVPVideos? How is the service? Also where do epople get their NJPW and NOAH merch?


----------



## Obfuscation

Watched the video. OMGGGGG

Omega, Trent, & Ricochet along with the rest of the field? Yes please. Taichi is healed & Taka is in the mix. Oh yeah, excited about that too. Those guys are awesome with their antics.


----------



## DOPA

If there was any doubt about NJPW being the best promotion in the world, you'd be insane to question it after seeing the line up for the super juniors. Omega vs Richocet PLEASE :mark:


----------



## seabs

duttanized said:


> How do you guys usually watch NJPW? Also has anybody bought stuff from IVPVideos? How is the service? Also where do epople get their NJPW and NOAH merch?


*HIGHLY recommend IVP*


----------



## MF83

Oh shit, it is (was) May third. It's all floral in Fukuoka and that means it's time for DONTAKU 2013!


1. I saw the Maximo kiss/Jado Flair flop spot coming six miles away but that didn't make it any less awesome

2. KUSHIDA could be so good if he wasn't trying to appeal to the LCD. Alex Kozlov doesn't do much for me and Alex Shelley is still a mixture of both the best and the worst of the 2006 TNA X Division. Rocky Romero still rules, forever, however.

3. They lit-rly copied Jericho's flashing jacket gimmick for Devitt. Furthermore, he is the 'Rock n Rolla', not unlike a certain ayatollah... I really enjoyed this storyline tag match and found myself favouring it to what would have been some randy junior title match instead. I like Diesel Fale.

4. Strong Man is the very best and needs to hold, if not the IWGP, then at least the IC title. The clusterfuck 8 man for the straps was tons of fun and well worth watching. ★★★

5. Honma uses a scoop sitout tombstone as a transition move: God dammit. I missed him but he's no Ishii. Tanaka is Tanaka AKA a handful of sighs away from good. This match was built to be four stars but was maybe ★★★¼

6. I respect the Togi Makabe he real Iron Sheik class. Yujiro still the dead dog shit fuck him forever bubba.

7. Goto/Shibata should have been an all out war but they sadly went the methodical route. We see Mr. Shibata actually step up halfway through to cover for Goto, which was nice and a bit shocking, given his tendency to only match his opponent's effort or else half-ass it. I liked the finish but Marty should have been on it sooner! Satisfactory! ★★★¼

8. Anderson takes a dragon screw early and sells it like he has taken a match worth of leg offense which might sound like a good thing but was not. Not only was it illogical and inconsistent, but then he took actual focused leg work later and barely sold it. Gr. I'm finally comfortable saying that Tanahashi is a very good wrestler. Much like when Nakamura gained his in 2010 or so, I think Tanahashi has finally gained not only confidence, but that ring wisdom and veteran presence he has sorely lacked his whole career. I got ace Misawa vibes from him in this match, to be honest. He looked world class and really eclipsed Anderson in a sweet little battle. ★★★½



Spoiler: postmatch



Double-fisting Tama Tonga is the only one in their little gang who knows how to fire a fake handgun. C'mon now, everyone knows you use the index AND middle fingers! Should be a good stable.




9. Shelton wrestled shockingly logical from what I'm used to seeing from him. Catching a kick and turning into an ankle lock early warmed me up to him, and his again, (relatively) logical execution warmed me further. Ever since Shinsuke started doing the silly spin/fake-out kick it has been a silly dream of mine to see him do that very same silly spot with Shelton (and RVD). I literally spoke aloud and said, "he's going to botch it" before the Shinsuke botch; it's way too risky for the albeit very nice reward we saw against Davey Boy Jr. Shelton didn't cover it up too well afterward, but they managed to string something together and take it home adequately. I've been progressively more and more down on Shinsuke as he continues to mold to the formula and friggin' Shelton X Benjamin even outperformed him here. Tsk tsk. Good match overall. ★★★½

10. This will be surprisingly great or this will be disappointing suck. NO MIDDLE GROUND. *watches* After the excellent opening segment this turned into hot garbage, as his Rockiness would say. Okada was terrible in this. Suzuki went from lazy to trying to salvage shit, to lazy and back again.


Spoiler: spoiler



Suzuki had the thing in the bag forty-seven different times but looked like a fool for not ending it with ease in each case. Unno should be fired for not stopping the match whilst Okada was clearly passed out - thrice. Okada then used a Full Restore, hit Suzuki with a Thunder Wave, and that was the match.


That is a logical metaphor, trust me. Boo! Suzuki had to appeal for applause three or four different times which is evidence of the crowd not caring, for whatever that's worth. They shattered kayfabe about sixty-seven different times making this good ol' wrestlecrap. At least they kept it interesting with facial expressions? ★★¼


----------



## DOPA

Spoiler: NJPW Pro Wrestling Donaku review



IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:
Time Splitters(c) vs. Forever Hooligans: ****1/4*

Prince Devitt and Bad Luck Fale vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Captain New Japan: ****

4-Way Match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship:
K.E.S.(c) vs. Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano vs. Muscle Orchestra vs. Ten-Koji: *****

NEVER Openweight Championship Match:
Masato Tanaka(c) vs. Tomoaki Honma: ****1/2*

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe: ***3/4*

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto: ****1/4*

Karl Anderson vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****1/2*

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. Shelton Benjamin: ****1/2*

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:
Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Minoru Suzuki: *****

- This was the worst NJPW iPPV of the year thus far but it still ended up being pretty solid. There were no real standout match of the year worthy matches. Nakamura/Benjamin was going that way and could have ended up with a ***3/4 or maybe even a **** match but then Shinskay had 2 really horrific botches which blew the momentum of the match right out. Which is a real shame because the match was really hitting that next level and then the botches happened and then it ended.

- The Openweight title match and Anderson/Tanahashi II were both very good matches. I loved the openweight title match for the time it got. Really brutal brawl of a match which is really the only type of match Tanaka excels in. Thankfully he's fantastic in these sort of matches and I was really impressed with Honma throughout the match. Anderson/Tanahashi II was also really good but could have been better in my opinion. It turned into a standard Tanahashi match which whilst he worked superbly throughout the match it really became a foregone conclusion and you knew Tanahashi was going over. Which took the excitement a little bit out of the match and stopped it from getting to the next level. Especially with Tana's standard high fly flow finish.

- Shibata/Goto was another match that was going a long fantastically and then just ended. I get the finish and it makes logical sense but I hate the way it was done. They did beat the fuck out of each other but then they pass out after some mere slaps? Kayfabe wise especially with the amount of punishment wrestlers take with hard hitting slaps I found it to be a little intelligence insulting to be honest. Weak ending. Match up till that point was very good.

- Main event between Okada and Suzuki was a huge disappointment. One of the biggest of the year. I expected so much more from both of them. The match started out great, opening minute was at a blistering pace and the work after that was great. Good psychology on the arm by Suzuki and Okada's selling was great throughout. The story told between them both with Suzuki being a crazy bastard heel demanding to be beaten the hell out of and Okada responding in kind was great. The facial expressions of both throughout were fantastic and that's one big positive I can say. However the middle section of the match was really poor. I concur with MF83 and his analysis of it. The sleeper section especially dragged heavily. They teased the fuck out of the gotch piledriver and Okada submitting to the sleeper without it going anywhere. Suzuki also stalled heavily during the match which really hurt the story and momentum of it. Okada I think legit 3 times kayfabe wise should have been counted out on to the mat and lost the title to Suzuki and he legit passed out at one point and was on the floor for a good 30 seconds. He then miraculously came back, hit two piledrivers and the rainmaker and won. Last 10 mins of this thing was really bad. Even as a fan I have to say Okada was bad in this. Definitely the worst I've seen him, very strange that Okada gives both his best and worst performances in a span of a month. I think part of it was that Okada was legit passing out in the middle of the match which was unfortunate but even when he got it back together his performance was not great at all. And Suzuki did not help matters. So disappointed as a fan of both. I don't think it was as bad as MF83 thought it was and my rating reflects that but seriously, what the fuck happened.

- Finally some of the booking on this show was really questionable. Like for real. Why did both the tag titles change hands? There really was no reason for either Timsplitters or KES to lose their titles. Especially KES. Timesplitters losing I can let go of slightly because Forever Hooligans are great and hopefully either KUSHIDA or Shelley will be pushed in the best of the super juniors tournament. KES though....what the actual hell. They put all that momentum and heat behind KES only to put the titles back on TenKoji. What was the point of it? Who benefits from it? Not only that but Suzuki-Gun lost all their matches which makes it even worse. All of Suzuki-Gun's heat and steam has been pulled under them thanks to these results. The only way that they can get that back now is if Suzuki beats Nakamura for the IC Title soon. 

- Tanahashi over Anderson again?! Why does Tanahashi of all people need to go over Anderson twice? Anderson could have beaten Tanahashi and gone on to challenge Okada for the title which would have been great. Instead, Tanahashi goes over and then Devitt and Bad Luck Fale attack Tanahashi which leads to Tama Tonga and Anderson turning heel and joining Devitt forming a new stable....

I'm all for NJPW building up Devitt and this new stable of his unlike most people. I love Devitt and I think he deserves it but not at the expense of Anderson. Tama Tonga in this stable I think is a good move and provides a good rub for him as he is a talented performer. But Anderson should not become a lackey of Devitt's. Not after how well he's been doing the past year as a face. He's been one of the most over performers in the company and was doing well where he was and could have progressed further. Instead he's been turned heel illogically and is now been demoted under Devitt. Horrible booking for Anderson. Should have been another heavyweight instead with Tama Tonga.

- Makabe is going to be the next challenger for Okada...which screams filler to say the least. Not a fan of Makabe's at all. Haven't seen one match of his yet which he has been impressive in. Let's hope Okada can carry him to a good match. And let's hope this match with Suzuki is a mere bump in the road and a one time deal for now.

At least Naito returned :mark:


----------



## MF83

Crusade said:


> very strange that Okada gives both his best and worst performances in a span of a month.


Yep. Okada is very good within an environment that is well defined in a match that is clearly laid out. The Tanahashi match was different than usual, but still followed along a bunch of safe, easy themes. 

Suzuki is the most free-form in execution on the entire roster. His controls can be all over the place, be that good or bad, depending on MiSu's effort and his opponent's ability to adapt. That's why I was thinking Okada would either adapt and rule the shit out of the match or, like with what did happen, it would be a mess. Okada seemed much more concerned with his facials than he did with anything else and I think everyone else picked up on that too. At one point along the slap-a-thon, Okada's selling is so weak that Suzuki looks genuinely pissed and smacks the shit out of him. :lol 

I gave it **1/4 because while it was mostly bad with some good, **1/2 indicates a pass and this match truly deserves a failing grade.


----------



## DOPA

MF83 said:


> I gave it **1/4 because while it was mostly bad with some good, **1/2 indicates a pass and this match truly deserves a failing grade.


That's a fair enough assessment. I gave it higher because the first half of the match I thought was excellent and then it just utterly fell apart.


----------



## Nervosa

I guess I'm just baffled as to why Okada and Suzuki did just fine two months ago, but somehow Suzuki's style was too elusive this time. Headscratcher for sure.


----------



## DOPA

Their match at New Beginning was fantastic for sure which makes me think it was an off night for both. And perhaps Suzuki was being a bit lazy in this match too because he was on point at the New Beginning.


----------



## bigbuxxx

copied from the spoiler thread but with thoughts on other matches as well. 


Spoiler: my thoughts on Dontaku



I loved the Jr tag match and despite how stale the division is and how much they make me not care about them they throw out great matches. ****

:mark:'ed when I saw Strongman back. Hope to see more. :lmao @ KES losing the belts.

Tanaka/Honma was fine but Tanaka is really played out. I get it, you wish you were still in ECW. The brainbuster really should've ended it but idc because the Sliding D is delivered so fantastically. Tanaka has to be my least favorite guy on the roster.

Makabe/Yujiro was decent. Yujiro should be a face.

I hated the Benjamin/Shinskay match and not because of the botches (though they didn't help). I thought it exposed Nakamura a lot. Shelton works on his knee for like 5 minutes and Naka slaps his knee and then hits him with about 10-20 knee strikes with that knee while running and doing his swag to the nth degree. I get that he likes to work the abdominal region but this time it just showed he has no idea what else to do if he doesn't do that or that he's just too lazy. His selling + botches makes this match a dud or worse imo.

Anderson/Tanahashi was also pretty bad though not awful. The structure of the match just wasn't good. It went 12 minutes or so. In that 12 minutes Tanahashi hit about 4 moves while Anderson countered everything and Tana takes the victory. At the end they tried cramming finishers and false finishers to make it epic by doing whatever it was they were doing and it was just flat because the match was not designed to be epic.

Okada/MiSu is not worth mentioning :cussin::bs::frustrate

I'm not looking forward to Okada/Makabe but I thought he deserved the shot after defeating Shibata at the Dome. Also booking wise I thought Shibata should've beaten Goto though I enjoyed the match and finish in a vacuum.


----------



## Farnham the Drunk

I was marking hard for the Okada/Suzuki match to happen - now I'm scared to watch. I love both these guys so I'm gonna give the whole event a watch like I do all of NJPW's shows, but I already feel extremely let down & I haven't seen a second of it yet.


----------



## duttanized

I'd love to see Shelley/KUSHIDA as the final of BOSJ. Since it seems like Devitt's moving up the card I wouldn't mind a KUSHIDA or Shelley title reign. What's the deal with Low Ki? Is he done with NJPW for a while now? Also, who do you guys think sticks around with NJPW after BOSJ?


----------



## Obfuscation

Okada vs Suzuki was a bust? Sheesh. That's heartbreaking in the truest form possible.


----------



## flag sabbath

Champion Carnival Day Six is completely skippable - I wish I could remember why, but I guess that's the point. Highlight of Day Seven is a really good (***1/2) David vs. Goliath scrap between Shiozaki and Hama. Funaki vs. Akiyama main event is decent, while Suwama vs. Omori is just okay.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

Yikes, I guess I'm the only one who actually liked the Okada/Suzuki match.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Okada vs Suzuki was very average. That was disappointing because both wrestlers are capable of better and they had a great match at New Beginning 2012.


----------



## Obfuscation

Kid Kamikaze10 said:


> Yikes, I guess I'm the only one who actually liked the Okada/Suzuki match.


At least someone liked it. Gives me hope that maybe it won't be as much of a letdown as it appears to be.

I'll hop on Dontaku later this week. Hopefully before the weekend.


----------



## Chismo

*3/1/2013*


1.	Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) vs. Abdullah Kobayashi & Yuichi Taniguchi

*


2.	Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Madoka vs. Ryuichi Kawakami, Kazuki Hahsimoto & Amigo Suzuki

_Yoshihito/Kazuki exchanges = MINDBLOWING!_

***


3.	*Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor* – LADDER DEATHMATCH: Isami Kodaka vs. Takumi Tsukamoto

_That giant hammer is absolutely ridiculous, and I love it._

***


4.	*Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor* – GLASSBOARD DEATHMATCH: Ryuji Ito vs. Drake Younger

_This one had few silly and too cooperative moments, but overall it was one sick and brutal match. Drake is crazy over in Korakuen._

***


5.	HARDCORE MATCH: Shuji Ishikawa, Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki vs. Yuko Miyamoto, Masashi Takeda & Danny Havoc

**1/2


6.	*BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship*: Manabu Soya © vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

***1/4


7.	RAZORBOARD & WOODEN PLANK CANVAS DEATHMATCH: Jun Kasai vs. Jaki Numazawa

_Okay, first time when I watched this, though it was really good, but now I think it’s bloody great. The match was an emotional rollercoaster, especially for us who are familiar with the history of these two. Of course, they also delivered in terms of barbarism, blood and horrific violence. Some really sick spots and bumps occurred, this was a dance of death. Jun and Jaki are the deathmatch gods, and Korakuen was red hot for them. The post-match stuff was really nice, although I have no idea what they were talking about, I only know they reformed the Junkies.  My new DMOTY, and definitely one of my favorite matches this year._

*****1/4*


Well, this is BJW in Korakuen we’re talking about, and fun is guaranteed. The show is filled with fun good wrestling, highlighted with the captivating main event.​


----------



## Rah

DAT HAMMER! There honestly needs to be more comedy deathmatches in wrestling. I really need to give my full attention to the main, though. It was horrifically sick at times.

I didn't see the Ito/Younger match but the 08/02 trio-tag deathmatch you pimped was also way too co-operative for my liking. To be quite honest, it was also during Ito's control sequences. I love Ito, and he still takes a crazy beating, but I'm slipping on him as of late.


----------



## Obfuscation

Haven't done well on my mission to watch more BJW this year. At least I got a bit of the Crazy Monkey fix thanks to CZW. And a memorable one at that.

I'll have one day where I'll legit watch nothing but 2013 Puro and view any and everything that captured my eye. Bank on it.


----------



## Chismo

Rah said:


> DAT HAMMER! There honestly needs to be more comedy deathmatches in wrestling. I really need to give my full attention to the main, though. It was horrifically sick at times.
> 
> I didn't see the Ito/Younger match but the 08/02 trio-tag deathmatch you pimped was also way too co-operative for my liking. To be quite honest, it was also during Ito's control sequences. I love Ito, and he still takes a crazy beating, but I'm slipping on him as of late.


If you decide to watch Jun/Jaki again, make sure it's from XWT, and not from YT or DM, because the quality is MUCH better, both video and audio. Amazing match.

Don't see those problems in the 2/8 trio deathmatch, tbf, I reckon those gripes are "explainable", maybe one or two minor problems with setups, but nothing major; things got worse in Ito/Drake match, but not too much, it was still a good match.












*Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2013 – Day 2*


1.	TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu

**


2.	Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Maximo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe

**1/2


3.	Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) & BUSHI vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) & Gedo

***


4.	Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI

***


5.	TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs. The Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man) vs. CHAOS Dark Instigators (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka)

**


6.	Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Jado

**


7.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & Cpt. New Japan vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

***


8.	Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin

**


Nothing special, just a decent build show, there were three good matches, nothing was bad at all, although the main event was disappointing given the 3/4 of the names. Benjamin was such an unpleasant surprise, the TNA level of fuckery.​


----------



## bigbuxxx

I haven't watched the 4/21 show yet but that main event was the definition of disappointment.


----------



## Obfuscation

Almost forgot about the 4/21 show. That's what happens when XWT doesn't upload it. Those punks.

Believe it's on dailymotion or at least the main event is.


----------



## flag sabbath

Both Road To Dontakus are on XWT.


----------



## Bubz

Thought the main event of the 4/21 show was actually really good. About ***1/2.


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> Both Road To Dontakus are on XWT.


By gum, you are correct sir. I glossed right over it.


----------



## njbaldwin

Hi all. Back on the boards after a long hiatus. I wouldn't be surprised if this I my only post though!









*Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2013.05.03*

*Double Main Event II – IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Minoru Suzuki*

****1/4

I badly, badly want to like this match more! Suzuki is so believable as an unstoppable heel, even though he is shorter than Okada. I find I don't get behind Okada as much as I should when he sells. He doesn't offer the kind of vulnerability in his selling that can make me truly cheer for him, but Suzuki is so good as an arrogant and disrespectful heel that I find myself rooting for Okada to spite Suzuki so the big emotional investment I had in this match is more due to Suzuki than Okada. I've just started to watch NJPW and so I haven't been conditioned to respond to either wrestlers's big moves and this may be why I felt the losing wrestler didn't take enough punishment before taking the loss. I've only watched the match once though and thinking back about it, the losing wrestler did take a beating. My initial reaction however was one of anticlimax.


----------



## Obfuscation

So, anything I'm missing from the list that I should check out from this year? Maybe not from All Japan since I think I've got that mostly covered by reading thoughts/plugs in here from the lot. If anything else the likes of BJW, NOAH, Dragon Gate, etc should be seen as a quality match - send it my way. btw I watched all the 3/17 AJPW show & the Junior championship vs Junior championship match from January too.



Spoiler: Puro 2013 watch list



1) Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs. Shuji Kondo & Kaz Hayashi (AJPW 1/3)
2) Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs. Hiroshi Yamato & Hikaru Sato - (AJPW 1/26)
3) Shuji Kondo vs. Taiji Ishimori (NOAH 1/27)
4) Jun Akiyama, Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Kaz Hayashi (AJPW 2/10) 
5) Hiroshi Yamato & Hikaru Sato vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (AJPW 2/10)
6) Atsushi Aoki vs Hiroshi Yamato (AJPW 2/23)
7) Shuji Kondo vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (AJPW 2/23) 
8) Takao Omori, Manabu Soya & Kaz Hayashi vs Go Shiozaki, Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (AJPW 3/10)
9) Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki (AJPW 4/18)
10) Jun Akiyama vs. Kai (AJPW 4/21)


----------



## Rah

Get your hands on the Kasai singles match JoeRulz pimped yesterday. I'm still let down by the 08/02 three-way so I cannot pimp it. As for NJPW, I'm not sure what you've watched but going by memory there isn't anything of note that you're missing.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nothing needed from NJPW. That's the Puro where I'm watching _everything_ from. Kasai match(es?) will be done. I may give the three way you speak of a shot. Perhaps it will tickle my desires for some fun. If not a MOTYC; possibly a decent way to kill some time in the late, late night.


----------



## Rah

It's brutal. It's disgusting. It's also a three-way tag not a three-way.

My bad. fpalm


----------



## flag sabbath

You mean a six-man, no?


----------



## Obfuscation

Got ya. No worries.

----------

*BJW 3/1/13 - Two Crosses Massacre Match *

Jun Kasai vs Jaki Numazawa ~ *****1/4*​
Oh my god. You know, deathmatches have always been cool in my book. Sometimes they're a mindless bit of fun watching two dudes _(or more)_ systematically plunder each other to near death. Then there are the occasions where they exceed that level; start to become something special. This was one of those matches. Deathmatches with stories added in & character work throughout are a thing of beauty, really. They can convey so much emotion. It was told in spades here. The history of both these insane individuals was more than on display here. The fans knew it. I knew it. Anyone who watches it knew it. It went on the realm of "can you top this" to the maximum degree. From the piercing agony shown by the first shots into the crucifix, to the alarming & VERY entertaining rise in violence the match would reach, all of it spoke volumes. It wasn't until Kasai planted Numazawa with a Tiger Driver '85 onto one of the crosses that I actually remembered I was viewing a pro wrestling match. Don't ask me what I thought I was viewing - I couldn't quite put it into words. That's what made it all the more spectacular. I love these guys & I love this match. This wasn't only one of the best gimmick/deathmatches of the year, it was one of the best matches period.


----------



## Chismo

People should watch:

- Funaki vs. KAI (CC Day 1)
- Kondo vs. Kanemaru (AJPW 2/23)
- Kasai & Takeda vs. Numazawa & Tsukamoto (BJW 2/8)
- Sekimot, Yoshihito & Kazuki Hash vs. Soya, Hama & Nakanoueno (BJW 2/8)


----------



## Obfuscation

Adding Funaki vs KAI + BJW matches to the list.

Been meaning to check out Kanemaru vs Kondo for months now. Finally just watched Ishimori vs Kondo from NOAH 1/27. Which was awesome. Got rather hectic in the flashy department at the end; minor "flaw" if any really. The psychology for the first half of the match was really good. Only wished it kept up in the end. Still, really strong overall. Ishimori continues to be the man.


----------



## Cactus

*BJW 3/1/2013*

*Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba vs Abdullah Kobayashi & Yuichi Taniguchi*
Eh. At least this was kept short. 
½★

*Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa & Madoka vs Ryuichi Kawakami, Kazuki Hashimoto & Amigo Suzuki*
This felt like it lacked any sort of structure and the majority of strike exchanges felt pointless and were only used as filler.
★

*Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor – Ladder Deathmatch:
Isami Kodaka vs Takumi Tsukamoto*
Match takes a while to get it going but it was pretty solid stuff for the most part. I enjoyed the schtick with Kodaka's giant hammer. 
★★½

*Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor – Glassboard Deathmatch:
Ryuji Ito vs Drake Younger*
Younger added nothing to the match apart from bleeding like a pig and busting out a cool cartwheel in his comeback, but he was super over with the crowd. Super violent match despite a few awkward moments and Younger's awful over-selling, and probably the best match I've seen featuring Younger.
★★¾

*Hardcore Match:
Shuji Ishikawa, Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki vs Yuko Miyamoto, Masashi Takeda & Danny Havoc*
Solid hardcore match. One thing to note is that I did enjoy Miyamoto's exchanges with the bigger guys. He looked great as a scrawny underdog and honestly one of the few guys who stood out on this show. 
★★½

*BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship: 
Manabu Soya © vs Daisuke Sekimoto*
This match had a cool finishing stretch but despite Soya's best efforts during his control segments, I felt it hard to care about the majority of this match.
★★¼

*Razorboard & Wooden Plank Canvas Deathmatch: 
Jun Kasai vs Jaki Numazawa*
One of the most violent matches I've ever seen and Numazawa emerging from the ring with the huge light tube was without a doubt the coolest moment of the show, but I really can't over look some of the shoddy transitions and how co-operative this looked at times. By no means, a MOTYC but still a very entertaining match despite some of it's glaring weaknesses.
★★★¼

*Overall:*
My first time viewing a full BJW show and I have to say the show was solid. Nothing mind-blowing and I'm in no hurry to check them out again, but there was enough variety on the match card to make the 2 hours fly by.


----------



## Farnham the Drunk

Can anybody tell me the date of Kobashi's last match, card would be helpful too. I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened yet, but I remember reading about it a few months ago & remembering May some time. Much appreciated, hard to find this crap because I'm pretty sure the date got moved around.


----------



## flag sabbath

Emerald Flow said:


> Can anybody tell me the date of Kobashi's last match, card would be helpful too. I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened yet, but I remember reading about it a few months ago & remembering May some time. Much appreciated, hard to find this crap because I'm pretty sure the date got moved around.


It's tomorrow...

http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=94108


----------



## ywall2breakerj

JoeRulz said:


> People should watch:
> 
> - Funaki vs. KAI (CC Day 1)
> - Kondo vs. Kanemaru (AJPW 2/23)


No.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*Masaaki Mochizuki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. YAMATO & Shingo Takagi (8/26/2009)-*****
-This was a great finale to SATL III, even better than their time limit draw three weeks prior and still holds up. Lots of momentum trading and one-upmanship building towards the finish where the winners would be the ones left with a pulse. I really dug the way that Mochizuki and Nakajima stuck to their signature weapons which is their kicks. Love how Shingo jumped right in with the Pumping Bomber. Kamikaze goes for the knees while Mochizuki & Nakajima goes for Shingo’s arm. They then start to trade maneuvers with some great selling by Shingo. Nakajima hits a nice Brainbuster/German Suplex combo and they start to work over Kamikaze with kicks. A very nice counter where Mochizuki tries for his running knee into the corner but is countered by Shingo into Stay Dream; this is then followed with a great finishing stretch topped with YAMATO choking out Mochizuki for the win. Really good match.


----------



## seabs

*flag, tell me what Champions Carnival matches I need to see please.*


----------



## Bubz

I was wondering the same thing the other day Seabs. Nothing from AJ apart from the Burning vs Get Wild tag has interested me and it was even a stretch to bring myself to watch that. CC usually can create a few good matches though.


----------



## seabs

*I'm playing catch up now exam season is over hb) so I'm gonna run through a load of stuff this year. *


----------



## flag sabbath

Seabs said:


> *flag, tell me what Champions Carnival matches I need to see please.*


*Day One (18/4):* Shiozaki vs. Suwama, and maybe Funaki vs. Kai (Joe Rulz liked it more than I did, but Kai's performances grew on me throughout the tour)

*Day Three (21/4):* Akiyama vs. Kai, and Shiozaki vs. Kono

*Day Five (25/4):* Kanemoto & Tanaka vs. Aoki & Suzuki

*Day Seven(27/4):* Shiozaki vs. Hama, and maybe Funaki vs. Akiyama (good if you're in the mood for it, but not essential)

*Final (29/4):* both semi-finals, final, and Junior All-Stars & Yamato vs. Burning Jrs

Please bear in mind that I subjected myself to a hazardous level of monotony to glean this lot, and that my critical faculties may have been adversely effected. Enjoy!


----------



## Farnham the Drunk

flag sabbath said:


> It's tomorrow...
> 
> http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=94108


Alright appreciate it, the trinity of Misawa/Kobashi/Kawada is what introduced me to Japanese wrestling as a kid in the 90's. After what happened to Misawa it really made me appreciate these guys & what they did for me, which was basically ruin professional wrestling - because I've never seen anything close to the classics they've produced.


----------



## Chismo

*Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2013 – Day 3*

_*(4/21/2013)*_


1.	Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. BUSHI & Yohei Komatsu

***


2.	Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley), Cpt. New Japan & Maximo vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov), Jado & YOSHI-HASHI

***


3.	Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe

***


4.	TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs. The Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man) vs. CHAOS Dark Instigators (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka)

**


5.	Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi

***1/2


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga

***


7.	ELIMINATION MATCH: CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Shelton Benjamin, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi)

_Almost as good as the first Elimination Match between these two groups. This one was definitely more out of control and all over the place, the heat was great, particularly between Okada and Suzuki, they put a lot of effort into the build for their PPV match. I especially loved the order of eliminations. This was a great match, with your usual suspects (TAKA, Taichi, MiSu, Ishii…) delivering big time yet again._

******


Well, this was a big improvement over the previous day, it felt like a big Korakuen show, every match but the 3-way tag was good, and the main event was great.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Finally got round to watching Dontaku & after the severe lack of buzz I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was. Sure, it's a notch or two down from New Japan's eminent standards of late, but there's nothing remotely bad or boring.

MotN was Tanahashi vs. Anderson (***3/4). These two have developed a fantastic chemistry & that rapid-fire sequence of blocks & counters towards the end was a joy to behold.

Okada vs. Suzuki was fine (***1/4), but they never really kicked it into high gear & much of the submission work was deadened by audience apathy.


----------



## MF83

小橋引退試合 KENTA・潮崎・金丸・谷口 vs 小橋・秋山・武藤・健介 

It wasn't an amazing match but they kept forty minutes together and it dragged only minimally. I loved cheerleader Mutoh in this and the fact that Kobashi's team each only got three or four spot shine touches to his majority match role. I had some fundamental smhsighwhy thoughts, especially revolving around springboarding GHC champ KENTA and whyisthisneccessary Taniguchi, but colour me pleasantly surprised by how they fit so much into it without overdoing much of anything. The finish was very satisfying. Spectacular is a good word for this match. ★★★★+


----------



## EmbassyForever

*Kobashi, Akiyama, Mutoh & Sasaki vs KENTA, Shiozaki, Kanemaru & Maybach - *****
Glad Kobashi looked so good in his last match. Go was the best guy here. It was 40 minutes but felt like 20.


----------



## seabs

*Why are you typing their names in Japanese?*


----------



## Rah

スマートマーク大爆笑


----------



## MF83

C&P'd the YouTube title. It looked cool so I left it. Is this a problem? :lol


----------



## McQueen

Oh shit I forgot Kobashi's last match was last night.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Last night I watched Kobashi's return match from 12/2/07 for the first time and that was incredible. If only every crowd could be like that. Hope to see the same from his final match.

Kobashi/Takayama vs Misawa/Akiyama - 12/2/07: ****1/4. I don't think I'd ever seen anything of Misawa's since his 3/1/03 bout with Kobashi and I can see why , I hated seeing Misawa be the weak link of a match. Despite the rating, I think this match is a classic and everybody should seek this out and watch it.


----------



## seabs

*I was just wondering. I've seen you type their names surname-forename too like in Japan.*


----------



## Nervosa

Dontaku Review

Opening 8-man 
*3/4
Pretty blah, but everyone got their stuff in. I think the universe exploded when Yoshi-Hashi and tiger Mask were in there at the same time. I mean, its only uphill from there, right?

Forever Hooligans vs. Time splitters 
***3/4
Really loved this, even if it was way too short. Nice action, Romero was especially great. This group has wrestled a lot and this was the best match they've had so far, imo. Really thought this was special, even if I totally disagree with the finish.

Bullet Club vs. Taguchi/Captain
**
As bad as you probably think. Taguchi and Captain were horrible, Fale did mostly nothing. Then Devitt came in and spammed his finishers like in all his matches. Then Taguchi came in and was boring. Then the match finished, and that was that. Weak, but its to be expected with those involved.

4-way tag
**3/4
Ok, so there were several tags leading up to this involving the three non-KES teams. They were all fun at the very least, and the last one that Iizuka/Yano won was actually awesome. Somehow adding KES....made this worse. Strong man is hilariously awful. Yano was, as always, the highlight. Without spoiling....the finish sucked. It wasn't awful but definitely a disappointment. The best people in the match didn't get enough time in the match to save it, and the worst people in the match got more time than they should have.

Homna vs. Tanaka
***1/2
So wait.....people were disappointed with this? I thought it was an awesome story and the crowd loved Honma's stuff. Wasn't as good as the tag match they had last month, but still really fun. Finish fell flat, but other than that, a nice solid undercard singles match.

Makabe vs. Yujiro
**3/4
Two of the biggest under-performers of the year combined together. Hooray. I'm just glad the feud is over. Pretty skippable.

Goto vs. Shibata
***1/4
beginning of this match was awesome. The rest was fine, I guess. Shibata was just awesome here. Didn't like Goto stealing Shibata's finisher, which was pretty lamely executed. Can't say my full thoughts without spoilers.


Spoiler: option



Finish is so so stupid. Why does Goto need protected? The loss to Makabe hurt Shibata enough....this only furthers the damage. Shibata is supposed to challenge for the title this year, but instead they need to wheel out this stupid finish to protect same-old boring goto? Dumb pointless finish and a waste of Shibata.



Tanahashi vs. Anderson
***1/2
Pretty much a poorer version of their title match, which I didn't like much either. I think these guys have similar strengths and weaknesses. Great timing and awesome movesets, but a tendency to spam their movesets instead of building around them. I am getting a bit sick of the counter-fest around the stungun that seems to appear in all Anderson matches.

Shinsuke vs. Benjamin
****
Ok....this was almost amazing. As is, its the best shelton match I've ever seen. his legwork was incredible, building up to an awesome story. When Nakamura worked his ribs, his facials were awesome. He also added a lot to his moveset that I hadn't seen before. It was just amazing. Shinskay was great through most of the match, and him and shelton were building something really special. then Shinskay botched......badly. then they tried to save it, and it was really sloppy. then they finished it. so yeah, Shinskay ruined the best Shelton performance in 8 years or so. Just....impossible to believe, really. Shinskay is becoming a little sketchy. Maybe wrestling every match dead drunk has its setbacks, after all.

Okada vs. Suzuki
****1/4
Yeah man....I loved it. For me....Better than their first match, better than Anderson/Tanhashi, and probably even better than Tanahashi/okada from WK. Not as good as Invasion attack, of course, but easily top 4 singles matches this year, for me.

I get why people hate it. Its very slow. But honestly, from a storyline standpoint, I get that. Okada wrestles this in a very careful way. He knows Suzuki has his number. He also knows that stringing together power moves, like he did in the first match, isn't going to work. So he decides a slower pace is better. what resulted was a slow workover of the neck while suzuki worked Okada's arm. The counters in the hold-for-hold were amazing. The first Red Mist counter is probably my favorite part of the match. 

Someone said they hated how long Okada was in the last sleeper, but I loved it. Pretty much the same thing happened in the Tanahashi/Suzuki match, and no one complained about that. 

Finishing stretch was really exciting. One of the most exciting spots is the out of nowhere gotch Tombstone. I just this the structure of the match told a really great story.

I think I liked the match most because it was different. Its the way Don Fujii stands out in dragon gate. the pace stood out, and it made the moves mean more. Okada knew he took something different to beat Suzuki. He couldn't wrestle the break-neck racing style that he is used to. The pace made it feel like a chess-match. the crowd, as others have said, is just AWFUL. Put this at Ryogoku or Osaka....MOTYC. Here, it falls off a lot. Still even so, despite all the bad ratings, I can't see much wrong with this. If they did anything wrong, it was how sudden the finish was, but it was still a great match. 

Fukouka better not ever get a big show again. They were awful for this. Popped for shelton/Shinskay until the botches, and that was about it. The show was a big step down from what new Japan has done lately. Undercard was fine, but underwhelming. I liked the main event, although I see why the pace will bother people. I still think it is REALLY far from a dud, its just not what people expected. What kinda hurts is that there was a lot of really bad stuff on the undercard. Even the stuff that was passable was a bit disappointing. While I know booking shouldn't feature much on a review, for me, it was another problem here. Just some real head scratchers in terms of the winners of the matches. Overall, an ok, but mostly skippable show. 


Two other matches I saw today:
KAI vs. Akiyama
****
Really awesome action, and Akiyama using great heel heat. Kai's comebacks were really exciting and fun as well. Some problems that I can't discuss without spoiling, but it was fun.


Spoiler: option



Only problem was that despite the fun hope spots it never REALLY felt like Kai could win this. I just never bought it, which really brought down an otherwise exciting match. Kai came off looking gutsy, but not really strong.



Kobashi, Sasaki, Mutoh, Akiyama vs. KENTA, MAYBACH, Kanemaru, Shiozaki
***3/4
A full, fun, exciting sendoff. Can't be happier for Kobashi, and this was a great way to say goodbye.


----------



## flag sabbath

EmbassyForever said:


> *Kobashi, Akiyama, Mutoh & Sasaki vs KENTA, Shiozaki, Kanemaru & Maybach - *****
> Glad Kobashi looked so good in his last match. Go was the best guy here. It was 40 minutes but felt like 20.


Yeah, this just breezed by & Kobashi went out on a feelgood high note. Also, the shot of the little kid crying as Kobashi got quadruple-teamed was a great 'to be continued...' moment.


----------



## Corey

Does anyone remember several months ago I reviewed a Masato Yoshino vs. Naruki Doi match from Dragon Gate that I praised super highly and said I'd rip and post it in the media section? Well I finally found a site that would let me upload something of its size (460 MB) and you folks should really check it out. I know Cody & Seabs said they were on board with watching, well now's the time! Here's my original review:

*Open The Dream Gate Championship
*Naruki Doi (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
_Gate of Maximum 2009 (6/11/09)_



Spoiler: Match Review



*Open The Dream Gate Championship
*Naruki Doi (c) vs. Masato Yoshino
_Gate of Maximum 2009 (6/11/09)_

So these two are partners in World-1 and I'm not 100% sure how this match came about, but I'm not gonna complain considering the show they put on. I've seen very little from either guy in their actual home country, so my opinion on both is based squarely on what they've done in the states. This match opened my eyes quite a bit. First, the obvious part. The opening sequences here were insane. Seriously looked like you were watching it in fast forward. Yoshino eventually tweaks his knee on the outside, so Doi attacks that instantly. Yoshino eventually weathers the storm and goes after Doi's left arm. Big, big props to both guys for keeping these isolated body parts the story of the contest for nearly the entire match. Superb selling all the way through. If the limb didn't keep them from doing a move, once they did hit it they would at least acknowledge the fact that they're in pain. Yoshino's performance in general was just fantastic. His scouting of the Muscular Bomb the entire match was really well done (as was the scouting from both guys considering they're tag partners) & his selling of the leg exceeded my expectations by far. There was actually a moment where Doi was selling the wrong arm, but then Yoshino just decides to attack both and make it easier.  The finishing stretch was absolutely mark-out worthy. I found myself rooting for Yoshino, the clear underdog, and MAN some of those nearfalls were close. Yoshino no selling the Doi 555 off the middle rope was so awesome. Amazing match that was paced unlike anything I'd ever seen from either guy. I haven't seen any other Puro from 2009 but I'd be hard pressed to say this wouldn't make AT LEAST someone's Top 20 for the year. One of the best from any company imo. Please go watch this. ***** 1/2*


The match itself really made me appreciate Yoshino's work A LOT more. I already knew what Doi was capable of, but fuck me at the Yoshino performance. Check this one out for sure guys. Just posted it in the media section:

*http://www.wrestlingforum.com/indy-...to-yoshino-dragon-gate-gate-maximum-09-a.html*


----------



## Obfuscation

Kind of blows my mind considering I've only seen Yoshino & Doi as very effective partners; never opponents. Oooooh. This should be all kinds of fun.

(Y) @ all of this.


----------



## flag sabbath

Top end of Big Japan's 5/5 show is a fucking riot. Kasai & Numazawa's 'Murder Ride' tag is decent & features a razor board shovel (?!), which Takao Omori then tries to use on Sekimoto in their so-so Strong title match. Iron Cage tag title bout includes the biggest bounce off of a superplex I've ever seen. And Ishikawa vs. Ito raises the bar on repeated Kenzan bump lunacy. Deathmatch fans will devour this stuff.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Last year it was a really great show. Hopefully it's better than it sounds because I'm planning on watching that. Damn I have a lot of Puro goodness to catch up (everything from AJPW CC, NJPW Dontaku, BJW's matches that JoeRulez pimped here)


----------



## Obfuscation

Fallen a bit behind on the Puro front myself. Still can't believe I haven't caught up with New Japan yet. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Been branching out with more BJW as of late. So, answers revealed on that front.

Got to see the Kobashi tag match right now. Looks too good to not at least be a fun time.


----------



## Yeah1993

Watching 2000s stuffaroonie for a BOTD thing, will post shitty shit here. 

Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka v. Daisuke Ikeda/Mitsuya Nagai (BattlARTS 2/13/00)
Otsuka looked basically as good as anyone in the world while selling the strikes. It’s really just a matter of tilting your head the right way, bending your body here, making a ‘ohw’ face there and getting the move over even after it was hit. But he went beyond that. He did an incredibly good sell of a lariat. The lariat was stiff as shit, and in a stiff-as-shit lariat a dude can kind of not really fall over in time and kind of keep one leg on the ground while falling over. Otsuka flew perfectly and it looked it was actually Ikeda’s force sending him toward the mat. There was also this terrific visual of a tombstone where you saw Nagai’s back and Otsuka’s hands clutched, and then on impact you see Otsuka’s hands fall, and his legs kind of stop dead. The longer the match went Alex got completely destroyed more and more, to the point where he couldn’t stand up. He sold the shitkicking he was eating really well when on offense, too. I guess he didn’t do anything outstanding, but he had weird submissions on at times and it felt like a desperate reach to wear the opponent down and give himself a break from the shitkicking. The part where he tags out was amazing; he hits a desperation elbow and then a headbutt. At the same time he hits the headbutt he just collapses to the floor and tags Ishikawa on the way down. Gimme goosebumps, what don’t you? He lays there basically the rest of the match, unless Ikeda kicks him out of the ring. Thinking about it now it looks like Ikeda and Nagai’s strategy, as the match went on, was to take out Otsuka so Ishikawa would have no one to come to his rescue (Otsuka tried a couple of times but was thrown out after one shot and we didn’t see him again). Ishikawa got out of a couple of submissions thanks to Otsuka, but this sort of became a two-on-one struggle he couldn’t win. I didn’t like Ishikawa eating the shitkicking as MUCH as Otsuka, but, come one, he’s Yuki Ishikawa. He’s going to do the pro graps well. Actually I shouldn’t forget to mention Yuki’s facials here. He and Otsuka had a leg of Nagai’s each, and were sort of pulling in opposite directions so Nagai’s crotch felt the pain. Yuki had this Tajiri-esque mouth-agape face on like he was really enjoying it. Then later Nagai knocks him down, and he pops up after a five count with his seedy little ‘nope, I was fakin’’ smile on his face, as if he was playing possum half of the count. This was the first BattlARTS match I ever watch years ago and it still holds up as a million stars.


Yuki Ishikawa v. Kazunari Murakami (BattlARTS 11/26/00)
Murakami came into BatBat and went straight for Ish. He was basically a psycho-stiff heel who’d destroy whoever partnered with Ish, and attacked officials if they got in his way. I’m not entirely sure if this is the first time Murakami and Ishikawa got a one-on-one match, but if not I have to find the one before it. This is really ridiculous. It felt like BattlARTS Lesnar v. Cena, and considering Lesnar/Cena was basically the ‘BattlARTS’ of WWE, that’s kind of saying something. Murakami is incredible as your skinny Japanese punk Lesnar, throwing stupidly stiff blows at Yuki’s face (making his mouth bleed in the process), hurling kicks as hard as he can hurl, and not giving him breathing room at all. One time Ish grabs the rope during a submission and Murakami basically gives the least possible time for Ish to get up, then he fires away and Ish folds into the corner. And Murakami keeps kicking, stomping and screaming at him. The stand off with Ishikawa on the floor and Murakami on the apron ruled, and then they go to the outside where Murakami flings Yuki over the guardrail and they fuck each other up there. They have the crowd stand off where Yuki kicks Murakami, but Murakami goes ‘yeah, that was a kick, but this is A KICK!’ When Yuki tries to gets back in the ring, Murakami doesn’t even let him on his own will. The finish was a bit of a Lesnar/Cena finish, but without the kind of ‘eh’ WWE Cena feeling. Ishikawa stiffs him straight in the face (and unlike Murakami he isn’t wearing gloves), then uses the Inoki leg-tied up-fall-backward- thingys (I don’t know what they care called), and grabs a sleeper-chokehold that’s as badass as the one Murakami had on him earlier (but without the sight of Ishikawa practically breathing blood out of his face). There were some shots here that I think Ishikawa kind of should have sold a little more, but I kind of bought it as the ace not being bested by the punk until the punk really gets pissed off and starts losing his mind. I need to re-watch their 01 match because I remember nothing of it. I may check every match I have where they’re in the same match later in the year, too, because I don’t remember how good most of those were. Call me naïve but I actually questioned if ths was a shoot at the beginning of it. Loved it. How many stars is this, though? I’d say a million.


----------



## Yeah1993

Double post but I'm watching a bunch o' this shit and won't stop.

Yuki Ishikawa v. Kazunari Murakami (BattlARTS 10/5/01)
Good, but not great. Murakami is less vicious than the 2000 match even if his floored punches look really rough. He seemed to be taking it a little easy before being sent outside. He gets more hyped up after that and figures he should be rougher, and it’s BattlARTS so it’s rougher and stiffer than your average match. He hits the floor and challenges Yuki to a mat game, so that was cool. Ishikawa sold trying to get out of the submissions really well and he tries to use the sleeper that won him last year’s Murakami fight. I forgot to mention how there was a really awesome enzuguiri in the 2000 match (maybe the stiffest enzuguiri I can remember), and Yuki hits another here. The final punch and Ishikawa trying to get up before the ten count was done terrifically well. Yuki does the ‘he might still get up’ to perfection. Worth a watch, definitely. 

Kiyoshi Tamura v. Dokonjonosuke Mishima (U-Style 4/6/03)
I don't think I ever watched this. I'd watched a Tamura v. Mishima that was listed as happening on the 8/7/04 show, and unless that was actually this one, then, yeah, I'd never seen this. Dug it a ton. This didn't have the MOST high-end mat work there is, but there were a couple of quick exchanges that felt like sub-Tamura v. Sakuraba. The kind of stuff where they just counter each others' counters and where a commentator would go 'action is too fast to call~!~'. Speaking of things that can't be described, the hell was that crazy-awesome submission by Mishima? He had one of Tamura's leg in one arm, and Tamura's head in the other, and was pulling them both toward each other or something, making Tamura sort of form a 'C' shape. With the right camera angle it looked a little disgusting; totally something I could see a submission out of. Then when that doesn't work Mishima grabs onto Tamura's foot and sort of bends it upwards, like a modified ankle lock, but more targeted at the shin. I'm pushing my foot up as far I can right now and I actually got a little numb. So yeah, holy shit. With Mishima ACTUALLY having mat advantage (on Tamura, nonetheless), Kiyoshi gets upright and throws kicks. He gets Mishima down, but Mishima decides he can kick, too. And his kicks were bizarrely cool-looking. They were like enzuguiris, but he placed his hand on the ground to use his arm as a spring to pop up so he doesn't hit the mat. Mishima heads back to the foot, but Tamura counters and eventually gets his win. Man there was some weird neat shit in this. I kind of wish Mishima had more of a graps career than an MMA one.

Hiroyuki Ito v. Ryuki Ueyama (U-Style 10/6/03)
The beginning of this was really cool. Ito keeps just sort of lightly kicking Ueyama in the legs, and Ueyama doesn't really do much about it even though it seems to be bothering him. Ueyama was determined to use palms. Once he gets Ito in the corner he has this look on his face, like he knows what he's after, he's just need an opening. Then BAM. He fires away with a dozen palms and Ito goes down. ****1/2. Ito tries hitting the mat but Ueyama gets the advantage there, too. Ito seems frustrated and gets yellow carded/loses points after stomping on Ueyama at the wrong time (or, in the wrong place, or something). The stomp had a clear effect on Ueyama, but not as much as Ito kicking the leg of Ueyama's that seemed slightly bandaged. When they hit the mat, he keeps continually hitting the leg, and Ueyama eventually develops a limp after a leglock. He gets kicked down, and Ito goes back to the leglcok. Ueyama's right near the ropes, but doesn't want to lose any more points, so he tries to fight the pain. We get a referee stop, which was kind of neat. Made Ueyama look like a real fighter who didn't want to surrender. Ueyama had the upper-hand until Ito goes for that bandaged leg, and even then he didn't decide to end the match himself by giving up. I liked this a bunch as a neat gem on first watch last year, but fuck neat gem; it's actually really, really good.


----------



## Obfuscation

I crossed a few lines together and thought I read "upper-fucking-cut". Which I proceeded to mark out to. Then I noticed it was "upper-hand" & "fuck" on two different lines. Rats.

I haven't branched much into the shoot realm except for Volk Han stuff & about one or two matches from BattlARTS. The Han stuff was great, I think at the time I wasn't suited for BattlARTS. It could feed more to my style these days. If I take the time to give it a chance. Bad enough I should be watching more World of Sport as it is.


----------



## Corey

Dokonjonosuke Mishima

That's the greatest first name ever. Never seen or even heard of anything you're posting about though.


----------



## Yeah1993

Obfuscation said:


> I crossed a few lines together and thought I read "upper-fucking-cut". Which I proceeded to mark out to. Then I noticed it was "upper-hand" & "fuck" on two different lines. Rats.


Holy shit I need to use 'upper-fucking-cut' one day. Maybe on the MS-1/Chicana 83 classic that has the greatest uppercut spot ever (maybe).



Jack Evans 187 said:


> Dokonjonosuke Mishima
> 
> That's the greatest first name ever. Never seen or even heard of anything you're posting about though.


Unfortunately that isn't his real name, but it gives hope that someone, somewhere has the birth name 'Dokonjonosuke'.


----

Watched both Tamura/Kohsaka and Tamura/Ito again.

Tamura/Kohsaka is choc-full of the 'too fast to call~' mat work and it's all badass. Tamura's game of shifting in ways to not exactly get out of a hold, but to be on top so he takes less pain and can throw body shots is awesome, and Kohsaka counters a couple of those attempts. Tamura getting shaky when getting up because he knew Kohsaka was going to grab him in the sunset-flip-pin-ish (obv not a pin but you know) way was tremendous. The BIG moments were BIG. Kohsaka trying to catch Tamura's leg on a kick but collapsing while still barely clutching, Tamura eating a big knee to the gut and selling it like a stomach tumour, the VICIOUS single-leg Boston crab, etc. Kohsaka hits the ankle lock twice and he thinks it might win him the match, but then it actually costs him the entire match when Tamura turns it into a cross-armbreaker. Super great.

Tamura/Ito also super great. Ito goes firing wildly and Tamura loses a couple of points before even really getting to do anything. He was forced to grab the ropes more than once, and he seemed to even stray away from them in other holds so he wasn't tempted. Ito dodges palms while they're both tied up and even gets lucky and sort of 'accidentally' dodges some swift looking kicks. Tamura only really gets big chances to fight back when applying a leglock. And even on one of those leglocks Kohsaka had struggled to counter it with one of his own. Great struggle there. Possibly even better struggle with the cross-armbreaker. Tamura tried his hardest to get the fuck out of it because he didn't want to touch the ropes, and it looked like a legit tussle. So yeah this is super great, but I prefer Tamura/Kohsaka by a little. Realistically I could go back and forth b/w the two.


----------



## Chismo

*NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2013*

*(5/3/2013)*


1.	CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Maximo

**


2.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) © vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)

**3/4


3.	Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Cpt. New Japan

**1/2


4.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) © vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs. The Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man) vs. CHAOS Dark Instigators (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka)

**3/4


5.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Masato Tanaka © vs. Tomoaki Honma

***


6.	Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi

***1/2


7.	Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata

***


8.	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson

***


9.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Shelton Benjamin

_Wow, this was by far the worst Shinsuke I’ve seen in a long while. Not only he botched few important moves in the finishing stretch, but his entire body of work was really bad here, especially selling, that was just unforgiving. It’s a damn shame, because Shelton was busting his ass, this was his best singles performance since… ever. But unfortunately, Shinsuke was useless, he almost completely destroyed the match._

**


10.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Minoru Suzuki

_Eh, this was good, I guess, but yet disappointing considering it’s a PPV main event and an Okada title match. This was definitely the worst IWGP HW title bout since Tanahashi/Marufuji, and one of the worst main events in the promotion this year. Suzuki was actually damn fine here, he was very dominant, confident and believable on offense, but Okada was mostly unbearable with his faux and annoying fighting spirit and questionable selling. He has become a hot/cold guy this year, performance wise. Also, the booking of the Sleepers didn’t help either, it was poorly done. Like I already said, this was a good match, but needed to be much better considering their awesome clash from February, and New Japan’s hot streak of great main events._

***


Well, this was two steps down in terms of quality compared to previous big shows, but it wasn’t bad at all. The ** matches from the lowcard were enjoyable, short ‘n’ sweet, nothing dragged. The midcard was good, Makabe/Yujiro was the MOTN, and the only true letdown was the IC title match. Okada/MiSu was a letdown as well, but it wasn’t bad at least.​


----------



## WOOLCOCK

*Kiyoshi Tamura v. Dokonjonosuke Mishima, U-Style (4/6/03)*

Really dug this. Interesting to see Tamura largely controlled and outmanouevred on the mat and having to rely on his strikes to regain control and begin to trouble Mishima. Grappling and countering was done intricately and with such flawless and precise pace that it looks authentic and not staged and both men had some neat ways of countering and adjusting their position to break holds. Submission that Moops pimped certainly looked disgusting and a bugger to be on the receiving end of and I loved Mishima's opportunistic and unorthodox submissions that he relied on throughout. You don't expect a figure four scissor hold around the neck to be a troubling submission in a Kiyoshi Tamura match and yet it was executed superbly here and the quick transition into the cross armbreaker struggle was magnificent. Loved Tamura seemingly having rescued himself and denying Mishima the full extension of the arm only to have to frantically get to the ropes instantaneously when Mishima breaks his defence. Stand up sections by both were great and Tamura always has this Fujiwara esque presence about him that allows him to work these stalling/tentative stand up sections in a way that keeps me engrossed rather than waiting for something to happen. His explosive kicks looked great and the rare moments where both men would throw dual strikes looked great. Loved the finish with Tamura finally being able to get Mishima on the ropes long enough to tackle him to the mat, control him and then transition into a submission. Nice way to signify Tamura's ability on the mat once he can contain and begin to overwhelme you.


*Kiyoshi Tamura v Tsuyoshi Kohsaka, U-Style (2/4/04)*

Incredible matwork, in fact is there any matwork in a 00s match that tops this? Everything feels hard fought and competitive, and they establish parity by letting both men look skillful and dangerous in the exchanges, but in such a way that the pace is slow enough to put over the caution and respect both men have for the other whilst creating some drama in amongst the impressive grappling. Pacing between matwork and strike exchanges is wonderful, Tamura going down a point after an extended opening of matwork forces him to try his hand at catching Kohsaka off guard with a strike and christ does he catch him off guard, Kohsaka's desperate attempt to catch the leg and work a hold only to collapse upon impact was beautiful. Incredible drama down the finishing stretch as well, with Tamura slowly losing points and constantly having to enter each exchange one point worse off than Kohsaka, really ties into the final exchange tremendously with Tamura looking to be 40-15 down and with seemingly little to no hope, until Kohsaka's eagerness draws him into more matwork and Tamura spots his only chance, fact its very similar in execution to the Kohsaka/Volk Han 98 finish just fills my heart with joy. Oh and the guy in the background visibly relieved at the finish is stupendous, half convinced he bet his house on the victor and was about to find himself homeless.


*Genichiro Tenryu vs Taichi Ishikari, All Japan (6/8/03)*

Only goes 7 minutes but what a 7 minutes we get. Absolute pearler of a performance by Tenryu as he just helplessly brutalises this youngster who commits the greatest act of stupidity known to anyone: he pisses off Tenryu. Tenryu is sporting early on and gives a clean break to the youngster who replies with a cheapshot on the next lockup. Needless to say Tenryu's reaction is about as far removed from gracious as is humanly possible. He has this great expression invting Ishikari to throw some shots his way before leathering him with a slap that by all accounts should have shattered Ishikari's jaw. Fabulous bit of dickhead Tenryu surfaces when he punts the lad clean in the mush as he's struggling to get off the mat following the slap before Tenryu takes him to the outside and in an absolutely insane spot picks a table up behind the guardrail and just nukes Ishikari with it right in the kisser. Looked absolutely filthy. Ishikari later fights back with a tenacious slap and good lord is Tenryu's facial expression just the god's honest best. He reacts almost as if to laugh off the strike before wincing in agony as if the after effects have just hit him and then he absorbs a few more shots with this amazing stubborn and disgusted look before drilling the plucky youngster with a lariat and stiff Powerbomb for the finish. He even helps the lad to this feet post match, only to drill him with two slaps and a stiff running lariat. What a dick. Amazing Tenryu performance which anyone who loves him would do well to just watch. Pretty much everything great about Tenryu compressed into 7 minutes.


----------



## Farnham the Drunk

I got what I've wanted since I joined this site & figured you guys might be interested.

Suzuki smiley!

:suzuki

: suzuki -without the space obviously. The perfect WTF smiley to use around the forum, lol


----------



## bigbuxxx

love it


----------



## BreakTheWallsDown.

Probably already been posted but just in case, free best of Kenta Kobashi IVP Video: 

http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=10444?osCsid=3440b77784ac4fb4c619952a5c1c17ba


----------



## blink_41sum_182

BreakTheWallsDown. said:


> Probably already been posted but just in case, free best of Kenta Kobashi IVP Video:
> 
> http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=10444?osCsid=3440b77784ac4fb4c619952a5c1c17ba


Thanks


----------



## Obfuscation

:suzuki

oh joyous times


----------



## Yeah1993

Yuki Ishikawa v. Daisuke Ikeda (Fu-Ten 4/24/05)
What on Earth can I say about this? It’s one of the most ruthless, violent spectacles in wrestling. The opening punch is a PUNCH, but you almost don’t remember that after the violence that follows for fifteen minutes. They do hit the mat and it gets less (though still) violent, but when Ikeda gets tired of having his leg tortured and gets up to BRUTALLY kicks Yuki in the face, violence is turned up to 11. The spot where he gets out of cross-armbreaker by punching Ishikawa straight in the face and then throws the most disgustingly violent kick I’ve ever seen, is maybe the most stiff batch of seconds in the history of wrestling. Ikeda doesn’t stop with those legs; he beats the shit out of Ishikawa while Ish is laying in the corner, and I mean beats the shit out of him almost literally. Human beings were not meant to be treated like that. They have the greatest possible punch/elbow war and the ‘smacks’ of it all are as loud as twenty people clapping at once. Ikeda also feels the need to take Kobashi-head-bumps on the suplexes and doesn’t bother to stick his arms up. This is goddamn gruesome. Yuki Ishikawa was supposedly asked in 2009 (by Ditch?) why he and Ikeda hit each other so hard, and his response was "Because we are not hitting each other, we are hitting the fucking stupid people in the world who think that pro-wrestling is fake like a trained monkey show. They say that pro wrestling kicks are fake so it is not painful. etc. Once they see our fight, they have nothing to say. They watch our fight like a fool with their mouth open with surprise. So our violent fight is not only for our opponents but for the fucking people that make light of BATTLARTS. Our fight is anger towards people who make light of us." That does not do this justice.


Yuki Ishikawa v. Alexander Otsuka (Big Mouth Loud 9/11/05)
Ishikawa works the debut Fu-Ten show in a match that fucking ruled, and now works the debut BML show. And this match fucking ruled too. It won’t look as stiff next to Ishikawa v. Ikeda, but it is plenty stiff. Yuki actually throws some grounded punches to the face that rival some of the Ishikawa/Ikeda punches, and the headbutts are not pretty. Otsuka only hits a few (probably good for the well being of these two), but they’re nasty, and Otsuka sells the damage of the move he used himself with a terrific facial. A good deal of this is great mat work with really nicely fought-for holds, but the stuff they did whilst standing may have been the highlights. Otsuka takes some hard bumps on Germans, including one where he almost had his leg tied up. Surprise spot where Otsuka uses a frankensteiner to get a triangle choke, which Ishikawa looked to getting his head completely squished on. Once you imagine the dizziness Yuki must be feeling, Otsuka decides it’s time to pull out the giant swing. Yow. Otsuka has all sort of nifty counters for holds, including a great one where he rolls backward out of a cool-looking headlock (kind of like a crossface, but Alex is on his back and Yuki has a headlock instead of the actual crossface). Great mix of mat game and standing awesomeness and I wish I had a Yuki Ishikawa quote to summarise the match. This feels like it belongs in the discussion of some of the best sub-fifteen minute matches in history. Not top tier, but I don’t think it would look out of place in a top 20 or so. Maybe that’s too high and I’m forgetting how many amazing sub-fifteen minute matches there are, but the point is that this is goddamn great.

Re-watched Ishikawa v. Ito 4/19/06. Don’t have much to say about it but it still rules. Ito fires away at the beginning like did in the Tamura match and he may have actually out-stiffed Ishikawa here. Yuki puts on a *great* STF. Damn good match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Is that the match SI constantly plugs? _(the Ishikawa vs Ikeda one)_


----------



## Yeah1993

Not sure which one he plugs constantly.  I've seen him plug it, but not constantly like he does with a Sangre Chicana v. Perro Aguayo (I'LL WATCH IT ONE DAY INGHAM).


----------



## Obfuscation

SI COME IN HERE AND SOLVE THIS. 

b/c he plugs some shoot match all the time. I think I'm on the right track...

I'll give that bloody lucha brawl a watch sometime too. I swear. :suzuki


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Yeah that's the absolute greatest FUTEN/BattlARTS style match imo. Strong contender for my overall #1 of the decade when its all said and done. Yeah1993 covered everything about it perfectly and I'll hold off on a review until I rewatch it eventually to decide on a final placement.

Great to see you love Ishikawa/Osaka though. Got that pegged on my list and adored it on last watch:



> *Yuki Ishikawa vs Alexander Otsuka, Big Mouth Loud (9/11/05)*
> 
> I could watch these two grapple all day, feels like the Japanese equivalent of Finlay/Regal. Sensational grappling which builds a beautiful 'human chess' story, even things like Ishikawa eating air on an attempted enziguri and immediately shifting into a defensive guard puts over how both men can beat the other in an instant: everything feels like its a struggle to win. Nothing is given up easily at all, and the strikes feel more like a perverse way to one up the other when the matwork can't separate them, not to mention I loved how on a couple of occasions both men would use the strikes to try and shoot in with the other not expecting it. Also adore how they fight for every counter, they don't sit in the hold but straight away look for an escape the minute an ankle or arm is even slightly bent in a way which could draw about a submission. Headbutts in this are also fucking horrific, first one felt disgusting to hear but the second one was definitely the worst, Otsuka does a Fujiwara esque shoot in headbutt and Ishikawa just sells it superbly as he richochets back into the ropes. Finish is wonderful and puts over the straightforward grappling, and Ishikawa's prior offence progressively weakening Otsuka really adds to the eventual submission.


:mark: I really can't see you not loving Chicana/Aguayo. Tbf I only really pimp it to Seabs as a running joke of it becoming our version of his insistence on holding off on watching BSG to toy with McQueen. A few others have asked about Lucha brawls and its come up there as well. TLK loving it was a truly ecstatic moment.

Cody only other shoot style match you might be thinking of in addition to Ishikawa/Ikeda (which I truly love) is Ishikawa/Greco from BattlARTS in '08. That's another corker of a match and one of my absolute favourites from the decade.


----------



## Yeah1993

IDK if I'd call Ishikawa/Ikeda 05 the best BattlARTS/Fu-Ten match. I might prefer the 1998 Ishikawa/Ikeda, and I think I like the 08 3-on-3 more. I do still have to watch the 2010 Fu-Ten, too. Top 5 for BatBat + Fu-Ten seems like a lock for 4/24/05, though, unless there's more than a couple from 2010 better.

Ishikawa/Otsuka was one of those 'watched it two years ago and thought it was very good but not great and now I see Two Years Ago Me as a scumbag and it is in fact great' matches


----------



## WOOLCOCK

I'm not sure I've seen the '98 encounter between Ishikawa/Ikeda but I'd definitely take the '05 match over the '08 6 man tag although I'll be voting for that without a second's hesitation. Watched the 4/26/09 Ono/Ikeda vs Oba/Suruga tag today and honestly wasn't feeling the majority of it. Dug Ikeda a lot but I'm not a big fan of Oba's comedy for the most part nor his offence and tbh even the Ono/Suruga sections for the most part didn't really get me motivated or deeply interested in the match. Ikeda was a violent mofo as per usual and Ono/Suruga did produce a couple of strong strikes but the overall work wasn't really that stellar tbh. Think you pimped that to me (definitely some '09 shoot style tag) and this has to make one of the firs recs I've got of you where I've not taken to the match all that much. Watch me have gotten the wrong match like a total bellend.

Yeah Ishikawa/Otsuka should for all intensive purposes be a lock on my final list. Just got to cut 13 matches atm which should hopefully not prove all too stressful.

Craig's review of Suzuki/Mecca Mummy also has me wanting to watch it. I won't vote for a comedy match, but I'll be damned if I don't get some enjoyment out of it.


----------



## Obfuscation

I know it's from lack of viewing, but a trios match in BattlARTS sounds absurd in all the right ways.


----------



## duttanized

What happens to KENTA if NOAH folds? Where will he go?


----------



## Obfuscation

Def Freelance right off the bat. Unless one of the major promotions decides to nab him for their Junior divisions. It's a problem best swerved for when or if NOAH does eventually folds.

btw, speaking of NOAH _(not really)_ aka weak segway into Kobashi...I watched this glorious bit last night:






DOUG FURNAS & PHIL LA...eh, DAN KROFFAT


----------



## duttanized

#KENTAFor2014BOSJ


----------



## Obfuscation

Rather see Ishimori elsewhere with talent over KENTA. I'm pretty much over his work.


----------



## Nervosa

duttanized said:


> #KENTAFor2014BOSJ


Please God No. I can't even imagine how spammy Devitt/KENTA would be as they desperately no sell each other in a sad futile attempt to get in all of their shitty moves.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Obfuscation said:


> Def Freelance right off the bat. Unless one of the major promotions decides to nab him for their Junior divisions. It's a problem best swerved for when or if NOAH does eventually folds.
> 
> btw, speaking of NOAH _(not really)_ aka weak segway into Kobashi...I watched this glorious bit last night:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> DOUG FURNAS & PHIL LA...eh, DAN KROFFAT


I just finished Kobashi's title reign after 3 or 4 days and that tag was the next I was going to watch. I've only seen it twice which is not nearly enough.

After all this Kobashi I've seen I need a suggestion on who to watch. I've seen tons from the standard guys: Kawada, Taue, Kobashi, Misawa, Jumbo, Tenryu, Hansen, Funk, Hashimoto, and some current guys like Takayama, MiSu, Tanahashi, and Nagata. Any suggestions on old school or current guys to watch a bunch of?

edit for ratings of some of the title defenses:
vs Misawa - 3/1/03: *****
vs Honda and Bison I didn't rate but I hated both of them, especially the Bison one
vs Chono - didn't rate but was fine
vs Nagata - Fantastic match and I would expect nothing less from these two.  This was a dream match-up of mine and to see it come to fruition and deliver like this was awesome. ****1/2+
vs Y. Ogawa - I absolutely loved this match. Kobashi made him look like gold. ***1/4
vs Sano - ***1/2. had some fun spots but Sano didn't have a spot where he'd look like he could win. Ogawa looked like he had a better shot of winning than Sano
vs Rikio. not rated
vs Takayama - ****1/2. I love me some Big TAK ass kicking
vs Akiyama - ****1/4. Not big on this match. I love big fight feel matches and this had that but I didn't like the ending at all. The first 30 minutes or so were awesome though.
vs Taue - ****1/2. I was surprised to see Meltzer gave this only ***1/2. This match fucking rocked. 
vs Saito - ****. Great match but just so much overkill.
vs Gladiater - ***1/4. Overkill just like the previous match but Mike had really bad bumping along with some awful looking offense (looked super weak and fake which ruins my enjoyment).
vs MiSu - ***3/4. I love this match, especially the ending.
vs Rikio - ****1/2. Probably overrating this but I loved it. It had tons of overkill in it but it only made sense considering he was doing this:









Almost every match delivered some drama and lots of great wrestling. Awesome title reign from an awesome wrestler who should be known as GOATbashi.


----------



## Obfuscation

He might not be a heavyweight, but you can't go wrong with a Jushin Liger binge.

Or go the Gaijin route and do Gary Albright, Furnas/Kroffat, or Dr. Death.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I'll do Liger. I watched his 1/30(31?)/90 match a few weeks ago but I remember the other Sano matches being really good as well so I'll watch those and some other matches I haven't seen. Thanks. 

I really disliked Dr. Death in singles action :\. Found it hard to sit through his much talked about Kawada match.


----------



## MF83

Good time for a c&p I think...

BEST OF ALL JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING: CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER MEGA-MASTER-LIST~!


*# Bold indicates ****1/2+ in my opinion* 



> Top 25 Matches Before 1980:
> 
> *Numbers indicate my placement in the Best of Puroresu Before 1980 Project:
> 
> _1960's JWA: Giant Baba Edition_
> 
> Giant Baba -vs- Fritz Von Erich (JPWA; 1966-12-03)
> Giant Baba -vs- Bruno Sammartino (JPWA; 1967-03-07)
> Giant Baba -vs- Gene Kiniski (JWA; 1967-08-14)
> *4. Giant Baba -vs- The Destroyer (JWA; 1969-03-05) *Voted the #1 Match Before 1980**
> 
> _1970s All Japan: The Best Wrestling Ever? _
> 
> *10. Mil Máscaras -vs- The Destroyer (AJPW; 1974-07-25)*
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- The Funks (AJPW; 1975-03-13)
> Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Giant Baba (AJPW; 1975-12-15)
> Dory Funk Jr. -vs- Horst Hoffmann (AJPW; 1975-12-15)
> *12. Don Leo Jonathon -vs- The Destroyer (AJPW; 1975-12-13)*
> *20. Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Rusher Kimura (AJPW & IWE; 1976-03-28)*
> *9. Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Terry Funk (AJPW; 1976-06-11)
> 1. Giant Baba -vs- Billy Robinson (AJPW; 1976-07-24)*
> *6. Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Jack Brisco (AJPW; 1976-08-28)*
> Dick Murdoch -vs- Karl Kox (AJPW; 1976-12-09)
> *7. Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Billy Robinson (AJPW; 1977-03-05)
> 5. Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Billy Robinson (AJPW; 1977-03-11)*
> Mil Máscaras -vs- Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW; 1977-08-25)
> The Funks -vs- Abdullah the Butcher & The Sheik (AJPW; 1977-12-15)
> *3. The Funks -vs- Billy Robinson & Horst Hoffman (AJPW; 1977-12-06)*
> The Funks -vs- Nick Bockwinkel & Blackjack Lanza (AJPW; 1978-12-05)
> Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- The Funks (AJPW; 1978-12-15)
> *19. Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Dos Caras (AJPW; 1979-03-24)
> 14. The Funks -vs- Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (AJPW; 1979-07-15)
> 16. Harley Race -vs- Giant Baba (AJPW; 1979-10-31)*
> *8. The Funks -vs- Abdullah The Butcher & The Sheik (AJPW; 1979-12-13)*


Top 50 1980s All Japan Pro Wrestling Matches: Lariats, Bombs and Backdrops

*Numbers Indicate **My* Top 30*

*10. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dick Slater (5/1/80) 85%
11. Billy Robinson vs. Nick Bockwinkel (12/11/80) 85%*

Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (2/3 falls) (10/9/81)
Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. Dory and Terry Funk (12/13/81) [Re-debut of Stan Hansen!]

Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (2/4/82)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair (6/8/82)
23. Stan Hansen vs. Terry Funk (9/11/82)

*3. Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (4/14/83) 90%*
17. Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/6/83)
*12. Dory and Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (8/31/83) 85%*
29. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Harley Race (10/26/83)

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Nick Bockwinkel (2/23/84)
19. Giant Baba vs. Stan Hansen (3/24/84)
*7. Harley Race vs. Ric Flair (5/22/84) 87%*
15. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich (2/3 Falls) (5/22/84)
*5. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Rick Martel (7/31/84) 88%*

*Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu JPW 2/21/85 - [Voted 4th best match of DVDVR's "Other Japan" set]*
Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
24. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen & Ted Dibiase (8/31/85)
Ric Flair vs. Rick Martel (10/21/85)
25. Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
*
2. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) 92%
13. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86) 85%*
18. Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (10/21/86)

Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (8/31/87)

26. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
22. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Tiger Mask (3/9/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/9/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta, Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa vs. Ashura Hara Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (3/11/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (3/27/88)
21. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Shunji Takano & Shinichi Nakano (7/19/88)
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (7/27/88)
Genichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu (8/29/88)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/28/88)
*4. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (12/16/88) 88%*

30. Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Masa Fuchi & Great Kabuki (1/5/89 TV)
*8. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (2/26/89 TV) 87%*
20. Masa Fuchi vs. Mitsuo Momota (3/29/89)
16. Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas (6/5/89)
*1. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (6/5/89) 96%*
28. Joe & Dean Malenko vs. Bobby Fulton & Tommy Rogers (7/15/89)
Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada (9/3/89 TV)
14. Giant Baba, Rusher Kimura & Masa Fuchi vs. Genichiro Tenryu, Toshiaki Kawada & Ricky Fuyuki (9/24/89 TV)
Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (10/11/89)
27. Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Ricky Fuyuki (10/22/89)
*6. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (11/29/89) 88%
9. Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen (12/6/89) 86%*

1990s All Japan: The 124 Best Matches
Taken from: http://theditch.biz/project.html


> Spoiler: 1990
> 
> 
> 
> -Jumbo vs Misawa, 6/8
> -Fantastics vs Joe Malenko/Kikuchi 9/1
> -Jumbo vs Misawa, 9/1
> -Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada, 9/30
> -Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi, 10/19
> -Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada, 12/7
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1991
> 
> 
> 
> -Kawada vs Taue 1/15
> -Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 1/27
> -Gordy/Williams vs Hansen/Spivey, 4/18
> -Jumbo vs Misawa, 4/18
> -Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi, 4/20
> -Jumbo vs Kobashi, 5/24
> -Misawa vs Gordy, 6/1
> -Jumbo/Fuchi/Ogawa vs Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 7/26
> -Misawa/Kawada vs Jumbo/Taue, 9/4
> -Jumbo/Fuchi/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 10/15
> -Jumbo vs Kawada, 10/24
> -Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada, 11/29
> -Misawa/Kawada vs Gordy/Williams, 12/6
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1992
> 
> 
> 
> -Jumbo/Taue vs Kobashi/Kikuchi, 1/26
> -Kawada vs Taue, 3/31
> -Hansen vs Kawada, 4/6
> -Team Jumbo vs Team Misawa, tag elimination, 4/18
> -Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi, 5/22
> -Can-Ams vs Kobashi/Kikuchi, 5/25
> -Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kobashi, 6/5
> -Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Fuchi/Ogawa, 7/5
> -Misawa/Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Taue/Fuchi/Ogawa, 7/21
> -Jumbo/Taue/Ogawa vs Misawa/Kawada/Kikuchi, 8/20
> -Kawada vs Taue, 9/9
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 10/21
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1993
> 
> 
> 
> -Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Akiyama/Ogawa, 1/24
> -Fuchi vs Kikuchi, 2/28
> -Hansen vs Kawada, 2/28
> -Misawa vs Taue, 2/28
> -Kawada vs Taue, Carnival
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 3/27
> -Kawada vs Kobashi, 4/14
> -Hansen vs Kobashi, 4/16
> -Misawa vs Hansen, 5/21
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue, 6/1
> -Misawa/Kobashi/Kikuchi vs Kawada/Taue/Ogawa, 6/3
> -Misawa/Kobashi/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue/Ogawa, 7/2
> -Hansen vs Kobashi, 7/29
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 7/29
> -Williams vs Kobashi, 8/31
> -Misawa vs Williams, 9/3
> -Kawada vs Kobashi, 10/23
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Hansen/Baba, 11/30
> -Kawada/Taue vs Williams/Bossman, 12/1
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue, 12/3
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1994
> 
> 
> 
> -Hansen/Baba vs Misawa/Kobashi, 3/5
> -Hansen vs Kobashi, 4/10
> -Kawada vs Williams, 4/16
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue, 5/21
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 6/3
> -Misawa vs Williams, 7/28
> -Williams vs Kobashi, 9/3
> -Williams vs Kawada, 10/22
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Williams/Ace, 12/10
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1995
> 
> 
> 
> -Kawada vs Kobashi, 1/19
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue, 1/24
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Williams/Ace, 3/4
> -Taue vs Kobashi, 3/21
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 3/26
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 4/6
> -Taue vs Kawada, 4/8
> -Kawada vs Kobashi, 4/13
> -Misawa vs Taue, 4/15
> -Kroffat vs RVD, 6/9
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue, 6/9
> -Misawa/Kobashi/Asako vs Kawada/Taue/Honda, 6/30
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 7/24
> -Misawa vs Taue, 9/10
> -Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue, 10/15
> -Kawada vs Albright, 10/25
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/25
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1996
> 
> 
> 
> -Kawada & Taue vs Kobashi & Akiyama, 3/2
> -Kawada vs Taue, 3/31
> -Taue vs Williams, 4/20
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue, 5/23
> -Misawa vs Taue, 5/24
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Williams/Ace, 6/7
> -Taue vs Kobashi, 7/24
> -Kobashi vs Kawada, 10/18
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Kobashi/Patriot, 11/22
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue, 11/29
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue, 12/6
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1997
> 
> 
> 
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 1/20
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 4/2
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 4/19
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 6/6
> -Kobashi vs Hase, 8/27
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/21
> -Kawada/Taue vs Hayabusa/Shinzaki, 11/23
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Hayabusa/Shinzaki, 11/27
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue, 11/28
> -Misawa/Akiyama vs Kawada/Taue, 12/5
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1998
> 
> 
> 
> -Kawada/Taue vs Kobashi/Ace, 1/25
> -Kawada/Taue vs Kobashi/Ace, 6/5
> -Kawada vs Kobashi, 6/12
> -Kobashi vs Akiyama, 7/24
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 10/31
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 1999
> 
> 
> 
> -Misawa vs Kawada, 1/22
> -Kobashi/Akiyama vs Misawa/Ogawa, 3/6
> -Misawa vs Vader, 5/2
> -Misawa vs Kobashi, 6/11
> -Kobashi/Akiyama vs Taue/Hansen, 12/3


2000: And Noah sayeth, "May you gather in pairs for last encounters! On with it then, we've an Ark to build!" 

* Numbers indicate ranking in DVDVR's Best of 2000 Puroresu Vote

22. Kobashi vs Kawada, All Japan January 12th
19. Vader vs Kawada, All Japan February 17th
3. Misawa vs Akiyama, All Japan February 27th
16. Vader vs Kobashi, All Japan February 27th
18. Misawa vs Kawada, All Japan March 31st
26. Kobashi vs Misawa, All Japan April 11th
6. Kobashi vs Omori, All Japan April 15th
8. Kobashi vs Takayama, All Japan May 26th


----------



## Obfuscation

bigbuxxx said:


> I'll do Liger. I watched his 1/30(31?)/90 match a few weeks ago but I remember the other Sano matches being really good as well so I'll watch those and some other matches I haven't seen. Thanks.
> 
> I really disliked Dr. Death in singles action :\. Found it hard to sit through his much talked about Kawada match.


(Y)

Perhaps I should have plugged the Miracle Violence Connection instead, haha. I should watch some Dr. Death matches right now. May have inspired myself.


----------



## Tanner1495

I think I may be the biggest advocate for Kobashi/Chono here, **** on last watch and it was a very high one at that


----------



## Corey

bigbuxxx said:


> After all this Kobashi I've seen I need a suggestion on who to watch. I've seen tons from the standard guys: Kawada, Taue, Kobashi, Misawa, Jumbo, Tenryu, Hansen, Funk, Hashimoto, and some current guys like Takayama, MiSu, Tanahashi, and Nagata. Any suggestions on old school or current guys to watch a bunch of?


Go on a Harley Race binge. I did for a little while and it made me REALLY appreciate his work a lot more. Had some really good throughout the mid to late 70s with Baba & Tsuruta and of course the obvious matches with Flair throughout the years. Specific dates:

vs. Giant Baba (12/9/1975)
vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (6/11/1977)
vs. Ric Flair (5/22/1984)


----------



## bigbuxxx

Will see a couple of his to. I'm pretty sure the only work I've seen of his is as King Harley from the WWF.


----------



## Corey

bigbuxxx said:


> Will see a couple of his to. I'm pretty sure the only work I've seen of his is as King Harley from the WWF.


Oh god, you have a pretty terrible recollection of his work then.


----------



## Obfuscation

Not even Race from the territory days?

Going through some Kawada vs Misawa matches I'm finding on Youtube. Finished their 6/3/94 match with the infamous finish. Kawada was awesome during the bulk of it. Misawa was just there. It should have been A LOT better overall. Kawada sold his knee so well when it was getting worked on, only to abandon it during the finishing stretch. While Kawada remained awesome during that 15 minute stretch, it bugged me so much. 

1/22/99 next. Broken arm or not, I'm hoping this one is better.


----------



## Corey

So I popped in a disc I had from Highspots, which I THOUGHT (and clearly reads) All Japan Classics disc 48, it's a part of Classic Japanes Wrestling Vol. 5. This is what was supposed to be on the disc:


Spoiler: 48




Chavo Guerrero v. Ultra 7 (NWA Int'l Jr Title, 05/26/83)(*this is what I wanted to watch...*)
Harley Race v. Shoehi Baba (PWF Title, 02/11/83 in St. Louis)
Shoehi Baba v. Umanoseke Ueda (03/03/83)
Chris Adams, Chavo Guerrero & Jose Lathario v. Fishman, Bill Irwin & The Mongol (06/17/83 in Ft. Worth, TX)
Mil Mascaras v. Mighty Inoue (12/08/93)
Jumbo Tsuruta v. Tiger Jeet Singh (03/03/83)
Shoehi Baba v. Harley Race (PWF Title, 04/20/83)



But instead, it's a completely different disc that has this:


*Misawa & Kobashi vs. Kawada & Taue (1/24/1995)*


So I did a little research and apparently this is like... the greatest tag match ever? haha. Knowing it goes 60 minutes is a turn off for me honestly, but should I watch?


----------



## McQueen

Hell yes.


----------



## Corey

If McQueen shows up to respond to something, you know it's a big deal. 

WILL WATCH


----------



## Obfuscation

I echo Queeny - Hell yes. _(btw it went 42:37)_

Best Kawada vs Misawa match so far as been their war from 7/18/05. The older these guys get, the better the matches. OLD & SURLY doesn't fail. Their last match vs each other too.

K, that's only three so far out of ten. Maybe one in the mix could top it. All I know is these guys went out on a bang vs each other.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Jack Evans 187 said:


> So I popped in a disc I had from Highspots, which I THOUGHT (and clearly reads) All Japan Classics disc 48, it's a part of Classic Japanes Wrestling Vol. 5. This is what was supposed to be on the disc:
> 
> 
> Spoiler: 48
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chavo Guerrero v. Ultra 7 (NWA Int'l Jr Title, 05/26/83)(*this is what I wanted to watch...*)
> Harley Race v. Shoehi Baba (PWF Title, 02/11/83 in St. Louis)
> Shoehi Baba v. Umanoseke Ueda (03/03/83)
> Chris Adams, Chavo Guerrero & Jose Lathario v. Fishman, Bill Irwin & The Mongol (06/17/83 in Ft. Worth, TX)
> Mil Mascaras v. Mighty Inoue (12/08/93)
> Jumbo Tsuruta v. Tiger Jeet Singh (03/03/83)
> Shoehi Baba v. Harley Race (PWF Title, 04/20/83)
> 
> 
> 
> But instead, it's a completely different disc that has this:
> 
> 
> *Misawa & Kobashi vs. Kawada & Taue (1/24/1995)*
> 
> 
> So I did a little research and apparently this is like... the greatest tag match ever? haha. Knowing it goes 60 minutes is a turn off for me honestly, but should I watch?


Yes you should. Any tag matches involving those four guys are always worth watching. 

Misawa & Kobashi vs. Kawada & Taue from 06/09/95 is my favorite match involving those two teams. Their match from 10/15/95 is also worth watching.


----------



## McQueen

6/9/95 is the best, but all of the encounters with those 4 are at least good.


----------



## Corey

Obfuscation said:


> I echo Queeny - Hell yes. *(btw it went 42:37)*
> 
> Best Kawada vs Misawa match so far as been their war from 7/18/05. The older these guys get, the better the matches. OLD & SURLY doesn't fail. Their last match vs each other too.
> 
> K, that's only three so far out of ten. Maybe one in the mix could top it. All I know is these guys went out on a bang vs each other.


Even better! I just assumed since I skipped chapters past the 1 hour mark and the match was still going on. Maybe time for one of my super long reviews... we'll see.


----------



## Obfuscation

I was going to say this: if you watched Danielson & Black vs American Wolves go 45 minutes in '09, then you can take those four going a few minutes less.

Much like most excellent matches in Japan, it'll fly on by if you're into it.


----------



## Chismo

bigbuxxx said:


> vs Honda and Bison I didn't rate but I hated both of them, especially the Bison one


How in the world did you hate Kobashi/Honda?


----------



## bigbuxxx

from what I remember his offense was really weak and I didn't buy that he had any chance of him winning with the size difference. Kobashi never looked weak in the match.



> Not even Race from the territory days?


nope. I'm actually sure I've never seen any matches from any territories. I'd like to see some Mid-South and Memphis but I'll have to wait for money to get a dvd because d/l'ing them the quality is awful.

On the Kawada vs Misawa talk...I always adored their first match-up from 10/25/92. In the first minute or two Kawada hits his backdrop and Misawa hits his tiger driver. Then the match calms down but stays awesome and the finishing sequence always has me on the edge of my seat.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah1993 said:


> Yuki Ishikawa v. Daisuke Ikeda (Fu-Ten 4/24/05)
> What on Earth can I say about this? It’s one of the most ruthless, violent spectacles in wrestling. The opening punch is a PUNCH, but you almost don’t remember that after the violence that follows for fifteen minutes. They do hit the mat and it gets less (though still) violent, but when Ikeda gets tired of having his leg tortured and gets up to BRUTALLY kicks Yuki in the face, violence is turned up to 11. The spot where he gets out of cross-armbreaker by punching Ishikawa straight in the face and then throws the most disgustingly violent kick I’ve ever seen, is maybe the most stiff batch of seconds in the history of wrestling. Ikeda doesn’t stop with those legs; he beats the shit out of Ishikawa while Ish is laying in the corner, and I mean beats the shit out of him almost literally. Human beings were not meant to be treated like that. They have the greatest possible punch/elbow war and the ‘smacks’ of it all are as loud as twenty people clapping at once. Ikeda also feels the need to take Kobashi-head-bumps on the suplexes and doesn’t bother to stick his arms up. This is goddamn gruesome. Yuki Ishikawa was supposedly asked in 2009 (by Ditch?) why he and Ikeda hit each other so hard, and his response was "Because we are not hitting each other, we are hitting the fucking stupid people in the world who think that pro-wrestling is fake like a trained monkey show. They say that pro wrestling kicks are fake so it is not painful. etc. Once they see our fight, they have nothing to say. They watch our fight like a fool with their mouth open with surprise. So our violent fight is not only for our opponents but for the fucking people that make light of BATTLARTS. Our fight is anger towards people who make light of us." That does not do this justice.


I almost second this, great smash-mouth war, although I'm not THAT high on it. Some stuff was JESUS CHRIST worthy. **** (comfortably)


----------



## Obfuscation

bigbuxxx said:


> nope. I'm actually sure I've never seen any matches from any territories. I'd like to see some Mid-South and Memphis but I'll have to wait for money to get a dvd because d/l'ing them the quality is awful.
> 
> On the Kawada vs Misawa talk...I always adored their first match-up from 10/25/92. In the first minute or two Kawada hits his backdrop and Misawa hits his tiger driver. Then the match calms down but stays awesome and the finishing sequence always has me on the edge of my seat.


Race was a good hand. I won't deem him one of the best I've seen, but I've always dug a rugged type worker and he could produce on that aspect. His headbutts were so insane. Dive bomb style. He didn't care.

I'll try and track that one down. I should have watched 'em all in chronological order, but I jumped on a whim and did it with the first ones I found on youtube _(6/3/94, 1/22/99, & final on 7/18/05.)_

Besides his series with Kobashi & first matches vs Vader, I really seem to dig Misawa more in the 2000's than I do in the 90's from a singles match capacity. I don't know why. Well, I kind of do. Surly Misawa gets more of a rise out of me than anything. He's older, he's tired, he'll kick your ass so he can chilax & probably take a nap. Watch out.


----------



## Horselover Fat

yeah1993 youre the ohantis jacket of yeah1993s


----------



## Corey

Just wanna note, I watched the 1/24/95 tag last night, and Cody lied to me. It's definitely a 60 minute draw. :avit:

Will type out a review before I sleep tonight.


----------



## Derek

bigbuxxx said:


> from what I remember his offense was really weak and I didn't buy that he had any chance of him winning with the size difference. Kobashi never looked weak in the match.


None of the fans expected Honda to beat Kobashi, or really even have a chance, but the story of the match is Honda stepping up his game for just that one match. Honda is a truly respected wrestler for his amateur success but never really had much success as a pro up to that point. He was also Kobashi's tag team partner at that time, and they would later have great success as a team (including a really sweet match with them vs. Akiyama and Saito) It's a really good underdog match in which the crowd really responds to Honda giving his full effort, and even catches the crowd a little off guard with how much of a fight he puts up. 

There's a lot of really good matches involving the mid-card guy who has never been seen as a threat suddenly get one high profile match and they make the best out of it. They walk out with some more respect from the fans then they did before the match even if they didn't win.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I actually mentioned I loved that kind of match when he faced Ogawa in his 5th or 6th defense. I'll watch it again and see if it's better. Maybe I was tired or something when I watched that day.


----------



## Corey

*AJPW Tag Team Championship
*Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (_1/24/1995_)

This was really a match of two halves for me. The first 30 minutes never really seemed to engage me. It just sort of felt like a revolving door. Isolation segment on ________, make the tag, brawl on the outside, then repeat with a different person. Wasn't feelin that portion, not much to invest into. Standout moment was that sick ass kick Kawada gave Kobashi that I think legit knocked him out cold. BUT, then we got to the last 30 minutes, which were pretty stellar. Absolutely loved the long FIP segment with Kobashi & how relentless Kawada & Taue were in not letting him get that tag. They took Misawa out of the picture completely on the floor so even if Kobashi made it to the corner, sorry pal, no partner there. The crowd was so behind Kobashi and they cheered with every kickout from every big move he was hit with. Finally Misawa recovers to even the odds and then they give Kawada & Taue a taste of their own medicine by laying Kawada out on the floor and giving Taue the beatdown inside the ring. There were two nearfalls to me that really stuck out as being believable; and those were Kobashi's top rope moonsault to Taue, then Misawa's frog splash to Kawada in the final minute or two. You can really see and feel the urgency he had to finally end it, but to no avail. Overall as an entire package I'll say I liked the match, but it's soooo much better as a 30 minute contest rather than a 60. Do I think it's 5*? Nowhere close. Did it make me not dread 60 minute matches so much? Yes, didn't feel like 60 due to the back half. I'll still never make it through Lawler/Race though... But anyway, this match is way too hard to rate and idk what to rate it, so I'll take the easy way out and not do it. (Y)


----------



## MF83

Great review. That best match ever you were talking about was the 6/9/95 match though which is only 40+ and not 60.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Jack Evans 187 said:


> *AJPW Tag Team Championship
> *Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (_1/24/1995_)
> 
> This was really a match of two halves for me. The first 30 minutes never really seemed to engage me. It just sort of felt like a revolving door. Isolation segment on ________, make the tag, brawl on the outside, then repeat with a different person. Wasn't feelin that portion, not much to invest into. Standout moment was that sick ass kick Kawada gave Kobashi that I think legit knocked him out cold. BUT, then we got to the last 30 minutes, which were pretty stellar. Absolutely loved the long FIP segment with Kobashi & how relentless Kawada & Taue were in not letting him get that tag. They took Misawa out of the picture completely on the floor so even if Kobashi made it to the corner, sorry pal, no partner there. The crowd was so behind Kobashi and they cheered with every kickout from every big move he was hit with. Finally Misawa recovers to even the odds and then they give Kawada & Taue a taste of their own medicine by laying Kawada out on the floor and giving Taue the beatdown inside the ring. There were two nearfalls to me that really stuck out as being believable; and those were Kobashi's top rope moonsault to Taue, then Misawa's frog splash to Kawada in the final minute or two. You can really see and feel the urgency he had to finally end it, but to no avail. Overall as an entire package I'll say I liked the match, but it's soooo much better as a 30 minute contest rather than a 60. Do I think it's 5*? Nowhere close. Did it make me not dread 60 minute matches so much? Yes, didn't feel like 60 due to the back half. I'll still never make it through Lawler/Race though... But anyway, this match is way too hard to rate and idk what to rate it, so I'll take the easy way out and not do it. (Y)


Misawa & Kobashi and Kawada & Taue had two 60 minute matches. The 10/15/95 and the match you just reviewed. In my opinion, the 10/15/95 match is the better of the two 60 minute matches. Their best match is the 6/09/95 match. Be sure to check that match out if you haven't already.


----------



## Corey

MF83 said:


> Great review. That best match ever you were talking about was the 6/9/95 match though which is only 40+ and not 60.


Ohhhh, see that makes more sense. Little miscommunication between myself and Cody then I guess.



Smith_Jensen said:


> Misawa & Kobashi and Kawada & Taue had two 60 minute matches. The 10/15/95 and the match you just reviewed. In my opinion, the 10/15/95 match is the better of the two 60 minute matches. Their best match is the 6/09/95 match. Be sure to check that match out if you haven't already.


(Y)

One of the things I forgot to mention was how little I've seen of all 4 guys involved (especially Taue), which I think may have hindered my ability to REALLY get into it. I've probably only seen a good 10-15 complete matches involving all 4 guys combined.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Smith_Jensen said:


> Misawa & Kobashi and Kawada & Taue had two 60 minute matches. The 10/15/95 and the match you just reviewed. In my opinion, the 10/15/95 match is the better of the two 60 minute matches.


This is definitely the better of the two, without question. It makes up for the first half of the 1/95 broadway.


----------



## McQueen

Taue on his A game is super fun to watch, especially strange since he doesn't do more than a couple moves.


----------



## MF83

Just saying, take that chronological list I posted and watch them in order (starting at 1990 for these guys) and it will all make sense and be so fucking incredibly rewarding. Or not. Maybe I will. Hm.


----------



## Corey

McQueen said:


> Taue on his A game is super fun to watch, especially strange since he doesn't do more than a couple moves.


Exactly what I was thinking. He hit a chokeslam, then a different variation of a chokeslam, and some weird looking running clothesline takedown, yet somehow I wanna see more of him... Have a match of his against Kobashi on dvd somewhere that's highly praised.

MF83, maybe one of these days. I just seem to prefer New Japan in the 90s rather than All Japan. Call me crazy... Guess I'm a juniors guy. I probably just haven't seen enough yet.


----------



## Yeah1993

I like Taue way more than Kobashi. I wouldn't say he's *better*, but, honestly, I could see the argument. There were times like 1996 where he was easily better, though.

------


Yuki Ishikawa/Alexander Otsuka v. Daisuke Ikeda/Manabu Hara (BattlARTS 7/21/07)
Other than a couple of slightly annoying Hara moments where I thought his comebacks were attempts at junior reversal ‘epics’, this was goddamn good. And I mean it happened maybe twice in the entire 20 minutes and was about as good of a job at doing the ‘possible reversal epic’ as you can do. Maybe I’m using double-standard because I loved Otsuka’s comebacks, but those came off like old veteran having enough of the bullshittery going on and decided to headbutt some pricks (which Hara tried to match him on….once). All that it is moot, anyway, given Hara’s really, really good attempt at fighting back while groggy as hell against Otsuka near the end. Naturally you get Ishikawa v. Ikeda violence in this. Even when only one was a legal man. I fucking adored the part where Ishikawa put on multiple different submissions to put Hara away, but Ikeda would come up and break every one of them up. That pissed off Otsuka more each time, and he gets so pissed that he kicks Hara who’s lying dead on the ground; sending a little post-it note to Ikeda. Ishikawa gets even more pissed than Otsuka and fires an enzuguiri away, which Ikeda accidentally dodges by going through the ropes to the apron. He then sees that Yuki tried to blast him in the head and goes apeshit; “kick me, motherfucker!? Kick me!?” Otsuka sees this as the opportunity he’s been waiting for, and grabs Ikeda so Ishikawa can have clear shots him. Outstanding. Otsuka may use the greatest German suplexes ever, btw; it looks like he’s really lifting his opponent, and his opponent doesn’t jump to get there. Another super match. BatBat does it again.

--
Re-watched Ishikawa/Greco and the big six-man. Both are obviously tremendous.



Ishikawa/Greco is maybe the best example of ‘two guys rolling around on the mat’ I’ve seen, so it’s not going to be for everybody, but those who are going to like it should REALLY like it. I’ve had a hankering or unco-operative mat-work ever since I re-watched the Rey v. Nobles and Benoit v. Finlays of WWE’s 2000s, and this really hits that target. They build a lot of rope-break stuff and they get frustrated when the other grabs the ropes. The announcer guy says they each only have one rope break, and they agree to both forfeit it. Million stars. They turn it up to eleven after that and the fact Ishikawa basically submits by grabbing the ropes is fitting. Is Greco the best American mat worker of all time? He has to be, right?

The six-man goes beyond words, and there is too much to talk to about. Also I don’t feel like it and you’re better off reading someone else’s thoughts who’ve bothered to write shit about it. I will add that Ostuka having Tiger in a submission and then catching Usuda’s leg and putting him in a submission at the same time was completely unreal. And he had a five million star counter for a hold that I cannot possibly explain. You wish this was Ishikawa/Otsuka/Greco v. Ikeda/Usuda/Ono, but how could anybody possibly complain with what we got? MOTDC.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MF83 said:


> Just saying, take that chronological list I posted and watch them in order (starting at 1990 for these guys) and it will all make sense and be so fucking incredibly rewarding. Or not. Maybe I will. Hm.


probably too many matches. i've tried doing something like that for 90's ajpw and it didn't work because it's way to time consuming. i'd suggest taking a couple singles matches from the early 90's and watching them. then watch the tags. the early 90's 6 mans are great as well.

For singles from 90-93 I'd recommend something like this to get a feel for their work:
*Jumbo vs Misawa - 6/8/90 and 9/1/90*
Kawada vs Kobashi - 6/30/90
Kawada vs Taue - 1/15/91
Jumbo vs Kobashi - 5/24/91
Jumbo vs Kawada - 10/24/91
Misawa vs Kawada - 10/21/92
*Kawada vs Hansen - 2/28/93*
Kawada vs Taue - CC 93
Misawa vs Hansen - 5/21/93
*Hansen vs Kobashi - 7/29/93*

The bolded are absolute must watches at some point.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Just wanna note, I watched the 1/24/95 tag last night, and Cody lied to me. It's definitely a 60 minute draw. :avit:
> 
> Will type out a review before I sleep tonight.


I thought you were talking about 6/9/95 :hayley2


----------



## Yeah1993

I've said this a billion times (or five) but there's no way anybody will 100% 'get' the best of All Japan unless they read up about it before they watch it (which isn't recommended - feels like you're 'obligated' to understand everything and enjoy it just b/c they're doing some narrative). It's still enjoyable as shit, though. I watched 6/3/94 twice and called the best match of all time both times, before I knew/realised that 

a) Kawada had a bad leg targeted by many, which cost him big victories like the 1993 RWTL
b) they used a sequence from Tenryu v Jumbo, their mentor/partners.
c) Misawa had to bust out a move he hadn't used in three years to finish the match.
d) Kawada had *never* beaten Misawa (and probably should have that day, but it makes the 6/9/95 win sweeter, I guess).

And I bet there're multiple other things I still don't know about. When I watched the 1996 yearbook in order and saw all the All Japan, I was blown away by it like I never was before. That's because I saw it match-by-match chronologically and saw everything unfold. 

Watching the shiz in order does give you a different outlook on it and helps you appreciate what they're doing, but there's no reason somebody can't look at the 90s All Japan separately and say 'shit, that was some great rasslin''.


----------



## Obfuscation

Kawada vs Misawa 6/3/94 wouldn't even come close to being that "good" of a match in my books.

Kawada was pretty awesome per usual, although he even was at fault during it. Sold his knee very well when it was being worked on. Moment that stopped he completely no sold the selling. Finishing stretch - which was 15 minutes - had zero sign of his injury. I hate that so much.

Not to mention the match had a weird halting pace during. Ahhhh, I've seen much better from both dudes. ESPECIALLY Misawa. He did shit all in that match.


----------



## Yeah1993

I've never heard that criticism of it and I'm kind of intrigued to watch it again just because of what you said. Haven't seen it in three years and probably won't until I get up to it on the 1994 yearbook (which I don't own yet and probably won't until next year).

So yeah, I look forward to a re-watch in 2015.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lucky me I refreshed myself on it yesterday. Don't know if it is a good or bad thing that the match where Kawada broke his arm 8 minutes in was overall better than the popular '94 match. Can't say I care. Kawada broke his arm and it was STILL really good. Bordering on great. Kawada still dominated the match too :lmao

KAWADA


----------



## Yeah1993

KAWADA.

---

Watched some more 2008 BatBat. Hara v. Yujiro Yamamoto was really fun, but the theme seemed to be ‘grappler goes after leg v. striker keeps hurling kicks’, which is fine, they weren’t exactly doing the best selling in the world. Nothing terribly annoying and they sold it later on (so maybe it was ‘I didn’t know this was effecting me this badly until now’), but I would have had more fun if these guys were really long-term selling. This still kind of ruled, though, and Yamamoto did piles of neat mat shit. I want to see him v. Otsuka.

Yuki Ishikawa/Yuta Yoshikawa v. Munenori Sawa/Ikuto Hidaka 8/31/08
Sawa reaaaaally could have ruined this for me if he wanted to. And at some points it looked like he was trying. If I have anything positive to say about him it’s that he at least looked to be getting more exhausted as the match went on, and he was stiff enough to look like he belonged in BattlARTS. If I had to say anything negative about him it’s like he also looked like he belonged working thirty minute NOAH title matches with KENTA. God sake, man. Sell some shit. I mean he did ‘sell’, theoretically, but once he’d tilt his head in pain he’d go right back to get on offense and shit. I don’t think there was a ten second span where he was in the ring and WASN’T on offence. He’d roll out of a submission without taking a second. A wrestler who isn’t a turd might roll out of a hold after struggling to find an opening and feeling some goddamn pain. I’m not asking for a Kawada sell, here. Just, FFS, put the move over a little so your opponent doesn’t look like a fool for even trying to put it on. He did that fucking fist-clenching Super Saiyan fake Akiyama crap that is the worst thing wrestling, too. I hate fucking watching the real Akiyama do that bullshit, I don’t need a tribute. Or fifteen. I don’t know why these wrestlers have such an insistence on getting hit and then hitting without much space. Are they afraid to look weak? I really, really don’t get it. This has Ishikawa so obviously there was going to be some cool shit involved, and Hidaka double-stomping Ish when Ish dropped to the mat was great. Yoshikawa played his ‘I’m getting fucking destroyed’ role really well, too. Overall this had too much for me to call it less than a ‘very good’ match, but Sawa is a turd.

Ishikawa v. Super Tiger is the kind of ‘hard to be specific about’ BattlARTS matches. It was just two dudes smacking each other in the face and finding holds and shit. So, naturally, it was really good.


----------



## MF83

Exactly what Yeah1993 said. (Edit: in his post before ^) 90s AJPW was a booking project and really the only wrestling I'd recommend needing to watch chronologically to make a real difference. The continuity psych is ridiculous in comparison to everything else ever, because Baba and the wrestlers made what happened in match A mean something not only in match b but all the way down the alphabet. You take any of those matches in a bubble and fine, but if you know first hand why something is special having seen earlier matches it makes the viewing so much more enjoyable and it's really unique that way. You can take them in one at a time, randomly and all over, but it's different and so much better in order.

And re: the 94 match... It's a contender for best singles match ever. I haven't seen it in a while but none of those flaws seem accurate based off the 400 times I have seen it. You sure that's the right match? Maybe I really will do some proper 90s AJPW watching this summer.


----------



## Goku

I was going to rewatch some Puro to see how they hold up. 6/3/94 was on the agenda, but I watched some Liger instead.

Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31/1990): ******
I used to hate this match for being so fucking crazy but now, well I kinda dig it. Guess I've grown accustomed to crazy. Sano is like a machine, throwing bombs left, right and center that by the time Liger gets any significant offence in the match he's already a mess. I think Sano used every move he's ever used in his entire career in this match and Liger just took a hell of a beating. Sano's reaction to Liger kicking out of everything he threw at him is amazing at times. What started out as an intent to finish Liger once and for all eventually became desperation to just end the match. The finish I'm not too fond of but by that point, I'd just take a Liger win any way he'd get it. Still a fucking crazy match, but there's a lot of super here.

Jushin Liger vs. The Great Muta (10/20/1996): *****1/2*
I'd like to get my one complaint out of the way first. The finish wasn't as good as it should've been, but I guess it served its purpose. Now, this is one of the best one on one wars I've seen in New Japan. Muta has the best performance of his life in this match, completely picking apart Liger. Don't expect to see MOVEZ GALORE in here. This is a brawl and a really story-driven one at that. We see the mist three times and each time it escalates. The first is a warning to Liger, the second the surprise strike on Muta and the third the finish. The comedy spot with the ring is an awesome segue into the finishing stretch. And may I just say BROOM. Makes so much more sense to have a broom under the ring than a barbed wire baseball bat.


----------



## Obfuscation

6/3/94 - that's the match. 

Flaws. Oh they're there.


----------



## Bubz

I also don't remember those flaws Cody, rewatch on the cards. It's been so long.


----------



## Yeah1993

@Hohenheim

Hating a match for being crazy!? Well at least you like it now.

Muta/Liger held up surprisingly well for me last year. I mean I don't think it's THAT good, but "good" regardless. KISHIN LIGER.


----------



## Obfuscation

I like how all the comments on youtube for the Kawada/Misawa match has nothing but people putting over Misawa and Kawada getting no praise. Yet, Kawada was the star of the match. Booourns.

I watched some of Liger's early matches _(as Liger)_ about 30 minutes ago. I may go and dip into some more atm. I was wanting to go and watch some Hashimoto or Takayama too. So many decisions. Maybe I'll do one match each and circulate.


----------



## Goku

Yeah1993 said:


> @Hohenheim
> 
> Hating a match for being crazy!? Well at least you like it now.


It was ridiculous how Sano threw all these bombs and Liger just kept kicking out and won randomly at the end. Still not fond of the finish but I watched on poor quality the last time so I didn't get the reactions from Sano every time Liger kicked out. The change in Sano's mindset was also awesome.

Sano was a suck a workhorse.


----------



## Chismo

*BJW 3/14/2007*

SCAFFOLD DEATHMATCH for the *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Takashi Sasaki © vs. Yuko Miyamoto

_This was an absolutely amazing match. Korakuen is full packed, the crowd is 100% behind Miyamoto, it’s crazy, there’s a big-match feel and atmosphere. The feeling out process at the beginning was basic and very nice, like what you see in every other match, nice dose of mental endurance before one of them fucks up, and the penalty for being careless and fucking up is taking a nasty lighttube shot across the head. From there we have a simple story of experienced Sasaki dominating and demolishing poor Yuko with stiff shots of death, and of course Yuko makes heroic comebacks every once in awhile. Hard-boiled 101. Korakuen is going crazy for him. It’s impressive and fascinating how these guys keep intelligence on high level throughout the whole duration of this massacre – everything is sold, the spots are carefully picked and paced, the match importance is emphasized immensely and is the major part of the structure, they used weapons WITH the offense, not AS the offense, etc. All that while they’re bumping and bleeding heavily, I was in awe. Miyamoto is the perfect mix of a high-flyer and a gutsy deathmatch guy, it’s astonishing that after 20 minutes of violence he was able to do picture perfect Hurricanranas and shit. This is where he was made. This is a legit MOTYC for 2007, and maybe even the greatest deathmatch I’ve seen thus far, it’s right up there with Kasai/Ito and few Junkies/Strong BJ tags._

*****1/2*​


----------



## flag sabbath

Funnily enough, I just watched 3/6/94 for the umpteenth time & while the flaw Cody alludes to is there, it doesn't play _that_ big a part in the match. Misawa goes after the knee out of desperation quite early on because Kawada is owning him & he needs to get his head above water. Once he's on top again, Misawa goes back to his 'knock the shit out of him & drop him on his head' game plan & doesn't bother targeting the knee again. From there on out, Kawada sells it quite subtly - occasionally at first, then not at all - but I'm willing to forgive him any perceived lack of attention to detail because I believe 110% in him being badass enough to fight through the pain.


----------



## bigbuxxx

if he sells it occasionally at first I'm thinking that it hurts but not that much and then when he stops selling it I'm thinking that it feels better by then because it didn't hurt that much to begin with. i'm taking a break from my Liger binge to go watch that match . Also, I mentioned Hansen vs Kawada a few posts ago...I just noticed Ditch has a recent very good quality re-up of that match. That's in my top 5 favorite matches so I :mark:

some Liger ratings from what I watched yesterday:
vs Hart - 4/28/91 - *****.
vs Sano - 1/31/90 - ****1/2. 
w/Kanemoto vs Orihara/Ultimo Dragon - ****.
vs Benoit - 8/19/90 - ****.
vs Hashimoto - 4/24/94 - ***3/4
vs Sano - 8/10/89 - ***1/2. 
vs Benoit - 12/26/90 - ***1/2. 
vs Hart - 1/30/90 - ***1/4
vs Koshinaka - 12/9/88 - **3/4. 
vs Cima - Super J Cup 2000. **1/2. 
vs Sano - 7/13/89 - **.
vs Sano - 9/20/89 - jip so n/r but from what was shown this was a super match.

Matches I still am definitely going to watch from Liger:
vs Sasuke 4 times (2 from 94, 1 from 96 and 2012)
vs El Samurai - 4/30/92
vs Ohtani - 2/9/97 and 3/17/96
vs Dick Togo - 6/17/96
vs Ultimo Dragon - 1/4/93
vs Kanemoto - 1/4/96

Most of those matches I've seen before but it's been a good year+ for that. Any other suggestions?


----------



## Groovemachine

There I was, setting aside time to watch PWG All Star Weekend 9 Night 2...and then someone goes and mentions Hansen/Kawada, a match I've been meaning to get around to for years. Yeah, Drake Younger et al can wait...


----------



## Corey

bigbuxxx said:


> Most of those matches I've seen before but it's been a good year+ for that. Any other suggestions?


vs. Black Tiger II (2/3/96 & 6/12/96)

Hopefully one of the Sasuke matches you listed is 4/29/96. If not, that one too.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Hopefully one of the Sasuke matches you listed is 4/29/96. If not, that one too.


Yeah that's the '96 match I was alluding to. Thanks for the suggestions as well.

Finished Misawa/Kawada and damn what a match. This was probably about the 10th time I've watched it but it doesn't get old. I still get goosebumps in some spots, like when Kawada powerbombs Misawa after throwing some other power moves before that. I just buy that it can end the match. Amazing stuff.

If WWE had an announcer like the guy announcing this I might watch their product. Guy was clearly losing his voice half way through the match just from calling it and by the end he had nothing left. He sells as good as Kawada and Misawa. I love his "Elbow!!!! Down! Down! Kawada down!!!!!" and "High keeeeeeeeeck!!! High keeeeeeeck!!!! Misawa Down! Misawa Down!!!!!" and "Flying body press!!! Two counto, two counto!!!!!!!!". Epic announcer.

Anyways, epic fucking match. Makes me want to binge on a bunch of AJPW I've already seen although I'm sure there are gems I still haven't gotten to.

Groovemachine, everybody should watch Kawada/Hansen. I have a feeling had Meltzer given that match 5* it would get a lot more hype but it got *only* ****3/4 which usually wouldn't be a problem but 93-95 was such a hot period that it gets lost between Kobashi/Hansen (Kawada/Hansen is much better imo), 6/9/95, 10/25/95, 6/3/94, 7/2/93, among others. Easily the best 20 minute match in history.


----------



## Goku

I rewatched it too. The selling doesn't bother me, Kawada goes back to it when he feels the pain (i.e. after using a move which requires pressure on it). The fact that every power move these guys use is a believable near-fall is amazing. I do, however, agree with Cody on the pacing. Not too fond of it. Fuck that final TigerDriver could've killed a man.

Not a classic, but great match.


----------



## Obfuscation

tbhayley the pacing was much more of a hindrance at the end of the day than the Kawada no sell. I can't help but have that pet peeve come up though. If I get on indie geeks in 2013 for no selling; I got to no show favoritism and point out Kawada did the same. _(even though Kawada > all them. people understand my point.)_

Seen worse displays of it though. IE matches where the whole point was the limb destruction only for it to be forgotten. That wasn't so much the case in this match.


----------



## Goku

Misawa works the leg for like 3 minutes. Kawada's selling in the match isn't unlike Cena's at WrestleMania 23.


----------



## MF83

I watched the kickelbow-start double whammy this morning.

*Misawa Mitsuharu, Kobashi Kenta & Taue Akira -vs- Jumbo Tsuruta, Fuchi Masanobu & The Great Kabuki (AJPW; 1990-05-26)* 

Absolutely. They pretty well have three different matches inside of one match, thanks to the layout and pacing. Kobashi is the whipping boy for Jumbo's dastardly seconds, Taue shines bright (like a diamond), and Misawa makes a name for himself. The pull-apart brawl is pretty surreal because they make it seem completely necessary, thanks mostly to Jumbo's reaction and facials. INTENSITY. Jumbo sells those elbows perfectly and when he takes all of his frustrations out on Kobashi late in the game, I love pro-wrestling. Kabuki and Fuchi deserves credit for making the bulk of this what it is. Misawa walks into this as a candidate and leaves a confident contender. There are lapses in goodness but those lapses are necessary for the pace they attained. *83%* for all things included. 

*Jumbo Tsuruta -vs- Misawa Mitsuharu (AJPW; 1990-06-08)* 

I have never appreciated Jumbo more than I do after watching this for the 38th time. This match gets less spectacular every time I watch it. Misawa was not great in this; I'd go as far as to say Jumbo carried him here. Random thought: It's like Tanahashi watched this match and tried to model all of his defenses after it. The first Misawa-behind test-of-strength spot is pretty amusing as Misawa lets go of Jumbo's hand and Jumbo stays there selling an air struggle. Interesting to note that Jumbo's strategy in this is the same as it was a year previous when he fought his pal Gen'ichiro to a loss (_IN THE BEST SINGLES EVER~!_). He doesn't execute as well but the premise of knees to the face and neck, from all parts of the ring, is the same. It's all thanks to Jumbo working intricacies and pacing that got the crowd behind Misawa, which was clearly the point of the match. Jumbo's expressive selling/stooging in the stretch make this so much more exciting than it should have been. This review might sound negative but it's really not. It's just a new perspective (v. Jumbo carry) and *85%* sounds about right.


----------



## Rah

*Tamura Kiyoshi Vs Nikolai Zouev (12/06/1997 RINGS)*
★★★★ 1/4
_I'm not sure if I've seen a better transition of submissions/matwork than this. Either that's a massive compliment or an indication of how shallow the pool of wrestling I've been swimming in really is. Whatever, it's pretty legendary.

Tamura going a few ropebreaks down, only to start kicking the leg in of Zouev was a great touch. They may have perhaps been weaker than you'd see in an actual fight but, under the veil of pro-graps that I covered it with, they were fine. Nikolai doing a pretty good job in making them look believable did help put them over as such, too. Speaking of Nikolai, though, there's something about Russian men that puts them on another league than their European counterparts. It's almost as if ***** (or some other form of martial arts) is taught to them as if it was learning to walk because they just get it. I'm sure those with more expertise in the field than myself will rank Tamura a lot higher than Nikolai, but it wasn't as if the Russian kept right up with Tamura at each moment here.

It wasn't without it's detractions, however. Some points were quite ineffectual, if I'm honest, and it seemingly peaked after the swanky matwork. That's not to say the rest wasn't good, because it was, but there wasn't much chance of anything maintaining that level. Still, a great treat for me in exploring the wonderfully diverse world of professional wrestling._​


----------



## leglock

GHC Heavyweight Title: KENTA vs. Suigura (5/12/2013)

I watched KENTA vs. Sugiura earlier today and it was very underwhelming. I read Enuhito's report on the show and he said it was a MOTY caliber match, but I don't think that's really the case. The biggest hindrance to the match is that no one will believe that KENTA could kick Suigura's ass in a real fight. That and it's not really psychologically sound. 

There were a bunch of cool spots in the match; I enjoyed most of the slap exchanges. Global Tag League Finals was better than this. I guess if you come in with low expectations, you'll enjoy the match due to the hot Korakuen crowd and Sugiura offense. There's not really much of a story behind this. Leaning toward a solid *** rating, most of that for the effort.

-----
A good match to review would be Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi for the Triple Crown match from 1/19/1995. It's two days after the Great Hanshin Earthquake and is one of two matches that really builds up the 6/12/1998 match (which is the match that Kobashi debuted Grand Sword on~!)


----------



## MF83

I remember watching that and thinking no draw could ever top it. That would definitely be worth a rewatch.


----------



## Yeah1993

moar 2000s shoot fer the 2000s THINGY (actually, the last of the shoot I wanted to watch other than the BatBat match I can't find anywhere)

Katsumi Usuda v. Keita Yano (BattlARTS 11/16/08)
Wow this was great, and in most other years would be your shoot style MOTY. Yano basically did an up-and-coming junior-ish guy thing, and not once did I think he belonged in 25 minute Marufuji matches. Instead of attempting a Super Saiyan Akiyama tribute, he was eating everything that the veteran Usuda would pound him with. Yano would crumple to mat when being kicked in the head and get up more and more wobbly each time. Best spot was probably Usuda blasting him in the head, and the poor dude pretty much landing into a triangle choke/gogoplata. Eventually Yano couldn’t take it any more and the ref decides to end the match during a ten-count (not after, DURING!). Yano had some really cool offensive shit when not getting pulverised, too. He used the sunset flip-pin looking position and grabbed the back of Usuda’s neck during it. Looked painful as shit. Usuda’s always really good evey time I see him, and THOSE kicks. This almost felt like the #1 young gun in the company trying to overcome to the #1 star in the company. I mean yeah, it wasn’t that, but it kind gave off that vibe. Staying on the list.

Re-watched Ikeda/Ono v. Suruga (who I just realised is Hara)/Oba again. While I don’t like it as much as most people who like it, and I thought it went a little too long, I still really like it. There were some comedy-ish spots, but they felt more like Arn Anderson/Larry Zbyzsko comedy rather than Kenny Omega selling for a six year old girl. I liked how Ikeda backing up from Oba looked less like ‘I can’t let get the upper-hand’ and more like’ what the fuck is this Killer Khan Whacko doing? Get it off me.’ The pro spots like the Doomsday Device, the firemen’s carry Emerald Flowsion thing, and the rana were oddly in place. I was juggling where to have this on the list and I’m pretty sure it’ll stay, but I honestly don’t think I can bring myself to rank it above something like Eddie Guerrero v. The Big Show.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MF83 said:


> I remember watching that and thinking no draw could ever top it. That would definitely be worth a rewatch.


Pretty sure this is the one 90's AJPW match I've never watched that I really want to and only because it feels like such a daunting task. I've warmed up to Kobashi a lot since last thinking about it though. He used to be my least favorite of the four corners but now he's my favorite .


----------



## Corey

How's this best of the decade list coming about, yeah? Are there already nominations that you're going back and watching, or can you nominate your own matches?


----------



## Obfuscation

Don't know about anyone else, but Kawada vs Kobashi broadway sounds tremendous.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Jack Evans 187 said:


> How's this best of the decade list coming about, yeah? Are there already nominations that you're going back and watching, or can you nominate your own matches?


are you talking about this?

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/18337714-post5754.html

that was done in 2008. the results are here and that's a subpage of this awesome page of information of the 90's here.


----------



## Yeah1993

Jack Evans 187 said:


> How's this best of the decade list coming about, yeah? Are there already nominations that you're going back and watching, or can you nominate your own matches?


Both. I have a list of my own shit that I want to watch/re-watch. I'm making the non-WWE/ROH US list right now and i's getting close to 100 matches. :lmao


I have about 30 matches listed right now. Since I started the list fresh a couple of months ago I've only gone through WWE and shoot.


----------



## Corey

Yeah1993 said:


> Both. I have a list of my own shit that I want to watch/re-watch. I'm making the non-WWE/ROH US list right now and i's getting close to 100 matches. :lmao
> 
> 
> I have about 30 matches listed right now. Since I started the list fresh a couple of months ago I've only gone through WWE and shoot.


Oh my, that sounds like QUITE the project to say the least. You covering all companies all around the world?

Cody, did you by chance download the Yoshino/Doi match I upped? I ask because the link was deleted of course. Probably gonna re-up it and raise the post count to view it. (you should check this one out too Yeah)


----------



## Yeah1993

Yeah, all over the world.

I'll watch Yoshino v. Doi and anything anybody thinks I should watch. In fact I've been wanting recs, so FEEL FREE to throw shit in ma face.


----------



## Corey

Yeah1993 said:


> Yeah, all over the world.
> 
> I'll watch Yoshino v. Doi and anything anybody thinks I should watch. In fact I've been wanting recs, so FEEL FREE to throw shit in ma face.


I'll send you the link for Doi/Yoshino after I re-up it. My viewing on Puro of the 2000s isn't the largest catalog, but here's some standouts:

Misawa vs. Takayama (NOAH 4/15/2001. Tournament final to crown the first ever GHC Heavyweight Champion. Misawa endures a major ass kicking with a busted up face and makes a tenacious comeback to become the first champ. Whether it means something to you or not, one of my favorite Puro matches ever) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSvL7caUYtU

Kobashi vs. Akiyama 7/10/04 & Kobashi vs. Sasaki 7/18/05 (I'm sure you've seen both)

Kurt Angle vs. Yuji Nagata (Wrestle Kingdom '08, quite impressed by this) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu-jLXE5L1M

The Briscoes vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin (tbh idk the exact date, just know it's in 2007)

Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata (New Japan Cup Final '06, you may have seen it but WOOLCOCK is a big fan as am I) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdqYZeGCIFM

Yeah, that's all I can think of.


----------



## Yeah1993

I don't like Kobashi/Akiyama or Kobashi/Sasaki a big deal. The latter was a fun legends chop show but the former really gets on my nerves with Akiyama's stupid screaming, and the finishing run seemed like spotty selling. Can't say I'll watch either again.

Gotta watch Nagata/Bernard again, definitely could make the list.

Misawa/Takayama should finish in my top 50. Top 25 seems possible. Love that.

I'll put the rest of them on the 'hey watch this shit' list. Cheers~


----------



## Corey

More NOAH shit is starting to flow in. KENTA vs. Kanemaru and Suzuki/Marufuji vs. Akiyama/Hashi from 7/18/05. Danielson vs. KENTA from 12/2/07.

Everyone get in here and download this match real quick before it's deleted again. I promise it'll be worth your time. http://www.wrestlingforum.com/indy-...agon-gate-gate-maximum-09-a.html#post18206202


----------



## Yeah1993

I saw the Suzuki tag which I remember being pretty good but not something I'd add to a list. I think I hated KENTA v. Kanemaru. I don't like KENTA very much and Kanemaru has literally not ever done a single thing for me and is a piece of shit and they were no-selling by the end and BLAH. If I didn't hate then I didn't really like, anyway. Regardless I will watch their 09 match(es?) for the LEEST. Didn't know Danielson and KENTA faced off in 07 (other the extra on that ROH DVD), but I like at least two of their other matches so I'll watch that. CHHERZ AGAIN~

I'll d/l that next time I go on comp (I'm getting off NOW and feel like dogshit), and if it gets taken down again I could always up it to youtube. Cheers #3 (or something I LOST COUNT AND FEEL LIKE DOGSHIT)


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Oh my, that sounds like QUITE the project to say the least. You covering all companies all around the world?
> 
> Cody, did you by chance download the Yoshino/Doi match I upped? I ask because the link was deleted of course. Probably gonna re-up it and raise the post count to view it. (you should check this one out too Yeah)


Not yet. I will after my current download finishes up.

YEAH go watch Nakamura vs Bob Sapp for the IWGP World Championship. I could be the only who thinks it is brilliant. I don't care. It's def worth a watch. Just so someone else other than myself can finally talk about it.


----------



## Caponex75

I don't know what you people are talking about but I just wanted to say Kobashi vs. Takayama is a thousand times better than Kobashi vs. Akiyama that happened the same year.


----------



## RKing85

IVP order came in the mail today.

I know what I'm doing this weekend.

Starting off with the Jan 4, 1992 Tokyo Dome show.


----------



## Yeah1993

Obfuscation said:


> YEAH go watch Nakamura vs Bob Sapp for the IWGP World Championship. I could be the only who thinks it is brilliant. I don't care. It's def worth a watch. Just so someone else other than myself can finally talk about it.


I will when I get to the New Japan.



Caponex75 said:


> I don't know what you people are talking about but I just wanted to say Kobashi vs. Takayama is a thousand times better than Kobashi vs. Akiyama that happened the same year.


Change 'thousand' to FIFTEEN FUCKIN' MILLION BILLION times EIGHT and I agree. 

12/23/00 is the Kobashi/Akiyama that people should go berserk for.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah1993 said:


> I will when I get to the New Japan.


:mark:

I got curious in looking up that entire show. I found a name that's so absurd you might enjoy it (b/c of a previous discussion you had in this thread): Dolgorsurengiin Sumiyaabazar.

It's legit too apparently.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah1993 said:


> FEEL FREE to throw shit in ma face.














http://www.dailymotion.com/en/relevance/search/suwama+vs+taiyo+kea/1#video=xvxf0n
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xn...i-c-vs-giant-bernard-njpw_sport?search_algo=2

Suave Kojima, Tenzan the Charisma, grumpy old fucks, and two random masterpieces I fucking love.


----------



## Yeah1993

Tenzan/Kojima is the broadway, right? Or, at least the one that goes NEAR an hour (IDR if it was a draw)? I was surprised I liked that last year given that I don't care for either guy and it goes nine thousand minutes. Heard about Tenryu/Kojima as a 2002 MOTYC for years and have never watched it, so that's on tap (so is their match on 2/24). Don't remember hearing about the second match, but I won't turn down a Kawada match any time soon.

The dailymotion matches didn't happen in the 2000s, but I'll probably watch them some day. I reckon I will. I'll remember to. Eventually.



Obfuscation said:


> I found a name that's so absurd you might enjoy it (b/c of a previous discussion you had in this thread): Dolgorsurengiin Sumiyaabazar.
> 
> It's legit too apparently.


You have found the GOAT.


----------



## Rah

Obfuscation said:


> :mark:
> 
> I got curious in looking up that entire show. I found a name that's so absurd you might enjoy it (b/c of a previous discussion you had in this thread): Dolgorsurengiin Sumiyaabazar.
> 
> It's legit too apparently.


Sumiyabazar's K1/MMA history is about as weird as his name. He somewhat dominates Bob Sapp in the first round of their fight, keeping him grounded the entire time, only for his team to just throw in the towel over an apparent "foot injury". Same thing happens in his NJPW Crush match. He manages to take Kosaka down only to hyper-extend his arm in the process, causing a doctor's stoppage. I haven't seen his third match (though that he won).

Just stay away, quite honestly.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lucky me I had no interest in seeing him work. Only the name. I'd go as far to scope out the Tanahashi vs Sean O'Haire match from the same event instead of checking out Mr. outrageous name.


----------



## McQueen

I'll co-sign Kobashi/Takayama being better than Kobashi/Akiyama as well.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Same. I gave vs Akiyama ****1/4 and vs TAK ****1/2+ in my review of Kobashi's title reign defenses a couple days ago.

Got around to Kawada vs Kobashi from 1/19/95. I was not blown away by it. I'm also not throwing a rating at it because I'm just not sure but I for sure wouldn't give it 5* as it certainly had it's flaws. I enjoyed it and the hour flew by. I haven't watched the 10/95 draw in at least 6 months but I remember it was truly epic and I didn't get that vibe from this one. I also haven't watched their 6/12/98 match yet so that's on tap for tomorrow as well as the aforementioned 10/25/95 tag draw.


----------



## Corey

I wish IVP had a Takayama comp...  From what I've seen, that guy's fuckin awesome. Anyone know if one exists out there that's not like 23 discs and $68 or some crazy shit like that. haha


----------



## bigbuxxx

there's one on XWT. I d/l'ed it a few months ago . Still haven't watched anything off it that's new to me


----------



## Chismo

Btw, WTF is with XWT now? It seems they restricted their shit. The (open) registrations are closed for a week now, and that shite called PWT is hit or miss. I'm not sure I can catch up with my puro without XWT.


----------



## Groovemachine

OK, stupid question time!

Just downloading the free Best of Kenta Kobashi disc IVPvideos are promoting, and I actually haven't downloaded from them before. It's an ISO file so does that mean you HAVE to burn it to a disc in order to watch it? Or are there any players you can use to watch it directly?

Apologies for the ignorance!


----------



## Corey

Groovemachine said:


> OK, stupid question time!
> 
> Just downloading the free Best of Kenta Kobashi disc IVPvideos are promoting, and I actually haven't downloaded from them before. It's an ISO file so does that mean you HAVE to burn it to a disc in order to watch it? Or are there any players you can use to watch it directly?
> 
> Apologies for the ignorance!


You have to burn them to a disc, no way to watch them on your computer. I use CyberLink PowerDVD 9 to burn all mine (maybe CyberLink Suite, it's one of those) but you can download a program in about 4 seconds called Free Iso Burner that'll you do ya just fine. Just google search it.


----------



## Bubz

So, I know JoeRulz loves Kobashi/Akiyama from 04, but does anybody else? Because last time I watched that I fucking adored it. It's definitely on my re-watch list before this 2000's project is over, but I'm scared it won't hold up.


----------



## seabs

*If you right click on the ISO file then you can extract the VOB files and watch them using your media player. *


----------



## duttanized

JoeRulz said:


> Btw, WTF is with XWT now? It seems they restricted their shit. The (open) registrations are closed for a week now, and that shite called PWT is hit or miss. I'm not sure I can catch up with my puro without XWT.


Have you been keeping your ratio up?


----------



## Chismo

Bubz said:


> So, I know JoeRulz loves Kobashi/Akiyama from 04, but does anybody else? Because last time I watched that I fucking adored it. It's definitely on my re-watch list before this 2000's project is over, but I'm scared it won't hold up.


Yeah, I worship it, and I'd go this way on Kobashi/Akiyama/Takayama:

Kobashi/Akiyama - 50,01%
Kobashi/Takayama - 49,99%

Five stars for both.



duttanized said:


> Have you been keeping your ratio up?


No, never. I simply make a new account once they whack me. Ahh, good times.


----------



## Bruce L

Bubz said:


> So, I know JoeRulz loves Kobashi/Akiyama from 04, but does anybody else? Because last time I watched that I fucking adored it. It's definitely on my re-watch list before this 2000's project is over, but I'm scared it won't hold up.


I do, but since it's selling issues that seem to be the sticking point for most of the people who don't like it, my recommendation is probably best taken with a few grains of salt.


----------



## duttanized

JoeRulz said:


> Yeah, I worship it, and I'd go this way on Kobashi/Akiyama/Takayama:
> 
> Kobashi/Akiyama - 50,01%
> Kobashi/Takayama - 49,99%
> 
> Five stars for both.
> 
> 
> 
> No, never. I simply make a new account once they whack me. Ahh, good times.


HAHAHAHA, welp can't complain then. My ratio's almost 3.0 right now.


----------



## Bubz

Bruce L said:


> I do, but since it's selling issues that seem to be the sticking point for most of the people who don't like it, my recommendation is probably best taken with a few grains of salt.


Well, I'm usually one to hate something if it doesn't have good selling, but nothing in Kobashi/Akiyama bothered me on the selling front. I haven't seen it for a while though.


----------



## Corey

Seabs said:


> *If you right click on the ISO file then you can extract the VOB files and watch them using your media player. *


Welp, I stand corrected. (Y)



Bubz said:


> So, I know JoeRulz loves Kobashi/Akiyama from 04, but does anybody else? Because last time I watched that I fucking adored it. It's definitely on my re-watch list before this 2000's project is over, but I'm scared it won't hold up.


I gave it *****, so yeah I'm a fan.  That was several years ago though, haven't seen it since.


----------



## Chismo

*Wrestling World 2001*

*(1/4/2001)*


1.	*Vacant IWGP HWC Tournament – Round 1*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Kensuke Sasaki

***1/2


2.	*Vacant IWGP HWC Tournament – Round 1*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata

***


3.	Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) vs. Shinya Makabe & Tatsuhito Takaiwa

***


4.	Takashi Iizuka vs. Kendo Kashin

**


5.	*Vacant IWGP HWC Tournament – Semi-Finals*: Masahiro Chono vs. Kensuke Sasaki

***


6.	*Vacant IWGP HWC Tournament – Semi-Finals*: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

******


7.	Keiji Mutoh & Shinjiro Otani vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Liger

**


8.	Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto

******


9.	*Vacant IWGP HWC Tournament – Finals*: Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada

***3/4


Great Dome show, really enjoyed it, nothing dragged, nothing bad occurred. Kawada/Tenzan and Choshu/Hash were beautiful matches, although Choshu/Hash had the mind-boggling ending, otherwise I’d probably rate it ****1/2. It was a hard-boiled, smashing brawl. I also really liked the opener and the main event. I just wish Kashin’s match was longer.​


----------



## Rah

Riki Choshu is the man.

I've seen someone give that match a "DUD" rating purely because they don't understand Japanese and thus why they were brawling. Brawling is, also, apparently stupid.:heyman


----------



## Yeah1993

Choshu and Hashimoto are two of my fifteen-twenty favourite wrestlers (Hash is like top 5) so I should really watch that.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Starting a binge on 90's AJPW . Going to alternate 5 matches AJPW and 5 matches with Liger for a while. Watching the matches from this list provided by MF83. I had recently watched the Jumbo/Misawa matches so I skipped those and have no interest in Fantastics vs Malenko/Kikuchi.

Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada - ****1/4. This match is 45 minutes of awesomeness. There was one rest hold the entire match and that was within the first 10 minutes. There were no real control segments after about the 20-25 minute mark. It was a struggle for control that last 20-25 minutes, it was intense, and it was awesome. Constant transitiions. Loved this. For a 45 minute draw it's hard to be more entertaining than this. I was surprised to see Meltzer gave this only ***1/2. I would've thought he gave it ****3/4.

Jumbo/Taue/Fuchi vs Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi - ****1/2. I'm all for any match where Taue and Kawada want to kill each other, the rest of it was just cake. Reading about this match, apparently Kobashi breaks his nose during it. It started bleeding after Fuchi hit him with a Kawada style jumping head kick. Poor sob got his nose broke and Jumbo hit him with three stiff as fuck lariats.


----------



## Chismo

Rah said:


> Riki Choshu is the man.
> 
> I've seen someone give that match a "DUD" rating purely because they don't understand Japanese and thus why they were brawling. Brawling is, also, apparently stupid.:heyman


It was a great brawl, and the opening where Hash decided simply to stay in his corner after the bell is one of the most brilliant examples of psychology in wrestling. I just didn't like the ending, do you know what was that all about, it looked like Hash won the match, and yet it was declared No Contest, although Hash was in total control at the moment.


----------



## Obfuscation

Choshu vs Hashimoto. Oh sheeeet. Yeah, down for that & then some.

Debating if I want more of an AJPW fix to continue or jump on more HUSTLE. It's a tougher decision right now that one may think. I friggin adore HUSTLE. I think that wins atm. It goes beyond anything in terms of quality. :mark:


----------



## Yeah1993

are all of those HUSTLE shows still on youtube? I forgot to rip the one with Mascarita Fuckin' Sagrada and I hope it hasn't been taken down.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yep.

Do it right now. HUSTLE PPV #3. That match is fucking fantastic. I gushed over the Sagrada spot to you a few months back. HE LEAPS OVER THE GUARD RAIL AND A WHOLE SECTION ONTO A TON OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE.


----------



## TheAmazingChamp

I miss HUSTLE


----------



## Obfuscation

As do I. Probably my favorite promotion from Japan during the time it was around.

-----------

Finished Hashimoto vs Liger 2/24/94 atm. It was fine. Glad they had a match vs one another only I thought it could have been worked in a different direction. The ground attack was fine enough. Whole story of the match was jocking for control & subsequently Hashimoto's size advantage over Liger. I only wished the pinpointed areas once each had the other on the defensive were put more into play for the story and/or finish. Hash's leg & Liger's arm. Neither mattered much towards the end other than to "wear down" while maintaining control. Again, the match was fine. Nothing mind blowing. Perfectly acceptable wrestling with a decent story. Finishing stretch was nuts with some of the moves Liger busted out on Hash. Don't get me started on the super brainbuster. Jesus christ. Oh and Liger going APE SHIT on Hash about five minutes in with strikes was fan-friggin-tastic. I was hoping the bomb throwing would have been the route the match took.


----------



## Groovemachine

Thanks to Seabs and Jack_Evans for their help with ISO files. Turns out the wonder that is VLC player lets you play ISOs directly, so no problems here.

Watched Hansen/Kobashi, and I was all set and ready to witness a classic...only at the end did I realise it was their 7/7/90 match (their second encounter). So now I'm trying to find links to 4/16/93. Link on Youtube is pretty shitty, but I can't tell if that's just the upload or if the recording itself is pretty poor. Looks like a handheld camera. Is that the definitive version?

Here's the link, for reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF6ufMmZMTI


----------



## bigbuxxx

yeah, handheld is the only version the their early '93 encounter.


----------



## Rah

I need to get that Hash/Choshu 2001 match-up from someone noting PWTorrent's inability to offer a decent download speed. On a more positive note, however, here are two older reviews with some new ones just to keep up with the Choshu love:


WWF International Championship
*Tatsumi Fujinami © Vs Riki Choshu (03/04/1983)*
★★★★ 3/4+
_Very rarely do you see a match with a foundational phase that incorporates the nuances that this match told. From intricate details in the selling, that most would neglect, to the vocalisation of emotion, this match damn near had everything going for it and typifies exactly why I love watching Choshu wrestle. Hell, that isn't to say Fujinami didn't bring any of it, too, as both were absolute stars here. Its nuances aside, the foundation planted the legitimacy of threat that each wrestler's signatures held and the fight for supremacy never grew dull. The pacing flowed incredibly, with the "stalls" allowing for even heightened investment of interest when they flurried their defensive spurts and teased their signatures. Choshu locking in the Scorpion Deathlock onto Fujinami, only to have the condescending Ace clawing, in agonising pain, toward the ropes was an incredulous portrayal of Choshu's storied hopes in being seen as his equal.

The finishing stretch is where the beauty lies, however. While we're given a few neat nearfalls to whet our appetites, the final fall summarises the story so aptly. Choshu's lariat putting Fujinami away for a fall that had the champion kicking out a fraction too late finally cemented the returning heavyweight as the veteran's equal and, perhaps, better that day.
_


*Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (31/07/1986)*
★★★★ 3/4
_Choshu's little slaps or cheap-shots during ropebreaks may have only incited a bark from Fujinami but it damn well incited the bite from Khan. What should have been a cheap advantage for Choshu turned into the motivation, rather, for Khan to become Choshu's executioner.

It was a beginning treat to see Choshu's prowess from a technical perspective in the other matches yet the Choshu here is the Choshu I want to see more of. Neither man pulls punches nor takes their time in jumping into the deep-end and the match fight just feels real because of it. Most turns in a match come from a capitalised spot and are hardly as brutal as the offence that came before it yet Khan missing a knee drop off the turnbuckle to the floor was undeniably crazy. Choshu's subsequent control sequence would be spattered with Khan's quasi-comebacks until a vicious throw into the post meant the only thing spattered now was Khan's blood. The vicious Khan was now seemingly dazed, confused as to the goings-on of that around him, and almost easy pickings for Choshu. But the clearly injured monster wasn't as easy to put down as it appeared. An ill-timed lariat finish-attempt turned the tides back against Choshu allowing for the successful execution of the double stomp that Khan had so eagerly hoped for earlier in the match. Yet, just as Choshu had underestimated his opponent, so, too, had Khan. The babyface was just too powerful for Khan to put away. Despite having spent every moment post the ringpost spot in a confused haze, this realisation spawned with the clarity of glass within his facial expressions and mannerisms - screaming and gesturing not only to the referee but also into the faces of the ringside fans who refused to buy his chances.

Outside of the brilliant brawling and selling, Khan's charisma is perhaps what most sells this match. I'm not sure if Rocky Romero models himself off of Khan but the incessant, maniacal screaming is pretty close (albeit a lot less annoying/more true to character with Khan). If you have fifteen minutes to spare, and I know you do, I implore you to watch this. They say third time's the charm, and that term cannot be more apt than it is here._


*Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Riki Choshu 09/06/1987*
★★★★ 1/2
_It's interesting at how diverse this match would have been taken considering that poster I mentioned would berate this as a joke while DVDVR have this as the fifth best NJPW match of the 1980s. Personally? This was a minimalistic match that delivers in an absolutely astonishing manner. 

I'm not sure if life has been too kind with dear Fujiwara but, even in his forties, here he's bumping rather oddly (especially noting the way in which he takes the irish whip into the exposed turnbuckle). Honestly, too, some of his other offence did come across as awkward, almost losing his balance at a point early on in the match. No matter, however, as he's still Yoshiaki "CHARISMA~!" Fujiwara wrestling in front of a molten-hot crowd against Riki fuckin' Choshu so that's nothing more than an after thought. Fujiwara's facial expressions are possibly in a league of their own, adapting perfectly to the situational context and selling the match more than anything else. So it's almost at no surprise that a ghastly blade-job, coupled with choshu's murderous lariats, ensure the big fight feel, and hatred, is never lost on its audience.
_


*Riki Choshu Vs Shinya Hashimoto (07/12/1989)*
★★★★ 1/2+
_The beginning quarter or so was reminiscent of the Legend Pro tag I had watched earlier today yet done right. It was all about STRANTH and perfectly captured Hashimoto's struggle to gain his status. The weariness of each other, especially when breaks were called by the ref, and the viciousness in offence really legitimised what was at stake here, too. I absolutely adored Hashimoto not only trying to negate the lariat by working on Choshu's arm but also having some glimmer of cockiness in hoping his opponent would submit. When Choshu simply continued to take the pain in his stride, Hashimoto grew angry and drove Choshu's face into the canvas with a vicious DDT.

What was probably most praise-worthy, though, was its spectacular pacing. It established itself early on and gradually built itself up until the monumental climax in which the entire crowd was eating out of the palm of their hands, myself included. The double lariats within quick succession offered perhaps the best selling of the entire match, with Hashimoto not only keeping Choshu's offense strong (despite the weakend arm) yet also put himself over as an incredibly tough bastard. His head and neck had taken a beating the entire match, and the final dragon sleeper was one of many, too. Yet, noting his determination to win, Hashimoto would have rather passed out than consciously secede a victory to Choshu. He was too far gone, however, and the transition to a pin brought the match to a quicker conclusion.
_


*Riki Choshu Vs Shinya Hashimoto (02/08/1996)*
★★★★ 1/2-
_There's a certain bittersweet taste in enjoying these Choshu matches in that the crowds are on another level. The G1 Climax crowd here may only be 11,000 strong but it's most certainly more engaged and audible than modern crowds five times its size.

Hashimoto taking a page out of Choshu's book by slapping the shit out of the younger wrestler in the turnbuckle tie up diversified itself from the previous encounter almost a decade earlier, and showed Hash had learnt from their lengthy feud in not being too weary of Choshu. Choshu was sublime in the selling of his chest and arm - not that he necessarily needs it against Hashimoto. Don't let his baby face fool you, Hashimoto will beat the pissing tar right out of you.

There does seem to be a strucutured formula that both men stick to when squaring off (especially noting their finishing stretches involve one of them refusing to go down no matter the volume of strikes/lariats) but the old adage rings true. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Noting it's Hashimoto/Choshu, too, there isn't a sensible soul in the world who could question this as broken._​

:cheer CHOSHU :cheer


----------



## Obfuscation

No links to any of 'em. 

------------

Don't care what anyone else thinks - Liger vs Muta 10/20/96 is amazing. It's like watching an episode of Dragon Ball Z.


----------



## Rah

Links added.


----------



## Obfuscation

:mark:


----------



## Goku

Obfuscation said:


> Don't care what anyone else thinks - Liger vs Muta 10/20/96 is amazing. It's like watching an episode of Dragon Ball Z.


(Y)

Love the match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Radical.

Muta may turn people off, but it's not like his body of work is trying to say he's "one of the greatest". He's always been more about his persona than his ring work. Def in his prime days with the paint/mask. That's where he succeeded vs Liger. Created such a surreal atmosphere. It became more than a wrestling match. It was a struggle between good and evil - where the good got pushed so intensely that it had to go rouge in order to fight back. Beautiful stuff.


----------



## Goku

I'd easily call it Muta's best performance. At no point did I think Liger was a bigger part of the match. Stronger finish would've pushed it to the GOAT level tho.


----------



## Obfuscation

Muta drove it home. No doubt. Liger being in peril up until the Kishin reveal was quality imo. He's such a hero it garnered easy sympathy.

Finish was a touch abrupt. Can't complain overall considering the quality given from start to finish. It's ridiculously great even with the way it ended.


----------



## flag sabbath

Rah said:


> Links added.


Damn you Rah....I was starting to get on top of my backlog. Anyway, beastly selection - will rep when WF lets me.


----------



## Obfuscation

While I wasn't AS fond of Choshu vs Hashimoto 12/7/89, it was a great contest. Can't add more to it that Rah put down. He nailed it to a tee. Power struggle through and through.


----------



## Corey

Obfuscation said:


> Radical.
> 
> Muta may turn people off, but it's not like his body of work is trying to say he's "one of the greatest". He's always been more about his persona than his ring work. Def in his prime days with the paint/mask. That's where he succeeded vs Liger. Created such a surreal atmosphere. It became more than a wrestling match. It was a struggle between good and evil - where the good got pushed so intensely that it had to go rouge in order to fight back. Beautiful stuff.


This is almost entirely why Muta is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. The overall persona with the amazing character work tossed in with so many memorable moments throughout the years (Muta Scale, Liger match, the crucifixion of Jinsei Shinzaki, etc.). Not like he's a bad wrestler either, the guy has a move named after him for goodness sake. He's such an amazing performer and I'd put him right there with The Undertaker as two as the greatest gimmick wrestlers ever.

----------------------------

Rah makes me wanna watch an ass ton of Riki Choshu right now, because honestly I can't name one singles match I've seen from the guy, just a bunch of tags with guys like Vader, Norton, Hashimoto, Bam Bam, etc.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's why I enjoy Muta too. I love tremendous wrestling. Who doesn't, amirite? Yet, I'm much more drawn to tremendous storytelling & character development all the same. That's my favorite aspect of watching professional wrestling. Muta has been key in that area - ergo, I'm a fan.


----------



## Goku

:mark: crucifixion of Jinsei


----------



## Obfuscation

On a semi-unrelated topic, Muta's theme was one of the best out there:


----------



## Corey

You gotta love Jinsei.


----------



## Obfuscation

I had no idea he did that during his Hakushi days. Bad ass.


----------



## Corey

Obfuscation said:


> I had no idea he did that during his Hakushi days. Bad ass.


Yes, yes it is. Wanna say it's right before the IYH 1 match or right before their RAW match.

Also, let's not forget about this (gonna keep pluggin it until someone watches ) http://www.wrestlingforum.com/indy-...agon-gate-gate-maximum-09-a.html#post18206202


----------



## Obfuscation

I downloaded it but something about the codecs were all screwy. (N)


----------



## Corey

Works fine in Windows Media Player for me. :$

VLC & Quicktime were no go's though, looks like you'd have to download some shit or something.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Is there a blog or something for reviews of recent NOAH, DDT, and Dragon Gate shows? I feel like I'm only watching mainly NJPW as far as Puro goes and a few other random AJPW matches and want to see more promotions but don't know which shows are worth the time.


----------



## sXeMope

Anyone know where I can download Dragon Gate shows? Found King Of Gate 2013 day 1 on XWT, but they don't always have a lot, and OpenTheDragonGate is about 3 months behind.


----------



## MF83

Rah, these! Especially the bolded.


> *Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu JPW 2/21/85 - [Voted 4th best match of DVDVR's "Other Japan" set]*
> Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> *25. Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> 
> 2. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) 92%
> 13. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86) 85%*
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)



I watched the Fantastics vs Joe Malenko/Kikuchi 90 again today. It is still an awesome match. Joined at six minutes, it features a botch that helps the match, which makes me question if it was a botch at all. Gaijin are fierce and Joe is always great. One of the first good Kikuchi underdog performances and a molten finish. Well worth ten minutes of your life.


----------



## Corey

How's Joe Malenko compared to Dean? Never seen the guy.

Also, this is random but someone should post in the Lucha Libre thread just to help me out so my long ass review I'll be posting later (Villano III!~) isn't the last post of the page. Not to sound like a whiny little bitch, but who wants their reviews to be the last of the page anyway? Then no one sees them.


----------



## MF83

I trust the Joe Malenko name to entertain me more so than most any other name. He was way better than his brother in my opinion.

Watched the September 90 Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada. I'm not sure which is better between this and Jumbo/Misawa II. Last time I watched the Fuchi/Kobashi 90 six man I gave it 97% best match ever status so I hope it holds up but It's between the aforementioned other two for second and third place for the AJPW year. It's a little messy and sometimes draggy but the accomplishment of 45 minutes of continuous pacing, attention holding and suspense makes it quite an accomplishment. 87% I'd say. 

I like post-Tenryu 1990 because none of the native workers aside from Jumbo and Fuchi are better than good yet; it's pure potential. Misawa finds his groove near the end of the year, Kawada/Taue in 91 and Kobashi/Kikuchi by 92 but they're all in that exciting development phase in 1990. The wrestling only reaches famous early 90s level quality-wise in that six man, so it's like the calm before the supremest of storms.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Works fine in Windows Media Player for me. :$
> 
> VLC & Quicktime were no go's though, looks like you'd have to download some shit or something.


I'll give it a shot on WMP.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*CIMA, BxB Hulk & Matt Sydal vs. TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo & MENS Teioh (5/5/2008)-****
-Fun, fast paced match between these great teams. TAKA & Hulk begins and they start with a typical lucha style tag with lots of good back and forth. CIMA takes control and decides to destroy Dick Togo’s grapefruits and Team Dragon Gate starts to take control. A nice assisted Codebreaker/SSP spot by Team DG but Kai En Tai comes back and be dicks for the hell of it; great stalling suplex by Teioh. Kai En Tai continue to work over Hulk, rudos style. Hulk comes back with a Springboard Wheel Kick and tags CIMA but Togo takes him out before Sydal comes in with Tilt-A-Rana into a Small Package. Gorgeous Moonsault to the outside by Sydal; TAKA/CIMA with some back and forth but Hulk comes in and attacks. Triple submission by Kai En Tai followed with a Triple Powerbomb; Sick Lariat by Togo but Hulk kicks out. Togo goes up top but CIMA stops him and hits Ocanoclasm followed by Sydal’s signature moonsault. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver on TAKA but he kicks out; finish comes when Teioh hits a Choke Bomb on Hulk followed by the Diving Senton by Togo. Loads of fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arl0mmd-GqQ

*Hayabusa vs. TAKA Michinoku (11/16/1996)-*****
-Was in the mood for some FMW goodness and thought I review this one. First section of the match sees Hayabusa & TAKA trade holds for a bit before quickening the pace and Hayabusa decides to show off but TAKA one up him. TAKA begins to work over the leg, brutalizing it with a chair and applying the Figure 4 Leg Lock. TAKA goes for a Springboard Splash to the outside but misses and eats a Tombstone. Hayabusa buries TAKA in chairs before hitting a gorgeous moonsault off the apron. They climb back in the ring where Busa hits a Tiger Bomb for 2; he follows up with a Fisherman DDT/450 Splash combo for another 2. Busa calls for the Phoenix Splash but TAKA knocks him off the top and follow up with a top rope Asai moonsault. Busa kicks out of the Michinoku Driver and comes back with a Summersault Plancha of his own. Some Michinoku Driver, Kneeling Powerbomb and Falcon Arrow later; the finish comes when Busa hits an awesome Spinning Falcon Arrow. Japanese crowds seemingly marked out for everything in the 90s lol. Great Match, love me some FMW & M-Pro.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a5ov_fmw-taka-michinoku-vs-hayabusa_sport#.UZkdNkps53A


----------



## Rah

MF83 said:


> Rah, these! Especially the bolded.
> 
> 
> 
> Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu JPW 2/21/85 - [Voted 4th best match of DVDVR's "Other Japan" set]
> Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> 25. Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> 
> 2. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) 92%
> 13. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86) 85%
> 
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)
> 
> 
> 
> I watched the Fantastics vs Joe Malenko/Kikuchi 90 again today. It is still an awesome match. Joined at six minutes, it features a botch that helps the match, which makes me question if it was a botch at all. Gaijin are fierce and Joe is always great. One of the first good Kikuchi underdog performances and a molten finish. Well worth ten minutes of your life.
Click to expand...

I've quite purposefully left off his tag matches for the time being. That is, I just want as much of Choshu in one match as I can get. Though, I've got quite a backlog in getting through the bulk of his goodness. I've found quite an old listing (circa 1989 WON) done by Jeff Bowdren on the best matches of the 80s. Here's some possible gems:



> Riki Choshu, Animal Hamaguchi & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Akira Maeda, Tatsumi Fujinami & Kengo Kimura (12/8/83, Tokyo, Japan) - "the best six-man tag team match of the decade"
> Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (12/2/86) - apparently the best match Terry Funk's ever seen
> Choshu, Fujinami, Maeda, Kimura & Super Strong Machine vs Inoki, Sakaguchi, Mutoh, Hoshino & Fujiwara (8/19/87, Tokyo, Japan)
> Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu (1/28/86, Tokyo, Japan) - you've already noted it, but I do so again to state it made 6th place on his list





Jack Evans 187 said:


> Also, this is random but someone should post in the Lucha Libre thread just to help me out so my long ass review I'll be posting later (Villano III!~) isn't the last post of the page. Not to sound like a whiny little bitch, but who wants their reviews to be the last of the page anyway? Then no one sees them.


If you answer my pleas of masochistic fantasy that have gone unanswered there, I shall. :$


----------



## MF83

Best of 1980s Choooushuuuuuuu Riiiiiki! 

Edit: of course you answer right before. :lol



> Fujinami Tatsumi vs. Choshu Riki (4/3/83)
> 
> Choshu Riki vs. Fujinami Tatsumi (4/21/83)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (8/4/83)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (9/21/83)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami & Akira Maeda vs. Riki Choshu & Higo Hamaguchi (12/2/83)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami, Akira Maeda & Kengo Kimura vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi (12/8/83)
> 
> Antonio Inoki, Akira Maeda & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Animal Hamaguchi, (2/9/84)
> 
> 5-on-5 Gauntlet (4/19/84)
> 
> Bob Backlund vs. Riki Choshu (8/24/84)





> *Riki Choshu vs Genichiro Tenryu JPW 2/21/85 - [Voted 4th best match of DVDVR's "Other Japan" set]*
> Genichiro Tenryu & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Killer Khan & Riki Choshu (8/2/85)
> *25. Ted Dibiase & Stan Hansen vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (12/12/85)
> 
> 2. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/28/86) 92%
> 13. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/86) 85%
> 16. Riki Choshu vs. Killer Khan (7/31/86)*
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (1/24/87)
> Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs. Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu (2/5/87)





> Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/9/87)
> 
> Riki Choshu, Super Strong Machine & Kuniaki Kobayashi vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Osamu Kido & Nobuhiko Takada (6/12/87
> 
> Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (6/29/87
> 
> Antonio Inoki, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Seiji Sakaguchi, Kantaro Hoshino & Keiji Mutoh vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, Kengo Kimura, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine (8/19/87)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami, Nobuhiko Takada, Riki Choshu, Akira Maeda & Super Strong Machine vs. Antonio Inoki, Kantaro Hoshino Dick Murdoch, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Masa Saito & Seiji Sakaguchi (9/17/87)
> 
> Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu (2/4/88)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (5/27/88)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu (6/24/88)
> 
> Tatsumi Fujinami, Keiichi Yamada, Shiro Koshinaka, Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Kengo Kimura vs. Hiroshi Saito, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Super Strong Machine, Masa Saito & Riki Choshu (9/12/88)
> 
> Antonio Inoki vs. Riki Choshu (2/22/89)
> 
> Riki Choshu & Masa Saito vs. George Takano & Super Strong Machine (3/16/89)
> 
> Riki Choshu vs. Big Van Vader (6/27/89)
> 
> Riki Choshu vs. Salman Hashimikov (7/12/89)
> 
> Riki Choshu & Takayuki Iizuka vs. Super Strong Machine & George Takano (7/13/89)
> 
> Riki Choshu, Jushin Liger & Kengo Kimura vs. Big Van Vader, Manny Fernandez & Buzz Sawyer (8/3/89)
> 
> Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto (12/7/89)


----------



## Corey

Was gonna consider watching Busa/Taka, but then I read "brutalizing the leg with a chair and a Figure 4", which continued into Hayabusa hitting a bunch of springboard flying moves. Damn no sellers...

SO MANY fucking lists recently. So much wrestling to watch!


----------



## Rah

Oh, it's not like I have a life. At all.

Thanks. :side:

Edit: HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE



> Bob Backlund vs. Riki Choshu (8/24/84)


Wat.


----------



## Corey

Rah said:


> If you answer my pleas of masochistic fantasy that have gone unanswered there, I shall. :$


Hahaha, would if I could pal. I've only watched good lucha, not the shitty lucha yet. 

And I stand corrected! I have seen a Riki Choshu singles match. It was in fact against Bob Backlund from 9/7/1982. It wasn't that great and ended in a non-finish unfortunately.


----------



## Rah

Ah, bother.

Yeah, I've got high hopes but low expectations for their other match. The character-meshing should be pretty good, though. Interested to see how Backlund's technical prowess goes with Choshu, too.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Was gonna consider watching Busa/Taka, but then I read "brutalizing the leg with a chair and a Figure 4", which continued into Hayabusa hitting a bunch of springboard flying moves. Damn no sellers...
> 
> SO MANY fucking lists recently. So much wrestling to watch!


You know what you get with Busa so you got to adjust your expectations accordingly :lol


----------



## flag sabbath

JoeRulz said:


> *BJW 3/14/2007*
> 
> SCAFFOLD DEATHMATCH for the *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Takashi Sasaki © vs. Yuko Miyamoto
> 
> _This was an absolutely amazing match. Korakuen is full packed, the crowd is 100% behind Miyamoto, it’s crazy, there’s a big-match feel and atmosphere. The feeling out process at the beginning was basic and very nice, like what you see in every other match, nice dose of mental endurance before one of them fucks up, and the penalty for being careless and fucking up is taking a nasty lighttube shot across the head. From there we have a simple story of experienced Sasaki dominating and demolishing poor Yuko with stiff shots of death, and of course Yuko makes heroic comebacks every once in awhile. Hard-boiled 101. Korakuen is going crazy for him. It’s impressive and fascinating how these guys keep intelligence on high level throughout the whole duration of this massacre – everything is sold, the spots are carefully picked and paced, the match importance is emphasized immensely and is the major part of the structure, they used weapons WITH the offense, not AS the offense, etc. All that while they’re bumping and bleeding heavily, I was in awe. Miyamoto is the perfect mix of a high-flyer and a gutsy deathmatch guy, it’s astonishing that after 20 minutes of violence he was able to do picture perfect Hurricanranas and shit. This is where he was made. This is a legit MOTYC for 2007, and maybe even the greatest deathmatch I’ve seen thus far, it’s right up there with Kasai/Ito and few Junkies/Strong BJ tags._
> 
> *****1/2*​


Yeah, this is incredible. In pursuit of this one, I accidentally watched their 2009 Scaffold match which is a worthy, batshit-crazy companion piece with some cool role-reversal callbacks in the crucial spots.


----------



## Chismo

flag sabbath said:


> Yeah, this is incredible. In pursuit of this one, I accidentally watched their 2009 Scaffold match which is a worthy, batshit-crazy companion piece with some cool role-reversal callbacks in the crucial spots.


:dancingpenguin

Fuckin A, man!


----------



## McQueen

Jack Evans 187 said:


> How's Joe Malenko compared to Dean? Never seen the guy.
> 
> Also, this is random but someone should post in the Lucha Libre thread just to help me out so my long ass review I'll be posting later (Villano III!~) isn't the last post of the page. Not to sound like a whiny little bitch, but who wants their reviews to be the last of the page anyway? Then no one sees them.


Joe Malenko was awesome. Worth checking out.

Also I love the shit out of Wrestling World 2001. Especially Tenzan/Kawada.


----------



## bigbuxxx

MF83 said:


> Watched the September 90 Jumbo/Taue vs Misawa/Kawada. I'm not sure which is better between this and Jumbo/Misawa II. Last time I watched the Fuchi/Kobashi 90 six man I gave it 97% best match ever status so I hope it holds up but It's between the aforementioned other two for second and third place for the AJPW year. It's a little messy and sometimes draggy but the accomplishment of 45 minutes of continuous pacing, attention holding and suspense makes it quite an accomplishment. 87% I'd say.


I watched the 12/7/90 match they had last night and that was way better than the draw. It was only 22 minutes I believe but it was also one of the very best matches I've ever seen. I was going to throw it at ****3/4 but I can't think of a reason it wouldn't be in the upper echelon of my 5* match list. If I had to throw a % at it I'd say 96%. 



Spoiler: for if you want to watch first



Starts with Jumbo taking a cheap shot on Misawa and Taue taking a cheap shot on Kawada within the first couple minutes and then Kawada going ape shit on Taue. Half way through Jumbo takes an elbow knocking him out of the match for 5 minutes or so while Taue gets mauled and then keeping him from getting a tag after Jumbo gets up. It's actually the first time I've heard a crowd boo both Kawada and Misawa. Jumbo finally gets the tag and is angrier than I've ever seen him just taking destroying them. There are lots of "Oh's" to be had while he's pissed as well. At some point there's an awesome spot where Misawa somehow ends up on the apron on Jumbo's side of the ring while Kawada's in trouble and Taue goes for a lariat on Kawada but runs into a sick Misawa elbow, this was just brilliant. My only qualm is that Jumbo's comeback was not complete as they ended up dropping the match. This match makes me rethink my MOTY that I have as Jumbo/Misawa from 6/8.


----------



## Chismo

*BJW 7/27/2009
*
KKK DEATHMATCH: Jun Kasai vs. Abdullah Kobayashi

_This was so sweet, a lot of fun, kind of a dream match for me between two of my favorites. Shit got very violent down the road, of course, but the first half was filled with wackiness, however they never got annoying, they didn’t drag it, the wackiness was the major mental part of the match, you know, the old street/prison/schoolyard rule – whoever backs up, is a bitch. Both are fan favorites, Korakuen is red hot for them, and I’ll forever remember those kenzans bloodbath visuals. Crazy, and I love it._

***1/2​


----------



## Obfuscation

Backlund vs Choshu.

GOOD LORD where to watch this at?


----------



## Rah

Disc 6 (?) of the "DVDVR New Japan 175" set (or the best of 1980s) that's on XWT.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll have to download it all just for one match. Hope it's worth it. :hayley1


----------



## Rah

Aren't they individual files? If not, no. It isn't worth it.


----------



## Obfuscation

Well shoot. That's ever so slightly gut-wrenching.


----------



## MF83

^ It absolutely is worth it. That is easily the best compilation I've ever watched. I gave roughly 60 matches **** or more and the crap is minimal. 





*Jumbo Tsuruta, Taue Akira & Fuchi Masanobu vs. Misawa Mitsuharu, Kawada Toshiaki & Kobashi Kenta (AJPW; 1990-10-19)* 

Early on, Taue draws up a bunch of battle lines. He demonstrates his superiority over Kobashi before an apron rush. Even though the crowd favoured Jumbo's team before the bell, this garnered support for the babies. As well, Fuchi is one dirty bastard, in particular towards Kobashi. More hatred spawns support from the crowd for Misawa-gun and disdain towards Jumbo's seconds. Jumbo isn't unlikeable in this match; he just opposes Kawada and Kobashi, making him leader of the de facto heels, just as Misawa leading his teammates makes him the de facto super face. This is the first time Misawa reaches that full confidence mark for me. He isn't in the ring much, but when he is he executes with veteran intricacies and a confidence he hadn't yet displayed. Kawada and Taue are the stars of this match to be sure. Kawada is the ultimate fiery-face and he makes the viewer root for him. Not to be outdone, Taue is a damn star in this match. Everything he touches turns to gold and he is responsible for the bulk of the psychological groundwork and for much of the hatred. 

The early portion is good. It doesn't drag, it establishes themes, and the wrestlers strategize by targeting body parts and working soundly. What sets this apart is the mega-counters and how they're incorporated. They are special and spaced out, not all clumped together for pops. Things like the floor reversal, Kobashi's counter lariat to what we assume will be a huge running Jumbo pin-break strike, and others keep things spicy. Grumpy Fuchi eventually isolates Kobashi and takes him to task. The pacing is exquisite, as they bounce between minor controls, ring-outs, and keep everyone stays in for just the right amount of time. Something to note is the lack of double team moves, which seems kind of strange in hindsight. At the same time, we must note the team warfare strategies (aprons fighting aprons, pin blockings, breakups, etc.). They truly make it matter of red corner vs. blue corner; army vs. army.

There are unlimited ways of executing a control segment, and being violent towards the face of the lowest ranked, most easily sympathetic member of the babyface team is probably the best way to execute one. The heat is monumental at the hot tag, but what's special is that they keep that buzz at a high pitch through Kawada and Taue (who have the best segment of the match; one of the better segments ever) and into Jumbo and Misawa who elbow the shit out of each other. It could break down then and there as the action falls to the floor, but even then Taue finds a way to keep things together _and_ exciting with a perfectly timed tope. 

There's the elbow theme between Jumbo and Misawa (and everyone else to a degree), utter hatred between Taue and Kawada, and the element of Fuchi dominating Kobashi, keeping the ranks and roles in check. With the help of his team mates, Kobashi finally gets some comeuppance on Fuchi... and then he gets true nearfalls. We believe he can win. Jumbo gets in there and we get at least one legitimate nearfall from the upstart on the ace. KO-BA-SHI! Kobashi proves himself at least somewhat worthy with the things he's allowed to survive before Jumbo ends things decisively. 

What sets this match apart is that it has no obvious flaws. There is nothing wrong with anything that did occur. It's like they ran one of those egg-in-spoon races, these guys sprinted, and defied all odds as the egg remained in tact at the end. I gave this 97% the last time I watched it and I still believe this to be one of the very best matches of all time. I would not place it above Jumbo/Tenryu, but I believe it is in the same league. ★★★★★ or *95%*


----------



## Obfuscation

And new glimmer of hope approaches. 

I mostly thought Rah implied Choshu vs Backlund wasn't worth the watch if having to download the entire set.


----------



## Bubz

Man those Misawa/Jumbo 6 man tags from the early 90's are incredible. Some of my favourite matches ever. I can't remember which is which, but I know I loved all of the ones I saw.


----------



## Chismo

ENGRISH commentary for the MOTD. :jordan2


----------



## bigbuxxx

I prefer the Japanese even though I don't speak Japanese . I recently watched Joe/Kobashi w/Japanese commentary that I thought was pretty good. Kobashi does his chops in the corner and the guy goes ballistic "machine gun chops in New York City!!!! machine gun chops in New York City!!!! machine gun chops!!!! machine gun chops!!!!". Lots of other good moments from him to. <3


----------



## Bubz

I watched Joe/Kobashi and Akiyama/Kobashi for the first times without commentary and that's the only way I can watch them now. Anything else just feels weird.


----------



## Obfuscation

First thing that comes to mind is Liger vs Muta 10/20/96. No commentary and it's honestly MUCH stronger suited that way. I actually enjoy Japanese commentary all the same; even though the language is mostly lost on me. But my true love comes from those crowds & atmosphere. Which you can appreciate even more without commentary in the background.

If a whole bunch of Japanese matches had English commentary added to 'em, I wouldn't object. All for the fun of hearing something new, you know? Would rather have English subtitles for promos, haha. Someone look into doing that for HUSTLE. Stories are still easy to follow, yet I want to know the dialogue. :hmm:


----------



## Chismo

*Wrestling World 1996*

*(1/4/1996)*


1.	Yuji Nagata, Shinjiro Otani & Tokimitsu Ishizawa vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara, Kazushi Sakuraba & Kenichi Yamamoto

_So many strikes…_

**1/2


2.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima

_2013’s Tenzan looks almost exactly the same as 1996’s Tenzan. Creepy._

***


3.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Koji Kanemoto © vs. Jushin Liger

_“Look, you hit your moves, then I’ll hit mine, then we’ll do a bunch of kickouts, then we’re gonna repeat the whole thing.” That’s the whole match. Plus weak selling. It was bad, but it wasn’t terrible, more like… frustrating._

*3/4


4.	Masahiro Chono vs. Shiro Koshinaka

**


5.	Hiromichi Fuyuki vs. Yoji Anjo

**


6.	Hiroshi Hase vs. Kensuke Sasaki

_This was really disappointing, I mean Hase was good, but KENSKE was completely out of the game, totally annoying, he was just… there._

**1/4


7.	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. Holy Moses at some of those shots, gruesome. This match probably has 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._

*****3/4*


8.	Riki Choshu vs. Masahito Kakihara

_Toukon fatties > shoot style, plain and simple. Choshu took Kakihara to school. Yeah, I said that._

***


9.	Shinya Hashimoto vs. Kazuo Yamazaki

_Damn, there’s just something bigger than life (and terrifying) when Hashimoto stares at his opponents, especially if they’re invaders. Really good match where Kazuo tried to prevail with his martial arts mantra, but never really got there because Shinya’s strikes were just too vicious, and the finish was absolutely spectacular. Short ‘n’ sweet slugfest._

***1/2


10.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Keiji Mutoh © vs. Nobuhiko Takada

_Almost everyone puts Hash/Takada over this match with an ease, but I think they are really damn close. The majority of the match is in defensive mood, they play it safe, particularly Mutoh, naturally, because Takada is a superior grappler, so you don’t want to miss a beat in there. Mutoh’s advantage is quickness, and he uses it to outsmart Takada, and there are nice Inoki vs. “almost legit dudes” flashbacks from the 80s, especially in terms of strategy and approach by Mutoh. Takada was great here, he worked a simple style, waiting for Mutoh to fuck up so he can destroy his limbs, logically._

*****1/4*


This was a very good show where important matches delivered.​


----------



## Groovemachine

Guys, what was the fallout from the Liger/Muta 10/20/96 match? I watched it for the first time this morning and enjoyed it but I thought the booking was kinda strange...to have this awesome moment of Liger debuting Kushin Liger...and then he promptly loses. Did this build up to another encounter? I watched it completely out of context so I wonder if maybe that took me out of it a little bit.


----------



## MF83

Check out Toukon Retsuden. YouTube it. 'The Great Riki' and Dan Ginnetty (DVD trader ichiban!) put out a regular English commentated overdub series for years.

There were no lasting implications from Muta/Liger outside of Kishin Liger making special appearances now and again.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*YOSSINO vs. K-Ness (6/29/2003)-*****
-Great title match (UWA strap if I remember) between these guys, don’t think I’ve seen this match since… 2004 maybe? Anyways I dig the story of the match; focusing on the dissention of ItaCon and YOSSINO/Milano wanting to do things right. K-Ness being the awesome ring general that he is, controlled the pace of the match and worked over YOSSINO’s arm well. You got a lot of great combinations and sequences like the From Jungle countered into Judah, the D3 countered into Sol Naciente and that same move countered into Sol Noches El. Down the stretch Ness hit a Darkness Buster and fucked up his arm but snapped it back into place and audible or not I like how that played into the finish with YOSSINO immediately going after it and finishing with the double cross arm breaker. The series of matches YOSSINO had with Ness back in 2003 is some of Toryumon’s finest work and this was no exception.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq1kjq_yossino-c-vs-k-ness-toryumon_sport#.UZqTmEps53A

*Cactus Jack, Terry Funk & Mike Awesome vs. Ganemura, Atsushi Onita & Masato Tanaka (N/A)-***+*
-Just looking at the names I knew what to expect, lots of chaos and insanity and unsurprisingly they delivered on that. You got a lot of brawling and more action that I could call including Awesome Bombs through tables, Funk attacking people with Fire and Double Piledrivers; Tanaka, Onita and especially Ganemura took one hell of a beating in this match for certain with timed comebacks but for the most part the Gaijin dominated. Lots of craziness FMW style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVTLxZp5jj4


----------



## McQueen

I almost feel some compulsion to watch some Puro. Someone download something good onto my computer.


----------



## MF83

^ You might be in for a treat or two...

____


Choshu vs Backlund '84 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x103ip2_bob-backlund-vs-riki-choshu-8-24-84_sport#.UZwQZ8qjZ6I

____


Antonio Inoki vs. Masa Saito (4/27/87) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x103fby_antonio-inoki-vs-masa-saito-4-27-87_sport#.UZwQTsqjZ6I

This may seem random, but I believe I'm the first one to get this online in tube form in years, if ever (I know I was scouting for it forever). It was a divisive match on the DVDVR set with some people throwing it at number one or two and others blowing it off as a lesser. Ditch, for example, wasn't blown away and as such it isn't on his site and hasn't seen the light of day. It's definitely dramatic and psych heavy, that's for sure, and I for one loved it. 

Things to note: Masa is out of jail and back in puroresu. Choshu is back from All Japan and is in the crowd with sidekick Kobayashi. They are in the same stable as Saito, as is Masa's second: a young Hase. Saito and Inoki hate each other. This is **NOT** the infamous island deathmatch. Dig it!



> Spoiler: my review from months ago
> 
> 
> 
> Not only is Masa out of jail and in a featured match for once, but Choshu and Kobayashi are back and viewing from the crowd~! The match is basically composed of two sections:
> 
> 1. A lengthy, yet engaging offensive control by Saito. He keeps the whole, probably fifteen minute chain of offense, interesting and focused on the legs and back of Inoki. I wish Inoki sold the multiple sasoris, especially, a bit more, as he took them with an emotionless face a lot of the time. There was one beautiful sequence where Inoki blocks a backdrop and Saito organically trips him before he rearranges Inoki's legs in order to apply the prison lock. Fire Pro has taught me that that is a face up move; you learn something new every day! After a series of kicked-out-of backdrops, Saito gets frustrated and starts repeatedly doing the pickup-drop guillotine special on the top ropes, or otherwise using the ropes to his advantage. He tosses Inoki to the floor a couple times, giving Inoki time to recover. Props to Inoki for selling the leg for the match's duration. Something I’ve liked about Inoki is his hulking up by grabbing streamers and tearing them; I’m not sure why it works but it does. Inoki, livid, re-enters the ring and lets loose his first (for this set) abesigiri (sp?), transitioning us into phase two.
> 
> 2. With Masa knocked loopy and Inoki in an uproar, Inoki starts cranking away at the turnbuckle connector in order to dislodge the top rope. For some reason, Mr. Takahashi thinks this sounds like a good idea, takes the mic, and orders a no-rope deathmatch to take place… now! Inoki beats the fuck out of Masa’s face with strike after strike, busts him open on the post, and Masa dons one of the bloodier crimson masks in wrestling history. At one point, Masa is down and in the corner when second Hase slips him friggin' handcuffs, playing up the convict gimmick even more. Masa beats on Inoki with them and then decides they’re going to be connected at the hand. Bad idea. Masa winds up taking a dangerous amount of shots to the face in return until Hase finally throws in the towel (by order of Choshu). What’s more is the intensity lingers and even increases as Choshu makes his way to ringside. I’d be pissed if someone almost murdered my mentor, too. Inoki will not calm down and Fujinami has to fucking knock him out to stop the rampage. There’s poetry in there somewhere. Beautiful.
> 
> 
> 
> Not sure why I felt the need to type all of that out but this was VERY heavy on the psychology and unique, to say the least, and I loved it. This is very hard to rate and so I’m just slotting it where I feel it belongs which puts it at ★★★★½


----------



## McQueen

Pretty sure I have Choshu/Backlund on DVD somewhere.


----------



## mk92071

Minoru Tanaka vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri 
This match was sooooooo amazing. I loved how Tajiri was clearly frustrated at certain times after Tanaka would get out of his submissions, and he'd nail Tanaka with a stiff head kick. Tanaka had quick bursts of offense throughout which were exciting, and Tajiri kept a good pace through most of his control. Lots of good nearfalls down the stretch with Tanaka capitalizing on his quickness and small opportunities. *****1/4*

------

About to go out for dinner, but I need some recs for when I get home. What are some good BattlArts or Shoot Style matches? I watched Carl Greco vs. Yuki Ishikawa last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I can dig mat wrestling or matches that seem like '2 guys just rolling around', which some people don't like. Need to watch a lot more of this style.


----------



## Yeah1993

McQueen said:


> I almost feel some compulsion to watch some Puro. Someone download something good onto my computer.


Williams v. Taue 4/20/96


----------



## duttanized

Taiji Ishimori list of matches to watch please and thank you!


----------



## Obfuscation

Backlund vs Choshu on dailymotion.

~!~!~!


----------



## Groovemachine

Well shit. Watched me some Kobashi/Akiyama 04, which is another classic I've never seen. Really awesome stuff. I don't think I've ever seen someone work a headlock as well as Kobashi here; he absolutely wrenches on Jun's neck and makes it look like he's applying SUCH a load of pressure. And stopping Akiyama's escape attempt of an irish whip by just sitting out and applying further pressure to the headlock...beautiful. 

Akiyama had some fantastic nearfalls and I was OK with Kobashi kicking out of the multiple Exploders as they were really playing up the superhuman thing throughout the match. Didn't like them spamming suplexes, especially as it looked like they were completely no-selling each other's offense...but then we got a bit of delayed selling, so I guess I'm willing to overlook that. Very strong finish and the Tokyo Dome know it's over as NO ONE kicks out of the Burning Hammer, so that served as an excellent exclamation point for the match.

****1/2


----------



## Pappa Bacon

Is NJPW running a new stable or team with Devitt, Tama Tonga, and Karl Anderson? I saw some tweets about Devitt opening his eyes and seems like they are calling themselves Bullet Club. If so :mark: ill be tuning in even more.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yes.


----------



## duttanized

Fale's also a part of the group.


----------



## Chismo

*AJPW Champion Carnival 2012 – Day 12*

*(5/7/2012)*

*Finals*: Suwama vs. Taiyo Kea

_Okay, this was my third time to watch the match, and this cult classic is my new pro-fake fighting addiction. How and why this match got (and still gets) ridiculously overlooked and ignored is beyond me. I’ve seen literally 0 people from this board talking about it. Anyway, the story is simple but captivating – Suwama is a better striker, but not by much, and Kea is a better grappler, but not by much. You know what I’m saying? They incorporate their advantages into the tactics beautifully, it’s a damn fine watch. What impressed me the most was selling, they added so much little details and finesses into it, everything felt tough, rough and hard-earned. This “we are equals” approach was worked to perfection. Not to mention they were hitting each other hard. And I mean HARD. Korakuen was red fucking hot, and they reached the 90s (or 00s with Tenryu and Kawada) level of epicness. To sum the shit up, this was a masterly symphony of wonderful selling, manliness, drama, suspense and hard-boiled warfare. Although, some people may cool off when they see the German suplex exchanges, but they fit so well here. Also, I got goosebumps when Kea hit the Tiger Driver. I’m gonna pimp this match as long as I breathe._

*****3/4*​


----------



## KeepinItReal

It is now physically possible for BOSJ Rd. 1 to have been uploaded somewhere. And thus, I have gone insane.

This is the first G1 Climax/BOSJ since I got into NJPW, so I'm marking the fuck out.


----------



## flag sabbath

KeepinItReal said:


> It is now physically possible for BOSJ Rd. 1 to have been uploaded somewhere. And thus, I have gone insane.
> 
> This is the first G1 Climax/BOSJ since I got into NJPW, so I'm marking the fuck out.


These things are unpredictable - the 22/5 Prelude show hasn't materialised anywhere yet as far as I'm aware.


----------



## leglock

JoeRulz said:


> *AJPW Champion Carnival 2012 – Day 12*
> 
> *(5/7/2012)*
> 
> *Finals*: Suwama vs. Taiyo Kea
> 
> _Okay, this was my third time to watch the match, and this cult classic is my new pro-fake fighting addiction. How and why this match got (and still gets) ridiculously overlooked and ignored is beyond me. I’ve seen literally 0 people from this board talking about it. Anyway, the story is simple but captivating – Suwama is a better striker, but not by much, and Kea is a better grappler, but not by much. You know what I’m saying? They incorporate their advantages into the tactics beautifully, it’s a damn fine watch. What impressed me the most was selling, they added so much little details and finesses into it, everything felt tough, rough and hard-earned. This “we are equals” approach was worked to perfection. Not to mention they were hitting each other hard. And I mean HARD. Korakuen was red fucking hot, and they reached the 90s (or 00s with Tenryu and Kawada) level of epicness. To sum the shit up, this was a masterly symphony of wonderful selling, manliness, drama, suspense and hard-boiled warfare. Although, some people may cool off when they see the German suplex exchanges, but they fit so well here. Also, I got goosebumps when Kea hit the Tiger Driver. I’m gonna pimp this match as long as I breathe._
> 
> *****3/4*​



Funny enough, All Japan just uploaded a 1080p super HD version of it on their YouTube channel sans intros and post match:






Thought the match was good when I originally saw it, but not **** 3/4 stars good. Going to give it a rewatch.


----------



## MF83

My vote on that match for 2012 MOTYCs:


> I gotta say NO to the CC final. The spots at the end were tons of fun but the ride there left much to be desired.


And going off memory that would be plodding and dull Kea throughout the first two thirds and an uninspired Suwama. Finish was bonkers for the spots they pulled but the rest of the match was okay at best. 

Mr. JoeRulz, you gotta start watching more old shit.


----------



## leglock

*** 1/2 for me. Last few minutes were good and fun, but the entire match really wasn't worthy of being a Champion Carnival final. I really dug the tribute spots when I first saw it, but yeah...


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Kea has this weird thing where he doesn't really do much but keeps you interested in the whole match and then explodes at the end of it. Sometimes he's totally dull, but when he gets "it" it's pretty awesome. I thought the Akiyama and Suwama CC matches did, so I really enjoyed them.





And no, I am/was not high.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just finished Akiyama vs Kobashi from 12/23/00. I loved this match. The only knock on this I have is the arm work on Kobashi going nowhere. It was just kind of there for Akiyama to one of his control segments. Akiyama really bumped hard early in the match, taking three huge moves in the first half of it. Kobashi hit an almost identical lariat to the one Hansen hit on him in their 7/29/93 match. The ending was sick with Kobashi going for his 3rd lariat but Akiyama countered but then Kobashi counters that and Akiyama is just incidentally set up for the Burning Hammer. Just an amazing match. 

I give this ****3/4. I hate giving matches ****3/4 but the arm work leading to nothing bothers me too much to give it 5* but I think it's worthy of over ****1/2 as well.

Also watched Kobashi vs Misawa from 6/11/99 for the first time and thought it was funny that after seeing a nearly identical Hansen lariat in the previous match, he did the exact same lariat from that match. Loved lots of the transitions. Again lots of arm work that was never looked at again once the other guy got control. This match was fantastic as well but not on the level of 1/20/97.

I'm about to rewatch Kobashi vs Akiyama from 7/10/04. My mission in this is to enjoy it as much as JoeRulz does. Going to try to realize that the suplexes are not out of place with the huge fight feel in the Dome with the title on the line.


----------



## Obfuscation

Finished most of Dontaku 2013 today. It's pretty average as a whole, which I guess is a disappointment considering the norm of consistency. Nothing I'd call bad so it earns fun points. Goto vs Shibata was quality. A notch below being a match worth REALLY noting, yet something I got a kick out of. Headbutt at the end was deliciously sick. I'm already pumped for the rematch.

Hoping I enjoy Tanahashi vs Anderson. How could that be bad? Last two matches have my interest even if they're considered nothing special by the masses. I have to see them to earn my opinion on the bunch after all.

Fingers crossed the BOSJ prelude becomes available asap. The field is sooooo awesome. The matches we can see; brilliant.


----------



## Nervosa

I'll be intrigued to see if I end up being the only person who enjoyed the admittedly snail-like pace of Okada/Suzuki.


----------



## Obfuscation

Someone else in here liked it too, iirc.

I'm not one to run scared off of a slow paced match. As long as it is worked under an interesting fashion, I'll be fine.


----------



## McQueen

Dear lord i'm actually watching a Wrestling Match.


----------



## Obfuscation

:hb

is it Kobashi's retirement match? That one was a ton of fun.


----------



## Ham and Egger

I was looking at NJPW title history and I'm fucking surprised to see Manabu Nakanishi actually won the IWGP title! This guy is immobile as fuck and he won the title!?


----------



## Corey

McQueen said:


> Dear lord i'm actually watching a Wrestling Match.


WHAT IS IT!?


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Ham and Egger said:


> I was looking at NJPW title history and I'm fucking surprised to see Manabu Nakanishi actually won the IWGP title! This guy is immobile as fuck and he won the title!?


I was just as surprised as you are. Why they let Nakanishi beat Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, I'll never know. Maybe they just wanted to reward him for all of his hard work in the company or make up for all the times that they didn't to push him for the belt as changes in bookers and booking styles over the years stopped most of his big pushes.


----------



## Obfuscation

He wasn't always as immobile. That's a product of the back surgery. 

Nakanishi as World Champ was a failed project. Simple facts.


----------



## Ham and Egger

Smith_Jensen said:


> I was just as surprised as you are. Why they let Nakanishi beat Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, I'll never know. Maybe they just wanted to reward him for all of his hard work in the company or make up for all the times that they didn't to push him for the belt as changes in bookers and booking styles over the years stopped most of his big pushes.



I kinda wanna see his match with Tanahasi now. I'm sure Tanahashi had to carry him through most of the match. :lol


----------



## McQueen

Nakanishi is so fucking boring.

i'm watching this SUWAMA vs KEA match Joerulz is pimping. Well if it ever fully loads.


----------



## Obfuscation

holy jesus and it is a 2013 AJPW match too. I DON'T BELIEVE IT. 

I haven't even seen it yet 8*D


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Ham and Egger said:


> I kinda wanna see his match with Tanahasi now. I'm sure Tanahashi had to carry him through most of the match. :lol


This is not the full match but here is some footage of the match
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt...c-vs-manabu-nakanishi-njpw_sport#.UaBaJdhX-Ck


----------



## Corey

Obfuscation said:


> holy jesus and it is a 2013 AJPW match too. I DON'T BELIEVE IT.
> 
> I haven't even seen it yet 8*D


CALM DOWN

It's from 2012.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shows you how much I've been paying attention to AJPW.


----------



## McQueen

I'm not finding this match to be anything special.


----------



## Obfuscation

Sounds about right. Last pimped out Suwama match I saw I didn't care for it either.


----------



## McQueen

It was okay, just nothing to the point I agree with JoeRulz's pimping of it. Didn't really escape the norm of how a big (big being suggestive because this is Y2K+ AJPW lol) Puro mainevent match is worked IMO. The Tiger Driver call back was a nice spot. Maybe there was other shit I missed too that were call back spots, I haven't watched a full match in quite a while.


----------



## leglock

All Japan 2013 is fucking fantastic: 

3/17: World Tag Team: Omori & Soya vs. Akiyama & Shiozaki
3/17: Triple Crown: Funaki vs. Suwama
4/27: Champion Carnival: Akiyama vs. Funaki
4/29: Champion Carnival Semi-Finals: Shiozaki vs. KAI
4/29: Champion Carnival Finals: Akiyama vs. KAI


----------



## McQueen

Omori still fucking wrestles?

Thats a name I haven't heard in ages.


----------



## Obfuscation

I enjoyed the 3/17 Get Wild vs Burning tag. 

Didn't care much for Funaki vs Suwama. I was bored during a lot of it.


----------



## leglock

McQueen said:


> Omori still fucking wrestles?
> 
> Thats a name I haven't heard in ages.


He's motivated and great these days.


----------



## Chismo

I absolutely adored the first half in Suwama/Kea, more than the climax.



MF83 said:


> Mr. JoeRulz, you gotta start watching more old shit.


Are you fuckin kiddin me? And is it because it's verboten to like something from 2012/13 as opposed to something from the 90s? Get off your high horse, dude. And let me tell you, back in the day, I missed quite a few parties in favor of old puro. Yeah. Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of an ineligible ROHbot. Shit, son...


----------



## EmbassyForever

Misawa/Akiyama v Kawada/Taue (12/6/96 – RWTL Final) - *******


----------



## MF83

JoeRulz said:


> I absolutely adored the first half in Suwama/Kea, more than the climax.
> Are you fuckin kiddin me? And is it because it's verboten to like something from 2012/13 as opposed to something from the 90s? Get off your high horse, dude. And let me tell you, back in the day, I missed quite a few parties in favor of old puro. Yeah. Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of an ineligible ROHbot. Shit, son...


Woah with the rage! Nobody's attacking you. Should have been more clear - I just like your reviews and when we circle jerk over old shit you rarely join in it seems. My two comments weren't related to one another. I just want to know what JoeRulz thinks about 70s and 80s stuff. I wanna make it clear I've got nothing against people who love today's wrestling, I just want people watching the stuff I do for relating and whatnot, as do most. Vintage love!


----------



## Corey

Just finished watching Kobashi vs. Sasaki from 7/18/05 (my 2nd viewing of the match) and I'm pretty shocked by how much I wasn't feelin it. Loved the opening standoff and big bombs they threw early on, then it just lost me. The 7 minute chopfest or however long it was got kinda ridiculous the longer it went and after that it was just a bunch of head drops and fighting spirit moments. No real story to get into & I was turned off by the fighting spirit moments at times. Probably wouldn't put it past *** 1/2, and I used to have it at *****....


----------



## Obfuscation

I was the same way with Kawada vs Misawa 6/3/94 like I kept harping about a week ago. It dropped down SO much.


----------



## Corey

Which is why I'm gonna try to go back and watch all the matches I've rated 5* in the past and make a new revised list very soon, seeing as I've never actually compiled one.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Just finished watching Kobashi vs. Sasaki from 7/18/05 (my 2nd viewing of the match) and I'm pretty shocked by how much I wasn't feelin it. Loved the opening standoff and big bombs they threw early on, then it just lost me. The 7 minute chopfest or however long it was got kinda ridiculous the longer it went and after that it was just a bunch of head drops and fighting spirit moments. No real story to get into & I was turned off by the fighting spirit moments at times. Probably wouldn't put it past *** 1/2, and I used to have it at *****....


I went the exact opposite on this match a month or two ago. I thought it was severely overrated from the first post in this thread. Gave it a second watch after a couple years and loved it a lot more. 5*



> Which is why I'm gonna try to go back and watch all the matches I've rated 5* in the past and make a new revised list very soon, seeing as I've never actually compiled one.


I'm kind of trying to do this as well. But I'm throwing in everything I think is ****1/2+ to see if stuff can go higher.


----------



## Obfuscation

That's what I've been doing with ROH for the longest time. Still haven't gotten close of finishing that up. Someday. Much of the same I'm noticed which matches are truly nothing special and which deserve all the time to put over. Which has gone into effect here with the Puro that's been viewed all within the last two weeks _(which has been A LOT. I needed it.)_


----------



## seabs

*Kobashi/Sasaki really isn't very good at all. I adored it first time round when I was just getting into puro wrestling and back at a time when I enjoyed pretty much everything. The more stuff you watch though, the more you want more from your wrestling and Kobashi/Sasaki really doesn't offer much besides chops and an atmosphere. Most of the NOAH epics didn't hold up but I still thought most were good and finished them. Cut Kobashi/Sasaki off about ten minutes in this year.*


----------



## Corey

Seabs said:


> *Kobashi/Sasaki really isn't very good at all. I adored it first time round when I was just getting into puro wrestling and back at a time when I enjoyed pretty much everything. The more stuff you watch though, the more you want more from your wrestling and Kobashi/Sasaki really doesn't offer much besides chops and an atmosphere. Most of the NOAH epics didn't hold up but I still thought most were good and finished them. Cut Kobashi/Sasaki off about ten minutes in this year.*


Those first 3 sentences are pretty much on point with my view. I was in awe of both guys when I first watched the match years back cause I'd hardly seen any Puro, now I've realized there's way better shit out there.


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *The more stuff you watch though, the more you want more from your wrestling*


Amen to that.


----------



## Chismo

I'll always love Bashi/Kenske, it's just a perfect clash of two bulls trying to kill each other, and I ate every second of it. Every time.



MF83 said:


> Woah with the rage! Nobody's attacking you. Should have been more clear - I just like your reviews and when we circle jerk over old shit you rarely join in it seems. My two comments weren't related to one another. I just want to know what JoeRulz thinks about 70s and 80s stuff. I wanna make it clear I've got nothing against people who love today's wrestling, I just want people watching the stuff I do for relating and whatnot, as do most. Vintage love!


Meh, no biggie, I hope. I just perceived that last line as an elitist attack. :avit: And I get what you mean, but for example, I find Suwama/Funaki (from this year's Sumo Hall show) better than 13 out of 16 Misawa vs. Kawada matches. 

And about the old stuff, all we talk about is generic, well-known stuff such as Hash being the best Ace ever, AJPW 90s and Jumbo/Choshu tags. That's pretty much covered x 100.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Continuing my Liger watching and can't find:

Great Sasuke vs. Jushin Liger (4/29/96- IWGP Jr. Title) 

Does anybody know where I can find this?


----------



## Corey

bigbuxxx said:


> Continuing my Liger watching and can't find:
> 
> Great Sasuke vs. Jushin Liger (4/29/96- IWGP Jr. Title)
> 
> Does anybody know where I can find this?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfxON6hxvPk

(Y)


----------



## bigbuxxx

oh wow thank you very much. just finished their two matches from '94 and was hoping I could see that as well : I looked on DailyMotion and xwt classics and google but neglected youtube because i figured that would come up on the google video search


----------



## MF83

I watched five or six episodes of TV of Tenryu's final months in AJPW 1990 on the way to/back from the lake on the phone today (technology!). Featuring the debut of Williams and MVC, Fuyuki losing a bunch, Rusher Kimura mic performances, Barry Windham, Kobashi getting a singles win, Abby, face kicking Tenryu and the end of his brilliant Takagi feud; I especially liked a JIP tag with Tenryu/Kawada vs Takagi/Kabuki wherein Kabuki loses streaming blood and refuses/cannot tag in from the apron. Great storyline match amongst some legit goodies. Then, the beginning of the end as Tenryu jobbed in a randy six man to Jumbo's Indian Deathlock! I was pretty shocked to see that happen. The w/ Hansen vs Taue/Kabuki tag that was on the subsequent episode was brilliant as an under carder and mid carder threatened Tenryu with that very move in a little 8 or 9 minute match. Tenryu/Kabuki exchanges are all tits. I believe Tenryu/Hansen lost the belts via the same submission. TV really picks up on the Excite series and hopefully doesn't really slow down again. Baba booking, bitch!


----------



## bigbuxxx

Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke - 4/16/94: They exchange a couple holds for the first 30 seconds but after that it was all Liger for 10 minutes. Liger put Sasuke in a cross armbreaker and Sasuke had the absolute worst selling of that move I've ever seen. He just lied there not trying to get out really. Back then and even today that move is sold as a death move. Sasuke eventually gets the advantage but Liger gets it back after a couple minutes and dives from the top rope to the floor with a beautiful cross body. From there Liger poses and turns around to see the worst botch ever. Even Liger laughed at him, which was really great covering so Sasuke could regain his bearings and pin Liger. Really great match but the selling really bothered me and not being able to improvise a different finish after such an obvious botch is just not good. ***3/4.

Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke - 7/8/94: Within the first two minutes of this match Sasuke has that same cross armbreaker on Liger. However, Liger knows how to sell. He tried to block it at first (which Sasuke didn't in the other match), then when locked in you would get the feeling if he stayed in the move too long his career would be cut short. Sasuke did this move 4 or 5 times and each time Liger sold it like a death move.

They reversed roles for this match having Sasuke dominate the beginning and instead of starting off with the standard exchange he attacks Liger right at the bell with a kick and a lot of strikes. Liger attempted a comeback after the first few minutes but Sasuke thwarted that. After that Sasuke abandoned the arm to go to his flippy stuff. After about 5 more minutes Liger tries yet another comeback and get a few moves in before Sasuke cuts him off again. Once Sasuke gets control again he goes for some high impact moves but goes for a flippy move but Liger counters and gets a 2 or 3 minute segment of high impact stuff trying to come back and put Sasuke away. But again Sasuke gets control for a couple minutes but finally makes his fatal mistake going to the top rope and getting caught in a super fisherman buster. On my first watch of this nearly 2 years ago I gave it 5* but this time it gets ****1/2. So much better than the first match.

Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke - 4/29/96: Sasuke start off fast again instantly knocking Liger outside and doing a dive. They get in the ring where it starts like the last match after a minute or two where Sasuke works Liger's arm. It was a short segment this time though. Liger then transitions to Sasuke's leg. Works on it for 6-11 minutes. As soon as Sasuke starts his comeback he's jumping over the ropes to the outside, doing his moonsault, going off the top rope, rendering the previous minutes useless. I was really too bothered by that to enjoy the rest of the match. The match finishes with a really lame transition by Sasuke then two moves and a pin. This match shows why there should almost never be leg work in a Jr's match. This gets ***. Going to get to their 2012 encounter tomorrow and hopefully it's a lot better than this.


----------



## Yeah1993

I dig the finish to the Liger/Sasuke J-Cup. Sasuke screws his big move up, and Liger, practically a legend at that point already, laughs at and undermines the indy guy for fucking up. Sasuke then pops him with the same move and Liger is caught off guard because of his big head, losing to the indy guy he mocked a few seconds earlier.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's probably my pick for best botch ever. b/c it added 100x more to the finish than what the original plan would have.


----------



## Chismo

Mini-rewatch session:

*Tenryu/Kojima (AJPW 2/24/2002)* was awesome as fuck. The story is simple – godlike Tenryu is bossing around and bullying Kojima, even stealing his moves to make a statement, while Kojima has a lot to prove, such a great work from both guys. The moment where Kojima gets up right after a devastating suplex, only to fall down immediately, like a sack of potatoes, is one of my favorite selling moments in ‘rasslin.
*
****1/2*


*Kawada/Tenryu (AJPW 1/18/2004)* was really nice, in fact almost everything was great minus the sequence where Kawada hulked up and completely shat on Tenryu’s previous beatdown that included a nasty-as-fuck DDT. Otherwise, everything was so fine, particularly the human chess game elements between two grumpy and terrifying fucks.

***1/2


----------



## Corey

MF83 said:


> I watched five or six episodes of TV of Tenryu's final months in AJPW 1990 on the way to/back from the lake on the phone today (technology!). Featuring the debut of Williams and MVC, Fuyuki losing a bunch, Rusher Kimura mic performances, Barry Windham, Kobashi getting a singles win, Abby, face kicking Tenryu and the end of his brilliant Takagi feud; I especially liked a JIP tag with Tenryu/Kawada vs Takagi/Kabuki wherein Kabuki loses streaming blood and refuses/cannot tag in from the apron. Great storyline match amongst some legit goodies. Then, the beginning of the end as Tenryu jobbed in a randy six man to Jumbo's Indian Deathlock! I was pretty shocked to see that happen. The w/ Hansen vs Taue/Kabuki tag that was on the subsequent episode was brilliant as an under carder and mid carder threatened Tenryu with that very move in a little 8 or 9 minute match. Tenryu/Kabuki exchanges are all tits. I believe Tenryu/Hansen lost the belts via the same submission. TV really picks up on the Excite series and hopefully doesn't really slow down again. Baba booking, bitch!


How was the Windham match (if it was shown in full)? I've had it favorited on Youtube for a little while but I was never very impressed with anything Windham did in Japan.



bigbuxxx said:


> Jushin Liger vs Great Sasuke - 4/29/96: Sasuke start off fast again instantly knocking Liger outside and doing a dive. They get in the ring where it starts like the last match after a minute or two where Sasuke works Liger's arm. It was a short segment this time though. Liger then transitions to Sasuke's leg. Works on it for 6-11 minutes. As soon as Sasuke starts his comeback he's jumping over the ropes to the outside, doing his moonsault, going off the top rope, rendering the previous minutes useless. I was really too bothered by that to enjoy the rest of the match. The match finishes with a really lame transition by Sasuke then two moves and a pin. This match shows why there should almost never be leg work in a Jr's match. This gets ***. Going to get to their 2012 encounter tomorrow and hopefully it's a lot better than this.


Kinda glad you wrote this cause this one of the matches I loved when I was younger (gave it ****) but I'm sure I didn't even pay attention to the legwork then. I'm sure that would irritate me these days and I'd feel the same way about the match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Corey give me a random match to watch. I don't care, go wild.

Then I'll probably hop on board to doing my project on viewing all of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship matches.


----------



## Groovemachine

The Great Muta vs Jinsei Shinzaki - 4/29/96 - ****1/4

So that was some blade job huh?! I think what made all the blood even more horrific (and awesome) was the amount of white everywhere. Shinzaki's white gear, the white table clothes, the white referee shirts...when the blood flowed, it looked so striking and it got everywhere. A nasty gash to say the least! Jinsei sold it like a boss too; loved him trying to get to the top turnbuckle really clumsily when we're so used to seeing him jump up there very nimbly with ease.

Anyone know what the kanji was Muta drew in Shinzaki's blood? Crowd reacted like he'd just killed the Pope. Yep, Muta was awesome, even hanging Shinzaki over the top rope to really force all the blood out of the gaping wound. What a dick.

Nice comeback from Jinsei too; getting that little burst of energy after ducking the green mist was a real nice touch, but ultimately he'd just lost too much blood and couldn't keep up with the relatively unscathed Muta. Really great 'spectacle' match with a top notch Shinzaki performance.


----------



## Obfuscation

Now I'm going to have to watch that atm too. I was on the verge of cramming Muta today. You've pushed me over the edge of decisiveness. It didn't take much either...

I'll probably put on Muta vs Liger again too b/c it's still probably the coolest match I've ever seen. Its a drug I can't kick.


----------



## Corey

Obfuscation said:


> Corey give me a random match to watch. I don't care, go wild.
> 
> Then I'll probably hop on board to doing my project on viewing all of the IWGP Intercontinental Championship matches.


Little late on this, BUT I'M BACK NOW. Since this is the puro thread, enjoy this gem:

[youtube]NsUMZAcpkk[/youtube]

Huge fan. **** 1/4

EDIT; Because I have no idea if the video is showing or not, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NsUMZAcpkk

EDITx2: BUT if you are in a Muta mood, might as well watch the double bloodbaths with Hase. 9/14/90 and 12/14/92. MUTA SCALE


----------



## Obfuscation

Jumbo vs EYE PATCH WEARING DICK SLATER. Oh shit. :mark:

I'll check out the Muta vs Hase matches following. (Y)

Finished Muta vs Shinzaki right now. I didn't love it _as_ much as Groovemachine, but I echo his thoughts on the match 100%. Muta was the king of the spectacle in Japan. He transcended past wrestling. That's why I'm a fan. Reaction of the fans after Muta wrote "Death" (I read it said that) on Shinzaki's gravemarker was top notch. Those fans hung on everything he did. Don't mean to sell Shinzaki short in all of this b/c his selling following the gash was great. As was his entire performance, tbhayley. The table bump he took - pre piledriver - was insanity. Now we know where Mick Foley was inspired come 1996/1997 in the matches vs Undertaker. This was pretty great. ****3/4*


----------



## Corey

Just wanna post here so any reviews you type get separated. On the topic of Muta, a rather forgotten gem of his is the IWGP Title match with Chono from 1/4/93. Hella good match. So weird seeing what happened to those guys around late '96/'97, from what I've seen they were two lazy fucks who eventually joined NWO and became even worse. Can't stand Muta in that phase...

Off to the gym now, gonna go tear all the muscle fibers in my back. :mark: Everyone go enjoy some Great Muta.


----------



## Obfuscation

Chono got lazy down the stretch. I didn't see too much of a dip in Muta. Perhaps I'm slightly biased. I know I liked their match from Bash at the Beach '97 more than you did. That's from the American side of things. At this rate Muta's '96 looks like one of his best years. That or I'm only watching his best matches from said year.

Jumbo vs Slater, boy let me tell you that was a hell of a WRESTLING bout. Quality, quality work from the two. Always astounds me how matches were worked like that at the time yet in Vince's world - pardon Backlund - most of the matches were utter lazy tripe & worked SO boring. Rest holds and all that crap. Whereas in Japan and via multiple territories really great wrestling was going on. You could almost deem it "ahead of its time" yet, it seemed to be on in full display in a lot of places. Just not that really big one in the States.

As for a bit of detail on the match the key moment I have to talk about was the sequence of the spinning toe hold followed by the brutal kicks to the face counter from Jumbo. Stiff, straightforward shots not only to the face, but to the injured patched up eye of Slater. And Slater held on! That tenacious bastard. He eventually relinquished due to the damage done to the eye - it looked like there was blood from the bandaged area - only to slap it back on a few more times. Follow the same sequence before and you're left with nothing to say but "jesus christ". Great match.

******


----------



## Corey

Yeah, off the top of my head I can only think of 3-4 matches I've seen from Muta in '96, and they're all the more talked about ones. '97 though, man I fuckin hated what he was doing. He worked SO LAZY as NWO Muta & his matches against Regal & Norton were just shit thanks to his awful habits and lazy workrate. I tend to just stick to the first 10 years of Muta's career ('86-'96) when it comes to praising the guy. Never seen anything his done in the 2000s, not sure if I ever want to. 

Fuck Chono, I've seen NOTHING of a positive note from his WCW days & the late '90s.

:hb at liking Jumbo/Slater. You commented on what was definitely the most awesome moments of the match. I just loved how everything felt like a battle of one-upsmanship (that's totally not a word) and Slater put on one hell of a performance. He only had one eye for christ sake!


----------



## Obfuscation

Wait Muta vs Regal AND Norton were bad. I may have to refresh myself on this. It almost can't be true. Last Regal match I watched in Japan ended up being one of the best I've ever seen vs Hashimoto in '96. Muta's matches in the 2000's _(or best to say Mutoh)_ were fine. I remember liking some and not caring for some others. I remember when he was IWGP champ a few years back and while I love the guy, I was VERY lukewarm on it. Wanted the young blood to be the focus and here comes Mutoh beating all of those guys. I can be happy now looking at the field with Okada on top of it all.

Oh Chono. He kicked. He moved around. ehhh. He did something else. Probably an STF. Yeah, def an STF.

The manliness of Slater doesn't surprise me. He's the guy who stuck a fork in Ric Flair's hand after he told Flair he can have some food in Japan. He probably wanted to wrestle with one eye every day, haha. The story of the match was just like you said - trying to jock for control and leave the better man. Nothing complicated and it worked out very well. While I'm a total fiend for some great storytelling in my wrestling, working a simple one such as a competitive nature behind a straight up wrestling match is right up my alley too. It hit the sweet spot and I didn't even know I was in the mood for it.


----------



## Corey

Obfuscation said:


> Wait Muta vs Regal AND Norton were bad. I may have to refresh myself on this. It almost can't be true. Last Regal match I watched in Japan ended up being one of the best I've ever seen vs Hashimoto in '96. Muta's matches in the 2000's _(or best to say Mutoh)_ were fine. I remember liking some and not caring for some others. I remember when he was IWGP champ a few years back and while I love the guy, I was VERY lukewarm on it. Wanted the young blood to be the focus and here comes Mutoh beating all of those guys. I can be happy now looking at the field with Okada on top of it all.
> 
> Oh Chono. He kicked. He moved around. ehhh. He did something else. Probably an STF. Yeah, def an STF.
> 
> The manliness of Slater doesn't surprise me. He's the guy who stuck a fork in Ric Flair's hand after he told Flair he can have some food in Japan. He probably wanted to wrestle with one eye every day, haha. The story of the match was just like you said - trying to jock for control and leave the better man. Nothing complicated and it worked out very well. While I'm a total fiend for some great storytelling in my wrestling, working a simple one such as a competitive nature behind a straight up wrestling match is right up my alley too. It hit the sweet spot and I didn't even know I was in the mood for it.


The Regal match is watchable due to Regal, but then it just turns into a squash. Nothing much to see. The IWGP Title match against Norton started off well with Norton being a powerhouse and Muta being overwhelmed by it and using his usual stall tactics, but the last like 5 minutes are Muta breaking the rules in shitty looking fashion and squashing Norton with the use of the ring bell tucked in his boot. It sucked and Muta basically acted like he never took any punishment. They had a much better match in like '93, but you won't even find online that that one even exists.

YOU'RE WELCOME for Jumbo/Slater. :sandow2


----------



## Obfuscation

Well shoot. Talk about a lousy turn of events. Muta sounds like he was in a bit of lazy ego mode there. Damn the legend. :hmm:

And a thank you too, Mr. Sandow.


----------



## MF83

Hase vs Chono 93 G1 semi final is two bits away from five stars in my opinion. ChoTen vs Yamazaki/Iizuka and ChoTen vs Hashimoto/Hirata are great. One of the Koshinaka matches Ditch hosts is very good. Chono squashing Nakamaki or whoever that BJPW guy was in 97? Dome was greatest thing ever. MuCho vs Hase/Sasaki 90 is a given and the first G1 final is good. Chono vs Fujita and Chono vs Takayama G1 finals are both awesome old man performances. Kobashi defence I'm a fan of. That's every good Chono match off the top of my head on the elliptical machine.

Windham in AJPW was two JIP matches that were acceptable but not spectacular. The superplex float over remains forever beautiful, however. Tenryu did righteous jobbing on his way out, damn. A count out, two submissions and a pin fall or two over the course of two tours.


----------



## EmbassyForever

JoeRulz said:


> Mini-rewatch session:
> 
> *Tenryu/Kojima (AJPW 2/24/2002)* was awesome as fuck. The story is simple – godlike Tenryu is bossing around and bullying Kojima, even stealing his moves to make a statement, while Kojima has a lot to prove, such a great work from both guys. The moment where Kojima gets up right after a devastating suplex, only to fall down immediately, like a sack of potatoes, is one of my favorite selling moments in ‘rasslin.
> *
> ****1/2*


Thanks for the recommendation, just watched the match and it was really great. Loved the story and Kojima was on fire in this one. ****1/4

BTW I watched Fantastics vs Malenko and Kikucho from 9/1/90 and it was a pretty damn good 11 minutes match. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu58uNzZjlo. Highly recommended.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, it was great.


Big Japan Pro-Wrestling, *Ryuji Ito vs. Abdullah Kobayashi* championship series:


- Ring of Death Deathmatch (12/24/2003) ***1/2
- Scaffold Deathmatch (12/21/2005) ****1/2
- 450 Lighttubes Deathmatch (12/19/2010) ***
- Game of Death Deathmatch (12/18/2011) ***3/4

What can I say, honestly, this was awesome. These guys know this game, they know how to get their shit together. Deathmatch fans, you gotta watch this. Abby takes ridiculous amounts of punishment in every match, it's insane. Scaffold Deathmatch from 2005 is freakin' sweet.


----------



## Lane

Going to make an order from IVP tonight/tomorrow.

Whats some absolute must buy shows (from any promotion) and comps?


----------



## Obfuscation

Super J Cup '94 IMO.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

*CIMA (Team Veteran), K-ness (Windows) & Jimmy Susumu (Jimmyz) vs Akira Tozawa, Uhaa Nation & Kzy (Mad Blankey)* 
So i just finished from Dragon Gate Infinity 295. hell of a match, some of the back and forth seemed rushed and like a lot of the selling was thrown out the window at times to run a double, triple, or 10 man maneuvers. it was still a great main event, and i really want to see more of Uhaa Nation. I'm really starting to love the puro so much more as i have time to watch it. im trying to watch some older events from NJPW AJPW and NOAH so for someone who knows of some of the talent but hasn't seen a lot of the matches how do you guys go about it, i know of Jahmale Hepburns daily motion page that's where i get most of it, but the older matches would be great too but i can't seem to find to many places that have them.


----------



## Obfuscation

I like Dragon Gate, but decide to let it fall under my radar thanks to the aspect of selling often times getting thrown out for the insane lucha-resu style of matches. It is a fun company overall with some top notch talent. I don't mean to undersell any tremendous outings that has come from the promotion.

Except I can do without seeing Uhaa Nation personally. Never liked him. All the rest are fine, haha.


----------



## flag sabbath

Pappa Bacon said:


> *CIMA (Team Veteran), K-ness (Windows) & Jimmy Susumu (Jimmyz) vs Akira Tozawa, Uhaa Nation & Kzy (Mad Blankey)*
> So i just finished from Dragon Gate Infinity 295. hell of a match, some of the back and forth seemed rushed and like a lot of the selling was thrown out the window at times to run a double, triple, or 10 man maneuvers. it was still a great main event, and i really want to see more of Uhaa Nation. I'm really starting to love the puro so much more as i have time to watch it. im trying to watch some older events from NJPW AJPW and NOAH so for someone who knows of some of the talent but hasn't seen a lot of the matches how do you guys go about it, i know of Jahmale Hepburns daily motion page that's where i get most of it, but the older matches would be great too but i can't seem to find to many places that have them.


Yeah, I hadn't watched any Dragon Gate since January, but I read a rave review of Infinity 295 & decided to give it a go. It was decent enough, but with the exception of Uhaa Nation (who I'm intrigued to see more of), the company is just ridiculously stale: 

1. Doi, Yoshino & Ricochet vs. Saito, Kanda & Quu Quu ****1/4*
2. Kong & Kagetora vs. Kid & Arai ***1/4*
3. Fuji vs. Kotoka **1/2*
4. Yamato vs. Mochizuki ****1/2*
5. Horiguchi vs. Swann ****
6. Shingo vs. Hulk ****3/4*
7. Tozawa, Uhaa & Kzy vs. Cima, K-Ness & Susumu ****1/2*

For older Puro, your best bet is to start trawling back through these pages for recommendations & links. Youtube is chocka with classic puro. I wouldn't get caught up in the idea of watching full shows - there are enough must-see matches out there to last you a lifetime.

A great reference resource for all promotions / titles / major shows etc. is www.cagematch.net


----------



## Corey

Lane said:


> Going to make an order from IVP tonight/tomorrow.
> 
> Whats some absolute must buy shows (from any promotion) and comps?


Some of my personal favorites:

Best of Great Muta Vol. 2
Best of Eddy Guerrero Vol. 2
NJPW 4/29/1996
AJPW Selection 07 & 08
Best of NOAH GHC 2001 (mainly for the finals but the semis are good too)
ROH Invades Japan Vol. 1 

& definitely make sure to get the sampler.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd advocate getting any comps featuring Liger, Kobashi, & Vader too. Bulk of their work is always worth seeing. (Y)

Saw the card for the latest Junior tournament shows from NJPW. Already have some interesting matches lined up. Two on Night One should OWN.



Spoiler: Matches



Ricochet vs Kenny Omega & Prince Devitt vs Alex Shelley II. Hell yes.



Dominion is shaping up nicely. It isn't much of a spoiler considering Dontaku is when it was revealed but FINALLY Naito is back in action. I knew that's what he was talking about via his promo on the PPV. I may not speak the language, but I can piece together some parts to sort of understand. He's been greatly missed by me. Now he can come back and start being excellent once again. Another Naito vs Okada match. Please please please.

Speaking of Dontaku, yeah, I'm in the VERY small minority of loving Okada vs Suzuki. It was a complete 180 from their match at New Beginning & that wasn't a bad thing. I really really got into the tactical approach of the match. Slow in parts, yes. Relentless ground work by Suzuki was more than enough to keep my interest. Okada took a licking. Another match where it seemed Suzuki was having a perfect match en route to winning the championship. Almost hard to believe he didn't win it while watching spoiler free. It was right up my alley, personally. I can understand why it did turn some folk off. I can compare it to a few mainstream matches I've seen from WWE to the point of where slower, ground based pacing gave the match a polarizing outlook. I'm fine in being next to alone on this opinion - we all have our likes. ******

Perhaps tomorrow or even later I'll bust out a mini-review of sorts on the rest of the PPV. It got better once the premiere matches came on. I know for a fact that I'm probably the only guy who really liked Nakamura/Benjamin too. I've skipped all the reviews for the PPV so idk.


----------



## Bubz

JoeRulz said:


> Mini-rewatch session:
> 
> *Tenryu/Kojima (AJPW 2/24/2002)* was awesome as fuck. The story is simple – godlike Tenryu is bossing around and bullying Kojima, even stealing his moves to make a statement, while Kojima has a lot to prove, such a great work from both guys. The moment where Kojima gets up right after a devastating suplex, only to fall down immediately, like a sack of potatoes, is one of my favorite selling moments in ‘rasslin.
> *
> ****1/2*
> 
> 
> *Kawada/Tenryu (AJPW 1/18/2004)* was really nice, in fact almost everything was great minus the sequence where Kawada hulked up and completely shat on Tenryu’s previous beatdown that included a nasty-as-fuck DDT. Otherwise, everything was so fine, particularly the human chess game elements between two grumpy and terrifying fucks.
> 
> ***1/2


That Tenryu/Kojima match is great, but I like the 17/7/02 match a lot more. It's bigger and better imo, obviously plays off that match brilliantly.

Never seen Kawada/Tenryu '04, but their '00 match is one of my favourite matches ever. Everyone needs to see that.


----------



## Obfuscation

Checked out KENTA vs Sugiura 5/12/13. Wasn't my cup of tea. Luckily the rapid workrate moves type match was able to zoom on by for 32 minutes. I did get a bit more of a kick out of this match than I did that boring Morishima vs KENTA match from January. Dunno if I should watch KENTA vs MAYBACH. I can't get into KENTA matches anymore.

Atsushi Kotoge vs Daisuke Harada happens on the 5/12/13 too. OMG. Going to check that out right now. :mark:


----------



## sXeMope

Lane said:


> Going to make an order from IVP tonight/tomorrow.
> 
> Whats some absolute must buy shows (from any promotion) and comps?


Super J Cup '94 and '95 are great tournaments. '96 J Crown is also amazing. The BJPW Deathmatch Survivor set and the BJPW Blood And Death set are pretty good.

--

Anybody ever order from Jeff Lynch? Potentially looking to buy some Dragon Gate from him but I'm honestly not sure how he operates.


----------



## seabs

*Lynch is one of the best guys you can buy from.*


----------



## sXeMope

Seabs said:


> *Lynch is one of the best guys you can buy from.*


I've heard that from a few different people when doing research about him. Do you know how he distributes his catalog these days? I read on another forum that he has "99.9% of Puro" and his full catalog is the size of a phone book (Which also had pictures to prove it) but I also read that he stopped sending it out in paper form? I guess I'll figure that out when I email him, just wondering what to expect as all I've ever dealt with until this point have been straight forward "online" sellers like IVP


----------



## seabs

*He's got it as a pdf that he can send you. It's a bitch to search through but you can just ask him for specifics or get him to send you his monthly updates for recent stuff. If it's puro then chances are he has it. Discs are great and you'll always get them super fast.*


----------



## Bruce L

I can vouch for Lynch as well. I buy from him quite often, and am always more than happy with the experience. If you know specific shows you're looking for, you can just ask him without having to browse the massive catalog. Just a great guy to do business with.


----------



## Fluze

* Jumbo vs. Misawa (AJPW) - 9/1/1990 *










Video Link - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrge8p_jumbo-tsuruta-vs-mitsuharu-misawa-ajpw_sport#.UadKWWRsNCk

One of my favorite matches ever. It may have its issues and even lack perfection in all departments, but the storytelling exceeds that level of perfection and pushes the envelope to a standard never seen before. The story is headed by one of the greatest performances in any wrestling match. Hell, I would even say this match is the specific that propelled Jumbo into the ELITE category of in ring working. The bare-bones story is as known as cheese on bread, but here's a rundown for old times sake. Jumbo is the top resident in the establishment of AJPW. Misawa is the new breed and wants to overtake his counterpart (Jumbo) and his position in the company. Misawa worked their 1st match in such a way that is vastly different from what we see of him today, His core offense was the use of agileness and cunning tactics to drop that sneaky win on the grizzly veteran. Now in this match, Misawa diversifies his style of offensive inflict, gone is the light heavyweight, agile freak and in comes a stiff as rocks, nasty MOFO. The elbow frenzy of smashing/dashing make these statements pretty relevant, It's very meaningful that Misawa alters his fighting style to those of a heavyweight, because he will be represented as a worthy one for the title, If he does so. 

Jumbo's retort towards this new heavyweight-like Misawa, is of painful fashion, judging by how well he sold the elbow strikes. This is an absolute necessity to Misawa's character development. Jumbo is in eventful situations, able to win specific back and fourth exchanges, but in majority sense, he gets dominated. Jumbo even sells deeper than physical imagery, A young force attempting to push him off the 1st tier of the food chain, mind fucks his mentally a bit. Observe with depth, The facial expressions really depict this type of "selling". For example, In the late innings of the match, Misawa keeps coming back from what ever Jumbo throws at him, this thus causes a domino effect, in which the current (Jumbo) beings to understand that the future (Misawa) has come. The equilibrium of visually showing the damage and inflicting it, also between the pluses in Misawa's ability while still highlighting his weaknesses, is a thing of magisterial beauty. Now, The ending was a beauty, but of execution beauty, Both wrestlers were non affected in credibility sense and either can be labeled as "ace" material. The nature of disease might have crippled our chances in having a decisive conclusion to this epic series, but we can still look back and nurture off of a phenomenal introduction. 

****** *​


----------



## Yeah1993

I prefer that to the more highly-praised June match. I remember thinking that was more heavyweight v. heavyweight, while the June match kind of felt like Misawa still had some Tiger Mask in him. Which obv isn't a bad thing, but I'll take All Japan heavyweight match over it.


----------



## Fluze

Agreed, Their June match is good in its own right. However, I have a soft spot for storytelling as a wrestling aspect and this one just delivered to perfection.


----------



## Obfuscation

*NJPW - Wrestling Dontaku 5/3/13*

0) Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Yuji Nagata, & Maximo vs CHAOS _(Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo, & YOSHI-HASHI)_ ~ ****


1) *IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship*
Time Splitters(c) _(Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA)_ vs Forever Hooligans _(Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)_ ~ ***1/2*


2) Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan ~ ****


3) *IWGP Tag Team Championship* - *Four Way Match*
Killer Elite Squad(c) _(Lance Archer & Davey-Boy Smith Jr)_ vs TenKoji _(Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)_ vs Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs Muscle Orchestra _(Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman)_ ~ ****


4) *NEVER Openweight Championship*
Masato Tanaka(c) vs Tomoaki Honma ~ ***1/2*


5) Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi ~ *****


6) Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Sakuraba ~ ****1/4*


7) Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Karl Anderson ~ ****3/4*


8) *IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs Shelton Benjamin ~ ****1/2*


9) *IWGP World Championship*
Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Minoru Suzuki ~ ******​

The most all around positive review for this show yet? Probably. I think I may have been the only one to love Okada vs Suzuki. Not to mention this event had what was the first Shelton Benjamin match I really liked in a number of years. We're talking going back to WWE in about...2008. Nakamura's botch on the springboard was one of those almost welcomed botches to where it made sense in the context of the match. Nakamura's knee was worked on for the majority - goes to springboard - can't do it. Justification for a fault in some manner as opposed to a simple slip on the ropes as it may appear on the surface.

Everything else tends to speak for itself. Tanahashi vs Anderson do it again. Their chemistry is great. Goto vs Sakuraba win the award for sickest strike of the year. That fucking headbutt, sweet lady gaga why? Makabe vs Yujiro ends in fun fashion much like how it began. Tanaka & Honma beat each other up in some more fun fashion despite being nothing too special; what you'd expect. Rest was pretty average. I think this company has exhausted Time Splitters vs Forever Hooligans to their extent.

One final piece: Bullet Club. Oh yes. (Y)


----------



## bigbuxxx

Somebody (pretty sure it was Nervosa) gave it ****1/2. I have trouble rating it at all. I took the entire story as Okada daring MiSu to throw all of his offense at him and prove that he was the better man despite that. idk how much I like that because it really diminishes anything MiSu has ever done.


----------



## Obfuscation

I wouldn't claim it let Suzuki look bad as much as it did that Suzuki REALLY put Okada over in the match. Okada was down and out so many times that you thought there was going to be another new IWGP World Champion. Only for Okada to keep coming back, to keep on fighting. All in all the story that played out for me was on a few levels: tactical warfare, Okada's veteran means dominating much like how he did in February & subsequently costing him, & Okada's burning spirit to prove this championship reign will surpass his original and mean something special.

Suzuki has gotten closer than anybody in his matches for the championship. You wonder how many times they can do it. Happened about four times over in the span of a year.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Atsushi Aoki & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (AJPW, 18/5):* We've seen it all before from these guys ad nauseum, which explains why there are so many empty seats in Korakuen. This time they drag it past 35 minutes & while there are some heated near-falls between Suzuki and Tanaka, even that's starting to feel like them going through the motions. *****


----------



## Obfuscation

Good to know. I saw the length it went and was immediately turned off in checking out their third _(I do believe that is correct)_ match. I still have to watch their second when Burning won the tag straps. First match was hyper energetic goodness.


----------



## leglock

flag sabbath said:


> *Atsushi Aoki & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (AJPW, 18/5):* We've seen it all before from these guys ad nauseum, which explains why there are so many empty seats in Korakuen. This time they drag it past 35 minutes & while there are some heated near-falls between Suzuki and Tanaka, even that's starting to feel like them going through the motions. *****


Thought the build up to the climax was very good, but the ending itself took too long. 

*** 1/4


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, the crowd peaked a minute or so before it ended.


----------



## Groovemachine

Finally got around to seeing the Kobashi retirement match, and to be honest I was a bit 'meh' on the whole thing. 80% of the match was Shiozaki taking a ton of chops from everyone. Kobashi/Mutoh duelling moonsaults was cool, and oh my God I MARKED at the kid in the crowd crying when Kobashi was being beaten up by all four guys, but apart from that I didn't think it was anything special. Nice feel-good moment after the match though.


----------



## Obfuscation

It was a wicked fun time. Nothing except for chops the entire near forty minutes, yet I bought. Got sucked in. Portion of the match that humored me was how non-existent KENTA was during it. You saw the older gents pulling out more during. It is what it is. Didn't affect the match in a negative light for me, only an observation.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Does anyone know when Nakamura debuted his new look, with the weird mannerisms and all that? And does anyone know WHY he acts that way, if there's a purpose behind it or whatever, or do you know what he says in his promo's? The dude's incredible anyway, I'm just curious.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Suwama & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (AJPW 18/5):* This was building nicely into an exciting preview of the two singles title matches at this weekend's tour finale, but it ended quite abruptly & fell flat. ****1/4*

*Kota Ibushi vs. Daiichi Hashimoto (ZERO 1, 15/4):* Some rapid-fire strike flurries & a believable assault on Daiichi's broken arm, but this only ever felt like it was going one way. ***3/4*


----------



## MF83

KeepinItReal said:


> Does anyone know when Nakamura debuted his new look, with the weird mannerisms and all that? And does anyone know WHY he acts that way, if there's a purpose behind it or whatever, or do you know what he says in his promo's? The dude's incredible anyway, I'm just curious.


Before he turned heel in 2009 he was bland and failing to get over as an ace type, hard. He had so many haters online and fell flat with the crowd, which was a shame after his promising start. Finally, he and Yano turn on Makabe and GBH defects into CHAOS, except Honma who stays with Makabe. 

Shinsuke was initially pretty bland as a heel too. Cool/mean/intense at best but then he won the title and started producing good matches. Towards the end of his title run he finally gained that veteran confidence he had lacked his whole career. 

He starts stretching a lot on camera. He starts shaking his wrists and his neck all the time. He starts bumping and selling like no one before and since and he has a sort of drunk-expression to himself. He debuts the almighty punch to the face ("Knuckle Pat!") and would whip out the spinny juji out of nowhere. He was progressively innovative, debuting new moves, mannerisms and counters every fricking month. This goes on and peaks around mid 2011 and it is absolutely fucking amazing and the best he ever was.

He goes to Mexico, adopts the red attire and drops the gimmick for the G1. He wrestles straight and stoic as hell and has a great match with literally every opponent in the 2011 G1 before winning it. Shortly after, he starts this Michael Jackson gimmick with the vibrating and the posing and whatever; starts wrestling the dreaded formula and appealing to the crowd. 

It's entertaining but just not the same, sadly. Check out his matches from that time. RIP GOAT: Drunksell Swagsuke (2010-2011).


----------



## flag sabbath

*Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka (Zero 1, 15/4):* Basic wrestling goodness right here - the perfect detox after all that artificial, flippy, no-sell, gimmicky, overbooked junk you've been ingesting. These men came to fight, people. I'd forgotten just how beastly a combo Sekimoto & Okabayashi are, and OhTaue is larger than life here too. Even Tanaka gets his shit in without being annoying. Heavyweight fun. ****1/2*

Also, BoSJ Day 4(!?) is up on XWT with Ricochet vs. Devitt main event :mark:


----------



## KeepinItReal

flag sabbath said:


> *Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka (Zero 1, 15/4):* Basic wrestling goodness right here - the perfect detox after all that artificial, flippy, no-sell, gimmicky, overbooked junk you've been ingesting. These men came to fight, people. I'd forgotten just how beastly a combo Sekimoto & Okabayashi are, and OhTaue is larger than life here too. Even Tanaka gets his shit in without being annoying. Heavyweight fun. ****1/2*
> 
> In case anyone missed it, BoSJ Day 4(!?) is up on XWT with Ricochet vs. Devitt main event :mark:


Do you know if any other BOSJ days are up on XWT yet? I'm not in XWT, but that means it could make it onto the internet elsewhere as well. Lol I'm not even watching Day 4 until Days 1 and 2 are up (Day 3 is on niconico.jp, don't know if that'll make it online somewhere else).


----------



## flag sabbath

KeepinItReal said:


> Do you know if any other BOSJ days are up on XWT yet? I'm not in XWT, but that means it could make it onto the internet elsewhere as well. Lol I'm not even watching Day 4 until Days 1 and 2 are up (Day 3 is on niconico.jp, don't know if that'll make it online somewhere else).


No, this is the first one to emerge & it's actually today's show. No idea what causes these massive inconsistencies in how quickly puro shows become available.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

Damn i bet someone is just going to make a pack for the whole tournament. I might still download day 4 and watch. If anyone needs an xwt invited i have an extra.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Yeah I was confused why today's show is up but not the other days yet.


----------



## KeepinItReal

flag sabbath said:


> No, this is the first one to emerge & it's actually today's show. No idea what causes these massive inconsistencies in how quickly puro shows become available.


Thx for the info. It blows my mind that there are same-day uploads of some of this stuff. The world is shrinking.

Oh, looks like BOSJ Day 4 is getting uploaded to DailyMotion (Senor Lariato) as we speak, match by match. I'm going to DL it all just to feel good. Still waiting for Days 1 and 2, or even 3. I love the internet. *BE CAREFUL, THE DESCRIPTIONS UNDERNEATH THE TITLES HAVE SPOILERS*, by showing numbers (pts) next to wrestlers' names. The titles themselves don't, however.


----------



## darkclaudio

Prince Devitt vs Ricochet ***1/2 - NJPW 30/05


----------



## Yeah1993

CODY!! What's the date for the Nakamura v. Bob Sapp Title match that you like and I said I'd watch?


----------



## Obfuscation

5/3/04 - NJPW Nexess.


----------



## seabs

flag sabbath said:


> No, this is the first one to emerge & it's actually today's show. No idea what causes these massive inconsistencies in how quickly puro shows become available.


*Basically it depends on what channel it airs on. New Japan airs on a range of channels like Samurai/Asahi/J-Sports. Many more people have access to Samurai TV so the chances of someone ripping a Samurai show and uploading is greater than TV Asahi for example which I think might be a paid subscription channel but don't quote me on that. Opening and Closing nights both air on TV Asahi for example so they might take longer to be uploaded. It's really pot luck right now until a regular uploader comes along again with access to all channels. RUDOS really spoiled in us in a way with all them next day rips.*


----------



## Yeah1993

*@Cody I have to spread rep to people I don't really care enough about (jk I love EVERYBODY) in order to rep you with 'thanks', so consider this post an official form of rep. I put it in green and everything.*


----------



## Chismo

Finally got to watch this:












*Invasion Attack*

*(4/7/2013)*


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) © vs. Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi)

***1/4


2.	CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Takashi Iizuka) & Bob Sapp vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Akebono, Manabu Nakanishi & Super Strong Machine

***


3.	*CMLL World Tag Team Championship*: El Terrible & Tama Tonga © vs. La Mascara & Valiente

**1/2


4.	Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi

***1/2


5.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano

***1/4


6.	Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto

***1/2


7.	*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Rob Conway © vs. Satoshi Kojima

***3/4


8.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

******


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Kazuchika Okada

*******


This was an amazing show.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Seabs said:


> *Basically it depends on what channel it airs on. New Japan airs on a range of channels like Samurai/Asahi/J-Sports. Many more people have access to Samurai TV so the chances of someone ripping a Samurai show and uploading is greater than TV Asahi for example which I think might be a paid subscription channel but don't quote me on that. Opening and Closing nights both air on TV Asahi for example so they might take longer to be uploaded. It's really pot luck right now until a regular uploader comes along again with access to all channels. RUDOS really spoiled in us in a way with all them next day rips.*


Makes sense, thanks. I'm from the '90s tape trading generation where we'd read about shows in the Observer a week or two after they happened, then wait months for the videos to reach the UK via the States. You young'ns really don't know how spoiled you are :angry:


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah1993 said:


> *@Cody I have to spread rep to people I don't really care enough about (jk I love EVERYBODY) in order to rep you with 'thanks', so consider this post an official form of rep. I put it in green and everything.*


Amazing.


----------



## flag sabbath

There are no MOTYCs on BoSJ Day 4, but it's an incredibly easy & enjoyable show to blast through. They keep the matches short & action packed (there's like 90 mins of wrestling tops) and the crowd is lively from start to finish. Lots of empty seats at Korakuen, though. Is this because the juniors aren't a big draw anymore or is it a sign that Japanese wrestling as a whole is on its arse at the moment?


----------



## geraldinhio

Pappa Bacon said:


> Damn i bet someone is just going to make a pack for the whole tournament. I might still download day 4 and watch. If anyone needs an xwt invited i have an extra.
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


Yes please. My XWT account got disabled for not seeding around Wrestlemania. Cunts.

I'm pretty lost without it so would an invite get me back in action?


----------



## Chismo

*3/17/2013*


1.	Abdullah Kobayashi, Shadow WX & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) & Rey Paloma

*


2.	Yoshihito Sasaki & Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Magnitude Kishiwada & Shoichi Uchida

**


3.	Takashi Sasaki vs. Sakigake

*1/2


4.	SCRAMBLE BUNKHOUSE DEATHMATCH: Drake Younger & Danny Havoc vs. Ryuji Ito & Takumi Tsukamoto

**1/2


5.	R.I.P. COFFIN DEATHMATCH: 045 Junkies (Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa) vs. Isami Kodaka & Masashi Takeda

***


6.	Shinjiro Otani vs. Kazuki Hashimoto

***


7.	Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Amigo Suzuki

**1/2


8.	Y.M.C.A. DEATHMATCH for the *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Shuji Ishikawa © vs. Yuko Miyamoto

***


Underwhelming show, but still decent, that’s why I love BJW, even when ringwork is not on the highest level, there’s always a lot of fun to save the day.​


----------



## tigermaskfan23

Hopefully this is the correct place just because I saw two Puro threads. But is there any way to watch NJPW online? I mean I have only seen a few matches because of Hiroshi Tanahashi who actually was the person who started my interested in Japanese Wrestling.


----------



## Obfuscation

Dailymotion.com has a pretty good amount of current Puro to watch on there. _(look up users Jamale Hepburn & Senior LARIATO)_ As well as the "classics". Look to Youtube to assist you on the classic bouts too. Puro isn't too hard to find to watch online compared to say US or international Indie wrestling.

You can also find Puro shows to download on torrent sites like XWT.


----------



## tigermaskfan23

Obfuscation said:


> Dailymotion.com has a pretty good amount of current Puro to watch on there. _(look up users Jamale Hepburn & Senior LARIATO)_ As well as the "classics". Look to Youtube to assist you on the classic bouts too. Puro isn't too hard to find to watch online compared to say US or international Indie wrestling.
> 
> You can also find Puro shows to download on torrent sites like XWT.



Perhaps if I look hard enough I can find some Tiger Mask 1 matches since as my name, avatar and signature suggest he is one of my top fav. puro wrestlers.


----------



## Chismo

*3/30/2013 & 4/10/2013*

_*(3/30/2013)*_


3.	BARBED WIRE BOARD DEATHMATCH: Shuji Ishikawa & Ouetsu Reppan Domei (Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki) vs. Abdullah Kobayashi, Kankuro Hoshino & Takumi Tsukamoto

***


4.	045 Junkies (Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa) vs. The Brahmans (Shu & Kei)

***


5.	Daisuke Sekimoto, Ryuichi Kawakami & Shinobu vs. Yoshihito Sasaki, Yuji Okabayashi & Shinya Ishikawa

***


6.	SAMURAI SPIRIT DEATHMATCH - *Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor, Block B*: Isami Kodaka vs. Masashi Takeda

***1/2


7.	300 LIGHTTUBES DEATHMATCH - *Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor, Block A*: Ryuji Ito vs. Yuko Miyamoto

***1/2


*(4/10/2013)*


6.	2/3 FALLS DEATHMATCH - *Ikkitousen 2013: Deathmatch Survivor, FINALS*: Ryuji Ito vs. Isami Kodaka

_Fantastic match, I honestly could not believe the level of violence and punishment these guys displayed. Kudos, big freakin’ kudos! Kodaka took some really sick bumps, he’s really an unparalleled punching bag in deathmatches, and Ito proved he can still go, despite getting fatter._

*****1/4*​


----------



## Pappa Bacon

geraldinhio said:


> Yes please. My XWT account got disabled for not seeding around Wrestlemania. Cunts.
> 
> I'm pretty lost without it so would an invite get me back in action?


When i get home ill message you or just send me your email.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## KeepinItReal

According to cagematch.net, Day 3 of the BOSJ was broadcast on niconico.jp (and Day 7 will be), which is like Japan's YouTube, but you need a subscription to get this stuff at least. Shouldn't there be some way to find these matches?

Edit:
Well, here's a way to *buy* Day 3 of the BOSJ on niconico, as well as the upcoming Day 7 on June 3rd, by getting a subscription. $5.22 for a month of viewing (525 yen), if I'm reading Google Translate correctly:
http://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv136145304?ref=qtimetable&zroute=index
You can see the schedule of their live events by going to the "live" section on the toolbar on the left, just check out May 38th and June 3rd.


Aren't there programs for watching channels in foreign countries? So we could watch this stuff at 5 in the morning or w/e? I really hope the full BOSJ, or almost all of it, makes it online before the next PPV, or even the semifinals. I REALLY don't want spoilers.


----------



## seabs

*Champions Carnival aired free on Nico but I was told the New Japan shows on there are subscription only and only available in Japan.*


----------



## leglock

Seabs said:


> *Champions Carnival aired free on Nico but I was told the New Japan shows on there are subscription only and only available in Japan.*


No it didn't and no it isn't.


----------



## McQueen

If yeah1993 liked something Cody enjoyed that intrigues me enough to not make my "Everything you like other than Christina Hendricks is terrible, you ******" post at Cody and ask for a link.


----------



## seabs

leglock said:


> No it didn't and no it isn't.


*I'm just repeating what I was told. Are the BOSJ shows streaming free outside of Japan then on nico?*


----------



## Obfuscation

Mr. Yeah1993 any myself have equaled opinions on quite a few things, Eric.

Meng, Mascarita Dorada, Goldberg, etc.

Get with the times.


----------



## KeepinItReal

BOSJ Day 2 (May 26) is up on XtremeWrestlingTorrents, and they have an *open registration* period for 48 hrs on the first of every month, AKA right now, AKA I'm in. So you guys can dl that and Day 4 (May 30). Like Seab said, its the Samurai! TV televised shows that are getting uploaded. Btw, TODAY'S event was on Samurai! TV also, so...


----------



## Obfuscation

Two shows now. Hell yes.

Give me the prelude _(although it doesn't look too special...)_ & Night One and I'll be in business.


----------



## Chismo

*4/28/2013*


1.	Kazuki Hashimoto & Hoshito Takahashi vs. Yuichi Taniguchi & Hideyoshi Kamitani

**


2.	MEN’s Teioh, Makoto Oishi & SUSUMU vs. Mototsugu Shimizu, Onryo & Shiori Asahi

**


3.	045 Junkies (Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa) & The Brahmans (Shu & Kei) vs. Yoshihito Sasaki, Shinya Ishikawa, Ryuichi Kawakami & Shinobu

:lmao _x 100._

******


4.	*No. 1 Cont. for the BJW Tag Team Championship*: Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) vs. Ouetsu Reppan Domei (Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki)

*1/2


5.	LIGHTTUBE DEATHMATCH: Abdullah Kobayashi, Masashi Takeda & Saburo Inematsu vs. Ryuji Ito, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka

***1/2


6.	Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Takao Omori & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

******


7.	BLT DEATHMATCH: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Takumi Tsukamoto

***1/2


Great show. The campy 8-man tag is the funniest match of the year, and the BJW/AJPW tag was awesome as well.​


----------



## leglock

Seabs said:


> *I'm just repeating what I was told. Are the BOSJ shows streaming free outside of Japan then on nico?*


Nothing is/was free. You could buy the entire Champion Carnival series for 3800 yen and individual shows for 1000 (start/end for 1500.) The New Japan shows are 525 yen and if people cared enough, they could/would pay for it. 

But they won't.

Just like how few people will support New Japan by purchasing iPPVs.


----------



## Rah

_Exitoostore_ offers Gaora (AJPW/DG/K-DOJO/OZ), so Carnival Cup _was_ free for online viewers. I know this because I watched it. BSoJ days 1,2,4,5 were shown on Samurai! TV while day 3 was on niconico.jp. Samurai! TV is watchable via UStream while nicnico.jp's BoSJ shows are all, obviously, avaliable off their website for $5/month. I'm sure there is a free stream somewhere online but I'm, honestly, too lazy to search for it.


----------



## flag sabbath

BoSJ Day 2 is up on XWT, as is the 5/5 NJPW Road show. Senor Lariato is in the process of uploading both.


----------



## leglock

Rah said:


> _Exitoostore_ offers Gaora (AJPW/DG/K-DOJO/OZ), so Carnival Cup _was_ free for online viewers. I know this because I watched it. BSoJ days 1,2,4,5 were shown on Samurai! TV while day 3 was on niconico.jp. Samurai! TV is watchable via UStream while nicnico.jp's BoSJ shows are all, obviously, avaliable off their website for $5/month. I'm sure there is a free stream somewhere online but I'm, honestly, too lazy to search for it.


GAORA only aired the first and last nights in full near live, while having a highlight show later on. Nico Pro streamed all the shows live with no commentary and one camera angle, with the exception of the opening and closing nights. I found the GAORA TV stream that has been passed around, but Exitoostore is just a stream aggregator. 

http://www.fengyunzhibo.com/group/22699-2r6op6n2.htm

^ Actual Chinese website that does the actual hosting and has a bunch of other Japanese streams.


----------



## seabs

leglock said:


> Nothing is/was free. You could buy the entire Champion Carnival series for 3800 yen and individual shows for 1000 (start/end for 1500.) The New Japan shows are 525 yen and if people cared enough, they could/would pay for it.
> 
> But they won't.
> 
> Just like how few people will support New Japan by purchasing iPPVs.


*Last years Champions Carnival was free.*


----------



## leglock

Sure, so was the Inoki Festival from 2011 and a few other things.


----------



## Yeah1993

Obfuscation said:


> Mr. Yeah1993 any myself have equaled opinions on quite a few things, Eric.
> 
> Meng, Mascarita Dorada***********, Goldberg, etc.
> 
> Get with the times.


*********** = SAGRADA, man. SAGRADA.


----------



## Obfuscation

FUCK

never been this low


----------



## Chismo

*Endless Survivor 2013*

*(5/5/2013)*


1.	Kazuki Hashimoto & Hoshito Takahashi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani & Yusaku Obata

***


2.	Yuichi Taniguchi, Keizo Matsuda & Bear Fukuda vs. Shinya Ishikawa, Madoka & Shinobu

*1/2


3.	Abdullah Kobayashi & Ouetsu Reppan Domei (Shadow WX & Takashi Sasaki) vs. Yoshihito Sasaki, Yuji Okabayashi & Ryuichi Kawakami

**1/2


4.	MURDERRIDE SHOW FREE WEAPONS DEATHMATCH: 045 Junkies (Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa) vs. Masashi Takeda & Takumi Tsukamoto

***


5.	LIGHTTUBE & IRON CAGE DEATHMATCH for the *BJW Tag Team Championship*: Yankee Trillion Pistols (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) © vs. Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba)

***1/2


6.	*BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship*: Daisuke Sekimoto © vs. Takao Omori

*


7.	LIGHTTUBE, GLASSBOARD & KENZAN DEATHMATCH for the *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Shuji Ishikawa © vs. Ryuji Ito

**1/2​


----------



## flag sabbath

I'm guessing most of you have a ton of stuff backed up to watch, so the good news is New Japan Road from 5/5 & BoSJ Prelude from 22/5 are completely skippable.


----------



## Rah

We will probably know later today, but Abdullah Okabayashi has been pulled from all events after prelim tests showed that he may have Hep C.

This is not going to end well if he does.

EDIT: I see this is actually in the CZW ToD thread.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Rah said:


> We will probably know later today, but Abdullah Okabayashi has been pulled from all events after prelim tests showed that he may have Hep C.
> 
> This is not going to end well if he does.
> 
> EDIT: I see this is actually in the CZW ToD thread.


G-d damn it. And he's probably named after Abdullah the Butcher, too, right? How f'ed up are these people??? Are clean blades so expensive?


----------



## Pappa Bacon

KeepinItReal said:


> G-d damn it. And he's probably named after Abdullah the Butcher, too, right? How f'ed up are these people??? Are clean blades so expensive?


Its not clean blades its bleeding on each other. When blood mixes in an open wound you can contract stuff like Hep.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Zatiel

Jesus. This is something I was afraid, but they're always so brazen about blood that I figured they'd covered their bases. How awful. Such a talented wrestler.


----------



## jessyj2009

KeepinItReal said:


> G-d damn it. And he's probably named after Abdullah the Butcher, too, right?


His wiki says



> Yōsuke Kobayashi (小林 洋輔 Kobayashi Yōsuke?) (born July 22, 1976),[2] is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his stage name Abdullah Kobayashi (アブドーラ小林 Abudōra Kobayashi?) after Abdullah the Butcher, who was his trainer.





> Such a talented garbage wrestler.


having never seen him wrestle I'm just going to go ahead and assume that.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Pappa Bacon said:


> Its not clean blades its bleeding on each other. When blood mixes in an open wound you can contract stuff like Hep.
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


Good point, but Abdullah the Butcher did use dirty blades (or so I read somewhere on the internet, so w/e that counts for). But yeah, maybe this guy isn't the asshole/idiot I thought he was.


----------



## flag sabbath

I'd be interested to know how much of a fuck the average deathmatch wrestler gives about the possibility of contracting a liver-wasting disease. They're obviously a masochistic, self-destructive bunch who don't tend to dwell on risk vs. reward.


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> I'm guessing most of you have a ton of stuff backed up to watch, so the good news is New Japan Road from 5/5 & BoSJ Prelude from 22/5 are completely skippable.


Four matches deep into the 5/5 show and now I read this. 8*D _(I knew it was going to be decent personified by looking at the card.)_

I plan on seeing every NJPW show per usual so I'll finish/watch 'em. No big deal; I'll cram 'em into one night. I got the 4/29 STARDOM show lined up too. The final stretch for me and most current Joshi. If the entire show isn't good, well, I'm bowing out. I don't want to, but the wrestling isn't worth the time. </3


----------



## flag sabbath

Nothing much to report from BoSJ Day Two either. Most of the matches are edited & they were all fairly short to begin with. Why they do this but keep the ring entrances in is beyond me. Highlight of the show was young boy Takaaki Watanabe being elevated by teaming with Tanahashi against Anderson & Tonga. Everyone in this match did a great job of getting the crowd behind the underdog.

Also watched Kenta & Suguira vs. Morishima & Marufuji and it was a very dull experience.


----------



## Obfuscation

Lame. Sounds like my thought process a few hours ago while watching the STARDOM tag team championship match from 3/17. It goes twenty-six minutes, yet only TEN are shown. But we had to see those entrances...

I almost wanted to watch that NOAH tag. Your heads up proves to be my decision until I hear otherwise. May have to check out Marufuji vs Harada b/c I like Harada & its a big match for the guy. All I know is, I want Haste & Nicholls vs Yano & Iizuka again. Their 5/12 match in front of an actual hot NOAH crowd _(<3 Korakuen Hall)_ was AWESOME.


----------



## sXeMope

Abdullah Kobayashi's test results came back. He doesn't have Hep C, but they did find a problem with his Liver. Really glad to hear it's not Hep. Although hopefully this, and the Tremont scare will make more promotions do blood testing.


Also, IVP added Final Burning to his catalog. 4 discs, which is more than I expected. I expected 3 at the most.


----------



## Obfuscation

Good. Not good about his liver, yet plenty good on the no Hep-C front.

For those who saw, were there any non-Champions Carnival matches worth seeing from those shows or nah? b/c I'm watching the tournament all the way through, but if one of the non-tourny matches are worth a look I'll put it on the list.


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2013*

*Gedo, Jado, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Maximo, Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata*
This felt right at home as an opener because of the light-hearted antics of Maximo and Jado. The Flair flop after the kiss from Maximo brought a right smile to my face. One other thing to note, is that it's also great to see Ishii not get lost in the shuffle like he sometimes does in multi-man matches as he's really the best NJPW have at the moment.
★★★

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA © vs Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero*
Painfully mediocre. Nothing made this stick other compared to their other matches together, and 90% of the IWGP Jr. tag title matches of the last year or so.
★½

*Bad Luck Fale & Prince Devitt vs Captain New Japan & Ryusuke Taguchi*
Outside of the final pinfall, Devitt just acted like his plain ol' self even though he recently turned heel and Bad Luck Fale just looks like a Samoan Diesel reject who didn't do anything to establish him as a badass.
★

*IWGP Tag Team Championship - Four Way Match
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer © vs Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima*
This was all over the place and was even hard to follow at times, but overall it was a fun mess of a match.
★¾
*
NEVER Openweight Championship
Masato Tanaka © vs Tomoaki Honma*
Solid stuff but I was expecting so much more just because of the classic they had a few years ago. Honma didn't look to make too much of an effort here and I recall one spot where he reversed a vertical suplex to jump-start his comeback and I thought it just looked lazy and generic.
★★¼

*Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi*
I don't think this could be any better considering the talent involved. It played to both guys strengths and that being Takahashi's stoogey offense and Makabe's colorful comebacks. I haven't been enjoying this feud one bit and I wasn't expecting much so that may explain why I like this match more than some. A good end to a terrible feud.
★★¾

*Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata*
Just two tough motherfuckers slapping the piss out of each other until they both knock each other out. Highly entertaining spirit. One could argue the non-finish only happened to set up for a rematch that will just kill time while Shibata's waiting for Sakuraba to return, but I'm not going to whinge too much as I have no problems with these two facing off again, especially if Goto keeps on bringing his A-game.
★★★¼

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Karl Anderson*
Tanahashi fairs better in shorter matches is what I found out in this match. He's by no means terrible, but his weaknesses stick out more when he's trying to work a 30+ minute epic. The match here was an above average back-and-forth match and it's main purpose was to give Tanahashi his win back and the post-match antics give him something to do while Okada keeps the belt.
★★¾
*
IWGP Intercontinental Title Match
Shinsuke Nakamura © vs Shelton Benjamin*
It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Shelton Benjamin but this was probably the best performance I've ever seen from him. His work here was very logical and he worked great as a heel. He was cocky and full of character as he tries to take out Nakamura's leg and disable him using his Boma Ye. Nakamura was as great as always, despite a few botches that didn't take away from the action too much. Hell, when Nakamura slipped as he tried to springboard fitted nicely into the narrative of the match.
★★★½

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada © vs Minoru Suzuki*
This had some good stuff, but a lot of it was drowned out by the really awful stuff. On the plus side, there are some neat 'veteran vs youngster' exchanges that were pulled off decently enough and the match didn't drag at all for a 30 minute NJPW main event, but on the other hand I thought Okada's comeback in the sleeper was incredibly lame. It's basically the same spot that Nagata/MiSu did at the Dome show but Nagata can make a cheesy spot like that work because of his sheer charisma; Okada can't. This match really exposed Okada as a bad worker and it didn't help matters that Suzuki looked to be phoning it in on this night.
★★¾

*Overall:*
Not as bad as I hear everyone say it is, but there's no denying that there is some weak matches on this card. The booking was pretty poor also. Best to skip this one.


----------



## Yeah1993

watching 2000s New Japan for stuff

Yuji Nagata v. Osamu Nishimura (NJPW 9/16/01)
Turns out I was wrong when I said Liger/Inoue was the best New Japan match of 2001, because this completely ruled. They get twenty minutes to work; near half of that is spent on the mat, and Nishimura on the mat = automatic greatness. He was pretty much born multiple decades too late. He works like a 70s wrestler, even LOOKS like a 70s wrestler (I see a slight Ricky Steamboat resemblance), and hell, the first couple of times I saw him I thought he was an old guy who’d actually been wrestling since the 70s. He’s awesome as shit on the mat, and carries Nagata to some really cool spots. Nagata does OK and he had some eat shit of his own like blocking a legbar by putting his hands between Nishimura’s elbow, but Nishimura is on a completely different level. When Nagata has an armbar he wobble his shoulders to try to put his arm in the position that Nagata actually has is it, so he can kind of ‘drive into the skid’ and not feel as much pain. And holy shit, the man has a beautiful bridge. Nagata decides to switch a headlock to a test of strength and you get a front-view of Nishimura bridging, and it looks so perfect. He even GROGEOUSLY bridges out of an armbar, then goes to corner and holds his arm. Nagata eventually gets Nishimura’s number and Nish rolls to the outside. Nagata decides if he can’t hang with Nishimura on the mat for much longer– then he’ll start kicking when Nish gets back into the ring. He gets Nishimura into a headlock as a fake out (or entrapment, or both) before immediately kneeing him multiple times on the top of the noggin. When Nishimura musters enough to get upright, Nagata starts stiffly kicking the shit out of him. Nish tries to get back to the mat one way or another, and there’s an awesome, awesome sleeper spot, but Nagata is adamant to keep this kick-based. Nishimura decides to comply, but his kicks aren’t as good as Nagata’s. If he can’t kick as hard as Nagata, he’ll kick smarter, by kicking Nagata in exactly the same spot of the leg every time, to set him up for a hold. Nagata probably realised what he’s going and actually starts now kicking Nishimura in the same damn spot of *Nishimura’s* leg, so he can get the Nagata Lock on. Nishimura survives that (and the audience got on the Nishimura train pretty quickly), and tries all sorts of old-school holds to get the match done – figure four, Funk spinning toe hold, Inoki octopus, and he busts out what’s probably his #1 move (if he were to have a move really labelled a “finisher”, it’s that, I guess) in the abdominal stretch. Nothing works and the ref stops the match during a Nagata Lock II, but he did clear damage to Nagata’s leg, and it could have won him the match. AND WHAT A MATCH IT WAS. Nishimura is one of the best wrestlers of the decade. I am so pumped to watch that Nishimura/Takayama match again and I think I will today. The Nishimura train is pretty vacant, people, and everyone is welcome aboard.


----------



## Bruce L

Yeah1993 said:


> Turns out I was wrong when I said *Liger/Inoue was the best New Japan match of 2001*


Which match was this?


----------



## Yeah1993

Jushin Liger v. Wataru Inoue from Block A of the 2001 Best Of Super Juniors, 5/18/01


----------



## Obfuscation

I was hoping that post would have put Nagata over a ton. I'm ever so slightly favorable towards the guy.


----------



## Yeah1993

I'm not a really a fan of Nagata at all. With that said, he was pretty great....HERE!



Yuji Nagata v. Yoshihiro Takayama (NJPW 5/6/02)
I wasn’t crazy about the opening stages of this. I thought it was kind of messy and they were ignoring punches and shit and I was worried the rest of the match wouldn’t hold up. Fuck that, it did. The beginning had Takayama keeping a headlock on after a big suplex, which I thought was meh, until the match went on and one and I realised it was basically a stroke of genius. Takayama held his head after that headlock was finished, so it did clear damage, but he’s a monster, so it didn’t do *that* much damage. But when Takayama decides to unleash a suplex on of his own, a German, the damage to Nagata is fatal. I’m rarely impressed with Nagata, and there are hundreds and hundreds of wrestlers I’d rather watch over him, but he was really, really good here as the tired underdog. The German was the game changer of the match, and Nagata wasn’t the same the entire thing. He scurried the fuck away from the second German attempt because the first one was lethal. He could fight off Takayama now and then with kicks, but he’d always be stumbling around dizzy and glassy-eyed. He sold it really, really well. I also really liked his offense while he was blurry, because his yelling would truly come off as a guy who was putting 90% of his energy behind the move he was delivering. No matter what, though, this was Takayama’s match. He had control, and Nagata could throw all of the kicks he liked – Tak wasn’t going to stay down. Every now and then Nagata could GET him down, but he couldn’t KEEP him down. Awesome spot where Nagata manages to sweep Takayama’s leg out of desperation. Catches Tak off guard? Yep. Gets Tak on the floor? Yep. Keeps Tak on the floor? No. There was a spectacular few seconds where Nagata tiredly throws a bunch of shit to get Takayama to the mat, and Takayama uses one knee to get Nagata in the same position. Nagata needed tons of moves to make Takayama stop standing upright, but Takayama only needed one to completely floor him. Takayama eventually hits the German again and Nagata’s kick out is gorgeous. It’s not even a fucking kick out; he just, like, ‘moves’. Like, if someone was slowly pulling Nagata up by the arm while he was on the floor, then it’d look like that, maybe. It has to be seen. The punch-off was really cool (even if Nagata has crummy punches), because it kind of gave a feeling of possible equality. Takayama might not be the totally dominant one any more, and when they both fell to the ground it solidified it. As of then, it’s anybody’s match. Nagata had been staying alive through his whole match basically using one thing –his kicks. Takayama was murdering him, yeah, and he got stuff like the Nagata Lock on for desperation moves, but his kicks were seemingly the only thing that would give him any breathing and hurt Takayama to a big degree. So seeing Nagata win with those same kicks instead of a big move was the best possible ending I could ask for (other than Takayama winning the IWGP title, obviously). Great match, Takayama is always the perfect big man, and this has to be my favourite showing from Nagata. I want to see him fight upward like this more often.


----------



## flag sabbath

Obfuscation said:


> For those who saw, were there any non-Champions Carnival matches worth seeing from those shows or nah? b/c I'm watching the tournament all the way through, but if one of the non-tourny matches are worth a look I'll put it on the list.


I've got the junior six-man from the final night at ****3/4*, but don't remember much about it tbh.


----------



## Yeah1993

Yoshihiro Takayama v. Manabu Nakanishi (NJPW 6/7/02)
Bit of a unique Takayama match where the opponent actually had control of most of the match. In any other match I might complain Takayama not getting enough in is disappointing, but Nakanishi’s big and burly enough to justify it. Also, this was motherfucking stiff. I mean ‘penis between Lucy Pinder’s cleavage’ stiff. A penis in between Lucy Pinder’s cleavage would probably explode, and the mess that’d make STILL wouldn’t rival the mess that was Takayama’s chest. It was disgustingly purple, like he was stoned to death, but the villagers stoning him were idiots so they threw plums instead of rocks. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chest in a wrestling match so discoloured. Disgustingly purple. Nakanishi eventually gets to chopping while they’re on the ramp way, and Takayama takes completely manly bumps on a leg sweep and a bulldog. He ain’t doing no ‘Kane in the pedigree’ bullshit - where Kane sticks one knee out so you know that shit doesn’t connect - he goes full flat. Like a MAN. Nakanishi putting on a torture rack with Takayama having a headlock was an amazing visual. I wish more people countered thing like that with a headlock (imagine the GTS countered into a headlock, holy shit). Takayama totally squishes Nakanishi’s head with a triangle choke (countering an iron claw), as well, and ramming knees into Nakanishi’s body (countering what looked to be spears) to win was totally MANLY. 

Yoshihiro Takayama v. Kensuke Sasaki (NJPW 8/3/02)
Sasaki partly dominates this until Takayama sort of has his ‘I’ll make this guy dead’ move with a jumping knee from the ramp way over the ropes. He gets air on that sucker; they both go flying. Sasaki is basically playing what Nagata was in the IWGP title match a few months earlier (guy who was doing OK before being wiped out by one move), only this is shorter and it felt more like Tak needed that move to get the match back. Sasaki getting a flash lariat in there was really awesome. These to have an OUTSTANDING punch flurry where they fucking wail on each other like Takayama was having Don Frye flashbacks. I think it’s incredible how Takayama can make anybody look like his equal during a match. There’s really not any way that a wrestler should look credible on top of him, but he makes it work while not making himself look weak. Ummm…….Jerry Blackwell reference. This was really good. Takayama for president (or whatever).

Yoshihiro Takayama v. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (NJPW 8/4/02)
Tenzan is one of my lesser favourite Japanese wrestlers (how he and Kojima going an hour didn’t make my eyeballs melt down my face still shocks the hell out of me), so I wasn’t looking forward to this as much as the other Takayama stuff I have lined up. Usurpingly I wasn’t pleasantly surprised (I have no idea how else to word), as Tenzan gets most of this. He attacks Takayama before the bell and Takayama fights back amazingly by rubbing his t-shirt in Tenzan’s face before Tenzan goes low. I was totally fine with Nakanishi getting most of HIS match with Tak, but Tenzan is kind of boring on top and never does anything exciting. He had a really neat spot or two, like where he caught Tak’s leg and headbutt his knee (which is stupid in theory but I’ve always bought Tenzan as a guy with an iron head). Overall, though, he is just not interesting on top to watch and I was craving the ‘well enough of this bullshit’ Takayama outbursts, where he swings his deadly kicks and boots and Takayamaness. Tenzan is kind of energetic and kind of charismatic and has something about him, but it’s a bland kind of energy and a bland kind of charisma that he has and I’ve never seen him have a good match without the opponent doing mostly everything interesting. This wasn’t an exception. TAKAYAMA FOR PRESIDENT-WHATEVER AGAIN!


----------



## Chismo

BIG TAK love? :mark: I approve. His 01-04 run is among the GOATs.











And I find Nagata awesome, he's one of few wrestlers who brings out of nothing.


----------



## flag sabbath

More of the same from BoSJ Day 5 (1/6) - short matches, liberally edited. What aired of Shelley vs. Barreta was real good, as was Romero's one man war against Devitt & Bullet Club, with the fans going nuts for Rocky's resilience. Alex Koslov has developed his character schtick to the point where I could see him enjoying success as a WWE mid-card comedy act. Biggest story of the show was Titan challenging Taichi to a future Mask vs. Hair match.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

flag sabbath said:


> More of the same from BoSJ Day 5 (1/6) - short matches, liberally edited. What aired of Shelley vs. Barreta was real good, as was Romero's one man war against Devitt & Bullet Club, with the fans going nuts for Rocky's resilience. Alex Koslov has developed his character schtick to the point where I could see him enjoying success as a WWE mid-card comedy act. Biggest story of the show was Titan challenging Taichi to a future Mask vs. Hair match.



So the matches are clipped or the shows themselves are edited?

I've only watched like 2 matches so far from Day 2 and 4 and didn't notice.


----------



## flag sabbath

Matches are clipped by Samurai TV on the versions of Day 2 & 5 that I've seen. I think Day 4 aired live or at least the same day, so they were all shown in full. I'm halfway through Day 6 & the tournament matches are all full versions, but the heavyweight tag was clipped. As Day 9 is up already, I'm guessing it'll be the full show like 4 was.

For anyone who's now completely lost, today's show (Day 9) was the last of the round robin. Semis & final take place on Sunday.


----------



## geraldinhio

There's a lot of BOSJ on XWT. There was two shows uploaded today and all. There not uploaded in order, but hey I'm not complaining. 

Few spoilers getting dropped in this thread too.


----------



## flag sabbath

geraldinhio said:


> Few spoilers getting dropped in this thread too.


BoSJ spoilers? Think I'm the only person doing reviews & I've kept them dead vague & general. Apologies if I've slipped up without realising.


----------



## seabs

*I didn't see any spoilers. All the matches mentioned were group matches and announced long ago.*


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> I've got the junior six-man from the final night at ****3/4*, but don't remember much about it tbh.


I'll give it a gander. tbhayley, the second night show really took it out of me. _(I should have listened to you, but I wanted to see every tournament match this year. I shouldn't have tried it.)_ Don't know if I can press on atm. Not to mention the matches after two shows haven't been anything worth seeing. Shiozaki vs Suwama was a disappointment.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

I don' know if its been posted yet but NJPW BOSJ 6/2/13 & 6/6/13 are both up on xwt.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## duttanized

I haven't watched a single BOSJ match yet, so hopefully someone on XWT can post a pack of every single one. I want to watch every single one.


----------



## EmbassyForever

I watched Ricochet/Devitt. Eh, it was good I guess. Not as good as I hoped. ***1/4


----------



## flag sabbath

So far, I've watched BoSJ Prelude & Days 2, 4, 5 & 6 and there's been nothing outstanding at all, with a lot of the matches going less than 10 minutes. Here's hoping the bar gets raised significantly for Day 9 & the final.


----------



## Chismo

*Fu-Ten BATI-BATI 43
*
*(1/30/2011)*


1.	Takeshi Ono vs. Hajime Moriyama

***1/4


2.	Fujita Hayato vs. NARITA

***1/4


3.	Ryuichi Sekine vs. Katsumi Usuda

***


4.	Mitsuya Nagai vs. Manabu Suruga

**1/2


5.	Daisuke Ikeda & Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kengo Mashimo & Makoto Hashi

******


Ah, fuck yeah, good old Fu-Ten. You know what you get with Fu-Ten – violent and batshit stiff kicks and strikes (like, _"right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery"_ stiff), tough and hard-earned transitions, manliness, and exciting work in general. Almost every match was really good, and the main event was great.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Spoiler: DG King of Gate semi-finalists



*Dragon Gate Infinity 297 - King of Gate Finals (25/5):*

1. Mochizuki, Fuji & Kotoka vs. Kanda, Tanizaki & Kong ****1/4*
2. *KoG semi-final:* Shingo vs. Yamato ***3/4*
3. *KoG semi-final:* Susumu vs. Richochet ****1/2*
4. Uhaa Nation vs. Shimizu *squash*
5. Doi, Yoshino & Swann vs. Tozawa, Hulk & Kzy ****1/4*
6. Cima, Gamma, Kid & HUB vs. Horiguchi, Saito, Kagetora & K-Ness *****
7. *KoG Final:* ? vs. ? ****3/4*



note: I haven't spoiled the finalists within the above tags & neither has Senior Lariato in his dailymotion upload.


----------



## MF83

Chismo said:


> *Fu-Ten BATI-BATI 43
> *
> *(1/30/2011)*
> 
> 
> 1.	Takeshi Ono vs. Hajime Moriyama
> 
> ***1/4
> 
> 
> 2.	Fujita Hayato vs. NARITA
> 
> ***1/4
> 
> 
> 3.	Ryuichi Sekine vs. Katsumi Usuda
> 
> ***
> 
> 
> 4.	Mitsuya Nagai vs. Manabu Suruga
> 
> **1/2
> 
> 
> 5.	Daisuke Ikeda & Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kengo Mashimo & Makoto Hashi
> 
> ******
> 
> 
> Ah, fuck yeah, good old Fu-Ten. You know what you get with Fu-Ten – violent and batshit stiff kicks and strikes (like, _"right leg, hospital; left leg, cemetery"_ stiff), tough and hard-earned transitions, manliness, and exciting work in general. Almost every match was really good, and the main event was great.​


Really surprised you gave number 4 such a low rating. That was my number two match of the year and one of the best shoot style singles I've ever seen.


----------



## Chismo

MF83 said:


> Really surprised you gave number 4 such a low rating. That was my number two match of the year and one of the best shoot style singles I've ever seen.


While the technical side of the match was fine (moves, structure and stuff), they didn't suck me in it, unlike the rest of the card. If that makes any sense. :lelbron


----------



## blink_41sum_182

EmbassyForever said:


> I watched Ricochet/Devitt. Eh, it was good I guess. Not as good as I hoped. ***1/4


Yeah I was really excited for that and had it at *** 1/4 at first but then figured I was rating it higher because I'm a fan of both and dropped it down to a realistic ***. OK match but was expecting more.


----------



## flag sabbath

*NJPW Best of the Super Juniors - Day 9 (6/6/13)*

1. Taka Michinoku vs. Jado ****
2. Trent Barreta vs. Taichi **1/2*
3. Alex Koslov vs. Brian Kendrick ***1/4*
4. Rocky Romero vs. Titan *****
5. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Yoshi Hashi vs. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma ****1/2*
6. Tiger Mask IV vs. Ryusuke Taguchi ****
7. Prince Devitt vs. Jushin Liger ***1/4*
8. Kenny Omega vs. Kushida ****3/4*
9. Ricochet vs. Alex Shelley ****1/2*

So yeah, this tournament hasn't exactly set the world on fire. The one upside of running so many sub-10 minute matches with simple finishes is that when you finally give some guys proper time & near-falls to play with, the fans lap it up. It also helps that Korakuen loves Omega & Kushida. Ricochet vs. Shelley is very good as well, but they get too complex, with the constant back & forth making parts of the match hard to get into. The heavyweights almost steal the show with an all-action six-man. Ishii's mini-wars with Honma & Goto are especially boss.

Biggest disappointment of the tourney has been Devitt whose matches have been completely overshadowed by the dated antics of his gang of cheats.


----------



## Obfuscation

Biggest smile came over my face once I read these snippets: _"heavyweights almost steal the show; Ishii interactions"_

Feels like the juniors didn't stand a chance. Oh its gonna be a fun day when I cram all those swift shows in. Looking like a way to kill the weekend.


----------



## seabs

*I've only seen Devitt/Hiromu so far but I can totally buy that statement. Feels so far like Devitt's just a poor rip off of big WWF names like Jericho and HBK and Fale is blatantly trying to do a bad copy of Diesel. Plus Devitt's never actually been that great of a worker tbh when you think hard about it for not that long.*


----------



## duttanized

I have to say, I've been quite disappointed looking at star ratings for Barretta, I thought he would really deliver.


----------



## seabs

*Well he's only had 7 minute undercard matches tbf. He isn't in a position to be having MOTYC matches if that's what you're expecting. Trent's good and he's looked good in what I've seen him in but I think some people are expecting MOTYCS from matches that wouldn't deliver MOTYC's with anyone else in that position.*


----------



## Obfuscation

I think after seeing his match vs Strong this year you should have expected lukewarm performances. It isn't like the guy is some phenomenal talent as it is.


----------



## duttanized

Well I thought Barretta would still be a solid mat. ch guy, the ratings don't reflect that IMO but I can see how his position on the card could effect that. He'll improve after more time on the indies. I must say though, someone having a bad match with Roddy usually speaks volumes tbh.


----------



## Obfuscation

He's been what I expected so far. Swift matches with swift action. I'm not disappointed. Not to mention with the time given, its a decent curve. I'm only two matches in with the guy so once I'm about six or seven more in, then I'll see how I feel. Doesn't seem like he's been given much time in any later matches judging by the videos on Dailymotion.


----------



## MF83

Lets see. I may go through the full tourney once it all pops up. Haven't had much time to watch over the last while but for now? Finishing AJPW 1990 because the full 1990 NJPW just showed up in the mail (props to Dan Ginnetty). Everyone had seen 1990 AJPW but I don't know another person who has taken 1990 NJPW in full. Should be intriguing to say the least!


----------



## Obfuscation

There is Liger and umm...Muta...& those other guys around.

Early '90's New Japan in a nutshell for me.


----------



## MF83

Exactly. 90s NJ is like... What Ditch has seen and upped and that's largely it. We're breaking ground here people! I'll be sharing whatever I consider good so hold on for that!


----------



## Yeah1993

Liger, Hashimoto, Benoit, Hase, Akira Nogami, Norio Honaga......uh....Chono probably didn't suck then.....I got nothing else for 1990 NJ. When did el Samurai debut?


EDIT - OOH, SANO! Also I'm not even sure if Honaga and Nogami were there in 1990. I've seen good Nogami in 1989 and good Nogami in 1991 so I'm kind of just assuming there is good Nogami in 1990. idk w/e


EDIT 2.0 - were Choshu and Fujinami there in 1990? Fuji would HAVE to have been, wouldn't he? FUCK, Vader was there as well. I have to stop editing this post and remembering shit.


----------



## Obfuscation

I know I enjoy it. Key being a lot of it feels like it rest on the shoulders of the same idk about five - six workers and the rest is a bit of a mushed together blur. I guess that's the point we're driving home. Yet, when it comes to Liger I know I've watched very early 90's NJPW over AJPW more often all thanks to him. Which leaves this post in a bit of irony.

Should have threw Hashimoto in my first post. Facetious or not.  (_Hase was an immediate pop up though)_


----------



## geraldinhio

EDIT~Nevermind


----------



## Yeah1993

Yoshihiro Takayama v. Osamu Nishimura (NJPW 8/10/02)
Takayama is not the mat wizard Nishimura is, and Nishimura knows that, so he gets as much of the match on the mat as possible. They tussle around and have some really interesting ‘finesse v. power’ things (I don’t like saying words like ‘finesse’ because it reminds me of the hokey crap Vince McMahon would spew on commentary. “Bret Hart, the fighting-est WWF Champion of all time, is all about the finesse wrestling’. Fuck is “fighting-est”?. But I digress. Nishimura could get out of Takayama’s hold because has elaborate ways to do so, while Takayama can get out of Nishimura’s holds because he has enough beef and monstrosity behind him. Nishimura used Takayama’s momentum against a crap ton of times, and Takayama seemingly got more and more frustrated – you’d see him start trying to grab the tights or rake the face. Great, great spot where Nishimura has Takayama in a hammerlock, and Takayama uses his power to counter it into a headlock using the free arm, only for Nishimura to bridge out of and roll back into the hammerlock. Nishimura and them bridges, man. Takayama eventually gets completely fed up with being outdone and starts kicking Nishimura’s chest in. Nishimura decides it’s also his time to start striking if Takyama’s going to put the match in that direction, so he lands uppercuts before going to Tak’s knee. Most of this match was mat wizard v. monster attempting mat wizard, with the mat wizard prevailing. When Takayama decides to swap the match somewhere else, it becomes mat wizard v. monster who is attempting to be a fucking monster. Nishimura’s using figure fours, abdominal stretches, spinning toe holds, octopuses (octopi?) to swing the match back to where he can win it. Takayama also tries to swing the match to where he can win it, but instead of holds and submissions he’s throwing chops (awesome visual of sweat bursting of off Nishimura’s chest) and thrusting knees. Nishimura countering a running knee into an octopus pin was really awesome. This totally holds up, these two are the greatest.

Watched the Takayama v. Chono G-1 Final and thought it was pretty great. It was a Takayama match (shock) for sure, but Chono put in a much better showing than I thought he was capable of in 2002. I didn’t see him look this good once on the 1996 yearbook. For overrated 90s New Japan starts I cannot possibly imagine Mutoh putting in this good an effort in the 2000s. I do wish Chono spent more time working underneath so Takayama could play the monster some more, but his fighting back didn’t bother me. I loved the sight of him getting on the mat and stiffing Takayama’s head continuously with fists. Takayama MURDERIZING him with knees was an incredible spot, and the long Chono STF was a great a complimentary piece hope spot. The ending with all of the kenka kicks was really cool. I remember the 1992 G-1 Climax Final where Mutoh and Chono were busting out a million dropkicks endlessly and I found it ridiculous until *legitimately* starting to laugh. Takayama made these repeated kicks feel like a massive deal and at no point did I point to my TV and cackle uncontrollably. I think Tak wound up with a bloody nose. I can’t remember a better Chono singles other than Chono v. Rude (ha, another G-1 final...dunno why but that amuses me SHUT UP) and probably Chono v. Koshinaka and Chono v. Hase. 


Also watched Takayama v. Nagata again because I thought I had it a little low, and yeah, I had it a little low. Hell, fuck ‘a LITTLE low’, I wound up bumping it up like 20 spots. Match is spectacular. Te spot where Nagata takes an Irish whip and just collapses is beautiful and I forgot to mention it in my post of it (I think; if not it deserves a second mention).


----------



## Bubz

Think I need to re-watch Nagata/Takayama because I thought it was pretty great but not amazing. Need to see that Tak/Nishimura match.

I fucking love the Takayama/Sasaki matches from 02 and I think the one in 04 btw, saw you post about one of them the other day.


----------



## Yeah1993

The 02 match was really good. I have the 04 match ready to watch in the next few days or so.


----------



## Bubz

Honestly might be my favourite Sasaki matches. I Liked those more than Sasaki/Kawada actually.


----------



## flag sabbath

Just watched the two 8-man matches from Big Japan's 27/5 show. Strong style is 12 minutes of non-stop rapid-fire stiffness in the ***1/2 range. Deathmatch is nothing special, but enjoyable enough for the style.


----------



## Chismo

flag sabbath said:


> Just watched the two 8-man matches from Big Japan's 27/5 show. Strong style is 12 minutes of non-stop rapid-fire stiffness in the ***1/2 range. Deathmatch is nothing special, but enjoyable enough for the style.


Sounds good, I see it's on a certain torrent.

And shit, you NEED TO watch the 8-man tag from 4/28. That was legit.


----------



## flag sabbath

Chismo said:


> Sounds good, I see it's on a certain torrent.
> 
> And shit, you NEED TO watch the 8-man tag from 4/28. That was legit.


The "Hari Potah!!!" one? Yeah, that was a riot. Mind you, attendance was down from 1000 to 740 at the next Korakuan show....


----------



## Lane

Has any of the recent BJW shows popped up on youtube? Noticed Biggestjapan has stopped uploading.


----------



## flag sabbath

Senor LARIATO posts them match-by-match on dailymotion.


----------



## seabs

*Big Japan's attendances in Korakuen have been quite appalling this year.*


----------



## Chismo

RINGS were my least favorite shoot promotion simply because they went so hardcore into those waters. Usually I love when promotions change or don't apply the standard wrestling conventions, but not on excitement's expense. UWF, UWF II, UWFi, PWFG, BattlARTS, Fu-Ten, they're all more interesting than RINGS, because they add(ed) at least minor theatrics to their work. RINGS' matches felt like staged MMA, not staged whatever the fuck pro-wrestling's supposed to be. Also, Volk Han never really impressed me on the emotional level, I mean sure, he was a supreme mat wizard, but more than often he put me to sleep, but I decided to rewatch his Tamura series, mainly because Tamura is the fucking BOSS:

- 9/25/1996 ***1/2
- 1/22/1997 ***3/4
- 9/26/1997 ****1/4

So yeah, these (+ some other gems from Tamura and Maeda) are pretty much my favorite RINGS matches ever.


----------



## Mattyb2266

Can someone recommend me some Dragon Gate shows/matches from 2005-2009? I've seen a lot from 2010-2012 but virtually nothing from prior to that.


----------



## Corey

Mattyb2266 said:


> Can someone recommend me some Dragon Gate shows/matches from 2005-2009? I've seen a lot from 2010-2012 but virtually nothing from prior to that.


For shows I'd say Wrestlejam and the 4/23/06 ppv. Individual matches I'd say Do Fixer vs. Blood Generation for the Triangle Gate Titles from 7/3/2005 and this absolute beauty from '09: 

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/indy-...agon-gate-gate-maximum-09-a.html#post18206202

^^ Everyone should check that one out.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

I thought Trent did pretty well for the time and card placement. He's still new on the scene his mat h with Roddy was his first after leaving the "E". His matched did get better the further into the tournament. He is only what 25/26 years old? I say keep him in the juniors and see if he progresses. The only thing I feel he needs is a new finisher. It just takes to long to set up and won't be able to pull it off against larger opponents. He hasn't set the world on fire but give the guy some time before writing him off. He was in the WWE system for a few years and will need time to develop a bigger move set and fine tune his matches to the new styles he is working.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

Mattyb2266 said:


> Can someone recommend me some Dragon Gate shows/matches from 2005-2009? I've seen a lot from 2010-2012 but virtually nothing from prior to that.


That's reaching a lot of territory and my memory of the full shows are a bit spotty so bare with me:

2005- Your best bet here is to go with the Pro Wrestling Festival and the early Infinities (specifically 15-30), be sure to check out Truth Gate too if you can find it. For some matches:



> _*CIMA, Naruki Doi & Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Yokosuka & Kenichiro Arai [2.23.2005]
> CIMA, Don Fuiji, Magnitude Kishiwada, Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & Shingo Takagi vs. Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi, Dragon Kid, Anthony W. Mori, Naoki Tanisaki & BxB Hulk [6.22.2005]
> Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi & Dragon Kid vs. CIMA, Magnitude Kishiwada & Masato Yoshino [7.12.2005]
> CIMA, Magnitude Kishiwada & Shingo Takagi vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Susumu Yokosuka & TAKA Michinoku [9.7.2005]
> CIMA vs. TAKA Michinoku [10.5.2005]
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ryo Saito [12.26.2005]*_


2006- One of my favorite years along with 2007. Like Jack Evans 187 says, Wrestle JAM is a good show. In addition, Brave Gate, Crown Gate, Kobe 06 and most importantly King of Gate '06 (for one of the DG's best matches ever) are some others to check out; Infinity 50 is great too. For some matches:



> _*Naruki Doi, Gamma, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki Dr. Muscle vs. Yasushi Kanda, Don Fuiji, Jack Evans, Roderick Strong & Matt Sydal [7.2.2006]
> CIMA vs. Magnitude Kishiwada [7.2.2006]
> Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi [7.9.2006]
> Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, Magnitude Kishiwada & Kevin Steen vs. BxB
> CIMA, BxB Hulk & Jack Evans vs. Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi & Dragon Kid [8.11.2006]
> Hulk, Jushin Thunder Lyger, Matt Sydal & Jack Evans [11.23.2006]
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ryo Saito [12.22.2006] *5 Star Match**_


2007- Favorite year, you can pretty go with any Infinity from this time period and find something to like. Memorial Gate & Storm Gate are some standouts. For some matches:



> _*Matt Sydal vs. Genki Horiguchi [3.25.2007]
> CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Ryo Saito, Dragon Kid, Anthony W. Mori, BxB Hulk & Matt Sydal vs. Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, Magnitude Kishiwada, Gamma, Genki Horiguchi, Cyber Kong & Jack Evans [4.17.2007]
> CIMA, Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka vs. Shingo Takagi, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong [5.10.2007]
> CIMA, Dragon Kid, Susumu Yokosuka & PAC vs. Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong, Jack Evans & El Generico [7.15.2007]
> Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuiji & K-Ness vs. Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi & Magnitude Kishiwada [9.9.2007]
> CIMA vs. Naruki Doi [9.22.2007]*_


2008- Often regarded as the Year of Shingo in which he virtually stole 90% of DG shows that year. Lots of great stuff here like Gate of Generation, Kobe 08, Infinity 77 & the first Summer Adventure Tag League. For some matches:



> _*Shingo Takagi & BxB Hulk vs. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori [3.20.2008]
> CIMA vs. Masato Yoshino [3.20.2008]
> Shingo Takagi vs. Daisuke Sekimoto [5.10.2008]
> Shingo Takagi vs. BxB Hulk [7.27.2008]
> Shingo Takagi & Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi [8.28.2008]
> Shingo Takagi vs. TAKA Michinoku [9.28.2008]*_


2009- Another great but often forgettable year. The usual suspects (Dead or Alive, Kobe World, Gate of Destiny & TSATL) but you can't lose with pretty much any Infinity that year (116-159) for best show check out Final Gate 2009. For some matches:



> _*Masato Yoshino vs. Naruki Doi [6.11.2009]
> Naoki Tanisaki vs. KAGETORA [8.30.2009]
> CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka & Gamma vs. Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk & PAC [9.17.2009]
> Davey Richards vs. Masaaki Mochizuki [12.6.2009]
> CIMA & Gamma vs. Shingo Takagi & YAMATO [12.27.2009]
> Dragon Kid vs. Masato Yoshino vs. BxB Hulk vs. Susumu Yokosuka vs. MAZADA vs. K-Ness [12.27.2009]*_


As I've often said, for older shows like these OTDG.com is where you want to be, he should have most of the older stuff still up if I remember.


----------



## Mattyb2266

That's awesome, thanks for the help. Ill rep again as soon as I can.


----------



## bigbuxxx

On a puro binge tonight. Some thoughts and snowflakes:

Vader vs Takada - 12/5/93. I didn't enjoy this match, at all. I've never seen any UWFi matches so I wasn't really sure what to expect. I'm a huge fan of UFC but this just missed for me. *** I guess but it's not really compared to anything.

Tanahashi vs Nagata - 4/25/07: Really good match with lots of kicks, shocking I know. ****1/4+

Tanahashi vs Shinskay - 2/15/09: ****1/2.

Naito vs Shinskay - 2011 G-1 Final: ****1/2. Two hungry wrestlers get in their and fight for the G-1 crown. Intense match.

Tanahashi vs Naito - 10/10/11: ****3/4. Even better than I remember. I either gave this 4.25 or 4.5 in 2011. This match is damn near perfect. The subtle selling of the leg at the end by Naito. The cloverleaf hold by Tanahashi is expert, I keep thinking this will end the match. The roll up by Naito when Tana misses the sling blade. Stardust press that just misses getting three. This match was a classic but is and will stay lost with the amount of great matches that 2011 produced.

Tanahashi vs Nagata - 12/4/11: A very different match from the '07 encounter. The '07 encounter had lots of kicks and stiffness...this one had lots and lots of wrestling with hardly any strike battles or anything flashy. Just a great performance by both guys and again great callback at the end with Tana dropkicking the leg then hitting two HFF's for the W. ****1/4+.

I should really write what I think after matches because I don't remember a whole helluva a lot from the early matches but remember almost everything from the last ones.


While watching I was thinking that for the G-1 this year the finals should almost certainly be Shinskay vs Naito again. Preferably with Naito having beat MiSu in the semis and Nakamura beating Tana in the semis. Don't care who wins. Make this rematch happen!


----------



## Farnham the Drunk

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of Misawa's death, one of my favorites - should go on an all-day binge of watching his matches.

RIP


----------



## Obfuscation

You hit up some of my favorites right there. Tanahashi vs Nakamura 2/15/09 & Nakamura vs Naito. Oh my god. Heaven to watch. Damn near anything big with Naito before he got injured was for me. So excited to have him back come Dominion. :mark:


----------



## bigbuxxx

Yeah, Naka/Naito is fantastic. A shame he was injured (his elbow) for their match last year. Hopefully we get a rematch this year.


----------



## Obfuscation

Naito had that stretch where he was injured for what seemed to be off and on for about a year. Hoping he stays healthy for good upon this return. Another Naito vs Okada match too would rule life.


----------



## bigbuxxx

It really sucks atm to have IWGP defenses 7 weeks apart and then to realize the guy Okada is facing is going to be Togi Makabe. Makes me a sad panda. Also, we need a Nagata/Okada match before he gets dethroned.


----------



## Obfuscation

As the guy who honestly do dig Makabe on this place, I can disagree. Despite it being the uncommon answer I'd imagine. I'm looking forward to the match & what those two can do vs one another. If I liked Makabe vs Yujiro matches; Makabe vs Okada should be a done deal with me.


----------



## bigbuxxx

He did shock me in his match with Shibata after all. Hard to think he'll be up for a 25 minute match though but I'll try to be optimistic .


----------



## Obfuscation

Length is going to be a bit of a stretch since he's a much more explosive type guy to work in less time. I'll hope the booking is smart enough to play to the strengths and not to the fact that it'll go on last so it "should" be long.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Dragon Gate Infinity 298 (1/6/2013):*

1. Gamma & Fuji vs. Horiguchi & Tanizaki ***1/2*
2. Doi vs. Kotoka ***3/4*
3. Shisa vs. Kzy ****
4. Shingo & Yamato vs. Susumu & Saito *****
5. Yoshino vs. Swann ***3/4*
6. Tozawa, Hulk & Uhaa vs. Cima, Mochizuki & Kid ****1/2*

A few pages back, someone asked why DG seems to have fallen off the map in this thread. I reckon shows like this have a lot to do with it - nothing terrible, but nothing great either & too many match-ups, spots & gags we've seen a zillion times before. Main event was decent, but hardly essential.


----------



## Yeah1993

Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Kazuyuki Fujita 6/5/04
Hiroshi Tanahashi v. Shinsuke Nakamura 12/10/06

Watched both of these today. Unless I’m forgetting something these are the first two Tanahashi matches I’ve ever watched, and, well, I don’t know. I mean seriously, I don’t know. No, no, no, I’m fucking serious. I genuinely almost do not know whether I liked them or not. I think I did…..?

I saw ‘Tanahashi vs Fujita’ and thought it was Hayato, so seeing this big bald dude randomly was surprising to me. He was a pretty good big asskicker, but his selling left a little to be desired. Tanahashi hits a tope on him and he kind of just shrugged it off (almost literally- wiping his chest and shit). He works over Tanahashi as sort of a sub-heel. Tanahashi is the fan favourite, but he didn’t really, IDK, come back, at all. He had ‘hope spots’, sort of, but they didn’t feel like hope spots. They felt more like a guy swapping between offense and selling (other than the sleeper reversal, that was really cool). Usually a guy swapping between offense and defense is totally crappy and feels out of place, but it kind of didn’t here. I mean it wasn’t getting me invested, but it wasn’t turning me away, either. 

Nakamura match was totally weird. I’m stuck for words on how to describe it. Tanahashi’s ‘swapping offense and defense’ continues, but Nakamura didn’t feel like a heel at all and wasn’t really working Hiroshi over. The action was typically good; solid looking offense, the pace was ok, they weren’t annoying me, the short term selling was fine, and they were long term selling as if they were getting more and tired. Theses two by all means looked like capable workers. I had no idea what the finishers of either guy were, so I guessed practically everything they threw was a finisher. And shit, if they can throw that many finishers (in my head) and not make it look like spammy finisher trade without making it feel like ‘fighting spirit strong style’ and all of that weaboo bullshit, then, well, good on them. It’s just…nothing stood out. It just felt like two guys wrestling. I don’t want to call this ‘average’ because that sounds derogatory, but, hell, it just fucking felt like two fucking guys fucking wrestling. Nothing terribly good, nothing terribly bad. You know that ‘feeling out’ period in a wrestling match’s opening where the action is solid but unspectacular? Yeah, it felt like an entire match of that. If I was forced to watch this again I’d be totally OK; it was, in fact, perfectly fine wrestling. On the other hand it never jetted past ‘OK’. ‘OK’ means I’m complacent with what was happening, and I totally was. It was an utterly ‘OK’ match. I’m at a loss for words. Really, I can’t say much about this without sounding like I liked it more than I did, or I disliked it more than I did. Maybe I thought it was a little structurally weird and had trouble getting too involved. But….well, I was relatively involved. It was fine. Fuck, I am at a total loss for words. Well, I'm at a total loss for a way to properly describe what I was feeling watching this. 

If I had to pick between like and dislike, I’d definitely choose like, but, I didn’t LIKE them, like them. They didn’t leave much of an impression on me. It’s bizarre. If anything though it has me interested in seeing more Tanahashi. He feels like an odd but competent worker and I wonder if that trend continues.


----------



## Obfuscation

Did you purposely wanted to start in the earlier days of his career to see him? b/c well, of course you could always differ greatly than myself, you probably should have started around his 2009 - now days to see his better matches. His 2011 is the one where he was on fire with the continuous string of great match after great match, iirc. I like the guy. Quite a bit, actually. Love his formulas in matches these days. It's like a warm welcoming hug.


----------



## Yeah1993

Watching the stuff semi-chronologically for the 2000s. I have these to watch from Tanahashi:

v. Nagata 4/13/07
v. Goto 11/11/07
v. Nakamura 2/15/09

Watching the highest praised stuff first just in case I have trouble meeting the deadline. Like, the near-MOTYC-level stuff, plus whatever was nominated, etc (mostly, I threw some other shit in there that interested me like TAKA Michinoku v. Steve Corino [:mark: :mark: :mark: :mark:]). I heard high praise for this stuff so I gave them a watch before other stuff. I'm trying to blow through the 'best of' quickly enough (and failing miserably) so I can look at more guys 'good', 'fun', 'obscure', 'random, etc stuff in depth before the list has to be done.


----------



## Obfuscation

I don't remember THAT Nagata match too well, but I know the Goto match is highly praised and I'm one of (I guess) many who adore the '09 match vs Nakamura. That's one of my favorites from modern Puro, tbhayley.


----------



## seabs

*The best Tanahashi stuff is in this decade. *


----------



## flag sabbath

*Dragon Gate Infinity 299 (2/6/2013):*

1. Shimizu vs. Katsuo ****
2. Horiguchi & Saito vs. Uhaa & Kzy ***1/2*
3. Shisa vs. Tanizaki *N/R (middle missing)*
4. Tozawa vs. Kotoka **1/2*
5. Yoshino, Doi & Swann vs. Cima, Gamma & Kid ***3/4*
6. Hulk vs. Susumu *****
7. Shingo & Yamato vs. Mochizuki & Fuji ****1/4*


----------



## MF83

Fujita vs Tanahashi may not be either's best match but it is my favourite 2000s IWGP match. 
Le fire! 





Yeah1993 (/anyone else), you ever watch the empty arena cage match u30 defense Tanahashi (c) vs Murakami from that year? Amazing Inokism:


----------



## Bruce L

Yeah1993 said:


> *Nakamura didn’t feel like a heel at all* and wasn’t really working Hiroshi over.


I'm fairly certain that until mid-2009 or so, he wasn't.


----------



## Bubz

Tanahashi is weird for me. Sometimes (especially in 2011 and occasionally in 2012) he seems absolutely world class, other times he feels really bad imo. I don't like any of his Nagata matches at all, I didn't particularly love the Goto 07 match either but Tanahashi was fantastic in it.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Emerald Flow said:


> Today marks the 4 year anniversary of Misawa's death, one of my favorites - should go on an all-day binge of watching his matches.
> 
> RIP


I ended up only being able to watch his match vs Kobashi on 1/20//97. Been a few months since I watched that. That was the match that got me into Kobashi. As great as the first time. Just a fucking war. Recently found his match vs Jumbo from '91. Never realized that Ditch had that there and am about to watch that.



Bubz said:


> Tanahashi is weird for me. Sometimes (especially in 2011 and occasionally in 2012) he seems absolutely world class, other times he feels really bad imo. I don't like any of his Nagata matches at all, I didn't particularly love the Goto 07 match either but Tanahashi was fantastic in it.


You'd probably dig his match vs Nagata on Day 1 on the 2011 G-1. It's a 180 from their normal pace.


----------



## Chismo

Tanahashi/Murakami Cage Match was really good, IIRC, and that's probably the most intense Tanahashi ever.

Also, rewatched Misawa/Kobashi 3/1/03 today, in honor of Misawa, and it's still a five star match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Blanking on the date - do believe it was latter 2011? - Tanahashi vs Nagata ground war was wonderful. Completely surprised me in going with that approach. Ate it up.


----------



## Bruce L

Anybody care to recommend me some Kengo Mashimo outside of his recent excursions into New Japan, his 2010 journey to Futen, or the '08 masterpiece with him and Madoka vs. Teioh & Shinobu?


----------



## bigbuxxx

Obfuscation said:


> Blanking on the date - do believe it was latter 2011? - Tanahashi vs Nagata ground war was wonderful. Completely surprised me in going with that approach. Ate it up.


They wrestled 3 times in 2011. 4/3, G-1 opening day, 12/4. I thought all were spectacular. Would go 12/4 > 4/3 > G-1, with the G-1 being 4*.

I absolutely love Nagata vs Tanahashi from 4/15/05. Story was great with Nagata unable to beat the up and comer despite beating the shit out of him for 15-20 minutes and then getting himself dq'ed because he was so frustrated


----------



## Obfuscation

The 12/4 match is the one. I know it was in the very late portion of the year. Was thinking November, but alas. December it was.


----------



## bigbuxxx

edited: ^^


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Tanahashi's epic matches tend to do nothing for me. Legwork. Moves. Signature move spamming and countering. High Fly Flow tease. High Fly Flow connects. It's not that I dislike them, but I can't get into them which is why I don't rate them particularly highly. They'll go on for 25 minutes and at the end I'll still be like "wait....that was it?"


----------



## Chismo

Bruce L said:


> Anybody care to recommend me some Kengo Mashimo outside of his recent excursions into New Japan, his 2010 journey to Futen, or the '08 masterpiece with him and Madoka vs. Teioh & Shinobu?


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xq...inoku-k-dojo_sport?search_algo=2#.UbuI49ijaUk
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xp...ntaro-k-dojo_sport?search_algo=2#.UbuI6tijaUk

Kengo is awesome.


----------



## Yeah1993

MF83 said:


> Yeah1993 (/anyone else), you ever watch the empty arena cage match u30 defense Tanahashi (c) vs Murakami from that year?


Awww no way. Murakami? As in, Kazunari Murakami? I love that guy. I'll make sure to watch that this year sometime.



Bruce L said:


> I'm fairly certain that until mid-2009 or so, he wasn't.


Oh yeah, I wasn't implying he was. I just made the comparison to the Fujita match because it felt like Fujita was wrestling as a bit of a heel, and both matches had Tanahashi getting worked over to some degree.


----------



## Defrost

If you like Dragon Gate the Dead or Alive PPV on ustream is an amazing show


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Defrost said:


> If you like Dragon Gate the Dead or Alive PPV on ustream is an amazing show


Someone upload this plz.


----------



## flag sabbath

*AJPW Rise Up Tour Final (2/6/13):*

1) Omori vs. Sushi *3/4**
2) Kanemoto & Tanaka vs. HUB & Oyaji **1/2*
3) Funaki & SMOP vs. MAZADA, Bambi & Dragan *3/4**
4) Hayashi, Kondo & Nakanoue vs. Suzuki, Aoki & Fuchi ***1/4*
5) Kai vs. Kondo ****
6) Kanemaru vs. Yamato *****
7) Akiyama & Shiozaki vs. Suwama & Doering ******


----------



## KeepinItReal

Hey guys. Anyone know if the final day of BOSJ 2013 has made it online anywhere? With the semi-finals and final? Also, could someone post the matches there *MINUS ANY MATCHES FEATURING BOSJ PARTICIPANTS*, since I haven't finished the group stage yet?

Btw, Nakamura/Sombra from CMLL on 5/31, for the IWGP IC title, is an awesome match. Its on DailyMotion and elsewhere.


----------



## flag sabbath

KeepinItReal said:


> Hey guys. Anyone know if the final day of BOSJ 2013 has made it online anywhere? With the semi-finals and final? Also, could someone post the matches there *MINUS ANY MATCHES FEATURING BOSJ PARTICIPANTS*, since I haven't finished the group stage yet?


The only matches that don't feature BoSJ guys are:

BULLET CLUB (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) vs. Hirooki Goto & Hiroshi Tanahashi

CHAOS (Gedo & Kazuchika Okada) vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)

It's still not online yet as far as I know.


----------



## Matt_Yoda

*Ultimo Dragon vs. TJ Perkins (2/22/2010)-****
-First off, pretty bush league not to give TJP a graphic smh. Start with the feeling out process with some beautiful counter wrestling; Ultimo locks TJP in a cross-legged Mexican springboard before transitioning into a cross-legged ankle lock. TJP tries to come back but comes on the receiving end of signature Ultimo offense. They go to the outside and TJP takes back control and start pulling out rudo tactics; after getting worked over Ultimo eventually makes the comeback with kicks, whirl backbreaker and a cross body to the outside. Inside Ultimo hits a superplex; they trade pin attempts and the finish comes when Ultimo hits the Asai DDT. Going into this expected a Toryumon style match, but they worked a more traditional lucha style. Gabe dropped the ball with TJP. Good match.

Note: Heads up as it looks like the audio got removed.


----------



## Obfuscation

Countdown to Dominion is on.

Some rematches are appealing meanwhile one in particular is not. How many Forever Hooligans vs Time Splitters matches can we take? Suppose I'll be eating my words if the match works and it's good like how a few of them have been, but eh. Always feels like we run into circles with the Junior Tag Team Championship feuds.

Looking at the positives: Naito is back, Nakamura/Ishii teaming, & Goto vs Shibata II is lined up.


----------



## bigbuxxx

can you post the card? i don't want to spoil anything by reading SSS. tia. Can't wait for Naito


----------



## Obfuscation

> Tag Team Match
> Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku)
> 
> IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match
> Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) (c) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA)
> 
> Six Man Tag Team Match
> BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) vs. Captain New Japan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata
> 
> IWGP Tag Team Title Three Way Dance
> TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs. CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
> 
> NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
> Rob Conway (c) vs. Manabu Nakanishi
> 
> Tag Team Match
> CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin)
> 
> Singles Match
> Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
> 
> Singles Match
> Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> 
> Singles Match
> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt
> 
> IWGP Heavyweight Title Match
> Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Togi Makabe


Don't ask me why that NWA World Championship match is happening :lol


----------



## bigbuxxx

Looks like a decent card. :mark: to finally see Taichi wrestle on ppv again. When is Sakuraba expected back? Would love to see the tag rematch and Nagata/Sakuraba obviously.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah, I'm digging the opener a lot. Liger interacting vs Taka & Taichi should rule.

Not sure about any details on Sakuraba atm. Crazy thing was he looked fine after the bone was put back in place at Invasion Attack. I could see the tough bastard back sooner than later. Maybe even ringside come Saturday.(?)


----------



## duttanized

Time Splitters and Forever Hooligans have the same match for the 15th time.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ok, I delayed on watching something specific and now this hit me like a ton of bricks...



Spoiler: something about current NJPW



La Sombra defeated Nakamura for the championship? Ah shit. I mean, I like Sombra but doing it outside of Japan bummed me out. Not to mention I was looking forward to seeing who could finally stop Nakamura in some kind of grand atmosphere. And I wasn't banking on a Luchadore to do it. Well dang. That's a drag to find this out. That's what I get for not following current Lucha. Nakamura's reign RIP


----------



## EmbassyForever

Obfuscation said:


> Yeah, I'm digging the opener a lot. Liger interacting vs Taka & Taichi should rule.


Then watch their Dominion 2012 match if you didn't. It was awesome.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll probably go through that whole show again just for some fun while waiting for this year's to pass. Solid idea, actually. (Y)


----------



## Chismo

Shinjiro Otani & Takao Omori vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kohei Sato (ZERO1 2/18/2007) seriously rocked. Like, seriously. I mean, shit, you got the NO FEAR collision, fired up Otani defending his promotion, and relatively young Sato trying to match up with gorrilas. There's nothing like watching grumpy, borderline out of shape old puro fucks punching each other in face. This was just 20 minutes of chaotic brawling, the ref had no control whatsoever, which made this a tornado tag, basically. Punches, violence, HEAT, but the pinnacle was Omori busting Takayama wide open, and the aftermath was legit holy shit session. Summary: BIG TAK KILLS EVERYONE AND THEIR BABIES. Insane tag team brawl, reminded me on the NJPW vs. WAR feud.

****


----------



## Rah

Putting it out there, again, the title is called IWGP _Intercontinenta_l Championship. Unlike WWE, the name holds merit - especially so due to their ties with CMLL.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's just a fancy name. That's all. :side:

Let me sulk.


----------



## Rah

Positive side: he gets to move up to the big title.


----------



## Obfuscation

Always a silver lining. :mark:


----------



## DOPA

Okada vs Nakamura at King of Pro Wrestling please! :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Chismo

Nah, Nakamura vs. Sakuraba II needs to main event the Dome this time. Don't ask me how, that just needs to happen, for the HW title. Preferably with Sakuraba as the Champion. Remember, NJPW's best feuds and periods ever come from invasion feuds. Not to mention the Dome show comes on Saturday this time, and it would draw MASSIVELY.


----------



## bigbuxxx

That seems like a really bad idea. Trying to recreate the magic they worked this year in a main event setting isn't going to work.


----------



## MF83

It's very possible I've missed it but how has nobody talked about the 7 or 8 guys leaving All Japan?


----------



## leglock

MF83 said:


> It's very possible I've missed it but how has nobody talked about the 7 or 8 guys leaving All Japan?


It's because All Japan is not cool around these parts.

Leaving or strongly rumored:

Keiji Muto (1984) 
Masakatsu Funaki (1985) 
Minoru Tanaka (1994) 
Kaz Hayashi (1992) 
Shuji Kondo (2001) 
Hiroshi Yamato (2007) 
KAI (2007) 
Seiya Sanada (2007) 
Ryota Hama (2008)

_Safe Bets:_

Masahiro Chono (1984)
Koji Kanemoto (1990)
Andy Wu (2012)
Daiki Inaba (2013) 

Staying:

Jun Akiyama (1992) 
Taiyo Kea (1994)
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (1996) 
SUSHI (1998) 
KENSO (2000)
Kotaro Suzuki (2001) 
Go Shiozaki (2004) 
Suwama (2004) 
Atsushi Aoki (2005)

Either Way:
Takao Omori (1992) [Probably Staying]
Masayuki Kono (2003) [Probably Leaving]
Manabu Soya (2007) [Probably Staying]
Yasufumi Nakanoue (2010) [Probably Leaving]

Others:
Masanabu Fuchi (1974) Probably Retiring
Akebono (2005) "Will Fight for Money"


----------



## Rah

And in this wake, Akiyama tries to calm Shiraishi down with a strong "please stop acting to confuse wrestlers".

No doubt Shiraishi will attempt to kayfabe-shoot Akiyama into a kayfabe-angle over this kayfabe-breaking shoot. Because he's Shiraishi and that only makes sense if he does it.


----------



## Chismo

Suwama staying, Kea returning, Burning staying, Kobashi staying (probably). All Japan will be just about fine. Which means no isolationism, which means there's a big possibility they're gonna book Strong BJ guys again. But shit, Masa Funaki and KAI leaving breaks my heart.


----------



## seabs

*BOSJ first and last day is on IVP now for purchase.*


----------



## Obfuscation

So...why is this AJPW shake up happening?


----------



## Defrost

The new owner is nuts


----------



## Rah

^That and Mutoh now wishes to start his own promotion. Hence my previous post about Akiyama trying to calm Shiraishi down (via Twitter, I believe it was).


----------



## Obfuscation

Well then. This is rather unexpected. I guess. Maybe if I paid attention to the outside nature of AJPW it wouldn't be. Who knows. 

Hayashi & Kondo leaving is a drag. Two guys I always could count on hooking me into seeing a match.


----------



## leglock

leglock said:


> It's because All Japan is not cool around these parts.
> 
> Leaving or strongly rumored:
> 
> Keiji Muto (1984)
> Masakatsu Funaki (1985)
> Minoru Tanaka (1994)
> Kaz Hayashi (1992)
> Shuji Kondo (2001)
> *Masayuki Kono (2003)*
> Hiroshi Yamato (2007)
> KAI (2007)
> Seiya Sanada (2007)
> Ryota Hama (2008)
> 
> _Safe Bets:_
> 
> Masahiro Chono (1984)
> Koji Kanemoto (1990)
> Andy Wu (2012)
> Daiki Inaba (2013)
> 
> Staying:
> 
> Jun Akiyama (1992)
> Taiyo Kea (1994)
> Yoshinobu Kanemaru (1996)
> SUSHI (1998)
> KENSO (2000)
> Kotaro Suzuki (2001)
> Go Shiozaki (2004)
> Suwama (2004)
> Atsushi Aoki (2005)
> 
> Either Way:
> Takao Omori (1992) [Probably Staying]
> Manabu Soya (2007) [Probably Staying]
> Yasufumi Nakanoue (2010) [Probably Leaving]
> 
> Others:
> Masanabu Fuchi (1974) Probably Retiring
> Akebono (2005) "Will Fight for Money"


Kono announced he was leaving today and so did Yamato.


----------



## seabs

*Hopefully they don't start their own promotion. Outside of moving to New Japan I don't see what other options are open to them though. Can't see how either side wins from this situation. The juniors would certainly fit right into New Japan along with Mutoh. I guess there could be a room for a couple of the heavies like Kono and Sanada too though. Funaki I guess will probably either go part time freelance or retire. Hama could easily follow Akebono around too if he doesn't end up in New Japan. Based off that list All Japan have the big stars staying so they'll survive.*


----------



## DOPA

Kondo leaving breaks my heart. I hope NJPW picks him up.


----------



## Obfuscation

Juniors entering NJPW can only be a positive from my perspective. Beefing the division up is always a good thing. Not sure what the "safe bets" list implies if they're sure to leave or sure to stay. b/c if both Kanemoto & Tanaka leave, well, then there is a "new" _(despite being vets)_ team for that division right there. Lord knows we can use a new Junior tag team in the mix.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah some of the Jr's going to New Japan would be cool. Not fussed either way though, haven't cared for or followed All Japan since the start of 2012 (maybe).


----------



## flag sabbath

***SOUNDS KLAXON***

BoSJ Day 1 is up on XWT. Uploader is promising Finals, Infinity 300 & DOA shortly :mark:


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2013
Naruki Doi, Rich Swann, Shachihoko Boy (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuji & HUB ***3/4+
Dragon Kid (c) vs Masato Yoshino ***1/2
Mad Blankey (Uhaa Nation & BxB Hulk) (c) vs akatsuki (Shingo Takagi & YAMATO) ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

BOSJ Day One, FINALLY.


----------



## The Streak

Anyone watching Dominion? First half hasn't been particularly memorable.

Seeing a lot of love for the Shelton/Suzuki v Ishii/Nakamura match, didn't think it was anything special though. Just can't get in to Shelton matches for whatever reason.


----------



## The Streak

Second half was brilliant. All 4 matches were good/great. Only very slightly disappointed in Devitashi though, must be said. SHIBATA/GOTO :mark:


----------



## flag sabbath

Spoiler: NJPW BoSJ semi-finalists



*NJPW BoSJ Finals (9/6/13):*

1. Liger, Tiger, Bushi, Kushida & Titan vs. Kozlov, Romero, Kendrick, Ricochet & Trent *****
2. Nagata & Watanabe vs. Nakanishi & Takahashi *****
3. TenKoji & Capt NJ vs. Iizuka, Yano & Jado ***3/4*
4. *BoSJ semi-final:* Omega vs. Devitt ****1/4*
5. *BoSJ semi-final:* Shelley vs. Michinoku *****
6. Ishii & Takahashi vs. Suzuki & Taichi ****1/4*
7. Tanahashi & Goto vs. Anderson & Tonga ***3/4*
8. Okada & Gedo vs. Makabe & Honma ***1/2*
9. *BoSJ Final:* ? vs. ? ******

- the 10-man junior showcase is great fun while it lasts, but at less than 8 minutes, it pretty much sums up a frustrating tour
- Nagata seemed to relish making Takahashi look like a battler & Nakanishi had a rare 'on' day
- Omega vs. Devitt is a heated, spotty sprint with Korakuan hating Bullet Club's antics
- highlight of the undercard is undoubtedly Ishii banging heads with Suzuki (is a singles match on a major card too much to ask for?)
- Okada and Makabe did a better job of selling their ppv clash elsewhere on the tour.... this was barely adequate
- can't say much about the BoSJ Final without spoiling it, so I'll do a separate write-up in the MOTYC thread



Also, in case anyone hadn't noticed, a so-so copy of Dominion is up on XWT already.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Can anyone tell me if Dominion 2013 spoils the BOSJ results? Like if the winner is facing Devitt or *if the broadcast just points out the BOSJ winner at some point?*


----------



## Defrost

KeepinItReal said:


> Can anyone tell me if Dominion 2013 spoils the BOSJ results? Like if the winner is facing Devitt or *if the broadcast just points out the BOSJ winner at some point?*


The winner is mentioned several times


----------



## flag sabbath

Managed to watch the first half of Dominion before work....

Liger & Tiger vs. Taka & Taichi **1/4
Timesplitters vs. Hooligans ****
Nagata, Honma & Cap vs. Anderson, Tonga & Fale **1/2
TenKoji vs. Yano & Iizuka vs. KES ***
Conway vs. Nakanishi **1/4
Shinskay & Ishii vs. Suzuki & Shelton ***3/4 (MiSu is a fucking god here)
Naito vs. Takahashi ***1/4
Goto vs. Shibata ****
Devitt vs. Tanahashi ***1/2
Okada vs. Makabe ****

....and the rest of it at work. Tremendous show - definitely gonna give it a second watch.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW Dominion 2013
-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) (c) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) ***1/2
-Suzukigun (Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin) vs. CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) ***1/2
-Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi ***
-Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto ***3/4+
-Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/4
-IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Togi Makabe ***3/4


----------



## Chismo

Sekimoto & Kobayashi vs. Ito & Sasaki vs. Kasai & Numazawa (BJW 8/28/2005) ****3/4

Fun, fun and fun. Plus violence, excitement and great Korakuen crowd. This was a deathmatch party.


----------



## sXeMope

IVP has a 24 hour sale for the download of ROH Invades Japan V.01. It's only .99. Most of you probably have it already, just posting for those who don't. I personally do not, but I've heard it's one of his best comps

http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=7054


----------



## bigbuxxx

Is there any trustworthy source that has the 2011 G-1 tourney for sale? I only know of IVP.


----------



## wildpegasus

What is Naito's theme? It sounds familiar. Also, I'm wondering if Devitt is still using "You're the Best Around".


----------



## EmbassyForever

wildpegasus said:


> What is Naito's theme? It sounds familiar. Also, I'm wondering if Devitt is still using "You're the Best Around".


No, in Dominion he used different theme.

His entrance in Dominion was awesome, DAT JACKET :lmao


----------



## Obfuscation

Tanahashi damn near trumped him with his flashy bit of merchandise.


----------



## flag sabbath

Naito's dove mask & the embarrassing comeback spill it nearly caused were up there too.


----------



## Obfuscation

Naito's night was filled with mostly ups and that one down.


----------



## Chismo

Tanahashi's Kanye Glasses outgoofed Devitt's GOAT jacket.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW Dominion 2013*

Forever Hooligans(c) vs. Time Splitters: ******

Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, and Karl Anderson) vs. Captain New Japan, Tomoaki Honma, and Yuji Nagata: ****1/4*

3-Way Match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship:
Ten-Koji(c) vs. Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka vs. K.E.S.: *****

NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Rob Conway(c) vs. Manabu Nakanishi: ****

Minoru Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii: ****3/4*

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito: ****1/4*

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto: ***** - ****1/4*

Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****1/2*

Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Togi Makabe: ******


Another absolutely stellar show from NJPW. This + the matches already announced for the next iPPV have drawn me right back into the promotion like it did all year up till Wrestling Dontaku. This was awesome.


----------



## flag sabbath

*Dragon Gate Infinity 300 (5/6/13):*

1) Horiguchi, Saito & Tanizaki vs. Fuji, Gamma & Ishikawa ***
2) Kong & Arai vs. Tominaga & Shenlong **1/4*
3) Tozawa, Kzy & Ryu vs. Kagetora, Kanda & Kotaka **1/2*
4) Yoshino & Ricochet vs. Cima & Kid ****1/2*
5) Yamato vs. Hulk ****1/4*
6) Shingo vs. Uhaa ****1/4*
7) Doi, Swann & Shachihoko vs. Mochizuki, Susumu & K-Ness ****3/4*


----------



## Smith_Jensen

My NJPW Dominion 6.22 Review

Forever Hooligans vs. Time Splitters - ***3/4
Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga vs. Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan - **1/2
TenKoji vs. Killer Elite Squad vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka - **3/4
Rob Conway vs. Manabu Nakanishi - **1/2
Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - ****
Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi **3/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto - ****1/4
Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe - ****1/4

Great show overall and an big improvement over Wrestling Dontaku. I can't decide which match I like better between Shibata vs. Goto and Okada vs. Makabe. Shibata vs. Goto had very intense strike exchanges and good submission work. Okada vs. Makabe was a better main event than Okada vs Suzuki from Wrestling Dontaku. I liked how Okada tried to match Makabe blow for blow a few times. 

I liked the Suzuki & Benjamin vs. Nakamura & Ishii very much. Ishii played a very good face in peril against the fun offense of Suzuki. The finishing sequence between Benjamin and Nakamura was fun. I also liked the brawl between Suzuki and Ishii at the end of the match. I can't wait for Suzuki vs. Ishii at Kazuna Road. I really hope Ishii benefits from all of this.


----------



## manoverboard1619

i am looking for an official copy of njpw's KING OF PRO-WRESTLING does anyone have know the link on amazon. jp so i can buy this event? was it ever released on dvd? if so please pm me


----------



## Obfuscation

It's on IVP videos to purchase.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

For anyone that cares, here are Dave Meltzer's match ratings for Dominion 6.22



> TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask - **3/4
> Forever Hooligans vs. Time Splitters - ****
> Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga vs. Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan - **3/4
> TenKoji vs. Killer Elite Squad vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka - ***1/2
> Rob Conway vs. Manabu Nakanishi - *3/4
> Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/4
> Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi ***
> Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto - ****3/4
> Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ****
> Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe - ****1/2


----------



## Martyn

PPV of the year for me.


----------



## Obfuscation

And I thought all of us loved Dominion.


----------



## The Streak

Devitt/Tana was not 4 stars, neither was Splitters/Hooligans. Shibata/Goto was superb but wasn't a quarter of a star away from perfect.


----------



## Obfuscation

Can't fault the man for being consistent with what he likes.


----------



## flag sabbath

The cynic in me sees an element of Meltzer overrating stuff as a way to justify how much of his life he's frittered away on this stuff.

Having said that, I just rewatched the BoSJ Final & I'm upping my original rating to *****1/2*. It's a completely distinctive & memorable match with brilliant execution & a rabid audience.


----------



## DOPA

:lol at Meltzer's ratings. I thought I gave high ratings overall for the show....


----------



## flag sabbath

Finally got round to watching Day 1 of BoSJ. Devitt vs. Shelley is a very good main event, around ****3/4*. Highlights of a mostly forgettable undercard are a rare outing for Ricochet's double rotation moonsault & a pretty crazy moonsault off the ledge over the steps by Bushi.


----------



## Obfuscation

(Y)

Shelley vs Devitt seems to be a combo with limitless possibilities.


----------



## MF83

In the final lecture for my Japanese course, I had to leave early for work... so amidst a grammar activity I asked Mizuno-sensei what the fuck the final verb is when they announce a Japanese match. I couldn't not. Even though I had discussed it online before, I had wanted to know for sure for so long. :lol She looked at my paper's example and corrected it all.

'dai-roku-shiai, IWGP Hebiikyu senshuken shiai, rokujippun, ippon shoubu wo okurimasu!' She even kanji'd it out for me. Aw.

Then, we discussed puroresu. She asked me who I know. I said I knew most puroresura's but... does she know Antonio Inoki?

"Oh yes! I do know. He is very famous. He was, how you say, MP (member of parliament)! Very famous puroresura. Did you know? He is born in Brazil. Yes, it's true! His grandparents lived in Brazil and he was born there so he is bilingual in Japanese and Portuguese! Do you know to-ba-su-ko sauce? Is this right? Yes, he is shacho of Tabasco sauce company in Japan! We don't like that he talking to North Korea though. Very scary. He is friends with North Korea. So then, Mathew, you know fighting spirit? Toukon?"

She then lectured the class on toukon slapping and gave the example that if I did something wrong in training, in Japan they would slap the shit out of me and I would bow and say thank you.

"If I *slap slap slap motion* you in Canada? *mimes being arrested*".

Mizuno-sensei is the friggin best. Gonna miss her and that class so much. 


Edit: It doesn't appear to be true that he was _born_ in Brazil but still. 

Edit 2: Daniel convinced me the verb is okonau (okonaimasu) which makes the whole story a little redundant, but meh!
_______________________



Watched Ricochet vs. Baretta from day one and really enjoyed it. Couldn't go on with the BOSJ though. Eh, maybe I'll try again later.

From Dominion I've only seen Goto/Shibata:


> Maybe Shibata's career performance. Goto wasn't great but he was what he never is: intense, and that made all the difference. It's hot out the gate and the crowd involvement helps a lot; it was obvious to me that Shibata tried harder because of it. Seriously, I've maybe never been more impressed with Shibata than here. Hopefully, this leads the mass of disillusioned ijiuts to realize he is in fact a good worker! There were a couple instances of "oh shit, I need to do this for spot x" and depending on your view of no-selling you could be turned off, but given the context of the feud, especially relative to their previous match, it really works thanks to continuity psych. The non-finish last time throws a whack of psychology into play and makes this match what it is.


 and I'd give it I don't know, ****1/4-****1/2 ish.


----------



## Obfuscation

Well that story made me a tad envious I wasn't taking a class and have it lean into Japanese slap culture & Puro talk.

I'm a ways behind on BOSJ myself. Not too peeved about it. Slowly but surely it'll be viewed in full. Just glad most of it is up online. I think only one show isn't. Or I could be incorrect. Small potatoes.


----------



## DOPA

Well I'm more behind than u Cody, I haven't watched any of it yet!


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Dominion 2013 Review:*

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:* Forever Hooligans(c) vs. Time Splitters: ***3/4

Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, and Karl Anderson) vs. Captain New Japan, Tomoaki Honma, and Yuji Nagata: **3/4

*3-Way Match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship:* Ten-Koji(c) vs. Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka vs. K.E.S.: **3/4

Minoru Suzuki and Shelton Benjamin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura and Tomohiro Ishii: **** (Ishii!! :mark

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito: **1/4 (Meh, really not the ideal comeback for Naito, suprisngly Naito was the weak link here while Yujiro caried the match)

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hirooki Goto: **** 

Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***1/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:* Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Togi Makabe: ****1/2 (Just like Goto vs Okada from last year, everything worked here for me, I'm in minority (with Big Dave :angry but I thought this was plain awesome)

Awesome show! Now I'm going to finish Dontaku, finally (need to watch the last four matches)​


----------



## Nervosa

Hooligans vs. time splitters
****
I guess I am the only one never complaining when these teams get booked together. Other than the match where Kozlov was hurt I have loved all of the matches these guys have had, and this was the best. I know four stars seems high for this, but I think this is exactly what this kind of match is meant to be when it is given time. Here's my real controversial statement: I think Kushida is a better partner for shelley than Sabin was. Give me Time splitters over MCMG any day. As great as MCMG's combos are, the ones with Kushida are some of the best tag combos I have seen since 20078 briscoes.

Bullet Club vs. Nagata, Honma, Captain
**1/4
Nagata needs a main event push again, stat. He is almost always the best part of any match he's in. Honma was solid, Captain was Captain. Tongo actaully did the heavy lifting for Bullet club here. anderson is just all wrong for this stable. all it does it hide his strengths in the midcard. the entire stable is a massive de-push for him. 

TenKoji vs. Yano/iizuka vs. KES
**3/4
Why oh why are KES not champions? This was fine, but just a reminder of what a great angle they could have made a long KES run into. Yano, with his DVD taped on his belt, is and absolute legend. Yano is on another planet with his heel hijinks.

Suzuki/Benjamin vs. Nakamura/Ishii
****
Shinsuke and Ishii are magic when they tag together, and MiSu brought a very great performance in this. But in all honesty, Shelton was awesome again. He has proved all his doubters wrong in this run. He has yet to have a poor showing, and in most showings, he looks strong. he added so much to this match, especially through the finishing stretch.

Conway vs. Nakanishi
*3/4
Nothing great but Nakanishi getting his spots in before it was time to go home. Conway brings absolutely nothing to his matches.

Naito vs. Yujiro
**
Be very concerned. Naito looks far from his best. Ring rust is natural, but there's definately less spring in his step.

Shibata vs. Goto
***1/2 
I mean, its a good little war I guess, but whats all the fuss about, here? Good striking and Shibata had some really smart stuff now that he has gotten a chance to use more of his moveset, but its the same awful Goto stuff we have seen for a while. This is seriously the only kind of match Goto can wrestle successfully. He is more one dimensional than even Makabe. Plus they did the stupid suplex exchange fighting spirit spot, and basically did it twice. I thought we had all figured out how lame that was in 2009. Its a good brawl, but not a great brawl. 3 better matches on this show, in my opinion.

Devitt vs. Tanahashi
***1/4
Pretty dull. I have always wondered how well Tanahashi can work with time constraints of non-main event matches. Okada rules at them, which is one of many reasons I think he is better than Tanahashi. I also just don't think Devitt can cut it in the New Japan heavyweight formula. He is just way too spammy with his moveset, mostly the double stomps. Too much interference here, for my money as well. It really watered down the match. There were some good action spots and Devitt does always look good when he is in desperation, but I couldn't get past a lot of the problems. 

Okada vs. Makabe
****1/4 
I'm with EmbassyRules: match of the show, and everything they did worked. Makabe establishing strength and Okada overtaking him with wits worked really well as a thread throughout the entire match. Crowd ate up everything and were behind Makabe big time. Finishing stretch was awesome, especially everything with the Spider German Suplex. I would have liked Makabe selling his neck just a little with all the focus on it, but it is what it is. Really fun ride and goes by so fast. 

Really great show: probably the third best of the year after invasion attack and Wrestle Kingdom. Really, this was pretty close to Wrestle Kingdom in general.


----------



## funnyfaces1

Newcomer to this thread here, and I'm not too exposed to non-NJPW Puro. Would you guys recommend any of Tajiri's BJW matches from early in his career?


----------



## MF83

Watched the main event from Dominion. Y'all thought it would suck; shame on your families! Makabe proves that he is undoubtedly at least fourteen times better than Okada with his performance in this match. I enjoyed him displaying his striking superiority throughout - Okada would get little bursts but every single time Makabe would shunt (sure, that word) him back and/or down. Great, throwback style wrestling psychology with that dynamic. Okada sold them strikes well but then he had to go and use that stupid submission - twice. Nothing like a crowd laughing at one of your finishers. Makabe added variables and expression to almost everything he did whilst Okada ran through his moveset. Okada wasn't bad relative to his normal self but he wasn't good relative to typical definitions of good. Can't praise Makabe enough for his performance in this match. I don't know, ***3/4-****? Sure!


----------



## flag sabbath

*Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama (AJPW, 23/6/13):* A really well assembled Davids vs. Goliaths collision ****1/2*


----------



## Smith_Jensen

*Burning (Jun Akiyama and Go Shiozaki) vs. S.M.O.P. (Akebono and Ryoto Hama) - ***1/4
AJPW Crossover 6/23/13*

Good big guys. vs small guys tag match. Shozaki took one hell of a beating from both Akebono and Hama. Akiyama's role was good here as a hot tag guy as he would attack Akebono and Hama by hitting them in their vulnerable spots and taking advantage of their mistakes. The finish was a bit too abrupt for my taste.


----------



## Obfuscation

Crusade said:


> Well I'm more behind than u Cody, I haven't watched any of it yet!


We'll see who prevails in the end considering I spent my free time today NOT watching some of it...again. 



MF83 said:


> Watched the main event from Dominion. Y'all thought it would suck; shame on your families! Makabe proves that he is undoubtedly at least fourteen times better than Okada with his performance in this match. I enjoyed him displaying his striking superiority throughout - Okada would get little bursts but every single time Makabe would shunt (sure, that word) him back and/or down. Great, throwback style wrestling psychology with that dynamic. Okada sold them strikes well but then he had to go and use that stupid submission - twice. Nothing like a crowd laughing at one of your finishers. Makabe added variables and expression to almost everything he did whilst Okada ran through his moveset. Okada wasn't bad relative to his normal self but he wasn't good relative to typical definitions of good. Can't praise Makabe enough for his performance in this match. I don't know, ***3/4-****? Sure!


I knew it would be great :troll

Makabe is the man. More this get peppered around, the better if you ask me.


----------



## Rah

I'll have to give Okada/Makabe time of day, then. Agree mostly with Nervosa's review for the main half of the card.



funnyfaces1 said:


> Newcomer to this thread here, and I'm not too exposed to non-NJPW Puro. Would you guys recommend any of Tajiri's BJW matches from early in his career?


I don't quite think there are many matches of his that ever remained on tape, but out of the two I've seen pimped elsewhere this got a bit of a better recommendation:






Good to see new faces, too. (Y)


----------



## 777

Finally got around to Dominion last night. Great show.

NJPW has been the most consistently amazing promotion through the first half of 2013, with no end in sight.

Hot crowd added immensely.


----------



## Concrete

*Scott Norton/Brad Armstrong vs. Hiroshi Hase/Keiji Mutoh(NJPW 2/10/92):***3/4*
_I've pretty much have locked things in at ***3/4 recently that have enough good stuff where I wanna give it a full hearted recommendation but still not sure if it is GREAT. 

I watched this on the 1992 Yearbook from GH. My knowledge of wrestling does not go back very far. Watched it as a kid but even then memories from 1998 are about as good as it'll get. Like I know the guys and MAJOR feuds mostly but not about a lot of the actual work. This set is opening things up to me in that respect. This I believe is my first Scott Norton or Brad Armstrong match I've seen. I've played as Norton in FPR and pushed Armstrong in TEW 10 but that's about as far as my experience with them goes.

As for the match it was really good. Norton looked like an absolute tank and worked his big man spots really well. Looked like a killer. Armstrong took most of the damage on the team and though he didn't get to show a ton of offense he played a fantastic FIP. He took a big beating Hase and Mutoh. Little bit that I loved was when Armstrong was in the corner trying to fight his way out from Mutoh but just could not pull it off. Nother little bit was when Armstrong got taken down too close to his side of the ring and Armstrong runs down the apron and nails Hase. Hase is awesome. Mutoh is Mutoh. But the gaijins shined here._


----------



## Obfuscation

Scott Norton & Mutoh in the same match. :mark:


----------



## Genking48

> IVPvideos ‏@IVPvideos
> Just got THAT email. All NJPW events will be taken off the site shortly


Well, looks like that's the end for buying NJPW shows from IVP at least :/


----------



## Obfuscation

FUCK


----------



## DOPA




----------



## seabs

*Rudoreels is basically exactly the same as IVP's download service so go there.*


----------



## sXeMope

Fuuuuck. Major hit right there. Horrible news. Hope this doesn't affect his compilations. Looks like I'll be going to RudoReels, for NJPW at least.


----------



## daman077c

Seabs said:


> *Rudoreels is basically exactly the same as IVP's download service so go there.*


RudoReels are scammers. They steal from other cappers and sell; for the record, they've been called out on it, and they ban anyone who tries to bring it up. Not to mention you can pretty much get everything for FREE elsewhere, if you know where to look. I've got a site from Taiwan who uploads all of the NJ, AJ, NOAH, Z1 and other indies pretty fast; RudoReels probably gets the majority of their stuff from them. Otherwise... Youtube and Dailymotion.


----------



## seabs

*I know the guy who runs rudoreels and he's never claimed to be the original source of most of the shows. He does some of the comps himself but not all. IVP does the same btw but Ash does get some sourced himself before anyone else. Most of the DVD sources all come from Lynch though. Of course you can get anything for free online but they're not DVD sources. Lynch sources DVD sourced caps for all the shows which then get sold on at cheaper prices by IVP and Rudoreels, etc. As far as I'm aware none of rudoreels' DVDs are converted downloads either. *


----------



## sXeMope

RudoReels also tweeted indirectly referencing it.

"To those who know what I'm referring to... don't hold it against them, & keep supporting them by buying their iPPVs."

"I'm at a crossroads myself right now & unsure of my next move."


I Wonder if they emailed him too, or if he's thinking about taking preventive action...

This situation really sucks. Being able to get events on DVD really made it a lot more convenient. Part of me saw this coming though considering that they've recently jumped on the iPPV thing.


----------



## daman077c

Seabs said:


> *I know the guy who runs rudoreels and he's never claimed to be the original source of most of the shows. He does some of the comps himself but not all. IVP does the same btw but Ash does get some sourced himself before anyone else. Most of the DVD sources all come from Lynch though. Of course you can get anything for free online but they're not DVD sources. Lynch sources DVD sourced caps for all the shows which then get sold on at cheaper prices by IVP and Rudoreels, etc. As far as I'm aware none of rudoreels' DVDs are converted downloads either. *


The site I go to has the shows in as HQ caps sourced from the satellite transmission if possible; most shows are about 600MB - 1GB+, so high quality. I can link you to the site if you want. I know a fair amount of stuff recently popping up on Youtube has been coming from some guys here in the US capping shows with an IPTV deal (like a re-transmitter of sorts).

I distinctively remember there being a big scuff-up at Puroresufan.com over what RudoReels was doing, however. Basically saying people uploading shows to Youtube or posting them online after the guy had already done so himself was stealing, despite him having sourced his stuff from elsewhere.


----------



## seabs

*I mentioned rudoreels mostly as a source for people that wanted the shows on DVD rather than downloading them off the internet. Some people prefer the ease of having it on disc and any upload will be compressed slightly reducing picture quality unless it's an upload of the ISO/VOB files. 

The best and most reliable source for puro shows bar none is Lynch. He deals privately so you won't have to worry about New Japan shutting him down. 

I think New Japan are starting to put their non PPV televised shows on uStream too anyway so they'll show up online much quicker and easier if that's the case.*


----------



## Smith_Jensen

It is awful that IVP Videos won't be able to sell NJPW related items anymore. With that said, I won't hold a grudge against NJPW for taking this action. I will still support them by buying their IPPVs. I hope that they don't discover Rudoreels. I also hope that NJPW make their events more available and accessible.


----------



## sXeMope

I agree. It's not something you can really hold against them, but at the same time it was great to have IVP there as a source for older shows. My current IVP cart had a lot of older NJPW shows in it. 



daman077c said:


> The site I go to has the shows in as HQ caps sourced from the satellite transmission if possible; most shows are about 600MB - 1GB+, so high quality. I can link you to the site if you want. I know a fair amount of stuff recently popping up on Youtube has been coming from some guys here in the US capping shows with an IPTV deal (like a re-transmitter of sorts).
> 
> I distinctively remember there being a big scuff-up at Puroresufan.com over what RudoReels was doing, however. Basically saying people uploading shows to Youtube or posting them online after the guy had already done so himself was stealing, despite him having sourced his stuff from elsewhere.


I'd love to have the link to site that you use, if you wouldn't mind.


----------



## Rah

*Antonio Inoki Vs Masa Saito (4/27/87 NJPW)*
LINK
_This may as well have had Khali for the first 17 or so minutes when Saito was in control. That's how terrible Inoki is. I'm not sure if he's legitimately this terrible (my limited viewing history of him would say perhaps) or he's just working terribly as a means to make Saito look bad. He takes submissions as if they're nothing and while Saito is trying to get across a "fight spot" in putting a submission on, Inoki haplessly lies on his back and stares at his opponent as if he simply cannot care that he isn't in control. Things don't get much better when Inoki gains the upper hand, either. Sure, Saito is meant to be the badass just let out of prison, but to let someone punch the fuck of you with straight shots to the head isn't showing how much of a badass you are, it's showing how mindnumbingly stupid you can be. If you're to play the tough man persona, fine, just know when you're losing control of it and strike back. This very scene may be used in a lot of modern day NJPW but it is one that I'd take over this easy cop-out. Add in some horrendously terrible MMA kicks from Inoki (kicks I'd assume are only sold for, or allowed, purely because it's Inoki giving them) and I just cannot give this a good rating.

At least this wasn't a terrible waste of my time. Witnessing Choshu looking like a BAMF with his glasses is always a treat._​


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Rah said:


> *Antonio Inoki Vs Masa Saito (4/27/87 NJPW)*
> LINK
> _This may as well have had Khali for the first 17 or so minutes when Saito was in control. That's how terrible Inoki is. I'm not sure if he's legitimately this terrible (my limited viewing history of him would say perhaps) or he's just working terribly as a means to make Saito look bad. He takes submissions as if they're nothing and while Saito is trying to get across a "fight spot" in putting a submission on, Inoki haplessly lies on his back and stares at his opponent as if he simply cannot care that he isn't in control. Things don't get much better when Inoki gains the upper hand, either. Sure, Saito is meant to be the badass just let out of prison, but to let someone punch the fuck of you with straight shots to the head isn't showing how much of a badass you are, it's showing how mindnumbingly stupid you can be. If you're to play the tough man persona, fine, just know when you're losing control of it and strike back. This very scene may be used in a lot of modern day NJPW but it is one that I'd take over this easy cop-out. Add in some horrendously terrible MMA kicks from Inoki (kicks I'd assume are only sold for, or allowed, purely because it's Inoki giving them) and I just cannot give this a good rating.
> 
> At least this wasn't a terrible waste of my time. Witnessing Choshu looking like a BAMF with his glasses is always a treat._​


The match you just reviewed is nothing compared to their Ganryujima Island Death Match. That match is around 90 minutes long.


----------



## Corey

Oh god, another Island Death Match. I thought 40 minutes of Hase vs. Tiger Jeet Singh was bad enough... but 90!? That's gotta be fucking terrible.


----------



## Rah




----------



## Yeah1993

Pretty sure that match actually goes over two hours.


----------



## Obfuscation

I heard Tiger Jeet Singh and ran the other way.

Yeah, not even touching the 90 minute or apparent two hour match. Contrary to popular belief, I have better ways to spend my time.


----------



## Bubz

:lmao


----------



## Chismo

> Add in some horrendously terrible MMA kicks from Inoki


That label doesn't make any sense, because it's an Inoki match, and it happened in '87.


----------



## Rah

How does it not?

What should the label be? Or should I just say "Inoki cannot land kicks to save his life"? They were utterly terrible and he shouldn't be attempting to give the illusion that his kicks matter. I don't care if he's Inoki, they were just plain bad.


----------



## Chismo

It's funny how people label wrestlers who like to throw good kicks and holds _(I'm not talking about Davey & Co. here)_ as "MMA wannabes", and yet they are the ones doing it since ever. 

And I'm not even talking about that specific match now.


----------



## Rah

Inoki had an "MMA" stint, though, where (as far as I know) he basically wished to bring himself wrestling over as a legit combat sport and surpassing that of legitimate fighters. He acts as if his kicks are legitimate weapons. We'll forget that those fights were, most likely, fixed, though.

Reword that sentence how you wish. If I could accurately name the move (Savate Kick for e.g) I would have. The ultimate goal I want to get across is how awful they ended up being.


----------



## Rah

*Tatsumi Fujinami Vs Tony Rocco (06/10/1978 NJPW)*
★★★ 1/4+
_There's quite a brilliant struggle in the first few minutes here with both men coming out looking stronger for it. Interesting to also see a pinning manouvre so readily available in the Juniour indies today (the illogical flipping of an opponent into a pin) done in such a manner that it actually does look possible. Hell, it was also great to see Tony Rocco pull out a surfboard submission, as well, with Fujinami refusing to add much co-operation in allowing the hold. It's moments like these that need to work their way into contemporary wrestling, as it most certainly allows an air of believability to flow through the sport.

I enjoyed both men keeping their struggle alive only to tease theatrics and high moves in engaging the crowd and controlling their reception through crescendos and diminuendos. I can't quite grasp why this fell off toward the end, but it most certainly felt rushed, haphazard and wasn't without its fair share of botches. A shame, really, as this was pretty sweet outside of this but, at 12 minutes, it was too short not to be hampered by it._


UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
*Gran Hamada Vs Babyface (04/03/1980 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
_Much like the previous match this starts off with some nice matwork. Except where the Rocco match derailed in flashy submission, here Hamada completely schools Babyface with armdrags and headscissors aplenty. Realising that he's been made to look like a fool, Babyface storms the ring and utterly kills his smaller opponent. Sadly for Gran Hamada, there's little one can do with their high-flying skill when they're flying dangerously high off a murderous back body drop.

The end to this was also a weird one. You have to love the young referee pulling a Teddy Long here by calling the match after what was quite clearly a two count. Babyface's dramatic reaction to this unfair loss to the upstaging Hamada did continue the story, however, so it wasn't a complete detraction. Babyface slapping the referee like he did was class. I'll have to go through the rest of the nominations in the DVDVR 1980's yearbook but I'd have a tough time finding too many matches better than this let alone finding a wrestler as crisp, and onpoint, as Gran Hamada was in that year._


WWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship
*Tatsumi Fujinami Vs Dynamite Kid (05/02/1980 NJPW)*
★★★★
_This shared a similar spot to the first Fujinami match, in DK also attempts to bodysplash the bridging Fujinami down. Except here DK gets trapped in a beautiful bodyscissor for his troubles. DK's like a shark to blood, however, and he spends most of the match attacking the old wound on Fujinami's head. Whether headbutting, knee-dropping, delivering falling punches or even gnawing at the cut DK is relentless in ensuring his opponent won't escape without sustaining more head trauma. It really offered a nice narrative point for when DK missed his signature diving headbutt, allowing for Fujinami to return the favour in dropkicking DK's face until it busted his nose.

Fujinami almost landing head-first while making a badly timed dive was nasty. I'd assume he was okay after as he pretty much no-sold the spill - which I thought could have been used better in gearing toward the ending. Still, DK had the champ's number and Fujinami had to pull off a "cheap" win in going for the roll-up or face his fate in the hands of the challenger._​


----------



## Groovemachine

Fujita 'Jr' Hayato vs Koji Kanemoto - M-Pro June 9th 2013 - ***1/2

It won't be to everyone's tastes, and 30mins+ was too long if you ask me, but this had some great moments in it. They focus on strikes and kicks (as you'd probably expect), and Kanemoto is an absolute bully in the early goings, just peppering Hayato with dickish kicks, including a particularly nasty 'facewashing'. Hayato holds his own too, and some of the knees to the head later on are cringeworthy. Ending was slightly anti-climactic, as after 30 minutes I would have expected somewhat of a 'bigger' finish but I suppose it fit in with their focus on stiff strikes. Good stuff here, anyway.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah or anyone else give me a random match to view from either the 80's or 90's. Lets say I don't care which promotion, but NJPW or Michinoku Pro almost sounds ideal.


----------



## Corey

CODY RODGERS said:


> Rah or anyone else give me a random match to view from either the 80's or 90's. Lets say I don't care which promotion, but NJPW or Michinoku Pro almost sounds ideal.


*IWGP Heavyweight Championship vs. NWA World Heavyweight Championship
*The Great Muta (c) vs. Masahiro Chono (c) (_NJPW 1/4/1993)
_http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz...hiro-chono-c-njpw-01-04-93_sport#.UdVkC22wVvo

:hb


----------



## Obfuscation

Is it weird that I had a feeling you would show up first and give me something with Muta to watch? 

nWo stablemates collide years before! :mark:


----------



## Rah

CODY RODGERS said:


> Rah or anyone else give me a random match to view from either the 80's or 90's. Lets say I don't care which promotion, but NJPW or Michinoku Pro almost sounds ideal.


I'm probably going to sound lame in my unoriginal pick, so I apologize if you've seen it, but here's one I've got set to watch sometime tonight (after a Cena/Edge 2006 run):

Great Sasuke/Tiger Mask IV/Shiryu Vs Super Delfin/Gran Naniwa/TAKA Michinoku (16/03/1996)


----------



## EmbassyForever

.


> Daniel Bryan ‏@WWEDanielBryan
> Last night I also briefly saw my old rival Kenta, one of my favorite people to wrestle and tough as can be


/


----------



## Nervosa

There is so much awesomeness in that pic that it renders KENTA unable to keep his pants on.


----------



## Chismo

*Kizuna Road 2013 – Day 1*

*(7/5/2013)*


1.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Super Strong Machine

**1/2


2.	Yuji Nagata, Hirooki Goto, Cpt. New Japan & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA

***1/2


3.	CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi)

**3/4


4.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. La Sombra, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma

**3/4


5.	CHAOS Ride the Lightning (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale

**


6.	*CMLL World Tag Team Championship*: El Terrible & Tama Tonga © vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Liger

***


7.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Prince Devitt © vs. Gedo

******


New Japan in Korakuen = instant fun. Good show.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> I'm probably going to sound lame in my unoriginal pick, so I apologize if you've seen it, but here's one I've got set to watch sometime tonight (after a Cena/Edge 2006 run):
> 
> Great Sasuke/Tiger Mask IV/Shiryu Vs Super Delfin/Gran Naniwa/TAKA Michinoku (16/03/1996)


I have. Granted not a good while. Doesn't hurt to relive the past. Besides, I'm very intrigued to see if I don't loathe Tiger Mask IV from '96. So, there's going to be fun in that aspect alone.


----------



## Corey

Did you watch Muta/Chono? It's ok if you didn't, I just thought I'd ask.


----------



## Obfuscation

I watched it the night you posted it. :hayley3

Per usual, I dug it. Went more on the ground during a solid duration than I was going to expect. Muta was a lot more tame in it too. Don't think he was rocking full heel swag there for whichever reason. The face paint was almost a dead giveaway on that aspect too. WHITE = not bad, after all. Outside of the brawling on the ramp, things were kept fairly civil pardon the action in the ring. Which comes with the territory. Muta winning is always :mark: worthy.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

NJPW Kizuna Road - Day 1 review

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Super Strong Machine vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado - **1/4
Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Yuji Nagata, Hirooki Goto, Captain New Japan & Takaaki Watanabe - ***
Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi - ***1/4
Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi - **3/4
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale - **
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Terrible & Tama Tonga - ***1/2
Prince Devitt vs. Gedo - ****

Good show overall. The main event was great. The crowd was really into Gedo. His performance in the match was great. The parts where he antagonizes Karl Anderson was fun. I also liked how he worked on Devitt's left leg. Devitt did a very good job in being the heel in the match. The dynamic of how both wrestlers sneaked in dirty tactics was fun.


----------



## Rah

*Akiyama Jun & Shiozaki Go -vs- Suwama & Joe Doering*
_I thought this had a good start in Suwama/Akiyama delivering a great fight-feel, only to match it with a good foil in Joe/Go, but it fell off the rails after that. The middle section, to me, felt good yet unexciting and once the reversals came in it became unbearable. Why am I meant to buy the nearfalls following a simple suplex on Go when he's, not even three minutes earlier, no-sold multiple release suplexes that shot him across the ring? If I'm going to dislike Shibata/Goto for the no-selling then this gets even more shit from me as it had none of the excitement that the NJPW match had and relied a lot more on continuing, no-selling suplex-battle spots. Stupid.

Still, Joe did look a lot better than he did when I watched him earlier in the year. His striking is actually drat believable looking, especially his Funk-styled punches. _​


----------



## Groovemachine

Oh no! The Openthedragongate.com domain name expired the other day. I know it had fallen behind with uploads and stuff, but it was a great resource for keeping up with the shows and making sure everything was compiled in one place. Shame. Still, recent Infinities seem to be uploaded to Youtube pretty rapidly now. No sign of Dead or Alive 2013 though. I want to see Tozawa vs Cima SO BAD!!


----------



## SaviorBeeRad™

Favorite/Best matches from 2006?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Favourite: Minoru Suzuki vs Mecha Mummy-Ultimo Dragon Promotions 23.6.2006.
Best: Mitsuharu Misawa vs Takeshi Morishima-NOAH 5.3.2006.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

SaviorBeeRad™;20837225 said:


> Favorite/Best matches from 2006?


My favorite match of 2006 is KENTA vs. Kenta Kobashi from NOAH 3/5/06. The best match of 2006 is Mitsuhara Misawa vs. Takeshi Morishima also from NOAH 3/5/06.


----------



## Chismo

Edit: wrong thread.


----------



## Yeah1993

Fujinami v. Nishimura 9/25/06


----------



## WOOLCOCK

The Australian rascal beat me to it vis a vis Fujinami/Nishimura. 

Satomura/Kong (7/9/06) & Nagata/Bernard (4/30/06) are both excellent as well and likely the two best matches from Japan I've seen from 2006 in addition to Fujinami/Nishimura 9/25.


----------



## Corey

Nagata/Bernard from the New Japan cup gets my vote... but there's not much else I can think of that I've seen. Entirely unsure if KENTA/Marufuji from 10/29 would hold up but I think I loved it when I was younger.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ha. Let me look like a sheep b/c the only matches I honestly have popping up are Misawa vs Morishima & Bernard vs Nagata. YAY.

HUSTLE had a Tenryu match where he clobbered someone for a good while too iirc. So that's probably high on my list.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

I remember KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. WILD 2 being a great match in 2006.


----------



## Bubz

KentaFuji vs WILD 2 was definitely awesome, I'd probably go with that. Also there's a Taue vs Marufuji match that's pretty sweet. Taue is amazing in it.


----------



## Chismo

Kobashi/Marufuji is NOAH's 2006 MOTY, I reckon. Amazing stuff right there.


----------



## Groovemachine

CIMA & Dragon Kid vs Ricochet & Masato Yoshino - Dragon Gate 06/05/13 - ***1/2

Super fun 10 minute match. Dragon Kid vs Yoshino always brings the goods, so they have some great sequences, but Ricochet is the absolute MAN here, and he has a counter out of Dragon Kid's trademark top rope hurracanrana that just _has_ to be seen, he is so damn good. Can't ask for much more in 10 minutes.


----------



## flag sabbath

Watched both the junior title matches from the AJPW Sumo Hall show & neither was very good. Hayashi & Kondo vs. Suzuki & Aoki had a really clunky transition from the challengers bossing it to Aoki repeatedly going after Hayashi's arm with submission finishers. Kanemaru vs. Tanaka revolved around the champ targeting Tanaka's injured neck, but the number of DDTs & brainbusters doled out went beyond ridiculous.


----------



## Chismo

Rewatched the G1 2011 Finals between Nakamura and Naito, and I stll think that match is overrated. I mean, it's really good, but I've seen ****1/2+ ratings for it, which is... wrong. The first half was basic as fuck, and SHINSKE didn't really bother to sell his leg. The finishing stretch was bossy, though.

***3/4


----------



## darkclaudio

-AJPW 30/06/2013
*All Asia Tag Team Championship Match*: Burning (Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki) vs Last Revolution (Shuji Kondo & Kaz Hayashi) ***1/4
*AJPW Triple Crown Championship Match*: Suwama (c) vs Jun Akiyama ***1/2

-AJPW 2/01/2013
*AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Championship & GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Shuji Kondo (c) vs Hiroshi Yamato (c) ***1/2

-NOAH 27/01/2013
*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Shuji Kondo (c) vs Taiji Ishimori ***1/4

-Dragon Gate 5/07/2013
CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Ryo Jimmy Saito, Uhaa Nation vs Jimmy Susumu, Naruki Doi, YAMATO, Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk ***1/2

-NJPW 5/07/2013
Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov vs Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi ***1/4
Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & La Sombra vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi ***
*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Prince Devitt (c) vs Gedo ***3/4


----------



## Bruce L

Can I get some reviews/recommendations for the Kawada/Nishimura match from 9/3/04? Pretty sure I saw somebody review it positively here once, but I can't for the life of me find it.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW 5/26/13 BOSJ Day 2*

BUSHI vs. Jado: **1/2*

Titan vs. Barreta: ***1/2*

Tiger Mask IV vs. Alex Koslov: ****

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rocky Romero: ***1/4*

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga: ****1/4*

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Prince Devitt: ***3/4*

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Brian Kendrick: ****

Alex Shelley vs. Taichi: ***1/2*

KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku: *****

Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo: ****1/4*


- A few of the matches were a drag to get through but mostly it was a pretty fun show.


----------



## leglock

Bruce L said:


> Can I get some reviews/recommendations for the Kawada/Nishimura match from 9/3/04? Pretty sure I saw somebody review it positively here once, but I can't for the life of me find it.


It's on All Japan's official YouTube channel.


----------



## Bruce L

leglock said:


> It's on All Japan's official YouTube channel.


Can I get a link, please? None of my searches are turning it up.


----------



## flag sabbath

For a Triple Crown title match, *Suwama vs. Akiyama* was unremarkable. They started cautious & evenly matched, before Suwama began to edge it. Akiyama eventually got his nose in front & they kept you guessing down the finishing stretch, but the end came along when it was just starting to get interesting ****1/4*

All Japan desperately needed to hit a couple of home runs with this show to reward the few fans who turned up with something positive to brag about to the dwindlers. Instead it was mediocre & forgettable. Might as well rename it Downward Spiral.


----------



## Obfuscation

I got a real nice kick out of Liger vs Romero. Probably more than most; I knew there was going to be nothing but like on my end with it being two I really like. Or in Liger's case, worship. Juniors tournament wasn't stellar - clipping matches didn't help - although I've found it to be fun & easy to watch the whole way. That's what it needed to be.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW 5/30/13 BOSJ Day 4*

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taichi: *****

Brian Kendrick vs. TAKA Michinoku: ***1/2*

Tiger Mask IV vs. BUSHI: **3/4*

Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Titan: ****

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Captain New Japan vs. “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale: *****

KUSHIDA vs. Alex Koslov: *****

Alex Shelley vs. Rocky Romero: ****1/4*

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega: ****1/4*

Ricochet vs. Prince Devitt: ****1/2*

- Second half of the show was very fun after the dullness that was Bushi/Tiger Mask and the sloppiness that was Liger/Titan. Main event comes recommended despite not quite being a MOTYC level match.


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive 2013:

Genki Horiguchi, Jimmy Kanda & Ryo Saito vs Super Shisa, Cyber Kong & Super Shenlong III **3/4

K-Ness & Kotoka vs Jimmy Kagetora & Tanizaki Toyonaka **1/4

Jimmy Susumu vs Ricochet ***

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match*: Naruki Doi, Rich Swann, Shachihoko Boy (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuji & HUB ***3/4

*Open the Brave Gate Championship Match*: Dragon Kid (c) vs Masato Yoshino ***1/4

*Open The Twin Championship Match*: Mad Blankey (Uhaa Nation & BxB Hulk) (c) vs akatsuki (Shingo Takagi & YAMATO) ***1/2

*Open The Dream Championship Match*: CIMA (c) vs Akira Tozawa *3/4


----------



## flag sabbath

NJPW's Kizuna Road from 13/7 is a standard hype show ahead of next weekend's ppv. The good news is that Devitt and Okada appear to have a decent dynamic (as do Naito and Tanaka). The 10-man main is a routine affair with mostly safe eliminations & a standout performance from La Sombra. Oh, and we _almost_ got a Suzuki-in-Kozlov's-red-hat smiley. Almost....

:suzuki​


----------



## Lane

BJW 05.05.2013 - Shuji Ishikawa vs Ryuji Ito
***1/2

BJW 05.05.2013 - Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka vs Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba
***1/2
Cage bump was bonkers

BJW 05.05.2013 - Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa vs Masashi Takeda & Takumi Tsukamoto
***3/4


----------



## rzombie1988

THIS TOOK PLACE IN 1995. IF 18 YEARS COUNTS AS A SPOILER, I APOLOGIZE.

I reviewed a classic show tape today - FMW Grand Slam 1995 Part 1 here:
http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/fmw-first-grand-slam-world-brass.html

Overall thoughts: Pretty good tape with a lot of good stuff. This tape had the famous Oya/Hayabusa match and had two other good Hayabusa matches vs Kanemura and Mike Awesome. There was also a sick match with Mr. Pogo and Matsunaga where Matsunaga became a human torch.

Some shots from the tape:


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura and Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuya Naito, La Sombra, and Tomoaki Honma *NJPW 7/14/13* - ***

Fun match.I liked the exchanges between Naito and Tanaka. Nakamura and La Sombra worked well together in this match.


Bullet Club*(*Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale*)* vs. New Japan Army*(*Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger and Captain New Japan*)* 10 Men Elimination Tag Team Match *NJPW 7/14/13* - **3/4

Decent match overall. Nothing special.


----------



## Chismo

*Kizuna Road 2013 – Day 5*

_*(7/13/2013)*_


1.	Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Takaaki Watanabe & Sho Tanaka

**1/4


2.	Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma

***1/4


3.	Rocky Romero vs. Taichi

***


4.	Tomohiro Ishii & Alex Koslov vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku

***


5.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Liger & Cpt. New Japan vs. Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, El Terrible & Tama Tonga)

***1/2


6.	CHAOS Ride the Lightning (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale

**1/4


7.	ELIMINATION MATCH: CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Team New Japan (Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tetsuya Naito) & La Sombra

***3/4


Really good show, fun almost everywhere, no bad matches, just two mediocre ones, I say this was better than your usual mid-tour editions. The rest of the card, as you can see, displayed nothing but good stuff. The Sapporo crowd rocked as well.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Smith_Jensen said:


> Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura and Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuya Naito, La Sombra, and Tomoaki Honma *NJPW 7/14/13* - ***
> 
> Fun match.I liked the exchanges between Naito and Tanaka. Nakamura and La Sombra worked well together in this match.
> 
> 
> Bullet Club*(*Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale*)* vs. New Japan Army*(*Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger and Captain New Japan*)* 10 Men Elimination Tag Team Match *NJPW 7/14/13* - **3/4
> 
> Decent match overall. Nothing special.


Seconded.


----------



## Rah

G1 Climax 2004 Semi-Final Match
*Katsuyori Shibata Vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (15/08/2004)*
★★ ¾ 
_The more I watch him, the closer I lean to calling Shibata one of the few golden standards in terms of the style he brings. The more I watch of Tenzan, however, the more prone I am to dismissing his talent. Shibata stormed out the gates and truly gave this semi-final match legitimacy in how he pelted Tenzan with kicks and stomps to try secure a place in the final. However, I got the impression (at times) that Shibata became confused as to what he wanted to do. Despite unleashing hell upon his opponent, he most certainly added many pauses between his offence as if he was toying with Tenzan yet he wasn't. It came across as if he was more unsure and more hesitant of his opponent than anything else - something he truly should not worry about when Tenzan is knocked silly on the mat. I'm also very much agreed on Tenzan being rather lacklustre in his selling. For the first few minutes he was actually pretty good in conveying his plight to the crowd, and managed to pique their encouragement when he started to "fight back" in not letting Shibata's offence take him down. Hell, it was a great visual watching him sneer at Shibata following a vicious kick and most certainly a visual the audience lapped up. Yet, after that, it all fell to the way side. Barring a strike or two, Tenzan's flurry of an offence looks absolutely atrocious, especially when it comes so close after the work of Shibata. He either missed his opponent completely, with his wild swinging, or delivered weak, ineffectual hits. I'm truly not asking for more wrestlers to be on Terry Funk's level, but it would really help the sport (and moments like this) if their offence did not look so blatantly false. I, also, expect more from NJPW workers than this finish. I'm sorry, no-selling a backdrop suplex is one thing, but to kick out at ONE following a pile-driver is just odd. Going for the exact same pile-driver, and completely messing it up, is equally odd, too. Sure, it played into the finish but it doesn't play into my books of what is good wrestling. Then again, this was a match where they worked a ref-bump spot (in which the referee attempts to stop Tenzan from laying down the same offence Shibata got away with) as a means to pop the crowd. No disqualification, or do ref-bumps mean nothing in terms of Japanese rules?

Above average, if only for Shibata and only some of Tenzan's moments_​


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Bullet Club(Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale) vs. Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Jado, Yujiro Takahashi and YOSHI-HASHI) 10 Men Elimination Tag Team Match *NJPW 7/15/13*- ***1/2

Gedo was the star of this match. His babyface-in-peril segments were very good.


Spoiler: latter half of the match



I also liked the latter half of the match involving Okada and Devitt. They worked pretty well together. Devitt created good heat when he eliminated Okada by throwing him over the top rope. The finishing stretch was really well done. Devitt, Anderson and Fale beating the hell out of Gedo by using their finsihers on him made them look like great heels. This match accomplished three goals of putting heat into Okada vs. Devitt, putting Okada's title reign in jeopardy and making the Bullet Club look strong.




Team NJPW/CMLL (Tetsuya Naito, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe and La Sombra) vs. Chaos (Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi and Masato Tanaka) 10 Men Elimination Tag Team Match *NJPW 7/13/13*- ***3/4

Out of the three elimination tag matches, this is the best one in my opinion. The best parts of this match was Kojima or Tenzan wrestling Yano or Iizuka. The eliminations in this match was better than the other two matches because the eliminations are more well versed and were built up better.


----------



## Manu_Styles




----------



## Obfuscation

I'm too busy wondering how a team like Okada & YOSHI-HASHI has such a phenomenal tag team name. Don't let the mind wander far.


----------



## Corey

Yeah... I have no idea who that is. (_goes to ROH's website to see who it is)

_


----------



## Obfuscation

KUSHIDA aka Alex Shelley's partner in Time Splitters.

Would have been nice if that guy added some text to the random pic thrown in.


----------



## Chismo

Manu_Styles said:


>


Mothafucka. Awesome.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

It's great to see Kushida in ROH. It seems that ROH has a new working relationship with NJPW. I hope that it is better this time around.


----------



## darkclaudio

NOAH Great Voyage 2013 In Tokyo Review

1. Hitoshi Kumano vs Maybach SUWA Jr. *1/2
2. Kotoge, Zack Sabre Jr. & Kaiser vs Slex, Harada & Pesadilla **1/4
3. Maybach Taniguchi vs Akitoshi Saito *3/4
4. Tatsumi Fujinami & Shiro Koshinaka vs Masao Inoue & Yoshinari Ogawa *3/4
5. Mohammed Yone vs Katsuhiko Nakajima **3/4
6. Barbed Wire Board Six Man Tag Team Deathmatch: Atsushi Onita, Ichiro Yaguchi & Hideki Hosaka vs Takashi Sugiura, Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi **1/2
7. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Super Crazy ***
8. *GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: CHAOS (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka) (c) vs TDMK (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls) ***1/2
9. *GHC Heavyweight Championship Match*: KENTA (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji ****


----------



## Smith_Jensen

KENTA vs. Naomichi Marufuji *NOAH Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo*- ***1/2

This is a very good match but it's not a MOTYC in my opinion. I thought that this match is 6 minutes too long. There were several spots of bad selling from both men. The count out spot was great in this match. Both wrestlers did a good job in building towards some of the near falls.


----------



## Obfuscation

Going to approach KUSHIDA in ROH as I approach anything from current ROH. Won't get excited till I see it. Ibushi split the difference with his tour over there. Hoping KUSHIDA works out whomever he is paired up against.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

TMDK (Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls) vs. Chaos (Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka) *NOAH Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo* - ****
Great match. I love the beginning of this match with Haste and Nicholls taking the fight to Yano and Iizuka in the crowd. Yano and Iizuka played great heels here by screwing every rule to pummel Haste and Nicholls into a bloody pulp. Haste's babyface in peril segment was great as he sold really well and timed his comeback well. Finish was very good.


----------



## Rah

2/3 Falls match for the NWA World Heavyweight Champsionship
*Kerry Von Erich Vs Jumbo Tsuruta (22/05/1984 AJPW)*
★★★★★






_The back story going into this was larger than this pairing, itself. Heralded as the culmination of two seperate dreams, this match came not even a month after Kerry Von Erich did the unthinkable in pulling off a great upset in beating Flair for the NWA World title. Equally opposite, Tsuruta had just dropped his world title to Martel and tried to capitalise on the rookie's newfound glory by challenging him to a title bout. Having chased Flair for his NWA title on numerous occassion, the large Japanese favourite had never succeeded in attaining his glory. Thus, for Tsuruta this match would be the crack in the door in attaining the title while, for Kerry, the match was a proving ground to his detractors that not only could he beat the Japanese giant but that his victory over Flair was not a fluke, too.

This was really built in within the first fall, in that while Kerry managed to keep things somewhat level it teased Jumbo's supposed superiority storyline ever so well. Kerry's still in it, though, and they built such great heat between each other with Kerry's cocky shove proving to be his undoing in this first fall. Not even a blown (and subsequently redone) spot in putting Kerry over the ropes could hinder this fall as they covered and re-executed it beautifully. It's from here that Kerry starts some beautiful 80s selling. While, perhaps, comical compared to today's standards a wobbling Kerry would prove to be the seasoning on an already white-hot narrative. Like a shark to Kerry's blood, though, Jumbo became relentless in his attack on the dazed champion within the second fall. It's here that the Kerry Von Erich name is made. Working from the bottom, Kerry manages to escape Jumbo's control and fires back with a desperation sleeper. In true professional wrestling fashion, though, the power of the crowd would drive the home favourite to escape the hold and lay Kerry out with some vicious punches. Kerry's dogged determination would prove too much for Tsuruta, however, and not even a signature piledriver following a vicious head-to-head collision could put the younger champion away. I absolutely adored how Kerry would not relinquish The Claw despite Tsuruta passing out as if he knew that he had to bend the rules in trying to create some form of advantage in the last fall to ensure he could scrape a victory.

The third fall, though, is the embodiment of professional wrestling. Despite Jumbo's entourage doing their best to reawaken him, he's still feeling the effects of being laid unconscious. Cold water dripping from his face, and drool hanging out his mouth is about a beautiful visual as you'll see anywhere. Sensing his own opportunity, Kerry tried to reattach The Claw as the fall begins but Tsuruta is too wily to be caught, even in his drunken-like state. Whether out of revenge, or pure strategy, Jumbo rabidly attacks Kerry's right hand with stomps and a unique offence of whipping his hand off the turnbuckles which Kerry sells with mangled facial expressions as enmoring as you'll see anywhere. Kerry's chances, now, were at an all-time low. Not only was Tsuruta's revenge-spots now able to negate The Claw but they, too, removed Kerry's only other finisher from his available arsenal (the discus punch). If the only true reason that he could put away the challenger in the second was due to a lucky application of both moves, how would he win now? It would seem the answer to this would come in the form of Jumbo's own signatures. Whether his ego refused to allow a victory to follow off of Jumbo's move (or, rather, refusing to allow his detractors to hollow his victory) Kerry threw away his control by attempting a reverse elbow. A spot that would further injure his hand. Still, Jumbo spasming following the pile-driver was god-like to witness. 

While the ending may feel cheap in another setting, a double count-out here was the perfect manner in which to culminate their story. Shortly after both men shared quick near-falls and realised neither truly had a legitimate leg-up on the other, when they fell to the outside a mutual understanding dawned that a count-out would be their only hopes in winning. An absolutely horrendous brawl ensues with Tsuruta pulling out the upper hand with a great belly-to-back suplex onto the concrete. It never came fast enough, however, and despite this being the closest Jumbo had come to attaining his dream, it would continue to evade him this day. 

Still, he should be proud of his accomplishments here. As should both men, as they put on an absolutely phenomenal match that controlled a lion's share in terms of context, content and crowd-involvement. For some reason, I do see Kenny Omega in Kerry Von Erich (or, rather, Kerry in Kenny) but at 24 years old, Kerry had the tools very few dream of possessing. I'm slightly dismayed that he only enjoyed such a short run with the title, due to his drug addiction, yet I'm wholly glad the NWA give him a shot, anyway, as without it we would never have had this fight. This is possibly as close to what the perfect wrestling match should be, as I've ever seen it done._​


----------



## bigbuxxx

5*? Jumbo match? Downloading now!


----------



## seabs

*Dunno about it being 5*. First person I've seen rate it that highly. It's definitely very good though off the top of my head.*


----------



## MF83

Yeah, that match is good-for-84 Jumbo carrying stoned and useless Kerry through a great layout. Flair/Race is better from the very same episode in my opinion, but I've seen others enjoy it quite a bit too. Fairly divisive match from the DVDVR set although it finished pretty high. Can't remember what I gave it but probably ****1/4ish if memory serves.


Edit: from May


> Watched Kerry vs. Jumbo again because I'm high on Jumbo and I don't dislike Kerry anymore... yet, I liked it less than before. :lol:/> Oh well. Jumbo was really good compared to his normal self at the time and the highs were high but Kerry was probably fucked and essentially useless. I donno. The layout was pretty good and this could have been awesome with Kerry doing anything less than standing there. I did, however, learn how to make a .gif using this match:


----------



## Rah

Only person I've seen mentioning it is Floyd over on ProWrestlingOnly and he had it around four and three quarter stars, I believe. Kerry was, also, nowhere near useless here. Stoned, well, that I cannot refute.

It's, quite frankly, a hell of a lot better than the stuff we're giving high ratings for from this year. It also, for me, has everything that I require from a match to make me giddy as fuck so whatever. Substitute Tsuruta for Choshu and this'd be a 6-star affair for MF83 side. We'll call this the equaliser in hindsight regarding that Saito/Inoki drivel that divided us.

I'm also drawing to the close of my university holiday and I have yet to start that Choshu comp. Dammit all, there's no way I could do all of them by Monday.


----------



## MF83

There's always time to Power Fall. 


I'd be interested in your thoughts of Jumbo/Martel from that July, RAH~!


----------



## Rah

I know absolutely nothing on that side of the story, aside from Tsuruta losing his title, so I'll have to go digging. Sigh, I'm currently going through Lawler/Funk from Memphis and putting together matches of my favourite moments in pro-wrestling history, too. So I'll have to put one of those on the backburner. TOO MUCH WRESTLING TO BE ENJOYED.

In-line edit:


Spoiler: little history lesson






> After the series of matches versus Bockwinkel, Rick Martel left the AWA and went home to Quebec to weigh his options. The whole wrestling world was in a state of flux in January of 1984. WWF head honcho Vince McMahon had taken his promotion national and was signing blue chip wrestlers left and right. By staying at home in Quebec and only wrestling occasionally for the local Quebec promotion, Martel saw his market value go up. Already having lost Hulk Hogan and Dr. D David Shults among others to the WWF, Verne Gagne did not want Rick Martel to end up there too. Gagne promised Martel an AWA heavyweight title reign if Rick would re-sign with the AWA and not jump to the WWF. Martel took Verne Gagne up on his offer.
> 
> All Japan Pro Wrestling boss Shohei "Giant" Baba brokered a deal with Verne Gagne for Japanese superstar Jumbo Tsuruta to have a brief AWA title reign before Rick Martel got his chance to wear the gold. Nick Bockwinkel lost the AWA heavyweight title to Jumbo Tsuruta on February 22, 1984 in Tokyo, Japan. Jumbo defended the AWA title in both Japan and North America. Martel returned to the AWA on April 15, 1984 in St. Paul Minnesota for a number one contender match with Nick Bockwinkel. Rick Martel beat Bockwinkel in St. Paul and was awarded an AWA title match against Jumbo Tsuruta on the next St. Paul card. Rick Martel beat Jumbo Tsuruta on May 13, 1984 in St. Paul Minnesota to capture the AWA heavyweight championship. As part of his deal with Verne Gagne, Rick Martel defended the AWA championship in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling for Shohei Baba, in the northeast portion of the United States on Pro Wrestling USA cards, in his native Quebec for the International Wrestling Association and in the AWA wherever Gagne decided to promote cards.
> 
> In closing this month's column, all I can say is Rick Martel becoming AWA champion shocked me. Martel was certainly well qualified to hold the strap, I just didn't expect him to win it. I don't think there were many AWA onlookers who would have predicted it.






Jeez, there's a slew of Martel/Bockwinkel matches. Now I need to see those, too.

AWA World Heavyweight Championship
*Rick Martel Vs Jumbo Tsuruta (13/05/1984 AWA)*
★★
_Even at its short length, this was a waste of my time. Body-slam, a missed elbow by Rick, elbow lock, missed elbow by Rick, elbow lock, headlock, missed bodysplash by Rick, body-stretch reversed into one on Jumbo and a win off the body-splash. That's it. Sure, simplistic matches don't necessitate boring matches yet they need some substance or depth to keep them from being so. Outside of Martel offering some decent facials during Jumbo's work-over, this match had nothing going for it. Considering this was also a big-time title match, Martel worked ever so stupidly here, too. Despite being worked over on his left elbow, he escapes the hold only to hit a (missed) elbow smash with the same elbow. It's only sheer luck that his second body-splash attempt actually hit and won him the strap. Yawn._


AWA World Heavyweight Championship
*Rick Martel Vs Jumbo Tsuruta (31/07/1984 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/4+
_I'm actually surprised that they went with the very same finish to the Von Erich/Tsuruta title bout. Especially seeing that it was to the same AJPW crowd hardly two months later. Still, this was infinitely better than the May title change and plays as example to what I meant in that write-up. While this did accumulate more action, it was still submission/hold heavy yet it kept the drama high while the action stalled. Neither man simply took the hold as if it left them paralytic, and each added their own flair to it. For Jumbo it meant wildly flailing his body around in the hopes that sheer, brute strength and a larger body would shift leverage in his favour while, for Rick, it was applying even more devastating modifications to the simple holds he was executing. The simple arm lock that almost cost Martel a loss in the previous match was now a violent submission in which Rick grinded Jumbo's shoulder sockets and pulled at the arm as if he was trying to rip them clean off. I'd have loved for more of climax on the leg/arm work but this was still a violent, drama-filled big-time title match that put in the best Martel performance I've seen so far. Great stuff._​


----------



## Smith_Jensen

NJPW Kizuna Road Tag 9 review

Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado & Gedo - **1/2

Forever Hooligans vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi - ***1/4

Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ***1/2

TenCozy vs. Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka - **3/4

Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka - ***

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. La Sombra - ***1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale - **3/4

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***3/4

Yuji Nagata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - **

Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt - ****

Overall, this wasn't as good as some of the other IPPV like Wrestle Kingdom 7 or Dominion 6.22, this was still a very good show with an good undercard and a great main event. This show is worth viewing.
*EDIT:* I forgot to mention the Bullet Club's backstage promo. It was great.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Smith_Jensen said:


> It's great to see Kushida in ROH. It seems that ROH has a new working relationship with NJPW. I hope that it is better this time around.


this. KUSHIDA is awesome.


----------



## Corey

Watchin All Japan stuff from '84 ay? Make sure and check out Steamboat vs. Tenryu from 2/23. Great stuff.


----------



## MF83

Or his first master performance in the Dibiase carry job from 1983 when he was still just a 33 year old baby.


----------



## MF83

After getting so close to great in so many 1990 Choshu matches, but being let down due to his partners or opponents, I finally broke down and watched one of my reserved rainy day matches: 

Tenryu vs. Choshu from February 21st, 1985.

We're in Choshu-land, so relative to 1985 norms - Choshu is face and Tenryu is heel. They lay this match out perfectly. Tenryu rushes and drops bombs. He is an expressive asshole. He hits his diving elbow and does the downward-index-thrust-pin. Yes. He grabs headlocks for control throughout so when Choshu hits that backdrop, and you know he's gonna hit that backdrop, it's forgiveable. Now, this is 1985, and I believe that bares repeating. Tenryu had no practice being a dickhead yet and yet he was exceptional at it. 

The comeback. Oh, the comeback. And then the best struggle over a sasori this side of a Fujinami match. Tenryu is a masterful salesmen in this match. STRUGGLE. Fuck yes. I love these wrestlers and I love this match. 1980s non-finishes come no better than this one. Hell yeah. ****1/4+ and it's only ten minutes long. GET ON THIS. GET ALL OVER IT. 

I even uploaded it for you. Enjoy:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x124cfr_riki-choshu-vs-genichiro-tenryu-1985-02-21_sport


----------



## Obfuscation

^oooh quick little sub-ten minute match with those two? I'm down for later once I hop on a Puro cram session. Much the same, saved this plan for a rainy day.


----------



## TheSaviorOfSmark

So I bought a binder of 230+ wrestling discs off a fellow collector, a shit ton of old WWF/WCW, some WWE, and random puro.

I don't know much about puro, so I'm wondering if anyone can give me inputs and thoughts on the following dvds:

I'd also like to know which matches are going to be most epic.

First 6 sets are from Highspots:

Jumbo Tsuruta 4 disc set
Steiner Brothers in Japan 2 disc set
The Legend of Tiger Mask 5 disc set
Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask Superdisc
Mil Mascaras in Japan
Great Muta 5 disc set
FMW International Slaugterhouse
FMW Ring of Torture
Keiji Mutoh 6 discs
2001 All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (everything else is in Japanase on the discs)
NJPW 1/19/01 Okinawa Japan
NOAH Summer Navigation 2007


----------



## Rah

If that Mil Mascaras comp has his match against The Destroyer I suggest you hop on that right away (AJPW 25.07.1974).

I'd assume that's the High Spots Tsuruta comp? If it is then you've lucked out as they left all the Misawa matches off that comp. Though if yours has any Misawa matches, you're more likely than not going to be treated to something great.
Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Kerry Von Erich (NWA Title, 05/22/84) - which I've reviewed a page or two back
Jumbo Tsuruta Vs Terry Funk (06/11/76)

I cannot recognise/remember any others off that list, but I'm sure Seabs, MF82 or bigbuxxx could recommend more.

Kid/Tiger Mask seems to divide people. I remember MF82 liking their first bout but souring in the later matches. Oddly, the 4/21/83 match was rated the full five stars by Meltzer while DVDR (barring one member) pretty much dismiss it.


----------



## Corey

TheSaviorOfSmark said:


> Jumbo Tsuruta 4 disc set
> Mil Mascaras in Japan
> Great Muta 5 disc set
> Keiji Mutoh 6 discs


Got yourself some gems on here for sure. On the Jumbo set make sure and check out the matches with Harley Race & Ric Flair, but avoid that Bockwinkel match. Bored the hell outta me. 

I'm unsure what the Muta set is if you have this Mutoh set in there as well (http://www.highspots.com/p/18089.html) but regardless there's still some great stuff in there against Hase, Steamboat, and surprisingly Hogan. Some SERIOUS omissions though if you're missing the Muta Scale match from 12/14/92 and the 1/4/93 match against Chono. For the love of god please make sure you watch these two:


Great Muta vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (4/29/96)
Great Muta vs. Jushin Liger (10/20/96
I've found quite of few of the Mil Mascaras matches to be overrated because I frankly don't like Mascaras at all but the match against Abdullah is pretty fun. Jumbo matches and tag matches were nothing special imo. Decent but nothing you need to see again.


----------



## Obfuscation

All he needs to see are those two Muta matches listed and he'll be set for life.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Kizuna Road Tag 9 review*

Forever Hooligans vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi - ***1/2

Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomphiro Ishii - ***1/2

TenCozy vs. Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka - **

Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka - ***

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. La Sombra - ***1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale - ***

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***1/2

Yuji Nagata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - **1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt - ****1/4


Laughter7 matches were disappointing but still your usual awesomeness from NJPW.


----------



## Obfuscation

How has Liger vs Hiromu Takahashi from BOSJ XX Night One been skimmed over? It was one wallop of a sprint between the vet & the rookie. Liger killing the kid following his approach towards being ostentatious & subsequent miss on the outside was the tops. That's another side of Liger I like to see. Stretching Takahashi around for some minutes, wrenching the arm back and forth. You had the drive of Liger to stop the young gun in his tracks from the start while Takahashi was booming and looking to score any victory he can & put himself out there as a credible wrestler. Kid had heart and fans were buying into it. He wouldn't stop, no matter whenever Liger kept putting him down. Easy to comprehend dynamic all brought about in a sub-eight minute span with a roaring crowd who loved every second of it. Totally caught me off guard as a real sleeper bout and probably my favorite of the tournament so far. Takahashi channeling his FIGHTING SPIRIT only to be caught by the running palm strike = :mark: Fabulous counter on the Thesz Press of Liger by the kid to have one hell of a believable nearfall. This right here was some good shit. You can find something neat in all places of a New Japan card.


----------



## Rah

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Got yourself some gems on here for sure. On the Jumbo set make sure and check out the matches with Harley Race & Ric Flair, but avoid that Bockwinkel match. Bored the hell outta me.
> 
> I've found quite of few of the Mil Mascaras matches to be overrated *because I frankly don't like Mascaras at all* but the match against Abdullah is pretty fun. Jumbo matches and tag matches were nothing special imo. Decent but nothing you need to see again.


I'm slightly dismayed at that. Mascaras is pretty damn great as a mat worker. But I'll forgive you as I wondered about the Harley Race match.

I've lived 22 years without watching almost any Muta matches. /confession


----------



## Obfuscation

Ditto with Corey on disliking Mil Mascaras. Watched the guy years ago and was in dismay that he's a legend. Apparently that means you can't sell your opponents offense.


----------



## MF83

Mil's best Japanese match was against The Destroyer from 1974 - a classic. He had a couple decent tags as well, but he's one of the very most selfish wrestlers ever apparently. 



THIS:

Choshu vs Mutoh from 5/24/1990

I hadn't heard of this before seeing it but a search now shows it to be part of the PWO yearbook. Don't be skeptical. Yes, I'm a mark for both of these guys but I was also expecting to be let down. I was not. Rather, actually quite surprised by just how good this was. It starts ferociously with Choshu doing crazy shit, then they work holds, and they work them well. It's progressive and focused. Mutoh never gets a good hold of Choshu's leg but when Choshu breaks his, Mutoh's selling is pretty great. Real near falls and well paced overall makes this a real epic. The finishing stretch is bonkers. Great match. ****1/4 

Of course I upped it: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x125d3s_choshu-vs-mutoh-5-24-90_sport


----------



## Rah

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
*Jushin Liger vs. Naoki Sano (8/10/89 NJPW)*
_Perhaps as good a Juniors bout as any. Liger absolutely ruled this with immaculate selling. His arm just hung there as if it was limp meat that had grown as an excess to his body. I'm not quite sure I've witnessed a wrestler sell an arm injury via showing a loss in balance (as he couldn't lift his left arm to counter the shift in weight) but it is most definitely something I hope to see more of, even if I probably won't. His offence was on the mark, as well, delivering some impactful stomps and brawling to Sano's head as if he had just found himself in a bar fight. Not to rule out Sano, he also managed to perform well here and locked in some nice arm-subs that just helped push sympathy for the challenger's cause. Their match the following year received the MotY label from WON, so that's most certainly something I should track down. If not necessarily for their opinion, but for the fact that I need to see more Sano/Liger matches period._



*Riki Choshu Vs Genichiro Tenryu (21/02/1985 NJPW)*
_I'm in that flip-floppy stage on who I find the most breathtaking wrestler to load a match up and watch. Currently, and there's no alternative, that honour would go to Mark Henry, but as an "all time" mark I have a hard time deciding between Terry Funk and Riki Choshu. I'd never argue against someone stating they're not the best to ever lace a pair of boots, but there's something about both men that truly captivates me whenever I see them.

It was a treat to see Tenryu on fire like he started here, delivering high spots from the get go as if he envied Saito's infamy following his arrest a year earlier and sought to correct the bandit's pecking order by murdering Choshu. I'm beginning to wonder if there's ever a quiet Japanese crowd whenever these names pop up, but this particular crowd was perfect for the story they played as they were absolutely molten for Choshu's comeback sequence. I wonder if they ever followed this off with a 30-minute epic. Despite the greatness here, I cannot help but wonder what they could have constructed with this layout if they were allowed to flesh each section to it out. Knowing the two involved, nothing short of beautiful I'd imagine._


2/3 Falls Match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
*Terry Funk Vs Jumbo Tsuruta (11/06/1976 AJPW)*
_Match of the year? Match of the decade? Match of the forever?! Maybe. Of course I couldn't help myself in mirroring a Choshu match with, arguably, one of Funk's best matches. I'd also like to rescind my statement that Funk isn't the greatest wrestler. Perhaps it isn't in sheer volume of great matches, but in terms of performance I'd have no other above him. He could work absolutely anything that was given to him. Whether he was heel or face, in America or Japan, he had the crowd eating out the palm of his hands. The same also applies to his wrestling style. Terry ranged from a good technical prospect to a downright phenomenal brawler and a standout in a Southern American scene that was choked full of talented workers. Funk could sell and take a hold like almost no other and layered them with his own personal touches and charisma. Hell, he even shined as tag talent as well as a singles wrestler. When the greats say they've forgotten more about wrestling than the scrub will ever know, for Funk, it's rather he's retired more times than they've had good matches. That's not even a knock against him, either. Sorry, Choshu but you still get the BAMF award.

As for the match, it's set-up as a teacher vs trainer bout, so you should, already, anticipate great wrestling and counters throughout. I'm fully aware that Dory already wrestled a similar scene with Tsuruta before (considering both Funks trained Jumbo) but I have yet to witness it. Perhaps I shouldn't, as both men work the story so perfectly here. The entire thirty odd minutes is a game of one-upmanship. This is nothing about throwing in your own tried and tested offence in gaining control but being put into a hold only to escape and throw it onto your opponent as a massive "fuck you". The contention for superiority is peppered with brilliance within the first hold as Funk, as I've noted prior, works an armbar in only the manner he knows just for Jumbo to make use of his strength, counter the hold into his own and throw Funk around as if he's a ragdoll without once letting go. Their own safety be damned, too, as they took a nasty spill to the outside simply because neither man would relinquish their hold and secede their illusion of being the alpha male. Perhaps as a precursor to the Kerry Von Erich/Tsuruta title bout from the following decade, both men accept a stalemate not with reluctance and disappointment but with determination and gear-up into a fast-paced exchange that leads Jumbo to attaining the first fall with a leapfrog into sunset flip.

Sustaining the trainer/trainee narrative, Jumbo's win through agility and youthful advantage would see Funk making his comeback through being able to capitalise upon Tsuruta's inexperience. It's because of this, thus, that the fight for control now encapsulated each opponent's requirement to set a designated pace. Despite his agility, the quicker match proved to be Jumbo's undoing as he had to predict Funk's attack while thinking up potential counters and momentum changers on the fly, something that most probably came naturally to the veteran at this point in his career. Despite this, the need to one-up his trainer would prove too much for Tsuruta once he tasted defeat in the second fall. As testament to the work of Jumbo, he was using moves from the middle of the first round (ten plus minutes earlier) in playing up the role. Classy character building, too, in having Jumbo set himself up into the abdominal stretch by Funk as if to say the rolling cradle was such a fluke pin that he'd put himself back into danger purely to prove the vet wrong. As always, however, pride and ego without fail come before a fall. Funk's ability to keep a faster pace in allowing himself to pick up on Jumbo's weak points, as well as Jumbo being too preoccupied in bettering Funk's moves than actually taking ownership of his window-periods thusly played as the climax to their tale. The leapfrog that gained Jumbo the win in the first round, was countered into a throat-first drop onto the rope and a deciding win for Funk in the third. C'est la vie, and life is fucking great._​





MF83 said:


> Mil's best Japanese match was against The Destroyer from 1974 - a classic. He had a couple decent tags as well, but he's one of the very most selfish wrestlers ever apparently.


I'll watch that Mutoh match tomorrow, most definitely. *As for Mil, did you not enjoy his match against Giant Baba in the pre-80s project? Meh, he's facing Terry Funk next month. Realistically I don't think this is going to be all that good but I hope and pray that somehow both men transcend time and arrive in their peak selves.

*that was The Destroyer Vs Baba. :side:


----------



## Corey

Rah said:


> I'm slightly dismayed at that. Mascaras is pretty damn great as a mat worker. But I'll forgive you as I wondered about the Harley Race match.
> 
> I've lived 22 years without watching almost any Muta matches. /confession





HayleySabin said:


> Ditto with Corey on disliking Mil Mascaras. Watched the guy years ago and was in dismay that he's a legend. Apparently that means you can't sell your opponents offense.





MF83 said:


> Mil's best Japanese match was against The Destroyer from 1974 - a classic. He had a couple decent tags as well, but he's one of the very most selfish wrestlers ever apparently.


What they all said, Rah. You can tell in almost every match that Mascaras is extremely selfish, insists on not selling his opponent's offense countless times, walks around the ring flexing like an idiot, and I'm honestly not sure if I've EVER seen the guy lose clean.

As for Muta, wow dude. You're missin out. One of my all time favorites for sure. Seriously never seen the Muta Scale match?


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2013
*Open the Triangle Gate Champion 3 Way 6 Man Tag Team Match*: Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Kanda (c) vs. Don Fujii, Gamma & Dragon Kid vs. Kzy, Mondai Ryu & Uhaa Nation ***
*Open the Twin Gate Championship Match*: Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk (c) vs. Naruki Doi & Ricochet ***3/4+
*Open The Dream Gate Championship Match*: CIMA (c) vs Shingo Takagi ***1/2


----------



## MF83

NJPW; 3/19/90: Jushin Liger © vs. Pegasus Kid

NJPW match of the year to that point of the year in my opinion. It's a big-match match that delivers. Lots of mirroring and one-upping with a pronounced equality theme between new rivals. They survive bombs, someone gets desperate and someone gets tricky for a satisfactory finish. ****1/4

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x125hho_3-19-1990-jushin-liger-c-vs-pegasus-kid_sport


----------



## Chismo

*Kizuna Road 2013 – Day 9*

_*(7/20/2013)*_


0.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, & Gedo) vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA

**1/4


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) © vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

***


2.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii

***1/2


3.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) © vs. CHAOS Dark Instigators (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka)

**1/2


4.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Masato Tanaka © vs. Tetsuya Naito

******


5.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: La Sombra © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

***3/4


6.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale, El Terrible & Tama Tonga) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Liger, Togi Makabe & Cpt. New Japan

***1/4


7.	Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata

**3/4


8.	Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yuji Nagata

***3/4


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Prince Devitt

***1/2


You know it, another great show. There was not a match on the show that wasn’t at least solid. Although, yeah, Goto/Shibata III was a letdown, but wasn’t bad by any means. While not as great as WK7, Inv. Attack or Dominion, this show was certainly $25 worthy.​


----------



## Rah

* Choshu vs. Mutoh 5/24/90* was hold-heavy but still a neat watch. I'm not that high on it as both of Mutoh's dives missed as well as his punches being pretty much terrible. Choshu deciding to ignore being peppered by punches in the corner was equally grating. Choshu murdering Mutoh with a closeline to end it was good, though.



Jack Evans 187 said:


> As for Muta, wow dude. You're missin out. One of my all time favorites for sure. Seriously never seen the Muta Scale match?


I've, of course, seen a small handful (hence the "almost any") with that being one. I'm sure that's one of the first few puroresu matches I got into, as well, after seeing the Wikipedia article of it years ago.

What's your favourite/best? Same for HayleySabin. I'll correct the injustice.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm certain you've _had_ to see it b/c it's infamous, but without a doubt my favorite Muta match is vs Liger 10/20/96. To add something else to the mix:

Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase vs Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow ~ 3/1/92
Keiji Muto vs Shinya Hashimoto ~ 5/3/95
The Great Muta vs Shinya Hashimoto ~ 9/23/92
The Great Muta vs Shinya Hashimoto ~ 3/22/03
The Great Muta vs Tatsumi Fujinami ~ 9/23/91
Keiji Muto & Wild Pegasus vs Jushin Liger & Riki Choshu ~ 9/24/94
The Great Muta vs Great Kabuki ~ 6/15/93

Some I know I've always gotten a kick out of. Always enjoyed the bulk of his work. Wished I could have posted a video of a tag match he had vs Mike Enos & Wayne Bloom _(aka The Beverly Brothers)_. Unfortunately, it was knocked off of youtube. It's the character work of Muta that has always spoke to me. Guy is a force.


----------



## Rah

If *Keiji Muto & Wild Pegasus vs Jushin Liger & Riki Choshu* is where Liger breaks his ankle (?) then I remember watching that.

The only matches on that list that I found are:
The Great Muta vs Shinya Hashimoto ~ 3/22/03 - You just have to love Muta being a dick heel to the point of making a little kid cry. Schadenfreude, indeed. The ever-great Hash would also become victim to Muta's deranged violence thanks to insulting Keiji's ego when he scampered away. Nice "introductory" performances to warm me up to the man.

The Great Muta vs Tatsumi Fujinami ~ 9/23/91 - is there something about Muta that he doesn't like human faces? Not only does he cover his but he absolutely destroyed both Hashimoto and Fujinami's faces in the two matches. To crib Lawler, Tatsumi really got his bell rung here. I'd have liked Fujinami to have sold the pile-driver a little better. Kicking out ON the two count is just silly, especially noting the pre-work done. Muta rules the roost for the majority of this but of course we get shenanigans just as Fujinami makes his lacklustre resurgence.

The Great Muta vs Shinya Hashimoto ~ 9/23/92 (listing has it as 23/10, though) - do not let Hashimoto's babyface fool you, as he is prone to brutalise his opponent's wish his kicks. I have an odd feeling that Muta is still being prompted along at this stage, but he's doing fine, regardless. His aerial offence, though, is still missing his opponent, most especially the moonsault. I did enjoy watching him use the metal bar as an aid to his drops, however.

The rest are thumbnailed but 404 when clicked. I'll watch these three, then.


----------



## flag sabbath

*NJPW Kizuna Road iPPV (20/7/13):*

0) Nakanishi, Honma, Tiger & Kushida vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Takahashi, Gedo & Jado *****
1) Forever Hooligans vs. Taka & Taichi ****1/2*
- _peaked a couple of minutes before the finish & ended sloppily_
2) Suzuki vs. Iishi ****1/2*
- _boss little war that would have been better if Iishi didn't completely ignore the early arm work_
3) TenKoji vs. Yano & Iizuka *****
- _Yano & Iizuka are my favourite heels right now, and it's a joy to watch them wreaking their havoc_
4) Tanaka vs. Naito ****1/4*
5) La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ****1/2*
- _rating would be higher if not for a home straight botch - Shinskay needs to retire that springboard_
6) Bullet Club vs. Tanahashi, Liger, Makabe & Cap ***3/4*
7) Goto vs. Shibata ****1/2*
- _not as tidy as their previous battle & the 'realistic' finish makes little sense in the context of the series_
8) Nagata vs. Sakuraba *****
- _simple, believable shoot-style_
9) Okada vs. Devitt ****3/4*
- _a worthy payoff to Devitt's expertly executed elevation_

Overall an easy show to plough through, but lacking anything outstanding to make it truly memorable. It also suffered slightly from a crowd that was slow to warm & quick to come off the boil.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yep. lulz @ Muto grabbing at the ankle as soon as Liger snaps it.


----------



## Chismo

flag sabbath said:


> *NJPW Kizuna Road iPPV (20/7/13):*
> 
> 0) Nakanishi, Honma, Tiger & Kushida vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Takahashi, Gedo & Jado *****
> 1) Forever Hooligans vs. Taka & Taichi ****1/2*
> - _peaked a couple of minutes before the finish & ended sloppily_
> 2) Suzuki vs. Iishi ****1/2*
> - _boss little war that would have been better if Iishi didn't completely ignore the early arm work_
> 3) TenKoji vs. Yano & Iizuka *****
> - _Yano & Iizuka are my favourite heels right now, and it's a joy to watch them wreaking their havoc_
> 4) Tanaka vs. Naito ****1/4*
> 5) La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ****1/2*
> - _rating would be higher if not for a home straight botch - Shinskay needs to retire that springboard_
> 6) Bullet Club vs. Tanahashi, Liger, Makabe & Cap ***3/4*
> 7) Goto vs. Shibata ****1/2*
> - _not as tidy as their previous battle & the 'realistic' finish makes little sense in the context of the series_
> 8) Nagata vs. Sakuraba *****
> - _simple, believable shoot-style_
> 9) Okada vs. Devitt ****3/4*
> - _a worthy payoff to Devitt's expertly executed elevation_
> 
> Overall an easy show to plough through, but lacking anything outstanding to make it truly memorable. It also suffered slightly from a crowd that was slow to warm & quick to come off the boil.


Hehe, they really spoiled us, I mean the show was fairly better than 90% of stuff from elsewhere, but this year they gave us WK7, The New Beginning, Invasion Attack, Dominion and few hot Korakuen shows, so it's natural we want MOTYC loaded shows every month. You know shit is awesome when you don't mind sitting through 4+ hours.


----------



## Corey

Rah said:


> What's your favourite/best? Same for HayleySabin. I'll correct the injustice.


vs. Hiroshi Hase (9/14/90)
vs. Masahiro Chono (1/4/93)
vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (4/29/96)

To name a few others that Cody didn't mention.


----------



## flag sabbath

Chismo said:


> Hehe, they really spoiled us, I mean the show was fairly better than 90% of stuff from elsewhere, but this year they gave us WK7, The New Beginning, Invasion Attack, Dominion and few hot Korakuen shows, so it's natural we want MOTYC loaded shows every month. You know shit is awesome when you don't mind sitting through 4+ hours.


Man, I've been watching wrestling on-and-off for over 25 years & I don't think I've ever enjoyed a promotion from top to bottom as much as I do New Japan right now.


----------



## Rah

*Vader Vs Keiji Mutoh (10/08/1991)* - now THIS was a match. Both men just clicked here and delivered a brilliant underdog/powerhouse story that had the NJPW crowd screaming their lungs out. Now why did none of you tell me to watch this?!


*Masa Chono vs Keiji Mutoh (11/08/1991)* - props to Chono for wrestling twice on the same night (having wrestled a tie-breaker to secure his spot in this G1 final). Despite having done so, both men still go for a lengthy epic and succeed in doing so. It's weird how all those promoted matches were from later years yet I'm more enamored by Muta's '91 work. A great visual is witnessed in Hash holding up both competitors' arms, to the cheers of the G1 crowd, as the video ends. The Three Musketeers were now on top of the puroresu world. A differently worked match to the one before, but every bit as good.


*Keiji Mutoh Vs Shinya Hashimoto (15/08/1995)* - barring Fujinami's month long reign, Hashimoto had effectively held the IWGP title for close on two years. A title that Hash had taken from The Great Muta. Months prior to this G1 final match-up, Mutoh had regained his title and breaking Hash's lengthy spell at the top. A title, and one-up, that Keiji would take into this encounter. I thought this had some minor detractions, as Hash's legwork seemed to drive as a play against Mutoh's athleticism and spring kicks yet it had no such effect and the brainbuster reversal missed wildly. Even then, I was thoroughly surprised to see Mutoh still sell the brainbuster like death (having actually still taken it) with Hash selling the knee-to-head counter and still having control by coming to first. I'm sure I am mistaken in saying this but I cannot remember such a take being done as the standard. I also realise that Mutoh had a stitched cut going in, but seeing it being opened, hardway, via an already decapitating DDT truly sold the fight each man had found themselves in. Easily the best of the three and a phenomenal match to boot.


I shall say this again, why did none of you tell me to watch these?!


----------



## MF83

The IWGP Mutoh/Hashimoto from 95 is even better IMO. Oh you must find the Muta/Tenryu matches. '96 WAR is the best Great Muta match. 2001 (I think) Tenryu is the best Mutoh match. Late 90s IWGP Mutoh/Tenryu is good. Muta/Inoki is terrific. Mutoh/Nagata is one of my other rainy day matches. I might have to watch it.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I skipped the dark, the IWGP Hebikyu Tag and the Bullet Club 6 man but everything else was really good. Saku-Demon was awesome, Shibata-Goto was suprisingly good, Okada-Devitt was refreshing, Ishii-Suzuki was a great brawl, Tanaka-Naito was fun as expected, Nakamura and Sombra beat the shit out of each other, the Junior Tag was messy and all over the place but that's about it really. Maybe if Devitt worked on Okada's arm for 25 minutes and Okada just kept doing all the shit he usually does it'd be a GENIUS ****1/2 BOUT.


----------



## Obfuscation

I basically plugged most matches vs Hashimoto to the point of where you should have known all are worth seeing. And I could have sworn I chose that one. Meh. Went all off the top of my head. You watched & loved it. That's all that matters.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

NJPW Kizuna Road Akita 2013

0. CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, & Gedo) vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA - *
1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) © vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi - *** 1/4
2. Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii - *** 1/2
3. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) © vs. CHAOS Dark Instigators (Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka) - *
4. NEVER Openweight Championship: Masato Tanaka © vs. Tetsuya Naito - ** 1/2
5. IWGP Intercontinental Championship: La Sombra © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - *** 12
6. Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale, El Terrible & Tama Tonga) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Liger, Togi Makabe & Cpt. New Japan - *
7. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - *** 1/2
8. Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yuji Nagata - N/A (not a fan of MMA/Wrestling hybrid stuff so not sure even how to rate it)
9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Prince Devitt - *** 3/4


----------



## yottsume

I've english subbed NJPW INSIDE #0.

You can watch it on YouTube. (They won't let me post a link...)

Just search "NJPW INSIDE(English Subbed)" on YouTube.

Enjoy. 

P.S Subscribe to the official NJPW channel so that they would start doing this officially.


----------



## EmbassyForever

BOSJ:

Rocky Romero vs Prince Devitt - ***1/4
Rocky Romero vs Alex Shelley - ***1/2
Prince Devitt vs Liger - ***


----------



## Tanner1495

All nine G1 shows will be on Ustream! http://www.ustream.tv/njpw


----------



## Chismo

JEEE-ZUS MARY AND JOZEF






:mark:


----------



## EmbassyForever

Oh man. This is insane. Should be awesome.


----------



## Obfuscation

G1 Climax get here ASAP please. Match options for both brackets are chalk full of :mark:


----------



## Groovemachine

Didn't think much of the 7/7 Kenta/Marufuji match. Structure was all over the place. Apron piledriver was cool but didn't get followed up on. Lots of stupid kickouts and overkill towards the end. A couple of nice strike exchanges near the end but it didn't ever fully grab me. 

Working my way through Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2013 next. Great show so far!


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah go watch Muta vs Hase from 9/14/90. I can extend my bloodlust your way with this one.


----------



## Rah

Something tells me I must have seen this before. Hase's drowned face is too familiar for me. Absolutely disgusting in terms of blood loss yet equally entertaining.


----------



## Yeezus

Block A of the Climax is beastin' :mark:

I'll watch religiously every match of that block; hell, even Block B isn't that bad with GOAT Suzuki :suzuki

BTW MiSu smiley is the greatest thing on this website right now, BY FAR !!!


----------



## Obfuscation

Wouldn't doubt it; the blood loss is infamous. Match is boss by virtue of how it captures the crazy side behind Muta. No more wrestling only mentality from young Keiji Muto. This is Great Kabuki's son, he's dangerous, & he'll show you.

Best trip to the United States anyone ever had. Comes back to Japan and cements himself as a legend immediately.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Kabuki>Muta. There, I said it. Uppercuts>blading.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yet the mist is all the same. It brings them together.


----------



## DOPA

Still need to catch up with BOSJ. I might postpone that and catch up with the Kizuna Road stuff, well, the two shows that are really must see (the one with the Devitt/Gedo main event and ofc the PPV).


----------



## Smith_Jensen

Dave Meltzer's ratings for NJPW Kizuna Road Tag 9

Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado & Gedo - **1/4

Forever Hooligans vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi - ***3/4

Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/4

TenCozy vs. Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka - ***1/2

Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka - ****

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. La Sombra - ****

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale - ***1/4

Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***3/4

Yuji Nagata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - ***

Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt - ****1/4



Dave Meltzer's ratings for Dragon Gate: Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival

Super Shisa & Shachihoko Boy & Rich Swann vs. Kotoka & Super Shenlong & Chihiro Tominaga - ***1/2

Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Stalker Ichikawa - DUD

Nosawa & Hub & Cyber Kong vs. Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora & Quu Quu Toyonaka Dolphin - **1/4

Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito & Jimmy Kanda vs. Mondai Ryu & Kzy & Uhaa Nation vs. Gamma & Dragon Kid & Don Fujii - ***1/4

Masato Yoshino vs. K-Ness - ***3/4

Yamato vs. Masaaki Mochizuki - ***3/4

Ricochet & Naruki Doi vs. Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk - ****3/4

Shingo Takagi vs. Cima - ****1/4


----------



## Obfuscation

BOSJ Night One was a blast of a show. Korakuen Hall + those brisk match ups = Quality.

Barring the random tournament matches here and there I still have a decent amount to catch up on. I blame getting caught up in past Puro for this.


----------



## flag sabbath

Got a feeling I'm still the only person on WF who's seen the BoSJ Final - it's my number two MOTY after Tanahashi vs. Okada from Invasion Attack.

Next on my watch list is Kobe World, which will no doubt fall short of Meltzer's snowflake splurge.


----------



## mk92071

I thought Kobe World was pretty fucking amazing, but thats if Dragon Gate is your cup of tea. Its a lot of FUN and some MOVEZ oriented matches, which is what you should expect. Twin Gate and Dream Gate matches are both MOTYCs. I preferred Dead or Alive to Kobe World though.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Haylel did you watch Tanahashi & Liger vs Tonga & Terrible like your sig indicates? And if you did, is it any good?


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> Got a feeling I'm still the only person on WF who's seen the BoSJ Final - it's my number two MOTY after Tanahashi vs. Okada from Invasion Attack.


Very soon.

It's on Youtube and might hit up that bad boy today. I avoided by virtue of wanting to watch Devitt vs Shelley II (from BOSJ Night One) before I dip into their work via the finals.



ywall2breakerj said:


> Haylel did you watch Tanahashi & Liger vs Tonga & Terrible like your sig indicates? And if you did, is it any good?


Yep. Good match, solid formula, hard work shown by all four. Give it a look. (Y)


----------



## Bubz

flag sabbath said:


> Got a feeling I'm still the only person on WF who's seen the BoSJ Final - it's my number two MOTY after Tanahashi vs. Okada from Invasion Attack.
> 
> Next on my watch list is Kobe World, which will no doubt fall short of Meltzer's snowflake splurge.


I've seen the final . Liked it but didn't love it. Well, I did love it until the last 5 minutes or so. Kind of felt a bit too spot heavy for me even though I guess the situation called for it. I might rewatch it because I was a little unsure by the end. Crowd ruled though.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

My Dragon Gate: Dead or Alive 2013 match ratings

Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee, Jimmy Kanda & Ryo Jimmy Saito) vs. Cyber Kong, Super Shenlong & Super Shisa - ***

Windows (K-ness & Kotoka) vs. Jimmyz (Jimmy Kagetora & Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) - **3/4

Jimmy Susumu vs. Ricochet - ***1/4

WORLD-1 International (Naruki Doi, Rich Swann & Syachihoko BOY) vs. Team Veteran Returns (Don Fuji, HUB & Masaaki Mochizuki) - ****

Masato Yoshino vs. Dragon Kid - ***3/4

MAD BLANKEY (BxB Hulk & Uhaa Nation) vs. Akatsuki (Shingo Takagi & YAMATO) - ****1/2

CIMA vs. Akira Tozawa - ***1/2


----------



## DOPA

HayleySabin said:


> BOSJ Night One was a blast of a show. Korakuen Hall + those brisk match ups = Quality.
> 
> Barring the random tournament matches here and there I still have a decent amount to catch up on. I blame getting caught up in past Puro for this.


I just blame laziness and not wanting to watch NJPW lately for me.


----------



## Chismo

*Kobe Pro-Wrestling Festival 2013*

_*(7/21/2013)*_


1.	Rich Swann, Syachihoko BOY & Super Shisa vs. Super Shenlong III, Chihiro Tominaga & Kotoka

_Rich F’N Swann!_

**1/4


2.	SUBMISSION MATCH: Stalker Ichikawa vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara

_This was cca 3 seconds long, so, yeah… But wait! _

N/A


3.	Stalker Ichikawa vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara

_They restart it, and here we go… Meh, nothing good came out of this, just a harmless comedy match that went on for way too long._

3/4*


4.	The Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kagetora & Naoki Tanizaki) vs. Cyber Kong, HUB & NOSAWA Rongai

_Decent trio action, but not enough to be considered “good”, IMO, they could’ve used some heat and the finishing stretch selling was questionable. HUB is awesome, though._

**3/4


5.	ELIMINATION MATCH for the *Open the Triangle Gate Championship*: The Jimmyz (H.A.Gee.Mee, Jimmy Saito & Jimmy Kanda) vs. The Veteran Army (Don Fujii, Dragon Kid & Gamma) vs. MAD BLANKEY (Uhaa Nation, Kzy & Mondai Ryu)

_This was very whacky, and normally I like it, but guess what – they almost never stopped being whacky here. They got serious eventually, but it was too little, and too late._

*1/2


6.	*Open the Brave Gate Championship*: Masato Yoshino © vs. K-ness

_Disappointing. The finishing stretch was cool and well done, but too bad everything before it was mediocre and felt flat._

**3/4


7.	NO DQ: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. YAMATO

_Okay, finally – a good match! Two of Dragon Gate’s best collide (YAMATO is No. 1 in Dragon Gate, that’s a damn FACT ), but while the match was very nice, I couldn’t help myself but notice they held many things back. They didn’t go balls-to-walls, they worked slow paced, methodical style instead. The work was really fine, it’s just they didn’t really use the stipulation, maybe twice and that’s it. And thankfully YAMATO is heel again, he’s the best._

***1/4


8.	*Open the Twin Gate Championship*: Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk © vs. Naruki Doi & Ricochet

_This was the RICOCHET show. Not only he was the best man of this particular match, easily, but he has also surpassed every participant of the match in general. He’s immense. I’d only put YAMATO and Mochi ahead. The shit he did in the match was off the charts, he was the star, and thankfully they recognize it, and book him strongly, I could totally buy into him being at least a transitional Dream Gate Champion. Tozawa was funny here, at one point fucking Ricochet did MULTIPLE standing backflips, Tozawa tried to impersonate him, and yeah… Funny stuff._

***3/4


9.	*Open the Dream Gate Championship*: CIMA © vs. Shingo Takagi

_Good match, but man, they wrestled for 37 minutes, and this needed to be much better than ***1/2. They didn’t show us anything new, they just did their usual stuff, just with longer selling and rest periods. Shingo did okay, he was actually working the way on CIMA’s neck and back for his finisher. I like CIMA, he did okay here, but man, I fucking HATE his Meteora, it’s legit the worst looking finisher of all time. The setup is always terrible, and makes his opponents look like chumps._

***1/2


Eh, I don’t know, the undercard and midcard were mediocre and kinda disappointing, the final three matches were good, but not great. The live experience must’ve been awesome, but my PC experience was not $25 worthy. 15 bucks, maybe, but definitely not 25. Good show, but not great.













*Max Bump 2013*

*(5/3/2013)*


1.	The Monster Army (Daisuke Sasaki, Yuji Hino & Hoshitango) vs. Akito, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo

**


2.	Kenny Omega & Gota Ihashi vs. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi

_Only one snowflake for this, but nevermind, because it was FUN. And it had Dino in there, which means it was quite disturbing as well._

*


3.	Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma) vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara

N/A (heavily clipped)


4.	Sanshiro Takagi, Touru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata & El Samurai vs. Michael Nakazawa, MIKAMI, DJ Nira & Masa Takanashi

**3/4


5.	Antonio Honda vs. KUDO

_Fucking hell, they showed maybe 7 out of nearly 14 minutes. And those 7 min were good, why oh why did they clip this? :jose_

***


6.	*KO-D Tag Team Championship*: HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano © vs. Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi

_Clipped, again. Damn!_

**


7.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Shigehiro Irie © vs. Kota Ibushi

_Very good match, simple and effective stuff. Kota wrestles more like a heavyweight these days, his offense is much more strike heavy (i.e. devastating high-kicks and lariats), but still uses some high-flying tricks, which makes him a top guy in my book. Irie is a beast, I dare everyone to watch 10 minutes of this guy and try not to like him. He’s a super charismatic and skilled dude._

***3/4


This was your typical DDT show, with the FREAK SHOW undercard and midcard, and strong main event.​


----------



## Rah

I pimped a match of his earlier in the MotYC thread which just got no-sold by everyone. BOOOOOOO!


----------



## Chismo

Because it wasn't a MOTYC. :lelbron












*What Are You Doing 2013*

*(6/23/2013)*


1.	Sanshiro Takagi & Kazuki Hirata vs. Danshoku Dino & Makoto Oishi

_Dino, you creepy, disturbing fuck!_

**


2.	IRONMAN TITLE BATTLE ROYAL

N/A


3.	Yankee Trillion Pistols (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) & FUMA vs. HARASHIMA, Yasu Urano & KUDO

**1/4


4.	*KO-D Tag Team Championship*: Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi © vs. Akito & Konosuke Takeshita

_I can’t rate this, they clipped it heavily (6 out of 15 min aired, I mean REALLY?), damn shame, because it looked like a good match._

N/A


5.	*KO-D 6-man Tag Team Championship*: Golden Rendezvous (Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega & Gota Ihashi) © vs. The Monster Army (Antonio Honda, Hoshitango & Yuji Hino)

**1/2


6.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Shigehiro Irie © vs. Keisuke Ishii

***1/2


7.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Shigehiro Irie © vs. Daisuke Sasaki

_Impromptu title match, with ref bump, outside interferences from the Monster Army and decent drama, Irie was a great FIP. Solid stuff._

**1/2


Nice show, easy to sit through.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Ricochet is so good that when he tried to imitate Tozawa's shoddy backflips he still looked more impressive & agile than the average high flying wrestler. Dude is a phenom. That match was pretty fun and zoomed on by for the 24 minutes or so it was on. Didn't feel it was anything MOTYC worthy, personally. SHINGO vs CIMA was just way too long for me.

Watched the King of Gate Finals between Ricochet & SHINGO yesterday too. Sadly, such a dull match. I dig the Dragon Gate roster a whole bunch, but now I know why I don't watch it as often as other promotions. Never truly blown away anymore.


----------



## MF83

Oh, you want a 10 minute match of Vader humbling a bitch? 

Big Van Vader vs. Koji Kitao (NJPW; 5/28/90)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12bwk0_big-van-vader-vs-koji-kitao-5-28-1990_sport

I'd estimate roughly fifty stiff punches, one epic ring toss, at least one internal injury, three nearfalls, two counts of confusion and one shoddy finish. Get on this now. 

****+


----------



## WrestlingOracle

Here is a question, if christopher daniels has been in his prime at the time of the 1994 Super J Cup, how far would he have gotten


----------



## Obfuscation

MF83 said:


> Oh, you want a 10 minute match of Vader humbling a bitch?
> 
> Big Van Vader vs. Koji Kitao (NJPW; 5/28/90)
> 
> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12bwk0_big-van-vader-vs-koji-kitao-5-28-1990_sport
> 
> I'd estimate roughly fifty stiff punches, one epic ring toss, at least one internal injury, three nearfalls, two counts of confusion and one shoddy finish. Get on this now.
> 
> ****+


:mark:



WrestlingOracle said:


> Here is a question, if christopher daniels has been in his prime at the time of the 1994 Super J Cup, how far would he have gotten


Eliminated by Gedo in round one.


----------



## Yeezus

Smith_Jensen said:


> Dave Meltzer's ratings for NJPW Kizuna Road Tag 9
> 
> Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado & Gedo - **1/4
> 
> Forever Hooligans vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi - ***3/4
> 
> Minoru Suzuki vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/4
> 
> TenCozy vs. Toru Yano and Takashi Iizuka - ***1/2
> 
> Tetsuya Naito vs. Masato Tanaka - ****
> 
> Shinsuke Nakamura vs. La Sombra - ****
> 
> Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson, El Terrible, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale - ***1/4
> 
> Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ***3/4
> 
> Yuji Nagata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - ***
> 
> Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt - ****1/4


I swear Meltzer's on crack. I mean, I didn't watch the show yet but if Naito vs Tanaka is REALLY four stars and if the tag team championships match is REALLY ***1/2, I'll ... I'll just eat my balls, literally.

I mean come one Dave you fucking mark, these 2 matches can't be THAT good.


----------



## Chismo

Tanaka/Naito is a four star match (IMO), and it was the MOTN. Great match-up. 

The rest ranges between **1/4-***3/4.


----------



## Rah

Chismo said:


> Because it wasn't a MOTYC. :lelbron


It had more chance of being ignored elsewhere, though. I'd have it around your mark, too. Still, it had more continuous selling than most contemporary matches.


----------



## Obfuscation

Which match do you speak of, Rah?


----------



## Timber Timbre

Cody, you owe me a briefing...


----------



## Obfuscation

Jushin Liger & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Tama Tonga & El Terrible to win the CMLL Tag Team Championships on 7/5. An upset win despite the standings of the two Japanese stars. It mostly came together in both kayfabe & reality b/c _(well the 'reality' portion is simply my assumption.)_ as Tanahashi was having fits with the new faction Bullet Club, which Tonga is a part of, and the match was set to draw another wrinkle into the on going series. The portion I deem to be reality falling outside of any context with the storylines is that recently La Sombra dethroned Shinsuke Nakamura in Mexico to capture the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. So, I guess both companies agreed to not only do talent trade offs, but champions ones too. Sombra gets New Japan's Intercontinental strap and in exchange Liger & Tanahashi earn CMLL's tag team gold.

I'm not sure how long it will last. Hoping it's going to have some decent legs behind it b/c the team fills me with absolute joy. Wouldn't object to the team sticking in both promotions, at least in NJPW with them heading for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. A pipe dream mostly.


----------



## Timber Timbre

I'm truly a fish out of water when it comes to the current NJPW product, definitely haven't been keeping up with any CMLL. I did see El Terrible vs Rush's last bout recently, and I watched New Japan's Dominion PPV last month based on the small amount of buzz it garnered after Shibata/Goto.


This might be a good thing for Tanahashi to be paired with Liger, right now they seem to be grooming Okada as their main event attraction, so at least it gives Tanahashi something to do while they're testing the waters with new ME players. Of course, i'm oblivious to most of what's going on, so Tanahashi could be involved in some other hot feud atm.


----------



## Obfuscation

Only current NJPW show I haven't watched yet is the Kizuna Road tour final PPV. The main event on that night was Okada vs Devitt for the World Championship, if that helps put into perspective with what the major angle sort of is atm. Devitt is the leader of the Bullet Club too, btw. It consists of Devitt, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, & Bad Luck Fale who was previous known as King Fale. Essentially that's all Tanahashi is doing atm. Feuding vs that group in trying to get revenge considering the faction formed over Tanahashi being a strong catalyst for the guy's envy. Specifically Devitt & Anderson as they were thwarted by The Ace earlier in the year. Tanahashi defeated Anderson in a rematch and post match the formation occurred at Tanahashi's expense. IE entering to where we are now, only with Tana now paring up with Liger.

The pairing of the two studs would certainly aid the tag division to be filled with some more star power. Not that it isn't already. Tenzan has always been over & Kojima has his fans too. I suppose you can say the current program - TenKoji vs Yano & Iizuka - is a bit stale for the tag department. It happened last year around nearly the same time so tossing Liger & Tanahashi into the scene would be a jolt of something fresh. Of course, the real focus coming up is the G1 Climax tournament. Which the bulk of men I mentioned are going to involved with.


----------



## WrestlingOracle

Speaking of Liger: I was thinking I think we all can agree he is one of wrestling's greatest in ring performers of all time, so this is my personal top 10 in no order and wonder what you guys think


vs El Samurai 1992
vs Muta 1996
vs Pillman
vs Sasuke Super J Cup 1994
vs Ultimo Dragon 1995 super j cup
Liger vs. Naoki Sano 8/10/89 & 1/31/90
Take your pick on an Ohno match
Liger and Benoit vs the Steiner brothers in circa 1994
vs Owen in 1991 in a tourney match (this is great but no one hardly talks about this)


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd probably add in his match vs Dick Togo in '96. Rest looks fairly spot on with what I think are some of his classic bouts. I may be one of the few who thinks his match vs Mysterio at Starrcade '96 is really great. Talking like second favorite match from him to not take place in Japan. At least off the top of my head.


----------



## Timber Timbre

Yeah Tensan and Kojima are respected vets, they were both prominent players back when I was following the product, and that's when Inoki was in his final NJPW years. Liger must be getting there in age too, this guy was THE attraction at one point, now he seems to be coasting on his name while occationally delivering in the odd tag match. I seen a few of his matches recently, he definitely isn't the same guy but that's not a knock.

Is Okada still a heel? If he's feuding with Devitt, I definitely see Okada as the babyface which he's inevitably going to be if he isn't already. Last time I followed up on his stuff, he was in a faction with Nakamura, Takahashi and a few other guys (Chaos?)


Fuck me, I deserve to get schooled big time. :side:


----------



## Obfuscation

Tenzan & Kojima are strictly a strong standing union these days. They still work singles of course; mostly for the big tournaments that come around. So much like Liger, they're using their novelty to retain a solid career. Nothing wrong with it when you have younger cats on the roster who can go while the older gents occasionally bust out some key performances themselves. Liger isn't the same worker that he used to be. S'ok. Happens to everyone. Doesn't mean he can't have a good match on the year. He's had a nice crop of matches this year. Oddly enough my favorite being a match he had with one of the rising rookies. It played off well in the realm of the whole veteran vs young pub story. The man is such a legend he's still madly over and fans love to see him no matter if he's in the opener, midcard of upper card bout.

Okada is technically a heel. It really depends more or less on whomever he happens to be working with towards the next big event. For Dominion he was sticking as a heel b/c Makabe is a babyface. And vs Devitt _(Bullet Club)_ or Minoru Suzuki _(Suzuki-Gun)_ he's riding hard on the babyface train himself. Big part of that is simply by how over he is. The whole of CHAOS is massively over. Everyone except for Iizuka _(who's one that scares everybody in the audience haha)_ & YOSHI-HASHI, the rest of the group is damn near loved. Well, Yujiro gets laughs from his apparent comedic promos, but he gets heat for his antics too. Nakamura, Ishii, & Yano, my stars. If you jumped into the product on a whim you'd swear they were faces just by the reactions. Yano even gets cheers for his heel antics. Love that.


----------



## Timber Timbre

Sounds like a Voodoo-Murders type of thing, they were a huge heel group in AJPW, yet were still very over with the fans. Okada definitely has massive crossover appeal, so he could be an easy segue for the Xenophobic Western culture and eventually get picked up in the United States (god forbid). That's why I think they'll eventually HAVE to maximise him as a face, he could easily fill in that Tanahashi role, and he's still young so it works out great for him. Hopefully he changes his finisher soon, I don't have a clue how the lariat managed to get those kind of pops, but i've seen him hit it in ways where it hardly seemed devistating.. now i'm off on a tangent (fuck me).


I'm in the Liger camp too, and that connection with the fans is undoubtably why the Tanahashi pairing will work regardless of his diminishing abilities. I don't might novelty acts sticking around as long as they can deliver in some capacity, unlike a Junji Hirata who will likely follow the same fate as Misawa at the rate he's going. :/


----------



## Obfuscation

Exactly. Not an uncommon case when it comes to Puro. Okada was offered something or it was rumored that why he lost at Wrestle Kingdom is via a potential departure towards WWE. Luckily it didn't come to pass and everything is right. That company has such a poor track record with using Japanese wrestlers that I feared what Okada could have been reduced to. Japanese wrestlers haven't found much success over there since the late 70's - early 80's. Perhaps Tajiri too considering he was over and got to actually have great matches. Taka was reduced down to jobber form too quickly.  Even if it was funny.

I'm a mark for the guy. No secret. I'm still pulling for one more IWGP Junior Championship run solely b/c seeing him on top again would get me giddy. Never said it was realistic...but I'm totally take it. Liger is such a pro that he's not been in too many championship pictures to knock the young guns out. He's over plenty & can get the odd title shot here and there. Well, Junior Tag Championships that is. Can't remember his last shot for the singles gold.

Lets hope that's not the case. Machine is slow as can be in the ring at this point; I can't imagine he's putting TOO much energy behind the work to show any deadly signs. Let the old timer coast in his off and on appearances and I won't mind.


----------



## Timber Timbre

Yeah, mainstream wrestling hasn't been too kind to Japanese wrestlers over the years. The WWE reduced most of them to comical acts. The only one I can think of that got a serious yet short-lived push was Shinzaki in 1995, and I think even that run ended with a stupid shenanigan. Tajiri and Chrono jump out as two guys that had a good run in America, Liger also obviously got utilized right for his occational one-off appearances.


I have faith in Okada though, he's got that intangible IT factor and a great look which is always marketable. Of course, same could be said for Mistico and he's been relegated to lower midcard limbo. Okada should remain with NJPW for at least a few more years and establish himself as THE guy, then he could test waters elsewhere in the midst of his prime. If anyone could break out, it's him, but the WWE would have to paradigm shift big time in order to showcase a guy like that properly..



EDIT: Can't believe that I forgot about the Ultimo Dragon.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

My Dragon Gate: Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2013 match ratings

Akatsuki (Chihiro Tominaga & Super Shenlong) & Kotoka vs. WORLD-1 International (Rich Swann & Syachihoko BOY) & Super Shisa - **1/2

Stalker Ichikawa vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara - 1/2*

Cyber Kong, HUB & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Jimmyz (Jimmy Kagetora, Jimmy Susumu & Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) - **3/4

Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee, Jimmy Kanda & Ryo Jimmy Saito) vs. MAD BLANKEY (Kzy, Mondai Ryu & Uhaa Nation) vs. Team Veteran Returns (Don Fujii, Dragon Kid & Gamma) - *1/4

Masato Yoshino vs. K-ness - ***1/4

Masaaki Mochizuki vs. YAMATO - ****

MAD BLANKEY (Akira Tozawa & BxB Hulk) vs. WORLD-1 International (Naruki Doi & Ricochet) - ****

CIMA vs. Shingo Takagi - ***1/4


----------



## Joshi Judas

The WWE will most likely take away Okada's Rainmaker gimmick if they ever give him a chance. If that's the case, he should stay in NJPW. But I definitely feel he has what it takes to be a huge international star. Maybe if NJPW did some tours and promoted him heavily, he'd gain a bigger fanbase and then, they could give him a short 1-2 year run in one of the big companies.

Would love to see him in ROH taking on Steen though.


----------



## Obfuscation

blarg_ said:


> Yeah, mainstream wrestling hasn't been too kind to Japanese wrestlers over the years. The WWE reduced most of them to comical acts. The only one I can think of that got a serious yet short-lived push was Shinzaki in 1995, and I think even that run ended with a stupid shenanigan. Tajiri and Chrono jump out as two guys that had a good run in America, Liger also obviously got utilized right for his occational one-off appearances.
> 
> 
> I have faith in Okada though, he's got that intangible IT factor and a great look which is always marketable. Of course, same could be said for Mistico and he's been relegated to lower midcard limbo. Okada should remain with NJPW for at least a few more years and establish himself as THE guy, then he could test waters elsewhere in the midst of his prime. If anyone could break out, it's him, but the WWE would have to paradigm shift big time in order to showcase a guy like that properly..
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT: Can't believe that I forgot about the Ultimo Dragon.


Muta had a good stint in America too until he showed up back in WCW during 2000. Unless you count a night day Tag Team Championship reign as a bit of success. Yeah, Ultimo was probably the best name to choose right off the bat. 

Hakushi eventually became a jobber and left the company after he was branded by Justin Hawk Bradshaw. He went down the same path as all the others.

I don't even see a reason why Okada would leave. He's running big time in New Japan and while Japanese wrestling is suffering too, it isn't like wrestling in American is booming either. Might as well stay where he's a big fish and can grow more and more in both popularity & ability. Unlike Mistico he won't flub up his matches - or entrances... - enough to warrant a swift demotion. Going by WWE's past, they'll never give him the chance to truly shine.



Quoth the Raven said:


> The WWE will most likely take away Okada's Rainmaker gimmick if they ever give him a chance. If that's the case, he should stay in NJPW. But I definitely feel he has what it takes to be a huge international star. Maybe if NJPW did some tours and promoted him heavily, he'd gain a bigger fanbase and then, they could give him a short 1-2 year run in one of the big companies.
> 
> Would love to see him in ROH taking on Steen though.


Okada in ROH would be a major step down. He's way above that place.


----------



## flag sabbath

So yeah, Meltzer's Kobe World ratings are a complete joke. I love DG when it's done right, but this show has been a major slog to get through & I've not tackled the main yet. The tag title bout featured some incredible sequences, but there was zero rhyme or reason to any of it, just move after move after move after....


----------



## Chismo

If Shibata stays with New Japan permanently, I think they'll have no big problems with Okada leaving for WWE once his 2-year contract expires. That is, of course, if Shibata doesn't fuck 'em over again.


----------



## Rah

Shibata will be shot to the moon. Let's just hope they leave Goto in the dust, though.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shibata push would be fabulous. I like Goto, although he's forever a bridesmaid. Give me matches I can like and that's good enough.


----------



## Joshi Judas

HayleySabin said:


> Okada in ROH would be a major step down. He's way above that place.



I didn't mean Okada should join the ROH roster. But something like Kobashi Kenta facing Samoa Joe for a one-off. Even Shinsuke Nakamura wrestled once in TNA as the IWGP champion I think and they wasted him in Xplosion against Elix Skipper.


----------



## Obfuscation

Well that only proves my point. It isn't worth it when the company isn't going to utilize the talent or the company in general isn't anything noteworthy. ROH has lowered increasingly since the Kenta Kobashi stint. They've lowed a ton since the Misawa weekend too. It's not even close to that level in terms of having that sort of impact. It would be HUGE for ROH to have, but lukewarm from the NJPW side of things. 

Far be it from me to deny a random Kazuchika Okada vs Kevin Steen match. I'm only looking at it realistically.


----------



## ChristopherCazo

Suwama vs. Shiozaki 2/3 Falls is a f'n great match!


----------



## EmbassyForever

*Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2013 Review:
*
Super Shisa, Cyber Kong, and Super Shenlong vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, and Ryo "Jimmy" Saito: ***1/2

K-Ness and Kotoka vs. Jimmy Kagetora and Naoki Tanizaki: **

Jimmy Susumu vs. Ricochet: **3/4

Naruki Doi, Rich Swann, and Shachihoko BOY(c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuji, and HUB: ***1/2

Dragon Kid(c) vs. Masato Yoshino: ****

BxB Hulk and Uhaa Nation(c) vs. Shingo Takagi and YAMATO: ****

CIMA(c) vs. Akira Tozawa: **3/4


----------



## TakeTwo

I put this in the wrong thread! Anyone else seen it? I don't know how long ago it's from but it was interesting to watch.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's from 6/19/04.


----------



## darkclaudio

2/3 Falls Match: Suwama vs Go Shiozaki - AJPW 14/07/2013 ***1/2+


----------



## WrestlingOracle

Always scares me when an wrestler from puro leaves for the E, as WWE looks at wrestlers as merchandise as opposed to wrestlers. A wrestler isn't near as marketable when hes not wrestling (well Undertaker being an outlier of course), so the moveset that one has to take in to the E must shrink greatly, especially considering the usual match length in Puro vs WWE. 

I'm not trying to be stereotypical when I say this, but you look at the look of most japanese wrestlers save for a few like Sasaki, and their muscle mass usually doesn't stack up, and with their technical ability cut, it is hard for most of them to get over since many either speak limited english or none at all and many are void of the showman abilities of a Muta or Liger. That isn't good when there are so few managers, and not everyone can be a "Paul Heyman guy". Now if an japanese wrestler in the E were given a solid 15 minutes every night in the midcard vs say Cesaro, I think he damnn well could get himself over on ability, but so often puro guys aren't given that chance. WWE had an great opportunity with Ultimo Dragon to expand their fanbase and set him up with some success, but that didnt happen. I guess Great Sasuke got a fair shake until he was outed because allegedly Vince wouldn't let him take the title out of america or something.


----------



## MF83

(NJPW; 6/26/90) 2 Out Of 3 Falls:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12dy2v_6-26-1990-sekigun-vs-blond-outlaws-2-3-falls_sport

(_Dailymotion decided to age-restrict this, I'm assuming because of the usage of 'blond'? Oh well..._)

Riki Choshu & Shiro Koshinaka & Kuniaki Kobayashi & Kantaro Hoshino & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Animal Hamaguchi & Super Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito & Masanobu Kurisu

So, we have the Blond Outlaws vs. Sekigun in a batshit 10 man tag, main event at Sumo Hall. Goto, is of course, the only blonde in the heel troupe, but that doesn't matter. KURISU MASANOBU is our MVP in this match. Yes, FMW's resident grumpy old man somehow made his way into this match without any build... and he owned it. He is a fucking heat magnet and did everything right (except sell all offense, but fuck that because he is Frontier Strong!) causing Sumo Hall to erupt with Boos every time in. He threw headbutts, punches, chair shots, kicks, etc. and the whole of it had everyone wanting him to go down. 

The first fall is in-and-out tag fun. Everybody gets a chance to shine, especially the elder IWE guys (Hoshino and Animal). Hoshino is incredible, as always, and what is this, 1987? This shouldn't be this good. So, he who drops the first fall takes it logically and decisively. 

The second fall begins with said fall loser getting his leg destroyed in a great 5 man team workover. Kensuke and Kurisu have themselves a mini feud in this bout, which is another perk to the Kurisu inclusion. The fall ends in redemption and we're all tied up into fall three.

The third fall gets lost a few times but never turns dull or bad. As was key to the 80s tags, there are unique spots and moments sprinkled throughout which keeps it compelling. Pull-apart brawls, Hoshino, Choshuism pace, fall-to-fall psychology, good showings by everyone, and largely squeaky clean. The match ends as we all wanted it to and I am a happy pro wrestling fan.


----------



## rzombie1988

I previewed The 2013 G1 Climax here:
http://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/njpw-g1-climax-2013-preview.html


----------



## bigbuxxx

so excited for the G-1. haven't watched the last ppv yet because i've been really busy but definitely going to find time to watch every day of this.


----------



## Smith_Jensen

*Suwama vs. Go Shiozaki* 2 Out of 3 Falls _AJPW 2013 Summer Action Series 7/14/13_ - ***1/2
Fun match overall. The pacing for this match was pretty good. Those two had several good hard hitting strike exchanges in the match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Kizuna Road tour finale PPV was fabulous, as expected. Real sleeper contest - although I did expect something really good - was Forever Hooligans vs Taka & Taichi. It went above any high expectations I had. Taka & Taichi continue to rule.

Can't say I agreed with the few who thought Nagata vs Sakuraba was only above average. I found it to be a tremendous contest. Fit the theme on the whole night and that was every match truly giving you something different. Those two went out & worked the match under the whole UWF formula and I couldn't be happier with the result. Awesome stuff. The counters in it were astounding. Those guys know how to do work.

All I have to say about Suzuki vs Ishii is :mark: x100 Goodness; it was exactly how I expected it to be. <3


----------



## flag sabbath

Just watched the NOAH Jr Tag League final. Massively underwhelming ***1/2*


----------



## seabs

*That implies that you had hopes for that match with who was involved :hayden3*


----------



## DOPA

fuck it, just tell me what the best matches from the super junior tournament were except the final and ill watch them. I cba to go through the whole tournament when I have the Kizuna Road PPV and show with Devitt/Gedo to catch up on + the G1 Climax coming up.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Ricochet/Devitt was the best.


----------



## flag sabbath

Seabs said:


> *That implies that you had hopes for that match with who was involved :hayden3*


tbh my hopes were based more on it being a puro tournament final with the straps on the line, than who was in it....



Spoiler: NOAH Jr tag finalists



Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Ishimori & Kotoge





Crusade said:


> fuck it, just tell me what the best matches from the super junior tournament were except the final and ill watch them. I cba to go through the whole tournament when I have the Kizuna Road PPV and show with Devitt/Gedo to catch up on + the G1 Climax coming up.


I rated Devitt vs. Shelley from Day One and Omega vs. Kushida from Day Nine at ****3/4*, and the final at *****1/2*


----------



## Obfuscation

Am I the only one who feels Anderson in the Bullet Club has been/is a step down for the guy? Devitt, Tonga, & Fale all benefit from the group. Devitt rose up the ranks, Tonga & Fale were lower card or non-existent for a good while and now usually in the upper portion of most shows. Meanwhile Anderson lost being an over babyface who was a finalist in the G1 Climax & nearing getting the IWGP Championship to be the second fiddle heel in a faction. Idk, feels like he's the guy who's missing out despite being in the group to help give it more credibility. Suppose I'll have to see how well he'll do in this years G1 to be confirmed on anything.


----------



## Groovemachine

That's exactly what I was thinking when watching the BOTSJ finals. Seems like a big step down to have him as the 'hired muscle' on the outside. I thought they were going to give him a good singles run, especially after that great encounter with Tanahashi. Like you said, let's wait til G1 to see where he stands. But I'll be severely disappointed if he doesn't get at least one big win.


----------



## DOPA

HayleySabin said:


> Am I the only one who feels Anderson in the Bullet Club has been/is a step down for the guy? Devitt, Tonga, & Fale all benefit from the group. Devitt rose up the ranks, Tonga & Fale were lower card or non-existent for a good while and now usually in the upper portion of most shows. Meanwhile Anderson lost being an over babyface who was a finalist in the G1 Climax & nearing getting the IWGP Championship to be the second fiddle heel in a faction. Idk, feels like he's the guy who's missing out despite being in the group to help give it more credibility. Suppose I'll have to see how well he'll do in this years G1 to be confirmed on anything.


No I completely agree with your sentiments.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Wait, people are complaining Anderson is getting de-pushed? What did he do to deserve being a main-eventer with the STACKED roster NJPW has? Hit a bunch of Ace Crushers in the Tanahashi title match? Please.


----------



## Obfuscation

Hardly complaining. More of an observation. Isn't like the guy doesn't have his fans so it should hardly be a surprise, no matter how you personally feel.


----------



## flag sabbath

Like you say, Anderson's place on the NJ ladder is best judged in 2 weeks time. New Japan is unmatched when it comes to giving as many roster members as possible specific, productive roles, and since his run at Tanahashi, Anderson has played an essential & significant part in Devitt's elevation.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Well it's obvious and it has been mentioned several times, so unless you're really disappointed by it I don't see the point of repeating the statement. It's not like he's a jobber now, in fact he's doing less jobs and is in the corner of the guy that's equally beloved if not more. It's not the Anderson love that suprises me, it's the idea that he should remain a high profile singles guy even though he isn't very credible as one and has faced the biggest names a million times already.


----------



## Obfuscation

flag sabbath said:


> Like you say, Anderson's place on the NJ ladder is best judged in 2 weeks time. New Japan is unmatched when it comes to giving as many roster members as possible specific, productive roles, and since his run at Tanahashi, Anderson has played an essential & significant part in Devitt's elevation.


True, true. You can have a guy like Yujiro main event an iPPV in 2012 and then months later on a 2013 iPPV he's in the pre-show match. By their standards it fluctuates without damaging any credibility, although I wasn't exactly sure I'd see someone over take Anderson's unofficial "top gaijin" role.

Indeed - which is why I made mention of his joining being to add credibility to the Bullet Club. Not only does Devitt has some solid backing with Fale & Tonga in tow, but he also has Anderson and his current successes with him as well.



ywall2breakerj said:


> Well it's obvious and it has been mentioned several times, so unless you're really disappointed by it I don't see the point of repeating the statement. It's not like he's a jobber now, in fact he's doing less jobs and is in the corner of the guy that's equally beloved if not more. It's not the Anderson love that suprises me, it's the idea that he should remain a high profile singles guy even though he isn't very credible as one and has faced the biggest names a million times already.


Never saw it brought to attention. Which is why I brought it up.

Not a jobber, but more on the backburner compared to where he once was. Heading into 2013 I guess I wasn't expecting this & figured he'd only continue to rise instead of a take a momentary relapse. As said by me and others, it's the G1 Climax that will give us the answer on where he currently stands.

Credit the "idea" of how folk have thought or 'should' think Anderson will remain a high profile guy to the nature of how Goto is still relatively high profile despite dubbing the same claims behind him. Faced biggest names a million times, still put in the same spot, yada yada yada. Mentality of if it works for Goto, why wouldn't it work for Anderson?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Anderson wasn't rising at all, he was just being fed as a cannon fodder. Here's everything relevant he did after the G1:
Lost to Okada in a match for his "MITB"
Lost to Nakamura in an IC title match
Lost to Tanaka in the Never Tournament final
Won the World Tag League with Goto
Lost at Wrestle Kingdom 
Lost to Tanahashi in the IWGP Heavyweight Title Match

His position on the card may have been rising, but his crediblity sure as hell wasn't.

Why does it work for Goto and doesn't for Anderson? Goto's spent the last several months feuding with Shibata. It's a smart feud, it has a backstory, it works. Anderson simply wasn't relevant enough to have a high profile singles feud, nor was there any reason for him to have one. Plus, whether you like it or not, Goto is a bigger star than Anderson.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm not one who dislike Goto at all so I don't have a problem with Goto being bigger than Anderson. Only using him as a point as another guy who's lost a grouping of matches in the same manner as Anderson. All b/c Goto has a program right now doesn't convince me of anything on your point. It feels exactly the same as me. Just let the differing nature that is "fandom" pick and choose who it can effect or not.

I think you believe I'm going about it as some balls to the wall Anderson mark or something. I'm a fan, but hardly a mark. My statement at the start of this was purely inquisitive & had posters understanding my point from the outset. There is nothing to make of this. It was, again, only an observation that the lad went from main events to mutli-man tags as his standard fare.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

It has nothing to do with me perceiving you as an Anderson "mark" or whatevs. It's just that sometimes I feel like I'm the only one paying attention. Gee, I wonder why isn't Anderson still main eventing IPPVS? Uhm......maybe it's because he loses all the time? Wins and losses kinda matter in Japan? New Japan isn't Family Guy?




On a totally unrelated note, has anyone watched any recent NJPW Young lion matches? I really enjoyed the following:
Sho Tanaka vs Yohei Komatsu-NJPW 15.7.2013.
Takaaki Watanabe vs Yohei Komatsu-NJPW 14.7.2013.


----------



## Obfuscation

That's taking the topic out of context. It wasn't so much about him main eventing shows only, as it was falling behind as part of a grouping. And this is the company that gave him a world championship match despite losing his last two big singles matches. So, the wins & losses aren't always black & white.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

He had a G1 win over Hiroshi so they could at least justify it. BUT WHEN DO WE GET TO TALK ABOUT HIROMU TAKAHASHI AND SHO TANAKA~!?


----------



## Obfuscation

Won't deny that, but I was only going by the topic at hand. All good.

Hiromu is one I'm already watching out for. After his quality match vs Liger in the BOSJ among some other good showings in various matches earlier this year I think he's got some tools to break out down the line. Liked more than the Liger match from the BOSJ tournament too.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Hiromu is my favourite but what I saw of him in the BOSJ kind of disappointed me. The Liger match escaped my random BOSJ watching though so I'll check it out. This one's really good:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1...u-takahashi-njpw-05-05-13_sport?search_algo=2


----------



## Obfuscation

I wrote a bit on the Liger match a page or two back. Was a neat little veteran vs rookie match. Liger was a dick at points & Hiromu showed tremendous spirit in defeat. Korakuen went nuts _(redundant?)_ for him at all points despite going up against the loved legend.

vs Barreta was probably the biggest surprise from the tournament for me. Mostly b/c I didn't think the match would click. Out came a good, competitive match which captured Hiromu's distinct strong will standing out and a solid foil in Barreta to boot.


----------



## Chismo

New Japan's young lions are awesome already.


Daisuke Ikeda vs. Hajime Moriyama (Fu-Ten 6/27/2010)

_Daaaaayum! Violent, stiff, gruesome. Poor Moriyama prick showed HEART, but this is Ikeda's promotion, and he won't let some naive motherfucker bark in his yard without consequences._

***3/4


----------



## Concrete

*Super Tiger vs Marty Jones(UWF 3/28/85):*****
_HECK YEAH! This is was great I thought. Seemed like an early UFC match in concept of putting the KICK YOU MUTHA FUKA Japanese guy with the I MAKE HUMAN PRETZELS FOR A LIVING British grappler. That was me avoiding the phrase STYLES CLASH. Tiger comes with them kicks and Jones looks like he could just snap Tiger on occasion. That's a wonderful base. It felt so weird watching this match since I don't watch a lot of BattlArts at all and zero WoS. I've seen many more "WoS Tribute Style" matches than the genuine article. Marty Jones is a legend of British wrestling and this is my first match of his. Doubt that a UWF match is the best start but whatevs. He looked classy. Very little striking but he has a SLAP to Tiger's face as well as a kick to Tiger's stomach in the corner that makes the crowd go pop! Maybe the more I watch the shootfight style I'll go down on it but right now I'm a happy camper.Oh and at some place this match was clipped but I obviously don't care about that here cause I DON'T! Actually I probably would if I knew there was a lot cut. Felt like a proper length. But I'm a horrible judge of these sort of things._

*Vader vs Ken Shamrock(No Rope Cage Match 1997):***3/4*
_This is a shootfight and hot damn did I enjoy it. Could have done with it being longer but what I got was ample for me to enjoy it. I assume they were trying to imitate if a Kodiak bear fought a professional MMA fighter. Life imitating art...or something. Vader pummels Shamrock when he gets ahold of him, attacking those bandaged ribs. He brought more rasslin' moves into the mix than Shamrock who went for a takedown at one point against the Kodiak bear. I don't know why he thought that was gonna work but it didn't. Shamrock's first burst of offense coming off him having to take a break via his ribs getting rocked was nice. Made Shamrock look like a killer. Vader's last slam looked like a death blow even with it being released.Had a hard time rating this but I'm a sucker for concise yet chock full of good stuff matches. _


----------



## mk92071

Concrete said:


> *Vader vs Ken Shamrock(No Rope Cage Match 1997):***3/4*
> _This is a shootfight and hot damn did I enjoy it. Could have done with it being longer but what I got was ample for me to enjoy it. I assume they were trying to imitate if a Kodiak bear fought a professional MMA fighter. Life imitating art...or something. Vader pummels Shamrock when he gets ahold of him, attacking those bandaged ribs. He brought more rasslin' moves into the mix than Shamrock who went for a takedown at one point against the Kodiak bear. I don't know why he thought that was gonna work but it didn't. Shamrock's first burst of offense coming off him having to take a break via his ribs getting rocked was nice. Made Shamrock look like a killer. Vader's last slam looked like a death blow even with it being released.Had a hard time rating this but I'm a sucker for concise yet chock full of good stuff matches. _


That match was so much FUN~! to watch. Its real short and sweet. I thought it was around the ***1/4 mark for me.


----------



## Punkhead

What was good and what was bad about NJPW KIZUNA Road day 9? Is it worth watching? Main event sounds promising.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Day One Review:*

1. G1 Climax – Block B: Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano - **1/4

2. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer - ***3/4

3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shelton Benjamin - **3/4

4. G1 Climax – Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - ***1/2

5. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi - **

6. G1 Climax – Block B: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki - ***1/2

7. G1 Climax – Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto - ***1/2

8. G1 Climax – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson - ***3/4-****

9. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima - ***1/2 (Great match but I hated the finish)

10. G1 Climax – Block A: Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt - ***1/2

Awesome show, the only match I thought wasn't good was Naito/Takahashi, but other then that - great. Wasn't expecting DAY ONE to be that good.


----------



## MF83

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Big Van Vader (c) -VS- Choshu Riki (NJPW; 1990-08-19)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12lt3t_vader-c-vs-choshu-8-19-1990_sport


Oh my. I just knew how this would be worked going in, and they did it as hoped, well, and to my satisfaction. Vader controls, Choshu comes back, AND I THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE IT. They bless us with another round a piece. More than eight two lariats are thrown. Vader is a super controller and that's why his domination matches rule. This, in fact, rules. ★★★★+, historically significant. CHOOOOOOSHUUU.


----------



## Rah

Big Van Vader Vs Riki Choshu (19/08/1990 NJPW) - I've always been a fan of Choshu's comebacks, but working someone like Vader just elevates these moments to the next level thanks to how Vader works. I'm not sure how stiff he works, nor would I ever wish to find out, but there's no denying Vader's legitimacy in terms of his offence. Vader busting Choshu open, hardway, with headbutts is just gruesome. Some great character work from the big man, too. ★★★ 3/4

I actually cannot wait for this set to be complete, so I can watch all of it.


----------



## MF83

^ I had the bonus of being Wrestlemania-as-a-child hyped for that match. :lol

At this rate, it'll done be pretty soon. I'll be done NJPW within a couple weeks, AJPW is well done, FMW is done, there's a stack of UWF shows to be viewed, the ULL stuff that has been uploaded needs further consideration, we've been through all the joshi stuff before so that's just rewatching four or five of the better matches, and whatever smaller indy content we can find and throw on. I want to be done with 1990 before September/uni and I lose my time abundance once more. 

Anyway, I wish I repped more people because then I could rep you again. The end.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shibata vs Smith from G1 Climax had quite a bit of potential but it was WAY too short for my liking. The only match I'd dub underwhelming the entire night. Everything else that was good I fully expected it to be. Still have Okada vs Devitt to watch later tonight. Hoping it can be a bit stronger than their match from the Kizuna Road PPV.

Archer vs Ishii was MOTN for me up to this point. Nakamura vs Anderson wasn't far behind.


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 1*

_*(8/1/2013)*_


1.	*Block B*: Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano

***


2.	*Block A*: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer

***1/4


3.	*Block B*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shelton Benjamin

**


4.	*Block A*: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

**3/4


5.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi

**3/4


6.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki

***1/4


7.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto

**1/2


8.	*Block B*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson

**3/4


9.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima

***1/2


10.	*Block A*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt

***1/2


Good show, Tanahashi/Kojima was the MOTN.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Shibata vs Kojima from Night Two - My GOD. I know everyone went balls to the wall for Tanahashi vs Ishii, and yeah, with good reason b/c it was HOT and easy to root for Ishii per usual. But for me, it was Shibata vs Kojima in their blistering sub-10 minute affair which stole the show for me. Another fun night of wrestling on the whole. Off to a rousing start. Kojima is the MAN right now.

One match I wanted to talk briefly about was Naito vs Ibushi. It was good, but some questionable selling by Ibushi made me think it could have been stronger at the end of the day. He sold his leg about as minimal as he could have given the way he was going through with all of his general high flying glory. Personal gripe I suppose. Still liked the match for what it was.

Side note: Smith looked like a beast against Makabe. Wow. Major progression from where he was against Shibata the night before.


----------



## Nervosa

I know I am way behind, but I finally got around to reviewing Kizuna road:

Hooligans vs. Suzuki-Gun
***3/4
Loved this. Hooligans have a great act going and Tachi and taka stooging them away made it even better. Action here was amazing once they got serious, as well. Really enjoyable, good stuff, and Hooligans are having great matches with everyone lately.

Ishii vs. Suzuki
***3/4
I am very surprised people were disappointed in this. Yes, I can see where more selling from Ishii on his arm would have helped, but I thought it was a good brawl that brought out the best in both. Proper result, and great finishing stretch.

TenKoji vs. YanoZuka
***3/4
So yeah, Meltzer was right about this. It was awesome. We have watched these two teams wrestle WAY too much over the past 2 years, but this was their best match. Yano and Kojima were just incredible, hauling their incredibly limited partners into greatness. The heel control segments were awesome, and played to everyone's strengths. 

Naito vs. Tanaka
****
I know Tanaka isn't for everyone, but I have loved most of his NEVER reign. He seems to have a really good idea on how to pace his title matches. Naito looked really healthy and smart here, if a little slow, still.

Nakamura vs. La Sombra
***1/2
Good and could have been great if Shinskay would just quit trying that dumb springboard spot. It was awesome when he hit it against Smith, but he has messed it up everytime since. It ruined an amazing match against Shelton, and it ruined a recent one here. Sombra was a lot of fun. I don't w3atch lucha but from what I've seen he seems like the Lucha guy most suited to puro. 

Tanahashi, Makabe, Captain, Liger vs. Bullet Club
***1/2
Really fun popcorn match. Action was good, captain's stuff was fun, and I really thought Tama tongo shined. Bullet club is a really fun act. As much as I hate how much it was devalued Anderson, its really a great act. I enjoyed this match a lot. Everyone made the most of their moments, and everyone's personalities were involved.

Goto vs. Shibata
**3/4
Yawn. Almost the exact same match as their one at Dontaku, which makes this one worse. Carryjob by shibata. Please get him some better competition so we can see what he can really do.

Nagata vs. Sakuraba
***1/4
This was fine, but I expected it to be like Saku's match with Shinskay, and it wasn't. The hold transitions weren't as fun. In the match where Saku got hurt, Nagata and him has some awesome hold exchanges, but those were absent here. Really hated the finish, too, as it was too random and wasn't really the slimax of the match.

Devitt vs. Okada
****1/4
Holy Shitballs, I can't believe people didn't love this! I have always thought Devitt was pretty crappy but I think Okada got something really special out of him here. Crowd was molten hot because they were so ashamed of Devitt and didn't even want to think about him being champion. As a result there seemed to be an extra cheer of joy every time Okada inflicted pain to Devitt. Okada also did a good job of keeping Devitt from getting to spammy, which is his main problem. When Deivtt controls the pace of his matches, they end up desperate and hectic, but Okada controlled it and it brought out the best in Devitt. The best stuff in this match was what happened after the ref bump. Gedo getting involved got a huge pop, and Okada taking out Fale was a great moment. The finish was great ending right at the highest point. Love, love, love this match.

While only one match broke 4 stars for me, everything except the Laughter 7 matches exceeded expectations for me. For me, the third best show of the year, even better than Dominion.


----------



## darkclaudio

G1 Climax 23 Day 1:
Block B Match: Toru Yano vs Kota Ibushi **1/2
Block A Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs Lance Archer ***
Block B Match: Shelton Benjamin vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan *1/2
Block A Match: Davey Boy Smith vs Katsuyori Shibata ***
Block B Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito **3/4+
Block B Match: Yuji Nagata vs Minoru Suzuki ***1/4
Block A Match: Togi Makabe vs Hirooki Goto **1/2
Block A Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Karl Anderson ***1/4
Block A Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2
Block A Match: Prince Devitt vs Kazuchika Okada **1/2 or DUD

G1 Climax 23 Day 2:
Block B Match: Shelton Benjamin vs Karl Anderson *3/4 (Shelton Sucks)
Block B Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/4
Block B Match: Toru Yano vs Yuji Nagata **1/4
Block A Match: Lance Archer vs Prince Devitt **3/4+
Block A Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/4+
Block A Match: Togi Makabe vs Davey Boy Smith **3/4
Block B Match: Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4
Block B Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Minoru Suzuki ***1/4
Block A Match: Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada ***
Block A Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ****


----------



## dukenukem3do

Why the hate on Shelton all of sudden


----------



## Nervosa

I personally could not be more pleased with Shelton's work in New Japan this year. Would have had a MOTY candidate against Shinskay if Shinskay hadn't botched the ending.


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 2*

*(8/2/2013)*


1.	*Block B*: Karl Anderson vs. Shelton Benjamin

**1/2


2.	*Block B*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yujiro Takahashi

***


3.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano

**1/4


4.	*Block A*: Prince Devitt vs. Lance Archer

***


5.	*Block A*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata

******


6.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

**3/4


7.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi

******


8.	*Block B*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki

***3/4


9.	*Block A*: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada

***1/2


10.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii

_MOTHERFUCKER!_

*****3/4*


Show rating: JEEE-ZUS!​


----------



## EmbassyForever

5. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata

TONIGHT.


----------



## Nervosa

EmbassyForever said:


> 5. G1 Climax – Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> 
> TONIGHT.


Gonna be AMAZING!

Also looking forward to Kojima vs. Smith, with two of the more surprising overperformers of the tournament so far.


----------



## Mr. I

Tanahashi vs Ishii was seriously awesome. I might be relatively new to NJPW, but that's got me interested in Ishii now.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Nervosa said:


> Gonna be AMAZING!
> 
> Also looking forward to Kojima vs. Smith, with two of the more surprising overperformers of the tournament so far.


The 8/6 has some bad ass matches too. Archer vs Shibata (!!), Okada vs DBSJ and Kojima vs Ishii as the the opener (oh the memories ).


----------



## Nervosa

EmbassyForever said:


> The 8/6 has some bad ass matches too. Archer vs Shibata (!!), Okada vs DBSJ and Kojima vs Ishii as the the opener (oh the memories ).


while that one does look good, 8/7 is the one I am looking forward to most. Shiskay/Nagata, Shibata/Okada, Ishii/smith.

Final day is also stacked. (as it should be) Shinskay has great chiemisty with Benjamin, and Suzuki has great chemistry with Yano. Plus KES implosion,Ishii/Goto, and Tanahashi/shibata. I also think Anderson/Naito could end up good, too.


----------



## Nervosa

Day 1

Ishii/Archer ***1/2
Amazing, brutal war. Archer presents the perfect opponent for Ishii. The size difference alone tells such a story that whenever Ishii gets him off his feet, its huge. This match reminded me of how amazing KES vs. Ishii/Nakamura was earlier this year. (still a top 5 MOTY for me)

Smith/Shibata****
Best spot is Smith reversing the leglock into a sharpshooter. Smith is just amazing, and showed it here against a very unorthodox opponent. I honestly think Smith is the best Gaijin in Japan. He just brings it in singles matches.

Nagata/Suzuki****
Not quite as good as their match on ¼, but just under it. Damn do thse two know how to get a crowd worked up. I NEED a Nagata/Okada title match before this year is over.

Tanahashi/Kojima***1/4
Really exciting action with a finish that really killed it. Tanahashi also slipped up a couple times and his pacing was not its usual perfection.

Day 2

Devitt/Archer
***1/2
I have hated Devitt for years, but Damn, I LOVE Devitt against heavyweights. Its like he has figured out how to pace himself all of a sudden. No more stompy spammy meaninglessness. Him and Archer were amazing together. Archer has had two straight great matches. Makes me wish KES was still tag champs because both of them have really brought the goods for this tournament. 

Kojima/Shibata
****1/4
THIS MATCH RIGHT HERE!!! Must see stuff! Do you know why I have hated the Goto/Shibata series so much? Because instead of having the same boring match against a lame duck like Goto, Shibata could have been doing THIS against better opponents. This showed exactly how amazing Shibata really is.

And don’t look now, but Kojima has had an incredible year. He had the best match of the entire New Japan Cup Tournament against Ishii, numerous great tag matches with KES and Yano/Iizuka, and now he is putting together a very good G1 portfolio. Awesome stuff from the guy. 

Makabe/smith
***1/4
Solid clubby affair that the crowd was pretty into for a popcorn match.

Ibushi/Naito
***1/4
Fun, spammy little match. Could have done with a little less style and a little more substance. Naito’s legwork may as well have never happened. I love Ibushi’s spots but the guy just does not sell. Naito appears to have gone full heel now and I do not like it one bit. 

Shinskay/Suzuki
****
The Korakuen crowd has taken to chanting Shinskay’s trademark “YAO” while he throws strikes, which is hilarious. Shinskay sold his arm well and Suzuki sold his arm AWESOME. This match had some great submission exchanges, and the finish was abrupt in a way that surprised the crowd and popped the pinfall. 

Okada/Goto
***1/2
Okada has been forced to wrestle Goto 5 times in the past year and a half, and I’ll be damned if he hasn’t gotten ***1/2 stars of the oaf every single time. Hats off to him for it. Great finishing stretch, although maybe finished a little early. Okada’s leg selling ruled. But please FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KILL THE RED INK FOR GOOD. It’s a crowd killer every match, now.

Tanahashi/TOMOHIRO FUCKING ISHII
****3/4



Spoiler: completely necessary



HE DID IT! HE DID IT! He finally got that big win in front of his Korakuen people! I cannot believe how emotional this was for me! Tanahashi played the dick heel perfectly. There was still a portion of the crowd rooting for him, so I see Seabs' point, but it didn't diminish htis one bit for me. I love how Ishii has to level up his offense for the occasion. Not just a powerbomb: Ishii does a Last Ride for the first time. Then he did a Magistral Candle for the first time, then his did his best friend Shinskay’s trademark back headbutt for the first time. Then he had to level up his brainbuster finisher by using the screwdriver. Absolutely amazing. This is what every underdog story should be.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Watching-saving/deleting random puroresu and lucharesu (DG) stuff on my HD.


*Osaka Pro (1-30-2005)
Kojima/Ebessan/Miracle vs. Delfin/Kamen/Perro - ***
Pretty much what you expect from an Osaka Pro 6-man tag - Entertaining, creative, adorable, etc. Fun.


*Dragon Gate (12-28-2008) 
Typhoon (Saito/Yokosuka/Dragon Kid) vs. Real Hazard (Kanda/GAMMA/Horiguchi) vs. Wolrd-1 (Kzy/BxB Hulk/Tanizaki) - ***1/4*
Your usual DG multi-man tag with the usual spots done by the usual core DG dudes. It's not bad, but most of these multi tags from DG ain't aging well.


*DG Infinity 87

Open The "Gamma" Gate Title
Gamma vs. Super Shenlong - **

Fuji/Masaaki vs Yoshino/Doi - **1/2

Gamma/YAMATO/Shingo vs. BxB Hulk/Doi/Yoshino - ***1/4*

Just a nothing show, really. The Real Hazard formation saves it from being 100% skipable.


*AJPW (11.22.2008) 
TenKoji vs. Keiji Muto/Ryouta Hama - *3/4*
Hama made everyone look bad. That's all.


*DG Infinity 152

Kzy/Saito/Genki vs. Pac/Hulk/Yoshino - ***

Open The Dream Gate Title
Doi vs. Susumu - ****

An average Real Hazard match ('blue boxu' and all that shit) + Yokosuka in singles action = Skip this show.


*NOAH (2009.03.01)
Takashi Sugiura & Go Shiozaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Milano Collection A.T - ***1/2+*
Solid tag with a very hot finish. Nakamura/Takashi was the main attraction here, but Milano/Go stole the show. Go trying to lariat the fuck out of A.T. while Milano was doing his flashy moves was very,very enjoyable.


----------



## Mr. I

I think so far, the G1 is the best way to introduce someone into NJPW, that or Wrestle Kingdom. You get to see a load of great matches with their biggest names, easy way to get to know everyone and the style. I know I'm having a blast.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

FIVE FUCKING STARS for Tanahashi vs Ishii. JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS. My life is complete.


----------



## Nervosa

Whoa! the full 5, breaker? Can I get a more full review on what you loved?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Well this'll be full of *SPOILERS* and I'm currently too lazy to manually write the *SPOILER* tag so if you want to avoid *SPOILERS* stop reading now. There, I hope I won't *SPOIL* this match for anyone.














Watching it at 2AM it made me not give a fuck about 200 people I might wake up as I went through an emotional rollercoaster. When Ishii did the La Magistral my mind played a replay of Devitt beating Tanahashi in similar fashion and I started laughing histerically. I actually thought Ishii won and just as I was about to mark the fuck out I realised I was wrong. I felt like my heart stopped. Ishii adjusting his offence was a really cool touch, but Tanahashi heeling it up was what really sold me on the idea that Ishii might have a chance. Remember, who has Ishii really beaten up to this point? There's........Kojima. And even then I'd argue it wasn't that big of a deal because Kojima wasn't in top form (this may sound stupid, but in Japan something like that probably means a whole lot more than in the US). The crowd didn't react the way they imagined they would, so instead of just capitalising on the crowd they MADE the crowd react which, in my opinion, made for a better match. Tanahashi not hitting the moves he ALWAYS does like the Front Flip Senton and just generally not being to get his shit in like he does in every match (he had to do a Slingshot Plancha instead of the HFF one) really helped in sucking both the crowd and me into the match. All of Ishii's transitions back into offence felt meaningful (e.g. the Powerslam On The Floor and the Release German). I can see some being bothered by Tanahashi's German no-sell, but I loved it and think it really put emphasis on the fact Tanahashi is THE ace, Ishii can't play even with him and has a long way to go before really „getting“ him. It was paced and structured pretty flawlessly, and I loved all the dramatic strike exchanges. The ways they'd set up the nearfalls were fantastic and I was buying Tanahashi's secondary moves a lot more than I would usually because of that and there's also the fact Ishii, kayfabe wise, isn't exactly the strongest wrestler and a non-finisher might beat him. When Tanahashi kicked out of the Brainbuster I honestly thought he was gonna win. Ishii immediately followed it up with the Screwdriver and I instantly remembered Goto kicking out of it in their IC title match, so the fact it got the job done this time shocked me way more than a possible kick-out would've, not to mention the mark-out that followed. Pro wrestling is awesome. EXCITEMENT~!


----------



## darkclaudio

BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship Match: Daisuke Sekimoto (c) vs Ryuichi Kawakami - BJW 30/06/2013 ***1/2


----------



## SaviorBeeRad™

Already a five star match in the G1 tournament?


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 23 Day 3:
Block B Match: Kota Ibushi vs Karl Anderson **3/4
Block B Match: Yujiro Takahashi vs Shelton "Botch" Benjamin **
Block A Match: Prince Devitt vs Tomohiro Ishii **3/4+
Block B Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Minoru Suzuki **
Block B Match: Tetsuya Naito vs Yuji Nagata ***
Block A Match: Kazuchika Okada vs Lance Archer ***
Block B Match: Toru Yano vs Shinsuke Nakamura **3/4
Block A Match: Hirooki Goto vs Satoshi Kojima ***+
Block A Match: Togi Makabe vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4
Block A Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Davey Boy Smith ***1/4+


----------



## EmbassyForever

When Benjamin botched lately?


----------



## Nervosa

EmbassyForever said:


> When Benjamin botched lately?


If he's Shelton 'botch' Benjamin, what does that make Shinskay lately?


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day Two*

Benjamin vs Anderson ****
Tenzan vs Takahashi ***1/2*
Yano vs Nagata ***1/2*
Devitt vs Archer *****
Kojima vs Shibata ****3/4*
Smith vs Makabe ***1/2*
Naito vs Ibushi ****3/4*
Suzuki vs Nakamura ****3/4*
Okada vs Goto ****1/2*
Tanahashi vs Ishii *****3/4*

Tremendous, must-see show. The bar has been set.


----------



## Obfuscation

Got to say, I'm not seeing it with Tanahashi vs Ishii. Great match, but not THAT great.


----------



## Kid Kamikaze10

HayleySabin said:


> Got to say, I'm not seeing it with Tanahashi vs Ishii. Great match, but not THAT great.


I mean, I really liked the match, but I agree. I honestly liked Shibata/Kojima more.


----------



## Rah

HayleySabin said:


> Got to say, I'm not seeing it with Tanahashi vs Ishii. Great match, but not THAT great.


I think I can find a similarity to Kerry/Tsuruta, here. That match was the full five for myself because of its greater context (and equally good wrestling). While I don't feel like the wrestling was necessarily great, it was a big moment for those invested in Ishii and definitely had that "context" to it. But, yeah, liked it, but not anything great/good.


----------



## Obfuscation

On board with Kojima vs Shibata being over it too.

I hear ya, Rah. The Ishii moment was special and I've said while discussing post-match how that was the biggest bit for him in the whole of his career bar none. For those it certainly escalated things to a far greater degree. I myself am really big on Ishii too, dug the moment he received, but not quite in the same boat as some others.


----------



## Rah

Spoiler: Kojima/Shibata



_Despite the similarity, this was most certainly better than their 2005 encounter in BML. Whereas the first felt like some disgusting fusion of a NOAH Indy-Juniour style, this kept the same spots yet gave meaning to them within their context. Right from the elbow-exchange that started the matches, down to Kojima's Ace Crusher everything was sold as it should (and not simply having Shibata fly up directly after the Crusher - something that deeply grates me). For the amount of time they had, and the story they had to pull they flowed this as perfect as it ever would have been. Every section found itself lasting the time it should have, and the build towards Kojima's comeback ensured his retaliation was meaningful and did not come from a rather throwaway segue. However, as much as my brain wishes to inform me that Kojima's battered but still fine as a worker, my heart cannot love him. Still, at least Shibata looked the stronger worker here. That's always a plus for me._


----------



## Mr. I

Day 4 ended now, might be the best day yet. Shibata/Ishii, Tanahashi/Devitt, Nakamura/Ibushi, all awesome.


----------



## Obfuscation

I find myself rooting for Kojima rather easily in the midst of all this. Age or not, he's got the goods to keep going imo. Tenzan is breaking down while Kojima is showing why he can pull through with some more singles glory. Climax was the perfect bit for him to let loose atm.


----------



## Nervosa

G1 Day 3

Naito/Nagata
***1/4
Really disappointed by this. Nagata was his usual awesomeness, but Naito showed so much air on all his strikes. Crowd just couldn’t even believe he made contact on half of them. Match was also too short to give Nagata the time to save it. I still think heel Naito is going to bring more attention to his weaknesses instead of fixing them.

Smith/Tanahashi
***3/4
Best match of the night by far. I repeat what I said yesterday: smith is the best Gaijin in Japan right now. This match was awesome. Smith’s backwork was so good that every Tanahashi comeback popped the crowd bigtime. Tanahashi’s counters to the big offense were also really good. I could have used a bit more back selling, but if you only see one match from this show, make it this one.

Didn’t really like anything else. Some people talked up Kojima/Goto, but it was just there for me. Finishing stretch wasn’t all that, either. Shibata/Makabe had the G2S, but nothing else to report, really.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*G1 Night Two:*

Benjamin vs Anderson ****
Tenzan vs Takahashi ***1/2*
Yano vs Nagata ***1/2*
Devitt vs Archer* ***1/4*
Kojima vs Shibata ****3/4*
Smith vs Makabe ****1/4*
Naito vs Ibushi ****3/4*
Suzuki vs Nakamura ****1/2*
Okada vs Goto ****3/4*
Tanahashi vs Ishii *****3/4* (Even better on second viewing )


----------



## Martyn

G1 Climax 23 - Night 1

Ibushi/Yano (**)
Archer/Ishii (*** 3/4)
Benjamin/Tenzan (*)
Smith/Shibata (***)
Naito/Takahashi (**)
Nagata/Suzuki (*** 1/2)
Goto/Makabe (** 1/2)
Anderson/Nakamura (*** 1/2)
Tanahashi/Kojima (*** 1/2+)
Devitt/Okada (**)

After Night 1, I wanted to watch just one match from night two, but its so good and I cant stop watching it, even though I have to get up to work in 4 hours from now. 

So far:

G1 Climax 23 - Night 2

Anderson/Benjamin (***)
Tenzan/Takahashi (** 3/4)
Nagata/Yano (***)
Archer/Devitt (*** 1/4)
Kojima/Shibata (**** 1/4)

Cant wait for the rest of the show. Shibata/Kojima was amazing!


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I thought the third G1 show wasn't very good. I liked Shibata-Makabe the most and I'd only have that at ***. Don't think Nagata-Naito was any good tbh. Nagata may kick hard but he can't transition from one point to another to save his life. Heel Naito was interesting but that's about it.


----------



## Ham and Egger

I just finished the first 3 days and I already feel burnt out. I might look for individual matches instead of trying to watch the whole shows or I might watch in my own time. I'm rooting for Shibata, Devitt, Ibushi, and Kojima! :mark:


----------



## Nervosa

One match that I feel was slept on a bit (by myself included) was Nakamura and Anderson from Night One. I can't say I'm able to watch every match of this tournament, and I skipped this one for some reason. I went back and watched it and the action was really good. Awesome counters from both as they have wrestled each other so much, especially last year. Crowd really dug the finishing stretch. Probably the third best match of night one, ***3/4, just behind Shibata/smith and Nagata/Suzuki.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

Just started day one but can anyone let me in on why when download njpw the themes for guys it goes mute?


----------



## RKing85

don't have to pay for trademarked audio.

ivp should in advance make extra copies of this year's G-1 shows. They are going to be hot sellers.


----------



## cobray

International copyright issues so they muted the music out. If you noticed some wrestler's theme are not muted, those themes are produced in house by NJPW.


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day Three*

Anderson vs Ibushi *****
Benjamin vs Takahashi ***
Devitt vs Ishii *****
Suzuki vs Tenzan *DUD*
Nagata vs Naito *****
Okada vs Archer *****
Nakamura vs Yano ****1/4*
Kojima vs Goto ****1/4*
Shibata vs Makabe ***3/4*
Smith vs Tanahashi ****1/2*

I guess I enjoyed this more than most. Aside from the two glaringly awful bouts, everything was good-to-very-good, concise & easy viewing. It lacked a standout match & the crowd was the least involved so far, but those are minor niggles.


----------



## DOPA

This is so fucking typical.

I finally get an invite to pwtorrents and a day later my bittorrent stops working. It's still not working now and I've tried restarting the computer and reinstalling the damn thing. What the fuck man .

Anyway I downloaded a different torrent program and it appears to be working now.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Tixati v1.95 > Bittorrent

I have the shitty "finding peers" problem in Bittorrent.


----------



## leglock

*Fujinami, Choshu, & First Tiger Mask Special *

[_First recorded video. Some of the worst wrestling that I've ever seen, but it's so bad it's good. I'm looking for a program to split videos as well as a better recording program - PM me if you know of any._]

Clip show that aired 8/5/13 on Samurai! TV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIs_bOKdtmc

From Real Japan Pro-Wrestling (6/7/2013 - Korakuen Hall):
--Riki Choshu, Super Tiger II, & Alexander Otsuka vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Daisuke Sekimoto, & Yuji Okabayashi (6:31 aired of 13:36)
--First Tiger Mask vs. Naomichi Marufuji (8:00 aired of 10:55)

From LEGEND THE PRO-WRESTLING (7/12/2013 - Osaka BODYMAKER COLOSSEUM #2)
-First Tiger Mask & Tiger Shark vs. Atsushi Onita & Ichiro Yaguchi (6:19 aired of 12:06)
-Leona Fujinami vs. Ryuta Hasumi (2:05 aired of 5:00)
-Tatsumi Fujinami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Riki Choshu & AKIRA (7:41 aired of 11:42)


----------



## DOPA

Alright time to stop being lazy and catch up with the G1 Climax


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 3*

_*(8/3/2013)*_


1.	*Block B*: Kota Ibushi vs. Karl Anderson

***1/2


2.	*Block B*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin

**


3.	*Block A*: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Prince Devitt

***1/4


4.	*Block B*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki

*1/2


5.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Tetsuya Naito

***1/2


6.	*Block A*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer

**3/4


7.	*Block B*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toru Yano

***1/4


8.	*Block A*: Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima

***1/2


9.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata

***1/2


10.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

***3/4


Good show. Obviously not on the Day 2 Korakuen level, but that's understandable, of course. Tanahashi worked yet another MOTN again, doh. Tenzan/MiSu was the first bad match of the tournament. Ibushi/Karl, Ishii/Devitt, Nagata/Naito, Nakamura/YTR, Goto/Kojima, Makabe/Shibata, the main event… All good stuff.​


----------



## DOPA

*G1 Climax Day 4*

Toru Yano vs Yujiro Takahashi: ****1/4*

Karl Anderson vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan: ***3/4*

Shelton Benjamin vs Yuji Nagata:* ****

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Satoshi Kojima: ****1/2*

Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata: *****1/2*

Hirooki Goto vs Lance Archer: *****

Tetsuya Naito vs Minoru Suzuki: ***3/4*

Prince Devitt vs Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****3/4*

Togi Makabe vs Kazuchika Okada: ****1/4*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kota Ibushi: ******


My other downloads corrupted so I watched day 4 as my first show from the G1 Climax. Awesome awesome show. Shibata vs Ishii was amazing, Nakamura vs Ibushi was a great match which really rose Ibushi's stock in my eyes, Tanahashi/Devitt III was also really good. Rest of the card was super fun. Koijma bossed it in his match and Yano/Takahashi was gold for the time it got.

The only disappointment for me was Suzuki/Naito which was disappointing considering the length it went and how capable both men are. Could have been way better than it was, but it wasn't a bad match. But yeah, this show ruled.


----------



## seabs

*Caught up on the first 3 shows. Quick ramblings.

Ibushi/Yano was fun but nearly all Yano matches are fun for Yano. Archer/Ishii was great and MOTN for me. Skipped Benjamin/Tenzan. Haven't got the time to be putting up with guys like Tenzan and Benjamin right now. Shibata/Smith was very good if a little sloppy at certain points. 2nd best match on the show though. Yujiro/Naito was very eh. Nagata/Suzuki I thought was ok and absolutely all for Suzuki. Thought Nagata was pretty awful in this. Makabe/Goto was eh. Nakamura/Anderson was decent but their match doesn't work as well with Anderson working heel. Tanahashi/Kojima was good but not great. Poor Red Shoes. Main Event wasn't good. Devitt's shtick is awful when it happens in every match. New Japan aren't terrible at much but they fucking suck at doing ref bumps and working Devitt shenanigans matches. 

Skipped the first 2 matches of Night 2. Nagata/Yano was fun for Yano but I thought Nagata was awful again here, especially with his stupid overselling. Archer/Devitt was good and I was pleasantly surprised at how Archer managed to get out of this. I just groan everytime they do a ref bump and Devitt uses the chair. I get why they feel Devitt needs to work this way but it sucks. Devitt's CHOPPING DOWN THE BIG TREE was hilarious though, if for nothing other than the stunned silence as he did it. Most of the Bullet Club shtick I hate though. Devitt's look right now is really annoying and the whole REAL shtick is just odd. Kojima/Shibata was very good. Smith/Makabe and Ibushi/Naito were both good but forgettable. Nakamura/Suzuki was very good but kinda underwhelming given how good a match they could have had. Would have been great if Nakamura sold his arm like Suzuki sold his. Okada/Goto I thought was their best match together but I didn't think much of their others. Still only 4th best match on the show. Watched Tanahashi/Ishii again with lowered expectations. Fine settling on it being great but not a legit MOTYC. Was a shame that the crowd wouldn't completely turn against Tanahashi no matter how hard he tried. That aside it's great but not amazing. Tanahashi is good in it but I didn't think he worked as the far superior hierachial talent compared to Ishii. With the Archer match you had Ishii battling to overcome the giant but this felt more like Ishii battling the reputation of Tanahashi rather than a wiley veteran who wasn't letting Ishii get anything in no matter how much he threw at the ace. I'm not saying Ishii didn't work from the bottom but they could have told a much stronger underdog overcoming all odds story I thought. The match is still great though and Ishii's selling is fantastic. I think Ishii's the only person left who actually knows how to do the get dropped on your head and leap back up spot correctly. 

Night 3 has some good stuff but nothing essential. Ibushi/Anderson was eh. Anderson just isn't the same working heel as I assumed which is a shame. Pass on Yujiro/Benjamin. I watch Yujiro's entrances though. Yes I do. Devitt/Ishii was ok but just ugh at Bullet Club antics in every match. Refs don't know how to work ref bump spots but they still insist on doing them. I gave Tenzan/Suzuki a try because Suzuki is great at carrying guys past their best but this was awful and I gave up about 5 minutes in. Naito/Nagata I thought was good. Nagata was better here and I really like slap the Jap out of your face Naito. Parts didn't work though and held it back. Good match though. Okada/Archer was very good. It's great to see the KES guys having great showings everywhere here. Best match on the show along with Smith/Tanahashi. Nakamura/Yano was very underwhelming. Goto/Kojima wasn't very good. Makabe/Shibata was a lesser version of their WK match but still good. Smith/Tanahashi was very good. I've always liked Smith in the ring but before he was hard to care about unless you were really into his ring work. Now he's doing more power stuff than mat stuff he's a lot better. Another gaijin goes to NJ and improves significantly. Shocking. 

Best Matches:
Ishii/Tanahashi
Ishii/Archer
Nakamura/Suzuki
Kojima/Shibata
Tanahashi/Smith
Okada/Archer

in that order.*


----------



## sharkboy22

For those having problems with bittorrent, ever tried uTorrent? I've been using it for years and the only problem I ever had was once when XWT had some issue with newer versions. All I did was downgraded. Never upgraded since then though lol.

Anyway, about to start day 1. Jesus Christ, this show is being hyped like the TPI '04 of Japan.


----------



## seabs

*uTorrent is the way to go. Get the shows off PWT as well if you're worried about XWT ratios. PWT is all freeleech and they're on there pretty soon after XWT.*


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day Four:*

Yano vs. Takahashi ****
Anderson vs. Tenzan ***3/4*
Nagata vs. Benjamin **3/4*
Kojima vs. Smith ****1/2*
Ishii vs. Shibata *******
Goto vs. Archer ****1/2*
Suzuki vs Naito ****1/2*
Tanahashi vs Devitt ****1/2*
Makabe vs Okada ****3/4*
Nakamura vs Ibushi *****1/4*

Ishii is well on his way to tournament MVP, with matches still to come against Kojima, Okada, Goto, Makabe & Smith :mark:

That said, most of the crew have been brilliant in their roles - Okada & Tanahashi as the aces, negotiating a minefield with so much to lose; Nakamura, Goto & Makabe as the dependable threats; Suzuki as the nutjob who loves hurting dudes; Kojima as the vet who can still go (same can't be said for Nagata & Tenzan, I'm afraid); Devitt & Ibushi as the junior stars hanging with the heavies; Archer as the behemoth; Smith as the cocky gaijin dick who knows his star is on the rise; Naito as the scrappy up & comer back too soon; and Yano as the lovable troublemaker. 

The only major weak links have been Takahashi who just plain sucks & Benjamin whose offence too often looks weak or blatantly misses its target.


----------



## Obfuscation

Didn't get into Okada vs Archer II as much as I would have hoped. Thought it was lacking something more. Kind of like Archer vs Devitt. Good matches that both should have been better is my final analysis.

I really think I should watch Tanahashi vs Smith again. Another "good" match that didn't quite pop for me. I could have been a bit burned out from going all out watching night three. That's the only main where my opinion on it seems a bit shaky. Okada vs Devitt was decent & Tanahashi vs Ishii was great. Those stuck out. Tanahashi vs Smith didn't. Going to watch right now. Since I still can't say Night Four...boo.


----------



## seabs

*Night 4 is fucking nuts. BODYMAKER shows are always good tbf though but this was off the charts.

Yujiro's entrance was ***** in itself. Good lord almighty. I sit through Yujiro's entrances now and then usually skip forward once he starts wrestling. This is with Yano though and I'll watch Yano forever. Typically fun as Yano matches always are. Finish ruled. 

Anderson/Tenzan wasn't exactly good but it wasn't terrible for a Tenzan singles match in 2013 and I wouldn't say I regretted watching it. What Tenzan needs is a hot crowd and a fun layout and he got that here.

Nagata/Benjamin I thought was shockingly good. Nagata was finally on here and it's amazing how good someone can look working sensible matches in a hot environment. 

Smith/Kojima was arguably better than anything on the previous night yet it wasn't even an afterthought on this show. Smith's having a really big breakthrough year in some ways but it's a real shame that him and Archer aren't very over with the crowds still. 

Ishii/Shibata is my MOTY. I'll write a review up in the MOTYC Thread. Off the charts and more than made up for me a bit dissapointed with Ishii/Tanahashi relative to potential.

Archer/Goto was good. "Can someone have a good singles match with Goto?" is a pretty good measuring stick who's actually a good worker and who isn't Arhcer definitely is. He'd probably be the best worker on any US Indy right now yet there's a good argument for him not even being top 10 in New Japan. Nuts. Match was good yet still 3rd worst match on the card below the first 2 matches.

Naito/Suzuki I thought was great and was surprised to see people so low on it in here so far. 

Devitt/Tanahashi would have been much better if Devitt didn't work the same match on every card. Because of that the interference stuff is just same old shit rather than oh shit. Captain NJ spots were great and Red Shoes getting a dickish stomp on Devitt ruled the world. 

Okada/Makabe I liked more than their title match. Got rid of the filler parts that made that one dull at times and the stupid table spot which made it much better. Good build up and great finishing stretch again.

Nakamura/Ibushi was a bold choice to main event a show this stacked on PPV. Never thought I'd see the day Kota Ibushi main evented a New Japan PPV ahead of big matches like Devitt/Tanahashi and Okada/Makabe. It paid off though because this match was great. Final few minutes from when Nakamura gets pissed is most probably the best finishing run you'll see all year and that includes that epic Ishii/Shibata run. 

Show of the Year. Match of the Year. Crowd of the Year. Post of the Year.*


----------



## flag sabbath

I dunno Seabs. I'm dropping 1/2* for the whole *look at me* bold italics thing :no: That, and Nagata vs Benjamin was pretty lousy....


----------



## Nervosa

It's a good thing Devitt and Yano aren't in the same block. I think between the two of them they would end up removing all four turnbuckles.


----------



## Obfuscation

Alright, glad I did the rewatch with Tanahashi vs Smith. Good stuff. Smith is working really smart these days. Using his power like he should against the smaller competitors. This was another match to where Tanahashi got to do his usual stuff and remain looking good while his opponent got the time to shine. Tanahashi is the Ace for that reason alone. The guy can do the bare minimum, eat the abuse, and still have a good match. Smith has looked good this entire tournament. I did think the Shibata match was criminally short. Right as that one was picking up it ended. That was a shame, but he did nicely against the grappler. I'm about to go through his match vs Makabe again. On the first watch I really got into the fact that Smith dominated the bulk of it. I think most - including myself - expected a smashmouth back and forth type match. Instead we got Smith domination. Glad they went that route.

Despite the lot of really good performances throughout so far, Ishii is still leading the pack. It's quite amazing how he's had a great performance in three straight matches. Then hearing what he did on Night Four. Why isn't this man a top star?


----------



## Nervosa

Day 4

Yano/Yujiro
**3/4
This wasn’t very good, but it was really FUN. Yano as the cheating babyface was really cool, as he had the whole crowd behind his cheating. Nice unique match as a result.

Tenzan/Anderson
***1/4
Tenzan, who has probably been the low point of the whole tournament so far, actually came to play in this one. Really good counters and the crowd rallied really well for him. Way better than expected.


Benjamin/Nagata
***
For a while, I have talked about how good Shelton has been since his return to New Japan. Most people ignore me, because, lets face it, Shelton hasn’t earned benefit of the doubt. Still, I plugged away, pointing out how great his title match with Shinskay was, and how good he has been in the Suzuki-Gun tags. But after all of that, even I am unable to deny…..

Shelton was awful here. Timing was bad, execution was bad, his grip on the ankle was bad: all of it.

Luckily, he was in there with Greatness Grandpa. I have seen Nagata taking a lot of flack around here today, so I guess I’m the only person who still thinks he is amazing, but I think he has brought it consistently all year. Yes, Kojima has been better in this tournament, but Nagata is a more consistent performer. I thought Nagata was just as good as Suzuki in their match on night one. Very funny and engaging against Yano on night 2, and straight up carried Naito on night 3. Here, he took Shelton on one of his sloppiest nights and made a pretty serviceable match out it. Nagata rules.

Kojima/Smith Jr.
***3/4 
Seriously, who would have guessed that these two would be two of the STARS of this tournament so far. Well they are, and even moreso against each other. I love Kojima’s grumpy decent into full demon mode, and crowd ate it up. So much rage in that scream at the end. Finish punctuated the match. Love these two so far.

Shibata/Ishii
****3/4
I DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW! HOLY CRAP THIS WAS AMAZING! WHERE TO EVEN START?!?!

How about them both waiting in their corners to charge like horses in a gate, the crowd seeing it and getting pumped before the bell even rings. Then, THE BEST THING IN THE MATCH. They take turns GETTING DOWN ON ONE KNEE to take the others guy shots. Holy crap, what warriors! Ishii then got sheeky and tried to steal Shibata’s finisher. Shibata responds by saying “Oh no you don’t! Fuck you and eat lariat!” Then later in the match, Shibata goes for his finisher and Ishii responds with: “Oh no, sir, I insist: Fuck you and eat lariat!”Then Ishii in the sleeper spitting all over the place, making it to the ropes, amazing kickouts at 1….holy crap, what a battle. This is even with the Tanahashi match. I’m sure its better, as others have said, but its right there with it. My second or third place MOTY right now, depending on whether I like the Tanahashi match more or not.

Archer/Goto
***
The finish is kinda everything in this match, in my opinion:



Spoiler: finish is kinda everything



Boo! Just when this got interesting, Goto did a sloppy version of his custom rollup and it ended. Archer had an amazing workover. He also just sells really well for a big man. I really appreciate his work here to make Goto look 10 times better than he is. And then it ended before any actual comeback or anything. Just way too abrupt of a finish. Really gutted all of Archer’s work, in my opinion.



Naito/Suzuki
***1/2
Despite Naito’s reduced speed, refusal to sell his leg, horrible imitations of Suzuki’s faces, and pathetic open hand slaps, this managed to be a pretty good match. Truly a testament to Suzuki’s skill. The workover of Naito’s leg was really good, and Suzuki was in full EVIL mode today. The crowd got really into the workover, and it really MADE this match. Only problem is..



Spoiler: same as the goto match



This was like the last match in that Naito’s comeback was WAY too brief before the match ended. The finish ended up really unbelievable as a result. Plus, Naito runs around way too much for a guy who had his leg dissected for a whole match. Two very abrupt, disappointing finishes in a row for me. Also, I just don’t think Naito has enough personality to do this semi-heel thing. Childlike babyface is his thing, and he isn’t really very good at being anything else.



Devitt/Tanahashi
***1/4
I agree with Seabs that the ref bump cheating act is getting old, but you gotta admit: the crowd REALLY gets into it. It just makes them go crazy when Devitt ends up getting destroyed. That’s what made the Devitt/Okada title match epic to me. It didn’t help this match quite as much, but MAN did the crowd hate it when Devitt put Tanahashi’s coat on. Now this was how to do a comeback! Crowd rallied really well behind Tanahashi and Captain, too. Red shoes getting his little stomp in was hilarious, too. Still, I think its time for the Bullet club to evolve a bit, because its getting a bit repetitive. Yano is special because he is the only one who does it. When 4 or 5 guys do it, takes away from all of them. Plus Yano is just the best at it.

Makabe/Okada
***3/4
The body of this was even better than their title match. (which I loved and gave ****1/4) Okada worked the back expertly, and also brought back that old step through abdominal stretch I love so much! But as good as the beginning and middle was, the ending was not even close to as good as their title match. The structure in the finishing stretch was a little weird, and Makabe had some sketchy sloppiness in some of his transitional spots and really ignored his once-injured back during the finishing sequences. Even with these problems, the crowd stayed with them and they managed to have something pretty special, if far below their effort a couple months ago.

Ibushi/Nakamura
****
I don’t think I loved this as much as everyone else, but it really was awesome. Just a typical Ibushi vs. heavyweight match until we say a little fire and attitude from Ibushi. I think I’ve been waiting like 6 years to see a little edge from that guy! But wow, were those palm strikes awesome. So was that big kick to the head. I also loved all the little stomps he did out of rage. Just showed a whole new side to him that I loved. I was kinda deflated by the finish, especially after the huge 1 count. 

Anyway, yeah, Day 4 is amazing. Nothing too bad other than the first couple matches, four great matches, and two MOTYCs.

I will say, I think I liked day 2’s top matches more than Day 4’s

For me:

Ishii/Tanahashi was better than Ishii/Shibata
Kojima/shibata was better than Shinskay/Ibushi
Shinskay/Suzuki was better than Okada/Makabe

Then again, day 4 has a WAY better undercard, so top to bottom its better even if I liked Day 2’s top ‘tracks’ better.

Ishii is indeed the MVP, but Shibata is right there. Shinsuke has (quietly?) had a great match every night as well. Here is my tournament MVP ballot:

1.	Ishii
2.	Shibata
3.	Smith
4.	Kojima
5.	Shinskay
6.	Okada
7.	Nagata
8.	Archer

As for best matches, here’s my top 10:

Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****
Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****
Smith vs. Tanahashi Night 3 ***3/4
Makabe vs. Okada Night 4***3/4
Kojima vs. Smith Night 4***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Well nobody is wrong for calling Night Four the best night up to this point. And I'm only HALF way through. Still got the final five matches left. Gonna finish later tonight, but boy oh boy is Ishii vs Shibata as grand as place as any to stop for the time being.

:mark: @ Tenzan having a really good match vs Anderson & Smith vs Kojima. This whole show has produced. Everything has been either good or great.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Seabs said:


> *uTorrent is the way to go. Get the shows off PWT as well if you're worried about XWT ratios. PWT is all freeleech and they're on there pretty soon after XWT.*


I thought that was true but there's a catch

"PWT is site wide free leech. Downloads won't count towards a user's overall ratio. This does not mean users are exempt from seeding. All downloads must be seeded to a 1:1 ratio or for at least 72 full seeding hours."

So I can't use it anymore.


----------



## RUTA

Reading some of the matchups and opinions got me excited to get back into NJPW.


----------



## Bruce L

Watching a custom compilation I had ordered featuring matches I've heard great things about but never been able to find online. Let's see how it goes:


*AJPW Jr Heavyweight Title/Strongest-K Championship/Tohoku Jr Heavyweight Title
Taka Michinoku (c) vs. Masaaki Mochizuki *_(K-Dojo, 9/6/'05)_
★★★★¼ — I was surprised to see them go the "underdog champ vs. stronger challenger" route here, given that Taka comes in with three separate titles, and I assumed he was a much bigger deal than Mochizuki. Damned if they didn't play the hell out of those roles, though, and make it work like a charm. Also, kudos to Mochizuki for keeping his attacks on the knee so consistent and focused; he's very hit-or-miss with limbwork in Dragon Gate (both as the aggressor and the guy getting worked over), to the point where, when he's off, he makes you wish he wouldn't do it at all. Here, he was very much "on," Taka sold it beautifully, and the story remained strong throughout. Great match.


*Global Tag League 2008
Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura *_(NOAH, 4/12/'08)_
★★★¾ — I loved the aggressiveness from all four guys here. Marufuji and Sugiura were great at establishing right off the bat that they were the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, and not just a couple of borderline juniors who could be thrown around with impunity; in fact, Sugiura would even throw around Rikio if he felt like it. Akiyama - who had lost to both of his opponents in singles matches in the past - was great at establishing how aware he was of how dangerous they were and brought his A-game accordingly. Also, I absolutely love MaruGiura in general and hate that they never really became a top-line tag team powerhouse. At least they produced a few great matches, though, and this is one of them.


*AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
Toshiaki Kawada (c) vs. Osamu Nishimura *_(All Japan, 9/3/'04)_
★★★★ — It's always a surprise to me, albeit usually a fairly pleasant one, when Kawada isn't the star of a match, and this was no exception. Nishimura started the match with an aggression that seemed highly unusual for such a clinical technician, and by the end had the crowd going absolutely nuts for him. You know a wrestler has an audience eating out of his hand when they're desperately encouraging him not to submit... and he's only in an abdominal stretch. I really don't want to undersell the fact that Kawada is as on-point as ever, and his always exemplary selling is a big part of the reason why Nishimura's work here comes off as effectively as it does, but this was the Nishimura Show.


*Best of the Super Juniors VIII
Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Wataru Inoue *_(New Japan, 5/18/'01)_
★★★½ — Wataru Inoue was never an elite worker, and his junior-to-heavy transition is probably the least credible such move in puro history. (This occasionally works to his advantage, as his "outgunned underdog who doesn't get that he's fighting way out of his weight class" role in the widely-praised Bad Intentions/Blue Justice tag from 2010 is pretty awesome.) But here, he looks like he's auditioning to be the new Ohtani. The "anybody can beat anybody" vibe of New Japan's tournaments is as much a boon to this match as it's ever been to any, as Wataru - who's still basically a young boy at this point - gets a bunch of nearfalls - on LIGER - that have the crowd losing their collective mind. _So_ much better than anybody would ever expect.


_*International Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka (c) vs. Kenichiro Arai & Taku Iwasa* (Dragon Gate, 9/22/'07)_
★★★★ — So, first of all, both these teams are really good. RyoSuka seemed to have the edge in slick double-team combos at first, including a super Exploder from Yokosuka immediately followed up by a big splash from Saito that recalled the Power-Plex in its extraordinary timing, but then Iwasa German-suplexed Arai, who flipped over in mid-air to land on the hapless opponent behind them with a double knee-drop. Definitely one of my top five Dragon Gate two-on-two tags; I'm not sure they do anything all that _different_ than any other top-notch DG tag, but they do what they do a lot better than most.


_*Wataru Inoue vs. Tomohiro Ishii *(LOCK-UP, 4/12/'09)_
★★★¾ — Theoretically, each of these guys needs an opponent much farther up the Shin Nihon pecking order to have a match this good. Ishii became a fan favorite by refusing to be anybody's cursory squash, dragging much higher-ranked opponents into absurdly hard-fought wars; Wataru is at his rare best when he he's ridiculously outweighed, outclassed, and outgunned, but wrestles like he doesn't realize it. Somehow, they achieve magic against each other. At least one surprise kick-out is a genuine shocker, and there are enough teased count-outs (including double count-outs) that the actual finish doesn't feel cheap; this battle simply won't be contained by the ring. Great detail moment: After trading, and no-selling, several backdrop drivers apiece, Ishii tries to get up for another, but can't. Wataru, who was also preparing to get up for another exchange, promptly crumples back down, his body language screaming "oh thank god." Excellent.


_*King of Gate '06 final
Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ryo Saito *(Dragon Gate, 12/22/'06)_
★★★★ — This made for a really interesting contrast with the previous match. That one was about two lower-mid-carders acting invincible; here, we had two main-event guys gutting it out through obvious vulnerabilities. Saito came in with his left shoulder heavily taped, and subtly favored it all match, not being able to muster quite as much strength in that arm as usual in the execution of routine moves and shaking it out every time he had the chance. Mochizuki's head was bandaged from being busted open earlier, and when the laws of wrestling required that the bandage be torn off, he started bleeding once again. A very different kind of war, one that the loser needed to be carried away from by his stablemates and left the winner looking no less exhausted.


I'm always nervous when I order a disc made up entirely of matches I've never seen before, but this one more than delivered. Great stuff all around, some of it living up to vaunted reputations and some of it a pleasant surprise.


----------



## Obfuscation

Damn. A Taka vs Mochizuki match I never knew existed? I. Must. View.


----------



## 777

Finally caught up with G1, up till Day 4 at least.

This tournament really exemplifies how NJPW is/has been firing on all cylinders. If you would have told me a year ago that guys like Shibata and Ishii would be stealing the show, regularly, I wouldn't have believed you. What a line-up this year.

I've never bothered to look into who books the shows, but I gotta say it has been fantastic, in who wins what match when and why. The illusion of a tight field that's still anyone's game remains, and Chono is a subtle reminder that previous winners are still contenders. The shows have been well paced, the storytelling simple and effective.

Couple notes.

- Ibushi and Ishii are the most compelling of the interweaving narratives.

- Smith and Archer. I used to hate Hoyt/Archer but he finally found a persona I can sink my teeth into and his ring work has improved tenfold. Harry is finally showing some mean and working with some of the best wrestlers in the world is only helping. When these guys decide to head back to the states their stock will be greatly increased. Not because of popularity in Japan, but experience.

All-in-all, a great tourney so far, where even the mediocre matches are really good.

Edit: My one complaint...no Lucha representative this year.


----------



## seabs

_*I'll take Ibushi as the outsider this year over a CMLL guy. Although Sombra would have been just as good as him but nobody else. 

Jado & Gedo are the bookers btw.*_


----------



## Rah

So many better wrestlers than La Sombre.


----------



## 777

They could have used Ibushi and a Lucha guy. It's a minor gripe, very minor.


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> So many better wrestlers than La Sombre.


*He's the best that's come over to New Japan. That's my opinion purely based on how the CMLL guys have looked in New Japan.*


----------



## flag sabbath

I'd take a lucha guy over Shelton Benjamin right now, but until this topic was raised, it wasn't an omission I'd noticed. I did enjoy Titan's BoSJ contributions & La Sombra was consistently great on the Kizuna Road tour - El Terrible as Bullet Club's jabroni, not so much.


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Day One*

Kota Ibushi vs. Toru Yano: *****

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Lance Archer: ****3/4*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shelton Benjamin: ***1/2*

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: ****1/4*

Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***3/4*

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki: ****

Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto: *****

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson: ****1/4*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima: ****1/4*

Kazuchika Okada vs. Prince Devitt: ****1/2*


Fun show. Ishii/Archer was definitely the match of the night and might end up being a sleeper match of this tournament. Okada vs Devitt was also really good. The bullet club antics weren't executed nearly as well as the Tanahashi/Devitt match of night 4 but that didn't bother me because the rest of the match RULED. Okada and Devitt have great chemistry with each other.

2 other real good matches in Shibata vs Smith who have both been great in this tournament from what I've seen so far. This match highlighted that, Smith has improved so much since coming to NJPW and Shibata is a boss. This would have benefited from going a little longer. Tanahashi vs Kojima was also really good up till the finish which was executed so poorly which hurt the match quite a bit for me. It was better than Okada/Devitt up till then.

Rest of the night was pretty solid. Only matches I'm negative about is Tenzan vs Benjamin which wasn't a bad match but was pretty dull at times. Decent at best really. Tenzan just isn't exciting to watch and Benjamin is the worst Gaijin worker so it was always not going to be that great. But it was probably going to be as good as it gets. The worst match of the night for me by far which I can't believe some people are praising was Suzuki/Nagata. Nagata's performance in this match was dreadful and a far cry from his performance on night 4 (which wasn't standout but a lot better). He forgot to sell the leg which was the main focus of the match for a while until that was thrown out of the window. Structure wise it was all over the place and didn't make any sense and they repeated spots from their previous matches which felt extremely thrown in and definitely contrived at this point. Nagata's sit up spot was amazing at WK7 but by this point 7 months later in the G1 Climax tournament not only does it not have the same effect but in this match it failed to have a point to it. Hated it.

Still, very fun show overall. Night 2 next for me.


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 4*

*(8/4/2013)*


1.	*Block B*: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi

***


2.	*Block B*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson

***1/2


3.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Shelton Benjamin

***3/4


4.	*Block A*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

***1/2


5.	*Block A*: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata

_Yeah, already covered this, here and here._

*******


6.	*Block A*: Hirooki Goto vs. Lance Archer

***1/4


7.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki

*****1/4*


8.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt

******


9.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada

******


10.	*Block B*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi

*****1/2*


Ridiculously amazing show, great wrestling, hot crowd, ISHII vs. SHIBATA, and so many other goodies.​


----------



## sXeMope

Not sure if it's been mentioned, but IVP put up the Best Of Michinoku Pro V.1 for free download. Full set for $9.99. My download speed is horrible, but I'm jumping on this.


----------



## seabs

*Everyone should jump on that set for $9.99. It's awesome.*


----------



## Concrete

Seabs said:


> *He's the best that's come over to New Japan. That's my opinion purely based on how the CMLL guys have looked in New Japan.*


Get on some lucha Seabs haha. Rush and Terrible look 10X better in CMLL than they have in NJPW from what I've seen of them in NJPW.


----------



## seabs

*Lucha isn't really up my street. I'll only watch is sparingly.*


----------



## Chismo

Halfway through Day 5, and it's goooood. Your usual suspects doing it again.


----------



## sharkboy22

Noooooooooooooooooo

Some jackass got Day 1 removed from YT. I'm gonna do the shameless thing here. Anyone willing to send an invite for PWT? Oh and is XWT down for anyone else?


----------



## DOPA

The next two days are more free for me so I'll definitely catch up with day 2, 3 and 5 by then.


----------



## seabs

sharkboy22 said:


> Noooooooooooooooooo
> 
> Some jackass got Day 1 removed from YT. I'm gonna do the shameless thing here. Anyone willing to send an invite for PWT? Oh and is XWT down for anyone else?


*Repped you an invite code for PWT. As for XWT*


> This is allowed on XWT-Classics due to XWT currently being DDoS attacked and is offline.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Seabs said:


> *Night 4 is fucking nuts.
> 
> Show of the Year. *


What he said.

Shibata vs. Ishii - star rating is just oh my fucking god out of five.

Also agree with Chismo that Nakamura/Ibushi was ****1/2.


----------



## flag sabbath

Halfway through G1 Day 5, I'm wondering what it's gonna take to get this bloody crowd excited.

EDIT: So yeah, solid show / rubbish crowd:

Ishii vs Kojima ***3/4*
Yano vs Tenzan ****
Archer vs Shibata ***3/4*
Naito vs Benjamin ***1/2*
Suzuki vs Anderson ****1/4*
Ibushi vs Nagata ****3/4*
Nakamura vs Takahashi *****
Okada vs Smith ****1/4*
Goto vs Devitt **3/4*
Tanahashi vs Makabe ***3/4*


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 5*

_*(8/6/2013)*_


1.	*Block A*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii

***1/2


2.	*Block B*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Toru Yano

**1/4


3.	*Block A*: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Lance Archer

***1/4


4.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shelton Benjamin

**1/2


5.	*Block B*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Karl Anderson

**3/4


6.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Kota Ibushi

***1/2


7.	*Block B*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yujiro Takahashi

**3/4


8.	*Block A*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

**3/4


9.	*Block A*: Hirooki Goto vs. Prince Devitt

**1/4


10.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe

***1/4


A big step down from amazing Day 4, this show was very mediocre for New Japan’s standards, there were only 4 good matches, Nagata/Ibushi was the MOTN, really nice bout. Now, don’t get me wrong, there was nothing that sucked, but many matches were underwhelming, the lack of enthusiasm for this show was obvious, and the crowd was really silent, even for Japanese standards.​


----------



## KeepinItReal

Hey yo.

*G1 Days 6 and 7 can be downloaded via torrent on RUTracker.org.* Use Google translate from Russian, you have to register (easy), then go to wrestling then international wrestling (or straight to international wrestling). So far its DLing well. So, haven't actually opened the files yet, but this site has worked for me in the past. Anyways, great torrent site for wrestling in general, but I don't think they've been getting NJPW events this quickly in the past.


----------



## mk92071

I know this thread has been all G1 lately, but I just watched Johnny Ace vs. Mitsuharu Misawa from 2/28/98. Fucking blew my mind how amazing it was. What are people's thoughts on the match? I thought it was an easy ****1/2. I need to rewatch it again this week.


----------



## 777

Don't stop there dude, Johnny had a fantastic run in All Japan.


----------



## Nervosa

G1 Day 5

Archer/shibata
***1/4
With a shit crowd and very little time, these two created something pretty special. It deserved more time, but Archer countered the PK with some good stuff, and Shibata’s blackout counter was amazing. I also like Archer dominating with size and Shibata using leg kicks to get back in it. Love this match, especially how the finish worked in. 

Suzuki/Anderson
***1/2
One problem I have had in some of the matches of this tournament is the even steven booking. It’s the worst with Goto and Naito, who will get dominated, hit 3 moves and then win. So this match was nice in that the guy who dominated won with a smart strategy that gave him the advantage. It was also really cool to see Suzuki work as a face, as he doesn’t get to do that much. Nice little gem, here.

Nagata/Ibushi
****
Seriously, fuck you, crowd. This was great. It was everything Naito/Nagata should have been on night 3, except Ibushi isn’t a pussy with his strikes like Naito, and Ibushi’s personality is better. Meanwhile, Greatness Grandpa has a great portfolio this week. The before-mentioned Naito match is his worst match, and a lot of people gave that one ****. Besides Shinskay, Nagata has been the most impressive in Group B, in my opinion. 

Okada/Smith
***1/2
Liked the formula here. Smith used power and armwork, but Okada’s comeback timed out really well. Just when you thought it would all even out, Smith regained control into the finishing stretch. If I have one complaint its that Smith’s powerbomb seems to be the ONLY finisher New Japan doesn’t protect. People have kicked out that a lot this week. Okada is just incredible. The way he sells is just awesome. His arm remained a story all the way to the end, especially in the tiger suplex struggle, which was probably my favorite part.

Tanahashi/Makabe
***
And that’s generous. Some ok action at time, but this was mostly plodding, emotionless, and spammy. That styles clash is ugly: Tanahashi needs to do that move only for small opponents. 

Everything else was pretty boring/disappointing. I will admit I didn’t watch Goto/Devitt, just because my life doesn’t need that much move spamming in one match. From this show, only Nagata/Ibushi cracks my top 10 matches, and even then, just barely. Nagata jumps Okada in top performers.

top performers:

1.	Ishii
2.	Shibata
3.	Smith
4.	Kojima
5.	Shinskay
6.	Nagata
7.	Okada
8.	Archer

Best Matches:

Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****
Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****


----------



## Hera

The G1 final is now available for a single purchase of $30.
http://www.ustream.tv/njpwsub


----------



## Chismo

Okada's been the biggest G1 disappointment this year. He clearly struggles in shorter matches. 

Day 1 - good rematch with Devitt, both guys were carried by the Bullet Club angle
Day 2 - very good match with Goto, I'll give him that
Day 3 - mediocre match with Archer, poor performance by Okada
Day 4 - great match with Makabe (> Dominion), but Okada was just... there, it was a total balls-to-walls Togi Makabe show
Day 5 - painfully average match with Davey Boy, poor performance by Okada

There are still two days left to improve the overall impression, and he might do so, because his chemistry with Tanahashi is amazing.


----------



## flag sabbath

I enjoyed Okada vs Smith, but his match with Shibata from Day 6 is nothing special at all.


----------



## Hera

I agree with Okada being a disappointment. His matches have been just....there. Nothing painfully horrid but nothing totally spectacular either. I blame it on the finishes. I think a lot of Okada's matches would have a bigger feel to them but it's been ruined by the last sequence of events. I feel the same about Naito and to an extent Devitt (but he has the junior excuse). On the other side outside of the obvious I've really enjoyed most of Yujiro's matches but maybe that's because he hasn't been too high up on the card (minus the Shinsuke match) so I'm not expecting as much from him.


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 6*

Ibushi vs Benjamin ***1/2*
Yano vs Anderson ***1/4*
Smith vs Ishii ****3/4*
Suzuki vs Takahashi ****1/4*
Archer vs Makabe ***1/4*
Tenzan vs Naito ***1/2*
Devitt vs Kojima ***1/4*
Okada vs Shibata ***1/2*
Nagata vs Nakamura ****1/2*
Tanahashi vs Goto ****1/4*

Fatigue is setting in...


----------



## seabs

*5-7 were always gonna be weaker shows compared to the start and end. Weaker cards, smaller crowds, less need to go all out. It'll pick right back up for the Sumo Hall double shot at the end. 

Dunno about Okada being dissapointing. Bare in mind he's only had one main event and that was hampered by Devitt's predictable shitck which flops when it doesn't work properly. Goto match was good but how good of a match can someone be expected to have with Goto. It couldn't have been much better than it was given the context. Archer match was very good and so was the Makabe match. The Shibata match is probably a bad styles clash in fairness. *


----------



## DOPA

Chismo said:


> Okada's been the biggest G1 disappointment this year. He clearly struggles in shorter matches.
> 
> Day 1 - good rematch with Devitt, both guys were carried by the Bullet Club angle
> Day 2 - very good match with Goto, I'll give him that
> Day 3 - mediocre match with Archer, poor performance by Okada
> Day 4 - great match with Makabe (> Dominion), but Okada was just... there, it was a total balls-to-walls Togi Makabe show
> Day 5 - painfully average match with Davey Boy, poor performance by Okada
> 
> There are still two days left to improve the overall impression, and he might do so, because his chemistry with Tanahashi is amazing.


From what I've seen thus far (though only day 1 and 4) Naito has by far been the biggest disappointment in G1 so far. Maybe he does better in the other days......

Whereas Okada performed good (but not spectacular) in day 1 and 4.


----------



## AEA

Starting on day 2 because I can't find day 1 on youtube


----------



## flag sabbath

alex1997 said:


> Starting on day 2 because I can't find day 1 on youtube


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12lr7c_njpw-g1-climax-23-day-1-part-1_sport


----------



## AEA

flag sabbath said:


> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12lr7c_njpw-g1-climax-23-day-1-part-1_sport


Oh thanks, I'll watch that after I guess already an hour into day 2


----------



## ywall2breakerj

@Nervosa Doesn't he only win with the Jumping Sitout Powerbomb and use the regular one as a normal move?


----------



## Nervosa

ywall2breakerj said:


> @Nervosa Doesn't he only win with the Jumping Sitout Powerbomb and use the regular one as a normal move?


O.....that makes sense. Jeez, I may have been giving him an undue hard time. Thanks for pointing this out!



Chismo said:


> Okada's been the biggest G1 disappointment this year. He clearly struggles in shorter matches.
> 
> Day 1 - good rematch with Devitt, both guys were carried by the Bullet Club angle
> Day 2 - very good match with Goto, I'll give him that
> Day 3 - mediocre match with Archer, poor performance by Okada
> Day 4 - great match with Makabe (> Dominion), but Okada was just... there, it was a total balls-to-walls Togi Makabe show
> Day 5 - painfully average match with Davey Boy, poor performance by Okada
> 
> There are still two days left to improve the overall impression, and he might do so, because his chemistry with Tanahashi is amazing.


See, if you watch Okada in the G1 last year, you can see he does not struggle in shorter matches. 

I'm with Seabs, I think since he only had one main event, he toned it down a lot to make sure the right guys get the spotlight instead of him. I think he has done a good job of performing well while stil knowing his match's place on the card.

Devitt and him was fine. Not better than their title match, but I think they were expected to take it down a gear. Hampered a little by Fale, but its understandable. 

then he wrestled goto who he wrestles all the time and I found this match to be the best the two have ever had, and certainly Goto's best match of the tournament.

I'll admit I didn't love the Archer match, but really only because their New Japan Cup match was so awesome earlier this year. I would also say that I didn't think Okada was particularly poor, I just don't think the two clicked.

Giving Makabe all the credit for the Day 4 matcdh being great just isn't fair. Okada's bumping and selling were awesome and his comeback was timed really well. Okada made Makabe look amazing, both here and the title match. Okada's offense also contrasts perfectly with Makabe's, especially here. Considering how mediocre Makabe has been in all his other G1 matches this year, Okada deserves credit how how good this was. Only Okada and Smith have gotten more than *** out of Makabe in this tournament so far. Makabe/Tanahshi was AWFUL, by the way.

And I REALLY don't get the hate for the Smith match. That match had an outstanding story with the arm, and an incredible comeback. Near the end, they did an awesome job of making every move mean something. If it wasn't for Nagata/Ibushi, it would have been the best match on the show. 

Haven't seen the Shibata match yet but thats ONE ok match in the first five shows, and I know a lot of people who LOVED Okada/Archer even if it wasn't my cup of tea. 

I stand by the fact that I think Okada has been the 7th or so best performer of the tournament so far. Far, far better than Tanahashi, who, if you take away the Ishii match, has been AWFUL. And let's not even talk about how disappointing Naito and Makabe have been.


----------



## MF83

I think... Shelton, Anderson, Yujiro, arguably Tenzan may be the only wrestlers worse than Okada in the G1, in my opinion. He is leader of the cookie cutter match army and that is what I hate most about modern wrestling. 

Not sure if it has been mentioned but Meltzer gave Ishii/Shibata five stars apparently. Hm. I watched it again. It is pretty damn great. I appreciated the Shibata submissions (boston crab/STF), how they were worked, and the back selling equalizer keeping Ishii down after Ishii began his comeback. Probably 4.5-4.75 stars for me and under Sakuraba/Nakamura for me.


----------



## Nervosa

G1 Day 6

Benjamin/Ibushi
***1/2
Awesome stuff from both. Really good counters and sequences, especially the finish. Benjamin is never gonna be a legend, but I have yet to be disappointed in his New Japan work. 

Anderson/Yano
***1/4
Ok, hilarious! Anderson stealing YTR’s coat and doing his thumb thing was awesome. Then Anderson did his impression of Yano’s trademark shrug…..amazing! Yano was able to play the cheating babyface here, which is really his best role. I probably overrated this due to fun, but there was a lot of enjoyable stuff here. It’s the first and only time I have ever been glad Anderson heel turned.

Ishii/Smith
***3/4
This was an awesome match with a great ‘slaying the giant’ story. Smith has such a great moveset and sells so well for a big man, always making his opponents level their offense for him, making it huge when he gets taken down. That suits Ishii perfectly. I continue to be blown away by how great Smith has been this week. Ishii rules…..but I already knew he ruled. I had no idea Smith was this incredible. Just a consistent deliver of awesome work.

Okada/Shibata
***3/4
Seriously, people didn’t like this? This was awesome! Not everything can be balls to the wall the whole time, this match had some awesome subtleties that the crowd really reacted to. The best part was that shibata wrestled with a not-before seen arrogance and attitude, here, instead of the calm we usually see. He did some little brushing kicks in the corner while the ref was distracted, and did his own version of the Rainmaker pose. This arrogance played into the entire match. I saw some people say that Okada didn’t get in any offense until the end but he had a good section of offense in the middle, even getting his neckbreakers and top-rope elbow. 



Spoiler: defending the finish



The ongoing story of Shibata’s arrogance in this match actually played into the finish as well, as it cost him control at the most important point. Someone had said there was no pause before the final comeback, but Shibata arrogantly doing his own knee version of the rainmaker was such a dick move that it created a turning point where Okada just said ‘Oh, I KNOW you didn’t just do that, asshole.” Did you see how Okada popped up after the finish? It was because he was pissed off! This was not too one sided or even-steven: this actually told a great story, exposing a new side of Shibata and making Okada wrestle differently. Could it have been longer? Sure. Most of these matches could. But in the little bit of time they had they built something really cool here. Loved this!



Nagata/Nakamura
****
This was excellent. For a second, I thought Shinskay dominated the early portion too much, but Nagata’s comebacks were significant enough that it never felt like he was being squashed. Shinskay looked in legit trouble in the Nagata lock, and the finishing sprint was really fun, too. Nagata is criminally underrated. These two have really carried Group B through most of the week.

Tanahshi/Goto
***
This was bad for a while, then it got decent with some nice legwork. Then Goto got control back and ignored it and the match sucked again. Then the action picked up and got kinda interesting. Then Goto somehow broke his jaw while taking a dragon suplex…which is weird, considering his jaw isn’t exactly the target of that move. After that is just got really plodding and dumb until it was over. Tanahashi’s Styles clash is like Okada’ Red Ink: its just awkward and lame and actually makes the crowd care less, not more.

Attention everyone DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS SHOW. It won’t blow you away like nights 2 and 4, but its probably the next best after those two. 3 very good matches from the midcard, and the undercard is decent, too. If you have to skip night 5 to get here, do it.

Running lists:
Top Performers

1.	Ishii
2.	Shibata
3.	Smith
4.	Kojima
5.	Shinskay
6.	Nagata
7.	Okada
8.	Ibushi

Top G1 Matches:

Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****1/4
Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****
Nagata vs. Ibushi Night 5 ****
Nagata vs. Nakamura Night 6 ****
Ishii vs. Smith Night 6 ***3/4
Okada vs. Shibata Night 6 ***3/4
Smith vs. Tanahashi ***3/4
Makabe vs. Okada ***3/4
Kojima vs. Smith ***3/4
Nakamura vs. Anderson Night 1 ***3/4





MF83 said:


> Not sure if it has been mentioned but Meltzer gave Ishii/Shibata five stars apparently. Hm. I watched it again. It is pretty damn great. I appreciated the Shibata submissions (boston crab/STF), how they were worked, and the back selling equalizer keeping Ishii down after Ishii began his comeback. Probably 4.5-4.75 stars for me and under Sakuraba/Nakamura for me.


Anything on what he gave Tanahashi/Ishii?


----------



## Chismo

> Far, far better than Tanahashi, who, if you take away the Ishii match, has been AWFUL. And let's not even talk about how disappointing Naito and Makabe have been.


WAAT? Tanahashi had 3 MOTNs in a row, then bloody GREAT match with Devitt at Day 4, and one of only 4 good matches from Day 5, and good match with Goto from Day 6.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

MF83 said:


> I think... Shelton, Anderson, Yujiro, arguably Tenzan may be the only wrestlers worse than Okada in the G1, in my opinion. He is leader of the cookie cutter match army and that is what I hate most about modern wrestling.


My entertainment-wise, Yujiro is the fucking MVP. Plus DAT NAKAMURA MATCH rocked.


----------



## seabs

*Called :meltzer giving Ishii/Shibata 5 stars. Yay for Ishii. 

Skipped through what interested me on Day 5 and 6 based off sabbath's reviews. Poor crowds + middle of the 9 shows makes little to see. Kojima/Ishii and Nagata/Ibushi were both good. Archer/Shibata matches up surprisingly well and I thought was a really solid match for what it was. Okada/Smith was very good. Ishii/Smith was great. 2 best guys this G1 having a really great little match. Okada/Shibata wasn't bad but I didn't think they clicked all that well. Nagata/Nakamura was good and Goto/Tanahashi was eh.*


----------



## 777

ywall2breakerj said:


> My entertainment-wise, Yujiro is the fucking MVP. Plus DAT NAKAMURA MATCH rocked.


Yujiro/Yano was all kinds of fun.


----------



## Bryan D.

Ishii/Shibata was fucking awesome. *****1/2*

I'm loving NJPW so far. Nakamura/Ibushi was also a great match. *****1/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Fell behind massively and just went through the second half of Night Four about an hour ago. Yep, that held up with the first half. Stellar show. Don't think anything is going to top it. I'll love to be wrong, mind you.

Nakamura vs Ibushi was surreal. The crazy thing is, it wasn't even the best match on the show thanks to Ishii vs Shibata. And then there was Suzuki vs Naito. Which I'm soooooo pegging as most underrated of the tournament up to this point. Such a tremendous match. Suzuki can beat the tar out of anyone for a select portion of a match and that generally puts it at "MOTYC" status. Naito's comeback ruled too. Fantastic stuff all around. Makabe vs Okada had a furious finish and was a match Makabe certainly overshadowed Okada in. Archer vs Goto ended a tad swiftly, but I wasn't wanting a long Goto comeback stretch from Archer's awesome weardown/nearfall portions, so I was happy all the same.


----------



## Nervosa

Chismo said:


> WAAT? Tanahashi had 3 MOTNs in a row, then bloody GREAT match with Devitt at Day 4, and one of only 4 good matches from Day 5, and good match with Goto from Day 6.


Uninspired and sloppy on day one against Kojima: far from match of the night, I would say fifth best on night 1. Admittedly great against Ishii on day 2. Best match of the night on Day 3, as well.

Then he got really bad, for me. I'm glad you enjoyed the Devitt match, I thought it was fine with a good comeback but far from great. How is Devitt/Tanahashi really any different then Devitt vs. anyone else so far? Then there was Makabe/Tanahashi, which, even on day 5, cannot really be considered anything more than passable. Then, on night 6, there was Goto/Tanahashi, which was as far from 'good' as I can imagine. Spammy, lifeless, and ended up just being moves for moves sake. Between Devitt, Goto, and Makabe, I would say Okada has decidedly better matches with all 3 than Tanahashi did. 

For me, Tanahashi's had 2 very good matches, and everything else well below what I have come to expect from him. Okada only had one bad night, I'd say Tanahashi had 3 or even 4.


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 7*

Iizuka & Hashi vs Cap & Honma ***
Ibushi vs Takahashi ***3/4*
Anderson vs Nagata ***3/4*
Devitt vs Shibata ***1/4*
Okada vs Ishii ****1/4*
Tanahashi vs Archer *****
Yano vs Naito ***1/2*
Suzuki vs Benjamin **1/2*
Kojima vs Makabe *****

Another subdued crowd, two guys out injured & the first show with nothing close to a MOTYC - I think it's fair to say that everyone involved is ready for the Sumo Hall double shot.


----------



## AEA

Instead of watching everything I might just watch all the best matches, going through everything is a pain tbh


Nervosa said:


> Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
> Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
> Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
> Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****1/4
> Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
> Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
> Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****
> Nagata vs. Ibushi Night 5 ****
> Nagata vs. Nakamura Night 6 ****
> Ishii vs. Smith Night 6 ***3/4
> Okada vs. Shibata Night 6 ***3/4
> Smith vs. Tanahashi ***3/4
> Makabe vs. Okada ***3/4
> Kojima vs. Smith ***3/4
> Nakamura vs. Anderson Night 1 ***3/4


^Probably just watch the matches from this list by Nervosa. Any other recommendations?, I'm new to New Japan so


----------



## Obfuscation

For me it's watching all the matches that's the fun part. Never know which match could be a sleeper bout.


----------



## AEA

HayleySabin said:


> For me it's watching all the matches that's the fun part. Never know which match could be a sleeper bout.


I don't think I could watch every single match, I either fall asleep or just get distracted during one of the lesser matches.

--------------------------------- 

*Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2*
Great match, Ishii is fucking awesome. Tanahashi isn't bad either  Don't do star ratings but for the first match I've really ever watched for NJPW it was awesome!
*
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4*
Another awesome match! As someone new to NJPW I have to say there certainly are somethings I have to get use to compared to the WWE and TNA. One of those things being the way matches play out and the overly excited Japanese commentary


----------



## Obfuscation

I say try it once with a show like Night Two or Night Four and see if you can hang. The shows in length appear long, but they fly on by each time. Like _very_ literally before you know it, the show is over.


----------



## AEA

Yeah. I might give it a go, got 2 hours into Day 2 then had to go do something. I'm currently just about to watch Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi from day 4 so this just be good


----------



## seabs

*The lesser matches are hardly terrible btw. Plus the matches are generally only 10-15 minutes so they're not long. If you skip through entrances then you can get through every match on the show in 2 hours quite comfortably. I'd definitely watch everything off Night 2 and 4. The other shows you can skip around on a little though. Don't know what your tastes are like so I'll play it safe and just recommend everything that is above average on the general consensus.

Night 1:
Archer/Ishii
Shibata/Smith
Nagata/Suzuki
Anderson/Nakamura
Tanahashi/Kojima

Night 2: First 3 matches are skippable I guess. Everything else is definitely good though.

Night 3:
Naito/Nagata
Okada/Archer
Shibata/Makabe
Tanahashi/Smith

Night 4:
You have to watch all of this show. Especially if you're new to the promotion. It's basically the perfect introduction to New Japan on top being show of the year.

Night 5:
Kojima/Ishii
Archer/Shibata
Nagata/Ibushi
Nakamura/Yujiro
Okada/Smith

Night 6:
Ishii/Smith
Okada/Shibata
Nakamura/Nagata
Tanahashi/Goto

and that's where I'm up to. Gonna watch Night 7 in a bit so just read my reviews from this point on.*


----------



## Rah

See, on one hand I look at those cards and I cannot subject myself to watching an entire show yet HayleySabin's point of sleeper matches rings so true. I cringed at the potentiality of Nakamura/Ibushi purely because Nakamura has phoned it in during his CMLL run while Ibushi isn't someone I'm high on anymore. Yet they did a complete 180. Easily my favourite match of the tourney so far.


----------



## seabs

*I was planning on watching everything but I'm stuck for time a little and 10 minute Tenzan matches in 2013 are pretty hard to get through. Plus the middle shows aren't exactly much fun with the poor crowds so I'd recommend just watching the good stuff or what interests you. Something like Nakamura/Ibushi is different because it's got such high end talk that everyone is going to watch it. If you struggle watching a whole show or you don't have much time then I don't think there's any need to watch something Tenzan/Yujiro just to say you watch every match. In no world is Tenzan/Yujiro being a sleeper match.*


----------



## AEA

Seabs said:


> *The lesser matches are hardly terrible btw. Plus the matches are generally only 10-15 minutes so they're not long. If you skip through entrances then you can get through every match on the show in 2 hours quite comfortably. I'd definitely watch everything off Night 2 and 4. The other shows you can skip around on a little though. Don't know what your tastes are like so I'll play it safe and just recommend everything that is above average on the general consensus.
> 
> Night 1:
> Archer/Ishii
> Shibata/Smith
> Nagata/Suzuki
> Anderson/Nakamura
> Tanahashi/Kojima
> 
> Night 2: First 3 matches are skippable I guess. Everything else is definitely good though.
> 
> Night 3:
> Naito/Nagata
> Okada/Archer
> Shibata/Makabe
> Tanahashi/Smith
> 
> Night 4:
> You have to watch all of this show. Especially if you're new to the promotion. It's basically the perfect introduction to New Japan on top being show of the year.
> 
> Night 5:
> Kojima/Ishii
> Archer/Shibata
> Nagata/Ibushi
> Nakamura/Yujiro
> Okada/Smith
> 
> Night 6:
> Ishii/Smith
> Okada/Shibata
> Nakamura/Nagata
> Tanahashi/Goto
> 
> and that's where I'm up to. Gonna watch Night 7 in a bit so just read my reviews from this point on.*


Thanks for listing out all those matches  :hmm: You've made me feel like I should watch the ones you listed guess I'll be watching all of them :lol


----------



## flag sabbath

I've overdone it to the point where it became a chore trying to fit Days 6 & 7 in around work, family & social commitments (and that may be reflected in my ratings for those days). I'm looking forward to the Tokyo shows, but having done the whole G1 & attended three shows in the last fortnight, I'm gonna be taking a few weeks off wrestling after the final. :faint:


----------



## Nervosa

flag sabbath said:


> I've overdone it to the point where it became a chore trying to fit Days 6 & 7 in around work, family & social commitments (and that may be reflected in my ratings for those days). I'm looking forward to the Tokyo shows, but having done the whole G1 & attended three shows in the last fortnight, I'm gonna be taking a few weeks off wrestling after the final. :faint:


Try and watch the best of Day 6 if you have the time/energy. There are some really good gems on that one.



alex1997 said:


> ^Probably just watch the matches from this list by Nervosa. Any other recommendations?, I'm new to New Japan so


My original list was everything ***3/4 and up, which to me is the must see stuff. If you add in the good matches as well, it becomes very close to Seabs list. His list is perfect for making sure you don't miss anything enjoyable. It looks like he enjoyed Day 5 a lot more than I did, and that I liked Day 6 more than him. 

To his list I would probably add Suzuki/anderson from night 5, and for Night 6 I would add Anderson/Yano and Benjamin/Ibushi.(probably Benjamin's best so far.)

I would skip Goto/Tanahashi. It's not only bad: its long, too, wasting time you could use watching others things. Very surprised Seabs recommends that one.


----------



## seabs

*I didn't think it was any good but I saw some others give it a decent review and I wasn't sure on his tastes so he might have liked it too. 

Watched 4 of the Night 7 matches. Nagata/Anderson and Archer/Tanahashi were both good. Anderson just isn't the same working heel though. Compare this G1 to his last two and you'll see the difference. Especially compared to his 2011 G1 run where he was on fire having really good matches with guys like MVP, Inoue and Goto who aren't exaclty great. Devitt/Shibata wasn't good. This G1 has really stole Shibata's auro from him. He's just one of the guys now. Which is fine I guess but he was something different before in the sense that he'd sell sparingly and make it mean more when someone made him sell and he was booked really well to fit his character and demenour. Never thought I'd see Devitt control the majority of a singles match with Shibata at the start of the year. Okada/Ishii was really good and the match to see from this show. Okada working strike exchanges isn't great but they gravitated away from that as the match went on and Ishii managed to carry that portion. Then they get into Okada's comfort zone with a really awesome finishing run and obviously Ishii gets to excel in that role too. Final few minutes totally had me doubting the finish which was glorious. Only Ishii's 5th best match from 7 too which is nuts. I think I have a case for calling Ishii WOTY right about now which is like a wet dream of mine in a wrestling context. Wasn't long ago Ishii just getting a singles match felt like a breakthrough. He surely can't go back to Yujiro level after this.

Checked the standings after this show and not counting the results today which I don't know I'm pretty sure we're getting the best possible final out of this whichever way the deciding match on Night 9 goes. I'll spoiler tag for anyone who's up to Night 8 but not watched it yet.


Spoiler: ^



So at least 3 guys from each block are gonna need to be in contention come the final night. Shibata obviously is and whoever wins Tanahashi/Okada. I'm guessing that goes to a draw and Okada beats Kojima. Then for Tanahashi/Shibata you have Shibata going through on a win or a draw and another Tanahashi/Okada match in a play off if Tanahashi wins. So either Tanahashi or Shibata are probably facing Nakamura which are the two best options out of everyone really. Fuck yes. Nakamura has to lose to Naito. I guess Suzuki and Nakamure could both win and be in contention but that's not the way they book and Naito needs a big win. So Yano costs Suzuki and Yujiro costs Anderson. Makabe costs Devitt too who would still be in contention. Nakamura beats Benjamin and Anderson misses out on a loss. Suzuki and Anderson have the tie-breaker over Nakamura too so Nakamura would need to be clear of them. Based on how they book that's what will most likely happen I reckon. Plus Tanahashi/Okada going 30 minutes at Sumo Hall is 100% possible. A Tanahashi win works too and makes Shibata/Tanahashi for the Final spot but then you render the rest of the block A matches useless and they try and stay away from that usually. I really really hope they give Ishii a replacement match on the final night too. And Ibushi. Hopefully Ishii/Ibushi which would rule and be a different formula for Ishii to work. Or they join them on the Sakuraba/Akebono tag and we get the strangest 6 man for a long ass time.


*


----------



## Nervosa

Day 7

Nagata/Anderson
***1/4
Another good match for Nagata, who has been a true joy to watch this week. Heel Anderson isn’t nearly as good as face Anderson, but he is still very good. Nice armwork by Anderson, although it didn’t really go anywhere, and a nice series of counters. 

Shibata/Devitt
***1/4
While all of Devitt’s matches have basically been the same stuff, this sorta set itself apart. I guess it just kinda felt like Shibata was prepared for it, and incorporated it into his strategy in a way that gave the entire match a very unique feel. I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I might.

Ishii/Okada
***1/2
Strong, if unspectacular. Wish it had more time. Told a good story with the neck work, which Ishii sold really well. Really liked the finish stretch with Ishii varying his offense for the occasion.

Skip everything else on this show. Ibushi/yujiro was heatless. Naito had yet another off night vs. Yano. Tanahashi looked utterly lost against Archer. He hit very little cleanly in this match and a lot of his offense felt like it was done for no reason. Avoid Suzuki/Benjamin like the plague. Main event was just there. Kojima started the tournament strong but has not looked good for several shows in a row. 

So yeah, skip this show. Watch Ishii/Okada for sure, but most of this you can go without seeing. Day 7 has to be the worst night yet. Nothing even breaks into my top matches list. Kojima takes a tumble down the top performers list as well.

Top Performers

1.	Ishii
2.	Shibata
3.	Smith
4.	Shinskay
5.	Nagata
6.	Okada
7.	Kojima
8.	Ibushi

Top G1 Matches:

Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****1/4
Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****
Nagata vs. Ibushi Night 5 ****
Nagata vs. Nakamura Night 6 ****
Ishii vs. Smith Night 6 ***3/4
Okada vs. Shibata Night 6 ***3/4
Smith vs. Tanahashi ***3/4
Makabe vs. Okada ***3/4
Kojima vs. Smith ***3/4
Nakamura vs. Anderson Night 1 ***3/4


----------



## seabs

*Top rated matches:
Ishii/Shibata - ****3/4
Nakamura/Ibushi - ****1/4
Tanahashi/Ishii - ****+
Naito/Suzuki - ****
Ishii/Smith - ****
Archer/Ishii - ****
Nakamura/Suzuki - ***3/4
Tanahashi/Smith - ***3/4
Shibata/Kojima - ***3/4
Okada/Ishii - ***3/4
Kojima/Smith - ***3/4*


----------



## AEA

Seabs said:


> *The lesser matches are hardly terrible btw. Plus the matches are generally only 10-15 minutes so they're not long. If you skip through entrances then you can get through every match on the show in 2 hours quite comfortably. I'd definitely watch everything off Night 2 and 4. The other shows you can skip around on a little though. Don't know what your tastes are like so I'll play it safe and just recommend everything that is above average on the general consensus.
> 
> Night 1:
> Archer/Ishii
> Shibata/Smith
> Nagata/Suzuki
> Anderson/Nakamura
> Tanahashi/Kojima
> 
> Night 2: First 3 matches are skippable I guess. Everything else is definitely good though.
> 
> Night 3:
> Naito/Nagata
> Okada/Archer
> Shibata/Makabe
> Tanahashi/Smith
> 
> Night 4:
> You have to watch all of this show. Especially if you're new to the promotion. It's basically the perfect introduction to New Japan on top being show of the year.
> 
> Night 5:
> Kojima/Ishii
> Archer/Shibata
> Nagata/Ibushi
> Nakamura/Yujiro
> Okada/Smith
> 
> Night 6:
> Ishii/Smith
> Okada/Shibata
> Nakamura/Nagata
> Tanahashi/Goto
> 
> and that's where I'm up to. Gonna watch Night 7 in a bit so just read my reviews from this point on.*


About to start on this list, should be awesome! Thanks for the suggestions Seabs and Nervosa


----------



## kanyonkutter

Been following this thread for a while without posting but had to post to let you all know that Ishii/Makabe from Day 8 is incredible! I think I liked it more than Ishii's matches with Tanahashi and Shibata. Hopefully that tidbit will help those struggling to finish days 6 and 7.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> See, on one hand I look at those cards and I cannot subject myself to watching an entire show yet HayleySabin's point of sleeper matches rings so true. I cringed at the potentiality of Nakamura/Ibushi purely because Nakamura has phoned it in during his CMLL run while Ibushi isn't someone I'm high on anymore. Yet they did a complete 180. Easily my favourite match of the tourney so far.


But Nakamura hasn't phoned it in on his home turf. Should have been a bit more hopeful there. At least my point rings true. 



Seabs said:


> *I was planning on watching everything but I'm stuck for time a little and 10 minute Tenzan matches in 2013 are pretty hard to get through. Plus the middle shows aren't exactly much fun with the poor crowds so I'd recommend just watching the good stuff or what interests you. Something like Nakamura/Ibushi is different because it's got such high end talk that everyone is going to watch it. If you struggle watching a whole show or you don't have much time then I don't think there's any need to watch something Tenzan/Yujiro just to say you watch every match. In no world is Tenzan/Yujiro being a sleeper match.*


I'm still going to. Even if they stink like Anderson vs Shelton or Suzuki vs Tenzan, I'll live. Those are rarer instances on being bleh anyways. The majority has been well worth the watch.


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Day 3:

Kota Ibushi vs. Karl Anderson - **3/4
Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin - **
Prince Devitt vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ***1/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki - *1/2
Tetsuya Naito vs. Yuji Nagata - ***
Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer - ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toru Yano - **3/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima - ***
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Togi Makabe - ***
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - ***1/2

It was a solid show, 3 stars match after 3 stars match, next day should be great.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Okay, I have an extremely important question. *Was Day 7's opening two matches, Smith vs. Goto and Nakamura vs. Tenzan, not televised???* I've now dled two different videos of Day 7, one is 3 hrs and 4 minutes, and then the second one is 3 hrs and 35(ish?) minutes, and the longer one just has 30 minutes of commentators talking. Wtf?????? I just don't wanna skip Nakamura's match (not a spoiler, he's my favorite NJPW wrestler). If anyone knows another way to watch those two matches, plz tell me. Thx.


----------



## Ham and Egger

KeepinItReal said:


> Okay, I have an extremely important question. *Was Day 7's opening two matches, Smith vs. Goto and Nakamura vs. Tenzan, not televised???* I've now dled two different videos of Day 7, one is 3 hrs and 4 minutes, and then the second one is 3 hrs and 35(ish?) minutes, and the longer one just has 30 minutes of commentators talking. Wtf?????? I just don't wanna skip Nakamura's match (not a spoiler, he's my favorite NJPW wrestler). If anyone knows another way to watch those two matches, plz tell me. Thx.


Goto is injured with a broken jaw and Tenzan has a broken rib and that's why the matches never aired.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Ham and Egger said:


> Goto is injured with a broken jaw and Tenzan has a broken rib and that's why the matches never aired.


Thx a lot, appreciate it. Also cool to know how the G1 Climax handles that situation. Shit matches will still happen, they're just not going to embarrass themselves on TV (I say all that as a positive).


----------



## Obfuscation

Wouldn't information like that be better used to _not_ spoil anything the lot of us aren't aware of?

I think so.


----------



## Lariatoh!

As always I'm enjoying the tournament. I've been surprised by Okada not flat out winning all his matches thus far, but I guess that's why I love G1. And I agree with the Shibata comment on him losing his aura a bit but I'm enjoying ( although it's almost the same in every match and curbed his style) the Real Rock n rolla Devitt through this so far.


----------



## flag sabbath

:lmao


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 6*

*(8/7/2013)*


1.	*Block B*: Kota Ibushi vs. Shelton Benjamin

***1/2


2.	*Block B*: Toru Yano vs. Karl Anderson

**1/4


3.	*Block A*: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

***3/4


4.	*Block B*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki

***1/4


5.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer

***


6.	*Block B*: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito

***


7.	*Block A*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Prince Devitt

**3/4


8.	*Block A*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata

***1/4


9.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

******


10.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto

***3/4


A big improvement over Day 5, this show was very entertaining.



*G1 Climax 23 – Day 7*

*(8/8/2013)*


1.	Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tomoaki Honma & Cpt. New Japan

**


2.	*Block B*: Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi

***1/2


3.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Anderson

***1/4


4.	*Block A*: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Prince Devitt

***1/4


5.	*Block A*: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii

******


6.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer

***3/4


7.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano

***


8.	*Block B*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Shelton Benjamin

***3/4


9.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima

***1/2


This was an awesome show, I really don’t get the hate for this. I guess people were really spent to this point. Well, not me, and I swear this was entertaining, filled with goodies.​


----------



## Smith_Jensen

*Winner of Block A vs Winner of Block B* - _G1 Climax 23 Day 9_ - ***3/4


Spoiler: who wrestled in the G1 finals



The final match was Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

Overall, this was a fun way to end the G1 Climax. The reason why I am not giving this match **** or higher is that Naito's selling of his damaged right leg was bad. He would sometimes sell by limping but after a few seconds, he would run and walk perfectly. He would often use that leg for an offensive move on Tanahashi after Tanahashi worked on that leg relentlessly. However, this is still a fun match as both guys paced the match well and did a great job in building the near falls up.


----------



## Obfuscation

Onto Night Six I go and when it comes to "underwhelming" performances on the whole, I'm picking Goto. Not Shelton, Yujiro, or Tenzan b/c nobody expected them to really do anything special. Fact that each have had at least one quality match so far is fine and the rest was expected. Goto though, yeah this guy is being booked to rule meanwhile his performances haven't looked up to par. The match with Devitt on Night Five was flat out tripe. Hated it from start to finish. Kojima's only bleh match up to this point too has been vs Goto. He looked good vs Okada and was carried by Archer. That's his highlights for now. Not feeling it for a constant guy.


----------



## Rah

Smith_Jensen said:


> *Winner of Block A vs Winner of Block B* - _G1 Climax 23 Day 9_ - ***1/2-***3/4
> 
> 
> Spoiler: who wrestled in the G1 finals
> 
> 
> 
> The final match was Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> 
> Overall, this was a fun way to end the G1 Climax. The reason why I am not giving this match **** or higher is that Naito's selling of his damaged right leg was bad. He would often use that leg for an offensive move after Tanahashi worked on that leg. However, this is still a fun match as both guys paced the match well and did a great job in building the near falls up.





Spoiler: finals



this comes down to how they're trained, I'm afraid. Most dominantly, wrestlers use their injured leg as their base and strike with the fresh leg, in shoot fights it's the opposite way around. Of course I have not seen the match so I cannot comment directly, but from what I read that's how it sounds



That said, 90% of the time wrestlers work the left limb. It's become so painstakingly obvious now.

EDIT: doing some more reading and it seems this isn't the case. It's just Naito.


-----------
EDIT 2: Ishii/Shibata has received 5-stars from Meltzer. In semi-related news, he has this to say about Okada/Tanahashi:


> Will have more later on this but Tanahashi vs. Okada is the current equivalent of Thesz vs. O'Connor, Jack Brisco vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat. I'm not listing Misawa vs. Kobashi because as good as Tanahashi vs. Okada is, until they repeatedly win match of the year, I'm not putting them in the same category.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Ham and Egger said:


> Goto is injured with a broken jaw and Tenzan has a broken rib and that's why the matches never aired.


Hey, could you tell me where you read this by any chance? Lol do you speak Japanese?


----------



## Punkhead

Dave Meltzer loves puro way too much. Just look at how many puro matches received 5 stars and then compare it to the number of American/lucha/other matches that got the highest score.

Lucha libre: 5 matches
USA: 27 matches
Puro: 65 matches!


----------



## Chismo

*G1 Climax 23 – Day 8*

*(8/10/2013)*


1.	Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Cpt. New Japan & KUSHIDA

**


2.	*Block A*: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Prince Devitt

***1/4


3.	*Block B*: Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi

**3/4


4.	*Block A*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Lance Archer

***3/4


5.	*Block B*: Toru Yano vs. Shelton Benjamin

***


6.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii

*****1/2*


7.	*Block B*: Kota Ibushi vs. Minoru Suzuki

*****1/4*


8.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

***3/4


9.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

*****1/2*


Awesomeness.​


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 8*

Kushida & Cap vs Iizuka & Hashi **1/4*
Smith vs Devitt ****1/4*
Anderson vs Takahashi ****
Archer vs Kojima ****1/2*
Benjamin vs Yano ***1/2*
Ishii vs Makabe ******
Suzuki vs Ibushi ******
Naito vs Nakamura ****3/4*
Okada vs Tanahashi *****1/2*


----------



## seabs

*Final 2 days talk. Don't worry about reading for spoilers. Anything even hinting at a result is tagged.

Day 8 I didn't think was the great show that others did. Smith/Devitt was pretty fun because Smith was great and Devitt didn't have an extended control period. Chair nonsense really hurts every Devitt match for me though. Makes the refs look like total geeks and doesn't suit a promotion built on credibility. Also doesn't help that Yano is doing a similar shtick without making the refs look braindead. Anderson/Yujiro wasn't very good. Didn't think Archer/Kojima was that good either. In parts it was but then other parts either fell really flat or disconnected. Benjamin/Yano wasn't good either.

Ishii/Makabe I wouldn't even call a good match. It's what you get when you do the Shibata/Ishii match wrong. Same vein as the Ishii/Goto match this year in that they traded spots for story and lost what makes that type of match work. There's only so many times you can trade lariats without going down. For some reason Makabe decided to work as the underdog at the start and then quickly paired off into trading equals for the remainder. So Ishii doesn't get to work underdog at all here. Kick outs at 1 were horrendous. Fans knew it too. You do that spot as a fighting spirit spot so the guy leaps up and the other guy stands there with a what the good lord is going on I thought you were dead look on his face and everyone gasps in excitement. Here they kick out at 1 repeatedly and then stay laying down on the mat and forget to actually do the fighting spirit spot. Makabe almost broke Ishii's neck with a botched powerbomb too. Well done dickhead. Not good but if you though Ishii/Goto from NJ Cup was amazing then you'll probably think the same of this. Ishii/Makabe from December last year was a lot better than this.

Suzuki/Ibushi would have been really good if they didn't insist on a control segment working over the leg. In an Ibushi match it's just silly because there's no way Ibushi can do his comeback spots without undoing all of the leg work. A few spots working over the leg is fine but when you center your whole control segment around wearing the leg down then it's really just a waste of time because even if Ibushi tried his best to sell the leg there's no way he's doing all his flips while selling the leg. Post comeback was very good though but yeah they needed to work something different prior to it. Felt like they tried to hybrid both their matches from Night 4 but didn't do either part as well.

Naito/Nakamura was dissapointing. Felt like it never got going and then suddenly they were into the finishing stretch. Naito's selling was odd. It was like he was annoyed but not really in pain which normally leads to Naito getting up and slapping the face off of Nakamura's face but it never happened. Eh.

Tanahashi/Okada was very good but not great and not on the level of their title matches.


Spoiler: result talk



I had the time limit draw figured out after Day 7 but if I hadn't then it was glaringly obvious after the first 5-10 minutes. I was fine with the result for these two but it also meant them working their normal 20-25 minute match without a finish and dragged out a little longer. I really wish they'd freshen the match up at this point. That's why I was looking forward to this pairing in a G1 context because I assumed they'd work a sub 15 minute match. Limb work was good but not blow away but I've seen it all before and done better with these two. Climax of the match felt a bit anti-climatic. For a time limit draw you tend to work your all out finishing stretch and have the time cut out right before the finisher gets hit. I know they ended on sort of a Rainmaker spot but it came just after a long pause on the mat which was strange and the way Tanahashi flopped to the mat didn't come off perfectly either. I think I know what they were going for but it didn't come off perfectly. Should have finished with them both battling for their finisher at full pace for the last 2 minutes.



Final night is good but nothing great on it. Nagata/Yujiro was eh. I love how blatantly the camera zooms in on Yujiro's skanks. Or as Meltzer calls them "strippers that Yujiro will service later". The mist spot was really odd. Yano/Suzuki was very good with Suzuki having Yano scouted at every spot but still falling victim to his shtick. There hasn't been any great Yano matches this G1 but they've all been fun. This was probably the best of them. Nakamura/Benjamin was eh. Benjamin really isn't his good and his ankle lock looks terrible. Finish was cool I guess. Naito/Anderson was very good too.


Spoiler: result talk



I was kinda deflated going into this after Nakamura lost. I assumed he'd beat Benjamin and this match would be to decide if Anderson levels and goes through on the tie-break. Match got good eventually though and they finished really well. Top rope gun stun kickout was great. Naito using the Blancha was a great finish even if it shocked the crowd into silence. It's a lot better than Red Ink and a cool move for Naito to pull out as a near submission in big matches. As well as winning TV matches with too. Crowd going hush with confusion as to who won the block was brilliant and then Naito is announced and they all cheer.



KES match started off really good but then it kinda lost control and went too long. I love how the Japanese crowds pick up on little things such as Smith struggling to get his feet up to the top rope and cheering him when he got up there. Went too long though and turned too much into trading big spots back and forth. 

Devitt/Makabe was terrible. I just don't like Devitt's act at all. I'm assuming the monkey face is a rib on Makabe but it wasn't funny. Devitt's shtick would probably be really good if he did it sparingly to screw a Tanahashi out of a win. 9 straight singles matches in 11 days is too much though. The spear spot made me chuckle a little because I can imagine how badly Devitt probably wanted to be Goldberg for just a second but it's so out of place in New Japan. In WWE it fits but not here. Not sure where his matches never get thrown when he doesn't even hide his cheating like Yano does. I so wanted Red Shoes to kick his ass when he came down. Fale is pretty bad in his role too. Terrible sense of timing and a terrible signature move too. I just can't do with Devitt's whole act. Hopefully from now on Anderson and Tonga are out there too and they can do more cheating with the ref distracted rather than these abysmal ref bumps where the ref always revives just in time for the finish. If you want to talk about guys who had sub par G1's than Makabe is the go to guy. Ironically GO TO is probably the other one but I don't know why people would have high hopes for Goto. Makabe normally has quiet G1's but he's definitely been below par during this one.

Okada/Kojima was eh.


Spoiler: result



They'll have a much better title match over 20 minutes at least.



Tanahashi/Shibata wasn't good. Mix of


Spoiler: result talk



one of them having to work a 25 minute match soon after


 and a bad styles clash (not the hilarious spot that Tanahashi is doing now). 

6 man was wacky and kinda fun but also kinda a mess. I sorta joked about them doing this and they actually did. Would have rather had the Ibushi/Ishii singles match but we got the highlights of it here and judging by their brawl I'm sure we'll be getting it at some point after both impressed during this G1. This match really hurt Sakuraba's reputation as a special attraction singles guy though imo. Brawling at ringside with Iizuka and throwing punches with gloves against YOSHI-HASHI. Made him look like an Akebono type attraction rather than an attraction that can co-main event Tokyo Dome. Akebono is great in this role though. It was awful but it also kind of fun at the same time. Ishii and Ibushi got to have their final great showing too.



Spoiler: Final



Good-Very Good match which would have been great if Naito would have sold the leg. Not selling a limb after a few leg spots I'm ok with but the disparity in Naito's selling ruined this. During the workover he'd sell the leg like death which was great but then whenever he was on offence he was jumping around the ring with no problem not selling the leg and it was too drastic a difference. Then we'd get cut off he'd sell the leg like death again. Leg selling issue aside this was what you want from a G1 Final between these two but it can't be called great because of how big a part the worked over leg was in the context of the match.



So nothing I'd call MOTYC from the Sumo Hall double shot. Closest would be Tanahashi/Okada. *


----------



## Rah

Considering everyone is pimping this show, I'll give the more prominent matches a viewing. I refuse to sit through four hours, and especially those first five matches.

*Day 8*
*Ishii Vs Makabe* - Makabe works so painfully lazy here, it's almost a chore to sit through. In a tourney where Ishii has had stiff competition from the STRONTH-STYLE~! aficionados, the last thing you should do is expose yourself as a terrible brawler. Those turnbuckle punches and stomps are so bad. My disdain for Ishii copy-pasting his selling from match to match is perhaps more a personal gripe than a legitimate one (of course you'd work the neck if it was focused on the day before) but it just bores me now. Makabe being the totally lazy asshole he is, would rather follow up his horrifically botched powerbomb not with something safe to accertain if Ishii is okay but a GERMANU SUPLEXU~! because these guys are "men" and that's what they apparently do. Bullshit. Bullshit x2 at Ishii being taken down via neckwork, and then delivering a top-rope brainbuster that isn't sold as a desperation move but just as a transition to bring upon their repeated lariat spots. Makabe cannot even be bothered to kick out of a pin in time, either. WHY THE FUCK DO YOU JUST STAND UP AFTER A FUCKING BUCKLE BOMB?! Lazy and sloppy performances in a MotYC? No thanks. This was RoH-level shit.

*Minoru Suzuki Vs Kota Ibushi* - it's nice to see veteran MiSu working Ibushi's botched turnbuckle spot into a leg submission. Not only does it half-cover the botch but it also plays into the strategy as Ibushi needs his legs to perform most of his offence. LOLJK, it doesn't. Selling doesn't exist in Ibushi's world. Moments after screaming in pain within a leg-hold, Ibushi's flying OVER the turnbuckle, delivering dropkicks and then kicking, wildly, at things. He lands on his knees, for fuck's sake, yet none of that matters to him. Doesn't help that he forgets which leg is the injured one, too. First it's his left knee, then his right ankle and then his right knee (all in the space of a couple minutes). Bless Suzuki for trying to salvage this, though, and not going back to the legs, knowing it would be pointless.



Spoiler: Okada/Tana



*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Kazuchika Okada* - surprisingly better than I thought it would be. The booking most certainly hurt both men, as working a lengthy match is something they struggle to do. Great matches pace their build carefully and in one direction, while Okada/Tanahashi tends to oscillate. Given half the time and this would have been outstanding. Yet now they work spots that don't truly hold later on (Okada's neckwork not giving him much edge towards later elbow trade-offs). They also suffer from punctuating their control segments with stalls in which nothing happens; almost as if to waste time. For the most part, it works fine for Okada as he throws in his taunts yet they both most certainly take their time in standing up or delivering their next move. Tanahashi needs to stop doing his High Fly Flow. Anyway, Okada was pretty great here, stupid facials and all. Good but nowhere near as good as it should be if they didn't work the draw.


----------



## seabs

*I don't think the top rope spot in Ibushi/Suzuki was a bothc Rah. Mostly because the leg spot came and set up the next 5ish minutes. I think Suzuki was supposed to catch Ibushi a bit cleaner and block the spot though rather than letting him drop straight down and dragging his leg back up. Glad you watched Ishii/Makabe because I wanted to know what someone with similar tastest to me on that type of match thought. *


----------



## Bubz

Think I'll skim through the last two nights tonight. Not looking forward to Ishii/Makabe now.


----------



## flag sabbath

The Ishii vs Makabe nitpicking is lost on me. Ishii finally got to spend a little time in the driver's seat in his last G1 match by taking advantage of Makabe's taped up ribs. The powerbomb botch was an accident which nonetheless looked like it could be part of the match - Makabe dropped him after Ishii kicked him in the head. The ref immediately checked Ishii was okay & relayed that he was to Makabe. The subsequent German was very safely executed with Ishii landing on his upper back & shoulders. Seabs, I get why you hated the one-counts, but you've completely made up that bit about the fans knowing they were horrendous - the crowd popped for them big time & went ballistic for the resulting elbow trade-off. I'm not a massive fan of Makabe & they definitely pushed the overkill boundaries here, but to me it was a fittingly OTT payoff to Ishii's G1 & one which the fans lapped up.

Also, Rah, the last line of your Tanahashi vs. Okada write-up contains a big fat spoiler which folks won't thank you for.


----------



## Rah

Well, shit. I need to get back into thinking before I post the final edit. Thanks for the mention.



Seabs said:


> *I don't think the top rope spot in Ibushi/Suzuki was a bothc Rah. Mostly because the leg spot came and set up the next 5ish minutes. I think Suzuki was supposed to catch Ibushi a bit cleaner and block the spot though rather than letting him drop straight down and dragging his leg back up. Glad you watched Ishii/Makabe because I wanted to know what someone with similar tastest to me on that type of match thought. *


It appeared as if Ibushi had missed wildly and then got a bit hung-up, I suppose waiting for Suzuki to do something out of it could indicate that that was the direction it went. As I penned it, though, the leg work came across as Suzuki working very intelligently against the botch of his opponent. Almost as if he had found a point to target. Considering Ibushi is the biggest crowd favourite in Block B, any type of comeback would work. Ricochet worked his comeback spots brilliantly with a busted knee. Sure, he probably has better athleticism than Ibushi yet I could buy his moves as he did everything off of the better leg. So, yeah, I don't think that was a stupid move on Suzuki's part, just one that needed a better wrestler to work it off with.


----------



## seabs

*How many juniors can work a comeback without the full use of their legs though? I mean we're talking really high end selling at this point. I just groan whenever juniors start working over legs to kill time before they all start trading their spots. Ibushi's not a terrible seller. I mean there's plenty of matches where his selling has raised the quality of it but how the fuck does he do his moonsault to the outside without doing the leg work justice? It's asking a lot and it'd just be smarter surely to work over the arm instead of the leg for example? Or at least have Ibushi work a really quick comeback like Naito did against Suzuki after the leg work.*


----------



## Das Wunderberlyn

missed day 8. bugger

was the ME as good as Invasion Attack?


----------



## seabs

*No. But you should still watch it. 

Also Nervosa and Cody need to hurry up watch the last 2 shows because I care about what they think about these shows given the disparity between my opinions and the rest.*


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Day 4 Review:
*
Yujiro Takahashi vs. Toru Yano: ***1/2*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson: ****1/4*

Shelton X Benjamin vs. Yuji Nagata: *****

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima: ****3/4* (Really underrated match here, it was great and the best showcase of DBSJ's awesomeness, Kojima has been on fire so far)

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii: *****3/4*

Lance Archer vs. Hirooki Goto: *****

Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito: ****1/2* (I actually love the atitude Naito showed in his matches with Ibushi, Nagata and in this one, makes him less bland than usual, very good match)

Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****3/4* (Heel Devitt is awesome, I don't care what others say, his act works for me each and every time)

Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe: ****1/2*

Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****** *(MOTY for me, this match had everything I love about pro-wrestling and my mark out moment of the year by far goes to Ibushi kicking out at one after Boma Ye)

Man, I really want to call this the show of the year but with shows like IA and WK it's hard to decide.


----------



## Nervosa

Seabs said:


> *
> Also Nervosa and Cody need to hurry up watch the last 2 shows because I care about what they think about these shows given the disparity between my opinions and the rest.*


:lol:lol:lol

This is both an honor and also hilarious. Especially since Cody and I seem to agree on so little.

Working on day 8 now.


----------



## Nervosa

Day 8

Devitt/Smith
***1/2
Not too shabby! Taka’s involvement made up for the usual cheating that has marred a lot of there matches. Davey also did a lot of stuff to stay one step ahead of the cheating, which brought a lot of heat to the finish. Really enjoyed this

Archer/Kojima
***1/4
This came off pretty well. Archer busted out some moves he hasn’t used all week, and Kojima had some decent hope spots. Still, this never really felt like it got going. The end was a little awkward in the corner, and Kojima still didn’t have his usual fire.

Makabe/Ishii
**1/2
Really bad, and I’m disappointed more people on here aren’t calling it out on it. It slow and pointless before the botch….after the botch, they just traded control so much it rendered it all meaningless. The pointless one counts were the nail in the coffin: the crowd didn’t even sound surprised until the last one. Three one counts in the finishing stretch…come on! It figures that Ishii’s only bad match of the G1 is against Makabe. I swear, Okada is a miracle worker for getting two great matches out of Makabe: I’m not sure anyone else can even get one.

Suzuki/Ibushi
***3/4
Everything that could be said has been said. Good workover, good action, but needed selling. Some had said that people need to stop working Ibushi’s legs because his comebacks need it…I’m sorry, if you wrestle Ibushi, good strategy dictates to go after his legs. Its Ibushi’s fault for not being able to have a comeback without hopping all over the place. Suzuki would have looked stupid aiming for the arm. I just wish Ibushi had figured out by now how to comeback with moves that don’t use the leg as much.
So yeah, this match had serious problems…but the ending sequence was amazing. I want to hate this match for all the legwork issues, but the finish was just too good. Suzuki laughing after the Pheonix, the striking, the dropkick, the dodge into the sleeper……..just loved it too much. Too many problems to be a MOTYC, but too good of a finish to be a ‘bad’ match.

Naito/Nakamura
***1/4
This was fine, I guess. Naito is a black hole when it comes to charisma. Great high flyer, smart worker….has no idea how to work a crowd. That has made his heel antics almost unwatchably bad, and that was a problem here. That’s why he seems so vacant: he seriously doesn’t know how to emote at all. The finishing stretch had some things in it, but none of it really felt like it meant anything. Crowd never really felt excited for the nearfalls. I just expect more from these two.

Tanahashi/Okada
****1/2
I love the familiarity between the two, especially in the early spots. Both of them are forced to come up with creative ways to hit their stuff. This was what everyone said Punk/cena was from earlier this year…..except this was done right. Neckwork vs. armwork ruled. Then Tanahashi switched focus to the leg, and I think that’s where it really picked up. Loved Tanahashi going apeshit and just stomping over and over into the leg. Okada’s selling is just amazing. It just adds so much to all of his matches. I thought the finish was really well done, and thought there were several spots where it looked like they just might beat the clock. The finish, to me, was perfectly timed.

I actually think this is their third best match together. Better than Wrestle Kingdom, but not as good as Dominion or their very best at Invasion Attack. 

As much as I enjoyed the main event, this show was really underwhelming. I think all the hype for the last 4 matches got me really pumped, but 3 of the 4 were well below what I expected. And man, that Makabe/Ishii match was ugly. Still, I loved the main event, and would probably say it’s the 5th best match of the tournament. Very nervous about the final night, considering this was hailed as the better of the two shows.


Top Performers

1.	Ishii
2.	Shibata
3.	Smith
4.	Shinskay
5.	Okada
6.	Nagata
7.	Kojima
8.	Tanahashi

Top G1 Matches:

Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****1/4
Okada vs. Tanahashi Night 8 ****1/4
Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****
Nagata vs. Ibushi Night 5 ****
Nagata vs. Nakamura Night 6 ****
Ishii vs. Smith Night 6 ***3/4
Okada vs. Shibata Night 6 ***3/4
Smith vs. Tanahashi ***3/4
Makabe vs. Okada ***3/4
Kojima vs. Smith ***3/4
Nakamura vs. Anderson Night 1 ***3/4
Suzuki vs. Ibushi Night 8 ***3/4


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 9*

Nagata vs Takahashi ***3/4*
Yano vs Suzuki ****1/4*
Nakamura vs Benjamin ****3/4*
Naito vs Anderson ****3/4*
Archer vs Smith *****
Devitt vs Makabe **3/4*
Okada vs Kojima ****3/4*
Tanahashi vs Shibata ****1/2*
Ishii, Iizuka & Hashi vs Akebono, Ibushi & Sakuraba ***1/2*
The Final! ******

*breathes massive sigh of relief & gets on with life*


----------



## Punkhead

Watching NJPW G1 Climax Day 9 And I've got a few questions. Do they always use those nicknames or only for this tournament? And was it a typo or is it how it's supposed to be, when they presented Prince Devitt as Prince Dvitt in the opening?


----------



## Rah

*Naito Tetsuya Vs Suzuki Minoru (04/08/2013 NJPW)* - Why have I foregone watching Suzuki matches?! In a time when I'm struggling to name Japanese wrestlers to dilute my heavily lucha-influenced top workers of 2013 list, MiSu is easily a contender for the upper echelons. Every time I see him he's just such a class performer, and works good matches almost every time he's out there. It's always the little things that make the bigger picture. Whether it's ensnaring Naito into the barricade by wrapping his leg around it, or his little mannerisms in deflating his opponents, MiSu rules. What other guy can electrify a crowd to such a degree in cheering for Naito quite like MiSu with just a simple facial expression added to a hold? Naito's pretty much an ineffectual piece of shit, but that's hardly a detraction from the carry job happening here. 80% of this match was in MiSu's hand and, of course, it's all the better for it. Nothing super high, but I'll assume it to make a Japanese top 20 at year end.

*Minoru Suzuki Vs Shinsuke Nakamura (02/08/2013 NJPW)* - Definitely not as strong a Suzuki performance as the previous match, but the black hole of Naito is, at least, replaced by Nakamura. Still, this only ever peaked marginally and didn't reach the levels you'd hope it to from both men. Of course it's good, but it's MiSu/Nakamura, good is the worst they could do.




TomasThunder619 said:


> Dave Meltzer loves puro way too much. Just look at how many puro matches received 5 stars and then compare it to the number of American/lucha/other matches that got the highest score.
> 
> Lucha libre: 5 matches
> USA: 27 matches
> Puro: 65 matches!


His loss. Especially so considering the match we'll hopefully be given soon:



> CMLL (FRI) 08/16/2013 Arena Mexico
> 5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, ***** Casas vs Black Terry, ***** Navarro, Solar I


That isn't even the main event.  Chilanga Mask this month, too, WOO~!


----------



## Punkhead

Watching NJPW G1 Climax Day 9 And I've got a few questions. Do they always use those nicknames or only for this tournament? And was it a typo or is it how it's supposed to be, when they presented Prince Devitt as Prince Dvitt in the opening? And another question: why does Takashi Iizuka attack that commentator every time he enters?


----------



## Chismo

Spoiler: G1 Final Day












*G1 Climax 23 – FINAL*

_*(8/11/2013)*_


1.	*Block B*: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi

***


2.	*Block B*: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki

***


3.	*Block B*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton Benjamin

***1/2


4.	*Block B*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Karl Anderson

******


5.	*Block A*: Lance Archer vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

***1/2


6.	*Block A*: Togi Makabe vs. Prince Devitt

**1/4


7.	*Block A*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Kazuchika Okada

******


8.	*Block A*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata

*****1/4*


9.	Kazushi Sakuraba, Akebono & Kota Ibushi vs. CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii)

***


10.	*FINALS*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

***3/4


Well, it’s over. Fuck. ​


----------



## Rah

All is right with the G1, again.*



Spoiler: Tanahashi/Shibata Day 9



*Hiroshi Tanahashi Vs Katsuyori Shibata (09/08/2013 NJPW)* - a lot changes in 9 years. Hiroshi is no longer the rising star he was in 2004, instead he's now the veteran in the match and one that's honed his ability to the point of being able to hang with Shibata's strikes. That doesn't necessitate both men being equals when it comes to a more favourable MMA side, but that it is now much more equal than it once was all those years ago when Shibata decimated Tana with kick after kick. The match, itself, was damn near perfect in creating itself as a mirror to their first encounter. Tanahashi's transition to control sequences were also really well done, too, in coming about them because of lucky breaks or struggles in Shibata not being strong enough to execute his Samoan Drop based moves properly.

Shibata was the star here, losing only because of a very lucky roll-up by Tanahashi. He may not have won G1, but with such great performances and now a draw between the two men, a lengthier rubber match is most certainly a possibility in the near future. Shibata's always been the fan favourite, and most certainly the booker's choice, too, but he definitely cemented himself in this tourney; and that's all that truly matters for me. Thumbs up.




*except Seabs not liking this. Regarding your talk about not working Ibushi's leg, I'd still say they could have worked a different match than they did. Ibushi is being built as being able to hang with the NJPW stars, even getting the better of Nakamura with open-palmed punches and drawing close in the same vein against MiSu. Throw in his ankle lock, which he's pretty much nailed as a signature spot, and I'd have bought something like that. That arena would have exploded when he went for a desperation 450. Hell, he doesn't even have to negate some of his high-flying moves. He just needed to recognise that his knee was messed up, to swop his offensive leg to the other and just to grab his knee as if to show that landing/creating the move took a toll on him. That'd work, and has been done before.


----------



## seabs

*My point about the leg work was more from the fact they were working an extended finishing sequence. If they'd a quick comeback finish like Naito/Suzuki then no problem. Glad someone realised that match was great btw. Yeah Ibushi could sell the leg better but I'm just being realistic in assuming he won't do the leg work justice. Not because he's not good but because it's really difficult to go through his comeback while doing the leg work justice. Yeah he could absolutely sell the leg between moves more but you've still got him leaping around the ring on a supposedly bad leg. I don't mind it but I don't think they should have gone in that direction knowing what they had following it. From a kayfabe POV then yeah you're right about Suzuki targetting the leg but I'm not looking at the structure of the match from that angle.

Not really sure what was so great about Tanahashi/Shibata. Makabe/Ishii was ugly but I can see the appeal of it. Glad I'm not in the vast minority to note that Makabe/Ishii didn't work too. Nervosa, what did you think of Goto/Ishii this year? Also, Ishii for WOTY? I'm guessing you'd maybe only have Okada ahead of him. Only guy I'd have ahead right now is Cesaro. Maybe Bryan possibly if he gets a solid singles run but I'm not banking on it. Nakamura maybe would be but he's dragged a couple of matches down this year which hurts him compared to a Cesaro or an Ishii. Ishii might still get there though if he gets that singles match with Ibushi and maybe a few more big matches during the rest of the year. Plenty of PPVs and Korakuen shows left for him. *


----------



## Bubz

Ishii/Goto was the shits. I don't even think it was just because of Goto. Both guys were bad in that match I thought.

I haven't watched anywhere near as much wrestling this year as I'd have liked to say who a definite wrestler of the year is, but Ishii and Bryan are both up there from what I've seen. Cesaro and Nakamura are close behind I'd say. Sorry, just answered two questions that weren't directed at me .


----------



## Nervosa

Seabs said:


> *My point about the leg work was more from the fact they were working an extended finishing sequence. If they'd a quick comeback finish like Naito/Suzuki then no problem. Glad someone realised that match was great btw. Yeah Ibushi could sell the leg better but I'm just being realistic in assuming he won't do the leg work justice. Not because he's not good but because it's really difficult to go through his comeback while doing the leg work justice. Yeah he could absolutely sell the leg between moves more but you've still got him leaping around the ring on a supposedly bad leg. I don't mind it but I don't think they should have gone in that direction knowing what they had following it. From a kayfabe POV then yeah you're right about Suzuki targetting the leg but I'm not looking at the structure of the match from that angle.
> 
> Not really sure what was so great about Tanahashi/Shibata. Makabe/Ishii was ugly but I can see the appeal of it. Glad I'm not in the vast minority to note that Makabe/Ishii didn't work too. Nervosa, what did you think of Goto/Ishii this year? Also, Ishii for WOTY? I'm guessing you'd maybe only have Okada ahead of him. Only guy I'd have ahead right now is Cesaro. Maybe Bryan possibly if he gets a solid singles run but I'm not banking on it. Nakamura maybe would be but he's dragged a couple of matches down this year which hurts him compared to a Cesaro or an Ishii. Ishii might still get there though if he gets that singles match with Ibushi and maybe a few more big matches during the rest of the year. Plenty of PPVs and Korakuen shows left for him. *



I still really hated how quick Naito's comeback was, considering that was one of the most even-stevens-y things in the whole tournament. I get that it makes it s Naito wouldn't have had to sell, but to me. suzuki didn't take enough punishment to keep him from dodging the Stardust press. Naito just got dominated too much to win that sucker. Hoiwever, I have only seen the match once, so maybe I'll see your way after a second viewing. 

Still need to get to night 9 of the G1 though. Won't be able to until tomorrow, either.

Your points about Ibushi are great, but I still think if he is going to be booked credibly against heavyweights he HAS to learn to develop comebacks spots without using the leg too much. Its just way too unbelievable as it is now.

I understand why people like Makabe/Ishii and I am ashamed of it. Its exactly why people thought Cena/Punk from Raw this year was amazing.(and, for that matter, most cena/Punk matches) Exciting spots have replaced moves done for a reason and with a purpose. Oh, and botches are apparently ok if the rest of the match is exciting enough. Blah.


Goto Ishii this year was the exact same way, Seabs, and I hated every minute of it. It sucked for all the reason their match last year ruled. Say goodbye to the underdog story, they just want to hit each other hard over and over. Then Goto hits all his shitty moves and wins and thats it. So stupid. Its like they were trying to do what Kojima/Ishii did in the previous round and failed miserably because thats what Goto does.

Before the G1, Okada is wrestler of the year. He has gotten great matches out of REALLY mediocre title challengers so far. The one good challenger he had ended up being a really poorly booked match that he still made watchable. Throw in the great non-title match with Suzuki at New Beginning and a good match at Wrestle Kingdom and it was a slam dunk....

...before the tournament started. Ishii's only bad match (only 8 nights in) has been against Makabe. He had 7 other awesome showings, and two MOTYCs. Granted, I liked the Tanahashi match more than you did, but yes, to me Ishii has the best protfolio this year. I will say that if they will actually have Okada defend against some decent wrestlers, he could easily pass him back. Seriously, I wanted to see Okada defend against Nagata, Nakamura, and Anderson...not Makabe and Devitt. The whole point of making Okada champ was getting a series of awesome, high profile matches. 

So yeah, right now Ishii is wrestler of the year, I just doubt he will get the amount of chances to continue this awesome run, allowing Okada to pass him.

I can't agree on Cesaro, only because he doesn't really have a ****1/4+ match, and I think any wrestler of the year needs at least 2, with Okada and Ishii each having at least three each by now. I know Cesaro's body of work is really good and consistent, but I can't give someone Wrestler of the Year without any kind of match of the year contender. Its why I like Allmark's stuff last year, but can't really call him WOTY just because he is consistent. allmark probably had more midcard greatness and consistency than Okada by a landslide, but Okada produced more true classics. Maybe Ambrose 2/3 falls will be a MOTYC for Cesaro, but I still think he needs more than just one good match and a lot of solid midcard work. Maybe that's a bad way of judging, but to me wrestler of the year is the person who was in the most classic matches that year. 

I don't know how you can put shinskay in there. His 3 botches on the same move in 3 different high profile matches should disqualify him by itself. Although his defense against Smith ruled, and his tag title match with Ishii was downright astounding.


----------



## seabs

*That's what I'm talking about with Nakamura. He's got the Sakuraba match as well as them two you mentioned and some really great performances in the Suzuki-Gun feuds but then there's the Benjamin match for example which really hurts his claim.

Cesaro doesn't have a MOTY yet but he's been getting really good matches out of talentless hacks like BO DALLAS and KOFI KINGSTON. Plus his match with Neville and Zayn (II) were 2 of the best WWE matches all year. I'm sure the 2/3 falls match with Zayn will be his MOTYC. He might not have the strongest reseme but he's LOOKED like the best wrestler in the world without the assistance of anyone else. When it comes down to guys who I'd enjoy the most wrestling literally anyone, Cesaro would be really high up there.

I hated Goto/Ishii too. That post basically mirrors my thoughts.*


----------



## Nervosa

Seabs said:


> *
> He might not have the strongest reseme but he's LOOKED like the best wrestler in the world without the assistance of anyone else. When it comes down to guys who I'd enjoy the most wrestling literally anyone, Cesaro would be really high up there.*


You choose wrestler of the year based on the person you enjoy most wrestling literally anyone?

Then my wrestler of the year can ONLY be this man:










JUST BUY THE DAMN DVD!





Edit: Speak of the devil.....after I posted this I started Day 9. I just watched Yano/Suzuki and I am legit giving it 4 stars. I'm not even kidding. Review will be up when I finish tomorrow.


----------



## Rah

No. WotY should be about the individual, not the match as a whole. He's choosing a wrestler of the year that's putting on the best performances, no matter who they work, not someone who can work well because they're lumped with good people.


----------



## seabs

*Well it's a mix. I mean Yano has good performances against just about anyone but he doesn't have great matches. Cesaro's the same but he's on a higher level because he can not only look amazing in an individual context but great matches out of really bad wrestlers. I look more at individual performances when choosing. I mean Tanahashi has had a handful of MOTYCs this year but I wouldn't consider him for WOTY because he hasn't had many amazing individual performances in them MOTYCs. Okada/Anderson/Ishii were all much better than him in their MOTYCs with him. 

You need to see the english subbed trailer for Yano's DVD btw Nervosa. Think it was posted in the spoiler thread. It's the best thing ever. Well anything with Yano on a rollercoaster in his robe sat next to Ishii selling a rollercoaster ride is amazing stuff.*


----------



## Nervosa

Seabs said:


> *
> You need to see the english subbed trailer for Yano's DVD btw Nervosa. Think it was posted in the spoiler thread. It's the best thing ever. Well anything with Yano on a rollercoaster in his robe sat next to Ishii selling a rollercoaster ride is amazing stuff.*


Order the DVD Damn it! He has the noblest brain!

Yeah, that Trailer was awesome. Gedo saying 'there's no way this man does volunteer work.' is a favorite part, as well. Can I nominate the trailer for Match of the Year?


----------



## Rah

Right, take a deep breath, I have a draining request to ask of you lovely people.

DVDVR have embarked on their latest project of which they are planning to rank and list the best Japanese matches of the past decade (2000s). While that may seem like an ambitious task, once you realise the list is already listed and comprises of 326 matches, it seems to be a lot more manageable (especially considering a few of you are already in the 1000s with regard to your viewing). While I don't wish to force any of you to stick completely to the project (although that would be brilliant), I'd love for us, as a board, to have input into this project as well as allowing for us all to develop our knowledge and tastes on the great Japanese sport further. As you'll note in the spreadsheet, certain matches have been bolded for each year and are very manageable in number (especially considering this project is a year in length). So you can always focus solely on those. Or, alternately, work on a sole year. I don't care. What I do care about is embarking on a journey through a common passion with you guys, and seeing how others on here rank/like/think about the matches listed.



Spoiler: original post






> DEADLINE: 11:59PM EST, August 13th, 2014
> 
> THE FILE: http://theditch.biz/...2000s_Japan.xls
> This has pretty much everything: matchlist, download/viewing links, voting instructions, etc. Feel free to share the link wherever. You input your ranks in the file and mail it back.
> 
> BACKGROUND: Over at the deathvalleydriver forum, there was a really good year-end vote to cover 2006. I ran it for 2007, then decided to cover the rest of the decade and try to find any hidden gems people had missed. There was so much footage because indies could afford to tape and Samurai TV offered tons of airtime, and I wanted to make sure nothing fell through the cracks. I'm confident that every legit MOTYC is on there.
> 
> THE MATCHES: There are 326 matches eligible. That is a lot to get through. I don't expect people to watch everything, which is why I've highlighted the top vote-getters from the annual votes. Realistically, nothing that isn't highlighted will place in the top 20 here. You can do a top 50 or a top 100 based on how much time you want to put in.
> 
> Every style and probably every relevant promotion is represented. All the famous matches are in there, plus a lot that YOU haven't seen but really should. I won't promise you'll enjoy everything; I certainly don't. But there will be something for anyone with even the remotest interest in puroresu.
> 
> I encourage people to ask questions about the matches (ie. background), offer their thoughts as they go through, etc, in the thread in order to keep it somewhat active through the next 365 days. Any minor suggestions about improving the excel file are also welcome.
> 
> Now get to watching.


----------



## Chismo

So... Now that G1 Climax is over, I think I'm gonna run through UWFi, there's a bunch of shows on XWT Classics. Feel free to join me, bitches.



*G1 Climax 23 Best & Worst*:


-	Best Wrestler: TOMOHIRO ISHII

_This is a no-brainer. Ishii fucking ruled the world in this tournament, the Shibata and Tanahashi are going to occupy people’s MOTY lists at the end of the year. His weakest matches, with Archer and Devitt, were still good. It’s damn shame we didn’t get the Goto rematch._


-	Best Matches:

1.	Ishii/Shibata (Day 4) *******
2.	Tanahashi/Ishii (Day 2) ****3/4
3.	Nakamura/Ibushi (Day 4) ****1/2
4.	Tanahashi/Okada (Day 8) ****1/2
5.	Makabe/Ishii (Day 8) ****1/2
6.	Naito/Suzuki (Day 4) ****1/4
7.	Tanahashi/Shibata (Day 9) ****1/4
8.	Ibushi/Suzuki (Day 8) ****1/4


-	**** Matches (chronologically): Kojima/Shibata (Day 2), Naito/Ibushi (Day 2), Tanahashi/Devitt (Day 4), Makabe/Okada (Day 4), Nagata/Nakamura (Day 6), Okada/Ishii (Day 7), Naito/Anderson (Day 9).


-	Best Show: Day 4, followed by 2, 8 & 9.


-	Biggest Letdown: YUJIRO TAKAHASHI

_I don’t know, this “honor” probably belongs to Goto, but it would not be fair, since he got injured with 3 matches left. Now, why Yujiro? Look, I love the guy to death, but I expected at least one gem from him, and it didn’t happen, he worked some good matches, but most of it was mediocre, or solid at best. But DEM LADIES made me a happy camper. The biggest letdown of the first half was Okada, but he stepped up eventually, and had some good/great performances when needed._


-	Worst Match: Tenzan/Suzuki (Day 3) *1/2


-	Worst Show: Day 5 (8/6/2013)


-	Top Wrestlers:

1.	TOMOHIRO ISHII
2.	Hiroshi Tanahashi
3.	Katsuyori Shibata
4.	Satoshi Kojima
5.	Kota Ibushi


----------



## Nervosa

Day 9

Yujiro/Nagata
**1/2
Nagata did his best with this, but he’s not miracle worker. When yujiro can’t even land his moonsault right, there’s just no hope for him. Still, when Nagata was on offense, this was fun.

Suzuki/Yano
****
I’m not even exaggerating: that’s how much I loved this! These two are awesome together. I love how Yano gets his ass handed to him for five minutes without landing any offense. Then he takes Suzuki down by his hair for ONE second and smiles like he just took a dump in Suzuki’s coffee. Hilarious. They told a good story of Suzuki having wrestled Yano so much that he is able to stay a step ahead of his bullshit and continuously work the leg. Favorite part was Suzuki about to do his trademark headbutt spot, but Yano reversing it into a backslide with a lowblow and two near rollups. The finish also worked perfectly, turning defeat into victory instantly for the winner. This was so incredibly cool. I know not everyone likes Yano…..but I think his act is genius, especially now that he gets cheers for it, somehow. I don’t think he gets appreciated for what a truly great storyteller he is. This was just a really smart, well-worked story, and played out in a way that was so much fun. 

Shelton/Shinskay
***1/2
Shelton did a good job working the leg, and Shinskay sold it in his conmeback. He did the same moves, but he limped through them and made it look like they weren’t as effective because of the damage. I agree that Shelton getting away with the belt shot sucks, but the same thing happens with chairs all the time, so whatever, I guess. Can I just say that shelton needs to stop doing bridging German suplexes? His bridges are so shitty and they only look worse when there are like 10 guys up and down the card who do perfect german bridges, making his shitty one look even worse. I know Shelton isn’t popular here, but shinskay gets the very best out of him and I enjoyed this a lot. The action down the stretch was really good. Finish was a little ill-timed and random, keeping it from four stars, sadly. 

Naito/Anderson
***3/4
Could have been great, but sadly only just good due to the finish. Opening matwork and trading was really good, and got Anderson’s heel stuff over. Anderson working Naito’s ribs was also good, and Naito sold it really well. Action near the end was really fast paced and the corner stuff leading to the corner gun stun ruled. The finish however was, once again, out of nowhere. 



Spoiler: finish



Naito locked him in his submission and crowd instantly went quiet. They should have been standing up, cheering for Anderson to tap, but they didn’t have any reason to think the hold was for real. It just kinda felt like a rest hold, so when Anderson tapped, there was a delayed reaction…as if to say ‘that was it?’ They seemed surprised and disappointed at the ending after all the nearfalls. Bad, bad finish ruining an exciting match.



Smith/Archer
**1/2
Disappointingly poor. They wanted to book then evenly in the match, which makes sense, but no one got into their early ‘partner’s at war,’ spots, and without one of them ever being in peril, the crowd had nothing to rally behind. As a result, the crowd never got into the match, oohing and aahing at big men doing big moves, but without any desire as to the actual result. Archer has been a little underwhelming this week, it has to be said. 

Devitt/Makabe
**
Dumb. Just skip this. I don’t even wanna write any more. 

Okada/Kojima
***3/4
Okada really hasn’t wrestled as a heel since Wrestle Kingdom, which is sad considering it is where he is far more comfortable. But here, heel Okada returned and it was awesome. Kojima really fired the crowd up too, and they went crazy when he started doing the Tenzan Mongolians. Thought they could have finished a little stronger, but I think they were saving stuff for the next match. Still a really fun ride.

Tanahashi/Shibata
***1/4
The early action was good, and I especially loved the amateur stuff at the beginning. Only problem was that Tanahashi had more of the bad timing issues that have plagued him in many of his tournament matches. Several times you could tell Shibata was waiting for Tanahashi to do something to that he could react, and Tanahashi’s hesitation hurt the execution. 



Spoiler: finish



New Japan does a great job of pretecting finishers…..so I hated this. Sure, there was some delay, and its not like Tanahashi kicked out…but I don’t like Tanahashi recovering from the PK. The rollup also was just not very clean.



Final


Spoiler: details here



Tanahashi/Naito
***3/4
They had a really good thing going here. The crowd wasn’t into the early stuff, but it was good leg work by Tanahashi. People say that Naito sold poorly, but I thought it was fine, especially comapred to Ibushi recently. When Naito went on offense, he did all his normal moves, but noticeably limped into them, which didn't detract from his injury very much, imo. Then they did a elbow exchange that got the whole crowd whipped into a frenzy. Then they ran the ropes…and Tanhashi makes yet ANOTHER huge timing mistake, screwing up Naito’s leaping elbow. The crowd, which they scraped and clawed to get into the match...was gone. They got back in a little bit for the clover leaf, but the damage was pretty much done. Naito’s application of his new submission was ROUGH, as was that horrible thing Tanahashi calls a Styles clash. Tanahashi’s last HFF attempt got a great pop, but when Naito dodged it the crowd lost interest by the time they stood up and charged each other. Still a decent match, just not the MOTY that I’m sure they wanted.

I will say this….I’m not really salty about Naito winning anymore. He isn’t a horrible choice, and is actually probably the next best choice besides Shinskay and Shibata.



What a tournament. I hope we all look back at this and realize what a special thing we got to experience, because we may not get a series of shows like this for years to come.

So, now that its over, here is my final rankings for performers, best days, and best matches. 

Top Performers

1.	Ishii
2.	Shibata
3.	Smith
4.	Shinskay
5.	Okada
6.	Nagata
7.	Kojima
8.	Tanahashi

Ranking the Days
Day 4
Day 2
Day 6
Day 1
Day 9
Day 8
Day 5 
Day 3
Day 7


Top G1 Matches:

Ishii vs. Tanahashi Night 2 ****3/4
Ishii vs. Shibata Night 4****3/4
Shibata vs. Kojima Night 2****1/4
Nakamura vs. Ibushi Night 4 ****1/4
Okada vs. Tanahashi Night 8 ****1/4
Suzuki vs. Nakamura Night 2 ****
Nagata vs. Suzuki Night 1 ****
Shibata vs. Smith Night 1 ****
Nagata vs. Ibushi Night 5 ****
Nagata vs. Nakamura Night 6 ****
Yano vs. Suzuki Night 9 ****
Ishii vs. Smith Night 6 ***3/4
Okada vs. Shibata Night 6 ***3/4
Smith vs. Tanahashi Night 3 ***3/4
Makabe vs. Okada Night 4 ***3/4
Okada vs. Kojima Night 9 ***3/4
Kojima vs. Smith Night 4***3/4
The Final Night 9 ***3/4
Naito vs. Anderson Night 9 ***3/4
Nakamura vs. Anderson Night 1 ***3/4
Suzuki vs. Ibushi Night 8 ***3/4


----------



## seabs

_*


Spoiler: Anderson/Naito finish



You're always gonna have that the first time someone uses a new move as a finish. It was the same when Okada first used Red Ink as a finish. Naito's blancha is a million times more legit than that move and looks legit enough as a secondary finisher. So there was the hushed pause because it was the first time but it also because of how they booked the block to have so many people finishing on 10 points. The silence was more confusion at who made the finals than what the fuck was that finish. Then they announced Naito and everybody cheered again. Confident they would have reacted stronger if Naito was the clear winner of the block.


*_


----------



## Bubz

Watched some stuff from G1 Day 8.

Ishii/Makabe did nothing for me. Ishii's welling was really great but the same can't be said for Makabe and Makabe was the guy playing the underdog for the first half of it for some reason. The 1 count kickouts sucked here. proof that there is a way to do them and a definite way not to do them. I didn't think the match in general was terrible, Ishii selling and falling around is always great and it was great here too but it can't make up fully for Makabe being so bland and mediocre here, which obviously took away from the finishing run and it's 'big' moments. Some cool stuff courtesy of Ishii (lariat off the top rope etc) but that's it for me. Not as bad as the Goto match though imo because up until a point this had a clear structure despite it probably being the wrong way around.

Suzuki/Ibushi was good, but fuck, Ibushi totally blowing off the leg selling completely took me out of it. It's a shame because what came in the finishing stretch would have been pretty awesome had the leg work not happened. But it did happen and so it just felt like it was done to kill time. Suzuki's dropkick counter off the ropes is one of the best things in the whole of wrestling though. Fuck that thing is beautiful. Suzuki in general was fantastic in this. Ibushi was nowhere near as good as in the Shinskay match unfortunately.

Okada/Tanahashi was absolutely fantastic. The start was great with all the early finisher attempts and counters. The 'we know each other so well now' stuff came off so well here I thought. Okada at first avoiding the attempts from Tanahashi to go after the leg, moving out of the way of all the dropkick attempts to the leg etc, all great stuff. I loved the counter by Okada just popping up and dropkicking Tana off the ropes when it failed the first time. All new and creative ways to counter the others moves. Okada goes after the neck, neck work is swell as it usually is. Tana's facial expression in one of the neck submissions ruled. Some of this was the same as their other matches, sure, but I felt like they did more than enough to make it fresh and innovative. Okada was great here working in control with his mannerisms and expressions, seeming like he'd finally found out how to avoid everything that could be thrown at him. Then Tanahashi manages to get a hold of the leg and it gets really fucking good. Loved him being extra aggressive and stomping the fuck out of the leg. Okada's selling is magnificent. Like, this is where he looks like the best wrestler in the world imo. The way he would try to throw a strike and just fall over or stumble, or fall to the mat off an irish whip. They kept doing these ace new counters all the way through to really play up that storyline. Cloverleaf was a great spot, especially since it came out of a counter to the dropkick. Final 5 minutes ruled I thought. Great stuff like the HFF counter and Okada selling the leg. Timed brilliantly and executed pretty much perfectly. I know people disliked this portion but it did it for me. Only problem I had with this was Okada's neck work being brushed off by Tana, but Okada still has the advantage of all of his offense being focused on the neck so it will always come back in to play whether the opponent wants to sell it or not, I guess that can be a bad thing sometimes but here it was fine. I thought Tanahashi was great here too btw, not as good as his performance in the Invasion Attack match, but still very good. I get why he started going for his big moves instead of the leg stuff, plus I've really come around to his way of working over the last year or so with him using the leg as a way to cut his opponent down so he can hit his big stuff more easily. It's something that used to really irk me about him but I've grown to accept it and I actually think it's rather good. I knew this went to a draw beforehand, but honestly there were times when I forgot about it and bought into some of the stuff. I really wanted Okada to win on occasions. This was the match of the tournament for me, and I don't think it's far off their title matches at all, in fact I have it right behind their Invasion Attack match.


----------



## seabs

*So apparently Ishii got the G1 bonus for having the best matches in the tournament. Fuck yes.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Just finished the final right now so my opinion may be a bit late for ya, Seabs. I suppose long story short here is I think I loved the finals the most out of everybody. I'm talking like if it wasn't for Ishii vs Shibata, the finals would be my pick for favorite/best match I saw. Yeah, there's a touch of bias there too. Isn't that the case for everything though? It had two I love to watch work & I believed into everything that was put forth. Fuck that was great. I'll still halt in saying who made it and won b/c that would be ass, but the high I'm on at this very moment is magical.

Ishii for easy MVP of the entire tournament. I'll take the time in a bit to tally up my personal thoughts on the entire streak. That's going to be fun. I know I'm going to pimp the hell out of Kojima & Makabe too b/c those lads put in some strong efforts although too. Archer & Smith too. <3

Oh and one more thought: Tanahashi vs Okada V was bad. The even steven nature was fine, but eh. Felt lazy. I'll stick with Makabe vs Ishii from Night Eight which made me have to clean my pants about five times during.


----------



## Bubz

Screw you Codeh. .

Nah but seriously, I'm not getting a lot of the complaints about Tana/Okada. Honestly thought they structured it just as well as previous matches tbh. Great control and selling, ace new ways to play up to the fact they know each other so well and a good crowd with some great moments in the finishing run. It isn't as good as Invasion Attack and definitely not Dominion, but I think its their next best for sure.

Ishii and Suzuki ruled the whole thing for me in terms of great performances because even when their opponents weren't up to scratch they still delivered. Ishii in the Makabe match and Suzuki in the Ibushi match for example.


----------



## Obfuscation

Best way I can explain my opinion on Tanahashi vs Okada is that it felt SO "going through the motions". The building stages weren't bad. In fact, they would have been good the entire way if they actually built to something. Instead once it hit 20 minutes both dudes played dead despite not even really going balls to the wall and the finishing stretch wasn't even there. It was a counter. Don't capitalize on the moment to kill more time. Counter a rainmaker to do the same. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wasn't feeling it. Knew that time limit draw was coming a mile away. Once I saw they were obviously working towards killing time I was taken completely out of the match.


----------



## Rah

Even though everyone just ignored my request, I've started with the project, already. Honma/Yamakawa (02/01/2000 BJW) is just rubbish and a very bad way to get going on.


----------



## Bubz

HayleySabin said:


> Best way I can explain my opinion on Tanahashi vs Okada is that it felt SO "going through the motions". The building stages weren't bad. In fact, they would have been good the entire way if they actually built to something. Instead once it hit 20 minutes both dudes played dead despite not even really going balls to the wall and the finishing stretch wasn't even there. It was a counter. Don't capitalize on the moment to kill more time. Counter a rainmaker to do the same. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wasn't feeling it. Knew that time limit draw was coming a mile away. Once I saw they were obviously working towards killing time I was taken completely out of the match.


Didn't get the time kill-y vibe from it at all, definitely no more than their other matches. And I loved that they weren't able to hit any finishers. Fair enough though. I'm planning on rewatching their whole series tbh.

Looking forward to the final match based off your comments before.


----------



## Obfuscation

Bubz said:


> Didn't get the time kill-y vibe from it at all, definitely no more than their other matches. And I loved that they weren't able to hit any finishers. Fair enough though. I'm planning on rewatching their whole series tbh.
> 
> Looking forward to the final match based off your comments before.


It may sound a bit hard to get across through an internet platform, although that's the aspect of the match which I just couldn't get behind. Reminded me of those Danielson vs CIMA matches from PWG which went both 30 & 23 minutes respectively yet were so drawn out and not good b/c it felt like they did shit all just to go a really long length. Only I'd say this Tanahashi vs Okada match > those. Still, that's about the best comparison to a match that I can group it with in stating I didn't care for the work. I liked the Wrestle Kingdom match this year and a good number didn't. Suppose these are going to be the polarizing matches. _(well, I think I was the only one who disliked V, so polarizing for me anyways.)_

Awesome. Final match was stellar.


----------



## Bubz

I've never seen those CIMA matches . I don't think even Danielson could motivate me enough to watch a CIMA match tbh. Never cared for the guy at all.


----------



## Obfuscation

100% how I feel. Never liked CIMA too. Once Danielson got nothing out of him, I knew he was a bust for me. Tag with Doi vs Aries & Strong in 2006 is really good though. That's about all I can say.


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> Even though everyone just ignored my request, I've started with the project, already. Honma/Yamakawa (02/01/2000 BJW) is just rubbish and a very bad way to get going on.


*I'm finalising a Best of 2000's list right now so your thoughts won't be wasted. I've been running through that excel sheet this year for that poll actually. If I start reviewing stuff for it again then I'll share on here too. I'll definitely read your reviews too and take note even if I don't reply.*


----------



## Bubz

Seabs I'm going to hopefully start on that Excel sheet tonight. Is there a lot of stuff on there that's list worthy that isn't already nominated?

I'll be posting reviews here too in that case since rah brought the subject up.


----------



## Nervosa

HayleySabin said:


> Just finished the final right now so my opinion may be a bit late for ya, Seabs. I suppose long story short here is I think I loved the finals the most out of everybody. I'm talking like if it wasn't for Ishii vs Shibata, the finals would be my pick for favorite/best match I saw. Yeah, there's a touch of bias there too. Isn't that the case for everything though? It had two I love to watch work & I believed into everything that was put forth. Fuck that was great. I'll still halt in saying who made it and won b/c that would be ass, but the high I'm on at this very moment is magical.
> 
> Ishii for easy MVP of the entire tournament. I'll take the time in a bit to tally up my personal thoughts on the entire streak. That's going to be fun. I know I'm going to pimp the hell out of Kojima & Makabe too b/c those lads put in some strong efforts although too. Archer & Smith too. <3
> 
> Oh and one more thought: Tanahashi vs Okada V was bad. The even steven nature was fine, but eh. Felt lazy. I'll stick with Makabe vs Ishii from Night Eight which made me have to clean my pants about five times during.


HaHa, just as I expected: we disagree on pretty much everything.

You loved the final, I thought it wasn't even in the top 10 matches of the tournament. 

You have a bias towards the tournament winner, I do the same with Okada.

You liked Kojima/Makabe, I thought it sucked.

You thought archer was good, I thought he was really disappointing. 

You loved Makabe/Ishii, I thought it was an abomination.

Its just funny to watch something I love knowing you will probably have the opposite opinion of it, and vice versa. We seriously have nearly dead opposite opinions on nearly everything, which is awesome because I respect the way you watch wrestling so much. That's what makes a good forum, though!


----------



## Obfuscation

Nervosa said:


> HaHa, just as I expected. I love trading opinions with you Cody, and it might be because we seriously do not agree on anything. I disagree vehemently with everything in this post except the stuff about Ishii. That's what makes a good forum though!


Astounding bit of how that can go down. And as frequently as it does too. I blame being a big Togi Makabe fan for one portion. Outside of the *very general* Ishii consensus, I think I was told you dug Okada vs Suzuki from Dontaku. As did I. Thought it was quite fabulous. Didn't see the negatives about it. We'll always have that to share as the one exception.

*_unless you didn't like it and I'm getting the name mentioned to me, of who else thought it was cherry, mixed up._ :$


----------



## Nervosa

No no! I totally did dig Okada/Suzuki. I liked it less on rewatch, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect a little more, but I thought it was a lot of fun, and wrestled very smartly.

I forgot that we agreed on that! Figures the one non-Ishii match we agree on is so universally hated. That match is truly an anomaly is every sense!


----------



## Obfuscation

Only seems fitting now doesn't it? Aye, that one was a pearl. Didn't think the show was as weak as originally said by the crew on here, either. Suppose by comparison to others in the year, yeah, it was a step lower than previous & now post events. Far from bad I'd say. Think I have the urge to slam through that one again. Suzuki was a dominate BOSS all over Okada in that one. :mark:


----------



## Nervosa

HayleySabin said:


> Only seems fitting now doesn't it? Aye, that one was a pearl. Didn't think the show was as weak as originally said by the crew on here, either. Suppose by comparison to others in the year, yeah, it was a step lower than previous & now post events. Far from bad I'd say. Think I have the urge to slam through that one again. Suzuki was a dominate BOSS all over Okada in that one. :mark:


I just think one of the most brilliant things about it is when you compare it to their match at New beginning. That match was high pace, high action, everyone loved it....and Suzuki won. To me, it just doesn't make sense for Okada to allow the same kind of pace in the rematch. Maybe that cuts down the action a bit, but it was clear to me Okada was willing to be dominated and wait for his opportunities, in order to ensure he wasn't outpaced when he finally made his move, as he clearly was at New Beginning. Just some really smart (albeit subtle) stuff from both guys.

Of course, I cannot bring myself to agree with you on the whole show. I mean, granted, if Shinskay hadn't botched that flying knee, him and shelton would have been ****1/2 legit, but I wasn't too crazy about anything else on the show, especially from a booking standpoint. I'm still really bitter about KES getting screwed.


----------



## Bubz

Seems like I finally need to watch Okada/Suzuki.


----------



## Rah

Bubz said:


> Seabs I'm going to hopefully start on that Excel sheet tonight. Is there a lot of stuff on there that's list worthy that isn't already nominated?
> 
> I'll be posting reviews here too in that case since rah brought the subject up.


I'd imagine there would definitely be nominations from Seabs that would not be on the DVDVR list. Considering there seems to be a vast difference in the mainstream tastes here and there, I'd be surprised if they're close. I'd honestly like more nominations, especially if Seabs is doing his, but I do not know a thing about this time in Puro so I don't have any starting point but what is listed. List looks pretty nice, though, from a quick skim through.


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> Even though everyone just ignored my request, I've started with the project, already. Honma/Yamakawa (02/01/2000 BJW) is just rubbish and a very bad way to get going on.


What the heck are you doing *RAH*!


----------



## Rah

Going through 10 years of wrestling because my life is a hollow piece of uninterest?


----------



## Nervosa

Bubz said:


> Seems like I finally need to watch Okada/Suzuki.


Be forewarned, I don't even remember another positive review for me besides Cody's and mine.

Just approach it with an open mind. Don't expect Suzuki/Tanahashi, don't even expect the New Beginnings match. Just try to enjoy the move-for-move strategy of it. And ignore how bad the crowd is.


----------



## Concrete

Does the fact that that sounds like fun say anything about me as a person?


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> Seabs I'm going to hopefully start on that Excel sheet tonight. Is there a lot of stuff on there that's list worthy that isn't already nominated?
> 
> I'll be posting reviews here too in that case since rah brought the subject up.


*Our nomination lists aren't exactly complete and totally extensive. There's a lot of stuff on the spreadsheet but it's nicely sorted into 3 tiers. If you go for the bold and italic stuff and then maybe anything else that interests you then you should be good. 

Go into Okada/Suzuki with moderate expectations and you should be fine.*


Rah said:


> I'd imagine there would definitely be nominations from Seabs that would not be on the DVDVR list. Considering there seems to be a vast difference in the mainstream tastes here and there, I'd be surprised if they're close. I'd honestly like more nominations, especially if Seabs is doing his, but I do not know a thing about this time in Puro so I don't have any starting point but what is listed. List looks pretty nice, though, from a quick skim through.


*It's a DVDVR list rather than a WKO list so there's more variation in tastes in the nominations list. I mean there's spotty juniors matches than our tastes would deem terrible on them lists so it's plenty varied. I can't really see too many obvious omissions due to tastes. 

This is everything I have listed on my 2000's ballot so far. Or everything I put in the notepad file that I'd consider voting for. Basically ****1/4 upwards so everything that I think people should see. Not just puro but there's no point taking the non puro stuff out of it. I haven't watched close to everything yet so it's nowhere near complete but there's a lot of stuff there. I have NOAH pretty much covered and everything off goodhelmet's 05-08 MOTYC comps.*



Spoiler: .



*****
Toshiaki Kawada vs Satoshi Kojima - AJPW 2/16/2005
Hardy Boys vs Dudley Boys vs Edge & Christian - TLC Match - WWE Summerslam 8/27/2000

****3/4
CIMA, Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs Dragon Kid, Genki Horiguchi & Ryo Saito - ROH Supercard of Honor 3/31/2006
Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama & Genichiro Tenryu - NOAH 4/24/2005
Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles - TNA Turning Point 12/11/2005
Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher - IWA:MS 6/11/2005
Kurt Angle vs Undertaker - WWE No Way Out 2/19/2006
Meiko Satomura vs Aja Kong - Sendai Pro Wrestling 7/9/2006
Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson - ROH 6th Anniversary Show 2/23/2008
Kenta Kobashi vs Tamon Honda - NOAH 4/13/2003
Triple H vs Cactus Jack - Street Fight - WWE Royal Rumble 1/23/2000
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kurt Angle - WWF Summerslam 8/19/2001
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Chris Benoit - WWF Smackdown 5/31/2001

****1/2
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels vs Samoa Joe - TNA Unbreakable 9/11/2005
Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 6/17/2006
+John Cena vs Umaga - Last Man Standing - WWE Royal Rumble 1/28/2007
Kurt Angle vs Christian Cage vs AJ Styles vs Samoa Joe vs Chris Harris - King Of The Mountain Match - TNA Slammiversary 6/17/2007
Shawn Michaels vs John Cena - WWE Raw 04/23/2007
+Nigel McGuinness vs Tyler Black - ROH Take No Prisoners 3/16/2008
Jimmy Jacobs vs BJ Whitmer - I Quit Match - IWA:MS 3/1/2008
Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair - WWE WrestleMania 24 3/30/2008
+Nigel McGuinness vs Tyler Black vs Bryan Danielson vs Claudio Castagnoli - ROH Death Before Dishonor VI 8/2/2008
+Fujita Jr. Hayato vs Yoshitune - Michinoku Pro 12/12/2008
Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness - ROH Rising Above 11/22/2008
KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs Juventud Guerrera & Ricky Marvin - NOAH 11/1/2003
Kenta Kobashi vs Yoshihiro Takayama - NOAH 4/25/2004
Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama - NOAH 7/10/2004
Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka vs Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi - NJPW 12/14/2000
+Toshiaki Kawada vs Genichiro Tenryu - AJPW 10/28/2000
+Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair - WWE WrestleMania 24 3/30/2008
America's Most Wanted vs Team Canada - TNA Final Resolution 01/16/2005
Bryan Danielson vs Samoa Joe - PWG The Musical 4/17/2004
Triple H vs Chris Jericho - Last Man Standing - WWF Fully Loaded 07/23/2000
Edge vs. Mick Foley - Hardcore Match - WWE WrestleMania 22 04/02/2006
Mick Foley, Edge & Lita vs. Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer & Beulah - ECW One Night Stand 06/11/2006
+Stone Cold Steve Austin & Triple H vs Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho - WWF RAW 5/21/2001
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock - WWF WrestleMania 17 4/1/2001
Samoa Joe vs CM Punk - ROH World Title Classic 6/12/2004
+Samoa Joe vs CM Punk - ROH Joe vs Punk II 10/16/2004
CM Punk & Ace Steel vs Austin Aries & Roderick Strong - No DQ Match - ROH Weekend of Thunder Night 2 11/6/2004

****1/4
Jay Lethal vs Samoe Joe - ROH Pure Championship - ROH 5/7/2005
Bryan Danielson vs James Gibson - ROH World Championship - ROH 9/17/2005
+Samoe Joe & Jay Lethal vs Homicide & Low Ki - ROH 8/13/2005
KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru - NOAH 7/18/2005
+Kenta Kobashi vs KENTA - NOAH 3/5/2006
Shawn Michaels Vs Kurt Angle - WWE WrestleMania 21 4/3/2005
+Jun Akiyama vs Masa Inoue - NOAH 4/23/2006
Paul London & Brian Kendrick vs Hardy Boys vs MNM vs William Regal & Davey Taylor - Ladder Match - WWE Armageddon 12/17/2006
Psicosis vs Yoshihiro Tajiri - ECW 8/19/2000
+KENTA vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 10/29/2006
+Takashi Sasaki, Abdullah Kobayashi, Shadow WX & MASADA vs Yuki Miyamoto, Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa & Mens Teioh - BJW 1/2/2007
James Storm vs Chris Harris – Texas Death Match - TNA Sacrifice 5/13/2007
Mistico vs Dr. Wagner Jr. - CMLL 7/27/2007
Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & Magnitude Kishiwada vs SHINGO, BxB Hulk & Cyber Kong vs Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka - Dragon Gate 6/5/2007
Triple H vs Randy Orton - Last Man Standing - WWE No Mercy 10/6/2007
Christian Cage vs Kaz - Ladder Match - TNA Genesis 11/11/2007
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 11/11/2007
Chris Harris vs James Storm - TNA iMPACT 6/7/2007
+Erick Stevens vs Roderick Strong - FIP Redefined 2/16/2008
Bryan Danielson vs Chris Hero - PWG 11/2/2008
+Bryan Danielson vs KENTA - NOAH 10/13/2008
Sami Callihan vs 2 Cold Scorpio - IWA:MS 9/27/2008
Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa vs. Yuki Ishikawa & Yuta Yoshikawa - BattlArts 8/31/2008
Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Makoto Hashi - NOAH 9/12/2003
Kenta Kobashi vs Akira Taue - NOAH 9/10/2004
+Kiyoshi Tamura vs Hiroyuki Ito - U-Style 08/18/2004
Kiyushi Tamura vs Dokonjonosuke Mishima - U-Style 4/6/2003
Matt Sydal vs Austin Aries - IWA:MS 6/11/2004
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - NOAH 3/1/2003
+Toshiaki Kawada & Genichiro Tenryu vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - AJPW 7/23/2000
+Genichiro Tenryu & Nobutaka Araya v Taiyo Kea & Kiyoshi Miyamoto - AJPW 4/27/2002
Gail Kim vs Awesome Kong - No Disqualification - TNA Final Resolution 01/06/2008
AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels - 30 Minute Iron Man Match - TNA Bound For Glory 10/23/2005
Kevin Steen, El Generico & Susumu Yokosuka vs Young Bucks & PAC - PWG All Star Weekend 7 Night 1 08/30/2008
Roderick Strong vs Rocky Romero - PWG All Star Weekend 5 Night 1 4/7/2007
Low Ki vs Davey Richards - PWG All Star Weekend 5 Night 1 4/7/2007
Motor City Machine Guns vs Young Bucks - PWG World Tag Team Championships - PWG Ninety-Nine 4/11/2009
Motor City Machine Guns vs Bryan Danielson & Roderick Strong - PWG DDT4 5/22/2009
Bryan Danielson & Roderick Strong vs Young Bucks - PWG DDT4 5/22/2009
+Ian Rotten v Chris Hero - IWA-MS 5/3/2002
Randy Orton vs. Mick Foley - Hardcore Match - WWE Backlash 04/18/2004
CM Punk & Ace Steel vs Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer - Chicago Street Fight - ROH Death Before Dishonor II Night 2 7/24/2004
Low Ki vs AJ Styles - ROH A Night of Appreciation 4/27/2002
+AJ Styles vs Paul London - ROH Night of the Grudges 6/14/2003
+Bryan Danielson vs Paul London - ROH The Epic Encounter 4/12/2003
+CM Punk, Ace Steel & Jimmy Jacobs vs Austin Aries, Alex Shelley & Jack Evans - ROH Gold 10/15/2004

Misc.
Toshiaki Kawada vs Vader - AJPW 2/17/2000
Osamu Nishimura vs Tatsumi Fujinami - 2/3 Falls - MUGA 9/25/2006
Yuki Ishikawa, Alexander Otsuka & Munenori Sawa vs Daisuke Ikeda, Katsumi Usuda & Super Tiger II - BattlArt 7/26/2008
El Generico, Nick Jackson & Necro Butcher vs Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Davey Richards vs Joey Ryan, Chuck Taylor & Kenny Omega - PWG BOLA Night 2 11/2/2008


----------



## Bubz

Pretty surprised at some of those Seabs, but there's tons that will be on my list too. Looking forward to seeing others.


----------



## Rah

That's a surprisingly small list, considering that which has been pumped out in the last two years by all of us.  It certainly makes things more manageable, though. I have very little experience with 2005 Kojima but that variation of him may make an interesting mix with Kawada.

How much does Goodhelmet charge for his MotYC comps, btw? Not that I've seen them listed, but those would be worthwhile buys for sure.



Concrete said:


> Does the fact that that sounds like fun say anything about me as a person?


Of course not.

In case you missed my previous post, I will try, vicariously, participate in DVDVR's Best of the 2000s project (Japan only). I covered it here, if you want to read more.


----------



## Bubz

Watched G1 final day. Really dug Suzuki Yano. Nothing else I particularly liked much but there wasn't anything bad that I watched. Tana/Shibata strated amazingly well but faded out by the end. Final was a mixture of some good stuff and some really bad stuff I thought.



Spoiler: Final



Naito totally brushing off the leg work constantly did my fucking head in. Naito's a guy who can be really good sometimes and other times come off as really bad and here he was leaning more towards really bad imo. Tana did his best to keep going back to the leg but what was the point when Naito is springbording and flying around like nothing the next minute. He was worse than Ibushi was in the Suzuki match for me because Tana obviously was going back to the leg and yet he still didn't sell it apart from a couple of limps. You can't be falling over one second off an irish whip during the workover because your leg is in so much pain, and then doing all kinds of kicks and dives and submissions and bridging pins that all involve the leg almost right after. Silly Naito. It was also too long.


----------



## Concrete

I'm sold. I missed it there. A year to watch 326 matches? That seems manageable. Even if I don't watch all of them. Unless I get busy I might get cracking on that later.


----------



## mk92071

So in on the DVDVR 2000s project. Just looking at the spreadsheet, loads of stuff I need to watch.

EDIT: Kota Ibushi vs. YOSHIHIKO should be on this if Mecha Mummy/MiSu made the cut.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nervosa said:


> I just think one of the most brilliant things about it is when you compare it to their match at New beginning. That match was high pace, high action, everyone loved it....and Suzuki won. To me, it just doesn't make sense for Okada to allow the same kind of pace in the rematch. Maybe that cuts down the action a bit, but it was clear to me Okada was willing to be dominated and wait for his opportunities, in order to ensure he wasn't outpaced when he finally made his move, as he clearly was at New Beginning. Just some really smart (albeit subtle) stuff from both guys.
> 
> Of course, I cannot bring myself to agree with you on the whole show. I mean, granted, if Shinskay hadn't botched that flying knee, him and shelton would have been ****1/2 legit, but I wasn't too crazy about anything else on the show, especially from a booking standpoint. I'm still really bitter about KES getting screwed.


The complete 180 from their match at New Beginning is part of the reason why I dug the Dontaku match so much. They gave us one fast paced full tilt match the first time & on the second it was a more tactical approach with it being about picking spots to aid into victory more than going all out from the start. Okada took a licking, yet once he found his chance to strike on Suzuki he took it. All happened in a very belivable fashion for me to dig everything that was put forth in the 30 minute span.

Fair enough. I had fun with matches like Tanaka/Honma & Shibata/Goto. I think I was the only guy alive who liked the Makabe vs Yujiro feud for the matches :lol Tanahashi vs Anderson rematch delivered if not a massive step below their previous. I did expect that with the championship not on the line, tbhayley. Shelton had his best match post WWE vs Nakamura on that night. That's a plus. Botch or not, it was still a quality match for me. I'm with ya on the KES title change. Don't know why they lost the straps. No matter how popular TenKoji is, that wasn't the right move. And the Junior Tag Team match SUCKED. It's easily their weakest offering for a PPV this year. I thought once it hit the singles matches on the card, the show was still pretty solid.


----------



## Concrete

Well I've gotten started on the spreadsheet from JEEZUS! 

*Yamakawa vs Honma (BJPW 1/2/00):**1/2*
_Was not feeling this one. Felt this match totally peaked less than 5 minutes in with Honma flipping off the board and whipping Yamakawa into it. After that I kinda zoned out a few times. They did some cool stuff but nothing that got me too worked up. Didn’t offend me but didn’t really excite. Certainly AVERAGE!
_
*Hashimoto/Iizuka vs. Ogawa/Murakami (NJPW 1/4/00):****1/2*
_I’ve seen very little of Ogawa but every damn time I watch a match he’s involved in I go “YEP….YEP…OKAY!” Hashimoto is a guy that gets touted as GOAT contender but I have not seen NEARLY enough work of his to make that claim. I can say that what I have seen makes that claim totally realistic. First time I am seeing pre-crazy beard Iizuka. My mind is blown. The heat sold this match for me. Murakami murdering Iizuka in the opening leading to added DRAMA made me giddy. You’ve got Hashimoto going for Ogawa even with like 20 people in the ring trying to take care of Iizuka who was dead and Inoki with a damn cane. This goes on for a while and builds up the second part of the match(the part with the wrestling) so to make sure the heat is of nuclear proportions. 

Having watched NJPW recently I was given a spoiler in this match as I knew Iizuka didn’t die. He comes back and doesn’t look like the poo-head I usually see. Loved the tag Hashimoto gets where he’s just waiting to be able to go on offense until the referee looks at him and tells him he made the tag and he can go. Kicks the piss out of Murakami in like 2.9 seconds. thought Murakami had half a face left, and tells Ogawa to get his candy ass in the ring because it’s FIGHTIN’ TIME BITCHES. So much goodness between the two. Hashimoto throws a headbutt during a break-up. Ogawa tricks the ref into thinking he released a triangle only to snap it back in during a ropebreak. But really this match is violent and the crowd is HOPPIN’. Delightfulness
_
*Tenryu vs Sasaki (NJPW 1/4/00):*****
_Tenryu is another guy I haven’t seen a ton of but people call a GOAT contender. I have yet to see that. His facial expressions and jabs are good but I never feel like he should be regarded in that high of esteem. Maybe I haven’t seen enough of him. Sasaki looks like a bad ass. Like Japanese Hercules. He takes it to the grumpy old man and it rocks. I kinda forgot what I was gonna say on this one or some of the nice moments but I guess the world will just never know. 
_​


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> Right, take a deep breath, I have a draining request to ask of you lovely people.
> 
> DVDVR have embarked on their latest project of which they are planning to rank and list the best Japanese matches of the past decade (2000s). While that may seem like an ambitious task, once you realise the list is already listed and comprises of 326 matches, it seems to be a lot more manageable (especially considering a few of you are already in the 1000s with regard to your viewing). While I don't wish to force any of you to stick completely to the project (although that would be brilliant), I'd love for us, as a board, to have input into this project as well as allowing for us all to develop our knowledge and tastes on the great Japanese sport further. As you'll note in the spreadsheet, certain matches have been bolded for each year and are very manageable in number (especially considering this project is a year in length). So you can always focus solely on those. Or, alternately, work on a sole year. I don't care. What I do care about is embarking on a journey through a common passion with you guys, and seeing how others on here rank/like/think about the matches listed.


Perhaps being ill has made me daft, but it's a no go with the link for moi.


----------



## Concrete

HayleySabin said:


> Perhaps being ill has made me daft, but it's a no go with the link for moi.


http://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/376-best-of-japan-2000-2009-deadline-august-13-2014/

Clicking the link through the DVDVR thread should work. At least that's what I did and it did the trick.


----------



## Obfuscation

Success. (Y)


----------



## Concrete

NICE! Now hopefully a few of us will be posting thoughts on stuff. Should be FUN!


----------



## mk92071

Concrete said:


> NICE! Now hopefully a few of us will be posting thoughts on stuff. Should be FUN!


I'm psyched. I'll start my watching tomorrow. :mark: Since I started watching puro last year and I've watched mostly stuff as it came out I've only seen about 15 of these matches already.


----------



## Concrete

mk92071 said:


> I'm psyched. I'll start my watching tomorrow. :mark: Since I started watching puro last year and I've watched mostly stuff as it came out I've only seen about 15 of these matches already.


I honestly haven't seen a ton so I'm excited. I've bounced around in my puro viewing, like most of my viewing actually, but still haven't seen SO much. Even the stuff that has by nailed as great.


----------



## Rah

Yeah, the spreadsheet got updated since. Most probably will get updated again for the Tamura/Hyuga match as I found a link to the entire match (and not a 1/3 clipping) for Ditch. I'll repost it when it gets updated but Concrete's one works for now.

I've got a few matches done, but I'm going chronologically and by year. That should make it easier for now. Was thinking of simply posting it as a lump sum rather than in batches. May be one hell of a read, though. Sigh. Echo the thoughts on the first two matches. The first peaked on that flip and then went to piss.


----------



## Chismo

There's a bunch of UWFi shows on XWT Classics, hell yeah... TAMURA.YAMAZAKI.ANJOH.KAKIHARA.TAKAYAMA.TAKADA.ALBRIGHT.VADER.SILVER.NJPW FEUD.ETC. :mark:













*Moving On – Launch the First Battle*

*(1991/5/10)*


1.	Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Masahito Kakihara

******


2.	Kazuo Yamazaki & Tatsuo Nakano vs. Yoji Anjoh & Yuko Miyato

***1/4


3.	Nobuhiko Takada vs. Tom Burton

***1/2


Really good showcase from new UWF on their first show, I enjoyed the booking and pacing. Tamura and Kakihara worked a great match, they set the bar high for the rest of the crew.​


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> Yeah, the spreadsheet got updated since. Most probably will get updated again for the Tamura/Hyuga match as I found a link to the entire match (and not a 1/3 clipping) for Ditch. I'll repost it when it gets updated but Concrete's one works for now.
> 
> I've got a few matches done, but I'm going chronologically and by year. That should make it easier for now. Was thinking of simply posting it as a lump sum rather than in batches. May be one hell of a read, though. Sigh. Echo the thoughts on the first two matches. The first peaked on that flip and then went to piss.


One giant post? At the very end I'll have a nice word document with all my stuff but I'm going to keep posting my thoughts as I go to open up discussion. I'm going to level with you, if you post 326 match thoughts in one post I probably won't read it


----------



## Rah

I meant year by year. 

Would be cool to have a subsection with a thread for each match, but we don't have enough people to do that.


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> I meant year by year.
> 
> Would be cool to have a subsection with a thread for each match, but we don't have enough people to do that.


OH. Well that makes more sense.

I wish we had enough people for that. Would be the neatest. Even a year by year breakdown would be something. And now I'm sad knowing it won't happen...


----------



## Obfuscation

Threads for each year would really help the project out. I'm down to do it, but I won't lie in saying I'll put 2013 stuff ahead of it. Eight months deep into this year so that gets the first bit of my priorities. Still gonna try and pursue this for some added fun. What else do I have to do? I watch random matches as it is when I have no other shows to check out.


----------



## Concrete

We've got a year so I don't believe it should end up being too much of a problem even when putting 2013 stuff ahead of it.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah, not expecting it to be either. Simply mapping out my priorities for once I get this jump started. Probably after Sunday. I'll see how long I stay in chronological order. My guess is I may have my slip ups. :andy


----------



## Concrete

I'm probably going to skip matches with combinations of Kawada, Misawa, Kobashi, and possibly Akiyama for now. Feel like those matches will drain me to the point of questioning the whole thing. I'll work up to them haha.


----------



## Obfuscation

At least watch the first Kobashi vs Misawa match put on the list. 

I'm just trying not to skip ahead to Vader vs Kawada right now. Good LORD. I'll probably watch it today. Who am I kidding.


----------



## Concrete

I'm watching Kong vs KAORU right now so that'll be next to watch. I'm jazzed about it. I'll have thoughts for at least two more matches today. 

I'm probably the devil for having only seen one Misawa vs Kobashi match and that being the 2003 NOAH one.

EDIT:I can't get the Vader vs Kawada link to work...FUDGE NUTTER! I see a couple of versions on YouTube of it but they are real short so I can't tell if they're clipped. I don't wanna go in and be met be sadness


----------



## Rah

What about the link doesn't work? You should be able to click this and it will pop up with the download on whether to save or open. Either way, here's the full match on Youtube, if you still struggle.

I'm going to change things up, if we can't make threads for each year, I'll keep my posts in combination of the month I'm currently on. So I'll post after I've finished that particular block, and once again at the end of year with the total list. So, here goes:


Barbed Wire Boards and Bed of Nails Deathmatch
*Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma (02/01/2000 BJW)*
★★ 1/4
They teased the board spots pretty well to start off, and most certainly had a captivating moment in Honma transitioning his momentum from the irish whip into getting behind Yamakawa and allowing for the early advantage. Of course the first board spot acts as a catalyst for the ensuing chaos, but sadly said chaos comes at the expense of legitimacy. With both men walking with each other, all around the arena, to set up their spots, it loses the feel of both men actually being there to beat each other up and not as performers in the circus. I could, perhaps, buy something akin to this if it came well into the match (after much damage infliction) but being so early definitely negated those excuses. You probably cannot get more cooperative than stepping through the rings, out of your own energy, purely because your opponent started doing so, while lightly holding their hand near your head. Not a good start to this project.


*Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka Vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami (04/01/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Years after his introduction to NJPW, and the beginning of his heated feud with Hashi, Ogawa is still running rampant throughout the promotion and Hashimoto still hates his fucking guts. The opening moments elicited a “what the hell am I watching?!” reaction due to the Murakami storming out the gates and beating the living shit out of Iizuka. I mean, the fight is so intense that Inoki has to enter the ring, attired with a pimping white tracksuit, and threaten each man with a large stick. UNREAL~!

Hash takes no prisoners, either, in his quest to fight Ogawa. Sensing Murakami won’t let up any time soon, Hashimoto calmly walks into the ring and kicks his head off, before gesturing for Ogawa to bring it. And boy do they bring it in front of this molten hot crowd.


IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
*Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki (04/01/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
I think what was most exemplary in this bout was Sasaki wrestling with a high fever. This was a good Dome main, that built itself well and created the auro of Sasaki being the, now, bigger ace but it didn’t quite break that ceiling. They delivered a myriad of closed punches, especially to start, but, at the very least, the move was kept important and both men sold them as they should be. The same goes for their chop exchanges. When the flow hits the mid-point, in setting up Tenryu’s heat section, the match starts to get a bit nutty. From powerbombs, to Frankensteiners to suplexes, both men are hell-bent on one-upping the other with vicious tendency. I wasn’t particularly paying attention to the first, but the second enziguiri didn’t come clean. At least that nitpick can act into the pivot of control, though, in that the first allowed Tenryu to sweep up, yet the second allowed for Sasaki to finish things off. Worthwhile 15 minutes, but it wasn’t the best match on the card and will not be something I’d come back to in a hurry.


*Kenta Kobashi Vs Toshiaki Kawada (12/01/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
This was a match of two halves. Both Kobashi and Kawada are masters at their trade at this point, and you can see that in how they form their matches. For the most part, they create the allusion of reality within their holds. Their facials and body expressions sell even the most simplest of sleepers to us as the audience. Kawada so visibly contorting his face when Kobashi has him down can do nothing other than driving the vocal crowd into rallying behind him and screaming for him to make his comeback. Yet, sadly, both men would walk a fine line between creating drama through emotions and through high-impact moves to pop the crowd rather than logically fleshing them out. Kobashi, for instance, works a beautiful upper game on Kawada yet when Kawada makes the enziguiri to Kenta on the apron, Kobashi simply acts as if nothing had happened and followed it with a deathly lariat. Fighting spirit is a wondrous tool to use within the Japanese setting (hell, in any wrestling match), yet it’s one that is far too relied upon in moments that do not need it or, as is most often the case, a tool that is used in too much of a contrived manner.

This would be the last encounter between these two all-time great wrestlers which, considering, is a sad fact of reality. In what I would personally have hoped to be a great culmination to their meetings, the match rather delivers an allusion to a gourmet meal that’s sadly been tainted with the junk food of contemporary Japanese wrestling.


Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship
*Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka (30/01/2000 BattleARTS)*
★★★★
This could have been really good if it had taken a different direction in the middle part of the latter half. Both men are so adept at setting up and working in their holds, as well as reversing out of them, that the majority of this match becomes an absolute treat purely for those slower moments. Of course Sano takes the majority of control for the first few minutes, but as soon as Tanaka starts working back and thus delivering the story of their parity, this match really kicks it up a notch. I was thoroughly enamoured by both men trading holds, and working slow, that I marked out when Sano hit a great turnbuckle rebound onto Tanaka and the match started to get flashy. The high spots weren’t even thrown in without reason, either, as Sano witnessed an opening and took it. Considering Tanaka worked his equal on the mat, Sano knew a quicker match would favour him noting his opponent’s weakened knee and slowed pace. It would just be too bad that when Tanaka made a desperation kick at Sano’s knee when he Sano dived to the outside that things never quite continued as they should have. Sano went with the knee injury and it, once again, put each other on equal footing, yet Tanaka would not go with the opportunity given to him. Still, this was a great affair between two entertaining athletes that never once loses its hold on the viewer. Match of the month.​


----------



## Concrete

Intriguing. Wasn't that high on the BattlArts match but I'll probably post about that and Kong vs. KAORU later.


----------



## Rah

I've just started watching that now. KAORU's face is an absolute fucking mess. Wow.


----------



## Concrete

Yeah the match is straight up NUTTY!


----------



## Obfuscation

This one is shown in full.


----------



## Concrete

Thanks guys. Figured out what I was doing wrong. I find it odd that I am much more likely to hop on something that is online than what I have on disk. It doesn't make any sense.


----------



## mk92071

Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma - 1/2/2000
The teasing spots at the start played the gimmick well and I'll admit that Honma's backflip was pretty fucking sick. Ryuji looks like BxB Hulk with his silver pants. Honma getting all wobbly legged and knocking over a bunch of chairs looked amazing. After a few of the barbed wire bored spots, I didn't like Honma flying around on offense. This turned into a match where they traded big spot after big spot. I have to say, I was never very bored during this match, so it wasn't bad. Still nowhere near a MOTYC. **3/4

Hashimoto/Iizuki vs. Ogawa/Murakami - 1/4/2000
Is it sad that I've never seen these 4 wrestle before? The guy with boxing gloves is just beating the piss out of the other guy with boxing gloves.This broke down real quick. There isn't a lot better than I bunch of dudes wanting to beat the crap out of each other. Stuff is happening but I don't know Japanese so I'm guessing the match got restarted after shit broke down. And the stiffness continues. DAT SINGLE LEG was sick and the crowds pop with that and the straight ankle was great. I love how in shoot style, so many holds are believable match enders. Hashimoto and Ogawa(?) just going at it was fantastic. STOs everywhere! The finish was fine, but then they keep going post match (well they try to). Great, intense stuff. ***3/4

Tenryu vs. Sasaki - 1/4/2000
Starts off fast and hard hitting with a great chop off. Sasaki shrugging off a back drop driver would be annoying if it was later in the match, but here it wasn't bad. He means business. Sasaki's strikes are brutal. Tenryu hits a chop that ECHOES. Damn. These guys are just unbelievably stiff with there shots. I admit I marked out when they went into STRIKE WARFARE and Tenryu hit an enzuigiri. The finishing stretch was great, and I thought it was a fitting finish. Just a STIFF match. ***3/4


----------



## sXeMope

Just curious: Anyone have any info on this picture? Been reading a lot about Muta recently and I'd love to see this











Also: Another really random question: Does anyone know anything about a supposed AIDS infected needle deathmatch from Japan in the 90's? I swear I remember reading about it in one of my WWE magazines (I remember they said the "needles" looked like unfolded paper clips). Google hasn't helped much in finding out any info on it.


----------



## Groovemachine

Got 'sidetracked' with G1, but finally got around to seeing Okada vs Devitt from Kizuna Road. An easy ****, this was great stuff all round and seemed really slick and fluid. I liked the story towards the end of Okada knowing the Rainmaker is all it would take to finish him off, and Devitt desperately countering in various ways until the final blow. The interference and ringside shenanigans were still OK at this point as it wasn't overexposed like it has been in the G1 tournament, and dare I say it actually added to the match as Okada seemed like a total boss taking all of Bullet Club on with no fear. Big fan of this one.


----------



## Obfuscation

sXeMope said:


> Just curious: Anyone have any info on this picture? Been reading a lot about Muta recently and I'd love to see this


I couldn't find that specific tag team match online, but here is a piece on it: Rising Suns Tag

As a bonus, given if you've seen it or not or wanted to, here is a match they had vs each other in 1993.


----------



## Concrete

Here's another round of matches I've watched today. Not very much but it gets me going. 

*Sano vs Tanaka(BattlArts 1/30/00):***1/2*
_Hmmmm… Maybe I haven’t watched enough of BattlArts to understand the selling but for me Tanaka tends to simply be bad at it. He’ll sell for as long as it is useful for him. Then when it isn’t it is like no damage has been done to that body part. I want to ignore it but I never can. The grappling in this match was great but that one flaw holds me back from truly enjoying it as much as I wish I could have. _

*Kong vs KAORU(GAEA 2/13/00):****1/4
*_KAORU did some questionable things in this match but DAMN this match was batshit crazy fun wrapped in layers of wonder. How fun? ****1/4 worth of fun that’s how much. KAORU is a little insane gal who uses her body as a weapon and it’s awesome. Moonsaults from the posts to the floor to start things? Really? WACKO! I thought there was some smart stuff in this like KAORU attacking the arm of Kong to try and prevent the backfist as well as actually stopping the backfist with the broken table. Actually the more I think about it the more I love how the broken table at the beginning of the match played a large role in the match throughout. This project is gonna go a long way in helping me get an understanding why some of the wrestlers that I hear are the best are just that. I’ve seen SO little of wrestling it is crazy. Kong is someone I’ve seen maybe a match from a year ago. She looked awesome in this. She was screaming like she was about to have her arm ripped off during submissions and other times she looked like an uncontrollable monster. Honestly my favorite part of the match may have been Kong running with KAORU’s head in her hand from one side of the venue to the other to smash her face into the wall. Oh did I mention that KAORU is a bloody mess in this and looks like a demon queen. 

The match was sorta garbage wrestling but screw it. Looked nasty. There were some smart even if not subtle things in it that makes it worth what I gave it. This match wasn’t crazy long which I think helped it. If this match went 30 I would not have been able to give a shit. _

*Vader vs Kawada(2/17/00):****1/4* 
_I love short, sweet and violent matches. This delivered that for me and that’s all I give a shit about. The match starts with some cat and mouse with Vader being one giant ass cat. Kawada is a mouse with a dagger in the form of leg kicks and when he can close the gap without getting killed he stabbed away. I make up my own narrative. OKAY! But seriously the crowd goes nuts for those leg kicks and so do I. Kawada kills with his feet and Vader kills with his hands. Marvelous. Vader’s boxing approach to striking where he doesn’t stop until his opponent hits canvas is fantacular. I felt the match ended at the perfect moment which RARELY happens. There wasn’t any filler just killer. Maybe some will find it too short but not this guy who has a poor attention span and can’t grasp nuances over a 40+ minute period. Plus it is fucking Vader. _

*Kanemura vs Yamakawa (BJPW 2/22/00):***1/2
*_I kinda wanna give this a higher rating but I feel there was some so-so stuff in this to really give it a bump up. Felt this was a ton better than the previous BJPW match. Never seen Kanemura. What a dick though am I right?! He starts it off by tossing Yamakawa a chair and knocking his block off with a dropkick. Lots of crazy violent stuff. Like crazy powerbombs onto chairs and tables. Moves off a stage through tables. Or just Kanemura saying fuck it and tossing Yamakawa from the stage to the floor missing pretty much everything on the way down. Yamakawa had a couple awesome dazed comeback attempts. I could talk for some time on the cool things that happened but stuff like weak chair shots(in a hardcore setting I expect so force) and a pedestrian early going make it hard for me to LOVE like I wanted to at points. _​


----------



## Obfuscation

Onto Homna vs Yamakawa I go. A bit lukewarm after the less than stellar reviews right now, but maybe I'll find some fun in it.


----------



## Rah

Kong vs KAORU should be right up *CHISMO*'s alley. I didn't like Vader/Kawada or Kawada/Kobashi. I'd hate to say it, but the former just don't gel.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah you're going to disagree so much with my review on Kobashi vs Kawada. What's next for me? Oh HELL YES it's the first Joshi match on the list. Kong vs KOARU.


----------



## Yeah1993

Concrete said:


> *Sano vs Tanaka(BattlArts 1/30/00):***1/2*
> _Hmmmm… Maybe I haven’t watched enough of BattlArts to understand the selling but for me Tanaka tends to simply be bad at it. _


_

Nah it's not BatBat. Tanaka at his best is really, really great, but at his worst no-sells big moves to look 'fighting spirit'-esque. Sometimes his best and worst will show up in the same match, and he'll do this in New Japan, NOAH....it's not a BattlARTS thing._


----------



## Obfuscation

1) _BJW Death Match Heavyweight Championship_ - _Five Inch Spike Nail & Barbed Wire Boards Death Match_:

Ryuji Yamakawa(c) vs Tomoaki Honma - *BJW 1/2/00*​


Spoiler: Review



Yeah...I don't have much to say here. What has been said about this being practically unintersting the entire duration is spot on. These two brawl around the arena. They brawl around the ring. Spots into barbed wire boards. That's about it. It isn't god awful, just hardly worth seeing. Honma had two nifty spots: the run up the board in the corner & tope over the bed of nails. Risky and they worked. Only positive about this that could be said was how the match was easy to watch with the lenghty duration. (around 20+ minutes) So while it was eh on the whole, it didn't feel like a chore. Surprised this made the list meanwhile Sasaki & Ibushi vs Akiyama & Ishimori from K-Office 2/11/09 isn't. C'mon now.




2) Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami - *NJPW 1/4/00*​


Spoiler: Review



Ah crap. Ogawa. Never liked this guy. For all the HUSTLE I've watched and adored, this dude has been way too clunky for me to care. I still remember how horrible he was in the tag with Hashimoto vs Mutoh & Kawada. Nothing but JUDO TAKEDOWNS. Will this be any better? It's gotten good praise & is a high recommended match on this list. I have faith in Hashimoto to make this gold. Here we go. HOLY SHIT @ the start. Madness. Bedlam. Iizuka was legit dead. Inoki was in the ring with sharp sticks looking to pierce the flesh of the next man who lets this continue to spiral out of control. Murakami was a mega shoot jerk in jumping Iizuka. Brilliant. that's how shoot fight guys need to be. That dangerous. Ogawa kind of followed suit once shit got crazy. He looked tame compared to Murakami though. Fuck that was nuts. And only about a minute too before it was thrown out and subsequently restarted. These exchanges are INTENSE. Oh my science this is awesome. Iizuka and Murakami wanted each other's blood. Iizuka dragging Murakami over to Hashimoto like he was some rabid beast who'll kill if he had the chance was surreal. Then Hashimoto waits for the fight to stop...NOT. He blasts Murakami square in the face and challenges Ogawa to enter the fray. I can legit do play by play on all the exhanges here b/c it's that engrossing. Of course Ogawa hasn't done anything, but all the other players are making this special. LOVED Hashimoto beating the holy hell out of Ogawa. That numpty attempts his JUDO TAKEDOWN only for it to be blocked and has Hash dump him on his head. Hashimoto, baby! STO-a-mania ran wild. Bah be interesting you fuck. Hashimoto continued to own Ogawa on the floor while Iizuka chokes Murakami THE FUCK OUT. Boosh, that was insane & continued to show me how Ogawa sucks but all the other three were well worth seeing tear it up. Goodness I wonder if anything else on the list will be that heated and intense. Molten & smoldering doesn't begin to touch the atmosphere. Hashimoto & his wonderful entrance music <3.




3) _IWGP World Championship_:

Genichiro Tenryu(c) vs Kensuke Sasaki - *NJPW 1/4/00*​


Spoiler: Review



Manly. Of course. Certainly nothing but a manly match between two manly...men. Yeaaaaah. Straight up heavyweight style here with a steady pace, bombs dropped early, transitional segments being used to build towards the eventual smash 'em up machismo fest that would be the match's climax. Sharpshooter moment didn't exactly mean a whole heck of a lot other than to get a rise out of the fans and sort of give the match a slightly different wrinkle. Didn't mind it b/c I suppose it gave Sasaki the advantage that was Tenryu's back was going to have some punishment behind it. Chopping down the tree over a couse of time, you know? SLAPS in this were ooof. Tenryu stealing Sasaki's 2K bomb woah yeah. Those Japanese crowds sure love it when they see finishers used as an homage or stolen. Great reactions almost every time. This is an easy one to like. Heavyweights pounding each other until one falls. These guys have their high profile reputations for a reason. Not the best from either, but damn good all the same.




4) Toshiaki Kawada vs Kenta Kobashi - *AJPW 1/17/00*​


Spoiler: Review with the most words



I love little soccer kicks to the head. Kawada probably wishes he was born with four legs. Replace arms with legs. He'd be a happy camper. Gonzo bomb with leg arms could be possible. I'll bet you five bucks it's true. You know, it baffles me how whenever a Kawada match comes around and is very good, I'm often at a loss of words on how to emote & explain what it is I dug about it. Continues to always be _"It's Kawada. He's fabulous. The match was fabulous like expected and I loved all from start to finish."_ Of course that applies here. You know the style between these grand legends who worked vs each other. Everything they do feels huge. Every strike. Every move. Every counter. Every aspect garners a reaction from the fans b/c they're that into the match. Naturally that combo tends to explain itself more often than not. The building process from even steven to battle ravaged warriors until the ultimate wow level climax was here too. Even if the climax was a bit less extreme paced and more about the wear and tear. Sometimes when it comes instinctively you can't help but just watch and have no words for the brilliance. Always love when submissions - I'm talking some honest to good submissions too, not pointless rest holds - are used as the transition patches or ways to stop momentum. Kobashi did that to a great extend against Kawada. Monster K is kicking away. Demolishing the hoss; meanwhile Kobashi's only way out was to apply a quick submission. Stop the momentum dead in its tracks. First it was the boston crab and then it was the sleeper hold. Sleeper spot was awesome. Slick transition which captured the _(then)_ desperate nature of Kobashi to get Kawada off of him, only to slap on a hold which soon gave him the advantage in a matter of seconds. Kawada was dangerous and Kobashi knew it. I've counted about four times Kawada dropped Kobashi on his head. Like literally. The total stereotypical Japanese King's Road style head drop theory. First happens in about two minutes. So technically Kobashi was a moving corpse for about sixteen minutes following. Appreciated the tactical approach at the end. Kawada knew Kobashi's head has taken a licking and he knows his kicks can end it all. After going for one too many infamous jumping Kawada kicks to the skull, Kobashi scouts him, blocks, and proceeds to rise to the occasion. Lariats & powerbombs soon soften up Kawada in the same fashion. It's a dead heap until Kawada faulters in the midst of the battle. Kobashi sees it; strikes - death blow. Loved the big, albeit, simplistic aspect of the finish. Sticking with what brought both men to the dance. Kawada's kicks vs Kobashi's powerful arm influence strikes. It didn't have that ultra heated intensity that some of the legendary matches have had throughout the years. Didn't need it. And that's part of the reason why I dug this. It was heavy competition between two vets who respected each other. Showed all throughout. Got to love strong competition like this. This is probably the best worked match I've seen so far. _(Kawada vs Vader included b/c I watched that first despite it being 7th on the list)_ Kawada vs Vader & the 1/4 tag were HOT and had some brilliant moments all the same. But you just can't argue the case against a match wrestled this well, this smart, & that fluid.




5) _Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship_

Naoki Sano vs Minoru Tanaka - *BattlArts 1/30/00*​


Spoiler: Review



A match of two halves for me. First bit with the soulless submission trading took me out of it. I couldn't possibly care less and made me want to state that is why I haven't watched a crap-ton of shoot wrestling. There was no flash behind it. I'm not saying there HAS to be, but at least make the submission trading appealing. I've seen some shoot fights where they were ultra stiff and those were great. This just needs something to it. Well, when I thought about giving up on the match something happened and it hit that peak that I was hoping it would. Both men started to incorporate pinfalls, interesting counters, playing around with their surroundings to assist, & taking some bigger chances. Match got really interesting once they let more hang out. Didn't even feel like the same lifeless bout. Really torn on how I feel about this b/c it was bleh for a bit then ended very strong. Guess that was the plan all along to build up? idk it did take half of the match to do so. I'll look back on the second half of the match rather fondly. That's the kind of shoot wrestling I like to see.


----------



## Bubz

Fucking love Kawada/Vader. That'd be in my top 100 matches of the decade.

Never seen Kobashi/Kawada '00. There's no way it can't be worth watching, right? RIGHT?

Watched this yesterday btw...

*Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata (NOAH 17/2/02)*
On paper this sounds bossy as fuck, and yeah, it was pretty bossy. This was Kobashi fucking central because he ruled in this. To me this was a perfect example of why I think in their post 2000 days, Kobashi smokes Misawa. He’s such and emotive and sympathetic worker while still being the most badass motherfucker out there (Big Tak and Tenryu might have something to say about that around this time though). He has an awesome early sequence with Akiyama where they play up Akiyama being almost on Kobashi’s level but not quite yet, as they counter each others stuff and Akiyama goes after the leg but Kobashi just charges him down and then dares him to come after the leg one more time. Crowd pops huge for it and Kobashi looks fucking pumped. I mark. The match continues. Misawa/Nagata sequences are fine and all, but the crowd really wants Kobashi in and so do I. They really do a great job with having Kobashi always be one step ahead of both of them, until they finally ground him by getting a hold of his bad leg. Kobashi working from underneath rules like it always has. The other team do well to keep cutting him off by the leg but still try to wear him down with other submissions and strikes, almost like they know just the leg won’t be quite enough to stop him when he goes beast mode. I always get a kick out of Misawa just throwing elbows no matter how many times he does it, they’re almost mythical, like some kind of superpower for him. Nobody is not going down off one of those things (actually, there was a stupid Misawa/Akiyama sequence near the start where both guys go down two times each off of elbow strikes one after the other. Akiyama should not be matching Misawa there. Only part of the match that I didn’t like). They start throwing bombs. Misawa is there to even the odds while Kobashi takes all of the moves but won’t go down. He kicks out at one off of an exploder I think and then does his godly spot where he stumbles around the ring, half on the floor only held up by the ropes, and I know I probably say this about a few things, but that’s one of my favourite things in wrestling…ever. Yeah, I’m a Kobashi mark. Finish genuinely shocked me. So yeah, this is pretty much what you’d expect. Mostly back and forth stuff but they have this underlying story of Kobashi being a hair ahead all the time that’s great., and I thought it was ‘back and forth’ in a good way. I might like this more than probably everyone.
*****1/2*


----------



## Rah

Well...


----------



## sXeMope

HayleySabin said:


> I couldn't find that specific tag team match online, but here is a piece on it: Rising Suns Tag
> 
> As a bonus, given if you've seen it or not or wanted to, here is a match they had vs each other in 1993.


Thanks for that write up. IVP has the show but sadly it's a 2 disc show and my cart is already at $120. Definitely gonna check it out at some point though. I actually saw that match in the results while trying to find the match I was looking for but didn't watch it. Will have to though. Could be a great match.


----------



## Concrete

sXeMope said:


> Thanks for that write up. IVP has the show but sadly it's a 2 disc show and my cart is already at $120. Definitely gonna check it out at some point though. I actually saw that match in the results while trying to find the match I was looking for but didn't watch it. Will have to though. Could be a great match.


But you get 35% off that so that's something


----------



## 777

Stumbled across this gem. Only complaint was the head-stand spot, otherwise a top-notch match. Some great storytelling with plenty of little spot/moments building up to a final battle-of-attrition finishing stretch.


----------



## Groovemachine

Watched the Suwama vs Shiozaki 2 out of 3 falls match from 7/14 that everyone was raving about, and overall I did enjoy it, but can someone please explain to me what the hell was going on with that sleeper hold segment? I literally didn't understand what the hell was going on. 

So Suwama has Shiozaki in the sleeper, and puts him to sleep. Ref starts a 10 count...then stops at 8, even though Shiozaki still hasn't moved. Ref then starts slapping Shiozaki around the face to try and wake him up. Suwama drags Shiozaki off the ground by his hair, and Go is a dead weight. So why the hell wouldn't Suwama be awarded the fall via TKO? Am I totally missing the point? Like I said, I thought it was a good match but I can't call it anywhere near a MOTYC with this major 'WTF?' moment.


----------



## Bubz

*Yoshihiro Takayama v Osamu Nishimura (New Japan, 8/3/02)*
This totally ruled. Takayama going toe to toe with Nishimura on the mat showing his technical skills was so much fun to watch, and he was really fucking good. Nishimura I haven't seen a lot of, but he comes off as very impressive. Like a real old school style wrestler. It was amazing to see him so calm and collected, showing sportsmanship and respect to Takayama when they would wrestle as equals on the ground or trade holds, and then seeing him suddenly go batshit once Takayama got frustrated and started using his strikes. Of course, Nishimura couldn't trade strikes with BIG TAK, and that's the great little story of the match. Crowd was awesome for this, marking out just for a headlock reversal or something, but that's testament to just how much the two guys made it mean. Ruled. *****1/2*


----------



## sXeMope

Concrete said:


> But you get 35% off that so that's something


Yeah, my cart is $120 after everything is applied. I save about $45, but the shipping cost for the order is around $30 so I don't save that much.


Anyone have the 2002 BOSJ DVD he carries? Is it worth getting?


----------



## DOPA

*NJPW G1 Climax Day 2*

Karl Anderson vs. Shelton Benjamin: ***1/4*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***3/4*

Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano: **1/2*

Prince Devitt vs. Lance Archer: ****1/4*

Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata:******

Togi Makabe vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: ***1/2*

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi: ****1/2*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki: ****3/4*

Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****1/2*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii: *****1/2*


Fucking great show. Especially the last 4 match stretch. Tanahashi vs Ishii was fucking amazing. I'd put it just below the Ishii/Shibata match for match of the tournament from what I've seen but holy crap. Shibata/Kojima was a war, Nakamura/Suzuki was a match I've been waiting for for months and it was really good. Naito/Ibushi and Okada/Goto were also very good. Rest of the card was solid except Nagata putting in another horrible performance this time against Yano. He really had a dire start to the tournament.

Anyway this ruled.


----------



## seabs

*Aja Kong vs KAORU - GAEA 2/13/2000*
_Jesus on a cheesestick this was brutal in the best way possible. Think Kong/Satomura but hardcore (and not in a negative sense either. duh). The action alone being as brutual as it is makes this really great but when you add in the super little stories that are intertwined in the violence it makes it awesome. KAORU deciding to go all out and destroy Kong ASAP off the start was great and exactly what you'd imagine a tiny chick doing against AJA FUCKING KONG. She basically goes for all or nothing and once she misses on the table spot you realise how much of nothing she gets out of it. Missed table spot is a wonderful transition and an even better set up for the tone of the match giving Kong even more reason to murder a bitch. Not that AJA KONG ever needed motivation to murder someone. Kong kicking ass is about as good as anyone from this decade kicking ass. I doubt that I'd ever do an "X of the day" but if I did then it'd probably be Aja Kong as I'd get a kick watching her in any context. KAORU getting back into the match by insisting on hitting her table spot was great. Then Kong goes for the backfist and it gets blocked with the block of wood from the table and suddenly Kong turns from immortal to extremely mortal. Kong's amazing whenever I've seen her at being able to look as destructive as anyone one minute and then looking incredibly mortal and on the back foot the next minute. The block itself is really great as a set up for the arm work and the attack on the arm thereafter is more than worthy of Kong's selling of the arm. Match gets back and forth at the finish but not in a way where they just forget about everything leading to the finish. You still get the sense that KAORU is fighting for her survival but actually has a chance because of Kong's arm and Kong always does the arm work justice with her selling. Amazing match. Won't be as high as Kong/Satomura but it'll be a lock for my list and probs top half I'd imagine._

*****1/2*


----------



## Rah

*Aja Kong Vs KAORU (13/02/2000 GAEA)*
★★★ 3/4
I wouldn’t be surprised if KAORU suffered a concussion due to this match; Aja absolutely rattled her with vicious unprotected shots minutes into it. The match also acts as example to what I meant in the Yamakawa/Honma write-up, in that KAORU had been knocked loopy and her being dragged around came off naturally and without much issue in believability. Not that I particularly enjoyed witnessing it, though, as Kong running full speed, with KAORU in tow, across the arena only to use the momentum in slamming KAORU’s head into the wall was sickening. KAORU isn’t without her bloodlust, either, though. She ensures she makes small tweaks in her revenge spots to add extra damage (for instance, she stomps on the wood that cracked her open to create splinters that would rip into Kong’s head when she swung it at her face). She not only starts grating the board against Kong’s arm but also ensures the corner of the board pushes deeply into Kong’s hand and plays against Kong’s strong punches. Both KAORU’s face and Kong’s sliced arm sell the violence of the match, but the monster Kong screaming in agonizing pain just tips it that much more.

This may be quite simple in its structure (going from Kong control to KAORU and back to Kong) but it made each transition logical. KAORU losing her upper-hand thanks to a missed board attack, and slicing her hand on the splinters, was a great little touch and one I can wholly buy in allowing Kong to brute-strength her way back to a win.


*Vader Vs Toshiaki Kawada (17/02/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have high expectations for this. Kawada/Vader is like a wet dream for any fan of stiff workers, yet it comes off almost like a nightmare at times. While relentless, Kawada’s offence looked pretty bad for the most part with his arms, especially, coming across as non-lethal in their onslaught. I also thought both men struggled to keep together what they planned to do. While their beginning was very good, it kind of lost track after that. Both men had pinning opportunities that they messed up and hurt their flow with. For Kawada, toppling Vader seemed to leave him with a want to take a breather while he had the chance. He assessed Vader lying prone in the centre and fell back, himself, to rest. Health heartedly, he then rose up and went for the cover as if the rest period didn’t benefit Vader, as well. For Vader, though, it was perhaps worse. Having knocked Kawada down in what seemed like a knock-out blow, Vader rather stalls and then picks his opponent up before being stiffed in the face for his troubles. Sigh. Still, this match had what I sorely miss in modern day wrestling; a fight over the armbar. Contemporary wrestlers seem to allow the Fujiwara to be fully applied and build the peril spot from within the hold, seemingly forgetting how devastating said hold actually is. Here, though, Vader uses all his strength to interlock his arms and prevent the armbar. Even when it is finally locked it’s only for a few seconds before the rope-break is called. That cannot cannot prevent this match from being a sore disappointment, though, sadly.


*Koji Kanemoto Vs AKIRA (20/02/2000 NJPW)*
★★ 3/4
This started off really well with Kanemoto on offence, but quickly lost itself afterward. I thought AKIRA’s strategy of rushing Kanemoto at the beginning being foiled by his own jacket acting as leverage was a great play in getting Kanemoto in control. The constant knee-work was also really enjoyable but once AKIRA got a hold of his own knee-work it almost seemed as if Kanemoto purposefully derailed their match. Here’s a guy who now sells his pre-injured/not 100% knee like death, yet he’s quick to jump around or purposefully tweak his holds as if to visually highlight his no-selling (the bridge comes to mind in this). Ugh.

 
WEW Hardcore Title
*Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kintaro Kanemura (22/02/2000 BJPW)*
★★ 1/2
What’s a BJPW match without one of the wrestler’s pretending to jack off or blow a light tube? What’s a BJPW match with weak chair shots? The answer to both of those questions is “shit”, obviously. I’m sure this was okay, but I had to rewind four times just to try understand what I missed from zoning out. This really could not suck me in, and its violence did nothing for me, either.


*Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 3/4
Despite not seeing any Akiyama matches from earlier in his career, I still had exceptionally high expectations for this. Despite that, however, this match lived up and surpassed anything I could have honestly expected. Every move here has a purpose, and nothing is wasted or filler outside of their respective target spots. Akiyama, especially, works Misawa’s neck like the god of wrestling and is relentless in his barrage of heavy-hitting work. Misawa, of course, is no slouch, either, and delivers a great foil in the moments of Akiyama not being in control. Almost surprisingly, for myself, at least, this was Akiyama’s shining ground and he worked so unbelievably great here. Like I’ve stated, I’ve not watched much of his non-contemporary work, and this may be testament to this, but I cannot think of a match in which Akiyama delivers a performance anywhere near as good as this. He works his control spots superbly, and is a great seller for Misawa’s own comebacks and controls. 

Ultimately, this was simply a phenomenal match that should end up in the top 5 once I’ve completed this project. If it doesn't, then this decade would have been an absolute treat to have witnessed.


*Kenta Kobashi Vs Vader (27/02/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
I’m actually glad that there’s only one more Vader match on this set, simply because it means my heart won’t have its hopes continually dashed by his matches. While I love the fact that AJPW finally managed to put together some dream Vader pairings, the fact that it would come years after Vader’s peak is certainly something that outweighs the positives. Vader’s rib work here was most certainly focused, with Kobashi doing some great selling for the big man, but it never quite raised itself beyond that. While it is nice to see Kobashi work from under Vader, lasting all of 18 minutes in what was, arguably, an extended squash by surviving endless Vader bombs, chokeslams, kicks, guardrail drops and liver punches took away the novelty of Kobashi’s hope spots as it all became too apparent that he would win. The fact that Kobashi would make the win with only a small amount of offence (comparatively) didn’t sit well with me, either. Disappointing.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Okada vs. Ibushi from yesterday's DDT show is quite disappointing. It feels like a G1 hangover match, with Okada on autopilot, Ibushi in sloppy mode & a crowd that wants to get into it, but never really doubts the outcome. ****1/4*

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13b8na_kota-ibushi-vs-kazuchika-okada-ddt-08-18-13_sport


----------



## bigbuxxx

Rah said:


> *Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW)*
> ★★★★ 3/4
> Despite not seeing any Akiyama matches from earlier in his career, I still had exceptionally high expectations for this. Despite that, however, this match lived up and surpassed anything I could have honestly expected. Every move here has a purpose, and nothing is wasted or filler outside of their respective target spots. Akiyama, especially, works Misawa’s neck like the god of wrestling and is relentless in his barrage of heavy-hitting work. Misawa, of course, is no slouch, either, and delivers a great foil in the moments of Akiyama not being in control. Almost surprisingly, for myself, at least, this was Akiyama’s shining ground and he worked so unbelievably great here. Like I’ve stated, I’ve not watched much of his non-contemporary work, and this may be testament to this, but I cannot think of a match in which Akiyama delivers a performance anywhere near as good as this. He works his control spots superbly, and is a great seller for Misawa’s own comebacks and controls.
> 
> Ultimately, this was simply a phenomenal match that should end up in the top 5 once I’ve completed this project. If it doesn't, then this decade would have been an absolute treat to have witnessed.


I was itching to go back and watch some 90's AJPW while going through the G-1 tourney so I picked that match based on your recommendation. As you said, it's a phenomenal match. The way Akiyama knew he was on his last legs and had a burst of adrenaline to give deliver a couple of exploders was expert. Misawa couldn't recover after that last ditch effort by Akiyama and eventually succumbed to him. When watching I was waiting to see SuperSawa just brush that flurry off after a few minutes and come back to win but pleasantly surprised to see Akiyama score the pinfall. ****1/2+ for sure.


----------



## smitlick

*Dragon Gate 13/10/11*

Masaaki Mochizuki vs Akira Tozawa
****1/4

Wow.. just a great match that peaked perfectly and was probably helped by it being edited down a bit.


----------



## Obfuscation

6) Aja Kong vs KAORU - *GAEA 2/13/00*

I LOVE THIS MATCH. Don't think I've ever seen a more blantantly brutal "hardcore" type match out there. Really. There was malice behind every aspect. From every weapons shot, to the wild inflammatory contempt of both not caring about the dangerous nature of the spots, to the maming process that both were driving home. Insane to say how both Kong & KAORU took as much as they dished out. b/c they were deadly in this. Not to mention how carefree they were in taking a chance with some spots. Kong diving through the ropes into a table. KAORU using the piece of the table to literally carve up and demolish Kong's arm. The moonsault with the same table piece ONTO the injured, bloody arm of Kong. Kong taking KAORU from one side of the building to the other to driver her face first into a wall. Sock me sideways. It was a damaging experience for both. After ten minutes you'd swear they were jumped in an alley & stumbled into a prision riot. Shocking the world that they're still living. KAORU's work in taking out Kong's arm was a prime central aspect that I felt completely ruled. She had to stop the backfist and stop Kong entirely. Up to that point KAORU had taken a pretty severe beating. Kong was wounded and for the majority - I said majority b/c she still tried to bust it out - couldn't use her trademark backfist. KAORU decides to be the comeback kid ultrajerk by giving Kong the world's most dangerous looking Fire Thunder/Bernard Driver of all time. BROKEN FREAKIN NECK level. There are so many smart and epic points in the match. All the nearfalls were stellar. On the point of they were all belivable. Dangerous Bernard Driver. Various backfists were hit. KAORU was a gnarly genius using the jagged table edge to block the backfist on a few occasions and capatlize quickly to get the closest nearfall of the match. Kong's selling was tremendous. As it should be. Her arm was cut to shreads. You felt her pain just by seeing her face and reading the expressions. Add that in with her bonechilling screams. Nightmare worthy. AJA FUCKING KONG does everything well. There wasn't a bad sequence in the whole of this. The beauty of the match was in its gruesome nature. You can find beauty in all the oddest places. This match is one example that proves it. Unbelievable match. This is going to be my favorite on this list for a long time. I'm positive about that. Won't be shocked if this remains as my favorite from the entire year of 2000.


7) Vader vs Toshiaki Kawada - *AJPW 2/17/00* _(keeping in mind I watched this match first)_

Kawada says FUCK YOU, son. To Vader. Nobody else, fyi. Well then, I knew this was going to be the perfect start for me. A natural pick for one to love right off the bat. No duh. It's two favorites. They beat the snot out of each other. Hello? That's a recipe for success. These "king of the jungle" type manly war structures never fail. The stories are linear and to the point, you see giant dudes get walloped and it ALWAYS WORKS. I'm rambling here. Ahhhh. These matches don't leave you with too much to say other than "oh shit he got knocked out." or "that son of a bitch is gonna be hurting tomorrow" Moments that only require swear words to be chucked in for added emphasis that fits the engaging hard hitting actions seen. It wasn't exactly Takayama vs Frye PRIDE type pace with the rugged bombs thrown, but the pacing was still top notch and you couldn't find a dull moment. Kawada was legit like usual here on the aspect where he told Vader he can go back to Colorado and maybe have another Boy Meets World cameo. Kawada took Vader on the train to forearm town. ALL ABOARD. (gosh, I'm gonna need one upside my head now) Pretty rad to see Vader look like the biggest killer at the start just by standing there, then the first few minutes went to easy Kawada domination. Don't tell Kawada he misses his kicks either. b/c he'll try it again and connect right on the square of the jaw. One of those King Hippo type knockout shots. You saw the POW~! flash come over the screen after he hit Vader. Vader copes. Towards the end he attempts his outlandish chokeslam. He doesn't hit it though. Sad face. Why? b/c Vader is a mad man dickhole when it comes to a chokeslam. Instead of using one hand on the throat and the other on the thigh or back of the opponent taking the move, he has one hand on the throat and the other hand wrapped around the neck or back of the head and proceeds to drill them each & everytime. Spiked into the mat. That asshole. Bless him for his dangerous chokeslams. Plain and simple I loved this. If you like either man or both - and why wouldn't you? - you'll dig it. Maybe not as much as me, but these kinds of matches are usually my favorites. Project off and running & I got to tell ya, now I'm excited. This could make it at the end of the day. Top 20, right? Well, suppose it doesn't matter. I'm not big on lists and I'm not using the ol star ratings these days so we'll see I guess. THIS IS HIGH. For now.


----------



## Obfuscation

Punish me if you must for the double post, but got no other place to ask. Is anyone else having trouble with a few of the Ditch links from the spreadsheet? I click 'em, they open up, but no video appears. It's a black screen with sporadic sound popping up. This has thrown a wrench on the 2000's project as far as these matches go. Going to skip them until I can actually watch.


----------



## Rah

That's kind of weird. I click the link and it asks me where I wish to save my download. I've had one instance of Mediafire trying to stream a video but I was allowed to click the download button.


----------



## Obfuscation

Tried another Ditch link and it did the same. Nothing about saving a download has popped up. This is frustrating.


----------



## Bubz

Yeah they've all worked for me. God (ditch) does not like you Cody.


----------



## Obfuscation

I call shenanigans. ugh.

---------------

9) _WEW Hardcore Championship:_ Ryuji Yamakawa(c) Kintaro Kanemura - *BJW 2/22/00*

Another BJW match on the list and yet another forgettable match. With some credit due to the previous Yamakawa/Honma match that at least had SOME tiny bits to it that weren't boring. This match, yeah, I really, really don't have a single positive to say about it. I nearly fell asleep about four times while watching. A dull, near heatless spotfest. The transitions into the spots weren't even done well. Very cookie cutter. I'm done talking about it. This sucked.


10) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama - *AJPW 2/27/00*

First appearance for Misawa & Akiyama on this list. Good grief is it a beaut. Back and forth perfection was the way this match went. Not only one top notch performance in this. Both men excelled. Akiyama with the fury & passion to get the big duke & Misawa trying like hell to make sure it doesn't happen and prove why he's a big deal. Misawa getting super fancy in the start to take the advantage was nifty. Moreso once it was Misawa's flashy offense that actually got him to play defense for the next large portion of the match. That was nifty-ier. That's right. Akiyama didn't hold anything back. He was charged from the git-go to have a stellar performance. Taking Misawa out piece by piece on the outside with deadly throws into the steel railing - exploders on/off the apron. He had his game plan. His control segments were honest to goodness one of the best I've ever seen. Everything mattered. It all had a place. Akiyama was insanely brilliant during the lot of this. Can't argue with Misawa's perfectly timed comeback. The man was so smart. He hit a dropkick square in the chops of Akiyama and after doing so he _(Misawa)_ came crashing down right on his injured head/neck. Instead of no selling that in the heat of the moment, he paused, not capitalizing on the dazed Jun. Sold all the work put in by Akiyama before he attempted to sway the momentum. Awesome. Such a perfect chance to have such a blinding negative come forth and it was negated. Misawa's tear hyped up the drama more, of course. You knew it would once he started bringing out some solid hits and Akiyama wouldn't stay down. Brief note to how bossy Misawa's switch off Stretch Plum is. Shifting momentum from one side to the other as he inflicts pain while Akiyama can't find an out. Gold. Following the Tiger Bomb nearfall the fans were ready for the finishing stretch. Which, no duh, didn't disappoint in being epic. It's up there with all of the other classics you've heard about from the All Japan Heavyweight ranks. Expertly applied holds, well timed rising action, & the inevitable climax which showed Jun's fiery passion to win from beginning to end hit its mark. Exploder suplexes for all & the upset went down. Blistering work & a blistering audience to enjoy it. A classic. My reviews here and there may get redundant, but I'm trying to sell this match as best I can. Tbhayley, the work seen more than speaks for itself.


----------



## Bubz

I'm shit with dates but I think that's the match I love to death. Yeah recommended it to me and said he thought it was Akiyamas best single performance and I definitely agree.


----------



## Obfuscation

Has to be. He was *superb* the entire duration.


----------



## MoxleyMoxx

I'd so like to watch this years G1 Climax and/or BOSJ in its entirety and in the process get to know NJPW better, but downloading all of the events would just murder my ratio.  Sadly my requests seem to go on deaf ears too. 

btw. Okada vs. Ibushi from DDT was pretty good. Couple of botched spots kinda ruined it a bit though, but still a **** match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Dailymotion has Night One of the Climax iirc & a good bit of the early days are on youtube. Possibly the later shows (5-Finale) made it to either streaming site too.


----------



## Groovemachine

For the later days, the user Stephen Pottsy has uploaded them on youtube. Here's Day 8, which I have bookmarked as I still need to see Suzuki/Ibushi.


----------



## mk92071

Did these on the car ride up to LA yesterday. I went back after the match instead of typing it as I watched so its not as much, but it doesn't matter too much. I don't remember a lot from either of them today though, so if I have a unique opinion on something I probably can't defend it well.

Kobashi vs. Kawada - 1/12/2000
So this match was awesome. I learned I get a sick joy out of watching Kobashi chop Kawada in the face. Kawada was great here and I just loved all the strikes in this match. I feel like there wasn't a ton of depth or story, but it didn't need it. I really really enjoyed it for what it was. This might go down, but as of now its an easy ****. I also marked for the commentator at the LARIATOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Sano vs. Tanaka - 1/30/2000
I liked the mat wrestling at the start and Sano generally schooling Tanaka. I flipped out on the flying armbar, but I thought the match lost a lot of steam when it turned into a more traditional wrestling match. Tanaka has such great flashy spots, ie DAT KNEEBAR. It makes me believe he might win out of nowhere. The last couple minutes elevated this a shit ton for me. Despite not liking some of the stuff, I wat into most of the match especially the end and Tanaka's offense. I'd say a low ****.


----------



## Rah

Seems a normal rating for Kawada/Kobashi. I'm the only guy who didn't think it was great so.

Also, fuck Takahashi, that piece of trash. Likewise to y2jwallbreaker for winning the bet and forcing me to make him my sig.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Yujiro does Fisherman Suplexes so he'll only be moving up the card if you know what I mean :cena2




And fuck you for the Yujiro hate. Next time Imma make you replace those flip guys with Wataru Inoue bitch. :ass


----------



## KeepinItReal

MoxleyMoxx said:


> I'd so like to watch this years G1 Climax and/or BOSJ in its entirety and in the process get to know NJPW better, but downloading all of the events would just murder my ratio.  Sadly my requests seem to go on deaf ears too.
> 
> btw. Okada vs. Ibushi from DDT was pretty good. Couple of botched spots kinda ruined it a bit though, but still a **** match.


You can definitely find the entire G1 Climax on DailyMotion and YouTube, prob full shows. I was able to get each show within two days at most. Just keep searching.


----------



## Mr. I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwAL_gJ_rl8
Nakamura opens some trading cards. This is much more entertaining than it has any right to be.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> Seems a normal rating for Kawada/Kobashi. I'm the only guy who didn't think it was great so.
> 
> Also, fuck Takahashi, that piece of trash. Likewise to y2jwallbreaker for winning the bet and forcing me to make him my sig.


HA

I knew that had to be a bet. Then again, Yujiro's swag is so awesome that I thought _maybe_ you warmed up to him...


----------



## Chismo

*UWFi Moving On 2nd*

*(1991/6/6)*


1.	KICKBOXING MATCH: Makoto Ohe vs. Rudy Lovato

_Okay, seriously, a legit fight on a pro-wrestling card? So wrong, but hey, these two pricks at least beat the shit out of each other, which is something you can’t say about Inoki’s IGF abominations._

N/A


2.	Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tom Burton

***1/4


3.	Yuko Miyato vs. Kazuo Yamazaki

***1/4


4.	Yoji Anjoh vs. Tatsuo Nakano

***1/4


5.	Nobuhiko Takada vs. JT Southern

**


Good show, but the main event left bad taste in my mouth.​


----------



## Rah

This project is sadly going slower than I had hoped.


*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Toshiaki Kawada (31/03/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★
This would be the finale to their AJPW feud and, even if that wasn’t in their minds in delivering it, they most certainly wove it into their battle here. Both being tied in number of victories within singles encounters up until this point, the match would abandon their slow and methodical pace that became synonymous with their previous encounters. The very fact that their previous Carnival Cup encounters had ended in time limit draws also drove home their need to adapt a new, more hastened approach in finally beating their opponent. The end result, thus, feels even more iconic in that this would also be the first time Misawa could ever hit his Emerald Flowsion upon Kawada.
This wasn’t a blow-away match by any means, and nowhere near their greatest, yet it still hails itself as a good match, nonetheless. Kawada’s selling of punches/elbows is as awesome as ever.


*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi (11/04/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
While this was good, it never quite led to anything and just merely existed. The neckwork was a treat at times, as was parts of Misawa’s selling, but the beginning of the back end was pretty bad. This probably would have benefitted from not being the longest match in the tourney, as twenty six minutes is just far too long for what they put in.


 
*Takao Ōmori Vs Kenta Kobashi (15/04/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/4
Misawa, as booker, would finally pull the trigger on Ōmori in this Carnival. Having run at the bottom of the log year in and year out, Ōmori would finally taste success in AJPW’s last Carnival Cup before the faction split. Having picked up a large win against Steve Williams in the round before, Ōmori had decisively beaten Akiyama in the opening round in mere seconds. The match was equally performance making in that Ōmori managed to hang with the current world champion, and even ran in control most of the time thanks to Kenta’s injured knee. The knee work was really well kept together and Kenta sold incredibly well for the most part (falling off in remembering to sell at times, aside). Kenta’s offence was shockingly vicious, though. Ōmori is an utter champ for surviving as long as he did with all the chops TO THE FACE that he took. Kenta honing in on working the challenger’s head/neck would prove too much for the rising star, though. This was a star making tourney run and a great climax in a final that delivered the match the crowd came to see and went home happy with.


*Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura*
★★ 3/4
It’s pretty weird how a series of matches have been noted with such praise by others could deliver a match at this level. Perhaps I wasn’t too focused on the match to notice their story, but this was botchy and clunky.


*Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Kenta Kobashi (26/05/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
This was absolutely great. Outside of the forced manner in which Kobashi took Takayama’s solid head kick, this was damn near faultless. While Takayama was serviceable, Kobashi delivered an amazing performance as only the legend could. From the inception of the story over the injured arm, Kobashi sold his plight in every tidbit of the match. Perhaps none more exemplary than the way in which he favoured a double-underhook DDT by falling to his left as if his injured, right arm really couldn’t execute the move as well as his left. The build of Kobashi’s left arm was equally smart. While he is no slouch in terms of strength, Kenta is not used to executing his elbows or lariats and thus never fully achieved the impact he desired. With his right arm bent and limp throughout, he knew he would have to risk further injury if he was to ground Takayama and thus went for a desperation lariat with the injured arm. It’s here that Kobashi’s selling culminates into a reason as to why such a fake sport encapsulates us into it’s drama.​


----------



## Obfuscation

The bridge to complete is a year, isn't it? I'm not too concerned. If I get a match or two done a day I'll be content with my pacing. Speaking of, to cover some more ground:

8) Koji Kanemoto vs AKIRA - *NJPW 2/20/00*

Decent sprint. The work seen wasn't too poor, in fact it all made for a fairly logical match. However AKIRA didn't comprehend the notion of selling his knee when it mattered and it really gave a portion in the latter half of the match a glaring aspect one really can't look past. I liked the hot aspect of both jocking for position in the first five minute stretch. Once Kanemoto got AKIRA back in the ring to work on the knee it was fine. Then AKIRA found his opening and it kind of all went to hell. The more "insulting" nature of the no-selling was after a lot of quick motion was used by AKIRA, he eventually started to grab at the knee as if it still was hurting. lolz, what? No sell to get his stretch over and then once it's done and the match is at a stalemate within the final minute it's back to being hurt. Not to mention after a rapid dropkick + stolen Dragon Suplex to defeat Kanemoto, he sells the leg as if he couldn't walk on it. K, buddy. Not so good job there on the fluctuating pain. If only AKIRA sold better this match would have been really quite good. b/c of that it's fine, but has its flaws.


11) Kenta Kobashi vs Vader - *AJPW 2/27/00*

These two almost didn't have a chance in hell to follow up Misawa vs Akiyama. Misawa was legit as usual and Akiyama gave the performance of his career. So naturally these two could have given us the bare minimum and it still would have been a good main event. We got somewhere in between. It wasn't the best match you could have seen from Vader & Kobashi, but it was hardly the worst. Story in this was straightforward. As you expected, a heavyweight slugfest. With the added wrinkle that Kobashi was entering this with injured ribs. Vader being the good samaritan that he is uses that as the focal point of his attack. All positioned on Kobashi's damaged ribs. To keep things linear, the easiest way to put it is I liked this match. Typical easy to watch, flies on by type BS I'll spew out a million times over b/c it always rings true. Has there been a boring match with Vader & Kobashi in it? Maybe something in WWF where they let Vader do shit all. Kobashi's selling was good & Vader's approach was tactical. Now it didn't quite leap off screen or anything, although it was consistent and Vader knew what he was doing. Thought the Vader Bomb nearfalls should have been switched with the chokeslam ones, as the Vader Bomb on the injured ribs really could have been great in the climax. At least he did the chokeslam in this match. TWICE! Did like how Kobashi got his openings, did the work, yet Vader was too fresh from the majority being him on offense to allow him to cut Kobashi off at the pass. Until lariats are thrown. That's when everything is taken back to square one. Borderline great match with good performances put forth. It was a good night for Burning.


----------



## Groovemachine

Thought I'd get on board with this Best of 2000s Japan project. Diving straight in:

*SUWA vs Dragon Kid - Toryumon 2000 Project 8/24/00 - ****1/4*

What a match to kick things off with! This is one of the best examples I've seen of Japan doing 'sports entertainment'. It reminded me of Backlash 2000, The Rock vs Triple H, and how on paper it looks overbooked but everything just gels together to create a wonderful moment.

Dragon Kid getting annihilated from the get-go, and then the restart after the ref backtracks, realising SUWA cheated to win, all helped to put DK over as the ultimate underdog during the second portion of the match. The odds are stacked against him, and SUWA's crew continually get themselves involved until they're fought off to the back by other roster members, leaving Kid and SUWA alone to settle things in the middle of the ring. Fantastic storytelling, and now it looks like Dragon Kid has a fighting chance. SUWA is magnificent, just a total dick throughout, and perhaps this is his downfall as he doesn't treat DK with enough respect to realise the threat he poses. Ultimately, we get the feel-good moment, and SUWA's show of respect afterwards was a really nice touch, and again Dragon Kid looks like a million bucks. Star-making.


----------



## seabs

_*That match is awesome. There's probably at least 5 puro matches from that year that are comfortably better than it too.*_


----------



## mk92071

Kong vs. KAORU - 2/13/2000
Generally I hate when matches start with ridiculous head drops, but this looks to be something good. KAORU is taking some nasty spots, like the fragmented table shots to the head...So much insane action in the first 5 minutes. KAORU's bloody face is a great visual and that bump to the floor caught me off guard. MORE FRAGMENT TABLE SHOTS TO THE HEAD. Somehow this match managed to get even better after the backfist to the broken table. Jesus christ, this arm work is amazing. Words can't describe the awesomeness in this match. Everything about this is making me :mark: . The only thing that hindered this match for me was a couple meh nearfalls. What a war. A lock for the top half of the list easily. Probably will be top 25 easy. ****1/2 

Vader vs. Kawada - 2/17/2000
What I got from this match was Kawada equilizing the size of Vader with his strikes which results in Kawada kicking the shit out of Vader half the match. Vader has some really brutal strikes himself, and they just had an amazing match that makes you cringe due to how STIFF it was. Short and fun sprint with constant action. ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm trying badly to stay in chronological order with this project. Been wanting to jump to the SUWA vs Dragon Kid match from the very start. Almost there...well, kind of.


----------



## Rah

Am I a bad person for not getting the hype for Kawada & Tenryu Vs Hansen & Kea (23/07/00)?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Rah said:


> Am I a bad person for not getting the hype for Kawada & Tenryu Vs Hansen & Kea (23/07/00)?


No. You are fucking satan.


----------



## seabs

Rah said:


> Am I a bad person for not getting the hype for Kawada & Tenryu Vs Hansen & Kea (23/07/00)?


:leslie


----------



## Rah

*Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto Vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (25/06/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Quick, fun and easy to sit through, this match transitioned back-and-forth nicely between quick action and pounding offence. It almost seemed like everything in here came round full circle at some point later on, too. For instance, Takaiwa struggled out of Kanemoto’s submission only to beat the smaller opponent while he had him locked into the mat. Kanemoto would return the favour later on, when he managed to trap Takaiwa in a hold. Same, too, for the two pairs’ corner dropkicks. Come for Ohtani’s shiny jacket, and stay for the entertaining wrestling.


*Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman Vs Toshiaki Kawada & Gen'ichiro Tenryu (23/07/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
I realize that Hansen is over 50 at this point, but he looks pretty poor regardless. Equally, his lumbargo would force him to retire later this year yet his movement at this stage still felt mechanic - almost as if he was mirroring Jim Duggan’s comically-forced motions. The opening couple minutes are pretty great in their intensity, but it devolves with Kawada working Hansen. Those involved most certainly chose when to and when not to sell each other’s offence, and I feel the match came off worse because of it. For instance, Hansen’s been worked down, he’s groggy and disoriented, so Tenryu lets Kawada loose. It’s almost as if Kawada’s repeated kicks to Hansen’s head dislodges the dizziness out of Hansen as he makes a (not-at-all worked) fighting spirit return punch only to then go down again to the same moves. The ring-post spot is another. Tenryu dodges Hansen’s punch and he meets metal and goes back for a chop, misses, again, and now it’s sold like death. Perhaps the first added to the second, but I’d have enjoyed a better build of that. Zero fucks given by Tenryu when Kea superkicks his gut on the apron, too. Throw in a few botches, clunky moments and pauses and I do not see the appeal to this. Kawada’s fucking stiff with some of his kicks, though, and he absolutely rules here, so there’s that, I suppose.
 

*Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (05/08/2000 NOAH)*
★★★ 3/4
This probably has more relevance in terms of history than the actual work produced. Coming straight off the faction split with AJPW, this would be the main event off the first ever NOAH show. Not only would it mean ensuring that NOAH was the definitive promotion, and those involved were what kept AJPW so loved, it would also be the catalyst in setting up the next big “feud” that would cement NOAH as what the Japanese fans should be watching. The match, thus, would work in putting Akiyama over in quite a large way, especially in the early going with a quick first fall win over Misawa in the opening couple minutes. The post-match is what is most important, though, in that after the fans show respect to all four involved, and it would seem everyone has no bad blood, Akiyama lies in wait for an empty ring in which he can backstab his long-time partner, Kobashi. The match, as its own, is still very well worked and shows just how well each member meshes with each other. Considering they’ve encountered each other a good many times before in AJPW, that’s not something to be surprised about, however.


*Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (06/08/2000 NOAH)*
★★★★
How much more of a decisive win can you give Akiyama in his proving match? How much more beautiful can you end a match? Not much. With Akiyama trapping Kobashi in his King Crab Lock and passing him out, the aftermath would see the referee franticly slapping Kobashi and applying CPR in an attempt to bring the now unconscious vet around. It’s a great climax to Kobashi’s selling, too, with a performance that is one of his best of the year. Damn good performance by Akiyama, too, in continually focusing on Kobashi’s injured knee. The tentative opening section probably isn’t going to impress everyone but I enjoyed some of the hold exchanges and it, at least, fits the story they needed to tell. Still, this was a rocking first meet-up between the now opposing pair.


*SUWA Vs Dragon Kid (24/08/2000 Toryumon)*
★★★ 3/4
Dragon Kid is a masked, little man portraying a massive babyface so, of course, it goes prone to “comical” selling at points. SUWA is on fire here, though, and delivers a great performance in structuring this match to milk as much as he can out of this great pairing. Dragon Kid may look like he should be the one with the nutty offence, but SUWA’s sunset flip powerbomb, despite not coming off quite right, is one of the best I’ve seen in a long while. Sin Cara and Sami Zayn may have put out their own renditions in superficial beauty, but SUWA’s full rotation from the standard powerbomb lift-position is just phenomenal. Props to Kid in doing the Ultra Hurricanrana (with added 180 rotation), it’s always a treat to see. The lucha mark in me wishes this could have played up to the aspuesta gimmick, with vicious mask ripping by SUWA, but its own little drama spot (and restart) was fine enough, all things considered.​

So far, my TOP TWENTY, err, ONE~!


Spoiler: list



1.	Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW)
2.	Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Kenta Kobashi (26/05/2000 AJPW)
3.	Takao Ōmori Vs Kenta Kobashi (15/04/2000 AJPW)
4.	Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (06/08/2000 NOAH)
5.	Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka (30/01/2000 BattleARTS)
6.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Toshiaki Kawada (31/03/2000 AJPW)
7.	Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka Vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami (04/01/2000 NJPW)
8.	Aja Kong Vs KAORU (13/02/2000 GAEA)
9.	SUWA Vs Dragon Kid (24/08/2000 Toryumon)
10.	Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto Vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (25/06/2000 NJPW)
11.	Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (05/08/2000 NOAH)
12.	Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman Vs Toshiaki Kawada & Gen'ichiro Tenryu
13.	Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki (04/01/2000 NJPW)
14.	Kenta Kobashi Vs Toshiaki Kawada (12/01/2000 AJPW)
15.	Vader Vs Toshiaki Kawada (17/02/2000 AJPW)
16.	Kenta Kobashi Vs Vader (27/02/2000 AJPW)
17.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi (11/04/2000 AJPW)
18.	Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura
19.	Koji Kanemoto Vs AKIRA (20/02/2000 NJPW)
20.	Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kintaro Kanemura (22/02/2000 BJPW)
21.	Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma (02/01/2000 BJW)


----------



## flag sabbath

*Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki vs. Suwama & Takao Omori (2/3 Falls, AJPW, 28/7/13):* It's a shame this plays out in front of a subdued, half-empty Korakuen because it's a decent match & an amped crowd would have made it seem special instead of dull & drawn out ****1/2*

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13juay_suwama-omori-vs-akiyama-shiozaki-ajpw-07-28-13_sport


----------



## Bubz

Rah said:


> Am I a bad person for not getting the hype for Kawada & Tenryu Vs Hansen & Kea (23/07/00)?


Yes motherfucker. Someone else that agrees with me. Yay. I don't think it's a great match at all. Sure you have Tenryu being all bossy and Hansen stumbling around like a drunken donkey, but there's still a hell of a lot more to go as far as I'm concerned before I could call it a great match. It's good though.


----------



## Chismo

Hikaru Sato vs. Kota Ibushi (Hard Hit 2008/7/20)

_Well, I'm a big shoot genre fan, but let's face it - that style can be either the most redundant thing in wrestling, or the best damn thing in wrestling. Here, it's the latter. Sato is a notorious shooter, this is his playground, the enviroment fits him perfectly, and we all know about Ibushi, he's a pretty flippy guy, right? And there you go, the story writes itself. Ibushi can strike hard, but not as hard as Sato, so after all, he has to rely onto his flashy stuff as desperate measures, but nothing too excessive, because this is a shoot style match. I really loved this. Great gem._

****1/4


----------



## Rah

*Chismo*, you may want to grab the BattlARTS match in this list. It's relatively short, too.


*Masahiro Chono Vs Masanobu Fuchi (02/09/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
Chono, and his blackened uniform, are so unbelievably manly. If The Shield were to get a fourth member, 2000 Chono is the only man I’d approve of joining. Fuchi, though, carries on the legacy of batshit crazy, old men who, logically, should be past their prime yet make their matches so thoroughly enjoyable due to their antics. Fuchi did well to hold out against Mr G1 here. It was certainly a long shot, and the biggest potential win in his career, but Fuchi’s victory was believable in moments. Even when the end was in sight, the grumpy geriatric refused to let it end and made you wonder if it actually would; though that trail did lead to Fuchi popping straight up after a vicious piledriver.


*Yoshie Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka Vs Jushin Liger& Shinya Makabe (12/09/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Black Liger isn’t as colourful as the more commonly associated get-up, but it still looks wicked. The same goes for this match, in that I expected prettier executions (as this did derail itself a few times) but its still flashy when it needs to be. Tanaka, as usual, throws some great holds and traps even the wiliest of opponents, while Liger does some good selling of his knee in the portions that centre on it. Makabe’s first few spears were less than exemplary but, as he kept hitting them, they grew in to pretty great visuals. This was a nice mix between holds (with some meaning) and high-action, even if the high-action wasn’t all that great. The finishing run displayed some smart strategy in working the illegal opponent while your partner gets the sub/pin so it cannot be broken up; more matches need to work that.

 
*Jun Akiyama, Yoshihiro Takayama & Kentaro Shiga Vs Kenta Kobashi, Takeshi Rikio & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (25/09/2000 NOAH)*
★★★ 1/2
My only addition I could add to this would be Jim Ross as announcer purely so he could sell the hit-squad Akiyama and team became in absolutely decimating the other 6-man team. Otherwise, this was a perfectly fine match that does no shame to the status of big-time Japanese 6-man tags.


*Toshiaki Kawada Vs Kensuke Sasaki (09/10/2000 NJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
Heavyweight slugfests are pretty much a staple in All Japan these days, amongst certain wrestlers, yet it’s in this setting that the style particularly fits. While the formation of NOAH, and the departure of many top stars, created a major upset within AJPW’s business, arguably without such a move, we would never have been witness to the cross-promotional fallout that took place following the faction split. As such, and on the heels of All-Japan peer, Fuchi, making a challenge within the New Japan ring, Kawada would call out NJPW’s ace in Sasaki – forming one of the biggest dream match-ups to have ever come about. Not only was it ace Vs ace, but it was, also, company Vs company for the right to claim the throne of Japanese wrestling. These two weren’t going to wrestle a technical match, nor would they focus on any particular strategy or focus on specific weaknesses or parts; it was all about taking as much offence as one could until someone couldn’t go on any longer. With a sold-out, 64,000 strong crowd behind them, both men proved that a modern direction nor the heavy-talent of NOAH was needed to capture the pure essence of Japanese wrestling.


*Toshiaki Kawada Vs Gen'ichiro Tenryu (28/10/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
To be fair, he did have two big roles within the space of this month to allow for the matches he had but, to his credit, Kawada was still on fire in both and more of the reason why two phenomenal matches came so close together. The story of Tenryu’s return to AJPW, following having left a younger Kawada’s side mid-feud against Tsuruta, and the story of role model vs emulator were intertwined so beautifully here. The vicious kicks of Kawada, which have brought on victory over countless others before, would be met with Tenryu’s contempt almost as if the old man was disgusted in how light Kawada worked. It would be a reaction that would cost him, in a sense, when Kawada busted his nose and, thus, painted his face in crimson blood in the process. I’m dismayed, though, in Tenryu’s leg work leading to literally nothing. I’m not one to expect the finish to come as a compliment to said work, but I do expect the continuity to maintain some level of believability. It was obvious that Tenryu applied his submissions as a means of negating Kawada’s kicks yet, almost as soon as Kawada freed himself, he was back to using his legs. Still, in the larger picture, it was but a drop in the ocean.


*Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa (23/11/2000 AJW)*
★ 1/2
It would be hard for any match to follow the previous two, but this match was fucking shit, regardless. I’m not sure of how the rules work in this promotion but they’re most certainly at odds with those of what I’m used to. For one, I didn’t know you could interject yourself back into a match once you had escaped the cage. Even so, surely you’re still flagged as having escaped so when you return to aid your team mate, and they escape, you win? To be fair, the weird re-entry rule is weird, but the surrounding means is fine under that circumstance. Fine doesn’t make their work any less bad, though. Aside from the chaotic (and not truly in a good way) start, once the escapes start this match loses all sense of logic. Surely if you’re three-one up, you’d choose rather to focus on knocking your solitary opponent out and escaping together rather than one at a time? Doing so just leaves your opponent open to make a comeback, as was evident here. The babyfaces were always going to win, however, and I couldn’t truly believe anything else. Play it up how you want, when she made the surprise re-entry to aid the escape, she basically dominated all three members. I may be using a lot of pronouns in this write-up but it’s all due to not wishing to even research who each member was. They were all terrible, and I do not wish to see them, again. I mean, those abysmal chair shots, jeez-fuck.


*Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa (26/11/2000 BattlARTS)*
★★★ 3/4
Wait, I thought professional wrestling was meant to be fake. Evidentially not. Murakami must be composed of 80% hatred and 20% PRIDE~! if the stare-down before the match begins is anything to go by. His bludgeoning offence is, also, evidence of this. If anything, though, this match is indicative of the fact that wrestling does not need to be much else than an emulation of a realistic fight to succeed at what it does. It also lays as proof that you do not need to work a specific structure in delivering a believable win, considering the reality of grappling. Ishikawa, despite being bloodied and dominated, would gain control with the grasp of a wild kick by Murakami, allowing him to throw on a winning sleeper.​


----------



## Bubz

Kawada/Sasaki is great but Kawada/Tenryu is on a whole other level of amazingness imo.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, Rah, that *Ishikawa/Murakami* match was really good, short 'n' sweet. I freakin' loved how Murakami was all about kickboxing and being legit, beating the shit out of Ishikawa, etc. only to see Ishikawa making comebacks using worked moves which made the crowd going crazy. LOL at Murakami looking like a tool in the finish.

***1/2


----------



## leglock

Uploaded the 8/17 World Tag Team Title match from All Japan:


----------



## Obfuscation

Wonder if the Burning lads have any regrets about jumping ship given where AJPW is currently at. They are successes over there. Can't deny that. Oh well. Isn't as if NOAH is doing a whole ton better with their business.


----------



## TelkEvolon

HayleySabin said:


> Wonder if the Burning lads have any regrets about jumping ship given where AJPW is currently at. They are successes over there. Can't deny that. Oh well. Isn't as if NOAH is doing a whole ton better with their business.


It's like the BURNING curse. NOAH is starting to pick up again while AJP is in decline.

"Hey this Icebergs a bit sketchy, let's jump onto the Titanic as it goes by, that looks solid."


----------



## Obfuscation

How's that for some Burning irony?

I'm a little proud.


----------



## TelkEvolon

*ALL TOGETHER I - 2011.8.27 (NJPW/NOAH/AJP/K-Office)*


*Specs:*
Number of Discs - 2
Runtime - 4 hrs
Number of Unclipped Matches - 10
Extras: Some pre/post interviews and a "get well soon" video from former international talent such as Terry Funk, Stan Hansen, Ted Dibiase, Ricky Steamboat & others

It is important to note that I am reviewing the NTV Version of the ALL TOGETHER DVD, and it has most of the themes replaced (played louder over top of) with generic entrance themes. There is also another version and there is variation between the two, including (as far as I know) the camera angles used but I can only speak for the NTV Version at this time.


*Match Thoughts:*

*1. Kota Ibushi, Taiji Ishimori, Hiroshi Yamato & BUSHI vs Tiger Mask IV, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Ricky Marvin* 
The first move of this match is a handspring back elbow. That should say it all. This was as you would expect, a light showcase of junior action (dives & 'ranas) and like all the matches on this card, just cool due to the interactions. Kondo & Ibushi get heated and everyone has a good run around. Light, easy and fun enough to watch and more impressively goes off without a hitch for the most part..... Besides Marvin's inability to count to 3.


*2. Mohammad Yone, Yujiro Takahashi & Manabu Soya vs Tetsuya Naito, Shuhei Taniguchi & Seiya Sanada*
If the first match was a Jr. showcase, then this was a mid card showcase. It was a bit of a slug fest and was kept fresh by Taniguchi & Soya's strongman c*ck measuring contest that saw their strength on full display with some sick lariats, suplexes and even dead-lifts, they make it worth a look.


*3. Hirooki Goto & Taiyo Kea vs Togi Makabe & Akitoshi Saito* 
This just kinda goes through the motions, it's not the strongest collection of lads to carry matches so it's a bit similar to the last match without as many cool moves. Fairly dull viewing with not much to comment on, even after just watching it, there wasn't much I could find remarkable. Very generic tag match.


*4. Koji Kanemoto, KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Minoru Tanaka & Genba Hirayanagi vs Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Kotaro Suzuki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & KAI*
Alright, time to kick it up into the next gear. Look at all this talent, a total A-Grade Junior showcase, NO MERCY & Junior Stars vs Apollo 55 &.... Other junior stars. This is a ton of fun and a great 10 man tag team match. This was just epic from the start, each team does a "hands in" pose and Genba is the best (you'll see). So this is the kickass Jr. showcase of the night and it didn't disappoint. You had everyone testing the waters with everyone else, Nakajima & Kanemoto going to furthest to war, KENTA & Kanemoto teaming up to whoop some ass (awesome), Minoru Tanaka looking like a million bucks. Everyone had a pretty solid showing and kept the match exciting. After the last match this one really got you into the show


*5. Minoru Suzuki, Atsushi Aoki & Taichi vs Masakatsu Funaki, Takuma Sano & Jushin Liger*
Minoru Suzuki is feeling rowdy and is opening to tussle (whip with towel & foot jab) anyone who meets his eye, this extends to Liger throwing his "entrance" at Suzuki and without missing a beat, Suzuki picks it up tosses it into the crowd, queue Minoru face. This match was a lot of fun with Taichi & Suzuki being knob heads and stirring up their rival as much as possible. Aoki is all business and looking to get a win on some top names, they all go for Liger's mask, Sano.... Oh dear, after lightly touching his opponents for the beginning of the match, he wiffs two rolling sole butts in a row (I'll call it warming up) and then just spams them for the rest of the match, he must of hit 30 or so and they were all he did that looked good, so let 'em fly!


*6. Destroyer Cup – ALL TOGETHER Special Battle Royal* 
You know the old saying, if you've seen one Japanese battle royal, then you've seen them all had a good time. This was one of the larger ones and in WrestleMania fashion put everyone on the card who didn't have a match already going on. so it's NOAH, NJPW, AJP & Diamond Ring's "other" talent awkwardly stumbling around grappling with a few scenes being played out, Doering, Shiga, Inoue & Fuchi seem to have the most presence in this battle. You'll see many pile on pin falls and a bunch of comedy, Fuchi is like a young pup again and piggybacks on Doering throwing out chops to anyone who comes within range and yes, he does give into peer pressure and suplexes a rookie to death. This goes a little long, but it's still a fun mix of random talent with a surprising winner, it's worth a look, at the very least a fast forward.


*7. Takeshi Morishima, Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie & Ryota Hama vs Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Osamu Nishimura & Wataru Inoue* 
Oh yeah, large man's club vs Classic NJPW, this was an odd mix of guys to be going at it, but still probably a better than expected outcome. Yoshie & Nishimura have a cool little battle on the mat, Morishima & Nagata tear it up and go to war, Hama manages to move and run which is an impressive enough sight to see. There is a slight bit of teamwork on display but like most of these matches, it's just a simple showcase of performers. It's solid and doesn't get dull. Not much more you can ask from a match like this.


*8. Kensuke Sasaki & Jun Akiyama vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori* 
Now this may be the only match on the card that delivers on paper with what you want to see from a super show. Big names in a regular match and it doesn't disappoint, it's a rough & rugged tag team war, Sasaki is in fine form, his chops are brutal, and lariats are lethal. Takayama withstands Sasaki's onslaught with a beaten chest and a rattled mind after standing up to at least 10 super sick lariats in a row. Omori & Akiyama turn in an as expect showing, which is to say they were good and No Fear busts out some classic tag team moves. This match is what you'd expect from these guys, it's a slobber knocker, it's brutal, it's awesome.


*9. Kenta Kobashi & Keiji Muto vs Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka* 
So, this may not seem like the most even of match ups, but this isn't a squash, it's a super fun loved by everyone legends vs villains and right from the start you're not confused as to who is who, it's a fairly typical CHAOS brawl, but the addition of Mutoh & Kobashi really picks it up and seeing the classic moves ramping up to build a comeback is pretty exciting, also, it's Kobashi & Mutoh teaming up and going to battle, what's not to like? Really fun tag team brawl that is worth looking at, regardless of how it may seem on paper.


*10. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Go Shiozaki & Suwama vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Sugiura & KENSO*
Here is something special, all the main heavyweight champs on one team and the challengers on the opposing side. This is a good quality match, Nakamura is on fire and does a great job at kicking ass and provoking everyone else into interesting and exciting combat. Shiozaki is there to chew gum & chop..... And he's all out of gum. Sugiura is a beast as usual and Suwama is a much bigger, more powerful beast. Shiozaki/Nakamura is good, Sugiura/Suwama is good, Tanahashi/Nakamura is good and everyone is rockin' n' rollin', putting on a great show and then...... Then there is f*ckin' KENSO, he sells like a noodle and has all the charisma of a 14 year old autistic boy. As you will notice I am a very positive reviewer and tend to avoid calling anything bad or to run down anything. Some stuff just isn't for me and I might not enjoy it as much as most, but rarely will I just say it's poor quality. KENSO was like an awkward unlovable Genba, who didn't have any coherent thoughts. Miserably showing and every time he got in the ring, all momentum was lost and things just came unglued. I am not sure if I am missing something and not looking at it from the right angle, but KENSO really didn't cut it for me and the match was worse for it. Outside of that it's a really cool match that has a lot of great exchanges.


*Overview:*
So, with all that said should you add this DVD to your collection? (come on, just pretend you have a collection and are on the fence), even if every match on this show sucked, it would still be worth owning just for the significance, variety of talent involved on this show and the interpromotional interactions that take place, it was always going to be a must see event, it's a great bonus that it has a lot of very fun/enjoyable matches and even some really good ones such as #4 & #8. All in all it's a must have for any collection, one of the modern must-see events and a total feel good show all the through to the Pixar-esque group dance/karaoke finish. Everyone knows it belongs in your collection or even to kick things off, it's just a instant classic to own.


----------



## Chismo

IWGP Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Togi Makabe (NJPW 2007/7/6)

_What a great match, brawl, bloodbath, in front of a super packed Korakuen. It's Nagata against ruthless Makabe and his GBH henchmen. Remember how awesome was GBH back then? Prince Devitt wishes his current angle is as cool as GBH. Both guys bled buckets, Makabe cheated like a madman, the ref was amazing in his role, the crowd was so cool... Excellent match._

****1/4


----------



## flag sabbath

leglock said:


> Uploaded the 8/17 World Tag Team Title match from All Japan:


I preferred this to their 2/3 Falls non-title match from July - it had the better flow, hotter crowd & stronger finish ****3/4*


----------



## leglock

I've uploaded the Triple Crown match from 8/25:






Finished airing on GAORA about thirty minutes ago.

Feel free to spread the link.

***As of this edit, there is 10 minutes on processing.


----------



## Chismo

BJW DM Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Masashi Takeda (2013/6/30)

_Jesus Christ... C'mon, Ishikawa! Isn't it enough that Takeda's been put through the deathmatch hell 101, and you still feel the need to drop him on his fucking head and neck? Repeatedly? Sweet Moses, this match was full of heat, toughness and sheer violence. There were few insane spots and bumps that had me worried. REALLY worried._

****1/4


----------



## TelkEvolon

Chismo said:


> BJW DM Title: Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Masashi Takeda (2013/6/30)
> 
> _Jesus Christ... C'mon, Ishikawa! Isn't it enough that Takeda's been put through the deathmatch hell 101, and you still feel the need to drop him on his fucking head and neck? Repeatedly? Sweet Moses, this match was full of heat, toughness and sheer violence. There were few insane spots and bumps that had me worried. REALLY worried._
> 
> ****1/4


One of the best DM's in the last couple of years. Ishikawa is a total beast and Takeda is just a mad man. Such a brutal encounter, so many sick and awesome spots. Ishikawa not even needing weapons to cripple Takeda is cool, but when Ishikawa does bring them into play, it's scary and the match is super intense. These guys are looking for destruction and find it.

Great battle. Go check it out people, it's free and the link is right there!


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm down. Watching it tonight. I like BJW although I usually just check out the recs that are pimped in here via Chismo or anyone else who keeps up.


----------



## Concrete

What made people change their minds on Strong BJ? It used to be all the rage and now its considered terrible? 

For me it is still splendid. Wicked stiffness with fits of no-selling that sometimes take me out of it and sometimes doesn't. Always have a soft spot for Sekimoto. Guys like Yuji, Sasaki(Brutal dick), and K-Hash always make me a little bit happy.


----------



## Chismo

Sekimoto vs. Kawakami from the same show was great. ****



Concrete said:


> What made people change their minds on Strong BJ? It used to be all the rage and now its considered terrible?
> 
> For me it is still splendid. Wicked stiffness with fits of no-selling that sometimes take me out of it and sometimes doesn't. Always have a soft spot for Sekimoto. Guys like Yuji, Sasaki(Brutal dick), and K-Hash always make me a little bit happy.


I love the Strong Division. I know there are folks who dislike/hate it because of the straightforwarding style, but let me tell you something, it's exactly my cup of tea. I mean, shit, those are guys with balls, and they are living proof that pro-wrestling doesn't need more than two dudes hitting each other in chest and head hard to tell a simple and effective story. Ishii, please invade Strong BJ, please!


----------



## Rah

Seki/Kawakami is the best Strong BJ match I've seen this year by a country mile. They work the leg pretty well and Kawakami does a beautiful job selling it. Then, despite selling not being able to place his weight on the injured leg, lifts Sekimoto into a torture rack.

THAT is why I dislike Strong BJ.


EDIT: if my memory is correct, it's HayleySabin's birthday, today. :hb


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm a bit of a fence rider when it comes to straightforward matches like that and the advent of no selling comes into play here or there. Sometimes the balls to the wall stylings adapt so well that I don't take the time to notice about a no sell & go with the flow. Other times, I'll see it and be all pestered at the end of the day. It is one aspect of wrestling I full blown can't stand, but it all depends on how much the guys working sucks me in. Feel like this topic was really astute on the Younger vs Callihan matches from PWG.

Oh, kind Rah.


----------



## Concrete

I can totally see people not liking it since it does have so much no-selling. What I don't get is that it seemed almost universally praised at the end of 2011 through 2012 but now it is looked down upon. Didn't know what the major difference was. Though I know how much tastes can change in a short amount of time.


----------



## Darkest Lariat

Can anyone rec a Misawa dvd for me? I'm new to this proresu and would like to learn more of the greats.


----------



## Rah

I'd say Callihan/Younger was a different ball game than that. Younger takes a boatload of offence, and is built as a strong bastard. What got me annoyed with that Strong BJ match, though, is that they made me care for something only to throw it away as if that was simply irrelevant. When you're making your own story irrelevant then I can't continue. I'm not sure how many matches I've just stopped watching because of stupid shit. Don't invest me in something and then make it wasted time. That's just grating.



Concrete said:


> I can totally see people not liking it since it does have so much no-selling. What I don't get is that it seemed almost universally praised at the end of 2011 through 2012 but now it is looked down upon. Didn't know what the major difference was. Though I know how much tastes can change in a short amount of time.


I only hopped onto wrestling, from a critical standpoint, around that time. So, being the newbie that I was, I followed the crowd and assumed that's what wrestling was. I assume we've all moved on, grown in taste and realised the short comings. That or the novelty of something new has worn off.


----------



## flag sabbath

Watched the top two matches from Diamond Ring's 31/8 show. Ibushi & Nakajima vs. Suzuki & Kanemaru is disappointing. The limb work goes nowhere & the finish is hugely anticlimactic. Sasaki, Akiyama & Shiozaki vs. Suwama, Omori & Miyahara is six guys leathering the hell out of each other, but it drags because Korakuen just isn't that into it.


----------



## Rah

Seki bumping for Shinobu's tackles is really fucking stupid but, boy, does Sekimoto kill him with his power moves


----------



## flag sabbath

NJPW Road to Destruction from 14/9 is completely skippable. Best match is Okada & Tanaka vs. Kojima & Naito at around ***. Has anyone seen the 5/9 show?


----------



## Obfuscation

I've been wondering if it was even up online. Want to see those two elimination tags right now.


----------



## flag sabbath

Watched a few matches from the Wrestle-1 debut. Show looked good & had a decent enough crowd, but it's obviously going to take some serious time & patience to reverse the non-NJ puro slump.

Junior All-Stars vs. Hayato & Mochizuki was just dozens & dozens of stiff kicks back-and-forth with nothing resembling match structure & nothing sold for more than 30 seconds. Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs. Kondo & Hayashi was boss - stiff as hell, with the juniors taking a pummeling before unleashing a spirited fightback (******). Laughter 7 vs. Funaki & Kono was a decent shoot-style battle. And Kai vs. Sanada presumably showcased the men around whom the company will be built. Sanada's been given a Tanahashi makeover & is dabbling with a cocky Adam Cole-style personality that he doesn't quite seem comfortable with yet. Action was okay, but nothing special given the occasion.


----------



## Corey

IVP sale. Now through Wednesday save 25% off all your dvd orders with coupon code *YESYESYES*


----------



## DomoDaDude

Who do you guys think is better overall between Nagata and Nakamaura?

I'm a fan of both but I can't figure out who I want more on my Japan brand in WWE13(Yes, I still play it lol).


----------



## Rah

Nakamura. Besides, how can one not want to start every match with his entrance song?


----------



## murasaki00

What's the best way to get into Japanese wrestling? Do you guys watch stuff online or is there a good place to buy DVDs. I mostly want to learn more about Kenta Kobashi and follow Yoshihiro Tajiri's Japanese career.


----------



## Groovemachine

Youtube has more than enough stuff to keep you going for a lifetime. Search for Kenta Kobashi and you should be able to find the entire 9 hour Kobashi GHC title defenses DVD. NJPW shows usually get uploaded a couple of days after airing, Dragon Gate is easier to find on Dailymotion. If you want to buy DVDs though, IVPvideos.com is the place to go.


----------



## murasaki00

Groovemachine said:


> Youtube has more than enough stuff to keep you going for a lifetime. Search for Kenta Kobashi and you should be able to find the entire 9 hour Kobashi GHC title defenses DVD. NJPW shows usually get uploaded a couple of days after airing, Dragon Gate is easier to find on Dailymotion. If you want to buy DVDs though, IVPvideos.com is the place to go.


Hey, thanks a lot. Now I just gotta figure out where to start. I've really enjoyed all the Japanese stuff I've watched but, it's mostly wrestlers who come over and fight in PWG or ROH. I also have a few FMW videos on VHS.


----------



## Corey

The way I started with Puro was seeking out the 'Best Of' tapes for guys who I was familiar and then branched out from there based on what Japanese guys I enjoyed wrestling against the gaijin of my choice. That's really one of the big reasons why I never ventured into the '90s All Japan stuff that everyone raves about, mainly because it's full of guys I'm still not all that familiar with. Misawa, Kobashi, Taue, Kawada, etc. I was also introduced to a SHIT ton of guys through ROH and other indy promotions. ROH is single handedly responsible for me even knowing that the companies NOAH and Dragon Gate existed. Seen far more from Morishima, KENTA, & CIMA than I have for all those other AJPW guys I listed.

Head over to IVP and download his free sampler. All you gotta do is burn it to a disc (or extract the files using winRAR): http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=9192


----------



## murasaki00

Jack Evans 187 said:


> The way I started with Puro was seeking out the 'Best Of' tapes for guys who I was familiar and then branched out from there based on what Japanese guys I enjoyed wrestling against the gaijin of my choice. That's really one of the big reasons why I never ventured into the '90s All Japan stuff that everyone raves about, mainly because it's full of guys I'm still not all that familiar with. Misawa, Kobashi, Taue, Kawada, etc. I was also introduced to a SHIT ton of guys through ROH and other indy promotions. ROH is single handedly responsible for me even knowing that the companies NOAH and Dragon Gate existed. Seen far more from Morishima, KENTA, & CIMA than I have for all those other AJPW guys I listed.
> 
> Head over to IVP and download his free sampler. All you gotta do is burn it to a disc (or extract the files using winRAR): http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=9192


That site has several Best of Tajiri dvds. :ex:

I'm gonna take your advice after I watch 9 hours of Kenta Kobashi on Youtube. XD I appreciate the help.


----------



## flag sabbath

If you're looking for a current product to follow, New Japan is by far the best puro promotion right now. Last month's G1 Climax 23 round robin tournament was superb & again all of the shows are on youtube in full. If you have the time & inclination I'd highly recommend watching Days 2, 4, 8 & 9.


----------



## KeepinItReal

HayleySabin said:


> I've been wondering if it was even up online. Want to see those two elimination tags right now.


Okada/Tanaka/Gedo/Takahashi vs. Kojima/Bushi/Naito/Honma is on YouTube, but I can't find the other elimination tag so far, or the rest of the 9/5 card for that matter. If anyone finds the rest of the 9/5 show, plz inform us.



> Okada/Tanaka/Gedo/Takahashi vs. Kojima/Bushi/Naito/Honma, 9/5/13
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=iSPKbV4IOgM


Btw, NJPW's 9/16 main event is also on the same YouTube page, even though the show was supposedly not televised, so I don't know what happened there. Okada/Gedo/Jado/Takahasi vs. Kojima/Naito/Shelley/KUSHIDA.



> Okada/Gedo/Jado/Takahasi vs. Kojima/Naito/Shelley/KUSHIDA, 9/16/13
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PPV1E_2O8o


----------



## Obfuscation

Cheers. 9/5 is seemingly going to be one of those random New Japan shows that takes forever and a day to finally pop up online in full.


----------



## Chismo

Sekimoto/Shinobu (BJW 2013/7/26) was very good. The story was so simple, power vs. speed, with typical structure that always works, Sekimoto killing him with the power moves, while Shinobu having to rely on his catlike speed to fight back. Nice match.

***1/2


----------



## murasaki00

Just finished watching Shinsuke Nakamura vs Minoru Suzuki at G1 Climax 23 day 2. And so far that has stood out the most to me. I've enjoyed all the matches so far but, my god there is something so polarizing about Shinsuke and his eccentric gimmick. Not to mention how awesome he is in the ring.


----------



## Rah

You think he's good now? Oh, just you wait until his match against Ibushi. It's a whole new ballpark.


EDIT: noticed your Tajiri appreciation, so you should watch this. Go in knowing it's two old friends tearing the roof down one final time in Tajiri's promotion before it closed and you'll have the time of your life.


----------



## Concrete

Can we get a video package of that match set to this? 





Feel like I need to get back on the Japan 2000-2009 bandwagon.


----------



## Obfuscation

Tajiri vs Finlay. Brings a tear to my eye.


----------



## murasaki00

Rah said:


> You think he's good now? Oh, just you wait until his match against Ibushi. It's a whole new ballpark.
> 
> 
> EDIT: noticed your Tajiri appreciation, so you should watch this. Go in knowing it's two old friends tearing the roof down one final time in Tajiri's promotion before it closed and you'll have the time of your life.


Thanks I can't wait. Man I have soo much to watch now. O_O lol


----------



## KeepinItReal

murasaki00 said:


> Just finished watching Shinsuke Nakamura vs Minoru Suzuki at G1 Climax 23 day 2. And so far that has stood out the most to me. I've enjoyed all the matches so far but, my god there is something so polarizing about Shinsuke and his eccentric gimmick. Not to mention how awesome he is in the ring.


I can't help but think Vince is looking at Nakamura. Del Rio and Sheamus got instant WWE title pushes because of what they brought in from foreign markets, and Nakamura could be an amazing heel, he just needs a Japanese manager who speaks English with an accent.


----------



## Concrete

murasaki00 said:


> Thanks I can't wait. Man I have soo much to watch now. O_O lol


You may learn that no matter how much you watch you'll never have seen enough haha. Just gotta understand that that isn't a bad thing. Its when someone thinks they are gonna watch EVERYTHING when they give up a certain style of wrestling. 

This reminds me that I have a shit ton to watch... DAMN IT ALL!


----------



## Obfuscation

After watching some of the Wrestle-1 debut show atm, I finally can understand Concrete's Hama avatar.

At this point the show has been fun, imo. Juniors Stars up next. When don't they deliver?


----------



## Concrete

Hama was so beautiful :') 

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the event. I personally really dug it. Interested in seeing how they use joshis in the future.


----------



## murasaki00

Concrete said:


> You may learn that no matter how much you watch you'll never have seen enough haha. Just gotta understand that that isn't a bad thing. Its when someone thinks they are gonna watch EVERYTHING when they give up a certain style of wrestling.
> 
> This reminds me that I have a shit ton to watch... DAMN IT ALL!



lol I'll make sure to pace myself. I just never knew how much of this stuff was on the internet. I guess it just seemed so difficult to get access to that I never tried. And now I'm like "Holy crap I could have been watching this all along!" :mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

Concrete said:


> Hama was so beautiful :')
> 
> I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the event. I personally really dug it. Interested in seeing how they use joshis in the future.


That's the Rikishi I wished I was seeing in the early 2000's.

So far, so good. Junior Stars vs other Junior Stars tag was good & the Strong BJ vs HAYASHI & KONDO _(b/c that team is money)_ was awesome. The main event could be flat, but I'll hope it can provide some fun. Mutoh is in it. Good enough for me. Expecting Laughter7 vs Stack of Arms to be all on the ground and something up my alley. KAI vs Sanada though. I am lukewarm going in as I didn't care much for their previous encounter at Pro Wrestling Love this year. Felt it was average. However, KAI has proven to work past that and in greater strides. Hoping they can win me over in the rematch.

Interesting how you brought up the Joshi's too. I was thinking the exact same thing. Got excited when they put a match featuring them on the card. Good outing too by both. Hoping he does expand on creating a women's division in WRESTLE-1.

Also have to chime in how I'm bummed some of the TNA guys couldn't show up for whatever the reason(s) may have been. Seeing someone like...Robert Roode for example do some shows would be some fun. Or bring Joe over for a stay. He's got nothing much on his plate atm. Perhaps post-BFG we'll see something. Unless the relationship between the two died.


----------



## Concrete

Relationship isn't dead. Wrestle-1 is bringing in the all-powerful DOUBLE J!
Sorta expect people to come over after BFG. Not top people but it'd still be cool.

Found KAI and Sanada to be super mediocre. Muto said something about a possible women's division. Would totally make it different than some others.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jarrett will wrestle any place that isn't TNA it seems.

Yep, I'm with you. Super mediocre indeed. Sanada's pretty boy heel tactics was a highlight. That's about it.


----------



## flag sabbath

Sanada vs. Kai was like a bad cosplay tribute to Tanahashi vs. Naito.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ha. Touche on the point.

Finished the Elimination match from 9/5 in Korakuen. A match like that is exactly the kind of reminder why New Japan is ahead of the curve in Japan. Ton of fun, all the characters popped per usual & the fans were there every step of the way. Company does so much right. I've missed it following the Climax. The 29th can't get here sooner. Oh that's going to be a wild day for me.


----------



## Chismo

*AJPW Champion Carnival 2013*:



Day 1 (2013/4/18)


Day 2 (2013/4/20)

-	Team 246 vs. Yamato & Nakanoueno **
-	Block A: Omori vs. Hama **1/4
-	Block B: Akebono vs. KAI **1/4
-	Shiozaki, Kotaro, Aoki vs. KENSO, Kanemoto, Minoru 3/4*
-	Sanada & SUSHI vs. Akiyama & Kanemaru *** _(Akiyama totally bossed this around)_
-	Block B: Funaki vs. Joe Doering **3/4
-	Block A: Suwama vs. Kono ***


Day 3 (2013/4/21)

-	Kondo vs. Nakanoueno ***
-	Burning Juniors vs. Kanemoto, Minoru, SUSHI **3/4
-	Block A: Sanada vs. Hama *3/4
-	Suwama, Doering, Hayashi vs. Omori, KENSO, Yamato **1/4
-	Block A: Shiozaki vs. Kono ***1/4 _(recommended)_
-	Block B: Funaki vs. Akebono **
-	Block B: Akiyama vs. KAI ***3/4 _(highly recommended)
_

Day 4 (2013/4/24)

-	Team 246 vs. Yamato & Nakanoueno **3/4
-	Block A: Omori vs. Kono 1/4*
-	Block B: Funaki vs. KENSO **3/4
-	KAI, Kanemoto, Minoru vs. Shiozaki, Kotaro, Aoki **1/4
-	Sanada & SUSHI vs. Akiyama & Kanemaru ***
-	Block B: Akebono vs. Doering **
-	Block A: Suwama vs. Hama ***

Day 5 (2013/4/25)

-	Kanemaru vs. Yamato ***
-	Funaki, Kono, Nakanoueno, SUSHI vs. KAI, Hama, Kondo, Hayashi **1/2
-	Block B: KENSO vs. Doering 3/4*
-	Block A: Shiozaki vs. Omori *1/2
-	Block A: Suwama vs. Sanada ***1/2
-	Block B: Akiyama vs. Akebono **1/2
-	*All Asia Tag Titles*: Junior Stars © vs. Kotaro & Aoki ***1/2 _(not as great as their Sumo Hall match, but still very good)
_

Day 6 (2013/4/26)

-	Kotaro & Aoki vs. Kanemoto & Nakanoueno **
-	Akebono & Yamato vs. Omori & HUB **
-	Block A: Hama vs. Kono **1/4
-	Block B: KENSO vs. KAI ***1/4 _(KAI’s post-match chest were disgustingly red)_
-	Suwama, Kondo, Hayashi vs. Funaki, Minoru, Fuke *** _(5 min of aweseomeness)_
-	Block A: Sanada vs. Shiozaki ****** _(despite Sanada acting like Orton’s lost brother sometimes, and Go raping us with his forced Kobashi tributes, this was fucking good, there was plenty of great stuff in the match, they held nothing back. Sanada looked great here, he was fierce so much, it almost made Go an underdog)_
-	Block B: Akiyama vs. Doering **1/4
-	*Junior Title*: Kanemaru © vs. SUSHI **3/4


Day 7 (2013/4/27)

-	Kondo, Hayashi, Yamato vs. Nakanoueno, SUSHI, HUB ***
-	Burning Juniors vs. Kanemoto, Minoru, Fuke **3/4
-	Block B: KENSO vs. Akebono *1/2
-	Block A: Sanada vs. Kono **3/4
-	Block B: KAI vs. Doering **1/4
-	Block A: Hama vs. Shiozaki ***1/2
-	Block A: Suwama vs. Omori **3/4
-	Block B: Akiyama vs. Funaki ***3/4


Day 8 (2013/4/23)

-	Team 246 vs. Nakanoueno & SUSHI ***
-	Semi-Finals: Shiozaki vs. KAI ******
-	Semi-Finals: Akiyama vs. Sanada ***3/4
-	Omori, KENSO, Yoshie vs. Akebono, Hama, Fuchi *3/4
-	Burning Juniors vs. Kanemoto, Minoru, Yamato ***1/4
-	Suwama & Doering vs. Funaki & Kono **
-	*Finals*: KAI vs. Akiyama ******



*Best wrestler*: Jun Akiyama
*Worst wrestler*: Takao Omori
*Biggest surprise*: KAI
*Best show*: Day 7 (2013/4/27)
*Best match*: Sanada vs. Shiozaki ****** (Day 6)


----------



## Obfuscation

Daisuke Sekimoto vs Shinobu 7/23/13 is such a nicely structured match up. Timeless big vs little, strength vs power and it works. Didn't realize how long the match had been on until the duration was shown after the finish. I was sucked in. Had no qualms with Shinobu's fire being able to rock Sekimoto to the ground. Feasible out thanks to fighting spirit mumbo jumbo and wanting to win the championship. Slick stuff. Far from the best match on the year, yet def worth a watch.

Onto Sekimoto vs Kawakami. Not sure why I'm backtracking here.


----------



## Chismo

Sekimoto/Kawakami ROCKED.


----------



## Obfuscation

Amen. Sing it loud. Holy crap what a match that was. Nutty thing is, that's a tough one to rank over the Ishikawa vs Takeda _(from the same show)_ & Kasai vs Numazawa 3/1 as best match seen from BJW.

That head drop - yes, THAT one - was...my god. It's too bad I knew won or else that would have sealed the deal for me only to be vexed to see it was a nearfall.


----------



## seabs

> Disc 1
> (21) Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki - NJPW 05.05.2009
> (12) Kazuchika Okada vs Go Shiozaki - NJPW 20.06.2009
> (8) Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 05.07.2009
> (18) Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 31.01.2010
> (20) Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto vs Takashi Sugiura & Yoshihiro Takayama - NJPW 04.01.2011
> (9) Kazuchika Okada vs YOSHI-HASHI - NJPW 04.01.2012
> (26) Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 29.01.2012
> 
> Disc 2
> (31) Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 12.02.2012
> (40) Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 04.03.2012
> (33) Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 03.05.2012
> (17) Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga - NJPW 06.06.2012
> 
> Disc 3
> (32) Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 16.06.2012
> (22) Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Suwama & Shuji Kondo - WE ARE PRO WRESTLING LOVE 01.07.2012
> (27) Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 03.08.2012
> (22) Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 05.08.2012
> 
> Disc 4
> (13) Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe - NJPW 12.08.2012
> (35) Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson - NJPW 12.08.2012
> (23) Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson - NJPW 08.10.2012
> (18) Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 21.11.2012
> (19) Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI vs Minoru Suzuki & Kengo Mashimo - NJPW 25.11.2012
> 
> Disc 5
> (52) Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 04.01.2013
> (20) Kazuchika Okada, Volador Jr. & Rey Escorpion vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush - NJPW 19.01.2013
> (20) Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki - NJPW 10.02.2013
> (17) Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Minoru Suzuki & Kengo Mashimo - NJPW 11.02.2013
> 
> Disc 6
> (24) Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo vs Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Kengo Mashimo & TAKA Michinoku - NJPW 03.03.2013
> (16) Kazuchika Okada vs Lance Archer - NJPW 11.03.2013
> (15) Kazuchika Okada vs Toru Yano - NJPW 23.03.2013
> (38) Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto - NJPW 23.03.2013


*New Okada comp I put together. PM me for more details.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Worth it to own the Naito matches alone. Seabs, you're tempting me big time, brother.


----------



## murasaki00

Rah said:


> You think he's good now? Oh, just you wait until his match against Ibushi. It's a whole new ballpark.


You're right that was even better. lol I love that the match displayed both wrestlers stregnths. Love that.

And tomohiro ishii vs katsuyori shibata was out of this world. Holy crap that looked painful.


----------



## Obfuscation

Shibata's corner dropkick of the last Boma Ye. Which one was more brutal on that night? I'm not sure. Slap me sideways those are two mind-blowing matches. Nakamura vs Ibushi was a bold main event & I'm glad they gave 'em the chance.


----------



## murasaki00

So what's the deal with Shibata? How come he's not in the title picture?


----------



## Obfuscation

I think it's only a matter of time. Perhaps New Japan was waiting to see if he's committed to staying & it appears _(by word of himself too)_ that he will stick around for good this time. Kojima is credible, but we all know Okada should sail past him at Destruction; leaving the field open. Only Naito would be on Okada's heels as the next viable contender. Shibata can be lurking in the shadows. Nakamura could throw a wrench into that plan if the booking actually does the CHAOS implosion. I'm seeing Okada holding onto the strap till at least Wrestle Kingdom. His opponents seem to probably be Naito, Nakamura, or finally Shibata. One fella's speculation.


----------



## Snapdragon

A single tear runs down Hirooki Goto's cheek


----------



## Obfuscation

It's for the best.


----------



## flag sabbath

By New Japan logic, I'd say Shibata needs wins back over


Spoiler: Shibata's G1 losses



Kojima, Ishii &/or Tanahashi before he gets another crack at Okada (who also beat him during G1).


 But with that in place, he's an obvious pre-WK8 contender, alongside Smith, Archer, Nakamura, Nagata & Goto.


----------



## Obfuscation

Theoretically he could work vs all those guys again in the coming months leading up to Wrestle Kingdom.


----------



## Chismo

Unfortunately, they won't give him anything unless he signs a contract. However, Kojima captured both G1 and the title back in 2010 as a freelancer, but he signed a contract immediately after, so there's still a tiny chance for Shibata.


----------



## Obfuscation

Hope he does. I like seeing him make the special appearance here and there _(like in Wrestle-1 for example)_ although I'm wanting him to give NJPW his full attention. He's a star there. He could be given so much if he showed his full commitment.


----------



## murasaki00

I just couldn't believe he hadn't captured a title. I've enjoyed all of his matches so far. I would like to see more fights like him and Ishii.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Watching=>deleting/saving random puroresu matches on my HD.


*AJPW (06-09-2003)
Kojima vs. Ohtani - **1/2*
This wasn't good. A finisher/near-fall spot at 1:00, a long-ass test of strength at 5:00, Ohtani chilling outside for 3 minutes after an ugly Koji Cutter at 10:00, etc. Just a bunch of lazy-mode shit from both men.


*KAENTAI Dojo (12-1-07)
IWGP Jr. Tag Championship
Taka/Togo vs. Ibushi/Madoka - ***1/4*
Some people will probably give this a much better rating, but the match was just meh. 4 junior heavyweights working a non-stop action match for 22 freaking minutes? The result is - repeated spots, some sloppy stuff and everything after the 17 minute mark was one giant overkill.


*AJPW (11.24.2008)
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Suwama & Shuji Kondo - **3/4*
Boring. Almost 0 effort from Tenzan, Kojima and Suwama. Suwama's eye injury stuff was absolutely pointless in this match. It went nowhere and only made Ten-Koji (recently re-formed babyface team) look like dicks for whatever reason.


*NJPW (02.20.2005)
Triple Crown and IWGP Heavyweight Title Match
Satoshi Kojima vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan - ***1/4*
Not terrible but the ending was... yeah. Still not sure if it was a work or not. One thing is for sure though - it made Tenzan look like shit.


*Dragon Gate Infinity 146

Doi/Tanizaki vs. YAMATO/Shingo - ***1/4

CIMA/Gamma/Yokosuka vs. Pac/Yoshino/Hulk - ***1/4*

Nothing interesting. Main event, for the most part, was boring with Gamma doing his incredibly stale spitting spots at least 4 times during the match. Just a filler show.


----------



## murasaki00

Why are certain entrances muted when I watch NJPW on Youtube?

EDIT: Oh, I think it's done by the uploader to avoid copyright issues. But, why aren't all the songs muted then?


----------



## KeepinItReal

murasaki00 said:


> Why are certain entrances muted when I watch NJPW on Youtube?
> 
> EDIT: Oh, I think it's done by the uploader to avoid copyright issues. But, why aren't all the songs muted then?


I think its done by NJPW. I'm pretty sure the muting is only during the iPPV's, which are international, since they didn't necessarily secure international rights. Don't know if that's what you meant.

Hey, I'm looking for three different things to watch. Don't want ppl to upload or anything, just wondering if people know if its on some website somewhere: NJPW Road to Destruction 9/5/2013; all/some of the NOAH shows that had English commentary on the Fight Network in Canada; and all/some of the current Fighting Spirit Wrestling shows, also in Canada on the Fight Network, with NJPW and CMLL matches with English commentary.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

murasaki00 said:


> Why are certain entrances muted when I watch NJPW on Youtube?
> 
> EDIT: Oh, I think it's done by the uploader to avoid copyright issues. But, why aren't all the songs muted then?


I asked the same question NJPW mutes the music they don't produce to avoid international copyright issues.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Obfuscation

As expected, Low Ki's return to the ring on the 9/11 AJPW show is relatively phoned in.


----------



## Chismo

*Daisuke Sekimoto, Yuji Okabayashi & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Shuji Ishikawa, Madoka & Shinobu (BJW 2009/8/28)*

_What a great match. Vivid Korakuen crowd, clear hierarchy roles, simple and meaningful workovers, stiffness, high-flying, smashing finishing run... This match had it all. Great storytelling on every front, but it's mostly about Yuji and Shinobu, the clear weaker links of their teams._

*****1/4*


----------



## Obfuscation

Shiozaki vs Suzuki 9/11 was too much of a guilty pleasure match. Don't know why, but I got so sucked into it. Bleeding chests, small crowd that actually came alive for it, Go Flasher that is made to look like a pile of shit, wha-what? Yeah, that was fun.


----------



## Chismo

Catching up with All Japan...












*Rise Up Tour 2013 – Day 10*

*(2013/6/2)*


1.	SUSHI vs. Takao Omori

1/4*


2.	Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) vs. HUB & Mensore Oyaji

*


3.	Masakatsu Funaki & SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama) vs. MAZADA, Bambi Killer & Dragan Okic

**


4.	Masanobu Fuchi, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. LAST REVOLUTION (Shuji Kondo, Kaz Hayashi & Yasufumi Nakanoueno)

**3/4


5.	KAI vs. Masayuki Kono

***1/4


6.	*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship*: Yoshinobu Kanemaru © vs. Hiroshi Yamato

***1/4


7.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki © vs. Suwama & Joe Doering

***3/4


Eh, the first half was really boring, then things got better with the two singles matches, and main event was very good, it saved the show.​


----------



## Rah

WWWA Title Match
*Jaguar Yokota Vs Monster Ripper*
You may wish to lower the sound, because the audio here rivals the groans found in a women's tennis match. This, well, this was something, though. Jaguar is a phenomenal base, and a great worker to boot, but I'm not sure that makes much of a difference here. That's not to say Ripper is the 80s equivalent of Lei'd Tapa (because she is far from it) nor that this is a bad match (it is good) but that Jaguar was most certainly prodding Ripper through a few spots to pique the quality. Most obvious of which was the armbar towards the beginning. It was also interesting to note that, in a monster match you'd assume the smaller of the two to control almost no parts to the match, yet Jaguar remained in control for a good, long portion of this. Not quite sure plodding is the right word, as I'd have gone for clunky, but it certainly had something that stopped it from breaking the ceiling. Perhaps this is down, rather, to the adjustment in style between the two decades but I enjoyed Kong/KAORU far more than this.

Still, I did enjoy the match and it was good. Everything was fine, tight even, and it followed the right pathway in delivering its story. Most certainly a unique experience for my MMM journey, but one I still accept with open arms.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah, how much of a dent have you put into that 2000's list these days?


----------



## Rah

I've watched nothing in the past month. I'd blame that on my thesis being due soon but we all know that's untrue. I'm two matches short of finishing 2000. Best do that now, then.


----------



## Chismo

NOAH Global League blocks:

*Block A*:

KENTA
Morishima
Yone
Nakajima
Haste
Edwards
Sekimoto

*Block B*:

Sugiura
Marufuji
Nicholls
Taniguchi
Saito
Sai
Nagata 


Block A looks STIFF.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> I've watched nothing in the past month. I'd blame that on my thesis being due soon but we all know that's untrue. I'm two matches short of finishing 2000. Best do that now, then.


Got the jump on me by a solid number. I stopped - not sure why... - following the Champions Carnival matches. Think I have about 15 more matches to go before I finish up the first year.

-----------

Morishima & Sekimoto in the same block? :homer


----------



## EmbassyForever

Edwards vs Shima could be really, really good :mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

Dawned on me how it can another ROH based worker getting to duke it out vs Morishima. I'm into that. Track record on that list is nothing short of amazing.


----------



## Nervosa

Ah Morishima's run in ROH........those were the days! Morishima/Castagnoli is one of my favorites ever.

that said, Edwards is horrible. Nothing to see, there.


----------



## Concrete

That block...THAT BLOCK!!! Sekimoto vs. ALL OF THEM! Morishima vs...ALL! Them vs each other is just gonna be nasty as HELL! 

The only sadness is that Block A seems so loaded that it looks like Block B is MEH! Where NJPW had a loaded Block A their Block B was still no slouch. Not the same here. I wish with every fiber of my being that their was a Strong BJ guy in Block B. But as is it looks like 1/2 the tourny could deliver and the other half not so much.


----------



## Obfuscation

I enjoy half of Block B. If the correct Marufuji shows up, I can still have fun with the guy.


----------



## Rah

Suguira/Marufuji will probably interest half of everyone here. If, as HayleySabin notes, they rock up to battle.


----------



## Obfuscation

With it being the money match of the block, it _should_ illicit the right type of quality.


----------



## Rah

*Best of Japan in 2000: THE LIST~!*


1.	Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW)
2.	Toshiaki Kawada Vs Gen'ichiro Tenryu (28/10/2000 AJPW)
3.	Toshiaki Kawada Vs Kensuke Sasaki (09/10/2000 NJPW)
4.	Masa Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada Vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka (14/12/2000 NJPW)
5.	Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (23/12/2000 NOAH)
6.	Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Kenta Kobashi (26/05/2000 AJPW)
7.	Jushin Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe Vs Super Delfin, Takahiro Murahama & Tsubasa (14/12/2000 NJPW)
8.	Takao Ōmori Vs Kenta Kobashi (15/04/2000 AJPW)
9.	Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (06/08/2000 NOAH)
10.	Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka (30/01/2000 BattleARTS)
11.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Toshiaki Kawada (31/03/2000 AJPW)
12.	SUWA Vs Dragon Kid (24/08/2000 Toryumon)
13.	Minoru Tanaka Vs AKIRA (10/12/2000 NJPW)
14.	Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka Vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami (04/01/2000 NJPW)
15.	Aja Kong Vs KAORU (13/02/2000 GAEA)
16.	Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa (26/11/2000 BattlARTS)
17.	Yoshie Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka Vs Jushin Liger& Shinya Makabe (12/09/2000 NJPW)
18.	Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto Vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (25/06/2000 NJPW)
19.	Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (05/08/2000 NOAH)
20.	Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman Vs Toshiaki Kawada & Gen'ichiro Tenryu (23/07/2000 AJPW)
21.	Jun Akiyama, Yoshihiro Takayama & Kentaro Shiga Vs Kenta Kobashi, Takeshi Rikio & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (25/09/2000 NOAH)
22.	Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki (04/01/2000 NJPW)
23.	Kenta Kobashi Vs Toshiaki Kawada (12/01/2000 AJPW)
24.	Masahiro Chono Vs Masanobu Fuchi (02/09/2000 AJPW)
25.	Vader Vs Toshiaki Kawada (17/02/2000 AJPW)
26.	Kenta Kobashi Vs Vader (27/02/2000 AJPW)
27.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi (11/04/2000 AJPW)
28.	Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura (16/05/2000 GAEA)
29.	Koji Kanemoto Vs AKIRA (20/02/2000 NJPW)
30.	Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kintaro Kanemura (22/02/2000 BJPW)
31.	Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma (02/01/2000 BJW)
32.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima Vs Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata (22/11/2000 NJPW)
33.	Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa (23/11/2000 AJW)




*Best Wrestler:* Toshiaki Kawada
_This was a two-horse race between Kobashi and Kawada, yet the material presented shows the skewed result of Kawada's dominance. While it's true that he was afforded the opportunity to work with some good opponents, his ability to produce great matches was also hampered by the faction-split in which the bulk of AJPW's talent jumped to NOAH. Throw in the fact that Kawada was, usually, the better player, comparatively, within shared opponents and I'd say this is an almost no-brainer; the year is wholly indicative of why Kawada is praised as highly as he is. _


*Best Performance:* Jun Akiyama (Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW))
_Nothing else even comes close to the brilliance that Akiyama showed here. An absolute class performance from what I herald as one of my favourite wrestlers._

*Worst Wrestler:* N/A
_This is far too hard to decide. Yamakawa had two absolutely average performances in this compilation, Kojima delivered one of the worst figure-fours and that match had some truly bad performances, all round. I'd suppose the booking is largely to blame, but that Joshi cage match is unbelievably bad. I'd assume one of them could take the award but, as I noted, I cannot be bothered to research who each wrestler is due to their shittiness._





Spoiler: write-ups






Spoiler: January



Barbed Wire Boards and Bed of Nails Deathmatch
*Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma (02/01/2000 BJW)*
★★ 1/4
They teased the board spots pretty well to start off, and most certainly had a captivating moment in Honma transitioning his momentum from the irish whip into getting behind Yamakawa and allowing for the early advantage. Of course the first board spot acts as a catalyst for the ensuing chaos, but sadly said chaos comes at the expense of legitimacy. With both men walking with each other, all around the arena, to set up their spots, it loses the feel of both men actually being there to beat each other up and not as performers in the circus. I could, perhaps, buy something akin to this if it came well into the match (after much damage infliction) but being so early definitely negated those excuses. You probably cannot get more cooperative than stepping through the rings, out of your own energy, purely because your opponent started doing so, while lightly holding their hand near your head. Not a good start to this project.


*Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka Vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami (04/01/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Years after his introduction to NJPW, and the beginning of his heated feud with Hashi, Ogawa is still running rampant throughout the promotion and Hashimoto still hates his fucking guts. The opening moments elicited a “what the hell am I watching?!” reaction due to the Murakami storming out the gates and beating the living shit out of Iizuka. I mean, the fight is so intense that Inoki has to enter the ring, attired with a pimping white tracksuit, and threaten each man with a large stick. UNREAL~!

Hash takes no prisoners, either, in his quest to fight Ogawa. Sensing Murakami won’t let up any time soon, Hashimoto calmly walks into the ring and kicks his head off, before gesturing for Ogawa to bring it. And boy do they bring it in front of this molten hot crowd.


IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
*Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki (04/01/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
I think what was most exemplary in this bout was Sasaki wrestling with a high fever. This was a good Dome main, that built itself well and created the auro of Sasaki being the, now, bigger ace but it didn’t quite break that ceiling. They delivered a myriad of closed punches, especially to start, but, at the very least, the move was kept important and both men sold them as they should be. The same goes for their chop exchanges. When the flow hits the mid-point, in setting up Tenryu’s heat section, the match starts to get a bit nutty. From powerbombs, to Frankensteiners to suplexes, both men are hell-bent on one-upping the other with vicious tendency. I wasn’t particularly paying attention to the first, but the second enziguiri didn’t come clean. At least that nitpick can act into the pivot of control, though, in that the first allowed Tenryu to sweep up, yet the second allowed for Sasaki to finish things off. Worthwhile 15 minutes, but it wasn’t the best match on the card and will not be something I’d come back to in a hurry.


*Kenta Kobashi Vs Toshiaki Kawada (12/01/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
This was a match of two halves. Both Kobashi and Kawada are masters at their trade at this point, and you can see that in how they form their matches. For the most part, they create the allusion of reality within their holds. Their facials and body expressions sell even the most simplest of sleepers to us as the audience. Kawada so visibly contorting his face when Kobashi has him down can do nothing other than driving the vocal crowd into rallying behind him and screaming for him to make his comeback. Yet, sadly, both men would walk a fine line between creating drama through emotions and through high-impact moves to pop the crowd rather than logically fleshing them out. Kobashi, for instance, works a beautiful upper game on Kawada yet when Kawada makes the enziguiri to Kenta on the apron, Kobashi simply acts as if nothing had happened and followed it with a deathly lariat. Fighting spirit is a wondrous tool to use within the Japanese setting (hell, in any wrestling match), yet it’s one that is far too relied upon in moments that do not need it or, as is most often the case, a tool that is used in too much of a contrived manner.
This would be the last encounter between these two all-time great wrestlers which, considering, is a sad fact of reality. In what I would personally have hoped to be a great culmination to their meetings, the match rather delivers an allusion to a gourmet meal that’s sadly been tainted with the junk food of contemporary Japanese wrestling.


Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship
*Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka (30/01/2000 BattleARTS)*
★★★★
This could have been really good if it had taken a different direction in the middle part of the latter half. Both men are so adept at setting up and working in their holds, as well as reversing out of them, that the majority of this match becomes an absolute treat purely for those slower moments. Of course Sano takes the majority of control for the first few minutes, but as soon as Tanaka starts working back and thus delivering the story of their parity, this match really kicks it up a notch. I was thoroughly enamoured by both men trading holds, and working slow, that I marked out when Sano hit a great turnbuckle rebound onto Tanaka and the match started to get flashy. The high spots weren’t even thrown in without reason, either, as Sano witnessed an opening and took it. Considering Tanaka worked his equal on the mat, Sano knew a quicker match would favour him noting his opponent’s weakened knee and slowed pace. It would just be too bad that when Tanaka made a desperation kick at Sano’s knee when he Sano dived to the outside that things never quite continued as they should have. Sano went with the knee injury and it, once again, put each other on equal footing, yet Tanaka would not go with the opportunity given to him. Still, this was a great affair between two entertaining athletes that never once loses its hold on the viewer. Match of the month.






Spoiler: February



*Aja Kong Vs KAORU (13/02/2000 GAEA)*
★★★ 3/4
I wouldn’t be surprised if KAORU suffered a concussion due to this match; Aja absolutely rattled her with vicious unprotected shots minutes into it. The match also acts as example to what I meant in the Yamakawa/Honma write-up, in that KAORU had been knocked loopy and her being dragged around came off naturally and without much issue in believability. Not that I particularly enjoyed witnessing it, though, as Kong running full speed, with KAORU in tow, across the arena only to use the momentum in slamming KAORU’s head into the wall was sickening. KAORU isn’t without her bloodlust, either, though. She ensures she makes small tweaks in her revenge spots to add extra damage (for instance, she stomps on the wood that cracked her open to create splinters that would rip into Kong’s head when she swung it at her face). She not only starts grating the board against Kong’s arm but also ensures the corner of the board pushes deeply into Kong’s hand and plays against Kong’s strong punches. Both KAORU’s face and Kong’s sliced arm sell the violence of the match, but the monster Kong screaming in agonizing pain just tips it that much more.
This may be quite simple in its structure (going from Kong control to KAORU and back to Kong) but it made each transition logical. KAORU losing her upper-hand thanks to a missed board attack, and slicing her hand on the splinters, was a great little touch and one I can wholly buy in allowing Kong to brute-strength her way back to a win.


*Vader Vs Toshiaki Kawada (17/02/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have high expectations for this. Kawada/Vader is like a wet dream for any fan of stiff workers, yet it comes off almost like a nightmare at times. While relentless, Kawada’s offence looked pretty bad for the most part with his arms, especially, coming across as non-lethal in their onslaught. I also thought both men struggled to keep together what they planned to do. While their beginning was very good, it kind of lost track after that. Both men had pinning opportunities that they messed up and hurt their flow with. For Kawada, toppling Vader seemed to leave him with a want to take a breather while he had the chance. He assessed Vader lying prone in the centre and fell back, himself, to rest. Health heartedly, he then rose up and went for the cover as if the rest period didn’t benefit Vader, as well. For Vader, though, it was perhaps worse. Having knocked Kawada down in what seemed like a knock-out blow, Vader rather stalls and then picks his opponent up before being stiffed in the face for his troubles. Sigh. Still, this match had what I sorely miss in modern day wrestling; a fight over the armbar. Contemporary wrestlers seem to allow the Fujiwara to be fully applied and build the peril spot from within the hold, seemingly forgetting how devastating said hold actually is. Here, though, Vader uses all his strength to interlock his arms and prevent the armbar. Even when it is finally locked it’s only for a few seconds before the rope-break is called. That cannot cannot prevent this match from being a sore disappointment, though, sadly.


*Koji Kanemoto Vs AKIRA (20/02/2000 NJPW)*
★★ 3/4
This started off really well with Kanemoto on offence, but quickly lost itself afterward. I thought AKIRA’s strategy of rushing Kanemoto at the beginning being foiled by his own jacket acting as leverage was a great play in getting Kanemoto in control. The constant knee-work was also really enjoyable but once AKIRA got a hold of his own knee-work it almost seemed as if Kanemoto purposefully derailed their match. Here’s a guy who now sells his pre-injured/not 100% knee like death, yet he’s quick to jump around or purposefully tweak his holds as if to visually highlight his no-selling (the bridge comes to mind in this). Ugh.

 
WEW Hardcore Title
*Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kintaro Kanemura (22/02/2000 BJPW)*
★★ 1/2
What’s a BJPW match without one of the wrestler’s pretending to jack off or blow a light tube? What’s a BJPW match with weak chair shots? The answer to both of those questions is “shit”, obviously. I’m sure this was okay, but I had to rewind four times just to try understand what I missed from zoning out. This really could not suck me in, and its violence did nothing for me, either.


*Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 3/4
Despite not seeing any Akiyama matches from earlier in his career, I still had exceptionally high expectations for this. Despite that, however, this match lived up and surpassed anything I could have honestly expected. Every move here has a purpose, and nothing is wasted or filler outside of their respective target spots. Akiyama, especially, works Misawa’s neck like the god of wrestling and is relentless in his barrage of heavy-hitting work. Misawa, of course, is no slouch, either, and delivers a great foil in the moments of Akiyama not being in control. Almost surprisingly, for myself, at least, this was Akiyama’s shining ground and he worked so unbelievably great here. Like I’ve stated, I’ve not watched much of his non-contemporary work, and this may be testament to this, but I cannot think of a match in which Akiyama delivers a performance anywhere near as good as this. He works his control spots superbly, and is a great seller for Misawa’s own comebacks and controls. 

Ultimately, this was simply phenomenal match that should end up in the top 5 once I’ve completed this project. If it doesn't, then this decade would have been an absolute treat to have witnessed.


*Kenta Kobashi Vs Vader (27/02/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
I’m actually glad that there’s only one more Vader match on this set, simply because it means my heart won’t have its hopes continually dashed by his matches. While I love the fact that AJPW finally managed to put together some dream Vader pairings, the fact that it would come years after Vader’s peak is certainly something that outweighs the positives. Vader’s rib work here was most certainly focused, with Kobashi doing some great selling for the big man, but it never quite raised itself beyond that. While it is nice to see Kobashi work from under Vader, lasting all of 18 minutes in what was, arguably, an extended squash by surviving endless Vader bombs, chokeslams, kicks, guardrail drops and liver punches took away the novelty of Kobashi’s hope spots as it all became too apparent that he would win. The fact that Kobashi would make the win with only a small amount of offence (comparatively) didn’t sit well with me, either. Disappointing.






Spoiler: March Through July



*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Toshiaki Kawada (31/03/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★
This would be the finale to their AJPW feud and, even if that wasn’t in their minds in delivering it, they most certainly wove it into their battle here. Both being tied in number of victories within singles encounters up until this point, the match would abandon their slow and methodical pace that became synonymous with their previous encounters. The very fact that their previous Carnival Cup encounters had ended in time limit draws also drove home their need to adapt a new, more hastened approach in finally beating their opponent. The end result, thus, feels even more iconic in that this would also be the first time Misawa could ever hit his Emerald Flowsion upon Kawada.
This wasn’t a blow-away match by any means, and nowhere near their greatest, yet it still hails itself as a good match, nonetheless. Kawada’s selling of punches/elbows is as awesome as ever.


*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi (11/04/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
While this was good, it never quite led to anything and just merely existed. The neckwork was a treat at times, as was parts of Misawa’s selling, but the beginning of the back end was pretty bad. This probably would have benefitted from not being the longest match in the tourney, as twenty six minutes is just far too long for what they put in.


*Takao Ōmori Vs Kenta Kobashi (15/04/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/4
Misawa, as booker, would finally pull the trigger on Ōmori in this Carnival. Having run at the bottom of the log year in and year out, Ōmori would finally taste success in AJPW’s last Carnival Cup before the faction split. Having picked up a large win against Steve Williams in the round before, Ōmori had decisively beaten Akiyama in the opening round in mere seconds. The match was equally performance making in that Ōmori managed to hang with the current world champion, and even ran in control most of the time thanks to Kenta’s injured knee. The knee work was really well kept together and Kenta sold incredibly well for the most part (falling off in remembering to sell at times, aside). Kenta’s offence was shockingly vicious, though. Ōmori is an utter champ for surviving as long as he did with all the chops TO THE FACE that he took. Kenta honing in on working the challenger’s head/neck would prove too much for the rising star, though. This was a star making tourney run and a great climax in a final that delivered the match the crowd came to see and went home happy with.


*Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura*
★★ 3/4
It’s pretty weird how a series of matches have been noted with such praise by others could deliver a match at this level. Perhaps I wasn’t too focused on the match to notice their story, but this was botchy and clunky.


*Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Kenta Kobashi (26/05/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
This was absolutely great. Outside of the forced manner in which Kobashi took Takayama’s solid head kick, this was damn near faultless. While Takayama was serviceable, Kobashi delivered an amazing performance as only the legend could. From the inception of the story over the injured arm, Kobashi sold his plight in every tidbit of the match. Perhaps none more exemplary than the way in which he favoured a double-underhook DDT by falling to his left as if his injured, right arm really couldn’t execute the move as well as his left. The build of Kobashi’s left arm was equally smart. While he is no slouch in terms of strength, Kenta is not used to executing his elbows or lariats and thus never fully achieved the impact he desired. With his right arm bent and limp throughout, he knew he would have to risk further injury if he was to ground Takayama and thus went for a desperation lariat with the injured arm. It’s here that Kobashi’s selling culminates into a reason as to why such a fake sport encapsulates us into it’s drama.


*Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto Vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (25/06/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Quick, fun and easy to sit through, this match transitioned back-and-forth nicely between quick action and pounding offence. It almost seemed like everything in here came round full circle at some point later on, too. For instance, Takaiwa struggled out of Kanemoto’s submission only to beat the smaller opponent while he had him locked into the mat. Kanemoto would return the favour later on, when he managed to trap Takaiwa in a hold. Same, too, for the two pairs’ corner dropkicks. Come for Ohtani’s shiny jacket, and stay for the entertaining wrestling.


*Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman Vs Toshiaki Kawada & Gen'ichiro Tenryu (23/07/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
I realize that Hansen is over 50 at this point, but he looks pretty poor regardless. Equally, his lumbargo would force him to retire later this year yet his movement at this stage still felt mechanic - almost as if he was mirroring Jim Duggan’s comically-forced motions. The opening couple minutes are pretty great in their intensity, but it devolves with Kawada working Hansen. Those involved most certainly chose when to and when not to sell each other’s offence, and I feel the match came off worse because of it. For instance, Hansen’s been worked down, he’s groggy and disoriented, so Tenryu lets Kawada loose. It’s almost as if Kawada’s repeated kicks to Hansen’s head dislodges the dizziness out of Hansen as he makes a (not-at-all worked) fighting spirit return punch only to then go down again to the same moves. The ring-post spot is another. Tenryu dodges Hansen’s punch and he meets metal and goes back for a chop, misses, again, and now it’s sold like death. Perhaps the first added to the second, but I’d have enjoyed a better build of that. Zero fucks given by Tenryu when Kea superkicks his gut on the apron, too. Throw in a few botches, clunky moments and pauses and I do not see the appeal to this. Kawada’s fucking stiff with some of his kicks, though, and he absolutely rules here, so there’s that, I suppose.






Spoiler:  August & September



*Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (05/08/2000 NOAH)*
★★★ 3/4
This probably has more relevance in terms of history than the actual work produced. Coming straight off the faction split with AJPW, this would be the main event off the first ever NOAH show. Not only would it mean ensuring that NOAH was the definitive promotion, and those involved were what kept AJPW so loved, it would also be the catalyst in setting up the next big “feud” that would cement NOAH as what the Japanese fans should be watching. The match, thus, would work in putting Akiyama over in quite a large way, especially in the early going with a quick first fall win over Misawa in the opening couple minutes. The post-match is what is most important, though, in that after the fans show respect to all four involved, and it would seem everyone has no bad blood, Akiyama lies in wait for an empty ring in which he can backstab his long-time partner, Kobashi. The match, as its own, is still very well worked and shows just how well each member meshes with each other. Considering they’ve encountered each other a good many times before in AJPW, that’s not something to be surprised about, however.


*Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (06/08/2000 NOAH)*
★★★★
How much more of a decisive win can you give Akiyama in his proving match? How much more beautiful can you end a match? Not much. With Akiyama trapping Kobashi in his King Crab Lock and passing him out, the aftermath would see the referee franticly slapping Kobashi and applying CPR in an attempt to bring the now unconscious vet around. It’s a great climax to Kobashi’s selling, too, with a performance that is one of his best of the year. Damn good performance by Akiyama, too, in continually focusing on Kobashi’s injured knee. The tentative opening section probably isn’t going to impress everyone but I enjoyed some of the hold exchanges and it, at least, fits the story they needed to tell. Still, this was a rocking first meet-up between the now opposing pair.


*SUWA Vs Dragon Kid (24/08/2000 Toryumon)*
★★★ 3/4
Dragon Kid is a masked, little man portraying a massive babyface so, of course, it goes prone to “comical” selling at points. SUWA is on fire here, though, and delivers a great performance in structuring this match to milk as much as he can out of this great pairing. Dragon Kid may look like he should be the one with the nutty offence, but SUWA’s sunset flip powerbomb, despite not coming off quite right, is one of the best I’ve seen in a long while. Sin Cara and Sami Zayn may have put out their own renditions in superficial beauty, but SUWA’s full rotation from the standard powerbomb lift-position is just phenomenal. Props to Kid in doing the Ultra Hurricanrana (with added 180 rotation), it’s always a treat to see. The lucha mark in me wishes this could have played up to the aspuesta gimmick, with vicious mask ripping by SUWA, but its own little drama spot (and restart) was fine enough, all things considered.


*Masahiro Chono Vs Masanobu Fuchi (02/09/2000 AJPW)*
★★★ 1/4
Chono, and his blackened uniform, are so unbelievably manly. If The Shield were to get a fourth member, 2000 Chono is the only man I’d approve of joining. Fuchi, though, carries on the legacy of batshit crazy, old men who, logically, should be past their prime yet make their matches so thoroughly enjoyable due to their antics. Fuchi did well to hold out against Mr G1 here. It was certainly a long shot, and the biggest potential win in his career, but Fuchi’s victory was believable in moments. Even when the end was in sight, the grumpy geriatric refused to let it end and made you wonder if it actually would; though that trail did lead to Fuchi popping straight up after a vicious piledriver.


*Yoshie Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka Vs Jushin Liger& Shinya Makabe (12/09/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Black Liger isn’t as colourful as the more commonly associated get-up, but it still looks wicked. The same goes for this match, in that I expected prettier executions (as this did derail itself a few times) but its still flashy when it needs to be. Tanaka, as usual, throws some great holds and traps even the wiliest of opponents, while Liger does some good selling of his knee in the portions that centre on it. Makabe’s first few spears were less than exemplary but, as he kept hitting them, they grew in to pretty great visuals. This was a nice mix between holds (with some meaning) and high-action, even if the high-action wasn’t all that great. The finishing run displayed some smart strategy in working the illegal opponent while your partner gets the sub/pin so it cannot be broken up; more matches need to work that.


*Jun Akiyama, Yoshihiro Takayama & Kentaro Shiga Vs Kenta Kobashi, Takeshi Rikio & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (25/09/2000 NOAH)*
★★★ 1/2
My only addition I could add to this would be Jim Ross as announcer purely so he could sell the hit-squad Akiyama and team became in absolutely decimating the other 6-man team. Otherwise, this was a perfectly fine match that does no shame to the status of big-time Japanese 6-man tags.






Spoiler: October through December



*Toshiaki Kawada Vs Kensuke Sasaki (09/10/2000 NJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
Heavyweight slugfests are pretty much a staple in All Japan these days, amongst certain wrestlers, yet it’s in this setting that the style particularly fits. While the formation of NOAH, and the departure of many top stars, created a major upset within AJPW’s business, arguably without such a move, we would never have been witness to the cross-promotional fallout that took place following the faction split. As such, and on the heels of All-Japan peer, Fuchi, making a challenge within the New Japan ring, Kawada would call out NJPW’s ace in Sasaki – forming one of the biggest dream match-ups to have ever come about. Not only was it ace Vs ace, but it was, also, company Vs company for the right to claim the throne of Japanese wrestling. These two weren’t going to wrestle a technical match, nor would they focus on any particular strategy or focus on specific weaknesses or parts; it was all about taking as much offence as one could until someone couldn’t go on any longer. With a sold-out, 64,000 strong crowd behind them, both men proved that a modern direction nor the heavy-talent of NOAH was needed to capture the pure essence of Japanese wrestling.


*Toshiaki Kawada Vs Gen'ichiro Tenryu (28/10/2000 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
To be fair, he did have two big roles within the space of this month to allow for the matches he had but, to his credit, Kawada was still on fire in both and more of the reason why two phenomenal matches came so close together. The story of Tenryu’s return to AJPW, following having left a younger Kawada’s side mid-feud against Tsuruta, and the story of role model vs emulator were intertwined so beautifully here. The vicious kicks of Kawada, which have brought on victory over countless others before, would be met with Tenryu’s contempt almost as if the old man was disgusted in how light Kawada worked. It would be a reaction that would cost him, in a sense, when Kawada busted his nose and, thus, painted his face in crimson blood in the process. I’m dismayed, though, in Tenryu’s leg work leading to literally nothing. I’m not one to expect the finish to come as a compliment to said work, but I do expect the continuity to maintain some level of believability. It was obvious that Tenryu applied his submissions as a means of negating Kawada’s kicks yet, almost as soon as Kawada freed himself, he was back to using his legs. Still, in the larger picture, it was but a drop in the ocean.


*Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa (23/11/2000 AJW)*
★ 1/2
It would be hard for any match to follow the previous two, but this match was fucking shit, regardless. I’m not sure of how the rules work in this promotion but they’re most certainly at odds with those of what I’m used to. For one, I didn’t know you could interject yourself back into a match once you had escaped the cage. Even so, surely you’re still flagged as having escaped so when you return to aid your team mate, and they escape, you win? To be fair, the weird re-entry rule is weird, but the surrounding means is fine under that circumstance. Fine doesn’t make their work any less bad, though. Aside from the chaotic (and not truly in a good way) start, once the escapes start this match loses all sense of logic. Surely if you’re three-one up, you’d choose rather to focus on knocking your solitary opponent out and escaping together rather than one at a time? Doing so just leaves your opponent open to make a comeback, as was evident here. The babyfaces were always going to win, however, and I couldn’t truly believe anything else. Play it up how you want, when she made the surprise re-entry to aid the escape, she basically dominated all three members. I may be using a lot of pronouns in this write-up but it’s all due to not wishing to even research who each member was. They were all terrible, and I do not wish to see them, again. I mean, those abysmal chair shots, jeez-fuck.


*Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa (26/11/2000 BattlARTS)*
★★★ 3/4
Wait, I thought professional wrestling was meant to be fake. Evidentially not. Murakami must be composed of 80% hatred and 20% PRIDE~! if the stare-down before the match begins is anything to go by. His bludgeoning offence is, also, evidence of this. If anything, though, this match is indicative of the fact that wrestling does not need to be much else than an emulation of a realistic fight to succeed at what it does. It also lays as proof that you do not need to work a specific structure in delivering a believable win, considering the reality of grappling. Ishikawa, despite being bloodied and dominated, would gain control with the grasp of a wild kick by Murakami, allowing him to throw on a winning sleeper.


*Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima Vs Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata (22/11/2000 NJPW)*
★★
If I never have to see this type of match, again, it’d be too soon. The penchant for no-selling was laughable and so, too, was the set-up for a lot of the moves. None more so than the leg-hook roll into a pin on Tenzan . Kojima also finds himself in a figure four that makes The Miz look like a technical wizard. Rubbish tail-end, to boot, and this is another match that I cannot help but wonder how it ended up on this list.


*Minoru Tanaka Vs AKIRA (10/12/2000 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
I’m truly upset that this match was JIP and that the remaining 10 minutes is lost as what we got was absolutely stunning. The leg work and fast-paced action were about as much fun as I’ve had in any of these matches through the year. This was an absolutely stellar performance from both men and a quick dip that everyone should make, even if they are not participating in the project.


*Jushin Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe Vs Super Delfin, Takahiro Murahama & Tsubasa (14/12/2000 NJPW)*
★★★★ 1/4-
I should probably rewatch this before the project is finished as I was pretty distracted going in. Still, I was enamoured by the heel work of the Osaka squad and how they isolated Tanaka throughout. Just when you thought the faces could make a comeback, one of the heels would pounce out of nowhere and only make you realize the comeback was feigned only to lull the faces back into their hands. It’s because of this that we’re treated to a great FIP comeback once the tag is made that only helps the match ebb itself out in remarkable fashion.


*Masa Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada Vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka (14/12/2000 NJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
Who needs a “healthy and functioning” roster when a promotion has Fuchi and Kawada absolutely dominating the world with their performances? The great performances didn’t stop with the AJPW stars, either. The specialty of this match is in how well both Nagata and Iizuka stepped up to the plate in creating a cross-promotion war worthy of the legacy they all brought. There’s a final moment where Nagata hangs with Kawada in delivering believable strikes and kicks, and when he gets the better of the toothless punisher the victory feels natural even despite the reluctance I’d feel in reading that without having seen it. The stars of the show, though, are the All-Japan mainstays with Fuchi delivering the badass old man role as perfectly as ever. The difference in talent lies pretty obvious at times (their nuances in their holds, for instance) but one should, perhaps, expect that looking at the name-listing. It’s still comparable to noting the difference between platinum and gold, however. All four men had large shoes to fill, coming straight off the previous Osaka Pro/NJPW match, but they certainly allowed those expectations to drive them to surpass their limits. I’ve seen this heralded as five stars, Meltzer ranks it as the third best match of the year (on a global scale) and DVDVR had this as their number one puroresu match for the year. My own expectations, now placed highly above the normal reach of talented workers, were equally met and, thus, disappointment was not found this day. It’s every bit as good as the hype.


*Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (23/12/2000 NOAH)*
★★★★ 1/2
What a way to close the year. With NOAH building themselves up as the next big promotion in the fan’s eyes, a 12,000 strong audience packs in to watch the two lead stars duke it out in the “first” big-time NOAH main event. Of course that’s indicative of the match going long but that’s no slight on its quality. Over half-an-hour of these two is, of course, never enough. This wasn’t as good a performance as his match against Misawa, but Akiyama continues his roll of greatness in just about everything he brings. His cocky mannerisms are second-to-none, here, and I smirked when he had to relinquish a submission only to lightly tap Kenta’s neck almost as if to say “I’ve got your number, old man”. Kenta’s arm-selling, as expected, delivers in spades, too. The combined chemistry, thus, epitomizes why both wrestlers are so well respected for their craft. Their flow is perfect, and they manage to believably shift control between each other at the exact moments it’s needed to keep the match piqued. Not to mention it also helps that they aren’t scared of killing each other with high-impact moves; most especially the use of Kenta’s Burning Hammer. Ultimately, this is a very fine end to the 2000 set, and a very fine addition to this list of great matches.


----------



## Obfuscation

Kong vs KAORU doesn't even make top ten. Look at that. _(then I re-read your review on the match and we're quite different in how much we liked it.) _I know I haven't finished the entire list yet, but I'll be surprised if that doesn't remain in my top five. Seen the Nagata/Iizuka vs Kawada/Fuchi match recently, so that's gonna give it some stiff competition. b/c it's brilliant. Misawa vs Akiyama was indeed killer. Akiyama was a star in it.

Great effort all around with actually presenting the year-in wrap up with a review following each match. You got more patience than I. Not to mention a better way to keep things concise. My flaw with reviews. I get jazzed up and it becomes words frenzy. So much to where I get burnt out on even explaining my own opinion. Which is my way of saying I expect more reviews from you with future years via the project, while I'll continue to watch myself, but maybe only with a plug here and there. No more full blown reviews. As made evident by no posts by myself. I digress...

Again, top read, Rah. Gives me a pointer on what to possibly expect great, and on the flip-side, not so great things from. Of course, our opinions could sorely be lacking any continuity once I'm all finished up. Kind of already are as it is.


----------



## Chismo

Great news, everyone. Here comes the healthy dose of modern, batshit crazy INOKISM~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~:



> Subscribe to the "Inoki Era" YouTube channel for an upcoming 2004 blowout & channel boost! 20 shows from New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2004. Get on it!
> 
> Upcoming on the upload bar! January 4th! 1 of 20!


http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4IETebGrSPLGz1hYzkUiSg/videos


----------



## Obfuscation

2004? Sure, I'll take it.


----------



## Chismo

> Low Ki was announced as being off the rest of the tour after the Akebono match on 9/16 due to broken ribs. A few days earlier, Low Ki had tried to fight Hikaru Sato, a former Pancrase protege of Minoru Suzuki (probably not the right guy to want to start a fight with). There wasn’t an actual fight, but it didn’t do him any favors and he was pretty down on options after his playing Halloween dress-up at the Tokyo Dome show unauthorized by the promotion (and then absolutely tearing the house down with his wrestling) in January. I still can’t get over his blowing it with New Japan at this stage of his career but he did. The perception from there was more than questioning if the rib injury was legit. Either way, because of the Sato incident, he was said to have been fired, but even if he quit, he’s not expected back. That didn’t take long.


:lenny


----------



## Obfuscation

The suit wasn't even known by New Japan? 

Oh lordy, Ki. _(again with the side-notes b/c he was great despite wearing a god damn suit at Wrestle Kingdom...)_


----------



## Rah

Not even a shallow talent-pool ridden AJPW wants Ki? Well, now.


----------



## Bubz

The suit was boss and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Guy should have been paid more for wearing that.


----------



## Chismo

Tenryu vs. Anjoh (WAR 1996/7/21). Watch that match, everyone. Seriously, it rocked. It's TENRYU against the shoot genre. Instant fun. 

****1/4



Bubz said:


> The suit was boss and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Guy should have been paid more for wearing that.


The suit was awesome, but apparently it represented the video game made by Bushiroad's rival company.


----------



## seabs

Bubz said:


> The suit was boss and anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Guy should have been paid more for wearing that.


*I think it was more to do with him not oking it with them and going over their heads. Cool or not he's bound to be in trouble for going into his business for himself with something like that in a promotion like New Japan. At the time I heard he was walking away on his own accord anyway so who knows the real story. Only certainty is that they were probably getting tired of him at some point because it's Low Ki.*


----------



## Obfuscation

The history of his attitude is a perplexing one. He's a rad dude when you're talking to him straight up. Guess you just don't want to do business with 'em.


----------



## Ham and Egger

The amount of bridges Low Ki has burned over the years is amazing.


----------



## Obfuscation

I think he's still good in PWG. I think. Come back to us there. It's the lightest schedule possible - it can work.

Everything else. Nope, haha. What a track record.


----------



## murasaki00

I think Low Ki has one of the worst reputations in the business. If not the worst. I did some wrestling training a few years back and as a newbie and an indie fan I asked quite a few questions and other workers just groan and change the subject anytime he comes up.


----------



## murasaki00

So I recently watched Best of Super Junior XX and Dominion 2013 and I've gotta ask.. What's the story behind Iizuka and the poor little commentator he keeps harassing? I have to admit when I see the guy's face I honestly feel bad for him. I know it's a work but, that little guy can act.


----------



## seabs

HayleySabin said:


> I think he's still good in PWG. I think. Come back to us there. It's the lightest schedule possible - it can work.
> 
> Everything else. Nope, haha. What a track record.


*Wasn't he mardy about ever losing in PWG? Think he jobbed to Claudio during his last run and that was it. *


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs said:


> *Wasn't he mardy about ever losing in PWG? Think he jobbed to Claudio during his last run and that was it. *


He probably was given his track record. When I talked with him it was only with his debut and he lost to Joe _(on the second night)_ so I'm assuming that was the agreement for the one off weekend. Then he returned, got the championship immediately, won BOLA, was gone, etc. Never did hear any rumblings that he couldn't be welcomed back. He did show up in 2011 to work vs Tozawa. So, I'm assuming things are peachy.


----------



## Groovemachine

Yeah I'm pretty sure Super Dragon mentioned in his Q&A on the PWG forums earlier this year that Low-Ki was most likely a no-go for the future as he just wouldn't job to anyone.


----------



## Caponex75

Seabs said:


> *Wasn't he mardy about ever losing in PWG? Think he jobbed to Claudio during his last run and that was it. *


Super Dragon considers convincing Ki to lose to Claudio is his greatest accomplishment yet. That should show how fucking bad Kaval is.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

I just finished the Wrestle-1 debut show. 

I also finished the Goto vs. Nakaruma at G1 climax 2009. I thought that was pretty damned good.


Now I am wondering what to watch next in terms of matches/shows. Does anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## murasaki00

Miguel De Juan said:


> I just finished the Wrestle-1 debut show.
> 
> I also finished the Goto vs. Nakaruma at G1 climax 2009. I thought that was pretty damned good.
> 
> 
> Now I am wondering what to watch next in terms of matches/shows. Does anyone have any suggestions?


NJPW Best of Super Juniors XX if you are yet to see that.


----------



## Chismo

Miguel De Juan said:


> I just finished the Wrestle-1 debut show.
> 
> I also finished the Goto vs. Nakaruma at G1 climax 2009. I thought that was pretty damned good.
> 
> 
> Now I am wondering what to watch next in terms of matches/shows. Does anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## Rah

*HayleySabin/Jack Evans*, remembering the Muta train you put me on, I think you'll absolutely enjoy this match I've watched. Muta may be the guy you're both interested in, but Kawada RULES here.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

Chismo said:


>


Holy hell. I decided to watch this before I study for my graduate work and damn. These guys went to war. What kind of glass are they using?

I can't believe the guy Abdullah was chewing on it.

I never heard of this promotion. This was just crazy.


----------



## Corey

Rah said:


> *HayleySabin/Jack Evans*, remembering the Muta train you put me on, I think you'll absolutely enjoy this match I've watched. Muta may be the guy you're both interested in, but Kawada RULES here.


What's incredible is that I'm a huge Muta fan, Great MUTA that is, but I've never once bothered to watch any of his work as old man Mutoh throughout the 2000s. Idk why, I guess it just didn't hold the same appeal because he wasn't in character anymore. Honestly I've never bothered with anything post-97 from the guy. He was getting pretty damn lazy as NWO Muta so that was a turn off. Guess I'll have to check this one out sometime. (Y)


----------



## Chingo Bling

Just watched my first Hiroshi Hase match, Him against Kobashi 97'. It was like heaven. 

The size diffrence just gets thrown out the window, and your drawn in to rooting for Hase as an impulse was just amazing. I'll be watching more of him soon. I've been missing out.


----------



## Chismo

Miguel De Juan said:


> Holy hell. I decided to watch this before I study for my graduate work and damn. These guys went to war. What kind of glass are they using?
> 
> I can't believe the guy Abdullah was chewing on it.
> 
> I never heard of this promotion. This was just crazy.


The fed is BJW, and they're using spent lighttubes from industrial buildings, offices, factories, etc. There's no danger of mercury poisoning because it's all dust.


This is probably the best deathmatch in BJW history, they relied less on gore shock values, and more on regular wrestling conventions, mixed with horrific violence, of course.


----------



## Corey

Chingo Bling said:


> Just watched my first Hiroshi Hase match, Him against Kobashi 97'. It was like heaven.
> 
> The size diffrence just gets thrown out the window, and your drawn in to rooting for Hase as an impulse was just amazing. I'll be watching more of him soon. I've been missing out.


Love me some Hase. Make sure to check out his matches against Muta & Hashimoto but for the love of god stay away from his 'Island Death Match' against Tiger Jeet Singh. That was just terrible.


----------



## Rah

*Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (30/06/2001 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
_Fuck Drake, Araya started at the bottom. If there’s one parallel to life that this match has, it’s that Araya is that kid in school who, finally sick of being bullied, tries to stand up for himself in a rather ineffectual way. It’s fitting, too, that Kawada plays bigger brother and lashes out, only when need be, without taking the moment away from Araya. Tenryu, thus, is the asshole at the centre of the bullying and cracks Araya with a vicious blow that opens up his eye in nasty fashion only to work as a phenomenal ground for Araya to work off of and solidify himself as an exceptional character in this narrative of awesome. Fuchi is pretty much a geriatric at this point, and you can see in how Kawada barely even lands his strikes upon the old man, but he works in his secondary role to Tenryu as best he can and that’s all that this match requires of him. Everything hanged, almost solely, on both Tenryu and Araya’s performances. As great, too, as Tenryu’s facials are, Araya blasts this out the park with his shrivelled face that looks like a bad mix of pain, anger and a man trying to fight back his tears. Absolutely beautiful._​


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> *HayleySabin/Jack Evans*, remembering the Muta train you put me on, I think you'll absolutely enjoy this match I've watched. Muta may be the guy you're both interested in, but Kawada RULES here.


Brilliant. Mutoh vs Kawada. Not much sounds better than that in the whole of the sport.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

I saw the match Chismo linked to from BJW. Those high spots were pretty nuts. I am definitely going to check more of BJW out now.


I also decided to watch Misawa vs. Kobashi 6/11/99 for the Triple Crown championship, and Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid 5/08/92 NJPW. 

These old matches from NJPW and AJPW are just beautiful imo.


----------



## Chismo

*Destruction 2013*

*(2013/9/29)*


0.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Tiger Mask, BUSHI & Takaaki Watanabe

**


1.	Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

**3/4


2.	*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Rob Conway © vs. Jushin Liger

**1/2


3.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Rey Bucanero) vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Cpt. New Japan & Mascara Dorada

***


4.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano

***1/4


5.	Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

**3/4


6.	LUMBERJACK DEATHMATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt

***3/4


7.	*IWGP Heavyweight Title Shot & NEVER Openweight Championship*: Tetsuya Naito (G1) vs. Masato Tanaka ©

***1/2


8.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs. Shelton Benjamin

***1/4


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Kazuchika Okada © vs. Satoshi Kojima

******


Good show. Sure, the card was loaded with rematches, the outcomes were predictable, but there was enough quality wrestling to make up for it. However, the majority of the matches felt like a letdown from what they could be, some of those didn’t live up to their potential. Main event was great, on par with the G1 encounter, both Okada and Kojima did very well.​


----------



## Bubz

Rah said:


> *Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (30/06/2001 AJPW)*
> ★★★★ 1/2
> _Fuck Drake, Araya started at the bottom. If there’s one parallel to life that this match has, it’s that Araya is that kid in school who, finally sick of being bullied, tries to stand up for himself in a rather ineffectual way. It’s fitting, too, that Kawada plays bigger brother and lashes out, only when need be, without taking the moment away from Araya. Tenryu, thus, is the asshole at the centre of the bullying and cracks Araya with a vicious blow that opens up his eye in nasty fashion only to work as a phenomenal ground for Araya to work off of and solidify himself as an exceptional character in this narrative of awesome. Fuchi is pretty much a geriatric at this point, and you can see in how Kawada barely even lands his strikes upon the old man, but he works in his secondary role to Tenryu as best he can and that’s all that this match requires of him. Everything hanged, almost solely, on both Tenryu and Araya’s performances. As great, too, as Tenryu’s facials are, Araya blasts this out the park with his shrivelled face that looks like a bad mix of pain, anger and a man trying to fight back his tears. Absolutely beautiful._​


Amazing match. Tenryu/Araya stuff ruled so much. Might be my second favourite puro tag of the 00s behind Nagata/Iizuka vs Kawada/Fuchi. Kawada was basically untouchable for me at the start of that decade.


----------



## Chismo

Catching up with All Japan continues:













*CrossOver 2013 – Day 5*

_*(2013/6/23)*_


1.	Hiroshi Yamato vs. MAZADA

_MAZADA is nothing but a sack of drizzling shits, but Yamato is good enough to make this work. Barely, though, because MAZADA’s workovers were painful. Mediocre match._

**


2.	SUSHI vs. Koji Kanemoto

_Going into this, I wanted to see Kanemoto destroying SUSHI in 5 minutes, the Battlarts style. Sure, he won, eventually, the story made it obvious he’s much better, but it took him 13 freakin’ minutes to get the job done. SUSHI got way too much offense and fighting spirit comebacks._

**


3.	Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Takao Omori, Tomoya & Agu

_A generic but decent trio match, nothing to write home about, just the Juniors of Burning doing their own thing, but this time with Omori in the mix. He’s so bigger than them._

**1/4


4.	Stack of Arms (Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Minoru Tanaka) vs. Last Revolution (Joe Doering, Kaz Hayashi & Yasufumi Nakanoueno)

_Another generic hype match, but some things never change, i.e. Funaki’s strikes, Minoru’s catlike speed, or Kono’s incredible lack of talent._

**1/2


5.	Suwama vs. Shuji Kondo

_Battle of L/R, nice little match between the stable pals, with Suwama dominating, and controlling the pace, of course. Kondo sold for him like a motherfucker, it made his comeback look better. Shame he left with Mutoh._

***1/4


6.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki © vs. SMOP (Akebono & Ryota Hama)

_Really good shit, SMOP is always motivated in important matches, and this one was no different. They carried the match, they were the predators, Akiyama looked very sloppy, and Go was Go, a Kobashi wannabe, which is not necessarily bad, but gets really boring when he does it all the freakin’ time, which is the trend this year. Yay…_

***1/2


Mediocre show, no bad matches, though.​


----------



## Rah

*Best of Japan in 2001*

*THE LIST~!*​*1.* Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (30/06/2001 AJPW)
*2.* Mitsuharu Misawa & Yuji Nagata Vs Shinya Hashimoto & Jun Akiyama (02/03/2001 Zero-1)
*3.* Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura (12/01/2001 GAEA)
*4.* Toshiaki Kawada Vs Satoshi Kojima (06/06/2001 NJPW)
*5.* Keiji Mutoh Vs Yuji Nagata (12/08/2001 NJPW)
*6.* Keiji Muto Vs Toshiaki Kawada (14/04/2001 AJPW)
*7.* Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Jun Akiyama (27/07/2001 NOAH)
*8.* Genichiro Tenryu Vs Keiji Mutoh (08/06/2001 AJPW)
*9.* Shinya Hashimoto & Alexander Otsuka Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (13/01/2001 NOAH)
*10.* Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Jun Akiyama (11/04/2001 NOAH)
*11.* Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Yoshihiro Takayama (15/04/2001 NOAH)
*12.* BATT Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata (08/10/2001 NJPW)
*13.* Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs Dr. Wagner Jr & Silver King (03/02/2001 NJPW)
*14.* Minoru Tanaka Vs Takehiro Murahama (20/04/2001 NJPW)
*15.* Kensuke Sasaki Vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/01/2001 NJPW)
*16.* Akira Hokuto Vs Meiko Satomura (29/04/2001 GAEA)
*17.* Crazy MAX Vs M2K Vs Seikigun (14/08/2001 Toryumon)
*18.* Tiger Mask & Alexander Otsuka vs. Carl Malenko & Ikuto Hidaka (13/02/2001 BattleARTS)
*19.* Hiroyoshi Tenzan Vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/01/2001 NJPW)
*20.* Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Naomichi Marufuji (09/12/2001 NOAH)
*21.* Shinjiro Otani vs Daisuke Sekimoto (02/12/2001 BJW)
*22.* Minoru Tanaka Vs AKIRA (28/05/2001 NJPW)
*23.* Van Vader & Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue (13/01/2001 NOAH)
*24.* Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Akira Taue (18/05/2001 NOAH)
*25.* Daisuke Ikeda Vs Tamon Honda (01/09/2001 NOAH)
*26.* Jado & Gedo Vs The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask 4 (19/08/2001 Michinoku Pro)
*27.* The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Dick Togo Vs Pentagón, Sasuke the Great & Gran Apache (10/03/2001 Michinoku Pro)
*28.* Masato Tanaka & Gedo Vs Ishikawa & Yone (02/06/2001 BattleARTS)
*29.* Alexander Otsuka vs. Takashi Sugiura (18/04/2001 Zero-1)
*30.* TenKoji Vs Mike Barton & Jim Steele (11/12/2001 NJPW)
*31.* Kaoru Ito, Tomoko Watanabe, Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Manami Toyota, Mima Shimoda, Etsuko Mita & Kumiko Maekawa (28/02/2001 AJW)



2001 was most certainly a weaker year than 2000 and its hot streak. Interestingly, exactly half of every match rated 3.5 star and above comprises of both 2001 and 2000 yet the bulk of the reason against this particular year settles toward the upper echelons. While 2001 enjoyed a plethora of good and really good matches nothing truly broke beyond that level and a definite ceiling emerged in terms of match quality. The best match of 2001 (the Araya tag) only placed seventh on the combined listing and the year, as a whole, only enjoyed one third of the top 20 spots. That's not to devalue the year, however, as the matches that scored well, scored well in spades as four of the six 4.25 star matches were from this year bracket.


_It must be said that these do not reflect the year as a whole and I'm rather basing the awards upon the material presented. It's a flawed system, but it's sadly the only system._

*Best Wrestler:* Toshiaki Kawada
This was a hard choice to make. A lot of wrestlers put their name in the hat this year and no one truly stood out above everyone else. Misawa was really good and makes up half of the top ten matches (playing good reason why they're up there, too) but I think was hampered by the ordinary showing in his match against Taue. Akiyama and Mutoh both enjoyed the loins of a successful year. However, as great as their matches placed, they weren't, overwhelmingly, the best wrestlers in those matches. Nagata was the reason why Nagata/Mutoh stayed on course for the first portion while Akiyama (as nifty as he was) was lumped with both Hashimoto and Misawa. That left the easy-way-out choice - Kawada. While he wasn't the reason why the best match placed at #1, his performance was indicative of why he gets the rub; he performed and met every expectation he was supposed to. That match called for him to play a specific role and he did so, while his lower outings were the result not of performance but time-constraint. Kawada was also a large player in Mutoh/Kawada being fantastic. While being the lesser force in his match against Kojima, he still wrestled at the top of his game and it's not much of a slight that would knock him off the running.

*Best Performance:* Nobutaka Araya
If I was sane I'd have chosen someone else. Most probably Kojima and his exceptional outing against Kawada in which he shone, like gold, brighter than the veteran. But screw being boring and objective. Araya's work was phenomenal in every sphere. He made me believe in his role and he made me actually care for his plight. He both entertained me and moved me. He made me wish for him to exact revenge against the bullies that had beaten him down. He made me forget that this is a worked sport and suckered me in with his beautiful facials. For those fifteen minutes, Araya embodied everything I adore in professional wrestling, and you know what? That's all that matters to me.

*THE WRITE-UPS~!​*


Spoiler: text






Spoiler: January-February



*Hiroyoshi Tenzan Vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/01/2001 NJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
Well, Tenzan was certainly motivated to win this tournament. From the get-go he was on Kawada, and trying to hit hard in ensuring a quick and decisive win against the AJPW vet. I don’t think he’s that good but there’s no denying his attempts here as a vicious bastard. Though, admittedly, that’s not too hard when the moves are legitimately physical. Tenzan opening himself up with a head-butt was nasty. Kawada had some moments of goodness here, too, but the tourney would ensure these matches are rather short than given the opportunity to progress into something exceptional.


*Kensuke Sasaki Vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/01/2001 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Much like the previous match, time constraints and exhaustion would prevent a lengthy encounter between these two great men. That’s absolutely fine, though, as a hate-fuelled sprint between Sasaki and Kawada is just about as fun as you’ll get in wrestling. As violence-oriented as Tenzan was, Sasaki went to school even further upon Kawada and bloodied up his nose. Tight, fast and hard-hitting is everything you’ll need to get you through the day. Great stuff!


*Shinya Hashimoto & Alexander Otsuka Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (13/01/2001 NOAH)*
★★★★
When I first saw this heading I was hoping to witness more Ogawa/Hashi hatred, but it turned out to be a different Ogawa. No matter, Hash hates the living shit out of Misawa and that produces this match’s focal point. The beginning is rather good, with nice exchanges, but it all picks up as soon as Hashimoto steps in and runs rampant upon Ogawa all the while taunting Misawa, who lies anxious on the apron. My favourite moment in the set, so far, has to be Hash taunting Misawa only to have Ogawa take a cheap shot on the heavier vet. Hash’s look of disgust that such untalented hands touched him was a look of sheer brilliance and, so too, was the derailing slap that he levelled onto Ogawa’s face.


*Van Vader & Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue (13/01/2001 NOAH)*
★★★ 1/2
I’m pretty sure that Akiyama is thanking his lucky stars due to Kobashi having to leave to receive knee surgery. It’d seem that each time the two meet, Kobashi finds new ways to attempt to break his neck with suplexes or dead-drops. I suppose sensing his hiatus may be a long one, Kenta gives all that he can as his last hoorah while Akiyama continues to be a presence I so dearly love. Despite Vader’s flaws at this point in his career, Akiyama works as a good base in keeping things on track and not too hampered by his botches. Still, once Vader tags in this really detracts from the great start it received despite his great bullying and no-fucks-given tactics. The awkwardly botched Vadersault did allow for a (probably unplanned and unprotected) headbutt that does nothing but fit with Vader’s stiff work, though. 


*Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs Dr. Wagner Jr & Silver King (03/02/2001 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
I like Cain, and I love Wagner so this was a nice treat to witness them at work a decade earlier. The combination, thus, was the luchadores giving the Japanese juniours a hell of a ride in this championship match. Nothing breakout but a good body with a great end makes this a definite knock on the door come the top 100.


*Tiger Mask & Alexander Otsuka vs. Carl Malenko & Ikuto Hidaka (13/02/2001 BattleARTS)*
★★★ 1/2
Extended feeling-out section, good matwork followed by some nifty legwork, a PILEDRIVER AND FLURRY~! all culminating in more legwork. Yep,this is Bat-Bat!
 

*Kaoru Ito, Tomoko Watanabe, Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Manami Toyota, Mima Shimoda, Etsuko Mita & Kumiko Maekawa (28/02/2001 AJW)*
★ 3/4
What an absolute mess. If one enjoys mindless chaos, illogical discontinuity and healthy portions of no-selling to juxtapose the control segments then this is right up your alley. This is two for two in terms of multi-tag womens matches not delivering anything but duds and I’m starting to wonder how either made it onto the set. Surely they cannot be placements for the sake of diversity (there has to be better women’s matches) nor could they be that highly touted. I, evidently, must be missing the memo, if they are, as these cannot hold a candle to their male counterparts. Terrible as fuck kicks, too.





Spoiler: March-April



*Mitsuharu Misawa & Yuji Nagata Vs Shinya Hashimoto & Jun Akiyama (02/03/2001 Zero-1)*
★★★★ 1/4
This would be the second and last pairing between Hash and Misawa and, boy, am I relieved that we got some good wrestlers to fill in the roles of seconds. Credit where it’s due for Otsuka and Ogawa’s performances in the last match, but I cannot think of much that’s greater than Misawa, the world-beater, with Jun against Hashi. Nagata was a good start, and held his own against the NOAH boys, too. What a hell of a debut show main-event for Zero-1 with heat oozing out of every corner.


*The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Dick Togo Vs Pentagón, Sasuke the Great & Gran Apache (10/03/Michinoku Pro)*
★★★ 1/4
Sasuke The Great? Lol. Anyway, there’s some great talent in this match and it’s depressing I couldn’t really get into it. Kinda plods along with some nice violence but doesn’t go too much farther than that.


*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Jun Akiyama (11/04/2001 NOAH)*
★★★★
As a first encounter between these two in NOAH, under tournament constrictions no less, it came off perfect. Of course it wouldn’t be afforded as much time as an epic between the two would need, but that would not dismay either man from giving their all or breaking the speed of sound in approaching this match. Misawa’s all about breaking Akiyama’s neck, here, and its continual destruction was almost sadistic to witness. The crowd HATED the original count-out ending, but boy did they pop once the match was restarted. So did I, admittedly. Though who wouldn’t when seeing both men frantically pacing likes bats out of hell head-on into each at the sound of the bell?

 
*Keiji Muto Vs Toshiaki Kawada (14/04/2001 AJPW)*
★★★★
SHINING WIZARD~! While Ditch regards this as Muto’s breakout match for his new persona, I cannot help but think that Kawada is mostly responsible for that. Everything Muto brought to the table, Kawada did or made better. This was, quite frankly, a hell of a performance by Kawada (more so than his usual going) that enjoyed the fruits of such wondrous selling. As much as I liked Misawa’s work on Akiyama’s neck in the match a few days prior, Kawada’s was better. Muto’s almost lucky that Kawada never decapitated him with his moves. Good on the toothless bastard for cockily taking a bicycle kick from a running start on the apron, too. He simply owns shit and his work here is reason enough why.


*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Yoshihiro Takayama (15/04/2001 NOAH)*
★★★★
I’ll be damned if the first half didn’t feel like a slow and heavy outing. I don’t mind the need for establishing a foundation but this sorely lacked an entertainment aspect to that creation. Still, once it picked up it really showcased the outstanding work of Misawa and the fighting style of Takayama. Coming in to this, Takayama was largely unbeaten and that dynamic really offered the match its dues. Misawa does a great job coming from the bottom and Takayama’s legitimacy only helps drive that home further. Boy, is Misawa’s selling top-notch, too. Not that Takayama’s a slouch, either, though, as he’s taken a couple punches before so he knows how to make ‘em look believable. For my money, though, it’s more the Misawa show than anything else, and him rattling off his desperation elbow strikes and discus shots made for a great visual. The intermittent german suplex from Takayama (that’s helped him put away so many adversaries) was neat, as well; especially considering the desperate nature of it meant he couldn’t lock in the pin to full effect. I don’t think this is going to be at the top of this year’s best of list, but it’s still a worthy enough match, regardless.
 

*Alexander Otsuka vs. Takashi Sugiura (18/04/2001 Zero-1)*
★★★ 1/4
Sugiura was pretty good for such a newcomer, here, and most certainly looked like a brute coming out of it. Those headbutts were violent and blood-inducing while his running tackles are pretty good. Deadlift throws are a favourite of mine, and a young Takashi applying them to Otsuka is a treat to see. This wasn’t without fault, however, as it did need more fleshing out to work. I can understand why they needed to have Sug redo his takedown (to transition into the headlock and the final submission) but it felt disjointed from the rest of the application. I suppose it could be put down to his amateur experience level yet the showing he put on before that wasn’t as badly amateur as what would come next. Good first half, and a poor second stop this from going much further but it’s still a mighty fine showing for both.


*Minoru Tanaka Vs Takehiro Murahama (20/04/2001 NJPW)*
★★★ 3/4
Ditch’s link is missing the opening minute but not much is lost outside of a lock-up and opening work. Tanaka really excels in this environ where quick matwork and flurried offence is key. Murahama is no slouch, either, and they both sew together a beautiful junior-level tapestry that is filled with relentless attitude.


*Akira Hokuto Vs Meiko Satomura (29/04/2001 GAEA)*
★★★ 1/2
Conventions be damned. The continual focus of the left limb during submissions may be a stock standard entity within the sport but, when a situation arises in which the other limb needs working, work it! This was whole heaps of fun and certainly felt like a main event war for GAEA’s 6th Anniversary. It’s just too bad it was let down by some rather silly mistakes. While the leg was seemingly ready for a work-over, especially considering the highlighting that it got upon each strike, it made little sense to lock on an armbar upon the left arm; most especially if it’s the right arm that the SLAPS OF DAMAGE~! is originating from. I have no doubt that this could have been infinitely better if the submissions had logical placing and the selling had been slightly better. What this had going for it was immense, it’s just such a shame it had to be let down so much by these drawbacks.





Spoiler: May-August



*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Akira Taue (18/05/2001 NOAH)*
★★★ 1/4
Eh, for the first title match in NOAH’s history, this certainly felt rather underwhelming. That’s not to say either man did not produce something good, as the match really is fine, but it’s truly not something exemplary nor something anything better than good. Perhaps my expectations are too high for this particular encounter, but I do feel underwhelmed by the material presented.


*Minoru Tanaka Vs AKIRA (28/05/2001 NJPW)*
★★★ 1/2
Oh, come on! Yet another Akira/Tanaka match that’s joined in progress?! Sigh. At least it was only the first minute and the match, personally, isn’t as good as what they put on in the previous year. I enjoy legwork as much as the next, but this seemed to lack a certain zest that accompanied other matches of a similar nature. It almost felt preoccupied with the matwork that it neglected the excitement that both can put on. Of course both are a good pairing, and can work a hold, but I hoped for a little more within those holds. A good exhibition, regardless.


*Masato Tanaka & Gedo Vs Ishikawa & Yone (02/06/2001 BattleARTS)*
★★★ 1/4
The heels were doing great until Gedo decided to interject his goofball personality into the mix and lose the control-segment for their team. Of course it’s all down to Tanaka to salvage things and keep the hopes alive. Double of course in Gedo ensuring he takes the pinfall victory. I love Gedo and his antics. Wrestling’s own Lenny Kravitz was here, in full force, and added a bunch of cool points to the match’s score. That does little to the actual rating from a critical standpoint, though, as this was pretty meh especially in consideration of other Bat-Bat matches we’ve been witness to.

 
*Toshiaki Kawada Vs Satoshi Kojima (06/06/2001 NJPW)*
★★★★ 1/4
I can see some saying this is too high, but I loved this. Even as a dismisser of Kojima I really, really loved it and couldn’t fault Kojima, personally, on anything. It really says a lot about a particular wrestler stepping up to the plate when they’re shining brighter than Kawada. The frenetic start, with Kojima throwing his body at Kawada was intelligently done, considering he needed not only the opening to direct the rest of the match but also to stay away from matching Kawada in a game he’s better in. Kojima is no slouch, though, and can hang with Kawada when it comes to smash mouth offence. If its two bulls in a china shop you’re after then this is right up your alley. Just don’t forget to stay for Kojima decimating Kawada’s lariat arm with his own.


*Genichiro Tenryu Vs Keiji Mutoh (08/06/2001 AJPW)*
★★★★
Mutoh works a good game when he’s motivated, and you can bet that he’s motivated here. While I do think some of the work ran its course a bit too long, the focus on Tenryu’s knee was on point and aided by Tenryu’s great facials. For a good bulk Mutoh had Tenryu down with the work against his left leg, only to find himself the victim of a similar onslaught. As thoroughly carried out as it was, though, I’d have hoped for it to have been remembered in the final section and not glossed over as merely an addition to the general fatigue. Perhaps its overly critical but the legwork doesn’t amount to much if Mutoh is throwing out a good few shining wizards on the tail end in his attempt to win. Regardless, it’s a monumental fight between two older guys that’s holding its own against the best of the year.


*Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (30/06/2001 AJPW)*
★★★★ 1/2
Fuck Drake, Araya started at the bottom. If there’s one parallel to life that this match has, it’s that Araya is that kid in school who, finally sick of being bullied, tries to stand up for himself in a rather ineffectual way. It’s fitting, too, that Kawada plays bigger brother and lashes out, only when need be, without taking the moment away from Araya. Tenryu, thus, is the asshole at the centre of the bullying and cracks Araya with a vicious blow that opens up his eye in nasty fashion only to work as a phenomenal ground for Araya to work off of and solidify himself as an exceptional character in this narrative of awesome. Fuchi is pretty much a geriatric at this point, and you can see in how Kawada barely even lands his strikes upon the old man, but he works in his secondary role to Tenryu as best he can and that’s all that this match requires of him. Everything hanged, almost solely, on both Tenryu and Araya’s performances. As great, too, as Tenryu’s facials are, Araya blasts this out the park with his shrivelled face that looks like a bad mix of pain, anger and a man trying to fight back his tears. Absolutely beautiful.


*Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Jun Akiyama (27/07/2001 NOAH)*
★★★★
Better than their previous match from this year. It was great to see how this built on their previous two encounters in that they would set up identical spots onto to either not pull the trigger or manipulate the end result as to show the knowledge each had learnt over the other. Much like the April match this goes pretty frantic in the opening half before taking a more relaxed approach. Well, if you can call bomb-dropping relaxed. The match’s culmination in each man trying to top the other was the best thing they could have done, quite frankly, and it enriched their match so much. I realise Misawa is extremely stoic in his demeanour but I’d honestly have wished for the nearfall following the Tiger Driver off the top rope to be milked a little better. Still, the manner in which they handled the change of momentum at this point was brilliant and the complete comeback by Akiyama felt completely natural.


*Keiji Mutoh Vs Yuji Nagata (12/08/2001 NJPW)*
★★★★ 1/4
You don’t really get much more exampilic of a match of two halves than this. While the first portion felt like mindless (albeit smooth) matwork placed for its beauty, the second was jaw-droppingly stunning. I actively enjoy lucha matwork and its intricate holds, yet in an environ where a wrestler isn’t hidden behind a mask I expect them to make use of their face to sell their plight. For every detraction of lucha being too easy, this was even more so. Dull. That is until they break and retry their submissions. Nagata goes into a completely different universe when he applies his lock, and expresses himself beautifully which gets the crowd to completely buy into Mutoh’s fight against submitting. The section isn’t without its faults, as Mutoh does cartwheels and lariats with his supposedly injured arm, but, outside of those moments, the Mutoh we get is the Mutoh that his fans speaks so fondly of.Honestly, if one had cut the match at that breaking point I could see this being a whole lot higher than it is currently; even with the sort of shoddy finish.


*Crazy MAX Vs M2K Vs Seikigun (14/08/2001 Toryumon)*
★★★ 1/2
Spottier than a teenager’s face, but a face that is still a younger Leo DiCaprio or Brad Pitt. Crazy spot-running and frantic action keep this as a superbly fun match to go out of your way to see, even if it won’t hold that high come the end of project list. 


*Jado & Gedo Vs The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask 4 (19/08/2001 Michinoku Pro)*
★★★ 1/4
I didn’t get too much into this. Jado & Gedo are an entertaining couple and the wrestling presented isn’t bad. Hell, it’s kind of chaotic in places, but it just didn’t captivate my attention to the full degree. The semi-botched ending is also a bit of a downer, too.





Spoiler: September-December



*Daisuke Ikeda Vs Tamon Honda (01/09/2001 NOAH)*
★★★ 1/4
I’m slightly perplexed how this got some great reviews, considering it had a lot going against it. Honda really is a good matworker but once it left that environ he was nothing more than a detractor. His elbows are absolutely weak and his comeback transitions were so false. I’m actually surprised Ikeda stalled for as long as he did on the turnbuckle waiting for Honda to make the running counter. That turnbuckle powerbomb into triangle choke was so Kyle O’Reilly so if this gets a pass so should he. Or does wrestling not work that way? Ikeda was pretty great here, though, and what he brought was good. The end submission (despite the potential botch[?]) was pretty nifty, though, but that’s something Honda does do right. 


*BATT Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata (08/10/2001 NJPW)*
★★★★
NOAH sees your Kawada and raises you an Akiyama. Hase brings a nice giant swing that acts as a metaphor for the whirlwind that this match becomes. Everybody brings their a-game!


*Shinjiro Otani vs Daisuke Sekimoto (02/12/2001 BJW)*
★★★ 1/2
Wow, Seki looks like a complete jobber; basically a bland as fuck semi-heavyweight with generic music that plays as he’s running to the ring. An interesting juxtaposition to Ohtani’s SPANGLY JACKET~!, bodyguard army and samurai sword that he uses to threaten murder upon the referee. Rookie Daisuke goes for a collar-and-elbow tie-up to start and gets met with a dropkick to his fucking face. I just have to assume that Otani is jealous of Sekimoto’s prominent facial features that don’t lie flat like his own. Daisuke’s pretty useless at selling emotion, I have to admit, and his cries during the boston leg might seem realistic yet his facial expression make it come across rather like a well-trained partner faking their orgasm to make you feel better about yourself. He took the finishing stretch like someone being dipped into acid, though.


*Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Naomichi Marufuji (09/12/2001 NOAH)*
★★★ 1/2
So, yeah, Takaiwa pretty much takes the green Marufuji all the way to a good match by doing what this match needed in putting Marufuji over. Takaiwa working the younger talent over for the majority of the match allowed for Marufuji to make his comebacks few and far between but just to the right degree that they looked both believable and good. It’s no doubt that Marufuji could have sold a lot better than he did (the final moments scream out toward this) but the match was so predominantly controlled by Takaiwa that the shit almost didn’t matter. What did matter was rallying the crowd behind Marufuji enough to make his his first Jr title win truly memorable and I think Takaiwa’s work-over of both the left leg and neck did exactly that.


*TenKoji Vs Mike Barton & Jim Steele (11/12/2001 NJPW)*
★★ 1/2
This is basically Pro Wrestling 101 on how to make your strikes look unbelievable. Nothing becomes truly offensive but it doesn’t present itself as anything but meddling. If I have to witness another weak headbutt from Tenzan I’ll cry.


*Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura (12/12/2001 GAEA)*
★★★★ 1/4
This was a culmination of a long, hard road for Satomura in accomplishing her dreams. Kong had been a relentless monster on the Joshi scene and had always been her better in singles competition. This match, though, would see Satomura finally win the war against the violent, gorilla-like champion; and what a war it was. Neither woman held back in their assault and traded technical mastery for debaucherous violence in ensuring the possibility of their respective victory. For Kong, nothing pleasured her sadistic side more than aiming to break Satomura’s beautiful face and neck with wild piledrivers and haphazardly throwing guard rails at her head. While there was some method to her violence, Satomura had her beat in the intellectual game. Her counters were good, and her moves all on point and without filler. Hell, the countered spinning backfist was sweet. Now this is joshi that I love; and something I wish I could have seen more of instead of the other turds as the list goes from the worst match of the year to one of the best.







The Combined List So Far~!


Spoiler: list of 2000 and 2001



★★★★★
★★★★ 3/4
1.	Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa (27/02/2000 AJPW)

★★★★ 1/2
2.	Toshiaki Kawada Vs Gen'ichiro Tenryu (28/10/2000 AJPW)
3.	Toshiaki Kawada Vs Kensuke Sasaki (09/10/2000 NJPW)
4.	Masa Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada Vs Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka (14/12/2000 NJPW)
5.	Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (23/12/2000 NOAH)
6.	Yoshihiro Takayama Vs Kenta Kobashi (26/05/2000 AJPW)
7.	Genichiro Tenryu & Masa Fuchi v Toshiaki Kawada & Nobutaka Araya (30/06/2001 AJPW)

★★★★ 1/4
8.	Mitsuharu Misawa & Yuji Nagata Vs Shinya Hashimoto & Jun Akiyama (02/03/2001 Zero-1)
9.	Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura (12/12/2001 GAEA)
10.	Toshiaki Kawada Vs Satoshi Kojima (06/06/2001 NJPW)
11.	Keiji Mutoh Vs Yuji Nagata (12/08/2001 NJPW)
12.	Jushin Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe Vs Super Delfin, Takahiro Murahama & Tsubasa (14/12/2000 NJPW)
13.	Takao Ōmori Vs Kenta Kobashi (15/04/2000 AJPW)

★★★★
14.	Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi (06/08/2000 NOAH)
15.	Keiji Muto Vs Toshiaki Kawada (14/04/2001 AJPW
16.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Jun Akiyama (27/07/2001 NOAH)
17.	Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka (30/01/2000 BattleARTS)
18.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Toshiaki Kawada (31/03/2000 AJPW)
19.	Genichiro Tenryu Vs Keiji Mutoh (08/06/2001 AJPW)
20.	Shinya Hashimoto & Alexander Otsuka Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (13/01/2001 NOAH)
21.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Jun Akiyama (11/04/2001 NOAH)
22.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Yoshihiro Takayama (15/04/2001 NOAH)
23.	BATT Vs Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata (08/10/2001 NJPW)

★★★ 3/4
24.	SUWA Vs Dragon Kid (24/08/2000 Toryumon)
25.	Minoru Tanaka Vs AKIRA (10/12/2000 NJPW)
26.	Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka vs Dr. Wagner Jr & Silver King (03/02/2001 NJPW)
27.	Minoru Tanaka Vs Takehiro Murahama (20/04/2001 NJPW)
28.	Shinya Hashimoto & Takashi Iizuka Vs Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami (04/01/2000 NJPW)
29.	Aja Kong Vs KAORU (13/02/2000 GAEA)
30.	Kensuke Sasaki Vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/01/2001 NJPW)
31.	Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa (26/11/2000 BattlARTS)
32.	Yoshie Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka Vs Jushin Liger& Shinya Makabe (12/09/2000 NJPW)
33.	Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto Vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (25/06/2000 NJPW)
34.	Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama Vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue (05/08/2000 NOAH)

★★★ 1/2
35.	Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman Vs Toshiaki Kawada & Gen'ichiro Tenryu (23/07/2000 AJPW)
36.	Akira Hokuto Vs Meiko Satomura (29/04/2001 GAEA)
37.	Crazy MAX Vs M2K Vs Seikigun (14/08/2001 Toryumon)
38.	Tiger Mask & Alexander Otsuka vs. Carl Malenko & Ikuto Hidaka (13/02/2001 BattleARTS)
39.	Jun Akiyama, Yoshihiro Takayama & Kentaro Shiga Vs Kenta Kobashi, Takeshi Rikio & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (25/09/2000 NOAH)
40.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan Vs Toshiaki Kawada (04/01/2001 NJPW)
41.	Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Naomichi Marufuji (09/12/2001 NOAH)
42.	Genichiro Tenryu vs Kensuke Sasaki (04/01/2000 NJPW)
43.	Shinjiro Otani vs Daisuke Sekimoto (02/12/2001 BJW)
44.	Minoru Tanaka Vs AKIRA (28/05/2001 NJPW)
45.	Kenta Kobashi Vs Toshiaki Kawada (12/01/2000 AJPW)
46.	Van Vader & Jun Akiyama Vs Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue (13/01/2001 NOAH)

★★★ 1/4
47.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Akira Taue (18/05/2001 NOAH)
48.	Daisuke Ikeda Vs Tamon Honda (01/09/2001 NOAH)
49.	Jado & Gedo Vs The Great Sasuke & Tiger Mask 4 (19/08/2001 Michinoku Pro)
50.	The Great Sasuke, Gran Hamada & Dick Togo Vs Pentagón, Sasuke the Great & Gran Apache (10/03/2001 Michinoku Pro)
51.	Masato Tanaka & Gedo Vs Ishikawa & Yone (02/06/2001 BattleARTS)
52.	Alexander Otsuka vs. Takashi Sugiura (18/04/2001 Zero-1)
53.	Masahiro Chono Vs Masanobu Fuchi (02/09/2000 AJPW)
54.	Vader Vs Toshiaki Kawada (17/02/2000 AJPW)
55.	Kenta Kobashi Vs Vader (27/02/2000 AJPW)
56.	Mitsuharu Misawa Vs Kenta Kobashi (11/04/2000 AJPW)

★★★

★★ 3/4
57.	Aja Kong Vs Meiko Satomura (16/05/2000 GAEA)
58.	Koji Kanemoto Vs AKIRA (20/02/2000 NJPW)

★★ 1/2
59.	TenKoji Vs Mike Barton & Jim Steele (11/12/2001 NJPW)
60.	Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Kintaro Kanemura (22/02/2000 BJPW)

★★ 1/4
61.	Ryuji Yamakawa vs. Tomoaki Honma (02/01/2000 BJW)

★★
62.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima Vs Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata (22/11/2000 NJPW)

★ 1/2
63.	Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa (23/11/2000 AJW)
64.	Kaoru Ito, Tomoko Watanabe, Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Manami Toyota, Mima Shimoda, Etsuko Mita & Kumiko Maekawa (28/02/2001 AJW)


----------



## Obfuscation

Felt like you zipped through that in no time. 

I see another mediocre joshi match made the cut in 2001. Fun!


----------



## Desecrated

Any shout-outs worthy in the Road to Destruction show? Or just skip it and get into the Destruction PPV?


----------



## Obfuscation

Watch the CHAOS vs Kojima, Naito, Honma, & BUSHI elimination match from 9/5.


----------



## Desecrated

Haven't searched too hard, just youtube, xwt & google for both the match & the show. But no luck for it. Any other places or has it probably be taken down?


----------



## flag sabbath

This one?


----------



## Obfuscation

That's the one. (Y)


----------



## Apollosol

Excuse my ignorance but where can I watch new/recent NJPW matches and full shows/ppvs on the internet? I looked through the NJPW starter thread but the links are old/dead.

A little help guys, thanx.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

I saw some random matches over the weekend. 
The first one I saw was AJPW Riki Choshu vs. Genichiro Tenryu 9/03/86. It was pretty intense for me. But I have one question: Did Choshu always look like a mean old bastard? I mean even as a kid?
I guess I will grade on how much I enjoyed it: A.

Other matches I saw
1/27/13 NOAH Kenta vs. Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA Grade: A
9/09/07 Jun Akiyuma vs. Takeshi Morishima Grade: B

I couldn't into to the last one for some reason but I still thought it was good. I don't like giving ratings. 

I kind of wish watching Japanese wrestling was easier in the United States.


----------



## Obfuscation

Suzuki vs Yano from Destruction = :lenny


----------



## Concrete

I'm not doing chronilogical stuff because that'll slow my already slow self down. I'm going to hit the purdy lookin' ones and go from there. I'm gonna need to spread out those Misawa,Kobashi, and Akiyama matches. I have no doubt they are great but that just feels so tiring to watch those matches. Are any of the matches involving a combination of those guys come in under 20? I feel like that is asking too much. Either way I've at least watched 2 matches recently...

*Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto Vs Shinjiro Ohtani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa(NJPW 6/25/00):***3/4*
_This match started with pure love from me and just kept slipping for seemingly no reason to just insane yet mindless fun. Can I blame Tanaka? Probably not but he feels like I guy who works a really fun sprint but he doesn't add that something extra for me. So it doesn't sound like I am doing this match, HOLY FUN! You want Ohtani bitch slapping fools and trying to test if he can get a face to stick to the bottom of his boot? This is that match! This match operates on different speeds of junior ass kicking-ness, fast and plaid. I feel like I should doubt this making my final list but it certainly didn't feel odd on the sheet. It did feel odd that it was bolded. Maybe because it is hard not to enjoy? I don't know if it gets massively high praise but maybe enough Top 100 praise to be successful in voting. _

*Kazunari Murakami vs Yuki Ishikawa (11/26/2000 BattlARTS):****1/4*
_This match legitimately upset me. Murakami came off as the biggest dick since EVER! He comes at Ishikawa like a stick of dynamite, BOOM BOOM! Murakami has this look like he was going to murder the man and enjoy every second of it. I felt like I was watching a Rocky movie. I wanted to scream "C'MON ISHIKAWA GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!" Ishikawa getting a an ankle lock early on though quickly defined how he could manage a win against this sadistic bastard. When this goes to the outside and Murakami comes right after Ishikawa I thought maybe that was the time the comeback was coming, it didn't. What I did get was an awesome stand-off between the two men surrounded by people with chairs scattered all around and then Murakami comes fucking right at Ishikawa again. I lost my shit. Ishikawa gets his comeback eventually and it'll get your blood pumping. It is a super short comeback but things can clearly end with a blink of an eye that it didn't feel like it wasn't enough time on offense. If I hadn't gained so much hatred towards Murakami so quickly that ending sequence would not have resinated with me so much but boy did I want to see him get snatched by Ishikawa. God bless. Hopefully something BattleArts-y doesn't blow this right out of the water too much where I have to completely question my stance on it. But as of right now a wonderful shoot fight with some surreal moments. _​


----------



## Rah

I've only watched the first two years but Misawa/Akiyama from April '01 is pretty frantic, respectively.

But fuck that noise. Get on the 30/06/2001 Araya match I pimped on the last page (download link in the spreadsheet). Video is 18 minutes long and it's just FUN. You'll probably enjoy it as much as me, too.


----------



## Obfuscation

Finished Destruction yesterday and all that good stuff...

Naito vs Tanaka. Holy shit. Def MOTN for this guy.

:lenny :lenny :lenny :lenny /5

Lenny scale may be a lasting staple with me.


----------



## Chismo

Concrete, go to ditch's site and download every fucking BattlARTS match you stumble upon. The BattlARTS style of pro-wrestling was pretty much perfect: stiff, unforgiving shooting with huge amounts of punishment, but also with a lot of give on the mat, and few traditional pro-wrestling elements to make things more "pro". If that makes any sense.


----------



## wildpegasus

Has anyone seen Nakajima vs KENTA yet?


----------



## Concrete

Rah said:


> I've only watched the first two years but Misawa/Akiyama from April '01 is pretty frantic, respectively.
> 
> But fuck that noise. Get on the 30/06/2001 Araya match I pimped on the last page (download link in the spreadsheet). Video is 18 minutes long and it's just FUN. You'll probably enjoy it as much as me, too.


Did you say 18 minutes? That sounds like my cup of tea right there. And I'll most likely get to Misawa vs Akiyama this weekend. Your review got me pumped about it. Fantastic Akiyama performance makes me believe that I could do nothing but love. 

And I've watched so few BattlArts that I think this is gonna be the product that I'm going to use to get engrossed into that style. There was certainly a level of theatrics with the outside the ring stuff in Ishikawa vs Murakami that drew me in a little more. I do know for a fact that when I get around the 2008 period there is a potential MOTD waiting for me. I remember watching it awhile ago but not since. I think I actually have it on disc.


----------



## Ham and Egger

> For the 2012-2013 fiscal year, New Japan grossed $16 million in sales and made $1 million profit.
> 
> For 2011-2012 they grossed $11 million in sales and basically broke even (annual profit was $43,000).
> 
> credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter


The iPPV format probably gave them that profit along with their killer product the past year or so.


----------



## Zatiel

The Primer said:


> Finished Destruction yesterday and all that good stuff...
> 
> Naito vs Tanaka. Holy shit. Def MOTN for this guy.
> 
> :lenny :lenny :lenny :lenny /5
> 
> Lenny scale may be a lasting staple with me.


Wasn't expecting it, but this was my MOTN too, right ahead of Benjamin/Nakamura. Fun show all around, but Naito stepped up with the toughness. Not bad headbutts!


----------



## seabs

Ham and Egger said:


> The iPPV format probably gave them that profit along with their killer product the past year or so.


*The iPPVs haven't made them $1 million profit. There's high profit in them because they're so cheap to run per sale but the level of additional sales they've added by allowing international orders through iPPVs isn't making THAT big a difference. The sales from international iPPVs compared to the domestic sales are miniscule is you believe the numbers that Meltzer quotes (no reason not to btw). That profit figure is pretty amazing but it's probably coming from a whole range of sources rather than just crediting it to making PPVs available to order online outside of Japan. *


----------



## Ham and Egger

Seabs said:


> *The iPPVs haven't made them $1 million profit. There's high profit in them because they're so cheap to run per sale but the level of additional sales they've added by allowing international orders through iPPVs isn't making THAT big a difference. The sales from international iPPVs compared to the domestic sales are miniscule is you believe the numbers that Meltzer quotes (no reason not to btw). That profit figure is pretty amazing but it's probably coming from a whole range of sources rather than just crediting it to making PPVs available to order online outside of Japan. *


Aren't they hosting their iPPV in the own country as well? Because I heard that WK7 did like 100,000 buys.


----------



## Concrete

*Genichiro Tenryu/Masa Fuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada/Nobutaka Araya(6/30/2001 AJPW):*****
_Really wanted to absolutely adore this one but didn't quite get there. Thing is with a lot of these matches is even if I don't LOVE them that doesn't mean that I don't think they are great(hence those 4 STARZ). Tenryu and Araya played their roles wonderfully as Rah pointed out. I was going nuts when Tenryu busted open Araya's eye on one of his punches. One of those visual things I adore in a match. Sadly I really didn't get the "Good" visual to combat the "Evil" visual. Wouldn't be much of a problem I wasn't sold on the in-ring performances of Araya or Fuchi though. So Araya played a good character but when he was on the offensive there was a lack of goodness oozing from him. Fuchi being part skeleton was doing him no favors. Him going after Araya's eye like a 2nd-in-command DILLHOLE was swell. Kawada being the protector of Araya was sweet with him having to come him after Araya got his butt whooped only to control things essentially until Araya was ready to try and fight the good fight. The man is just TOO bad ass. I find it great though that when we are able to cling to a narrative it makes a match that much more enjoyable. I didn't CLING but I found it a quite enjoyable story with Tenryu throwing hands and Kawada being the protector of Araya and all that is LETHAL KICKS!_

*SUWA vs Dragon Kid(Toryumon 8/24/00):***3/4*
_This match was interesting as hell. I hate to say that this was the SUWA show but this felt a lot like the SUWA show. That's not a knock on Dragon Kid who played the tiny underdog face super well because he's a tiny guy in a mask. That's a formula for awesomeness right off the bat. The thing was SUWA was playing at a different level. This match certainly had an atmosphere about it with the stablemates of both guys being on the outside and the heels being SUPER willing to make themselves known. SUWA works this off the jump as I'd like from this sort of match throwing punches and tearing at Kid's mask briefly. I can only imagine how insane this match would have been if Kid would have bled. THE BLOOD!Sadly that's only in my head. Kid did do some pretty ridonkulous selling. He's just a widdle guy. The restart finish came off a little too soon I felt. When Kid was on offense I wasn't nearly as interested just because of the tone SUWA had set. Kid was doing his shit like he does his shit but SUWA made me want to see this crazy wager match in Japan. It was still quality in the later half just in a different way then I may have desired._

*Kawada/Tenryu vs. Hansen/Kea(AJPW 7/23/13):***1/4*
_This match seemed to want me to get distracted. Seemed like the only time I needed to watch was when Kawada was in there. Because KAWADA!!! I actually enjoyed the beginning bits to the Hansen and Tenryu exchange. Found that to be enjoyable but really didn't care about their interactions past that. Kawada taking faces off is just such a joy. Oh and the finish of this match was a FINISH! If that didn't end it I would have been upset. This was not a bad match, actually I found it to be pretty good on the whole, but certainly a decade removed from guys like Hansen and Tenryu from being at/near their peaks._​


----------



## Zatiel

Seabs said:


> *The iPPVs haven't made them $1 million profit. There's high profit in them because they're so cheap to run per sale but the level of additional sales they've added by allowing international orders through iPPVs isn't making THAT big a difference. The sales from international iPPVs compared to the domestic sales are miniscule is you believe the numbers that Meltzer quotes (no reason not to btw). That profit figure is pretty amazing but it's probably coming from a whole range of sources rather than just crediting it to making PPVs available to order online outside of Japan. *


Are they factoring in new marketing like the card game line? I'd be curious about what revenue streams they have.


----------



## seabs

*I thought you meant just interntional sales. No idea on how much difference being on iPPV as well as regular PPV makes to domestic buys. Domestic buys are up regardless though but it'd be pure speculation as to where the profits came from. I'd guess that part of it comes from non direct wrestling revenue too.*


----------



## Rah

Of course this is much speculation, but I'll buy what this guy is selling me:



> here’s the essential breakdown: After the first 5000 hours, it costs NJPW $.60 (3-hour show x $.20 per additional viewer hour) PER viewer to broadcast the shows. NJPW typically charges $25 for larger shows and has recently gotten into a rhythm of showing cheaper, b and c level shows for $10 & $15 shows. For those shows, the profit is phenomenal after they clear the first $999. On the larger scale shows, NJPW only needs 40 $25 purchases to make their $999 back. 5000 hours covers somewhere in the range of 1250-1667 iPPV buys, needless to say unless I am wrong about which tier they are in NJPW is making an absolute killing on iPPV. They have turned it into an absolute gold mine.


Considering Wrestlekingdom did a purported 100,000 buys and the follow-up show hit ~90k, that profit margin is ludicrous. It's almost $2.5mil revenue just on the WK card, alone.


More on the price-plan of Ustream and the iPPV model here. Not a bad read.


----------



## seabs

*The 100,000 was domestic though right? Or maybe it included international too. Would be interested if anyone has the sales breakdown comparing domestic to international and domestic PPV to domestic iPPV.

That does correlate with my point about the iPPVs being very cheap per sale to put on though regardless of the international/domestic sales bit. That profit is April 2012 - April 2013 btw so doesn't include the massive profit they probably made off this years G1. Back to back Sumo Hall + iPPV for every show. Obviously domestically not every show was charged for though. Probably a very good chance those numbers go up for the next fiscal year. Terrific to hear, especially given their finances not even that long ago and the general financial state of pro wrestling in Japan.*


----------



## Obfuscation

Zatiel said:


> Wasn't expecting it, but this was my MOTN too, right ahead of Benjamin/Nakamura. Fun show all around, but Naito stepped up with the toughness. Not bad headbutts!


Logical next step vs a rugged worker like Tanaka. Build behind the match being nearly a year in the making - via undesirable circumstances originally - gave it another stripe to work towards in their favor. Booking screamed _'well done'_ when it was all over. The effort and work put forth in the match did, too, of course.


----------



## Rah

Seabs said:


> *The 100,000 was domestic though right? Or maybe it included international too. Would be interested if anyone has the sales breakdown comparing domestic to international and domestic PPV to domestic iPPV.
> 
> That does correlate with my point about the iPPVs being very cheap per sale to put on though regardless of the international/domestic sales bit. That profit is April 2012 - April 2013 btw so doesn't include the massive profit they probably made off this years G1. Back to back Sumo Hall + iPPV for every show. Obviously domestically not every show was charged for though. Probably a very good chance those numbers go up for the next fiscal year. Terrific to hear, especially given their finances not even that long ago and the general financial state of pro wrestling in Japan.*


To be honest, I'm not sure. I tried to find the articles before I posted but I couldn't and had to go by memory. I'd rather assume they're total buys but either way is impressive. I'll try find a breakdown, I think I saw someone mention something on the topic a few months ago. It seemed pretty one-sided, obviously, and I'd like to say the US made a few thousand buys but that might be shortchanging the number.

The financial books will be interesting to see next year, of course. Great to see NJPW thrive as it is doing. Even better to see Rachel Riley every time I open a thread. You have splendid taste, good sir.


----------



## seabs

*From what I remember Meltzer saying the domestic buys were generally 6 figures and international were 3 or 4 figures. The main point is that doing the iPPVs has worked out very well for them and it was a great business move to make them available worldwide with the minute variable costs for each iPPV buy. Actually it's essentially cover your fixed costs and then watch the profits soar. It's almost as if having a reliable stream and a good product makes the difference between people buying an iPPV and not :hmm:*


----------



## Chismo

In Japan, New Japan's PPVs are shown both on cable and internet (niconico).


----------



## seabs

*

And? Nobody has stated otherwise.*


----------



## Concrete

*Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi & Nanae Takahashi Vs Etsuko Mita & Mima Shimoda & Kumiko Maekawa (11/23/2000 AJW): Dud-ish. Anything under ** on this list is getting this sort of treatment. No reason to define the varying degrees of suck for a match that I really don’t feel benefits anyone from rating.*
_Hmmmmmm…Well…this was a thing. Rah mentions the odd cage rules and I prefer to say they are simply different. The goal of this cage match is to have your entire team on the floor outside of the cage before the other team. I’m fine with this happening in theory but these wrestlers make it the most frustrating thing. This match erupted chaotically to start but it wasn’t really doing anything spectacular, probably closer to the opposite. My gut said it was gonna mirror my thoughts on COD:V where it was just a lot of chaos for the sake of chaos. That match led to some big spots so that was something, maybe? Probably not since the rest of the thing was iffy. But yeah once the chaos had broken down this thing went a different gear and it didn’t improve things. I believe it was Ito who I probably enjoyed the most throughout the match but that was for some of her bursts of powerhouse offense NOT for her selling and such. Though her going beast mode for like 10 seconds taking axe kicks only to have that mean zilch, zero, notta was cool until that 11-th second when she sold. I disliked it when she sold and not when she was no-selling dem axe kicks? Yeah. This match was also rather sloppy for a MOTYC. I take that back. This was pretty sloppy for a match. I think Ito came back into the cage first to help one of her partners and then the partner escaped and waited about 5 minutes to help out Ito, WHAT A DICK! Couldn’t figure out what they were going for with everyone. Lots of getting in and getting out. Hey there was a fire extinguisher used. Did I mention an old man tried to fight Cliff Compton at NWA SAW? Yeah…this match…
_​


----------



## Obfuscation

Who chose some of these Joshi picks for the list?!

That's what we need to find out.


----------



## Concrete

The Primer said:


> Who chose some of these Joshi picks for the list?!
> 
> That's what we need to find out.


Joshi bleeding? Did that influence this pick? Fucking loved Kong's match but this seemed unnecessary on so many fronts. Is there any big time joshi follower that can tell us why this is here? Is there super super MAJOR feud that this ends with so many touches from the feud that we can't comprehend or is this just a bad match?

In other news I'll be watching more matches tomorrow. Already might have fallen in love with the NJPW vs Osaka tag match from 2000 where Liger is starting shit before the bell. Have watched zero of the actual match but that already gets my blood bumping. And why am I so unknowing on all things puro? Zero clue that the mammoth TOGI was a junior. How do these things happen?! Anywho that's gonna be FUN I already know.


----------



## Rah

> two joshi uberfans put the 8-woman tag in 2nd place on their ballots, which was enough to qualify it in a weak year (2001) with not a lot of voters.


Reasoning for the 2001 tag when I asked last month.


----------



## mk92071

Yuki Isikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami - 11/26/00
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Or-oI67aEg
Two dudes beating the piss out of each other. I think this is the first time I've seen a shoot style match go into the crowd. Some amazing strikes, and I was marking out at the end. One of the best sub 10 minutes matches I've ever seen. ****


----------



## Obfuscation

The Kong matches on the list more than made sense, b/c they're unbelievably great. The tags so far haven't. Been quite the opposite. I'm big on Joshi myself, but how can one cross their eyes & not see how they're flat out bad matches? That's the part that I don't get.


----------



## Concrete

If these Joshi tags end up ranking even rather well I'd find that a bit upsetting. By the end of it all though I don't know what is going to ranks super well honestly. The bold matches I've watched, aka the must-see stuff, has been not at the level that I would have expected. Granted I probably have missed the true MUST-SEE stuff of them and some of it has been really good just not at that great level. Still I'd imagine that if it were bold it'd not only be great but be considered great to a large spectrum of fans.

*Liger/Tanaka/Makabe vs Delfin/Murahama/Tsubasa(NJPW 12/14/00):***3/4*
_This list has been doing me well on the junior side so far. Nothing I’d say would be high on my list by the end most likely but I’m getting really fun and enjoyable matches. I’ve only seen 3 but that means I’m 3 for 3 in that respect. Quite a bit of heat and I dug it. Feels like that heat is certainly missing in today’s junior scene. I can’t point anyone in this match that had a bad performance which is always a good start. Seemed like both teams were in the gray area of the good/bad spectrum where depending on which side you were supporting you could make a case for one side playing the faces and one side playing the heels. That is different than saying they both worked a straight match where they were both faces since there were some points I could totally see myself saying the NJPW side was being jerks or the Osaka side was being buttmunchers. With that though comes a more back and forth match where there isn’t much heat being built. Is heat built, put on, or spread on crackers? Eh, WORDS! Crowd was into it and they had every darn right to be. _

*Kensuke Sasaki vs Toshiaki Kawada (1/4/01):***1/2*
_You get 10.5 minutes of Kawada vs. Sasaki hitting each other. I didn’t find this match to be truly special or anything. With that being said it is a short, sweet, and stiff match so that deserves a watch simply by that regard. I’m not sure if someone could NOT enjoy it the match for that fact._​


----------



## Rah

The bolded matches are just the top 10 of the year (usually). Given a particular low-level year like 2001, you aren't going to get a million 5-star classics. 2000 pretty much ended up being hit for hit (outside of the Hansen tag). It's all down to personal preference, anyway, and I'd be much more surprised if the DVDVR consensus mirrored the WF's.


----------



## Obfuscation

Most of the matches that were held in high regard I've felt similar with. I know Rah was a bit indifferent on some himself. Think the specific piece I'm referring to is the Kawada vs Kobashi match. One that I personally adored, but he wasn't 100% keen on it for me to recite his opinion. So it isn't too surprising if you're not big on everything that comes down the pike, Concrete. That's the fun of doing the project, actually. See what appeals & sticks out the most.


----------



## Rah

Exactly, and much the reason why I thought I'd post the project here. I enjoy the thoughts here from those who got in the mix.


----------



## Obfuscation

I quit the write-ups bit that you lads are continuing, but I still like to interject an opinion here and there. I should have talked more about the Dragon Kid vs SUWA match b/c I really, really dug it. Dream match that I never knew went down, tbhayley.


----------



## Concrete

Being the top matches from the given years when they voted for those years makes a little more sense. For some reason I thought I read that they were the likely the top matches in general based on admiration from that board. I don't know if there is a basic consensus on that board but I think it is clear that the 3 or however more are doing it all of unique and different opinions on a lot of this stuff. Which is awesome. Also with only a few of us doing thoughts and stuff as of right now it is a little harder to tell which matches are generally enjoyed more than others. That seems to be a thing across all the boards I've seen the project posted to. I'd say this board has the mot discussion about it from the other boards I visit. It'll be interesting to see Top 20s from people here at the end.


----------



## Chismo

A rewatch:












*King of Pro-Wrestling 2012*

_*(2012/10/8)*_


1.	CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka) vs. Yuji Nagata & Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man)

***


2.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) ©

***


3.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Low-Ki vs. Kota Ibushi ©

***3/4


4.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) ©

***3/4


5.	Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi

**1/2


6.	Laughter7 (Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata) vs. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue

******


7.	*Tokyo Dome Heavyweight Title Shot*: Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada (G1w)

***3/4


8.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

***1/4


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ©

*******


Fabulous show, nothing else to say here, one year later, and it holds up very easily.​


----------



## Bruce L

Just watched World-1 International vs. M2K for the Triangle Gate titles. Terrific match; I'll probably give it a more detailed write-up in the MOTYC thread later. But it did leave me with one question: Can titles in most Japanese promotions change hands via count-outs and/or DQs? At one point in the beginning, Mochizuki seemed to be trying really hard to get Doi counted out, which seems like a weird strategy for a challenger. (I had the same issue, on a much larger scale, with the much-liked KENTA/Kotaro Suzuki GHC junior title match from January '09, where Suzuki's entire game plan for the first two-thirds seemed to be "get KENTA disqualified.") What's the deal?


----------



## seabs

*I've always wondered that but never seen a conclusive answer. I'm pretty sure they can because otherwise all the count out teases that New Japan do are really stupid. I assume they are to make the spots make sense anyway.*


----------



## Bruce L

Seabs said:


> *I assume they are to make the spots make sense anyway.*


Same here. 


And now, a review:

*Zero1 World Heavyweight Title
Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Koji Kanemoto *_(New Japan, 4-13-'08)_
★★★¼ — Really good match held back from greatness by Tanaka just not being that interesting. I don't know exactly what the inter-promotional dynamic is between New Japan and Zero1, but based on this match, I assume that Kanemoto does not recognize Zero1's right to exist and declares war on Tanaka. I can't say I was ever really "drawn in" to this one, but when I resolved to force myself to pay close attention, I got a highly entertaining display of Kanemoto going nuts on the invader. Surprisingly, the Korauken crowd kind of let me down here, not quite elevating this as high as they might have, and when Tanaka was able to take control, it was every other Masato Tanaka match ever. But there's plenty of good stuff in Kanemoto's one-man show of hatred.


----------



## blink_41sum_182

What are the matches worth watching on this year's NJPW Destruction?

I still need to finish G1 and now King of Pro Wrestling is up on XWT.


----------



## Obfuscation

You have to see Naito vs Tanaka. Amazing match. Whole show was without a bad match, so it's pretty general New Japan quality. Rest of the breakdown:

Kojima vs Okada was a good follow up to their G1 match, but not as strong imo. Tanahashi vs Devitt had a blast of a match to end their program. Nakamura has another good match with Benjamin _(could be their weakest match themselves, but still good)_ & Yano vs Suzuki was very underrated. A total joy of a sprint. 

If you like Laughter7, you'll like their tag on the night too. Nothing else is essential viewing, although as I said, all good fun. Fun is the right word for Liger vs Conway - which I thought had a nice flow and been my favorite Conway match in New Japan all year.


----------



## Chismo

Sooo, finally finished KOPW '13; watched the first half live, then got really busy, and just now managed to finish the rest via VOD. New Japan will get my money every damn time, I swear.




Spoiler: nothing but shurikens, but whatever












*King of Pro-Wrestling 2013*

_*(2013/10/14)*_


0.	CHAOS (Takashi Iizuka, Jado, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine, Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask

**


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) ©

***1/2


2.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano

***


3.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.)

**3/4


4.	Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Kota Ibushi vs. Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale)

***1/2


5.	Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii

*****1/4*


6.	Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yuji Nagata

***1/2


7.	*NEVER Openweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Heavyweight Title Shot*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito © (G1w)

**3/4


8.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

***3/4


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

*****3/4*


Eh, it’s New Japan in Ryogoku, what else needs to be said?​


----------



## Brock

Saw this on a site:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=111848131&page=7&



> 1. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue, AJPW 6/9/95
> 2. Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW 1/20/97
> 3. Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori, AJW Dreamslam 1
> 4. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 6/3/94
> 5. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue, AJPW "Real World Tag League 96" Finals
> 6. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shijiri Ohtani, NJPW 2/9/97
> 7. Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) vs. The Great Sasuke, NJPW "Super J Cup 94" Finals
> 8. Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs. The Funks, AJPW "Real World Tag Leage 82" Finals
> 9. Toshiyo Yamada & Manami Toyota vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki - 2/3 Falls, AJW Dream Rush AJW 11/26/1992
> 10. Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask, NJPW 4/21/83
> 11. Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen, AJPW 7/31/93
> 12. Shinjiri Ohtani vs. El Samurai, NJPW 1/21/96
> 13. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue & Yoshinari Ogawa, AJPW 7/2/93
> 14. Masahiro Chono & Keiji Mutoh vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki, NJPW 11/1/90
> 15. Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Ohtani, NJPW J-Crown 96 Semi-Finals
> 16. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, AJPW 9/1/90
> 17. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi, AJPW 6/12/98
> 18. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, AJPW 5/25/92
> 19. Aja Kong & Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue & Sakie Hasegawa vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki & Cutie Suzuki & Hikari Fukuoka - Thunder Queen Battle, AJW/JWP 7/31/93
> 20. Toshiaki Kawada vs. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, AJPW Championship Carnival 94
> 21. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, AJPW "Championship Carnival 95" Final
> 22. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Samurai, NJPW "Top of Super Juniors 92" Finals
> 23. Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 2/28/93
> 24. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Johnny Ace & "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, AJPW 3/4/95
> 25. Masahiro Chono vs. Keiji Mutoh, NJPW "G-1 Climax 91" Finals
> 26. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Naoki Sano, NJPW 1/31/90
> 27. Eddy Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit, NJPW "Top Of Super Juniors 96" Semi-Final
> 28. Antonio Inoki vs. Big Van Vader, NJPW 1/4/96
> 29. The Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase, NJPW 12/14/92
> 30. Manami Yoyota vs. Aja Kong - "V" Top Tournament, AJW Big Egg Universe
> 31. Nobuhiko Takada vs. Vader, UWF-i Pro Wrestling World Tournament 94
> 32. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasake vs. The Steiner Bros. NJPW/WCW 3/21/91
> 33. Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Kenta Kobashi, AJPW 4/20/91
> 34. Yumiko Hotta vs . Lioness Asuka - UFC Rules, AJW Queendom III
> 35. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi, AJPW 5/24/91
> 36. Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen, AJPW 5/21/93
> 37. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Owen Hart, NJPW "Top of Super Juniors" 91
> 38. Aja Kong vs. Bull Nakano - Cage Match, AJW WrestleMarinpiad II
> 39. Black Tiger II (Eddy Guerrero) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, NJPW "Top of Super Juniors 96" Finals
> 40. Chris Benoit vs. El Samurai, NJPW "Best of Super Juniors" 93
> 41. Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki, NOAH 7/18/05
> 42. Great Sasuke & Black Tiger II (Eddy Guerrero) vs. Chris Benoit & Shinjiro Ohtani, NJPW "Jr. Tag League 94" Finals
> 43. Akira Hokuto & Shinobu Kandori vs. Aja Kong & Bull Nakano, AJW Queendom II
> 44. The Funks vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy, AJPW 8/31/83
> 45. Akira Maeda vs.Tatsumi Fujinami, NJPW 6/12/86
> 46. Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu, AJPW 6/5/89
> 47. Aja Kong vs. Dynamite Kansai, AJW "V" Top Tournament
> 48. Akira Maeda & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Great Muta & Shiro Koshinaka, NJPW 3/20/87
> 49. Keiji Mutoh & Hiroshi Hase vs. Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow, NJPW 5/1/92
> 50. TAKA Michinoku/Sho Funaki/Dick Togo/Shiryu/Men's Teioh vs. Gran Naniwa/Super Delfin/Tiger Mask IV/Masato Yakushiji/Gran Hamada - Michinoku Pro "3rd Anniversary Show"
> 51. Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama, NOAH 7/10/04
> 52. Chigusa Nagayo vs. Dump Matsumoto - Hair vs. Hair, AJW8/28/85
> 53. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Vader, AJPW 2/17/00
> 54. FootLoose (Toshiaki Kawada & Kodo Fuyuki) vs. Shinichi Nakano & Shunji Takano, AJPW 7/19/88
> 55. Akira Hokuto vs. Manami Toyota, AJW Destiny
> 56. Giant Baba vs. Billy Robinson, AJPW 7/24/76
> 57. Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger, NJPW 5/26/82
> 58. Shinjiro Ohtani vs. Chris Benoit, WCW Cruiserweight Title Finals
> 59. Jun Akiyama vs. Katsuyori Shibata, Wrestle-1 2005 GP
> 60. Kenta Kobashi & Joe Malenko vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas, AJPW 10/11/89
> 61. Vader vs. Stan Hansen, NJPW vs. AJPW Super Fight 90
> 62. El Samurai vs. 63. Dynamite Kid vs. Tatsumi Fujinami, NJWW 2/5/80
> 63. Koji Kanemoto, NJPW "Best of Super Juniors 97" Finals
> 64. Devil Masami vs. Chigusa Nagayo, AJW 8/22/85
> 65. Shinya Hashimoto & Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama, Zero-1 MAX 3/2/01
> 66. Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA, NOAH "Autumn Navigation 06"
> 67. Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. The Funk Brothers, AJPW "Real World Tag League 80" Finals
> 68. Satoshi Kojima vs. Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW 2/16/05
> 69. Taka Michinoku vs. Black Tiger II (Eddy Guerrero), NJPW "Super J Cup 94"
> 70. TenKoji vs. Mike Barton (Bart Gunn) & Jim Steele, NJPW 12/11/01
> 71. Owen Hart vs. Keiichi Yamada, NJPW 6/10/88
> 72. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, New Japan 11/11/07
> 73. Great Muta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, NJPW 10/20/96
> 74. KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs Naomichi Marufuji & Kota Ibushi, NOAH 7/15/07
> 75. Antonio Inoki vs. Bruiser Brody, NJPW 4/18/85
> 76. Combat Toyoda v Megumi Kudo - Exploding Barbwire Match, FMW 5/5/96
> 77. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima 11/5/05
> 78. Satoru Sayama (Tiger Mask) & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Akira Maeda & Yoshiaki Fujiwara, UWF-i 7/23/84
> 79. Kenta Kobashi vs. Minoru Suzuki, NOAH 1/8/05
> 80. Megumi Kudo vs. Mayumi Ozaki - Barbwire Death Match, FMW 4/18/97
> 81. Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. The Funk Brothers, AJPW "Real World Tag League 81" Finals
> 82. Yuji Nagata vs. Akira Taue, NOAH "Nagata's Debut Navigation Tour"
> 83. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Stan Hansen & Akira Taue, AJPW "Real World Tag League 99" Finals
> 84. Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Kazuo Yamazaki, UWF-i 7/24/89
> 85. Mr. Gannosuke vs. Masato Tanaka, FMW 8/20/99
> 86. Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita vs. Kaoru Ito & Tomoko Watanabe - Cage Match, AJW 9/21/97
> 87. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto, NJPW vs. WAR 2/17/94
> 88. Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki & Masato Tanaka vs. Atsushi Onita & Mr. Gannosuke & Yukihiro Kanemura - War Games Cage Death Match, FMW 12/22/97
> 89. Masato Tanaka vs. The Gladiator, FMW 9/28/97
> 90. Vader vs. Jun Akiyama, AJPW "New Years Giant Series 2000"
> 91. Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) & Tiger Mask III (Koji Kanemoto) & Tiger Mask IV vs. Ultimo Dragon & Jushin Thunder Liger & Great Sasuke, Toryumon X "The Legend of Tiger Mask"
> 92. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayam, NOAH "Kobashi Returns" 12/2/07
> 93. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada, AJPW "Real World Tag League 88" Finals
> 94. Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi, NJPW/AJPW "The Second Judgement 2000"
> 95. Ric Flair vs. Jumbo Tsuruta, AJPW 10/9/81
> 96. Stan Hansen vs. Andre The Giant, NJPW 9/23/81
> 97. Power Warrior (Kensuke Sasaki) & The Roadwarriors vs. Scott Norton & The Steiner Brothers, UWF-i vs. NJPW "Battle Formation" 96
> 98. Terry Funk & Mr. Pogo vs. Hayabusa & Masato Tanaka - No Rope Barbwire Bomb, FMW 5/5/96
> 99. The Sheik & Abdullah The Butcher vs. The Funk Brothers, AJPW "Real World Tag League 77" Finals
> 100. Atsushi Onita vs. Masashi Aoyagi - Karate Fighter vs. Pro Wrestler, FMW 10/6/89


Wouldn't mind making my way through a few of these. :mark:


----------



## EmbassyForever

Prince Devitt Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9WTnfoXNU

YUJIRO TAKAHASHI Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM41Pid5QsQ


----------



## Obfuscation

Two of my favorites. Well, this is fun.


----------



## Concrete

*Yoshihiro Takayama vs Kenta Kobashi (5/26/2000 AJPW):****1/4*
_I think this is the first time I have watched the destroyer of all that is loved version of Takayama. I like this Takayama. Kobashi against a big monster again and that’s a pretty rad formula. Takayama shows a few more ****** in his armor but I think that makes this match all the better. Kobashi can look like a man pushed too far and bringing death to the destroyer of all this is loved. I loved the lead in to the finishing stretch but not so much the actual finishing sequence. With the lead in both men clench their fists and go at it and it just looks nuts. Crazy how something so simple makes all the difference. If I wasn’t so tired I’d probably say more things but yeah, watch this match for sure._

*Vader vs Kenta Kobashi(2/27/00 AJPW):***3/4
*_Vader is a Kodiak bear. He is not a symbol of a Kodiak bear he just simply is. His offense is so ridiculously great to watch. One thing that was a big distracter, wouldn’t quite say an amazing hindrance, is that Kobashi selling his ribs wonderfully after the 2nd time Vader went after the ribs. There seemed to be zero reason why Kobashi shouldn’t have been selling after the first barrage towards his taped ribs. That was more of a distraction since everything after was great enjoyable. Vader is a monster and Kobashi is an amazing babyface so all goes well and there is a really fun match here.
_​


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm a firm believer in simplicity within wrestling often equals the best results. So while the logic of figuring out may be deemed partially "crazy"; the situation isn't as mind-boggling as one would be led to believe.


----------



## Snapdragon

EmbassyForever said:


> Prince Devitt Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9WTnfoXNU
> 
> YUJIRO TAKAHASHI Theme Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM41Pid5QsQ



Dat sax


----------



## Concrete

The Primer said:


> I'm a firm believer in simplicity within wrestling often equals the best results. So while the logic of figuring out may be deemed partially "crazy"; the situation isn't as mind-boggling as one would be led to believe.


What is this in response to?


----------



## Obfuscation

> Crazy how something so simple makes all the difference.


^


----------



## Concrete

I agree that simplicity does garner great results in pro wrestling this wasn't the normal context of keeping a match simple which that statement would often be more applied to. I was pointing to a specific event that on paper shouldn't have been much different than the usual case but in actuality it was a completely different dynamic, hence "crazy". Wasn't like I was truly mind-boggled haha.


----------



## Obfuscation

I still like to make a nice plug towards simplicity bliss whenever I can, tbhayley. But, I got ya mate.


----------



## Concrete

That's fine I suppose


----------



## sXeMope

Curious: How was NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (2013/05/03)? IVP has it up for download till the 24th and I may grab it, but there's nothing on the card that really jumps out at me besides Nakamura/Benjamin, and that's only because I know that anything involving Nakamura is fantastic by default.


----------



## Chismo

Here's what I wrote about that show:



> Well, this was two steps down in terms of quality compared to previous big shows, but it wasn’t bad at all. The ** matches from the lowcard were enjoyable, short ‘n’ sweet, nothing dragged. The midcard was good, Makabe/Yujiro was the MOTN, and the only true letdown was the IC title match. Okada/MiSu was a letdown as well, but it wasn’t bad at least.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Still stuck in Goto/Shibata from Dontaku. Pretty hard show to sit through.


----------



## sXeMope

Hm. May get it based on the fact that even NJPWs meh shows are still better than a lot of other shows around. The main event doesn't really appeal to me that much. I'm probably in the minority here but I don't really care for MiSu, though to be fair the only match I saw was his match against Tanahashi at WK 2 years ago and I was rather bored with it. Although I did see a match of his on The Fight Network a few weeks ago that I enjoyed more.


----------



## Obfuscation

Show is a lot of fun. I felt it was fairly underrated, personally. It just happens to follow Invasion Attack, so it had huge shoes to fill as the follow up event. I'm one of the few around here who loved Okada vs MiSu.


----------



## RKing85

rewatching Super J Cup 94 for the first time in a long time.

To the surprize of nobody, it still holds up. Amazing stuff.


----------



## Obfuscation

Absolutely. Show is always going to remain the best around.


----------



## Nervosa

Power Struggle Review

Time Splitters vs. Suzuki Gun
***3/4
I love all four of these guys so much, so I was disappointed the match was not longer. So much fun while it lasted, though. action was great and Taka and Taichi's schtick is just priceless.

Conway vs. Liger
**
Good God, Conway.....would you please just go away?

Makabe, Honma, Dorada, Captain vs. Bullet Club
***
Serviceable, if unexciting 8-man tag. At this point we have seen what Bullet Club can and can't do. Dorada was probably my favorite guy in this match, besides Honma of course. 

Yano vs. Suzuki
***1/4
This was fine. I vastly preferred their G1 match, which for my money was the very best match on the final day of the G1. In general, these two put together amazing stories when they wrestle each other. Babyface Yano is the very greatest thing ever. 

Laughter7 vs. Nagata/Nakanishi
**3/4
This had some ok moments, but Nakanishi just brings absolutely nothing. The longer a match goes, the less Sakuraba and Nakanishi are able to be entertaining. There's a big difference between this and Laughter7's tags against Inoue/Makabe last year, which I adored. 

Tanahashi vs. Devitt
***1/4
Pretty much the exact same as all the other matches they have had, except the lumberjacks added some fun spots when they fought each other. I have no clue why people enjoyed this beyond just the chaos of the two posses fighting. I thought this was rather boring.

Naito vs. Tanaka 
***3/4
I just don't get the hype, be it this match or anything Naito has done post injury. Its fine, but not much more than fine, Naito just has no personality at all. When he gets emotional or angry, its just like watching a toddler get emotional or angry. It doesn't evoke any kind of sympathy for me. The headbutt exchange looked like the two were having serious timing issues and the finish was a little out of nowhere, but Tanaka's workhouse attitude gets the best match I can picture this combo having. 

benjamin vs. Shinskay
***1/2
I loved their Dontaku match and would have legit made it a MOTY candidate if Shinskay hadn't botched all over the place. This match didn't have any botches, it just failed to get any kind of rhythm. I thought they were gonna do a back work storyline, but in all honesty, Shinskay never looked like he was in enough trouble to buy into any of the moves. Some good counters saved an otherwise boring match.

Kojima vs. Okada
****1/4
LOVED this. I'm bummed others didn't. They did a lot of cool things to play off the G1 match, with Okada winning the early grappling before Kojima took over with awesome neckwork. Okada sells crazy good, as he always does. Okada's comeback was also really good, and just as he started building momentum BANG: Kojima starts doing Tenzan's chops. The crowd went apeshit for that, and the vice that followed. Didn't like the countout tease much, but what I did like was that Red Ink was actually used very well for the story here. Okada used it right after the countout tease, and it helped the crowd rally Kojima behind his final comeback. All of the Rainmaker counters ruled, especially with the prematch building up the similarity of the finishers. The finish itself, was a little out of nowhere, but even that kinda makes sense with how they build up the finishers. Overall, I thought the match had an excellent story. 

Generally, this is why I prefer Okada to Tanahashi, and would even say he is a better wrestler. Tanahashi has some severe selling issues, and Okada's selling is what truly MAKES his matches special. Between the bumps and facial expressions, it just truly makes his match. Tanahashi may have better timing, but Okada's storytelling is just unmatched, for me.



Spoiler: booking



This match makes me really hope/think Okada will go over at Wrestle Kingdom. Naito is still nowhere near close to being ready to be THE guy, and Okada's reign still has a lot of steam, especially if he can eventually defend vs. Yano, Nagata, Nakamura, and Shibata before its over.



Overall this was a fun show to sit through. I kinda thought the midcard was a little dull, and 3 of the last 4 matches disappointed me, but the main event and early stuff made up for it.


----------



## Concrete

WHY NO CONWAY LOVE?!...Okay I get it but I just don't wanna haha.


----------



## Obfuscation

Conway's string of cocky American invader matches have entertained me. Bruce Tharpe aids that b/c he's such a disgruntled evil American promoter mark up. Perfect example why I love pro wrestling.


----------



## Nervosa

While I truly hate conway matches.....even I have to admit Bruce Tharpe's serious-but-also-a-parody shtick is awesome.


----------



## Chismo

I loved Conway/Kojima. ***3/4


----------



## Nervosa

Chismo said:


> I loved Conway/Kojima. ***3/4


While I didn't love it, I will say that this match was his best, but even then you have to admit what a carry job it was for Kojima.


----------



## Concrete

For me these Conway matches are a next breather in a NJPW show without being underwhelming. I'm expecting his matches to be full of shtick and not much of top notch wrestling. I highly enjoy NJPW but for me it can blend together after awhile but with Conway it is a much different sorta thing.


----------



## Chismo

Nervosa said:


> While I didn't love it, I will say that this match was his best, but even then you have to admit what a carry job it was for Kojima.


Well, of course, Kojima has been fucking great this year, a standout veteran study.


----------



## Nervosa

Chismo said:


> Well, of course, Kojima has been fucking great this year, a standout veteran study.


On this we can agree! the difference between the Kojima of last year and this year's version is truly incredible. Not that I really even disliked him last year, its just that he has well and truly brought it this year.


----------



## sXeMope

Not sure if this belongs here or in the other puro thread but I'm oddly curious: Does anyone else get strangely irritated when dirtsheets refer to Wrestle-1 as "Great Muta's promotion"? One would think that the "industry professionals" would know that Great Muta and Keiji Mutoh aren't the same entity. I don't imagine Muta being a very good businessman...


----------



## seabs

*I imagine it's because US fans are more familiar with him as Muta than Mutoh.*


----------



## TelkEvolon

Interactions! Mockery! Quality!


----------



## Guy LeDouche

*Masato Tanaka (c) vs Tomoaki Honma for the NEVER Openweight title- Wrestling Dontaku 2013*​
Match starts off with both Tanaka and Honma Knife Edge chopping the ever-living piss out of one another until Honma gets the advantage and takes him down with another Knife Edge chop. Honma throws Tanaka outside of the ring and tries to Irish whip Tanaka onto the steel barricades but Honma gets thrown onto the steel barricade instead. Tanaka pulls out a table from under the ring and cracks it onto Honma's head. I like how the commentators mention Tanaka's tenure in ECW as his advantage in this match. Tanaka places Honma onto the table, going on the top turnbuckle, and gives Honma a high-flying splash through the table. Tanaka then grabs a kendo stick and hits Honma over the head with it. Tanaka throws Honma back inside the ring and toys with Honma for a little bit until Honma continues to give Tanaka Knife Edge chops to the chest. Tanaka and Honma trade strikes but Tanaka ends up sending Honma down with a run elbowing strike inside the corner turnbuckle. Tanaka goes for a pin attempt but Honma kicks out at 2. Tanaka is still in control. Tanaka attempts to give Honma a Suplex but can't seem to pick him up. Tanaka ends up being on the receiving end of a Suplex from Honma. With Honma now in control of the match, Honma hits Tanaka with a flying elbow inside the turnbuckle and follows it up with a bulldog. Towards the end of the match, Tanaka gives Honma a Brainbuster and goes for a cover but Honma kicks out. Tanaka ends it off with giving Honma a Roaring Elbow and picks up the win. Great match. I enjoyed this a lot. I had Romero and Koslov vs KUSHIDA and Shelley above this on the last watch but this match is much better. ★★★¾


----------



## Obfuscation

Match was a blast. Their Intercontinental Championship match from 12/23/11 is even better. _(watch, if you haven't seen, yada yada)_


----------



## Guy LeDouche

The Primer said:


> Match was a blast. Their Intercontinental Championship match from 12/23/11 is even better. _(watch, if you haven't seen, yada yada)_


:mark:

I've heard great things about this match but never gave it a watch for some reason. Definitely gonna give that one a watch now.


----------



## Obfuscation

(Y)

Ended up being a sleeper bout on the year coming at the end like that. Total war.


----------



## flag sabbath

Really enjoyed New Japan's Road To Power Struggle from 25/10. It's a super fun Korakuen hype show with the excitable faithful even buying into the possibility of Yoshi-Hashi pinning Karl Anderson.

Anyway, while there are no MOTYCs...

Bucks vs. Kendrick & Trent
Tana, Makabe & Nagata vs. Ishii, Yano & Iizuka
Naito & Ibushi vs. Tanaka & Takahashi
Bullet Club vs. Chaos

...are all well worth a look.


----------



## Rah

You forgot about Valiente being a badass. Not too bad a match between all of them, too. Missed cue and silliness at one point by the natives but fine match, regardless.


----------



## Chismo

I loved MiSu/Sho.












*Road to Power Struggle 2013 – Day 1*

_*(2013/10/25)*_


1.	*Super Jr. Tag Tournament 2013 – Round 1*: KUSHIDA & Yohei Komatsu vs. BUSHI & Valiente

***1/4


2.	*Super Jr. Tag Tournament 2013 – Round 1*: The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Brian Kendrick & Barreta

***


3.	*Super Jr. Tag Tournament 2013 – Round 1*: World Class Tag Team (Jado & Gedo) vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask

***


4.	*Super Jr. Tag Tournament 2013 – Round 1*: TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov)

***1/4


5.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Sho Tanaka

***1/2


6.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Cpt. New Japan vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma

**


7.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka)

***1/4


8.	Tetsuya Naito & Kota Ibushi vs. Complete Players (Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi)

***1/2


9.	Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI)

***1/2


Fun show, it’s New Japan in Korakuen, doh.​


----------



## Bruce L

Can anybody tell me anything about a K-Dojo guy from a few years back known simply as JOE? He has a few matches against Kengo Mashimo that I'm thinking of ordering on a custom comp in the future, but the fact that I've never heard of him before now despite his apparently being a top guy there has me a bit curious about whether or not they're worth it despite the awesomeness of Mashimo.


----------



## flag sabbath

Made it through the first half of Power Struggle before work. Totally enjoyable, effortless viewing. Bucks vs. Taka & Taichi and Shibata vs. Honma are both around ****1/2*, everything else is good & solid.

EDIT: Ishii vs. Tanahashi is brilliant, full of so many great little details. They don't go quite as ballistic as they did at the G1, but still *****1/4*


----------



## sXeMope

Bruce L said:


> Can anybody tell me anything about a K-Dojo guy from a few years back known simply as JOE? He has a few matches against Kengo Mashimo that I'm thinking of ordering on a custom comp in the future, but the fact that I've never heard of him before now despite his apparently being a top guy there has me a bit curious about whether or not they're worth it despite the awesomeness of Mashimo.


Here's his Cagematch.net bio. Not sure if it helps much but yeah. Doesn't have any match listings after 2004 but Cagematch is hit and miss with stuff like that. http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=3782&name=JOE


IVP posted the Wrestle-1 show. Looking forward to checking that out. Well, knowing me I'll download & burn it, and let it sit on my shelf for a few years first.:lol


----------



## Bruce L

sXeMope said:


> Here's his Cagematch.net bio. Not sure if it helps much but yeah. Doesn't have any match listings after 2004 but Cagematch is hit and miss with stuff like that. http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=3782&name=JOE


Thanks. Yeah, that was the first place I checked, and couldn't really find any info about the matches I'm thinking about other than that they happened. The fact that matches in question were apparently named the K-Dojo MOTY (via purolove.com) doesn't exactly tell me much either, since I'm looking for where they rank in the grand scheme of things rather than just within the promotion. Maybe I'll take a chance and include each match I'm looking at on a custom with a bunch of other stuff I already know I like to hedge my bets.


----------



## duttanized

Any Seiya Sanada matches I should look out for before the big one with AJ?


----------



## seabs

*The Suwama matches and the tags with Soya vs Sekimoto/Okobayashi.*


----------



## Chismo

*Power Struggle 2013*

_*(2013/11/9)*_


0.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Cpt. New Japan, KUSHIDA & BUSHI

*1/2


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi ©

***1/4


2.	Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma

***1/4


3.	Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka

**3/4


4.	*IWGP & NWA Tag Titles*: Rob Conway & Jax Dane vs. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) © (nwa) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) © (iwgp)

**3/4


5.	Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale

***1/2


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii

****1/4


7.	*NEVER Openweight Championship & Tokyo Dome Heavyweight Title Shot*: Masato Tanaka vs. Tetsuya Naito © (G1w)

**3/4


8.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

***1/2


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

****1/2​


----------



## Rah

So, uh, this happened:



> El Gigante v Nailz (NJPW Sumo Hall 3/8/94)


:drake3

I think I might buy the disc/set just for that match. There's no way that cannot be a contender for WOAT.


----------



## JustJoel

Chismo said:


> Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomoaki Honma
> 
> ***1/4


On first (and as of yet only) watch, I thought Shibata/Honma was really good. ***3/4/**** good. It had almost everything going for it. The crowd was eating it up, and Honma really delivered. He's a lot of fun to watch, and since Shibata basically has the same match _every single time_, it's really up to how the other guy plays off of what "The Kat" does. Honma's headbutt in the beginning and off the top with nobody home were fun and sort of lighthearted. Honma's horse-ass voice grunting and selling is hilarious. He's got this Terry Funk Bumbling Face complex, early 90's look and attire, and he's kind of a Forrest Gumpian block of wood. The blank expressions on his face at times and accompanying body language are awesome. 

Then shit got serious. Honma hits Shibata with fairly nasty elbow to the face, and The Kat puts his hands on his hips, looks down, shakes his head and sighs like "You really wanna do that old man?" It was nearing brutal for most of the match after. Shibata, again, squashes dude's head like a pumpkin the day after Halloween in the turnbuckle with the dropkick. Honma's dead-lift suplex and lariat/brainbuster were amazing. The pop when he caught Shibata's kick to the chest was also really great - He has a following out there.


----------



## JustJoel

Now that I've finished Power Struggle:

CHAOS v Manabu Nakanishi, Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA & BUSHI

****

The Young Bucks v TAKA & Taichi 

***3/4*


Shibata v Honma

******


Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba v Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka

***1/2*


Conway & Dane v Killer Elite Squad v TenKoji 

***3/4*


Makabe & Ibushi v Devitt & Bad Luck Fale

****1/4*


Tanahashi v Ishii

****3/4*


Tanaka v Naito 

****1/2*

Minoru Suzuki v Nakamura 

***3/4*

Anderson v Okada 

****3/4*​

Overall, a solid show. Okada/Anderson was...okay. They did a couple high spots, the requisite transitions and situations, but it just fell flat for me. I found myself distracted by the end, and wasn't really invested. The final stretch where Anderson and Okada are rapidly trying to catch the Cutter and Rainmaker was silly, didn't add a lot, and looked rather awkward. 

Suzuki/Nakamura would have been a really solid match but goddamn Nakamura *cannot* be bothered to sell his knee when it comes time to get his offense. He's getting his knee worked on for almost the entire match by Suzuki (one of the best and most respected submission/limb workers), and yet even at the end after a wrenching prolonged heel hook, Nakamura still does his happy feet and is jumping up and down on his knee/ankle like he's a 14 year old girl who just found out she has front row Justin Beiber tickets. fpalm He's in the heel hook FOREVER, doesn't tap out, nearly passes out, and then springs to his feet and delivers not one, but TWO knees and still doesn't sell shit. I didn't get it.

Tanahashi/Ishii II was very good, but came up short of their last encounter by a mile. Maybe the problem was the rematch being too close to the original? Ishii didn't look as powerful, wasn't as stiff, and I wasn't feeling the headbutt closing stretch. Still had some awesome moments - can't remember the last time I've seen a Superplex being that believable as a near-fall. Really wanted another classic, but so it goes, and I'll definitely be looking out for their next encounter. 

Keepin' it real, my MOTN was Shibata/Honma, and it wasn't really _that_ close. I don't care about placement and length, and I'm not even a big Shibata fan. It just delivered more enjoyment on every level than the rest of the card.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I know I'm late to the party but jesusfuck Shibata/Ishii II was fucking fantastic and much better than their G1 match. You know shit's good when you're marking out like crazy for an STO. The kicks........the chops........the elbows............the MANLY I AM STRONGHTER THAN THOU spots........the shoot headbutts...........it was a joy to watch.


----------



## Chismo

Genichiro Tenryu vs. Tatsuo Nakano (WAR 1996/5/26)

_Really, like ditch said in the file description, the only problem with this match is that there isn't enough of it. Five minutes of swag. There's nothing like grumpy Tenryu shrugging off dem shooting techniques._

***1/2


Yuki Ishikawa vs. Daisuke Ikeda (BattlARTS 1996/8/4)

_Glorious strikes from hell, as a sign of things to come for the rivalry between these two. Short and sweet._

***1/2


----------



## Rah

Watched a few standout matches from Power Struggle today:

~ Young Bucks Vs Taichi/TAKA is pretty skippable from what I saw. The front-end was really uninspiring and bored me to tears so I couldn't finish it.

~ Honma/Shibata was both entertaining and well wrestled for what it attempted. There's really something about Shibata's violent style that makes his matches fun to watch, but when his opponent plays ball they can turn out to be pretty fantastic.

~ Jado & Gedo need to get a new day job because booking is not their strong point. In a lead up to their Dome match against some imported Gracies, the duo decide to not only book Nagata/Sakuraba against Iizuka and Yano but make Saku Iizuka's whipping boy for most of the match. Nagata's had some bland offence in matches prior but the elbows and punches thrown by Iizuka and Yano make those look like deadly strikes from Ali himself. A completely dumb and worthless match.

~ This should be the Ishii/Tanahashi match that everybody raves about as it easily trumps their first encounter purely because Ishii isn't being great in a vacuum here. Basically, while a few moments are prone to his usual self, Tanahashi tries hard to keep up with Ishii's performance here and aids in delivering a great portrayal of the underdog/ace formula that they so wildly missed in their first encounter. Building off Tana throwing shitty punches was smart, too, as it gave Ishii an opening that kept him believable while not crippling Tana's legitimacy, either. Nice callback lariat to the back of Tana's head as a measure of revenge for the neck-work Tanahashi laid on Ishii in G1. I'd have to rewatch this but I wouldn't be too against this getting a rub as one of the better Japanese matches this year.

~ Suzuki/Nakamura should, for all intents and purposes, have been a good match yet it wasn't. I'm honestly struggling, at this point, to think of a more inconsistent wrestler than Nakamura. He was tremendous at the Dome, bland in CMLL, returned to deliver a world-beating performance at the G1 against Ibushi of all wrestlers and then wrestled like a total slob here. In a comparatively weak year, Nakamura's body of work could still have made some argument for placement toward the top of the Japanese workers (especially because of his good performances being some of the best globally) if his roll had continued yet this completely killed any momentum of that. Additionally, it's almost too bad that Nakamura completely shrugs off the legwork as this did glimmer with hope at points before his spot-spamming response in taking control.

~ I have no interest in Okada/Anderson and thus will not be watching it.


----------



## Nervosa

Rah, you and I are usually very similar but I was hugely disappointed by Ishii/tanahashi. The ending came way too fast. There were good moments, but they needed.....Korakuen. The building excitement of the big upset. The finishing stretch was just very disappointing.


----------



## Rah

Yeah, I'd agree that they needed a better crowd but that's not much their fault, I'd suppose (and a factor that doesn't really affect me, quite honestly, so I can see our difference there). Like I say, it requires a rewatch but I'm happy with the bulk of it. Putting it over a good few other matches from Japan doesn't necessitate this as some high-class affair but, rather, others as being rather meddling. I'm not sure where I'd place it in a final global list but it's probably not near the top 50% of it. If we got this Tanahashi in the G1 match I'd be most fine with the high ratings that everyone was giving that, though.

Is it just the tail end that mostly put you off?


----------



## Cactus

My thoughts on Power Struggle...

*BUSHI, KUSHIDA, Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask vs YOSHI-HASHI, Yujiro Takahashi, Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero*
Run of the mill pre-show match with the addition of a very hot crowd. It amazes me how over Nakanishi still is despite the fact he is a total physical wreck.
★★

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (C) vs Nick & Matt Jackson*
Yes, it's clear in this match that TAKA/ Taichi are by far the elite team, and yes, this was a bit rough around edges but you are still seeing antics of TAKA/Taichi and The Young Bucks facing off and it's a lot of fun. I'd imagined if NJPW booked this match again a year or two down the line, once The Young Bucks have really honed their craft, it'll be a real show-stealer. 
★★★

*Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma*
This suffers from a pretty poor start. It felt like a poor man's Ishii vs Shibata, complete with rehased spots. Thankfully, they eventually get things right, the match goes just the right time and all-in-all, this was a pretty fun experience.
★★¾

*Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Yuji Nagata *
I'm unsure if I think Sakuraba fares well in this environment. The match is an all-over-the place brawl involving spray paint, iron fingers and Saku busting old Pride gloves and blue misting motherfuckers in the face. While it may not be the best match on the card, it's certainly one of the most memorable and I mean that in the best possible way.
★★¾

*Irregular Rules Match - IWGP & NWA World Tag Team Championships
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Jax Dane & Rob Conway *
A lot more structured that the previous multi-team tag match that NJPW tried to run a few months back, but you're still not looking anything special. This match was just 'there' and nothing more. I'll reserve my judgement on whether or not I think this NWA partnership is a total failure when I see what happens with it at the Tokyo Dome show in a few months. 
★★

*Bad Luck Fale & Prince Devitt vs Kota Ibushi & Togi Makabe*
This does it's job of planting the seeds for the Ibushi/Devitt Tokyo Dome match and then some. I'm really enjoying Devitt in his heel role (thank god they toned down on the interference in his matches though) and he shows innovative ways of being a total dick. 
★★★

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi *
It's Tanahashi being a heel and Ishii being Ishii, what's not too love? A lot more traditional worked than your typical Ishii 'big' match, I loved the little details Ishii adds, like grasping onto to Tanahashi's legs as he attempts to finish the egg-shaped bastard with the High Fly Flow. As great as you would expect, but not as great as their first match.
★★★¾

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Minoru Suzuki*
Good, not great. I find it hard to put it into words, but something was just 'off' about this match. I was expecting much more between these two and it may have something to do with Nakamura's inconsistency. I just felt like there wasn't enough drama in this than there should be. 
★★★

cba to watch Okada/Anderson. Decent show overall.


----------



## duttanized

How long until I can watch the Sanada/Styles match?


----------



## Chismo

Some RINGS:

- Akira Maeda vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto (1994-12-17) ***1/2
- Volk Han vs. Nikolai Zouev (1995-3-18) ***
- Nikolai Zouev vs. Mitsuya Nagai (1995-12-19) ****
- Volk Han vs. Nikolai Zouev (1996-4-29) ***3/4
- Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Tsuyoshi Kousaka (1996-4-29) ***3/4


Zouev/Nagai is the second best RINGS match I've seen thus far, right behind Tamura/Han III.


----------



## Nervosa

Rah said:


> Yeah, I'd agree that they needed a better crowd but that's not much their fault, I'd suppose (and a factor that doesn't really affect me, quite honestly, so I can see our difference there). Like I say, it requires a rewatch but I'm happy with the bulk of it. Putting it over a good few other matches from Japan doesn't necessitate this as some high-class affair but, rather, others as being rather meddling. I'm not sure where I'd place it in a final global list but it's probably not near the top 50% of it. If we got this Tanahashi in the G1 match I'd be most fine with the high ratings that everyone was giving that, though.
> 
> Is it just the tail end that mostly put you off?


I thought the one counts were REALLY bad and forced, too. I also just don't think Ishii is as effective when he isn't treated like and underdog, and I just don't think he was for most of this.


----------



## JustJoel

Nervosa said:


> I thought the one counts were REALLY bad and forced, too. *I also just don't think Ishii is as effective when he isn't treated like and underdog, and I just don't think he was for most of this.*


Wow, I thought completely the opposite: I want him treated like Kensuke, and other strong-style old school guys. He's got the power and the size; it makes for a nice "sleeping giant" build and intense closing stretches. I thought he was _way_ too soft on Tanahashi throughout the match. Their pretty boy/angry beast formula worked so well for me in their first match. He headbutts Tanahashi a couple times, then Hashi hits him once and it's lights out? The sell was a little awkward for me.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, I don't know why so many dudes want Ishii to be an underdog every time against everyone.


----------



## Bubz

For me it's just because that's the way he works best. When he doesn't work as an underdog his matches have a tendency to just be moves and big spots to pop the crowd with no real flow, like the Goto matches and the second Shibata match and the latest Tana match. It's fine if you like that style but for me I'd rather something more than that and Ishii can play an AMAZING underdog, unfortunately I don't care for his matches were he plays an equal guy and they just turn into stiff strikes and big spots for the sake of it. He still manages to add way more to those type of matches than most guys could ever dream of but yeah, it's just not for me. The exception is the G1 Shibata match which I just loved even though it had a lot of stuff in it I usually wouldn't like. I think it's because they really went full on and Shibata is a guy who can play that role opposite Ishii really well, Goto isn't.


----------



## Nervosa

JustJoel said:


> He's got the power and the size; it makes for a nice "sleeping giant" build and intense closing stretches.


He's 5 foot 7. And shaped like an egg. how is that size?



Chismo said:


> Yeah, I don't know why so many dudes want Ishii to be an underdog every time against everyone.


because he's 5 foot 7 and shaped like an egg. Plus, what Bubz said.


----------



## JustJoel

Nervosa said:


> He's 5 foot 7. And shaped like an egg. how is that size?


Hardly anyone he wrestles is even 6' and he has the strength to believably pull off all the classic power moves, so it isn't really an issue for me. Also, Chris Benoit was 5'9", Tazz was 5'9; He may not be able to have the endurance and conditioning to be a Kensuke, but as a character, it fits him nicely.




Bubz said:


> For me it's just because that's the way he works best. When he doesn't work as an underdog his matches have a tendency to just be moves and big spots to pop the crowd with no real flow, like the Goto matches and the second Shibata match and the latest Tana match.


I was kind of with you until you said the latest Hashi match - that had so many fewer high spots and false finishes. I know it comes with the territory, but the G1 finished with the Steiner f'n Screwdriver(!!!). That's one of those pinnacle high spots. This felt more methodical and Hashi was in control most of the way, while the first showed Ishii going eblow to chop. Ishii absolutely _rained_ power moves at the end of G1. After that, I couldn't give a damn about his height, he's legit. It's a sort of compact strong style.


----------



## seabs

*Ishii's not an underdog because of his look. It's because of his placement in the roster hierarchy. Christ. That's what made him great and so easy to get behind. The matches with Goto and Makabe this year where he's worked equal with them have been shit. It's a pretty easy trend to notice that Ishii's match quality dips when he works less like an underdog, even against the same opponent. If Ishii starts working on par with everyone higher up the roster then he'll still have good to great matches but they won't be as frequent or as consistently great. Ishii's perfect in the underdog role and there's no reason to change it. You wouldn't start having Rey working equal just because he moved up the hierarchy and everyone knew how good he was. *


----------



## Snapdragon

I agree with Seabs however he can't be the underdog for his entire career and at some point needs to learn how to work matches where he is in control.

Otherwise he runs the risk of John Cena/Tanahashi syndrome.


----------



## seabs

*Agreed but the Tanahashi's and Goto's are them guys and really never should be because Ishii will never get to their level on the hierarchy ladder. He can work that way against a Tanaka for example though.*


----------



## Rah

I'm not buying where Ishii's quality dipped in this match, though. His selling was great and he was still, to some degree (considering he did get the win at G1), worked lower than Tanahashi as he should be. What Ishii was doing better than Tanahashi was "eating" offence and giving it back harder, which is what I'm fine with. Just because you strike hard, doesn't make you a dominating wrestler alone. Tanahashi has shitty strikes and I'm glad Ishii worked with some of them as being weak (notably in the corner), while still making Tanahashi's moveset, otherwise, mean something.

Perhaps reason why the match with Goto was such a dip in quality was due to Goto being pretty bad wrestler, himself. Not to mention it lacked the performance from a guy like Tanahashi who had the structuring and pacing in the Power Struggle match down to a tee.


----------



## Snapdragon

Goto gets no respect


----------



## Rah

^ not after his poor performances against Shibata, no.


EDIT (from previous post): I'm not arguing that Ishii works extremely well at any and every step and I do think particular matches highlighted his ability (Tanahashi x2 and Shibata) more than other situations but he is a fine enough worker for the most part, though. Of course he is going to have to adapt to working equal, especially after his wins this year, but we'll see how that happens soon enough. For what it's worth, he didn't wrestle under while in CMLL (well, in the Anniversario trios) and he just existed. I suppose there's argument that the match just existed, itself, but he didn't particularly shine as the best guy in his pairing - which shouldn't be hard when you're with Okumura (Namajague aside).


----------



## seabs

*I haven't actually seen the 2nd Tanahashi match fyi. The 1st Goto match was magnificent but it was basically all Ishii with Goto holding his end. The other since sucked because they did all the shitty trading strikes spots and working equal which Goto couldn't pull off. Ishii/Shibata I pulled it off perfectly but that match works (for me anyway) like once in a blue moon.*


----------



## Rah

I was just speaking generally on the first point (Tana/ishii 2). I should probably add quotes to certain sections of what I'm writing instead of just lumping shit together. Eh.


----------



## Chismo

Goto/Ishii from NJC and Goto/Shibata from Dominion were wonderful matches. Goto can totally boss it around sometimes, I guess it's the motivation thing.


----------



## Snapdragon

I keep trying to convince myself he's going to win the belt eventually.


----------



## JustJoel

Dong Fangzhou said:


> Ishii's not an underdog because of his look. It's because of his placement in the roster hierarchy. Christ.


That sounds very circular. Why is he placed where he is on the card and within the hierarchy of the roster? 

*EDIT*: His size plays a part in that, but I see what you mean. His non-literal 'stature' on the roster makes the role of underdog maybe more fitting against top guys. For me, G1 was kind of a transition away from that in a way. After Hashi, he wasn't an underdog. The crowd came into him/Shibata _expecting_ fireworks, not merely hoping Ishii could somehow pull it out. 



> That's what made him great and so easy to get behind. The matches with Goto and Makabe this year where he's worked equal with them have been shit.


The Makabe match from 10/8 was decent, but that seems like a small sample size. His G1 classic with Hashi had him working as equals in the ring. Ishii, I thought, looked even stronger because his stiffness made Hashi's sells more believable.



> You wouldn't start having Rey working equal just because he moved up the hierarchy and everyone knew how good he was.


The size difference is nowhere near that of Mysterio, who regularly worked guys about a foot taller and 60-100lbs heavier than him. Also, his style better fit the underdog role (up-tempo, lucha high-flyer). The heart and drive they possess though is on par, and that's usually true of most/all undersized guys.


----------



## Snapdragon

Is there any reason why Dragon Gate never really got behind BxB Hulk as a babyface after coming off his run as DGUSA champ?


----------



## Nervosa

Snapdragon said:


> Is there any reason why Dragon Gate never really got behind BxB Hulk as a babyface after coming off his run as DGUSA champ?


Shhhhh! Quiet before Seabs goes off in rage.


----------



## Snapdragon

Nervosa said:


> Shhhhh! Quiet before Seabs goes off in rage.


Seabs doesn't like BxB Hulk?


----------



## seabs

*He sucks.*


----------



## Nervosa

Young Bucks vs. Taka/Taichi 
***
Cannot express how disappointing this was. Too short and too one sided.

Shibata vs. Honma 
***3/4
Great, under ten-minute sprint. Honma doesn’t do much, but what he does, he does well! I have been really pleased with all of his work since his comeback, and he adapted very well to the Shibata formula. Shibata should stop using Goto’s moves: they will only make him shittier.

Nagata/Sakuraba vs. Yano/Iizuka
***
Never really got to let Yano do what Yano does, so the crowd never really rallied against the villains. Not at all bad, but nothing fun like Yano/iizuka are usually capable of pulling. Not at all looking forward to the match with the gracies.

Dane/Conway vs. KES vs. Ten-Koji
**
Man, and I thought Conway was bad: Jax Dane literally does nothing but spears. This was just bad, all around. Can we please get the NWA and all people affiliated as far from NJPW as possible? I feel bad for the poor sucker who gets fed to Conway at Tokyo Dome….probably Ishii.

Makabe/Ibushu vs. Devitt/Fale
***1/4
Decent , but short. We have pretty much already seen what Fale can do, and its not much. Devitt is just utterly mindless out there. Entertaining ,if meaningless.

Tanahashi vs. Ishii
***3/4
Good action, but couldn’t really get into the story. Ishii just needs to fight from beneath. He doesn’t have to be a huge underdog every time, but he at least needs to take a beating at some point in the match. For me, the G1 match was much better. I have to say though, Ishii’ enzuigiri is one of the most exciting moves in wrestling, for me. Tanahashi needs to please PLEASE stop doing his crappy styles clash. Finish was way too abrupt and really cost it a higher rating.

Naito vs. Tanaka
***1/2
Actually might be the best match they have had due to the counters and the early control portion by Tanaka’s craziness. Still wasn’t that good. Tanaka can only carry Naito so much. This was another match that was hurt by a very random, abrupt ending. Naito’s World title reign is gonna be so crappy.

Nakamura vs. Suzuki
***1/4
I don’t even know what happened here. O yes, I do. Sell your fucking leg, Shinskay. The crowd wanted to love this so much, but shinskay lost all his sympathy when he didn’t sell any of the work Minoru did. The finishing stretch also fell flat. Remember the Suzuki/Okada title match, where Suzuki’s sleeper holds bored the crowd into not caring after a while? That happened here, too, although at that point Shinskay’s hopping around had ruined it already.

Anderson vs. Okada
****
Best match on the show for sure, but still underwhelming for me. Okada sold his neck incredibly well, because that is just what Okada does. The Bullet club interference was really good. I think this would have benefitted from a more gradual comeback by okada. Anderson still does way too much stuff for no actual reason.There is a BIG false finish near the end that suckered me, and everything that happens between then and the end, with all the interference, actually added a ton of excitement. I think the finish was also a very nice punctuation for the match’s story.

Overall, this was a very disappointing show. Besides Honma/Shibata, every match failed to meet expectations, in my opinion. Sadly, I am now worried about a number of matches for Tokyo Dome. Both Shinskay and Naito have been putting forth some of their worst work since G1 ended, inspiring very little confidence going into the shows two main events.


----------



## Chismo

I'm throwing five stars at Fujinami/Choshu (83/8/4). I remember being impressed with the match before, but only got to see it once 4-5 years ago, it was very difficult to find a HQ video. Anyway, daaaayum at the match!


----------



## Concrete

*Kawada/Fuchi vs. Nagata/Iizuka (NJPW 12/14/00):*****
_So this was great. Kawada is so far during this project has been Kevin Costner in his tags. Yes, that makes Fuchi Whitney Houston this time around. The first half seemed to not be too gripping but set up that tag to Nagata after Iizuka had been worked over. Actually Iizuka being worked over was sweet with the illegal man coming at Nagata on the outside. Not a big 2000 Fuchi guy and he didn’t really sway me on this one. Nagata willing to go to war with Kawada though sorta makes up for any short comings. These guys fought to the bell rang. Like my old football coach always used to say, “Play to the end of the whistle”. That’s a terrible way to end a match write up. That’s how this will end though. _​
I was gonna watch more but I just wanna play video games and watch Chuck on Netflix right now.


----------



## bigbuxxx

I throw 5* at that match. I love it, even the finish which I thought was a perfect way to end it.


----------



## Concrete

*Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW 2/27/00):****1/2*
_Yeah, so this match is pretty spectacular. Misawa comes off as the more powerful and capable of the two but Akiyama finds a ***** and the legend’s armor that he exploits to epic proportions. There was a quick flurry of offense that snatched me up from the get go. Akiyama works the neck simply outstandingly. That nutty apron exploder. Almost everything in this match felt like it had its purpose and if it weren’t for an ending that I felt a little on the side of overkill, though the final move negated a lot of that feeling, I would have even gone higher. Probably the best match I’ve seen so far during this project. _



*Honda vs. Ikeda (NOAH 9/1/01):****
_I thought this was a good little shoot style match though it certainly didn’t feel like upper level stuff. Ikeda not giving a damn about the referee’s pleas to stop coming at Honda was rad. Honda looked like a wrestling bear, too big for Ikeda to really deal with. Not much else to say. _​


----------



## Chismo

10-MAN GAUNTLET: Ishin Gundan vs. Seiki Gundan (NJPW 1984/4/19) *******


Full boat, why the hell not. It's a spectacle, a 65 min long epopee filled with some absolutely excellent submatches (Fujinami/Teranishi, Yatsu/Takada, Hamaguchi's sessions, and Inoki/Choshu), it's also one of the greatest crowds of all time, and they never missed a damn beat, the HEAT was on Tenryu levels of... Tenryu. There's no Tenryu here, though. Anyway, w/e, five stars.


----------



## RKing85

ivp 35% off with the code BlackFriday.

Already in play. I picked up 7 events tonight. Maybe more on Thursday or Friday depending on how much other wrestling stuff I buy in the next 48 hours.


----------



## flag sabbath

So it turns out Day 2 of World Tag League is a lot more enjoyable than the flat Korakuen opener. I recommend at least checking out the all-action Naito & friends vs. Okada & co. 10-man (***1/4) & KES vs. Nakamura & Ishii(***3/4). Gallows & Anderson vs. Yano & Iizuka is a whole heap of fun too.


----------



## Bruce L

*BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship
Abdullah Kobayashi (c) vs. Takashi Sasaki *(3-31-2006)
★★★★½

*BJW Tag Team Championship/Big Japan Tag League final
Yuji Okabayashi (c) & Shinobu (c) vs. Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka * (11-24-2012)
★★★★

*BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship
Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Masashi Takeda *(6-30-2013)
★★★¾

First deathmatches I've ever watched, and it's safe to say I enjoyed these quite a bit more than I was expecting. I don't know that I'll ever be a "deathmatch fan" in the sense that I'll seek them out, because I can easily see the level of carnage becoming too much for me in large doses, but I'm definitely not going to avoid the supposedly-good ones anymore either.


----------



## Chismo

Fuck yeah, deathmatches.


You'll love this match then:


----------



## Obfuscation

Chismo said:


> Goto/Ishii from NJC and Goto/Shibata from Dominion were wonderful matches. Goto can totally boss it around sometimes, I guess it's the motivation thing.


Hate to parrot another's post, however this sums up my thoughts on the Goto topic. Per usual, I'm usually in the back when it comes to blasting the guy anyways. He's had some bleh matches this year _(and past years)_ but I've seen enough from him to know I can enjoy his work at least most of the time. Not love, but enjoy - have fun with. I'm a mega Naito fan though. So, I'm already a massive minority as it is. Drop in the bucket.


----------



## Japanese Puroresu

Was Morishima injured? I haven't been paying attention to NOAH As much as I should have and he's lost some weight. I've missed watching the big guy.


----------



## Obfuscation

Last I remember he was healthy in the World League finals vs Nagata. He's still the best guy in the company for me. Main draw why I watch NOAH these days.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

So I just recently caught the last NJPW PPV & Day 1 of the Tag League ... is anyone else kinda underwhelmed by the Okada/Naito Wrestle Kingdom match up? I mean I know the match should be good, I'm just not really "excited" by it. Like the Nakamura/Tanahashi match announcement made me :mark: - can't understand a lick of Japanese but hearing him say that in the promo was all I needed to know. :lol

I might be alone in this thought but to me that match is what is drawing my interest - WK's are always great shows from my experience but I feel that's the Main Event. Tanahashi isn't even that exciting to me, I love Okada & Nakamura but Naito, eh - not so much.

I would also have loved to see Okada/Nakamura since to me that's the two biggest stars you got ... yeah I know Tanahashi is too, but personally he doesn't do it for me. Puts on great matches & I love him VS Okada because it makes me want Okada to win even more. But they just did that Okada/Nakamura match on a much smaller scale so I guess they won't go there for a minute. Would of been kinda cool to me to do a Hogan/Warrior thing with Okada/Nakamura, have a winner takes both belts situation. Eh, now I'm just rambling.

But yeah - Naito, what are your guys thoughts? I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan so I'm curious to know. Are NJPW buzzing for this match?


----------



## flag sabbath

I'm not a massive fan of Naito. Don't hate the guy - just prefer most of the NJ roster. In fairness, his post-G1 booking hasn't helped at all. He should have been facing A-Block guys like Smith, Archer, Devitt or Shibata, instead of Tanaka and Takahashi ad nauseum. It would have given him the chance to forge a stronger bond with an audience that seems largely indifferent to him heading into WK.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah the hype for Naito/Okada is a tad worrying, especially in Japan. What came of the poll for which match should main event btw? Is it still running? The way they've booked Naito post G1 hasn't been the best but the live fans should still really be reacting stronger to Naito than they are. Obviously being stuck with Tanaka and Yujiro was never going to do him any favours.*


----------



## Chismo

Jake Roberts said:


> But they just did that Okada/Nakamura match on a much smaller scale so I guess they won't go there for a minute.


:kobe They did it 16 months ago.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Chismo said:


> :kobe They did it 16 months ago.


:lol

Really? To be honest I didn't remember & when I was looking up the history of Nakamura & Okada I could of swore I read 2013, but it was obviously 2012 then. I missed an iPPV or two this year so I thought that might of been one of the matches I missed.

But I'm sure the match will be great, I just don't feel the intrigue like I usually do. Personally I want Okada to keep it, they really should revisit the Nakamura/Okada feud - something tells me Tanahashi might win the IC title setting up Nakamura for a World title match down the line.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ecstatic for Okada vs Naito. Although, it is puzzling how New Japan built up Okada vs Anderson for the World Championship better on one night, than what the main event for Wrestle Kingdom will be.


----------



## flag sabbath

The main event of World Tag League Day One made me want to see Okada vs. La Sombra more than the WK 'main'.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'll wait and see how Rah responds to that comment.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Can anybody point me to some of Naito's better matches? I'll admit I don't know much about the guy & haven't seen a lot of his work which is why my opinion I feel isn't really a good one.


----------



## Bruce L

Jake Roberts said:


> Can anybody point me to some of Naito's better matches? I'll admit I don't know much about the guy & haven't seen a lot of his work which is why my opinion I feel isn't really a good one.


vs. Okada (3-4-2012)

vs. Tanahashi (10-10-2011)

w/ Yujiro vs. Bad Intentions (5-3-2011)

vs. Tanahashi (8-11-2013)

vs. Masato Tanaka (9-29-2013)

vs. Nakamura (8-14-2011)

vs. Tanahashi (8-8-2010)

w/ Yujiro vs. Jushin Liger & AKIRA (4-13-2008)

vs. Okada (8-3-2012)

w/ Goto vs. Nakamura & Masato Tanaka (6-16-2012)

vs. Ibushi (8-2-2013)


----------



## flag sabbath




----------



## Obfuscation

vs Shinsuke Nakamura ~ 8/14/11
vs Shinsuke Nakamura ~ 12/4/11
vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ~ 10/10/11 (damn near all their matches rule, imo)
vs Kazuchika Okada ~ 3/4/12
vs Kazuchika Okada ~ 8/3/12
vs Togi Makabe ~ 8/5/11

Unsure what you've see from 2013. He had a great showing in the Climax + I'm huge on all three of the matches vs Tanaka. Give those a strong seal for a recommendation.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Alright appreciate it, I'll try to run through these in the next month to get my hype up for WK.


----------



## Rah

Hayley's Xmas Ecstasy said:


> I'll wait and see how Rah responds to that comment.


Haha, I would take that over Okada/Naito, though I've been muchly disappointed when Lucha guys face bigger top-tier guys once-off. I know you're a bit higher on Sombra than I am, though I do like the guy. Not sure it'd be a better wrestling match than Okada/Naito, but I haven't seen the ME for World Tag League in question. The saving grace would be some nutty dives.

By the by, I'll tackle the Naito/Tanaka trilogy (?), again, considering you're claiming it as really underrated. I've got the time, so I may as well try get myself hyped for some Okada fun.


----------



## flag sabbath

I'm not particularly advocating Sombra vs. Okada over Naito vs. Okada, just noting that they had the superior chemistry in that all important last stop at Korakuen before the Dome.

Bizarre stuff from Day 10 as well. Naito's main contribution to the first-half six-man was being owned by TenKoji.


----------



## darkclaudio

World Tag League 2013: Yujiro Takahashi & Masato Tanaka vs Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 5/12 ***1/2


----------



## Chismo

*Tenryu vs. Tenzan (NJPW 2004/2/15)*

_For the vacated IWGP Heavyweight Title. This has to be one of the most overlooked matches of the mid 00s. Tenryu is 54 years old at this point, but he can still bust Tenzan wide open and aim the wound with surgical precision (DEM PUNCHES!). Not to mention that fucking picture perect SPIDER SUPLEX. The entire point of the match is to use the grumpy old dick to put over Tenzan, and while the crowd has it's doubts at first, everyone was rooting for Tenzan eventually. Great match, 13 minutes of swag._

******


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Day 5:
*
So I'm finally catching up with NJPW's G1 & recent iPPVs... I just wasn't in the mood for Puro and the show got bad reviews which tunred me off. My goal is to watch the tournament & iPPVs BEFORE WK because I'm really behind. Let's do it...

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Satoshi Kojima - ****1/4.* Not as good as the opener from NJC, but still very good and hard hitting as you'd expect. 

Toru Yano vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - ***1/2.* Yano <3 Your usual fun match from Yano, Tenzen was Teznan and completly missed the Moonsault at the end.

Lance Archer vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ****.* Good match between two of my favourite NJ's wrestlers. Nice story was told throughout the match and Archer as always played his role greatly. DBSJ/Archer from Day 9 should be bossy as hell.

Shelton Benjamin vs. Tetsuya Naito - ***1/4.* Eh, nothing special. Shelton's superkicks are awesome.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Karl Anderson - ***.* Disappointing as this was a nothing match other than the finish which was cool. Nothing clicked here and the crowd was bored.

Kota Ibushi vs. Yuji Nagata - ****3/4. *Great match and with no dobut MOTN. Awesome work on Ibushi's arm and I loved how Ibushi tried to outspeed (is that even a word?) Nagata to no success.

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ****.* Pretty good but heatless.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Kazuchika Okada - ****.* Really solid but I didn't like how quickly Okada made his comeback near the end. 

Prince Devitt vs Hirooki Goto - ***1/4.* Talking about heatless... even Bullett Club's shenaniganz weren't that much fun here. I just wasn't into it which is rare for Devitt's matches.

Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ****1/2.* Very good main event.


----------



## Nervosa

Bummed that you didn't enjoy Okada/Smith. I really loved it, especially the tiger suplez struggle. For me, that made up for how quick the comeback was, and actually playedi nto it really well, too. 

Agree that Nagata/Ibushi was MOTN too.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Ibushi had to have been the MVP of this years G1 or 1A while Ishii was 1B


----------



## seabs

*Eh. Only really the Nakamura match was truly great. There were some good ones too but then also some average matches. Ishii was the G1 MVP beyond any doubt really. Then I guess probably Tanahashi and Okada before Ibushi.*


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Shibata. Ishii/Tanahashi smokes anything he did but consistency wise he smokes Ishii.


----------



## Nervosa

Ishii and Shibata were the tournament MVPs by a long shot. Its not even a discussion until you get to third place. Personally, I put Davey Boy Smith Jr. as third best, as the guy pretty much brought it every night. Tanahashi is greatly marred by his abominations against Makabe and goto that were just horrible.


----------



## Obfuscation

Smith was great in the tournament except for that stinker vs Archer on the final night. That was the only disappointment I had during the entire stint.

MVP...hmm. Probs Ishii considering he had standout matches with 99% of his opponents. Loved the Archer, Tanahashi, Shibata, & Makabe matches to death.


----------



## Chismo

Here's my standings, made immediately after the final day:



> *1.	TOMOHIRO ISHII*
> 
> 2.	Hiroshi Tanahashi
> 3.	Katsuyori Shibata
> 4.	Satoshi Kojima
> 5.	Kota Ibushi


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> Haha, I would take that over Okada/Naito, though I've been muchly disappointed when Lucha guys face bigger top-tier guys once-off. I know you're a bit higher on Sombra than I am, though I do like the guy. Not sure it'd be a better wrestling match than Okada/Naito, but I haven't seen the ME for World Tag League in question. The saving grace would be some nutty dives.
> 
> By the by, I'll tackle the Naito/Tanaka trilogy (?), again, considering you're claiming it as really underrated. I've got the time, so I may as well try get myself hyped for some Okada fun.


Not sure how I snubbed this post...

For as much as I do enjoy Sombra, I know I'm plenty sold on Okada vs Naito as the premiere match slated for WK. But, I think we _all_ knew that. 2014 - if Sombra does another tour _(which he should, right?)_ - Okada vs Sombra would be a-ok with me. In fact, I'd certainly advocate it to go down. Dives, dropkicks, and counters. Ooooh.

Not sure if you've gotten around to the Naito vs Tanaka matches yet. Look forward to reading your thoughts on 'em. Lets hope there's something for us to agree on here.


----------



## Concrete

He's got two super short yet rad ***** Casas matches to give thoughts on first so...


----------



## Obfuscation

They're short & have ***** Casas involved. I know which takes up first priority in the situation.


----------



## EmbassyForever

It's just me or Okada/Shibata was really disappointing? not a bad match, actually good, but I was expecting more considering it's SHIBATA VS OKADA. Oh and some hyped it as really great match, 4* level.

Suzuki/Takahashi from the show ruled.


----------



## Chismo

Yeah, it was good, I gave it ***1/4, but which is kind of disappointing considering the names and enviroment. Okada/Ishii from the next show was great.


----------



## Nervosa

EmbassyForever said:


> It's just me or Okada/Shibata was really disappointing? not a bad match, actually good, but I was expecting more considering it's SHIBATA VS OKADA. Oh and some hyped it as really great match, 4* level.


They definitely held a lot back. I think they asked Okada not to have the best match every single night of the G1 like he did last year since he clearly wasn't winning it. Like I said in my review, it wasn't all out, but I gave it ***3/4. The story behind Shibata wrestling cockyer than usual and having a chip on his shoulder was fun.

I also hope that they are saving the good stuff for what would be a truly awesome title match. *hint hint Jado and Gedo.....OKADA MUST WIN AT WK*

So yeah, I understand the disappointment, but its nothing compared to the disappointment of shibata/Tanahashi on the final day. Man, did that thing come off badly.


----------



## Obfuscation

I was Meltzer-esque on Tanahashi vs Shibata. Thought it was a one heck of a ten minute sprint. Or, I think it was ten minutes. Either way; great stuff. The whole final night was great. Any excuse to get me to love Naito vs Tanahashi again, wooooo.


----------



## Chismo

Tanashi/Shibata ****1/4.

The MOTN, which is saying a lot considering Naito/Karl, Okada/Kojima and Naito/Tanashi happened on the same night.


----------



## Obfuscation

Okada vs Kojima :mark:

That sprint > main event from Destruction.


----------



## Chismo

*IWGP Tag Titles*: Genichiro Tenryu & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki (c) (NJPW 2004/3/28)

_So, look at the names involved. This was bound to be at least good. And it was, in fact it was very good. We got few portions of TAK VS. TENRYU! :mark: But mostly, the match was about Nakanishi and how much he can handle. I'm not complaining, though, shit was good, he was one helluva punching bag. Tenryu was throwing his trademark strike combos left, right and centre, which is the greatest thing ever, naturally. But for some reason, he just couldn't handle that goblin MiSu, heh. I guess because MiSu is the same kind of dick and knows the game well._

****3/4*


----------



## Nervosa

Hayley's Xmas Ecstasy said:


> Okada vs Kojima :mark:
> 
> That sprint > main event from Destruction.


That match ruled so much. Kojima just brought it at such a high level for the whole tournament.



Chismo said:


> Tanashi/Shibata ****1/4.
> 
> The MOTN, which is saying a lot considering Naito/Karl, Okada/Kojima and Naito/Tanashi happened on the same night.


MOTN for me was Suzuki/Yano. Fuck the World. 

NaitoKarl was good, but marred by a poor finish. I was thoroughly disappointed with both Tanahashi matches. He had timing issues against Shibata, messing up a lot of sequences where you could tell Shibata was waiting for him to do stuff. O yeah, and then reducing what was once an awesome finisher to NOTHING. As for the Naito match, that one had a lot of Tanahashi bad timing/sloppiness, too. Add that to the usual Naito doing all his moves no one cares about for no real reason, and his submission hold killing all the heat, and you have a recipe for mediocrity.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Shibata-Tanahashi was an awesome carry job. Shibata paused for a fair bit before attempting the G2S which made the Small Package counter work well IMO.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2013 Day 6 Review:
*
Shelton X Benjamin vs. Kota Ibushi - ****1/4.* Man, this was such a fun sprint. While I'm far from being Benjamin's biggest fan, I'm still gotta admit that he's been good in NJPW. 

Toru Yano vs. Karl Anderson - ****.* This was everything that Suzuki/Anderson should've been like. Tons of fun.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - ****1/2. *I felt like they kinda went overboard with the false finishes but still a really good match. 

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yujiro Takahashi -* ***1/4.* And damn close to be ***1/2. Loved every second of it.

Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer - ***1/2.* Eh, "worst" match of the night. Was fine but nothing really interesting. 

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito - ***3/4.* Best match Teznan has had so far, thanks to Naito. 

Prince Devitt vs. Satoshi Kojima - ****1/4.* 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ****1/4.* Obviously a good match, loved how Shibata got cocky towards the end and paid for it. Still, when the match was announced I was expecting a classic, as both are my favorite NJ's wrestlers and this was a dream match for me. Oh well. Hopefully they will have a rematch.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata - ****3/4.* DAT FINISHING STRETCH :batista4 You can't go wrong with Nakamura and Nagata. Awesome match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto - ****1/2.* Good main event.

Ishii/Okada is in the next show. OH YEAH.


----------



## Nervosa

ywall2breakerj said:


> Shibata-Tanahashi was an awesome carry job. Shibata paused for a fair bit before attempting the G2S which made the Small Package counter work well IMO.


Yeah, I saw that, too. Tanahashi had timing issues throughout the whole tournament. Imagine how good the G1 would have been if he had at least put forth something near his usual amount of effort.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nervosa said:


> That match ruled so much. Kojima just brought it at such a high level for the whole tournament.
> 
> 
> 
> MOTN for me was Suzuki/Yano. Fuck the World.
> 
> NaitoKarl was good, but marred by a poor finish. I was thoroughly disappointed with both Tanahashi matches. He had timing issues against Shibata, messing up a lot of sequences where you could tell Shibata was waiting for him to do stuff. O yeah, and then reducing what was once an awesome finisher to NOTHING. As for the Naito match, that one had a lot of Tanahashi bad timing/sloppiness, too. Add that to the usual Naito doing all his moves no one cares about for no real reason, and his submission hold killing all the heat, and you have a recipe for mediocrity.


Kojima proved he's still got plenty of worth after working his ass off in the Climax. I knew he did, but whew. He showed it a ton.

Naito vs Anderson's finish was fine by me. He debuted a new hold & fans were awaiting to hear if Naito had made it to win his block. Moment they did, it was an eruption. I've gone into detail about why I adored Naito vs Tanahashi like I do. So I'll let that sit as to why I have my reasons behind that. At least the biggest win for Naito heading into Wrestle Kingdom is the night where fans cared the most about him in 2013.

Don't think there has been a MiSu vs Yano match that has underwhelmed all year. They're brisk, chalk full of wildly good character traits, & flow seamlessly together. Glad it's getting another wrinkle for the Tokyo Dome. Speaking of MiSu matches, New Japan HAS to give me another Suzuki vs Ishii collision. Anticipation for 2014.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Nervosa said:


> Yeah, I saw that, too. Tanahashi had timing issues throughout the whole tournament. Imagine how good the G1 would have been if he had at least put forth something near his usual amount of effort.


I have issues with Tanahashi and his style in general. I really think he has the potential to be a great worker but he displays it very rarely. He'll show sparks of brilliance and then go on and do something utterly stupid and boring for 10 minutes straight, sometimes it'll even get downright retarded with him setting up huge Planchas with Low Dropkicks and whatnot and as a result my favourite version of Tanahashi is "getting beat up by Kanemoto/Shibata" Tanahashi. And a match like Okada-Tanahashi from KOPW just isn't something I can be engaged in at all (and I liked like every other match they had ever) because it looks overly choreographed and girly and idolish and stupid and it's all because of Tanahashi's shit getting in the way. I don't think Okada is a super-worker but I really thought he could've become one and now I fear he'll just get stuck in working Tanahashi-esque snoozefests. When is the last time Tanahashi really brought the effort? The 2010 G1 Final? Yeah but that was totally wrestled on Kojima's pace. Same for the 2009 February Nakamura match.


----------



## Chismo

Incredible. Would read again. 

:floyd2


----------



## Obfuscation

At least there is common ground on the Feb 2009 match vs Nakamura. :draper2


----------



## Concrete

*Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard(NJPW 4/30/06):***1/4*
_Kinda hoping I'm gonna be able to get back on track with this project starting with this match. I know what the bold represents on the chart but I have a feeling that I set my expectations a little higher for those ones. This felt like a good match but not a great one. Think it may have a bit to do with me not being a Nagata fan in the least. Not saying he didn't do any good stuff in this, he did, but I rarely get invested in whatever he's doing. Like, I loved the way Nagata baited Bernard in to work the arm with the ranged kicks. I didn't love whatever dynamic they were going for. At points I felt Bernard was working as the monster why Nagata working the underdog but then at others Nagata looked like a vet outclassing Bernard. Not saying both can't be present but the dots never seemed to connect on my end. Dug the Vader Bomb set up. Really I loved a lot of what Bernard was able to do. Will say the teasing of the powerbomb was sorta dreadful. In theory, Bernard selling the arm is perfect but in actuality they tease it twice, losing lots of value the second time, he goes for it the third and it fell flat. The powerbomb ended up being more of a drop than anything. So stuff I enjoyed but also stuff I thought was rather blah so ***1/4 seems solid enough. _

*Dr.Wagner Jr./Silver King vs. Koji Kanemoto/Minoru Tanaka(NJPW 2/3/01):**3/4*
_This really felt like a Jr. tag we could see at Fantasticmania if it got time. It wasn't a bad match, honestly it was quite a bit of fun but that doesn't really mean it was a MOTYC. Enjoyed Wagner hamming it up. Not too much else to say. _​


----------



## flag sabbath

Well, Naito got booed vs. Gedo at Korakuen yesterday, which ironically highlights both men's shortcomings.


----------



## Snapdragon

In my opinion Tanahashi's best year was easily 2012. Nobody could touch him in terms of quality match after quality match.

I think he's probably just toning it down a bit now since he's not having to do these huge title defenses anymore


----------



## Obfuscation

Not certain I'll look into the Naito getting boo'ed stuff. Tanahashi was too. Of course, he did act like a dick in some of those matches..

If the panic button has been hit, just make Naito tease going heel again.


----------



## Concrete

*Pentagon, Sasuke the Great & Apache vs Hamada, Sasuke & Togo(Michinoku Pro 3/10/01):***3/4*
_This one hooked me from the get go with that intensity. Felt like the possibility of a amazing lucha trios brawl in Japan was about to happen and then it didn't. That saddened me but even though the beginning felt the most chaotic they sprinkled more throughout the match which wins them points in my book. Oh,and CHUBBY TOGO IN JORTS FTW FTW! The middle has some series MEH moments but I'm my bullshitty scoring rubric it didn't hinder the match too much. They kicked it up at the end thankfully because I could only take so much so-so stuff on Sasuke...Great Sasuke that is. _

*Otsuka vs. Suguira(Z1 4/18/01):***3/4*
_That wasn't a whole lot too this one until the FUCKING STUPID ASS HEADBUTT EXCHANGE OF UTTER STUPIDNESS! But it was so purely insane at that point that I give the match this. Heck, I'm a generous guy. From the little I've seen of him I'm so used to Otsuke being a destroyer of man but here Sugiura was rather equal, if not greater, on the strength front which was unique for me to watch. But really this whole rating thang comes off the ending stretch with the headbutts and the spears and the Otsuka doing what he does best and trying to manipulate Suguira through grabbing on to limbs. _​


----------



## Chismo

*Road to Tokyo Dome 2014 – Day 5*

_*(2013/12/21)*_


1.	Yohei Komatsu vs. Sho Tanaka

***


2.	Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask

***


3.	Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi vs. Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi

**1/2


4.	Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado)

_The Yano/Suzuki slapsticks never get too old, for example, this time Yano was running away from MiSu all over the Hall for 5 minutes straight. :lmao_

***1/4


5.	Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito

_So, they’re trying to boost Naito’s face swag… by putting him against super charismatic Gedo? Eh, whaaat? Why Gedo, you know he’ll get cheered, why not YOSHI-HASHI or Yujiro? Gedo did his best in trying to be an evil prick, but they were still cheering him, heh._

**3/4


6.	YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

_Let me tell you something, every promotion in the world needs guys like YOSHI-HASHI. This was a very entertaining match._

***3/4


7.	Cpt. New Japan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

***1/4


8.	Tomoaki Honma vs. Kazuchika Okada

_Okada may be the current Ace and Champion, but Honma was ruling Korakuen 12-15 years ago, when the Champ was just a boy, and is not going down easily. Very good match, with awesome finishing sequence._

***3/4


Long essays and write-ups are not needed, New Japan’s “Road to” shows are always tons of fun.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Hayley's Xmas Ecstasy said:


> Not certain I'll look into the Naito getting boo'ed stuff. Tanahashi was too. Of course, he did act like a dick in some of those matches..
> 
> If the panic button has been hit, just make Naito tease going heel again.


Knew it. Boos meant nothing. Gedo got more love than Naito got heat anyways. Tanahashi was even getting a little something negative and he was up against YOSHI-HASHI of all people. That's just Korakuen, for ya.

Nakamura vs CNJ was good for the semi-squash we knew it would be _(a shocking nearfall throw in too)_ & Okada vs Honma stole the show w/a damn good match. Knew it was something worth getting excited for. Show flies by at an incredible rate. That's entertainment.


----------



## CHAMPviaDQ

I'm so behind on everything, Cody HALP!


----------



## Obfuscation

Where did you leave off again, Climax?

If so, your "must sees" are the PPVs: Destruction, King of Pro Wrestling, & Power Struggle. Tag World Finals iPPV was entertaining with a great main event. Def worth seeing that match _(and the entire show if you got time)_

Road to Destruction first Korakuen show had two eight man elimination matches; the latter one being more along the lines of must see quality. #1 Suzuki-gun vs CHAOS (Nakamura, Ishii, Yano, & Jado) & #2 Naito, Kojima, Honma, & BUSHI vs CHAOS (Okada, Yujiro, Gedo) & Masato Tanaka.

Road to Power Struggle shows in Korakuen had the Super Juniors Tag Tournament go down. Which was a lot of fun, culminating in a great finals. You might know who is in it, but I'd rather not spoil right off the bat.

I'd give a bit more details, but again, trying not to risk spoiling anything for ya. b/c there is something BIG w/Yano that I wanted to mention atm. Or hint towards so you can see the surprise for yourself. Although, I may have been the dude to mark out the most for it. I'm still bonkers.


----------



## Brock

What is the date of the best Dynamite Kid/Tiger Mask match?


----------



## Obfuscation

Opinion wise or the one Meltzer gave five stars to?

I'll assume the latter: 4/21/83


----------



## KeepinItReal

Hey, Xtreme Wrestling Torrents has the entire first season of Fighting Spirit Wrestling, which is CMLL and NJPW with English commentary on the Fight Network. If anyone could get that onto DailyMotion (ep. 29 is up) that would be great. Oh and its free leech apparently. http://xtremewrestlingtorrents.net/details.php?id=112367


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax Day 7 Review:
*
Yoshi-Hashi & Takashi Iizuka vs Captain New Japan & Tomoaki Honma - **.

Kota Ibushi vs. Yujiro Takahashi - ****1/4.* Really fun match. Yujiro's on a roll, in my opinion he finally found his niche in the ring and now he's just having good matches after good matches. On the negative side, I'm not a fan of Ibushi's booking. Can't recall the last time he won a match.

Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Anderson - ****1/2.* Great match. Good arm-work and tons of great counters towards the end. 

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Prince Devitt - ****3/4.* I'm probably overrating this but who the hell cares. Awesome match, imo. Short and sweet. Devitt was phenomenal here and this was his best heel performance yet, his offense was believeable which was important and he took a one hack of a beating. Match of the night.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/2.* Nice work on Ishii's neck and Ishii sold it well. The match was your typical Ishii's goodness, wish they'll have a rematch that'll be longer in K.Hall (for the belt! This'll be the compensation for the sin that is Ishii not being on the WK card)

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Lance Archer -* ***.* Pretty good thanks to Archer. Tanahashi's performance was off. 

Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano - ***1/4. *

Minoru Suzuki vs. Shelton Benjamin - ***. *The match was incredibly boring. The crowd didn't help obviously and made it even harder for to me get into the match.

Togi Makabe vs. Satoshi Kojima - ****1/4.* Eh, it was fine but should ha not been the main event. Kojima started off the tourny so good but now it seems like he's back to normal.

Day 8 is next. Okada/Tanahashi, DBSJ/Devitt, Makabe/Ishhi and Suzuki/Ibushi. Should be fun.


----------



## Brock

Hayley's Xmas Ecstasy said:


> Opinion wise or the one Meltzer gave five stars to?
> 
> I'll assume the latter: 4/21/83


Erm not sure lol, i did read one match (could be that one) gets overpraised, and there is a better one?


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm not too picky w/those matches, _(flawed, yet fun)_ but I always liked their first match the most. Or, it's the one I've seen the most. I think it may benefit you to check 'em all out right now and see which of their bouts you prefer the most.


----------



## cobray

*Shinsuke Nakamura/Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi/Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 23.12.2013
*
- Hahaha Okada and Nakamura’s pre-match posing rules. Interesting dynamic in that the CHAOS duo are a team but Tanahashi and Naito are not.
- Naito sure knows that the crowd hates him so he acts like a douchbag the whole match. Him slapping the taste out of Okada's mouth was great.
- From the match, the story that I get is that Tanahashi and Nakamura knows that both need not to prove to each other anymore so the rivalry seems a little bit friendlier. Naito and Okada on the other hand has much to prove to each other, and the fans as well. Another interesting dymanic.
- But you can't help but feel that this match is more of an exhibition at times, but with the Dome show a little more than a week away maybe that was the point. Watch this if you aren't hyped already for Wrestle Kingdom. If you are hyped already, nothing was lost here and maybe it will make their matches more enjoyable even because there must be some spots here that will be repeated next week.
- Hahaha at Okada's post match speech or rather, the lack of it. Him and Gedo are such a lovable duo.

*Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara vs Suwama & Joe Doering II - AJPW RWTL Finals - 08.12.2013
*
- Xceed vs Evolution finals. First off, holy shit at Joe Doering, does he want to murder Miyahara or something? In my opinion this match smokes the aforementioned New Japan tag main event, though Iiked their first match better.
- I cannot say enough good thing about Miyahara right now because he is just on fire. I remembered watching him against KENTA early on in his career and he flat out sucks. Well not anymore.
- Evolution's double fall-away slam is such a simple but deadly looking move.
- All in all my 3 top matches in this year's tag league are Xceed/Akiyama & Omori, followed by the 2 Xceed/Evolution tags. Also try to watch the last 5 minutes of Akiyama/Omori vs Suzuki/Aoki - Suzuki's pinning combination was K-ness level nuts.


----------



## Chismo

*Road to Tokyo Dome 2014 – Day 6*

_*(2013/12/23)*_


1.	Yohei Komatsu vs. Sho Tanaka

***1/4


2.	TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. World Class Tag Team (Jado & Gedo) vs. KUSHIDA & BUSHI

**1/2


3.	Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask

**1/4


4.	Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Cpt. New Japan

**3/4


5.	Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Yujiro Takahashi

***


6.	Minoru Suzuki vs. YOSHI-HASHI

**3/4


7.	Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura

****1/4​


----------



## NotoriousTCG

I've got my hands on a copy of Okada/Tanahashi from NJPW King of Pro Wrestling. And as the only Japanese wrestling I've really watched have been Guerrero and Benoit matches with English commentary, I was wondering is it better to watch Japanese wrestling with commentary or is it better to mute it?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

The commentary is like the best part of watching PURO.


----------



## Obfuscation

^that multiplied by the maximum number possible. Commentary is part of the fanfare.


----------



## Zatiel

NotoriousTCG said:


> I've got my hands on a copy of Okada/Tanahashi from NJPW King of Pro Wrestling. And as the only Japanese wrestling I've really watched have been Guerrero and Benoit matches with English commentary, I was wondering is it better to watch Japanese wrestling with commentary or is it better to mute it?


It depends if you can enjoy listening to a language you don't understand. NJPW has the best commentary squads in the world and I love how they flip out over matches - there's such passion. I'd recommend at least giving them a chance.


----------



## Obfuscation

Language barrier, for me, only matters when it comes to promos. If only I knew what Nakamura was saying to get a laugh out of the audience. Can cope, but it'll be nice to know for some more fun.


----------



## NotoriousTCG

Okay thanks guys, Ill give it a watch with the commentary then


----------



## mk92071

Can anyone recommend me a bunch of Shoot Style matches? I've seen some BattlArts stuff and I enjoy the style a lot, but I don't know any of the classics or where to start.


----------



## Chismo

Go to theditch.us (the 90s section) and search any file that has words like "UWFi, RINGS, Battlarts, PWFG, Yamazaki, Tamura, Volk Han" in it. Some files are upgraded with better quality, and for those who are not, there's a bunch of quality video stuff on YouTube and DailyMotion.


----------



## NotoriousTCG

Okada/Tanahashi from NJPW King of Pro Wrestling, Rules the World.


----------



## Obfuscation

It is quite grand. Found myself bigger on the first KOPW main event - Tanahashi vs Suzuki - a bit more, personally.


----------



## sXeMope

Anyone know if FREEDOMS Pain Limit 2013 is available to watch anywhere? All I've been able to find is a fancam of One Man Kru/Takashi Sasaki in the first round.


----------



## BigLG

Great sig.


----------



## bigbuxxx

bold new year prediction: NJPW starts to suck by the middle of the year. I say this as a huge mark of just about everybody on the roster.


----------



## Obfuscation

What prompted this?


----------



## flag sabbath

bigbuxxx said:


> bold new year prediction: NJPW starts to suck by the middle of the year. I say this as a huge mark of just about everybody on the roster.


I dunno about starting to suck, but I can see NJPW getting stale & repetitive pretty quickly if they don't shake things up & continue to elevate fresh faces. Is that what you're hinting at?


----------



## TelkEvolon

*Shinobu vs MEN's Teioh vs Yuki Sato vs Hercules Senga vs Makato Oishi vs Onryo vs Tsutomu Oosugi - 2008.8.18 (My link) *
It's a MEN's Club melee! A 7-way UWA Middleweight Championship match! This starts with all men jumping Teioh before they quickly find out why he is the master and his dispatches them all Samurai-style. It's great fun right off the bat and keeps it up the whole way through, this is a super fast encounter with a ton of moves and combinations being thrown out all over the place. You'll see the giant head scissors, which is turned into the giant sharp shooter, you'd see diving & suplex combinations, roll-up-pinning-fests and a wacky splitting off submission jumble that shoots off in all directions including all limbs. It's just what you'd hope to see from a larger multi-man match. It's a ton of fun and super easy to watch.

****1/2*


*Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa, Yuko Miyamoto & Takashi Sasaki vs Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, Isami Kodaka & Shadow WX - 2008.8.18 (My link) *
8-men, forget the ropes, ropes take up too much space, barbed wire. That's the ticket! Have your friends bring a spike board crucifix, lemons, salt, hot sauce, body board, barbed wire glove, a ladder, chairs and now we've got a show! Jun Kasai is dressed for the occasion, with barbed wire, a thumbtack headband and sporting a kitchen knife as a fashion accessory. As you expect, this only takes an instant to break down into brawling all over the arena. Kodaka & Miyamoto stay behind and battle it out in the ring, it's a pretty slick little exchange before they're out and someone else is in. Kobayashi & Numazawa have a little headbutt battle and later on Kobayashi takes up the ultimate spirit battle and challenges Kasai (thumbtack-headband-wearing Kasai) to the same battle.

The match as a whole is one giant brawl for the most part, there aren't many spots or moments until things start heading into the final stretch, there are a few disappointing payoffs with people hitting awkwardly (in a lame way) or missing altogether various weapons put into play, but boy does it start to pick up then as each team looks to exterminate the other. The barbed wire ropes are only used about 3 times, instead of having everyone caught up in wire for every spot, it's used to keep people out of the contest and to ready-up for big pin. In the final run things get very exciting as people are pulling out all the stops and creating some pretty cool combos with the ladder coming into play in a big way and a great finish stretch that has you believing after every fall that "this is it".

****1/2*


*Shuji Ishikawa vs Masashi Takeda - 2013.6.30 (My link) *
Oh god, these two in a singles deathmatch, it's the reason you don't put two Siamese Fight Fish in the same tank. This match is for the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship and features lighttubes, Soda cans crudely cut and placed into a board, 2 panes of glass and 2 tables with lighttubes strapped on to them . These are two men with an appetite for destruction and offers a story of can Ishikawa give as much as Takeda can take and if he can't, can he then survive Takeda's violent counter attack. This match is unbelievably extreme, some of the nastiest spots you may have even seen this side of a snuff film. It's a barbaric war that has you deeply cringing and manually replaying the action.

You'll see all manner of carnage, there are just so many crazy spots, it's a must-see just to say you see "that" moment. honestly, it's probably too much and so intense that I can get it across to you, but you'll see a horribly nasty headbutt, massive power bombs and Germans in a variety of ways and into a variety of set-ups. Ishikawa just manhandles Takeda with power moves and it get's pretty wreckless when Takeda is getting thrown up in the air and landing vertically on his head. There are Massive inside-to-outside moves that are just being begged to turn into gifs and even outside of the weapons, Ishikawa is a terror, throwing some huge audible forearm shots that almost feel unfair and maybe some of the sickest skull crushing look-away-from-the-screen headbutts.

Takeda isn't just punching bag in this one, all this pain, while it may be a disadvantage for some, he's in HIS element and after a certain amount of punishment, he is at he peak and superior to himself at the start of the match, entrenched in madness is where he unleashes and just goes wild. There are a few moments where Takeda dies, gets resurrected, returns to the fight with a big smile on his face asking for more, only to be greeted by a smiling Ishikawa ready for round 2. This guys are made for each other and it is freighting. Go and see this, it's one of the most intense deathmatches that you're going to see. 

*****3/4*


*Shuji Ishikawa & Madoka vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto - 2010.5.28 (My link) *
Ah, here we go, "The Young Guns" Hashimoto & Tsukamoto or the "Hello Motos" teaming up to do battle against Ishikawa & Madoka who go by the name "Team Heavy Metal". Hashimoto & Tsukamoto aren't going to lay down in this one as they are looking to make an upset win and fight with all their heart. This one was a ton of fun a Hashimoto & Tsukamoto are all fired up and take an early advantage during the introduction (hey, you take it where you can get it) As Hashimoto & Tsukamoto look to isolate Madoka and take the Ishikawa factor totally out of the match. But even the Hello Motos' quick tags and wearing down can't hold back Madoka. So things really don't fair well when Ishikawa makes his way into the fray.

Now, if there is anything you need to know, it's this; Ishikawa vs fiery young lads is gold. Pure quality and young lads don't come much more fiery than Kazuki Hashimoto & Takumi Tsukamoto. These guys step up to the plate and starting teeing off on Ishikawa, trading shots, and doing all the can to try to hold onto a victory. Ishikawa is right at home bashing up against two smaller lads. Hell, he normally has to pay for this sort of action. It makes for some exciting viewing to watch Hashimoto & Tsukamoto try to topple such a beast. Throw in Madoka kicking the hell out of them like a machine anytime they think they're getting a break or pushing for an advantage and you're talking about a super-solid encounter that keeps on giving and tells a very entertaining story of Hashimoto & Tsukamoto looking for a way, any way that they can get to grind out a victory.

****3/4*


*Shadow WX vs Tomoaki Honma - 2000.4.29 (My link) *
Alright we've got barbed wire board & lighttube boards in this one. It's a fairly slow and methodical bout and this is an earlier deathmatch with two of BJW's iconic names steeping up and going to war. You'll see a lighttube here & there but this is mainly people going through various boards and brawling on the outside. It's a pretty simple match and also a pretty light match. There isn't really a lot to say about it; "People go through boards" it's fun, the spots work and it's a solid early days deathmatch.

*****


*Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Minoru Tanaka - 1998.2.3 (My link) *
Here we go, opening the match with a flying armbar. It's on right from the beginning. This is fast & furious with both men going for broke right from the start, Tanaka is of course going for the arm and looks to wear it down as soon as the bell rings, he is a man who knows what he wants. Tajiri is going for the head/neck, whipping out some pretty unique submission work and intense kicks. These guys are just scrambling for a win from the very beginning and it is pretty exciting to watch.

*****


*Yoshihiro Tajiri vs Ikuto Hidaka - 1998.3.31 (My link) *
Here we have two scrappy Juniors going at it for the BJW Junior Heavyweight Championship. This match takes place a few months outside of Hidaka's first year, so it's not the Hidaka/Tajiri match that your mind might be running wild with. It's still a cool little encounter and Hidaka is all over the leg and this match is mostly a submission "tit-for-tat" match where Tajiri & Hidaka are just jostling for position for most of the match. Not too much is going on and it's a bit of a disappointing encounter from just hearing the names involved, but in context it's fine, just a bit loose/rough around the edges. 

***3/4*


*Ryuji Ito, Abdullah Kobayashi, Takashi Sasaki & Daisuke Sekimoto vs Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa, Mammoth Sasaki & GENTARO - 2005.9.22 (My link) *
Two rings, two teams, one scaffold. The teams start off in separate rings and before the intros are finished, the Kasai boarding party invades the Team Ito ring. This match was pretty great, with a lot of action going on and the scaffold being an added addition to the match and not the main focus. Meaning that this match doesn't play out like a king of the hill match with people climbing and falling off of the scaffold. Instead it is used a few times for some big impact moves such as dives, a suplex and a crazy Hurricanrana that Kobayashi of all people takes. The twin ring setup is also passively put to use, with people getting chucked from one ring to the other and Kobayashi & Numazawa taking the battle to the middle of the two rings, resulting in a very clever and fun spot. Speaking of Numazawa & Kobayashi, they also have a near-musical battle that involves them two walking around smacking each other with frying pans.

Sekimoto & M. Sasaki are the "big beefs" of the match and the main culprits of people getting launched. It's set up as you'd expect, mainly with everyone brawling on the outside and to guys having something more resembling a match on the inside. It works well and always makes for something to see just with all the people involved. The team element works pretty well in places when everyone starts coming together and almost much everything comes off looking good. This match is also great for people who aren't fans of deathmatch to see the top deathmatch talent without all the blood & guts that can come with them.

******


*Great Sasuke vs Ryuji Ito - 2002.2.3 (My link) *
This was actually a pretty cool and competitive Junior-style battle, with Ito looking like a million bucks against Sasuke, busting out some pretty cool moves & dives all over the place and trying to overwhelm Sasuke right out of the gate with dropkicks, a standing frogsplash to the outside and all manner of snappy moves to stay on top of things. Sasuke looks to slow the pace and tie Ito up in submissions and really control the match, but when he looks to make some distance between him & Ito, Ito is quick to retake the advantage. This match also features a bunch of cool suplexes and a pretty sweet variety on a classic Sasuke move. It's a quick and fun encounter that is probably far more enjoyable than it should of been.

****1/4*


*Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei vs Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu - 2011.9.19 (My link) *
Right off the bat The Brahman Brothers have their corner loaded up with all manner of instruments, it looks like a yard sale taking place and this is a hardcore match. Once all the goodies have been set up, they start harassing the announcer while they have mouths full of water, he is awkwardly moves around trying to announce while being pursued like Pac-Man to avoid the "clear mist". It's good fun. Once Sasaki & Shinobu arrive the Brahmans divide and conquer, using their tag team experience to the fullest advantage while trying to take one at a time. This obviously doesn't last & Shinobu/Sasaki end up turning the tables.

About 2 minutes into the match, this bout turns from good to amazing. Sasaki is Holding a Brahman and Shinobu has a Kendo Stick. Shinobu swings (now wait for it) Brahman ducks (wait) and Shinobu hits Sasaki! The entire world hold it's breath (now you know why you stopped breathing that one time in 2011) Sasaki holds his head and then looks at Shinobu *ding ding!* It's on! These two are on each other like white on rice! Brahmans separate them and split them up, but Sasaki drops his Brahman and heads over to Shinobu, Sasaki throws Shinobu's Brahman to the side and kicks Shinobu in the face, now Sasaki's originally Brahman is back into the fray, Shinobu ignores him and hits Sasaki again. It's a massive amount of fun.

Shinobu & Sasaki make such a bipolar team, one moment they're firing shots at each other, the next they're taking a bullet for each other, it's makes for great viewing with some pretty unique spots taking place. This match has so much going for it; Shinobu. Sasaki. The Brahman Brothers. Wacky Weapons. Unique moments. Shinobu vs Sasaki. It's just a ton of fun to watch and one I would recommend everyone checking out. 

****3/4*


*Kazuki Hashimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs Shinobu & Masashi Otani - 2011.8.20 (My link) *
This is a must-see encounter, the match itself is good, but the reason this is a must-see is due to the interaction from Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinobu, these two go at it like feral cats, it's incredible to witness and is super exciting to watch as these two just get lost in a rage. Now, Hashimoto & Otani don't completely take a backseat as they feel obligated to bring the fight also with a heavy forearm battle, Hashimoto also unleashes some really sick, meaty kicks. But Sasaki/Shinobu no doubt is what everyone is waiting to erupt again and it does, many times, including post-match. 

This match is just a total joy to watch, switches between explosive bursts to methodical beatings and everything works pretty well. Otani not using his size to it's fullest to fight back against Hashimoto is fairly disappointing as you can tell Hashimoto wanted to take the spotlight back for himself and Otani.

****3/4*


*Tommy End & Michael Dante vs Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba - 2012.12.30 (My link) *
Sumerian Death Squad (End/Dante) vs Heisei Yakuza Duo (Hoshino/Inaba) .So this is your fairly standard heel vs face tag match with Hoshino & Inaba playing the villains, to the extent of constant taunting of the tag partner on the apron, choking with the wrist tape and "hey look over there" low bows. At one point, a pin attempt even get's the old "I'm not done with him yet" stoppage to continue the beating. Tommy End spends most of the match being gang-beaten by Hoshino & Inaba, who are fairly interchangeable in their attack and most of the match builds towards the hot tag, which goes over with the crowd about as well as a man folding paper in-ring would. It's a tad jarring, as it really is building towards that moment and even then, everything stays pretty standard, the last few seconds start getting exciting and then it's done. It's a fairly mediocre match that felt like both teams were really holding back. A bit longer and more on offer than "tag match 101" and this could of got cooking.

***1/2*


*Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yoshihito Sasaki - 2012.3.26 (My link) *
This is the final match in BJW's 2012 Strong League, which was also BJW's very first Strong BJ (Yes, you'll be hearing that a lot, get it out of your system) League. Normally this is Big Japan's "Deathmatch Survivor", a league of deathmatches for deathmatch wrestlers, so this is a big match for the division and it doesn't disappoint, both men had previously wrestled on the night same night in the semi-finals. But that was just a warm-up stretch for these two guys, as they're ready to go. You kick things off with both men lunging toward each other from their corners and into the deepest of grappling contests. Follow this up with a backdrop driver and a dive to the outside, it's a quick burst of action before things restart at a more settled and methodical pace back in the ring.

Sekimoto has the dial set to 11, jaw shattering forearm attacks and running lariats into the corner are devastating, a lot of his game plays towards his superior upper body strength, wrapping his twin boa constrictor's around the neck of Sasaki anytime he is presented with an opportunity to extinguish Sasaki's flame. The rougher & stiffer Sekimoto gets, the more it lights a fire within Sasaki, leading to a lot of awesome ego-tastic exchanges and battles for power in which headbutts, forearms & lariats are all thrown and hit with perfection. Sekimoto busts out a suplex onslaught of launching regular Germans and effortless dead-lift Germans.

This is a great encounter and am iconic match-up for the Division. It's a ton of fun to watch and a super exciting battle. Almost everything in this match is hit to perfection and the amount of brutal & cringe worthy shots have you on the edge of your seat and right into the fight. It's a pure ego filled slug-fest that doesn't let up. Leave the selling at home, leave the fine details at home. Leave the books. Bring the beers! This match rocks it and rocks it hard!

*****1/2*


*Shadow WX & Ryuji Yamakawa vs Ryuji Ito & The Winger - 2012.2.2 (My link) *
BJW classics & barbed wire boards. It's peanut butter & jelly! This starts off with Yamakawa & Winger in the ring, but Yamakawa heads straight for Ito, knocking him off of the apron and brawling with him into the crowd. Shadow WX then takes Winger so he doesn't feel left out and brawls with him. Yamakawa & Ito return to the ring and start teasing the boards (who needs tag-ins, right?). The boards are quickly put to use and then when Ito tags out to Winger, the video cuts back to Ito coming in again, now Winger really feels unwanted!

Once he is getting repeatedly slammed & stomped into the barbed wire, he is wishing he was unwanted again. This match is mainly here so we can see Yamakawa & Ito build up to battle. It's a fine little encounter and Yamakawa trying to put away Ito and running on pure spirit towards the end is pretty cool.

*****


*Takashi Sasaki vs Ryuichi Kawakami - 2009.5.3 (My link) *
A great ego-filled, slugfest that sees Takashi Sasaki try to tame the beast inside Ryuichi Kawakami with a variety of relentless chops & kicks. Kawakami is responding with some deadly forearms that Sasaki just can't stand to take much of, so he is looking for a quick and as little forearms as possible finish. Both men pull out an awesome suplex variation and Sasaki also looks for submissions to try and wrap thing up quicker, but Kawakami just keeps rocking him with that elbow/forearm. It's a lot of fun and a joy to watch as these to do battle.

****3/4*


*Yuko Miyamoto & Masashi Takeda vs Yuji Okabayashi & Shinya Ishikawa - 2009.5.5 (My link) *
Deathmatch Generation vs Strong BJ up-and-comers and this is a really solid bout, Okabayashi & Ishikawa are all fired up while Takeda & Miyamoto have no deathmatch advantage, so it gets to be a fairly level playing field. Takeda & Miyamoto know this and aren't looking to toy with them, using their superior knowledge to try and wear down and keep control of the match so it doesn't devolve into the frenzy that may be more of an appeal to the cagey and fresher talent. It's a really competitive battle that keeps on pushing it to the next level. You'll see a couple of spots that jump out as being extremely rough. Takeda & Miyamoto are playing the risky long game of trying to wear out the stronger opponent in Okabayashi, so that he won't run over them towards the end. Ishikawa is in fine form As both Okabayashi & Ishikawa are in it to the end and looking strive, not survive. It's an interesting mix of opponents that keep things exciting and interesting, as all men don't hold back. A really good encounter here for a seemingly random match.

****1/2*


*Amigo Suzuki & Atsushi Ohashi vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani - 2013.1.2 (My link) *
This is a fairly inconsequential match, opening talent kicking off the new year for BJW, as you can imagine, not too much happens, but who wins and who drops the fall isn't who you would expect and is a cool little moment, that's about all there is really to see from this match, it goes for about 5 minutes, so there isn't a lot to say. Watch it for the win.

****


*Abdullah Kobayashi & Daikokubo Benkei vs BADBOY Hido & Gosaku - 2003.8.24 (My link) *
Here we have a pretty good "trashy brawl", that features Kobayashi bleeding as if it were a deathmatch and getting beating to a pulp with chairs, including one or two super stiff shots. Benkei & Kobayashi bumble around for offence, hap hazardly make some fun comebacks. It's still a pretty trashy encounter and the brawling isn't very inspired, but there are a few moments that spark an interest and Gosaku knocks himself silly overshooting an outside table spot.

***3/4*


*Masked Genbei vs Yuichi Taniguchi - 2010.9.8 (My link) *
Okay, this was a bit of comedy. Taniguchi right off the bat isn't having a bar of Genbei's costume, especially his Sandals, this leads to them being used as a weapon all throughout the match. It's a pretty weak match, with a few comedy spots based on repetition, an alright gag involving pinfalls and some other awkward spots, but there isn't any worth seeing here. Just a lot of treading water and messing about. 

**3/4*


*Shigeo Okamura vs Abdullah Kobayashi - 1997.4.1 (My link) *
This one features a young and spry Abdullah Kobayashi, who even back then bleeds in the face of a strong breeze, he is busted open minutes into the match, without much hesitation or persuasion. Okamura is giving out some solid strikes and working the arm, while Kobayashi looks to shadow whatever Okamura is doing and fight back with whatever he can. It's a bit all over the place and a fairly dull battle that just seems to go through the motions

****


*MASADA vs Mad Dog vs Mad Man Pondo - 2006.1.2 (My link) *
Gaijin 3-way! This bout starts off with the men standing in a triangle and emptying their sacks (of thumbtacks) into a shallow box. This is all done as a team to set up for the encounter and after a gentleman's handshake it turns into "who's going in first" with everyone trying to land everyone else into the tacks. It's pretty entertaining with guys taking lariats and dipping over Matrix-style (or slightly leaning back, whatever you prefer). After this contest has turned up a stalemate, Pondo pushes the obstacle out of the middle of the ring and starts setting up for chairs in-ring in a triangle, while (as gentleman) the other two opponents watch on and pick up stray tacks (safety first). Once all men are seated, it's an oscillating punch factory. When that concludes it's time for a match.

The Match itself with the people involved looks like the most dramatic trailer park brawl you've ever seen. With the ability to switch in and out a third man, things keep moving well and he guys fit in a lot of different spots and action as well as some cool 3 man spots to make use of the format of the match. It's a really fun encounter and far better than I would expect it to be, unfortunately the final spot is a flop and really takes all the wind out of the sails.

***3/4*


----------



## Chismo

TELK :mark:


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax Day 8 Review:
*
Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Prince Devitt - ****3/4*. Awesome opener. Crowd was red-hot for Devitt's antics and DBSJ had a pretty good babyface performance. The heat near the end was off the charts.

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Karl Anderson - ***1/2*

Lance Archer vs. Satoshi Kojima - ****1/2*

Shelton X Benjamin vs. Toru Yano - ***1/2 *

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe - ****.* I get why others gave it ****+. But I felt like they were trying to top Shibata/Ishii to no success. And they packed a lot of big moves in the last 6-7 minutes which was too much and turned me off. Still the match was good and the crowd was super hot which always helps.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Kota Ibushi - *****.* Great match. The final stretch was phenomenal. I'm a big sucker for Ibushi's fighting spirit. But again... he lost. His booking is becoming annyoing. He needs at least one big win in the 
tourny to show that he can hang with the big boys. 

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tetsuya Naito - *****1/4.* Fantastic. Loved how Nakamura failed to wear Naito down for the Bome Ye throughout the match. Nice work on Naito's ribs. I was really happy with Naito winning, made him look legit for once and he needed that. 

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *****1/2.* I have no words. I'm sure everything that can be said has been said. Okada's selling was outstanding. This is honestly one of the best rivalries EVER. 

So yeah, I'm only at Day 9 and WK is tomerrow, I failed


----------



## Obfuscation

Makabe vs Ishii was one of my favorites. Can understand why some find it off putting, but it's right up my alley. That and I'm a strong supporter of 99% Makabe does. Mesh him w/Ishii and I'm fucking gone.

Didn't like Tanahashi vs Okada at all. Only time they missed w/me. Discussed that plenty after watching it months ago.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Here's a Wrestle Kingdom 8 torrent. Pulling for Shinsuke (not a spoiler, haven't seen it yet).
http://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4632437


----------



## Chismo

*DVDVR Top 20 NJPW Matches of the 1980s*

PART I.


1.	81-09-23 Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant ***3/4

2.	82-04-01 Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan ****1/4

3.	83-04-03 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu ***1/2

4.	83-04-21 Riki Choshu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami ***3/4

5.	83-08-04 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu ******* :mark:

6.	84-04-19 GAUNTLET: Seiki Gundan (Inoki, Fujinami, Fujiwara, Kimura, Takada) vs. Ishin Gundan (Choshu, Yatsu, Hamaguchi, K. Kobayashi, Teranishi) ******* :mark:

7.	84-12-07 Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis vs. Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami ****

8.	86-02-06 Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara ***3/4

9.	86-03-26 ELIMINATION MATCH: Inoki, Fujinami, Kimura, Ueda, Hoshino vs. Maeda, Fujiwara, Kido, Takada, Yamazaki ****1/4

10. 86-05-01 GAUNTLET: Sakaguchi, Fujinami, Yamada, Kimura, Koshinaka vs. Maeda, Fujiwara, Kido, Takada, Yamazaki ****1/4


----------



## darkclaudio

Wrestle Kingdom 8

0. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tomoaki Honma, Captain New Japan & BUSHI vs Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine, Jushin Thunder Liger & Yohei Komatsu *1/2
1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, 4 Way Match: Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (c) vs TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA vs Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov ***1/4
2. IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows **3/4
3. NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match: Rob Conway (c) vs Satoshi Kojima **1/4
4. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuaraba vs Daniel Gracie & Rolles Gracie *1/2
5. Special Tag Match: Great Muta & Toru Yano vs Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin *3/4
6. King of Destroyer Match: Togi Makabe vs King Fale **1/2
7. Special Singles Match - Hirooki Goto Return Match: Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/2
8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Prince Devitt (c) vs Kota Ibushi ***1/2
9. IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito ***3/4
10. IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4

NJPW 5/01/2014
-Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA vs Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov **1/2
-BUSHI & Kota Ibushi vs Jushin Liger & Desperado **
-Jado, Takashi Iizuka, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi vs Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man, Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata **
-Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga vs Davey Smith, Lance Archer & Shelton Benjamin **3/4
-NWA World Tag Team Championship Match: Rob Conway & Jax Dane (c) vs Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan *1/4
-Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Captain New Japan vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI **3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Obligatory _"Wrestle Kingdom was really great in my totally obvious opinion"_ comment here. Everything I hoped for clicked. I actually even enjoyed the MMA affair. Unsure about the finish, but it wasn't the train-wreck it possibly could have been from the overall scope.

Glad Makabe vs Fale ended up being the sleeper hit I was hoping it would be.


----------



## Rah

Quick cap of WK:

~ The juniour tag was a car wreck, 

~ Shibata/Goto will never be my cup of tea, 

~ KES/BC was fun but I got too excited when I saw Tama coming out. I had forgotten the card and thought he was set to beat fools like he had been doing down in Mexico. 

~ I don't understand Devitt's shtick as a zombie and the interference staple to his matches is just grating at this point so I had no inclination to finish.

~ The Gracies match is an early yet strong contender for worst match of the year. In another example of Jado & Gedo's wonderful booking ability, instead of Saku (the fucking GRACIE KILLER) being in the match this hinged, majoritorally, on Nagata rolling around with the Brazilians - and badly, too. Of course this wasn't going to be good, but the start showed good promise between Daniel and Sakuraba as they could work some clever mat exchanges and take-downs. If they had kept that up, with Nagata offering respite inbetween rather than being the guy Gedo wants to prop in some asinine means of equating puro to shoot fights, then this wouldn't have been a throwaway.


----------



## Obfuscation

You sound like me w/WWE. Everything done I question & outright hate. Ha.

Unsure why the MMA junk is going to have to continue past Wrestle Kingdom. I was content in accepting the match for what it was on the majority _(as I said)_ but gosh. DQ finish & apparently keeping it alive? Are they back onto the MMA train?

btw, Rah, did you know about the aftermath of Devitt vs Ibushi? I'm ALMOST certain you'll be happy. Almost. _*this will be contained in spoiler tags, no worries people*_


----------



## 777

I suppose I'll weigh in on WK8.

Great show overall, as expected given the quality NJPW has been consistent with for several years now.
Match quality increased as the card progressed, for the most part. Which is kinda how you want it to work.

Some thoughts:
- I totally marked for both Race and Hansen, nice to see them as part of the show.
- I'm not a huge fan of the multi-team tag matches, they generally come across as choreographed, fine for what it was though.
- Loved Goto/Shibata, I came to a realization on the difference in their selling, Goto is able to elicit sympathy in a way Shibata can't.
- Sick bump on the apron for Ibushi, I winced.
- I probably would have liked Naito/Okada more if I were invested more in their characters, that's on me and my personal tastes though. Was still solid.
- Couldn't help but think the IC belt was secondary to their long standing rivalry. Great match. I really liked the cloverleaf/clash variation sequence. I'd imagine it's hard for Shinsuke to 'really' sell the leg given that so much of his offense revolves around them.


----------



## Concrete

Watched a wee bit of puro. Trying to do a little more watching for the poll. Gonna try to do even more tomorrow. Not really in-depth thoughts. Also watched Takiyama vs. Nagata and I think I continue to learn that Nagata working "from beneath" is one of those things that I'll never really really enjoy. Takiyama makes it totally watchable. MOVING ON:

*Masato Tanaka/Gedo vs. Ishikawa/Yone (Battlarts 6/2/01):***1/2*
_This was a heck of a fun tag match. This is reminiscent in some of the Kawada tags where he essentially has to protect his partner from an ass whooping. Ishikawa is the protector of Yone who gets the piss knocked out of him. Tanaka and Gedo played really swell heels that I don’t particularly see in my puro. Gedo particularly did a fantastic job throwing some nice punches and generally acting like a jerk. So badly wish Yone was a better whipping boy here cause that would have put it over the top and made it real great. Ishikawa didn’t get a whole lot of time in this one by design but when he got in there he looked like the most dangerous man on the planet. Not much of a finish on this one but by that point without a super duper Yone performance it didn’t really kill anything for me because the whole idea that had been implanted in my mind was FUN and the ending doesn’t hurt that. _

*Misawa/Ogawa vs. Hashimoto/Otsuka(NOAH 1/13/01):***1/2*
_Hashimoto is all that is right with the world. Every kick he throws makes me shed a manly tear. Otsuka has really climbed up super high on my favorite workers ever. So with that said let’s move onto the rasslin’ match. Ogawa really was doing nothing for me in this. He is part whipping boy part “we don’t give a shit about you”. Match was about Hashimoto and Otsuka not giving a crap about Ogawa and trying to get Misawa to come in the ring. When Misawa would refuse(what a douchebag, amirite?) Hashimoto and Otsuka, two guys who have epically bad ass offense, rip into Ogawa. In theory I love it but this seems to take a dip in the middle. Otsuka begging Misawa to get in and not going into rampage mode as soon as the man steps into the ring just took me right out of this. This felt a lot more heated and a lot less dedicated to FUN as the previous match. I assume this was part of a bigger picture but out of context the finish just felt deflating. Also I guess I just expected Misawa to have more presence. I don’t even know how to identify what that means but just take that as whatever._ 

*3-Way Tag (Torymon 8/14/01):****
_I’m really unsure if this is the 3-way tag I watched but let’s go with this being the one. This was fun. Not hating watching this match at all. Not gonna act like I know any more than half of the guys in this ring. Liked the chaos that started things off. I’m really a sucker for big time chaos. SUE ME! Was really face paced to start, what you’d expect from this sorta match, then settled down in the middle where there was some comedy, and then the go to the end run ,that I judge these sorta matches heavily upon since they depend on big spotz, which feels there. I feel watching this match in 2014 instead of 2001 hurts this A LOT! I’m watching this where a shooting star press isn’t something insane. If it was hectic leading into that I probably would have liked it more but it wasn’t. _​


----------



## Obfuscation

777 said:


> - Couldn't help but think the IC belt was secondary to their long standing rivalry. Great match. I really liked the cloverleaf/clash variation sequence. I'd imagine it's hard for Shinsuke to 'really' sell the leg given that so much of his offense revolves around them.


As did I. Until the celebration at the end. Kind of hits ya that now Tanahashi will be in line for some defenses. Which is kind of huge when you look at the scope. Only other guy to make what Nakamura did w/that championship feel a tiny bit bigger would be Tanahashi. I'm excited to see where it goes from here.


----------



## Chismo

Chismo said:


> *DVDVR Top 20 NJPW Matches of the 1980s*
> 
> PART I.
> 
> 
> 1.	81-09-23 Stan Hansen vs. Andre the Giant ***3/4
> 
> 2.	82-04-01 Andre the Giant vs. Killer Khan ****1/4
> 
> 3.	83-04-03 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu ***1/2
> 
> 4.	83-04-21 Riki Choshu vs. Tatsumi Fujinami ***3/4
> 
> 5.	83-08-04 Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu ******* :mark:
> 
> 6.	84-04-19 GAUNTLET: Seiki Gundan (Inoki, Fujinami, Fujiwara, Kimura, Takada) vs. Ishin Gundan (Choshu, Yatsu, Hamaguchi, K. Kobayashi, Teranishi) ******* :mark:
> 
> 7.	84-12-07 Dick Murdoch & Adrian Adonis vs. Antonio Inoki & Tatsumi Fujinami ****
> 
> 8.	86-02-06 Antonio Inoki vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara ******* :mark:
> 
> 9.	86-03-26 ELIMINATION MATCH: Inoki, Fujinami, Kimura, Ueda, Hoshino vs. Maeda, Fujiwara, Kido, Takada, Yamazaki ****1/4
> 
> 10. 86-05-01 GAUNTLET: Sakaguchi, Fujinami, Yamada, Kimura, Koshinaka vs. Maeda, Fujiwara, Kido, Takada, Yamazaki ****1/4


PART II.


11.	86-06-12 Akira Maeda vs. Tatsumi Fujinami ****1/2

12.	87-01-02 Kengo Kimura vs. Tatsumi Fujinami ****

13.	87-06-09 Riki Choshu vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara ***3/4

14.	87-08-19 ELIMINATION MATCH: Maeda, Choshu, Fujinami, Kimura, SS Machine vs. Inoki, Sakaguchi, Fujiwara, Mutoh, Hoshino ****3/4

15.	87-09-17 ELIMINATION MATCH: Maeda, Choshu, Fujinami, Takada, SS Machine vs. Inoki, Sakaguchi, Fujiwara, M. Saito, Murdoch ****1/4

16.	88-09-12 ELIMINATION MATCH: Fujinami, Fujiwara, Kimura, Yamada, Koshinaka, vs. Choshu, M. Saito, SS Machine, K. Kobayashi, H. Saito ***1/4

17.	89-03-16 Super Strong Machine & George Takano vs. Riki Choshu & Masa Saito ***1/2

18.	89-04-24 Vader vs. Shinya Hashimoto ***3/4

19.	89-06-27 Riki Choshu vs. Vader ***3/4

20.	89-08-10 Naoki Sano vs. Jushin Liger ****1/2


Overall, this is a great set for everyone interested in NJPW, but while I do appreciate variety, some of the matches simply don’t belong here. At least 6-7 of them. They’re good matches, of course, but “best of” lists should require crème de la crème, elite match-ups. I’m under impression that the list was made by only two or three guys, and one of them is into multi-man matches, and the other one is into bloody brawls, while the other voters had no choice but to jump on the bandwagon.


----------



## Obfuscation

80's elimination matches were so choice. Love the '88 one too.

All Japan's first show of 2014 was...decent. I liked Shiozaki vs KENSO & Sato vs Miyahara. KENSO's palm strikes are siiiick. Thought the finish there could have been taken in a different path. Still can see the Dark Kingdom vs Xceed beef going further. I don't see why it wouldn't. Isn't as if All Japan as much else going for it & the new program can have legs to go a certain distance.

Team Dream Futures vs SUSHI + Gaijins was fine. Wanted more from Irie other than the final hot tag, b/c he's good. Team Dream Futures offers a promising undercard for AJPW on the rest of the year & I'm plenty open to Bolen & Dux returning some more too. Dux was always solid & Bolen looks to be a functional power type guy. Those can always be fun in Japan throwing dudes around.

Ultimo vs Aoki was a bore. Cool to see Dragon draw attention from fans still & get them to react. But the match...eh. Tiresome. All that limbwork and no life. Got a bit drowzy mid six man, so that reserves another go. Kanemaru in the middle of all those sluggers. It's got potential. Still not much of a Suwama fan though. I'm trying; rarely ever convinced.


----------



## Chismo

Eh, WK 8 review, the final cut:












*Wrestle Kingdom 8*

_*(2014/1/4)*_


0.	Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tomoaki Honma, Cpt. New Japan, BUSHI vs. Jushin Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine, Yohei Komatsu

_A typical and passable pre-show match, fast paced with no dull moments. I wish they put Ishii, S. Tanaka and Yujiro here as well, but w/e, let’s not beat the dead horse anymore._

**


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) ©

_Overall, this was a fun spotfest where the right team won, I enjoyed the match for what it was, but it can’t be taken very seriously simply because they couldn’t resist doing those stupid overstaged moonsaults and dives onto 5-6 people._

*3/4


2.	*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Satoshi Kojima vs. Rob Conway ©

_Almost on the level of their Invasion Attack match, which I loved, they kept things very simple, that’s always appreciated. Conway is an average talent, but Kojima is aging so well, he turns shit into gold. Not that Conway is shit, though. Anyway, we got Kojima’s victory and the title change that felt big and important for the modern NWA leftovers, and Tharpe’s over-the-top antics were somehow amusing. It was nice to see Harley Race hanging around._

***1/4


3.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) ©

_This was a good, simple and fast paced, action packed match. Everybody looked good, particularly Archer and Doc, the booking was swell, the right team won._

***1/2


4.	The Gracies (Daniel & Rolles Jr.) vs. Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba

_Trainwreck. Trash. Boredom. Semi-shoot style done wrong. The Gracies looked fucking terrible. I’d rather see Kazuyuki Fujita in this one, at least he’s decent when motivated and still a draw._

1/4*


5.	Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano & Great Muta

_Not a good match, but still, there was your usual dose of Yano/Suzuki fun. Shelton sucked ass, of course, and Muta simply cannot wrestle anymore. But hey, the mist can!_

**1/2


6.	KING OF DESTROYER: Togi Makabe vs. Bad Luck Fale

_I was expecting a decent brawl at best, because Makabe always manages to pull these through, but damn, this turned out to be very enjoyable. I’ve watched the match three times already, heh. Makabe is great in situations like these, incredibly over with the fans, while Fale impressed the shit out of me, he looked very capable, with strong presence, and I hope he continues improving._

***3/4


7.	Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata

_Loved their Dominion match, liked the one from Dontaku, and didn’t like the one from Kizuna Road. So, judging by the track record, it could’ve gone either way. But thankfully, the Dome crowd felt the importance of the match, they felt the chemistry, they felt the competitors, their history, Shibata’s badassery and Goto’s preserverance and motivation, they ate it up. And thankfully, both guys did a tremendous job here, they kept things relatively cool, Shibata’s stiffness is very much appreciated, and the fact that Goto managed to survive him in a return match, is a pretty damn big put over, and a possible game changer for his career._

****


8.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Kota Ibushi vs. Prince Devitt ©

_I’m probably in the minority that loves the Bullet Club angle when it comes to interferences, distractions and stuff. It certainly helped this match, they created a lot of necessary heat._

***1/2


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

_Eh, didn’t think this was particularly good while watching live, and it went way down on a rewatch. Damn, this was painfully mediocre. Felt like a bad Kensuke Sasaki NOAH match, tbf, it dragged and dragged and dragged… They did some really cool stuff: those DDTs were amazing visuals, Naito going ham with elbows and headbutts at one moment, and the final two minutes were really good, Okada was immense there. But everything else felt way too mechanic and dry, i.e. tons of unnecessary moves with no heat or emotion, pin attempts after EVERY fucking signature move, overselling killing the pace, on-and-off rhythm, etc. Picking sides in this one and defending either guy is utterly redundant. Honestly, I felt insulted, and this match has tainted their rivalry. Now, technically, it wasn’t a bad match per se, but for the card positioning and context – it was bad._

**1/4


10.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

_I’ve already mentioned few times, loved this, a great match with a strong sense of struggle and hard-earned counters and comebacks. Unlike Naito/Okada, this match had a lot of heat and the crowd investment. Sure, Shinsuke didn’t really sell his leg too much, but it’s not like Tanahashi managed to make it a focus of his offensive strategy, because the match was mostly a back-and-forth affair, and Tanahashi never really pulled his usual tactics through. Tanahashi’s incredible streak continues, what a wrestler._

****1/2


Not on the level of WK 7, but great show nevertheless. Sure, Naito/Okada was a letdown, but that’s about it, because everyone and their mothers knew the Gracies’ match would suck ass. But that’s why we got a super pleasant surprise in Makabe/Fale. You already heard it, but the production of the show was something else, very much Domeworthy, so – fucking kudos there.​


----------



## Miguel De Juan

It's a shame Mutoh cannot go anymore. I really dig his matches from the late 90s and early and mid 2000s. I recently saw some of his stuff against Kojima and Norton. 

I feel like in his prime Mutoh should have had a big match against the Undertaker as The Great Muta.


----------



## Chismo

*New Year Wars 2014 – Day 1*

_*(2014/1/2)*_


1.	Osamu Nishimura & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Masao Inoue

N/A


2.	Hikaru Sato vs. Kento Miyahara

***


3.	Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao) vs. SUSHI, Tyson Dux, Jon Bolen

**1/2


4.	KENSO vs. Go Shiozaki

_“Where did that come from”, you might ask yourselves, but trust me, this is not shocking at all. I’m one of the biggest KENSO marks out there, last year I enjoyed his work and goofy persona, but he’s been really fucking cool since the heel turn that happened few months ago. Shiozaki, on the other hand, is a wrestler with a limitless potential, but more than often he pisses me off because he tries to remind everyone he’s Kobashi’s boy, unfortunately. Thankfully, that was not the case here, this was Go being Go, a ruthless choppin’ motherfucker. Anyway, this was a grudge match with a two month build, and it overdelivered, the heat and intensity was great, I enjoyed the hell out of this. The best KENSO match ever, of course, and Go needs to continue this way, he actually looks and carries himself like a true boss now. Keep doing that, plz._

****


5.	*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship*: Atsushi Aoki vs. Ultimo Dragon ©

_Now, here’s the match that deserves the “where did that come from” moniker. Okay, the first half was kind of dull, sure, there was a clever armwork by Aoki, but nevertheless, things were dull. But shit, the second half rocked, the armwork from the first half turned out to be the focus of the match, and Dragon sold it very well. The finishing run was exciting and suspenseful, Aoki was on the verge of victory, so Dragon had to pull off one of his vintage desperately complicated roll-ups in order to pull it through. Very good match._

***3/4


6.	Takao Omori, Jun Akiyama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Akebono, Suwama, Taiyo Kea

**1/2


7.	17-MAN NEW YEAR OPENWEIGHT BATTLE ROYAL

_FUN!_

N/A


Entertaining show with three good, notable matches.​


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

The antics of TAKA & Taichi at the NJPW/CMLL event & in general are wrestling comedy at it's finest. Love those guys.

Also I'm not up on CMLL at all so can somebody tell me who the hell was tagging with Liger vs Jado/Gedo? Watching Liger prance around like a fairy was something else.

And the looks from Jado/Gedo were hilarious. :lmao


----------



## Obfuscation

Good to see I'm not the only one who'll notice Shiozaki vs KENSO.

All Japan battle royal had me in stitches. Fuchi's bodyslam parade is a staple I want to see in more matches for as long as he continues to work.


----------



## AEA

Trying to get into Puro again. I say again because I tried a while back and it didn't really happen. I assuming Wrestle Kingdom 8 would be a good place to start? Any other big shows happen already this year that I should watch?


----------



## Chismo

*Day 1*

_*(2014/1/14)*_


1.	TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Titan & BUSHIROAD

**1/2


2.	Stuka Jr., Rey Cometa, Fuego vs. Vangelis, OKUMURA, Niebra Roja

**1/2


3.	World Class Tag Team (Jado & Gedo) vs. Maximo & Jushin Liger

**3/4


4.	Mascara Dorada & KUSHIDA vs. Volador Jr. & Tetsuya Naito

**3/4


5.	Ultimo Guerrero & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. La Sombra & Rush

1/4*


6.	Mephisto, Rey Escorpion, Kazuchika Okada vs. Mistico, Hiroshi Tanahashi, El Desperado

**1/4


No good matches, but no dull moments either.​


----------



## Alden Heathcliffe

Ultimo Dragon's come back to Japan? That's pretty cool. I always liked him more than Liger and Sasuke.


----------



## darkclaudio

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: KENTA (c) vs Takeshi Morishima **3/4 (NOAH 5/01/2014)


----------



## TelkEvolon

Alden Heathcliffe said:


> Ultimo Dragon's come back to Japan? That's pretty cool. I always liked him more than Liger and Sasuke.


He's been working in Michinoku Pro for years.


----------



## Obfuscation

Preferring Dragon over Liger? There's a legit shocker.

I'm a mark tho. _Ikari no Jushin!_


----------



## Chismo

*New Year Dash*

*(2014/1/5)*


1.	TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)

***1/4


2.	Minoru Suzuki vs. Sho Tanaka

***1/4


3.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine, Yohei Komatsu

**1/2


4.	El Desperado & Jushin Liger vs. Kota Ibushi & BUSHI

**


5.	Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)

***1/4


6.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shelton Benjamin)

***


7.	*NWA World Tag Team Championship*: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs. Rob Conway & Jax Dane ©

**


8.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Cpt. New Japan, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI)

****


Very good show, main event rocked.













*Day 4*

_*(2014/1/18)*_


1.	Taichi vs. Jado vs. Maximo

**3/4


2.	Stuka Jr. & Rey Cometa vs. OKUMURA & Yujiro Takahashi

1/2*


3.	Titan, Fuego, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA vs. Rey Escorpion, Vangelis, Niebra Roja, YOSHI-HASHI

***


4.	Mascara Dorada & El Desperado vs. Volador Jr. & BUSHIROAD

***1/4


5.	Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rush

***1/2


6.	Ultimo Guerrero, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii vs. La Sombra, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito

***1/2


7.	*Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship*: Mistico vs. Mephisto ©

*


Good show, especially if you’re into flips, dives, ‘ranas and shit. Main event was scary bad, though, the hell was that?! But that’s why #5 and #6 rocked. Fuck, Okada/Sombra needs to happen at some point, their exchanges were MONEY. :mark:​


----------



## Obfuscation

Hot damn, Akebono vs Omori 1/3/14 is a literal blast. Those two don't try to insult anyone's intelligence and they just work smart. It's not flashy, nor did it need to be. Akebono works like real super-heavyweight, Omori knows he has to take him down - utilizing the ol method of "chopping down the tree", the whole nine yards. Funfunfun. 

Consistency of the 1/3 show toppled the 1/2 show, despite nothing trumping Shiozaki vs KENSO in overall quality. Good, fun start for All Japan on the whole.


----------



## tigermaskfan23

May have asked this before on here but where can I go to watch more recent NJPW events online?


----------



## Lazyking

RealHero on daliymotion is a pretty good source. I watched Wrestle Kingdom 8 on youtube the other day.


----------



## Chismo

*Day 5*

_*(2014/1/19)*_


1.	Maximo & Mascara Don vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

**3/4


2.	OKUMURA & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Stuka Jr. & Rey Cometa

*3/4


3.	Titan, Fuego, El Desperado, Tiger Mask, BUSHIROAD vs. Vangelis, Niebra Roja, Toru Yano, Gedo, Jado

*3/4


4.	Rey Escorpion & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Rush & Tetsuya Naito

***3/4


5.	Ultimo Guerrero vs. La Sombra

*


6.	Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi vs. Mistico, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi

****


7.	*NWA World Welterweight Championship*: Mascara Dorada vs. Volador Jr. ©

***


Show rating: FUN!​


----------



## Obfuscation

Good grief, Morishima vs KENTA 1/5/14 was horrendous. Heatless moves match. I expected that tripe from KENTA, but not from Morishima. Last year's match looks like a million bucks by comparison.


----------



## Chismo

*New Year Wars 2014 – Day 2*

*(2014/1/3)*


1.	Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii vs. Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki

_A tremendous Junior tag, great opener that most likely won’t be topped this year. Well, it might be topped on DDT4 and BOLA, but that’s it. What stood out the most was the pacing, it’s so rare to see an undercard Junior match in modern wrestling structured this well. Smart work, smart structure, awesome contest. I want to see Irie in main event this year, if possible._

****


2.	Tyson Dux vs. Jon Bolen

_A decent gaijin showcase, I’m digging Bolen, he looks like he could go._

**3/4


3.	KENSO & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Osamu Nishimura & Ryuji Hijikata

**


4.	Ultimo Dragon & Hikaru Sato vs. Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara

***1/4


5.	*GAORA TV Championship*: Soma Takao vs. SUSHI ©

*3/4


6.	Jun Akiyama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Masao Inoue vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Suwama, Taiyo Kea

_I really like Fuchi and dig his old man schtick, but not in large doses. And boy, this match was one big dose of Fuchi doing his thing, and it gets tiresome at some point. Sure, it’s his anniversary match and all that jazz, but c’mon, 26 minutes is way too much. Not bad overall, but it had some dull moments._

**


7.	*AJPW Triple Crown Championship*: Takao Omori vs. Akebono ©

_This was surprisingly good, because Omori is borderline terrible in singles matches, but he did well here. Also, Akebono doesn’t get much credit for his recent efforts._

***


Solid show, very easy to sit through, minus few dull moments in the TV title match and the 6-man tag.​


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Wathing random prores on my hdd.


*NJPW SUPER J-CUP 5th STAGE FINAL (2009.12.23, Tokyo Korakuen Hall, SXW)
YAMATO vs. Gedo - **1/2
Devitt vs. Dino - **1/2
Taguchi vs. Kanemoto - **3/4
Marafuji vs. Tigers Mask - *3/4
Devitt vs. YAMATO - ***
Marafuji vs. Taguchi - ***1/4
Aoki/Jado/Gentaro/Hayato vs. Akira/Liger/Taichi/Ibushi - ***
Super J-Cip 2009 Finals
Marafuji vs. Devitt - **3/4*
Well, what can I say. I guess NJPW felt like giving Marafuji props for his innovative shit and hard work or whatever. But still... It's god damn Marafuji. It's the same " Ok, here comes spot #204" expression on his face, same over-choreographed matches, same botches. So, I didn't care for his win at all.
There was some good stuff on this show though - Taguchi (fucking love that guy) trying to have a good match with Marafuji, Devitt double-stomping Dino's nutsack (fucking ouch), Hayato/Ibushi exchange and some other fun moments/matches. But while the show was not terrible, Marafuji was the star of every weak match/part on it and he won the whole thing. So... Yeah.

*AJPW Real World Tag League 2008 Finals 
TenKoji vs SuwaKon - ***1/2+*
Very good. Yes, the 1st half was kinda boring, the match was very basic and the whole thing felt like a TenKoji tribute. But everyone did everything they could and they did their job very welll - Tenzan's comeback was good, no mess ups and Hiroyoshi saving Kojima=>Satoshi finishing off Kondo spot was sweet. A solid all-around match.


*Dragon Gate (11.16.2008)
Open the Dream Gate Title
Shingo Takagi vs. Susumu Yokosuka - ***1/4+*
The match was incredibly boring. The wrestling was fine and thanks to Shingo there was at least 1 guy in the ring showing some emotion, but that's just not enough if you want a great world title main event. Susumu is a fucking log. He's perfect for some tag team action, boring in singles action and boring as heck in important & very long matches.

*DG Final Gate 2013
Shingo/Tozawa vs. YAMATO/Doi - ***1/2*
Standart stuff, quality-wise. Tozawa was pretty over. YAMATO is a great heel. The booking of Doi was pretty bad here though. He did... nothing, basically. I understand why the spotlight was on Tozawa/YAMATO, but this is a *tag team championship* match aka everyone should do SOMETHING.

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom VI
Davey/Romero vs. Devitt/Taguchi - ****
1st of all - Opening the show with a championship match will never, ever make sense to me. Yes, the WK card is always stacked as fuck. Yes, no one really gives a damn about these belts. But when you put the 'championship match' label on a match, you better make that match seem more important than just a regular/an opening match. You want to open the show with jr. heavyweights? Fine, do it. But don't shit on the belts, don't book them.
Now, the match was alright (minus Davey's retarded superplex/suplex combo). Enjoyable jr. hwt opener without anything extra.

*Toryumon (14.08.2001)
Tokyo, Kid & Saito vs CIMA, SUWA & Fuji vs Mochizuki, Kanda & Darkness - ***1/4*
A fine DG multi-tag match. But just like many other DG/Toryumon matches from the past, this match got old. Many, many spots went from 'quite impressive' (2001) to 'ordinary' (2014).


----------



## Groovemachine

MTheBehemoth said:


> *Dragon Gate (11.16.2008)
> Open the Dream Gate Title
> Shingo Takagi vs. Susumu Yokosuka - ***1/4+*
> The match was incredibly boring. The wrestling was fine and thanks to Shingo there was at least 1 guy in the ring showing some emotion, but it's just not enough if you want a great world title main event. Susumu is a fucking log. He's perfect for some tag team action, boring in singles action and boring as heck in important & very long matches.


Dude you gotta check out the SHINGO/Yokozuka trilogy from the Dragon Gate UK shows. They're incredible. Yokozuka really evolves in that time period, and especially in the last encounter shows some good emotion. That trilogy really sold me on Susumu as a singles guy, and it's a shame he hasn't done much of note by himself since then.


----------



## darkclaudio

Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs Yuji Okabayashi & Shinya Ishikawa - NOAH 5/01/2014 **1/2
Xtra Large vs Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH 19/01/2014 ***
Mephisto, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi vs. Mistico, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi - NJPW 19/01/2014 ***


----------



## Rah

PWInsider (well, Mike Johnson, anyway) has stated that KENTA is currently at the performance centre for a WWE tryout and I assume that might be linked to 



Spoiler:  NOAH's show earlier in the month



him dropping the belt.


----------



## Snapdragon

I really want KENTA to be signed in that case. Not because I want to see him in WWE but so Noah can try and build up some damn new talent.


----------



## Chismo

*2014/1/2*


5.	MONSTER ITEMS DEATHMATCH: B Faultless Junky’s (Jun Kasai, Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda) vs. Yuko Miyamoto, Ryuji Ito, Danny Havoc

***


6.	Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Koji Kanemoto

_This match can be taglined "BattlARTS meets Strong BJ". Tons of closed fist punches and strikes. Nifty, painful holds. Great selling. HEAT. Anyway, this match will be either loved or loathed, because it had the "my turn, your turn" rhythm. Personally, I fucking love it for the reasons I mentioned. It's slightly clipped, but you barely notice. K-Hash is super duper awesome, and is grooming into a godly Japanese fattie that's going to be universally loved._

****


7.	Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Yuji Okabayashi

***1/4


8.	THE DEVOURING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH DEATHMATCH for *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Isami Kodaka ©

_Very nice deathmatch, Tsukamoto challenges for the belt first time ever. He shaved his head and put on some paint under the eye, looks like Numazawa Jr., which is not bad thing at all. He got put over big time here, including the post match speech by Kodaka. Speaking of Kodaka, as good as it’s to finally see him as the Champion, his size does him no favors, he has no fearful presence of a tough deathmatch top dog, not to mention he’s a lifelong underdog. He should drop the belt sooner rather than later._

***3/4













*New Year Navigation 2014*

*(2014/1/5)*


1.	Kenou vs. Hitoshi Kumano

**1/4


2.	Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Mohammed Yone

**1/4


3.	Daisuke Harada vs. Atsushi Kotoge

_This was really good, like, REALLY good. They worked smart, they paced themselves, they built, they sold, they struggled… Is this 1994 maybe?_

***3/4


4.	Shinya Ishikawa & Yuji Okabayashi vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

_All the snowflakes belong to Yuji and Haste._

***1/2


5.	BRAVE (Naomichi Marufuji, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Taiji Ishimori) vs. NO MERCY (Yoshihiro Takayama, Genba Hirayanagi, Hajime Ohara)

_When you get silent treatment in Korakuen, then you know how bad your work is. The only saving grace (not saving enough, though) was the Ishimori/Ohara finishing run._

*1/4


6.	Yuji Nagata vs. Maybach Taniguchi

_Not even five minutes after the finish, and I already forgot everything about the match, heh. I remember it sucked filthy ass, though._

1/2*


7.	*GHC Heavyweight Championship*: Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA ©

_Remember when these two had awesome, short matches back in 2006/07? Yeah, those were the times. And now? Eh… Remember when Al Bundy talked about stars? “Fuzzy McGee. There was a man. And a great sidekick. Where are today's sidekicks? Oh, the potential of a young Rick Moranis, or Steve Guttenberg or Martin Short. Oh, the goofy, limping, word-mispronouncing sidekicks they could be. But instead they wanna be stars. Well, good luck. Short couldn't even hold his own in "Three Amigos". But Fuzzy knew his place. He was a sidekick. He was a wuzzy wuzzy sidekick, was he? He really was. Well, Fuzz-man, this one's for you.” You catch my drift, I hope._

*3/4


The first half was good, but the second one was horrendous.​


----------



## MoxleyMoxx

^will have to give that BJW event a watch. Pretty sure BiggestJapan has it on Youtube.


----------



## sXeMope

When did Kodaka win the Deathmatch title? It's cool to see them reward his fearlessness but I really can't see him as a believable champion.



Rah said:


> PWInsider (well, Mike Johnson, anyway) has stated that KENTA is currently at the performance centre for a WWE tryout and I assume that might be linked to
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler:  NOAH's show earlier in the month
> 
> 
> 
> him dropping the belt.


I really hope nothing comes of that. WWE has a horrendous track record with Japanese guys. A feud with Punk could be pretty cool though.


----------



## Chismo

sXeMope said:


> When did Kodaka win the Deathmatch title? It's cool to see them reward his fearlessness but I really can't see him as a believable champion.


In November. It was a solid, but underwhelming match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Excited to watch the rest of the Big Japan show later today. Only watched the early clipped affairs and those were fine by me. Need to get on the real good stuff.

Harada & Kotoge should be used to the fullest by NOAH. Those dudes rule. I'd be all for KENTA leaving. WWE limiting him if he were to join could be a positive. That guy is borderline unbearable to watch in any other occasion over the last few years.


----------



## darkclaudio

Open The Dream Gate Championship Match: Masato Yoshino (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate 16/01/2014 ***1/2


----------



## ywall2breakerj

HayleySabin said:


> Good grief, Morishima vs KENTA 1/5/14 was horrendous. Heatless moves match. I expected that tripe from KENTA, but not from Morishima. Last year's match looks like a million bucks by comparison.


Heatless? The crowd was pretty vocal for NOAH standards, I'll take polite observing and loud reactions to big spots and finishing stretches over fangirl screaming at stupid dance moves ala Okada-Tanahashi KOPW. Also not sure in what universe you live in but Morishima was never a great worker he showed great potential in 2006 but he never grew as much as was expected of him which directly hurt NOAH's business and he's been bipolar for a long time. Also intriguing KENTA is horrible and can't sell and all that and Okada, Tanahashi, Nakamura etc. are all :mark: Care to back it up with anything other "he takes Dragon Screw and then does kick" ? And KENTA-Shima isn't any different from Shinsuke-Tanahashi and Okada-Naito in terms of being a "moves" match. It's wrestling. They do moves. What the big deal about it?




Kotoge is pretty much the new Kikuchi. The guy is that good.


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

Kenta is going to be making an announcement on Monday. He was at the performance center recently, so he might have signed with the WWE. If he does leave NOAH, then they're in trouble.


----------



## Obfuscation

ywall2breakerj said:


> Heatless? The crowd was pretty vocal for NOAH standards, I'll take polite observing and loud reactions to big spots and finishing stretches over fangirl screaming at stupid dance moves ala Okada-Tanahashi KOPW. Also not sure in what universe you live in but Morishima was never a great worker he showed great potential in 2006 but he never grew as much as was expected of him which directly hurt NOAH's business and he's been bipolar for a long time. Also intriguing KENTA is horrible and can't sell and all that and Okada, Tanahashi, Nakamura etc. are all :mark: Care to back it up with anything other "he takes Dragon Screw and then does kick" ? And KENTA-Shima isn't any different from Shinsuke-Tanahashi and Okada-Naito in terms of being a "moves" match. It's wrestling. They do moves. What the big deal about it?


Much like your thoughts, there's no "real" reason to have to back up anything I say. It's how I felt. They went out there and it had next to no life. Just a move, maybe another, pinfall. Sequence was only halted when the brawling came up outside. Portions of the match I found to be better than bad were when Morishima was knocking KENTA in the head w/some stiff shots and the finishing stretch, which was decent enough. It was more too little, too late for me by that point.

Also, OBVIOUSLY, we're in a simple disagreement about Morishima. Clearly, I'm high on him. Always have been. Nothing needed to strike a chord w/you. Got sick of KENTA a long time ago. Never said he "can't sell" in that post either, but whatever and stuff.

It's wrestling. We have opinions. What's the big deal about it? _(rhetorical btw)_


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Eh I'm just defending the company I like since no one else does so. It's not the dislike that bothers me it's the "I can't point out why it isn't any good" bit and the fact the only reasoning ever given is plain out laughable. Like If I called a Randy Orton match awful I'd have no problem giving out a million reasons what went wrong with it. But alas, it is what it is.


----------



## Obfuscation

I rant enough on crummy matches. Didn't feel the need to make a write-up about this specific match. Nor would have I figured anyone would have cared about my opinion enough to bring it up. Simple logistics here. Reflects nothing of how I feel on the company. Which has certainly gone downhill, but I still watch. And am personally glad I got the guy I like to see the most as their Heavyweight Champion.

Not to mention the match had next to nothing of note so there isn't too much detail I can list - aside from what I already did do in my last post - about why I disliked the match. Piles of nothing happen. And then they're just there. No words left to type.


----------



## Chismo

Major LEL at even trying to compare KENTA and his LELworthy matches to New Japan. Sounds like a cheap copout from a 12-year old kid, i.e. _"but teacher, this guy did the same thing, punish him too!"_. Morishima/KENTA was terrible, there was no heat, no flow, weak execution, going thru motions, etc.

And this is just flat out laughable:


> KENTA-Shima isn't any different from Shinsuke-Tanahashi and Okada-Naito in terms of being a "moves" match. It's wrestling. They do moves. What the big deal about it?


Even Naito/Okada (which was a huge letdown) had more emotion than Morishima/KENTA.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Yeah sorry no one's ever compared different pro wrestling matches before how dare I? Aside from Naito's random Headbutt outburst and Shinsuke's head stomps those two matches were nothing more than guys trading their shit, Okada-Naito just also had 15 minutes of literally nothing happening. I don't get "no heat"-they obviusly striked as if there were heat between them, the fans reacted to their stuff with heat when it came down to it, it worked. Their execution was fine they blew one spot they more than make that up with their superior Elbow throwing technique and the like. I'll stop now for I need my TAJIRI fix.


----------



## Snapdragon

KENTA's been lazy for a long time now but Morishima has been REALLY lazy for a much longer time. I can't think of a memorable match Shima has had outside of the states.


----------



## Chismo

*The First Navigation 2014 – Day 6*

_*(2014/1/19)*_


1.	Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa

_Only three minutes long, but it was action filled and fast paced. After being really good at the January 5th show, Ogawa continues to carry his opponents to decent outings._

**


2.	Ricky Marvin & Bobby Fish vs. Genba Hirayanagi & Daisuke Harada

**


3.	Xtra Large vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

_Blistering pace, hard strikes and good crowd._

***


4.	BRAVE (Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge) vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, Jonah Rock)

_Just like previous matches, this was nonstop action where everyone got chance to shine. Hell, even Yone was tolerable. Marufuji is tailormade for trios, I hope he never works singles again. TMDK impresses me more and more every time I watch them. This Rock guy, first time seeing him, he doesn’t seem bad. Reeks of Kevin Steen._

***1/4


5.	KENTA vs. Maybach Taniguchi

_Maybach got DQed after two minutes._

N/A


6.	KENTA vs. Maybach Taniguchi

_KENTA wants a new match, so he drags Maybach back to the ring from backstage. Decent short brawl, nothing special. I gotta give props to Taniguchi, his Mabyach persona doesn’t look like Shuhei AT ALL. Shuhei was a good wrestler, and Maybach is shite._

**1/2


7.	*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Hajime Ohara vs. Taiji Ishimori ©

_I’ll always love Ishimori, although he’s making his best efforts to change that. I fucking HATE his Gangnam Style dancing crap. But, whatever… This match was awesome, similar to Harada/Kotoge from January 5th, the work was very smart and consistent, great flow and pace. Ohara’s backwork on Ishimori was smart and swell, and Ishimori sold it very nice, he was constantly reminding us his back hurt, that’s much appreciated. There was a perfectly acceptable mix of fighting spirit and compelling selling. Really, really good match, go see it._

***3/4


8.	Yuji Nagata & Jushin Liger vs. Takeshi Morishima & Kenou

_This was a good prelude match, Shima’s new stable uses the same tactics as Bullet Club, I kind of dig that. Nagata/Shima promises to be a heated affair, but I really hope they don’t go over 15 minutes. Kenou looked great here._

***


Unlike the January 5th show, where the second half was awful, this event was strong all the way, very consistent.​


----------



## Ham and Egger

KENTA discusses why he was at the performance center:


> Pro Wrestling NOAH’s KENTA wrote about why he was at the Performance Center this week. yottsumepuroresu.blogspot.jp featured a translation from Japanese to English:
> 
> “I am sorry for having you all confused over the various information about my visit in the US.
> 
> As a matter of fact, I am in the States and enjoying the WWE training. But as for now, it’s not about getting a tryout or a contract.
> 
> It is indeed true that I have always been yearning for a spot in WWE, and I’ve always wanted to give it a try sometime. After all, you only live once. “I should have given it a try.” “I should have chosen another way.” I’ve had those regrets when I was in my middle and high school, and even after I got in to this business. I just did not want to regret later about something I haven’t tried, so I used my time off to participate in the WWE workout. The executives were at the workout, so perhaps I may have left a mark.
> 
> The place is full of competition and hungry guys. It’s not as simple as being good at Puroresu or having strength. There are so many guys with monster physique and guys who are way athletically superior to me. And even they don’t get into the big league. That’s how tough this place could be. I can easily imagine that surviving in this environment could be severe. And spending a few days in that environment became a really good experience for me.
> 
> I’m sorry to have caused the confusion, but one thing I can say for sure is that “I’m glad I came”. I would like to work even harder making use of this experience.
> 
> And lastly, I would like to thank [NOAH] President [Akira] Taue for letting me take this chance.”


Source: PWinsider.com


----------



## ywall2breakerj

*Fujita Jr. Hayato -vs- Kanemoto Kouji (Michinoku Pro; 2013-6-9)*

I gave five stars to their match in 2011 and for a while I was absolutely convinced this one was gonna surpass it. Stiffness aside they're almost nothing alike, but had they not got overly ambitious in creating an epic near the end this may have been my 2013 MOTY. Just absolutely fantastic. Kanemoto usually relies on his reputation and on his opponent's selling in creating an illusion of pain since he's like old now but boy did he just say fuck it and hand with Hayato here. He executed probably the greatest facewash in his career and even added a beatiful "fuck you kohei" slap right before doing the rope run kick. Folks in New Japan thrown tired, old man Elbows, these two throw Elbows that have Death written all over them. Hayato's selling was fantastic and there was a real sense of desperation which made his final comeback work and


Spoiler: result



whereas his 2011 victory felt like a miracle one him finally taking that long awaited last step and convincingly slaying the 90's big shot


 This match was 95% shit kicking and brutal spots (which were all nicely spaced out and all looked fantastic) but there was also some really nice matwork in the beginning as well. And of course we got some of those KID-Ankle Lock exchanges everyone adores. 

TLDR; this is the shit yo.


----------



## EmbassyForever

]NJPW Wataru Inoue announced his retirement today.


----------



## Nervosa

EmbassyForever said:


> NJPW Wataru Inoue announced his retirement today.


Wow, I was just wondering what happened to him. He really did quite well in the first few Laughter7 tags.

Pretty sad news, actually. Not that he ever did much once he made the heavyweight switch, but definitely missed potential.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Tanahashi/Naito/Goto vs Okada/Nakamura/Ishii - 2/2/14. MotY so far for me. Easily ****1/2.


----------



## darkclaudio

- Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 2/02/2014 ****

-*Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match*: Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Saito & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin (c) vs CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid - Dragon Gate Infinity 18/01/2014 ***1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

Did Inoue get injured sometime last year or what? b/c he upped and vanished without a mention. Now he's retired. I won't lose sleep over it. He had that strong match vs Ishii a few years ago. Basically his peak.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah he got injured last spring and it was bad enough for him to call it a day. That and the fact he was never going to amount to anything if he did return so probably a smart move on his behalf.*


----------



## bigbuxxx

His peak to me was when he got his head kicked off by that striker guy at WK 6 (think it was 6) after Nagata had broken striker guys jaw with his running knee. Literally my only memory of him.


----------



## Chismo

*Road to The New Beginning 2014 – Day 1*

_*(2014/2/2)*_


1.	TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu

_Taichi is the absolute best of the best._

***


2.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado) vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, BUSHI

**


3.	Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. Tomoaki Honma & Cpt. New Japan

***1/4


4.	TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & El Desperado vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Kota Ibushi

**3/4


5.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr.)

***1/4


6.	Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi, Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Bad Luck Fale, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson)

***3/4


7.	CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito

***3/4​


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax Day 9 (!) Review:
*
Yujiro Takahashi vs. Yuji Nagata: ***1/2

Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano: ***1/4

Shelton X Benjamin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***3/4

Karl Anderson vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***3/4 (Both semi-finals matches were great and on the same level pretty much)

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Lance Archer: **1/4 (Wow... what was that? both are my fave in NJPW, and I was expecting a much, much, much better match, the match wasn't bad or anything... just really boring and flat)

Prince Devitt vs. Togi Makabe: **1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Satoshi Kojima: ****1/4 (Now that was awesome, first time seeing Okada working as a heel in a long time and he did a good job, Kojima/Okada at the next iPPV should be fun)

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ***1/4

Kota Ibushi, Akebono, and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, and Takashi Iizuka: ***1/4

G1 Climax Finals: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****1/2 (I've been hearing mixed reviews for this one and as you can see I really loved it, Naito's selling wasn't as bad as some made it sound and I loved the drama and intensity, Naito looked like million bucks at the end)

Finally.. it's over!


----------



## Obfuscation

I loved the G1 Finals as much as you when I first watched it. On the second go around I thought it was largely average at best. Didn't hold up much for me. Naito has had plenty stronger since he returned.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Always meant to mention the Okada vs Shibata match from the G-1. What was with the abrupt (what I thought was terrible) ending? A great contest for like 15 minutes then Shibata goes for one of his signature moves and then Okada counters with a dropkick, does a tombstone, hits the rainmaker all within 30 seconds. It's like he just gave up selling and his show and said "fuck you i could've beaten you at any time but now i want to go home". I honestly don't think I've seen a worse burial than that in any fed. Any explanation is welcome.


----------



## Obfuscation

I'd have to see it again to notice any gripes. I remember thinking the match was quite good, but was a bit surprised to see Okada get the clean victory via Rainmaker. Part of me was guessing a flash pin type of finish for whatever reason. They did it w/Tanahashi vs Shibata. So, I wasn't too off in expecting a result of that nature.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Go to 12:00 of this video. Reversal is at 12:13 and match is over at 12:35.


----------



## Chismo

Well, I can see why some find it too sassy. And while it wasn't the greatest finishing solution ever, it wasn't dealbreaking either. Shibata took his time and paid the price, that's how I see it.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

The way I see it Okada's overly complicated moves weren't gonna work against shooter Shibata so a quick flurry of his biggest moves was the right way to go.


----------



## GothicBohemian

bigbuxxx said:


> Tanahashi/Naito/Goto vs Okada/Nakamura/Ishii - 2/2/14. MotY so far for me. Easily ****1/2.





darkclaudio said:


> - Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW 2/02/2014 ****



Ok, I've had to make a change of plans. I'm staying in and watching this tonight :mark: rather than letting it linger on my computer (to inevitably get pushed aside until the Olympics ends...).


----------



## Smitty

I've been trying to get into puro lately and found a top 50 NJPW matches of all time on XWT, so I thought it would be a good start to watch the great stuff first. here's whats on the pack



Spoiler: list



01. Wild Pegasus vs. Great Sasuke - NJPW Super J Cup - Final - [16.04.1994] 
02. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW Invasion Attack - [07.04.2013] 
03. Koji Kanemoto vs. El Samurai - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior IV - Final [05.06.1997] 
04. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW King of Pro Wrestling - [08.10.2012] 
05. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 23 - Day 4 - [04.08.2013] 
06. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Samurai - Top Of The Super Junior III Final - [30.04.1992] 
07. Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask I - NJPW Big Fight Series II - Day 19 - [21.04.1983] 
08. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. The Great Sasuke - NJPW Super J Cup - Final - [16.04.1994] 
09. Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW Dominion - [22.06.2013] 
10. Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 40th Anniversary Show - [04.03.2012] 

11. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. The Great Sasuke - NJPW Battle Formation - [29.04.1996] 
12. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani - NJPW Fighting Spirit 1997 - Day 11 - [09.02.1997] 
13. Antonio Inoki vs. Big Van Vader - NJPW Wrestling World In Tokyo Dome - [04.01.1996] 
14. Kota Ibushi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW G1 Climax 23 - Day 4 - [04.08.2013] 
15. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito - NJPW G1 Climax 23 - Finals - [11.08.2013] 
16. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - NJPW G1 Climax 23 - Finals - [11.08.2013] 
17. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. - NJPW Invasion Attack - [07.04.2013] 
18. Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW G1 Climax 6 - Day 1 - [02.08.1996] 
19. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Naoki Sano - Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium - [31.01.1990] 
20. The Steiner Brothers vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW Starrcade - [21.03.1991] 

21. El Samurai, Jushin Liger & Wild Pegasus vs. Koji Kanemoto, Shinjiro Otani & Tatsuhito Takaiwa - NJPW Hyper Battle 1997 - Day 1 - [05.03.1997] 
22. The Great Sasuke vs. Ultimo Dragon - J-Crown Tournament Final - [05.08.1996] 
23. Wild Pegasus vs. El Samurai - Top Of The Super Junior IV Final - [14.06.1993] 
24. Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask I - NJPW Summer Fight Series II - Day 7 - [23.07.1982] 
25. Ultimo Dragon vs. Shinjiro Otani - J-Crown Tournament Final - [05.08.1996] 
26. The Great Sasuke & Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus & Shinjiro Otani - NJPW Super Grade Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Day 9 - [18.10.1994] 
27. Keiji Muto vs. Masahiro Chono - G1 Climax 1991 Final - [11.08.1991] 
28. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Owen Hart - NJPW Explosion Tour 1991 - Day 11 - [28.04.1991] 
29. Genichiro Tenryu vs. Shinya Hashimoto - NJPW G1 Climax 8 - Day 2 - [01.08.1998] 
30. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani - NJPW Hyper Battle 1996 - Day 7 - [17.03.1996] 

31. Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - NJPW Dream Tour - 01.11.1990 
32. Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom V - [04.01.2011] 
33. Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask I - NJPW Summer Fight Series II - Day 19 - [05.08.1982] 
34. Hiroshi Hase vs. The Great Muta - NJPW - [14.09.1990] 
35. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii - NJPW G1 Climax 23 - Day 2 - [02.08.2013] 
36. Big Van Vader vs. Stan Hansen - NJPW Super Fight in Tokyo Dome - [10.02.1990] 
37. El Samurai vs. Shinjiro Otani - NJPW New Year Special - [21.01.1996] 
38. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma - NJPW Invasion Attack - [07.04.2013] 
39. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson - NJPW The New Beginning - [10.02.2013] 
40. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yuji Nagata - NJPW Wrestling World 2004 - [04.01.2004] 

41. Kota Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XVIII - Day 10 - [10.06.2011] 
42. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada - NJPW The New Beginning - [12.02.2012] 
43. Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus - NJPW Best Of The Super Junior III - Day 17 - [11.06.1996] 
44. The Great Muta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger - NJPW Super Grade Tag League VI - Day 8 - [20.10.1996] 
45. Prince Devitt vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW Dominion [18.06.2011] 
46. Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW Dominion - [22.06.2013] 
47. Koji Kanemoto vs. Kota Ibushi - Best Of The Super Junior XVI - Day 1 - [30.05.2009] 
48. Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi - NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7 - Evolution [04.01.2013] Triple Threat 
49. Hiroshi Hase vs. The Great Muta - NJPW Battle Final 1992 - Day 11 - [14.12.1992] 
50. Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki - NJPW The New Beginning - [10.02.2013]



thoughts?


----------



## Obfuscation

Dunno who made the list but gosh, they're creaming mad over the recent product. Tanahashi vs Naito #15. The hell? 

Why isn't Regal vs Hashimoto on it? Bah.


----------



## Rah

Is that a pack of NJPW's top 50 or first 50 matches they found on Youtube? It's terrible.


----------



## vault21

Not Togi?


----------



## WOOLCOCK

That's a truly horrible list. No Hashimoto/Hase, Fujiwara/Choshu, no Hashimoto/Tenryu match pre '1998, the New Japan/UWF Gauntlet from '86, Choshu's Army vs Inoki's Army Gauntlet '84, Hansen/Andre '81, Hashimoto/Iizuka vs Murakimi/Ogawa '00, Kawada/Fuchi vs Nagata/Iizuka '00, Hashimoto/Regal, Hashimoto/Yamazuki, Benoit/Eddie down in #43, only one Liger/Sano bout, no Fujinami at all, 2x Dynamite Kid/Sayama matches, yeeeesh.

Horses for courses and all that jazz, but there's a pretty shocking exclusion of 80s and early 90s work there, with a clear fascination for the juniors division first and foremost and then the modern product thereafter. I get people have different tastes, but there's a staggering amount of high end company work excluded there and I wonder how much of that is due to past eras being lost/not sought about as commonly today.


----------



## Lazyking

is Hiroshi Tanahashi's first IWGP title run available anywhere? I'm a big fan of Tanahashi and I'm looking for his title matches and really, all the IWGP title matches.


----------



## Chismo

Rah said:


> Is that a pack of NJPW's top 50 or first 50 matches they found on Youtube? It's terrible.





WOOLCOCK said:


> That's a truly horrible list.


Eh, SMITTY's just getting into puro, and for starters, the list is pretty good. Lists shouldn't be taken very seriously, especially if you're getting into something. I strongly disagree with the list, but mad props to whoever put it together in a pack, I reckon few people might get attracted to NJPW with such an easy access to the various matches.



WOOLCOCK said:


> with a clear fascination for the juniors division first and foremost


Have you seen DVDVR's Top 20 NJPW Matches of the 90s list? Now, THAT's a fascination for the Jr. division.


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Nah, I tend to stay away from those ones ever since they put together the best of 90s Lucha and that god damn Worlds Collide tag was ahead of Panther/Atlantis, Dandy/Casas, Damiancito/Cicloncito etc. Tbf to them I think they've since stated they'd do that again if they could, but as for now I tend to just order goodhelmet's comps if I want a complete collection.

I suppose you have a point vis a vis getting into puro, although I do think there's an array of Hashimoto matches in particular that would be a great introduction to the violent spectacle puro represents, whilst also displaying the subtle and storytelling aspects that make puro should an engrossing product when it's done correctly. 

I'd really recommend Hashimoto/Regal from 4/16/95 SMITTY if you get chance. Regal looks like a genuine world class talent in it and it's the best he's ever looked in terms of a main event title match. Hashimoto more than matches Regal though and it's a great 'ace' performance against an unfancied outsider who starts to become more of a threat than first imagined as the bout progresses.

Also, any puro noob needs to watch Hansen/Andre imo. An absolute masterpiece.


----------



## vault21

It's a list, so there's rarely one that appeals to everyone. Having said that, they're obviously hamfisting some of the newer product :deandre


----------



## WOOLCOCK

What we're trying to say SMITTY, is that New Japan has a plethora of great matches over the years, but you wanna be all over the New Japan/WAR feud from late '92 into early '94. That is the dogs bollocks and one of the best periods in wrestling imo, just a tremendous array of intense and violent tags with big singles matches intertwined and molten hot crowds coming unglued for everything.

I'll give them props for including Hashimoto/Choshu from the '96 G1 Climax mind you. But Eddie/Benoit is criminally low. Not sure if you've seen that one already SMITTY being an avid US wrestling fan, but I'd say that's the best match out of the Eddie/Benoit/Regal/Finlay pairing and it might be better than the best Eddie/Mysterio match to boot.


----------



## Smitty

WOOLCOCK said:


> Nah, I tend to stay away from those ones ever since they put together the best of 90s Lucha and that god damn Worlds Collide tag was ahead of Panther/Atlantis, Dandy/Casas, Damiancito/Cicloncito etc. Tbf to them I think they've since stated they'd do that again if they could, but as for now I tend to just order goodhelmet's comps if I want a complete collection.
> 
> I suppose you have a point vis a vis getting into puro, although I do think there's an array of Hashimoto matches in particular that would be a great introduction to the violent spectacle puro represents, whilst also displaying the subtle and storytelling aspects that make puro should an engrossing product when it's done correctly.
> 
> I'd really recommend Hashimoto/Regal from 4/16/95 SMITTY if you get chance. Regal looks like a genuine world class talent in it and it's the best he's ever looked in terms of a main event title match. Hashimoto more than matches Regal though and it's a great 'ace' performance against an unfancied outsider who starts to become more of a threat than first imagined as the bout progresses.
> 
> Also, any puro noob needs to watch Hansen/Andre imo. An absolute masterpiece.


Damn these responses were disappointing but I will probably check out the top 10 and also watch the matches you and others pimped, thanks guys


----------



## WOOLCOCK

Tbh I can't tell you what to watch, as you might watch the current product and adore it (whereas I like aspects of it but don't personally view it as high as others do). I'd say watch the top ten, and if the recent matches impress you then seek out as much of the other matches from that timeframe, and if they don't resonate with you then sample some of the 80s/90s stuff and if you're stuck for suggestions just ask in here/via PM and people will supply you with some 'essential' viewing.


----------



## Smitty

I'll watch the top 10, I will say that I enjoyed Wrestlekingdom FWIW


----------



## Chismo

Simple and honest advice - watch everything, SMITTY, you can't go wrong with New Japan, even the early-mid 00s MMA era has it's great moments, and all this shit we talk, it's all shades and grumpiness that comes with puroresu. Being a puro fan, it's a gift...and a curse.


As far as the new stuff goes, I'm pretty comfortable with putting Suzuki/Tanahashi (KOPW '12) in New Japan's Top 10 list.


----------



## Rah

Tanahashi/Okada is all the rage with most people here, so don't mind some of us cynical fools, Smitty. In honesty and in hindsight, that top 10 is probably a standard cross-over point for most WWE fans into NJPW and something I could see them actively enjoying even if it won't remain as something they like after branching out further down the line.

It isn't as if I'm innocent of over-rating some rather appalling matches when I first got into Japanese wrestling, anyway.


----------



## Brock

Anyone know the date of this:






Is it the Jan 2010 match?


----------



## Chismo

Rah said:


> Tanahashi/Okada is all the rage with most people here, so don't mind some of us cynical fools, Smitty. In honesty and in hindsight, that top 10 is probably a standard cross-over point for most WWE fans into NJPW and something I could see them actively enjoying even if it won't remain as something they like after branching out further down the line.


And what if there are dudes who like Tanahashi/Okada/Nakamura combos on the same levels as some of the most famous matches of the 80s and 90s? Me being one of them. I absolutely disagree with your ratio here.




Rah said:


> It isn't as if I'm innocent of over-rating some rather appalling matches when I first got into Japanese wrestling, anyway.


For example, you love that Khan/Choshu match from '86, and it's only good.


----------



## Rah

Yeah, that was a rather broad brush that I used. The first line involving Tanahashi/Okada was rather about how most people enjoy their matches (aside from myself and one or two others) and relates to the strong probability of Smitty liking them, too. The latter comment holds more for matches like Goto/Shibata that really aren't any good and would stop being fun after you've seen big raging bull done properly or, incidentally, both men wrestling at their best.


CHOSHU NO BAD MATCH. SHUN YOU HEATHEN.


----------



## Lazyking

I dig Tanahashi/Okada matches but that's not to say I don't like older New Japan. It's just hard to cover everything when the current product is enjoyable to you and being the wrestling fans most are here, New Japan isn't all you watch.


----------



## seabs

The Hitman said:


> Anyone know the date of this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is it the Jan 2010 match?


*Yes.*


----------



## Obfuscation

At least that list included Liger vs Muta 10/20/96. It's much too low, but I'll try and look at a positive about it. Then again, I may be the only person alive to consider that a top match produced by the company.


----------



## GothicBohemian

Lazyking said:


> I dig Tanahashi/Okada matches but that's not to say I don't like older New Japan. It's just hard to cover everything when the current product is enjoyable to you and being the wrestling fans most are here, New Japan isn't all you watch.


Very much this. There are always going to be newcomers. There are always going to be fans that start with the current product and follow it forward with little interest in prior decades. That’s fine. Not everyone has time or interest to become wrestling historians.

Knowing the history is part of embracing anything – I’d encourage anyone curious to seek out the matches that influenced any company’s evolution – but I wouldn’t scoff at those who just want to watch and enjoy without digging too deep. It’s also just fine to prefer modern era over past greats (and vice versa). Folks like what they like.


----------



## Obfuscation

It's all initial cynical shock from those who know New Japan had plenty of goods to offer outside of their recent "branching out" successes w/the modern day product. I love the current stuff 9/10. Think it's fabulous. So i'm on both sides of the fence. Love the new stuff, loved stuff from the 80's & 90's. I'm just all for someone getting to see _all_ of what is worth your time. Which is most. It's a heavy load, yet, certainly worth the time if wanting to get into the promotion.


----------



## Lazyking

Searching for matches can be daunting though and commentary not being in English will likely turn new fans off more than it should.. Plus, unless you come to forums like this or have a friend who loves other wrestling, most grow up now being WWE fans, thinking that's the only wrestling out there. 

I think I got into Japanese wrestling from watching Beniot's dvd.. before that, I knew about it somewhat cause of Taka Michinoku in WWF but for alot of my childhood, I had no internet or friends that even liked wrestling.

It hasn't been til recently that I've gotten more into NJPW because its never been easier to follow product. I've had constant internet for the last four years but it was so overwhelming to find something you didn't know you'd like or what wrestlers to look up.


----------



## Obfuscation

The commentary shouldn't be a problem in the slightest. Largely b/c the commentary in Japan is pretty amazing. Often adds to matches more than it would be a problem b/c they don't happen to be speaking English.


----------



## Lazyking

Not that I disagree, I enjoy the commentary; however a WWE fan who wants the commentators to fill the holes in for him, explain the story of why the match is happening would be lost going in. Therefore, the only hook is the match itself.. I could even say that the respectful Japanese crowd could be off putting but that's personally one of my favorite parts of the puro experience.


----------



## 777

Not true. The storytelling both in and out of the ring is so basic as to require little to no explanation. In turn your left with the impression of excitement in the description of the ring work, even though one doesn't understand what's being said.


----------



## Obfuscation

^Bingo. Most of the time all you need to do is watch a "build up" TV show from a promotion and you'll easily understand the stories going on. They're very simplistic in their approach across the board. So much so, that even if you started w/a bigger event from a promotion, they'll show the proper hype videos which explain the point A to point B gripe every time. And if the specific match has a championship involved, boom. Even easier.


----------



## EmbassyForever

> Wes brisco ‏@Wesbrisco
> I'm so excited getting the opportunity to go to newJapan !!!!!!!!!!!!! Tokyo in two months time to get in the best shape of my life!!!!!


.... I have nothing to say.


----------



## Obfuscation

Best sick joke I've ever read.


----------



## Lazyking

Wes Brisco? Ugh.. Then again, New Japan seems to turn shit into gold..


----------



## Concrete

Lazyking said:


> Wes Brisco? Ugh.. Then again, New Japan seems to turn shit into gold..


That'd need a lot of turd polishing.


----------



## Obfuscation

It won't happen.


----------



## Concrete

But I wanted to use the term "turd polishing"


----------



## Obfuscation

You can keep it going until he shows up. Which I'm only going to hope is as a trainee & not to work any matches. Could it be for a one time appearance by proxy of the NWA angle?


----------



## Chismo

So, I just checked DDT's "Progress and Harmony of Wrestling" show from Ryogoku 13/8/17. And boy, it's something else: singers, dancers, monsters, spacemen, idol lumberjacks... Nothing but two hours of whacky entertainment. Unfortunately, that means they cut two potentially really good matches - Takeshita/Omega and TDF trio. And when I say "cut", I mean "slayed", they only showed 2 min highlights of both. Thankfully they aired the Ibushi/Dino main event in its proper length, it was a good match if you don't take Dino's character very seriously. ***1/4 for it. There's a proper DVD version of the show with full matches, but I don't feel like paying 8 bucks + shipping for it.

DDT = BEST


----------



## Concrete

I have no reason to believe this turd is gonna get polished which is why I responded with "It'll need A LOT of polishing". I don't believe Wes works for any NWA promotion. Someone on the Twatter told me that his dad is buds with Tiger Hattori or something.


----------



## Obfuscation

DDT is a lot of fun. Don't talk about 'em enough, but I enjoy their product a bunch. From the zany matches done in Libraries & parks to the real standing battles in a more traditional setting. I think anyone who watches them know not to take all aspects too seriously. And, any promotion that gives El Generico a main event championship run is glorious in my book.



> I have no reason to believe this turd is gonna get polished which is why I responded with "It'll need A LOT of polishing". I don't believe Wes works for any NWA promotion. Someone on the Twatter told me that his dad is buds with Tiger Hattori or something.


Random shot in the dark. Knew the other option had to be his name value going somewhere for him. Goodness, on how he isn't a Brisco. Not in the slightest in terms of real talent.


----------



## Concrete

The fact that it has carried him to two "major" promotions is so unsettling. You'd think after WWE and TNA people would be able to stay away but NJPW has a thing for big gaijins with a bit of a name.


----------



## Obfuscation

Probably getting off on maybe thinking they can actually make his appearance work. So they're going to book him for a tour. Val Venis in 2009 was less questionable than this.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Brisco to the Bullet Club to team with his old partner in arms Doc, lol

Let him be a Bullet Club minion who escorts out the other members, interferes while wearing a mask like he did with the A&8's to cover up the goofy mug of his & I could see this working. Besides that, can't wait to witness the 5-Star classic match between Wes & Nakanishi.


----------



## Obfuscation

It'll kill the gimmick if this happens. You've officially scared me now b/c he is a Gaijin.


----------



## LateTrain27

Please keep Wes Brisco away from the Bullet Club.


----------



## Obfuscation

Why is Shinya Ishikawa main eventing the latest BJW show w/a chance to win the vacant Strong Heavyweight Championship? He's like the most forgettable wrestler...ever.


----------



## vault21

Why is BJW anything?


----------



## Concrete

Ishikawa was pretty darn swell in 2014 so shhhhhhhh. Granted I don't think he has really any charisma to speak of which is the disappointing part.


----------



## Obfuscation

Imagine you mean 2013, but I kind of like the option that you have a time machine and don't want to rule it out. :side:


----------



## Concrete

That's the 3rd time in about a week I've done that from typing to talking. And always about wrestling. I blame all the DeLoreans as of late.


----------



## seabs

*Because Sekimoto, Okabayashi and Sasaki are all out injured right now so it only really left him and Kawakami to contest the belt unless you include Shinobu and Madoka and them guys but they don't really represent a STRONG Champion. He's further along than Kawakami is anyway but I agree he isn't the most exciting and nowhere near the level of the big 3. This was always the problem with introducing that title to such a small division built on 3 pillars.*


----------



## vault21

I frookin loved their strong division push


----------



## SaviorBeeRad™

Found a playlist of Meltzer 5 star matches on youtube, time for my history lesson :yum:


----------



## Obfuscation

Shinobu being an underdog scrapper among the thick bodies and heavy hitters is an angle I wouldn't be opposed to. I actually get into his work. Not sure it would hurt the division at this time w/the injuries. Got room to play around w/things. _(Didn't know Okabayashi got put on the sidelines too; must have been very recent)_


----------



## Chismo

Shinya is good. Not great (he can be sometimes), but good enough. Although, yeah, Kawakami is better, but don't you guys know about seniority in Japan? 

Good news is SHUJI Ishikawa might spend some more time in Strong Division, and that guy is a horrific ruthless fucker. Predator. Marabou Stork. Check his non-DM stuff to witness the violence, everyone. 

But none of it matters because K-Hash is the best of them all anyway. He's the next universally loved fattie.


----------



## Concrete

K-HASH!!!


----------



## Bruce L

Shinya and Sasaki are a pretty awesome tag team, no? I haven't seen many matches, and several of those I have are solid-to-good but not world-beating affairs from their run in the NOAH tag league last year, but I've read pretty consistently good things about them together.

Shuji Ishikawa as a Strong BJ contender makes sense and also is wonderful. The way the consensus has turned on Strong BJ to complete indifference after the 2011 lovefest makes me sad, but I can't deny that Sekimoto and Okabayashi going to All Japan and stealing the All Asia belts did a LOT more for the style than Big Japan establishing its own title.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I think BJW should've just said fuck it and but the belt on K-Hash. Have him kayfabe injure Kawakami to get into a title match against Ishikawa and follow it up with him super heeling his way through a couple of defences before ANYONE heals up and takes the belt of him. I love them but Ishikawa and Kawakami have little credibility so why not just go all out?


----------



## Chismo

*Monday NOAH*

_*(2014/2/3)*_


1.	Hitoshi Kumano vs. Daisuke Harada

***


2.	Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Genba Hirayanagi

**


3.	Hajime Ohara vs. Yoshinari Ogawa

***


4.	Taiji Ishimori vs. Xtra Large

**


5.	Shinya Ishikawa vs. Jonah Rock

***


6.	Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Naomichi Marufuji

**3/4


7.	Mikey Nicholls vs. Mohammed Yone

**


8.	Atsushi Kotoge vs. Takashi Sugiura

***1/4


9.	Kenou vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

***1/4


10.	Shane Haste vs. Takeshi Morishima

**3/4


11.	NO DQ: KENTA vs. Maybach Taniguchi

***​


----------



## Chismo

*The New Beginning 2014 in Hiroshima*

*(2014/2/9)*


1.	El Desperado & Jushin Liger vs. Kota Ibushi & BUSHI

**


2.	Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki

**


3.	Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba

**3/4


4.	Michael Tarver vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

**3/4


5.	*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Big Daddy Yum-Yum vs. Satoshi Kojima ©

***1/4


6.	Tomohiro Ishii & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma

***


7.	Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Bad Luck Fale, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson) vs. Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi, Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley)

***1/4


8.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI

***3/4


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows ©

***1/2


10.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ©

****3/4​


----------



## Lazyking

Anything must see from Dragon Gate in the last 2 years or so? I was so into that promotion for awhile.


----------



## Chismo

Anything from Mochizuki's 2011 reign.


Watched Okabayashi/Ishii from LEGEND 1/13, and it's good, but not great. The entire match is one big test of strength, but done in slow pace, there was no famous energy these two bring to the table. Strange, it's almost like they nullified each other, or something. The crowd didn't help either, they were totally non-Korakuen like. But nevertheless, the match was good, many fine things happened, including tons of stiffness. I have a feeling a rematch in Big Japan would rock the world.

***1/4


----------



## flag sabbath

Chismo said:


> Watched Okabayashi/Ishii from LEGEND 1/13, and it's good, but not great. The entire match is one big test of strength, but done in slow pace, there was no famous energy these two bring to the table. Strange, it's almost like they nullified each other, or something. The crowd didn't help either, they were totally non-Korakuen like. But nevertheless, the match was good, many fine things happened, including tons of stiffness. I have a feeling a rematch in Big Japan would rock the world.
> 
> ***1/4


Yeah, I had it at ****1/2* with similar sentiments. Concussive strong-style a-go-go, but lacking direction at times & begging for the crowd to give a shit.


----------



## Punkhead

I haven't been following NJPW for some time now and I want to ask, what happened to Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero? Where did they disappear?


----------



## Lazyking

I need a Hiroshi Tanahashi air guitar gif.


----------



## Punkhead

Spoiler: maybe spoiler






Lazyking said:


> I need a Hiroshi Tanahashi air guitar gif.


----------



## Lazyking

awesome thanks.. would rep if i could


----------



## bigbuxxx

that seems to be a spoiler ITT


----------



## Obfuscation

Seabs, please lay out some punishment for this.

Jesus.


----------



## bigbuxxx

yep, bring out the banhammer :gun:


----------



## seabs

*It's not really a spoiler anyone would guess had any meaning before someone mentioned it was a spoiler tbf.*


----------



## Obfuscation

It's common sense though.


----------



## bigbuxxx

idk, i hadn't yet watched the match but saw the title on the ground and even that his right arm was a focal point during the match cuz of the ice. w/e. 

finally watched the match. it was pretty good.


----------



## Punkhead

Well sorry, guys. Someone asked for this, so I assumed that they had seen it already.


----------



## vault21

Damnit, XWT still doesnt have the second part of the The New Beginning


----------



## Obfuscation

People who think Rob Conway was bad as the NWA representative have nothing to complain about towards him after seeing Tarver & Big Daddy Yum Yum work matches. :hayden3


----------



## vault21

Tbh I expected much less from him in Cozy match.


----------



## Obfuscation

If it wasn't for Kojima being out there I probably would have fallen asleep. He bumped hilariously on Kojima's chops. That's about it.


----------



## Punkhead

So I'm gonna ask again. What happened to Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero? Where are they?


----------



## vault21

HayleySabin said:


> If it wasn't for Kojima being out there I probably would have fallen asleep. He bumped hilariously on Kojima's chops. That's about it.


I'm still pissed they didn't go through with the rope hung whiplash spot. Damn you Cozy :leslie


----------



## flag sabbath

TomasThunder619 said:


> So I'm gonna ask again. What happened to Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero? Where are they?


They worked the Dome & Korakuen the night after. They were always likely to miss December's tag league & January's Fantasticamania. No idea if their absence from the New Beginning shows is as significant as you seem to be inferring.


----------



## Obfuscation

Brother None said:


> I'm still pissed they didn't go through with the rope hung whiplash spot. Damn you Cozy :leslie


We weren't going to get too much to speak of from this affair. :hayley2

Lukewarm on the tag match prospects, but we'll see.


----------



## Punkhead

flag sabbath said:


> They worked the Dome & Korakuen the night after. They were always likely to miss December's tag league & January's Fantasticamania. No idea if their absence from the New Beginning shows is as significant as you seem to be inferring.


I never said it's something very significant, I'm just asking. I haven't watched NJPW since like last summer and don't really follow it actively.


----------



## Obfuscation

Like he said, they were just at Wrestle Kingdom & New Year Dash, the event following. So they'll be back sooner rather than later, we'd imagine.


----------



## darkclaudio

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: The Young Bucks (c) vs Time Splitters - NJPW 11/02/2014 ***1/2


----------



## Chismo

*The New Beginning 2014 in Osaka*

_*(2014/2/11)*_


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) ©

***


2.	YOSHI-HASHI vs. Katsuyori Shibata

***


3.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr.)

**3/4


4.	Prince Devitt & Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi

***1/4


5.	*No. 1 Cont. for NWA Tag Team Titles*: Big Daddy Yum-Yum & Michael Tarver vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

**3/4


6.	Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. The Gracies (Daniel & Rolles Jr.)

**1/2


7.	Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Liger

***


8.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: El Desperado vs. Kota Ibushi ©

**3/4


9.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuya Naito ©

****3/4


10.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

****1/2


Enjoyed the hell outta show. The first half was balancing between solid and good stuff, it never got dull for me, fuck, even the Gracies’ match was shockingly decent. I got what I wanted from pretty much everyone, the only slight disappointment was Desperado/Ibushi. But then came the last two matches, I don’t want to write epic essays now, the amount of shurikens tells the whole story. ​


----------



## vault21

Anyone else thinks that Desperado's offense is really disjointed and out of sync with his character? In Hiroshima he did a vertabreaker, deadlifted Kota for a powerbomb and then proceeded by gutwrenching BUSHI into a Splash Mountain, all in the span of like 30 seconds. :aj


----------



## flag sabbath

Brother None said:


> Anyone else thinks that Desperado's offense is really disjointed and out of sync with his character? In Hiroshima he did a vertabreaker, deadlifted Kota for a powerbomb and then proceeded by gutwrenching BUSHI into a Splash Mountain, all in the span of like 30 seconds. :aj


Yeah, Desperado has been clunky as hell. His finisher is a serious accident waiting to happen. You could tell the Osaka crowd wasn't buying him as a legit challenger to Ibushi.


----------



## Obfuscation

I think the character is almost meant to be ironic at this point. Mikami trains in Japan, has his young lion stint, goes to Mexico for a good spell, has success, finally returns to Japan only w/a new persona related to Lucha and other things _(Mask, Robert Rodriguez movie motifs)_ and is hiding under the mask as a young power house trying to take over the Junior division.

That and I wonder if his character atm is supposed to portray himself as a REAL luchadore from Mexico. Not who we know he is, etc. Like the perception is he's gonna go out there and be like all the rest from CMLL, yet, he's gonna be sneaky and rugged. No arm drags for anyone.


----------



## vault21

Damn it Cody, you really polished that turd spotless. Now I'm starting to like it :lmao


----------



## GothicBohemian

^ He did polish it up nicely, didn’t he?


----------



## flag sabbath

Well, the ring announcer was calling Desperado's five minute marks in Espanol, but I assumed he was winking too :sami


----------



## Chismo

*LEGEND 2014/1/13*

3. Akitoshi Saito vs. Daisuke Sekimoto *3/4
5. Yuji Okabayashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4
6. Riki Choshu & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & LEONA (Fujinami’s son) ***1/4


----------



## Srdjan99

Any opinions on the NJPW Resolution 2009 Show? It looks like an amazing one on the paper, but I'd like to hear some opinions on it


----------



## Chismo

It's a good show, no bad matches, and Nagata/Iizuka was damn fine.












*Excite Series 2014 – Day 1*

_*(2014/2/5)*_


1.	Shigehiro Irie & Soma Takao vs. Ryuji Hijikata & Hikaru Sato

***


2.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – Block A*: Kaji Tomato vs. Ultimo Dragon

**


3.	KENSO & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Osamu Nishimura & Masao Inoue

**1/2


4.	Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara vs. Akebono & Yutaka Yoshie

***1/2


5.	Evolution (Suwama & Joe Doering) & SUSHI vs. Jun Akiyama, Takao Omori, Keisuke Ishii

**1/2


6.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – Block A*: Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki

***3/4


7.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – Block B*: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

***1/4


A fun show with a really strong Aoki/Kotaro match.​


----------



## flag sabbath

Yeah, I enjoyed those top two Jr Battle Of Glory matches. Suzuki vs. Aoki was very good & could have conceivably gone another couple of minutes, pushing for four stars without stretching credibility. Still, at least the finish made sense ****1/2* Mochi vs. Kanemaru was slightly disappointing with Kanemaru eventually ignoring all the early arm work & playing the fighting spirit card way too often *****

Also watched the top two from NOAH's 8/2 Korakuen show. Kenta & Suguira vs. Marafuji & Kotoge told the compelling tale of Kotoge's valiant efforts at hanging with the veterans. A less apathetic audience might have pushed it into MOTYC territory ****1/2* Morishima vs. Nagata was packed with TNA-style shenanigans, none of which generated any real passion from the dwindling faithful. Shima's complete lack of charisma really didn't help the cause either ***1/4*


----------



## Chismo

Mochizuki totally made that match good, yet another smashing performance from him, just too bad Kanemaru wasn't bothered to do anything that might resemble good pro-graps. Looking forward to Mochizuki/Sato from the following day, it airs in 3 days.

Also, shame that Go & Kento vs. Akebono & Yoshie didn't get few more minutes, it was a low-tier MOTYC in the making. Go/Akebono for the Triple Crown promises to be a heated affair.


----------



## Obfuscation

Go finally in the running. That's what I've been waiting for.

I wasn't expecting much from the Morishima vs Nagata championship match; only to hear a less than sparkling review atm. Their Global League finals match was only solid, at best. As big fans of both, it was disappointing scene. That NOAH card didn't do me many favors by sticking the guys I find good vs the some I don't have much to speak about. The first three matches on the card got the most appeal on paper. Takayama roughing the bulky Aussie kid up should be a fun time.


----------



## Chismo

*The Second Navigation 2014 – Day 1*

_*(2014/2/8)*_


1.	Taiji Ishimori & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Daisuke Harada & Genba Hirayanagi

***


2.	Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Mitsuhiro Kitamiya

***


3.	Jonah Rock vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

*1/2


4.	Xtra Large vs. Mikey Nicholls

***


5.	Shane Haste vs. Maybach Taniguchi

**


6.	Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Mohammed Yone & Katsuhiko Nakajima

**3/4


7.	KENTA & Takashi Sugiura vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Kotoge

**1/2


8.	*GHC Heavyweight Championship*: Yuji Nagata vs. Takeshi Morishima ©

***1/4













*Peter Pan 2013*

_*(2013/8/18)*_


0.	FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE: Sanshiro Takagi, Touru Owashi, Akebono vs. Antonio Honda, Hoshitango, Jun Kasai

_Now, this was something else. Well, okay, it was your typical whack-a-doo-doo DDT falls count anywhere match, but done all over outside and inside of Sumo Hall, it made for some stellar visuals._

N/A


1.	*No. 1 Cont. for KO-D Tag Team Title*: KUDO & Yasu Urano vs. Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao vs. Daisuke Sasaki & Yuji Hino vs. Kenny Omega & Gota Ihashi

_Clipped, heavily._ 

N/A


2.	13-MAN/DOLL/PICTURE BATTLE ROYAL for *Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship*

_~TOO AWESOME FOR STARS~_


3.	Cherry, Masa Takanashi, Saki Akai vs. Yoshiko, Hikaru Shida, Hiroshi Fukuda

**


4.	Konosuke Takeshita vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

_Okay, this is a major bummer, the match was 15+ minutes long… and they only showed the final 3 minutes of it. Go fuck yourselves. Cocksuckers! And I was looking forward to see what promised to be a great hard-hitting slugfest._

Rating: FUCK SAMURAI TV!


5.	*KO-D 6-man Tag Team Championship*: Sanshiro Takagi, Touru Owashi, Akebono vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi ©

_Highly entertaining shit, very funny to see Akebono and Kensuke dealing with crazy antics from Dino & Co._

***


6.	*KO-D Tag Team Championship*: Yankee Trillion Pistols (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Hikaru Sato ©

_Very good match, as expected. The Yankees have made their names in the deathmatch genre, but they can work regular stuff almost as good, especially in a team, and they proved it here once again._

***1/2


7.	Kazuchika Okada vs. Kota Ibushi

_Like this better now, on a rewatch. Simple structure and story, but they executed it very well, I liked how they pushed the sense of struggle and strength first. Ibushi is DDT’s Ace, had a good showing in the most recent G1, but deep down – he’s a Junior after all, and Okada has no fucks to give, he’s New Japan’s champion, he means business. Now I’m really pumped for the rematch._

****


8.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: HARASHIMA vs. Shigehiro Irie ©

_HARASHIMA is not exactly the most exciting personality in the world of wrestling, he also pushes for some too contrived spots in his matches, but he’s really good in two things: focused, neck based offense, and strong finishing stretches. Those two things are exactly what made this match good. In a year or two, Irie’s gonna become one of the best wrestlers in Japan._

***1/4
​


----------



## Obfuscation

Shigehiro Irie :mark:

Hoping he can climb back up the ranks in DDT. Hoping his standing tenure w/AJPW can last too. Maybe something w/their Junior tag straps later this year. Felt they were leading towards that path in January.


----------



## Chismo

They had the rematch for the title in January. That's the show I'm watching next.

Yukio Sakaguchi is someone I want to see in bigger roles. He's almost as awesome as his father. Almost.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yeah, I need to see the rematch _(and the whole show)_ myself. Glad he's still in the mix for gold. w/o a doubt the worker on their roster who's stuck out the most to me, not counting any of their big mainstays - Ibushi, Omega, Dino, etc.


----------



## Chismo

Two random, lazy ass, quasi-reviews, featuring tons of solid/good/great wrestling waiting for you to check it:












*Sweet Dreams! 2014*

*(2014/1/26)*


5.	Hikaru Sato & Sanshiro Takagi vs. Yukio Sakaguchi & Akito

****


6.	*KO-D Tag Team Championship*: Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs. Golden Lovers (Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega) vs. Yankee Trillion Pistols (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) ©

****1/4


7.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Shigehiro Irie vs. HARASHIMA ©

****1/4













*2014/2/7*


3.	SCRAMBLE BUNKHOUSE DEATHMATCH: B Faultless Junky’s (Jaki Numazawa, Masashi Takeda, Takumi Tsukamoto) vs. Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) & Saburo Inematsu

***


4.	Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs. MEN’S Teioh & Shinobu

***1/2


5.	IRON CAGE & LIGHTTUBE DEATHMATCH: Ryuji Ito & Masaya Takahashi vs. Yankee Trillion Pistols (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto)

***1/4


6.	Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato

_I know many dudes are afraid for Strong Division because the three top guys are injured, but that’s just a new chance for other talent to shine, that’s why there are invaders, in this case two behemoths from Union and Z1, there’s Daichi Hashimoto with a huge chip on his shoulder, and there’s motherfucking K-HASH! Two Hashimotos teaming together to take on big, nasty and vicious strikers, with Korakuen going crazy for them, great brawl with hellish strikes and punches. Kohei Sato always seems to be motivated in these interpromotional matches, and Shuji needs to stay in Strong Division and fucking DOMINATE._

****


7.	VACATED *BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship*: Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Shinya Ishikawa

_This might seem tricky and maybe uneventful on a first viewing, but trust me, pay attention, they do a bunch of great, “invisible” stuff, making every move matter, with a compelling sense of struggle._

***3/4​


----------



## Rah

Either I haven't been looking hard enough or irie is making a hell of a lot more tape.

Whatever the answer I don't care. That man is fabulous. FACIALS~!!

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Chismo

*Excite Series 2014 – Day 2*

*(2014/2/8)*


1.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – Block B*: Soma Takao vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

_A totally acceptable short sprint, this is where Kanemaru doesn’t drag things down._

**3/4


2.	Keisuke Ishii vs. Atsushi Aoki

_It was more of an angle than a match, they were working a damn fine contest up until KENSO’s recruiting shenanigans. But, I liked what I saw._

**3/4


3.	SUSHI & Ryuji Hijikata vs. KENSO & Mitsuya Nagai

_Much better than expected, KENSO was actually trying to win the match, instead of creating chaos. His slaps are fucking beautiful. SUSHI as a punching bag? Yes, please!_

***1/4


4.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – Block B*: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Hikaru Sato

_Mochizuki’s work is heavily inspired by shoot style. Sato is a former fighter turned pro-wrestler, a huge UWF mark. So yeah, knew this would rock, but I was little worried when I saw they got only 10 minutes. Silly me, though, because 10 minutes in a semi-shoot style match is plenty of time, especially when you have two guys who like to throw tons of hellish, painful strikes. Great storytelling in the match (although it might not mean much to others who are not into the characters), nifty and nasty holds and counters, fantastic finish. Yeah, this ruled, Mochi continues his glorious 2014 streak, and Sato is just starting his own, trust me._

****


5.	Go Shiozaki, Kento Miyahara, Kaji Tomato vs. Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie, Shigehiro Irie

_A fun little Triple Crown prelude, highlighted by the swell Miyahara/Irie exchanges that made me want to see their potential 1-on-1 match._

***


6.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – Block A*: Ultimo Dragon vs. Kotaro Suzuki

_Good old match from Dragon’s workshop, which means crisp counters and fast-paced action. Kotaro added some of his stiffness, and there you go – this was really good, loved the finish._

***1/2


7.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs. Evolution (Suwama & Joe Doering) ©

_As good as you could possibly get from this one, because Akiyama is Sloppiyama now, and Omori is trash, which means Suwama is a fucking wizard for getting a rock solid match from them. I’d be perfectly fine if I never see Omori wrestle again. Hell, even Akiyama._

***


Good show from top to bottom, consistent in quality, highlighted by the awesome short ‘n’ sweet Mochi/Sato match.​


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm still incredibly lukewarm on Suwama. Guy just doesn't do anything for me when I watch him. For all the matches that were pimped last year he was involved in, none were up my alley.


----------



## duttanized

I think Seiki Yoshioka's going to break out this year. Dude's got all the tools IMO. Really looking forward to the upcoming Bad Influence/Junior Stars match also!


----------



## Obfuscation

Was there a card booked for the WRESTLE-1/TNA show? I only know the championship matches. I hope this properly motivates all the TNA talent, b/c even the good ones like Bad Influence & Aries have been shit lately. KAI better get the first non-garbage match out of Magnus in 2014 too.


----------



## duttanized

Kai/Magnus
Wolves/Kondo and Hayashi
Aries/Sanada
Kim/Rayne
Bad Influence/Junior Stars
Abyss/Takayama
Roode/Funaki
Kono Dupree and Joe/Muta Terry and Mystery Partner (Chono I'm guessing?)
Nakanoueno/Nagata

Guessing Roode/Funaki and Bad Influence/Junior Stars will steal the show. I agree, Aries could really use a big match soon. Really hope TJP gets to go over for the May show so we get Yoshioka/Manik or something.

Isn't KAI injured at the moment? I can see that match being decent since it'll likely be a co-main event and be around the 12-14 minute range which is in both competitor's wheelhouses.


----------



## Obfuscation

Roode might die vs Funaki. Abyss is sure to once Big Tak gets on his slow work.

No clue about KAI atm. That'll be a total bummer if so. Wait, why is Joe w/the heels in Desperado?


----------



## duttanized

Yeah it'll be interesting to see how Roode adjusts to Funaki's style. It's his first time in Japan as a singles I think.

Guessing Joe's with the heel team because W-1 doesn't seem to stick to clear face/heel role on most of it's cards IMO. 

Do you like Hiroshi Yamato? His gimmick's kind of lame but his wrestling's on par IMO.


----------



## Obfuscation

But Desperado is the defined heel stable. That's the unusual part. For everything they have going on, Desperado is always there to cause a ruckus. Hmm. It's only a one night thing, but I didn't expect it. Shocked Roode isn't in different places w/Joe. Or even Abyss. Considering Joe's style would mesh better w/either Tak or Funaki.

Yamato is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.


----------



## duttanized

Yamato's gear is fantastic, Sanada really needs some new shit though! 

Before the matches were announced I figured it would be Joe/Funaki and Roode/Muta tbh. Roode in Desperado makes a lot more sense than Joe being there though. Rob Terry can get the fuck out too. 

I'm thinking Daiki Inaba and Andy Wu will come along nicely for the W-1 juniors too. Any thoughts on Brian Ishizaka?


----------



## Obfuscation

I like Wu's character. He's got plenty of room to grow and what not. The little panda guy he's pair w/now cracks me up.

Don't believe I've the youngster work yet. No comments to give on him.


----------



## duttanized

The spot with the panda and Kikutaro from the Battle Royal was hilarious. Manabu Soya's antics made the camera cut away from like three eliminations though. What do you want the May show to look like for TNA/W-1? Joe/Muta and Angle/Funaki seems to be the two matches W-1 wants to push big time.


----------



## Obfuscation

I dislike Angle so seeing him on it is bleh, although I get the pairing and the want to have him. His name would probably get some fans to want to go. I think. Gonna say yet and just stick w/it. Joe vs Muta. Man. I'd buy into that. Muta may be old & Joe may not be how he used to be, but it's still a dream match dammit.

As for anything else...Aries vs Hayashi would be booming. Or the mark in me to have Sabin on the card and vs some awesome talent. Shuji Kondo would be awesome. I love those guys so there is already a big personal attachment. If only Joe Park wasn't gone atm, I'd easily say give me Park vs Hama for the utter laughs. Or Park vs Takayama to follow the upcoming Abyss vs Tak match. Daniels vs Kanemoto going into a singles following the tag is a solid transition too. A decent list of possibilities to pick from. One more for the gushing would be KAI vs Roode. Unsure why for specifics, but I'm down to see how a match between those two would work.


----------



## duttanized

Aries vs Kono would be pretty good as well I think. I could see Wolves and Bad Influence switching opponents on the next card. I think Sabin/Yamato and Manik/Yoshioka could provide some serious brilliance if they decided to go that route for the next card tbh. Park vs Tak would be phenomenal I agree. KAI vs Roode would be fantastic, oddly enough I'm not so sure where Sanada really fits in against the TNA guys or at Lockdown for that matter. 

Sekimoto and Roode would tear the house down too IMO.


----------



## Toates Dapperfox

Isn't Joe actually widely disliked in Japan I swear I remember hearing that somewhere. Maybe thats true to the extent where he's being used as a temporary heel on purpose.


----------



## duttanized

He was pretty well liked in his last few matches in NOAH I think.


----------



## Obfuscation

If Sekimoto was healed then I'd love to see him vs Bully or Joe in a bruiser vs bruiser match. vs Aries in what I'm certain to be a big vs little match that could easily deliver.


----------



## Chismo

I've said it many times before, I wanna see Kondo/Aries.

Btw, W-1 is so easy to sit through, their pacing is awesome, matches are relatively short but complete, and I enjoy that there's no weight divisions yet, which means we got nice little gems such as Takayama/Minoru, Takayama/Kondo, etc. However, they need to establish a clear pecking order, there need to be more visible ranks if they want to draw more fans. I've jammed through a dozen of their matches from 2014, really cool stuff, I think I might check their shows in entirety.

Also, yeah:










:banderas













*Okinawa Impact Vol. 1*

_*(2014/2/23)*_


1.	RYUKU-DOG Dingo vs. Atsushi Aoki

_Who the fuck is Dingo?_

**


2.	Gurukun Mask & Cpt. Eagle vs. Osamu Nishimura & Tida Heat

_Who the fuck are all these masked men? And what are they doing in the same ring with Nishimura?_

*3/4


3.	Kento Miyahara vs. Takao Omori

_Miyahara brought the best shit possible out of Omori. Translation: Miyahara is real deal. Great finish._

***


4.	KENSO vs. Suwama

_Decent, but needed to be better. There was not much heat, and they botched the belly-to-belly suplex that could’ve gone insanely wrong. However, Suwama made two strong babyface comebacks that saved the day._

**3/4


5.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: SUSHI & Menso~re Oyaji vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru ©

_The story here is that SUSHI is trying to get into Akiyama’s head and match him in hard hitting. Well, he can’t. This was surprisingly good._

***


6.	*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship*: Kotaro Suzuki vs. Ultimo Dragon ©

_On par with their first match, maybe just slightly better because of bigger excitement in the finishing run, good shit. Ultimo can still go like a motherfucker in 2014, how about that?_

***1/2


7.	*AJPW Triple Crown Championship*: Go Shiozaki vs. Akebono ©

_One of the two best singles matches of Bono’s career, a very good clash, smart wrestling with effective minimalism. Totally satisfying considering champion’s obvious limitations, and Go continues with very good work in 2014._

***1/2​


----------



## Obfuscation

Kick looks 2000x sicker in the gif. I can't stop staring.

Who was more baffled at Dingo showing up out of the blue, you or me? Unsure. Guess Ian Rotten didn't want to bring him back for the new IWA-MS.


----------



## darkclaudio

Puroresu Match Ratings

Shuji Ishikawa & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shinya Ishikawa & Ryuichi Kawakami - BJW 2/01/2014 **3/4
Koji Kanemoto vs Kazuki Hashimoto - BJW 2/01/2014 **1/2
BJW Death Match Heavyweight Title: Isami Kodaka (c) vs Takumi Tsukamoto - BJW 2/01/2014 *3/4
Kento Miyahara vs Hikaru Sato - AJPW 2/01/2014 **
KENSO vs Go Shiozaki - AJPW 2/01/2014 **1/2
AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ultimo Dragon (c) vs Atsushi Aoki - AJPW 2/01/2014 **1/4
Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii - AJPW 3/01/2014 ***
Atsushi Kotoge vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH 5/01/2014 *1/2
Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls vs Yuji Okabayashi & Shinya Ishikawa - NOAH 5/01/2014 **1/2
Hirayanagi, Takayama & Ohara vs Marufuji, Nakajima & Ishimori - NOAH 5/01/2014 **1/4
GHC Heavyweight Title: KENTA (c) vs Takeshi Morishima - NOAH 5/01/2014 **1/2
Open the Brave Gate Title: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! (c) vs. Super Shisa - Dragon Gate 12/01/2014 **1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Okabayashi - Legend 13/01/2014 ***
Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs T-Hawk & U-T - Dragon Gate 16/01/2014 ***
Open The Dream Gate Title: Masato Yoshino (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki - Dragon Gate 16/01/2014 ***1/2
Open the Triangle Gate Title: Saito, Susumu & Dolphin (c) vs CIMA, Mochizuki & Kid - Dragon Gate 18/01/2014 ***1/2
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Xtra Large - NOAH 19/01/2014 ***
KO-D Tag Team Title, 3 Way Match: Kodaka & Miyamoto (c) vs Omega & Ibushi vs Takeshita & Endo - DDT 26/01/2014 ***1/4
KO-D Openweight Title: HARASHIMA (c) vs Shigehiro Irie - DDT 26/01/2014 ***
Xtra Large vs Taiji Ishimori - NOAH 3/02/2014 **1/4
No DQ Match: KENTA vs Maybach Taniguchi - NOAH 3/02/2014 **3/4
Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs MEN's Teioh & Shinobu - BJW 7/02/2014 ***
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs Daichi Hashimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto - BJW 7/02/2014 **1/2
AJPW World Tag Team Title: Suwama & Joe Doering (c) vs Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori - AJPW 8/02/2014 ***


----------



## Chismo

*Diamond Ring 2014/2/11*

3. Kento Miyahara vs. Go Shiozaki **1/2
4. Daichi Hashimoto & Tank Nagai vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Hitoshi Kumano **1/2
5. Naomichi Marufuji & Taiji Ishimori vs. Satoshi Kajiwara & Fujita Hayato **
6. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kensuke Sasaki ***1/2 (Kensuke’s last match, a suitable ending to the great career)


----------



## Obfuscation

Was rather excited for Go vs Miyahara. Got to see how I'll take to it.

Didn't know Sasaki was retiring. Damn. Always had my love; the bulky fella was awesome in my eyes.


----------



## Chismo

Go and Kento held back, they did just enough out there not to flop.


ZERO1's last televised show had a very good veteran tag, Tanaka & Sugiura vs. Otani & K. Sato, ***3/4 for it.


----------



## Obfuscation

Bah. Too bad.

Got that itch to slam through the remaining Puro shows left to watch tonight. Will I follow through w/my words? Perhaps. I know what this weekend will largely consist of for me. And in no way is that depressing.


----------



## GothicBohemian

duttanized said:


> Aries vs Kono would be pretty good as well I think. I could see Wolves and Bad Influence switching opponents on the next card. I think Sabin/Yamato and Manik/Yoshioka could provide some serious brilliance if they decided to go that route for the next card tbh. Park vs Tak would be phenomenal I agree. KAI vs Roode would be fantastic, *oddly enough I'm not so sure where Sanada really fits in against the TNA guys or at Lockdown for that matter*.
> 
> Sekimoto and Roode would tear the house down too IMO.



He’s been to Canada and Mexico (pretty sure about the latter) over the past year, so he should be comfortable in the Great Muta/Sanada/Tigre Uno vs. Bad Influence/Chris Sabin match that’s being talked about now. 

I’m curious about how Sanada will do with Wrestle-1. He was here in town last year (he knows the Duprées) before he made the switch so his name stands out for me, even if not entirely for wrestling skill reasons.


----------



## Obfuscation

That match on paper is making my mouth water just for the Muta vs Sabin interactions as per dream match kind of fun, but I HATE the idea of all six being lumped inside of a steel cage together. It has hurt mutli-man matches plenty in the past w/Lockdown.


----------



## GothicBohemian

Yeah, I’d prefer a less crowded scenario. I have a feeling the match may end up being booked as the Tigre Uno(TNA’s latest new hope) show with supporting mention to Sanada(Muta’s guy) but, as I wasn’t expecting much chance of a Muta one-on-one with someone from the TNA roster, I’ll take this without too much complaint.


----------



## Obfuscation

Oh, I'll be stunned if that isn't the path they go down. Muta will be there for appearance sake & do his one-two punch at most. Wouldn't see him being used over Sanada or the new signee for TNA. Still, shining wizard on Sabin will be something to please me. It's a little something special I will take. About all I have to receive from TNA these days, unfortunately.


----------



## darkclaudio

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Yuji Nagata (c) vs KENTA - NOAH 22/02/2014 ***1/2


----------



## Bubz

Sasaki retired? Always liked the man, beastly motherfucker.


----------



## Obfuscation

Sasaki vs Nakajima was real good. What you'd expect - the fierce chop vs kick exchanges & Sasaki being an unrelenting beast. End promo was a bit unusual. Largely b/c I'm at a loss for what was said, but does anyone have a clue at what the end meant? It seems liked Sasaki wanted to shake Nakajima's hand, but Nakajima had a look on his face were he was simply shocked - by what Sasaki had previously said - and didn't react until Sasaki up'ed and departed from the ring.


----------



## Chismo

Kensuke said something about how he just worked his last match ever. It wasn't until two days later when he officially announced retirement everyone realized what was the speech about. He didn't want to steal Nakajima's 10th anniversary spotlight.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ohhhh so the story was more on Nakajima's side than Sasaki's. I see. Thought the anniversary was purely coincidence.


----------



## Chismo

*The Second Navigation 2014 – Day 3*

_*(2014/2/22)*_


1.	Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Hitoshi Kumano

**1/4


2.	Xtra Large vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima

**3/4


3.	Ryuichi Kawakami vs. Kenou

*3/4


4.	Mohammed Yone & Taiji Ishimori vs. Daisuke Harada & Genba Hirayanagi

**3/4


5.	TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, Jonah Rock) vs. Cho Kibou-gun (Takeshi Morishima, Maybach Taniguchi, Hajime Ohara)

***


6.	Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Kotoge

***3/4


7.	*GHC Heavyweight Championship*: KENTA vs. Yuji Nagata ©

****1/4


A two and a half matches show, the 6-man tag was a solid brawl, the semi-ME was really good because of minimum Marufuji involvement, while poor Kotoge took the most disgusting beating of the year, and the main event rocked, with Nagata completely owning KENTER left, right and centre. Great match, may Nagata have a long reign.​


----------



## Obfuscation

I dug Yuji owning KENTA, but it was far too plagued by KENTA's natural crumminess for me to think of it as anything more than average.

And on the other end Kenou got to me to like my first Kawakami match of 2014, so opinions and that jazz. Kenou has been way consistent all year.

Xtra Large also needs to fuck off permanently.


----------



## Chismo

KENTER gonna KENTER, I guess, but damn, the match was all about Nagata being a tough motherfucker who means business and his face is "lolnoah". Loved the struggle for every single transition, especially in the second half. Also, credit where credit due, that was the best executed GAME OVER by KENTER I've ever seen. 

Struggle.


----------



## Obfuscation

Have I been unaware as of late to notice how KENTA busts out the rope hang DDT, STF, & LeBell Lock almost in succession? The WWE main eventer homage gives me a bit of a chuckle just out of, I suppose, irony sake. Swear it kind of crept up on me what I was seeing.

Yes, a very random observation on my end.


----------



## Chismo

Speaking of Kawakami, please don't tell me you didn't like his Strong Title decision match with Shinya Ishikawa.

You seen Mochi/Sato yet?


----------



## Obfuscation

I did not. About as forgettable as I feared. Rest of the show I damn near thought was a blast, however.

Not yet. Plan on finishing the 1/26 DDT show first, then finishing the needed All Japan shows.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW 6/03/2014

-Naito & Tanahashi vs Ishii & Nakamura ***1/2
-Okada vs Ibushi ***1/2


----------



## sXeMope

Not sure if anyone's mentioned it but RudoReels has the full version (4 discs. w/ entrance music) of WK8 for only $5 for a limited time. He also has the recent W1/TNA show. He seems to be getting stuff a lot quicker than IVP lately. I could be wrong but I don't think IVP has all the Fantasticamania shows from this year yet.


----------



## seabs

*He gets them all direct from DAT who has shows up as ISOs for download almost instantly.*


----------



## Chismo

If I don't get this match in its entirety very soon, I'm gonna murder my cats, K-HASH style!


----------



## Obfuscation

WK w/entrance music in tact is a mega selling point. Shooooot.

& Kazuki Hashimoto plz :mark:


----------



## William Murderface

So I heard AJ might be coming to New Japan and if he does they better give me Styles/Machine Gun :mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Chismo

*Strong Style 42nd Anniversary*

_*(2014/3/6)*_


1.	Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi

***


2.	World Class Tag Team (Gedo & Jado) vs. Manabu Nakanishi & KUSHIDA

**1/4


3.	Cpt. New Japan, El Desperado, BUSHI vs. Super Strong Machine, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask

**


4.	Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga) vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Ryusuke Taguchi

**


5.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Yuji Nagata, Kazushi Sakuraba

**1/2


6.	Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata

***1/4


7.	CHAOS Invincible (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito

****


8.	Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada

***1/4​


----------



## Obfuscation

Sweet jesus @ me forgetting about Bullet Club vs Goto/Shibata & Nakamura/Ishii vs Tanahashi/Naito. Both of those sound more appealing than Okada vs Ibushi on paper.


----------



## Ham and Egger

HayleySabin said:


> Have I been unaware as of late to notice how KENTA busts out the rope hang DDT, STF, & LeBell Lock almost in succession? The WWE main eventer homage gives me a bit of a chuckle just out of, I suppose, irony sake. Swear it kind of crept up on me what I was seeing.
> 
> Yes, a very random observation on my end.


Punk and Bryan stole all of his shit so I guess KENTA is doing the same. If it works for Cena it'll work for Kenta right?


----------



## Chismo

Random rewatch:

*Nagata/Taue (NOAH 2003/6/6)* ****1/2

Taue wants to prove he's more than a sassy veteran. Nagata's is New Japan's top heavyweight. He strikes very hard. But that's nothing new for Taue, he's dealt with them strikers before. Chokeslams, bitches! In this match, they basically just do their signature spots and moves, but they do it in such a fantastic manner, with perfect structuring and pacing, and amazing comebacks set for Taue. Fucking excellent match, one of the most underrated NOAH gems.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ham and Egger said:


> Punk and Bryan stole all of his shit so I guess KENTA is doing the same. If it works for Cena it'll work for Kenta right?


Nah, Cena keeps on having great outings. KENTA lost that appeal about five years ago.


----------



## vault21

I got the new Okada vs Ibushi at around ****. Imo trumps the DDT match and I don't even think the triangle moonsaut spot was really botched. The amplitude was so high that a full on catch was pretty much impossibe, same as in the recent Rhodes Brothers vs Outlaws cage match. Also, that german bama4


----------



## Bruce L

Anybody willing to direct me to any matches worth checking out from Miyahara as an All Japan regular? Always liked whatever I saw of his in K-Office, and want to see if the change of scenery has benefited him as much as it did the Burning boys.


----------



## Obfuscation

From 2014:

Kento Miyahara vs Hikaru Sato - 1/2
Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara vs Ultimo Dragon & Hakaru Sato - 1/3
Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara vs Akebono & Yutaka Yoshie - 2/5

Still have three more AJPW shows to watch, but so far, he's produced these goodies.


----------



## Chismo

Bruce L said:


> Anybody willing to direct me to any matches worth checking out from Miyahara as an All Japan regular? Always liked whatever I saw of his in K-Office, and want to see if the change of scenery has benefited him as much as it did the Burning boys.


He had a good match with Go, but nothing special. They formed a really good tag team after that, go to DM and find their matches with Suwama & Doering (x2), Akiyama & Omori, and Akebono & Yoshie. He also carried Omori to a good match two weeks ago in Okinawa.













*Excite Series 2014 – Day 7*

_*(2014/2/16)*_


4.	Mitsuya Nagai vs. Kento Miyahara

**3/4


5.	Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao) vs. Jun Akiyama, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takao Omori

***1/4


6.	*AJPW World Tag Team Championship*: Akebono & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Evolution (Suwama & Joe Doering) ©

***1/4


7.	*Jr. Battle of Glory – FINALS*: Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Kotaro Suzuki

***1/2​


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

vault21 said:


> I got the new Okada vs Ibushi at around ****. Imo trumps the DDT match and I don't even think the triangle moonsaut spot was really botched. The amplitude was so high that a full on catch was pretty much impossibe, same as in the recent Rhodes Brothers vs Outlaws cage match. Also, that german bama4


That suplex was ridiculous, I love these Heavyweight Champ/Jr. Heavyweight Champ matches NJPW has been doing the past couple years. Tanahashi/Devitt had some great outings in 2013 & that Okada/Ibushi match from 3/6 was great as well.


----------



## RKing85

So watching the 95 Super J Cup for the first time in probably 10-12 years.

Jericho/Benoit. If you had asked me 30 minutes ago, I would have said I remember this match being damn near close to 5 stars. Upon rewatch, I was mistaken. 3 3/4 maybe? Still good, but nowhere near as good as I remember it being. 

But I do remember the rest being awesome. Surely I am remembering that correctly.


----------



## Chismo

*Into the Fight! 2014*

*(2014/2/23)*


3.	Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs. Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga

_Heavily clipped…_

N/A


4.	*KO-D 6-man Tag Team Championship*: Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao) vs. **** Sapiens (Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi, Aja Kong) ©

_FUN!_

**1/2


5.	KUDO vs. Yukio Sakaguchi

_Seven minutes of STRIKING._

***1/2


6.	*KO-D Tag Team Championship*: The Brahmans (Shu & Kei) vs. Golden Lovers (Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega) ©

***


7.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Masa Takanashi vs. HARASHIMA ©

_This was freakin' sweet. Masa is a total doofus, but he tricked the general manager to get the title shot, and absolutely no one buys him as a legitimate threat, which translates into HARASHIMA shrugging off totally every bit of offense from him. Basically, the story of the match is "how many times will challenger fail miserably", and it works like a motherfucker._

****​


----------



## Chismo

*New Japan Cup 2014 – Day 1*

*(2014/3/15)*


1.	*Round 1*: Shelton Benjamin vs. Yujiro Takahashi

**1/4


2.	*Round 1*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano

**3/4


3.	*Round 1*: Karl Anderson vs. Katsuyori Shibata

***1/2


4.	*Round 1*: Doc Gallows vs. Hirooki Goto

***1/4


5.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, El Desperado vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Jado)

***


6.	*Round 1*: Lance Archer vs. Prince Devitt

*3/4


7.	*Round 1*: Bad Luck Fale vs. Togi Makabe

**3/4


8.	*Round 1*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii

***3/4


9.	*Round 1*: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

**1/2


Fun show with relatively short and very watchable matches, easy to sit through, almost every match was exactly what you expect in this context, except for the main event, where neither guy seemed motivated to come even close to their last year’s match.​


----------



## darkclaudio

New Japan Cup Day One [2014]
1. Shelton Benjamin vs Yujiro Takahashi **
2. Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano **1/2
3. Karl Anderson vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4
4. Doc Gallows vs Hirooki Goto **1/4
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & El Desperado vs Kazuchika Okada, Gedo & Jado ***
6. Lance Archer vs Prince Devitt **3/4
7. Bad Luck Fale vs Togi Makabe *3/4
8. Tetsuya Naito vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2
9. Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Shinsuke Nakamura **1/2


----------



## Chismo

*"The Best of Harley Race in All Japan" *


1. Harley Race vs. Giant Baba – December 9, 1975 ****1/4

2. Harley Race vs. Abdullah the Butcher – May 13, 1976 N/A _(an awesome wild, chaotic, out of control bloody brawl, but it was too short to rate)_

3. *NWA World Heavyweight Championship* (2/3 Falls): Harley Race (c) vs. Jumbo Tsuruta – June 11, 1977 ****1/4

4. *NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Harley Race (c) vs. Mil Mascaras – September 12, 1980 ****

5. Harley Race vs. Ric Flair – May 22, 1984 ****1/2


This was a pretty damn great watch. Highly recommended. (Y)


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

I love the match with Giant Baba.


----------



## GothicBohemian

So I guess it’s safe to say I don’t need to rush out to see more than a few matches from 2014 New Japan Cup day one? Worth my time when I can get to it, but not top priority. That’s good, since I need to put it off for a bit.


----------



## darkclaudio

Open The Dream Gate Championship Match: Ricochet (c) vs Uhaa Nation - Dragon Gate 6/03/2014 ***3/4


----------



## seabs

*New Comp. PM me if interested.*

*Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (3 Discs)*
Disc 1
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 31.01.2010
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 12.02.2012
Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga - NJPW 06.06.2012
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 16.06.2012

Disc 2
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 04.01.2013
Kazuchika Okada, Volador Jr. & Rey Escorpion vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush - NJPW 19.01.2013
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 07.04.2013

Disc 3
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - NJPW 10.08.2013
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - IWGP Heavyweight Championship - NJPW 14.10.2013
Kazuchika Okada & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 23.12.2013


----------



## Chismo

*Outbreak*

_*(2014/3/2)*_


2.	Kikutaro vs. Ryota Hama

N/A


3.	Ryouji Sai & KAZMA SAKAMOTO vs. Manabu Soya & Seiki Yoshioka

*3/4


4.	Satoshi Kojima vs. Yasufumi Nakanoue

***1/4


5.	Bad Influence (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian) vs. Junior Stars (Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto)

***1/4


6.	Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne

**1/4


7.	Abyss vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

*1/2


8.	Bobby Roode vs. Masakatsu Funaki

***3/4


9.	Samoa Joe, Masayuki Kono, Rene Dupree vs. Keiji Muto, Rob Terry, Taiyo Kea

***1/4


10.	*TNA World Tag Team Championship*: The BroMans (Robbie E & Jessie Godderz) vs. Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) vs. The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) ©

****


11.	*TNA X Championship*: Seiya Sanada vs. Austin Aries ©

****


12.	*TNA World Heavyweight Championship*: KAI vs. Magnus ©

***1/2


I enjoyed the show quite a lot, tbf, great presentation, rock solid efforts in the ring. It’s so refreshing to see TNA talent in normal, no-nonsense environment.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Only have Aries/Sanada & KAI/Magnus left to watch.

Disliked the tag team championship match, but I got your point about Godderz during it. He bumped often and sold it well & he got a good near fall in the finishing stretch. Too bad everyone else in the match either sucked or was a ghost. Eddie Edwards should have never left ROH. In TNA, he's nothing more than that lackey who can't do anything unless Davey is right there.

Abyss vs Takayama was one of my favorites. Probably my favorite so far; tied w/Funaki vs Roode. Although, I want a rematch on the latter. Those two made only 11 minutes or so work out well w/the simplistic format _(traditional Roode in a nutshell)_ but I'm left wanting more. Show has been good so far for the majority. Those who still crap on Rob Terry out there would probably be stunned if I said - even though it's true - he not only outworked Joe in the six man, but all three of the heels combined. Desperado is a pretty gash faction. Best talent is average at most & that's Dupree.


----------



## Chismo

*2014/3/2*


1. Madoka & Takayuki Ueki vs. Yuichi Taniguchi & Hideyoshi Kamitani

**


2. MEN’S Teioh & SUSUMU vs. Speed of Sounds (Hercules Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi)

**1/4


3.	The Brahmans (Shu & Kei) vs. Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto

***


4.	Shiori Asahi vs. Ryuichi Kawakami

***


5.	DEATH FESTIVAL OF… SOMETHING… DEATHMATCH: Takumi Tsukamoto & Masaya Takahashi vs. 045 Junkies (Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa)

***1/2


6.	Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Shinobu

_"But Sekimoto, Okabayashi and Yoshihito are injured, Strong Division is dead". Scratch that bandwagoning shit, Strong BJ is as awesome as ever. Just becasue the top trio is out, doesn't mean everything went to hell. It's quite the opposite, actually, new guys getting some spotlight is excellent to see, instead of same old repetitive tags (which I love to death, btw), Kohei and Shuji invading the division is the best booking decision in recent puroresu, they are beasts, they fucking MAULED poor Shinobu, that was the best face-in-peril segment I've seen in a long time. Knees, elbows, big boots, suplexes. Yeah, bitch! Kohei Sato has won me over recently, he's been incredibly hir or miss for entire career, but goddamn it he lashes out buckets of swag in interpromotional matches. Pure bonafide brawler._

****1/4


7.	LIGHTTUBE & SCAFFOLD DEATHMATCH: Ryuji Ito & Kankuro Hoshino vs. Yankee Two Pistols (Isami Kodaka & Yuko Miyamoto)

***1/2


Great show.​


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW 22/03/2014
Hirooki Goto vs Minoru Suzuki ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Prince Devitt ***

NOAH 8/03/2014
Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Daisuke Harada ***3/4


----------



## Chismo

*New Japan Cup 2014 – Day 6*

_*(2014/3/22)*_


1.	Yohei Komatsu vs. Sho Tanaka

***


2.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask

**1/2


3.	Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., TAKA Michinoku, Taichi) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), KUSHIDA, BUSHI

**3/4


4.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Ryusuke Taguchi

***


5.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi, Cpt. New Japan, El Desperado vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado)

**3/4


6.	*Quarter-Finals*: Shelton Benjamin vs. Katsuyori Shibata

***3/4


7.	*Quarter-Finals*: Bad Luck Fale vs. Tetsuya Naito

***1/2


8.	*Quarter-Finals*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Hirooki Goto

***


9.	*Quarter-Finals*: Prince Devitt vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

*1/2​


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW 23/03/2014
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Minoru Suzuki ***
Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI ***
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi & Desperado ***1/4
New Japan Cup Final ***1/4


----------



## Cactus

*Tomohiro Ishii vs. Naofumi Yamamoto (NJPW 11/6/2006) *
Surprised how much I dug this. I had no idea Yoshi Tatsu had it in him. Yamamoto and Ishii bring the beef in another rare gem from JetLag's glorious Youtube.


----------



## duttanized

Could someone recommend me good DDT matches? Haven't watched anything from that promotion.


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

I'm not an expert in DDT but I think you should definitely check out this matches :

Kota Ibushi vs El Generico
Kota Ibushi vs Daisuke Sekimoto
Kota Ibushi vs Dansoku Dino
Kota Ibushi vs Yoshihiko

I can't post links but they're all on Youtube.


----------



## Chismo

One of my favorites:






There's bunch of others, especially with Dick Togo (vs. Antonio Honda from 2011 is a must-see), but it's difficult to find them on streaming sites.


Dick Togo's retirement match versus Gedo:







Greatest matches ever:



























Dino vs. Honda:







From this year, three great matches:




That's just off the top of my head.


----------



## sXeMope

Anyone own the 70 disc Muta collection that SecondComing(?) made? Considering buying the full thing when IVP puts G comps on sale and I'm wondering what the quality is like on them. Particularly wondering about some of the old Florida footage. I'm expecting terrible quality but I would 't mind being surprised.


----------



## duttanized

Thanks guys! Cataloging all of those matches for watch!


----------



## Chismo

*Big Japan Full Metal*

_*(2014/3/21)*_


1.	Mentai Kid & Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Frank Atsushi & Takayuki Ueki

***


2.	Tsukasa Fujimoto & Hikaru Shida vs. Natsu Sumire & Yumi Ohka

**


3.	TABLE DEATHMATCH: Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Yuko Miyamoto

**1/2


4.	SOMETHING… DEATHMATCH: Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) vs. 045 Junkies (Jun Kasai & Jaki Numazawa)

**1/4


5.	Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato & Ryuichi Kawakami

_Sooo, what we got here is the 3/4 of the epic 2/7 match-up. Unfortunately, Shuji Ishikawa is missing, but I kind of dig Kawakami, so no biggie. Plus, it opens some possibilities for the Hashs to win somehow. Anyway, they start off with the hold-based offense, and it's quite simple but nice. But it can't last long with these guys, of course, so it transforms into another swell brawl. Kohei's kicks are disgusting. K-Hash's swag is something else. And that unexpected finish! :mark: K-Hash is my Wrestler of the Year. Strong BJ lives, and Sekimoto is coming back in two weeks. :mark:_

****


6.	*BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship*: Shiori Asahi vs. Shinya Ishikawa ©

_Surprised to see how good this was, very ground-based and coherent. Swell._

***1/2


7.	LIGHTTUBE & GLASSBOARD DEATHMATCH for *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Ryuji Ito vs. Isami Kodaka ©

_Kodaka can go over-the-top with his masochistic strategies, but this was good and fun overall, with few quite brutal moments. Not a very memorable DM Title defense, but serviceable._

***1/4


A surprisingly nice opener was followed by the black hole of mediocrity (nothing bad, though), then the K-Hash greatness happened, and the title matches were fine. Overall, very watchable.​


----------



## Obfuscation

I really dug the Junkies tag. Thought they built it appropriately w/them flat out demolishing Hoshino & Inaba until they found their stride to finally give the legendary maniacs the fight they had to.


----------



## Chismo

*DVDVR Top 20 AJPW Matches of the 1980s*


1.	80-12-11 Nick Bockwinkel vs. Billy Robinson ****1/2

2.	81-12-13 Bruiser Brody & Jimmy Snuka vs. The Funks (Dory Jr. & Terry) ***1/2

3.	83-04-14 Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen ****3/4

4.	83-06-08 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Ric Flair ****3/4

5.	83-08-31 The Funks (Dory Jr. & Terry) vs. Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy ****3/4

6.	84-05-22 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kerry Von Erich *******

7.	86-01-28 Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu *******

8.	86-02-05 Riki Choshu & Yoshiaki Yatsu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu *******

9.	86-07-31 Killer Khan vs. Riki Choshu ****1/2

10.	86-10-21 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen ****3/4

11.	87-08-31 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta ****1/2

12.	88-10-28 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta *******

13.	88-12-16 Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy vs. Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada *******

14.	89-02-26 Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs. The Olympics (Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu) *******

15.	89-06-05 Can-Am Express (Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat) vs. Footloose (Toshiaki Kawada & Samson Fuyuki) *******

16.	89-06-05 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta *******

17.	89-07-15 Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Kenta Kobashi ****3/4

18.	89-10-11 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu ****1/2

19.	89-11-29 Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs. Giant Baba & Rusher Kimura *******

20.	89-12-06 Genichiro Tenryu & Stan Hansen vs. The Olympics (Jumbo Tsuruta & Yoshiaki Yatsu) *******


While the New Japan 80s set had a decent number of hiccups, this one has only one (#2), and the rest is fucking ridiculously fantastic. Honestly, this set contains quite possibly the largest concentration of incredible matches on one place. Sure, some gems are missing, but you can’t cover everything with 20 matches. Long story short, this is seriously swell.


----------



## Rah

Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Atsushi Onita/Shinjiro Ohtani (21/03/2014 ZERO-1/Onita Pro) - If anyone wants some wrestlecrap, this is the match for you. If contemporary Fujiwara in an electrified, exploding barbed-wire deathmatch, doesn't set off any bells, then the fact that he's the best performance in this certainly will. Fujiwara hulking up off an explosion, only to be put away with a rather ineffective finish was a great icing to this shit cake. It's a relatively short match, cornering close to the 10 minute mark, so it doesn't become much of a wasted venture, if you're inclined to witnessing how far grace can fall.


----------



## Obfuscation

_vs Takashi Sugiura 6/10/11_ - Epic. Flat out beastly. Struggle to be the best in NOAH was never more properly defined by both. Some nutty bumps to go in w/all the brain cell crushing strikes, & the methodical drama of it all. That was the definitive hook for me; so. much. drama. Truly amazing. One of the best in the whole of wrestling circa 2011.

_vs Jun Akiyama 8/6/11_ - Great, despite a video game-y type finishing stretch that was a bit of finisher overload. Match didn't need it and it didn't help it out any, but the bulk of this match was very good. All led at the helm of a great veteran vs new kid on the block story. Akiyama breaking the holy bejezus out of Go's nose added a whole new level to the match.

_vs Yoshihiro Takayama 9/23/11_ - RADICAL. Go's selling of his ravaged arm wouldn't quit, nor would his passion to knock out the blonde out of the hair on the monster that stood before him. Big Tak was Big Tak. He dominated, knocked Go around, & showed him zero respect during all of it. This ruled so much. BURNING LARIAT.

_vs KENTA 11/27/11_ - Didn't like it. General off putting nature of KENTA rears its ugly head for the infinite time. He's meant to be the underdog in this b/c of his size & experience w/heavyweights, but that's the red flag there. I can't buy him as one. No connection in trying to earn sympathy as I watch, so ultimately it's nothing but moves. It's always just moves. Doesn't help that I prefer Go fighting from underneath or at an even keel in his matches too. It wasn't only KENTA who did nothing for me here; Go was right there w/him in not adding anything for me. Unsure why that is. Don't want to dub it as "b/c KENTA happened", but considering the quality of all the matches prior...it's b/c KENTA happened. This stunk.

_vs Takeshi Morishima 1/21/12_ - A lot of fun. Captured the good side of a constant back and forth type affair among the heavyweights. None of it felt ugh or contrived. Beauty of this match was in how fluid all the motions were. From point A to point B to eventually point C and the finish. Very consistent match w/all the sweet points hit. There are hard strikes, sufficient drama & interest on the right moments, proper transitions, good emoting, etc. Easily accessible viewing & easily great. A fitting finale for Shiozaki's reign.


----------



## vault21

Rah said:


> Yoshiaki Fujiwara/Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Atsushi Onita/Shinjiro Ohtani (21/03/2014 ZERO-1/Onita Pro) - If anyone wants some wrestlecrap, this is the match for you. If contemporary Fujiwara in an electrified, exploding barbed-wire deathmatch, doesn't set off any bells, then the fact that he's the best performance in this certainly will. Fujiwara hulking up off an explosion, only to be put away with a rather ineffective finish was a great icing to this shit cake. It's a relatively short match, cornering close to the 10 minute mark, so it doesn't become much of a wasted venture, if you're inclined to witnessing how far grace can fall.



Yeah I saw it.

Onita :lmao


----------



## Chismo

That Takayama/Go title match was a thing of beauty indeed:






















*Great Voyage 2014 in Tokyo*

*(2014/3/8)*


3.	Takuma Sano & Jushin Liger vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi

_Sano’s 30th Anniversary match, decent stuff, good to see him with Liger and Takayama again, fun match._

**3/4


4.	BRAVE (Mohammed Yone, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Atsushi Kotoge) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, YOSHI-HASHI)

_A decent CHAOS chaos._

**1/4


5.	*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. ©

_Very enjoyable Junior tag, cool mix of fast pacing, brawling, awesome heel work, etc. Recommended._

***1/2


6.	*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Daisuke Harada vs. Taiji Ishimori ©

_Slick, fast-paced action, sick counters and reversals, dangerous spots, good crowd, excitement… Oooh yeah, loved this. Spotfest of the year. Both dudes are killing it in 2014._

****1/4


7.	KENTA & Masato Tanaka vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Tetsuya Naito

_Overall, this was very good, had its both great and mediocre moments, Naito heeling it up was excellent, and his chemistry with KENTER looks promising if someone books them 1-on-1 down the road._

***1/2


8.	*GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi ©

_Yet another very good tag match, old school booking with heels taking many nasty shortcuts, and good guys making a heroic comeback, so yeah, simplicity always works well. Morishima came off as a total beast here, Maybach was totally useful as well, the Aussies were not bad, and there you go – good match, recommended._

***1/2


9.	*GHC Heavyweight Championship*: Takashi Sugiura vs. Yuji Nagata ©

_The first 10 minutes or so, shit was great, they were fucking MAULING each other in a blistering pace. But then they kind of lost it, things dragged, and the final result is just a solid yet disappointing title match._

**3/4​


----------



## Obfuscation

Adore how Tak slips that knee in there after the barrage of punches. :banderas

This is totally random and should be followed up on in better fashion soon, but Akebono totally rules. Been having the most fun watching his stuff from All Japan this year. _(and last year too)_ And I still got the championship defenses vs Shiozaki & Miyahara left. Stoked. Pairing Akebono w/Yutaka Yoshie fills my heart w/glee. And I'm never filled w/glee. Then that awesome six man where Shigehiro Irie was put on their squad. FATTIES :mark:


----------



## Chismo

*Invasion Attack 2014*

*(2014/4/6)*


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Kota Ibushi & El Desperado vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) ©

**1/2


2.	Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata, Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku, Taichi)

**1/4


3.	*NWA World Tag Team Championship*: TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs. IronGodz (Rob Conway & Jax Dane) ©

**3/4


4.	Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. The Gracies (Daniel & Rolles Jr.)

:lmao _Best terrible match in a long, long time…_

1/4*


5.	Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Prince Devitt

***1/4


6.	Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga vs. CHAOS Ride the Lightning (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI)

**3/4


7.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii ©

_This match contains at least two counter attacks of the year, and at last three sick headdrops._

****1/4


8.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows ©

***3/4


9.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ©

_I can't describe in words how much I adored the main event. The big majority of the match was basically Tanahashi going "you will sell for me, Shinsuke, YOU WILL I'M TELLING YOU! you artpop wannabe!", and it was the greatest thing that happened in wrestling since Suzuki/Tanahashi from KOPW '12, it was a fantastic homage to the heroes of old, different strong style, it felt like I’m watching Fujinami/Choshu._

*******​


----------



## Concrete

*Akebono/Yutaka Yoshie/Shigehiro Irie vs. Go Shiozaki/Kento Miyahara/Kaji Tomato(AJPW 2/8/14):****
_Well this sure was enjoyable. There is something beautiful about Akebono teaming with guys that look like they spawned from his fat and then developed their own personalities. The two dudes I enjoyed the most in this were the two that probably got the least amount of time. Maybe they just didn’t have enough time for me to dim on them but Akebono being friggin’ bear and Kaji Tomato being a hyperactive junior was sweetness. I used to really like Shiozaki but either my tastes have simply changed, he’s not as good as he once was, or maybe it is a mix of the two. I was really hoping Miyahara would show me all about this young Japanese talent but what I got was a man who throws terrible superkicks. Yoshie had some fun FAT moments but had weak offense when he wasn’t literally throwing his weight around. Irie is cool which I feel is all I need to say. Luckily, trios matches are generally cool as long as the ring isn’t populated by terrible wrestlers. They kept the action going even if that action always wasn’t the most engaging._​


----------



## Obfuscation

Thought that match ruled the roost. Still riding high on the Shiozaki train. He always connects for me. And Shigehiro Irie is basically my favorite wrestler going today; nudging out Kazuki Hashimoto. All if Sami Zayn isn't the topic on my mind like he often is, yada yada.


----------



## Chismo

Concrete, why are you choosing random, passable matches from All Japan, when they produced so many better shit this year?


*ZERO1 THIRTEEN (2014/3/9)*

-	Daichi Hashimoto vs. Masato Tanaka ***1/4
-	Takashi Sugiura vs. Kohei Sato **** _(Kohei Sato is a legit WOTYC)_


*ZERO1 11th Yasukuni Shrine Festival (2014/3/30)*

-	Masato Tanaka & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Shinjiro Otani & Genichiro Tenryu **3/4
-	*World Title*: Kohei Sato vs. James Raideen © ***1/4


*DDT Judgement 2014 (2014/3/21)*

- *KO-D Tag Team Title*: Nuru Nuru Brothers (Michael Nakazawa & Tomomitsu Matsunaga) vs. Golden Lovers (Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega) © **3/4
- 12-man Openweight Title Battle Royal N/A _(funny, bizarre, awesome, cannot rate it)_
- *KO-D Openweight Title*: KUDO vs. HARASHIMA © ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Gah, that fatty match IS one of the good ones worth seeing.


----------



## Chismo

Well yes, but it doesn't crack their Top 10. It is a fun match, though, highlighted by awesome Miyahara/Irie exchanges.


----------



## vault21

Chismo said:


> *Invasion Attack 2014*
> ​


Conway in that machinegun chop spot :lmao awesome


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

So in all seriousness are the Gracie boys gonna be a permanent fixture on the New Japan big shows are what? I love watching a guy like Sakaruba work a match even though he's obviously not the most skilled "wrestler," if that makes any sense. But man these guys are terrible, I get some LOL moments out of them but Lord help me. :lol


----------



## vault21

Chismo said:


> 9.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ©
> 
> _I can't describe in words how much I adored the main event. The big majority of the match was basically Tanahashi going "you will sell for me, Shinsuke, YOU WILL I'M TELLING YOU! you artpop wannabe!", and it was the greatest thing that happened in wrestling since Suzuki/Tanahashi from KOPW '12, it was a fantastic homage to the heroes of old, different strong style, it felt like I’m watching Fujinami/Choshu._
> 
> *******
> [/CENTER]


Nakamura should really choose is he gonna sell shit or just go Road Warrior every time.


----------



## Concrete

HayleySabin said:


> Thought that match ruled the roost. Still riding high on the Shiozaki train. He always connects for me. And Shigehiro Irie is basically my favorite wrestler going today; nudging out Kazuki Hashimoto. All if Sami Zayn isn't the topic on my mind like he often is, yada yada.


I still thought it was darn good match that I have no qualms with have watched. Being I honestly want to watch as much good-great wrestling this year as possible this fit the bill. Hopefully by the end I'll have a big ole' list of stuff. I totally need to see some more Irie. Could end up being my favorite Japanese meatball with Jeremiah Plunkett being #1 meatball in the US of A. 

Feel like I need to rewatch the K-Hash/Koji matches since I really like both guys yet the first one I saw really didn't hit home for me.


----------



## flag sabbath

Kaze Ni Nare said:


> So in all seriousness are the Gracie boys gonna be a permanent fixture on the New Japan big shows are what? I love watching a guy like Sakaruba work a match even though he's obviously not the most skilled "wrestler," if that makes any sense. But man these guys are terrible, I get some LOL moments out of them but Lord help me. :lol


Daniel tagging in from the wrong corner was a highlight of the Invasion Attack undercard for sure.


----------



## vault21

fpalm


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Kaze Ni Nare said:


> So in all seriousness are the Gracie boys gonna be a permanent fixture on the New Japan big shows are what? I love watching a guy like Sakaruba work a match even though he's obviously not the most skilled "wrestler," if that makes any sense.


No it does not. Sakuraba has plenty of skills, whether they be in legit shoots or in producing fake sportive excitement. You should recognize that as a MiSu mark.


----------



## KO Bossy

Man, do I feel dumb for not finding this thread sooner. Well, I wasn't looking for it, either, but whatever.



Kaze Ni Nare said:


> So in all seriousness are the Gracie boys gonna be a permanent fixture on the New Japan big shows are what? I love watching a guy like Sakaruba work a match even though he's obviously not the most skilled "wrestler," if that makes any sense. But man these guys are terrible, I get some LOL moments out of them but Lord help me. :lol


I really hope the Gracies just go away. It was bad enough watching them in UFC the past couple of years, desperately trying to cling onto the past stardom their family had. But its time to move on.

As for Sakuraba, I think his match with Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 7 shows that the dude can definitely work, at the very least.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Just watched the Ishii/Naito trilogy. Would say IA > NB > NJC. Also, I admire Naito taking the bumps he does but if he doesn't stop facing Ishii he's going to end up taking a picture from the hospital with a neck brace.


----------



## Chismo

*2014/2/26*


4.	Shiori Asahi & Ryuichi Sekine vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Takayuki Ueki

***1/4


5.	Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Manabu Soya

***


7.	Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato

****1/4













*Dream Power Series 2014 – Day 1*

*(2014/3/18)*


2.	Takao Omori & Kazuhiro Tamura vs. Osamu Nishimura & Kotaro Nasu

_Nishimura! MUGA! Two indie guys with a chip on their shoulders! Short and sweet, looking forward to Nishimura in this year’s Carnival._

***


3.	Mitsuya Nagai & Takeshi Minamino vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Shigehiro Irie

_Two angry fatties, bald fuck Nagai, the Elvis-looking dude and hot crowd… Yeah, this was fun._

**3/4


4.	KENSO vs. Joe Doering

_Holy fuck, I enjoyed the hell out of this! A super fun brawl with stiff slaps, brawling and campy shenanigans, I wanna see KENSO vs. Toru Yano, desperately._

***


5.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru ©

_Sweet, so sweet, this was a damn fine tag packed with nonstop action that never went over-the-top. Mad props to Ishii, the workhorse of the match, DDT’s trio (these two + Irie) makes for such a great addition to the promotion._

***3/4


6.	Atsushi Aoki & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Ultimo Dragon & Kaji Tomato

**


7.	Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Suwama & Hikaru Sato

_Poor Sato, this match was supposed to be about his quest to prove he’s Evolution-worthy, instead he almost got overshadowed by Suwama and Go, who pretty much DESPISE each other at this point. They’re bound to meet in this year’s Carnival finale, and it’s going to rock the world._

****1/4


8.	*AJPW Triple Crown Championship*: Kento Miyahara vs. Akebono ©

_Thought this was almost as good as the Shiozaki defense. Akebono was clearly dizzy and tired here, but it didn’t prevent him from doing his normal stuff, and few extra angry fattie slaps always help. Miyahara carried the load, though, he displayed some promising fire and enthusiasm._

***1/4


This was a highly enjoyable show, with a nice undercard with short and fun matches, two nice title defenses, and a stellar semi-ME tag.​


----------



## KO Bossy

bigbuxxx said:


> Just watched the Ishii/Naito trilogy. Would say IA > NB > NJC. Also, I admire Naito taking the bumps he does but if he doesn't stop facing Ishii he's going to end up taking a picture from the hospital with a neck brace.


I would agree with this.

Then again, as soon as Ishii destroyed Naito with that crazy headbutt about 2 minutes in, I had almost already made up my mind. Just an awesome spot. I need a gif of that ASAP.


----------



## Chismo

This is the sickest counter in a long, LONG time:











And remember this?


----------



## ywall2breakerj

By the power invested in me by no one I officially proclaim the tag team contest between the teams of Zero 1 (whose representatives were Kohei SUPER WORKER Sato and Daichi KICKZ Hashimoto) and Big Japan Wrestling (represented by Kazuki GOD Hashimoto and Ryuichi "I won't sell yo shit just cuz yo daddy main evented the Dome in '96" Kawakami) contested on November the 22th in Big Japan Wrestling as the greatest match in pro wrestling history. That is all. Thank you and god bless Japan.


----------



## Concrete

*Daichi Hashimoto/Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato/Shuji Ishikawa(BJPW 2/7/14):***1/2*
_I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this but darn it if I didn’t enjoy this one. The fact that Wee Hashimotos came right at their massive opponents was fantastic. I didn’t quite know what to expect from either of the giants, relative to the wee Hashimoto team, but Sato definitely impressed with his Louisville Slugger-esque forearms. K-Hash was the other half of the equation to this match being really darn good. Contrary to so many Japanese wrestling talents he may actually have too much facial expression but that is sort of small complaint cause when the mastodons crushed K-Hash’s organs you’re damn right I want to see him writhing in pain. And boy were those innards getting wrecked. Daichi wanted to be awesome so bad in here from the lightening kicks in the corner to the damnedest backdrop driver on that fat Ishikawa but he still feels rather vanilla. As much as I liked Sato, I was not enjoying Ishikawa. He came off a sub-par big guy with zero expression. Like what has been said about this match prior it was a big time slug fest. Both teams were just throwing bombs trying to keep their opponents down._ 


*Daichi Hashimoto/Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato/Ryuichi Kawakami(BJPW 3/21/14):***1/2*
_Another Hashimoto versus TEAM ULTIMATE DOOM SQUAD, Kawakami playing the role of Bad Guy #2, another darn fine match. I wasn’t a big fan of Ishikawa in the February 2nd tag so Ryuichi “DEMON BABY” Kawakami felt right. Like that forearm/chop corner on K-Hash was this brutal piece of beauty. There was a tradeoff though in that everything else going on felt a little bit less intense than that tag. K-Hash still brought it though. The dude has a Callihan like quality to him where he is loud, plays a rad underdog, and is just in your face. I haven’t seen a great match out of him yet this year but I’ve seen some darn good performances. The way he finishes this off with some absolutely killer headbutts and that kick to Kawakami’s dome…hot damn._​


----------



## Toonami4Life

You know watching Ishii I could see him contending for and winning The IWGP Belt in a year or so. If not that, at least The Intercontinental Title. He really represents The Bright Talent New Japan has. It really shows the Conditioning and Training guys in Japan have given he's 38 and just now achieved success after 18 years.


----------



## Blommen

In decided to spend my hangover riddled sunday trying to watch some Puroresu and so far I've been thoroughly enjoying myself (apart from the cold sweat, hot flashes etc. etc.) So fart I've seen A few Minoru Suzuki fights against tanahashi and Okada and I absolutely love him. He's so fucking cool and stiff, love it. Okada entertained me as well but couldn't really get into Tanahashi in the few matches I've seen with him so far. I've watched a bit of Shinsuke Nakamura adn KENTA as well and I definitely want to find some great matches with them as well. can you guys point me in the direction of some good matches with some of the people I just mentioned? Pretty new to the whole stong style thing but so far I'm thoroughly enjoying it.


----------



## amhlilhaus

Toonami4Life said:


> You know watching Ishii I could see him contending for and winning The IWGP Belt in a year or so. If not that, at least The Intercontinental Title. He really represents The Bright Talent New Japan has. It really shows the Conditioning and Training guys in Japan have given he's 38 and just now achieved success after 18 years.


with them having the intercontinental title almost as prestigious as the iwgp title I can see your point. they have 2 big belts to go after and ishii can definitely get one.


----------



## darkclaudio

Abbys vs Yoshihiro Takayama - WRESTLE1 2/03/2014 *
Bobby Roode vs Masakatsu Funaki - WRESTLE1 2/03/2014 **1/2
Richards & Edwards (c) vs Robbie E & Godderz vs Hayashi & Kondo - WRESTLE1 2/03/2014 **3/4
Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Kenou & Hajime Ohara - NOAH 8/03/2014 ***
Taiji Ishimori (c) vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH 8/03/2014 ***3/4
KENTA & Masato Tanaka vs Tetsuya Naito & Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 8/03/2014 ***1/2
Maybach Taniguchi & Takeshi Morishima (c) vs Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste - NOAH 8/03/2014 ***
Daisuke Ikeda, Mohammed Yone, Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Takashi Sugiura, KENTA, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls - NOAH 21/03/2014 ***1/4
Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge - NOAH 21/03/2014 ***1/4
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma - NJPW 2/04/2014 ***1/4
Young Bucks (c) vs Kota Ibushi & Desperado - NJPW 6/04/2014 ***1/4
Prince Devitt vs Ryusuke Taguchi - NJPW 6/04/2014 ***
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tetsuya Naito - NJPW 6/04/2014 ***3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura - NJPW 6/04/2014 ***3/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Chismo said:


> This is the sickest counter in a long, LONG time:


bah gum that was so terrific.

Real good match on the over-under. Didn't think it was "super" great, but def on the normal quality for what those two have shown to produce vs one another. Their New Beginning match will always be the holy grail, but this was a fitting - got to be, right? - finale in the series. These guys have been killing each other for four months. THEY NEED A BREAK. _(but it was a blast watching)_


----------



## malek

Hmmmm... Ishii turning into everyone's favorite, and rightly so. He had amazing series with Naito,and (in my opinion) even better one against Shibata. I can't be the only one who wants now to see Naito vs Shibata ?!


----------



## Chismo

*Spring Navigation 2014 – Day 2*

*(2014/3/21)*


1.	Sho Tanaka vs. Hitoshi Kumano

***1/4


4. Xtra Large vs. Daisuke Harada

***


5.	KENTA, Takashi Sugiura, TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. BRAVE (Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Katsuhiko Nakajima) & Daisuke Ikeda

**3/4


6.	*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. ©

***3/4


7.	Cho Kibou-gun (Takeshi Morishima, Maybach Taniguchi, Kenou) vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Liger

**1/2


From what I’ve seen, this was a decent show, with the Jr. tag being the obvious MOTN, super nice match.













*Tour After Outbreak – Day 4*

_*(2014/3/22)*_


2.	KAZMA SAKAMOTO vs. Koji Kanemoto

**


3.	Hiroshi Yamato & Daiki Inaba vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Rob Terry

*3/4


4.	Minoru Tanaka vs. Danshoku Dino

*1/2


5.	Yasufumi Nakanoue vs. Yuji Hino

**1/4


6.	Gabaiji-chan vs. Masakatsu Funaki

N/A


7.	Kazushi Miyamoto vs. Masakatsu Funaki

N/A


8.	Manabu Soya & Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) vs. Masayuki Kono, Rene Dupree, KAI

**1/4


9.	*TNA X Championship*: Seiki Yoshioka vs. Seiya Sanada ©

***


What a bad, dull show.













*New Japan Cup 2014 – Day 7 (Finals)*

*(2014/3/23)*


1.	KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs. Cpt. New Japan & Sho Tanaka

***


2.	Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., TAKA Michinoku, Taichi) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask

**3/4


3.	CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Jado) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Kazushi Sakuraba

*


4.	*Semi-Finals*: Bad Luck Fale vs. Shelton Benjamin

***1/4


5.	*Semi-Finals*: Minoru Suzuki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

***1/4


6.	Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata

_Well, holy fucking shit at this! :mark: Jump onto the Y-H bandwagon before it’s too late._

****


7.	Bullet Club (Prince Devitt, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi

**1/2


8.	Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, El Desperado vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Gedo)

_Ishii/Naito war delivers once again, holy balls at that CHEMISTRY!_

***3/4


9.	*FINALS*: Bad Luck Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

_This was great. It started good, with simple powerhouse workovers by Fale, nice comebacks by Shinsuke and two typical Bullet Club interferences, but then Shinsuke got juiced big time, and it created some swell drama that elevated the match to the "great" territory. Bad Luck Fale rocks._

****


Awesome show with six good matches, ‘nuff said.​


----------



## A.M.

Chismo said:


> Ishii/Naito war delivers once again, holy balls at that CHEMISTRY!



I could watch them wrestle all days and never get tired. Can't wait for their next match.


----------



## Obfuscation

I want someone to try and tell me how the Goto/Shibata vs Yujiro/YOSHI-HASHI match wasn't the biggest sleeper on the year at this point. I'll accept a fair trade on some of the great Bad Luck Fale matches b/c he has really shined, but DAMN that tag was fierce. Just when you think Shibata (and Goto) were going to make an example out of YOSHI-HASHI again, boom. The lower card hand decides to fight back in a BIG way. He's on a neat roll as of late, haha. I love their booking. Captain New Japan even looked like a stud against Goto & Shibata on the recent Korakuen event. w/o it hurting the mystique of either stern individual too. The undercard cats are wanting to step it up right now. I'm liking it.


----------



## Chismo

*Road to Wrestling Dontaku 2014 – Day 1*

_*(2014/4/19)*_


1.	Ryusuke Taguchi, El Desperado, Mascara Dorada vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, BUSHI

***


2.	Manabu Nakanishi & Yohei Komatsu vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)

***


3.	Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Shelton Benjamin, TAKA Michinoku, Taichi) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Gedo, Jado)

**3/4


4.	CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma, KUSHIDA

***1/4


5.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata & Cpt. New Japan

***1/4


6.	Khal Drogo vs. Kazuchika Okada

*3/4


7.	Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson) vs. CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov)

**3/4


8.	King Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe) vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows

****


Quality.​


----------



## Obfuscation

:lmao

I'm too busy embracing Tonga's General Grievous face paint to make any GOT references.


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW Invasion Attack 2014 Review:*

The Young Bucks(c) vs. Kota Ibushi and El Desperado: ***1/4

Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata, and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku, and Taichi: **1/4

Rob Conway and Jax Dane(c) vs. Ten-Koji: **1/2

Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano vs. Daniel and Rolles Gracie: 1/4*

Prince Devitt vs. Ryusuke Taguchi: ***1/2

Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga vs. Kazuchika Okada and YOSHI-HASHI: **1/4

Tomohiro Ishii(c) vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***3/4

Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson(c) vs. Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata: ***1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***1/2

First NJPW show I've seen in a long time. I think since WK. To be honest, I don't care about the product too much atm. I HATE HATE HATE the talents they bring from US, I don't like the way they're using Bullett Club and the Main Event/IC scene is stale. Still, a solid show with Ishii/Naito being the MOTN.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Ishii/Yujiro/HASHI-YOSHI vs Honma/Naito/Kushida was super fun. Korauken exploding for Honma was :mark:


----------



## Concrete

Well i feel dirty. As far as I can tell no one has done a proper review of the pimped HARASHIMA vs. Irie match outside of saying "You should watch this". So the fact that the first write up will be from someone you didn't think it was all that and a bag of chips stinks but I'm going to do it anyway. Why? Cause I've watched it, that's why! 

*HARASHIMA vs. Shigehiro Irie(DDT 1/26/14):**3/4*
_This match is weird. As in I was really hoping this was going to be this out of the park homerun sort of match that I haven't found in puro yet this year. What I got was a one man show. Now that one man was rather awesome in this but for twenty odd minutes I desire more than a pudgy, charismatic, stiff bastard versus someone who comes off as Generic Japanese Junior #1062. This was all Irie for me. He throws mean elbows that when there are a few exchanges in your match you really need to make them at least not grating. HARASHIMA did not give that. There was some MMA style guard stuff in this match that actually I thought was sorta neat. Neither dude is an expert shoot guy of course but it sorta looked like two guys trying to gain position and resorting to something they've seen done on TV rather than simply scrap it out. There is one spot in a match that I really think is just WHA and that is a no sold superplex into the opponent doing a suplex and they added in the layer of having another suplex. Seems like some massive overkill and dilutes it for me. This was not an actively bad match. Not at all. But I for one do terrible with most matches over 17+ minutes unless they are REAL good and I never felt that way. If I came away from this match with anything it would be that Irie should be over in Big Japan be a pudgie litte dude going toe to toe with some of the stiff MoFos they have over there. _​


----------



## Obfuscation

Hogwash.


----------



## Concrete

YOU"RE WASHING A HOG!


----------



## Obfuscation

I also dashed some balders.

(what's a balder exactly? I dunno. reference be damned)


----------



## Concrete

THAT'S BALDERDASH!


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NEVER Openweight Championship:* Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs KUSHIDA - NJPW 4/12 ***
Suwama vs Takao Omori - AJPW 4/13 **


----------



## Toonami4Life

Lots of good matches well worth looking at.


----------



## Chismo

*Champion Carnival 2014 – Day 1*

*(2014/4/13)*


1. Naoya Nomura vs. Ryuji Hijikata

_All Japan’s first post-split rookie shows some great talent._

**3/4


2. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SUSHI vs. Kenichiro Arai & K-ness

*3/4


3. Mitsuya Nagai & Takeshi Minamino vs. Osamu Nishimura & Ultimo Dragon

**3/4


4. Kendo Kashin & Atsushi Aoki vs. Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki

_Oh gods, how I missed Kashin… :mark:_

**3/4


5. Joe Doering & Hikaru Sato vs. Akebono & Yutaka Yoshie

_Sato versus fatties… Yeah, this was bound to be good, and it was._

***


6. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block B*: Zeus vs. Jun Akiyama

_First time seeing Zeus: his theme song is all sorts of awesome, he’s jacked, reeks of Kensuke Sasaki, he’s a lariat throwin’ powerhouse… and he uses the BEARHUG! :mark: That’s such a huge, huge plus in my book. This match was awesome, and borderline great, the pace was very slow because they chose an extremely methodic and careful route, and I dug the hell out of it. The finish was beautiful and it rocked my world._

***3/4


7. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block B*: KENSO vs. Go Shiozaki

_That beginning! :mark: CHAOS~! Oh gods, how I dig it when these two face each other. Sure, it wasn’t as good as their New Year’s mini-classic, but it didn’t have chance to be, mainly because KENSO’s minions and henchmen are in more vital roles now, but still, there was enough swag and brawling to make things good, really good._

***1/2



8.	*Champion Carnival 2014 – Block A*: Takao Omori vs. Suwama

_Warning: not for Western casuals. The match was slow, they took their time to build things, they worked basics on basics from basics, etc. The best Omori performance ever since that grandiose Takayama tag from Z1; dude’s one of my least favorite All Japan wrestlers, but damn it, he brought it here, he matched Suwama’s performance. And shit, I looove Suwama. There was a point in the match where he got tired of all that struggle, and simply proceeded to choke Omori to death, which pissed the ref off, hilarious stuff. All that build throughout the match had a great pay-off, they went for an “epic” finishing run, and they got it right. Excellent match, I reckon it’s like Mad Men, you either love it or hate it. I love it._

****1/4​


----------



## Concrete

Chismo said:


> *Champion Carnival 2014 – Day 1*
> 
> 
> 6. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block B*: Zeus vs. Jun Akiyama
> 
> _First time seeing Zeus: his theme song is all sorts of awesome, he’s jacked, reeks of Kensuke Sasaki, he’s a lariat throwin’ powerhouse… and he uses the BEARHUG! :mark: That’s such a huge, huge plus in my book. This match was awesome, and borderline great, the pace was very slow because they chose an extremely methodic and careful route, and I dug the hell out of it. The finish was beautiful and it rocked my world._
> 
> ***3/4
> 
> 
> 
> 8.	*Champion Carnival 2014 – Block A*: Takao Omori vs. Suwama
> 
> _Warning: not for Western casuals. The match was slow, they took their time to build things, they worked basics on basics from basics, etc. The best Omori performance ever since that grandiose Takayama tag from Z1; dude’s one of my least favorite All Japan wrestlers, but damn it, he brought it here, he matched Suwama’s performance. And shit, I looove Suwama. There was a point in the match where he got tired of all that struggle, and simply proceeded to choke Omori to death, which pissed the ref off, hilarious stuff. All that build throughout the match had a great pay-off, they went for an “epic” finishing run, and they got it right. Excellent match, I reckon it’s like Mad Men, you either love it or hate it. I love it._
> 
> ****1/4​


Okay I'm gonna give these two a shot at some point. Love Akiyama so despite not knowing who the hell Zeus is I think this has a real shot with me. Omori vs Suwama will probably be a bit more dicey for me but I enjoy Suwama a ton every now and again. Omori was in a Top10 match for me last year so, hey, there's hope for me.


----------



## Chismo

Honestly, I don't see you enjoying those. But watch ZEUS for his entrance alone.



> Omori was in a Top10 match for me last year


wat

Oh, you mean the Burning/GetWild tag? Or is it?


----------



## Concrete

Yeah Burning/Get Wild. A lot for Akiyama. And the remainder for Soya knowing he was gonna have to take a break soon so he just killed himself.


----------



## Chismo

*Champion Carnival 2014 – Day 9 (Finals)*

_*(2014/4/27)*_


2. Masato Shibata vs. Jun Akiyama

**


3. The Bodyguard vs. Suwama

**1/2


4. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block B*: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Joe Doering

**3/4


5. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block A*: Kendo Kashin vs. Takao Omori

**1/2


6. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block A*: Osamu Nishimura vs. Kento Miyahara

***1/4


7. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block B*: KENSO vs. Zeus

**3/4


8. *Champion Carnival 2014 – Block B Decision Match*: Joe Doering vs. Jun Akiyama

***1/2


9.	*Champion Carnival 2014 – Block A Decision Match*: Takao Omori vs. Suwama

***1/2


10.	Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao) vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Masao Inoue

**1/4


11. Atsushi Aoki & Super Delfin vs. Ultimo Dragon & Kotaro Suzuki

**1/4




Spoiler: 12. Champion Carnival 2014 – FINALS



Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori

***3/4


Good show, fun, most of the matches were short and really easy to sit through. Omori got his big night, he showed he can deliver in big matches. Although he’s far from being my favorite All Japan wrestler, I’m somehow happy that he won, even if it felt as sentimental “thank you” booking decision.


----------



## Rah

Tomohiro Ishii vs. KUSHIDA (12/04/2014 NJPW) - Pretty swell match. I'm not sure if Ishii's still doing his underdog routine but he works a good beatdown heel out of that role (something I'd not been too high on before). It really helps his talents, too, when KUSHIDA takes control via his speed and unique offence because it allows Ishii to still work that from-the-bottom role that he's so great at selling for. It's also not often that I enjoy forearm exchange spots but KUSHIDA is the perfect foil to Ishii in getting Ishii's toughness over. KUSH is kinda like that prettyboy model with some muscle that's only there for aesthetics and doesn't much help him in the scrap. Ishii, well he's a pudgy brute whose forearms will decapitate you clean. That said, I did think KUSHIDA relied too much on going back to his forearms but, inside of his exhaustion and wear to the point of not being able to hit his top speed out the blue, it worked within the narrative of his desperation.

I'd YES vote this if someone else nominated it, but it's a damn fine NJPW midcard match. Nowhere close to Nakamura/Tanahashi, purely because it doesn't have the masterclass Tana performance, but KUSHIDA's style works aplty with Ishii. Matches like these kind of make me miss watching NJPW on a regular basis.


----------



## Obfuscation

If you want me to vote YES on something, I'll give you want you want and support a vote for that splendid match.


----------



## Rah

I think I'll move that to the MotYC thread. Well, I was about to, then I saw Akiyama and Irie are in a match together and died of excitement. BRB fapping.


----------



## Obfuscation

And the tag match ruled too, btw. Great & left plenty open for a rematch down the line. :mark:


----------



## Stone Cold 4life

How can I watch the Japan stuff from the UK? I've mostly been watching matches on youtube as they become available but is there another way?


----------



## Obfuscation

Streaming sites like Youtube & Dailymotion _(the better of the two when it comes to quantity)_, downloading, or purchasing the iPPVs straight from the source.


----------



## Toonami4Life

Go to Dailymotion, a guy named RealHero often has the latest Japan matches up


----------



## Chismo

*Max Bump 2014*

_*(2014/4/29)*_


1.	Guanchulo & Shunma Katsumata vs. Shuten-doji (Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi)

_The day will dawn, my friends, when each and every one of you is going to realize the greatness of Masa Takanashi. In the big entity of puroresu, loaded with excellent and overlooked wrestlers, he’s probably THE most overlooked. Basically, his character is that he’s a barely decent wrestler, he’s mostly weak. And he plays it so good, which of course, makes him a GREAT wrestler, amirite? His mannerisms, attitude, charisma, swag… Just check his title match against HARASHIMA already.

Oh, this match? It was a really fun sprint; Guanchulo comes from Chile, he’s not bad, Katsumata is a spunky rookie, and Yukio Sakaguchi hit him with the sickest Penalty Kick in recent memory._

***


2.	10-MAN BATTLE ROYAL for *Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship*: Shun Miyatake vs. Super Sasadango Machine vs. Toru Owashi vs. Antonio Honda vs. Kazuki Hirata vs. Soma Takao vs. Michael Nakazawa vs. Yasu Urano vs. MIKAMI vs. Sanshiro Takagi ©

_Yeah… So, this title, hmmm… This is one of those vintage DDT matches that are impossible to rate due to levels of cartoonish craziness and shenanigans involved. Insanely fun. The match has the current spot of the year, watch and you shall see what it is._

N/A


3.	Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs. HARASHIMA & Tomomitsu Matsunaga

_Matsunaga shows tons of fire and confidence against the dumb rookies, and HARASHIMA has a chip on his shoulder after losing the Openweight Title last month. Takeshita and Endo are screwed._

***1/4


4.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru ©

_Hermano Concrete has already covered this match in the MOTYC thread, super nice stuff from both teams, simple, basic and dynamic. Akiyama invading DDT needs to happen ASAP. Also, IRIE! :mark:_

***3/4


5.	*KO-D 6-man Tag Team Championship*: Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi, Yoshihiko vs. Golden Rendezvous (Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega, Daisuke Sasaki) ©

_Omega and Sasaki are fucking pricks! Pricks, I’m telling ya! The fucking tore apart the warrior known as Yoshihiko, limb for limb. Disgusting. Dino and Oishi are lost, all hope is gone… But few minutes later, Yoshihiko is back! In Magnum Tokyo mask, heh, and it’s pissed off, Omega is about to die. And DAT CHEMISTRY with Ibushi! :mark: Marvelous stuff._

***1/2


6.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Akito vs. KUDO ©

_Ya’ll might think I’m crazy. That might be so true, but fuck off, this was rather fantastic. First things first, both guys are very gifted athletes, but they chose to work a true, old school heavyweight style with cartloads of brains and struggle. Akito is so cool, daaayum at that hairstyle, his offense is methodic, strategic and focused, yet so innovative and visually stunning, and so is his defense. Such a smart, innovative guy, which is amazing considering this has to be his first major singles match. The match was 25 min long, and they never missed a beat. But there is one flaw, though, KUDO’s selling of the leg, while good, had to be better. I think some dudes will find it frustrating. But waddaya gonna do, he ain’t no Undertaker. In my book, he gets the pass for not using the injured leg for kicking, he also gets the pass for post-match selling, which is important because that’s his way of telling us his leg IS bruised and twisted, and he was fighting through the pain. Kawada did the same._

****1/2


7.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Yasu Urano vs. KUDO ©

_The impromptu title match, Urano tries to score quick pins, but it doesn’t work, so he attacks the injured leg, all he needs is little brains and patience… But fuck it, he’s a midcarder at best, all KUDO needs is one effective counter. This was very good._

***1/2


Quite possibly the show of the year, DDT in Korakuen is just sooo good.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Got me so jacked up to see the rest of the show now. Only watched the All Asia straps match first for obvious reasons. And it was glorious. I hope I can at least like KUDO vs Akito half as much as you. Akito certainly is cool though. No doubt. So I got hopes that he can continue impress and have a strong match. I did think KUDO vs HARASHIMA on the last DDT show was really bad, unfortunately. Not like that should matter. I've seen enough by KUDO over the years to know he's fine by me & can give me a match to enjoy all on his own accord.

And I'm on Takanashi's bandwagon. Max Bump two years ago when he lost the championship was crushing, but what a great match w/Hino. Long live the People's Champion of DDT :sansa


----------



## Concrete

We're all in agreement that Irie and Akiyama should feud, right? Good I thought so.


----------



## Obfuscation

Let me have one more Irie vs Omega match and then I'll be good for him to be preoccupied w/Akiyama the rest of the year.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*MY NJPW WRESTLING DONTAKU 2014 REVIEW*

Dark Match: Captain New Japan, Mascara Dorada, El Desperado & BUSHI vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tiger Mask IV, KUSHIDA & Yohei Komatsu **1/4

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks (c) vs Forever Hooligans **3/4

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Shelton X Benjamin) vs Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka *

NWA World Heavyweight Championship
Satoshi Kojima (c) vs Wes Brisco *1/4

Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi **1/4

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Kota Ibushi (c) vs Ryusuke Taguchi ***

NEVER Openweight Championship
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tomoaki Honma ***3/4

Special Elimination Match
Jushin Thunder Liger, Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs BULLET Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale) **1/2

Pro-Wrestling vs Jiu-Jitsu
Kazushi Sakuraba & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Daniel Gracie & Rolles Gracie N/R

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs AJ Styles ***1/2

Overall Grade: 6.25


----------



## darkclaudio

Wrestling Dontaku 2014
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/2
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs AJ Styles ***1/4

Bad crowd


----------



## bigbuxxx

Okada vs Styles - ***1/2. As mentioned above, the crowd didn't help.
Tanahashi is my favorite wrestler but I can't bring myself to watch that 8-man tag.


----------



## Obfuscation

I can't wait to see the eight man. A ton of guys I love to watch are involved. But the highlight I'm dying for is Ishii vs Honma.

Agreed w/the general consensus on Okada vs Styles. Only match I've seen so far; really quite good, although not great. Finish had good drama, which is when you know things really did gel to a good level.


----------



## Bubz

I guess I'll watch Styles/Okada, nothing else appeals to me though. New Japan doesn't do it for me like it was the past few years.


----------



## Brock

Jushin Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 2/16/97) 

WON ****3/4 match. Ill upload the full match at some point as i don't think its online, if anyone wants it.


----------



## vault21

The Hitman said:


> Ill upload the full match at some point as i don't think its online, if anyone wants it.


:agree:


----------



## Vårmakos

The 8 Man Tag was fun, though the ending felt contrived in a way and the 'over the top rope' elimination rule is just unfitting for the match style.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Okada/Styles was good, not great but a few of the exchanges were ace.


----------



## Brock

vault21 said:


> :agree:


Didn't see the COMPLETE match upped, so here it is for those interested:

Jushin Liger vs Koji Kanemoto (NJPW 02.16.1997) 

WON rating: ****3/4

x1t5n6t


----------



## Chismo

*Wrestling Dontaku 2014*

_*(2014/5/3)*_


0. Cpt. New Japan, Mascara Dorada, El Desperado, BUSHI vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, Yohei Komatsu

_One day Komatsu’s gonna score that pin or submission, and it’s gonna be so sweet._

**1/4


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) ©

**3/4


2.	Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka

**


3.	*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Wes Brisco vs. Satoshi Kojima ©

_Fuck me, this was good. Wes was solid, he kept it basic, and it worked._

***


4.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

*


5.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kota Ibushi ©

**3/4


6.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii ©

_Absolutely NUTS~! But, this should’ve happened in Korakuen._

***3/4


7.	ELIMINATION MATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito, Jushin Liger vs. Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga)

***1/4


8.	Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. The Gracies (Daniel & Rolles Jr.)

_Wow, I liked this. It was all shooty and stuff…_

**3/4


9.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

_Not great, obviously, but still good, and completely satisfying considering the context of booking. Hopefully AJ turns face down the road, because the badass potential for clean match-ups with top stars is huge, as demonstrated during the middle portion of this match._

***1/2


Not the greatest effort from NJPW, only four good matches out of ten, the rest is a pile of mediocrity, although the pre-show 8-man tag was exactly what one could expect from it, and the Gracies’ tag overdelivered, actually, so there you go. The Junior title matches were disappointing, though, especially Taguchi/Ibushi.​


----------



## Rah

Ishii with that MotN, again.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Binge watching a bunch of Kobashi's 1993. I noticed he went from losing vs Hansen on 7/29 to making his first attempt at the triple crown on 8/31 vs Dr. Death. Does anybody know why he got a shot after the loss? I dug through the WON's on the Classics torrent site but they didn't have an explanation. I know the match came about after Gordy forfeited the TC but I'm curious how they came up with Kobashi instead of Taue/Kawada/Misawa and especially Hansen.


----------



## Rah

Just an assumption but, while he was getting hot with the fans, I don't think AJPW saw Kobashi as being ultimately ready that early on into his career and looked to milk his path toward the title a little more. While Kenta lost against Hansen, it was still a career defining moment for him, and the fans seemingly felt drawn into him getting that win. At that time, Hansen was AJPW's top gaijin and had just come off a title-shot against Misawa. Fast forward a month, and bearing in mind the #1 contendership was impromptu due to Gordy OD'ing and AJPW, thus, needing a new title challenger for September, Kenta was a good enough challenger to help push Williams' from #3 gaijin to someone credible in challenging Misawa.

Again, the crowd was behind Kobashi, and could see him having more chance against Williams, so the gaijin win meant something. Additionally, Hansen was back in America at this point, wrestling for ECW so he, assumingly, was out. Perhaps they could have hot-swapped Hansen into the September match but, in hindsight, the booking was a great call following Gordy's troubles. Hansen still gets his rematch in October, Kobashi got a slight depush to give him a better time-period at properly breaking out all the while elevating Williams to Triple Crown contender (the tag partner of the man who was originally scheduled to face Misawa).


EDIT: for clarity, on your post, Misawa was champion during this period.


----------



## Chismo

8/31 was a contendership match, not TC, and he pinned Dr. Death in a tag match few days before.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Chismo said:


> 8/31 was a contendership match, not TC, and he pinned Dr. Death in a tag match few days before.


This is where I was confused. Meltzer listed the contendership match as being on 7/31 instead of 8/31.

Thanks for the reply Rah. I didn't think Hansen was ever in ECW. What event did he show up at? I also thought Gordy was champion and this match was to determine the new champ after it got held up when he couldn't wrestle at the 9/3 show. Instead it was him challenging Misawa for the TC. Makes more sense now. Meltzer wasn't very clear with what he said and getting the date wrong sure didn't help.


----------



## Chismo

*Wrestling World 2014 in Taiwan – Day 1*

*(2014/4/12)*


1.	Mascara Dorada & Yohei Komatsu vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Sho Tanaka

**1/2


2.	Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, El Desperado, BUSHI vs. CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov, Gedo, Jado)

_Perfectly cartoonish, the crowd was amazing._

***1/2


3.	Minoru Suzuki & Taichi vs. Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI

**


4.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: KUSHIDA vs. Tomohiro Ishii ©

****


5.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Hirooki Goto, Cpt. Taiwan

*1/2


6.	Jax Dane vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan

**


7.	*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*: Rob Conway vs. Satoshi Kojima ©

***1/4


8.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi)

_The most basic match possible where everyone just hit their signature moves and mannerisms… and yet it was good, idk… Charisma, I guess._

***


Very solid show with cool crowd that peaked on KUSHIDA/Ishii (awesome match :mark, and the Jr. trio under #2 was surprisingly super fun.




*Wrestling World 2014 in Taiwan – Day 2*

_*(2014/4/13)*_


1.	Ryusuke Taguchi & BUSHI vs. Mascara Dorada & El Desperado

_Short, but super fun sprint; Taguchi’s return has really refreshed undercards._

**3/4


2.	CHAOS (Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo, Jado) vs. Mascara Don, Sho Tanaka, Yohei Komatsu

*1/2


3.	Minoru Suzuki & Taichi vs. Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI

_Goddamn it, MiSu and Taichi were having tons of fun here._

**3/4


4.	*No. 1 Cont. for IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title*: Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask

***


5.	Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata vs. Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga

**1/4


6.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Hirooki Goto & Cpt. Taiwan vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows ©

***1/2


7.	*NWA World Tag Team Championship*: IronGodz (Rob Conway & Jax Dane) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) ©

***1/2


8.	Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, KUSHIDA vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii)

****


Pretty damn fun show, with mostly solid-to-good matches, and the main event rounded off the trip in a remarkable fashion. The Jr. contender’s tag was good, and so were the two title tags, they overdelivered, short and really sweet matches.​


----------



## Obfuscation

I really liked Makabe/Nagata vs Samoans too. Night Two was def the stronger overall show for the Taiwan tour, but night one having ISHII VS KUSHIDA. Man. That's how it always goes, isn't it?

b/c my interest was piqued, checked this out last night & oh joy, is it awesome:


----------



## Rah

bigbuxxx said:


> I didn't think Hansen was ever in ECW. What event did he show up at?


AFAIK, he was only brought in leading up to (and including) ECW UltraClash in '93.


----------



## EmbassyForever




----------



## Obfuscation

Holy shit I didn't even notice that during the match. Amazing.

and to keep the embedded videos going. Here's another one worth my love:



You're damn skippy this was welcomed to be viewed. After Kohei Sato's terrible main event, I was so dejected & became lucky enough this was on the same card to put me back in the proper high.

------------

Few other notes:

Finally stumbled upon a KENTA match I found to be good. First time since...maybe 2009 _(vs Nigel McGuinness, but I want to see it again)_ since I've been able to say it. vs Daisuke Harada on 1/12/14. KENTA works as the seasoned vet, controls most of the match by hitting Harada really hard, not showing him too much respect throughout. That oldie but goodie. Harada being great and all that jazz sold it all so well. The punishment & the desire to keep on rolling to shock the world. It didn't happen, but he certainly aided in me liking this. Not a massive rec b/c it isn't great or something anyone needs to check out right away, but yeah, you know it's pretty good. I was happy w/it. KENTA's emoting is still shit. Dunno why. He isn't crow Sting. Show some emotion, pal. Gritting your teeth while Harada hits you at the very end isn't enough.

b/c I didn't even realized I skipped over the match the other day: Chismo's point about Kojima & Tenzan vs Conway & Dane III is quite spot on. Match was really good. Probably better than it had any right in being. Total fun. Very fluid & all the hot points reached. All three matches have actually worked. NWA crop of guys is still pretty bad outside of Conway, yet there's only a handful of the matches between the promotional war that have been truly poor, in my eyes. Never want to see Tarver or Yum Yum back, for example. And it may be looking as if Dane has fucked up for good too. But Wes Brisco is around. Oh boy.


----------



## Chismo

> After Kohei Sato's terrible main event


 :side: It wasn't that bad, c'mon... at least because of this:


----------



## Obfuscation

Doesn't hurt when he can end the match w/a pearly finish. (Y)

All I got left from his work so far is vs Sugiura, so I'm more than certain his status quo of being totally fecking awesome in 2014 will continue. Thus making the Raideen match nothing more than a blurb.


----------



## Chismo

He's freakin' awesome in BJW, the best puro invader since Laughter7 back in 2012. And I have yet to see the most recent two tags. And now they (Sato and Shuji) are challenging for the tag titles. Kodaka & Miyamoto are fucked! :mark:

Otani & Sato vs. Tanaka & Sugiura was sweet, find it. And yes, Sato vs. Sugiura was another mini-gem, IMO.


----------



## Obfuscation

Hope they get the straps. Love me a good invasion angle when there is gold on the line.

Last match I checked out was the Sato/Otani tag. Thought it ruled, quite effectively.


----------



## Chismo

Look at this marvelous mini-PWFG set that just hit a certain classic bootleg crib:



> Five events from the the PWFG shoot-style promotion from the early-to-mid-'90s.
> 
> *PWFG Start Up: The Second – 5/16/91 – Korakuen Hall – Tokyo*
> Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuo Takahashi
> Bart Vale vs Yusuke Fuke
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Wellington Wilkins Jr.
> Naoki Sano vs Wayne Shamrock
> Masakatsu Funaki vs Johnny Barrett
> 
> *PWFG Shishio Legend: Part 1 – 4/19/92 – Metropolitan Coliseum – Tokyo*
> Kazuo Takahashi vs Yuki Ishikawa
> Yusuke Fuke vs Ryushi Yanagisawa
> Bart Vale vs Lato Kirawarik
> Yoshiaki Fujinami vs Jerry Flynn
> Minoru Suzuki vs Wayne Shamrock
> Masaharu Funaki vs Roberto Duran
> 
> *PWFG Shishio Legend: Part 2 – 5/15/92 – Furitsu Gym – Osaka*
> Yuki Ishikawa vs Dieusel Berto
> Jerry Flynn vs Ryuhsi Yanagisawa
> Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuo Takahashi
> Masakatsu Funaki vs Yusuke Fuke
> Bart Vale vs Wayne Shamrock
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Don Nakaya Nielson
> 
> *PWFG New Martial Arts Legend Fujiwara Family - 9/30/92*
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Johnny Barrett (Start Up: The First - 3/4/91)
> Minoru Suzuki vs Wayne Shamrock (Start Up: The First - 3/4/91)
> Masakatsu Funaki vs Bart Vale (Start Up: The First - 3/4/91)
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Masakatsu Funaki (Start Up: The Third - 7/26/91)
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Minoru Suzuki (Fujiwara Gumi - 11/3/91)
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Jerry Flynn (Shishio Legend: Part 1 - 4/19/92)
> Minoru Suzuki vs Wayne Shamrock (Shishio Legend: Part 1 - 4/19/92)
> 
> *PWFG Stack of Arms - 10/4/92 - Egg Dome - Tokyo*
> Yuki Ishikawa vs Ryushi Yanagisawa
> Joe Sorcoff vs Georgi Geldaba
> Naoki Sano vs Jerry Flynn
> Bart Vale vs Alexsi Medvedecv
> Duane Koslowski vs Oleg Naniev
> Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs Chabadze Zaour
> Kazuo Takahashi vs Superman Sattasaba
> Wayne Shamrock vs Don Nakaya Neilson
> Minoru Suzuki vs David Gobejishvili
> Masakatsu Funaki vs Maurice Smith


Shooting! Perennially old Fujiwara! Young puppies MiSu, Funaki and Y. Ishikawa! :mark: This is like the Moby Dick of pro-graps, I'm tellin ya.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Tetsuya Naito & Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA & Masato Tanaka - NOAH 3/8*


This is a really good match, in my opinion this is the best regular tag match of this year so far. ****3/4+*


----------



## Obfuscation

I could always do w/a bit more shoot fighting in my life. Set looks nifty. Sano vs JERRY FLYNN? Super curious.

NOAH tag is hot garbage. KENTA & Marafuji attempted to ruin one of my favorite series of matches last year in Naito vs Tanaka. Rest of that show is real good, ironically enough.


----------



## Concrete

Sano vs Flynn is friggin' GREAT! Like totally watch it. Was on the 1992 Yearbook. That I've watched not nearly enough of.


----------



## Obfuscation

Got the link, Cemento?


----------



## Concrete

Attempted to magically pull it out my ass. Didn't work. The Sano vs Flynn match listed isn't the one I saw either so there's that.


----------



## Obfuscation

</3


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 2014
-*Open The Brave Gate Championship Match*: Flamita (c) vs Jimmy Susumu ***1/2 
-*Open The Twin Gate Unified Tag Team Championship Match*: Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Don Fujii **3/4
-*Open The Triangle Gate Championship Match*: T-Hawk, Eita & U-T (c) vs Dragon Kid, K-ness & Super Shisa ***1/4
-*Open The Dream Gate Championship Match*: Ricochet (c) vs YAMATO ***1/2 
-Cage Match Survival 6 Way Scapegoat-Style Mascara contra Cabellera Match: Naruki Doi (Kzy) vs. BxB Hulk (Cyber Kong) vs. Jimmy Kanda (Jimmy Susumu) vs. Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin (Genki Horiguchi HAGee.Mee!!) vs. Masato Yoshino (Syachihoko BOY) vs. CIMA (Dragon Kid) DUD


----------



## Rah

Hayley Seydoux said:


> </3


Best get in the line of those he's left heartbroken. I'm still waiting for him to watch a Blue Panther/Charles Lucero match I sent him! :cuss:


----------



## Obfuscation

This be a different kind of heartbreak. Thought I was going to witness Jerry Flynn light it up after being used to nothing but horrible performances from his WCW stint. You don't know what this would have done to me.


----------



## Concrete

All I do is roll through town and leave broken hearts in my wake.


----------



## Rah

PWFG (amongst others) is going up here. It doesn't have the first encounter, but there's a Fujiwara match and a Sano return bout that are both apparently disappointing. Joy. Still, SHOOTY!


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 5/5*
*
Open the Brave Gate Championship: *Flamita (c) vs Jimmy Susumu ***1/2
*Open the Triangle Championship: *T-Hawk, Eita & U-T vs Dragon Kidd, K-ness & Super Shisa ***1/4
*Open the Dream Gate Championship:* Ricochet (c) vs Yamato ***3/4

the main event is too long and stupid, I will not see it


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I just watched Taguchi/Ibushi from Dontaku and man Ibushi seemed completely exhausted. Taguchi put on a great performance and played up to Ibushi's flippy nonsense wonderfully but a lot of Ibushi's stuff wasn't right on the mark as it usually is and it seemeed that just getting up was hard for him at times.

Shibata/Goto vs Nagata/Nakanishi ruled. A Shibata/Nagata singles would be :mark: 
Poor Goto doesn't look as good as broken down Nakanishi in tags. At least he improvised nicely in the end.


----------



## Vårmakos

ywall2breakerj said:


> I just watched Taguchi/Ibushi from Dontaku and man Ibushi seemed completely exhausted. Taguchi put on a great performance and played up to Ibushi's flippy nonsense wonderfully but a lot of Ibushi's stuff wasn't right on the mark as it usually is and it seemeed that just getting up was hard for him at times.


Ibushi has been suffering burnout from his busy dual contract situation with NJPW and DDT; I think it's part of the reason he's not in the BOSJ this year. It's nice to see someone has noticed he has off because I have seen some people blaming Taguchi for the lackluster match and that's just not right.


----------



## Chismo

Shame about Ibushi, his reign has being a lackluster, all three defenses were just... solid at best. Decent, but totally unremarkable. But I gotta great feeling about this upcoming match with Tom.



ywall2breakerj said:


> Shibata/Goto vs Nagata/Nakanishi ruled.


Dat timing! Dat botch! Dat botch again! I like Goto, I wish he'd stop choking in title matches already, but he was quite bad in that bad match. Nakanishi rules, though, the guy is playing his role to perfection in all those tags, he's one of the most enjoyable undercard acts in all of wrestling, a perfect sidekick. He'll always have those two Tanashi matches from '09.


----------



## bigbuxxx

This Nakanishi talk reminds me of Strongman or w/e his name was. He was fun to watch. What ever happened to him?


----------



## philosophyofaknife

Really enjoyed Dontaku last weekend (well, Monday as I was away.) The lower-card was a bit forgetable but ultimately entertaining, and there were some cool matches later on. Though I understand the booking logic behind it, I hate that Nakamura is stuck in a feud with the Gracies. Tomohiro Ishii is one of my favorite champions right now, and I always enjoy Kota!


----------



## Chismo

*Endless Survivor 2014*

*(2014/5/5)*


1.	Masaya Takahashi & Koji Doi vs. Hideyoshi Kamitani & Takayauki Ueki

***


2.	Super Tiger & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. MEN’S Teioh & Shinobu

***


3.	Takumi Tsukamoto, Shiori Asahi, Atsushi Maruyama vs. Madoka, Menso~re Oyaji, HUB

**3/4


4.	GOKUDO SHOCK DEATHMATCH: Heisei Yakuza Duo (Kankuro Hoshino & Masato Inaba) vs. Ryuji Ito & Jaki Numazawa

bad


5.	Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) vs. Wild Network (Manabu Soya & Ryuichi Kawakami)

_World's best duo strikes again. And boy, oh boy, they strike HARD. They're also dicks: super confident and gnarly when in control, rule breaking assholes when in slight danger... and they hit HARD. Soya is hit or miss, of course, but he did good here as the No. 1 of his team, but Kawakami took a hellish BEATING, he was the star of the match, impressive progression of the character throughout the match. He's nowhere near K-HASH's levels of charisma, but the super badass opponents from this match elevated him like a motherfucker. This match was so basic, but executed so well, and it had all the right ingredients of a great puro match: interpromotional heat, a clear underdog, and a tough enough equalizer who needs to be neutralized. Hell yeah!_

****1/4


6.	*BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship*: Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shinya Ishikawa ©

_Swell stuff, your typical big Sekimoto match where it requires patience from you because methodic build is everything, but this time there’s a twist – Sekimoto is the challenger for the championship he never lost. Can Shinya survive this ultimate test of toughness?_

***3/4


7.	LIGHTTUBE 300 COUNTER TLC DEATHMATCH for *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Yuko Miyamoto vs. Isami Kodaka ©

***1/4


Good show, although with only one real deathmatch (the one under 4 sucked), but I don’t care, because shit was good, Strong Division is loaded with great talent of all calibers, they make undercards very entertaining. Super Tiger is shooty and stuff, he should come back mos def, the Twin Towers tag was tremendous, of course, Sekimoto/Shinya was totally nice, and main event was good, but their worst match together. I think it’s time for someone else to rule the throne, Kodaka is just not a top guy material.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Kawakami was fucking GREAT in that tag.


----------



## Groovemachine

For those still after it, Dragon Gate "Dead or Alive 2014" is now up on youtube. Woop woop!

EDIT: Damn, it's already down.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nice. I was planning on cramming ALL the DG I've missed this year _(aka everything pardon their first two shows in January)_ so having the PPV up to culminate it all is stellar. Unless I decide just to watch the entire PPV first and go back. Decisions.

Annoyed there are two shows not uploaded to dailymotion. Some of those had matches I was really wanting to see. Couple of championship changes, YAMATO vs Nation.


----------



## Bruce L

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Annoyed there are two shows not uploaded to dailymotion. Some of those had matches I was really wanting to see. Couple of championship changes, *YAMATO vs Nation.*


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1n0zo2_yamato-vs-uhaa-nation-dragon-gate_sport

Haven't watched it yet, but I noticed this up and snagged it yesterday. And given whose channel it is, if there's one match up, the whole show is bound to be there as well.


----------



## Obfuscation

I should have looked in a non-playlist form and then I probably would have found it :lol


----------



## Mon Joxley

Anybody know where I can find this event?

http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=47166


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2013 Review:*

Forever Hooligans(c) vs. TAKA Michinoku and Taichi: **1/2

Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano: **1/2

K.E.S. vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Takaaki Watanabe: ***1/4

Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma, and Togi Makabe vs. Bullet Club: ***1/4

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***3/4

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yuji Nagata: **1/4

Tetsuya Naito(c) vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***3/4

Shinsuke Nakamura(c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji: ****

Kazuchika Okada(c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi: ****3/4

Amazing show.


----------



## Obfuscation

The real sleeper on that event was the Tenzan & Watanabe tag. Stuff was a total blast. Love those young lions.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: King of Gate (5/9)*

BxB Hulk vs Naruki Doi **1/4
Masato Yoshino, Ricochet & Shingo Takagi vs Eita, Yosuke❤Santa Maria & Flamita ***1/4
T-Hawk vs Akira Tozawa ***3/4


----------



## Certified G

Just downloaded Dragon Gate Dead Or Alive. I wasn't really planning on watching it (even though I really should watch more DG as I love that style of wrestling) but I read some comments on here and in the Observer newsletter on how good this show was.

Especially the second half was amazing, with pretty much all 4+ star matches? Definitely looking forward to watching it now, my only gripe is that it's a 4 hour show lol, I'll likely do it in 2 sittings cause I'm not sure I can watch that much non-WM at one time lol.


----------



## Chismo

*The First Navigation 2014*

_*(2014/1/12)*_


3. Yoshihiro Takayama & Hajime Ohara vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Taiji Ishimori

_Jeez, Takayama vs. Nakajima, fucking booki it, NOWA!_

***


4. Daisuke Harada vs. KENTA

_I get it, KENTER’s supposed to be a big bad heavyweight that kicks the shit out of the Junior Harada… The only problem is, Harada is bigger than KENTER, a miserably bad faux heavyweight. He had that one slapping session, he nailed it to a T, I’ll give him that. With someone else in his place, this would’ve been a bonafide MOTYC._

***


5. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

_Nicholls outperformed Haste for the first time in my watch, shit son… Great match, the Strong BJ duo delivered big time, too bad Yuji got injured shortly after this. But next year… Shit is on!_

****


6. BRAVE (Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge) vs. Cho Kibou-gun (Takeshi Morishima, Maybach Taniguchi, Kenou)

_This was shockingly good, on the verge of being great. I mean, for fuck’s sake, here we got freakin’ Yone, Marufuji and Maybach, which means the 50% of the participants suck gaping ass. But the booking was spot on with big brawling sequences and shit, Kotoge was a tremendous FIP, Morishima was a great predator, and Kenou is just a dick. Really good match._

***3/4


Couldn’t find the first two matches from the show, Kumano/Genba (would pass anyway) and Ogawa/Kitamiya (Ogawa :mark, but these four matches were good, enjoyed it.




*Global Tag League 2014*

*(2014/4/12)*


1. Hitoshi Kumano vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya

**3/4


3. Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

***


4. *GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge ©

***3/4


5. *Global Tag League 2014*: Colt Cabana & Chris Hero vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima

bad


6. *Global Tag League 2014*: Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi

bad


7. *Global Tag League 2014*: KENTA & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka

***1/4


Decent show with a good undercard, two sucky GTL matches, and the one that was good, but with someone else instead of KENTER, it could’ve been a MOTYC. Old story, really. Tanaka mauling him = joys.




*Global Tag League 2014 – Jumbo Tsuruta Memorial Show*

*(2014/4/13)*


6. *Global Tag League 2014*: Colt Cabana & Chris Hero vs. Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda

_Ikeda/Hero, uh oh… Ikeda taking him to school made me a happy camper. Fuck Yone._

***1/4


8. *Global Tag League 2014*: Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi

bad​


----------



## Concrete

QUESTION: With Morishima in that trios, is that the new normal for Morishima? Or did I get lucky seeing him look like Bowser in human form.


----------



## Obfuscation

Behind on the entire last month of NOAH, but pardon some of the Junior matches, I really don't think I'm missing a heck of a lot. Want to see all the Ikeda stuff, but UGH @ his partner being Yone.


----------



## Chismo

Eh, Ikeda and Yone are old friends, back from the '90s when Yone was actually very good in Battlarts, they also teamed together two months ago in Futen, for Ikeda's anniversary show. Hence this. Jesus Christ, Yone is fucking awful.



Concrete said:


> QUESTION: With Morishima in that trios, is that the new normal for Morishima? Or did I get lucky seeing him look like Bowser in human form.


He got better once he changed that godawful haircut from Jan/Feb. But fucking Maybach automatically nixes everything good Morishima does.


----------



## Obfuscation

Should have figured. I do tend to forget Yone was apart of Battlarts back in the day. Certainly hope Yone doesn't somehow work his way to getting a championship match vs Yuji this year. Would be...ugh.

I don't like Maybach, but there has been the decent enough showing and/or carryjob by a few opponents to not make me dislike everything. _(thank you, Haste)_ But Morishima could certainly benefit from having a different partner. More frustrating when he has two strong candidates in his stable to make the switch. Freebird Rule this situation, immediately.


----------



## Chismo

Yone/Yuji is happening this weekend in Korakuen. For the strap. Ask and you shall receive.


----------



## Obfuscation

:lmao

I felt the storm coming. Knew it would be near.


----------



## Chelsea411

Ok guys I haven't follow any Puro for a little while since mid last year. I would like to know what are some must see matches and shows from NJPW and NOAH ( those were my two favorites for a long time).


----------



## Chismo

Chelsea411 said:


> Ok guys I haven't follow any Puro for a little while since mid last year. I would like to know what are some must see matches and shows from NJPW and NOAH ( those were my two favorites for a long time).


Three random NJPW matches:

- Tanahashi/Okada (KOPW '13)
- Anderson/Okada (Power Struggle '13)
- Naito/Ishii (The New Beginning in Osaka '14)


Three random NOAH matches:

- Harada/Kotoge ('14/1/5)
- SugiuraTanaka/MarufujiKotoge ('14/2/22)
- Harada/Ishimori ('14/3/8)


----------



## Obfuscation

and my new MOTY from Pro Wrestling NOAH emerges. This match, my stars, this match. Junior Division continues to be the constant for keeping NOAH going & i'm loving every second. ZSJ, whew. Dude was untouchable here. What a god.


----------



## Chismo

Ogawa! :mark:

Two matches from ZERO1's May 6th show:

Kohei Sato defending his title against Inoki's Hideki Suzuki was very good, Kohei was spot on yet again, and Hideki brought in few shooty elements, nice match overall, would've been great with more heat on display. ***3/4 On the other hand, I couldn't make it through Tanaka & Sugiura vs. Otani & KAMIKAZE, because KAMIKAZE is so awful he paints everyone else shit.


----------



## MTheBehemoth

Hayley Seydoux said:


> and my new MOTY from Pro Wrestling NOAH emerges. This match, my stars, this match. Junior Division continues to be the constant for keeping NOAH going & i'm loving every second. ZSJ, whew. Dude was untouchable here. What a god.


Zack <3


----------



## Obfuscation

He's a peach. Ogawa going apeshit after the match was massive :mark: too. Didn't see that coming. Should get on the rematch right now.

I was only going to check out the Kohei match from the recent ZERO1 show. b/c he's been on 99% of this year as we've gushed often about. Nice to see it get a favorable review. Kohei shouldn't have any signs of slowing down.


----------



## ZEROVampire

Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge - NOAH 3/21 ***3/4
Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge - NOAH 4/12 ***1/4


My NOAH MOTY Still Ishimori vs Harada 3/8


----------



## Obfuscation

Finished the rematch. Great stuff. Ogawa being all dickish after he snapped, incorporating all those dirty low blows any chance he had. ZBJ sticking by his partner after trying to play peacemaker during the pre-match was a solid touch too. Better to stand by your buddy and get raw, instead of attempt to keep it clean w/your opponents. Screw that. You want championships, baby. Loved the destruction to Kotoge's arm, lighting fast tags by the challengers to keep that process long & grueling. Didn't see ZBJ getting busted open late in the match, but _(still dunno if it was hard-way or not..)_ it added a significant flare behind the match. BRAVE now drew first blood on this occasion. Moral victory at that point and time. The finish here being the best part of it all. Brilliant callback counter.

Rest of this show outside of TMDK vs Ohara/Kenou though, which was good; terrible. Marufuji needs to be slapped. I would say superkick, but those need to be shown in a limited supply so he can get the gist of an aspect on why he sucks.


----------



## vault21

Time to get into NOAH again


----------



## Obfuscation

w/KENTA out of the mix for the time being too, sounds like the right moment. :hayley1


----------



## vault21

KENTA, never go 2 sleep, my sweet prince :hesk3


----------



## Obfuscation

Doesn't hurt to have their Junior Division at a new peak these days. Liking the goods given over the last few years more than NOAH in their company prime w/the Juniors. They've taken over where the Heavyweight division began to lack.


----------



## vault21

In tribute of my sweet prince, I have decided to go through all of the 87 singles matches of his that I have on my hard and choose the **** and above ones. 

79 to go.


----------



## Chismo

That piece of shit wasn't bothered to put over Nakajima even on his way out. I hope he jobs to Mascarita Dorada in dark matches.


----------



## vault21

Me to. Back in NOAH by 2015 :aka


----------



## Rah

I think my arm is vicariously living out Kotoge's pain from the Sabre/Ogawa workover. Ouch.


----------



## vault21

I may have encountered a problem. It seems that if a match is 30+ minutes long and has alot of movez, it automatically fits my ****+ category :favre2


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> I think my arm is vicariously living out Kotoge's pain from the Sabre/Ogawa workover. Ouch.


:mark:



vault21 said:


> I may have encountered a problem. It seems that if a match is 30+ minutes long and has alot of movez, it automatically fits my ****+ category :favre2


The pitfalls of a preference once upon a time. :|


----------



## ZEROVampire

Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii - AJPW 1/3 ***3/4 (Bad Crowd)
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - Diamond 2/11 ***


----------



## Concrete

WELP! DVDVR's Best of 2000's Japan poll has been extended until the end of the year. HIP HIP HOOPLA!


----------



## Smitty

I posted this in the DVD thread and thought I'd share it here

*Antonio Inoki vs Tatsumi Fujinami NJPW 9/19/85​*

I LOVED this match, seriously one of my favorite Puro matches...out of the 20 or so that I have seen . This was quite long at around 35-40 minutes but it didn't feel like it dragged at all and it felt like it had the perfect length to be quite honest. Easily my favorite thing about this match was that for the first 30 minutes or so they worked a completely mat based match. Now, I'm not the biggest fan of matches full of mat work but I loved this for some odd reason. Ok but the first 30 minutes of this outside of the occasional Irish Whip and maybe 1 or 2 kicks this was an entire mat based match. Then when the last 10 minutes of the match rolled around they COMPLETELY threw the style they were working the entire match came out the window. The match turned into a stiff,hardworking match that was the exact opposite of the work that the two men had spent 30 minutes working to...and I fucking loved it. It was the perfect climax to the match, these guys were done with the slow attacks and just wanted to beat the crap out of one another. This is legit the first Inoki match I have seen and I want to watch more stuff from the guy, I have seen some Fujjinami stuff if I'm thinking of the guy I saw some matches of in WCW. Anyways this is fucking awesome and all should watch. ****3/4 from me.​


----------



## bigbuxxx

Watch Vader vs. Inoki. I find it overrated but it's damn good.


----------



## Obfuscation

And to fully derail it from being a Fujinami & Inoki topic, watch Vader vs Riki Choshu. I'm talking any of 'em.


----------



## Chismo

More Inoki, more Fujinami, but this time combined with Maeda and Fujiwara. NJPW vs. UWF! Heat! Orgasms!


----------



## Chismo

*Global Tag League 2014*

_*(2014/4/19)*_


5. *Global Tag League 2014*: Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda vs. KENTA & Yoshihiro Takayama

_Well, I got few minutes of Takayama vs. Ikeda, so of course it was good. Futen, NOAH – I don’t care, I just wanna see them 1-on-1. Yone and KENTER are so made for each other in their awfulness, although Yone did throw few semi-vicious Bat-Bat kicks, so there you go._

***


6. *Global Tag League 2014*: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) vs. Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi

_Way too much shortcuts used by Cho Kibou-gun, but overall, a totally fine match with good workovers and a strong finish. Maybach sucks, but damn, sometimes he just nails it right._

***


7. *Global Tag League 2014*: Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka

_Nakajima was the clear MVP of the match. He brought so much old school heat into this, 1-on-1 slugfests with Sugi and Tanaka can’t come soon enough. Too bad his partner was useless Marufuji, who’s very skilled in ruining feelgood moments with his ****** spots. Fuck off, plz. The rating would’ve been way higher with someone else in Marufuji’s place._

***1/2


These three matches were nice, but I was looking forward to Kotoge/Harada the most, but the video doesn’t work well, for some reason.




*Global Tag League 2014 - Great Voyage in Nagoya*

_*(2014/4/20)*_


1.	Super Crazy & Hitoshi Kumano vs. Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr.

**3/4


2.	Daisuke Harada & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge

bad


3.	Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs. Akitoshi Saito

**1/2


5. *Global Tag League 2014*: Colt Cabana & Chris Hero vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

**


6. *Global Tag League 2014*: Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda vs. Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka

***1/4


7. *Global Tag League 2014*: KENTA & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima

***1/4


8. *GHC Heavyweight Championship*: Maybach Taniguchi vs. Yuji Nagata ©

bad




*Global Tag League 2014*

_*(2014/4/27)*_


5. Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda vs. Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano

***1/4


6. *Global Tag League 2014*: Colt Cabana & Chris Hero vs. KENTA & Yoshihiro Takayama

_I appreciated the last few minutes of Hero vs. KENTA, but it was too little, too late. Hero is relatively over in NOAH, he might get through there._

bad


8. *Global Tag League 2014*: Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

**1/4


9. *Global Tag League 2014 – Decision Match*: Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima

***​


----------



## Obfuscation

Wait, wait. Harada vs Kotoge video is flubbed? 

Fuck it all.


----------



## Chismo

*Shinjuku May 9th Drama*

*(2014/5/9)*


4.	Akito, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo vs. Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao)

_Bossy little match, Akito shines again._

***1/2


5.	FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE: Golden Storm Riders (Kota Ibushi, Kenny Omega, Daisuke Sasaki) vs. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, Kazuki Hirata

_One of those vintage DDT matches filled with campy CHEESE~ and stuff, it was a reminiscent of the 80s slapstick comedy. Ibushi got himself a bicycle… literally._

GOLD


6.	3-TIME FALL MATCH for *DDT Extreme Championship*: Masa Takanashi vs. Danshoku Dino ©

_Unique on few levels, they both did some insanely weird shit… that actually made sense. The match gimmick ruled, you needed to score a three second fall – combined. Needless to say, Masa was awesome yet again._

***1/4


7.	Shuten-doji (KUDO & Yukio Sakaguchi) vs. Urashima (HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano)

_Very solid strikefest, KUDO/HARASHIMA II looks promising as fuck._

***1/2​


----------



## darkclaudio

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs Takashi Sugiura & Katsuhiko Nakajima - NOAH Navigation With Breeze 17/05 ***1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

KUDO vs HARASHIMA II? God dammit. It better not be awful like last time.


----------



## Chismo

*Navigation With Breeze 2014*

*(2014/5/17)*


2.	Hajime Ohara vs. Daisuke Ikeda

_Fuck yes, Ikeda in a singles match, finally, and it’s against Ohara, this was bound to be a good little match, and it was. New gear for Ikeda, he looks like a deathmatch guy now, there’s no the trademark red boots anymore, but I dig it, because he’s Ikeda. He also busted out the fucking YES! chant, but for some reason I dug that as well, because he’s Ikeda. BATI-BATI!_

***1/4


3.	Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Quiet Storm vs. Daisuke Harada

_This felt like something ROH would book._

bad


4.	Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste)

Just look at the names, and you’ll know the whole story.

***3/4


6.	Takashi Sugiura & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji

_Hahahahahhahh, oooooohhhhh… Well, at least it wasn’t a total DUD. So long, ******._

bad


7.	*GHC Heavyweight Championship*: Mohammed Yone vs. Yuji Nagata ©

_Shockingly good, especially considering Yone’s terrible track record, and not just from this year. They worked a big title match and got almost everything right. The crowd actually bought into Yone as a credible and worthy challenger, and they were hotter for him than for KENTER’s farewell match. Some flaws were there, but you can scratch that, this one had so much good moments, I have no choice but to push it right to the “cool kids” territory._

****​


----------



## Obfuscation

Shit, I was actually going to watch Nagata vs Yone b/c I never like to skip big championship matches, but we'll see how it works for me. If it doesn't even totally suck, I'll consider that a win. Truth be told all I needed on this show was Ikeda vs Ohara & TMDK VS ISHIMORI/KOTOGE & I was off to the races.


----------



## Chismo

*Back to the Yokohama Arena*

_*(2014/5/25)*_


1.	Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, El Desperado, Mascara Dorada vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI, Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley)

**


2.	Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Cpt. New Japan

**1/2


3.	*NWA World Tag Team Championship*: Rob Conway & Wes Brisco vs. Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) ©

bad


4.	Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka

N/A


5.	Bad Luck Fale vs. Tetsuya Naito

***1/2


6.	Rolles Gracie Jr. vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

***1/4


7.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Kota Ibushi vs. Tomohiro Ishii ©

****


8.	*No. 1 Cont. for IWGP Tag Title*: Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. King Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe)

***3/4


9.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Daniel Gracie vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

***1/4


10.	*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles ©

***1/2​


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW BACK TO THE YOKOHAMA ARENA 5/25*


El Desperado, Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask IV & Jushin Thunder Liger vs Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI, Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA **1/4

BULLET Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan *

NWA World Tag Team Championship
Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs Rob Conway & Wes Brisco vs K.E.S (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) **1/2

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Shelton X Benjamin) vs Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka N/R

Bad Luck Fale vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4

Rolles Gracie vs Kazushi Sakuraba **

NEVER Openweight Championship
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Kota Ibushi ****1/2

#1 Contender's Tag Team Match
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Daniel Gracie **1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Kazuchika Okada ***3/4

Overall Grade: 8.5


----------



## Chismo

Watched the Andre/Inoki trilogy, great stuff. Andre from his relative prime was a thing of beauty. Hopefully more footage of him from that era hits the wastelands of internet. Watching Andre doing holds in chain sequences and rolling on the mat... Damn! It felt like he could break Inoki's limbs into pieces. He was not just a giant, he was a giant WRESTLER with a tremendous mind for the game. Inoki's multiple attempts to tame the behemoth made for some truly spectacular visuals, it felt so cinematographic, Inoki trying to ride him was a reminiscent of Paul Muad'Dib riding Shai-Hulud. Narrative guidelines and progression are visible in every match.

1977/6/1 ****1/4
1977/11/9 ***3/4
1978/5/30 ****


----------



## Cabel

I'll have to look up Andre/Inoki matches.


----------



## Obfuscation

Prime Andre, holy shit. Man is too terrific. Pity this is lost on a solid number of folk who only revel in awe at his size & presence from the latter WWF career. If only his condition didn't make his body break down. If only he could have been on from start to finish. Would have been awesome to see what he could have done in America, like what he produced in Japan. Imagine him goading Hogan into chain wrestling and then embarrassing him. WOW.


----------



## William Murderface

Ishii/Ibushi :moyes1


----------



## Obfuscation

What reaction on this place shows more excitement than this: :mark:? b/c that's what we had.


----------



## bigbuxxx

Ishii/Ibushi was fantastic. Quite a bit I didn't like about it but still threw **** at it. Ibushi throws the worst forearms I've ever seen in puro wrestling (no hyperbole). It just made me lose my suspension of disbelief. The kind of botch near the end and the cliche kickouts at one.

It seems like Ishii keeps trying to recreate his classic with Shibata. Not every match can be epic especially if you're doing the same stuff that made that match special. When done to much it becomes lame.


----------



## Obfuscation

I was actually into Ibushi's forarms during the exchanges. :homer3


----------



## vault21

The NWA dweebs have to go. Keep the belts on TenCozy and shift the focus completely on Japan. At least until they sign someone worth a fuck in the States. Also, Bulldog jr. is getting FAT.


----------



## Obfuscation

I think the angle is fun, despite them booking the worst dudes from America to be competition for TenKoji. Most of the time they save the matches w/their work, but it shouldn't be this one sided. I'm fine w/Conway though. Felt he's been the only one to hold his own out of all the rest to come over. Wes Brisco & Jax Dane. What a bunch of winners, right there. I should have slammed Tarver & Yum Yum more b/c Kojima & Tenzan didn't have anything good in the three matches vs those two knobs. Yeah, they've been the worst of the bunch. WORSE THAN WES BRISCO. _(to an extent...)_


----------



## vault21

I'm also fine with Conway. Dude's pretty charismatic, looks great and has more then enough experience to hold his own in any enviroment. The rest of them though...winners, as you said.


----------



## Cabel

I thought Kojima's match with Yum Yum at New Begining was surprisingly decent. Plus, I got a big laugh out of the way he sold Kojima's chops. But as much as I like Bruce Tharpe (and his awesome jackets), I'm ready for the angle to end unless they can do something interesting with it.


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW BTTYA:

El Desperado, Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask IV & Jushin Thunder Liger vs Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI, Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA - **3/4
Bad Luck Fale vs Tetsuya Naito ***3/4
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Kota Ibushi ****
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/4
AJ Styles (c) vs Kazuchika Okada ***3/4


----------



## vault21

Am I the only one who liked the NWA tag titles match ?


----------



## Chismo

Just like I'm one of the rare people whose MOTN was the TanahaShibata tag.


----------



## vault21

There's two of us


----------



## AEA

Now my exams are finished, I'm going to start watching Back To The Yokohama Arena


----------



## Chismo

*Cherry Blossom*

_*(2014/5/4)*_


3.	Minoru Tanaka vs. HUB

_Good Junior sprint._

***1/4


4.	Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryota Hama

_Awesome 7 min match, your classic immovable object vs. irresistible force story told right. They worked around Hama’s obvious limitations, and it… worked. Sekimoto is just a damn BEAST._

***1/2


5.	*Strongest-K Tag Team Championship*: Yasufumi Nakanoue & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Yuji Hino & HIROKI ©

_Never doubt Hino._

***3/4


6.	Masakatsu Funaki, Tatsumi Fujinami, LEONA vs. Desperado (Masayuki Kono, Ryouji Sai, KAZMA SAKAMOTO)

***


7.	*EWP Intercontinental Championship*: Hiroshi Yamato vs. Leon Van Gasteren ©

_Had no idea who Leon was, or what to expect from this. What I got was a damn good match, it had rounds and stuff, really liked it. More of this, please, recommended match._

***3/4


8.	Abyss & Frankie Kazarian vs. Great Muta & TAJIRI

**1/2


9.	KAI vs. Manabu Soya

_Soya is one of my least favorite wrestlers, not because he sucks in the ring (he's pretty solid, actually), but because he's a lame character. That being said, there are times when he busts out a great performance, and this was one of those times. This match had a solid story behind itself, and you could feel the heat, it was a no-nonsense affair with many hard hits delivered. KAI had a lot to prove here, being a self-proclaimed Ace and all that jazz, and again, it showed in the match. Great stuff, full of MANLINESS~!_

****1/4


Very good effort from W-1, totally enjoyable stuff.​


----------



## Vårmakos

I've been skeptical of W-1 since they have no titles of their own ATM and the roster is mostly freelancers, but I'll definitely check that show out.


----------



## Obfuscation

Yuji Hino & Daisuke Sekimoto. Bless them an everything they do for wrestling. Both their matches rocked.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JR XXI DAY 1 *

*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* TAKA Michinoku vs Mascara Dorada **
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Rocky Romero vs Tiger Mask IV **1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Taichi vs El Desperado *1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* BUSHI vs Jushin Thunder Liger **1/4
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) ***1/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Alex Koslov vs Ricochet **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Nick Jackson vs Alex Shelley ***
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Matt Jackson vs KUSHIDA **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Kenny Omega vs Ryusuke Taguchi ***1/2


*Wrestle-1 Cherry Blossom*

KAI vs Manabu Soya ***1/4


----------



## Obfuscation

Omega vs Taguchi was probably my least favorite match on that entire show. It was still solid, but Funky Weapon not paying any attention to the little portion where Omega worked on the back was tripe. It was a fairly good portion of the story, at least give it some point of meaning. And his first things he did when he got back on the offense against Omega was a suicide plancha, springboard dropkick, & three amigos. Oh, Taguchi. You're better than that.

Nothing is touching Taichi vs Desperado & the ten man for me. Loved those. Shelley vs Nick Jackson was prime too. Nick f'n Jackson and his strikes. Oh SHIT. Part of me wonders if the story shown in Liger vs BUSHI means BUSHI has a chance to take this tournament. Could he finally get a push? It started at Yokohama. Hmm. I'm intrigued.


----------



## flag sabbath

Bushi's my pick, although I'd settle for Kushida or Shelley too. Any of those three vs. Ibushi in a match given time would be a splendid BoSJ payoff. That said, the lack of young lions in the tournament is a pisser.


----------



## Obfuscation

Still wondering if Taguchi will start off slow like last year and come back in the end. He's got heavy momentum on his side too, despite the recent loss vs Ibushi. May want to do what the tried last year, unless they feel the Devitt pay off was all it had intended.

Agreed on the lack of a Young Lion. Yohei could have easily been inserted into this. Kept seeing him at ringside and wanting him in the mix. Dunno who I'd take out for him. Although Dorada seems the most expendable, but I'm a big fan of his and glad he's gonna get a nice slew of singles matches. Hey, Koslov. Will he even be able to still compete? Maybe Yohei still has a shot. I'm living in a dream.


----------



## Chismo

The Taguchi/selling problem was not a big issue, IMO, since it happened very early in the match. Plus, when you think of the match finish... Amirite? Also, Kenny Omega is just too much of SWAG~! He totally carried the match, he's just so good.














*Best of the Super Jr. XXI*

_*(2014/5/30)*_


1.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: TAKA Michinoku vs. Mascara Dorada

**


2.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Rocky Romero vs. Tiger Mask

***


3.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Taichi vs. El Desperado

***1/4


4.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: BUSHI vs. Jushin Liger

***1/4


5.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, Jado) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga)

****


6.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Alex Koslov vs. Ricochet

***1/2


7.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Nick Jackson vs. Alex Shelley

***1/4


8.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Matt Jackson vs. KUSHIDA

**3/4


9.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

***1/2


Super fun show.​


----------



## Obfuscation

It was more of what he did right after it was JUST worked on that really bothered me, rather than it not coming back any other time Omega went back to putting some more damage on it. Omega was awesome per usual. That goes w/o saying.

Watched Nagata vs Yone. Ok, now that's no selling that was total ass and there is no and's, if's, or but's about it. Fucker throws kicks, runs the ropes multiple times to get more impact on a lariat and follows that up w/a top rope LEG DROP after the majority of the middle portion was Yuji taking out his legs. Jesus christ, Yone. Do you even know wrestling? Still only one GHC Heavyweight Championship match I've liked in 2014.


----------



## Cabel

Is Koslov out of the tournament?


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XXI Day 2 (31/5)*

*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Taichi vs Tiger Mask IV **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Ricochet vs TAKA Michinoku **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block A: *KUSHIDA vs Mascara Dorada **1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Jushin Thunder Liger vs Matt Jackson **
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Ryusuke Taguchi vs Nick Jackson **1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Kenny Omega vs Rocky Romero ***
*Best of the Super Junior Block B: *El Desperado vs Alex Shelley **1/2
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) ***

Rating: 6.0


----------



## Chismo

*Best of the Super Jr. XXI*

_*(2014/5/31)*_


1.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Taichi vs. Tiger Mask

**3/4


2.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: TAKA Michinoku vs. Ricochet

**3/4


3.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Mascara Dorada vs. KUSHIDA

***1/4


4.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Matt Jackson vs. Jushin Liger

***1/2


5.	Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Cpt. New Japan

***1/2


6.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Nick Jackson vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

**1/2


7.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Rocky Romero vs. Kenny Omega

**1/4


8.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Alex Shelley vs. El Desperado

**1/2


9.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga)

_Have I gone irretrievably crazy, or was this yet another super swell CHAOS/BC battle? YOSHI-HASHI with dem goodies, yet again._

****​


----------



## flag sabbath

I wouldn't go as high as ****** for that six man, but yeah, YOSHI-HASHI continues to shine, Yujiro has a new lease of life, and Fale keeps improving with every tour. Encouraging stuff.


----------



## Chismo

Although it's not even my '94 MOTY, :hb to this legendary match:


----------



## vault21

Chismo said:


> Although it's not even my '94 MOTY, :hb to this legendary match:


The greatest prograps match ever.


----------



## Obfuscation

That's not Liger vs Muta.


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

Chismo said:


> Although it's not even my '94 MOTY, :hb to this legendary match:


:clap

God bless All Japan


----------



## Chismo

*Best of the Super Jr. XXI*

_*(2014/6/3)*_


1.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Taichi vs. Rocky Romero

_This was awesome, the best tournament match thus far, and the best singles match for both guys in a long, LOOONG time. Pissed off Taichi is the best thing going._

***3/4


2.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Nick Jackson vs. Tiger Mask

_Now, this was the first stinker of the tournament. It was decent until the shitty ending._

bad


3.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Matt Jackson vs. TAKA Michinoku

_Sweet little match with two heels trying to outcheat each other. TAKA, motherfuckers!_

**3/4


4.	Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma, Cpt. New Japan

_Yet another really fun multi-man tag from Bullet Club, this time against the company yesmen. Formulaic, yes, but action-packed and heated match. Karl ruled the world here, he has awesome chemistry with everyone._

***3/4


5.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: BUSHI vs. KUSHIDA

_Very nice lucharesu flick, KUSHIDA is turning into a really good Junior with the new Kimura strategy, it gives his matches a strong focus, he just needs to stick with it for a whole match, not just in early portions and endings. That being said, this was still a damn fine match. The BUSHI push = winning._

***1/2


6.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Kenny Omega vs. El Desperado

_Okay, it’s official – Omega is phenomenal. He just managed to carry an almost worthless sack of mediocrity Desperado to a very good match. DAMN good match right here, folks. Omega has swag for days, he can play so many roles in one match, total crowd control in every single moment. He most certainly made Desperado look like few million bucks here._

***3/4


7.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Ricochet vs. Jushin Liger

_Thunder is going into this with 0 points, so it’s a must-win situation, and Korakuen knows it. Good little match made by Liger’s tricks, i.e. DAT FINISH~!_

***


8.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Alex Shelley vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

_Okay, THIS is the new MOTT right here, and the best Junior Heavyweight match in the promotion since Gedo/Devitt. Just a pure struggle and hard-fought war with tons of smart work and great crowd, loved it._

****1/4


Show thoughts: :mark:!​


----------



## malek

Glad that you liked Taguchi/Shelley so much. Best BOSJ match I've seen in quite a lot, certainly the best this year by far. It kept me guessing, and tricked me into thinking that it is all over couple of times. Rated him ***3/4 in MOTY thread, but would up my rating to **** after seeing it again.


----------



## Zatiel

What a great crowd for 6/3. I loved the crowd going wild for Omega and Desperado teasing a piledriver/backdrop on the stage. Just a straight-up fun show so far.

And darn it, Chismo, making me want to watch Taguchi...


----------



## LateTrain27

El Desperado/Kenny Omega and Alex Shelley/Ryusuke Taguchi. Both very enjoyable matches.


----------



## Obfuscation

I like Funky Weapon, but w/some of his singles matches have a disconnect in 'em and it takes me out from usually "loving" the bouts. Still found the match vs Shelley to be in really good territory, although nothing great. Maybe I should try it one more time to see if there was anything I missed. Omega vs Desperado was my jam. And of course it was seeing as I'm clearly Desperado's biggest fan on this board. (ha) I LIKE HIM. Chuck him in w/Omega and I'm done. KUSHIDA vs BUSHI was awesome & Liger vs Ricochet was YESSSSS

and world's surliest Taichi is slaying everything right now. Too stellar.


----------



## Chismo

I just don't care for Desperado. Stupid character, stupid name, ugly ass mask, ugly tights, mediocre wrestler. His suicide dive is insane, though. This match with Omega was by far the best effort from him. By far. Hopefully he capitalizes on this.


----------



## Obfuscation

Mask is boss.

I highly dug Ibushi vs Desperado for the Junior Strap. Lukewarm reviews on here before going in was the perfect way to get amazed when I saw it. Loved Taichi vs Desperado too, but I know that was mostly held together thanks to Taichi going berserk at the start of this tournament.


----------



## Chismo

Oh yeah, forgot about Taichi/Desperado from the opening day, so that makes two good matches for Desperado since the comeback. Ha. TAICHI! :mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

HE'S FUCKING PISSED :mark:


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XXI Day 4 (6/3)*

*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Taichi vs Rocky Romero **1/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Tiger Mask IV vs Nick Jackson **
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* TAKA Michinoku vs Matt Jackson **1/4
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga) vs Tomoaki Honma, Manabu Nakanishi, Captain New Japan, Tetsuya Naito & Hiroshi Tanahashi **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* BUSHI vs KUSHIDA **1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* El Desperado vs Kenny Omega ***3/4 (Match of the Tournament so far)
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Ricochet vs Jushin Thunder Liger **1/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Ryusuke Taguchi vs Alex Shelley ***1/2

Rating: 6.75


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Zatiel said:


> And darn it, Chismo, making me want to watch Taguchi...


What is this an ROH board? Taguchi is awesome. Just because he doesn't do fucking Phoenix Splashes and Triangle Moonsault Planchas doesn't mean he's not a good fucking pro wrestler.


----------



## Zatiel

ywall2breakerj said:


> What is this an ROH board? Taguchi is awesome. Just because he doesn't do fucking Phoenix Splashes and Triangle Moonsault Planchas doesn't mean he's not a good fucking pro wrestler.


Mmm, hyperbole. The least convincing form of argument.

He doesn't do Phoenix Splashes. He does have crappy offense, though, and can barely set up his own finisher to save his own life. He's dragged ass since his return and was plodding all through the Devitt retirement match.

I'll watch his match with Shelley later tonight and see if he's come along at all.


----------



## Obfuscation

I ended up loving the Shelley match on the second watch. Taguchi's best outing in a singles match in a long time. If that helps; idk. Still think Taguchi has been on per usual when it comes to tags. But then again, I never said I wasn't a fan in this situation.


----------



## Chismo

Tbf, Taguchi is nothing special, especially in singles matches. He can be insanely good like in the Shelley match, but he can also be painfully average or bad sometimes.


----------



## Zatiel

Finally watched! I liked Taguchi/Shelley fine. Not a blow-away, but good enough, and Taguchi mostly kept up with him. It was Shelley's selling that got me into their exchanges. I will say, though, that Taguchi's hip-swivel taunt has gotten sad. He barely moves! Makes me want to watch more Don Fuji.

Cheesy as the match was, I think my MOTN was Liger/Ricochet. Obvious story, injured-deer levels of selling from Liger, but I really dug it. Big, dumb grin for the ending.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*DRAGON GATE: The Gate of Maximum 2014 - Day 2*

Super Shisa & Chihiro Tominaga vs K-ness & Ken'ichiro Arai *1/2 (_entertained_)
Gamma and "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikaw) vs. Millenials (U-T and Yosuke❤Santa Maria)* (_Very Fun_)
Jimmy Kagetora vs. Shachihoko BOY **1/4 (_Good_)
Don Fujii & Ryotsu Shimizu vs. Jimmy Susumu & Mr. High Tension Kotoka **1/4 (_Good_)
Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid vs T-Hawk & Eita *** (_Very Good_)
Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi vs Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin, Genki Horiguchi & Jimmy Kanda ***1/4 (_Very Good_)
*Nombre contra Nombre Scramble Handicap Elimination Match:* BxB Hulk vs MAD BLANKEY **1/4 (_Good_)
MAD BLANKEY vs CIMA, BxB Hulk, T-Hawk, Jimmy Susumu & Akira Tozawa ***1/2 (_Great_)

Overall: 7.0
Very Good Show


----------



## KeepinItReal

ZEROVampire said:


> *DRAGON GATE: The Gate of Maximum 2014 - Day 2*
> 
> Super Shisa & Chihiro Tominaga vs K-ness & Ken'ichiro Arai *1/2 (_entertained_)
> Gamma and "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikaw) vs. Millenials (U-T and Yosuke❤Santa Maria)* (_Very Fun_)
> Jimmy Kagetora vs. Shachihoko BOY **1/4 (_Good_)
> Don Fujii & Ryotsu Shimizu vs. Jimmy Susumu & Mr. High Tension Kotoka **1/4 (_Good_)
> Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid vs T-Hawk & Eita *** (_Very Good_)
> Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi vs Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin, Genki Horiguchi & Jimmy Kanda ***1/4 (_Very Good_)
> *Nombre contra Nombre Scramble Handicap Elimination Match:* BxB Hulk vs MAD BLANKEY **1/4 (_Good_)
> MAD BLANKEY vs CIMA, BxB Hulk, T-Hawk, Jimmy Susumu & Akira Tozawa ***1/2 (_Great_)
> 
> Overall: 7.0
> Very Good Show


Any idea how to watch the King of Gate final show (or the show with the tournament final, w/e)? How about BOSJ days 3, 5, 6, the ones on niconico?


----------



## ZEROVampire

KeepinItReal said:


> Any idea how to watch the King of Gate final show (or the show with the tournament final, w/e)? How about BOSJ days 3, 5, 6, the ones on niconico?


The King of Gate Final in an of the next Infinity shows. BOTS jr Day 3,5 and 6 not taped for tv or ippv


----------



## Chismo

ZEROVampire said:


> BOTS jr Day 3,5 and 6 not taped for tv or ippv


Wrong, they aired on niconico (Japanese iPPV service), it just means it's gonna take awhile before they hit the wastelands of internet.


----------



## KeepinItReal

ZEROVampire said:


> The King of Gate Final in an of the next Infinity shows. BOTS jr Day 3,5 and 6 not taped for tv or ippv


Lol I just saw Drsgon Gate's broadcasting it tomorrow, but their show from a couple days ago was aired live and I already have it on my computer. So what about the ppl in Japan, they watch it out of order? Not necessarily asking, just saying.

I'm gonna wait on the niconico matches (BOSJ days 3, 5, 6) before I even watch Day 2, I hope they make it online soon.


----------



## Chismo

*Best of the Super Jr. XXI*

*(2014/6/6)*


1.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Nick Jackson vs. Rocky Romero

**1/2


2.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Taichi vs. Kenny Omega

_Fuck, this looked like a fun match, but unfortunately, I didn’t see most of it because of dem issues._

N/A


3.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: Alex Shelley vs. Tiger Mask

_Only 3 minutes long, they had to call it a day because of Shelley’s injury._

N/A


4.	*BOSJ XXI – Block B*: El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

_Hmmm, so yeah, Desperado’s definitely improving, another good performance here. Hopefully he sticks to it. The same goes for Taguchi, of course. This was a good match-up with a particularly nice climax._

***1/2


5.	Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma

_Honma’s incredible underdog stretch continues, this was another grand effort from him, just a damn good, high-octane tag, also, Karl & Doc gotta be in the serious run for the duo of the year._

***3/4


6.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Matt Jackson vs. Mascara Dorada

**3/4


7.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: KUSHIDA vs. Jushin Liger

_This was fucking TITS. I'm a sucker for minimalistic wrestling, which is exactly what the match was, they were focused and tenacious, and I seriously LOVED the ending. The whole match had this "passing the torch" vibe. Both dudes sold key parts like being stabbed with a kitchen knife, especially KUSHIDA, who’s turning into a seriously good wrestler._

****1/4


8.	*BOSJ XXI – Block A*: Ricochet vs. BUSHI

_Fun, gymnastics-happy sprint, slick sequences and stuff… I don’t like Ricochet’s finisher, though._

***1/4


9.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga)

_New Japan is best in the world when it comes to underdogs, and how to book them. This match had YOSHI-HASHI improving his game of toughness one level up, and it made for such an impressive character progression, especially for those who follow the promotion of a regular basis. Yet another obstacle on his path of becoming a strong wrestler. That’s it, the most basic stories about wrestlers told via most simple and modest tools – in the squared circle. Fale is quickly becoming one of the best big guys in the industry. Hell, even Tonga was decent here._

****​


----------



## Obfuscation

:hb @ more Desperado vs Taguchi praise. Loved that final stretch. Wanted to pimp out Ricochet vs BUSHI here too seeing how it just was under the mark for me giving it a MOTYC nod. Tells folks how much of a blast I feel it is. Junior heavyweight clinic put forth in that sprint. Ricochet's roundhouse kick certainly is...different. I like the spontaneity of it, tho. So much on the line vs BUSHI and BLAM. In a split second it was all changed.

Stupid feed making me lose out on Taichi vs Omega.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XXI DAY 7*
*
Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Nick Jackson vs Rocky Romero **1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Taichi vs Kenny Omega :cuss:
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Tiger Mask IV vs Alex Shelley N/A
*Best of the Super Junior Block B:* Ryusuke Taguchi vs El Desperado ***1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) ***
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Mascara Dorada vs Matt Jackson *1/2
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* Jushin Thunder Liger vs KUSHIDA **3/4
*Best of the Super Junior Block A:* BUSHI vs Ricochet **1/4
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bulet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) ***1/4

Rating: 6.25


----------



## Bruce L

'90s puro marathon GO!


*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Naoki Sano (c) vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger *_(1/31/1990)_
★★★★★


*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa *_(6/8/1990)_
★★★★★


*Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa *_(9/1/1990)_
★★★★


*Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, & Kenta Kobashi *_(4/20/1991)_
★★★★★


*G1 Climax '91 Final
Keiji Mutoh vs. Masahiro Chono *_(8/11/1991)_
★★★★


*RWTL '91 Final
Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Terry Gordy & Steve Williams *_(12/6/1991)_
★★★★½


*BOSJ '92 Final
Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. El Samurai *_(4/30/1992)_
★★★★¾


*AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship
Doug Furnas (c) & Dan Kroffat (c) vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi *_(5/25/1992)_
★★★★★


*Hair vs. Hair
Manami Toyota vs. Toshiyo Yamada *_(8/15/1992)_
★★★★★


*WWWA World Tag Team Championship, 2/3 Falls
Manami Toyota (c) & Toshiyo Yamada (c) vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki *_(11/26/1992)_
★★★★★


*The Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase *_(12/14/1992)_
★★★¾


Up next: '93-'95!


----------



## Chismo

*Best of the Super Jr. XXI*

_*(2014/6/8)*_


1.	Mascara Don, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Kenny Omega, BUSHI

**


2.	Kota Ibushi & El Desperado vs. Rocky Romero & Gedo

**1/4


3.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata & Cpt. New Japan

***3/4


4.	*BOSJ XXI – Semi-Finals*: Taichi vs. KUSHIDA

:mark:

***3/4


5.	*BOSJ XXI – Semi-Finals*: Ricochet vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

**3/4


6.	Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Jado

***


7.	Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma

***3/4


8.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson)

****1/4


9.	*BOSJ XXI – FINALS*: Ricochet vs. KUSHIDA

****1/2


Absolutely grandiose event, I’m not in the mood for anything that even resembles a match-by-match write-up, I simply hope the shurikens can evoke the quality of the show.​


----------



## Bruce L

'90s puro marathon CONTINUE!... albeit for '93 only this go-round.


*AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship
Kenta Kobashi (c) & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (c) vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa *_(1/24/1993)_
★★★★


*Kyoko Inoue & Takako Inoue vs. Mayumi Ozaki & Cutie Suzuki *_(4/2/1993)_
★★★★¼


*Akira Hokuto vs. Shinobu Kandori *_(4/2/1993)_
★★★¼


*WWWA World Tag Team Championship, 2/3 Falls
Manami Toyota (c) & Toshiyo Yamada (c) vs. Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki *_(4/11/1993)_
★★★★½


*Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue, & Yoshinari Ogawa *_(7/2/1993)_
★★★★★


*Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi *_(7/29/1993)_
★★★★★


*Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi *_(8/31/1993)_
★★★★★


*RWTL '93 Final
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue *_(12/3/1993)_
★★★★★


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate King of Gate 2014 - Day 8 (5/31)*

Don Fujii, Gamma & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa vs Eita, U-T & Yosuke❤Santa Maria **1/2 (_Fun, Good, impressive finish_)
BxB Hulk vs Mondai Ryu *1/2 (_Ok, good for 4 minutes_)
K-ness & Chihiro Tominaga vs Super Shisa & Ryotsu Shimizu ** (_Good_)
Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & Shingo vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Mr. High Tension Kotoka ***1/4 (_Very Good_)
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong & Kzy) vs. Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda, Jimmy Kagetora & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) **1/2 (_Good_)
*King of Fate, Final:* Jimmy Susumu vs T-Hawk ***1/2 (_Very Good_)

Pretty Entertained show


----------



## Super Sonic

Here are some reviews of Kobashi classics I posted when I was preparing to watch Joe vs. Kobashi.

Misawa vs. Kobashi - March 1, 2003

Perhaps I'd appreciate this more if I had the backstory of their rivalry dating back to the 1980s, as I didn't love this, and it's for one reason: why all that work on Kobashi's right arm and shoulder just for it to never be a factor? Other than that glaring flaw, pretty great match with epic heat. ****

Kobashi vs. Honda - April 13, 2003

Much better selling than Misawa vs. Kobashi, but not quite the drama and crowd heat. Great match. ****

Kobashi vs. Nagata - September 12, 2003

Excellent stuff here, with Nagata trying to use his superior quickness and submission background, but Kobashi is just too much of a juggernaut to take down. ****1/2

Kobashi vs. Ogawa - November 1, 2003

WWE based match, reminded me of Undertaker vs. CM Punk in many ways. Ogawa did a great job going after Kobashi's notoriously repaired left knee and using underhanded tactics in blatant fashion, but that only pissed off the juggernaut even more. ***3/4

Kobashi vs. Rikio - March 6, 2004

Pretty good, I liked Rikio coming right at Kobashi to start the match, and I imagine Austin Aries got the idea in his match against Samoa Joe many months later. Really good psychology, just needed a longer hot finishing stretch to be great. ***3/4

Kobashi vs. Takayama - April 25, 2004

Much like another Kobashi opponent would go on to do, Takayama starts this off early with a grumpy bitch-slap to the GHC Heavyweight Champion. Kobashi of course gets pissed, but Takayama uses that against him, gaining an advantage when he causes damage to Kobashi's right arm and shoulder. I was very pleasantly shocked to see Kobashi sell his arm throughout the match in this one, channeling Chris Benoit and Ricky Steamboat.

Kobashi would of course get his offense in to prove why he was the fucking man, gaining an advantage when they got outside. However, I shuddered when Takayama grabbed Kobashi by the waist while the champ was on the apron, and delivered a fucking German suplex to the floor! That took years off of Kobashi's career for sure. Takayama would regain the advantage once they got back in the ring, putting numerous submissions holds on Kobashi's right arm/shoulder. Kobashi would even rely on his left arm when delivering his lethal strikes.

After several minutes, Kobashi would allow Takayama to attempt a Yakuza kick and got his right leg caught in the ropes, gaining the advantage back in a thrilling finishing stretch that had the crowd going bonkers. From a pacing and stroytelling standpoint, I can't think of anything wrong with this match. Sure, from a safety standpoint this was absurd, but the quality of match certainly didn't suffer. *****

Kobashi vs. Akiyama - July 10, 2004

Another instant classic that also stands the test of time. I appreciated the basic storytelling of Kobashi vs. Takayama a tad bit more, but this was excellent shit on a grand stage in front of an epic crowd. Akiyama found a way to get an advantage by going after Kobashi's knees throughout the match, but Kobashi was just too much of a fucking juggernaut not to find a way back in.

Career-shortening highlights include a superplex to the floor, Exploder to the floor, and the usual head drop nonsense. But this was tremendously paced, with Akiyama throwing absolutely EVERYTHING possible to be the one to bring Kobashi's iconic reign to an end. In some ways, Similar to WWE to me, I also loved that when they threw bombs at each other near the end of the match, both eventually collapsed in pain and exhaustion. (Such a shame that Go Shiozaki vs. BJ Whitmer was a shallow copycat of this a year later, and many other indy matches do the same.) ****3/4

obashi vs. Taue - September 10, 2004

More stupid bumps in this match. Solid storytelling from Taue going after Kobashi's legs, but he doesn't seem to have the charisma at the time of this match to make it an epic. ***1/2

Kobashi vs. KENTA - October 9, 2004

Nice little rub-giving match from Kobashi to his protege, While KENTA's junior body struggled to absorb the physical pounding his heavyweight mentor gave to him, he managed to get enough in to be elevated in defeat. I loved that Kobashi dead-weighted him earlier during an attempted scoop slam, over for later in KENTA had delivered enough hard blows on Kobashi that he got him on the top rope and lifted him for a reverse Go to Sleep. But Kobashi was just oo much on a roll to lose, even in a non-title match, at the time. ***1/4

Kobashi vs. Saito - October 24, 2004

Gteat, great stuff here. Saito was just fucking brutal to Kobashi in this one, dropping him literally on his head at one point. The drama just keep building and building in this one, with the crowd in a frenzy at the end. Much like Samoa Joe on the other side of the Pacific, by this point the fans relaly had to wonder what it was going to take for Kobashi to be dethroned, and the toll had to be catching up to him. ****1/2

Kobashi & KENTA vs. Marufuji & Rikio - November 28, 2004

Really great tag match, with the mentor/protege team playing subtle heel and cutting the ring in half. Tremendous action throughout and great segments of cutting the ring in half. When Rikio finally got the hot tag, he showed that he had learned from the singles match many months earlier, cutting off Kobashi's chops, only for Kobashi to get back immediately with knife-edge strikes.

Kobashi finally went down when KENTA was taken out, but it took a Shiraniu, super Shiranui, and then a beatdown by Rikio to get that done, ending with Rikio earning himself one more shot at the top prize in the company. ****

Kobashi vs. Suzuki - January 8, 2005

After watching only two matches, it might be safe for me to say that Minoru Suzuki is my favorite puro worker. The man has Bryan Danielson's quickness along with CM Punk's natural douche-bag charisma.

Speaking of Punk and Danielson, there were moments early in which I had memories of Samoa Joe's ROH Title defenses against them. First there was Suzuki being the Danielson to Kobashi's Joe when he arrogantly showed off his quickness. Then, Kobashi surprised Suzuki by not playing into the mind games of Suzuki, instead keeping the challenger in a headlock for an extended period, similar to what Punk had done to Joe in their acclaimed matches. I couldn't help but also think forward to Shawn Michaels surprising Kurt Angle in similar fashion just three months after this.

Suzuki though was able to get a fuck ton of work done on Kobashi's right arm and shoulder, applying what looked to be a triangle and then turning it into a cross-armbreaker, reminding me of Punk's instant classic against Brock Lesnar. Kobashi's selling was just awesome, showcasing just what a dangerous motherfucker Suzuki continues to be almost a decade later.

I know I reference a lot of classic matches, but this didn't have the hot third act to be quite in that category. This started off hot, then the pace slowed quite a bit, resulting in a very good match, and it's a shame Minoru Suzuki was never booked for ROH during the Gabe Sapolsky era. Can you just imagine all the matches he could've had? ***3/4

Kobashi, Shiozaki, & Yone vs. Marufuji, Rikio, & Morishima - February 20, 2005

Fun TV style trios main event, with Team Rikio seeming to play subtle heels and often cutting the ring in half. Marufuji started early being somewhat cocky towards Yone, in what seemed to be the signs of them having a match over the Hardcore Title. Later on, Shiozaki would play the Ricky Morton role for several minutes and did a decent job of it, although he was a bit green still at this point.

Kobashi and Rikio got heated, brawling to the arena lobby on numerous occasions, including the end of the match. I don't know the full story of why these two got so heated. I know Rikio earned another shot at the top prize in the company, but these seemed to at best just completely dislike each other. Kobashi being taken out of the match left Marufuji & Morishima to outmatch Shiozaki & Yone, ending with Morishima giving a backdrop driver to Shiozaki. ***1/2


Kobashi vs. Rikio - March 5, 2005

Just like a later opponent for Kobashi, as well as Takayama the year before, Rikio slaps Kobashi early in the match. He also blocks a spnning knife edge chop from Kobashi, countering with one of his own. They then go on for about 15-20 minutes having a good but unspectacular match, and I can see why so many didn't have Rikio picked to be the one.

But make no mistake, in the last several minutes, because Kobashi threw everything but the Burning Hammer and Rikio still found ways to kick out, the crowd sensed something special. After numerous hard bumps, including two inside leg hook belly to belly suplexes, Kobashi's iconic reign came to end. Post-match Kobashi congratulates the new GHC Heavyweight Champion, and Rikio is holding back tears as he gets interviewed in the ring. The finishing stretch saved this, but this was not Samoa Joe vs. Austin Aries. ***1/2

Kobashi & Shiozaki vs. Akiyama & Tenryu - April 24, 2005

Pretty good tag match, with Shiozaki of course playing the Ricky Morton role again as he paid his dues. The most entertaining part of the match was the Kobashi vs. Tenryu matchup. They brawled outside the ring early. Then Tenryu had a sip of water while waiting on the apron, walked over and threw the bottle at Kobashi. This of course pissed off the first-ballot HOFer, who glared at Tenryu with a look that said "You want some of me, motherfucker?"

When Kobashi got tagged in with Tenryu in the ring, he delivered a receipt with nasty chops that first had left a beat-red chest, only for Tenryu to bleed profusely moments later from that same region. However, as pissed as Kobashi was, no matter how much tutelage he gave to his protege, Shiozaki was still the weak link and succumbed to the all-star tag team. ***1/2


Kobashi vs. Sasaki - July 18, 2005

Looks like this one was a dream match, pitting an AJPW icon against an NJPW icon. This definitely had the atmosphere of a WrestleMania main event. But the crowd and venue itself isn't what made this so special.

After several minutes of both men establishing that this was a match of equals, they than had a battle within the battle, exchanging in a chop-fest that first had me wondering, much like the first CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong singles match, if I was watching a 1989 event because it reminded me of Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat. But it kept going, with both men even getting to the corner and taking turns dong Kobashi's signature rapid-fire chops, instantly grabbing each other to switch positions when the chopping perpetrator would get gassed. This exchange eventually ended after several minutes when Kobashi just laid into Sasaki, who fell down. This exchange was never tedious, and had the crowd going apeshit when it concluded.

Other highlights include Sasaki dropping Kobashi on the floor mat via brainbuster, and Kopbashi almost getting counted out. What made that stand out is that around the 16 count, Kobashi fell or tripped, building the potential drama of a countout victory for Sasaki. But Kobashi was the fucking man and found a way back in the ring before the ref reached 20.

Ultimately, this was just Kobashi's night, having just a bit more firepower behind his strikes and bombs than the quicker Sasaki. But even in defeat, this match did nothing to hurt Sasaki's star power that had already been established for more than a decade. This was a dream match that lived up to expectations. I won't quite put on par with the other big star power dream match of Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels (the original or the sequel), but this was excellent, epic shit, even better than the Punk vs. Strong rematch just done earlier in the month . ****1/2

Kobashi & Taue vs. Akiyama & Tenryu - September 18, 2005

I liked this a lot more than the tag match months earlier involving Shiozaki, since this one had four established stars and every matchup was interesting. Hot crowd all the way, great storytelling, just an all-around great match. ****

Bonus review

Sasaki & Nakajima vs. Kobashi & Shiozaki - November 5, 2005

The proteges start off the match with a hot sequence, establishing this as an even matchup between both teams. The match gets really heated when the heavyweight HOFers step in and re-enact their Destiny classic with a spectacular chop and strike exchange, almost like a blinking contest to determine who was the true alpha male between them. Sasaki's chest because scabbed purple, and I shudder to imagine what Bryan Danielson's pasty skin would've looked like taking these same chops.

I'd say in this match that Shiozaki had his breakout performance, as he took a fucking beating, paid his dues, and had to have raised his stock (although considering NOAH's questionable booking throughout its history, that may not be the case.) I have to mention that his traditional dropkick is a thing of beauty, one that reminds me of Ricky Steamboat.

In the third act of the match, Kensuke Office cut the ring in half, of course using Shiozaki as the weak link. Once Kobashi got tagged in to give the 17-year old Nakajima some receipts, Nakajima used his youth and quickness, including giving Kobashi a taste of his own medicine with rapid strikes in the corner. However, instead of chops, Nakajima delivered rapid and gorgeous kicks. Moments later Kobashi chopped him down during an attempted leg strike (Kobashi also did the same earlier in the match to Sasaki during a strike and chop fest), and then applied the Texas Clover Leaf. However, Kobashi was too tired and beat up and released it before Nakajima could submit.

The four men have a head-drop segment that makes me cringe post-Misawa, but I can't deny the heat it added to the match, and they all sold it incredibly well. I also remember Nakajima getting a German Suplex pin on Shiozaki, but was so exhausted that he fell in a yoga pose during the pinfall attempt. Considering that he was still a teenager, his performance was absolutely amazing, even better than Mark Briscoe's ROH debut in 2002.

For all of NOAH's questionable booking, the finish was perfect with Shiozaki doing the job to Sasaki. Both members of Kensuke Office were in the middle of title reigns, and there was no way Kobashi was going to look up at the lights in this match. Tremendous tag match, just a tad below Kobashi & Homicide vs. Low Ki & Samoa Joe, and the second best match to take place on this date. ****1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

Kobashi vs Nagata praise. Rad. That's a hot ticket. (Y)


----------



## Brock

Has anyone got a best of Kobashi list at all? Specifically in order of date if possible. 

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Obfuscation

It's limited to only one specific section of his career, but you'd be damned if you didn't watch just to experience all of the glory it holds:


----------



## Super Sonic

That was the primary go-to video for my Joe vs. Kobashi project since I couldn't find my IVP discs at my previous apartment.


----------



## Brock

Fucking hell, a 9 Hour Video??!!!


----------



## Super Sonic

He held the top prize in NOAH for literally two years, so you damn right it's 9 hours.


----------



## Chismo

I'm thinking about starting a project that'll cover every Triple Crown match from 2000-09. Tenryu. Kawada. Muto. Kojima. Kensuke. Suzuki. Suwama. Takayama. :mark:


----------



## Super Sonic

Chismo said:


> I'm thinking about starting a project that'll cover every Triple Crown match from 2000-09. Tenryu. Kawada. Muto. Kojima. Kensuke. Suzuki. Suwama. Takayama. :mark:


Do it, brother. But make sure you don't have any other priorities coming up, as it's very time consuming.


----------



## Brock

Chismo said:


> I'm thinking about starting a project that'll cover every Triple Crown match from 2000-09. Tenryu. Kawada. Muto. Kojima. Kensuke. Suzuki. Suwama. Takayama. :mark:


I have this comp if you need any help with dates:



Spoiler: Triple Crown



Best of AJPW Triple Crown V1
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

4/15/88 Bruiser Brody vs. Genichiro Tenryu (1st Unification Match)
10/17/88 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (2nd Unification Match)
4/16/89 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen (3rd Unification Match)
4/18/89 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen-Triple Crown Formed.
4/20/89 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (1st defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V2
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

6/5/89 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
7/18/89 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu (1st defense)
9/2/89 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Terry Gordy (2nd defense).
10/11/89 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu
3/6/90 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Barry Windham (1st defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V3
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

4/19/90 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2nd defense).
6/5/90 Terry Gordy vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
6/8/90 Stan Hansen vs. Terry Gordy
7/17/90 Terry Gordy vs. Stan Hansen
– Gordy is stripped of the title in 7/90 due to a serious illness.
7/27/90 Stan Hansen vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (for vacent title).
9/1/90 Stan Hansen vs. Steve Williams (1st defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V4
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

1/19/91 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Stan Hansen
4/18/91 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (1st defense).
7/20/91 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Steve Williams (2nd defense).
10/24/91 Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3rd defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V5
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

1/28/92 Stan Hansen vs. Jumbo Tsuruta
3/4/92 Stan Hansen vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (1st defense).
6/5/92 Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2nd defense).
7/31/92 Stan Hansen vs. Akira Taue (3rd defense).
8/22/92 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V6
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

10/21/92 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1st defense).
2/28/93 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (2nd defense).
5/21/93 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (3rd defense).
7/29/93 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (4th defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V7
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

9/3/93 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams (5th defense).
10/23/93 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen (6th defense).
6/3/94 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (7th defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V8
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

7/28/94 Steve Williams vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
9/3/94 Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi (1st defense).
Bonus Match 10/22/94 Mitsuhara Misawa & Stan Hansen vs. Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V9
Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

10/22/94 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams
1/19/95 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi (1st defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V10

Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

3/4/95 Stan Hansen vs. Toshiaki Kawada
5/26/95 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Stan Hansen
7/24/95 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1st defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V11

Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

9/10/95 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (2nd defense).
10/25/95 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (3rd defense).
3/2/96 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Gary Albright (4th defense).
5/24/96 Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V12

Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

6/7/96 Akira Taue vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1st defense).
7/24/96 Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue
9/5/96 Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen (1st defense).
Bonus Match 10/25/95 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Gary Albright

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V13

Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2nd defense).
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V14

Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

3/1/97 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams (1st defense)
6/6/97 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2nd defense).
7/25/97 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue (3rd defense).
Bonus Match 5/24/96 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V15

Video Quality: VG-EX
Run Time: 2:00

9/6/97 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (4th defense).
10/11/97 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Steve Williams (5th defense).
10/21/97 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (6th defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V16

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

1/26/98 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama (7th defense).
2/28/98 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Johnny Ace (8th defense).
5/1/98 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V17

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

6/12/98 Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada
7/24/98 Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama (1st defense).
9/11/98 Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (2nd defense)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V18

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

10/31/98 Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
1/22/99 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Kawada injures arm)
3/6/99 Vader vs. Akira Taue (for vacent title)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V19

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

5/2/99 Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
6/11/99 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (1st defense)
7/23/99 Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (2nd defense)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V20

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

10/30/99 Vader vs. Mitsuharu Misawa
1/23/00 Vader vs. Jun Akiyama (1st defense)
2/27/00 Kenta Kobashi vs. Vader
5/26/00 Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (1st defense).
(Kobashi vacates the title to leave for Noah)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V21

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

10/14/00 Shiro Koshinaka vs. Johnny Smith (Tournament round 1)
10/14/00 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams (Tournament round 1)
10/16/00 Stan Hansen vs. Jinsei Shinzaki (Tournament round 1)
10/18/00 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Mike Barton (Tournament round 1)
10/21/00 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen (Tournament semi-final)
10/22/00 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shiro Koshinaka (Tournament semi-final)
10/28/00 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Tournament final).
3/3/01 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Taiyo Kea (1st defense).
6/8/01 Keiji Muto vs. Genichiro Tenryu

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V22

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

7/14/01 Keiji Muto vs. Steve Williams (1st defense).
9/23/01 Keiji Muto vs. Scott Hall (2nd defense).
10/27/01 Keiji Muto vs. Masahiro Chono (3rd defense).
12/11/01 Keiji Muto vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (4th defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V23

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

2/24/02 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Keiji Muto
(Kawada vacates the title because of a knee injury.)
4/13/02 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Keiji Muto (for vacent title).
7/17/02 Genichiro Tenryu vs. Satoshi Kojima 1st defense).
10/27/02 Great Muta vs. Genichiro Tenryu

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V24

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

1/13/03 Great Muta vs. The Gladiator (1st defense).
2/23/03 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Great Muta
4/12/03 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Arashi (1st defense).
6/13/03 Shinya Hashimoto vs. Satoshi Kojima (2nd defense).
(Hashimoto vacates the title because of multiple injuries.)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V25

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

9/6/03 Toshiaki Kawada vs. The Gladiator (tournament semi-final)
9/6/03 Shinjiro Otani vs. Satoshi Kojima (tournament semi-final)
9/6/03 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinjiro Otani (tournament final).
10/26/03 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Don Frye (1st defense).
1/18/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Genichiro Tenryu (2nd defense).
2/22/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinya Hashimoto (3rd defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V26

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

5/8/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mick Foley (4th defense).
6/12/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jamal (5th defense).
7/18/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takao Omori (6th defense).
9/3/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Osamu Nishimura (7th defense).
10/31/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Taiyo Kea (8th defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V27

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

12/5/04 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (9th defense).
1/16/05 Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kensuke Sasaki (10th defense).
2/16/05 Satoshi Kojima vs. Toshiaki Kawada

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V28

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

2/20/05 Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (1st defense).
7/26/05 Satoshi Kojima vs. Keiji Muto (2nd defense).

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V29

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

9/1/05 Satoshi Kojima vs. Jamal (3rd defense).
10/18/05 Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard (4th defense)
11/19/05 Satoshi Kojima vs. Kensuke Sasaki (5th defense)
1/8/06 Satoshi Kojima vs. TARU (6th defense)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V30

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

3/10/06 Satoshi Kojima vs. Great Muta (7th defense)
6/10/06 Satoshi Kojima vs. Suwama (8th defense)
7/3/06 Taiyo Kea vs. Satoshi Kojima
8/27/06 Taiyo Kea vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1st defense)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V31

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

9/3/06 Minoru Suzuki vs. Taiyo Kea
10/29/06 Minoru Suzuki vs. RO’Z (1st defense)
1/4/07 Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata (2nd defense)
2/17/07 Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima (3rd defense)

Best of AJPW Triple Crown V32

Video Quality: EX
Run Time: 1:30

4/30/07 Minoru Suzuki vs. TAJIRI (4th defense)
7/1/07 Minoru Suzuki vs. Keiji Muto (5th defense)
8/26/07 Minoru Suzuki vs. Kensuke Sasaki
10/18/07 Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1st defense)


----------



## Obfuscation

The last match on the Triple Crown set. :moyes1


----------



## Rah

Chismo said:


> I'm thinking about starting a project that'll cover every Triple Crown match from 2000-09. Tenryu. Kawada. Muto. Kojima. Kensuke. Suzuki. Suwama. Takayama. :mark:


There's a guy over on Puroresu.tv doing (well, no longer doing, seeing the site died) the exact same thing. I can link it up, if you want dates/reviews/links. Pretty sure he's on WF, too, but on another name.


----------



## Chismo

I'll PM for every match I can't find.



Super Sonic said:


> Do it, brother. But make sure you don't have any other priorities coming up, as it's very time consuming.


Eh, I'm not taking it too seriously. It'll be an easy-going project. Two or three matches per week.


----------



## Brock

Not finished, but thought id post it. Small list of the Best Of Kobashi: (Includes tag matches)

Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue/Masanobu Fuchi 10/19/90 
Kenta Kobashi/Mistuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue/Masanobu Fuchi 04/20/91 
Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Toshiaki Kawada/Mitsuharu Misawa (11/21/91)
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Masa Fuchi/Yoshinari Ogawa (AJ 1/10/92)
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi (AJ 1/24/92) 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi/Akira Taue 05/22/92 
Kenta Kobashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Dan Kroffat/Doug Furnas 5/25/92 *
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi/Jun Akiyama (AJ 1/8/93)
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Yoshinari Ogawa 07/02/93 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi (AJ 10/2/93)
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue 12/03/93 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Giant Baba vs. Masanobu Fuchi/Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue 02/13/94 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Masa Fuchi (AJ 1/7/94) 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Giant Baba vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi (AJ 1/29/94) 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue 05/21/94
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (01/24/95) 
Kenta Kobashi/Mistuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (06/09/1995) 
Kenta Kobashi/Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Yoshinari Ogawa/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (7/8/95)
Kenta Kobashi/Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Mitsuhara Misawa/Takao Omori (10/24/1998) - Kobashi unleashes "The Burning Hammer" for the first time and pins Misawa clean!)
Kenta Kobashi/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Akira Taue (6/4/99) 
Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa 10/23/99 *
Kenta Kobashi/Kentaro Shiga vs. Jun Akiyama/Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Kobashi debuts new finisher, 10/17/02)

Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (AJ 2/27/92)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 3/20/92)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (Carnival, JIP) 04/14/93
Kenta Kobashi vs. Terry Gordy (AJPW Super Power Series 05/29/93)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen (AJ 7/29/93)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams (AJ 8/31/93)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 10/23/93)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/10/94)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve Williams (AJPW Championship Carnival 04/15/94)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada 01/19/95
Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (AJ 3/31/96)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 5/24/96)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue (Kobashi wins Triple Crown, 7/24/96)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen 9/5/96 *
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada (AJ 10/18/96)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuhara Misawa (01/20/97)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuhara Misawa (10/21/1997)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada 06/12/1998 
Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuhara Misawa (10/31/1998)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Vader (All Japan 1/15/99)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuhara Misawa (06/11/1999)
Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama (12/23/2000)
Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (03/1/2003)*
Kenta Kobashi vs. Tamon Honda 04/13/2003
Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki (07/18/2003) - Tokyo Dome 
Kenta Kobashi vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (04/25/2004) - Tokyo Nippon Budokan
Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama -07/10/2004 - Tokyo Dome
Kenta Kobashi vs. Samoa Joe (ROH) 10/1/05
Kenta Kobashi vs. KENTA (NOAH 3/5/06)


----------



## Bruce L

'90s puro marathon ON TO '94!


*Champions Carnival '94 Final
Toshiaki Kawada vs. Steve Williams *_(4/16/1994)_
★★★★½


*Super J Cup Final
Wild Pegasus vs. the Great Sasuke *_(4/16/1994)_
★★★★★


*AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) & Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue *_(5/21/1994)_
★★★★★


*AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
Mitsuharu Misawa (c) vs. Toshiaki Kawada *_(6/3/1994)_
★★★★★


*AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
Steve Williams (c) vs. Kenta Kobashi *_(9/3/1994)_
★★★★¾


*Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota *_(11/20/1994)_
★★★★★


*IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Hiroshi Hase *_(12/13/1994)_
★★★★


----------



## Tanner1495

Chismo said:


> I'm thinking about starting a project that'll cover every Triple Crown match from 2000-09. Tenryu. Kawada. Muto. Kojima. Kensuke. Suzuki. Suwama. Takayama. :mark:


Go for it. Kawada/Hashimoto is one of my favorite matches from 2004, you can't go wrong with it.


----------



## Obfuscation

Part of me wants to do a BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship project, but at the heart of it, I just want to watch everything Sekimoto has done. Like honestly, nearly everything. Got no set order & started w/the 6/30/13 match vs Kawakami last year. A classic. Now it's time for the grudge match vs Liger. I'm proud of my choices.


----------



## KingCannabis

I wanna know where the hell is everyone's Misawa love today? June 13th, the 5 year anniversary of his death & nobody besides myself has really said anything about it. Watch your Misawa matches dammit! Pay tribute.


----------



## Tanner1495

I've been wanting to do a project, but my project now is to just watch some wrestling. I've been working on a Top Wrestling List for nearly a year now, but I've had some other ideas come to mind. Well, now I am completely putting myself to this. I can watch any match I want and not have to worry about my 2014 list, my Funk list, nothing. Tomorrow sounds like a Liger day, but for all I know I may just watch more Hansen anyways.


----------



## Obfuscation

I try to contain myself to a "list" or project on certain days, but I normally fail after a few matches _(which isn't a bad thing, b/c as long as I get 1-2 of what I wanted in daily, that's a win)_ & go off onto something else rasslin' related. Did it tonight w/the Sekimoto thing. Had to watch Callihan vs Okabayashi as I saw it in the related videos once Sekimoto vs Liger was over. This system works for me. Basically follows under whatever I'm in the mood for. And that's the best mentality to have when wanting to watch. No distractions.


----------



## Chismo

KingDio said:


> I wanna know where the hell is everyone's Misawa love today? June 13th, the 5 year anniversary of his death & nobody besides myself has really said anything about it. Watch your Misawa matches dammit! Pay tribute.


Wanted to watch a match or two yesterday, but couldn't catch any free time, had to attend a fucking wedding and shit.

A rare Misawa in New Japan match:


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Baba-ism vs Inoki-ism :mark:


----------



## KingCannabis

Oh cool, I forgot about that match; gonna give it a re-watch later today. Never been too big a fan of Chono, cause he's kinda limited with his moveset, etc. but he's still good.


----------



## DojoBrother

I watched my first Dragon Gate show, Dead or Alive 2014. Jimmy Susumu vs Flamita was Match of the Night, I haven't seen the main event cage match yet but that's not the point. Are there any Dragon Gate fans that have some good recommended shows/matches?


----------



## flag sabbath

DojoBrother said:


> I watched my first Dragon Gate show, Dead or Alive 2014. Jimmy Susumu vs Flamita was Match of the Night, I haven't seen the main event cage match yet but that's not the point. Are there any Dragon Gate fans that have some good recommended shows/matches?


I'm only a casual viewer, but from what I've seen this year, I'd recommend:

Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (12/1)
Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (16/1)
Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation vs. Dragon Kid, K-Ness & Super Shisa (6/2)
Jimmyz vs. Mad Blanky (Elimination, 6/2)
Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (2/3)
Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (6/3)
Shingo Takagi vs. T-Hawk (29/3)
T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita vs. Shingo Takagi, Ricochet & Akira Tozawa (Captain's Fall, 27/4)
Ricochet vs. Yamato (5/5)

They're all on dailymotion.com


----------



## Genking48

flag sabbath said:


> I'm only a casual viewer, but from what I've seen this year, I'd recommend:
> 
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (12/1)
> Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (16/1)
> Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation vs. Dragon Kid, K-Ness & Super Shisa (6/2)
> Jimmyz vs. Mad Blanky (Elimination, 6/2)
> Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (2/3)
> Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (6/3)
> Shingo Takagi vs. T-Hawk (29/3)
> T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita vs. Shingo Takagi, Ricochet & Akira Tozawa (Captain's Fall, 27/4)
> Ricochet vs. Yamato (5/5)
> 
> They're all on dailymotion.com


Id' like to add to those (also all on dailymotion)

T-Hawk, Eita, Flamita (c) vs. CIMA, Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid vs. Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Jimmy Saito, Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin (3 Way Elimination Match, 22/12/2013)
T-Hawk, Eita vs. K-ness, Dragon Kid (3/11/2013)

Although I can't find it on dailymotion I'd recommend the bonus main event of the 06/05 THE GATE OF MAXIMUM show they had

Dream Team (CIMA, BxB Hulk, T-Hawk, Jimmy Susumu & Akira Tozawa) vs Mad Blankey (YAMATO, Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu & Kzy)


----------



## DojoBrother

flag sabbath said:


> I'm only a casual viewer, but from what I've seen this year, I'd recommend:
> 
> Masaaki Mochizuki vs. T-Hawk (12/1)
> Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki (16/1)
> Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation vs. Dragon Kid, K-Ness & Super Shisa (6/2)
> Jimmyz vs. Mad Blanky (Elimination, 6/2)
> Masato Yoshino vs. Ricochet (2/3)
> Ricochet vs. Uhaa Nation (6/3)
> Shingo Takagi vs. T-Hawk (29/3)
> T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita vs. Shingo Takagi, Ricochet & Akira Tozawa (Captain's Fall, 27/4)
> Ricochet vs. Yamato (5/5)
> 
> They're all on dailymotion.com


Cool, thanks. I'll check them out.


----------



## Tanner1495

So I've recently heard ramblings of a match I did not know existed. It is Hansen/Misawa/Kobashi vs Baba/Taue/Kawada from some random day of the 1995 CC. If anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be incredibly thankful.


----------



## KingCannabis

Tanner1495 said:


> So I've recently heard ramblings of a match I did not know existed. It is Hansen/Misawa/Kobashi vs Baba/Taue/Kawada from some random day of the 1995 CC. If anyone could point me in the right direction I'd be incredibly thankful.


I can tell you that the date on that match is March 24th 1995. I looked for it on the puro download site I frequent, but he doesn't have it. So if he doesn't have it, nobody most likely does online.


----------



## Obfuscation

DojoBrother said:


> I watched my first Dragon Gate show, Dead or Alive 2014. Jimmy Susumu vs Flamita was Match of the Night, I haven't seen the main event cage match yet but that's not the point. Are there any Dragon Gate fans that have some good recommended shows/matches?


I'm still a little behind on their 2014 catalog, but some goodies not mentioned:

Don Fujii vs Kotoka - 1/12
Shingo Takagi vs Kotoka - 1/18
Masaaki Mochizuki, K-Ness, & Super Shisa vs Don Fujii, Gamma, & Ryotsu Shimizu - 3/1
Don Fujii vs U-T - 3/2
T-Hawk vs Uhaa Nation - 4/18
Uhaa Nation vs Kotoka - 4/27

Don Fujii rules. As you may tell, I like the simple stuff w/the promotion. Young Lion battles offer that. Dragon Gate has potential w/their roster, but too often of the time their matches get diluted w/just...shit. I'd actually recommend skipping stuff like Yoshino vs Mochizuki _(one of the worst from 2014 in general for my money)_ & Shingo vs T-Hawk _(not awful, but def disappointing)_ for my two cents. But if curious, you watch what you want, of course. The Mochizuki vs T-Hawk & Mad Blankey vs Jimmyz Elimination matches are great. Second the endorsement.


----------



## Chismo

*Fortune Dream 1
*
_*(2014/6/8)*_


1.	Hayato Mashita vs. Tamon Honda

_TAMON HONDA IS ALIVE?! :mark: Wasn’t this suave motherfucking maestro supposed to be dead since, like, 2003? You know, when he got his spine cambered by Ken Takobashi? Here, he schools a total anonymous, and it only took him 3 minutes to do it._

**3/4


2.	Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Meiko Satomura

_Sheeeeeeit, matches like this make me feel disgustingly bad for not watching more of joshi.  Unfortunately, I just can’t find more free time to squeeze them in. If I were 10 years younger… Anyway, this was killer stuff, watch it._

****


3.	Shuji Ishikawa & Koji Doi vs. Kengo Mashimo & Tank Nagai

_Going into this, of course my big wish was as much SHUJI vs. KENGO as possible. Derp… Didn’t get it in such capacity, Doi and Tank were the workhorses here, and they seem to be totally good, so it turned out swell, actually. Tank is someone to keep an eye on. Kengo’s vile smirk after submitting Doi with a sick hold was incredible._

***1/2


4.	Yankee Nichokenju (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. AKIRA, Ultimo Dragon, Yoshinobu Kanemaru

_Totally fun and easy-going Junior trio that made me wanna see K-HASH/AKIRA. Of course Kazuki was the MVP of the match, doh._

***1/4


5.	Masato Tanaka & Fujita Hayato vs. Akitoshi Saito & Kotaro Suzuki

_Good match. The old fuck Saito can still go, even against much more agile predators like Tanaka and Hayato. Speaking of Hayato, his sessions with Kotaro were uh, oh… Singles match, pls._

***1/4


6.	Daisuke Sekimoto & Kento Miyahara vs. Kohei Sato & Yuji Hino

_Highly disappointing, the worst match of the night. In fact, without the hectic five minute overtime, I’d rate this “bad”. The match had like 300 strike/chop exchanges, I mean, c’mon already… There was barely any cat-and-mouse play, the whole match was one big test of toughness, and not in a good way, at all. Emotionless and buzz killing. There were some nasty suplexes and vicious strikes, but that’s about it. Skip the shit out of this._

**


Good show, fun stuff, but would’ve been excellent with a better main event. Some tags did a good job of setting up potential 1-on-1 clashes, hopefully Kobashi finds a way to book ‘em.​


----------



## Obfuscation

Would have lost serious cash if you were to tell me the main event was going to be the worst match of the night.


----------



## flag sabbath

I saw a spoiler for the outcome of that main & immediately thought 'fuck that match'.


----------



## Concrete

*Kengo Mashimo/Tank Nagai vs. Shuji Ishikawa/Koji Doi(Kobashi Produce):****
_Look over there, it’s a wild “fun match”. See it in all its glory. This isn’t really all that special but this is my favorite Ishikawa performance so that’s cool. He looked like a real life Titan which was AMAZING. Tank was all silly and everything trying to trade forearms with the massive individual. Blissfully dumb. Mashimo is someone I’ve heard is neat but I hadn’t seen the neatness. He was neat here. Mashimo coming in and slicing through Ishikawa in order to knock off Doi was Attack on Titan personified. His DEATH KICK(!) looked more like PUDDING KICK but hey, there are worse things in the world. I don’t know who Doi is but I didn’t like him. And that’s all I got for him. So yeah, lots of HEAVY HITTIN’! I like da heavy hittin’._​


----------



## Heath Scumm

I've just had the pleasure of watching Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. Keeping with the spoiler free part of this topic, I won't reveal any key moment from the match.

All I can say is Wow! Did they really took that mental athleticism of theirs to a whole new level or what? At times, they literally looked as mirror images of one another. They do have a very similar style and both are deceptively strong for a Jr. Heavyweight weight class.


----------



## darkclaudio

Dominion
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship Match: The Young Bucks 8c) vs Time Splitters ***1/2-***3/4
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Kota Ibushi (c) vs Ricochet ***1/2
NWA Tag Team Championship Match: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (c) vs Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith ***1/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Dominion 6.21*

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks (c) vs Time Splitters ****

Tama Tonga vs Tetsuya Naito **1/2

Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma ***1/4

NWA World Tag Team Championship
TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs K.E.S (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) ***

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Kota Ibushi (c) vs Ricochet ****

Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) **

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii) vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi) ***1/4

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe ***1/2

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Bad Luck Fale ***1/2

Overall Grade: 8.25


----------



## Super Sonic

So I wanna get on the bandwagon and become familiar with NJPW in the past decade, not worried about being caught up. Two talents that interest me are Devitt and Tanahashi, I'll be watching their singles matches against Danielson. I need to know every great match, near **** and above, NJPW has had in the past decade.

Just like with watching Kobashi's GHC title reign prior to his ROH weekend, I want to be familiar with Tanahashi's incredible resume so that I fully grasp his rivalry with Okada. Similarly with Devitt, I want to be familiar with him prior to him debuting on NXT.


----------



## Chismo

*Dominion 2014*

*(2014/6/21)*


1.	*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) ©

_Finally, the true YOUNG BUCKS match in New Japan, and this was the closest you’ll ever come to the PWG Bucks in Japan. Honestly, one of the best openers ever in Japan, just a top notch contest with such an organic structure and fluidity, the Splitters were insanely over, the Bucks were hated, everything simply clicked. An emotional rollercoaster that tore the house down, this might be a lock for Top 10 of the year._

****1/2


2.	Tama Tonga vs. Tetsuya Naito

_Not a bad match, it’s just that they had an insanely tough task after DAT OPENER, and it was a filler match anyway. Tonga sucks and is a total jobber, while Naito is in the phase of rebuilding, so this served its purpose, it was short and harmless._

**


3.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma

_“You motherless fuck, I was pissing blood in gore deathmatches back when you were just a skinny Junior who carried Hashimoto’s bags”, said Honma while beating the shit out of Shibata to start off this great match. Shibata looked like an antelope trying to fight off surly leopards, it’s safe to say he got his fucking ass kicked in this one. Honma? Well, no one books underdogs better than New Japan, as evidenced yet again here, Honma even transcended his role, he refused to take the back seat, he was in for the fight. Goto was the weakest link, I mean he wasn’t bad, it’s just that he didn’t match the other three guys, not even close. With someone else instead of him, this would’ve been a legit MOTYC._

****


4.	*NWA World Tag Team Championship*: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) ©

_Much better than expected, it had awesome pacing and structure, the KES guys, especially Davey Boy, looked high as fuck, lel, few hilarious moments right there. Kojima was the undisputed MVP of the match, dude’s a standout veteran, thank fuck they put him in the ridiculously stacked Block A of G1 again._

***1/2


5.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: Ricochet vs. Kota Ibushi ©

_Finally, a borderline great title defense from Ibushi. The story here was just great and really catchy, because Kota finally met someone who’s able to not only match him in high-flying stuff, but overshadow him completely by taking shit to a whole new level. Logically, that means Kota has to bust out something devastating, something like a move that he rarely uses. Does Rico have an answer for that too?_

***3/4


6.	Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba

_And here we go, the first stinker of the event. Brief MiSu vs. Sakuraba sequences were totally swell and shooty, but unfortunately the majority of the match is Iizuka botching EVERYTHING, and the really tiresome MiSu vs. Yano crap that needs to end already. Just give me MiSu vs. Sakuraba 1-on-1 already!_

bad


7.	Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi

_After watching this match, I can’t help but feel like Yujiro’s momentum he gained through heel turn and all those awesome BOSJ multi-man tags - is gone. He couldn’t match the other three guys from the match to save his life, his new finisher sucks and the crowds know it, he totally crapped on what was a very good tag smackdown until his part in the finishing run. Shame._

**3/4


8.	*IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*: King Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe) vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows ©

_First of all, huge props to Makabe, who worked the match semi-injured (Yokohama, Goto, jaw), only to get totally obliterated by Doc’s palm strike, that was SERIOUS. Clearly he was in big pain, but that didn’t prevent him from taking many heavy smacks and busters across the face and neck area. RESPECT! Karl and Doc might be the best duo in the world right now, they’ve found themselves tremendously in the last few months, they’re a well-oiled machine with some awesome intensity, brawling habits and overall sumptuous teamwork, and at this point, they’re better than Bad Intentions ever were. TLDR, this was excellent, high-octane and vivid._

****1/4


9.	*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*: Bad Luck Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura ©

_Certainly not on the level of their awesome NJC match, but still very good, secretly I was hoping they’d work on the blood detail from that match, but we don’t get those things in this era of New Japan. This was rather clean and calculated, they kept things relatively simple, obviously Shinsuke was leading the game here, but it takes two to tango, Fale was very good yet again. The finishing combo was impressive, I gotta say._

***3/4


Three great and three good matches, ‘nuff said.​


----------



## KingCannabis

I highly recommend, if you haven't already, watch Taue vs. Kawada from June 7th 1996! The best match these two were ever gonna have against each other. Two successful tag team partners, trying to best one another & match one another. Hard hitting, skillful & compact, awesome. They substitute the usual technical part of the match with their stuff after the bell rang; added to the story of their match I think.

*****3/4*

Old school puro like this had great subtle storytelling, without storylines. Just like how the Akiyama/Misawa match against Ace/Williams after winning the tag belts in '96; Akiyama tries to not let down Misawa and showing he can hang with him for sure. The Tenryu/Kawada match from 2000; and the Tenryu/Kojima match from July 2002, had great storytelling too. 90s/00s All Japan was pretty awesome.

Thoughts?

I am pretty stoned too, so thinking about stuff in deeper contexts haha.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Super Sonic said:


> So I wanna get on the bandwagon and become familiar with NJPW in the past decade, not worried about being caught up. Two talents that interest me are Devitt and Tanahashi, I'll be watching their singles matches against Danielson. I need to know every great match, near **** and above, NJPW has had in the past decade.


Commas, they're not used how you think they're used.

Nobody's going to give a list of that. I do however have a list of Tanahashi matches from 2011 onward that I think are 4*+

vs. Nagata - 4/15/05
vs. Nagata - sometime in 07 on ditch's site
vs. Goto - 11/11/07
vs. Nakamura - 2/09
vs. Kojima - 1/4/11
vs. Kojima - 2/20/11
vs. Nagata - 4/3/11
vs. Nakamura - 5/3/11
vs. Goto - 6/8/11
vs. Giant Bernard - 7/17/11
vs. Nagata - 2011 G-1 Day 1
vs. Nakamura - 9/19/11
vs. Naito - 10/10/11
vs. Nagata - 12/4/11
vs. MiSu - 1/4/12
vs. Okada - 2/12/12
vs. Okada - 6/16/12
vs. Makabe - 7/1/12
vs. MiSu - 10/8/12
vs. Okada - 1/4/13
vs. Anderson - 2/10/13
vs. Devitt - 3/3/13
vs. Okada - 4/7/13
vs. Anderson - 5/2/13
vs. Ishii - 8/2/13
vs. Okada - 8/11/13
vs. Naito - 8/12/13
vs. Devitt - 9/29/13
vs. Okada - 10/14/13
vs. Ishii - 11/9/13
w/Naito vs Okada/Nakamura - 12/23/14
vs. Nakamura - 1/4/14
w/Goto/Naito vs Nakamura/Ishii/Okada - 2/2/14
vs. Nakamura - 2/9/14
vs. Nakamura - 4/6/14

It would've been easier to list his matches that weren't ****+


----------



## Chismo

Super Sonic said:


> So I wanna get on the bandwagon and become familiar with NJPW in the past decade, not worried about being caught up. Two talents that interest me are Devitt and Tanahashi, I'll be watching their singles matches against Danielson. I need to know every great match, near **** and above, NJPW has had in the past decade.
> 
> Just like with watching Kobashi's GHC title reign prior to his ROH weekend, I want to be familiar with Tanahashi's incredible resume so that I fully grasp his rivalry with Okada. Similarly with Devitt, I want to be familiar with him prior to him debuting on NXT.


Historically speaking, the most important thing is his U-30 title reign, that taught him how to be a champion and carry himself as the future ace. Find everything you can from that era, I only posted small amount of insanely good shit:



Spoiler: ACE OF UNIVERSE!


















































































Bonus: the greatest match of our age:


----------



## vault21

Glad to see Karl Anderson still persists with his bulking phase, third year in a row. Working on his Rosey physique.


----------



## Obfuscation

Unless the final three matches of Dominion flopped, its safe to say New Japan did it again w/this event. Those Bodymaker shows are hard to be let down by.

the Climax announcements :sodone


----------



## Cabel

Dominion was all around another strong show from New Japan. The Juniors stole the night, Fale held his own in the main event with Nakamura, and I'm left wanting more in a good way. Only downer was the Suzikigun tag, and even then I at least got some exchanges between Suzuki and Sakuraba and a couple laughs from Yano. Could've used some more Yoshi-Hashi though. With this and Kizuna Road, I'll have myself a nice pair of appetizers before the buffet that'll be my first G1 Climax.


----------



## Obfuscation

Two great matches to even out the halves for Dominion: the Tag Team & Intercontinental Championship bouts. Hell yes. It's a fight between Time Splitters/Bucks or Goto & Shibata/Nagata & Honma as my MOTN. Two vastly different tags that ruled.


----------



## Chismo

Fale with dat power smash combos at the end.


EDIT:


*WNC 2012/9/20*

Fit Finlay vs. Ray Mendoza Jr. (fka Villano V)

_TAJIRI’s small indie federation, Wrestling New Classic, is going on hiatus (translation: out of business), so they’re putting their stuff on YouTube. That’s really swell. I remember being hyped as fuck when this match was announced, but the show was not taped, unfortunately, despite being held in Korakuen, and this is a handheld tape made by someone from the balcony, the quality is great, though. The match is short, but worked in such a tremendous pace and is structured insanely well, these guys don’t need more than 10ish minutes to create greatness. Gnarly lucha meets gritty Euro style, which means MANLINESS meets MANLINESS~! You know Ray Jr. is a badass when he makes Finlay a sympathetic face-in-peril. I mean, it wasn’t a full-blown FIP session that covers over 50% of the match, but it was there, and it was great. Excellent match, check it out._

****1/4​


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: The Maximum of Gate 6/7*

YAMATO & Naruki Doi vs Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Susumu **1/2
BxB Hulk vs Kzy ***
T-Hawk, EITA & U-T vs Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi ***1/2

*AJPW Dynamite Series 6/15*

AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Takao Omori vs Jun Akiyama ****. _MOTY Candidate_


----------



## ywall2breakerj

So me and my friend were talking about how Honma should be in the G1 which somehow led us to the most ingenious idea ever. It would be a round-robin tournament featuring New Japan's undercard guys like Honma, YOSHI-HASHI, Captain New Japan, the young lions, possibly juniors etc. with the idea that the winner of the tournament would earn the right to compete in the G1 Climax. Accordingly, this tournament would be called the G2 Climax. The competitors that would place last in their respective groups in the G1 Climax would face on the final day with the loser losing the right to complete in the G1 Climax next year directly and having to go through the G2 first. Additionally a spot in the G1 could be earned by winning the Seiji Sakaguchi Memorial Battle Royal.

Oh and since this is supposed to be about like reviewing matches and all that:
*Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue-AJPW 15.1.1991.*

A clip of a billion people tag held earlier that month displays us the fact that these two fucking hate each other. Fine. So they start the match and Taue is fucking pissed off and knocks Kawada off the apron. Good. Brawling and irish whipping onto the guardrail occur. Taue hits a Suicide Dive that is about 9.5 on the Fujinami "kill yourself" scale. Taue is still fucking pissed so he starts smashing Kawada's leg with chairshots. This is followed up by selling and Taue shoot stomping Kawada's head. When you shoot stomp Kawada's head, you get kicked hard. But if it's 1991 and you're Taue you also get hit with a SHOOT CHAIRSHOT that makes you bleed a ton. Taue continues with the legwork and applies various holds on Kawada's leg whilst Toshiaki kicks him in the fucking head to escape said holds. Kawada's leg collapses several times when going for high-impact moves. Faces are smacked with stiff blows. Finish includes


Spoiler: finish



Kawada taking Taue's head off with a brutal Enzui Lariat and then failing to get on his feet because of how bad Taue fucked his leg up.




A gazillion stars. The workrate was strong in this one. I was very impressed by Kawada's fighting spirit. I hope he shoot chairshots the yakuza when they try to get free ramen from him.


----------



## Vårmakos

I believe there actually was a G2 event some time in the past with the very same idea, but it was single-elimination and the winner won a championship.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Kawada/Taue matches in the early 90's were :mark:. I've yet to see their match from 1996 which I'm anxious to watch and will likely do tonight now that I'm thinking about it.

edit: finished the match. It's from Champions Carnival 96. Great fucking match. They start with a blistering pace and it never lets up. It goes the 30 minute time limit but it didn't resemble a set-up to go 30 minutes. You'd never guess they can even stand each other, much less be tag partners. They go absolutely apeshit with each other in this one. a high ****1/4 match.


----------



## Chismo

*Friendship, Effort, Victory!*

*(2014/5/25)*


5.	IDOL LUMBERJACK MATCH for *DDT Extreme Championship*: Makoto Oishi vs. Masa Takanashi ©

GOLD


7.	*All Asia Tag Team Championship*: Yasu Urano & Akito vs. Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii ©

_There’s just something about Akito… Something that makes me root hard for him, he reminds me of Tamon Honda, with that silent swag and the way he works limbs and applies holds, absolutely spectacular, IMO. Really good match-up right here, with basic layout and just awesome tag team wrestling, Irie is a proven class already, but Ishii deserves as much praise as possible, at least for this match, he’s great as both FIP and hot tag._

***3/4


8.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: HARASHIMA vs. KUDO ©

_Unlike many others, I actually liked their first match. I liked this one even more, this was just a pure struggle throughout the whole duration. HARASHIMA was less flashy than usual, and way stiffer and more brutal. He learned his lessons, and that’s what I call effective storytelling. From the technical standpoint, this was a kickfest, tons and tons of kicks were thrown, which is understandable if you know the story and profiles of both guys. Eventually, even some nasty punches were thrown, out of despair, it was a great put-over not only for the title, but for both competitors as well._

***3/4













*Dynamite Series 2014*

_*(2014/6/15)*_


1.	Mitsuya Nagai & Kengo Mashimo vs. Kento Miyahara & Menso~re Oyaji

_Going into this, you knew exactly who’s gonna get his ass kicked, who’s gonna deliver the asskicking, and who’s gonna be the hot tag & savior. Simple and effective formula and story about stamina and persistence. Miyahara/Mashimo chemistry makes me wet._

***


2.	Masao Inoue vs. Ryuji Hijikata

_Solid little match between two jobbers who have nothing to lose. There was even some harmless comedy in there, and the finish was awesome. I’m starting to appreciate Hijikata more and more, tbf._

**1/2


5.	*GAORA TV Championship*: SUSHI vs. Kotaro Suzuki ©

_Unfortunately, the video starts fucking up halfway through. Shame, because the first half of the match looked rock solid, Kotaro was doing everything in his power to draw something out of SUSHI, but you can only do so much with that green pile of mediocrity. If Kotaro’s opponent was someone better or more charismatic, then I’d be really, really pissed at the corrupted video._

N/A


6.	KENSO & Hideki Suzuki vs. Suwama & Hikaru Sato

_Okay, now if this video fails to deliver, I might murder someone. *20 minutes later…* Okay, it worked, thank fuck. Yet another match with clear and defined roles, of course Hikaru would take the ungodly amounts of punishment, of course Suwama’s gonna be the behemoth that must be taken out by any means necessary. Hikaru Sato is the fucking man, his sessions with Hideki are beautifully cautious and shooty, I love how Hideki acknowledges him more and more throughout the match, because Hikaru is a bigger danger than previously thought, hence that INSANE backdrop driver later in the match. KENSO is so good in his comfort zone, and Suwama is good in every zone. Hideki needs to stay, he’d definitely be a very useful heavyweight addition._

***3/4


7.	*Vacant AJPW Triple Crown Championship*: Jun Akiyama vs. Takao Omori

_From behind, Jun Akiyama looks and walks like a giant mean baby. Okay, now onto wrestling: HELL YEAH, another great All Japan main event, and another Omori gem. He stepped the fuck up this year. This was your classic King's Road layout with two dudes having a rich backstory, where Dude A is more accomplished and "better" than Dude B, which means a structure with tons of punishment, perseverance and fighting spirit. Akiyama is all about sportmanship up until the point where Omori hurts his own shoulder, which turns Akiyama into a merciless dick who will work dat limb. He does a long workover and gets himself leverage, which turns Omori into a total underdog, which makes the crowd root for Omori hard. Basic structure, and I love it. Omori's selling was not perfect, but it was good enough, however he nailed fighting throught the pain to a T here. Not as good as Omori/Suwama, but that ain't no flaw._

****​


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Look at that Meltzer at it again. Put Bucks vs. Splitters and Ibushi vs. Ricochet at ****3/4. I'm off to watch the latter now. Didn't think Bucks/Splitters was all that special but was pretty good.


----------



## KingCannabis

StuckInHell4-Life said:


> Kawada/Taue matches in the early 90's were :mark:. I've yet to see their match from 1996 which I'm anxious to watch and will likely do tonight now that I'm thinking about it.
> 
> edit: finished the match. It's from Champions Carnival 96. Great fucking match. They start with a blistering pace and it never lets up. It goes the 30 minute time limit but it didn't resemble a set-up to go 30 minutes. You'd never guess they can even stand each other, much less be tag partners. They go absolutely apeshit with each other in this one. a high ****1/4 match.


Check out their match from June 7th 1996 when Taue was defending the Triple Crown against Kawada. Personally, I have that match at ****3/4. It's an awesome under-20 minute match. Tag team partners & friends just trying to match and best each other. Maybe I'm overrating it, but it was a hard hitting, compact & just great rasslin match. The stuff right at the beginning after the bell rings is good too, adds to the story a bit & I don't know how to describe it haha. Trying to intimidate & match each other. One of my favorite Triple Crown matches.

I'm surprised I've never actually seen their CC '96 match. I should check it out.



Chismo said:


> From behind, Jun Akiyama looks and walks like a giant mean baby.


:ti


----------



## Chismo

*2014/5/31*


1.	The Brahmans (Shu & Kei) vs. Yuichi Taniguchi & Takayuki Ueki

_Lots and lots of water, yelling and big whackiness in general._

**1/2


3.	*Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ Block B*: Shinobu vs. Manabu Soya

_Short, organic, compact. I’m not a Soya fan, but Shinobu is just a perfect foil for him, the styles meshed very well. Killer finish, brutal stuff._

***1/2


4.	Daisuke Sekimoto, Kazuki Hashimoto, Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Ryuichi Kawakami, Atsushi Maruyama, Masato Inaba

_Clipped, but the essence was preserved, thankfully. These Strong BJ 6-man tags from Korakuen never disappoint, this was a short ‘n’ sweet sprint with a VERY surprising finish that had the crowd going bonkers._

***1/2


5.	LIGHTTUBE DEATHMATCH: Kankuro Hoshino & Masaya Takahashi vs. Ryuji Ito & Jaki Numazawa

_As long as there are people like Ito and Numazawa, pro-wrestling will never die. I dislike Hoshino, but didn’t mind him here at all, and Masaya should be a deathmatch future if he sticks with the genre. Good match._

***1/4


6.	*Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ Block A*: Shiori Asahi vs. Shinya Ishikawa

_Just as good as their title match from March, Asahi is awesome as a subtle heel not afraid to cheat his way to the victory. Nice matwork and striking, and based on their respective movesets and also the previous match, there’s this lucha sense that the match can end at almost any time._

***1/2


7.	*BJW Tag Team Championship*: Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) vs. Yankee Nichokenju (Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka) ©

_So, fuck yes, after months of mauling and crushing through the Strong BJ roster, Kohei and Shuji have earned themselves a title match against the much smaller champions. The story writes itself, it’s quite simple, actually, power vs. speed, behemoths vs. daredevils, and these guys are too good not to make it work. Great match with a proper result._

****


Very good, enjoyable show, even with the thin deathmatch scene Big Japan manages to pull it through because their Strong Division is amazing.















*King of DDT 2014 - Osaka*

_*(2014/6/15)*_


3.	*King of DDT 2014 – Round 2*: Antonio Honda vs. Shigehiro Irie

_Honda might be the most underrated and overlooked indie wrestler in the world. It’s just incredible how easily he shifts his character and personality in matches with high stakes (remember dat Togo title match? remember dat Dino title match?), he leaves the comedy aside and is all about business, he’s so damn good as a serious wrestler. But is it enough to overcome the super motivated Irie, who’s on the rampage to win the tournament and regain the belt? The match contains great storytelling and impeccable selling._

***3/4


4.	*King of DDT 2014 – Round 2*: Tomomitsu Matsunaga vs. KUDO

_Unfortunately, I can’t rate this, since they only aired 6 out of 16 minutes.  But, I was able to grasp the story and intentions, and it was awesome, Matsunaga going all in, catching KUDO off guard and hitting three big moves on him within three minutes, but KUDO is one tough fucker on the path of regaining the belt, he ain’t going down just like that. Who’s got more left in the tank? I hope we stumble upon a full version one day._

N/A


6.	*King of DDT 2014 – Round 2*: Kota Ibushi vs. Masa Takanashi

_Masa is wonderful at playing his character, he’s a major underdog here, reluctant to even enter the ring before the match, but hey, every dog has its day, amirite? All it takes is one hiccup by Ibushi._

***1/2


7.	*King of DDT 2014 – Round 2*: Isami Kodaka vs. Konosuke Takeshita

_Takeshita’s bigger and stronger than Kodaka, but he’s still a young lion, and his opponent it, well, Kodaka, a seasoned deathmatch veteran who took ungodly amounts of horrific punishment throughout his career, so no matter how hard Takeshita tried to hit or suplex him, it doesn’t match lighttubes or boards of nails. The match had its minor problems, but the good stuff outweighed it by a country mile, especially the SICK finish._

***1/2​


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Kizuna Road 6/29*

BUSHI, El Fuego & Yohei Komatsu vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Máscara Dorada & Tiger Mask #4 *1/2
Captain New Japan, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi **1/4
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) *
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma ***1/4
Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. El Desperado, Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito ***
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) vs. BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) ***1/4
NEVER Openweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Yujiro Takahashi ***3/4

*Solid Show*


----------



## KingCannabis

I just watched the great Akiyama/Omori match from earlier this month; and I noticed something I didn't know until now. That last year they got rid of the three separate belts for the Triple Crown Championship, and now have a single belt. It's a very nice looking belt, but I think that sucks having just one belt. Having the three belts made it unique & special, and just cool. Man, a little bit more of the old school has died 

I didn't know that until now cause before watching this match, the most recent Triple Crown title match I had seen was Muta/Takayama from 2009.


----------



## Obfuscation

Got Ibushi vs Takanashi & Kodaka vs Takeshita left till i'm fully caught up w/DDT, but I got to chime in on the Antonio Honda comment. I fully agree. Dude is wacky as hell & has his equally silly look about him _(bowl hair cut & tarzan looking singlet attire)_ but the dude can go. He's killer at dominating opponents w/a barrage of submissions and it just rules when you watch him. Only four minutes and some change was shown for his match vs Urano & damn; I openly loved it b/c of the story worked w/Honda clenching on the rear naked choke to dominate until he found his opening to get the submission victory. He tried much of the same vs Irie, but this time took aim to ravage the kid's arm. Serious Honda is a great Honda.

I happened to rewatch HARASHIMA vs KUDO from Korakuen before their rematch for the championship. Proved to be a smart move on my end as my lack of focus on the original viewing underrateed the bout severely. It was great "knowledgeable opponents" stuff. Who's more even out there in DDT than HARASHIMA & KUDO? Exactly. You'd have to possibly think Ibushi vs Omega levels & even then, I still wouldn't claim them to have the edge on what each other would do next the way SHIMA & KUDO do w/one another. Counters, kicks, HARASHIMA's asshole punch & headbutt. Awesome stuff.

The rematch was good. It contained some previous hot moments from the 3/21 match & rightfully so. Then proceeded to extend beyond those to give the match its own flavor. Toss in some good selling from HARASHIMA on his bum leg & you have yourself another mighty fine KO'D Championship match.

I love DDT.


----------



## Chismo

DDT! :mark:

I wanna move to Japan just to buy a bunch of BJW & DDT DVDs because I wanna watch full versions of... everything.



KingDio said:


> I just watched the great Akiyama/Omori match from earlier this month; and I noticed something I didn't know until now. That last year they got rid of the three separate belts for the Triple Crown Championship, and now have a single belt. It's a very nice looking belt, but I think that sucks having just one belt. Having the three belts made it unique & special, and just cool. Man, a little bit more of the old school has died
> 
> I didn't know that until now cause before watching this match, the most recent Triple Crown title match I had seen was Muta/Takayama from 2009.


Apparently the Baba widow is supporting the new management and might return the original belts. She asked for them 9 months ago, btw.

And you seriously never watched the classics such as:


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm willing to pay an absurd price for 'em by way of international shipping, just thanks to the massive entertainment they provide.

Ibushi vs Takanashi & Kodaka vs Takeshita were quality bouts to boot. King of DDT finals to be released immediately, plz. Semi finals & the three way tag w/Golden Storm Riders vs Shuten Doji vs Smile Squash. Damn.


----------



## KingCannabis

Cool I'll check those matches out later Chismo. I have been meaning to watch some of Jun's Triple Crown reign, just hadn't gotten around to it ha.


----------



## Certified G

Just finished watching Ricochet vs. Kota Ibushi after recently reading about it in the WON. Damn, what a match. Exactly the type of match I love; fast paced, not a lot of restholds, some high impact moves. I loved everything in this match, from the opening sequence to the insane dive to the outside from Ricochet. I don't rate matches most of the time, but this would definitely be a **** or ****1/2 match in my book.

I really should watch more puro, I only ever watch some Dragon Gate and a couple NJPW matches here and there. I feel like I'm missing out on tons of amazing matches haha.


----------



## Chismo

*2014/6/15*


4.	*Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ Block A*: Atsushi Maruyama vs. Shinya Ishikawa

_Honestly, you could put this match under the BattlARTS banner, and almost no one would notice any difference. Had no idea who Maruyama was until his current Big Japan run, this is his first big singles match, and fuck, it rocks on so many levels. He totally outclassed and outsmarted the Strong Champion on the mat, bringing out the nastiest out of him. Great, great organic match-up, contains the nastiest dropkick to the face I’ve seen in a long time._

****1/4


5.	*Ikkitousen 2014 ~ Strong Climb ~ Block B*: Manabu Soya vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

_Two short, stacked tanks going HAM at each other, first there was a totally swell test of strength, so typical for modern puro, but they put a lot of heart and emotion into it, and the rest was just an awesome, gritty warzone with many, many heavy smacks that made my juices flow._

***3/4


7.	*BJW Tag Team Championship*: Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto vs. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) ©

_Uh, oh, sheeeeeeit… The rematch! And it delivers again! The Wrestler of the Year with dat head-slicing headbutt on Kohei, DAAAYUM! Hard-hitting, smashmouth affair with a plethora of violence. Can the enthusiastic Hash duo finally overcome the behemoths? Have they learned anything?_

****


8.	LIGHTTUBE, BLOCK, SPIKEBOARD DEATHMATCH for *BJW Deathmatch Championship*: Yuko Miyamoto vs. Ryuji Ito ©

_Good, but not very good or great. Didn’t feel too organic. I don’t expect too much from Ito at this stage of his career, but I do expect much more from Miyamoto. But still, I won’t complain too much, it was good enough, bonus points for the finish. Thank fuck Takeda is back._

***1/4​


----------



## Obfuscation

Damn at Ishii vs Yujiro. Best thing Yujiro has been apart of since his last world championship match vs Tanahashi. Ishii vs the world tour continues to leave me giddy w/the melting pot of furiously strong defenses. Genius move to put this in Korakuen rather than at Dominion. Gets main event treatment & Ishii's home turf creates that molten, blissful atmosphere each time.

and god damn at Taichi vs KUSH from the final night of the junior tournament. Taichi being surly b/c of his infidelity was a damn awesome way to translate his frustration into the ring. Shooot that piece was hot. So much greatness packed in a tiny bubble. Hope he returns just as surly.

Twin Towers tag matches incoming today. So ready.


----------



## Chismo

*Kizuna Road 2014*

*(2014/6/29)*


1.	BUSHI, Yohei Komatsu, Fuego vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada

**3/4


2.	Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Cpt. New Japan vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Ryusuke Taguchi

***1/4


3.	Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI

**3/4


4.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)

***3/4


5.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga)

****


6.	Hiroshi Tanahashi & Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) vs. Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, El Desperado

***3/4


7.	*NEVER Openweight Championship*: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii ©

****1/4


A fine terzetto of solid matches before the awesome GBH/Best Friends tag with great heat, Makabe was totally godlike in it. Dude’s a total beast. The BC/CHAOS rivalry is reaching epic proportions with all these great multi-man tags, it’s absolutely compworthy. The all-face semi-main was very good, Desperado continues to improve, and Ibushi/KUSHIDA chemistry looks promising. Main event was fantastic, very stiff, physical and dramatic, awesome choice to book this in Korakuen, and the only reason Ishii didn’t break his neck is because he has no a neck to break.​


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Rainbow Gate 7/3*

Dark Match: Ken'ichiro Arai and Jimmy Kanda vs. Shisa BOY and Ryotsu Shimizu *1/2
Punch Perm contra Punch Perm ~ Loser Gets Punch Perm Match: Chihiro Tominaga vs. Mr. High Tension Kotoka ***1/4
MAD BLANKEY (Cyber Kong, Kzy & Mondai Ryu) vs. We Are Team Veteran (Don Fujii, Gamma & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa) **
Dragon Kid & K-ness vs Jimmy Kagetora & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin vs U-T & Yosuke❤Santa Maria **1/4
Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) vs. Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & Ricochet) ***
Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi & Uhaa Nation) vs. Millenials (T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita) ***1/2
BxB Hulk & BxB Masa vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO & Naruki Doi) ***


----------



## Chismo

*Kizuna Road 2014*

*(2014/7/4)*


1.	BUSHI, Sho Tanaka, Fuego vs. Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada

***


2.	Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma), Cpt. New Japan, Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi

**1/2


3.	Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, TAKA Michinoku) vs. Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI

_Bad video._

N/A


4.	Alex Shelley vs. El Desperado

***1/2


5.	CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov) vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga)

***3/4


6.	Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito

****


7.	*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*: KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi ©

_Damn shame Kota got KTFOed early in the match, this could’ve been a classic, a la the BOSJ Finale. Despite the concussion, Kota continued, even performing most of his spots and bumping really hard for a man with smashed brains. Kudos there, big fucking kudos, that’s toughness 101. KUSH deserves a lot of credit for saving the match too, he put it on the ground to slow things down and save Kota’s life. But he still kicked him in the head few times, though, lel. Despite all of it, good match, which is pretty damn remarkable, IMO._

***1/2


At this point, I’m not sure it’s possible for New Japan to have anything less than a good show in Korakuen. Good opener, solid 8-man tag, very good Shelley/Desperado match, yet another awesome CHAOS/BC multi-man tag, TaNaito/Friends fucking rocked (seriously, watch it), and main event was not only good, but newsworthy as well.​


----------



## Chismo

*King of DDT 2014*

*(2014/6/29)*


1.	Akito, Konosuke Takeshita, Tetsuya Endo vs. Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao, Kazuki Hirata

_Fun, short sprint. Hirata’s pre-match dance routine is something else. Oh, and Takeshita throws insanely dangerous Germans, btw._

**3/4


2.	*King of DDT 2014 – Semi-Finals*: Shigehiro Irie vs. KUDO

_Damn shame everyone’s busy with their irrelevant pro-wrestling trivia, because they’re missing Irie’s smashing ’14 run. IRIE._

***3/4


3.	*King of DDT 2014 – Semi-Finals*: Kota Ibushi vs. Isami Kodaka

_Not good, not bad, the match just… happened. Cool moment with both on top of the entrance gate, though, that was nice._

**1/2


_*** Takeshita/Tanahashi announced for August in Sumo Hall, Tanahashi shows up and looks like the coolest fucker alive… GOOSEBUMPS! ***_


4.	ELIMINATION MATCH: Michael Nakazawa, Tomomitsu Matsunaga, Danshoku Dino, Makoto Oishi vs. Sanshiro Takagi, Toru Owashi, MIKAMI, Antonio Honda

_Impeccable elimination strategies, rigged ref Minoru Suzuki, and the god of Korakuen – Jun Kasai. Oh, yeah!_

GOLD


5.	Yukio Sakaguchi & Masa Takanashi vs. Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki vs. HARASHIMA & Yasu Urano

_Match of the night, one thing DDT does great is 3-way tags, they come up with something unique and charming each and every time. Needless to say, Masa Takanashi was the best._

***3/4


6.	*KO-D Openweight Championship*: Super Sasadango Machine vs. HARASHIMA ©

_Okay, the match itself was mediocre really, but that was not the point. Sasadango is the ultimate underdog here, he cashed in his title shot contract and then cut a five minute long promo about his researching what it takes to be the man, and showed a PowerPoint presentation of his research. TLDR, he came up with Vertical Drop Riemann Shock (DDT), and hitting it three times will bring him the title? Can he make it?_

**


7.	*King of DDT 2014 – FINALS*: KUDO vs. Isami Kodaka

_Good strikefest, my favorite moment of the match was Kodaka making a callback on his rivalry with Generico by teasing the Brainbustah! Goosebumps. It’s incredible to see Kodaka pushed in non-deathmatch environment, he can go and deserves it. He still needs to work on some things, though, things that prevent his matches from being great. But, he’s getting there._

***1/4​


----------



## Obfuscation

Irie seriously, my stars. You knew he'd continue to get better & he has but god damn. It's incredible to witness. Can't object to DDT trying something else atm, but truly he must be back on top just as a reward for being unfuckwithable in the ring. Aren't many in Japan or the entire world I'd have past him. match vs KUDO ----> DANGEROUS HEADBUTT :mark:

Every other promotion needs to see how DDT does three way matches and take notes. Also: TANAHASHI FOR RYOGOKU PETER PAN. Ok, a Takeshita match vs Tanahashi _could_ finally trump the excellent match vs Generico.


----------



## Super Sonic

SUPERSONIC PREPARES FOR ROH FINAL BATTLE 2005

Sure, KENTA and Marufuji (particularly the former) can get over with their styles upon first viewings, but why not see why their ROH debuts were so highly anticipated nearly a decade ago?



Spoiler: KENTA & MARUFUJI REVIEW PROJECT



*Takaiwa vs. Marufuji - December 9, 2001*

Really good match and storytelling, although not structured to be truly great to me. I assume this title change was Marufuji's coming out party, and I loved the very beginning of the match, with Marufuji's superkick and immediate collapsing of the damage reminding me of Shawn Michaels. Takaiwa tried to make an example out of the younger challenger throughout the match, having the match done with but choosing to continue dishing punishment. That would be his downfall, as throughout the rest of the match Marufuji would not be denied and earned the Jr. Championship to a wonderful reaction. ***3/4

*KENTA vs. Kanemaru - May 26, 2002*

Another really good match, and I assume this was KENTA's breakout singles match. He really dug down deep just two years into his career, showing some tremendous hope spots, including the stupid release German suplex AND release Tiger suplex on Kanemaru. But the punishment that Kanemaru provided, much of it on the back after scoop-slamming his greener opponent from the walkway apron to the padded floor, all of the damage inflicted leading to him capturing the vacant Jr. Championship. Takashi Sugiura shows up to talk shit and gets in a brawl with Kanemaru, and I'm sure at some point I'll get around to that. ***3/4

*KENTA & Kobashi vs. Suzuki & Misawa - September 1, 2002*

Another good tag match here, although I can't help but cringe seeing that Misawa took TWO sleeper suplexes from Kobashi in this one. I loved Misawa shrugging off the majority of KENTA's offense, having learned to absorb the blows through his superior length of the time in the business. But KENTA's quickness would prove to be the difference-maker in the psychology of the match, as he kept Misawa at bay while Kobashi went to work on Suzuki, who took an ass-kicking in this one. Really good stuff that also protected Misawa with a GHC Title shot for him on the horizon. ***1/2

*Kanemaru & Hashi vs. KENTA & Marufuji - March 1, 2003*

Splendid tag match here, with one of the hottest opening sequences I've ever seen. But unlike Low Ki vs. Amazing Red in ROH (which was still good just not the OMG spectacle so many recall it to be), the rest of the match was great and truly fitting. In what had to be an idea based off of the apron DDT from the Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit match just several weeks earlier, Hashi managed to land an inverted apron DDT on KENTA, and Kanemaru followed it up working on the neck. Also in the match were tremendous alpha male striking sequences, with KENTA of course being the natural standout due to his kickboxing background. In a repeat of their singles match for the vacant Jr. Title the year before, KENTA also took the scoop-slam from the walkway apron to the padded floor from Kanemaru. And the finishing sequence is truly breathtaking too, ending with Marufuji getting a beautifully modified La Magistral cradle for the pin! Excellent match. ****1/4

*Akiyama & Saito vs. Morishima & Marufuji - April 5, 2003*

Good tag match that got incredibly hot at the end, but didn't find the first 2/3 all that engaging. Saito had some work done on his knees which never seemed to pay off. I loved Akiyama hitting the Exploder on Marufuji at the beginning, wanting to put this match away immediately. I also loved Akiyama getting irritated at Marufuji throughout the match, I wonder if there's a backstory that someone more familiar with NOAH could catch me up with.

There were some dramatic near countouts that stood out. Another standout was Akiyama being taken out of the equation for a few minutes (I'd have rated this higher if he had been taken out completely to really sell it) when Marufuji, with Morishima's assitance, gave him a Shiranui on the floor. I did find myself rooting for the challengers to win the tag belts when Marufuji got some last-ditch rollup pin efforts on Saito near the end, but once Saito hit the Steiner Screwdriver and Akiyama had Morishima prevented from another save, I knew it was over. ***1/2

*KENTA & Suzuki vs. Sugiura & Kanemaru - April 13, 2003*

Really good tag with KENTA coming in with a bandaged right shoulder. The psychology on the shoulder was great, becoming an engaging enough plot in the match that the crowd became genuinely invested in it. Really good elevation of KENTA's stock in this one, as he put in a great performance, having to dig down deep to compensate for his injury. ***3/4

*KENTA, Susuzki, & Marufuji vs. Marvin, Liger, & Murahama - June 29, 2003*

Tremendous trios action here. Suzuki and Marvin provided the spectacular high spots. Liger and Marufuji got testy with each other during and after the match, with Liger being a fantastic grump. KENTA and Murahama had some tremendous strike and kick exchanges. Fantastic finishing stretch. No complaints here. ****

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Liger & Murahama - July 16, 2003*

It is really a shame that during this time we didn't get KENTA & Marufuji vs. Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin, as they were really the two best teams in their respective companies that could spectacularly pace a match.

Liger continued to be an asshole in this one, particularly to Marufuji. I wonder why vets like Liger and Jun Akiyama would get so annoyed with the former GHC Jr. title holder, but it definitely was engaging. The control segments were fucking splendid, transitions in momentum all making sense and happening fluidly, the ring getting cut in half on numerous occasions, and of course several saves being made.

KENTA and Murahama also had more great strike exchange displays, including early in the match when the latter caught the former's leg during an attempted kick, then quickly grabbed his head, and delivered a modified Fisherman's suplex. That spot makes me disappointed that we'll likely never get to see KENTA collide with Paul London and AJ Styles, as I'd absolutely love to see how they would counter KENTA's offense while also getting under his skin. Later in the match, after several minutes of KENTA playing the Ricky Morton role in the match, he used the one chance he had to gain momentum when Murahama went to run the ropes to get additional firepower, with KENTA delivering a roundhouse and opening up his window for a hot tag.

The finishing sequence was perfectly executed, with the younger Murahama taking too much top-notch offense from KENTA & Marufuji, including a knee strike while being hoisted in the air. Liger made the save for that, using up what little had remaining in the tank during this grueling classic, and KENTA slid him out of the ring. Once Marufuji hit the shooting star press, it was over. 

This is an instant classic that stands the test of time, and was simply better than anything that the teams of Haas & Benjamin, Los Guerreros, America's Most Wanted, and Elix Skipper & Christopher Daniels put together in 2003. A genuine MOTYC that stands as one of the all-time classics in NOAH history, and kicking off the era of the GHC Jr. Tag Titles in the most appropriate fashion possible. ****3/4

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Hashi & Kanemaru - September 12, 2003*

Didn't like this one as much as the tourney final, but objectively speaking, this was top-notch stuff again. Calling back to previous matches? Check. Selling hate and limb work? Check. Building to a hot finishing stretch that has the crowd in an absolute frenzy? Check. Mixing in spectacular spots to go with the phenomenal tag psychology, to give this match its genuine peaks and valleys? Check. The Jr. Tag Titles certainly started off similarly to the WWE SmackDown!-exclusive Tag Titles the year before, but in this case, even better. ****1/2

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Marvin & Guerrera - November 1, 2003*

Sadly, this was not to be the greatest match of the day, as there was a singles match in New Jersey that quite easily surpassed this. And while I find it a bit overrated, it's still really good. Something seemed off about mixing KENTA in with the lucha background guys this early into his career.

This had a hot beginning, in what seemed to be sparked by some pre-match microphone work from the lucha challengers. Marufuji's high-flying style seemed to fit in quite well with Marvin and Guerrera. In fact, this match featured the greatest counter to the Shiranui I've ever seen, as Guerrera dead-weighed himself with Marufuji elevated in the air and dropped him with a Michinoku Driver near the end of the match.

With that kind of spot, the match obviously had a hot finish too, but with Guerrera's different background and likely his notorious attitude being a part of the match, the middle couldn't measure up to the other acclaimed KENTA & Marufuji tags of 2003. ***3/4

*Sugiura vs. KENTA - November 30, 2003*

Another very good match that never truly hit that emotional peak. Seeing Sugiura's offense on KENTA really makes me wish we'd get to see KENTA work with Kurt Angle in the near future, although I'm not holding my breath on that one. Tremendously paced contest with both guys just throwing bombs on each other, and I look forward to seeing KENTA progress as a singles wrestler. ***1/2

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Samurai & Inoue - January 10, 2004*

Turns out NOAH did indeed have the best match of the day over ROH. This was the typical great puro match in which the first 2/3 or so it looks like it'll be peak with being very good, but the heat got tremendous in the last third of the match. There was a segment between Inoue and Marufuji, in which Marufuji did a super-hurricanrana followed by missile dropkick, that look a bit choreographed and business-exposing. At that point i also asked myself this - why the fuck did these two men, both with somewhat long hair, no upper body tattoos, cruiserweight style bodies, wear loose white pants? Made it difficult to differentiate.

KENTA was on fire in this one, getting the chance to do some Ricky Morton work when the challengers went to work on his neck, which started after a piledriver. The challengers were pretty vicious. In the last segment of the match, when Marufuji was playing the Morton, KENTA was tremendous with the hot tag. My favorite moment of the match was KENTA ducking Inoue and Marufuji delivering a superkick that would make Shawn Michaels proud. The remaining 2-3 minutes were fantastic stuff. Great tag match. ****

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Suzuki & Ogawa - April 13, 2004*

Another excellent tag here, great layout. The challengers spent a significant portion of the match working Marufuji's knee, including a nice figure four leglock submission tease. KENTA was once again excellent in the hot tag portion. No complaints here. ****

*Misawa & Ogawa vs. KENTA & Marufuji - April 25, 2004*

Great tag match. The defending GHC Tag Champs did a great job in cutting the ring in half on the challengers, making the Jr. Tag Champs realize that they must ultimately be big fish in a small pond for the NOAH hierarchy. But this was no burial. KENTA & Marufufi came into this match with something to prove. My only complain was the obviously broken-down Misawa botching some shit, much worse than anything that gets nit-picked in a John Cena match. ****

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Marvin & Susuzki – June 1, 2004*

Excellent tag match that built incredible heat. Shit-tons of near-falls that had the crowd rocking, and this is something I highly recommend for anyone that enjoyed the near-falls in the Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black match ROH hosted in 2008. Whoever laid out this match did an incredible job, as almost everything was on point and KENTA had much better chemistry with Suzuki instead of Juventud Guerrero seven months earlier.

This also called back to that very same Guerrera match. Marufuji pulled out the Flux Capacitor for a near-fall. Marvin hit a springboard hurricanrana on a crotched Marfuuji. KENTA was set up for the 619 and ducked, maneuvering himself to the bottom rope. Seven months earlier, Marvin pulled out an extra 619 attempt on KENTA on that bottom rope, but this time KENTA sniffed it out and ducked that one too.

Just an overall spectacular match, and one that anybody that enjoyed Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin’s first WWE run together should check out. Splendid tag team wrestling. ****1/4

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. KaShin & Sugiura - July 10, 2004*

Fun but too much KaShin bullshit silliness to be anything special. Nice finishing stretch. ***1/2

*Kanemaru vs. Low Ki - September 10, 2004*

Yep, why not see Ki's first GHC Jr. Title shot to go with this Final Battle 2005 preparation?

Damn good match, arguably great. Ki worked on Kanemaru's arm, and it seemed Kanemaru wasn't completely familiar with his opponent on this night. Every time Kanemaru stalled, Ki would have an answer. My favorite of those spots was Kanemaru jumping from the top rope and Ki landing a rolling kick perfectly on Kanemaru's already damaged arm. Tremendous psychology.

Another great moment was Ki teasing to drop Kanemaru with a Ki Crusher on the entrance apron, then RUNNING with a 200+ pound man across that entrance apron and tossing Kanemaru into the ring Death Valley Driver style. Keep in mind that Ki pulled off this feat about 15 minutes into this match. An incredible athlete. He also got over huge with the NOAH crowd when he pulled out the Phoenix Splash and Tidal Crush, but in the end he could not measure up to the more successful Kanemaru's multiple brainbusters. ****

*Marufuji & KENTA vs. SUWA & Marvin - October 24, 2004*

After watching this classic, and getting to see the conniving greatness that was SUWA, I'm saddened we never got to see him lock it up with Ric Flair and Eddie Guerrero. He was an absolutely masterful cunt in this one, the Kevin Steen (another guy who I wish had been booked against SUWA) of his team, with Marvin somewhat playing the El Generico-esque good cop. In particular, I loved the channeling of the Dudleyz with the blatant lowblow spot in the first act of the match on KENTA, this one though being a simple stop instead of headbutt from SUWA and minus the crowd-teasing of course.

KENTA was tremendous once again in getting his hope transitions in for a hot tag, capitalizing on the challengers the second he got that chance. He had some fantastic exchanges with SUWA, and I could see he really landed those kicks; there was no slapping of the thigh for the audio effect. Marufuji was great again in his chemistry with Marvin, the two of them having some dazzling flashy transitions. Marvin near the end of the match also laid in a gorgeous Shiranui on Marufuji, showing that he had learned from all those previous title shots and put in the work to utilized the arsenal of his greatest opponents.

The finishing stretch in this was phenomenal too, ending with KENTA laying in the G2S on Marvin, who took a spectacular bump to put it over and give this match the exclamation mark it deserved. I hope a decade later though that the bump was worth it for him though. SUWA, still the absolute cunt he was during his career, attempted to ambush the successful champs post-match. ****1/2

*Marufuji vs. KENTA - November 13, 2004*

Very good singles match here. They did a great job of countering each other left and right. Such examples include KENTA hitting basaiku knees out of nowhere and even with limited space, KENTA countering an attempted Shiranui by turning it into a successful piledriver, and then countering another attempted Shiranui into a successful G2S. The only issue was both mean being so sweaty and/or gassed that they fell over about 20 minutes in, killing the drama for a good finish. ***3/4

*Marufuji vs. Shiozaki - November 21, 2004*

Good match here to elevate the green Shiozaki's stock. In the first act of the match I was having flashbacks to Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat and Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk, because Shiozaki just kept holding on with that headlock, constantly gripping Marufuji with it. Marufuji once again pulled out the stupid running sunset powerbomb onto the floor spot which I'm sure has shortened his career and anyone else's that has taken it from him. Overall good stuff though. ***1/2

*KENTA, Low Ki, & Marvin vs. Kanemaru, SUWA, & Sugiura - March 5, 2005*

Good trios action. Ki and SUWA had a phenomenal early exchange, reminding me that I wish we had gotten them in singles in an ROH ring. SUWA was again a tremendous cunt, having his partners set Marvin up for the D'Von Dudley diving headbutt lowblow. Kanemaru also was vicious to Marvin, scoop-slamming him onto the apron, and Marvin did a great job moments later selling that when trying to get a rush of adrenaline during their strike exchange segment. Later, when Sugiura would try to make an example of Marvin, KENTA came darting in with some rapid brutality, knocking him the fuck out. But once SUWA hit the shotgun dropkick and falling Pedigree on Marvin, I knew that was it.

Post-match, SUWA ambushes KENTA, with Kanemaru and Ki backing up their respective teammates. KENTA and SUWA have a tremendous little brawl going to the back on the entrance apron. ***1/4

*KENTA vs. SUWA - April 24, 2005*

No star rating for this one, but it didn't matter. Those who are optimistic about KENTA being able to pull off a TV style match, watch this one. Tremendous little storytelling firecracker, and fuck it's a shame SUWA ain't still going, but I don't blame him. I am DEFINITELY looking forward to the acclaimed rematch.

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. KUDO & Ibushi - May 7, 2005*

Really good tag. Match starts with a KENTA and KUDO slap exchance that the former quickly wins, then they have a vicious strike exchange that ends up a stalemate. Ibushi also hit a running over-the-top corkscrew in which one of his knees landed on the top of the steel guardrail. He later takes a piledriver from Marufuji on the entrance apron, gets a flash of adrenaline to go after Marufuji, but then immediately shows that flash was very minimal when KENTA needs to give him a quick stomp to put him down again.

Later, KUDO impressively caught KENTA off-guard when he countered an attempted lariat, back-flipping around KENTA's right arm, and turning that into a backslide pin. But the GHC Jr. Tag champs were too much of a juggernaut, with Marufuji taking KUDO out of the equation later, and Ibushi going down to two Basaiku knees from KENTA, the first while being on Marufuji's shoulders. ***1/2

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Kendrick & Hayashi - May 7, 2005*

Another very good tag, only negated by Marufuji's lackluster selling when Kendrick hit a Hayashi-assisted Shiranui on him. SELL YOUR OWN ESTABLISHED FUCKING FINISHER. The work done on KENTA" left arm early also was never paid off in any fashion whatsoever.

The Jr. Tag Champs spent about half the match working on Kendrick and beating him down. Once Hayashi got the hot tag, although there were never any teases to truly build that up, the crowd got hot. He had a phenomenal strike exchange with KENTA too. But once KENTA took him out and Marufuji got the roll-up on Kendrick, there was no way of a thrown-together tag team stopping the juggernaut. And as it turns out, Kendrick's greatest match of his entire career was not in Japan, but in New Jersey against Bryan Danielson. ***3/4

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Fujita & Hidaka - May 7, 2005*

As I suspected, hot tag segments were preserved for this Differ Cup Final rather than being blown on the earlier matches. The result is a great match, although not a tippy-top all-time classic that I'm sure many deem this to be. Of note is that Fujita & Hidaka have some NWA or Zero-1 Tag belts with them, but I'm not sure which tag championship specifically.

In this one, KENTA got his left leg worked on early, but enough damage wasn't done to matter. But the Zero-1 team would much later go back to that left leg, yet KENTA didn't sell it in the very finish, which to me is what took this from being at the very tippy-top as mentioned earlier. However, what I loved is that the finishing several minutes were absolutely incredible, creating a formula that so many teams in ROH and PWG have copied largely to lesser match quality results. 

Also fond to me was the GHC Jr. Tag Champs becoming the default heels when KENTA did the boot scrapes on Fujita, which the crowd jeered as that had been an established signature spot for Fujita. I'll definitely keep an eye on that for KENTA's matches involving Samoa Joe when I catch up to those. There was also another moment when Marufuji delivered a subtle (but to the detail-oriented blatant) eyepoke. When the hot tag was achieved for the Zero-1 team to go into the third and final act, the crowd went absolutely apeshit, as there were also old-school segments of the referee not allowing them to help each other.

Hidaka did everything he could to keep Marufuji at bay while Fujita had some jaw-dropping attempts to put KENTA away, including a leg-whip on the left leg from the top rope, followed by the Boneyard, and then attempting another Boneyard submission moments later when the opportunity came. But KENTA wouldn't submit, finding ways to reach the ropes, and Marufuji was able to break up a pinfall attempt after a successful Michinoku Driver. After multiple Busaiku knees though, it was inevitable that NOAH's team would win this instant classic. ****1/4

*KENTA & Marufuji vs. Kanemaru & Sugiura - June 5, 2005*

This isn't quite up to par with the finals of the GHC Jr. Tag Titles tournament, but to say that isn't an actual criticism. This was not only a historic match, but fantastically paced one to boot, with just some minor questionable selling to take it from MOTYC (which this is) into all-time tippy-top classic.

As I mentioned, the pacing in this was just off-the-charts insane. While KENTA unloaded Basaike knees aplenty to hold on to the Jr. Tag straps, Sugiura consantly found ways to deliver Angle slams. But no matter how many times Sugiura would execute that, the champs would find enough adrenaline to kick out or be there to make the save for one another.

Also in this match that stood out to me was Marufuji selling a tornado DDT hope spot from Kanemaru like he had been studying some Rob Van Dam matches, a tremendous moment that allowed Kanemaru to get a hot tag. Another moment was KENTA giving Sugiura a Yakuka kick, with Marufuji using that momentum to give him a sunset powerbomb on the floor. Later, KENTA would apply a powerbomb using the momentum of a Shiranui.

To say that the drama built and built in this classic would be an understatement. I think that despite the numerous MOTYCs in which KENTA & Marufuji had found way to hold onto their straps for dear life, the crowd could sense something magical just like Kenta Kobashi vs. Takeshi Rikio a few months earlier. When Kanemaru found a way to keep Marufuji outside the ring, allowing Sugiura to hit a super Angle slam on KENTA, the historic reign came to an end to crowd's mighty approval.

While not the box-office draw of Kobashi's GHC Heavyweight Championship reign, to me the reign of KENTA & Marufuji as the GHC Jr. Tag Champs, being the very first tandem to hold those titles, was just as important. Match quality wise, both reigns are obviously comparable. But like Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards years later, having these two green young men booked together not only did an amazing job of hiding their weaknesses, but in showcasing their incredible athleticism, high-flying, and striking abilities. I don't think it's any coincidence that Gabe Sapolsky the following year made sure that every championship in ROH would be booked with such strength and prestige simultaneously.

“You do what you can for as long as you can, and when you finally can't, you do the next best thing. You back up but you don't give up.” - General Chuck Yeager

****1/2

*Kanemaru vs. KENTA - July 18, 2005*

The match starts off with a vicious striking exchange segment that leaves both men wincing. KENTA is able to get an advantage, perhaps a foreshadowing of arguably the greatest match of his entire career, when Kanemaru feels pain in his left arm. KENTA was on that shit like white on rice, not just with his usual kicks, but showing off the submission holds for any morons that claim he's one-dimensional.

Kanemaru is able to get some advantage when he hurts KENTA's neck and goes to work on that, but despite some selling issues of his arm down the home stretch, he just simply isn't able to do enough damage to KENTA, who is obviously still bitter about their historic tag match the night before. After two Basiukee kneeds, KENTA earns the GHC Jr. Title to begin the next stellar chapter of his career. Some better selling from Kanemaru would have made this match something truly special, rather than just a great match on a stacked show in front of an incredible Tokyo Dome audience. ****

*Suzuki & Marufuji vs. Akiyama & Hashi - July 18, 2005*

Another splendid tag match, with Hashi coming into this one having his head bandaged. Why a heavyweight like him agreed to take a Marufuji's sunset flip powerbomb onto the floor, I'll never know. Suzuki of course was usual his cunty self going after Hashi's head and removing the bandage. I also enjoyed the seemingly continual subplot of Akiyama being irritated with Marufuji's existence - I wonder if that ever pays off with a particular match. But Hashi was the weakness of his team, not being able to kick out of a Shiranui after all the damage to his head and neck. ****

*KENTA vs. SUWA - September 18, 2005*

SUWA grabs the GHC Championship script from Joe Higuchi prior to the match and tears it up, stunning the crowd and pissing KENTA off. They brawl for a minute before the match is thrown out after SUWA uses a ringbell. The match is allowed to continue, with KENTA running to beat the shit out of SUWA at the stage curtain, and dragging the challenger back to ringside, throwing him over the top rope into the ring.

For about 15 minutes, SUWA was the cunt of all cunts. Getting in Higuchi's face. Blatant low blows, including one in front of the referee. Fucking with dojo students at ringside. Using wrist-tape to choke KENTA out of the referee's view. Taking a turnbuckle pad off and throwing it in Higuchi's direction. But KENTA, through sheer determination, hatred, anger, and crowd support, was able to stay alive, even shrugging off the effects of a shotgun dropkick about 15 minutes into this storytelling greatness, preventing what appeared to be a package piledriver attempt and lifting SUWA for a beautiful G2S.

If this was meant to be the final rung of the ladder in terms of making KENTA one of the premier babyfaces in the company, mission accomplished. ****

*Suzuki & Marufuji vs. Akiyama & Koshinaka - November 5, 2005*

This felt like a very good Raw tag. Suzuki and Koshinaka had a great slap exchange that anyone who has a taste for the likes of Sheamus or Fit Finlay should see. Akiyama seemed a bit bitter going up against the team that beat him and Hashi at the huge Destiny PPV, so of course he was great. At one point he was able to isolate Marufuji, dropping him multiple times on the entrance apron while Koshinaka somehow kept Suzuki in the ring.

Marufuji had a great burst near the end on Akiyama, but couldn't put down the legend with a Shiranui. However, Marufuji's stock was elevated when he kicked out of a wrist-clutch exploder, requiring a second one to take him down for the count. Post-match, Suzuki warms my heart just like SUWA by being a cunt to the winners. ***1/2

*Yone & Morishima vs. KENTA & Shibata - November 5, 2005*

First time I've seen Shibata, looked pretty good here despite being green, I'd like to see him against his Caucasian mirror image Kyle O'Reilly. Looking forward to seeing more of him. The match took forever to get hot, becoming great in the last 2-3 minutes. The work was smart, but there were never any moments of building to hot tags, it was just good but nothing special until Morishima and KENTA exchanged finishers while their partners would break it up. Had the hot finish been several minutes rather than just a few, I'd have been happy to say this was great. ***3/4

There is no doubt that there was some quality professional wrestling presented on November 5, 2005.

*KENTA & Shibata vs. Shiozaki & Misawa - December 4, 2005*

Really good tag here, with Misawa showing the real-life fighter Shibata what it means to be snug in the ring. Misawa got grumpy and snug again when KENTA gave him boot scrapes later in the match. And later on, I was definitely impressed with the junior team knocking Misawa off the apron twice just by using the firepower behind their running Yakuza kicks. That's how you elevate newbies and mid-carders without doing the job to them.

Shiozaki was of course great in being a punching and kicking bag for KENTA and Shibata, continuing to pay his dues as his stock slowly elevated in NOAH. But once Misawa was taken out by electric chair clothesline, Shiozaki didn't stick a chance against Shibata and his MMA/kickboxing background, getting knocked out by a kick that rocked his jaw. ***3/4



And this finally concludes my KENTA/Marufuji project to familiarize myself with them prior to their ROH debuts. I will continue to watch their good NOAH shit though as they worked as semi-regulars for ROH, and I've got quite the enjoyable task on hand, as not only will I be reviewing the show that includes their ROH debuts, but an important PWG show from the same weekend with a landmark feud-ending match for independent wrestling, plus the week before that what many consider the greatest match in TNA history.


----------



## Rah

Humbled?

Also, fuck's sake, at least underline the match names.


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> Humbled?


You're welcome.


----------



## Super Sonic

Rah said:


> Humbled?
> 
> Also, fuck's sake, at least underline the match names.


Not the exact format you requested, but done.


----------



## Obfuscation

Use spoiler tags instead. It is way too much minutia to scroll through.


----------



## Super Sonic

Done.


----------



## Chismo

Ahhh, back when Marufuji and KENTER were great. 

Oh, and your MaruKEN project is not done until you see this match:


----------



## Super Sonic

That's months away.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## darkclaudio

NOAH "GREAT VOYAGE 2014 IN TOKYO VOL. 2", 05.07.2014

-*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge ***1/4
-*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Daisuke Harada (c) vs Kenou ***1/4
-Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Akitoshi Saito & Katsuhiko Nakajima ***
-*GHC Tag Team Championship Match*: Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka (c) vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls ***1/2
-*GHC Heavyweight Championship Match*: Yuji Nagata (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji ****


----------



## Corey

To celebrate KENTA being signed by the WWE, IVP has released a free download for 'The Best of KENTA in 2014, Vol. 1'. I haven't seen a match from this dude in 5 years, so I'm kind of excited to see how he's doin these days (even if I don't hear a lot of positive talk about him recently). Follow the link on his most recent post (it's not $1.39, it's free. Just follow the directions):

https://www.facebook.com/IVPvideos


----------



## Super Sonic

ROH should advertise their KENTA comp a bit more too, strike that iron for those who are curious and never seen his work before. Maybe even mention a couple certain WWE stars that are included on it.


----------



## Chismo

Best of 2014? Big lel. I'm runnin through my files, and all I see is the great Nagata match (credit where credit is due), two or three good ones (Harada, No DQ with Maybach, few more tags), and a bunch of shit, including many tags where he was the worst man.

Jesus, that Morishima match from January was horrendous.


----------



## Obfuscation

Its free & I still don't want it.

One match I've liked from him this year: vs Harada. Rest, nope.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Kizuna Road 7/4*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Mascara Dorada vs BUSHI, Sho Tanaka & Fuego **
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Captain New Japan & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata **1/4
Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Iizuka) :cussin:
El Desperado vs Alex Shelley ***
CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) ***1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata ***1/2
IWPG Junior Heavyweight Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs KUSHIDA ***1/4

*NOAH Great Voyage in Tokyo 2014 Vol. 2 7/5*

Hajime Ohara vs Super Crazy vs Quiet Storm *1/4
Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Genba Hirayanagi *1/4
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge ***
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship: Daisuke Harada (c) vs Ken-o ***1/2
Akitoshi Saito & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4
Daisuke Sekimoto vs MAYBACH Taniguchi **
GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka (c) vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls ***1/2
GHC Heavyweight Championship: Yuji Nagata (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji ****


----------



## Defrost

I have an idea. Somebody needs to tweet Tanahashi asking about G1 on iPPV.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

mayumi ozaki vs. chigusa nagayp 5/22/1994
aja kong vs. dynamite kansai 5/22/1994

Those two matches were out of this world good.


----------



## Corey

How was Tanahashi's year in 2011?


----------



## seabs

Jack Evans 187 said:


> How was Tanahashi's year in 2011?


*Off the hook. All his title matches bar the Yano one were praised as MOTYCs and even then he had a MOTYC with Yano in G1. *


----------



## Obfuscation

Hmm. Surprised someone had to ask. Felt like known lore of mega success. For those were previously weren't too big on Tanahashi, _(idk how you couldn't be in the first place, but meh)_ a portion manged to come around after his 2011 stint as Champion.


----------



## Corey

I ask because IVP just released a blu ray covering his entire 2011. TWELVE HOURS of footage for just $8.99. Too insane of a deal to not take advantage of it. I'm not too familiar with all the current NJPW guy outside of a few matches here and there so I had to ask. He did the same blu ray project with Prince Devitt in 2010-11 but I'm more interested in the Tanahashi one first. Hoping he does more in the future with Nakamura or Okada.


----------



## Obfuscation

All that on blu-ray? Shooooot. I'm no HD mark, but I'm tempted to see it w/pristine picture.


----------



## Super Sonic

*KENTA vs. Marufuji - January 22, 2006*

I'll get the flaws out of the way: KENTA had room for improvement in regards to selling the left knee that Marufuji spent so much time working on. In addition, he could've added some more hope spots to fulfill this match's crowd heat potential. I also saw zero point in landing a fucking Shiranui off the apron to the floor. Marufuji almost fell apart in the closing stretch due to that, failing to lift KENTA for a Tiger Suplex, simply rolling him back in that position for the pin.

This was a great Jr. Title defense for KENTA, most importantly VERY different than his prior classic defenses against SUWA and Low Ki. Marufuji worked a headlock early to feel out and slow down the red-hot KENTA, bringing back memories of Shawn Michaels doing the same thing to Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21. KENTA would get some back-and-forth going until Marufuji attacked his left knee and just mercilessly went to work on it.

Make no mistake, Marufuji was relentless on KENTA's left knee, neutering the few sporadic hope spots KENTA attempted, and the best part of course was him bringing out the classic figure four leglock. Put this match in front of an ROH crowd at the time and the heat would've been off the charts for that. After about 10 minutes, KENTA is able to bring the match to an even level when lifting his right leg to block an attempted corner splash, then landing a Yakuza kick, and countering a charging Marufuji with a powerslam.

KENTA was vicious, doing a so-so job of selling all the left leg work as I mentioned earlier. But that was somewhat made up for with the pacing, and more importantly in the finishing stretch which I'll get to later. I actually didn't mind KENTA landing an Attitude Adjustment style Death valley Driver out on the floor, as that protected Marufuji from a stupid head/neck drop. Once the match got to the finishing stretch after the Shirnaui on the floor, both men traded blows and suplexes, with Marufuji ducking some left leg roundhouse kicks, showing that KENTA lacked that extra fraction of speed to land them after the work done earlier. They also traded beautiful Tiger Suplex nearfalls that had the crowd rocking. KENTA eventually no-sold the earlier work and used his left leg to deliver his standard kicks.

However, KENTA showed that his left knee lacked a bit of firepower. Marufuji was able to kick out of a left leg Basaiku knee. He then kicked out of a left leg G2S. But once KENTA landed the second Basaiku knee, everyone knew it was over. I suspect the issues I pointed out earlier were taken care of by the time these two faced off again to provide the MOTYC potential they have, rather than just a great match that gets lost in the shuffle. ****


----------



## vault21

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Hmm. Surprised someone had to ask. Felt like known lore of mega success. For those were previously weren't too big on Tanahashi, _(idk how you couldn't be in the first place, but meh)_ a portion manged to come around after his 2011 stint as Champion.


I honestly do not seem to care about him too much. I share the same feeling about him as I do with HBK and Flair. I know they're top notch and all that, but I just don't care. That's unless they're wrestling someone I do care about. If Tana is not fighting Okada, Makabe or Suzuki, I generally have a hard time finishing his bouts.


----------



## DGenerationMC

Would anybody else love to see KENTA v Devitt?

Even if its in WWE?

Two of the top aces in Japan for the past decade finally collide!


----------



## Obfuscation

I'm like that w/Shawn Michaels. Pardon his '96 year singles/main event wise. _(i'm negating Rockers days for this)_ Other than that I honestly don't see him as anyone who I should give a damn about. Of course, I'm supremely on the other side w/Tana, so I can't "get" the mentality behind it, but that's how it goes w/opinions, ad nauseum. I view him plenty as their Ace w/o a complaint. No doubt. He's plenty high up. Room to fill w/Nakamura, Makabe, Naito, & _(then)_ Giant Bernard. w/o even going into the depths of their Junior Division w/god aka Liger. Blimey, didn't even mention Muta for when he was around. 8*D

so yeah, I love the dude. The gist.


----------



## Rah

I don't necessarily like Tanahashi, but he has moments of looking as good as some people make him out to be (Tana/Nakamura from Invasion Attack '14[?]), even if I don't feel that happens all too often. It honestly depends what corner of the internet you're on, but I've gathered that Tanahashi is either underrated or overrated with almost no middle ground.

Michaels is another, but I'd say he leans more to being overrated than ever really becoming underrated. People who don't hold him as one of the best WWE wrestlers, seem to at least acknowledge that he is somewhat great. The Rockers may be Shawn's best work but, as a singles guy, he doesn't add enough to his matches to get over too well with me. He's a decent "big match" guy, in getting over key points and reliably delivering a pay-off main event (comparably to Cena, who I'd take over Shawn any day), but I'm not going to think he's a week-to-week homerun player (as Cesaro/Goldust/Bryan have been). I can understand his style playing off better to others, putting him higher in their eyes than mine, and I don't expect every wrestler to be Regal, but he isn't even the best at what people herald him for. Off the top of my head, he wouldn't make a top-50 all time. Just looking at others solely in his career frame, I'm not sure he'd even be a top-10 simply in WWE and, if he was, he'd place right at the end of that list. Still like him better than Bret, who I've infinitely disliked for the past four years, but I assume that's because I'm less okay with Bret being called great than their actual talent differences. Frankly, if I had one overreaching/unwarranted opinion on a wrestler, it's Bret. Suffice to say, though, "Mr Wrestlemania" and "Best There Is" are gimmicks, not reality.


----------



## seabs

*Shuji Ishikawa vs Masashi Takeda - BloodRayne Death Match - BJW 30.06.2013*
_I wouldn't consider myself a deathmatch fan but this was great imo. Really when you watch a match like this you have to pretend that they don't do these matches on a regular basis because then they're not special and the lengths they go to to hurt one another lose their effect. But if you ignore that then yeah this is great. It's much better than your typical deathmatch because the monster vs face dynamic works a treat here. Ishikawa must be one of the most underrated guys worldwide. Everytime I see him he's really fucking good and works really well as a giant monster heel that not only gets himself over but also his babyface opponent. Granted he has a big advantage in that because of his size and maybe he wouldn't be so great at it if he was just a tad smaller but he's not and he works with his build perfectly. For as great as Ishikawa is in that role here, Takeda is equally brilliant as the fiery babyface. Deathmatches really need this dynamic to work for me because otherwise it's just two guys hurting each other and eh at that. The whole kick out at 1 spot works really well here and is exactly how you do it. Babyface has one last burts of fire fuelled by kicking out at 1 before finally being put down just after. This was great._

*Don Fuji, Masaaki Mochizuki & Super Shisa vs. Eita, T-Hawk & U-T - Dragon Gate 10.10.2013*
_This is exactly what I want from my Japanese wrestling these days. Short, multi-man tag and full of hatred and violence. Millennials are basically 3 kids with a bunch of hype and you get exactly what you'd expect when you stick 3 kids with a bunch of hype together which is overcocky disrespectful punks. And that dynamic works a treat when you put them up against a veteran team that includes Fuji and Mochizuki. Fuji tends to have at least one awesome match per year and I guess this was the 2013 Don Fuji spectacle. Don Fuji is fucking awesome btw and it's kind of a shame that he's in Dragon Gate because Tenryu fans would love him but Tenryu fans aren't gonna be watching Dragon Gate shows I guess. I love little sub plots within a match and the one with Fuji refusing to be kicked off the apron by these punks was magnificent. Millennials looked really good btw but this is all about Don Fuji and to a lesser extent Mochizuki stiffing punks out. The match is structured perfectly the story they tell which as a bonus gets to come full circle with the finish too. The punks act like punks and build all the heat up on the vets and then at the end it comes time for them to pay their dues for punking out the vets all the match. And HOLY FUCK they get fucking paid. Plus interest. Mochizuki always kicks really hard, almost to the point where at times it feels like all he does is stiff other guys with kicks but here he has a purpose to stiff punks out and even for Mochizuki it feels like he really turns the stiffness up as punishment for all the cheap shots during the match. Finish is awesome and I'm glad Eita got to show a ton of heart before eventually having his head smashed in and his back bent into retreat. Everyone should watch this as it's only like 15 minutes long and so much fun by any standards, not just modern puro standards._


----------



## Obfuscation

Rah said:


> I don't necessarily like Tanahashi, but he has moments of looking as good as some people make him out to be (Tana/Nakamura from Invasion Attack '14[?]), even if I don't feel that happens all too often. It honestly depends what corner of the internet you're on, but I've gathered that Tanahashi is either underrated or overrated with almost no middle ground.


I feel like middle ground exists. Largely under the umbrella of _"I don't care for Tanahashi, but I can understand why he's there"_ has been something I've seen/heard/had a dialogue w/a few times. Take what you get by the person, it seems.



Rah said:


> Michaels is another, but I'd say he leans more to being overrated than ever really becoming underrated. People who don't hold him as one of the best WWE wrestlers, seem to at least acknowledge that he is somewhat great. The Rockers may be Shawn's best work but, as a singles guy, he doesn't add enough to his matches to get over too well with me. He's a decent "big match" guy, in getting over key points and reliably delivering a pay-off main event (comparably to Cena, who I'd take over Shawn any day), but I'm not going to think he's a week-to-week homerun player (as Cesaro/Goldust/Bryan have been). I can understand his style playing off better to others, putting him higher in their eyes than mine, and I don't expect every wrestler to be Regal, but he isn't even the best at what people herald him for. Off the top of my head, he wouldn't make a top-50 all time. Just looking at others solely in his career frame, I'm not sure he'd even be a top-10 simply in WWE and, if he was, he'd place right at the end of that list. Still like him better than Bret, who I've infinitely disliked for the past four years, but I assume that's because I'm less okay with Bret being called great than their actual talent differences. Frankly, if I had one overreaching/unwarranted opinion on a wrestler, it's Bret. Suffice to say, though, "Mr Wrestlemania" and "Best There Is" are gimmicks, not reality.


Agreed w/Shawn. Bret I can agree w/from everything post-WM vs Austin w/o a doubt. Just crap. Matches prior in his career I'm still pretty high up on. No different than any of those "good wrestlers" who have all fallen into some drone work at least in one point of their careers _(for real greats like Eddie or Benoit who had the matches on occasion)_ or more often like a Malenko or Storm. Bret finds himself in the middle of that equation for me. Bret will always be above Shawn in my book. It's your scenario, only flip flopped.

-------------

No doubt cats like Ishikawa & Fujii rule. Don is one of the few guys I'll always make time for in Dragon Gate. The pointless comedy acts lately have been upsetting. Less of that & more of him just being a grumpy bruiser. Leave the shenanigans to the rest of the junk on the show.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I ask because IVP just released a blu ray covering his entire 2011. TWELVE HOURS of footage for just $8.99


OH. MY. GOD.


----------



## Brock

Didn't see this uploaded, thought it may interest some people. 

Toshiaki Kawada vs TAJIRI (03.28.2007)


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 1 (only second half)

-Naito vs Takahashi ***
-Goto vs Makabe ***
-Tanahashi vs Honma ***1/2
-Nakamura vs Shibata ***1/4
-Styles vs Okada ***1/2 (MOTN)


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 1*

*Fale vs. Ishii* Goliath vs. mini-Goliath. Someone please gif that headbutt *****
*Gallows vs. Benjamin* Tidy enough, but would it kill either of them to acknowledge the crowd? ****
*Anderson vs. Tenzan* Remarkable showing from Tenzan. Remember how washed-up he looked last year? ***1/2*
*Nagata vs. Kojima* Had its moments, but never really peaked. Slightly disappointing ***3/4*
*Yano vs. Suzuki* Never want to see these two square off again *1/2**
*Naito vs. Takahashi* Naito has his sympathy mojo back & was great here despite Yujiro's best efforts to kill him ****1/4*
*Goto vs. Makabe* Stiff as tree trunks. Evidently neither man fancies working the full tour ****1/2*
*Tanahashi vs. Honma* Deep-ended Honma is gonna receive a lot of love ****1/2*
*Nakamura vs. Shibata* Attrition over structure. I didn't connect with the style at all, but others will ***3/4*
*Okada vs. Styles* A refreshing lack of Bullet Club bs so far...oh wait, here comes Yujiro. A quality chess match, but I'm looking forward to Okada facing someone other than AJ ****3/4*

An enjoyable start to the G1, but nothing special. Still, it's early days. Crowd ran hot & cold, and was pretty much done after getting behind Honma (roll on Osaka & Korakuen)


----------



## seabs

*G1 Climax 2014 Day 1*

_So yeah I'm actually watching a New Japan show the day it happened. G1's falling at a pretty good time where I've got some time off in between work for a bit now so I'm gonna make an effort to watch most of it._

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Bad Luck Fale*
_Fale really isn't very good. He has a few things that he does but even them he doesn't really do well. He works as a supposed monster but he doesn't actually excel at anything a monster does. There's basically four types of monster heels. The really tall ones, the fat ones who never fall down, the super strong ones with feats of strength your average wrestler can't do and the surprisingly agile big guys. Fale is neither of them and he isn't really good at the basics either. I mean I guess the idea is he's a brute or a brawler but he's not. I mean if he at lost rarely bumped and rarely left his feet then he'd have something but he bumps like an Ishii would. They basically tried to work the Ishii/Archer match from the opener last year but it didn't work here because Fale goes down too easily and he sucks on offence. It seems like Ishii is doing the kickout at 1 as a signature spot in every match now which is just ugh. Not much of a match because Fale is so limited._

*Doc Gallows vs Shelton X Benjamin*
_The best part of this was the reminder that Shelton is still being billed as Shelton X Benjamin. Only significant part of this was when Gallows looked like he was about to kill babies with the guard rail. One of the pitfalls of G1 is you inevitably end up with heel vs heel matches that nobody cares about. I'm looking forward to Gallows in this because he's really good but yeah he's not that good that he's getting a good match out of Benjamin here. Benjamin looked worse than usual. Oh yeah another thing. I really despise the chair shots shtick from heels in New Japan. Like why do the refs never DQ them? Surely that isn't fair on all of the wrestlers who don't use chairs in their matches? Also Yano and Suzuki resort to cheating but distract the ref first. Here Gallows just unloads Benjamin with chair shots as the ref is counting them and it just makes everything look so bush league. _

*Karl Anderson vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan*
_Yeah I know I said I was making an effort to watch this G1 but I'm not wasting nearly 2 hours of my life watching Tenzan struggle through matches._

*Yuji Nagata vs Satoshi Kojima*
_Decent enough but on the whole unmemorable. _

*Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano*
_I think it was the 2011 G1 where they had that match was insanely fun. Since then it feels like they're continuously paired together and they've only really worked one match which is an extended version of this one. This was really too short to be anything good but I kinda dig the idea that Yano always finds a way past Suzuki in this match up._

*Tetsuya Naito vs Yujiro Takahashi*
_The only good thing Yujiro has ever done was bring some hot skanks out to ringside with him. He's beyond dull and really not that good in the ring. The spot where tries to suplex Naito on the ropes but fails miserably almost killing Naito looked horrendous and could have so easily been horrific. I've seen this match be average so many times before that I gave up about 5 minutes in because life is just too short to be watching average Yujiro matches._

*Hirooki Goto vs Togi Makabe*
_This was the best type of match for these two to work and enabled them to have about as good of a G1 match as they were going to have. Not much of a match but it had my interest for enough of it._

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomoaki Honma*
_Borderline great match. Honma's maybe the guy I'm looking most to sitting through 9 matches of for this G1. Because of his low standing on the New Japan hierarchy his matches always have something unique about them because Japanese crowds love a helpless underdog and Honma excels playing that role. Remember when he got cut from New Japan and had that abysmal heel run in All Japan. Yikes. So glad that Honma got back to the loveable job guy in New Japan anyway. Honma makes wrestling seem so simple. You have a guy who you beat and you beat and beat and never wins and shockingly this gets him over with the crowd when he keeps coming so close to picking up a big win only to fall just short. He's probably picking up a win or two in this G1 so all these almost big wins are gonna be worth something and lead to a smile on my face when he finally does win. Which is what pro wrestling is all about. Building to an outcome that the fan is happy about when you get there. That doesn't happen all that much on a major scale these days but building up to any Honma success will do me right now. Even just the mini struggles during the match told a better story than a lot of the more "epic" New Japan matches this year. Shit Honma's struggle for his running headbutt off the ropes was better than anything in them supposed great Ishii matches this year. Tanahashi chooses really odd times to heel it up against babyfaces. Mocking the shtick of a guy he's been teaming with all year felt odd but I guess it paid off when Honma did after to a big pop. Honma makes wrestling seem so simple but it's great because Honma probably got the biggest reactions of the show for patting his head and dropping his head to the mat. I'm not complaining about this not having a big finishing stretch but that's what was holding this back from being borderline great to a MOTYC. Yay for Honma!_

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Katsuyori Shibata*
_I've been hyped for this match since Shibata came back and was really excited up to a few minutes into this. Then the match was just... i don't know. Nothing? Like I was so ready to get invested in this match but I never did. I guess it's one thing when I go into modern matches fearing the worst because self fulfilling prophecy and all that but I wanted to be sucked in by this and I wasn't and that's all on the wrestlers here. With matches like Ishii/Naito that I don't like I can see why people would love them but if people start saying this was great then I'll be well and truly confused._

*Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles*
_Was this the best of their matches? Because besides the horrible Yujiro run in this was really good and better than the big New Japan main events I've seen this year. Most of the match actually felt pretty routine thinking back about it but it was still good enough to keep me interested throughout. That dive over the rail from Okada was amazing and caught me well off guard. AJ looked fine in this but it's super obvious he isn't a star in New Japan. I don't think the Bullet Club nonsense helps in that sense either because heel American pro graphs shtick isn't really how people get over to the level of the top stars in Japan. Match was going really well until that abysmal ref bump. Ref bumps generally suck but New Japan are still horrific at doing ref bumps. Then Yujiro runs in and it really serves no purpose. It felt exactly like the thinking was "well it's a Bullet Club match so someone has to run in". You know the Yujiro run in spot could work really well if this was the title match and they only run in when AJ is really in danger. If this keeps up like with Devitt last G1 then I'm going to struggle to enjoy AJ matches in New Japan past a certain point. Without it this might have been a low end MOTYC but that ref bump and run in really deflated me for a bit. It leads to nothing as well which just makes it even more annoying. Anyway this was very good and level with Tanahashi/Honma for MOTN. 

If you're not fussed about watching everything and just want to cherry pick your matches then watch Tanahashi/Honma and Okada/Styles._


----------



## KeepinItReal

You can dl a torrent of G1 Day 1 at rutracker.org Just register and use google chrome with google translator for the Russian. http://rutracker.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=1527 Can also dl Dragon Gate Kobe World Festival 2014, but that's one in a million Dragon Gate shows they put up. They have almost every recent NJPW show, I think.

Lol I was watching a shit ton of Dragon Gate to catch up for Kobe World, I didn't even realize the G1 came around. All of a sudden Styles/Okada and Nakamura/Shibata happened. I've been missing most of the NJPW stuff, so the G1 makes up for it.

Btw, try to be careful with spoilers, I think I've seen some already. I've done it fifty times, so I'm not one to criticize.


----------



## Ruiner87

I watched Shibata/Nakamura because I saw that some geek was raving about it. ***1/4. The no-selling of German suplexes and same-y counters kind of killed what could have been a great match.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

flag sabbath said:


> *G1 Day 1*
> *Fale vs. Ishii* Goliath vs. mini-Goliath. Someone please gif that headbutt *****


I remember there being quite a few of them, is this the one you were thinking of?


----------



## ZEROVampire

*DRAGON GATE: KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2014*

Dark Match: Mr. High Tension Kotoka vs Ryotzu Shimizu vs Shachihoko Boy *
Dark Match: We Are Team Veteran (K-ness & Super Shisa) vs Millenials (U-T (Yosuke Santa Maria) **1/4
We Are Team Veteran (Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Gamma) vs Uhaa Nation, "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa & Jushin Thunder Liger N/A
We Are Team Veteran (Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Gamma) vs Uhaa Nation, "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa & Jushin Thunder Liger **1/2
Jimmyz (Jimmy Kanda & Jimmy Kagetora) vs MAD BLANKEY (Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga) 1/2*
Open the Brave Gate Championship: Flamita (c) vs Dragon Kid ***1/4
Open the Triangle Gate Championship: MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong & Kzy) (c) vs Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Susumu & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) ***1/4
International Dream Match: CIMA & Matt Sydal vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & Ricochet) ***
Open the Twin Gate Championship: Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi) (c) vs Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) ****1/4 (_BEST Tag match in many years_)
Open the Dream Gate Championship: YAMATO (c) vs BxB Hulk ***1/2+ (_Ok, good but de Hulk's legs are inmortals?, Bad selling by Hulk_)

*Overall: 7.5 (Very Good show)*


----------



## smitlick

New Japan G1 Day 1

Tomohiro Ishii vs Bad Luck Fale ***1/4
Shelton Benjamin vs Doc Gallows **3/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Karl Anderson **3/4
Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata ***1/4
Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano DUD
Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito **3/4
Togi Makabe vs Hirooki Goto ***1/2
Tomoaki Honma vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Katsuyori Shibata ****1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles ***3/4

Fun first night.. Disappointed with Suzuki/Yano and the finish to Kojima/Nagata was disappointing as I felt like they were going to have a good match.


----------



## flag sabbath

ywall2breakerj said:


> I remember there being quite a few of them, is this the one you were thinking of?


Ha! Yeah, there were quite a few. I was on about the one to Fale's cheekbone where he involuntarily broke character for a split second & looked like a little kid who'd been blindsided by a football. Thanks, though!


----------



## NastyYaffa

Watched Styles/Okada & Shinskay/Shibata from G1 Climax. 

Styles/Okada I would give ***3/4. Good stuff, but their best match against each other is still their 2nd match, IMO.
Nakamura/Shibata gets ****. Loved it!


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 1 (7/21)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Tomohiro Ishii ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Shelton X Benjamin **1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Yuji Nagata vs Satoshi Kojima ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano *

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Togi Makabe ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomoaki Honma vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A; Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

Overall Grade: 7.75


----------



## Obfuscation

Finished the Climax's first night. Super duper pleased w/Naito vs Yujiro. A stale match has now been made fresh by product of both worker's recent stories within the company. Crowd was a lo more into it than I expected too. b/c last year they kind of struggled to get some heat & I don't blame 'em. But here it rocked. That's two great Yujiro singles matches since joining Bullet Club. By gum I think he is motivated. I love being the only guy ever to give Naito MOTN on a ton of New Japan events. That man has sympathy that reaches so high w/me. tbf, Tanahashi vs Honma is actually right up there w/it. Gosh, everything w/Honma is so simple & wonderful. It felt like they didn't even try hard and it was great.

New Japan stop booking Okada vs Styles now. I'm over it. The potential of finding chemistry out of a few neat looking moments isn't there. It's done. Three matches down and only one I can say was barely at a level of being "good". That being the second. Match here was ugh. I couldn't find any reason to care except when Okada did the awesome dive into the crowd. Cared about the result, but it was too little too late at that point.

Nakamura vs Shibata was up there in quality for my money. The timely no sells came off w/o a hitch, crowd ate up every intense sequence, tit for that counters off various signature strikes, & built around portions of a struggling chinlock w/elements of their MMA game scattered about. Loved it. Finish was one I felt like was pretty easy to call. But I have previous reservations about this entire tournament that I'-m sure plenty of others are right along side me w/.

Booking of Yano vs Suzuki ruled. It is passe now but they pulled the wool over our eyes & it got a great reaction. YTR ftw. Nagata vs Kojima was a hell of a sprint put on by the two vets. Kojima bringing back his bum knee later in the match was sweet. Something I didn't even expect. Strong stuff. Makabe vs Goto was what you expected. Supremely straightforward & Makabe's booming charisma helped put it over well. Ishii vs Fale was heaven. Big guy & egg guy underdog go smoosh & I cant stop smiling. Kudos to Tenzan for actually putting together a fine enough match vs Anderson. I had zero interest going in, but it worked. Tenzan put in effort to make sure he wouldn't look crummy, did his normal stuff, was over like usual & clicked w/Anderson in a harmless undercard match. Gallows unfortunately had one of only two matches on here that didn't work. Gallows vs Shelton was flat & heatless. Honestly, it isn't a surprise. Gallows next match is where I'm hoping he can impress more folks. B/C IT IS AGAINST TANAHASHI

Here's the breakdown:

_Loved/Liked:_
Naito vs Yujiro
Tanahashi vs Honma
Nakamura vs Shibata
Kojima vs Nagata
Ishii vs Fale
Makabe vs Goto
Suzuki vs Yano

_Ok/Acceptable:_
Anderson vs Tenzan

_Once is enough:_
Okada vs Styles
Gallows vs Benjamin


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

> Booking of Yano vs Suzuki ruled. It is passe now but they pulled the wool over our eyes & it got a great reaction.


This was so so good.

Loved every single match from Day 1. I think this match between Okada and AJ was their best match (including their ROH match). Shibata and Nakamura has been a dream match of mine since after WK VII and it lived up to the hype. Would love to see them go at it in an IWGP title match.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 1 (first half)

-Tomohiro Ishii vs Bad Luck Fale ***
-Shelton Benjamin vs Doc Gallows **
-Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Karl Anderson **1/2
-Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata **3/4
-Minoru Suzuki vs Toru Yano N/R

NJPW G1 Climax 24 Day 2

-Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2 (MOTN)
-Shelton Benjamin vs Bad Luck Fale **
-Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi **3/4
-Lance Archer vs Tetsuya Naito **1/4
-Yuji Nagata vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/4
-Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. ***
-AJ Styles vs Toru Yano **1/4
-Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***
-Togi Makabe vs Karl Anderson **1/4
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Doc Gallows **1/2


----------



## Groovemachine

Yeah Ishii/Kojima ruled. Kojima working over the neck was good, and Ishii took some hard bumps. Loved Ishii beefing up his chest to get out of the chops in the corner, like a boss. Slightly abrupt finish, but it didn't need to go any longer so I was more than happy with what we got. Fun stuff.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 2 (7/23)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Shelton X Benjamin **

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Lance Archer vs Tetsuya Naito **1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomoaki Honma vs Yuji Nagata ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr, vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Toru Yano **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Togi Makabe **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***

Overall Grade: 7.25


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Dragon Gate Kobe Pro Wrestling Festival 2014 

1. Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Gamma vs. Uhaa Nation, Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa, Jushin Thunder Lyger - **
2. Jimmy Kanda, Jimmy Kagetora vs. Mondai Ryu, Punch Tominaga - DUD
3. Flamita vs. Dragon Kid - *** 1/2
4. Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong, Kzy vs. Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Susumu, Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin - ***
5. Masato Yoshino, Ricochet vs. CIMA, Matt Sydal - **** 1/4
6. Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi vs. T-Hawk, Eita - ****
7. YAMATO vs. BxB Hulk - ***








NJPW G1 Climax 2014 

Day 1

Ishii vs. Bad Luck Fale - *** 1/4
Yujiro vs. Naito - ** 1/2
Makabe vs. Goto - ***
Tanahashi vs. Honma - *** 1/2
Shibata vs. Nakamura - ****
Okada vs. Styles - *** 3/4 (their best match so far)

Skipped the rest.


----------



## Super Sonic

Meltzer is definitely having an orgasm so far.

2014 G1 Climax Day 1:
Fale vs. Ishii ***1/2
Gallows vs. Benjamin *1/2
Anderson vs. Tenzan ***1/4
Nagata vs. Kojima ***1/2
Yano vs. Suzuki *
Naito vs. Takahashi ***1/2
Goto vs. Makabe ***3/4
Tanahashi vs. Honma ****1/4
Nakamura vs. Shibata ****1/2
Styles vs. Okada ****1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

His orgasm for Naito vs Yujiro is much weaker than mine. But the last two matches. Oh Dave.


----------



## Super Sonic

*Taue vs. Marufuji - March 5, 2006*

Really good storytelling in this one. Marufuji went after the legend's left leg early to limit his already limited mobility, but Taue would still be able to withstand some dropkicks to the chest. After Marufuji put in more work on him, Taue could no longer hold his ground and was actually getting thrown around by the much smaller Marufuji. Taue would rely on his old man strength to get him out of jams, such as just throwing Mongolian chomps and relying on his various chokeslams. My favorite moment of the match was when Marufuji blocked one while falling, absorbing the bump since Taue didn't get the full impact on it, and getting a cross armbreaker on Taue.

It became crystal clear that the upset was coming, and it certainly did when Taue found himself stunned standing after a blocked Flux Capacitor, getting a superkick and being pinned clean with a pumphandle small package. This was a simple story, one that NOAH unfortunately didn't go on to fully utilize with its booking: Marufuji had too much speed, just enough experience, and significantly less wear-and-tear, and that is what got him this landmark victory. ***1/2

*KENTA vs. Kobashi - March 5, 2006*

Excellent match as expected at the time. KENTA got to show the first-ballot HOFer just how much he had improved when they lost went at it in singles a year and a half earlier. In this one, he was able to inflict early damage on Kobashi's left arm, and he was it on like white on rice with numerous arm-bars and even kicking at it while the former GHC Heavyweight Champ was down.

Kobashi's selling of the left arm was mostly exceptional, constantly clutching at it after landing some bombs with it. I really appreciated that KENTA escaped Kobashi's stupid head-dropping suplexes, showing that he had done an effective job on him AND showing how much he had improved since their previous encounter. Mid-way in the match when Kobashi got control, his right arm was in such pain that he used his left-arm to deliver a DDT to the then-GHC Jr. Champ on the apron.

But despite how much better KENTA had become, no matter how much damage he had inflicted, even with him holding a championship that was considered prestigious at the time, he could not slay the icon. Kobashi was able to suck up whatever pain he had, with enough time passing in the match for it to slightly heal, and deliver his trademark bombs, including the corner Kobashi chops followed by Polish Hammer, plus his half-nelson and sleeper suplexes. Great match to elevate KENTA and remind the fans exactly one year after his epic GHC Heavyweight Title reign had concluded, Kobashi was still the shit. ****


----------



## seabs

*Ishii/Kojima was great and MOTT so far. Them going for a 10 minute sprint really helped them work this match because had it gone over 15-20 minutes then it just wouldn't have worked as well. Ishii's selling is really superb. This just worked. Archer/Naito looked like it was going to be great but then Archer's control segment got cut off WAY too soon and they spent half the match doing a back and forth finish which was ok. Archer's control segment was ruling though. Just killing Naito and more importantly really getting Naito over with the live crowd which could have made the finishing stretch super fun if they had given Archer the due time to really build the heat up. Archer's got a great knack of doing pretty basic moves but making them look so viscous. I know this probably sounds petty but I wish Archer would go back to black pants because the flash sliver pants just don't suit his character at all. Nagata/Honma was really good and as good as anything on Day 1 imo. Honma matches this G1 are always going to be a blast but his routine is just so fun and so easy to get behind. Him being the job guy of this G1 works in his favour too because it's going to be amazing when he does get a win and his matches aren't going to get stupid at the end. There's a few fluffed spots but they recover from them really well. Nagata's ok in this but works as a good foil to lay into Honma and get him fired up at the right times for hope spots. Davey/Nakamura was kinda disappointing after their match last year but it was still good. I thought this match suffered from Ishii/Kojima and Honma/Nagata having such high paced matches in the first half of the show. AJ/Yano was fun despite Yano not really being agile enough for many of AJ's spots. Anderson/Makabe was good but oddly short. Makabe selling the jaw throughout the match carrying over from the Goto match made this what it was. Just something as simple as clutching at your jaw can make moves look so much better and actually build some sympathy and desire for Makabe to come back. Gallows/Tanahashi was what you'd expect but nothing more. The chair shtick is pissing me off already with Gallows because it's so stupid that he can do all that without getting DQ'd and other's don't do it at all. At least do it once behind the ref's back. 

Matches so far to check out:

****
Kojima/Ishii

***3/4
Tanahashi/Honma
Styles/Okada
Nagata/Honma*


----------



## ROHFan19

I really thought Yujiro/Naito was a lot of fun from Day 1, but other than that agree with your list Seabs. Not expecting too much great stuff from Day 3 either. 

And also agreed...those silver pants that Archer was wearing made me lol. I still want to know why Honma wasn't apart of the tournament before Ibushi's injury though. Guy is superb.


----------



## seabs

*Because he's lower in the hierarchy than anyone else in it. The only guy I'd probably sub out is Tenzan but Tenzan is still seen as somewhat of a star over there despite barely being able to go for one match anymore let alone 9. I guess Benjamin doesn't need to be there either but they obviously like him so it's easy to see why Honma wasn't in. *


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 2*

*Ishii vs. Kojima* OTT tough-guy sprint, enhanced by the lively crowd ****1/2*
*Fale vs. Benjamin* Surprisingly decent while it lasted, but WTF?! ****
*Goto vs. Takahashi* Yujiro must've dreamt about parading his lazy heel schtick before a crowd this easy *****
*Archer vs. Naito* Tremendous stuff from Naito as the fiery whipping boy. Nice space pants Lance *****
*Nagata vs. Honma* This elite round robin business is easy money for Honma ****1/4*
*Nakamura vs. Smith Jr.* KES have been hitting the pies, huh? Strong methodical beatdown from Davey Boy, well sold & repelled by Shinskay ****1/2*
*Styles vs. Yano* Guess what, AJ? YTR isn't taking your G1 credentials very seriously. Time to teach the pudgy hobgoblin an Impact-quality lesson ***1/4*
*Okada vs. Tenzan* I cringed when Tenzan was announced, but he's already atoned brilliantly for last year's embarrassment, as the never say die vet with something to prove ****1/2*
*Anderson vs. Makabe* Another engaging flurry. Anderson doesn't receive enough credit for his role in regularly elevating NJ's homegrown heroes ***3/4*
*Tanahashi vs. Gallows* Doc's first solo opportunity to shine & this is the best he can muster? The weakest Tana match I've seen. ***1/4*

A super-solid card, fun viewing from start to finish. The fans were the stars of the show - it's just a shame there was nothing mind-blowing for them to tear the roof off to.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ok, someone has to make a gif out of the Archer ultra stiff, asshole fueled chokeslam on Naito. 

I flipped out. Match fuckin ruled.


----------



## Martyn

Seabs said:


> *Because he's lower in the hierarchy than anyone else in it. The only guy I'd probably sub out is Tenzan but Tenzan is still seen as somewhat of a star over there despite barely being able to go for one match anymore let alone 9. I guess Benjamin doesn't need to be there either but they obviously like him so it's easy to see why Honma wasn't in. *


I was suprised that they included Tenzan this year, but his last two matches with Anderson and Okada were decent and I really enjoyed them. He cannot put a Kojima or Nagata level of matches anymore, but his first two apperances of G1 24 has proved, that he still can go. He's also over as fuck. Nobody was chanting for Okada at their last match. Plus this years tournament has an easy schedule (compared to the last years) with 9 matches spread for over 20 days, so I dont know whats your problem with him. Can't wait for his match with AJ Styles.

Honma's had some yakuza issues in the past and he was even fired because of it not so long ago, so maybe thats the reason why he wasnt originally included.


----------



## Vårmakos

Gallows' pants - ****


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Davey Boy Smith Jr. has got to be the most frustrating guy to watch in the G1. He'll show signs of greatness, then start doing his retarded heel shtick that gets zero heat, then do nothing, occasionally pull off something visually impressive but leave it at that before going into the finishing stretch and the *GASP* "How did he kick out of my Tiger Suplex? It's not like anyone's ever done that before!". At least Shibata forcing him to do shoot matwork again should be fun.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Super Sonic said:


> Meltzer is definitely having an orgasm so far.
> 
> 2014 G1 Climax Day 1:
> Fale vs. Ishii ***1/2
> Gallows vs. Benjamin *1/2
> Anderson vs. Tenzan ***1/4
> Nagata vs. Kojima ***1/2
> Yano vs. Suzuki *
> Naito vs. Takahashi ***1/2
> Goto vs. Makabe ***3/4
> Tanahashi vs. Honma ****1/4
> Nakamura vs. Shibata ****1/2
> Styles vs. Okada ****1/2


I assume those are his ratings. Pretty big ratings but I gave both Naka/Shibat and Okada/Styles ****1/4+ and then Tanahashi/Honma **** and was high on the rest to. It was a great show.

Day 2 wasn't as great. Everything delivered until the last two matches. A poorish Tanahashi match?


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

Love the write-up so far Seabs, good stuff.

Honma has been pretty fantastic so far, was hoping for him to get a chance to shine in the G-1 this year after that match with Ishii, so it's nice he made it in, even if it was out of pure happenstance.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Yet to watch Day 2 


From Day 1 though:


Tanahashi vs Honma: ****
Okada vs Styles: ***3/4
Nagata vs Kojima: ***1/2
Naito vs Yujiro: ***1/2
Goto vs Makabe: ***1/4
Nakamura vs Shibata: ***1/4


----------



## Rah

Meltzer said:


> I was so impressed with AJ Styles in this match [against Okada] as a ring general. And as an athletic performer that goes without saying. He's always been that. You know, it's funny because Hunter didn't even want him, right? And it's like, my god. Have an open mind. There is nobody in WWE, maybe Daniel Bryan, that's on the level that AJ was here. Seth Rollins on his best day isn't as good as AJ was here. They don't need him, but boy did they make a mistake not going after him. A guy that can work like that? My god. It was great.



Hilarious unfounded hyperbole aside, the crowd was clapping for some of his shtick because they didn't understand. Styles may be a good/great US worker, but he is not transitioning well, if that match is anything to go by. You can be the greatest mechanics wrestler in existence, but if you cannot play to your current audience, then it's worthless.


----------



## seabs

*Yeah Dave overrates New Japan these days so much there's no real credibility to what he says because it's so hyperbolic. AJ definitely wrestled the match very well but he looked out of place being the #1 guy (kayfabe wise as champ at least) in New Japan because he's just not close to being a star there. Not yet at least. But then again the whole win the big prize in your debut angle barely ever gets anyone over. He'd definitely be more over without this Bullet Club nonsense if he could just go out and be AJ Styles because that would at least get the crowd behind him as a babyface. But he's a gaijin so he has to be a heel with Bullet Club hahahahaha.*


----------



## Joshi Judas

Wow talk about hyperbole :lmao

I liked AJ in that match but the praise is so over the top.


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate "15TH ANNIVERSARY KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2014", 20.07.2014

-Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii & Gamma vs Jushin Thunder Liger , Uhaa Nation & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa *1/4
-Jimmy Kanda & Jimmy Kagetora vs Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga DUD
-Open The Brave Gate Championship Match: Flamita (c) vs Dragon Kid ***1/4
-Open The Triangle Gate Championship Match: Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong & Kzy (c) vs Genki Horiguchi HAGee.Mee!!, Jimmy Susumu & Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin ***1/4
-Masato Yoshino & Ricochet vs CIMA & Matt Sydal **3/4 
-Open The Twin Gate Unified Tag Team Championship Match: Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa (c) vs T-Hawk & Eita ****
-Open The Dream Gate Championship Match: YAMATO (c)vs BxB Hulk **3/4


----------



## smitlick

New Japan 23/7/14
Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4
Bad Luck Fale vs Shelton Benjamin **1/2
Yujiro Takahashi vs Hirooki Goto ***
Lance Archer vs Tetsuya Naito **
Tomoaki Honma vs Yuji Nagata ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr ***3/4
AJ Styles vs Toru Yano **1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***
Karl Anderson vs Togi Makabe **3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Doc Gallows **3/4

Fine show with everything being watchable but nothing beside DBS/Nak was worth watching again. Didnt feel Ishii/Kojima like everyone else and seemed to have enjoyed Nak/DBS way more than everyone else. The DBS/Nak match felt like the only match where I didnt know who would actually win the match. Tenzan and Kojima though have performed far and away better than I expected either of them to.


----------



## KeepinItReal

http://easyleech.net/files_2/rs/NJPW.2014.07.25.G1.Climax.24.Day.3.iPPV.flv

You can watch G1 Day 3 here. Also, if you hit ctrl+s or "save page as," it'll save the .flv file itself.


----------



## Obfuscation

Who wouldn't expect Kojima to perform well? Dude has always been reliable. Tenzan starting off well, k, now that's a surprise worth plugging.


----------



## darkclaudio

Pro-Wrestling ZERO1 - "FIRE FESTIVAL 2014" 13/07/2014

Fire Festival - Block B: Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs Kazuki Hashimoto **1/2
Fire Festival - Block A: Yusaku Obata vs Ryouji Sai ***
Fire Festival - Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto vs Hideki Suzuki ***1/2
Fire Festival - Block B: Demon Ueda vs Kohei Sato *1/2
Fire Festival - Block B: Masato Tanaka vs Shinjiro Otani ***1/2 (MOTN)


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 24", 25.07.2014 (Day 3)

-Doc Gallows vs Tomoaki Honma **1/2
-Lance Archer vs Karl Anderson **1/4
-Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/2
-Shelton Benjamin vs Tomohiro Ishii **1/2
-Tetsuya Naito vs Toru Yano **1/2
-Davey Boy Smith vs Katsuyori Shibata **3/4
-Bad Luck Fale vs Yuji Nagata **
-Hirooki Goto vs Minoru Suzuki **1/2
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2 (MOTN/MOTT)
-Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe ***1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 3 (7/25)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Tomoaki Honma **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Lance Archer **1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shelton X Benjamin vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Toru Yano vs Tetsuya Naito ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Katsuyori Shibata ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Yuji Nagata **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs Hirooki Goto ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe ***1/2

Overall Grade: 7.25


----------



## Ruiner87

"Muh New Japan"

This expression indicates Meltzer's confusion or lack of understanding. When confronted with proof of no-selling or over-reliance on high spots, Meltzer mumbles "muh New Japan" or, "muh New Japan muthafucka". This is usually followed by fellating Ric Flair or styling his mullet.


----------



## Obfuscation

Night Two of the Climax had three matches I absolutely loved. Compared to four matches on Night One I happened to think were great, but only two would be in competition w/the three on the second outing. Night Two also benefited from a more consistent card. Not quite filled w/the successful powerhouses as a few days prior, but consistent all the same. w/o a bad match in the bunch. Nakamura vs Smith had a disconnection for me thinking it was anything good or special, but it was certainly far from bad. Unlike Night one failing for me w/Gallows vs Shelton & Okada vs Styles. True, Yano didn't bump smoothly for Styles offense at times, but that was as fun as I would have hoped. EASILY my favorite Styles match since joining the New Japan roster. Honma in the Climax is as stellar two matches in as I would have hoped. He's this year's Ishii. Whom still is an underdog in the right matches, yes, but no doubt Honma's role in that position is much more defined. Expected something stronger from Tana vs Gallows, but it was still good. Surprised by the length. Then again, I was on a few matches here. Anderson vs Makabe & Archer vs Naito both only in the 8 minute bracket. Def good for what they were - especially Archer vs Naito - however, you know more time could have assisted. Archer didn't even work the first show either. Eh. Oh well. I can't complain about the match. Oh, & idc, Goto vs Yujiro was a super blast. Kudos for Fale vs Shelton being a rock em sock em sprint too. lightyears better than their New Japan Cup match. Booking was...peculiar. They really like having Shelton on the roster.

_Loved/Liked:_
Ishii vs Kojima
Nagata vs Honma
Naito vs Archer
Okada vs Tenzan
Goto vs Yujiro
Yano vs Styles
Tanahashi vs Gallows
Makabe vs Anderson
Fale vs Benjamin

_Acceptable/Fine:_
Nakamura vs Smith

Also, the highlight of the night:


----------



## smitlick

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Who wouldn't expect Kojima to perform well? Dude has always been reliable. Tenzan starting off well, k, now that's a surprise worth plugging.


Honestly didn't expect Kojima to have had such enjoyable matches considering his age and how he often isn't exactly involved in longer singles matches nowadays.


----------



## EmbassyForever

2014 G1 Climax Day 1:
Fale vs. Ishii ***1/2
Gallows vs. Benjamin *
Anderson vs. Tenzan **3/4
Nagata vs. Kojima **1/2
Yano vs. Suzuki N/R
Naito vs. Takahashi ***3/4
Goto vs. Makabe Skipped
Tanahashi vs. Honma ***1/2
Nakamura vs. Shibata ***1/4
Styles vs. Okada ***3/4


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 2014", 26.07.2014 (Day 4)

-Toru Yano vs Hirooki Goto NR
-Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/2 
-Togi Makabe vs Lance Archer **1/2
-Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata ***1/4
-Tetsuya Naito vs AJ Styles ***1/2
-Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson ***1/4
-Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4 (MOTN/MOTT)

Top 5 G1 Climax 24 Matches

1. Shibata vs Tanahashi - Day 4
2. Ishii vs Honma - Day 4
3. Styles vs Naito - Day 4
4. Kojima vs Tanahashi - Day 3
5. Makabe vs Okada - Day 3


----------



## NastyYaffa

Seen some people give Shibata vs. Tanahashi full 5-stars? Was it really that good?


----------



## seabs

*Day 3 was pretty bad. Do yourselves a favour and just skip to the last 2 matches. Gallows/Honma was a real let down. I've seen a few Gallows matches as I've caught up on New Japan over the last few days along with his G1 matches and he hasn't really impressed like I know he can. Even in comparison to his run in NOAH doing a similar thing his New Japan run has been nowhere near as good from what I've seen. Anderson/Archer was whatever. Heel vs Heel matches rarely excel in G1. Archer is so good right now but he never seems to get the singles matches where he can show it and get a great match out of it sadly. Tenzan/Yujiro was MOTN. Hehe. Ishii/Benjamin was no good which takes some doing for an Ishii match of any length with anyone. Shelton should at least work babyface so he can his big spots that get a pop out of the crowd. Without them he's absolutely useless and nobody seems to care about him unless he leaps up really high. He didn't leap up very high in this. Poor Naito. Getting sliced open from reckless chair shots is not what you want at any point but especially not this early into a G1. Yano really struggles with these matches where his shtick or the crowd can't carry it. Great that someone finally scouted the ref assisted low blow though. Smith/Shibata was such a let down. Smith seems to have really regressed since last year. Nothing he's done since last G1 seemed worth even checking out as I was catching up and his 2 2014 G1 matches he's looked a shadow of what he did just 12 months ago. He even looks like he's in worse shape too. The way they worked up to that finish was poor too in terms of structuring the match. Fale is going on my skip list now along with Tenzan and Yujiro. For some reason I thought him and Nagata might have something worth watching based on their history but boy I was wrong. How people can think Fale is anything more than terrible is beyond me. Suzuki/Goto was a nothing match. It feels like forever since Suzuki was even in anything good and here he almost seemed unmotivated/going through the motions. At least Goto's roll up looks swanky. Tanahashi/Kojima and Okada/Makabe were both meh too but I can see why people would dig them. No story or reason to really get invested in them from my end. Probably hurt them that the rest of the show before them was so poor mind. *


----------



## Miguel De Juan

I didn't think Day 3 was bad. I thought the shows have been Great to solid so far. But wrestling is entirely subjective. 

I am left wonder why people spend so much time mocking Meltzer's personal tastes when wrestling is about personal preference. The guy has spent most of his life writing about the business and covering wrestling to use hyperbole to completely dismiss his opinion. I am not saying you have to agree with him but it kinds of silly to dismiss him off hand.

I digress. Different strokes for different folks.


----------



## Brock

http://www.dailymotion.com/original_bonski

Uploading all the G1 matches seperate.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Day 3 was pretty brutal. Every match but the two main events were so meh. D/L'ing Day 4 atm and expect lots of good things here. Really fun tournament so far and as Hayley said, "lots of peculiar booking so far". Come to think of it, Yano's match was pretty damn fun. His "BREAK BREAK BREAK!!!" when Naito was 6-7 feet away from him was awesome and very PWGesque.


----------



## Lazyking

Miguel De Juan said:


> I didn't think Day 3 was bad. I thought the shows have been Great to solid so far. But wrestling is entirely subjective.
> 
> I am left wonder why people spend so much time mocking Meltzer's personal tastes when wrestling is about personal preference. The guy has spent most of his life writing about the business and covering wrestling to use hyperbole to completely dismiss his opinion. I am not saying you have to agree with him but it kinds of silly to dismiss him off hand.
> 
> I digress. Different strokes for different folks.


I think because Meltzer's opinion reaches more people then say someone on here amd its taken more seriously. Although I think that's going away just a bit.


----------



## seabs

*Day 4 was the best day so far by a long shot. Skipped the first 3 matches because Fale, Yujiro and Tenzan so can't comment on them. *

*Toru Yano vs Hirooki Goto*
_


Spoiler: result



So this was essentially a DUD of a match because of the outcome. However I really like that Yano was won 2 matches like this now for people to really buy into something ending a match it really needs to end at least one match and Yano's ended 2 matches in no time so you bet your ass when he goes to finish a match off early again but fails the reaction is gonna be infinitely bigger than it would normally be. Plus with Yano it fits nicely with his character and you're best doing the short match with Yano than someone likely to have a great match that people will upset at being robbed of. Not that Yano can't have great matches but they're a different kind of great and need to be in the right environment. This was never gonna be great so doing this finish here at least got something good out of the match.


_
*Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma*
_Not quite as great as their 1st match but only really because they don't work quite as big of a match here yet it's still ALMOST as good. Premise of the match is the same but it in no way feels like a copy of the 1st match. Usually I hate them strike battles because they're meaningless but with these two they make everything mean something and a chop battle turns into a mini victory for Honma. Ishii's selling is always superb but it's always 100% worth mentioning how great it is too. This is benefited a lot from Honma being 0-3 so far and essentially being a jobber in New Japan because everyone wants to see him win so much and few more so than me which means I'm immediately invested in the match and the outcome which helps the match a lot. That's all on Ishii and Honma being routinely awesome and having such great characters though along with the New Japan booking creating such a clear roster hierarchy that allows a Honma to be a huge underdog by default. The near falls are just amazingly well done but they mean something because of the build up to them provided from the characters and the story told throughout the match. Honma feeling so close to victory and Ishii having to fight through everything just to stay alive let alone possibly even win. Ishii almost fluffs the powerbomb spot but I love how he turns a potential negative into a new mini story by selling the effects on his body that wouldn't allow him to lift Honma up properly and then having another struggle just to get Honma up. Thank the lord for Ibushi getting knocked out so we could get this again. Ishii and Honma are so far away the 2 best wrestlers outside of WWE right now so it's no shock 2 of my top 5 matches this year came from both of them together. Just a fantastic match._

*Togi Makabe vs Lance Archer*
_I remember thinking when New Japan first brought Archer in "I wonder how good they'll make him". Every gaijin who comes over has improved somewhat (ok Shelton is a lost cause) but the improvement in Archer is still amazing. It's a shame he didn't work like this when he was in WWE because he could have been huge. He's great in New Japan but there always feels to be this disconnect between him and the crowd. Almost like they don't buy him as someone to really be feared. Although it doesn't help when he isn't booked as the strongest monster with a lack of singles credibility. It's a shame he doesn't even look like getting a good singles push because if you give that credibility that comes with wins then I'm sure the crowd will start tuning into his matches more than they are right now. This is the ideal type of match for Makabe where he can just slug it out with an another heavyweight so this was naturally good but still on the lower end of what you'd expect from this pairing I'd say. Decent match but forgettable all the same. Also, LANCE ARCHER WILL PICK A FIGHT NO MATTER HOW SMALL YOU ARE. WATCH OUT BABIES. _

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata*
_This pairing usually delivers and here was no different expect this time you have a bit more heat which makes for a better match. Just once I'd love to see Nakamura land that stomp he always misses at the start of matches. Just stamp someone's face in just once. Only real negative I had with this is that it seemed to go pass its peak with a few minutes left and died a little until the final minute so the first 2 of those last 3 or so minutes weren't on the level of most of the rest of the match which is a bad time for a dip._

*AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito*
_Thank you very much Yano for opening Naito's head up yesterday because that made this match better than it was going to be. Stars off alright but then Naito's cut opens back up which sparks AJ up a level as he goes to attacking the cut in a really viscous way. It's not really the AJ you'd expect but he adapts really well to Naito's cut opening back up and it really takes the match up another notch because suddenly AJ's control segment feels that tad more viscous and the crowd get that bit more behind Naito. Teased top rope Styles Clash was awesome and I swear the arena would have been praying for Naito's survival if it had hit based on their reaction just to Naito falling into place for it. Slightly better than Nagata/Nakamura._

*Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson*
_This was a real disappointment for me. For some reason it just didn't click and it was missing something/anything to get me invested into the match. That sucked because these two normally have great matches together and even the title match last year with Anderson as the heel was great. Anderson really needs to start picking up just the odd win with his secondary signature moves like the Bernard Driver or the top rope neckbreaker because it's almost becoming a parody at this point how he never wins with them but always looked shocked when they get kicked out of. G1 is a perfect time to win with something other than your finisher too against a guy like Tenzan._

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata*
_Aww man I really wanted this to be great and you can see they have a great match in them because it just didn't come out here. Well it did in parts but not continually throughout the match sadly. It felt like everytime they started the opening of a story they cut it off straight away. Shibata looks like he's about to go HAM on Tanahashi and he gets cut off just a segment later. Tanahashi looks like he's getting a control segment and it only last 90 seconds. Shibata looks like he's going to punch Tanahashi's lights out and the next moment he's down himself. I was just begging for one of them to be told throughout the match and for more than just a minute or two. Ideally the one where Shibata goes HAM on Tanahashi of course. Then they start to go home but it doesn't really feel like anything consequential has happened in the match. In Ishii/Honma the earlier stages really set up Honma coming out on top of the strike battles and killing Ishii's neck which made the finishing stretch and the near falls so dramatic. That was just lacking here. 3rd time lucky perhaps? Give me a match based around Shibata continually hitting backslaps like THAT one and you'll have a brilliant match. This wasn't that brilliant match though._


----------



## smitlick

New Japan 25/7/14
Doc Gallows vs Tomoaki Honma **1/2
Lance Archer vs Karl Anderson **3/4
Yujiro Takahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **
Tomohiro Ishii vs Shelton Benjamin ***1/4
Tetsuya Naito vs Toru Yano ***
Katsuyori Shibata vs Davey Boy Smith Jr ***
Bad Luck Fale vs Yuji Nagata ***
Minoru Suzuki vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4
Satoshi Kojima vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2
Togi Makabe vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

New Japan 26/7/14
Satoshi Kojima vs Bad Luck Fale ***1/2
Shelton Benjamin vs Davey Boy Smith Jr **1/2
Minoru Suzuki vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **
Toru Yano vs Hirooki Goto DUD
Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma ****
Lance Archer vs Togi Makabe ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata ***3/4
AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2
Karl Anderson vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata ***3/4 

Day 3 was ok nothing worth going crazy over but Day 4 was a definite improvement. Meltzers going to go crazy over Day 4 especially after he called Day 1 a possible show of the year.


----------



## Lazyking

Is Yano the Santino of New Japan? He annoys me the same way Santino did but isn't really funny unlike Santino.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Watched some of Day 4 of G1 Climax.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma - **** - Great match!
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata - ***1/4 - Pretty awesome match. 
AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito - **** - Loved it! Definitely AJ's best match in Japan, so far.
Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson - *** - Disappointed. Expected more.
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - ***3/4 Awesome match.


----------



## flag sabbath

Slowly starting to fall behind on the G1, partly because of work & partly because the first eight matches of Day 3 were throwaway. Nothing terrible, nothing memorable - a TV-quality undercard which completely sapped my will to plough on.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 4 (7/26)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Shelton X Benjamin **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Toru Yano vs Hirooki Goto N/R

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma ****

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Lance Archer vs Togi Makabe ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito ***3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi **** (_Match of the Tournament so far_)

Overall Grade: 8.5


----------



## Hera

NastyYaffa said:


> Seen some people give Shibata vs. Tanahashi full 5-stars? Was it really that good?


Just for the wrestling? No.
For the story the match told and the details behind certain things? Yes.

It all depends on what you are looking for out of a match. The storytelling was incredible and worthy of match of the year. The wrestling was really good but not on the level of other things on the show.


----------



## Obfuscation

Day Three certainly was flat in most areas, but the overall work was generally solid. Really dug Shibata vs Smith & Okada vs Makabe was great. I love their chemistry & it pulled through for me again. Yano busting open Naito was scary from an "oh please don't be injured early or at all" standpoint, but it added something more to the match for me. Gave Naito more will to come back from. Honma vs Gallows was solid, but def a big let down. None of which was at fault of Honma, btw. Dammit Gallows, where is the great stuff? Sad face. Weird how I'm still on the side of "liking it" to an extent for my round up list, however I can't shake off how this really should have been much, much better. Ishii had a major drop down. Match vs Shelton was much too back and forth for me to care. It was "fine" or whatever, but eh. I don't like matches like that unless you have BOTH who can do it well. Shelton couldn't. I was pleased w/Nagata schooling Fale as the determined vet. Fale is & has been dominate this entire year, but being more than a big hoss wasn't enough to dominate this match. Yuji can do that character of a dominating guy _(asshole in the right situations)_ well. That alone is what sold me on the match. Wasn't great or particularly really good, but was good in my book. I enjoyed myself. Suzuki vs Goto, bleh. When that is leaving me more uninspired than Yujiro vs Tenzan, you've done something wrong. Latter was about as bland as expected, but again another Tenzan match that trumps over actually being bad. Success? Suppose so. Archer vs Anderson was solid w/a decent foundation as I noticed Archer's knee looked like he hurt it a tad vs Naito. Problem was, not enough emphasis to be special & while there was actual effort from both to play to the crowd, it wasn't defined well enough. Anderson has a good energy & likes to play to the fans, but he really shouldn't while he's in what is meant to be the heelest of heel factions in the company. Leave it up to Archer in the heel vs heel matches. Tana vs Kojima was good, if a bit of a let down. Last year had the flubbed up finish yet was still much better as an overall match. This time I couldn't quite get fully invested as I wanted to. Their bare minimum still registers better than others. They're lucky in that regard. 

_Loved/Liked:_
Okada vs Makabe
Shibata vs Smith
Naito vs Yano
Nagata vs Fale

_Acceptable/Fine:_
Tanahashi vs Kojima
Honma vs Gallows
Anderson vs Archer

_Once is enough:_
Tenzan vs Yujiro
Ishii vs Shelton
Suzuki vs Goto


----------



## Cabel

Whenever Kojima does that charging attack in the corner, what is it that he and the crowd shout?


----------



## Japanese Puroresu

Day 4, Honma vs Ishii was dope as hell. Probably 4 Stars all around. A few mistakes but it got the crowd hot and was entertaining.

Shibata vs Godahashi is *** 3/4. It's really good, fell flat and some of the spots were dragged on for a little too long.

Karu Andusan vs Okada was *** the ending did it, everything else in the match was average.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NOAH ARK YAMAKASA 7/21*

*GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima ***1/2

Bad Crowd


----------



## I ♥ KEMONITO

I loved Okada/Makabe up untill that finishing sequence. Excellent match up untill that german suplex sharade.


----------



## flag sabbath

Sorted, cheers!


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

I must be crazy but my MOTT so far is Nagata/Nakamura. A dream match-up for me. I've been into NJPW for the past 3.5 years and don't recall them ever having a match.

Shibata/Tanahashi was great. But five stars? Come on.


----------



## Martyn

Quick G1 24 ratings from first 4 nights:

NJPW "G1 Climax" 21/07/14

Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson (***)
Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe (*** 1/4)
Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma (*** 1/4)
Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata (*** 3/4)
Block B: AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada (*** 1/2)

NJPW "G1 Climax" 23/07/14

Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii (****)
Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi (*** 3/4)
Block B: Lance Archer vs. Tetsuya Naito (***)
Block A: Davey Boy Smith, Jr. vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (****)
Block B: AJ Styles vs. Toru Yano (*** 1/2)
Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada (*** 1/2)

NJPW "G1 Climax" 25/07/14

Block A: Doc Gallows vs. Tomoaki Honma (***)
Block A: Shelton X Benjamin vs. Tomohiro Ishii (***)
Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki (***)
Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima (*** 1/4)
Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe (*** 1/2)

NJPW "G1 Climax" 26/07/14

Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki (***)
Block A: Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii (**** 1/2)
Block B: Lance Archer vs. Togi Makabe (*** 1/4)
Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata (*** 3/4)
Block B: AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito (****)
Block B: Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada (*** 1/4+)
Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata (*** 3/4)

Superb tournament so far.


----------



## almostfamous

So Day 4 is probably the best PPV of the year so far. Four unreal matches.

Honma vs Ishii **** 1/4
Styles vs Naito **** 3/4
Anderson vs Okada *** 3/4
Tanahashi vs Shibata **** 1/4


----------



## Martyn

Thought its gonna be difficult to go trough all those days, but I just cant wait for the next shows!!


----------



## Toonami4Life

If Naito and Styles had gotten five or so more extra minutes, (Why couldn't they have Yano and Goto some other day did they really need that to happen) I bet they could've had a real classic. I wanna see them face each other for the belt. And Styles needs to bring back The Calf Killer if he wants to win as everyone seems to know how to block the clash.


----------



## Toonami4Life

Watching the fantastic Honma/Ishii match you could see Honma on the verge of breaking down after the brainbuster didn't put Ishii down and wondering what was it he had to do in order to win as he had hit him with everything.


----------



## vault21

Still no day 4 on XWT :westbrick


----------



## Obfuscation

Dailymotion, dawg.


----------



## flag sabbath

vault21 said:


> Still no day 4 on XWT :westbrick


Dude, it's up twice - .mkv or .mp4 - has been for 40+hrs.


----------



## I ♥ KEMONITO

Toonami4Life said:


> If Naito and Styles had gotten five or so more extra minutes


If Ishii/Honma had gotten more time they could have equaled Styles/Naito if not surpassed it, But Styles/Naito was excellent, best match of the g1 so far.

Day 4 great line up delivered a great show all around.

I could not connect with Tanahashi vs Shibata at all, idk if something is wrong with me?
Don't know if there really is a tension between Nagata and Nakamura, from there past maybe? I sort of felt that something was there.


----------



## vault21

flag sabbath said:


> Dude, it's up twice - .mkv or .mp4 - has been for 40+hrs.


k, found it, I'm retarded


----------



## Good News Barrett

Great tourney so far.

Ishii, Shibata and AJ have been the MVP


----------



## flag sabbath

Okada and Naito are both having much better G1's than they did last year. Be interesting to see what they can conjure up today.


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

I ♥ KEMONITO;37398537 said:


> I could not connect with Tanahashi vs Shibata at all, idk if something is wrong with me?
> Don't know if there really is a tension between Nagata and Nakamura, from there past maybe? I sort of felt that something was there.


Thought the same about both. I enjoyed Tanahashi/Shibata more than Nakamura/Shibata, but in both cases I felt it was very good but not excellent. Nakamura/Shibata was hurt by a quiet crowd, Tanahashi/Shibata was much better, but the heart-stopping "what's next" element was missing a little. But that spinning backfist chop was EVIL.

Nakamura/Nagata was great, did a good job of projecting a disdain for each other, whether based on reality or not, that felt more real that the typical stare and throw forearms stuff. 

Honma has been absolutely awesome so far in this tournament, he better gets some wins, he deserves them


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 2:
*
Tomohiro Ishii vs Satoshi Kojima ****1/2*

Bad Luck Fale vs Shelton Benjamin ****1/4.* Damn good match, Fale is just awesome.

Yujiro Takahashi vs Hirooki Goto *****

Lance Archer vs Tetsuya Naito *****

Tomoaki Honma vs Yuji Nagata ****3/4.* Match of the night, Honma is such a great addition to the tourny, he's a really great underdog.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Davey Boy Smith Jr - *****

AJ Styles vs Toru Yano* ****

Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan* ***1/2.* Wow, I loved it. Tenzan's best performance in forever. This was needed after he was so bad in last years G1.

Karl Anderson vs Togi Makabe* ***1/2.* I'm really not into Makabe's (or Goto) matches anymore because he's so stale and uninteresting, but this one was yet another really good match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Doc Gallows ***3/4.* Meh, disappointing. Nothing special or interesting here. Pretty generic and basic.

I think this was NJPW's show of the year, considering their shows earlier this year had pretty bad undercard.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

I have Day 2 as the worst of the G-1 so far :shocked:

To add my own content. Honma won my heart in the opening day vs. Tanahashi and he continues to grow on me more and more with every match.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Been impressed with Honma, Naito, Okada, Styles, Ishii, Tana and Shibata so far.

Not too keen on these Shinskayy performances- needs to step his game up.


----------



## flag sabbath

*G1 Day 5*

Gallows vs. Ishii ****1/2*
Archer vs. Tenzan ***1/2*
Kojima vs. Smith ***3/4*
Suzuki vs. Takahashi ***3/4*
Yano vs. Anderson **1/2*
Shibata vs. Benjamin ****1/2*
Styles vs. Goto ****3/4*
Tanahashi vs. Fale ****1/4*
Honma vs. Nakamura ****3/4*
Okada vs. Naito ******

Another killer show. Enjoy your days off fellas - you've earned them.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Day 5

Honma vs Nakamura: ***3/4
Okada vs Naito: ****1/4


I may have rated Okada/Naito a bit too high but personal preference and all.

Yet to watch Styles/Goto and whatever match Ishii is in.


----------



## Brock

Posted this before, but this guys' channel uploads all the Climax videos seperate: 

http://www.dailymotion.com/original_bonski


----------



## Joshi Judas

Yep that's where I'm watching all the stuff 

God bless that wonderful guy :lol


----------



## Brock

Havn't watched any of it yet, just been DL'ing a couple of matches from each day off his channel, ill watch them all when i have time.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Shibata's spinning backfist :faint:

this guy is just insanely good


----------



## Lazyking

Day 1 I thought was really good. Wasn't really into Day 2. Honmma is my MVP so far. I like almost everyone in this tournament except Yano and Shelton.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Ok I only just watched Styles vs Naito from Day 4. Best match of the tournament so far. Styles killed it as a heel and Naito showed some great babyface fire. Excellent comeback but I feel Styles was really the star of this match. Good to see him getting over with the crowd too- more performances like this in G1 and AJ will be a made man in Japan.

****1/2

Also due to giving this 4 and a half, I'm reducing my initial rating of Okada/Naito from Day 5 to ****1/4. Styles/Naito was definitely better.


----------



## Lazyking

After seeing it four days in a row, I DESPISE Fale's spear.. I don't mind the big guy but do the spear right or don't do it at all. Looks like shit every time.

is it just me or does Davey Boy Smith JR look almost exactly like Donnie from Orphan Black?


----------



## Joshi Judas

Also the Japanese crowds are really starting to pop for AJ Styles' dropkick :lol

Not as big a pop as Okada's dropkick but he's getting there.


----------



## Toonami4Life

RAVEN said:


> Ok I only just watched Styles vs Naito from Day 4. Best match of the tournament so far. Styles killed it as a heel and Naito showed some great babyface fire. Excellent comeback but I feel Styles was really the star of this match. Good to see him getting over with the crowd too- *more performances like this in G1 and AJ will be a made man in Japan.*
> ****1/2
> 
> Also due to giving this 4 and a half, I'm reducing my initial rating of Okada/Naito from Day 5 to ****1/4. Styles/Naito was definitely better.


That's what I said in another thread. The reason the crowd was lukewarm to him at first was because AJ had never been in Japan for a period of time. Sure he may have worked some shows but they didn't really know him or what he could bring to the table. Now that he has and is winning the crowd as well as his matches with Okada, Naito, and Goto New Japan's going to be wanting to be keeping him. We've only scratched the surface of the matches AJ could have. Imagine him vs Shibata, Nakamura, Honma, Ishii, Ibushi, Kojima, and of course Tanahashi.


----------



## almostfamous

Damn I never thought I'd see the day where Naito is impressing the fuck out of me. I guess he's always been good, but he's seems like a standout in this tourny. Also, crazy to think that Honma is an alternate. Not saying that Ibushi wouldn't tear the house down, but I'm definitely glad that Honma made the tourny.

Day 5 matches
Okada vs Naito ****
Honma vs Nakamura ****


----------



## smitlick

New Japan 28/7/14
Doc Gallows vs Tomohiro Ishii ***
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Lance Archer *** 
Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4
Yujiro Takahashi vs Minoru Suzuki **1/2
Karl Anderson vs Toru Yano **1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs Shelton Benjamin ***1/4
AJ Styles vs Hirooki Goto ***1/2
Bad Luck Fale vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/4
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito ****


----------



## MTheBehemoth

I'm totally ready for dat win-pop for Honma. kada


----------



## almostfamous

MTheBehemoth said:


> I'm totally ready for dat win-pop for Honma. kada


He's so over. He's like the most over guy in the company suddenly. And he's not even under a full time NJPW contract right?


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Day 2

Ishii vs. Kojima - *** 1/4
Okada vs. Tenzan - ***
Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr - ***

Day 3

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima - *** 1/4
Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada - *** 1/4


Day 4

Ishii vs. Honma - **** 1/4 (fucking awesome match)
AJ Styles vs. Naito - *** 1/2
Okada vs. Anderson - *** 1/2
Tanahashi vs. Shibata - ****


----------



## Lazyking

I just watched Honma/Ishii.

Wow, that is my match of the tournament so far. It was just everything I wanted from those two and more. Ishii playing the heel and the scrappy underdog Honma fighting back and getting the better of Ishii at time. Ishii selling made me think he broke his neck or pinched a nerve it was that great or legit. Great, must see match.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Found G1 Day 5: http://www.dailymotion.com/user/original_bonski/1


----------



## flag sabbath

Don't know if it's the win, but Honma vs. Shibata in Osaka will be nuts.


----------



## Obfuscation

AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito was hands down a five stars worthy experience. Immense perfection. I'm supremely flushed after what I just witnessed. I broke my rule and proceeded to walk in w/hype. Even after Styles hasn't wow'ed in most of his singles outings to date. Didn't matter. Expectations surpassed. Yano busting open Naito was a godsend. Magnificent. Arguably the most I marked out on the year. Damn straight I'm going full wrestling geek atm. That includes Shield vs Wyatts I, Danielson winning at WM & Nakamura defeating Tana at Invasion Attack. Wrestling ffs, it's a beaut.

Naito is on another plane in the Climax four shows in. Clear cut MVP out of the bunch up to this point; now surpassing Honma. And I'm so glad to see Styles give me the classic I knew he could. Sitting on top of cloud nine.


----------



## Lazyking

LOL I just actually finished that match. Couldn't have said it better myself. I don't usually say alot about a match but Naito/Styles was pretty much perfect for me as well. I wasn't in love with the ending sequence but that's a minor quibble. I love seeing a recent cut reopened and the Heel really take advantage. Add that in with the trash talking, the phemonal babyface work by Naito and you have yourself a great match, sure MOTYC.

Probably the best Styles match I've seen in a long time. I haven't watched NJPW since really Wrestle Kingdom til the G1 so I don't know if Styles had any other really good ones. Surely nothing that beat this masterpiece.

Back to Naito, seems he's more over as face . Great reactions all tournament. I wouldn't say top face level but good enough to get another look for the top prize imo.


----------



## Obfuscation

Finishing stretch did a stellar job I thought. Didn't go into a mega epic mode - not like I'm usually against that under the New Japan formula, but still, staying away was wise - & kept it all within the realm of the story that played out. Naito the wounded babyface, climbing uphill. Gritty struggle for momentum vs the dominating Heavyweight champion. Surviving a super Styles Clash attempt, the timed dropkick counter, SPIKE german suplex nearfall, the enzuguri being Naito's answer to the earlier pele kick, etc. All under a believable pacing from Naito taking a licking a majority of the match. Loved how it wasn't so gung ho w/the pacing in the end. It was up tempo, but there was restraint from actual heart & angst willing both sides on, respectively. Styles couldn't keep him down & Naito, while bleeding out, just wouldn't want to quit.

Styles trash talking during the domination portions ruled too. I hope Meltzer attempts some hyperbole for this match b/c this actually felt like the version of Styles he was yammering on about. He was a great heel. Felt natural for him to target the wound and roll w/it.


----------



## Lazyking

Honestly with ending looking back on it, I wasn't looking for crazy SPAM finisher counters but I thought it woulda been cool if Naito fought back into a rana' instead of just struggling out of the clash. 

If Styles can keep up the performances, I might just finally come around on him as a heel.


----------



## Obfuscation

Maybe in a different match a rana spot would pop well - audience wise & structurally - but the struggle of getting out of the hold, rather than attempting a slick _(partially dangerous)_ counter out of thin air, was pristine to the subject at hand. Naito was wounded. When you're in that sort of position, you take whatever way out of a bad situation you can get. A strong convergence of events from start to finish.


----------



## Lazyking

^Did you watch Tanahashi vs. Shibata? Man, at some points in that match, it looks like they want to kill each other. The forearms of death in the corner by shibata were eye popping. Tanahashi seeing early on that he needed to take out the legs and that still wasn't enough to slow down Shibata.

Of course that spinning back fist near the end. like damn!

What a great day 4 of the G1.


----------



## Obfuscation

Not yet. Probably will atm, actually. All excitement about Styles vs Naito permitted me to stop & jump on here to gush. Tana vs Shibata had a great match last year on the final night. Been longing for a rematch.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Lazyking said:


> ^Did you watch Tanahashi vs. Shibata? Man, at some points in that match, it looks like they want to kill each other. The forearms of death in the corner by shibata were eye popping. Tanahashi seeing early on that he needed to take out the legs and that still wasn't enough to slow down Shibata.
> 
> Of course that spinning back fist near the end. like damn!
> 
> What a great day 4 of the G1.



that was just insane


----------



## Joshi Judas

Hayley Seydoux said:


> AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito was hands down a five stars worthy experience. Immense perfection. I'm supremely flushed after what I just witnessed. I broke my rule and proceeded to walk in w/hype. Even after Styles hasn't wow'ed in most of his singles outings to date. Didn't matter. Expectations surpassed. Yano busting open Naito was a godsend. Magnificent. Arguably the most I marked out on the year. Damn straight I'm going full wrestling geek atm. That includes Shield vs Wyatts I, Danielson winning at WM & Nakamura defeating Tana at Invasion Attack. Wrestling ffs, it's a beaut.
> 
> Naito is on another plane in the Climax four shows in. Clear cut MVP out of the bunch up to this point; now surpassing Honma. And I'm so glad to see Styles give me the classic I knew he could. Sitting on top of cloud nine.





Lazyking said:


> LOL I just actually finished that match. Couldn't have said it better myself. I don't usually say alot about a match but Naito/Styles was pretty much perfect for me as well. I wasn't in love with the ending sequence but that's a minor quibble. I love seeing a recent cut reopened and the Heel really take advantage. Add that in with the trash talking, the phemonal babyface work by Naito and you have yourself a great match, sure MOTYC.
> 
> Probably the best Styles match I've seen in a long time. I haven't watched NJPW since really Wrestle Kingdom til the G1 so I don't know if Styles had any other really good ones. Surely nothing that beat this masterpiece.
> 
> Back to Naito, seems he's more over as face . Great reactions all tournament. I wouldn't say top face level but good enough to get another look for the top prize imo.




Glad to see others echoing my sentiments. Styles vs Naito is the clear cut MOTT from the G1 so far imo :bo

Naito has been amazing lately. Another great match against Okada on Day 5.


----------



## vault21

Okada guyz, Okada kada


----------



## Obfuscation

Naito vs Okada series :homer6


----------



## blink_41sum_182

Day 5


AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto - *** 1/4
Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - **
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma - *** 1/2
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - *** 3/4


I feel like the last 2 matches were great and Naito/Okada is one of my favorite series of matches but it's getting to a point where, like Okada/Tanahashi, I feel like I've just seen it too many times in a short period. I think I'm getting burnt out from watching Battleground, Raw, Dragon Gate, 5 days of G1, and I still have to watch PWG. Probably gonna take a break from wrestling for a few days then catch up.


----------



## Lazyking

I know they like Fale but he's just so generic. I like the story with Tanahashi in day 5 but Fale is just not interesting enough to make it good.. Frankly, Archer is the better monster heel.


----------



## Obfuscation

Won't deny Archer being better, but I'm a Fale fan. Already harped on it plenty. On his train. Archer though. One of my favorites. Hell of a talent. Both are well for their positions.

----------

Brief Night Four list/ramble:

_Loved/Liked:_
Naito vs Styles
Tanahashi vs Shibata
Nakamura vs Nagata
Ishii vs Honma
Makabe vs Archer
Okada vs Anderson
Kojima vs Fale

_Acceptable/Fine:_
Goto vs Yano

_Once is Enough:_
Smith vs Benjamin
Suzuki vs Tenzan

Already gushed about the perfection that was Styles vs Naito. Amazing. But when five other matches show up and were all great too, that's when I'm like this show has hit a peak level. Toss in a super fun Kojima vs Fale match & quality is near its maximum. Something like Smith vs Benjamin being on this card doesn't even matter - after all it was the worst match of the tournament so far, blimey DUD. Quality is so strong elsewhere that the joke match didn't bring it down. Yano vs Goto thing was funny, it fits Yano & his shenanigans. I was cool w/it. MiSu phoned in another performance, meanwhile Tenzan tried. What is going on? Good for Tenzan again, but MiSu plz. Stop flopping. Breaking my heart. Ishii vs Honma wasn't on par w/their first match this year but it still ruled. Amazed when I got not only one match better than it on the show, but three in total. Nakamura vs Nagata culminated into something more amazing than I was even prepared for & Tanahashi vs Shibata was a stellar showcase for both. Tana providing why he's their Ace & Shibata w/that one true "he's arrived" performance. His selling was great, he does the best times to no sell w/FIGHTING SPIRIT & out tough his opponents, & hell the story that mapped out was so prime. Audience wasn't even giving Tana heat near the end. Only rooting Shibata on. What a match. What a night.


----------



## Born of Osiris

I love these matches but it sucks that I don't know shit about the G1 Climax and what exactly it is :lol goes for alot of the NJPW PPV's.

Have to catch up. What is the absolute best match of the tournament so far? I've only watched Styles/Okada and Nakamura/Honma.


----------



## Obfuscation

Naito vs Styles is my pick as the best.

The tournament is a yearly round robin that culminates w/the block A vs block B winners duke it out in the finals. A finals where the overall Climax winner gets a plethora of prestige, money, & recently, a title shot _(if not champion)_ for Wrestle Kingdom, aka New Japan's Tokyo Dome oriented WrestleMania event, the year following in January.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 5 (7/28)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Lance Archer vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Minoru Suzuki ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Toru Yano **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shelton X Benjamin vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Hirooki Goto ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/2 (MOTN)

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2

Overall Grade: 7.5


----------



## Joshi Judas

@Shinozaki

Styles/Naito is the best match so far for my money but check out every Honma match too :lol


----------



## Obfuscation

Holy crap did I just see a borderline great match w/Tenzan in this year's Climax? He must have really been upset w/himself last year & is putting every bit of effort he has left in this. I like it. And thank you Lance Archer. You wonderful giant hoss you.


----------



## vault21

After watching it, it seems the only thing that went wrong on Day 4 was that crummy ass lighting :westbrick


----------



## AEA

Only getting around to watching day 1 now -_- Should be good


----------



## Born of Osiris

Just watched Styles/Naito. Was pretty damn good. But Christ, Styles knows how to heel it up :lol

Going to watch some more. Is the tourney over? I'm watching these completely out of order and the guy I watch it from on Dailymotion last video was 2 days ago.


----------



## Corey

Nah, tournament isn't over for like another week and a half. The final is August 10th.


----------



## Toonami4Life

Sachiko Shinozaki said:


> Just watched Styles/Naito. Was pretty damn good. But Christ, Styles knows how to heel it up :lol
> 
> Going to watch some more. Is the tourney over? I'm watching these completely out of order and the guy I watch it from on Dailymotion last video was 2 days ago.


The tournaments not over until August 10th. It started last Monday, and tomorrow it continues. There's still six days of matches left and then the finals.


----------



## Born of Osiris

Awesome (Y) 

Have to say personally my favorite match so far has been Nakamura/Nagata :mark: 

Has Styles faced Nakamura yet since he's been there?


----------



## Joshi Judas

Nope. Plus they are in different blocks so it won't happen in this tournament unless they both reach the finals :lol

Watch every Honma match these 5 days, esp Tanahashi vs Honma and Ishii vs Honma, watch Tanahashi vs Shibata, Okada vs Naito.


----------



## Born of Osiris

Just watched those matches Raven. I think Honma may be a new favorite of mine :lol

That DDT to Ishii :mark:

What would you guys say is the worst match so far?


----------



## Obfuscation

Smith vs Shelton on Day Four.

only DUD I've seen.


----------



## Lazyking

I personally thought Smith/ Shelton was fine with a few laugh out loud moments and the submission transition in the middle was solid.

I don't really have a match that I can say was offensive to my eyes. I don't like Yano but understand his comedy role. You don't have to watch every match though, just the really good ones which I admit have been plenty.


----------



## Joshi Judas

If Honma's first win in the tournament comes against Shibata, imagine the pop :banderas


----------



## Lazyking

I'd be for it although I want Shibata to win the G1. Its a bigger moment if Honma beats a guy that matters.


----------



## Good News Barrett

will they let Shibata win though after how he left them in 2005?

but he's been mega over in this tournament and should win it. 

also been a fan of Japanese commentators and ring announcers. it's been a delight with the commentator going "hai" "hey" every time.

and the ring announcer. Shibata Katsuyoooorriiiiiiii..... AJ Styrrrrusss.


----------



## Lazyking

Water under the bridge. It doesn't have to HAPPEN this year but it has to happen. He deserves it.

If it was a such a problem, I think he wouldn't be getting the wins that he's getting. NJPW has got to know that elevating Shibata is what's best for business


----------



## Obfuscation

If the winner of the tournament should be who is the most over then Nakamura, Ishii, & Honma all take the lead.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Meltzer's ratings if anyone looking for it

G1 Climax Day 4

Satoshi Kojima vs. Bad Luck Fale (A Block Match): **1/4
Shelton Benjamin vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (A Block Match): **1/4
Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (B Block Match): ***
Toru Yano vs. Hirooki Goto (B Block Match): 1/2*
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tomoaki Honma (A Block Match): ****1/4
Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer (B Block Match): ***1/4
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata (A Block Match): ****1/2
Tetsuya Naito vs. AJ Styles (B Block Match): ****1/2
Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada (B Block Match): ****
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (A Block Match): ****1/2


G1 Climax Day 5

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Doc Gallows (A Block Match): ***1/4
Lance Archer vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (B Block Match): **3/4
Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima (A Block Match): ***1/4
Minoru Suzuki vs. Yujiro Takahashi (B Block Match): ***1/4
Toru Yano vs. Karl Anderson (B Block Match): **1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shelton Benjamin (A Block Match): ****
AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto (B Block Match): ***3/4
Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (A Block Match): ***1/4
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma (A Block Match): ***3/4
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada (B Block Match): ****1/4


----------



## Joshi Judas

Meltzer gave the exact ratings for Styles/Naito and Okada/Naito that I did.

He may have been a bit too generous on all Day 4 matches except Naito/Styles, but I think it's safe to say Day 4 of the G1 was the best wrestling show of 2014.


----------



## cablegeddon

Dave Meltzer was asked why japanese wrestling shows are so long. It was on the last Sin Limite show.

He kind of dodged the question. He said that historically the japanese shows would start at 6:30 and end before 9 PM with people dropping in, coming from work, during the first hour.
Then he said that Noah's big shows in the mid 2000s were long because every match was given at least 20 minutes. 

But I remember how he talked about a 10 hour long AJPW show he went to. And I mean how long are some of the major NJPW ppvs? 

What do you think?


Edit: to flag sabbat: I know Back to Yokohama arena was almost 4 h 20 min...and the wrestlekingdom shows are really long too


----------



## flag sabbath

New Japan shows aren't long. Most matches go 10-15 minutes, give or take. The 10 hour show would be All Japan Women's Big Egg Wrestling Universe from 1994.


----------



## Obfuscation

DDT going WM XX level w/their main event for Peter Pan. I love it. Was already sold on Kodaka vs HARASHIMA or Omega, but the three way is fresh & exciting. DDT does the three stip better than any promotion currently so more power to them. 

Tanahashi vs Takeshita should be something fierce too. Actually feel the entire upper card can be. Six man tag titles on paper is pretty stellar. And the street fight. MiSu & Kasai. Good lord. Would have hoped Akito had something larger on the event, but an undercard match & fairly good lock for a W against DDT vets is still a nice rub. The 17th could be one loaded day as it shares w/SummerSlam.


----------



## seabs

*Their regular TV Shows are the same length as Raw and the PPVs are usually 4 hours compared to 3. If you don't watch them live and skip through the entrances/etc then you can easily watch a full New Japan PPV in under 2.5 hours. The G1 shows you can watch in under 2 hours with the matches being shorter. Generally speaking only the title matches in the main event go over 15 minutes.*


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 24", 31.07.2014 (Day 6)

-Minoru Suzuki vs Lance Archer **1/4
-Shelton Benjamin vs Shinsuke Nakamura **1/2
-AJ Styles vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **3/4
-Kazuchika Okada vs Toru Yano **1/2
-Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2


----------



## flag sabbath

Sachiko Shinozaki said:


> What would you guys say is the worst match so far?


Fale vs. Gallows was mercifully short, but it was still like watching Oz wrestle Vinnie Vegas.


----------



## Martyn

My ratings for night 5 of G1 24:

Block A: Davey Boy Smith, Jr. vs. Satoshi Kojima (***)
Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shelton X Benjamin - Overall a good match, but I wasnt a fan of the structure. Benjamin shouldnt be in a leading role for 95% of the match with somebody like Shibata. (***)
Blocl B: AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto - Ending was very good and almost on par with AJ/Naito, but first 3/4 of the match really dragged it down. AJ looked out of place and couldnt really adopt to Goto's stiff style. (*** 1/4)
Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - Tana just gave Fale match of his life! (*** 1/4)
Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomoaki Honma - Honma is clearly the MVP of this tournament so far and I still cant believe that he wasnt oryginally in! If not for that botch in the end, it'd be rated even higher. (*** 3/4)
Block B: Katzuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito - Great match as expected. Not on the 2012 IWGP title match level, but close. (****)

After first four matches from 31/07 only Kojima/Shibata was worth watching so far. After their great battle at last years G1 I was expecting a little bit more, but still it was a good match. (*** 1/2).


----------



## Miguel De Juan

NJPW shows also have intermissions for their audiences so half way through you get a nice break.

They tend to go by really fast so the length doesn't matter.


----------



## Lazyking

Man, Styles is having a great tournament. I had no expectations for Tenzan vs Styles but it was probably my favorite match of day 6.


----------



## Joshi Judas

I had forgotten how good Styles is and considered him past his prime during the last 2-3 years on TNA. It's amazing what a difference being used properly and being remotivated can make.


----------



## Good News Barrett

it helps crowd reacting to him more as the tournament progresses. tenzan/aj had good crowd heat especially for the mongolian chops part


----------



## flag sabbath

Of note from Day 6:

Kojima vs. Shibata was a terrific war of oneupmanship, with both men looking increasingly battered & exhausted as it wore on. In short, it was everything Shibata vs. Shinskay should have been, but wasn't ****3/4*

Anderson vs. Goto ended strong with a really exciting finishing sequence ****1/2*

AJ vs. Tenzan was another remarkable showing from the oldtimer. Credit to Styles for deftly working around Tenzan's limitations & to Red Shoes for adding drama to the Anaconda Vice ****1/4*

Ishii vs. Tanahashi was a heated scrap that kept you guessing, but it fell a little flat at the very end ****1/2*


----------



## Good News Barrett

Styles/Suzuki have been getting insane reviews. can't wait to watch it.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Styles has been well, Phenomenal this tournament. And it's great to see the crowds taking to him. Once the G1 ends, his PPV matches will feel much better.

Naito has probably been the MVP so far although many guys have been consistently great.


----------



## Brock

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x3bba1_original_bonski_njpw-g1-climax-24-day-7/1#video=x22lro6

Day 7 matches, Think this dude uploads before they even happen lol.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Styles/Suzuki was awesome. Top Notch psychology by AJ (who uses left arm to do everything). Crowd finally seemed to be warming up to him. nice chants after the match

crowd were pretty hot for bullet club/suzuki gun interference too (think Shield/Wyatts)


----------



## Toonami4Life

A MOTYC from AJ/Suzuki, you could tell from the staredown in the opening seconds this was going to be something special.

So where are all those who said he was done after he left TNA? Does that crow still taste bad?


----------



## Lazyking

Toonami4Life said:


> A MOTYC from AJ/Suzuki, you could tell from the staredown in the opening seconds this was going to be something special.
> 
> So where are all those who said he was done after he left TNA? Does that crow still taste bad?


AJ is better in New Japan than he ever was in TNA. Really has grown with experience.

Remarkable match with Suzuki.


----------



## malek

Yep, great match. Just like Nakamura vs Ishii.


----------



## Lazyking

I didn't love Nakamura/Ishii I mean it was good but Naka loves to spam the Boma ye a little too much sometimes.


----------



## CornNthemorN

Lazyking said:


> I didn't love Nakamura/Ishii I mean it was good but Naka loves to spam the Boma ye a little too much sometimes.


I'm still very new to new japan, so I marked like a bitch. HARD. I can't remember marking like that ever as an adult, lol.

the staredown between aj and suzuki alone.....:mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark:


----------



## Toonami4Life

Anyone else think after today's match with Suzuki and the performances he's been having NJPW might call an audible and have him win the G1?


----------



## NastyYaffa

Heard Meltzer rated Styles/Suzuki *****.


----------



## Joshi Judas

Yeah going a full five on Styles/Suzuki myself. Second match I'm giving the full five to this year after Shield/Wyatt 1. Amazing match.

Just when MiSu seems finished and coasting along, he comes and gives this performance. Full credit to AJ too of course but was really impressed by Minoru Suzuki here.

Thought the interference would hurt the match but it added to it.

Day 6

Shibata vs Kojima: ****
Okada vs Yano: ***

Day 7

Styles vs Suzuki: *****

Need to watch the other matches.


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

Lazyking said:


> AJ is better in New Japan than he ever was in TNA. Really has grown with experience.
> 
> Remarkable match with Suzuki.


That's probably because he isn't being held back and having the same match with the same dudes in front of shitty crowds that mean nothing because of shitty writing.


----------



## Lazyking

JoseDRiveraTCR7 said:


> That's probably because he isn't being held back and having the same match with the same dudes in front of shitty crowds that mean nothing because of shitty writing.


Yeah and he's a better worker then he was.. I was never big fan of his in TNA, he had his moments but I thought his heel work was very weak there. In NJPW, he's really stepped up in the storytelling aspect.


----------



## Rah

Yeah, if he had a source of motivation, TNA would have been sitting on a great nest egg in heel Styles. Hopefully Joe can make a resurgence to his old self, too.


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

While Style's last few years in TNA weren't as good as his first few, when it came to PPV matches, I frequently felt he would have either the best or second match on the card. I know that might not be saying much because those shows were usually filled with shit and subpar matches.

Yeah, I hope Joe leaves too and does well. I know a lot of people shit on him because of how fat he has gotten, but again, when you consider that he works for TNA, knows WWE has no interest in you, and probably has back problems from that spot from BFG 08, you can't fully blame him.


----------



## Toonami4Life

Watch AJ's face after he's won and the crowd is chanting his name and applauding him. He almost looks confused at the reception he's getting as if he's forgotten what its look to be loved by the crowd. The last time he performed in front of a crowd like that was the 09 rematch against Joe and Daniels before The Hogan Era.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Full 5-stars for Styles/Suzuki from here too. AMAZING. MOTY.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 6 (7/31)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Doc Gallows *1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Yuji Nagata **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Togi Makabe **

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Hirooki Goto ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Lance Archer vs Minoru Suzuki **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shelton X Benjamin vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Toru Yano vs Kazuchika Okada **

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2

Overall Grade: 5.5


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 24", 01.08.2014 Day 7

-Togi Makabe vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2
-AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki **** (MOTN/MOTT)
-Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4
-Tomohiro Ishii vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/2


----------



## ywall2breakerj

I thought Nakamura/Ishii was amazing and easily the best NJPW match since Ishii/Tanahashi from last year's G1. Sure Misu-Styles was good but five stars? Eh.......



Lazyking said:


> I didn't love Nakamura/Ishii I mean it was good but Naka loves to spam the Boma ye a little too much sometimes.


Nakamura is guilty of using several Boma Yes per match. But there is also a very clear pattern in how he uses them. The fact he is able to create fantastic drama without damaging the credibility of his finisher like he did in the Ishii match can only serve as a testament to how good of a performer he is.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Toonami4Life said:


> Watch AJ's face after he's won and the crowd is chanting his name and applauding him. He almost looks confused at the reception he's getting as if he's forgotten what its look to be loved by the crowd. The last time he performed in front of a crowd like that was the 09 rematch against Joe and Daniels before The Hogan Era.


Jfc. No spoiler thread. On vacation and just seeing how its going so I have something to look forward to.


----------



## seabs

*Got bored of really talking about these shows I guess. Naito/Okada and Nakamura/Honma on Day 5 were both very good but not great. If you want something more relative than Naito/Okada was a lot better than their WK flop. Nakamura/Honma might have got up to great if the finish didn't flop. Tried watching Shibata/Benjamin but I had to turn it off halfway through. Benjamin is beyond terrible. Did people just not watch those swings he was trying to give to Shibata into the rails? Christ. Styles/Goto had a fun climax but that was it. Ishii/Gallows was alright but it wasn't much better than Ishii/Fale. Seen enough of Gallows in New Japan this year now to be truly disappointed with him. He can produce so much better and it's like he's not getting the chances. Something is just off with him. 

Day 6 was eh. Tanahashi/Ishii had a good match that peaked a few minutes before the end. That always hurts a lot. AJ/Tenzan was pretty fun. Not an overly good match per se but fun. Suzuki/Archer was abysmal. Suzuki has been terrible in anything I've seen him in for a while now besides the AJ match. Anderson/Goto was pretty good for an Anderson match. Anderson not working heel I guess because he used to tag with Goto was sort of neat but it's not like he's working Giant Bernard so it was also kinda odd. Just go all in if you're going to do this Bullet Club nonsense. Shibata/Kojima was really good and what I wanted his matches with Nakamura and Nagata to be. Just a 10 minute long battle at one pace rather than peaking up and down. 

Archer/Yano was really fun for a sub 5 minute match. Yano's matches are indeed repetitive but this is well worth watching because Yano with a hot crowd on his side is always fun. Archer stealing Yano's taunt and the crowd doing it along with him and then clapping was awkwardly awesome. Then the commentator doing it too. Oh god that reminds of the greatest thing ever I watched the other day. Tanahashi's OHHHHHH SHITTTTTTTTTTTT when Omega does that splits spot on Desperado. Amazing. Davey has gotten pretty bad since a year ago for some reason. Looks a bit fatter too. Might be connected. I dunno but it's a shame that him and Gallows are doing nothing this tournament. Fale/Honma was such a letdown of a pairing for Honma's only Korakuen match. Match was only fun for the crowd and Honma. Fale is beyond bad and whoever thought it was clever to give Fale of all people the Border Toss as his finish was dumb. He's gonna kill guys with that. Makabe/Naito was decent. That thud at the end was WOAH and the crowd shot along with it ruled. Talked about AJ/Suzuki in the MOTYC Thread. Yay for consistent character dynamics. Nagata/Shibata was a bit of a letdown. Would have been better as a sprint based on their last few minutes which were great but instead we had a build up that peaked and troughed in between the strikes and horrendous no selling of suplexes which happens in every match now it seems. Nakamura/Ishii I thought was great and MOTN. First half of the match was really well worked. Long time stable partners and frequent tag partners so they know how the other works and what they like to go for so both having their early signature spots scouted was great. Finishes really strong too. If Nakamura is gonna use the running knees as a set up the to the actual finish then he could do with a signature Boma Ye which is the killer knee. *


----------



## Good News Barrett

i remember Dixie telling AJ he hasn't had a standout match in ages :


----------



## Corey

All this talk of you guys hyping up current day AJ Styles makes me wanna see him come to WWE. They could really use a top level heel who knows how to structure/work a match, but then I feel like his moveset would be way too similar to Rollins. I guess if they used him as a babyface that would work, but they need more heels since Bryan will eventually (hopefully) be back sometime. I'm just rambling here.  Damn IVP Order is taking too long... ordered it on July 22nd.


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 3:

Tomoaki Honma vs. Doc Gallows: **1/2
Lance Archer vs. Karl Anderson: **1/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yujiro Takahashi: **3/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shelton Benjamin: ***
Tetsuya Naito vs. Toru Yano: **3/4
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: **1/2
Yuji Nagata vs. Bad Luck Fale: **1/2
Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru Suzuki: **1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima: ***3/4
Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada: ***1/2

Just like last year, the show was pretty hard to sit through and now I'm behind again. I'll try to catch up asap. The last two matches were fun, rest is skippable.


----------



## Super Sonic

*Kobashi vs. Marufuji - April 23, 2006*

Another great match here. Marufuji kept finding ways to survive Kobashi's standard brutality, and went after the left knee of the HOFer. His work on that joint was phenomenal, with a picture-perfect figure four leglock being the highlight. Kobashi would continuously find ways to neutralize Marufuji though with his various chopping methods.

Of course, Marufuji took some stupid bumps in this one. There were the head-drops, but also a plancha in which he landed on the floor. He would later hit a super shotgun dropkick... to Kobashi out on the floor, scraping the outside apron before bumping on the ground. He had a great moment calling back to his victory over Akira Taue when he grabbed Kobashi's arm to prevent a chop, making an upset career-defining victory seem possible. But this was Kenta Kobashi, and he wasn't going to look up at the lights, even after taking a straight jacket suplex pin and straight jacket backroll pin attempt. Just a great match all around. ****1/4

*KENTA vs. Ishimori - April 23, 2006*

Spectacular match with Ishimori surprising KENTA at the start by using his acrobats. In frustration KENTA brutalizes the challenger with stiff kicks to the face, back, chest, and stomach. He would follow that up with brutal work on the back, including a couple Boston Crabs and a powerbomb, plus a vertical suplex on the entrance apron.

KENTA would make the mistake of removing the gym mats off the floor, allowing Ishimori to deliver a 619 followed by a snap suplex on the concrete floor. Ishimori would show more great agility with a springboard Ace Crusher, using the ropes for momentum. But KENTA minutes later would counter a top rope maneuver with an Ace Crusher of his own.

Ishimori disappointed a bit by not selling all the punishment he took this was still spectacular. Other highlights in the match include a super Falcon Arrow that further displayed the blood in Ishimori's mouth and an attempted G2S being turned into a crucifix pin nearfall. Once KENTA finally got the G2S, which Ishimori oversold, it was all over, holding onto the GHC Jr. Title. The selling and also the unnecessary ref bump keep this from great, but this is worth seeing. It reminded me of AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal for ROH a few months earlier. ***3/4


----------



## smitlick

New Japan 31/7/14 Day 6
Bad Luck Fale vs Doc Gallows **
Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Yuji Nagata **1/2
Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi **
Satoshi Kojima vs Katsuyori Shibata ***
Karl Anderson vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4
Minoru Suzuki vs Lance Archer **3/4
Shelton Benjamin vs Shinsuke Nakamura **3/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs AJ Styles ***1/2
Toru Yano vs Kazuchika Okada **1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii ***3/4

New Japan 1/8/14 Day 7
Shelton Benjamin vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4
Toru Yano vs Lance Archer **
Yujiro Takahashi vs Karl Anderson **1/2
Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Doc Gallows **
Tenzan vs Goto ***1/2
Honma vs Fale ***
Makabe vs Naito ***3/4
Suzuki vs Styles ****1/4
Nagata vs Shibata ****
Nakamura vs Ishii ****


----------



## I ♥ KEMONITO

All of AJ's matches have been really great-excellent, and you cannot praise him enough for having a diffrent match everytime. Sometimes I will actually doze off when during a Tanahashi or Goto match (more times Goto), becasue they are getting so predictable. Never with AJ Styles. He is the man right now.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 7 (8/1)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shelton X Benjamin vs Satoshi Kojima **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Lance Archer vs Toru Yano *

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Tomoaki Honma **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Togi Makabe ***3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki ****1/2 (_MOTN/MOTT/MOTY_)

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Yuji Nagata ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***3/4

Overall Grade: 8.5


----------



## NastyYaffa

I ♥ KEMONITO;37692554 said:


> All of AJ's matches have been really great-excellent, and you cannot praise him enough for having a diffrent match everytime. Sometimes I will actually doze off when during a Tanahashi or Goto match (more times Goto), becasue they are getting so predictable. Never with AJ Styles. He is the man right now.


Well said!


----------



## Joshi Judas

Holy fuck, Shibata vs Honma was good. Real good.

****1/2

Also, Styles vs Archer: ***3/4

Okada vs Yujiro: ***1/2

Still need to watch Goto vs Naito, Makabe vs Suzuki and Tanahashi vs Nakamura plus a bunch of matches I missed from Day 7. God I love the G1.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 24", 03.08.2014 Day 8

-Tomohiro Ishii vs Davey Boy Smith ***1/2
-Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Toru Yano DUD
-Yuji Nagata vs Shelton Benjamin **1/4
-Satoshi Kojima vs Doc Gallows **1/2
-Hirooki Goto vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2
-AJ Styles vs Lance Archer ***
-Togi Makabe vs Minoru Suzuki ***1/2
-Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma ****
-Kazuchika Okada vs Yujiro Takahashi ***
-Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4


----------



## malek

Nothing


----------



## EscapedIllusion

I ♥ KEMONITO;37692554 said:


> All of AJ's matches have been really great-excellent, and you cannot praise him enough for having a diffrent match everytime. Sometimes I will actually doze off when during a Tanahashi or Goto match (more times Goto), becasue they are getting so predictable. Never with AJ Styles. He is the man right now.



Yea I'm mad at TNA for wasting a couple years of his prime lol.


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## seabs

*Aaaaand Day 7. Ishii/Smith was about as good as Ishii/Fale and Ishii/Gallows. That kinda sums up how disappointing Gallows and Smith have been. Barely better than Fale. I'm not really sure what it is but something with him just isn't clicking like it was just a year ago. Kojima/Gallows was another just nothing outing from Gallows. I was super excited when I heard New Japan were bringing him in but he really just hasn't brought anything to the table. Goto/Naito looked like it was going to have something with how Naito and the crowd were performing but then Goto really killed that heat and momentum until they got back into it again at the end. Naito should really just go full fledged heel at this point. It really speaks volumes how good Styles/Naito was that they got Naito so over with that crowd. It's a shame that he's been given a really bad string of opponents for him coming off his G1 win. AJ/Archer was ok. I love how Archer just slams guys down with no control over how they land (but in a safeish way). The heel/heel character dynamic was a lot better here than it was in AJ/Suzuki. The same can be said for Suzuki/Makabe too where they fantastically managed to work the heel in peril segment without losing what makes Suzuki a heel. That stretch with Suzuki in the submission was amazing. I liked this match a lot. I kinda ragged on Suzuki before Day 6 saying he hadn't really produced anything at all but he's been brilliant in the last 2 matches. Running around on the leg at the end after selling it so well kinda irked me but it was short and quick enough to not hinder how good I thought this match was. Honma/Shibata was really good. Not as good as both the Ishii/Honma matches this year but the 2nd best match of this years G1 so far. Okada/Yujiro was eh even for the heat it had. Yujiro just can't carry a singles match at all. I watched his title win over Ishii the other day and I couldn't believe that he couldn't take advantage of working Ishii with that Korakuen crowd. He just can't control a match at all. Nakamura/Tanahashi was really good despite no really strong story or focus to the match. There's not too many combos that I'd be for working a "best of" type match but this is probably one of them and they do the best of Tanahashi/Nakamura match really well. Finish felt cold though because it came off really clunky which was a disappointing ending to a really good match. *


----------



## Lazyking

Orignal Bonski hasn't posted day 8 yet


----------



## Joshi Judas

Real Hero has uploaded them (Y)


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Day 6 - Okada vs Yano. NJPW did such a good job hyping up Yano's rollup. For about 3 seconds I thought there was a chance Okada could lose. Tenzan vs AJ was surprisingly very good.


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

I mentioned in the other thread that I'm glad they aren't parity booking this thing the same way they did last year, its made for a better tournament overall. I feared this show would be one of those shows where the low scoring guys get upset wins to brings the points closer, and thankfully that wasn't the case. *Ishii/DBS* started the show off strong I felt. Sucks about Ishii's shoulder, hopefully nothing too serious. *Gallows* is the biggest disappointment in the tournament, and is honestly starting to look like he doesn't belong in New Japan. *Naito/Goto *was a better match than I think it is getting credit for, in part due to the red hot crowd (Body Maker Coliseum is an awesome venue), Naito is seriously one of the best wrestlers in the world, he's extremely consistent for a guy with that style. *AJ/Archer *was a very good match, though I think people saying it was the best of Archer's career is a little strong, since Archer had a surprisingly good G1 last year. AJ is really sticking his middle finger up to everyone who forgot how good he is by being stuck in TNA for so long. *Suzuki/Makabe *was very well done, though I'm not a big fan of Makabe. Suzuki is just awesome. *Honma/Shibata *is, as I've said, maybe my personal favourite match of the tournament. Just incredible stuff, Honma is such a great underdog, and even though I'm a big fan of Shibata, I was so badly wanting Honma to get on the board here. *Okada/Yujiro *was good as well, Okada can't have bad matches, and Yujiro, though mediocre, held up. I actually dug the *Tanahashi/Nakamura* match more than most as well - a lot of clever callbacks to past matches, and a couple of great nearfalls at the end that I bit on. I won't rate with stars just because it's all subjective anyway.


----------



## flag sabbath

Slowly making my way through Day 8. Really enjoyed Ishii vs. DBS Jr - more so than Ishii's previous monster gaijin tussles & despite Davey Boy's glaring clunkiness. In fact the whole clumsy size mismatch element actually lent weight to Ishii's struggles ****** 

Naito vs. Goto & AJ vs. Archer were both very good, but not outstanding ****1/2* Naito is in limbo right now having won back most audiences with a string of spirited, gutsy performances. The stubborn hardcore holdouts in Korakuen & Osaka are making things awkward, though. I personally prefer the lad as a fiery babyface. 

Absolutely fucking loved the simplicity and single mindedness of Suzuki vs. Makabe. It's easy to forget that MiSu has been stuck in a Yano shaped loop for the last year. Awesome to see the angry bastard inflicting himself on all comers once again ******


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

To that point, I think Naito has a boy-ish-ness about him (for lack of a better term) that stops him from being taken seriously above the level he's currently on, so I'm not sure what he can really do to get past this ceiling as a babyface.


----------



## flag sabbath

Mr. Kennedy said:


> To that point, I think Naito has a boy-ish-ness about him (for lack of a better term) that stops him from being taken seriously above the level he's currently on, so I'm not sure what he can really do to get past this ceiling as a babyface.


The bookers could certainly help. They rushed him back from injury to win last year's G1 with a bunch of shaky, unconfident showings, then fed him mid-card table scraps in the run up to the Dome. His lackluster performance that night was one of a man set up to fail.

Since then he's been on fire - one of the top wrestlers of 2014 - and his dynamic with the New Japan faithful seemed to be on the mend. Until someone decided to book him opposite Makabe and Goto at Korakuen & Bodymaker :faint:


----------



## Good News Barrett

very weak day 9 show

styles/anderson, okada/goto were good. rest were average. shibata/bad luck sucked though


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 4 Review:

Satoshi Kojima vs. Bad Luck Fale: ***

Shelton Benjamin vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: **

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki: ***

Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano: Great booking

Tomoaki Honma vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ****3/4. WOW!! What a match. MOTT imo

Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer: ***1/4

Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ***1/2

Tetsuya Naito vs. AJ Styles: ****1/4. AJ's best performance in a long, long time. Naito was awesome as usual, he's criminally underrated. tbh, he's having a better year than let's say Okada, Tana and Nakamura. With Honma, he's been the MVP of the tourny so far.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Karl Anderson: ***1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ****


----------



## I ♥ KEMONITO

Shibata/Honma was very fight like. Excellent effort from both guys. Top 3 match from this tournament for me. How can Ishii top Honma? can he? we'll see. Also another excellent performance from Minoru Suzuki and Makabe, masterfully done. Just when you think you would be sick of so much wrestling, they pull you back in and give you a diffrent flavor and now you want more.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

G1 day 9 hype music was:




:mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark::mark:

They even used Hajime No Ippo music for the Shiozaki-Nakamura WK match. I love NewJa so much.


----------



## Lazyking

I need a Stone pitbull Ishii shirt in my life.


----------



## smitlick

New Japan 3/8/14 Day 8
Ishii vs DBS Jr ***1/2
Tenzan vs Yano *1/2
Nagata vs Benjamin **1/2
Kojima vs Gallows **1/2
Goto vs Naito ***1/2
Archer vs Styles *** 
Makabe vs Suzuki ***1/2
Shibata vs Honma ****
Yujiro vs Okada ***
Nakamura vs Tanahashi ***3/4-****


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

NJPW has finally broke me. I skipped Day 7 up until the final three matches. Of which I'd give the final three matches ****1/2, ****1/4+, and ****1/2. Wasn't expecting much from the final two matches. Almost as good as the AJ/MiSu match.


----------



## Morrison17

Currently on day 3 and I have a question

How much they charge for G1? For each show or combined?
Cause NJPW produced so many shows in small period of time and I dont think that many people are able to pay 50$ for each.


----------



## Lazyking

It was $110 for all 12 shows.


----------



## Obfuscation

Meh. I'm not seeing the Styles hype nearly to any level that some currently are. Granted, I adored the outing vs Naito & he had a legit great match w/Tenzan of all people. But he's still up in the air for me. Not just in New Japan, but his career elsewhere around the World. Yet to find his consistency that I know he can have.

but I'm not surprised by any of this. Styles fans & New Japan's current boom? Expected.


----------



## Lazyking

The G1 has been AJ's best work.. Didn't like him all that much in TNA.

Anyone here fans of Dragon Gate? I'm trying to get back into it. Lost touch around 2011.


----------



## Obfuscation

I certainly wouldn't say best. He was plenty great for me in TNA during the good years & on the Indie circuit.

I haven't watched all year's worth of Dragon Gate b/c I think its rather gash despite the fun roster, but here's a list of what I've liked:



Spoiler: DG



1) Don Fujii vs Kotoka - 1/12

2) Masaaki Mochizuki vs T-Hawk - 1/12

3) Shingo Takagi vs Kotoka - 1/18

4) Oedo-Style Elimination Match
Naruki Doi, YAMATO, BxB Hulk, & Cyber Kong vs Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kanda, Ryo Saito, & Naoki Tanizaki - 2/6

5) Masaaki Mochizuki, K-Ness, & Super Shisa vs Don Fujii, Gamma, & Ryotsu Shimizu - 3/1

6) Don Fujii vs U-T - 3/2

7) Uhaa Nation vs T-Hawk - 4/18

8) Uhaa Nation vs Kotoka - 4/27



Matches 2 & 4 being great. Must see stuff.


----------



## flag sabbath

So Day 9 was solid, but inevitably something of a comedown from 7 & 8. Okada and Goto stole the show with a dramatic, keep-'em-guessing main *****1/4* Kojima vs. Nakamura and AJ vs. Anderson were both very good ****3/4*, with Naito vs. Suzuki and Smith vs. Honma not far behind ****1/2*


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

I was actually a little disappointed in Honma/DBS. Impossible to live up to the Shibata match, but they didn't seem to click all that well together.


----------



## seabs

*Honma/Smith was another Smith disappointment. I just don't know with Smith right now. Below par matches with both Ishii and Honma. He's had an unreal block to work in and produced nothing. Can't decide if that taunt when he opens the can and pours it all over his opponent is the best or the worst thing ever. Definitely no in between with it. Suzuki/Naito I thought was really good. Suzuki on form again with good opponents is just what I wanted. Awesome submission exchanges here. Didn't watch Fale/Shibata but I'm glad they finally did that as a finish. Nakamura/Kojima was forgettable. Loved the opening exchanges between Styles and Anderson. Would have loved for Anderson's double cross to be the finish. Heel shtick vs heel shtick was fun but everything after AJ suplexed Anderson into the rail was just ok and lacked the special factor they had before. Few decent stretches but it suffered a lot from peaking 3 minutes before the end and the final 3 minutes went really flat because of it. Okada/Goto was fun once they started going into reversals but as usual with this pairing (Goto in general tbf) everything before it was meaningless and flat.*


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 8 (8/3)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Tomohiro Ishii ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Toru Yano vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan 1/2*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shelton X Benjamin vs Yuji Nagata **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Satoshi Kojima **

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Lance Archer ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs Togi Makabe ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma ****1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***3/4

Overall Grade: 8.5


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

Seabs, I'll confirm for you that it's the worst.

DBS I struggle with, because I do like him as a wrestler, but he doesn't click well with guys that he should, and he seems to be trying too hard to "show personality". Take a shot every time he does that "break you in half" mannerism on Day 8, and you'll be throwing up in no time.


----------



## Born of Osiris

Is Doc Gallows any good at all? Lots of his matches on here seem to be pretty low rated lol. I've been ignoring his matches for the most part since he doesn't interest me.


----------



## Good News Barrett

only able to catch the 2nd half of day 10 due to issues with ustream

Ishii/Shibata was awesome, as expected. not as good as their last year's effort (again what is?), but pretty damned good job by both man considering ishii's shoulder injuries. Ishii's headbutt and Shibata's kick to Ishii's back were just BRUTAL 

some callbacks to their last year's epic, like both man voluntarily kneeing down to get kicked by the other. 

this probably my top 3 so far, after Styles/Suzuki and Shibata/Honma

Swagsuke/Gallows was OK, definetely the worst main event on G1 this year. Nagata/Tanahashi was good. Nagata controlled most part and he was way more impressive than Tana. AJ/Yujiro was average at best.


----------



## seabs

*Nervosa, spoilers man! *


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 5 Review:
*
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Doc Gallows: ****3/4.* That was great. Doc's best match in NJPW so far, finally he showed me something. He's been giving chances and never deliverd, but this time he had a good performance. Obv it helps when you're in the same ring with Ishii, but still. Hopefully he'll be better from now on.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer:* ***1/4*. Man, Teznan's been pretty damn good, considering how bad he looked last year. Happy for him, he's been doing a great job.

Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.:* ***1/4*

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yujiro Takahashi:* **1/2*

Toru Yano vs. Karl Anderson:* ****

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Shelton Benjamin:* ***1/2*

Hirooki Goto vs. AJ Styles: ****3/4.* Awesome match and MOTN. The final stretch had me on the edge of my seat. Great stuff. AJ, deservedly, is getting over with the crowd and they're finally buying him as the face of the company. Happy about the result, good booking. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale: ****1/2*. Loved the booking. The storytelling was very good and logical. Nothing more to ask really. Fale's killing it for awhile now and still getting shit from the fans. What a shame.

Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****3/4*. Damn, great match. Honma's shtick is working big time.

Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****3/4*


----------



## Corey

You know who I love? Chris, the guy who runs IVP Videos. I made an order on July 22nd that took some extra time to get out because he had some problems with the Tanahashi blu ray, so what does he do in return? Give me a BUNCH of free shit! I got an AJW show from '94, like 5 discs covering AJPW in '86, two discs that I assume are from AJPW in '97 cause they just say '97-16' and '97-17' and a disc that says 'NJPW 1-4-14 Pt.2'. I don't even know what was on that show, but hey, I got it now.  And this is on top of everything that I actually made in the order. My lord, where do you start with all this wrestling in front of you??? :lol


----------



## Obfuscation

Sachiko Shinozaki said:


> Is Doc Gallows any good at all? Lots of his matches on here seem to be pretty low rated lol. I've been ignoring his matches for the most part since he doesn't interest me.


He's pretty great tbf, but he hasn't been pulling through to a level he should be so far in the tournament. _(granted the only bout I've disliked was vs Shelton. Fale bumbling clubberfest was watchable if you knew what to expect)_ Best so far has been vs Ishii by miles. Still bummed the Honma match wasn't nearly what it should have been. Solid & only seven minutes, but still. Magic could have happened.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Day 10 seems like an awful day. All the guys who are in the top are in obvious winning matches with the exception of Shibata/Ishii (i doubt that's a spoiler). I expect a lot from that match and am off to watch it


----------



## Concrete

I'd like to live in a world where Gallow says SCREW NEW JAPAN and just starts wrestling in Southern Indies against local faces. I don't think I'd have to say he kicks said local faces' asses.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 9 (8/4)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs Tomoaki Honma ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Yujiro Takahashi vs Lance Archer **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Yuji Nagata **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Togi Makabe ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Minoru Suzuki ***1/2 (MOTN)

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Katsuyori Shibata **

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Karl Anderson vs AJ Styles ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shelton X Benjamin ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

Overall Grade: 7.25


----------



## Corey

Please excuse me while I talk about something that isn't this year's G1. ​*
IVP Custom Comp: The Best of Hiroshi Tanahashi

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bas Rutten - N/R
_NJPW 6/5/2002

_*#1 Contender's Match*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - *
_NJPW Ultimate Crush - 5/3/2003_

*NJPW Tag Team Championship (Vacant)
*Kensuke Sasaki & Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura - **** 1/2
_NJPW 12/11/2004_

*G1 Climax - Block B
*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - *** 1/2
_NJPW 8/7/2005

_Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata - * 3/4
_NJPW Toukon Shidou Chapter 1 - 1/4/2006_

*G1 Climax - Finals
*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata - ** 1/2
_NJPW 8/12/2007_

*New Japan Cup - Semifinal*
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe - ** 1/4
_NJPW 3/23/2008_

- I swear I've seen this Bas Rutten guy somewhere else before. Maybe in UFC? Who knows. Anyway, this isn't even really a match. It's a shoot-style fight that's really fucking awesome and goes about 4 minutes. Loved it. (Y)

- Tenzan is a guy I'm familiar with and I've seen plenty of times but he does absolutely nothing for me. This match didn't help that. Pretty damn bad if I'm being honest. No flow whatsoever, just a bunch of moves with very little crowd reaction. Some horrible facial expressions and selling from both guys too. Interesting to note that a year after his "match" with Rutten, Tanahashi somehow looks younger after changing his look and hairstyle. It clearly didn't work.

- Holy motherfucker, that tag match. THAT TAG MATCH. :mark: What a story. Two badass veterans in there against two young upstart studs. Those young studs got there asses WHIPPED. What a beating those two took, but they just would not quit. Nakamura seemed to be getting worked over for an eternity at one point. There's a constant story of Tanahashi having an injured left leg throughout the entire match and he sells it 50/50 throughout. Guess he does it when it matters most. The work of Sasaki & Suzuki was incredible. Just kept kicking ass and looking dominant. As if the work that all 4 men did for the bulk of the match wasn't enough, the sequences they put together in the final few minutes literally had me standing on my feet rooting for the young guys. It was impressive. This match is a wonderful piece of storytelling and a career making performance for the young guns. I found you a link and you folks that haven't seen it should definitely check it out (match goes a little over 30 minutes btw): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaoeU7f-oF8

- I was a little lukewarm coming into the match with Nakamura because those two had a match at the dome show in '05 that I wasn't too big a fan of, but this one was much better. Wrestled at a blistering, almost frantic pace at times. I imagine it's the way most G1 matches are wrestled. No feeling out process, just 10-15 minutes of straight action. There was some really good stuff in here. Nakamura attacking Tanahashi's taped lower back, some sweet submission counters and smooth transitions late in the match, and a finish that I wasn't exactly expecting to see but still made me cheer. Liked this.

- Does Shibata fucking suck or did I just see a bad match to judge him on? He did nothing but throw kicks for 10 minutes straight and it got old in a hurry. Tanahashi did nothing but try german suplexes. Complete nothing match.

- I enjoyed the first half of his match with Nagata, but by the end they had completely lost me. Developed into both guys just exchanging strikes a bunch of times and hitting moves for nearfalls. I think Nagata hit 4 backdrop drivers and it took Tanahashi a straight jack German, a tiger suplex, and a 2nd high fly flow to win the match. Meh. It's a shame this wasn't anything special because everything I've seen from Nagata around '06-'07 was terrific.

- Match vs. Makabe was pretty standard. Makabe dominated for the bulk of it and his lackies helped him out, then Tanahashi makes a comeback and won with a few moves. The ref certainly let him get away with a whole lot. ​


----------



## Lazyking

Patiently waiting for Today's G1.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 24", 08.08.2014 Day 11

-Shelton Benjamin vs Tomoaki Honma ***
-Yujiro Takahashi vs Toru Yano 1/2*
-Lance Archer vs Hirooki Goto **1/4
-Karl Anderson vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4
-Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2
-Doc Gallows vs Katsuyori Shibata *
-Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bad Luck Fale ***
-AJ Styles vs Togi Makabe ***1/4
-Davey Boy Smith vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/4
-Minoru Suzuki vs Kazuchika Okada **** (MOTN)


----------



## KeepinItReal

http://www.leechstar.net/files_2/rs/NJPW.2014.08.08.G1.Climax.24.Day.11.iPPV.mp4

Hey, that's a stream of G1 Day 11. Hit ctrl+S, or "save page as" to dl it.

Edit: Up only temporarily. Take the links from the puro downloads page (specifically links from uploaded.net, or after that try rapidgator), and go to luxleech.com and leechstar.com. It takes a million attempts to get a link to work. But eventually one works... usually, I think.


----------



## Lazyking

^awesome!


----------



## Lazyking

Unrelated to the G1 but I've turned quietly into a Togi Makabe fan. Recommended matches from his career? I don't think I've seen alot from his title run except maybe one or two.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura vs Ishii was brilliant. Instead of blowing it all on a structure that was EPIC, they went out and kept it sustained to a very natural babyface vs babyface, we're allies, but we know what he was to do type match. Counters in this felt more than blocking or dodging something they knew was coming. It was that bond they have as stablemates that allowed them to find the loophole or not wait to be plastered by whatever was coming next. Biggest example was Nak's taunt before attempt a Boma Ye & Ishii soared w/the dropkick right square in his dome. No wasted time. Organic is how all of it came across. Adored every second. Second favorite match produced from the tournament for me. Roar for the post match lovefest left me giddy.


----------



## Vårmakos

Lazyking said:


> Unrelated to the G1 but I've turned quietly into a Togi Makabe fan. Recommended matches from his career? I don't think I've seen alot from his title run except maybe one or two.


Some of my personal favorite Togi Makabe singles matches:
vs. Nagata - New Japan 35th Anniversary Tour
vs. Shiozaki - Dominion 6.19
vs. Suzuki - Dominion 6.16
vs. Shibata - WK7
vs. Okada - Dominion 6.22

His older matches are pretty hard to find. I got most of them via torrents.


----------



## Obfuscation

Makabe is one of my favorites. He's superb.






And hopefully you should still be able to find it but Makabe vs Okada from the Climax Night Four last year is 5 star quality & was my favorite match of the entire tournament. Must see glory.


----------



## I ♥ KEMONITO

Makabe is great, he knows how to wrestle but his brawling reputation has surpassed his ring work. I am sure Lazyking will watch his matches with Tamon Honda involved :mark:

Ishii/Nagata was my favorite Ishii match from this G1.


----------



## Corey

Wanted to ask if anyone else has seen this match to get some other opinions on it:

*WWF World Title - 2 out of 3 Falls*
Ric Flair (c) vs. Genichiro Tenryu (_WAR 9/15/1992_)

The match just never clicked with me. It was so strange. Flair gives a great heel performance and eventually stumbles into some great legwork, but there was SO much repetitiveness in this. Flair probably hit like 7 shinbreakers and the only offense Tenryu was ever able to mount were chops, headkicks, and the weakest looking powerbomb ever that won him the first fall. The match goes over 35 minutes but man I wanted to fast forward through parts. There's a sequence that's really good at first where Flair has him in the figure-4 and Tenryu yanks at Flair's ankle so Flair has to make it to the ropes to break the hold but once Tenryu breaks he just keeps him in the figure-4, and then they just do the same sequence again. Frustrates me when wrestlers do that. The finish to the 3rd fall is clever but also frustrating considering it's not a clean finish. Really deflates my attitude when I watch a match that goes so long and doesn't have a definitive finish or winner. Anyways, any other thoughts on this? Most people I read reviews from online tend to praise it mainly because of Flair's work. *** 1/4*

This is the link for it, but on the disc I watched, the match had no commentary except for a small portion of the 2nd fall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8m1h62X5OA


----------



## EmbassyForever

NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 6 Review:

Doc Gallows vs. Bad Luck Fale: *1/2. Damn, that was bad. Like, really bad. The crowd couldn't care less and the in-ring work was just uninspired.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Yuji Nagata: **3/4

Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***1/4

Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ***1/2

Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson: ***3/4

Minoru Suzuki vs. Lance Archer: **3/4

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton Benjamin: **1/2. Why the fuck Benjamin kicked out of the Bomaye? Anyway the match was rushed and not very good.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. AJ Styles: ***1/2

Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano: ***

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***3/4


----------



## smitlick

New Japan 4/8/14 Day 9 G1 Climax
Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Tomoaki Honma **3/4
Yujiro Takahashi vs Lance Archer **3/4
Yuji Nagata vs Doc Gallows ***1/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Togi Makabe ***
Minoru Suzuki vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2
Bad Luck Fale vs Katsuyori Shibata ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2
Karl Anderson vs AJ Styles ***1/2
Shelton Benjamin vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***
Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto ***3/4

New Japan 6/8/14 G1 Day 10
Honma vs Kojima ***
Fale vs DBS Jr **1/2
Naito vs Tenzan ***1/2
Anderson vs Suzuki ***1/2
Yano vs Makabe DUD
Yujiro vs Styles ***
Archer vs Okada ***1/2
Nagata vs Tanahashi ***3/4
Ishii vs Shibata ****1/4
Nakamura vs Gallows ***1/4


----------



## Toonami4Life

Loved that opening shot of Styles' entrance for his and Makabe's match.


----------



## Toonami4Life

EmbassyForever said:


> NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 6 Review:
> 
> Doc Gallows vs. Bad Luck Fale: *1/2. Damn, that was bad. Like, really bad. The crowd couldn't care less and the in-ring work was just uninspired.
> 
> Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Yuji Nagata: **3/4
> 
> Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi: ***1/4
> 
> Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ***1/2
> 
> Hirooki Goto vs. Karl Anderson: ***3/4
> 
> Minoru Suzuki vs. Lance Archer: **3/4
> 
> Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Shelton Benjamin: **1/2. Why the fuck Benjamin kicked out of the Bomaye? Anyway the match was rushed and not very good.
> 
> Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. AJ Styles: ***1/2
> 
> Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano: ***
> 
> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***3/4


Everyone kicks out of the Boma Ye, it takes three sometimes five of those for Nakamura to win. That's why I don't like it, A finisher should be the move no one gets up from. Not having to use it multiple times to keep the guy down. He needs to get a new finisher and make the Boma Ye a transitional move.


----------



## EmbassyForever

Toonami4Life said:


> Everyone kicks out of the Boma Ye, it takes three sometimes five of those for Nakamura to win. That's why I don't like it, A finisher should be the move no one gets up from. Not having to use it multiple times to keep the guy down. He needs to get a new finisher and make the Boma Ye a transitional move.


Yes, when Tanahashi kicks out, I get it, but it's Shelton Benjamin... made no sense and added nothing to the match really.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX DAY 10 (8/6)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs Tomoaki Honma **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. **

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Tetsuya Naito **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Minoru Suzuki vs Karl Anderson **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Togi Makabe vs Toru Yano 1/4*

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Yujiro Takahashi ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Lance Archer ***

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Yuji Nagata ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata ****

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Doc Gallows ***1/4

Overall Grade: 7.0


----------



## CornNthemorN

anyone know what the line is that the fans sing along to during suzuki's entrance?


----------



## Toonami4Life

CornNthemorN said:


> anyone know what the line is that the fans sing along to during suzuki's entrance?


Kaze Ni Nare


----------



## CornNthemorN

Toonami4Life said:


> Kaze Ni Nare


thx!:dance


----------



## Joshi Judas

CornNthemorN said:


> anyone know what the line is that the fans sing along to during suzuki's entrance?







Kaze Ni Nare.

Think it means "Become the wind" or something.


----------



## CornNthemorN

RAVEN said:


> Kaze Ni Nare.
> 
> Think it means "Become the wind" or something.


right on. I was trying to find the translation, but i figured I'd only ask one noob question today


----------



## NastyYaffa

Toonami4Life said:


> Loved that opening shot of Styles' entrance for his and Makabe's match.





Spoiler: AJ's entrance















:mark:


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Top matches of the G-1

Tanahashi vs AJ - Day 12 - ******
Nakamura vs Okada - Day 12 - *****
Honma vs Shibata - Day 8 ****3/4
Nakamura vs Ishii - Day 7 ****1/2
Styles vs MiSu - Day 7 ****1/2
Nakamura vs Nagata - Day 4 ****1/2
Nakamura vs Shibata - Day 1 ****1/4
Okada vs Styles - Day 1 ****1/4
Tanahashi vs Shibata - Day 4 ****1/4
Okada vs Goto - Day 9 ****1/4
Nagata vs Shibata - Day 7 ****1/4
Okada vs Naito - Day 5 ****
Ishii vs Shibata - Day 10 ****
MiSu vs Okada - Day 11 ****
Tanahashi vs Honma - Day 1 ****
Honma vs Ishii - Day 4 ****
Styles vs Naito - Day 4 ****
Tanahashi vs Ishii - Day 6 ****
Anderson vs Styles - Day 9 ****
Nakamura vs Tanahashi - Day 8 ***3/4
Tanahashi vs Kojima - Day 3 ***3/4
Okada vs Makabe - Day 3 ***3/4
Anderson vs Okada - Day 4 ***1/2
Okada vs Yujiro - Day 8 ***1/2
Makabe vs Goto - Day 1 ***1/2
Ishii vs Kojima - Day 2 ***1/2
Ishii vs Gallows - Day 5 ***1/2
Tenzan vs AJ - Day 6 ***1/2
MiSu vs Naito - Day 9 ***1/2
Kojima vs Nakamura - Day 9 ***1/2​
I did not rate these in order if they were the same rating. I have Nagata/Shinskay in second behind Honma/Shibata for mott....until tomorrow.

For the past two years, I've been expecting to see some mindblowing match between the two chaos members but I've grown sick of Nakamura. Does the same thing pretty much every match and sometimes is lucky enough to have somebody carry him. Not to say I don't like him, I do like him...I just wish he'd vary his attacks and him spamming the Boma Ye in every match now is about the final nail in the coffin of thinking he can put on a classic with Okada. I don't think Okada can carry somebody who is bigger than him fwiw, so I plan for disappointment tomorrow.


----------



## Lazyking

Orignal Bonski on DM is in the process of uploading the final day of the G1. The finals match is already up


----------



## EmbassyForever

*NJPW G1 Climax 2014 Day 7:
*
Satoshi Kojima vs. Shelton Benjamin: ***

Toru Yano vs. Lance Archer: **3/4

Yujiro Takahashi vs. Karl Anderson: **1/2

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto: ***1/2. Tenzan's comeback ruled. The crowd was rad hot for this match, once again Tenzan w/ a very good performance.

Tomoaki Honma vs. Bad Luck Fale: ****. Awesome match. The crowd went ape shit for Honma, wonder when they'll pull the trigger there. BL Fale with yet another great match.

Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito: ***3/4

Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles: *****. Holy shit. Welcome to the tournament, Suzuki. And what a way to comeback. What an amazing match. ***** for me, loved every second of it. I :mark: so much here, esp when Suzuki throw that awesome PUNCH and AJ responded with a Pele Kick. MOTY, imo. 

Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata: ****

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***3/4. Very fun match with simple story and they kept it short and sweet.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 DAY 11 (8/8)*

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Tomoaki Honma vs Shelton X Benjamin **1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Toru Yano vs Yujiro Takahashi *

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Lance Archer **

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Karl Anderson ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Doc Gallows **1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Bad Luck Fale ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Block B: AJ Styles vs Togi Makabe **3/4

G1 Climax 24 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Davey Boy Smith Jr. ***

G1 Climax 24 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki ****

Overall Grade: 7.25


*Dragon Gate: Scandal Gate 2014 (8/5)*

We Are Team Veteran (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Gamma) vs Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin & Jimmy Kanda) **1/4

Don Fujii & Ryotsu Shimizu vs Yosuke❤Santa Maria & Yuga Hayashi **1/4

Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kagetora & Mr. High Tension Kotoka vs K-ness, Ken'ichiro Arai & Shachihoko BOY **3/4

Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi) vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO & Punch Tominaga) **3/4

Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & Uhaa Nation) ***1/2

Open the Dream Gate Title - 4 on 1 Handicap Elimination Match
BxB Hulk (c) vs MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi, Kzy, Cyber Kong & Mondai Ryu) ***

Overall Grade: 5.75


----------



## flag sabbath

Steering clear of the spoiler threads 'cos I haven't finished the G1 finals yet, but Jesus H. Christ, Shibata vs. Goto was a complete car wreck. Someone needs to reel Shibata in & remind him it's a fucking work.


----------



## CornNthemorN

flag sabbath said:


> Steering clear of the spoiler threads 'cos I haven't finished the G1 finals yet, but Jesus H. Christ, Shibata vs. Goto was a complete car wreck. Someone needs to reel Shibata in & remind him it's a fucking work.


I haven't watched that match yet, but I was wondering to myself "how do you fake something like that???) like I know they work a lot stiffer than western wrestling, but shit...


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

Shibata's appeal is that he's a shoot fighter. Not all his matches are 5 star classics but he fills the niche of a guy that makes wrestling appear real (like the old UWFi matches). Other than his random no-selling, but that's to put himself over as a tough guy I guess.

He's pretty good at working with a varying level of "stiffness", against an American wrestler he is relatively light while against a crazy bastard like Goto he goes all out. I don't think he has hurt anybody so far which is a near miracle considering that he is seemingly soccer-kicking people in the head without holding back.

I'm almost against him working a full schedule because it's going to wear out the "spectacle" of seeing his matches. Also it's unfair to the NJPW roster to make them work against Shibata all the time.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

I loved shibata/goto but not because it was a classic.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 24 FINAL (8/10)*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado) **

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Yuji Nagata, BUSHI & Manabu Nakanishi **

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Shelton X Benjamin) vs Kazushi Sakuraba, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI **

Adam Cole & Michael Bennett vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Captain New Japan **1/2

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) (c) vs reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Special Match: Tetsuya Naito vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/4

G1 Climax 24 Special Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs Karl Anderson ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Special Match: Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/2

G1 Climax 24 Special Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles ***3/4

G1 Climax 24 Final: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada ****1/2 (_MOTN, MOTT, MOTY_)

Overall Grade: 8.75


*THANK YOU NJPW FOR THE BEST WRESTLING TOURNAMENT OF ALL TIMES!*


----------



## Corey

*GHC Heavyweight Championship*
Kenta Kobashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki (_NOAH 1/8/2005_)

This match works on so many levels at delivering an exciting match on the simplest of principles. Suzuki knows Kobashi is the stronger wrestler, so he immediately goes after the right arm and locks in a quick triangle choke after ducking a few chop attempts and smacking Kobashi right in the face. A quick escape shows MiSu can strike at any time, so Kobashi insists on never letting him get away. He locks in the tightest headlock you'll ever see and NEVER LET'S GO. :lol He rolls to the floor with him and actually brings him back in the ring while still in the headlock. It was awesome. He eventually backs him into a corner and proceeds to chop the shit out of him. Unfortunately, he makes the mistake of giving Suzuki too much space, which he'd done so well in avoiding for a few minutes. MiSu catches his arm and locks in one of his patented triangle chokes over the top rope. The ref let's this go on for what feels like an eternity for poor Kobashi before he breaks the hold. 

Throughout the rest of the match they continue the trend that if you get too cocky and leave your opponent too much room, he'll make you pay. Suzuki is on offense for a while and goes for a strike to the face but gets caught with a nasty looking sleeper suplex. What does he do on the outside though? Grabs a sleeper hold of his own and doesn't let go until Kobashi literally crawls off the side of the stage to force a break. The work on Kobashi's right arm is a contant story and MiSu is able to pull off some really fucking nifty ways to roll into a cross armbreaker or even the black widow submission. 90% of this match is really fucking good, but I can't really say I liked the finish. Kobashi sort of blows off the selling and hits 4 straight backdrop drivers, but instead of going for a cover (Suzuki is completely unresponsive), he insists on picking him up for a lariat to get the win. Seemed a bit unnecessary to me. Either way the finish doesn't hurt the match for me too much because this was really terrific for about 20 minutes straight. ******

To my knowledge, that's also ^^ those two guys only one-on-one meeting. A couple other matches I watched but don't have time to type out reviews for:

*GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles*
KENTA & Marufuji (c) vs. Takeshi Sugiura & Kendo Kashin (_NOAH Departure 7/10/2004_) - ****

*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Jushin Liger (c) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (_NOAH Departure 7/10/2004_) - ****


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Does anybody know where I can find a link to Okada vs Anderson from the 2012 G-1 finals? If so, thanks in advance.


----------



## NastyYaffa

I haven't watched much NOAH this year, so I wanted to ask you guys, what are some of the best NOAH matches of this year?


----------



## trademarklas

Can anyone hook me up with a list of Shibata's best matches besides stuff from this years G1 and his match Vs. Ishii from last years?


----------



## dienlaw

does anyone have a link to Nakamura/Okada from the G1 Climax 2 years ago?


----------



## Martyn

trademarklas said:


> Can anyone hook me up with a list of Shibata's best matches besides stuff from this years G1 and his match Vs. Ishii from last years?


Watch Shibata/Akiyama from 2005!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R21vAc7bqqU


----------



## Groovemachine

NastyYaffa said:


> I haven't watched much NOAH this year, so I wanted to ask you guys, what are some of the best NOAH matches of this year?


There hasn't been a ton to be honest, but these are more than worth checking out:

Yuji Nagata vs Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH 05.07.14 - ****

Atsushi Kotoge & Taiji Ishimori vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr - NOAH 4.12.2014 - ***3/4

Taiji Ishimori Vs Daisuke Harada - NOAH 03.08.2014 - ***3/4


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

dienlaw said:


> does anyone have a link to Nakamura/Okada from the G1 Climax 2 years ago?


This match was never released in full because even back then they knew they were trying to hold it back as long as they could. There's a 6 minute or so clip on youtube from it.


----------



## seabs

*That's just not true at all.*


----------



## Rah

I recall seeing that match, and it went just under 20 minutes or something. Only match I remember people complaining about missing footage was the 15 or so minutes from Okada/Tanahashi in June 2012.


----------



## Corey

*IVP: The Best of Katsuhiko Nakajima, Vol. 2

**AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship
*Shuji Kondo (c) vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - DUD
_AJPW 2/17/2007

_*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship
*Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs. Shuji Kondo - DUD
_AJPW 6/24/2007

_*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship
*Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs. Chris Sabin - *** 1/2
_AJPW 8/26/2007_

*ROH World Title
*Takeshi Morishima (c) vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima - 1/2*
_Kensuke Office 9/1/2007


_- I'm gonna combine this paragraph for both Kondo matches cause they were both horrible. In the first one they waste time in the middle with Nakajima doing armwork that isn't sold in the slightest and with Kondo doing neckwork that means nothing and goes nowhere. They eventually trade nearfalls for about 10 minutes and after seeing a whole slew of big moves, the match ends with a german suplex. WOW. The 2nd match wasn't quite as bad but still awful. Kondo does leg work and it wasn't sold at all. Jumping dropkicks everywhere. Then they trade some more nearfalls for several minutes. These two have no idea how to structure a match without trading pin attempts for 50% of it. On top of that there were sequences that made no sense at all because Nakajima is truly bad at selling. He would lay there for a minute straight then pop up and start kicking Kondo. UGH

- I almost gave up on this comp but thankfully I didn't because I really liked the match with Sabin. The constant barrage of kicks from Nakajima made sense here because Sabin tried to kick with him in the beginning and it didn't work. Sabin attacks the left leg for a few minutes and the selling is so-so throughout. He doesn't hit any blatant kicks with the left leg and leap off the ropes for a dropkick at least. Sabin looked like a million bucks here, let me tell ya. I seriously thought he was gonna win after a cradle shock from the middle rope. Guy had some really close nearfalls. The only problem was that once again there were too many of them. Idk why they keep doing this shit but luckily this time it wasn't enough to just completely ruin the match. I loved the shit out 90% of this but if they had cut out about 3 or 4 nearfalls/minutes of action, it would've hit 4* territory. Much better selling overall from Nakajima too.

- I'm not even going into detail about the Morishima match because I don't even care. Nakajima does NOTHING but kick until the last few minutes and Morishima blatantly ignores the legwork he had to endure. Nakajima is at least able to hit a german suplex late in the match that gets a good reaction, but most of this sucked. Morishima should've looked way more dominant and guess what else they did? Spam the hell out of nearfalls. Oh and they completely botched the finish. The ref counted 3 despite Nakajima actually getting his shoulder up. Jesus fucking christ this shit SUCKED.

Someone tell me, has Nakajima improved at all over the years? What's he doing these days?​


----------



## seabs

*Nakajima does nothing these days because the Jr. style in Japan outside of New Japan really sucks and NOAH really sucks as well. I haven't seen a Nakajima match in ages but he seemed to stop having great matches around the time he got those horrible baggy pants. Back when the promotions he was working in were hot he was really good though. Maybe the regression is in part due to the places he's working being so cold but also in part due to him not progressing well past being a scrappy underdog kid who kicks hard. If he came into New Japan then I'm pretty sure he'd be really good again though. So many Jrs. out there wasting away working horrible long matches in other promotions while New Japan's Jr. division really needs beefing up with guys like Nakajima.*


----------



## Concrete

I feel like it is safe to say most Jr. style, even in NJPW, stinks something extra. Actually, most of my critisizm would be towards NJPW since I haven't seen a ton of Iishimori(sp?) or ZSJ in NOAH nor have I watched a ton of junior wrestling anywhere else such as AJPW. But I have seen enough of NJPW to know there are VERY few guys I'd like see consistently in that Jr. division with KUSHIDA probably being one and Ibushi the other but then again most of the time I watch Ibushi these days, I enjoy his matches against heavyweights at least twice as much than in his native weight class. So there's that.


----------



## seabs

*I can deal with New Japan Jr. matches more because they're at least short. Rare even the title matches go over 15 minutes which is a fine cut off point for them. New Japan's Jr. division has been poor for ages now. KUSHIDA is getting very good and Ibushi is always fun so it's getting better at least. It's a shame they don't work with Dragon Gate more because a ton of their guys coming in to work 10 minute Jr. matches on their PPVs would rule. Stops them doing the whole 20-30 minute match where the first 2/3rds of boring. *


----------



## EscapedIllusion

So there is talk of having the ROH World title defended at the Tokyo Dome instead of the NWA title.

Also does anyone know when NJPW is gonna announce the Destruction card?


Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


----------



## Super Sonic

Other noteworthy NJPW news from Meltzer:



> We don’t know the name of the company, but New Japan is working on an idea of using the same iPPV company to handle its business that ROH is using.


----------



## Lazyking

EscapedIllusion said:


> So there is talk of having the ROH World title defended at the Tokyo Dome instead of the NWA title.
> 
> Also does anyone know when NJPW is gonna announce the Destruction card?
> 
> 
> Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App


Good move if true on an ROH title match in the dome. I know Japan highly respects the NWA title but its no longer relevant.


----------



## Corey

Just saw a guy by the name of Masayuki Naruse use the YES/LeBell lock in a match against Tanahashi in January of '04. Definitely the earliest I've ever seen that move used. Thought that was pretty neat.


----------



## Corey

*NJPW Fighting Spirit '04 - Day 3 (2/1/2004)

*Tiger Mask IV vs. American Dragon - ***

Shinya Makabe & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Blue Wolf - ** 1/2

Masahiro Chono, Mike Barton, & Jim Steele vs. Tadao Yasuda, Mitsuya Nagai, & Katsuyori Shibata - ** 1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
*Jado & Gedo (c) vs. Jushin Liger & Koji Kanemoto - ** 1/2

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
*Heat (c) vs. Curry Man - *** 1/2

Genichiro Tenryu & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi - ***

*IWGP Tag Team Championship
*Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama - *** 1/2


- Pretty sweet 10 minute match between Danielson & Tiger Mask. Danielson was very vocal in his actions and selling so I think he made a lasting impression on the crowd. Loved the way he sold a tombstone piledriver too. Good match.

- So when did Makabe change his ring name from Shinya to Togi? Yutaka Yoshie is an awesome fatty. Has he ever faced Kobashi? Love to see him get dropped on his head. :lol Anyway, decent tag match but it went too long. Tanahashi & Blue Wolf had some dissension as a team as well. Can't seem to find any history of those two facing off but a match like this could warrant it happening for the U-30 Title at the time.

- 6-man was average. Shibata is wrestling under a blue mask that looks ridiculous. Yasuda is a very odd looking man. Never heard of the American guys either.

- Juniors Tag Title match was pretty disappointing considering the talent involved. They never seemed to hit a good flow or rhythm. I loved Kanemoto's energy but he eventually starting spamming the ankle lock. Liger didn't seem on his game and they didn't do a very good job of building up to their big moves or sequences. It was all just kind of there, ya know?

- "He's hot! He's spicy! He tastes great!" :lmao Man it's been way too long since I've seen a Curry Man match. Daniels' work was fantastic here. Everything was super smooth and crisp. There was a part that I thought was really cool where Heat has him in a sleeper hold for a while and he gets to the ropes, but when they stand up Heat hits another big move and the ref counts to one but Daniels pretty much wakes up and almost jumps out of the pin, like he had just woken up from his sleep due to the loud noise of the ref's hand hitting the mat. I loved that. The final minutes were full of nifty counters and close nearfalls, but I wish the fucking crowd was awake to react more to them. Either way this was a really good match that made me appreciate Daniels even more. (Y)

- The heavyweight tag was all manly and stuff. There's virtually no structure, it's just 4 guys who don't like each other and wanna beat the piss out of one another. At one point Sasaki pretty much tries to kill Nakanishi by ramming his head into an exposed turnbuckle, the guardrail outside, the entrance ramp, and the ring post about a combined 20 times. He obviously gets busted open and it might've been the hard way. Pretty cool to see Sasaki walking around the whole match with blood on his face and mouth that doesn't belong to him though.  Nagata is yelling at Nakanishi throughout most of the match so eventually Manabu turns on him and feeds him to the wolves before walking out. 

- I really liked most of the main event. The start was probably the best part as Suzuki immediately establishes his dominance by hitting a swift kick to the head and damn near choking Tenzan out in the first minute. I think he may have busted his ear open somewhere too, couldn't get a good view. When Nishimura gets in the match he dukes it out with the shoot fighters but makes the mistake of showing them too much respect on clean breaks and it eventually costs him. Tenzan comes back in and demands MiSu come back in the match and gets his wish. They go toe-to-toe with strikes until they hit the mat and Tenzan busts open Suzuki's nose with a headbutt. Appeared to be broken. Throughout the match they never made the challengers seem to be evil or come across as ruthless unstoppable heels; and in fact they had to come each other's aide a few times. The champs seemed outmatched from the get-go and that made sense as to why the match ended how it did (seemingly out of nowhere), but I think this should've went a little longer seeing how it ended up being the 3rd longest match on the card and in the main event slot. It was very strange as Suzuki & Takayama won the tag belts to virtually no reaction whatsoever. This is probably the most I've ever enjoyed a Tenzan match too.

Pretty decent show. Two good title matches are what you need to see. Downloaded this on XWT as complete New Japan shows from prior to this decade aren't easy to come by.​


----------



## Bruce L

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Just saw a guy by the name of Masayuki Naruse use the YES/LeBell lock in a match against Tanahashi in January of '04. Definitely the earliest I've ever seen that move used. Thought that was pretty neat.


Akiyama used it in a GHC tag title match against Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga in '02.


----------



## Corey

Bruce L said:


> Akiyama used it in a GHC tag title match against Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga in '02.


Aaaand I stand corrected. :lol


----------



## Lazyking

Makabe changed his name to Togi at the 2004 G1


----------



## Snapdragon

Lazyking said:


> Good move if true on an ROH title match in the dome. I know Japan highly respects the NWA title but its no longer relevant.


The NWA was also sending over guys like Wes Brisco, Michael Tarver and Big Daddy Yum Yum, so I understand why New Japan would want nothing more to do with them.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Just finished Nagata vs Ishii as I had skipped Days 10 and 11 outside of the ones that impacted the results. Holy shit. That match has to be this years Shibata/Ishii. Not five stars, mind you but just the manliest match of the tournament. Ishii for god.


----------



## Obfuscation

I can't help but feel the complaint on "too many strikes" in Puro are folks missing a natural trait that goes w/the style & are too expecting of everything to mesh well in the world of American rasslin.


----------



## Concrete

Lets all go watch Ikeda vs Ishikawa from 2010 Futen and marvel in the strikes.


----------



## Obfuscation

Spoiler: facefisted















<3


----------



## Nervosa

StuckInHell4-Life said:


> Just finished Nagata vs Ishii as I had skipped Days 10 and 11 outside of the ones that impacted the results. Holy shit. That match has to be this years Shibata/Ishii. Not five stars, mind you but just the manliest match of the tournament. Ishii for god.


Agreed. Just posted about this in the other thread. This match and Makabe/Suzuki are the two most slept on matches in the tourney, for my money.


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

Just want to drop this in here for those who may be interested: we did a podcast this week talking all about the G-1 Climax (discussing "star of the tournament" and "match of the tournament") and potential future directions for New Japan between now and WrestleKingdom on January 4th. It was a lot of fun to do, and aimed at new fans and true fans alike, check it out, would be very keen to get some feedback if you fancy listening 

http://squaredcirclegazette.podbean.com/mf/web/acnh5x/SCGRadio11-TheG-1ClimaxandNJPW.mp3


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

I was about to count out the likes of Makabe, Suzuki and Nagata but they came up with some brilliant performances in the tournament. All of them have unique personalities and always tell a story in the ring.

Unfortunately it appears that Suzuki will be wasted in a feud with Sakuraba (who has my eternal respect for his MMA career but appears to be physically finished) while Makabe and Nagata will probably have nothing going on except filling in for tag matches against the heels.


----------



## Obfuscation

People surprised about Makabe & Nagata being awesome, just like Kojima? Sometimes it feels like people forget most of this roster rules outside of the same five dudes who get chatter.

MiSu vs Sakuraba match should be awesome. Sequence alone on the final night sold it for me.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

I would've loved to have seen a Nagata vs Okada title match but that was not to be. Okada having to sell and overcome extended armwork again :mark:. Nagata's always been one of my favorites. Perhaps why I :mark: for his match vs Nakamura so much.


----------



## Lazyking

Even Tenzan had some good G1 performances. The two guys NJPW are pushing that I don't care for is Takahashi and Fale.


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate 2014
-Eita & T-Hawk © vs Dragon Kid & Masaaki Mochizuki ***1/2


----------



## Obfuscation

Tanahashi vs Takeshita happened at Ryogoku Peter Pan today. :mark: MUST GET ON THE INTERNET, IMMEDIATELY.


----------



## Corey

IVP is having a 20% off sale where he will end up donating the money you save to the ALS Association at the end of the week. A really good cause obviously and it's directly affected his family members so I made a big order. You folks should do the same. (Y)

------------------

Just watched what was by far the most enjoyable Tenzan match I've ever seen. Tenzan vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Title from NJPW 3/12/2004. Started throwin bombs at each other right outta the gate and never let up. We learn quickly that Tenzan has a really fucking hard head.  He's able to weather the storm of offense from Sasaki (it's a shit ton of knocks to the head) and make a comeback but Sasaki weathers even MORE of a storm before winning the belt after a very strange looking move that I can't comment on. It was some kind of gutwrench face drop, idk. Damn good match though. *** 3/4 Check it out if you want something random to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeQkRKp5wmQ

I have no idea why Sasaki wins the belt there though, seeing as he dropped it just two weeks later to Bob fucking Sapp. Horrible. Anyway, another good match that takes place on the same show is Jado & Gedo vs. Danielson & Curry Man for the Jr. Tag Titles. Nothing outstanding but a real solid tag match where Danielson wins some New Japan gold.


----------



## Obfuscation

I like Tenzan. Even better is it really doesn't feel like an odd opinion to say after some of his work this year, thanks to the climax. Wouldn't matter anyways. Always enjoyed the chap & his huge head.

In other news, I slammed through Kobashi's farewell again. I'm glad nobody was video taping me. Too much emotion to be seen. All of it still gets me. ONE FINAL MOONSAULT. What a moment to live for. :mark:


----------



## cablegeddon

Meltzer and his host on the podcast talked about Nakamura's Michael Jackson/weirdo - gimmick. They said it was a huge gamble and that Nakamura could have been stuck in the midcard for the rest of his career, had it not worked out.

I just can't stomach the gimmick. I just accept that it's a japanese thing. But I liked Nakamura better before that gimmick.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

From WON:


> Okada announced the establishment of “The Rainmaker Foundation,” a children’s cancer charity. He personally will donate $300 every time he wins a match using the rainmaker retroactive from the start of 2014.


Much respect to Okada. Especially as it was reported last year that he blew all his money, had lots of debt, and had to sell his IWGP championship ring.


----------



## Vårmakos

> Okada announced the establishment of “The Rainmaker Foundation,” a children’s cancer charity. *He personally will donate $300 every time he wins a match* using the rainmaker retroactive from the start of 2014.


They've got nothing to worry about. :troll


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura's swag gimmick won me over w/o hesitation, tbhayley. True, I did enjoy his bit beforehand more _(the bad ass days, leader of CHAOS, Climax champion & feud w/Naito, ffs)_ but he wasn't a babyface like he is now. The evolution worked out well.


----------



## KeepinItReal

I can't imagine Ricochet winning this match.


----------



## Obfuscation

Probably not. Okada shouldn't be booked to lose it either. Still excited to know it is coming down the pike, eventually. October announce date feels so long to wait.


----------



## Zatiel

That match is dirty hot.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ryogoku Peter Pan is up on Dailymotion. Well I know what I'm cramming tonight. :mark:


----------



## Vårmakos

NOAH - 02.08.14

Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs. Choukibou-gun (Hajime Ohara & Kenou) - ***

I loved this match. Liger/Tiger are on a revenge streak that goes a bit too far. They start wrecking shit like grumpy assholes and out-heel the heels.


----------



## Obfuscation

Liger & Tiger Mask were pretty much* the highlight for NOAH last year during their Junior Tag Division invasion.

*implied b/c CHAOS invading was just as strong for the matches vs TMDK. Phenomenal outings.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Over the past week or so I've watched every Okada IWGP match until he lost it vs AJ in May...He has some good matches. All of these are in order.

*****
vs Tanahashi - Invasion Attack 2013
vs Tanahashi - King of Pro Wrestling 2013
vs Naito - 3/4/13
vs Tanahashi - Dominion 2012

****3/4
vs Goto - New Beginning in Osaka (2013)

****1/2
vs Goto - Dontaku 2012 
vs Tanahashi - WrestleKingdom VII (2013)

****1/4
vs Makabe - Dominion 2013
vs Kojima - Destruction 2013
vs Naito - Wrestle Kingdom VIII (2014)
vs Tanahashi - New Beginnings 2012

****
vs Devitt - Kizuna Road 2013
vs Anderson - Power Struggle 2013
vs MiSu - Dontaku 2013

***1/2
vs AJ Styles - Dontaku 2014

Really didn't feel like sitting through the AJ rematch after this really disjointed and weird match even though I thought their G-1 match is awesome. Out of all of this I was shocked how much chemistry Okada and Goto have considering their G-1 match this year as well. Without a huge botch during a false finish about 4-5 mins before the end I could see this also being ****3/4. 

Okada is talented.


----------



## almostfamous

StuckInHell4-Life said:


> Okada is talented.


He's everything the WWE hoped Randy Orton could be, but never got close.


----------



## Obfuscation

Is it fashionable to try and compare Okada w/WWE guys who also do dropkicks & I missed the memo?


----------



## Lazyking

You forgot the DDT spot Okada does


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Is it fashionable to try and compare Okada w/WWE guys who also do dropkicks & I missed the memo?





Lazyking said:


> You forgot the DDT spot Okada does


LOL'ed. I see no comparison between him and Randy. I've seen lots compare him to Ziggler as well. Ziggler is not even in the same stratosphere as Okada.


----------



## Obfuscation

Touche.

I still wonder if most actually took notice of KENTA's WWE Main Eventer signature move finishing sequence he always used in his matches. He's probably the more hip comparison than Okada b/c of that. 8*D


----------



## Corey

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. AJ Styles (_Wrestling Dontaku '13_)

Believe it or not guys, this is my official introduction to Okada. My first time seeing a match of his despite ALL the hype he's gotten over the past year or two. While I can definitely say I enjoyed the match, I thought Styles outperformed him. Okada is very smooth in the ring but I feel like between moves he needs to show some more facials or interact with the crowd a bit more. Orton always does a great job of building the suspense as to when he's gonna drop the other guy from the middle rope ddt, but when Okada did it here on the outside he just seemed to lay Styles out on the guardrail and dropped him. Could've gotten a better reaction with that. The legwork AJ did in the middle of the match was real solid and it was really smart to break out the Muta Lock (a move the crowd would be very familiar with). I also thought the counter into the calf killer was really really great, plus I was literally sitting here thinking 'I wonder if Styles still uses that calf killer move...'. It's a shame Okada never sold the leg injury for any extended period of time outside of the one dropkick he delivered, though. The finishing stretch showed these two had plenty of chemistry and the rainmaker counters were swanky. I also really like the American-style run-in finish. Was this a heel turn from Yujiro? Loved the announcer's reaction to that and the way they called the STYOS CWASHHHH. You can really feel everyone in the crowd sort of worrying and being disgusted with what was going down and seeing Okada lose the belt. I liked this a good bit. Styles presented himself extremely well. **** 3/4*

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
AJ Styles (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada (_Back to the Yokohama Arena_)

My feelings remain the same in saying that this was the AJ Styles show. Absolutely loved his performance here as he seemed leaps and bounds ahead of Okada. His heel persona mixed with his overall wrestling ability and willingness to take bumps for his opponent in the ring was a deadly combination. I loved the backbreaker he used in both of these matches too. Gets such a great reaction from the crowd. Okada was constantly being cut off from any momentum he gained in the first 15 minutes. The brainbuster on the apron and the springboard forearm spot on the outside were both sweet. Loved AJ throwin up the clique sign into the camera too. I didn't mind the run-in from BC members because it made you think there's was gonna be another screwy ending until Ishii makes the save to a big pop. Some of the sequences in the late stages felt a bit too drawn out and I got a little annoyed with Okada's ridiculous obsession with having to win with nothing but the Rainmaker. He hits some nice moves (damn good looking tombstone he uses) but wouldn't even go for covers and it kind of hurt the crowd's reception. The match as a whole was right on par with the last one imo. The Dontaku match is a bit more compact but the Yokohama one gives you more of a story and more to sink your teeth into. **** 3/4*

A couple things I wanna point out about these matches. New Japan and Japanese wrestling in general has always been well know for its long term storytelling, and I think this series will be another example. Throughout both matches, AJ outworked and outperformed Okada in nearly every way. Okada was outmatched, outsmarted, outwrestled, etc. I felt no emotional connection to him whatsoever throughout these and that's no good. If they do in fact go with a rematch between these two in the Tokyo Dome, it's gonna give us a good idea as to how much Okada has improved and if he's developed enough to beat this savvy veteran. It'll be a hell of a moment if he's able to beat Styles. Keep in mind AJ NEVER took one Rainmaker in either match. Always had a counter. (Y)


----------



## Obfuscation

First match was zzzzzzzzzz & the second was good, but dragged on way, way longer than it should. Could have been great in half the time. Then the Climax happened at less than twenty minutes and I disliked all of it pardon Okada's awesome dive spot. So...yeah. Fuck off w/these matches New Japan. I won't get my wish though. Terrible.


----------



## Corey

Has Styles not even defended the title since then? That's crazy if so.

Totally forgot to mention how scary that bump was that Okada took in the 2nd match when Yujiro flapjacks him over the ropes. Could've been horrible.


----------



## Obfuscation

Hasn't b/c the Climax. There are only so many championship matches per year. Most of Styles losses will probably equal out into a few defenses if he is to remain flag bearer until Wrestle Kingdom. I can see Styles vs Naito happening for Styles to get his win back & fill a void for an upcoming PPV. Part of me still thinks Okada may pull the Kojima and cash in prior to the Tokyo Dome event. I'm having a hard time imagining Okada vs Styles IV being saved for that long. Nor do I see it actually ending the show.


----------



## Corey

Only seen one match from Naito and it was just an opening 6-man from some random show in 2011, but he definitely left a lasting impression on me and I wanna see more of him. 

Styles vs. Nakamura has to be done at some point you'd think. He's pretty much the only big name left for AJ to face outside of another match with Tanahashi. Maybe Okada loses the "briefcase" or whatever you wanna call this thing in a rematch with Nakamura and they save that long awaited dream match for the Dome?


----------



## Miguel De Juan

I feel like I am the only who doesn't think the main title (in any company) should be defended every month.

It should be something special.


----------



## Corey

I have no problem with that. It's just strange when you look at it and see that by the end of the Destruction shows, AJ will have been champ for well over 4 months and had only 1 defense (which was 3 weeks into the reign). I don't think that's good for any champ.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Only seen one match from Naito and it was just an opening 6-man from some random show in 2011, but he definitely left a lasting impression on me and I wanna see more of him.
> 
> Styles vs. Nakamura has to be done at some point you'd think. He's pretty much the only big name left for AJ to face outside of another match with Tanahashi. Maybe Okada loses the "briefcase" or whatever you wanna call this thing in a rematch with Nakamura and they save that long awaited dream match for the Dome?


Naito is the man. Have had plenty great matches from him. Even _just_ this year alone.

Doubtful. They may have Okada do various matches w/the briefcase on the line, but I doubt he'd lose it. There's a better chance at Okada winning before Wrestle Kingdom & working vs Nakamura in the main event. A scenario I'm hoping they go w/.



Jack Evans 187 said:


> I have no problem with that. It's just strange when you look at it and see that by the end of the Destruction shows, AJ will have been champ for well over 4 months and had only 1 defense (which was 3 weeks into the reign). I don't think that's good for any champ.


Completely missing the point. You can't expect American ideals to transfer over to how it is done in Puro. Nothing about his reign is any different from most others.

Styles has two defenses. The match vs Okada & Elgin in ROH counts.


----------



## Corey

Ah, forgot that 3-way. Good call. Oh well, I'm still relatively new to current Puro anyway.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Check out Naito vs Nakamura from finals of G-1 in 2011 and Naito vs Tanahashi from 10/10/11. Two of my favorite matches ever and those are brilliant.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Hayley Seydoux said:


> You can't expect American ideals to transfer over to how it is done in Puro. Nothing about his reign is any different from most others.
> 
> Styles has two defenses. The match vs Okada & Elgin in ROH counts.


Yeah, 1-2 title defenses, plus winning a title, is a huge accomplishment. Lol that's all Brock Lesnar ever did in the UFC. The Rock beating Punk for the belt and then retaining in the rematch is an accomplishment. AJ went 8-2 in the G1, Okada was a lot worse last yr as champion in the G1.


----------



## Chloe

So NJPW/Puro fans, I would like to your opinions on events or matches that you would show to someone who is just getting into NJPW/Puro? Does NJPW have a weekly TV show like WWE and TNA? What would you show your children to say to them "start from there and then go forward"?


----------



## Obfuscation

Weekly formats for American promotions isn't how it is done in Japan. They usually do tours per months w/certain nights making TV & act as build up programs & have them wrap up w/a final big, or bigger show if stretched out to have two events. The bigger shows generally now made for iPPVs or if not iPPVs, will still make air as just an implied big show w/grudges and championships on the line etc. So in regards to New Japan specifically, beauty is most of the time the stories are all very easy to jump into. Nothing overly complex as a general grudge or reason the matches are happening, but boatloads of stories told during the matches themselves. All depends on where you want to start. If using the iPPV starting point I mentioned to you in the Indie thread, then going from there and learning about the big names like Tanahashi, Nakamura, Okada, and all the rest are key. And you'll basically get the gist from the bunch on the King of Pro Wrestling event. All the championships were defended, plenty of exposure for popular factions such as CHAOS & Suzuki-Gun are shown & it was just an all around super great introduction show to an on going product. I should try and find you a link to a thread Seabs made as an introduction to the current New Japan stuff. It is comprehensive & will certainly help you learn their roster to a deep level. Includes plenty of recommended matches to start w/too.

You're in luck. Full event is still on youtube:






Gosh, the main event is a total five star classic. Epic stuff.

As for something more "classic", here is something I tend to consider the greatest wrestling match I've ever seen & it should include two names you would probably be familiar w/.






A whole lot of theatrics in this one. And it is an amazing story. So somthing else to capture a different more well rounded "straight up wrestling" essence of New Japan from a classic sense, I'll rec these in both the essence of seeing the Junior Division & their Heavyweight division:










Ok, I probably could have chosen something old for the Heavyweight mention, but there was no good handy sets like the liger one & I'm tired so I clicked the first, haha. Well, Muta has one. But again, he's so interesting that I wanted to branch out to a general style. Names like Shinya Hashimoto, Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Kensuke Sasaki, Antonio Inoki (the founder) among others are keys to New Japan's Heavyweight scene, _(w/o any Gaijin plugs. Such as Vader, Stan Hansen, Bam Bam Bigelow, Scott Norton)_ prior to the current of today.


----------



## Chloe

Just watched the Liger vs Muta match and I gotta say good action but amazing story telling. Nothing in modern WWE touches that shit.


----------



## Corey

If you liked that Muta/Liger match a good bit, you ought to really enjoy both of these:











The 2nd one is the infamous Muta Scale match where Muta loses an immense amount of blood.


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

NJPW doesn't have many characters like Muta or Liger around anymore though. There's still great character work at times but nothing like Muta who was all about telling a unique story in his matches. In that regard, watching Great Muta's matches doesn't really condition a person for watching the current NJPW product.

The current characters are more subtle but you always get a sense of what's going on in a match, even though you don't understand anything that the commentators are saying. Minoru Suzuki and Shinsuke Nakamura are probably the two outstanding wrestlers as far as their character work goes, they have the timing of their facial expressions and mannerisms down to an art.


----------



## Obfuscation

shackles said:


> Just watched the Liger vs Muta match and I gotta say good action but amazing story telling. Nothing in modern WWE touches that shit.


(Y)

Glad you enjoyed it.


----------



## Chloe

Jack Evans 187 said:


> If you liked that Muta/Liger match a good bit, you ought to really enjoy both of these:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The 2nd one is the infamous Muta Scale match where Muta loses an immense amount of blood.


Geez, you really like blood hey? Anyway just done watching the Muta vs Shinzaki match and man was that crazy. True definition of "suspension of disbelief". Little things in that match such as Muta using Shinzaki's blood to write on his wooden plank, digging in to his gash with his nails, hanging him from his neck with his belt? Make all the difference. I'll probably get to watching more of them later as I don't want to overload myself with wrestling but those 30 mins flew by fast.


----------



## Obfuscation

*Blood* does bring the goods. Especially when Muta is involved.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Jack Evans 187 said:


>


I wish I could sit through that shitty quality. Just can't do it, especially for a match that relies on the visuals.

When announcers introduce wrestlers in title match, I've always been curious what they say when they say what sounds like "Bo-sho-bo Climax". The crowd always cheers for this spot to. Anybody help me out with this? Surely somebody at least knows what I'm talking about.

edit: it's said at exactly 1:09-1:10 of that Muta/Hase video above.


----------



## Corey

Watched a few matches from Wrestle Kingdom VIII today:

*King of Destroyer Match
*Togi Makabe vs. Bad Luck Fale - *** 1/2
_After watching the first few minutes of this, I thought I was in for a long night. They didn't do much but punch each other and kinda wasted the use of the massive chain on the outside. Luckily the longer the match went on, the better it got and the more I got invested into it. Middle portion where Fale dominates with the Samoan Spike and the Border Toss (yeah idk what he calls these moves) was really good and made for some close calls on the 10-count. I really liked how the powerbomb spot through the table ended up looking because it came off like Makabe was totally in a hurry to smash him through it so he missed half of it. Good match. I'd like to see more from Fale as this was my first viewing._

*Hirooko Goto Return Match
*Hirooko Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - DUD DUD DUD
_If I'm being completely honest here, this was without a doubt in my mind the WORST match I've seen from any company all year. Absolutely hated it. Shibata has fucking sucked in both Tokyo Dome matches I've seen him in now. This whole match is nothing but kicks and forearms for minutes at a time, immediate no selling, some head drops followed by more immediate no selling, and repeat. Even if there's some kind of a story behind it (which I have no idea) it won't be able to save what they actually did in the ring. The sequence where Goto does that TKO move across his knee was terrible. It looked like he just layed Shibata there without trying to hurt him. Not to mention the immense overkill with nearfalls. Yeah, sorry to the folks who've plugged this as a MOTYC, but this sucked huge ass monkey balls imo._

*IWGP Jr. Heavvyweight Championship
*Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi - *** 1/4
_Prince Deviit has got to be one of the coolest wrestlers on the planet. Not sure which character I liked better, this one or the Dark Knight one from Rev Pro... Anyway, this was a pretty good match but Bullet Club's constant involvement really irked me. They should've been thrown out long before they actually were. While it was annoying, it at least created a good story with Ibushi having to fight back against so much punishment. The roll through Ibushi did where he converted a school boy into a German suplex was my favorite part of the entire match. Really cool switch there. This was relatively good and fun as a whole but I was disappointed by how easily Ibushi seemed to have won. He had endured all that punishment and then strung together a couple moves for the win. Devitt went down without a fight to me.

_Will get around to the double main event and maybe the tag title matches tomorrow probably.


----------



## Obfuscation

I still question why you even watch Puro w/how often you complain about "too many strikes". Not even in regards to a Shibata match. Just in general.


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

Jack Evans 187 said:


> *Hirooko Goto Return Match
> *Hirooko Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata - DUD DUD DUD
> _If I'm being completely honest here, this was without a doubt in my mind the WORST match I've seen from any company all year. Absolutely hated it. Shibata has fucking sucked in both Tokyo Dome matches I've seen him in now. This whole match is nothing but kicks and forearms for minutes at a time, immediate no selling, some head drops followed by more immediate no selling, and repeat. Even if there's some kind of a story behind it (which I have no idea) it won't be able to save what they actually did in the ring. The sequence where Goto does that TKO move across his knee was terrible. It looked like he just layed Shibata there without trying to hurt him. Not to mention the immense overkill with nearfalls. Yeah, sorry to the folks who've plugged this as a MOTYC, but this sucked huge ass monkey balls imo._


You haven't watched their match from the final day of the G-1, have you? I liked their WK match ::dance . G-1 match I would not even call a wrestling match. I've spent enough time discussing that one though. Despite everything, I gave that G-1 match ****1/4 because it's a great exhibition of how not to wrestle.

Hayley, I figured you'd know the answer to my question....no?


----------



## Corey

Oh lord, no chance I'll ever watch their G1 match if that's the case.



Hayley Seydoux said:


> I still question why you even watch Puro w/how often you complain about "too many strikes". Not even in regards to a Shibata match. Just in general.


Just to offer variety more than anything. A ton of Puro matches start out with two guys running at each other and stiffing the hell out of one another and most of the time it's pretty cool, but if it never evolves into anything more than that, I just lose interest. I don't really wanna see two guys throw kicks and forearms for 20 minutes, ya know? At this point I'm learning to just stay away from certain wrestlers (Shibata being one of them).


----------



## Obfuscation

Its a common staple w/the style so it just kind of lunges out at me if someone doesn't like it, surprised they bother watching it. :draper2 _(strikes akin to Puro as common transitions for matches to where "restholds" are for US & Lucha is common ground work/arm drags, etc.)_

btw did anyone else love Styles vs Anderson from the Climax as much as I did? I swear that's probably a top ten match up for me at the end of the day. Fabulous.


----------



## Vårmakos

Shibata's moveset is mostly comprised of strikes (and backdrops). You're better off just not watching his matches. A guy with a B0rk avatar complaining about move repetition is funny to me.


----------



## Corey

MTVDTH said:


> Shibata's moveset is mostly comprised of strikes (and backdrops). You're better off just not watching his matches. A guy with a B0rk avatar complaining about move repetition is funny to me.


Can't argue with the irony there.  I've only seen two Shibata singles matches once he took the mask off and he hasn't sold well at all in either one. He just seems completely one dimensional. I did however watch a "match" where he gets absolutely destroyed by... Murakami I think? It was some kind of bounty they were doing I believe. It was a fantastic segment though because it was so easy to get behind him as the underdog because of his size. If there are more matches like that where he plays the underdog and actually sells, I'd be glad to give him another go.


----------



## Obfuscation

He's meant to be like a totally legit shoot type wrestler. Only w/the absurd full throttle strike game of someone from BattlArts, opposed to his former partner Sakuraba who applies the ground essence of the shoot game in his matches. I still think Shibata matches that aren't like the Goto stuff that you made like more (all from this year) would be vs Shelton Benjamin from the New Japan Cup, vs Bad Luck Fale _(Shibata goes w/his normal routine, but he is fighting from behind b/c Fale is a monster after all)_ & vs Tanahashi. And naturally I just think you HAVE to see Shibata vs Honma, b/c, its ten minutes of power. Think of it as more of the Honma show walking in, and maybe you'll dig it. I feel like everyone should though, but perhaps I was just geared up for what it could & happened to be.

This also happened last night. I KNOW. III

And now I should go do a review on Tanahashi vs Styles from the final night b/c that match was brilliant.


----------



## Concrete

Hayley Seydoux said:


> He's meant to be like a totally legit shoot type wrestler. Only w/the absurd full throttle strike game of someone from BattlArts, opposed to his former partner Sakuraba who applies the ground essence of the shoot game in his matches. I still think Shibata matches that aren't like the Goto stuff that you made like more (all from this year) would be vs Shelton Benjamin from the New Japan Cup, vs Bad Luck Fale _(Shibata goes w/his normal routine, but he is fighting from behind b/c Fale is a monster after all)_ & vs Tanahashi. And naturally I just think you HAVE to see Shibata vs Honma, b/c, its ten minutes of power. Think of it as more of the Honma show walking in, and maybe you'll dig it. I feel like everyone should though, but perhaps I was just geared up for what it could & happened to be.
> 
> This also happened last night. I KNOW. III
> 
> And now I should go do a review on Tanahashi vs Styles from the final night b/c that match was brilliant.


FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! I need Shibata and Sakuraba on a shoot style event. Gimme either against Otsuka in 2014. Blessed would the wrestling gods be if it happened.


----------



## Mr. Kennedy

Honma/Shibata was my favourite match of the G-1 this year, just beautiful stuff. I'd recommend Okada Vs. Tanahashi from Invasion Attack 2013 to any newcomers as well, I thought that match was just superb, and a great showing of the top two guys in the company.


----------



## Corey

Hayley Seydoux said:


> He's meant to be like a totally legit shoot type wrestler. Only w/the absurd full throttle strike game of someone from BattlArts, opposed to his former partner Sakuraba who applies the ground essence of the shoot game in his matches. I still think Shibata matches that aren't like the Goto stuff that you made like more (all from this year) would be vs Shelton Benjamin from the New Japan Cup, vs Bad Luck Fale _(Shibata goes w/his normal routine, but he is fighting from behind b/c Fale is a monster after all)_ & vs Tanahashi. And naturally I just think you HAVE to see Shibata vs Honma, b/c, its ten minutes of power. Think of it as more of the Honma show walking in, and maybe you'll dig it. I feel like everyone should though, but perhaps I was just geared up for what it could & happened to be.
> 
> This also happened last night. I KNOW. III
> 
> And now I should go do a review on Tanahashi vs Styles from the final night b/c that match was brilliant.


I watched the Shelton & Fale matches and enjoyed both because of the role Shibata had to play. I thought the Shelton match was better by a hair. Really solid 10 minutes there. Loved when Shelton just bulled him into the corner and peppered him with forearms. Finish made Shelton look strong too. *** for that one. Fale match was short fun. Finish looked painful. Will get around to the Tanahashi & Honma matches sometime. Really like to see both of the other matches you mentioned with AJ somewhere down the line as well.

Checked out the two Tag Title match from Wrestle Kingdom this year. Bucks/Hooligans/Splitters/TAKA & that other guy was completely harmless fun. Loved it as an opener to a big show like that. 8-man suplex and everyone beating the countout spot were great. Young Bucks rule the world. ** 3/4 for that. I can't say I was too invested in Bullet Club vs. Killer Elite Squad though. I feel like I could dig all of these guys outside of this match (especially Archer) but against each other it didn't do much for me. The chokeslam counter into the RKO was fuckin awesome though. ** 1/4

I also watched Okada/Naito but I want to watch it again before I post a full review. The match was really fucking long so I wanna make sure I didn't miss anything and I was pretty tired at the time. I can say that I loved the shit out of the last 5 minutes or so. Naito came SO close!


----------



## Mattyb2266

I actually also just watched Wrestle Kingdom 8 over the last week a match at a time. Haven't watched too much New Japan this year. In fact, outside of Styles/Suzuki, this is my first show of 2014.

IWGP Tag Team Title match - ***
Shibata vs Goto - ***1/2
Kota Ibushi vs Prince Devitt - ***3/4
Okada vs Naito - ****
Tanahashi vs Nakamura - ***3/4

Didn't watch everything, just what peaked my interest. Okada/Naito was definitely match of the night for me. Great finishing stretch. Also really liked Ibushi/Devitt, as I'm a sucked for junior matches in New Japan.


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I watched the Shelton & Fale matches and enjoyed both because of the role Shibata had to play. I thought the Shelton match was better by a hair. Really solid 10 minutes there. Loved when Shelton just bulled him into the corner and peppered him with forearms. Finish made Shelton look strong too. *** for that one. Fale match was short fun. Finish looked painful. Will get around to the Tanahashi & Honma matches sometime. Really like to see both of the other matches you mentioned with AJ somewhere down the line as well.
> 
> Checked out the two Tag Title match from Wrestle Kingdom this year. Bucks/Hooligans/Splitters/TAKA & that other guy was completely harmless fun. Loved it as an opener to a big show like that. 8-man suplex and everyone beating the countout spot were great. Young Bucks rule the world. ** 3/4 for that. I can't say I was too invested in Bullet Club vs. Killer Elite Squad though. I feel like I could dig all of these guys outside of this match (especially Archer) but against each other it didn't do much for me. The chokeslam counter into the RKO was fuckin awesome though. ** 1/4
> 
> I also watched Okada/Naito but I want to watch it again before I post a full review. The match was really fucking long so I wanna make sure I didn't miss anything and I was pretty tired at the time. I can say that I loved the shit out of the last 5 minutes or so. Naito came SO close!


Figured those Shibata matches would be more up your alley. Fale match was really good for me _(b/c it was a combo I was excited w/on paper)_ & I thought Shibata vs Shelton was great stuff. A good mesh w/a legit shocker finish. Blew away their Climax rematch by miles. 

Juniors tag was a mess, but a fun one I can live w/. Heavyweight tag stole my heart. A match I was dying to see since November & it delivered. In a smaller arena the translation of KES working more babyface by proxy of the situation would have helped it earn more heat, but for what was given, I had a blast. Great stuff. All four smashing into each other. My type of match. Archer is a boss. Happy for Gallows earning success finally too.

You wouldn't believe my emotion during Naito vs Okada. SO CLOSE, indeed. Ah. Nuts. That was a heartbreaker. Never been so bummed to see Okada win a match. Been wanting to rewatch that. only seen it the one time on the air date. It was a bit longer than it should have been if I'm completely honest, but I still was in love w/everything it built towards on that watch. So it is currently ranked rather high. I just know that may or may not hold up so I keep it on the backburner atm.


----------



## Vårmakos

AJPW 8/16/2014 -

All Asia Tag Team Championship - Team Dream Futures (Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii) (c) vs. Xceed (Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki) - ****

Shigehiro and Keisuke arrived in the All Asian picture as underdogs, but now they're running shit. Irie and Suzuki are working in overdrive. Miyahara is there to kick shit. POUNCE. Guardrail backbreaker. JYD Headbutt war. Incredible match.


----------



## Obfuscation

That made video? HELL YES. All Japan all day. Irie _(still)_ rules the world.


----------



## Corey

Finally finished the double main event from Wrestle Kingdom 8:

*Okada vs. Naito* - Watched this twice because of how long it was. Feelings remained the same on it. Reason I can't go any higher was strictly because of the length. You can skip the first 10-12 minutes and ultimately miss nothing of importance. Once you see Naito hitting the tornado DDT on the floor is when it gets interesting. I enjoyed his usage of offense during the control segment much better than Okada's. He insisted on applying incredibly odd submissions, especially the one on the ramp that made no sense at all. What the hell _was_ that? The last few minutes are fucking ACE though. Some of those swift counters of the Rainmaker were so nifty and I love how it built you up so well near the end where Naito goes for the corkscrew moonsault and then misses. Such a "damn!" moment. Couple really close nearfalls too. Great match, but unnecessarily long. **** 3/4*

*Nakamura vs. Tanahashi* - The fuckin hair on these two guys, man. :lol It's incredible. Match was good but I'm quite sure these two are capable of and have achieved much more together. I was annoyed at times by how both of them would just completely ignore the aspect of selling to run around and hit another move. The back-and-forth aspect of it was cool at times and bad at others. Tanahashi wanted to (and smartly did) go after the leg time and time again but half the time Nakamura would just blow it off like nothing happened. It was kinda like, why does he keep doing this if it's not actually working and he just keeps throwing out knees everywhere? Oh well. Outside of me complaining about that, this match did in fact have some really cool shit. Loved the High Fly Flow on the outside after the missed knee, the skin-the-cat into the backbreaker, and the clover leaf Styles Clash was totally unexpected & awesome. Luckily this 23 minutes flew by too. **** 1/4*

Idk what it is, but I have not been able to rate a single New Japan match I've seen so far this year past the *** 3/4 mark. AJ/Suzuki from the G1 is probably the closest thing but even that is held back by the incredibly odd face/heel dynamic that they ignored.


----------



## Obfuscation

Nakamura vs Tanahashi from WK is my jam. Second best from their series this year. Stellar stuff. First is far & away their Invasion Attack classic. Hard pressed to see if it truly is my MOTY. Close. Climax match falls into third b/c Nakamura did his cyber legs thing in a portion to where it wasn't bad _(like vs MiSu last year)_ to ruin it from being great but it was a noticeable flaw. Just made me go "ah, don't use your knee to block" & then everything went back to being great immediately after. And New Beginning sits at fourth b/c it wasn't great, but at least really good. Miffed finished didn't bother me. You do what you can in those situations.

I find it harder for New Japan to not pull through in the clutch. They always do.


----------



## Super Sonic

This week's Observer:



> New Japan is seriously looking into doing the 1/4 show at the Tokyo Dome as a regular PPV show in North America. If so, the working idea would be to use high-profile English language announcers.
> 
> The 9/23 Destruction in Okayama show, which is headlined by Kazuchika Okada defending his No. 1 contendership for the IWGP title against Karl Anderson, will not be airing live on television in Japan. Samurai TV had the rights to that show, but had already committed to broadcasting NOAH, so New Japan will be on a one day delay. The New Japan super hardcores (Samurai has very limited viewership) were upset at not being able to see a big show live. At press time, there was nothing new listed for iPPVs internationally for this month, but during the Seibu Dome show, they specifically listed 9/21 in Kobe as being on Ustream.
> 
> I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a title match or not, but Great North Wrestling is billing the 8/30 A.J. Styles vs. Hannibal (Devon Nicholson) match in Hawkesbury, ONT as an IWGP heavyweight title match. It would be years since there was an IWGP title match with two non-Japanese wrestlers. Technically, you could say Brock Lesnar vs. Akebono, but even though Akebono is Hawaiian, he’s not thought of in Japan as a foreigner or American. You could say Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle, but that was not for New Japan’s version of the IWGP title but was billed as a title match by the IGF when New Japan recognized a different champion.


----------



## Lazyking

Jim Ross and CM Punk for English announcers please.


----------



## Corey

Lazyking said:


> Jim Ross and CM Punk for English announcers please.


OMFG yes please. I'd buy it (as long it wasn't like 55 fucking dollars or something...)


----------



## Toonami4Life

Just shut up and take my money!


----------



## Toonami4Life

"Great North Wrestling is billing the 8/30 A.J. Styles vs. Hannibal (Devon Nicholson) match in Hawkesbury, ONT as an IWGP heavyweight title match."

That has to be an early show, because AJ's taking part in The Battle of Los Angeles that night as well unless he gets eliminated on Day 1 tomorrow which I can't see happening. I believe there was a missup as well as they'd have to get New Japan's permission and authorization to have it defended there and I highly doubt New Japan would approve of it. Ring of Honor, perhaps they'd allow it but not a small promotion like that.


----------



## Super Sonic

Keep it in native tongue.


----------



## seabs

*AJ isn't working Day 2 of BOLA.*


----------



## Concrete

Toonami4Life said:


> "Great North Wrestling is billing the 8/30 A.J. Styles vs. Hannibal (Devon Nicholson) match in Hawkesbury, ONT as an IWGP heavyweight title match."
> 
> That has to be an early show, because AJ's taking part in The Battle of Los Angeles that night as well unless he gets eliminated on Day 1 tomorrow which I can't see happening. I believe there was a missup as well as they'd have to get New Japan's permission and authorization to have it defended there and I highly doubt New Japan would approve of it. Ring of Honor, perhaps they'd allow it but not a small promotion like that.


Either they won't get permission or NJPW doesn't care, either way it probably will be for it. These belts have been "defended" by Americans before.


----------



## KeepinItReal

Anyone have Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate, from August 17?


----------



## NastyYaffa

Lazyking said:


> Jim Ross and CM Punk for English announcers please.


This :mark:


----------



## darkclaudio

BJW Ikkitosen ~strong climb~ FINAL 2014

-Semifinal: Daisuke Sekimoto vs Yuko Miyamoto ***
-Semifinal: Shuji Ishikawa vs Manabu Soya *1/4
-Shinya Ishikawa, Shiori Asahi [K-DOJO] & Hideyoshi Kamitani vs Ryuichi Kawakami, Kazuki Hashimoto & Masato Inaba **
-Ikkitosen ~strong climb~ FINAL Match **3/4


----------



## kidzombie

REMAINING TV SCHEDULE FOR AUGUST/SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
AUGUST
8/28 - Wrestling New Classic (3/21 show)
8/29 - Noah (8/24 Korakuen)
8/31 - BJW Ryuji Ito anniversary
SEPTEMBER
9/4 - BJW (8/24 Korakuen)
9/5 - New Japan LIVE Korakuen)
9/7 - BJW DEATH MANIA (8/31 Nagoya)
9/7 - Wrestle-1 (8/31 Korakuen)
9/7 - Dragon Gate (8/31 show)
9/9 - DDT (8/31 Shinjuku)
9/10 - NOAH (9/6 Differ Ariake)
9/12 - Dragon Gate (9/6 show)
9/14 - New Japan - BLUE JUSTICE V (9/7 Togane Arena)
9/15 - New Japan LIVE Korakuen
9/18 - OZ Academy (8/17 Shinjuku Face)
9/23 - Dragon Gate (9/9 show)
9/23 - NOAH - LIVE Niigata
9/23 - All Japan Go Shiozaki 10th Anniversary LIVE
9/26 - NOAH (9/21 Korakuen)
9/27 - DDT (9/13 Osaka)
9/28 - DDT LIVE Korakuen
9/30 - All Japan (9/15 Korakuen)
9/30 - Wrestle-1 (9/22 Korakuen)
OCTOBER
10/2 - DG (the missing 8/17 Dangerous Gate iPPV)
10/3 - DG (9/23 Osaka)
10/5 - Wrestle-1 (9/23 Nagoya)
10/13 - DG (9/26&9/27 Cadera Arena?)
10/17 - Wrestle-1 (10/8 Korakuen)
10/18 - OZ Academy (9/23 Shinjuku Face)
10/19 - DG (10/5 Hakara Sutaren)
10/23 - DG (10/9 Korakuen)
10/31 - All Japan (10/22 Korakuen


----------



## Obfuscation

Go Shiozaki anniversary, eh. I'm curious at what All Japan has up their sleeve. Better yet, that may be the Shiozaki return show unless he has already returned from injury. Don't believe he has.


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Hayley Seydoux said:


> Go Shiozaki anniversary, eh. I'm curious at what All Japan has up their sleeve. Better yet, that may be the Shiozaki return show unless he has already returned from injury. Don't believe he has.


----------



## Obfuscation

FANTASTIC. :mark:


----------



## Vårmakos

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Can't argue with the irony there.  I've only seen two Shibata singles matches once he took the mask off and he hasn't sold well at all in either one. He just seems completely one dimensional. I did however watch a "match" where he gets absolutely destroyed by... Murakami I think? It was some kind of bounty they were doing I believe. It was a fantastic segment though because it was so easy to get behind him as the underdog because of his size. If there are more matches like that where he plays the underdog and actually sells, I'd be glad to give him another go.


If you like seeing Shibata get destroyed, check out his match with Fujita. 

IDK if it necessary a good match, but it is an interesting watch and gets fucking brutal towards the end.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Puro Random*

*World of Stardom Championship:* Io Shirai (c) vs Cheerleader Melissa - STARDOM 3/16 ***1/4
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Shuji Ishikawa - BJW 7/26 ***1/4
*All Asia Tag Team Championship:* Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii (c) vs Kotaro Suzuki & Kento Miyahara - AJPW 8/16 ***1/2
Konosuke Takeshita Vs Hiroshi Tanahashi - DDT 8/17 ***
*GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Naomichi Marufuji vs Takeshi Morishima - NOAH 8/24 ***


----------



## ATF

Quoting this from the other DVD Thread, felt like it's fitting to be placed here:



> Oh my shit. I just rewatched the 2009 clash between Kota "BumpGod" Ibushi and the GOAT himself YOSHIHIKO. And it's as beautiful as the first time I saw it. YOSHIHIKO is so great that he can make a simple HEADLOCK get a massive reaction. And pretty much EVERYTHING he did in this match, from the selling, to the rallying the crowd up, to his INCREDIBLY smooth execution of moves. Jerry Lawler and Terry Funk combined's Spike Piledrivers have nothing on YOSHIHIKO's btw. And neither does Hulk Hogan in terms of being Hulk Hogan. And he has the fucking greatest finisher of all time (Infinity Destroyer ftfw). Kota was good too (8*D), but YOSHIHIKO GODDAMMIT.
> 
> I'll admit that the match may not be for everyone because there is some repetitivity in the leg work, to me that was no issue at all. If I were to give this one the old STARZ, I'd probably go for ****1/2. Not even trolling. That was just INFUCKINGCREDIBLE. Go watch it and become a YOSHIHIKO fan NOW.
> 
> Here's the match for the interested:


 YOSHIHIKO is the greatest of all time period.


----------



## obby

So I haven't seen a single AJ Styles match from Japan.

Reccomendations PLEASE?


----------



## almostfamous

obby said:


> So I haven't seen a single AJ Styles match from Japan.
> 
> Reccomendations PLEASE?


AJ vs Suzuki, and AJ vs Naito from the G1 tournament is a good start.

And then check out his title win and defenses too.

The guy is putting on some of the best performances of his career.


----------



## obby

Not surprised. He was going to waste in TNA.

Hard working great matches when they always end in run ins :lol


----------



## Obfuscation

That's what I say too. A lot seem to be stunned Styles is having the amount of quality matches, but truthfully, he's always been this good. He just wasn't always given the proper chances by working in a company like TNA.

Here's my thoughts on Styles Climax tour for what interests you:

vs Kazuchika Okada _(really good; not quite great level for me, but close. Worth a watch. Best of their three matches)_

vs Toru Yano _(Both fun & good. Def an interesting clash of styles.)_

vs Tetsuya Naito _(Perfect. Arguably my favorite match of the year.)_

vs Hirooki Goto _(meh. Not worth seeing. Styles was fine in this, but Goto was a slug. Only the last two minutes is when they started hitting some big moves & the crowd blew up for it.)_

vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan _(a total blast, and a sleeper great match. Tenzan was working hard in the tourny this year, and having someone like Styles helped create a strong bout.)_

vs Minoru Suzuki _(On the fence that this isn't special; and the only praise I really shoot towards it is towards MiSu's strong performance. I wasn't too crazy about Styles in this, as I've mentioned before. It gets generally good reviews, so it obviously wouldn't hurt to watch.)_

vs Lance Archer _(A better version of the Bullet Club vs Suzuki-Gun battle. Quality big man vs little man map out. Styles is great. Archer is great - best big man in the company - and it clicks extremely well. Styles' third best match of the tournament for me.)_

vs Karl Anderson _(Styles' second best match of the tourny, only trumped by the classic vs Naito. Where you think this would only be sort of silly, or lighthearted w/two partners working vs each other, it all formed into a fabulous convergence of fun & great work playing off each other's strengths. Both dudes are terrific, but even I left this match loving it more than I would have guessed. Supremely pleased. One of the more underrated beauties, tbhayley.)_

vs Yujiro Takahashi _(Another ally vs ally battle & Styles made it work. Yujiro wasn't too lazy in this, thankfully. It embraced the fun of two heel partners working against each other w/one doing what it takes to get the win. I liked it.)_

vs Togi Makabe _(Really good outing here w/a booming finale, thanks to the hot crowd & desperation to be clutch in the end of the tournament for both involved. Makabe feels ravaged by the end of the tourny and it shows throughout this. In a good way for the story. Best part of this was it felt like there was plenty of room for these two to have an even better match if booked down the line.)_

Non tournament match on the final night is vs Tanahashi & it is a must see. Styles was sooooo terrific in it. As was Tana. Everything you would hope.

So for me, the only matches I wasn't too enamored w/was vs Goto & vs MiSu. Rest was quality. (Y)


----------



## Corey

obby said:


> So I haven't seen a single AJ Styles match from Japan.
> 
> Reccomendations PLEASE?


I really enjoyed both IWGP Title matches with Okada and mainly because of AJ's performances in both. The G1 match against Suzuki was also great but the face/heel dynamic seemed way off. If you can look past that you should enjoy the match even more.


----------



## cablegeddon

Im not watching njpw for aj. Imo hes not on the same level as tanahasi, nagata, suzuki and okada.


----------



## obby

Seen AJ vs Naito and AJ vs Archer so far. Both were pretty great.

Has TAKA M. been doing anything worth watching lately?


----------



## Obfuscation

Taka is consistent in the fun department. He doesn't work to put on classics these days, but he's so damn good, even in his role of a dirty little bastard, you can always enjoy his stuff.

Look for the Best of Super Juniors tournament if you want some singles matches from his this year. You may like the trainwreck, non stop flow of the four way Junior tag match from Wrestle Kingdom too. _(Taka/Taichi vs Time Splitters vs Young Bucks vs Forever Hooligans)_


----------



## Brock

On the NJPW retail dvd releases, I know they cut some entrances, but they cut any of the actual match do they?

Edit: Just watched the Ishi/Naito match from the New Beginning DVD. Ishi's entrance wasn't included, but nothing seemed to be cut from the actual match, apart from some stuff after the final bell.


----------



## seabs

*They just cut most of the entrances not the match time.*


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW ROAD TO DESTRUCTION 2014 (9/5)*

Alex Shelley & Sho Tanaka vs Suzuki-gun (Taichi & El Desperado) **

Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs Maximo & BUSHI **

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu vs Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan **1/4

CHAOS (Toru Yano, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Iizuka) **1/2

Kota Ibushi New Japan Return Match
GBH (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) vs Hirooki Goto & Kota Ibushi ***

Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi ***1/4

*Special Elimination Match*
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) ***1/4


----------



## darkclaudio

Pro-Wrestling NOAH - "8TH NTV G+ CUP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG LEAGUE 2014" 02.08.2014
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,600 Fans 

-NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Super Crazy & Matt Striker vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. NR 
-NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block A: Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask *
-NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Rocky Lobo & Jinzo vs Shiori Asahi & Hiro Tonai **1/4
-NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Block B: Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm vs Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge ***
-Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste vs Akitoshi Saito & Daisuke Sekimoto **1/2
-Takeshi Morishima Return Match: Takeshi Morishima & Maybach Taniguchi vs Naomichi Marufuji & Katsuhiko Nakajima *3/4
-*GHC Tag Team Championship Match*: Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka (c) vs Mohammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda ***1/4
-NTV G+ Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League - Final Match **3/4


----------



## darkclaudio

ZERO1 Fire Festival 03.08.2014
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-Fire Festival - Block B: Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto **1/2
-Fire Festival - Block A: Ryouji Sai vs Daisuke Sekimoto **1/4
-Fire Festival - Semi Final: KAI vs Demon Ueda *
-Fire Festival - Semi Final: Ryouji Sai vs Kohei Sato **
-*NWA United National Heavyweight Championship Match*: Tama Williams © vs Hideki Suzuki *3/4
-Shinjiro Otani & Yoshikazu Yokoyama vs Masato Tanaka & Yusaku Obata **3/4
-Fire Festival 2014 Final Match **3/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

Random Matches

*GHC Tag Team Titles: *Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka (c) vs Muhammed Yone & Daisuke Ikeda - NOAH 8TH NTV G+ 8/2 ***1/4
Eddie Edwards & Tigre Uno vs. Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo - Wrestle-1 Flashing Summer 8/31 ***
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Takashi Sugiura - BJW Death Mania 8/31 ***1/2
Akira Tozawa vs YAMATO - Dragon Gate: The Gate of Generation 8/31 ***
*Open the Brave Gate Title:* Flamita (c) vs Kzy - Dragon Gate: Summer Adventure Tag League 2014 Day 4 9/9 ***1/4+
EITA & T-Hawk vs CIMA & Gamma - Dragon Gate: Summer Adventure Tag League 2014 Day 4 9/9 ***1/2


----------



## darkclaudio

AJPW, 27.07.2014 SUWAMA © vs Doering
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,378 Fans

-All Asia Tag Team Championship Contendership Match: Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki vs Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru **1/2
-*All Asia Tag Team Championship Match*: Shigehiro Irie & Keisuke Ishii (c) vs Mitsuya Nagai & Takeshi Minamino *
-*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Atsushi Aoki © vs Hikaru Sato **3/4
-*Triple Crown*: Suwama © vs Joe Doering *3/4


----------



## almostfamous

Thoughts on Destruction this weekend?

Tanahashi vs Shibata should be a lock for a ****+ match. Best rivalry in wrestling today.

How does everyone feel on Fale's run so far? Think Nakamura will take the belt back?


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW, 03.06.2014 Best of the Supe Jr Day 4
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Rocky Romero vs Taichi **1/4
2. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Nick Jackson vs Tiger Mask *1/2
3. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: TAKA Michinoku vs Matt Jackson *3/4
4. Karl Anderson, Yujiro Takahashi, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan ***
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: KUSHIDA vs BUSHI **3/4
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: El Desperado vs Kenny Omega ***1/2
7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Ricochet vs Jushin Thunder Liger **3/4
8. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Alex Shelley vs Ryusuke Taguchi ***


----------



## Chismo

almostfamous said:


> Thoughts on Destruction this weekend?
> 
> Tanahashi vs Shibata should be a lock for a ****+ match. Best rivalry in wrestling today.
> 
> How does everyone feel on Fale's run so far? Think Nakamura will take the belt back?


I'm looking forward to Taichi & Desperado vs. Time Splitters the most. In fact, I want New Japan to get rid of the NEVER title in favor of a potential 6-man tag title just so we can watch the hellish TAKA/Taichi/Desperado trio dominate silly.

I like Fale very much, top contender for the most improved wrestler of the year, althouh YOSHI-HASHI is outpacing him recently. But Fale's still got the edge due to some swell singles matches (Nakamura x2, Makabe, Naito few G1 bouts).


----------



## Obfuscation

KING OF DESTROYER match is still a high ballot contest for me this year. Gosh, how good that smash em up affair was.

and the Time Splitters defense is vs Taichi & Desperado? Thought it was Taka & Desperado the whole time. Actually kind of digging the change, despite Taka not being in the mix. Taichi being ultra dickish is something I love too damn much though, so I want it in a big match.


----------



## Brock

Is there a list of matches from each day of the G1 Climax anywhere?


----------



## Obfuscation

NJPW Show list

Scroll down a bit and you'll see the Climax shows. Click the link on the right that says "Card" to see the full cards w/o spoilers.


----------



## Chismo

People should check K-DOJO's most recent Kaioh Tournament which had some glorious matches, starring TAKA and Mashimo. TAKA/Tonai is a legit MOTYC.


----------



## Brock

Hayley Seydoux said:


> NJPW Show list
> 
> Scroll down a bit and you'll see the Climax shows. Click the link on the right that says "Card" to see the full cards w/o spoilers.


Super. Thanks. Looking to watch a few matches finally having got the tournament on dvd.


----------



## hgr423

Chismo said:


> I'm looking forward to Taichi & Desperado vs. Time Splitters the most.



Also we get Bucks vs Hooligans again on 9/23. I'm looking forward to both.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Summer Adventure Tag League 2014 9/6*

Mondai Ryu vs Yuga Hayashi **
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Cyber Kong & Punch Tominaga) vs JIMMYZ (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin) **1/4
Masato Yoshino vs Yosuke♡Santa Maria *1/2 (_Funny_)
Uhaa Nation vs Flamita **1/2
Summer Adventure Tag League, Block A: We Are Team Veteran (CIMA & Gamma) vs MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi & Kzy) **3/4
Summer Adventure Tag League, Block A: Millenials (T-Hawk & EITA) vs JIMMYZ (Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora) *** (_MOTN_)
Summer Adventure Tag League, Block B: Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi) vs Dia.HEARTS (BxB Hulk & Masaaki Mochizuki) ***


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW DESTRUCTION in KOBE 9/21*

Bullet Club (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Yujiro Takahashi) vs CHAOS (Alex Koslov, Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii) **1/2

BUSHI, Maximo & Alex Shelley vs Suzuki-gun (Taichi, El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku) 1/2*

Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tomoaki Honma *

Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) *3/4

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
KUSHIDA (c) vs Ryusuke Taguchi ***1/2

CHAOS (AJ Styles & Tama Tonga) vs Tetsuya Naito & Kota Ibushi ***

Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) **1/2

Togi Makabe vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata ***3/4

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Bad Luck Fale (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/4

Overall Grade: 7.0


----------



## Scorpion_Deathlock

I've just been getting into NJPW recently after constantly reading online about how good it is. S I 
watched matches from the G1 Climax and was very impressed, great seeing AJ Styles putting on top notch performances again.

Last night I watched Tanahashi vs Suzuki from 2012 I was blown away. Easily a ***** match.

I can see myself becoming a big fan of this company, world class wrestling that I have been missing out on all this years.


----------



## Super Sonic

Meltzer's Destruction in Kobe ***+ ratings

Young Bucks & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Forever Hooligans & Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4
Liger, Kojima, Honma, & Tenzan vs. Nagata, Nakanishi, TM, & Capt. NJ ***
Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba ***
Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi ****
AJ Styles & Tama Tonga vs. Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito ****
Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Yoshi-Hasi & Kazuchika Okada ***1/2
Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe ****1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata *****


----------



## NastyYaffa

Super Sonic said:


> Meltzer's Destruction in Kobe ***+ ratings
> 
> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata *****


:what

I thought their G1 match was way better.


----------



## Chismo

Super Sonic said:


> Meltzer's Destruction in Kobe ***+ ratings
> 
> Young Bucks & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Forever Hooligans & Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4
> Liger, Kojima, Honma, & Tenzan vs. Nagata, Nakanishi, TM, & Capt. NJ ***
> Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba ***
> Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi ****
> AJ Styles & Tama Tonga vs. Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito ****
> Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Yoshi-Hasi & Kazuchika Okada ***1/2
> Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe ****1/4
> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata *****


While the amount of shurikens thrown at Styles tag and Goto/Makabe is absurd and hilarious, I can see where he's coming from for Tana/Shibata. It's one of those matches with a tangible sense of closure, they played off the previous two matches beautifully and the post-match just felt kind of historic, a perfect closure of the story they told in the ring. I have it at ****1/2, but I have no beef with the people giving it a full boat. I believe Hera is one of them.


----------



## flag sabbath

Tana vs. Shibata opened strong, but after 10 mins they lost me with that incoherent back-and-forth that blights one too many Shibata bouts. And the finishing stretch could have been a lot more dramatic. As is, the outcome was never really in doubt ****3/4*


----------



## BREEaments03

Super Sonic said:


> Meltzer's Destruction in Kobe ***+ ratings
> 
> Young Bucks & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Forever Hooligans & Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4
> Liger, Kojima, Honma, & Tenzan vs. Nagata, Nakanishi, TM, & Capt. NJ ***
> Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba ***
> Kushida vs. Ryusuke Taguchi ****
> AJ Styles & Tama Tonga vs. Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito ****
> Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. Yoshi-Hasi & Kazuchika Okada ***1/2
> Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe ****1/4
> Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata *****


Must be an extra star on that last match. I thought it was really good and almost threw a troll post up here (i might've in the MOTY thread) that the match was ****3/4 but I thought it would be an obvious troll post. Match was like barely 4*. I would like to throw out the disclaimer I'm a huge Meltzer mark so I will watch this a few more times and then put it at 5*. :mark: Their match from G-1, both in 2013 and 2014, were better than this match.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW DESTRUCTION in OKAYAMA 9/23*

Captain New Japan, Ryusuke Taguchi & BUSHI vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Maximo 3/4*

The Young Bucks vs Forever Hooligans **3/4

Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & Gedo vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku) *

Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata **1/4

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) (c) vs Suzuki-gun (Taichi & El Desperado) **3/4

CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) **1/2

NWA World Tag Team Championship
TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi ***1/4

NEVER Openweight Championship
Yujiro Takahashi (c) vs YOSHI-HASHI **3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Doc Gallows) **1/2

Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contendership
Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson ***1/2

Overall Grade: 5.0


----------



## ywall2breakerj

Makabe/Goto was awful. Goto is just so fucking bad right now NewJa should say fuck it and job him out to Honma and YOSHI-HASHI. They have Shibata now Goto is of no use to them.


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

BREEaments03 said:


> Must be an extra star on that last match. I thought it was really good and almost threw a troll post up here (i might've in the MOTY thread) that the match was ****3/4 but I thought it would be an obvious troll post. Match was like barely 4*. I would like to throw out the disclaimer I'm a huge Meltzer mark so I will watch this a few more times and then put it at 5*. :mark: Their match from G-1, both in 2013 and 2014, were better than this match.


I would say that the match itself was around 4 stars, but taking the pre-match hype, the entrances & the ending into account, there was a definite story being told which was worth 5 stars of enjoyment.

I especially liked the end where Shibata says something to the effect of "Thank you for keeping NJPW alive for 10 years" while Tanahashi finally welcomes him back. Coming from Shibata, it was a huge admission to make.


----------



## Bruce L

I'm sure this has been asked already, but does anybody know why Dragon Gate's 8/17 show - specifically the supposed MOTYC Millennials/Mochizuki & Dragon Kid match - doesn't seem to have made its way online yet?


----------



## darkclaudio

* KO-D Tag Team Championship Match*: Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega (c) vs Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo - DDT 28/09/2014 ***1/2


----------



## Chismo

20:20 Why is Gota Ihashi STILL ALIVE?


----------



## Vårmakos

Chismo said:


> 20:20 Why is Gota Ihashi STILL ALIVE?












The best finishing move: DROPPING A PERSON ON THEIR NECK.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*AJPW 15/09*

Joe Doering vs Go Shiozaki **1/2
Suwama vs Atsushi Aoki ***

*DDT 28/09*

*KO-D Tag Team Championship:* Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Endo & Kenosuke Takeshita ****


----------



## TNPunk

Can someone explain why the champion aj styles was in the G1 tournament? The winner faces the world champion at wrestle kingdom so why is the champion in the tournament?


----------



## Chismo

Because the tournament is a prestigious accomplishment on its own.


----------



## Zatiel

TNPunk said:


> Can someone explain why the champion aj styles was in the G1 tournament? The winner faces the world champion at wrestle kingdom so why is the champion in the tournament?


In kayfabe, the World Heavyweight Champion tends to want to prove himself. If he can win this, he proves something over the entire field of challengers. It's a huge item of prestige to win. I forget if it was Tanahashi, but there was at least one year where the champ also said who wouldn't let the tournament overshadow him, and so wanted to participate.

Outside of kayfabe, it lets some future challenges get a more forgivable win over the champ in singles competition and draws more interest from fans.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Shibata and Tanahashi match at Destruction definitely wasn't better than their G1 match but you can understand why it was given 5 stars as this match had much more of a story in it compared to the G1 match where it was your prototypical 100 mph G1 slugfest

Reason why it will 100% be AJ Styles vs. Okada at WK is because AJ Styles is a reminder of Okada's bad past in TNA as a young boy so him coming to New Japan and becoming more a nightmare to him by taking his title is the perfect storyline of redemption for New Japan's golden boy (just my take on how this feud)


----------



## TNPunk

Zatiel said:


> In kayfabe, the World Heavyweight Champion tends to want to prove himself. If he can win this, he proves something over the entire field of challengers. It's a huge item of prestige to win. I forget if it was Tanahashi, but there was at least one year where the champ also said who wouldn't let the tournament overshadow him, and so wanted to participate.
> 
> Outside of kayfabe, it lets some future challenges get a more forgivable win over the champ in singles competition and draws more interest from fans.


Makes sense. Thanks man


----------



## flag sabbath

Bruce L said:


> I'm sure this has been asked already, but does anybody know why Dragon Gate's 8/17 show - specifically the supposed MOTYC Millennials/Mochizuki & Dragon Kid match - doesn't seem to have made its way online yet?


Real Hero upped the show to dailymotion today.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Dangerous Gate 8/17*

Jimmyz (Jimmy Kanda, Jimmy Kagetora & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) vs Yosuke Santa Maria, Gamma & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa **

Don Fujii & Yuga Hayashi vs Jimmy Susumu & Mr. High Tension Kotoka **3/4

No Disqualification Match
Punch Tominaga vs CIMA *

*Open the Brave Gate Championship*
Flamita (c) vs Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin ***1/4

*Open the Twin Gate Championship*
Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) (c) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid) ***3/4

Loser Revives Survival Instant Comeback Captain's Fall Elimination Match
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Cyber Kong, Kzy & Mondai Ryu) vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation) **

*Open the Dream Gate Championship - Decision Match*
Naruki Doi (c) vs BxB Hulk ***

Overall Grade: 5.75


----------



## Bruce L

flag sabbath said:


> Real Hero upped the show to dailymotion today.


Yep; got it. Shame it looks like everything is clipped, but it does look like it's not too bad.


----------



## almostfamous

So is AJ going to defend the title before the end of the year?


----------



## flag sabbath

almostfamous said:


> So is AJ going to defend the title before the end of the year?


Did I miss something? He defends against Tanahashi next Monday, right?


----------



## Weimer16

flag sabbath said:


> Did I miss something? He defends against Tanahashi next Monday, right?


Indeed he does.


----------



## almostfamous

flag sabbath said:


> Did I miss something? He defends against Tanahashi next Monday, right?


Oh nice, don't know how I missed that. Caught me slipping.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: The Gate of Victory 10/9*

Jimmy Susumu, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin & Jimmy Kagetora vs Super Shisa, Shachihoko BOY, Yosuke❤Santa Maria & Yuga Hayashi **1/2
Punch Tominaga vs Ryotsu Shimizu *1/2
Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO & Mondai Ryu) **3/4
#1 Contendership for the Open the Brave Gate Title: Jimmy Kanda vs K-ness **1/2
Dia.HEARTS vs Monster Express Series Match #1: Dragon Kid vs Shingo Takagi ***1/4
Dia.HEARTS vs Monster Express Series Match #2: BxB Hulk vs Masato Yoshino **3/4
Dia.HEARTS vs Monster Express Series Match #3: Masaaki Mochizuki vs Akira Tozawa ***1/2
*Open the Triangle Gate Championship:* MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi, Kzy & Cyber Kong) (c) vs We Are Team Veteran (CIMA, Don Fujii & Gamma) **3/4

*Wrestle 1 9/22*

Shuji Kondo vs Kaz Hayashi ***


----------



## BKKsoulcity

IWGP World Champion usually defends in November as well but AJ has been dodging alot of defences compared to Tanahashi and Okada in prior years so can't guarantee he will

Pretty sure Naito is owed a title match since he beat him at G1


----------



## Chismo

http://puroresushop.com/blogs/news/16917547-minoru-suzuki-talks-about-his-match-with-aj-styles

:applause


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2014*

Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) vs Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Yuji Nagata & Kota Ibushi **

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
Chase Owens (c) vs BUSHI *1/2

NWA World Tag Team Championship
TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs K.E.S (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) **1/2

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) vs Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba *

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Time Splitters (c) vs Forever Hooligans vs The Young Bucks ***1/2

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs El Desperado ***

NEVER Openweight Championship
Yujiro Takahashi (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii ***3/4

Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) **3/4

Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contendership
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2

Overall Grade: 7.5


----------



## Super Sonic

Meltzer's ***+ King of Pro Wrestling ratings:

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Killer Elite Squad ***
Time Splitters vs. Young Bucks ****
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Desperado ***1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro Takahashi ****1/2
Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hasi vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata ***3/4
Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito ****1/4
AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi ****1/2


----------



## Super Sonic

Meltzer:



> [NJPW} is working on getting the Briscoes in, but no dates are confirmed yet. Matt Taven is also on the books to debut before the end of the year, as is the Michael Bennett/Maria Kanellis combo.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Super Sonic said:


> Meltzer:


Briscoes in NJPW :mark:


----------



## cablegeddon

So apparently Bully Ray challenged The Bullet club in his wrap-up promo on Bound for glory. The night before he thanked Muta for attending his HoF-induction. I pretty sure Bully's move is considered superdisrespectful in Japan. 

He's always been a shady guy that's for sure.


----------



## HOJO

cablegeddon said:


> So apparently Bully Ray challenged The Bullet club in his wrap-up promo on Bound for glory. The night before he thanked Muta for attending his HoF-induction. I pretty sure Bully's move is considered superdisrespectful in Japan.
> 
> He's always been a shady guy that's for sure.


Hopefully he's just bullshitting and they actually DON'T take 3D in. Go to WWE and do your little cameos or stay in the really small Indies, you fucks.

Ok, maybe not Devon. I like Devon. But fuck off, other guy.

Some Joshi:

*World of Stardom Title: Io Shirai(c) vs Meiko Satomura* - STARDOM PREMIUM STARS (7/10/14) ****1/4*
Io's title reign had some very good matches. When I heard this match existed, I got fairly excited about it. Overall, I wasn't GREATLY disappointed by the actual match. Though I expected better than what I watched, it was still solid. Probably in the top 5 of Io's matches, though I haven't seen a few of them. I'd be able to view Io/Yoshiko if I could ever make it past that "hype" video. Not even kidding. That video package gave me neck spasms. :done

*Meiko Satomura vs Hiroyo Matsumoto* - Fortune Dream 1 (08/06/14) ******
Oh man this was great. One of the better Joshi matches I've seen so far this year. I definitely need to check out more Hiroyo M. matches. Women's MOTYC for sure. 

*Meiko Satomura & Ayako Hamada vs KanAyu(Kana & Ayumi Kurihara)* - KanAyu Produce (6/15/13) *****
The beginning was pretty rough with the Hamada/Ayumi exchange. Thankfully, things got better when Kana & Meiko got in there and did some really good stuff(mah girls). The lack of Hamada actually helped the match. Not saying she was horrible here, but she was very sloppy and slow at times. The finish itself was good. Such a shame Ayumi had to retire, though.:jose


----------



## Vårmakos

Io's selling in that match really hurt it for me. She gets her leg worked over throughout most of the match and then starts flipping off of shit as if it never happened. Top notch. :|


----------



## HOJO

Vårmakos said:


> Io's selling in that match really hurt it for me. She gets her leg worked over throughout most of the match and then starts flipping off of shit as if it never happened. Top notch. :|


My iowinslol mentality was helpful in getting through w/it peacefully :cena3

Destruction in Kobe (9/21/14):
Hirooki Goto vs Togi Makabe **1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata ****3/4
IWGP IC Title: Bad Luck Fale(c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***3/4


----------



## Creative name

Quick question:

I've only seen puro matches from time to time online but never any actual shows. Is NJPW G1 Climax23 Tag 4 that incredible of a show?? According to cagematch.net ,it is the highest rated NJPW show ever where 9/10 matches are rated 3 1/2 stars or better by Meltzer!!! If it's worth going out of my way to watch in full then where could I watch it?


----------



## Defrost

That's the show with Nakamura vs Ibushi and Shibata vs Ishii. So yes it is worth a look.


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

Oh yes it's worth a watch. A shitload of great matches.


----------



## Creative name

Where can I find the show in full though?


----------



## Sick Graps-V2

Creative name said:


> Where can I find the show in full though?


Somewhere far away, yet closer than you think.


----------



## obby

JIM ROSS :mark:


----------



## septurum

I thought he said it wasn't happening.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NOAH Great Voyage 2014 in Yokohama 10/12*

Hitoshi Kumano vs Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs Zack Sabre Jr. *1/4
No Mercy (Akitoshi Saito & Genba Hirayanagi) vs Quiet Storm & Pesadilla *1/2
NOAH vs NJPW ~ Passage to GL: Cho-Kibou Gun (Takeshi Morishima & MAYBACH Taniguchi) vs TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) **
NOAH vs NJPW ~ Passage to GL: Brave (Mohammed Yone & Katsuhiko Nakajima) vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi **1/2
*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:* Brave (Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge) (c) vs Cho-Kibou Gun (Ken-o & Hajime Ohara) ***
*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Daisuke Harada (c) vs Super Crazy **1/4
*GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:* Dangan Yankees (Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura) (c) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) ***1/2
*GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Daisuke Sekimoto ***1/4


*ZERO1 Tenka-Ichi Special 9/19*

*NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship:* Dangan Yankees (Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura) (c) vs Ikuto Hidaka & Fujita Jr. Hayato ***1/4


*AJPW 2nd Royal Road Tournament ~ 2014 Open Championship 9/28*

Go Shiozaki vs Suwama ***1/2


----------



## Paul Rudd

Super Jr. Tag Tournament starts today :mark:

Lets go Bucks!


----------



## NastyYaffa




----------



## almostfamous

NOAH Global League Tournament match between Hero and Nagata wasn't bad. ***+


----------



## Cliffy

NastyYaffa said:


>


Mike Tenay


----------



## KeepinItReal

Okada did an interview with a British podcast after a Revolution Pro show, he uses a translator.

http://pwn.podomatic.com/entry/2014-10-23T06_18_37-07_00


----------



## petecrimson

Hi all, a new fan to Puro here! I've watched wrestling for a long time, just now breaking into the Japanese heavyweight scene, id seen some super junior stuff. Was looking up some old Vader stuff the other day, and I stumbled upon a video titled something like "Greatest sequence ever" 

It turned out to be the last 5 minutes or so of Johnny Ace/Dr Death vs. Kenta Kobashi & Misawa, where I was more into a wrestling match that in a LONG time. Really enjoyed the heavy hitting and suplexes in particular. Any Puro favorites you'd suggest? Matches? Wrestlers?

From what I can tell, I like Misawa and Kobashi as I've liked a few of their matches. VERY intrigued by the gaijin presence, especially in tag team ranks. Anyone care to help guide me to this whole new wonderful world of wrestling?


----------



## Sick Graps-V2

petecrimson said:


> Hi all, a new fan to Puro here! I've watched wrestling for a long time, just now breaking into the Japanese heavyweight scene, id seen some super junior stuff. Was looking up some old Vader stuff the other day, and I stumbled upon a video titled something like "Greatest sequence ever"
> 
> It turned out to be the last 5 minutes or so of Johnny Ace/Dr Death vs. Kenta Kobashi & Misawa, where I was more into a wrestling match that in a LONG time. Really enjoyed the heavy hitting and suplexes in particular. Any Puro favorites you'd suggest? Matches? Wrestlers?
> 
> From what I can tell, I like Misawa and Kobashi as I've liked a few of their matches. VERY intrigued by the gaijin presence, especially in tag team ranks. Anyone care to help guide me to this whole new wonderful world of wrestling?


I can help ya' out man.


----------



## petecrimson

Sick Graps-V2 said:


> I can help ya' out man.


well aren't you just a swell guy, any suggestions?


----------



## MTheBehemoth

NastyYaffa said:


>


Omega?


----------



## Sick Graps-V2

petecrimson said:


> well aren't you just a swell guy, any suggestions?


Check ya' pm Pete, cheers.


----------



## flag sabbath

petecrimson said:


> Hi all, a new fan to Puro here! I've watched wrestling for a long time, just now breaking into the Japanese heavyweight scene, id seen some super junior stuff. Was looking up some old Vader stuff the other day, and I stumbled upon a video titled something like "Greatest sequence ever"
> 
> It turned out to be the last 5 minutes or so of Johnny Ace/Dr Death vs. Kenta Kobashi & Misawa, where I was more into a wrestling match that in a LONG time. Really enjoyed the heavy hitting and suplexes in particular. Any Puro favorites you'd suggest? Matches? Wrestlers?
> 
> From what I can tell, I like Misawa and Kobashi as I've liked a few of their matches. VERY intrigued by the gaijin presence, especially in tag team ranks. Anyone care to help guide me to this whole new wonderful world of wrestling?


You honestly can't go wrong with 90s All Japan. Any combination of Tenryu, Jumbo, Hansen, Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, Taue, Williams etc. is worth your while. There's a five-star match thread somewhere around here http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other-wrestling/564475-your-5-star-match-lists.html that'll give you some pointers.

If you want to get into present day puro, follow RealHero on dailymotion, but be warned that aside from New Japan and DDT, these are not the glory days of Japanese wrestling.


----------



## Shentenza

MTheBehemoth said:


> Omega?


Seems legit, so I would say it is Omega.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: The Gate of Victory Day 3 - Double Impact in Hakata (10/5)*

Don Fujii vs Yosuke♥Santa Maria (Very Funny)
Yuga Hayashi & Mr. High Tension Kotoka vs MAD BLANKEY (Kzy & Mondai Ryu) *
Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin vs Shingo Takahi, Shachihoko BOY & Ryotsu Shimizu **
Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Masato Yoshino) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid) ***
*Open the Twin Gate Championship: *Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) (c) vs Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora) ***3/4
*Open the Dream Gate Championship:* BxB Hulk (c) vs Cyber Kong *** 


*NJPW Road to POWER STRUGGLE Day 1 (10/25)*

CHAOS (Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku) **
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) vs Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma, Kota Ibushi & Captain New Japan ***1/4
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) vs BUSHI & Mascara Dorada **3/4
Ryusuke Taguchi & Fuego vs Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Taichi) **1/2
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV ***
Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) vs Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) ***1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) ***3/4


----------



## true rebel

petecrimson said:


> Hi all, a new fan to Puro here! I've watched wrestling for a long time, just now breaking into the Japanese heavyweight scene, id seen some super junior stuff. Was looking up some old Vader stuff the other day, and I stumbled upon a video titled something like "Greatest sequence ever"
> 
> It turned out to be the last 5 minutes or so of Johnny Ace/Dr Death vs. Kenta Kobashi & Misawa, where I was more into a wrestling match that in a LONG time. Really enjoyed the heavy hitting and suplexes in particular. Any Puro favorites you'd suggest? Matches? Wrestlers?
> 
> From what I can tell, I like Misawa and Kobashi as I've liked a few of their matches. VERY intrigued by the gaijin presence, especially in tag team ranks. Anyone care to help guide me to this whole new wonderful world of wrestling?


Ok I'll be your modern day Puro guide since I'm not as educated with classics as some others.

The top guys in the top company in New Japan are:

Hiroshi Tanahashi- The top guy by far.He's the Cena of Japan.Except this guy can flat out go in the ring and isn't stale.Recently finished his Road to Redemption storyline and had a very personal rivalry with Katsuyori Shibita based on real life animosity

Kazuchida Okada- The number two guy at the moment and the guy who will eventually take over the top spot.Dude just has something about him that screams star.He's a cocky guy but has slowly let the crowds opinion get to him.He's the focus of the top match heading into WrestleKingdom which is their Wrestlemania. 

Shinsuke Nakamura- The Orton of the company and my personal favorite.Dude is swag personified.Probably the best ring worker at the moment too. he came up at the same time as Tanahashi and they have been a team as well as great rivals.Currently IC Champ 

Katsuyori Shibita-A much less successful Lesnar.Went into MMA and then came back which is where his animosity with Tanahashi comes from this.Stiff worker.Was also in a tag team with Hiroki Goto. About to feud with Nakamura for the IC title. 

AJ Styles- The top gajin and centerpiece of the top heel stable Bullet Club.Has had a career resurgence since going to Japan and has put on classic after classic.Won the title and then lost it to Tanahashi 

Yoshitatsu-Just returned to the company and seems poised to have a high spot on the card.Will be facing AJ Styles at Power Struggle.


----------



## smitlick

So I'm really behind on Puro which is why I've stopped posting in these threads but I've caught some gems in the past few days that I'd completely forgotten existed but one that sticks out massively is Masato Tanaka vs Tomoaki Honma from 23/12/11... Wow.. Another random note was the fact I'd completely forgotten Davey Richards was in New Japan this recently and that he won the Tag Titles with Rocky as well..


----------



## Raindust

Daisuke Harada (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (GLOBAL LEAGUE 2014 04.11.2014) ***3/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: The Gate of Destiny 2014 (11/2)*

Yosuke❤Santa Maria, Mr. High Tension Kotoka & Yuga Hayashi vs We Are Team Veteran (Don Fujii, Super Shisa & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa) *

Jimmyz (Jimmy Kagetora & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) vs MAD BLANKEY (Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga) *

*Open the Brave Gate Championship*
Flamita (c) vs Jimmy Kanda ***

Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Big R Shimizu) vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi & Shachihoko Boy) ***1/4

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship*
Jimmyz (Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Susumu) (c) vs MAD BLANKEY (Cyber Kong, YAMATO & Naruki Doi) **3/4

*Open the Twin Gate Championship*
Millenials (T-Hawk & Eita) (c) vs We Are Team Veteran (CIMA & Gamma) ***1/2

*Open the Dream Gate Championship*
BxB Hulk (c) vs Akira Tozawa ***1/4

Rating: 7.0


*NJPW Power Struggle 2014 (11/8)*

Tiger Mask IV & Fuego vs BUSHI & Mascara Dorada **

The Young Bucks vs Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku) vs Forever Hooligans **1/2

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano DUD

*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Chase Owens (c) vs Jushin Thunder Liger **

Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale) vs Captain New Japan, Tomoaki Honma, Tetsuya Naito & Togi Makabe **1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) (c) vs reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) ***1/2

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs Taichi **1/2

Yoshitatsu vs AJ Styles **1/4

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Hirooki Goto ****3/4

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi ***1/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4

Rating: 7.75


----------



## BREEaments03

Haven't watched yet...


ZEROVampire said:


> *NEVER Openweight Championship*
> Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Hirooki Goto ****3/4


Not surprising.



ZEROVampire said:


> *IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
> Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4


What the fuck?


----------



## BREEaments03

Watched Shibata vs Nakamura and can't really disagree. Won't bother with stars but it was disappointing and just felt awkward at times and particularly at the end where they were just setting up spot after spot.


----------



## flag sabbath

Sounds a lot like their massively overrated G1 match.


----------



## almostfamous

Sounds like I would rate the Shibata/Nakamura match higher than most people. I can see why some would say that the match lacked something special, but then again, I don't know what either performer could have done to elevate the match any more.

I love how NJPW matches build on each other. Like Shibata going for two corner dropkicks in a row because he knew one wouldn't be enough. Little touches like that.


----------



## BREEaments03

almostfamous said:


> Sounds like I would rate the Shibata/Nakamura match higher than most people. I can see why some would say that the match lacked something special, but then again, I don't know what either performer could have done to elevate the match any more.


There are things that they shouldn't have done. Like at the end when Nakamura or Shibata has to quickly sit up when he clearly had to because the other was about to do a charging attack. This is what I mean when I say it was rushed. It takes "suspension of disbelief" out of wrestling and when that happens, it makes the match not as good as it could've been. That wasn't the only instance of that either. Also something like Nakamura hitting his back suplex and then posing with his back to Shibata when he literally never does this during a match just because you know Shibata is supposed to no sell and hit his ridiculous "you suplex me, i suplex you because I have ADRENALINE!!!!!!!11" spot.




almostfamous said:


> I love how NJPW matches build on each other. Like Shibata going for two corner dropkicks in a row because he knew one wouldn't be enough. Little touches like that.


I hate the reverse of this that seems to have become a trend in NJPW during the G-1. Shibata ALWAYS misses his first dropkick in the corner so why doesn't he do something to counter the counter? Am I supposed to believe that he knows it takes two dropkicks to be enough when he can't remember that in around 15 straight singles matches he's dumb enough to not have noticed he always goes for the first dropkick to early? Doesn't jive.

I love NJPW and it's the only promotion I watch but some of it has fallen off this year. Shibata and Nakamura being two big pieces that have not changed for the better.


----------



## Hera

BREEaments03 said:


> Am I supposed to believe that he knows it takes two dropkicks to be enough when he can't remember that in around 15 straight singles matches he's dumb enough to not have noticed he always goes for the first dropkick to early?


Okada's been missing his first Rainmaker attempt for over 2 years now so...........yes you are suppose to believe that. It's a joke that Okada's matches don't start until he misses his first Rainmaker. Nakamura rarely wins big matches without more than one Boma Ye. Tananashi generally gets knee'd after going for his first High Fly Flow. Okada misses a dropkick every match. Ishii always does the headbutt spot. 

Repetitive spots in New Japan is the norm. In fact New Japan is so predictable that the person that usually gets the most offense to start a match loses it. The more someone dominates the higher the odds are that the other person comes back and wins it.


----------



## amhlilhaus

Hera said:


> Okada's been missing his first Rainmaker attempt for over 2 years now so...........yes you are suppose to believe that. It's a joke that Okada's matches don't start until he misses his first Rainmaker. Nakamura rarely wins big matches without more than one Boma Ye. Tananashi generally gets knee'd after going for his first High Fly Flow. Okada misses a dropkick every match. Ishii always does the headbutt spot.
> 
> Repetitive spots in New Japan is the norm. In fact New Japan is so predictable that the person that usually gets the most offense to start a match loses it. The more someone dominates the higher the odds are that the other person comes back and wins it.


I sense cynicism


----------



## seabs

*Wrestling is formulaic in pretty much any promotion. Not like this is just a New Japan thing. Their formulaic traits are a lot better than formulaic traits being that your first finisher is never the finish in any significant match.*


----------



## septurum

How is Marufuji's 2nd GHC title reign going? Anything worth watching from it so far?

Edit: just watched his defense against Nakajima, seems to be pretty underrated on here.)


----------



## Snapdragon

Seabs said:


> *Wrestling is formulaic in pretty much any promotion. Not like this is just a New Japan thing. Their formulaic traits are a lot better than formulaic traits being that your first finisher is never the finish in any significant match.*


Cena 9/10 times never hits his first attempt of the AA>

It's just something to add drama and that question of "oh shit he might hit it"


----------



## Vårmakos

septurum said:


> How is Marufuji's 2nd GHC title reign going? Anything worth watching from it so far?
> 
> Edit: just watched his defense against Nakajima, seems to be pretty underrated on here.)


Marufuji (and NOAH) is pretty much hated around here. 

I have enjoyed all of his defenses so far, the one w Maybach Taniguchi was really bad but that's to be expected.


----------



## septurum

Yeah, I've noticed that if it isn't New Japan, it doesn't usually get a lot of attention here. Total shame, there is a lot of other puro out there. I think NOAH has slowly started to get better over the last two years, there has been a lot of great matches. People need to give it a second chance.


----------



## Bruce L

I find Marufuji's singles matches sort of depressing nowadays -- he used to be my favorite wrestler in Japan, but ever since coming back from yet another injury at the tail end of 2011, he's been a shadow of his best self. Though I did love the match where he took the belt off Nagata, so I may have to give some of his defenses a shot.


----------



## septurum

I would definitely check out the defense against Nakajima.


----------



## Bruce L

Yeah; I was put off by a review that said it was brought down by the shit crowd, but honestly, if you're not prepared to deal with that, you really can't watch NOAH at all. I'll check it out, and the Sekimoto defense too while I'm at it.


----------



## BREEaments03

BREEaments03 said:


> I hate the reverse of this that seems to have become a trend in NJPW during the G-1. Shibata ALWAYS misses his first dropkick in the corner so why doesn't he do something to counter the counter? Am I supposed to believe that he knows it takes two dropkicks to be enough when he can't remember that in around 15 straight singles matches he's dumb enough to not have noticed he always goes for the first dropkick to early? Doesn't jive.





Hera said:


> Okada's been missing his first Rainmaker attempt for over 2 years now so...........yes you are suppose to believe that. It's a joke that Okada's matches don't start until he misses his first Rainmaker. Nakamura rarely wins big matches without more than one Boma Ye. Tananashi generally gets knee'd after going for his first High Fly Flow. Okada misses a dropkick every match. Ishii always does the headbutt spot.
> 
> Repetitive spots in New Japan is the norm. In fact New Japan is so predictable that the person that usually gets the most offense to start a match loses it. The more someone dominates the higher the odds are that the other person comes back and wins it.


It's not the first time I've complained itt about this and I only picked Nakamura and Shibata because they were the guys that were mentioned since they were the main event match. I agree with you and I think that's why NJPW is going downhill. Back in 2012, Okada would hit his RM after the tombstone 100% and in 2013 after the dropkick/tombstone 100%. In 2012, Tanahashi didn't always miss his HFF on his first attempt. In 2013, Shibata didn't miss on his first attempt at the dropkick in the corner. Honma never hit his headbutt off the top and never hit his first off the rope headbutt during the G-1. See where I'm going with this? It's cool to do one or the other but that one or the other doesn't need to be the fad at the time.


----------



## Snapdragon

Vårmakos said:


> Marufuji (and NOAH) is pretty much hated around here.
> 
> I have enjoyed all of his defenses so far, the one w Maybach Taniguchi was really bad but that's to be expected.


Why do people hate Marufuji?


----------



## septurum

Bruce L said:


> Yeah; I was put off by a review that said it was brought down by the shit crowd, but honestly, if you're not prepared to deal with that, you really can't watch NOAH at all. I'll check it out, and the Sekimoto defense too while I'm at it.


Yeah, the crowd isn't great but the match speaks for itself.


----------



## Super Sonic

Meltzer's NJPW notes:

[HIDE="150"]

ROH signed off on Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly being allowed to be on the PPV portion of Wrestle Kingdom. That’s good in the sense they will probably have a great match. It’s bad in that it means the show will have to be rushed even worse. More on the four hours. From talking with people involved with the show, the four hour limit can’t be changed and everyone on both sides are aware of it. Right now there are nine matches slotted and I don’t see how they can add any unless they do them as pre-show matches, even though that leaves nothing for some major stars like Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, Taichi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Jushin Liger past they can do an eight-man pre-show match. The ROH title singles title match is a casualty of this and neither Adam Cole nor Jay Briscoe will be on the card. Cole was on the original card whether he was champion or not, and Briscoe was to defend if he was champion on the original card. I don’t know about the NWA title past it was going to be part of the show. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. are definitely booked, but they could be in a multiple person match before the PPV starts. Given they are looking at casual fans, guys like Liger, Kojima and Tenzan should have a spot on the show since they all have major history as longtime big stars. The first half of the show, which would include both jr. title matches, is going to have to be rushed. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada are total pros in the sense that when they go in the ring, they will know they have a time cue that they can’t go. They are believed to be good enough to improvise at the last minute to make it work. New Japan gives everyone cues but the stress of ending the show perfectly like in WWE isn’t there, but on this show, it will be. Whether the main event can get 33 minutes like they got two years ago is unlikely, and as noted, Okada has publicly stated he was going to do a ****** match. That was so weird to me to have someone in the world title match in the main event promoting the show say “six-star match” as the goal.

The number everyone involved is looking at for the North American market is 10,000 as a solid success and maybe 7,000 to 8,000 as okay. Less than 5,000 would be disappointing. The first show will determine everything, because the mentality is that the value of Jim Ross being with them and it being the Tokyo Dome show is that whatever they are going to do numbers-wise, the first show will be the highest, unless they get television. Based on those numbers, they will either come to the conclusion the idea isn’t viable, or that it is and then jump in with a battle plan for 2015. I don’t sense they are looking at 12 PPV shows, but two (the second being the G-1 finals) or four would happen if the first show is a success. One of the reasons the number doesn’t have to be that high is all the cost of doing the show itself past the cost of beaming to the U.S., hiring the announcers and travel and pay for whoever else is involved on the technical side of making it work in the U.S., are costs the show already had and New Japan would take care of since they are already on PPV and iPPV in their home market. Even Jeff Jarrett’s expenses as far as travel are on the New Japan side since he’s wrestling on the show.

The show will be available in the U.K.

They are pushing videos on YouTube put together by Kevin Sullivan with interviews done with Jim Ross, as well as with the American talent the night of the Osaka PPV. The Ross sit down piece was excellent. This is a real experiment regarding strong major league looking Viral videos and the push by talent of how big it is to have their match at the Dome called by Jim Ross. For people like A.J. Styles, Karl Anderson, and everyone in the IWGP jr. tag title match, where they’ve never had Ross call their match, it’s a real big deal. The Young Bucks and Kyle O’Reilly have talked about how they consider this show, between appearing at the Dome with Ross announcing as a sign that all of their hard work for years has paid off and they have made it in wrestling.

With the wrestling magazine business dying all over the world, Japan is doing a reverse. Not only did Gong Magazine do a revival issue in September, but New Japan and Weekly Pro Wrestling announced launching a new magazine called “NJPW Bi-Monthly” with the first issue hitting newsstands on 11/29.

Much of the tag team tournament (seven of the 11 shows starting with the second show on 11/23 in Toyohashi) will air on NicoPro at http://ch.nicovideo.jp/nicopro which is a subscription channel. They air New Japan spot shows live often with no commentary and it costs $5.40 per month. The finals are on iPPV.

The 12/2 tag tourney date in Fukuoka has sold out.

Smith Jr. was out of action for some time with a peritonsillar abscess of his tonsils. He had tonsilitis and it came back worse and became an abscess. He’s been bothered by it for a month. It got so bad he went to the emergency room because he was having problems breathing because his airway passages were so blocked. It’s his third time battling tonsilitis this year. Every time it comes back it’s brutal. Once they had to lance and drain one tonsil due to the infection and he was hooked up to an IV for several days and he missed work, and couldn’t eat or swallow.

The plan is to do a lot more business with NOAH in 2015.

Jeff Jarrett had either one or two very brief conversations with Chael Sonnen about announcing the Dome show. Sonnen said he took it as a courtesy call from someone who really wasn’t familiar with his work. It is Jarrett’s choice who is the partner but Jim Ross was given significant input into the decision, but in the end it is Jarrett’s call. Both Jarrett and Ross were on the same page with Mike Tenay as the leading candidate. My guess on Sonnen, since Ross and he did the Tulsa MMA show together, is that Ross mentioned the name to Jarrett in the event that Tenay can’t do the show. Regarding the possibility of Kevin Kelly, ROH is taping TV on 1/3 so even with the ROH/New Japan discussions, Kelly isn’t a possibility for that specific show.[/HIDE]


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Matches from NOAH Global League 2014*

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Daisuke Harada (c) vs Zack Sabre Jr. 11/4 ***3/4+
Masato Tanaka vs Yuji Nagata 11/4 ***1/2
Naomichi Marufuji vs Takeshi Morishima 11/4 ***
Daisuke Sekimoto vs Satoshi Kojima 11/4 ***1/2
Takashi Sugiura vs Daisuke Sekimoto 11/8 ***3/4

Skip the rest


----------



## Cliffy

Do you know any channels or sites that post the most recent NOAH stuff or will i have to download it ?

AARK on youtube has only gone up to September i think,


----------



## Groovemachine

The user JAHMAL1111 (RealHero) has recent stuff on Dailymotion; 11/16 just went up. He posts all the NJPW and Dragon Gate stuff too.


----------



## RKing85

ivpvideos black friday sale is up.

30% off downloads with the code bfriday

40% off dvd's with the code blackfriday


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW World Tag League 2014 Day 1 (11/22)*

Bullet Club (Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) vs Captain New Japan, Tiger Mask IV, Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi **
KUSHIDA & BUSHI vs The Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett) *1/4
Block A: TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs Iron Godz (Rob Conway & Jax Dane) *1/2
Block B: Killer Elite Squad (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) **1/2
Block B: Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi **3/4
Block A: Tetsuya Naito & La Sombra vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi) **3/4
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Kota Ibushi vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Shinsuke Nakamura) ***1/4
Block A: CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yoshitatsu **1/2


----------



## Vårmakos

*K-DOJO Club-K Super In Korakuen (11/3/2014)*

Kengo Mashimo (c) vs. Hiro Tonai - ***3/4 

Dragged a little towards the end, but a really good match. Lots of rad limb targeting.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Crown Gate 2014 (11/23)*

Jimmy Kagetora vs Yuga Hayashi *3/4
Open the Owarai Gate Title: Jimmyz (Ryo "Jimmy" Saito (c) & Jimmy Kanda) vs Don Fujii & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa * (FUNNY)
BxB Hulk vs Punch Tominaga **
CIMA, Gamma & Tenzan Mask vs Millenials (T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita) ***
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO & Cyber Kong) vs Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Susumu) **1/2
Monster Express (Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Big R Shimizu) ***1/4

Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani - BJW 10/31 ***1/2


----------



## cablegeddon

Anyone have a good quality version of Shibata's entrance theme? There's nothing good on YT/DM


----------



## Alden Heathcliffe

cablegeddon said:


> Anyone have a good quality version of Shibata's entrance theme? There's nothing good on YT/DM


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Puro Matches*

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title:* Daisuke Harada (c) vs Atsushi Kotoge - NOAH 12/6 ***1/4
*GHC Heavyweight Title: *Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Takashi Sugiura - NOAH 12/6 ***1/4
*Open the Brave Gate Title: *Flamita (c) vs Ryo "Jimmy" Saito - Dragon Gate 12/7 ***1/4


----------



## Rah

Just in case the electrified barbedwire & chair match from February didn't satiate your need for Fujiwara in 2014, here's more!


Terry Funk, Mil Mascaras, Masakatsu Funaki *vs* NOSAWA, Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Kaz Hayashi (11/12/2014)


----------



## Concrete

The participants in that match are incredibly absurd in the best way possible.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

Trying to get some buddies into NJPW who are tired of WWE's current product so I made a little compilation DVD of matches from this year. I want to get them for Wrestle Kingdom this year and hope to get them watching more Japanese Wrestling.
1. Time Splitter vs. Young Bucks
Domination 6.21
2. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet
Domination 6.21
3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
G1 Climax day 7
4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
New Beginings in Osaka
5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
G1 Climax Finals
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Destruction in Kobe


----------



## Brock

Pappa Bacon said:


> Trying to get some buddies into NJPW who are tired of WWE's current product so I made a little compilation DVD of matches from this year. I want to get them for Wrestle Kingdom this year and hope to get them watching more Japanese Wrestling.
> 1. Time Splitter vs. Young Bucks
> Domination 6.21
> 2. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet
> Domination 6.21
> 3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
> G1 Climax day 7
> 4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
> New Beginings in Osaka
> 5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> G1 Climax Finals
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> Destruction in Kobe


That's a good idea, considering how strong this year has been. id like to do that myself for a friend of mine, only the best of the best, the essentials (**** +).


----------



## Tanner1495

Pappa Bacon said:


> Trying to get some buddies into NJPW who are tired of WWE's current product so I made a little compilation DVD of matches from this year. I want to get them for Wrestle Kingdom this year and hope to get them watching more Japanese Wrestling.
> 1. Time Splitter vs. Young Bucks
> Domination 6.21
> 2. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet
> Domination 6.21
> 3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
> G1 Climax day 7
> 4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
> New Beginings in Osaka
> 5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> G1 Climax Finals
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> Destruction in Kobe


Thinking about doing this for my brother in law, he has been way more interested in watching some Japanese wrestling since Balor made his debut, Balor is probably his favorite guy on the whole roster at this point.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

http://savevideo.me/

I used this and dailymotion. find the matches you want and then post the url in the link above and it will download it as an mp4. you can then use a program like Convert X to DVD and it will have each match as its own chapter.


----------



## Brock

I've got a few on DVD from this year, ill try and put a list together over Xmas. Although it won't be massive or anything, like i said, just want the main essentials really.


----------



## fireballx90

Pappa Bacon said:


> Trying to get some buddies into NJPW who are tired of WWE's current product so I made a little compilation DVD of matches from this year. I want to get them for Wrestle Kingdom this year and hope to get them watching more Japanese Wrestling.
> 1. Time Splitter vs. Young Bucks
> Domination 6.21
> 2. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet
> Domination 6.21
> 3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
> G1 Climax day 7
> 4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
> New Beginings in Osaka
> 5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> G1 Climax Finals
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> Destruction in Kobe


Ricochet/KUSHIDA and Styles/Suzuki are both AMAZING, just adored those matches. ANY Wrestling fan should be made to watch them both.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Pappa Bacon said:


> Trying to get some buddies into NJPW who are tired of WWE's current product so I made a little compilation DVD of matches from this year. I want to get them for Wrestle Kingdom this year and hope to get them watching more Japanese Wrestling.
> 1. Time Splitter vs. Young Bucks
> Domination 6.21
> 2. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet
> Domination 6.21
> 3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
> G1 Climax day 7
> 4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
> New Beginings in Osaka
> 5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> G1 Climax Finals
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> Destruction in Kobe


Awesome picks. I'd change Ibushi/Ricochet for KUSHIDA/Ricochet tho. Otherwise, a bunch of great matches. :clap


----------



## cablegeddon

Alden Heathcliffe said:


>


That's about half of the song


----------



## Brock

Pappa Bacon said:


> Trying to get some buddies into NJPW who are tired of WWE's current product so I made a little compilation DVD of matches from this year. I want to get them for Wrestle Kingdom this year and hope to get them watching more Japanese Wrestling.
> 1. Time Splitter vs. Young Bucks
> Domination 6.21
> 2. Kota Ibushi vs. Ricochet
> Domination 6.21
> 3. AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki
> G1 Climax day 7
> 4. Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto
> New Beginings in Osaka
> 5. Kazuchika Okada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
> G1 Climax Finals
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> Destruction in Kobe


Came up with this little list, like i said, i only wish to really include the main essentials TBH:

*Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8* Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata 
*Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8* Kota Ibushi vs Prince Devitt
*Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8	* Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
*Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
*Feb 9th 2014	NJPW New Beginning In Hiroshima* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
*Feb 11th 2014	NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '14* Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto	
*Feb 11th 2014	NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '14* Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
*Mar 6th 2014	NJPW Strong Style 42nd Anniversary Show* Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi
*Apr 6th 2014	NJPW Invasion Attack 2014* Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi	
*Apr 6th 2014	NJPW Invasion Attack 2014* Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
*May 3rd 2014	NJPW Wrestling Dontaku '14* Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma
*May 25th 2014	NJPW Return To Yokohama Arena* Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi
*May 25th 2014	NJPW Return To Yokohama Arena* A.J. Styles vs Kazuchika Okada
*Jun 8th 2014	NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI FINAL* Ricochet vs KUSHIDA
*Jun 21st 2014	NJPW Dominion * The Young Bucks vs Timeplitters	
*Jun 21st 2014	NJPW Dominion* Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet	
*Jul 21st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1* Kazuchika Okada vs A.J. Styles	
*Jul 21st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1* Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura	
*Jul 25th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 3* Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe
*Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4* Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi	
*Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4* Tetsuya Naito vs A.J. Styles	
*Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4* Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata
*Jul 27th 2014 NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 5* Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma
*Jul 31st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 6* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii
*Jul 31st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 6* Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata
*Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7* Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Hirooki Goto	
*Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7* Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata
*Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7* A.J. Styles vs Minoru Suzuki	
*Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7* Shinsuke Nakamura vsTomohiro Ishii
*Aug 3rd 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura	
*Aug 3rd 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8* Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma
*Aug 4th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 9* Kazuchika Okada	vs Hirooki Goto
*Aug 6th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 10* Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata
*Aug 8th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 11* Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki	
*Aug 8th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 11* Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata
*Aug 10th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 12* Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura
*Aug 10th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 12* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs A.J. Styles
*Sep 21st 2014	NJPW Destruction In Kobe* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata 
*Oct 13th 2014	NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs A.J. Styles	
*Oct 13th 2014	NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014* Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi
*Oct 13th 2014	NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014* Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito	
*Oct 25th 2014	NJPW Road To Power Struggle* Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii)
*Nov 8th 2014	NJPW Power Struggle* Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii

BONUS:
*May 17th 2014	NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds* AJ Styles (c) vs Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin
BONUS:
*May 17th 2014	NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds* ReDRagon vs The Young Bucks
BONUS:
*May 17th 2014	NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds* Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Steen

 A few im still to watch myself though.


----------



## Pappa Bacon

Brock said:


> Came up with this little list, like i said, i only wish to really include the main essentials TBH:
> 
> *Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8*Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata
> *Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8*Kota Ibushi vs Prince Devitt
> *Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8*Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
> *Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> *Feb 9th 2014NJPW New Beginning In Hiroshima*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> *Feb 11th 2014NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '14*Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto
> *Feb 11th 2014NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '14*Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
> *Mar 6th 2014NJPW Strong Style 42nd Anniversary Show*Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi
> *Apr 6th 2014NJPW Invasion Attack 2014*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> *Apr 6th 2014NJPW Invasion Attack 2014*Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
> *May 3rd 2014NJPW Wrestling Dontaku '14*Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma
> *May 25th 2014NJPW Return To Yokohama Arena*Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi
> *May 25th 2014NJPW Return To Yokohama Arena*A.J. Styles vs Kazuchika Okada
> *Jun 8th 2014NJPW Best Of The Super Junior XXI FINAL*Ricochet vs KUSHIDA
> *Jun 21st 2014NJPW Dominion *The Young Bucks vs Timeplitters
> *Jun 21st 2014NJPW Dominion*Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet
> *Jul 21st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1*Kazuchika Okada vs A.J. Styles
> *Jul 21st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1*Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> *Jul 25th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 3*Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe
> *Jul 26th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4*Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> *Jul 26th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4*Tetsuya Naito vs A.J. Styles
> *Jul 26th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata
> *Jul 27th 2014 NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 5*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma
> *Jul 31st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 6*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii
> *Jul 31st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 6*Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> *Aug 1st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7*Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Hirooki Goto
> *Aug 1st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7*Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata
> *Aug 1st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7*A.J. Styles vs Minoru Suzuki
> *Aug 1st 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7*Shinsuke Nakamura vsTomohiro Ishii
> *Aug 3rd 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> *Aug 3rd 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8*Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma
> *Aug 4th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 9*Kazuchika Okadavs Hirooki Goto
> *Aug 6th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 10*Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata
> *Aug 8th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 11*Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki
> *Aug 8th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 11*Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata
> *Aug 10th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 12*Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> *Aug 10th 2014NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 12*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs A.J. Styles
> *Sep 21st 2014NJPW Destruction In Kobe*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata
> *Oct 13th 2014NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs A.J. Styles
> *Oct 13th 2014NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014*Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi
> *Oct 13th 2014NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014*Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito
> *Oct 25th 2014NJPW Road To Power Struggle*Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii)
> *Nov 8th 2014NJPW Power Struggle*Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii
> 
> BONUS:
> *May 17th 2014NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds*AJ Styles (c) vs Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin
> BONUS:
> *May 17th 2014NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds*ReDRagon vs The Young Bucks
> BONUS:
> *May 17th 2014NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Steen
> 
> A few im still to watch myself though.


Killer list I'm going to watch a lot of this myself


----------



## Brock

No problem. Could also add a couple more from the Climax (TBH, the whole tournament could be classed as essential):

*Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4* Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii
*Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7* Togi Makabe vs Tetsuya Naito


----------



## Obfuscation

That Tenzan vs Goto match from Korakuen w/the HOTTEST CROWD REACTION OF THE YEAR. It's a perfectly solid contest, but good grief was that crowd molten to the highest level. Out of nowhere. Kind of sums up how much stronger Tenzan's string of matches this year were compared to his abysmal stuff last year. I liked the pep in his step.

Lance Archer's Climax run needs more love. Certainly over the awful Climax finals we were given this year. Okada vs Archer, guys. :mark:


----------



## Cliffy




----------



## Obfuscation

Went in w/o any knowledge of the result for HARASHIMA vs Shigehiro Irie II, on the year, & it sure as hell did deliver. The aura & delivery of most KO-D Openweight championship matches is usually the best around. Probably made this point a few times - or only in my head..- but what they have is what used to be around ROH's World Championship during their peak years. That sense of hype & excitement. Where anything could happen & the matches are always worked, built, booked to sustain everyone to look like a million bucks. It's terrific. Glad DDT keeps this up so well. HARASHIMA has this great bit where everyone he works vs is the underdog going in & he relies on his experience, to the point whenever he finds a good opportunity to take advantage, he comes off like a prick. The move/counter comes out of nowhere, then that smirk creeps over his face. It builds around that after the foundation of the match has been set. Combine it w/the most likable guy in DDT - let alone one of the most in wrestling today, period - w/Irie, fighting for both redemption of his loss & the losses of his partners on their quest to win the championship. This was set to boil over.



Spoiler: result



DDT are immense w/containing suspense on all of these HARASHIMA defenses. He's the Ace nobody ever talks about, b/c Ibushi is so popular. Same w/Omega. But he's dominating the scene for the past two years. Not even when associating any past championship reigns prior to dethroning Irie at Peter Pan in 2013. That's a big hook for me. I'm always drawn to rooting for his opponents to knock him off the mountain. Tons of passion from me wanting Irie to pull it off. Make his way back on top. Unfortunately, like all the rest, I've been crushed by the finish. Thought it was gonna be his time. All for not. Tremendous way to built him up once again. He'll reign supreme again, I'm sure of it, but Irie fell victim like all the rest. Best part about this worst case scenario is they make me care. And I love em so much for it. Seems to have come full circle now that Irie had his second chance & didn't accomplish his goal; w/next in line being Ibushi. Something has to give here. I'm plenty hyped for Saitama Super Arena in Feb. Happy Motel vs Strong BJ signed for it too. Brilliant.


----------



## darkclaudio

Wrestle Kingdom 9

-New Japan Rumble *
-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship ***
-BULLET CLUB vs Tenzan, Kojima & Honma *3/4
-Team Yano vs Suzukigun *1/2
-Suzuki vs Sakuraba ***1/4
-NEVER Openweight Championship ***1/2
-IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship *3/4
-IWGP Tag Team Championship **1/2
-AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4
-IWGP Intercontinental Championship ****1/4+
-IWGP Heavyweight Championship ****+


----------



## lolomanolo

Please delete.


----------



## flag sabbath

Every so often I watch some Dragon Gate, seemingly to remind myself why I'm not an avid viewer. This time I checked out the Final Gate title matches..... 

*Flamita vs. Punch Tominaga:* Tominaga is a fantastic, distinctive character, who doesn't compromise his heel work with crowd pleasing flashiness. And that makes him an excellent foil for Flamita's flip show ****1/2*

*Jimmyz vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Big R Shimizu:* Nothing special for 15 mins, but the final five were pure excitement. Great to see Big R in a starring role. The lad has the potential to freshen up the DG main event scene ****1/2*

*T-Hawk & Eita vs. Yamato & Cyber Kong:* The first 15 were spot-on with the champs' early slickness giving way to Mad Blankey's experience and ruthlessness. What the match didn't need was a further 10 mins of meandering & overindulgence. Oh well ****1/4*

*BxB Hulk vs. Shingo Takagi:* Well, there's 35 minutes I can't claim back. This style really only holds water in multi-man matches, where saves & tag out recovery time balance out the no-selling. Horrible stuff, lesson learned **1/2*


----------



## Brock

What are the top 5-ish matches of Shinya Hashimoto?


----------



## The Electric Lady

Wrong thread


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW New Year Dash!! 5.01.2015

1. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vsTiger Mask & Sho Tanaka *1/4
2. Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish vs Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov **1/2
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Shelton Benjamin, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. *1/2
4. *NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs El Desperado *1/4
5. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson **3/4
6. Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga *3/4
7. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Kota Ibushi vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI ***
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Tetsuya Naito vs AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi **3/4

AJPW 3.01.2015

-*GAORA TV Championship Match*: KENSO (c) vs Ryuji Hijikata *1/4
-Akebono, Shigehiro Irie & Shuji Ishikawa vs Jun Akiyama, Takao Omori & SUSHI **1/2
-Zeus & Shingo Takagi vs Suwama & Hikaru Sato *3/4
-*All Asia Tag Team Championship Match:* Kento Miyahara & Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs Mitsuya Nagai & Takeshi Minamino -* (TERRIBLE MATCH)
-*Triple Crown*: Joe Doering (c) vs Go Shiozaki ***1/2


----------



## Dangerous K

Its sad seeing All Japan where they are at the minute, but I hope they get back on their feet again and run the Budokan again.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Heard that Meltzer gave Nakamura & Ibushi ***** and Tanahashi & Okada ****3/4.


----------



## flag sabbath

He also gave Makabe vs. Ishii ****1/2, AJ vs. Naito ****1/4, Jr tag ****, Jr ***3/4 and Suzuki vs. Sakuraba ***3/4, bless him.


----------



## Brock

Brock said:


> What are the top 10-ish matches of Shinya Hashimoto?


Anyone recommend any?


----------



## Dangerous K

Nohubiko Takada, Battle Formation 1996.
Vader, from 1989.
Kawada, Triple Crown title AJPW from 2004.
William Regal , from 1995 for the IWGP Title.
Tenryu, from G-1 Climax 1998.
Masato Tanaka from Zero One in 2002.


----------



## Brock

Thanks. I'll note those down.


----------



## STEVALD

Brock said:


> Anyone recommend any?


Here's a post from an old Hashimoto thread, hope it helps 



antoniomare007 said:


> a couple of us have answered this question a couple of times in the Puro thread.
> 
> vs Hase G-1 Climax 93
> vs Liger 94'
> vs Genichiro Tenryu 2/24/94
> vs Hase 94' IWGP Title match
> vs Mutoh 95' G-1 Climax Final
> vs Choshu 96' G-1 Climax ("CHOOOOSHUUUUUUUU!!!!")
> vs Takada 96' IWGP Title Match
> vs Yamazaki 97' IWGP Title match (his whole feud with Yamazaki is great)
> vs Regal, IWGP title New Japan 4/16/95
> vs Tenryu, New Japan G-1 Climax '98
> w/Otsuka vs Misawa/Ogawa NOAH 1/13/01
> w/Nagata vs Misawa/Akiyama, Zero-One 3/2/01
> vs Tanaka 02' in Zero-One
> vs Kawada 04' Triple Crown Match
> 
> He's had a ton of fun matches with other people (like vs Vader in 89', vs Chono in 91' or his matches vs Scott Norton) too but that list is probably him at his best.
> 
> 
> My favorites are the Hase, Takada and Tenryu defenses as well as the dream match against Kawada.



---


Edit: Does anyone have a link/know the title of Omega's new theme? Its so :banderas


----------



## Brock

Thanks very much. I was trying to think of a couple of them too.


----------



## STEVALD

Is Power Struggle worth going back and watching, or should I like only watch select matches from that card? Thought I'd do it since that's when Omega debuted lol.


----------



## flag sabbath

STEVIE SWAG said:


> Is Power Struggle worth going back and watching, or should I like only watch select matches from that card? Thought I'd do it since that's when Omega debuted lol.


Ishii vs Goto got lots of love around here. It's pretty much Ishii vs Makabe on steroids. Main event split people - for me it was very good, but not great. The rest was forgettable tbh.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9
(Junary 4, 2015)
*
Dark Match: 15-Man New Japan Rumble *

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
reDRagon (c) vs The Young Bucks vs Time Splitters vs Forever Hooligans ***

Bullet Club (Jeff Jarrett, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Tomoaki Honma, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima *1/2

Suzuki-gun (Shelton "X" Benjamin, Takashi Iizuka, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs Toru Yano, Naomichi Marufuji, Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste *3/4

Minoru Suzuki vs Kazushi Sakuraba ***1/4

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Togi Makabe ***1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs Kenny Omega **3/4

*IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) (c) vs Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata **1/2

AJ Styles vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Kota Ibushi ****3/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Kazuchika Okada ****1/2

Overall Rating: 9.0


----------



## SUPA HOT FIRE.

I'm quite late to the party but hooooooly shit was the Nakamura-Ibushi match a show stealer or what?

Especially when they both really started to go very hard against each other. It's been a long time since I have felt this 'Are they actually fighting for real?'-feeling as I was very close to entertain the very thought that they both went off-script during that part of their match.


----------



## Gretchen

White Essence. said:


> It's been a long time since I have felt this 'Are they actually fighting for real?'-feeling as I was very close to entertain the very thought that they both went off-script during that part of their match.


Guess that's why they call it the strong style and why Nakamura's the King of the Strong Style.

Though many of the other 'stiff workers' did nothing for me at WK. It's mostly the likes of Nakamura and Okada that impressed me as always though some other undercard match guys are awesome as well (like Suzuki). I guess I'm just harder to please than most puro fans.


----------



## SUPA HOT FIRE.

Superkick said:


> Guess that's why they call it the strong style and why Nakamura's the King of the Strong Style.
> 
> Though many of the other 'stiff workers' did nothing for me at WK. It's mostly the likes of Nakamura and Okada that impressed me as always though some other undercard match guys are awesome as well (like Suzuki). I guess I'm just harder to please than most puro fans.


Yeah, Nakamura really proved once again why people refer to him with such title.

Eh it's all cool since Nakamura, Okada and Suzuki are simply put some of the greats. I like that you mentioned Suzuki a bit extra since he operates like a freaking machine for a guy at his age. He's one of the few, along with the likes of Yuji Nagata and Chris Daniels, that proves sometimes age has no effect contrary to the popular belief that the age-span within 40-45 is 'too old'.


----------



## NastyYaffa

After thinking, I am honestly now pretty sure that AJ is gonna beat Tanahashi next month for the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

1) Styles has lost to Tanahashi 2 times in a row already.
2) Apparently AJ's towel is the best selling merchandise item on New Japan's shop. So you could say it's best for business :trips2 to give him the title.
3) The ROH/NJ shows are coming up, and I could see them wanting to have Styles as a champ there.
4) Styles has been getting really good reactions by Japanese fans lately.
5) I could see Okada finally getting his revenge on Styles by beating him for the title later on.

What do you guys think?


----------



## Corey

I think all of that makes perfect sense. I believe they put the belt back on Tanahashi just so he could defend at WK. I would absolutely like to see another title reign for AJ and would LOVE to somehow see defenses against Ibushi & Nakamura. Those two matches sound godly.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I think all of that makes perfect sense. I believe they put the belt back on Tanahashi just so he could defend at WK. I would absolutely like to see another title reign for AJ and would LOVE to somehow see defenses against Ibushi & Nakamura. Those two matches sound godly.


Styles vs. Ibushi would be something else kada


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

This is apparently an advertisement for NJPW on AXS TV:






Wow. :lol

Meltzer said the episodes are good though.


----------



## STEVALD

^ Damn, that makes anything that they'd put up on Saturday Morning Slam look badass. Eh, its just a trailer though.



flag sabbath said:


> Ishii vs Goto got lots of love around here. It's pretty much Ishii vs Makabe on steroids. Main event split people - for me it was very good, but not great. The rest was forgettable tbh.


So just the two? Alright, I'll check them out, thanks


----------



## Bruce L

STEVIE SWAG said:


> So just the two? Alright, I'll check them out, thanks


Time Splitters/reDRagon was quite well-received as well. I for one highly recommend it.


----------



## Good News Barrett

NastyYaffa said:


> After thinking, I am honestly now pretty sure that AJ is gonna beat Tanahashi next month for the IWGP Heavyweight Title.
> 
> 1) Styles has lost to Tanahashi 2 times in a row already.
> 2) Apparently AJ's towel is the best selling merchandise item on New Japan's shop. So you could say it's best for business :trips2 to give him the title.
> 3) The ROH/NJ shows are coming up, and I could see them wanting to have Styles as a champ there.
> 4) Styles has been getting really good reactions by Japanese fans lately.
> 5) I could see Okada finally getting his revenge on Styles by beating him for the title later on.
> 
> What do you guys think?


just checked, well yeah. http://shop.njpw.co.jp/user_data/ranking.php

shockingly AJ Styles' towel is indeed the no.1 seller

he could win the title, there's a ROH show in Georgia a week after New Beginning.

i also have slight doubts since he went over Tanahashi clean at New Year's Dash show.


----------



## aivaz

The only real message I get from those rankings is that Tanahashi's next opponent should be a decorated tennis ball with ears.


----------



## Brock

*Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi (02.12.2012 (NJPW The New Beginning)*

x2ekvzv

Noticed the version on YT had French commentary, so thought id upload it for anyone who wants to watch it.


----------



## Raindust

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/BzI7J7cCMAEfZxC.mp4


----------



## Ham and Egger

Raindust said:


> https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/BzI7J7cCMAEfZxC.mp4


Okada DA FUGGIN GAWD!


----------



## Tanner1495

Hey guys, I wrote about Yuji Hino today in my "Wrestlers to Watch" series I started, check it out *here!*


----------



## NastyYaffa

Man, I'd love to see these two go at it :banderas


----------



## Corey

Damn, J.R. wasn't kidding when he said Ishii was like 5'5". :lol


----------



## Good News Barrett

Styles hasn't faced Shibata, Nakamura, Ishii, Ibushi, Honma & Nagata in singles matches.

hope to see them in same block in G1 this year. 

AJ/Nakamura is money though. Hope it happens at a major show.


----------



## Alden Heathcliffe

Would Tanahashi lose to Styles right after beating Okada so cleanly (even kicking out of the Rainmaker)?


----------



## Tanner1495

Considering NJPW wants to expand into the West, I could see Tanahashi losing, but they need to decide if/when the big push is coming, because you can't have Styles as champ just because you are doing a few joint shows with ROH.

Also, I reviewed Hashimoto/Zangiev on my blog *here* so check it out if you want!


----------



## doctor doom

Styles COULD go over Tanahashi. The longterm booking is the question. Who beats Styles for the title? Does Nagata beat Nakamura? Is there an internal feud in the Bullet Club with Karl Anderson facing Styles @G1? I don't think Okada or Tanahashi is winning the G1 this year. I see Nakamura, Ibushi, or Naito taking it.


----------



## Corey

The listings have been released for all the matches that'll be featured on the new NJPW show on AXS TV. January 16th-April 10th



Spoiler: Listings



*January 16*
• Tanahashi vs. Okada, Wrestle Kingdom 7


*January 23*
• Okada vs. Hirooki Goto, 2013 New Japan Cup finals
• Shinsuke Nakamura/Tomohiro Ishii/Jado vs. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer/Taka Michinoku


*January 30*
• Tanahashi vs. Okada, Invasion Attack 2013


*February 6*
• Okada vs. Togi Makabe
• Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt


*February 13*
• Okada vs. Prince Devitt
• Tanahashi/Makabe/Jushin Liger/Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson/El Terrible/Tama Tonga/Bad Luck Fale


*February 20*
• Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi
• Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson


*February 27*
• Tanahashi vs. Tesuya Naito, G1 Climax finals


*March 6*
• Nakamura vs. Naomichi Marifuji
• Naito vs. Yijiro Takahashi


*March 13*
• Okada vs. Naito, Wrestle Kingdom 8


*March 20*
• Nakamura vs. Tanahashi, Wrestle Kingdom 8


*March 27*
• Nakamura vs. Tanahashi, Invasion Attack 2014


*April 3*
• Okada vs. AJ Styles, Wrestling Dontaku
• Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• The Forever Hooligans vs. The Young Bucks


*April 10*
• Okada vs. AJ Styles, Yokohama Arena
• Takashi Iizuka/Toru Yano vs. Suzuki/Shelton Benjamin


February looks like a pretty dope month for the show.


----------



## CZWRUBE

Jack Evans 187 said:


> The listings have been released for all the matches that'll be featured on the new NJPW show on AXS TV. January 16th-April 10th
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Listings
> 
> 
> 
> *January 16*
> • Tanahashi vs. Okada, Wrestle Kingdom 7
> 
> 
> *January 23*
> • Okada vs. Hirooki Goto, 2013 New Japan Cup finals
> • Shinsuke Nakamura/Tomohiro Ishii/Jado vs. Minoru Suzuki/Lance Archer/Taka Michinoku
> 
> 
> *January 30*
> • Tanahashi vs. Okada, Invasion Attack 2013
> 
> 
> *February 6*
> • Okada vs. Togi Makabe
> • Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt
> 
> 
> *February 13*
> • Okada vs. Prince Devitt
> • Tanahashi/Makabe/Jushin Liger/Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson/El Terrible/Tama Tonga/Bad Luck Fale
> 
> 
> *February 20*
> • Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi
> • Satoshi Kojima vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
> • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson
> 
> 
> *February 27*
> • Tanahashi vs. Tesuya Naito, G1 Climax finals
> 
> 
> *March 6*
> • Nakamura vs. Naomichi Marifuji
> • Naito vs. Yijiro Takahashi
> 
> 
> *March 13*
> • Okada vs. Naito, Wrestle Kingdom 8
> 
> 
> *March 20*
> • Nakamura vs. Tanahashi, Wrestle Kingdom 8
> 
> 
> *March 27*
> • Nakamura vs. Tanahashi, Invasion Attack 2014
> 
> 
> *April 3*
> • Okada vs. AJ Styles, Wrestling Dontaku
> • Ibushi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
> • The Forever Hooligans vs. The Young Bucks
> 
> 
> *April 10*
> • Okada vs. AJ Styles, Yokohama Arena
> • Takashi Iizuka/Toru Yano vs. Suzuki/Shelton Benjamin
> 
> 
> February looks like a pretty dope month for the show.


THAT Does look like a good line up.


----------



## Brock

Think ive finalized my Best Of NJPW List: (Only tried to include the essentials TBH):



> Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata
> Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 Kota Ibushi vs Prince Devitt
> Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito
> Jan 4th 2014 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 8 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> Feb 2nd 2014	NJPW Road to New Beginning	Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii
> Feb 9th 2014	NJPW New Beginning In Hiroshima	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> Feb 11th 2014	NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '14	Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto
> Feb 11th 2014	NJPW New Beginning In Osaka '14	Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
> Mar 6th 2014	NJPW Strong Style 42nd Anniversary Show	Kazuchika Okada vs Kota Ibushi
> Mar 6th 2014	NJPW Strong Style 42nd Anniversary Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito
> Apr 6th 2014	NJPW Invasion Attack 2014	Shinsuke Nakamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> Apr 6th 2014	NJPW Invasion Attack 2014	Tomohiro Ishii vs Tetsuya Naito
> May 3rd 2014	NJPW Wrestling Dontaku '14	Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma
> May 3rd 2014	NJPW Wrestling Dontaku '14	A.J. Styles vs Kazuchika Okada
> May 25th 2014	NJPW Return To Yokohama Arena	Tomohiro Ishii vs Kota Ibushi
> May 25th 2014	NJPW Return To Yokohama Arena	A.J. Styles vs Kazuchika Okada
> Jun 6th 2014	NJPW Best of the Super Jr	Jushin 'Thunder' Liger vs. KUSHIDA
> Jun 8th 2014	NJPW Best Of The Super Jr FINAL	Ricochet vs KUSHIDA
> Jun 21st 2014	NJPW Dominion Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA) vs The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
> Jun 21st 2014	NJPW Dominion Kota Ibushi vs Ricochet
> Jul 21st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1	Tomoaki Honma vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> Jul 21st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1	Kazuchika Okada vs A.J. Styles
> Jul 21st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 1	Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> Jul 23rd 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 2	Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii
> Jul 25th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 3	Kazuchika Okada vs Togi Makabe
> Jul 25th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 3	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima
> Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4	Katsuyori Shibata vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
> Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4	Tetsuya Naito vs A.J. Styles
> Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4	Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata
> Jul 26th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 4	Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii
> Jul 27th 2014 NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 5	Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomoaki Honma
> Jul 27th 2014 NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 5	Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito
> Jul 27th 2014 NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 5	AJ Styles vs. Hirooki Goto
> Jul 31st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 6	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tomohiro Ishii
> Jul 31st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 6	Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata
> Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7	Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Hirooki Goto
> Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7	Yuji Nagata vs Katsuyori Shibata
> Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7	A.J. Styles vs Minoru Suzuki
> Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7	Shinsuke Nakamura vsTomohiro Ishii
> Aug 1st 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 7	Togi Makabe vs Tetsuya Naito
> Aug 3rd 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> Aug 3rd 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8	Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma
> Aug 3rd 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 8	Lance Archer vs AJ Styles
> Aug 4th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 9	Kazuchika Okada	vs Hirooki Goto
> Aug 4th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 9	Minoru Suzuki vs. Tetsuya Naito
> Aug 4th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 9	Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Satoshi Kojima
> Aug 6th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 10	Tomohiro Ishii vs Katsuyori Shibata
> Aug 8th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 11	Kazuchika Okada vs Minoru Suzuki
> Aug 8th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 11	Tomohiro Ishii vs Yuji Nagata
> Aug 10th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 12	Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura
> Aug 10th 2014	NJPW G1 Climax 24 - Day 12	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs A.J. Styles
> Sep 21st 2014	NJPW Destruction In Kobe	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata
> Sep 21st 2014	NJPW Destruction In Kobe	KUSHIDA vs Ryusuke Taguchi
> Sep 21st 2014	NJPW Destruction In Kobe	Hirooki Goto vs Togi Makabe
> Oct 13th 2014	NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014	Hiroshi Tanahashi vs A.J. Styles
> Oct 13th 2014	NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014	Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi
> Oct 13th 2014	NJPW King Of Pro-Wrestling 2014	Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito
> Oct 25th 2014	NJPW Road To Power Struggle	Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii)
> Nov 8th 2014	NJPW Power Struggle reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) vs Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA)
> Nov 8th 2014	NJPW Power Struggle Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs Kazuchika Okada & YOSH-HASHI
> Nov 8th 2014	NJPW Power Struggle Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii
> 
> BONUS:
> May 17th 2014	NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds	AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin
> BONUS:
> May 17th 2014	NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds	reDRagon vs The Young Bucks
> BONUS:
> May 17th 2014	NJPW/ROH War Of The Worlds	Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kevin Steen


----------



## Raindust

No Okada vs Tanahashi at KOPW 13 tho


----------



## Brock

I was only referring to 2014.  Shoukd have made that clear lol.


----------



## Raindust

I meant NJPW on AXS


----------



## Brock

D'oh


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NOAH New Year Navigation 2015 1/10*

Hitoshi Kumano vs Yoshinari Ogawa 1/2*
Jonah Rock vs Zack Sabre Jr. **1/4
Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) vs Brave (Mohammed Yone & Taiji Ishimori) **3/4
Cho Kibou-Gun (MAYBACH Taniguchi, Ken-o & Hajime Ohara) vs No Mercy (Yoshihiro Takayama, Akitoshi Saito & Genba Hirayanagi) *1/4
Brave (Katsuhiko Nakajima & Atsushi Kotoge) vs Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm **
Mitsuhiro Kitamiya vs Takeshi Morishima *
*GHC Tag Team Championship: *Dangan Yankees (Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka) (c) vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) ***1/2
*GHC Heavyweight Championship: *Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4

AWESOME Ending Segment *****


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW Fantasticamania 13.01.2015

1. Rey Cometa & Triton vs Mr. Niebla & El Barbaro Cavernario *1/4
2. Angel de Oro vs OKUMURA **
3. Gedo & Polvora vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Mistico *1/4
4. Shinsuke Nakamura, YOSHI-HASHI & Mephisto vs Tiger Mask, Stigma & Stuka Jr. **1/4
5. Tetsuya Naito, Ryusuke Taguchi & La Sombra vs KUSHIDA, Captain New Jaan & Mascara Dorada *1/2
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Volador Jr. & Atlantis vs Kazuchika Okada, Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero ***


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate Open The New Year Gate 16.01.2015

1. Genki Horiguchi HAGee.Mee !!, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito & Jimmy Kagetora vs Super Shisa, "Mr. High Tension" Kotoka & Yuga Hayashi *1/2
2. Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dophin vs Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga DUD
3. Open The Dream Gate #1 Contendership Tournament One Night Tournament - Semi Final: Big R Shimizu vs Don Fujii 1/4*
4. Open The Dream Gate #1 Contendership Tournament One Night Tournament - Semi Final: Jimmy Susumu vs Kenichiro Arai *1/4
5. Shingo Takagi, Akira Tozawa & Syachihoko BOY vs BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid **1/4
6. MAD BLANKEY vs. Millenials 5 vs. 4 Full War: YAMATO, Cyber Kong, CIMA, Gamma & K-ness vs T-Hawk, Eita, U-T & Yosuke ♥ Santa Maria **
6a. YAMATO, Cyber Kong, Dr. Muscle, CIMA, Gamma & K-ness vs T-Hawk, Eita, U-T, Yosuke ♥ Santa Maria, "Mr. High Tension" Kotoka & Yuga Hayashi *1/2
7. Open The Dream Gate #1 Contendership Tournament One Night Tournament - Final Match **


----------



## sXeMope

Has anyone here heard of/bought from dat puro? Got a tweet last night about a blu-ray set of the complete G1 Climax 24 but I couldn't find anything on the company.


----------



## Brock

Is that Dark Angel Tapes? I havn't bought from him myself, but he is one of the best out there, esp for all the Japan stuff.


----------



## sXeMope

I'm not sure. I emailed him inquiring about it and the email was signed DAT so it could be. I assumed the name was an internet type name where "dat" is a replacement for "that". He says he's the source for IVP, RudoReels and Jeff Lynch (Who I previously thought was the ultimate source for everything)


----------



## Brock

Yeah, every post I've seen from Dark Angel Tapes, he finishes the post with DAT underneath the post, so I'm pretty sure it's him. Plus on another board, ive seen a post from him advertising the Climax Blu Ray, so yeah that's him.

Your in safe hands there. Anything pretty much Puro , he's the source.


----------



## ExMachina

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 7 ~ Evolution ~ In Tokyo Dome*



*CHAOS & Bob Sapp vs. Muscle Orchestra, Akebono & MVP*
*

*NEVER Openweight Title*
*Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin*
**

*IWGP Tag Team Title*
*Killer Elite Squad (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson*
***

*Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata*
***¼

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title*
*Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Low Ki*
****¼

*Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani vs. TenKoji*
*½

*Katsuyori Shibata vs. Togi Makabe*
***¼

*IWGP Intercontinental Title*
*Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kazushi Sakuraba*
****½

*IWGP Heavyweight Title*
*Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada*
****½​


----------



## Brock

Uploaded this for people who couldn't watch and are interested:

*15 Man Royal Rumble (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9)*

_Yuji Nagata and Captain New Japan and El Desperado and Hiro Saito and Jushin Thunder Liger and Manabu Nakanishi and Sho Tanaka and Taichi and TAKA Michinoku and Tama Tonga and The Great Kabuki and Tiger Mask and Yohei Komatsu and YOSHI-HASHI and Yoshiaki Fujiwara_

x2f7bxj

This was the 'dark match' before the event.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW New Year Dash!! 2015 1/5*

Sho Tanaka & Tiger Mask IV vs Suzuki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) *1/2
Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) **1/4
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Shelton X Benjamin, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs Tomoaki Honma, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Captain New Japan **1/2
*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship:* Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs El Desperado *1/2
Bullet Club (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Kenny Omega) vs Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi **1/2
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano) **
CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi ***
Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Tetsuya Naito **1/4


----------



## Corey

IVP has just released two exclusive blu rays for only $9.99. One is _The Best of Vader Vol. 1 _and the other is _The Best of AJ Styles in 2014_. Both have cover art too! Pretty cool, check em out:









http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=13124









http://new.ivpvideos2.com/product_info.php?products_id=13123


----------



## sXeMope

Cover arts aren't the best but it's good to see him getting into Blu Ray and media w/covers more. I feel like RudoReels has really surpassed him in ways. Personally I don't really have any interest in DVD anymore. Even when burning SD content the BD discs will hold a lot more. That Vader comp is a perfect example.


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

Cavernario vs Cometa, Sombra vs Dorada and the Eight Man Tag from the last FantasticaMania show were great. Loved this. (Y)


----------



## Cliffy

Nakamura in a music vid:


----------



## NastyYaffa

Cliffy said:


> Nakamura in a music vid:


That is so awesome. Nakamura is the man.


----------



## HOJO

What a GAWD SWAGSUKE is :applause

Tanahashi w/Io Shirai on the cover of Weekly Pro Wrestling:

























Io could fucking GET IT :banderas


----------



## BREEaments03

...whoever the fuck she is. I'm sure I'm not the only one sharing this sentiment.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 Day 1 1/13*

La Peste Negra (Barbaro Cavernario & Mr. Niebla) vs Rey Cometa & Tritón 1/4*
Angel de Oro vs OKUMURA **1/4
Jushin Thunder Liger & Mistico vs Pólvora & Gedo *3/4
Tiger Mask IV, Stigma & Stuka Jr. vs Shisnuke Nakamura, YOSHI HASHI & Mephisto **
KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan & Máscara Dorada vs Tetsuya Naito, Ryusuke Taguchi & La Sombra *3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Atlantis & Volador Jr. vs Kazuchika Okada, Último Guerrero & Gran Guerrero ***

*Dragon Gate Open the New Year Gate 2015 - Day 4 1/16*

Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.GeeMee!!, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Kagetora) vs Super Shisa, Yuga Hayashi, "Mr. High Tension" Kotoka *3/4
Jimmyz (Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin) vs MAD BLANKEY (Punch Tominaga & Mondai Ryu) 1/2*
Open the Dream Gate Title #1 Contender Tournament, Semi Final: Big R Shimizu vs Don Fujii 1/4*
Open the Dream Gate Title #1 Contender Tournament, Semi Final: Keni'chiro Arai vs Jimmy Susumu *1/4
Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi & Shachihoko BOY) vs Dia.HEARTS (BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid) **1/2
All Out War Match: MAD BLANKEY vs Millennials (_2 matches_) ***
Open the Dream Gate Title #1 Contender Tournament, Final *1/2


----------



## darkclaudio

NOAH "NEW YEAR NAVIGATION 2014", 10.01.2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 2015 Opening Match: Yoshinari Ogawa vs Hitoshi Kumano 1/2*
2. Jonah Rock vs Zack Sabre Jr. **1/4
3. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Mohammed Yone & Taiji Ishimori **3/4
4. Maybach Taniguchi, Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs Yoshihiro Takayama, Akitoshi Saito & Genba Hirayanagi 1/4*
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Atsushi Kotoge vs Daisuke Harada & Quiet Storm **
6. Takeshi Morishima vs Mitsuhiro Kitamiya *
7. *GHC Tag Team Championship Match*: Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka (c) vs Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls ***1/2
8. *GHC Heavyweight Championship Match*: Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Satoshi Kojima **1/4


----------



## PandaPawPaw

I watched WK9 a few days ago and it was amazing! First Japanese PPV that I've seen and I was glued to it unlike WWE PPV's.


----------



## darkclaudio

AJPW, 02.01.2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-Atsushi Aoki & Hikaru Sato vs Keisuke Ishii & Takao Soma *1/4
-Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie & Shigehiro Irie vs Zeus, Ultimo Dragon & SUSHI *
-Joe Doering & Suwama vs Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara **
-*AJPW World Tag Team Championship Match*: Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (c) vs KENSO & Mitsuya Nagai *

BJW, 02.01.2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-Kazuki Hashimoto vs Ryuichi Kawakami **
-Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato ***1/4
-*BJW Death Match Heavyweight Championship Match*: Yuko Miyamoto (c) vs Kankuro Hoshino **


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NOAH New Year Navigation 2015 Day 2 1/12*

Hitoshi Kumano vs El Desperado *
Ken-o vs Yoshinari Ogawa vs Genba Hirayanagi 1/2*
Hajime Ohara vs Quiet Storm *1/2
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Zack Sabre Jr. **1/2
No Mercy (Takashi Sugiura, Akitoshi Saito & Daisuke Harada) vs Cho Kibou-Gun (Takeshi Morisihima, MAYBACH Taniguchi & Mitsuhiro Kitamiya) *3/4
TMDK (Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Jonah Rock) vs Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka) **
Brave (Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Taiji Ishimori) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Shelton "X" Benjamin, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi) **


----------



## Mickey Lewis

its whatever


----------



## Samaael

does anyone know where I can watch the last two BJW shows? RealHero and XWT haven't uploaded either. Any ideas?


----------



## flag sabbath

Samaael said:


> does anyone know where I can watch the last two BJW shows? RealHero and XWT haven't uploaded either. Any ideas?


RealHero has the January 2nd & 4th shows, which were the last to air. This past Monday's Korakuen show will be broadcast on the 19th.


----------



## Obfuscation

Aaron S. said:


> What a GAWD SWAGSUKE is :applause
> 
> Tanahashi w/Io Shirai on the cover of Weekly Pro Wrestling:


Amazing. Now next time lets get Nakamura & Act together.

----------

I've slept on BJW too much at the start of this year. I should cram the shows tomorrow. Not sure how I've stayed away from Strong BJ vs Twin Towers for this long. That's dream match central. Meanwhile I've been wasting my time so far on NOAH continuing to be very lackluster as a whole.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*BJW New Year Korakuen Hall 1/2*

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato ***1/4

*AJPW New Year Wars 2015 Day 2 1/3*

*AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship:* Joe Doering (c) vs Go Shiozaki ***1/2

*NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 Day 5 1/18*

Ángel de Oro, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo) **
KUSHIDA & Tritón vs OKUMURA & Bárbaro Cavernario **1/4
Captain New Japan, Máscara Don & Máscara Dorada vs Tetsuya Naito, Ryusuke Taguchi & La Sombra **
*NWA Campeonato Mundial Histórico de Peso Welter:* Volador Jr. (c) vs Gran Guerrero **3/4
*Campeonato Nacional de Peso Semi-Completo: *Mephisto (c) vs Stuka Jr. **1/2
Black Cat Memorial Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Místico & Stigma vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Pólvora *1/2
Atlantis vs Último Guerrero ***1/4

*NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015 Day 6 (Final) 1/19*

Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, Gedo & OKUMURA vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, KUSHIDA & Stuka Jr. *1/2
Tetsuya Naito & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Tritón & Captain New Japan *
BULLET Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Mephisto) vs Ángel de Oro & Stigma **
Bárbaro Cavernario vs Rey Cometa ***
Místico vs Pólvora **1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Atlantis & Volador Jr. vs Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Último Guerrero & Gran Guerrero *1/2
Máscara Dorada vs La Sombra ***1/2


----------



## Samaael

flag sabbath said:


> RealHero has the January 2nd & 4th shows, which were the last to air. This past Monday's Korakuen show will be broadcast on the 19th.


Thanks bro, looking forward to it. Gonna check out some NOAH shows while DDT and BJW release their shows. Hang on DDT has just released sweet dreams! Nice


----------



## Samaael

Just watched Kazuki Hashimoto vs Ryuichi Kawakami from 2/1. Absolutely incredible. ***1/2 at least.


----------



## Brock

Watched Suzuki/Sakuraba from Wrestle Kingdom earlier. Anyone recommend a couple of other matches of this particular MMA stip.


----------



## ZEROVampire

Brock said:


> Watched Suzuki/Sakuraba from Wrestle Kingdom earlier. Anyone recommend a couple of other matches of this particular MMA stip.


Probably Nakamura vs Sakuraba from Wrestle Kingdom 7


----------



## Brock

Thanks. I'll check it out.


----------



## Corey

In preparation for New Beginning, I decided to go back and watch both Styles/Tanahashi matches from last year. This is my first time seeing both.

The *G1 Climax 3rd Place Match* was a great sprint. Just a really good back and forth match where Styles showed dominance throughout most of it and Tanahashi snuck in and got that quick pinfall. Legit shocked me since I didn't know the finish. Loved the sequence where they both got their knees up for the splash attempts. ******

Oh man, their title match at *King of Pro Wrestling* was fantastic. Kept my attention for every second of it. Loved how they continued the story of Styles being the dominant champ and Tanahashi having to fight from behind. The overbooking really didn't bother me in the slightest. You get kind of used to it watching WWE and TNA for all those years, ya know? Really added to the suspense and story imo, even though it probably should've been a DQ after Jarrett pulled the ref out. Either way, the last couple minutes of this were ridiculously good and the finish itself was really gratifying. I guess the big story here is that Tananashi has never taken a Styles Clash. He seems to always avoid it and it's gonna come off as a big thing if AJ finally hits it. ***** 1/4*


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2015 2/11*

Sho Tanaka vs Yohei Komatsu **

Tiger Mask IV & Mascara Dorada vs Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan 1/2*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Thunder Liger vs Rob Conway & Chase Owens **

Tomoaki Honma vs Kota Ibushi ***1/2

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
reDRagon (c) vs The Young Bucks vs Time Splitters ***1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
Kenny Omega (c) vs Ryusuke Taguchi ***

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) **

CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Yuji Nagata, Tetsuya Naito & Satoshi Kojima **1/4

*IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) **1/2

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs AJ Styles ***1/4

Overall Rating: 6.0


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

Mio Shirai is retiring: http://squaredcirclesirens.com/mio-shirai-announces-her-retirement/


----------



## HOJO

JoseDRiveraTCR7 said:


> Mio Shirai is retiring: http://squaredcirclesirens.com/mio-shirai-announces-her-retirement/


:mj2:mj2:mj2



DramaticDDT.Wordpress.com said:


> The second four promotion collaboration spearheaded by Mio Shirai took place on a special day, her 27th birthday. The main event saw Mio take on her sister Io Shirai. It was the first time in 3 years the two wrestled in the same ring together. Io was cornered by Stardom wrestlers Yoshiko and Mayu Iwatani while Mio had Tsukasa Fujimoto, Misaki Ohata, Mayumi Ozaki and Cherry. *Io took the microphone and said there was a lot of fans and media paying attention to the match. She said two sisters were able to sort out their problems in front of a large audience and it gave them an amazing match. She asked if the invisible wall that seperated them has now been broken. Io said today wasn’t about her saying farewell to her sister. Instead it may be a new beginning for both of them.*












Io apparently didn't know about the retirement.

Thank you, Mio


----------



## Wrestling is Life

Anything worth watching from the three Road to New Beginning shows? Mascara Dorada/KUSHIDA vs Young Bucks, Time Splitters/Shibata/Goto vs Bucks/Gallows/Anderson and Bucks/Omega vs Time Splitters/Taguche all interest me but will have to wait until I check out the New Beginning matches I keep reading so much about.


----------



## Samaael

really want to see Kohei Sato vs Masato Tanaka from 8/2 Z1


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW The New Beginning in Sendai 2015 2/14*

Captain New Japan & Manabu Nakanishi vs Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu *

reDRagon vs Tiger Mask IV & Jay White **

Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs Mascara Dorada & Time Splitters **3/4

*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs Chase Owens 3/4*

*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*
Rob Conway (c) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/2

Kota Ibushi & Tetsuya Naito vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano *3/4

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/2

Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga) **1/4

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii ***3/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Yuji Nagata ***1/2

Overall Rating: 5.75


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Legend Pro 1/12*

Akitoshi Saito & Tomohiro Ishii vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Tatsuhito Takaiwa ***

*NOAH The First Navigation 2015 1/24*

Zack Sabre Jr. vs Katsuhiko Nakajima ***
Cho Kibou-Gun (Hajime Ohara & Kenou) vs Hitoshi Kumano & Yoshinari Ogawa **1/4
Cho Kibou-Gun (Maybach Taniguchi, Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Takeshi Morishima) vs Buffalo, Jonah Rock & Quiet Storm *
No Mercy (Akitoshi Saito, Genba Hirayanagi & Takashi Sugiura) vs Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku & Takashi Iizuka) *1/4
Elimination Match: NOAH (Naomichi Marufuji, Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, Mohammed Yone & Taiji Ishimori) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shelton X Benjamin & Taichi) **1/2
*GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship:* Atsushi Kotoge (c) vs Daisuke Harada ***1/2

*DDT SWEET DREAMS 1/25*

*DDT Extreme Title Match:* Akito (c) vs Makoto Oishi **1/2
HARASHIMA, Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo vs Kota Ibushi, Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi ***3/4


----------



## Samaael

BJW "IKKITOUSEN ~ DEATH MATCH SURVIVOR", 21.03.2015
Hakata Star Lane

0. Isamu Oshita & X vs. Toshiyuki Sakuta & Kota Sekifuda
1. "Black Angel" Jaki Numazawa, Abdullah Kobayashi & Yuichi Taniguchi vs. Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei & Takayuki Ueki
2. Ikkitousen ~ Death Match Survivor ~ - Block A: Masashi Takeda vs. Ryuichi Sekine
3. Ikkitousen ~ Death Match Survivor ~ - Block B: Masato Inaba vs. Takumi Tsukamoto
4. Ikkitousen ~ Death Match Survivor ~ - Block B: Isami Kodaka vs. Saburo Inematsu
5. Yuko Miyamoto, Shiori Asahi & Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Ryuichi Kawakami & Kazuki Hashimoto
6. Ikkitousen ~ Death Match Survivor ~ - Block A: Ryuji Ito vs. Kankuro Hoshino
7. BJW Tag Team Title: Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Yuji Hino & Yuji Okabayashi 


matches 5 and 7


----------



## darkclaudio

NOAH, 12.01.2015
Yokohama Radiant Hall

-Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Zack Sabre **3/4
-Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka vs Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Jonah Rock *1/2
-Minoru Suzuki, Shelton Benjamin, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Taiji Ishimori **1/4

WRESTLE-1 "NEW YEAR LOVE", 11.01.2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-Minoru Tanaka & Seiki Yoshioka vs Hiroshi Yamato & Daiki Inaba **
-Keiji Mutoh & Hiro Saito vs Manabu Soya & AKIRA 3/4*
-KAI vs Masakatsu Funaki **1/4
-*WRESTLE-1 Tag Team Championship Match:* Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo (c) vs Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yusuke Kodama ***

Dragon Gate, 12.01.2015
Kobe ***** Hall

- T-Hawk & Yosuke Santa Maria vs Dragon Kid & Mr. High Tension Kotoka **1/4
-Open the Brave Gate Title Tournament - Semi Final: Jimmy Kagetora vs Eita **1/4
-Open the Brave Gate Title Tournament - Semi Final: Dr. Muscle vs Yuga Hayashi 1/4*
-Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Big R Shimizu **1/2
-*Open the Brave Gate Championship Tournament - Final Match* 1/2*
-Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Kanda vs CIMA, YAMATO, Don Fujii, Cyber Kong *1/2


----------



## Samaael

ive started a BJW project; watching strong BJ matches from last year and tagging ratings. So glad I started, they are absolutely amazing.

2/1/14
Shuji Ishikawa & Yuji Okabayashi vs Ryuichi Kawakami & Shinya Ishikawa ****3/4
Koji Kanemoto vs Kazuki Hashimoto ****1/2

26/1/14
Ryuichi Kawakami & Shuji Ishikawa vs Kazuki Hashimoto & Shinya Ishikawa ****

7/2/14
BJW Strong World Heavyweight Title Match (vacant): Shinya Ishikawa vs Ryuichi Kawakami ****1/2

Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) vs Daichi Hashimoto & Kazuki Hashimoto ****1/4

26/2/14
Kohei Sato vs Kazuki Hashimoto *****

2/3/14
Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa vs Shinobu & Shinya Ishikawa ****1/2


----------



## Samaael

BJW 4/1/2015

Daisuke Sekimoto & Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Atsushi Maruyama & Ryuichi Kawakami **3/4

Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Yuji Okabayashi ***1/2


----------



## FROSTY

Just watched Nakamura vs Suzuki from August 14th, 2011 G1 Climax. Haven't heard anything about the match before hand, or read any recommendations about it before, but damn is it a fantastic match! For a 19 minute match I was thoroughly captivated by the 11 1/2 minute mark. These two have awesome chemistry together, and really played that crowd (and myself) to perfection. I highly recommend this match to anyone who has not seen it, can't possibly think of any way you'd be disappointed.


----------



## Samaael

darkclaudio said:


> NOAH, 12.01.2015
> Yokohama Radiant Hall
> 
> -Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Zack Sabre **3/4
> -Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka vs Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Jonah Rock *1/2
> -Minoru Suzuki, Shelton Benjamin, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge & Taiji Ishimori **1/4
> 
> WRESTLE-1 "NEW YEAR LOVE", 11.01.2015
> Tokyo Korakuen Hall
> 
> -Minoru Tanaka & Seiki Yoshioka vs Hiroshi Yamato & Daiki Inaba **
> -Keiji Mutoh & Hiro Saito vs Manabu Soya & AKIRA 3/4*
> -KAI vs Masakatsu Funaki **1/4
> -*WRESTLE-1 Tag Team Championship Match:* Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo (c) vs Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yusuke Kodama ***
> 
> Dragon Gate, 12.01.2015
> Kobe ***** Hall
> 
> - T-Hawk & Yosuke Santa Maria vs Dragon Kid & Mr. High Tension Kotoka **1/4
> -Open the Brave Gate Title Tournament - Semi Final: Jimmy Kagetora vs Eita **1/4
> -Open the Brave Gate Title Tournament - Semi Final: Dr. Muscle vs Yuga Hayashi 1/4*
> -Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Big R Shimizu **1/2
> -*Open the Brave Gate Championship Tournament - Final Match* 1/2*
> -Jimmy Susumu, Ryo Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Kanda vs CIMA, YAMATO, Don Fujii, Cyber Kong *1/2



Wow that DG show sounds awful


----------



## Samaael

Looks like realhero is uploaded bjw 2/2. AJPW's last two tv tapings up as well. Awesome! Go vs Zeus match makes me curious


----------



## DOPA

*New Japan The New Beginning at Sendai*​
Captain New Japan and Manabu Nakanishi vs Satoshi Kojima and Yohei Komatsu: **1/2*

reDRagon vs Jay White and Tiger Mask: ****1/4*

Alex Shelley, Kushida and Máscara Dorada vs Bullet Club: *****

Jushin Thunder Liger vs Chase Owens: ***1/4*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Rob Conway: ****1/4*

Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito vs Kazushi Sakuraba and Toru Yano: ****

Chaos vs Bullet Club: ***1/4*

Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata vs Bullet Club: ***3/4*

Tomohiro Ishii vs Tomoaki Honma: *****1/2*

Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yuji Nagata: ****1/2*


-Thought this was the better of the two New Beginning shows. Still way too many filler tag matches but the Openweight Title match was amazing and a definite MOTYC. Main event was very good and a lot of fun solid matches. Good show overall.



Samaael said:


> Wow that DG show sounds awful


I've noticed DarkClaudio tends to rate everything low, it's just his rating system.

Can anyone recommend me some 2015 puro matches outside NJPW which is outstanding and worth watching?


----------



## Vårmakos

*AJPW - 2015 Excite Series [Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY] - 2/7/2015*

1. Masanobu Fuchi & Masashi Aoyagi vs. Takao Soma & Yuma Aoyagi - *

2. Kento Miyagara & Yohei Nakajima vs. The Bodyguard & Shigehiro Irie - *1/4

3. Akebono & SUSHI vs. KENSO & Takeshi Minamino - *

4. Jun Akiyama, Takao Omori & Ultimo Dragon vs. Suwama, Hikaru Sato & Naoya Nomura - **

5. *Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY B BLOCK* - Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru - ***

6. *Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY A BLOCK* - Atsushi Aoki vs. Keisuke Ishii - ****

7. *Triple Crown Championship* - Go Shiozaki vs. Zeus - ***3/4


*AJPW - 2015 Excite Series [Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY] - 2/20/2015*

1. Shigehiro Irie vs. Naoya Nomura - *

2. Masanobu Fuchi vs. Yuma Aoyagi - WHY IS THIS 60 YEAR-OLD MAN STILL WRESTLING

3. Ultimo Dragon, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yohei Nakajima & Soma Takao vs. Takeshi Minamino , Hikaru Sato, Keisuke Ishii & SUSHI - **3/4

4. Go Shiozaki, Kento Miyahara & Zeus vs. Akebono, KENSO & Yutaka Yoshie - ***

5. *World Tag Championship* - Wild Burning (Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori) (c) vs. Evolution (Suwama & Joe Doering) - ****

6. *Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY Finals* - Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki - ****


----------



## Samaael

Vårmakos said:


> *AJPW - 2015 Excite Series [Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY] - 2/7/2015*
> 
> 1. Masanobu Fuchi & Masashi Aoyagi vs. Takao Soma & Yuma Aoyagi - *
> 
> 2. Kento Miyagara & Yohei Nakajima vs. The Bodyguard & Shigehiro Irie - *1/4
> 
> 3. Akebono & SUSHI vs. KENSO & Takeshi Minamino - *
> 
> 4. Jun Akiyama, Takao Omori & Ultimo Dragon vs. Suwama, Hikaru Sato & Naoya Nomura - **
> 
> 5. *Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY B BLOCK* - Kotaro Suzuki vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru - ***
> 
> 6. *Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY A BLOCK* - Atsushi Aoki vs. Keisuke Ishii - ****
> 
> 7. *Triple Crown Championship* - Go Shiozaki vs. Zeus - ***3/4
> 
> 
> *AJPW - 2015 Excite Series [Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY] - 2/20/2015*
> 
> 1. Shigehiro Irie vs. Naoya Nomura - *
> 
> 2. Masanobu Fuchi vs. Yuma Aoyagi - WHY IS THIS 60 YEAR-OLD MAN STILL WRESTLING
> 
> 3. Ultimo Dragon, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yohei Nakajima & Soma Takao vs. Takeshi Minamino , Hikaru Sato, Keisuke Ishii & SUSHI - **3/4
> 
> 4. Go Shiozaki, Kento Miyahara & Zeus vs. Akebono, KENSO & Yutaka Yoshie - ***
> 
> 5. *World Tag Championship* - Wild Burning (Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori) (c) vs. Evolution (Suwama & Joe Doering) - ****
> 
> 6. *Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY Finals* - Atsushi Aoki vs. Kotaro Suzuki - 20/2****


Reall enjoyed the main from 20/2


----------



## Kaze Ni Nare

L-DOPA said:


> Can anyone recommend me some 2015 puro matches outside NJPW which is outstanding and worth watching?


Not sure how you feel about Dragon Gate or if it's your cup of tea but I thought the Jimmy Susumu vs BxB Hulk match from the 2.5.15 show was pretty damn good. Hardly a 5 star match but for somebody like me who's never watched DG until that show, I enjoyed the heck out of it & I honestly didn't think I would. Believe the name of the show was Truth Gate 2015 - Tag 2 & it aired on 2.5.15.

Also a lot of the Suzukigun stuff in NOAH has been pretty damn entertaining to me so far this year (Yeah I know my opinion on anything they do is obviously biased) If you just DailyMotion Suzuki, K.E.S. - they have a good majority of what they've done over there up.

I can't be the only one excited for Marufuji/Suzuki though? I can't wait for 3/15, I want the old man to get himself a singles title again. 

I'll have to avoid this place until I see it because something tells me my rep might get blown up a little if he wins. :lol


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

I'm a bit excited for the potential Suzuki victory, I really want to see him champion so the match will be interesting in that level but it's still a fucking marufuji match...



L-DOPA said:


> Can anyone recommend me some 2015 puro matches outside NJPW which is outstanding and worth watching?


Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) vs. Twin Towers (Kohei Sato & Shuji Ishikawa) (BJW - 02.01.2015)

Joe Doering (c) vs. Go Shiozaki (Triple Crown Title Match - AJPW New Year Wars 2015 - Tag 2 - 03.01.2015)

Akito (c) vs. Makoto Oishi (DDT Extreme Title No Rope Escape Match - DDT Sweet Dreams 2015 - 25.01.2015)

Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) & HARASHIMA vs. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) & Kota Ibushi (DDT Sweet Dreams 2015 - 25.01.2015)

Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Yuji Okabayashi (BJW Strong World Heavyweight Title Match - BJW - 02.02.2015)

Go Shiozaki (c) vs. Zeus (Triple Crown Title Match - AJPW Excite Series 2015 - Tag 1 - 07.02.2015)

Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (c) vs. Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) (KO-D Tag Team Title Match - DDT Saitama Super DDT 2015 - 15.02.2015)

:saul


----------



## Samaael

Kaze Ni Nare said:


> Not sure how you feel about Dragon Gate or if it's your cup of tea but I thought the Jimmy Susumu vs BxB Hulk match from the 2.5.15 show was pretty damn good. Hardly a 5 star match but for somebody like me who's never watched DG until that show, I enjoyed the heck out of it & I honestly didn't think I would. Believe the name of the show was Truth Gate 2015 - Tag 2 & it aired on 2.5.15.
> 
> Also a lot of the Suzukigun stuff in NOAH has been pretty damn entertaining to me so far this year (Yeah I know my opinion on anything they do is obviously biased) If you just DailyMotion Suzuki, K.E.S. - they have a good majority of what they've done over there up.
> 
> I can't be the only one excited for Marufuji/Suzuki though? I can't wait for 3/15, I want the old man to get himself a singles title again.
> 
> I'll have to avoid this place until I see it because something tells me my rep might get blown up a little if he wins. :lol


Suzuki will likely win IMO. I haven't seen much Noah. I watched the TMDK vs Dangan Yankees and thought it was poor. The KES vs TMDK was decent. What other Noah shows would you recommend? I reviewed a the show from the first navigation tour (day 6) and thought it was horrible and haven't watched anything since then.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Kaze Ni Nare said:


> Not sure how you feel about Dragon Gate or if it's your cup of tea but I thought the Jimmy Susumu vs BxB Hulk match from the 2.5.15 show was pretty damn good. Hardly a 5 star match but for somebody like me who's never watched DG until that show, I enjoyed the heck out of it & I honestly didn't think I would. Believe the name of the show was Truth Gate 2015 - Tag 2 & it aired on 2.5.15.
> 
> Also a lot of the Suzukigun stuff in NOAH has been pretty damn entertaining to me so far this year (Yeah I know my opinion on anything they do is obviously biased) If you just DailyMotion Suzuki, K.E.S. - they have a good majority of what they've done over there up.
> 
> I can't be the only one excited for Marufuji/Suzuki though? I can't wait for 3/15, I want the old man to get himself a singles title again.
> 
> I'll have to avoid this place until I see it because something tells me my rep might get blown up a little if he wins. :lol


You definitely aren't the only one excited for Marufuji/Suzuki. This is the first time in a long time I am actually very excited for a NOAH match. Can't wait. :mark:


----------



## FITZ

Kaze Ni Nare said:


> Not sure how you feel about Dragon Gate or if it's your cup of tea but I thought the Jimmy Susumu vs BxB Hulk match from the 2.5.15 show was pretty damn good. Hardly a 5 star match but for somebody like me who's never watched DG until that show, I enjoyed the heck out of it & I honestly didn't think I would. Believe the name of the show was Truth Gate 2015 - Tag 2 & it aired on 2.5.15.
> 
> Also a lot of the Suzukigun stuff in NOAH has been pretty damn entertaining to me so far this year (Yeah I know my opinion on anything they do is obviously biased) If you just DailyMotion Suzuki, K.E.S. - they have a good majority of what they've done over there up.
> 
> I can't be the only one excited for Marufuji/Suzuki though? I can't wait for 3/15, I want the old man to get himself a singles title again.
> 
> I'll have to avoid this place until I see it because something tells me my rep might get blown up a little if he wins. :lol


Dragon Gate is like a drug that isn't addictive. Nothing is going to top your first or second time watching it. It will just seem like the greatest thing ever. Then you chase that high and it never quite gets there again. But since it isn't addictive you get tired of it and stop watching it.


----------



## JoseDRiveraTCR7

Here's the full Yoshiko/Act match. I wonder if this is just an angle that went overboard. I mean, Yoshiko still irish whips Act in the middle of the match.


----------



## Samaael

Lot of important shows overnight: Zero One, DDT and BJW and shows with titles on the line.

Looks like Hideki Suzuki set for a push in W1 as well. Best talent to come from Inoki's dojo over at IGF


----------



## Samaael

TaylorFitz said:


> Dragon Gate is like a drug that isn't addictive. Nothing is going to top your first or second time watching it. It will just seem like the greatest thing ever. Then you chase that high and it never quite gets there again. But since it isn't addictive you get tired of it and stop watching it.


Nice similie. Torymon was pretty cool.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*BJW 2/2*

Strong World Heavyweight Championship: Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs Yuji Okabayashi ***3/4

*Dragon Gate: Truth Gate 2/5*

Super Shisa & Ke'ichiro Arai vs MAD BLANKEY (Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga) *1/4
JIMMYZ (Jimmy Kanda, Jimmy Kagetora & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) vs Millennials (Yosuke Santa Maria, U-T & El Lindaman) **1/4
Big R Shimizu vs K-ness *1/4
JIMMYZ (Ryo "Jimmy" Saito" & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) vs Monster Express (Shingo Takagi & Shachihoko BOY) **
MAD BLANKEY (Cyber Kong & Don Fujii) vs Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation) *1/4
Elimination Match: Millennials (T-Hawk, Eita & Kotoka) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Kzy) vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, CIMA & Gamma) *
Open the Dream Gate Championship: BxB Hulk (c) vs Jimmy Susumu *3/4


*AJPW Excite Series 2015 Day 1 2/7*

Jr. Battle of Glory B Block: Kotaro Suzuki vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru **3/4
Jr. Battle of Glory A Block: Atsushi Aoki vs Keisuke Ishii ***
AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Go Shiozaki (c) vs Zeus ***1/2


*DDT Saitama Super DDT 2015 2/15*

Super Sasadango Machine vs Kazushi Sakuraba _FUN_
KO-D Tag Team Championship: Happy Motel (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (c) vs Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) ***1/2
KO-D Openweight Championship: HARASHIMA (c) vs Kota Ibushi ***


----------



## DOPA

Suzuki/Marufuji is definitely one I am looking forward to. Much love for both those wrestlers. Especially Suzuki.


----------



## darkclaudio

WRESTLE-1, 24.01.2015
Tokorozawa Citizen Gymnasium Sub Arena

-TAJIRI vs Daiki Inaba **
-Manabu Soya, AKIRA & Hiroshi Yamato vs Ryota Hama, Yasufumi Nakanoue & Yusuke Kodama *3/4
-Masayuki Kono, KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Koji Doi vs KAI, Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo *

NOAH, 18.01.2015
Hakata Star Lane

-Taiji Ishimori & Atsushi Kotoge vs Junji Tanaka & Nozomi Kubo *3/4
-TAKA Michinoku Taichi & El Desperado vs Yoshinari Ogawa, Zack Sabre Jr. & Hitoshi Kumano **1/4
-Shelton Benjamin vs Quiet Storm *
-*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match:* Kenou & Hajime Ohara (c) vs Daisuke Harada & Genba Hirayanagi **1/4
-Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka vs Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls **1/2


----------



## Vårmakos

*WRESTLE-1 - 2015 WEST SIDE STORY - 2/13/2015*

1. Kumagoro vs. Shotaro Ashino - **3/4

2. NOSAWA, Hiroshi Yamato & Rionne Fujiwara vs. MAZADA, Ryota Hama & Hiroki Murase - *

3. Andy Wu & El Hijo del Pantera vs. KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Koji Doi - *

4. Yasufumi Nakanoue, Yusuke Kodama & Daiki Inaba vs. DESPERADO (Great Muta, Masayuki Kono & TAJIRI) - ***

5. Twink Samurai (Masakatsi Funaki & Jiro Kuroshio) vs. New Wild Order (Manabu Soya & AKIRA) - ***1/2

6. KAI vs. Masato Tanaka - ****

7. *WRESTLE-1 Tag Championship* - Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) vs. Too Sharp (Minoru Tanaka & Seiki Yoshioka) - ***3/4


----------



## Samaael

Vårmakos said:


> *WRESTLE-1 - 2015 WEST SIDE STORY - 2/13/2015*
> 
> 1. Kumagoro vs. Shotaro Ashino - **3/4
> 
> 2. NOSAWA, Hiroshi Yamato & Rionne Fujiwara vs. MAZADA, Ryota Hama & Hiroki Murase - *
> 
> 3. Andy Wu & El Hijo del Pantera vs. KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Koji Doi - *
> 
> 4. Yasufumi Nakanoue, Yusuke Kodama & Daiki Inaba vs. DESPERADO (Great Muta, Masayuki Kono & TAJIRI) - ***
> 
> 5. Twink Samurai (Masakatsi Funaki & Jiro Kuroshio) vs. New Wild Order (Manabu Soya & AKIRA) - ***1/2
> 
> 6. KAI vs. Masato Tanaka - ****
> 
> 7. *WRESTLE-1 Tag Championship* - Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) vs. Too Sharp (Minoru Tanaka & Seiki Yoshioka) - ***3/4


similar to my sentiments. nice snowflakes


----------



## Stinger Fan

Just a question, I'm new to NJPW and have been trying to keep up with their shows, I've seen Wrestle Kingdom , The New Beginning Osaka and Sendei as well as the New years Dash. Are those the only shows they've done this year or is there something that sets up these bigger events in between them? How do these shows work over in NJPW? They don't have any RAW equivalents do they? Or do they just do these events and set up future events and story lines on these shows essentially ? Any help is greatly appreciated


----------



## Corey

Stinger Fan said:


> Just a question, I'm new to NJPW and have been trying to keep up with their shows, I've seen Wrestle Kingdom , The New Beginning Osaka and Sendei as well as the New years Dash. Are those the only shows they've done this year or is there something that sets up these bigger events in between them? How do these shows work over in NJPW? They don't have any RAW equivalents do they? Or do they just do these events and set up future events and story lines on these shows essentially ? Any help is greatly appreciated


The three you mentioned are the only three major shows they've done this year. They have smaller shows in between the bigger ones to build, but they usually feature nothing but tag matches. They don't have any sort of weekly TV show as far as I know. The New Japan Cup is actually starting today, which will be a series of shows over the next few weeks.


----------



## Vårmakos

[Wrong thread.]


----------



## Stinger Fan

Jack Evans 187 said:


> The three you mentioned are the only three major shows they've done this year. They have smaller shows in between the bigger ones to build, but they usually feature nothing but tag matches. They don't have any sort of weekly TV show as far as I know. The New Japan Cup is actually starting today, which will be a series of shows over the next few weeks.


Awesome, thanks a lot


----------



## Vårmakos

[Sorry. Wrong thread.]


----------



## Corey

Guy, this is the NO SPOILERS thread. You should delete those posts.


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW, 05.03.2015
Ota Ward Gymnasium

1. Anniversary Opening Match: Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Yohei Komatsu & Jay White vs. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, Máscara Dorada & Sho Tanaka **
2. New Japan Cup - Round 1: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi **
3. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Togi Makabe vs. Tomoaki Honma ***
4. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Satoshi Kojima vs. Katsuyori Shibata ***
5. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto **1/2
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazushi Sakuraba & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan **1/4
7. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Kota Ibushi vs. Doc Gallows **
8. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Tetsuya Naito vs. Karl Anderson ***1/4
9. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano *
10. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale **1/4


----------



## StuckInHell4-Life

sigh. fuck you.


----------



## FITZ

Really happy I went into the no spoilers thread. Didn't want to get spoiled for the New Japan Cup...


----------



## Vårmakos

My mistake. The posts have been edited. 

I really shouldn't post when I've been deprived of sleep.


----------



## FITZ

You also shouldn't quote posts with spoilers because then the spoilers remain view able even though the post has been edited.


----------



## BKKsoulcity

Officially been spoiled well NJ Cup is ruined now. Thanks.


----------



## FROSTY

Just watched Sakuraba vs Nakamura from Wrestle Kingdom 7 and man, I love both guys Saku more for what he did in his Pride days. Maybe I'm way off, but I could have swore Sakuraba vs legit shooting on some of those spots. Like I said I could be way off though.


----------



## NastyYaffa

91ReasonsYouLose said:


> Just watched Sakuraba vs Nakamura from Wrestle Kingdom 7 and man, I love both guys Saku more for what he did in his Pride days. Maybe I'm way off, but I could have swore Sakuraba vs legit shooting on some of those spots. Like I said I could be way off though.


I think he legitimately knocked Nakamura out in that match.


----------



## DOPA

Sakuraba vs Nakamura from WK7 is legit the 2nd best match I've ever seen under 15 minutes.

Guessing no one has seen NJCup Day 1 as of yet? I've already spoiled myself on the results.


----------



## FROSTY

amura


L-DOPA said:


> Sakuraba vs Nakamura from WK7 is legit the 2nd best match I've ever seen under 15 minutes.
> 
> Guessing no one has seen NJCup Day 1 as of yet? I've already spoiled myself on the results.


It didn't look like Nakamura knew it was "legit" ahead of time lol. 

And yes of course I've watched New Japan Cup 2015 Day 1, watched it live on New Japan World.


----------



## Good News Barrett

Anderson v Naito was very good. Anderson has good chemistry with lighter guys. His stuff with Okada was gold and always mark for Anderson/Goto matches. Their reversals are always fun


----------



## darkclaudio

New Japan Cup 8.03.2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 

-New Japan Cup Match: Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi *1/2
-New Japan Cup Match: Toru Yano vs Kota Ibushi *
-New Japan Cup Match: Bad Luck Fale vs Tetsuya Naito **1/4
-New Japan Cup Match: Katsuyori Shibata vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4+


----------



## ZEROVampire

*WRESTLE-1 Sunrise Tour 2015: New Year Fight 1/30*

*WRESTLE-1 Tag Team Championship:* Team 246 (Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo) (c) vs DESPERADO (KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Koji Doi) DUD
*WRESTLE-1 Championship: *Keiji Muto (c) vs Manabu Soya ***


*NJPW New Japan Cup 2015 Day 1 3/5*

Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada & Sho Tanaka vs Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Jay White & Yohei Komatsu **1/4
New Japan Cup, Round 1: YOSHI-HASHI vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Togi Makabe vs Tomoaki Honma ***
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Katsuyori Shibata vs Satoshi Kojima **3/4
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Hirooki Goto vs Yuji Nagata ***
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Sakuraba **1/2
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Doc Gallows vs Kota Ibushi **
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Tetsuya Naito vs Karl Anderson ***1/4
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano *1/2
New Japan Cup, Round 1: Kazuchika Okada vs Bad Luck Fale ***


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

Suzuki and Funaki finally had their singles match and I can't recommend this enough. A must see IMO.


----------



## cablegeddon

I have always been suspicious of Shibata because it has never been revealed how many concussions he has caused. Also the Go2Sleep finisher just sucks if you're a smaller guy. it was the same thing with CM Punk. Looked awful (Kenta was the exception)


But I really liked this match against Akiyama from 2005. This is grudge! I like this better than any of his work in NJPW. I don't understand why it was under the Wrestle-1 banner on Noah's fmr network?


----------



## Arya Dark

*If someone posts a spoiler can we please not fucking quote the goddamn spoiler which just makes sure more people see it? Just report it. *


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

HEAT!


----------



## HOJO

*STARDOM "Queen's Shout" - 2/22/15*

*Momo Watanabe vs Tsukushi - *1/2*
Rookie match that seemed clipped to death. Tsukushi almost getting Satomura'd by some of those dropkicks :ugh2 

*Reo Hazuki vs Yuna Manase - **
Bad Bitch Reo is the best Reo. The Yoshiko partnership is fucked now, unfortunately, and this match wasn't any good. And again, Reo's finisher looked awful.
*Heidi Lovelace, Kris Wolf, and Dragonita vs. Mayu Iwatani, Takumi Iroha, and Risa Sera: N/A*
The match was clipped already, then the video of the match that I found was broken, so I decided not to give it a rating. I'll say this, though: I love Kris Wolf, Dragonita's masks continue to be awful, and the Artist Titles(Their 6-women Tag Titles) are useless(always have been and always will be) which such a depleted roster.
*Goddesses of Stardom Championship: Nanae Takahashi and Kairi Hojo vs. Kyoko Kimura and Hudson Envy - **1/4*

*High Speed Championship: Io Shirai vs. Koguma - ****1/4* 
Io going from that GOAT as fuck heel persona last summer to being a Tanahashi mark/ripoff is awful. I get she's their Ace, and it's fine that you want to recognize that, but come on now. Otherwise, Io has already been killing it so far this year and this match is just :cena6

*World of Stardom Championship: Yoshiko vs. Act Yasukawa - I just couldn't with this*
This goes down with Sting/Hardy as something I can't even describe as a match. Except this one was just brutal to watch. Not even gonna bother. 


*Best match in Gold
Worst match in Silver*


----------



## wildpegasus

Are people enjoying the New Japan Cup? I plan on watching it later.


----------



## NastyYaffa

wildpegasus said:


> Are people enjoying the New Japan Cup? I plan on watching it later.


I can't find any links to the shows. I have only found single links to Naito/Anderson, Tanahashi/Yano & Goto/Shibata, so far tho. The 2 guys who always used to upload New Japan to DM have stopped doing it for some reason. Perhaps they got New Japan World now lol.


----------



## wildpegasus

NastyYaffa said:


> I can't find any links to the shows. I have only found single links to Naito/Anderson, Tanahashi/Yano & Goto/Shibata, so far tho. The 2 guys who always used to upload New Japan to DM have stopped doing it for some reason. Perhaps they got New Japan World now lol.


Good if they do, give NJPW some money. I need money for food though
I ran into 2 of the first shows but the channel was gone the next day.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Listen up wrestling fans (Jay Lethal voice)

I've been getting into NJPW since Tokyo Dome 2015. I've been watching NJW on AXS TV and keeping up to date with it. They just started January 2014 (Tokyo Dome 2014). 

I plan to watch The New Beginning DAY 1 and 2. But how do I know the PPV schedule afterwards?


----------



## Corey

Leon Knuckles said:


> Listen up wrestling fans (Jay Lethal voice)
> 
> I've been getting into NJPW since Tokyo Dome 2015. I've been watching NJW on AXS TV and keeping up to date with it. They just started January 2014 (Tokyo Dome 2014).
> 
> I plan to watch The New Beginning DAY 1 and 2. But how do I know the PPV schedule afterwards?


http://www.njpw.co.jp/english/


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "NEW JAPAN CUP 2015", 15.03.2015
Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall 

1. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Máscara Dorada vs Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA & Jay White **
2. Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu vs Yuji Nagata & Sho Tanaka **1/2
3. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Togi Makabe vs Hirooki Goto **1/4
4. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi ***1/2
5. Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs Tama Tonga & Cody Hall ***
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Captain New Japan vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano *3/4
7. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi **1/2
8. New Japan Cup - Final Match ***1/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NOAH Great Voyage 2015 in Nagoya 2/11*

Mohammed Yone vs Shelton Benjamin **1/4
Atsushi Kotoge & Hitoshi Kumano vs Suzuki-gun (Taichi & El Desperado) **
Takashi Sugiura vs Takashi Iizuka *
Daisuke Harada vs Minoru Suzuki **3/4
Naomichi Marufuji vs TAKA Michinoku ***
*GHC Tag Team Championship:* TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste) (c) vs K.E.S (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) ***1/4

*AJPW Excite Series 2015 Day 9 2/20*

*AJPW World Tag Team Championship: *Wild Burning (Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori) (c) vs Evolution (Suwama & Joe Doering) ***1/2
Junior Battle of Glory, Final: Atsushi Aoki vs Kotaro Suzuki ***1/4

*WRESTLE-1 2015 Tour West Side Story Day 4 2/22*

Shuji Kondo vs Masato Tanaka ***
Kaz Hayashi vs Minoru Tanaka ***

*STARDOM QUEEN's SHOUT 2015 2/22*

*High Speed Championship:* Io Shirai (c) vs Koguma ***1/4

*NOAH The Second Navigation 2015 2/22*

Hajime Ohara vs Daisuke Harada **1/2
Brave (Mohammed Yone & Katsuhiko Nakajima) vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Zack Sabre Jr. ***
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Jonah Rock) vs Takashi Sugiura, Akitoshi Saito & Quiet Storm **
Cho Kibou-Gun (Takeshi Morishima, MAYBACH Taniguchi & Mitsuhro Kitamiya) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Yohei Komatsu *3/4
Atsushi Kotoge, Taiji Ishimori & Hitoshi Kumano vs Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado) **
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) vs Naomichi Marufuji & Toru Yano **1/2

*NJPW New Japan Cup 2015 Day 3 3/8*

YOSHI-HASHI vs Jay White **
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tomoaki Honma, Captain New Japan & KUSHIDA vs Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask IV, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Máscara Dorada ***
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu vs Yuji Nagata & Sho Tanaka ***
Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) **1/2
New Japan Cup, Quarter-Final: Togi Makabe vs Yujiro Takahashi **
New Japan Cup, Quarter-Final: Toru Yano vs Kota Ibushi **
New Japan Cup, Quarter-Final: Tetsuya Naito vs Bad Luck Fale **3/4
New Japan Cup, Quarter-Final: Hirooki Goto vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4


----------



## Corey

Nifty looking match booked for the ZERO-1 show on March 29th:

*(8) End of the War 70th Anniversary - Special Single Match:* Masato Tanaka vs. Shingo Takagi [DRAGON GATE]


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Nifty looking match booked for the ZERO-1 show on March 29th:
> 
> *(8) End of the War 70th Anniversary - Special Single Match:* Masato Tanaka vs. Shingo Takagi [DRAGON GATE]


Not to mention Otani & Takaiwa vs Hidaka & Hayato! 0


----------



## RKing85

watching IWA King of the Deathmatch for the first time in probably 12-13 years.

Geez. Love the old school Japan fans running for their life from Singh and Leatherface. Was really weird to see Severn do any semblance of a hardcore match.

Holy shit there were some brutal weapon shots/falls on to various shit.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW New Japan Cup 2015 Finals 3/15*

Jay White, KUSHIDA & Jushin Thunder Liger vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask IV **1/4
Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu vs Yuji Nagata & Sho Tanaka **1/2
New Japan Cup, Semi Final: Hirooki Goto vs Togi Makabe **1/2
New Japan Cup, Semi Final: Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2
Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs Bullet Club (Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) ***1/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Captain New Japan vs Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba **
CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) ***1/4


Spoiler: New Japan Cup, Final



New Japan Cup, Final: Hirooki Goto vs Kota Ibushi ***1/4


----------



## darkclaudio

AJPW 27.03.2015
-*AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Atsushi Aoki (c) vs Kotaro Suzuki ***
-*Triple Crown Championship Match*: Go Shiozaki (c) vs Kento Miyahara ***1/4+

Dragon Gate 24.03.2015
-Shingo Takagi, Masato Yoshino & Syachihoko BOY vs BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizuki & Kzy **3/4
-*Open The Brave Gate Championship Match*: Akira Tozawa (c) vs Flamita ***1/4


----------



## almostfamous

I thought the Wonder of Stardom finals match


Spoiler: Wrestlers



Hojo vs Shirai


 from the March 29 show was pretty damn good. ★★★


----------



## HOJO

Best match in *GOLD*
Worst match in *SILVER*

*Stardom “The Highest 2015” (3/29/2015)*

1. *3 Way Match : Hatsuhinode Kamen vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Yu Kato - *3/4*

2. * Single Match : Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf - **1/2*

3. *High Speed Championship Title : Koguma (c) vs. Reo Hazuki - **

4. *World Of Stardom Semifinal #1 : Kairi Hojo vs. Kyoko Kimura - ***3/4*

5. *World Of Stardom Semifinal #2 : Io Shirai vs. Takumi Iroha - *****

6. *6 Person Tag Team Match : Mayu Iwatani & Jumonji Sisters (DASH Chisako & Sendai Sachiko) vs. Oedo~Tai : Dragonita, Heidi Lovelace, & Hudson Envy **3/4*

7. *World of Stardom Final : Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - ***3/4*


Spoiler: The Winners



Kairi Hojo vs Io Shirai



Damn good show outside the Yung Rions Title match(High Speed Title, that's essentially what it is now). Was really hard to find the best match, the girls were fucking great. Also, bonus:

*Act Yasukawa Promo - PLATINUM*
Some Shinsuke, some Ric Flair, a fuck load passion and you got this girl. Full of energy and focus. I can't wait till she comes back. Unfortunately that's until October, but the reaction will be great, just like it was here. God bless this woman.

HOWEVER, I do feel they kinda shouldn't have that Wonder of Stardom Title sitting at her home for 7 months. And they have what they're calling the "Cinderella Tournament" this month, soooooooooooooo do something with that?


----------



## krbh2009

Sports entertainment =/= talking. He mentioned the in-ring product, or something like that, but I believe that includes promo's.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate Champion Gate in Osaka 2015*

*Day 1 (February 28)*

Jimmyz (Jimmy Kanda & Jimmy Kagetora) vs Super Shisa & Shachihoko BOY *1/4

BxB Hulk vs Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin *

Millennials (Kotoka & Yosuke❤Santa Maria) vs MAD BLANKEY (Gamma & Mondai Ryu) N/R

Millennials (T-Hawk, U-T, Kotoka & Yosuke❤Santa Maria) vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Don Fujii, Gamma & Mondai Ryu) **3/4

Monster Express (Shingo Takagi, Masato Yoshino & Uhaa Nation) vs Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito" & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) **1/2

*Open the Brave Gate Championship*
Kzy (c) vs Akira Tozawa ***1/2

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship*
Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Big R Shimizu) (c) vs MAD BLANKEY (CIMA, Naruki Doi & Cyber Kong) **1/2

Overall Rating: 4.5


*Day 2 (March 1)*

Jimmyz (Jimmy Kanda, Jimmy Kagetora, Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Kzy & Big R Shimizu) **1/2

Monster Express (Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa) vs Millennials (Yosuke❤Santa Maria & El Lindaman) ***

Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu & Ryo "Jimmy" Saito) vs MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi & Mondai Ryu) *1/2

Millennials (T-Hawk, U-T, Kotoka & Flamita) vs MAD BLANKEY (CIMA, Gamma, Don Fujii & Punch Tominaga) **3/4

*Open the Twin Gate Championship*
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO & Cyber Kong) (c) vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko BOY) ***

*Open the Dream Gate Championship*
BxB Hulk (c) vs Uhaa Nation ***3/4

Overall Rating: 6.25


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "INVASION ATTACK 2015", 05.04.2015 (WPW/NJPW World) 
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

1. Yuji Nagata, Captain New Japan, Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & Yohei Komatsu vs Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Sho Tanaka *
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall *1/2
3. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (c) vs Rocky Romero & Barreta ***1/4
4. *IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kenny Omega (c) vs Máscara Dorada ***1/4
5. *IWGP Tag Team Championship Match*: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows (c) vs Michael Bennett & Matt Taven **1/4
6. Special Six Man Tag Match: Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI **3/4
7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano **
8. Special Singles Match: Kazuchika Okada vs Bad Luck Fale **1/2
9. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: AJ Styles (c) vs. Kota Ibushi ***1/2


----------



## almostfamous

Clusterfuck tag match ★1/2
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma/Bullet Club ★★1/2
Young Bucks/RPG Vice ★★★★
Kenny Omega/Mascara Dorada ★★★
Bullet Club/Michael Bennett & Matt Taven ★★1/2
Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito/CHAOS ★★3/4
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata/Kazushi Sakuraba & YTR *dud*
Kazuchika Okada/Bad Luck Fale ★★3/4
AJ Styles/Kota Ibushi ★★★1/2

Rating: B


----------



## ddan

*NJPW Invasion Attack 2015*
Yuji Nagata, Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley & Yohei Komatsu vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Sho Tanaka - **
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall - **1/2
The Young Bucks vs. RPG Vice - ***3/4
Mascara Dorada vs. Kenny Omega - ***1/2
Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. The Kingdom - **3/4
Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro ishii & YOSHI-HASHI - ***1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba - *
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale - ***1/4
AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi - ****


----------



## Ruiner87

We're posting Invasion Attack stuff, huh?

_Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan, Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata_ vs. _Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka & Tiger Mask_, ***1/2*
_Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma_ vs. _Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall_, ***1/4*
_Young Bucks_ vs. _Roppongi Vice_, ***1/2*
_Kenny Omega_ vs. _Mascara Dorada_, ****1/4*
_Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson_ vs. _The Kingdom_, **1/2*
_Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Togi Makabe_ vs. _Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI_, *****
_Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano_ vs. _Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata_, ****
_Kazuchika Okada_ vs. _Bad Luck Fale_, ***3/4*
_AJ Styles_ vs. _Kota Ibushi_, *****1/4*

Overall, a good event. Most of the stuff wasn't great by any means, but it was entertaining enough, and I didn't feel like anything was offensively bad. Even the Bullet Club vs. Kingdom match was more stupid than bad. The biggest compliment is that even during the not-so-great stuff, I wasn't getting annoyed or bored out of my mind, unlike parts of WrestleMania 31 or the undercard of the New Beginning shows.

A note, of sorts. I watched Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles from last years G1 a few hours after finishing off this event, and seeing that really displayed the huge gap in skill between Styles and Ibushi in regards to certain things, namely selling. Ibushi is great, but AJ is on another level, and easily one of the top 5 workers in the world right now. After watching that match, I feel that Ibushi's (so far) great year is the result of working with incredible talent, rather than being incredibly talented. That's not a knock, he's just not on the same level as guys like Styles and Nakamura.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

The 4 on 4 Bullet Club vs CHAOS match at New Japan Cup was awesome. :mark:


----------



## Ruiner87

It was pretty good. I liked the one they did at Tag 3 (8th March) more, but the point is that both of those 4v4 CHAOS vs Bullet Club matches were a lot of fun, unlike a lot of the multi-man tags in New Japan.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Ruiner87 said:


> We're posting Invasion Attack stuff, huh?
> 
> _Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan, Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata_ vs. _Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka & Tiger Mask_, ***1/2*
> _Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma_ vs. _Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall_, ***1/4*
> _Young Bucks_ vs. _Roppongi Vice_, ***1/2*
> _Kenny Omega_ vs. _Mascara Dorada_, ****1/4*
> _Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson_ vs. _The Kingdom_, **1/2*
> _Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Togi Makabe_ vs. _Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI_, *****
> _Kazuchika Okada_ vs. _Bad Luck Fale_, ***3/4*
> _AJ Styles_ vs. _Kota Ibushi_, *****1/4*
> 
> Overall, a good event. Most of the stuff wasn't great by any means, but it was entertaining enough, and I didn't feel like anything was offensively bad. Even the Bullet Club vs. Kingdom match was more stupid than bad. The biggest compliment is that even during the not-so-great stuff, I wasn't getting annoyed or bored out of my mind, unlike parts of WrestleMania 31 or the undercard of the New Beginning shows.
> 
> A note, of sorts. I watched Minoru Suzuki vs. AJ Styles from last years G1 a few hours after finishing off this event, and seeing that really displayed the huge gap in skill between Styles and Ibushi in regards to certain things, namely selling. Ibushi is great, but AJ is on another level, and easily one of the top 5 workers in the world right now. After watching that match, I feel that Ibushi's (so far) great year is the result of working with incredible talent, rather than being incredibly talented. That's not a knock, he's just not on the same level as guys like Styles and Nakamura.


I am glad I am not the only one who loved AJ/Ibushi. PHENOMENAL match.


----------



## ShadowSucks92

These are ratings Meltzer gave the matches from NJPW Invasion Attack (very over rated IMO for some of these matches):

Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan, Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka & Tiger Mask, **3/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall, ***
Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice, ****
Kenny Omega vs. Mascara Dorada, ****1/4
Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. The Kingdom, **1/4
Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI, ***3/4
Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata, ***
Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale, ****
AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi, ****3/4


----------



## Leon Knuckles

NJPW INVASION ATTACK 2015 - RYOGOKU KOKUGIKAN - 2015 APRIL 5










IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kota Ibushi vs AJ Styles (c)
****1/4


Spoiler: Details



The build is that Ibushi won the 2015 New Japan Cup tournament after defeating Hirooki Goto in the finals. He had the choice of challenging 1 of 3 championships: IWGP Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Intercontinental Championship, or NEVER Openweight Championship. Ibushi targeted Styles and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. It was a great match. High speed action. High impact moves. There were some spots and sequences that I had never seen before. It was game over after the impromptu Styles Clash. 























































I am a fan of both so this match was special to me. I marked out at the end when Kazuchika Okada attacked Styles and rainmakered his ass. :mark: Sweet revenge in poetry form.


----------



## Brock

Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (13/7/1989)
Jushin Liger & Akira Nogami vs Kantaro Hoshino & Naoki Sano (8/8/1989)
Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (WPW, 10/8/1989)
Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (20/9/1989, JIP)
Jushin Liger vs Naoki Sano (31/1/1990)

Watched the main Liger/Sano stuff today. Even from that first match IMO, you could
tell these two would go onto to have a classic at some stage, not the cleanest
of matches, a few missed, sloppy moments, and the finish was very abrupt, a double
turnbuckle suplex with both men down for the 10 count, but
overall a fine first match.

The tag match is an important addition IMO, as the content in the match, plays
into the second Sano singles match, as in the tag, both Sano & Hoshino work over
Liger's arm. Well when i say worked over, fucking DESTROYED is the word
i should be looking for. Match took place just two days prior to the second Sano bout. 

So onto the (WPW, 10/8/1989) match. Liger came in still selling the effects of getting
his left arm destroyed 2 days pervious. Sano went onto to target the arm early on, and throughout the match, Liger sold it as well as anyone i have seen TBH, as he did in the tag match. If there were an Oscar for it, Liger would win one hands down. Sano would win the title with a back suplex, but with Liger hurt throughout, the next match against fully fit Liger will be interesting.

Sadly, the next match (20/9/1989, JIP) is cut in half, so some of the match is missing (damn JIP matches). Sano retains with a Tiger Suplex.

1/31/90 is next, the celebrated classic. Liger debuts his now famous outfit. From the 
opening handshake when Liger slaps Sano in the face, which of course pisses him off
and he goes onto tear into Liger, and rips at his mask furiously. Sano is great at
playing the dickhead in this match esp, and the mask ends up pretty much ripped off, the secret is out. Liger hits the SSP for the first time under the mask in this one. Just a great fight. Legendary.

:mark: Get on this shit.


----------



## Lazyking

ShadowSucks92 said:


> These are ratings Meltzer gave the matches from NJPW Invasion Attack (very over rated IMO for some of these matches):
> 
> Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA, Captain New Japan, Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka & Tiger Mask, **3/4
> Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga, Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall, ***
> Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice, ****
> Kenny Omega vs. Mascara Dorada, ****1/4
> Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs. The Kingdom, **1/4
> Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI, ***3/4
> Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata, ***
> Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale, ****
> AJ Styles vs. Kota Ibushi, ****3/4


Meltz loves movez!


----------



## Zatiel

He loves _movez_, so he gives four stars to a Bad Luck Fale match?

Meltzer loves New Japan.


----------



## HOJO

I haven't even seen the show yet, and those ratings still sound like bullshit:duck


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW INVASION ATTACK 2015*

Yuji Nagata, Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley & Yohei Komatsu vs Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Sho Tanaka *

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) **

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
The Young Bucks (c) vs RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Baretta) ***1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
Kenny Omega (c) vs Mascara Dorada ***

*IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) (c) vs The Kingdom (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven) *3/4

Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe & Tetsuya Naito vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) ***

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba **

Kazuchika Okada vs Bad Luck Fale ***

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
AJ Styles (c) vs Kota Ibushi ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.5


----------



## Krul

I thought the Omega and Styles/Ibushi matches were enjoyable, and the Bucks against RPG Vice was a fun match.
The Kingdom w/Maria annoy me greatly though, and I think Okada is horribly overrated. Loving NJPW though, wish I got into it sooner.


----------



## Wank Pheasant

Aaron S. said:


> I haven't even seen the show yet, and those ratings still sound like bullshit:duck


watch the show before crapping

Styles/Ibushi near 5 star worthy


----------



## Leon Knuckles

NJPW BACK TO THE YOKOHAMA ARENA 2014 - YOKOHAMA ARENA - 2014 MAY 25 REVIEW










IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
Kazuchika Okada vs AJ Styles (c)
****1/2
Styles previously defeated Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This match was Okada's rematch, his chance to win the title back. The match was great. It was slow, yet methodical. It had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. There were some impressive spots and sequences. And some Bullet Club fuckery. But the best part was the storytelling. The winner of the match surprised me. I thought the decision was going the other way. Still, a terrific match.


----------



## Lariatoh!

Fighting game for Playstation 4 - Basara or something like that have included NJPW characters.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Truth Gate 2015 Day 10 2/23*

Monster Express (Akira Tozawa & Uhaa Nation) vs Dia.HEARTS (BxB Hulk & Kzy) **3/4

*ZERO1_FOURTEEN 3/1*

Hideki Suzuki vs Masakatsu Funaki **3/4
NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship: Dangan Yankees (Takashi Sugiura & Masato Tanaka) (c) vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Kohei Sato ***

*Dragon Gate: Glorious Gate 2015 Day 2 3/6*

Millennials (Yosuke❤Santa Maria, U-T & El Lindaman) vs MAD BLANKEY (Gamma, K-ness & Mondai Ryu) **1/2
Super Shisa & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa vs Kenichiro Arai & Shachihoko BOY N/R (Fun Match)
Millennials (T-Hawk & Flamita) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki & Dragon Kid) ***1/4

*WRESTLE-1 2015 Tour Trans Magic 3/8*

Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo vs Masato Tanaka & Yusaku Obata **1/4
WRESTLE-1 Championship: Keiji Muto (c) vs KAI ***1/4

*Dragon Gate: Glorious Gate 2015 Day 10 3/24*

Open the Brave Gate Championship: Akira Tozawa (c) vs Flamita ***1/2

*AJPW Dream Power Series 2015 Day 8 3/27*

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Atsushi Aoki (c) vs Kotaro Suzuki ***
AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Go Shiozaki (c) vs Kento Miyahara ***1/2

*ZERO1 12th Yasukuni Shrine Festival 3/29*

Masato Tanaka vs Shingo Takagi ***1/4

*BJW Ikkitousen Death Match Survivor 2015 Day 8 3/31*

Strong World Heavyweight Championship: Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs Daisuke Sekimoto ****1/4

*Dragon Gate: The Gate of Passion 2015 Day 4 4/9*

Open the Twin Gate Championship: Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko BOY) (c) vs Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora) ***3/4


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate, 09.04.2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-Flamita, Kotoka & Yosuke Santa Maria vs K-ness, Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga **
-Akira Tozawa & Shingo Takagi vs BxB Hulk & Kzy ***
-Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Kanda, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Mr. Que Que Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin vs CIMA, YAMATO, Naruki Doi & Don Fujii **1/2
-*Open the Twin Gate Championship Match*: Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko BOY (c) vs Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora ****

NOAH, 24.01.2015
Osaka BODYMAKER COLOSSEUM #2

-Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Zack Sabre Jr. ***
-Elimination Match: Naomichi Marufuji, Mohammed Yone, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Taiji Ishimori vs Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shelton Benjamin & Taichi **1/4
-*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Atsushi Kotoge (c) vs Daisuke Harada ***1/4


----------



## LaMelo

If I like NJPW will I probably like this?


----------



## Corey

Like what? This thread?


----------



## Obfuscation

@Jack Evans 187 how much Puro have you checked out circa 2015? This is asking anything that's not related to New Japan.


----------



## Corey

Hayley Seydoux said:


> @Jack Evans 187 how much Puro have you checked out circa 2015? This is asking anything that's not related to New Japan.


I've tried constantly but have found virtually everything else non-New Japan to just not be for me. Dragon Gate has the same formula for every match and it's loaded with no selling and CONSTANT spot sequences. Go Shiozaki's Triple Crown reign is the same match where he hits 40 lariats and 9 brainbusters and finally the 41st one wins. I've seen some Big Japan matches I could see you possibly liking but it's essentially two big guys just hitting each other hard with no real substance or story. I wanted to get invested in HARASHIMA vs. Ibushi from DDT but that match was so beyond slow and had a sequence that made no sense where they walked up to the stage to battle.

Basically, the only thing I've seen that I could actually finish or say it was solid was Marufuji/Suzuki in NOAH. Even that could've been better though. Stay the hell away from the KES/TMDK tag match that goes 30 minutes. My goodness. I've just stopped trying now. New Japan is about it for me.


----------



## Vårmakos

There is something of a backstory to the HARASHIMA/Ibushi spot. They had done similar spots on the lead up to the match with a taller structure each time, ultimately building up to the stage in their biggest match.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Like what? This thread?


:ha


----------



## Obfuscation

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I've tried constantly but have found virtually everything else non-New Japan to just not be for me. Dragon Gate has the same formula for every match and it's loaded with no selling and CONSTANT spot sequences. Go Shiozaki's Triple Crown reign is the same match where he hits 40 lariats and 9 brainbusters and finally the 41st one wins. I've seen some Big Japan matches I could see you possibly liking but it's essentially two big guys just hitting each other hard with no real substance or story. I wanted to get invested in HARASHIMA vs. Ibushi from DDT but that match was so beyond slow and had a sequence that made no sense where they walked up to the stage to battle.
> 
> Basically, the only thing I've seen that I could actually finish or say it was solid was Marufuji/Suzuki in NOAH. Even that could've been better though. Stay the hell away from the KES/TMDK tag match that goes 30 minutes. My goodness. I've just stopped trying now. New Japan is about it for me.


Thought KES vs TMDK that went 30 was awesome. Love seeing KES be ULTRA dominate like that. Rest of the show was weak as hell. But latter (and much more important) Great Voyage show delivered. MiSu vs Marufuji was real good. MUCH better than the load of bullocks that was the rest of Marufuji as champion b/c MiSu just dominated to make sure his usual bullspit is negated. And there is actual heat for it. Opposed to junior crummy moves. 

I've only seen Go vs Zeus post Go vs Doering and my gosh, I loved the bloody hell out of it. Zeus showed up big time to the dance. Want to start calling him the terminator after that match. Terrific performance in his biggest match ever. I'm still much too behind on All Japan right now and I have to change it. Especially w/the Champions Carnival out there.

Ibushi vs HARASHIMA was great b/c it played off a lot of their past altercations. To me that's general KO-D Openweight Championship stuff. Very different from the rest of the card. A really good match on a really good show. Granted, I'd say I enjoyed the Korakuen show following it even more. DDT is the best thing about Japan today.

Yeah, I've dug some of the BJW stuff this year. Haven't seen the Twin Towers vs Okabayashi/Hino or Ishikawa vs Sekimoto, but I will soon. Those on paper look amazing. Gonna need a lot to trump Ishikawa vs Okabayashi though as MOTY from the company. Terrific match. Deathmatch tournament went off to a really rousing start too. And i'm borderline underselling Miyamoto vs Hoshino for the Deathmatch strap. Such a rad match. :mark:

I've had fun w/Dragon Gate so far, but that's such a "you have to enjoy that kind of stuff" to really care. So I understand anyone who isn't feeling that. Chances are they'll have a show or two I loathe and I'll be less than optimistic w/them. But atm, I'm cool w/the product. Digging Big R. Shimizu.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Wrestling Hinokuni 4/29*

Jay White, Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka vs CHAOS (Rocky Romero, Baretta & Gedo) *1/2

Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) vs Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan *

Yuji Nagata, Tiger Mask IV & Mascara Dorada vs Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA *1/2

*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Steve Anthony (c) vs Jushin Thunder Liger **

*NWA World Heavyweight Championship*
Hiroyoshi Tenzan (c) vs Big Daddy Yum Yum *1/2

Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & Alex Shelley vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Kenny Omega) **1/2

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) **

Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba **3/4

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Togi Makabe ***1/2

Overall Rating: 4.0


*NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 5/3*

Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask IV, Jushin Thunder Liger & Yuji Nagata vs KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Captain New Japan & Manabu Nakanishi **

Tetsuya Naito & Sho Tanaka vs Kota Ibushi & Yohei Komatsu ***

Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma **

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
RPG Vice (Rocky Romero & Baretta) (c) vs The Young Bucks vs reDRagon ***1/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
Kenny Omega (c) vs Alex Shelley ***

Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Amber Gallows) vs The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Michael Bennett & Maria Kanellis) **

Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba **1/4

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi) **1/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Hirooki Goto ***1/4

Overall Rating: 6.0


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NOAH Great Voyage 2015 in Tokyo 3/15*

*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champìonship:* Atsushi Kotoge (c) vs Taichi **
*GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Minoru Suzuki ***1/2


*WRESTLE-1 2015 Tour Cherry Blossom 4/1*

*WRESTLE-1 Championship: *KAI (c) vs Hideki Suzuki **


*Dragon Gate: The Gate of Passion 2015 Day 5 4/11*

Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin vs El Lindaman **


*DDT MAX BUMP 2015 4/29*

*KO-D Tag Team Championship:* Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) (c) vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie ***1/2
*KO-D Openweight Championship:* Kota Ibushi (c) vs HARASHIMA ***3/4


*Dragon Gate: DEAD or ALIVE 2015*

Jimmy Kanda, Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin & Super Shisa vs MAD BLANKEY (Mondai Ryu, K-ness & Punch Tominaga) *1/2

Millennials (El Lindaman & Yosuke❤Santa Maria) vs Ken'ichiro Arai & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa N/R

Millennials (El Lindaman & Yosuke❤Santa Maria) vs Ken'ichiro Arai & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa *

*Open the Dream Gate Championship*
BxB Hulk (c) vs Cyber Kong *3/4

*Open the Twin Gate Championship*
Amigo Tag (Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko BOY) (c) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki & Big R Shimizu) **

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship* - 3 Way Elimination Match
Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Jimmy Kagetora & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) (c) vs Millennials (Flamita, U-T & Kotoka) vs MAD BLANKEY (Naruki Doi, Don Fujii & Gamma) **

*Open the Brave Gate Championship*
Akira Tozawa (c) vs Dragon Kid **1/4

Mascara contra Cabellera Steel Cage Survival Double Risk 6-Way Match
T-Hawk (Masato Yoshino & Naruki Doi) vs CIMA (Flamita) vs Shingo Takagi (BxB Hulk) vs Kzy (Akira Tozawa) vs YAMATO (Masaaki Mochizuki) vs Ryo "Jimmy" Saito (Dragon Kid) DUD

Overall Rating: 1.75 (_Worst major show of the year_)


----------



## HOJO

Best matches of the shows in *GOLD*
Worst matches in *SILVER*

*DDT MAX BUMP(4/29/15):*

*Shunma Katsumata vs. Yukio Sakaguchi* - *1/2


*Akito, Kazuki Hirata, Makoto Oishi & Soma Takao vs. T2Hide (Sanshiro Takagi & Toru Owashi), Brother Tommy & Takayuki Ueki* - *3/4

*9-Person Right To Challenge Anytime, Anywhere Battle Royal: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Danshoku Jinsei vs. DJ Nira vs. Hiroshi Fukuda vs. Hoshitango vs. MIKAMI vs. Saki Akai vs. Suguru Miyatake vs. Yasu Urano* - **


*KO-D Tag Team Championship: Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) (c) vs Keisuke Ishii & Shigehiro Irie* - ****

*KO-D Openweight Championship: Kota Ibushi (c) vs HARASHIMA* - ***3/4

Getting more into DDT, and this was a fun start. The Danshoku stuff :lmao

_________________________________

*Stardom Cinderella Champions(Tournament) Fiesta(4/23/15):*
_Rules:
10-min time limit on all matches except the Finals, which gets a 30-min limit
Matches can be won by Pinfall, Submission, or Over The Top RopeCENA)
Any sort of draw means neither advances_
*FIRST ROUND:
Reo Hazuki vs Momo Watanabe* - 1/2*

*Star Fire vs Hatsuhinode Kamen* *

*Chelsea vs Kris Wolf* - **

*Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kyoko Kimura* - *(This match was exactly 10 minutes, but clipped to 2 with some change)

*Mayu Iwatani vs Thunder Rosa* - *1/4

*Kairi Hojo vs Haruka Kato* - **1/2



Spoiler: Second Round + the rest of the tournament



*Mayu Iwatani defeats Star Fire* - **1/2

*Koguma(Had an automatic BYE) vs Reo Hazuki* - *1/2

*Io Shirai(Also had an automatic BYE) defeats Chelsea* - **1/2



Spoiler: Semi Finals



*Mayu Iwatani defeats Io Shirai* - ***

*Koguma defeats Kairi Hojo* - ***1/2



Spoiler: FINALS



*Mayu Iwatani defeats Koguma* - **1/2








Decent tournament for a one-nighter, to be fully honest. Of course the first few matches were either clipped down to hell or they were just naturally short, so i guess don't take too much into some of the First Round ratings. 
If watching the whole tournament doesn't feel worth it, definitely watch the semi-final matches and even the finals. It's amazing how well some of these girls do even with the messy booking and bad luck(some of it bought on themselves, but still) this promotion has. Kimura/Yoneyama looked like it was the best thing all tournament and the amount of the match they showed was utter bullshit, imo.


----------



## Fighter Daron

Didn't know where to post this, but here we go:



NJPW: New Japan Cup Finals said:


> 1. Jushin Liger & KUSHIDA & Jay White vs. Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi & Máscara Dorada: The opener just delivered in the end when it became a quick spotfest with a lot of dives, but they couldn't get the crowd's attention since the start of the match. I should say that Dorada has surprised me with his improvement and if I disliked Taguchi before, this whole ass-oriented offense has strengthen that feeling. *1/4
> 
> 2. Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu vs. Yuji Nagata & Sho Tanaka: Seeing Nagata and Kojima in a ring with Tiger Hattori simply rocks, but seeing the other two not that much. Tanaka didn't tell me anything, Komatsu' selling was neat to be honest. Not a very entertaining match, Nagata and Kojima seem very old and that makes me a sad panda. *
> 
> 3. *NJ Cup Semifinals:* Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto: I've always loved Goto, but what I've seen from him this year, don't know, he seems like out of his game, it feels like he has finally realized that he will ever be a midcarder, I miss those days from 2007 to 2011 where everything he touched became gold, he was all fire during that time. Makabe, of course, didn't help either, not a bad match, but meh. **1/2
> 
> 4. *NJ Cup Semifinals:* Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito: On the other hand, Kota Ibushi is totally on fire this year, I've never been a fan of his work, but it's noticable when a dude is motivated and put effort into it. Very good match with a very effective spot at the end thanks to Naito's selling. Really good stuff. ***3/4
> 
> 5. Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Cody Hall: This great match came out of nowhere. Shibata/Honma story was so much fun because they were forced partners and spent the entire match fighting each other. The new and synister character that Tonga carries nowadays is really good, he knows how to do it though he's not good yet on the ring. This Cody Hall guy has potential, he moves really well given his size. ***1/2
> 
> 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba: Really bad match. Yano and Tanahashi usually had weird chemistry on the ring 1 on 1, but Captain is too dull and Sakuraba did nothing here. Tanahashi couldn't save this and in top of it all, the finish of the match was filled with botches. *1/4
> 
> 7. CHAOS vs. Bullet Club: Good match, but maybe too long, YOSHI-HASHI had no right to be here and Nakamura didn't get too much time here. Fale was the estar here, I would have never imagined how good he could be with his prior gimmick(?) or lack thereof. Approaching the end of the match, it rose its pace and the final sequence was really good. ***
> 
> 8. *NJ Cup Finals:* Great match, it had several interesting and original spots, they worked a really stiff match and, well, as it should be, it was the best match of the night. ****


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate, 26.04.2015
Hakata Star Lane

-Flamita & Kotoka vs Naruki Doi & Gamma **
-BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Big R Shimizu vs Don Fujii, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga *1/4
-Cage Match Designated Player Decision Match: Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko BOY vs Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy Kagetora ***1/4
-Cage Match Entrant Special Six Man Tag Match: CIMA, Shingo Takagi & Ryo "Jimmy" Saito vs YAMATO, T-Hawk & Kzy **1/4

Dragon Gate Dead or Alive 5.05.2015
Aichi-ken Gymnasium

-Jimmy Kanda, Mr. Quu Quu Tanizaki Naoki Toyonaka Dolphin & Super Shisa vs K-ness, Mondai Ryu, Punch Tominaga *1/4
-Yosuke♡Santa Maria & El Lindaman vs Kenichiro Arai, "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa 1/2*
-*Open the Dream Gate Championship Match*: BxB Hulk (c) vs Cyber Kong *1/4
-*Open the Twin Gate Championship Match*: Masato Yoshino & Shachihoko BOY (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Big R Shimizu **1/4
-*Open the Triangle Gate 3 Way Championship Match*: Jimmy Susumu, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Kagetora (c) vs Flamita, U-T & Kotoka vs Naruki Doi, Don Fujii & Gamma *1/2
-*Open the Brave Gate Championship Match*: Akira Tozawa (c) vs Dragon Kid *3/4


----------



## Leon Knuckles

I just finished NJPW Hinokuni. It was a fun show. The MOTN was Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows) vs Tomoaki Honma, Tetsuya Naito, Alex Shelley. The main event between Togi Makabe and Tomohiro Ishii was also great. Brutal slugfest. The finish was crazy. I marked out. :mark:


----------



## darkclaudio

New Japan Pro Wrestling “BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. XXII”, 22.05.2015
Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

1. BOSJ A BLOCK Match: Jushin Thunder Liger vs Yohei Komatsu ***
2. BOSJ B BLOCK Match: Tiger Mask IV vs Nick Jackson **1/4
3. BOSJ B BLOCK Match: Alex Shelley vs David Finlay **
4. BOSJ A BLOCK Match: Barbaro Cavernario vs Chase Owens **1/4
5. Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI ***1/4
6. BOSJ B BLOCK Match: Rocky Romero vs. Bobby Fish **1/2
7. BOSJ A BLOCK Match: Barreta vs Kyle O’Reilly ***
8. BOSJ B BLOCK Match: KUSHIDA vs Mascara Dorada ***
9. BOSJ A BLOCK Match: Ryusuke Taguchi vs Gedo ***


----------



## Hibachi

Just got done watching BoSJ, was alright. Enjoyed the 5v5 match a lot, Ishii has yet to let me down in a match all year... can't get enough of the guy. Everything he does is gold. Him and Makabe are just awesome together. Goto was excellent in the match as well.


----------



## Fighter Daron

*NJPW: New Beginning in Osaka; 11/02/2015*

Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu: It wasn't bad, but short, action-packed though very basic, how these guys have to work. Funny opener. **

Captain New Japan & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask: Surprisingly, a match involving four bad wrestlers is quite funny, juniors selling for heavyweights is always great. My god, Nakanishi can't even move nowadays, it's a shame to be honest. **1/4

Chase Owens & Rob Conway vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Thunder Liger: The american wrestlers were quite bad, though not worse than their pathetic manager, Liger and Tenzan are quite old but they still hold their own, a regular nothing match, maybe too long for what it was. *3/4

Kota Ibushi vs. Tomoaki Honma: Very good match, so stiff, but I think they went a little too far, the finish was horrible to be fair. Ibushi is going to be the new star of this company, and I'd like to see Honma getting a steady serious push through the uppermidcard, this guy is too good to be always jobbing everyone. ***3/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:* reDRagon vs. The Young Bucks vs. Time Splitters: GREAT match, it doesn't matter how much time pass, these junior spotfest will always be my cup of tea since I discovered the X-Division circa 2007. The Bucks are just incredible and the other two teams were good companions, the match started slow and was increasing its pace as the crowd was getting louder, the last fifteen minutes were just crazy. Gimme more of this, PLEASE. ****1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship:* Kenny Omega vs. Ryusuke Taguchi: Omega put on a great performance here, but I can't stand Taguchi and his character is just ridiculous and the match went longer than it should have, this was just a good match. ***1/4

Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba: Your typical multiman tag match between CHAOS and Bullet Club, nothing special here, Okada shone quite a bit but the rest are just meh performers and Fale didn't seem to motivated. A useless match. **1/2

Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Satoshi Kojima & Tetsuya Naito & Yuji Nagata: None of the participants seemed really motivated, I haven't understood why they changed Kojima & Nagata themes yet, I don't aprove it, it felt really weird that the crowd shat on Naito, it's not normal there in Japan to boo the face. Well, giving the wrestlers, this should have been better, not a simple 3 on 3, YOSHI-HASHI is the shits. **1/2

*IWGP Tag Team Championship:* Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson: Really good final sequence that made the crowd crazy for the first time in the show. Goto & Anderston have good chemistry in the ring and they showed it when they trade counters for like two minutes non-stop. Shibata brought the fire at the end of the match and well, it was a very good match. ***1/2

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. AJ Styles: Disappointing main event, thanks partly to the fact that the crowd didn't buy the Bullet Club or AJ Styles and they were quiet for the entirety of the match, it doesn't matter how many shirts the group sells. AJ put on a great heel performance and Tanahashi was just there. Despite all of this negative things, these two wrestlers can't have a bad match. ***1/4

Overall, a really long show that felt like years watching it, just one remarkable match and the rest just served to continue storylines, Osaka's crowd was the shits, what is not entirely normal, I'd imagine that Japanese people would be hard to understand all this american invasion.


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

KanaProMania: "Desire" was awesome! So many unique and exciting match-ups featuring a heap of amazing talent. And that main event, filled with legends! A lot of fun to watch.

So.... Much.... Variety..... Kanemoto/Nakajima going to war, Senga & Oosugi fight for their lives! Gabai Jichan bring the greatest character in wrestling. The madness that is Okabayshi/Fujita vs Shinobu/Yosuke, pretty much an entire match based around attacking the balls and Yosuke's advances on Okabayashi backfiring in a big way. Kana firing up on Fujiwara, the big beef battle as Indie strong-men get down to business. Just such an entertaining show with so many different wrestlers and promotions on display.


1. Gabai Jinchan vs Isami Kodaka

2. Hiromitsu Kanehira vs Chikano Kenshin

3. Hercules Senga & Tsutomu Oosugi vs Shuji Ishikawa & Takao Omori

4. Konami vs Syuri

5. Yosuke <3 Santa Maria & Shinobu vs Mineo Fujita & Yuji Okabayashi 

6. Koji Kanemoto & Hikaru Shida vs Arisa Nakajima & Yuko Miyamoto

7. Cyber Kong & Masaya Takahashi vs Daisuke Sekimoto & Magnitude Kishiwada

8. Great Kojika, Kana & Mitsuo Momota vs Gran Hamada, Shiro Koshinaka & Yoshiaki Fujiwara


----------



## HOJO

*Stardom: Gold May 2015(5/17/15)

Haruka Kato vs. Hatsuhinode Kamen* - *1/2

*Kaori Yoneyama vs. Kris Wolf vs. Momo Watanabe vs. Reo Hazuki* - *
_Comedy match, botched finish, but who cares. KRIS WOLF WON A MATCH:mark::mark::mark::mark:
Also, Reo Hazuki :moyes1
_
*High Speed Championship : Koguma © vs. Starfire* - **
_Young lion gets dropped on her head 5 times: The Match. It was a somewhat fine match, in all seriousness. With these retirement rumors circulating about Koguma(who's only 17, btw), it's easy to see that she'd retire over injuries, if it's even true. SHe'll be spending time out of the ring anyway, though. Let the STARDOM Curse of 2015 continue..._

*Chelsea vs. Meiko Satomura* - **
_Nothing more than Meiko squashing the new gajin. Satomura's Cartwheel Knee is still one of my favorite moves right now. Chelsea's offense is, well, weak......as fuck. But she's now officially signed with STARDOM, so there's tons of time for her to improve given the wrestlers she's around._

*Wonder of Stardom Title (Vacated) : Io Shirai vs. Nikki Storm* - ***1/4
Nikki's theme song :dance
_This was a pretty good match. not the best, but still a good one. The amount of neckbreakers Nikki uses(Neckbreaker City, Bitch!) didn't bother me as much as it did other people who watched. I'm a fairly big fan of Nikki, but she played to the crowd way too much. Also, Io proving to me she deserves the nickname "TanahaShirai" by going full Tana: The handsign, cutting promos like he does, now having "ACE" put on her gear. Ugh. She's lucky she's been the best woman's wrestler this year by far. And her work was glorious here._

*World of Stardom Championship Title : Kairi Hojo © vs. Mayu Iwatani* - **3/4-***
_The disappointment was real. They worked ok, and they did put on somewhat of a solid match, but they both just seemed gassed, and the match structure was just weird. Both had their shining moments here, and Kairi Hojo's Elbow Drop is still one of, if not the best one out there. If all of Kairi's singles matches now that Nanae is gone are gonna focus on her arm, she should probably do less elbow based offense. She's very good at selling, but her offense needs to be mixed up, if changing up the match structure and storytelling is too much to ask for for whatever reason._

This was an alright show. Nothing truly amazing going on here like during the March Korakuen show. Surely June's show will be great, considering the main event that's already booked. Melissa's coming back :/. She sounded like she got some spark back during the SHIMMER tapings in October(don't know how she did during WM weekend), so surely she does better now than she did the last time she worked in STARDOM. *6.5/10 *


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

All Japan Pro Wrestling has apparantly launched its own digital streaming service via Actvila for 777yen per month! Although the it more resembles what NOAH & Fu-ten have been doing for years on Videx, but with a monthly subscription, instead of NJPW's more ambitious "Network" style. Although it's said that there will be PPV's for 540yen. This has just launched, so the details are still coming in.

http://actvila.jp/top/contents/mont...レスライフ　【月額見放題】/900214200099/全試合一覧/0/0/0/0/0/0/


----------



## almostfamous

Act Yasukawa said:


> *World of Stardom Championship Title : Kairi Hojo © vs. Mayu Iwatani* - **3/4-***
> _The disappointment was real. They worked ok, and they did put on somewhat of a solid match, but they both just seemed gassed, and the match structure was just weird. Both had their shining moments here, and Kairi Hojo's Elbow Drop is still one of, if not the best one out there. If all of Kairi's singles matches now that Nanae is gone are gonna focus on her arm, she should probably do less elbow based offense. She's very good at selling, but her offense needs to be mixed up, if changing up the match structure and storytelling is too much to ask for for whatever reason._


Nice recap! I liked the ME a little more than you did from your star rating. Kairi is so good at selling. Going to be great when she goes against a badass (Act, someday).

I didn't know that about Koguma. That sucks if true, she was just starting to hit her stride.


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

My returning and latest Michinoku Pro music video! Witness the escalating madness as each try to top the other, where will it end???

"It's 2005/2006, the precursor to the Great Space War, as the rivalry between The Great Sasuke and the Sato (Brahman) Brothers kicks off, leading to the war before the space war in steel cage match at Michinoku Pro's 2006 end-of-year Korakuen Show. Welcome to the madness of the Space Race as Sasuke & Satos look to catapult their feud to the stars!"


----------



## DaveTommo

Anywhere to watch todays show live? Apart from NJPW World?


----------



## ZEROVampire

*DDT AUDIENCE 2015 5/31*

KO-D Openweight Championship: HARASHIMA (c) vs KUDO ***1/4


*NJPW Best of the Super Jr XX Finals 6/7*

Kyle O'Reilly vs KUSHIDA ****1/4


*STARDOM Galaxy Stars 6/14*

World of STARDOM Championship: Kairi Hojo (c) vs Meiko Satomura ****


*NJPW Road to DOMINION 2015 6/28*

Ryusuke Taguchi vs Jay White **1/2
Tiger Mask IV vs Sho Tanaka **
Jushin Thunder Liger vs David Finlay **
Mascara Dorada vs Yohei Komatsu *3/4
TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan **
KUSHIDA, Tetsuya Naito & Manabu Nakanishi vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Tama Tonga & Bad Luck Fale) **1/4
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero & Barretta) vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Yujiro Takahashi) **3/4
Special 10 Man Tag Elimination Match: Hirooki Goto, Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI ***1/4


----------



## RKing85

IVP's July Purobox is now listed for purchase.


----------



## KicksToFaces!

*The Young Bucks vs reDRagon vs RPG Vice*
_**1/2_

*Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi*
_**_

*Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazushi Sakuraba*
_****_

*Kenny Omega vs KUSHIDA*
_***1/2_

*Tomohiro Ishii vs Togi Makabe*
_***1/4_

*The Kingdom (Taven & Bennett) vs Bullet Club (Gallows & Anderson)*
_*1/2_

*Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Taro Yano*
_**1/2_

*Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura*
_***1/4_

*AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada*
_****1/4_​


----------



## Jonasolsson96

KicksToFaces! said:


> *The Young Bucks vs reDRagon vs RPG Vice*
> _**1/2_
> 
> *Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi*
> _**_
> 
> *Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazushi Sakuraba*
> _****_
> 
> *Kenny Omega vs KUSHIDA*
> _***1/2_
> 
> *Tomohiro Ishii vs Togi Makabe*
> _***1/4_
> 
> *The Kingdom (Taven & Bennett) vs Bullet Club (Gallows & Anderson)*
> _*1/2_
> 
> *Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Taro Yano*
> _**1/2_
> 
> *Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura*
> _***1/4_
> 
> *AJ Styles vs Kazuchika Okada*
> _****1/4_​



According to the reviews this was the best wrestling show of the year and the ic,junior and heavyweight title matches full blown classics so hopefully its better then your ratings. Looking forward to it. Not that **** 1/4 is bad but when you have seen the best matches in the history of the biz you kinda get abit jaded and looking for that one match that can top them. The only matches this year that made me feel something was Nakamura/Ibushi from wk and Banks/lynch from unstoppable. Ibushi/styles from invasion attack this year was aight too and so was the rumble triple threat but neither had me on the edge of my seat. Would you say the mainevent came close to either of those?


----------



## KicksToFaces!

^Yes, definitely. Especially the finishing stretch which was insane. I would've probably given it a better rating, but the Bullet Club stuff kinda dragged on a bit too long IMO.
I still thought the show was great. It's probably the best wrestling show I watched this year behind WK 9. 2 great matches, 3 pretty good ones, Tanahashi and Yano had a fun comedy match and the Jr. TT match was still a fun spotfest (even tough they do these matches on every show).

KUSHIDA-Omega could've been a fantastic match and it would've been, but KUSHIDA forgot to sell the leg that Omega was working on for the most of the match. So yeah, that bothered me, but I still tought the match was really good.
It seems a lot of people loved the Nakamura-Goto match, but the thing is... The match wasn't that interesting to me till the last few minutes because it was stuff that they have already done in their last match and even they weren't that into it. The last couple of minutes were pretty damn good tho.


----------



## NastyYaffa

*NJPW DOMINION 2015*

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
The Young Bucks (c) vs. RPG Vice vs. reDRagon - ****1/4*

Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma - ****

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba - ******

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship*
Kenny Omega (c) vs. KUSHIDA - *****1/4*

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****3/4*

*IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Matt Taven & Michael Bennett (c) vs. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson - **1/4*

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano - ***1/4*

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - ****1/2*

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
AJ Styles (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada - *****1/2*

What an amazing show. It's up there w/ WK9 & Don't Sweat The Technique as one of the best shows of the year. (Y) Amazing stuff.​


----------



## TripleG

I haven't seen Dominion yet, but I plan on watching it tonight. 

Glad to hear the show is great.


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

NJPW World is free from the 8th till the 17th.


----------



## flag sabbath

Have to say I think folks are seriously underrating Tanahashi vs. Yano. They told a really fun story of clean cut Tana resorting to dirty tactics with mixed results. Both guys' reactions were gold ***3/4


----------



## TripleG

^^^ Honestly, I really liked that match too. I thought it was a hoot.


----------



## ddan

*NJPW Dominion 7.5*
10-Man Tag Team - ***
Young Bucks vs. RPG Vice vs. reDRagon - ***1/2
Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale vs. Honma & Naito - **1/4
Sakuraba vs. Shibata - ****
KUSHIDA vs. Kenny Omega - ****1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe - ***1/4
Bullet Club vs. The Kingdom - **1/2
Toru Yano vs. Tanahashi - ***
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto - ****1/2
Okada vs. AJ Styles - ****1/2


----------



## NastyYaffa

Meltzer's ratings for Dominion:

*



The Young Bucks vs. RPG Vice vs. reDRagon: ***1/2
Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Bullet Club: **1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba: ****
Kenny Omega vs. KUSHIDA: ****1/2
Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii: ***3/4
The Kingdom vs. Bullet Club: **1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano: **3/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: ****1/2
AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada: ****3/4

Click to expand...

*This means Styles has 3 matches rated ****3/4 by Meltzer this year. Pretty cool.


----------



## El Dandy

wrong thread


----------



## Scorpion_Deathlock

Absolutely loved Styles/Okada Nakamura/Goto and Omega/Kushida. Second best show of the year behind WK9


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

*Fortune Dream 1 - Full Show*






1. Tamon Honda vs Hayato Mashita

2. Meiko Satomura vs Hiroyo Matsumoto

3. Shuji Ishikawa & Koji Doi vs Kengo Mashimo & Tank Nagai

4. Ultimo Dragon, AKIRA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Isami Kodaka, Yuko Miyamoto & Kazuki Hashimoto

5. Talk Show: Kenta Kobashi vs Riki Choshu

6. Masato Tanaka & Fujita "Jr." Hayato vs Akitoshi Saito & Kotaro Suzuki

7. Daisuke Sekimoto & Kento Miyahara vs Kohei Sato & Yuji Hino


----------



## Fighter Daron

Is there any worth watching match?


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: King of Gate Day 1 5/8*

King of Gate, Round 1: Naruki Doi vs CIMA *1/2
King of Gate, Round 1: Akira Tozawa vs Shingo Takagi ***1/2
King of Gate, Round 1: YAMATO vs T-Hawk ***1/2

*NOAH GREAT VOYAGE 2015 IN YOKOHAMA 5/10*

*GHC Heavyweight Championship:* Minoru Suzuki (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji **3/4

*NOAH Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Night 2015 6/13*

Mikey Nicholls vs Shane Haste **1/4
*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Taichi (c) vs Daisuke Harada **

*BJW Teisen Pro-Wrestling Last Match ~ Sapporo Limelight 6/30*

Daisuke Sekimoto, Masato Tanaka & Takashi Sugiura vs Yuji Okabayashi, HARASHIMA & Yuji Hino ***1/4

*Dragon Gate: Generation Gate Day 1 7/2*

YAMATO, Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino vs CIMA, Ricochet & Matt Sydal ***1/2
BxB Hulk, Shingo Takagi & Akira Tozawa vs T-Hawk, Eita & Big R Shimizu ***

*NJPW Road to DOMINION 2015 7/3*

Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka vs reDRagon ***
Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Matt Taven, Michael Bennett, Rocky Romero & Baretta) ***1/4

*NJPW DOMINION 7.5 In Osaka Jo-Hall 7/5*

Dark Match: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada & Sho Tanaka vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Yohei Komatsu **
*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:* The Young Bucks (c) vs RPG Vice & reDRagon **3/4
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma **
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Katsuyori Shibata ***3/4
*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:* Kenny Omega (c) vs KUSHIDA ***1/4
*NEVER Openweight Championship:* Togi Makabe (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii **3/4
*IWGP Tag Team Championship:* The Kingdom (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven) (c) vs Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) **
Toru Yano vs Hiroshi Tanahashi **1/4
*IWGP Intercontinental Championship:* Hirooki Goto (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/4
*IWGP Heavyweight Championship:* AJ Styles (c) vs Kazuchika Okada ****
Overall Rating: 7.5


----------



## LocoI

finished WK9. LOVED IT! for the past week ive been catching up completely. i feel like i missed so much. :tucky


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

Fighter Daron said:


> Is there any worth watching match?


Of course! 3, 4, 6 & 7. The main event is pretty badass with Hino & Sekimoto creating one of the coolest scenes in all Puroresu in 2014, with a great tribute to Kobashi.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Rainbow Gate 7/12*

Millennials (Yosuke❤Santa Maria & El Lindaman) vs Shachihoko BOY & Mike Sydal *1/2
MAD BLANKEY (Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga) vs Jimmy Kanda, Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa **
Kotoka vs Super Shisa **
Dia.HEARTS (Dragon Kid & Kzy) vs Jimmyz (Ryo "Jimmy" Saito & Jimmy Susumu) **
Dia.HEARTS (BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizuki & Big R Shimizu) vs CIMA, Gamma & Don Fujii **1/4
Akira Tozawa & Matt Sydal vs Millennials (T-Hawk & Eita) ***
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Naruki Doi & K-ness) vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino, Shingo Takagi & Ricochet) **1/2


----------



## darkclaudio

Dragon Gate "KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2015", 20.07.2015 (niconico/PPV) 
Kobe World Hall 

1. Super Shisa, Syachihoko BOY & Mike Sydal vs U-T, Kotoka & El Lindaman *
2. Jimmy Kanda, Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin, "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa & Yosuke ♥ Santa Maria vs K-ness, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga 3/4*
3. *Open The Brave Gate Championship Match*: Akira Tozawa (c) vs Eita ***1/2 
4. Special Tag Match: BxB Hulk & Big R Shimizu vs Shingo Takagi & Masato Tanaka **1/2
5. *Open The Triangle Gate Championship Match*: CIMA, Don Fujii & Gamma (c) vs Genki Horiguchi HAGee.Mee !!, Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy "Ryo" Saito vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Drago Kid & Kzy **
6. *Open The Twin Gate Unified Tag Team Championship Match*: Naruki Doi & YAMATO (c) vs Ricochet & Matt Sydal **3/4
7. *Open The Dream Gate Championship Match*: Masato Yoshino (c) vs T-Hawk ***1/4


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW "G1 CLIMAX 25", 20.07.2015 (WPW/NJPW World) 
Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center 

G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Doc Gallows *1/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs Toru Yano **
G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs Bad Luck Fale *1/2
G1 Climax - Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs AJ Styles ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi ***1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 CLIMAX 25 DAY 1 (7/20)
Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center (Kitami, Hokkaido)*

Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Yohei Komatsu vs Tomoaki Honma, Mascara Dorada, David Finlay & Jay White **

Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) vs Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan *1/4

Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) **1/4

Satoshi Kojima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Michael Elgin vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Gedo & Kazuchika Okada) **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Doc Gallows *1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Toru Yano **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs Bad Luck Fale **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs AJ Styles ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kota Ibushi ***1/2

Overall Rating: 5.5


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 2
Twin Messe Shizuoka 

G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi **
G1 Climax - Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Tomoaki Honma **3/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Karl Anderson ***


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 3
Kyoto City Budokan Center 

G1 Climax - Block A: Kota Ibushi vs Doc Gallows **
G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale *3/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs AJ Styles ***
G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***1/4

Top G1 Climax Matches
1 Tanahashi/Ibushi
2 Naito/Shibata
3 Shibata/AJ
4 Tanahashi/Tenzan
5 Okada/Elgin
6 Kojima/Ishii
7 Yano/AJ
8 Nakamura/Anderson


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 4
Takamatsu City Gymnasium 

G1 Climax - Block B: Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Michael Elgin ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Karl Anderson **1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Shinsuke Nakamura **3/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Kazuchika Okada ***

Top G1 Climax Matches
1 Tanahashi/Ibushi
2 Naito/Shibata
3 Shibata/AJ
4 Tanahashi/Tenzan
5 Okada/Elgin
6 Kojima/Ishii
7 Kojima/Elgin
8 Yano/AJ
9 Honma/Okada
10 Nakamura/Anderson


----------



## ZEROVampire

*BJW Ryogokutan ~ 20th Anniversary Show 7/20*

*Strong World Heavyweight Championship:* Daisuke Sekimoto (c) vs Yuji Okabayashi ****


*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 2 (7/23)
Twin Messe (Shizuoka)*

Yohei Komatsu & Jay White vs Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV **

Togi Makabe, Kota Ibushi & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows & Cody Hall) *1/2

Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Tama Tonga) vs CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/4

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Mascara Dorada **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Tomohiro Ishii ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Yujiro Takahashi *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Tomoaki Honma ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Karl Anderson ***

Overall Rating: 6.0


*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 3 (7/24)
City Budokan Center (Kyoto)*

Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Yohei Komatsu vs Michael Elgin, Mascara Dorada, David Finlay & Jay White **

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) **1/4

Hirooki Goto & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) *1/2

Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Kota Ibushi vs Doc Gallows **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Bad Luck Fale *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Toru Yano vs AJ Styles ***

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan ***1/4

Overall Rating: 5.75


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 5
Hiroshima Green Arena 

G1 Climax - Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Doc Gallows *1/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Toru Yano *1/2
G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe vs Katsuyori Shibata **3/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Kota Ibushi vs AJ Styles ***1/2
G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2

Top G1 Climax Matches
1 Ibushi/AJ
2 Tanahashi/Ibushi
3 Tanahashi/Naito
4 Naito/Shibata
5 Shibata/AJ
6 Tanahashi/Tenzan
7 Okada/Elgin
8 Kojima/Ishii
9 Kojima/Elgin
10 Yano/AJ
11 Honma/Okada
12 Nakamura/Anderson


----------



## cablegeddon

darkclaudio said:


> Dragon Gate "KOBE PRO-WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2015", 20.07.2015 (niconico/PPV)
> Kobe World Hall
> 
> 1. Super Shisa, Syachihoko BOY & Mike Sydal vs U-T, Kotoka & El Lindaman *
> 2. Jimmy Kanda, Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin, "........." Stalker Ichikawa & Yosuke ♥ Santa Maria vs K-ness, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga 3/4*
> 3. *Open The Brave Gate Championship Match*: Akira Tozawa (c) vs Eita ***1/2
> 4. Special Tag Match: BxB .... & Big R Shimizu vs Shingo Takagi & Masato Tanaka **1/2
> 5. *Open The Triangle Gate Championship Match*: CIMA, Don Fujii & Gamma (c) vs Genki Horiguchi HAGee.Mee !!, Jimmy Susumu & Jimmy "Ryo" Saito vs Masaaki Mochizuki, Drago Kid & Kzy **
> 6. *Open The Twin Gate Unified Tag Team Championship Match*: Naruki Doi & YAMATO (c) vs Ricochet & Matt Sydal **3/4
> 7. *Open The Dream Gate Championship Match*: Masato Yoshino (c) vs T-Hawk ***1/4


I was looking forward to watching that card (ie waiting for it to show up on DM or torrents) but I guess no longer. Not sure I will watch it at all if it's that bad :frown2:


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 6
Beppu B-Con Plaza

G1 Climax - Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Tomohiro Ishii vs Karl Anderson ***
G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Kazuchika Okada ***

Top G1 Climax Matches
1 Ibushi/AJ
2 Tanahashi/Ibushi
3 Tanahashi/Naito
4 Naito/Shibata
5 Shibata/AJ
6 Tanahashi/Tenzan
7 Okada/Elgin
8 Goto/Honma
9 Kojima/Ishii
10 Kojima/Elgin
11 Yano/AJ
12 Kojima/Okada
13 Ishii/Anderson
14 Honma/Okada
15 Nakamura/Anderson


----------



## TJQ

cablegeddon said:


> I was looking forward to watching that card (ie waiting for it to show up on DM or torrents) but I guess no longer. Not sure I will watch it at all if it's that bad :frown2:


His ratings are vastly different from a majority of people's, not that it's a bad thing, but you gotta learn to scale his ratings to your own . Take my word for it, the show was amazing.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*KOBE Pro-Wrestling Festival 2015*
*World Kinen Hall in Kobe
(July 20, 2015)*

Super Shisa, Shachihoko BOY & Mike Sydal vs Millennials (U-T, Kotoka & El Lindaman) **

Jimmy Kanda, Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin, Stalker Ichikawa & Yosuke❤Santa Maria vs MAD BLANKEY (K-ness, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu & Punch Tominaga) *1/2

*Open the Brave Gate Championship*
Akira Tozawa (c) vs Eita ***1/4

Shingo Takagi & Masato Tanaka vs Dia.HEARTS (BxB Hlk & Big R Shimizu) ***1/4

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship* - Elimination Match
CIMA, Gamma & Don Fujii (c) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Kzy) vs Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Susumu & Ryo "Jimmy" Saito) **1/2

*Open the Twin Gate Championship*
MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO & Naruki Doi) (c) vs Matt Sydal & Ricochet ***1/2

*Open the Dream Gate Championship*
Masato Yoshino (c) vs T-Hawk ***1/2

Overall Rating: 7.25 (_Very Good show_)


*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 4 (7/25)
General Gymnasium (Takamatsu, Kagawa)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) *

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Mascara Dorada & David Finlay vs CHAOS (Toru Yano, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI) *3/4

Kota Ibushi & Jay White vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Bad Luck Fale) **1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Tetsuya Naito, Togi Makabe & Yohei Komatsu **

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomohiro Ishii vs Yujiro Takahashi **

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Michael Elgin ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Karl Anderson **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

Overall Rating: 5.75


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 5 (7/26)
Green Arena (Hiroshima)*

Hirooki Goto, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Yohei Komatsu vs Tomoaki Honma, Mascara Dorada, David Finlay & Ryusuke Taguchi **

Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) *

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii &YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) **1/4

Satoshi Kojima & Michael Elgin vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Doc Gallows vs Bad Luck Fale **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Toru Yano *1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Katsuyori Shibata **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Kota Ibushi vs AJ Styles ***1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.0


----------



## BlackoutLAS

Trying to get into NJPW...what are the best shows I should watch? Thanks


----------



## TJQ

BlackoutLAS said:


> Trying to get into NJPW...what are the best shows I should watch? Thanks


Wrestle Kingdom 9 would be a fantastic starting point imo, still the best wrestling show of the year.


----------



## BlackoutLAS

TJQ said:


> BlackoutLAS said:
> 
> 
> 
> Trying to get into NJPW...what are the best shows I should watch? Thanks
> 
> 
> 
> Wrestle Kingdom 9 would be a fantastic starting point imo, still the best wrestling show of the year.
Click to expand...

Damnit, forgot to meantion I have already seen that, but thats the only show I've watched, so got any other shows?


----------



## LilOlMe

BlackoutLAS said:


> Damnit, forgot to meantion I have already seen that, but thats the only show I've watched, so got any other shows?


Watch Sakuraba vs. Shibata, Goto vs. Nakamura, and Okada vs. Styles at Dominion 2015. All are around 4 1/2 stars each, IMO. Fantastic trio of matches.

Also, probably should watch Omega vs. Kushida from that same show, since a lot of people are high on that one as well.

Tanahashi vs. Yano from that same show was also fun as hell. Give that a watch too.


----------



## TJQ

BlackoutLAS said:


> Damnit, forgot to meantion I have already seen that, but thats the only show I've watched, so got any other shows?


Well, something that might be easier is going off of this
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZsZCBTpKjHzdbCpKZ1No1KAdpmOd2OcgSMfC1-oa7pI/edit#gid=0

It's basically a huge list of recommended matches from the beginning of NJPW. What you could do is go to where it was last updated and start watching all the Highly Recommended/Recommended matches.


----------



## Corey

Invasion Attack is another really strong show from New Japan this year. Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice and Omega vs. Dorada were both really good. Styles vs. Ibushi was a great main event and Okada vs. Fale was surprisingly watchable.


----------



## TJQ

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Invasion Attack is another really strong show from New Japan this year. Young Bucks vs. Roppongi Vice and Omega vs. Dorada were both really good. Styles vs. Ibushi was a great main event and *Okada vs. Fale was surprisingly watchable.*


I would even say great, tbh.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

I hate Fale so much. How does he win matches against the likes of Okada and Tanahashi? It baffles me. :lmao


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Also check out Battle of the Super Juniors FINALS match between Kyle O'Reilly and KUSHIDA. I gave this one *****.


----------



## TJQ

Leon Knuckles said:


> I hate Fale so much. How does he win matches against the likes of Okada and Tanahashi? It baffles me. :lmao


Gotta make the BizCliz look strong :vince3


----------



## BlackoutLAS

Cheers @LilOlMe @TJQ I've just downloaded Dominion for the flight and I'll definitely check out the website when I get home!


----------



## ErickRowan_Fan

Leon Knuckles said:


> I hate Fale so much. How does he win matches against the likes of Okada and Tanahashi? It baffles me. :lmao


He's the token foreign hoss, following in the footsteps of Giant Bernard and Vader, so they've got to make him look strong. They don't have anybody else that fits the billing of a "monster" and super heavyweight currently.

NJPW take their weight advantages more seriously than other promotions, which allows a guy like Fale to pick up wins way above his skill level. I suppose if NJPW ever find another guy as big as Fale, he will drop down the card quite heavily.


----------



## LilOlMe

BlackoutLAS said:


> Cheers @LilOlMe @TJQ I've just downloaded Dominion for the flight and I'll definitely check out the website when I get home!


Do post your thoughts once you watch. Curious!


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 7
Fukuoka International Center 

G1 Climax - Block A: Toru Yano vs Doc Gallows *1/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Togi Makabe *
G1 Climax - Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi ***3/4
G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale **
G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs AJ Styles ***1/4

Top G1 Climax Matches
1 Shibata/Ibushi
2 Ibushi/AJ
3 Tanahashi/Ibushi
4 Tanahashi/Naito
5 Naito/Shibata
6 Shibata/AJ
7 Tanahashi/Tenzan
8 Okada/Elgin
9 Naito/AJ
10 Goto/Honma
11 Kojima/Ishii
12 Kojima/Elgin
13 Yano/AJ
14 Kojima/Okada
15 Ishii/Anderson
16 Honma/Okada
17 Nakamura/Anderson


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 6 (7/28)
B-Con Plaza (Beppu, Oita)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs Ryusuke Taguchi, David Finlay & Jay White *1/2

CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Cody Hall) *1/2

Togi Makabe, Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata & Yohei Komatsu **

Tetsuya Naito, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Tomoaki Honma ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomohiro Ishii vs Karl Anderson ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Kazuchika Okada **1/2

Overall Rating: 5.0


----------



## Corey

Do you guys know if Kota Ibushi vs. Daisuke Sasaki from King of DDT this year was ever released online anywhere? It happened on June 14th but I can't seem to find it.


----------



## flag sabbath

Jack Evans 187 said:


> Do you guys know if Kota Ibushi vs. Daisuke Sasaki from King of DDT this year was ever released online anywhere? It happened on June 14th but I can't seem to find it.


It definitely was, but seems to have vanished. Maybe DDT is clamping down on the dailymotion channels.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 7 (7/29)
International Center (Fukuoka)*

Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask IV vs David Finlay & Jay White **

Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) vs Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu **

CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Michael Elgin & Tomoaki Honma **1/2

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Toru Yano vs Doc Gallows *1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan *

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi ****

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale ***

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs AJ Styles ***1/4

Overall Rating: 6.5


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 8
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Karl Anderson **3/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Michael Elgin ***1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii **3/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 8 (8/1)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Osaka)*

David Finlay & Jay White vs Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Cody Hall) **

Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yohei Komatsu vs Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada **1/4

Katsuyori Shibata, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) *3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi vs CHAOS (Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo) **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Karl Anderson **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Michael Elgin ***1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/4

Overall Rating: 7.0


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 14
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

G1 Climax - Block B: Michael Elgin vs Karl Anderson ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata ***
G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Shinsuke Nakamura **3/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii ****


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 9 (8/2)
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium (Nagoya, Aichi)*

Satoshi Kojima, KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Tomoaki Honma, Mascara Dorada & David Finlay **

Michael Elgin & Jay White vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) *1/2

Hirooki Goto, Yuji Nagata & Captain New Japan vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/2

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) *1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Kota Ibushi **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Bad Luck Fale **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: AJ Styles vs Doc Gallows **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Tetsuya Naito ***

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Toru Yano **1/2

Overall Rating: 4.25


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 16
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

G1 Climax - Block B: Karl Anderson vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Michael Elgin ***1/4
G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Shinsuke Nakamura **1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2
G1 Climax - Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2


----------



## SaviorBeeRad™

not much hype for g1 this year huh?


----------



## Corey

SaviorBeeRad™ said:


> not much hype for g1 this year huh?


It's really starting to pick up now that we're getting into the late stages and the points are _really_ starting to matter now. The last two days have both been so much fun to watch. With only two days left, there's still so much good shit on the table too. Styles/Tanahashi, Okada/Nakamura, Anderson/Kojima in the battle of the ace crusher, Nagata/Goto, AND Elgin/Ishii.


----------



## flag sabbath

SaviorBeeRad™ said:


> not much hype for g1 this year huh?


There's been a handful of very good matches, but nothing like there was in the previous two years. The 19 day format has inevitably dragged & there's a disappointing lack of uncertainty heading into the final shows.


----------



## El Dandy

If they know what's good for them, they'll never do a month long G1 again. It's just too much, injuries are still piling up and they didn't sell out some of the shows (plus, fuck the 4 shows with single cam).

The only plus with this format is that is saved Nakamura from being pulled out of the entire tournament.


----------



## Fighter Daron

SaviorBeeRad™ said:


> not much hype for g1 this year huh?


Too much Ibushi for me.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Does anyone know when NJPW AXS TV Season 3 is coming out?


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 10 (8/4)
Sun Plaza Hall (Sendai, Miyagi)
*
Ryusuke Taguchi vs David Finlay *1/2

Katsuyori Shibata & Yohei Komatsu vs CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/2

Tetsuya Naito & KUSHIDA vs Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada **

Togi Makabe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Michael Elgin vs Yujiro Takahashi **

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Tomoaki Honma **

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Karl Anderson **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Shinsuke Nakamura **3/4

Overall Rating: 4.5


----------



## Corey

Leon Knuckles said:


> Does anyone know when NJPW AXS TV Season 3 is coming out?


I assumed it was just gonna continue as is and the show would be exactly one year behind the current product... but I could be wrong.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I assumed it was just gonna continue as is and the show would be exactly one year behind the current product... but I could be wrong.


I did some research and you are right! Season 3 starts next week. :drose


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 11 (8/5)
Industrial Bunka Center Apio (Iwate)*

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Yohei Komatsu vs Hirooki Goto, Michael Elgin & Mascara Dorada **

Tomoaki Honma & Jay White vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Cody Hall) *1/2

CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii) vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) **

KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Gedo & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Bad Luck Fale 1/2*

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Toru Yano *

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Doc Gallows **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs AJ Styles ***

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs Kota Ibushi ***1/4

Overall Rating: 4.25


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 18
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 

G1 Climax - Block B Match: Tomoaki Honma vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4
G1 Climax - Block B Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs Michael Elgin ***1/2
G1 Climax - Block B Match: Hirooki Goto vs Yuji Nagata **1/2
G1 Climax - Block B Match: Satoshi Kojima vs Karl Anderson **3/4
G1 Climax - Block B Match: Kazuchika Okada vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 12 (8/7)
Act City (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka)
*
Yohei Komatsu vs Jay White **

Tetsuya Naito & David Finlay vs CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/4

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows & Tama Tonga) *3/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Mascara Dorada vs Katsuyori Shibata, Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi **

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Michael Elgin ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Karl Anderson **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Hirooki Goto **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Yujiro Takahashi *1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2

Overall Rating: 5.5


*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 13 (8/8)
Culture Gymnasium (Yokohama, Kanagawa)*

Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yohei Komatsu vs Yuji Nagata, KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada & David Finlay *1/2

Michael Elgin & Jay White vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Cody Hall) **1/4

Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) **

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Kota Ibushi vs Bad Luck Fale **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs Toru Yano *1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs AJ Styles **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Doc Gallows **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/2

Overall Rating: 4.75


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Shit, I just finished Day 17 and 18 and holy fuck, Styles/Tanahashi and Okada/Nakamura were fuckin awesome.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 14 (8/9)
Korakuen Hall (Tokyo)*

David Finlay & Jay White vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) *

Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada vs CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) *1/2

Tetsuya Naito, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows & Cody Hall) *1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & KUSHIDA vs Togi Makabe, Katsuyori Shibata & Jushin Thunder Liger **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Michael Elgin vs Karl Anderson ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Yuji Nagata **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Kazuchika Okada vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.5


----------



## Rah

Some wondrous Japanese man took to Youtube this week and uploaded a bunch of 70s/80s puro that's never seen the light of day. Amongst them is this gem:



*Jumbo Tsuruta vs Terry Funk (04/04/1980 AJPW)*
The rematch to my favourite match ever and it starts with Terry and Abby stabbing each other with a fork. CRAZY. The announcer screaming for order over the PA system only makes things worse, motivating AJPW's finest to rush in and just brawl amidst the rabid fans. If a ice hockey fight broke out in a seedy Guadalajara gym this would probably be what it'd look like.

Terry comes out prancing and hollering to "Spinning Toe Hold" like a psychotic Richard Simmons aaaaaand we hit a commercial. FUCK. Match returns with a headlock, so I'm not sure how far into things we are but this is Terry not Dory, so more likely 30 seconds than 30 minutes. Honestly, Terry should be required viewing for any opponent slung against Randy Orton. He takes to Jumbo's headlock like a loon, flaying his arms around like one of these inflatable fuckers










and it's automatically more interesting than any lock Orton's done. Jumbo's not going to engage in anything outside of his comfort zone with Terry, but they do some great spurts between Jumbo's matwork. Funk spilling to the outside off a missed lariat, and a 6'6" Jumbo threateningly staring down at him from the top turnbuckle, like Mufasa on Pride Rock, is just surreal. 130kg falling onto you from 12+ feet in the air would fucking hurt. Thankfully, Tsuruta doesn't end Terry's career early, and decides to plop onto him when he's back inside the ring. Though, perhaps he should have, as Terry's taking no prisoners with his leg-work.

It's through this matwork that the match finds its extra layer in storytelling. Jumbo, the defacto heel, won't let some popular white-boy from The States make him out to be a fool. As soon as Tsuruta finds an opening, he floors Terry with a nasty knee trembler, and delivers a massive atomic drop outside the ring. Both times with his injured right knee, as a massive fuck you to the gaijin. A lot of contemporary puroresu has the limb-work shrugged off during the comeback, but not here. Following the knee trembler, Jumbo flings himself to the nearest ropes to stop his fall, and feebly limps back into the ring after the atomic drop. There'd be no gloating, this time, to a downed Terry on the outside, as trying to stand tall only leaves Jumbo crashing down, himself.

The non-finish and missing footage during the finishing run kind of hurts things, because this match was starting to blaze, but it's still a great enough reliving of their previous match, just now with the student every bit as savvy as his master.​


----------



## antoniomare007

I fucking LOVED that match. The struggle for holds, Jumbo just harassing Terry but being unable to contain him and then having to go toe to toe with him till the end was awesome. I bought into the nearfalls and wanted the match to continue so bad.

I've also seen the two Terry vs Abby 1980 matches. Both were really entertaining brawls, specially the one from November for the UN Title, it was actually pretty great until the mandatory shitty 80's non-finish. 

The one against Blackwell was fun too. The same against Rocky Hata and The Asteroid. Shit, my love for Funk has grew even higher with these matches and I have him top 3 all time. 

@Seabs I know you probably ain't got time to watch much but you gotta check that channel out. It's pretty fantastic. I wonder if @McQueen is still alive, if that's the case, you better fucking watch them matches.


----------



## Air Guitar Tana

for those who are into Meltzer's ratings

AJ Styles/Tanahashi - ****3/4
Okada/Nakamura - ****3/4
Elgin/Ishii - ****1/2
Tanahashi/Nakamura - *****


----------



## Groovemachine

Elgin/Ishii ended up being one of the more frustrating matches I've seen in recent memory. 90% of it was glorious, the early work was just sublime and I was having a great time. And then the closing 3 minutes just ruined it for me with the 1 count kickouts and unnecessary false finishes. It hit its peak but then carried on far too long and personally I think they killed all the good work they'd done. Shame.


----------



## cablegeddon

Air Guitar Tana said:


> for those who are into Meltzer's ratings
> 
> AJ Styles/Tanahashi - ****3/4
> Okada/Nakamura - ****3/4
> Elgin/Ishii - ****1/2
> Tanahashi/Nakamura - *****


Meltzer was all fired up about the crying teenage girls who screamed Tanahashi's name. I was wathing the G1 finals and I'm sorry, I thought I was paying attention throughout the entire event but I never saw no crying girls...

I just hope he rated the in-ring wrestling and didn't take into account the crying girls.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 15 (8/11)
Korakuen Hall (Tokyo)
*
Mascara Dorada & Jay White vs Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Cody Hall) **

KUSHIDA & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga) *1/4

Hirooki Goto & Yohei Komatsu vs Michael Elgin & David Finlay **

Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) **3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Tetsuya Naito vs Doc Gallows *3/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Katsuyori Shibata **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Kota Ibushi vs Toru Yano 1/2*

G1 Climax 25 Block A: AJ Styles vs Bad Luck Fale **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Togi Makabe **1/4

Overall Rating: 3.5


*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 16 (8/12)
Korakuen Hall (Tokyo)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, David Finlay & Jay White vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka *1/2

CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) 1/2*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe & KUSHIDA vs Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi & Mascara Dorada *1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows & Cody Hall) *1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Karl Anderson vs Yujiro Takahashi *

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Hirooki Goto vs Michael Elgin ***1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Shinsuke Nakamura **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Kazuchika Okada ***1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2

Overall Rating: 7.0


----------



## I ♥ KEMONITO

NJPW Annual Revenue reaches amounts to 2.7 billions yen 



> The owner of NJPW Takaaki Kidani said on Weekly Prowrestling Magazine that NJPW’s annual revenue reaches amounts to 2.7 billions yen.It is about 21.6 millions US dollars.
> 
> And it is about 22 % up comparing to last year


-http://enuhito.com


----------



## almostfamous

Just want to stop by here to mention that I finally got the chance to see the 7/26/15 Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura. Definitely their best match so far. So much good women's wrestling lately.


----------



## Miguel De Juan

almostfamous said:


> Just want to stop by here to mention that I finally got the chance to see the 7/26/15 Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura. Definitely their best match so far. So much good women's wrestling lately.


Where did you find the match? I have been looking and found nothing.


----------



## amhlilhaus

I ♥ KEMONITO;51600681 said:


> NJPW Annual Revenue reaches amounts to 2.7 billions yen
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The owner of NJPW Takaaki Kidani said on Weekly Prowrestling Magazine that NJPW’s annual revenue reaches amounts to 2.7 billions yen.It is about 21.6 millions US dollars.
> 
> And it is about 22 % up comparing to last year
> 
> 
> 
> -http://enuhito.com
Click to expand...

What about profit? The tv deals in Japan aren't good right now, if new japan was as big here as there they would make 50 million more a year


----------



## HOJO

almostfamous said:


> Just want to stop by here to mention that I finally got the chance to see the 7/26/15 Kairi Hojo vs Meiko Satomura. Definitely their best match so far. So much good women's wrestling lately.





Miguel De Juan said:


> Where did you find the match? I have been looking and found nothing.


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k7lyW656vlqZt8chtAj

The guy who uploads Joshi has all the links on private. It';s best to join this group where he puts all the matches.

As for the match itself, I thought it was just good. There were several sloppy moments here, but it didn't kill the match completely.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

G1 CLIMAX 25 REVIEW (with GIFs) :drose

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other...-thread-beware-spoilers-397.html#post51845906


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 17 (8/14)
Ryogoku Kokugikan (Tokyo)*

Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma & Mascara Dorada vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) **

Kyle O'Reilly, Bobby Fish & Michael Elgin vs Bullet Club (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Cody Hall) **3/4

Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & KUSHIDA vs Hirooki Goto, Captain New Japan & Ricochet **

CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI) & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Matt Taven & Michael Bennett **

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Katsuyori Shibata vs Doc Gallows **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Toru Yano vs Bad Luck Fale 3/4*

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Tetsuya Naito **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Kota Ibushi **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles ****

Overall Rating: 6.75


*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day 18 (8/15)
Ryogoku Kokugikan (Tokyo)*

Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka vs reDRagon **

David Finlay & Jay White vs The Young Bucks *1/2

Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI, Matt Taven & Michael Bennett vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) *1/4

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Katsuyori Shibata & KUSHIDA vs Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, Manabu Nakanishi, Captain New Japan & Ricochet **

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs Yujiro Takahashi **1/4

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Tomohiro Ishii vs Michael Elgin ***1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Hirooki Goto ***

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Satoshi Kojima vs Karl Anderson **1/2

G1 Climax 25 Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada ***3/4

Overall Rating: 7.0


----------



## 3MB4Life

Anybody else notice that CJ Parker is booked for NJPW Destruction in Kobe? Don't know if this is the place to post this but I just saw it and thought people might want to know.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 25 Finals (8/16)
Ryogoku Kokugikan (Tokyo)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada & David Finlay **

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Jay White **

YOSHI-HASHI vs Michael Elgin **3/4

Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) *1/2

Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Kota Ibushi **3/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
The Young Bucks (c) vs reDRagon ***1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
KUSHIDA (c) vs Ricochet ***1/2

Kazuchika Okada, Matt Taven & Michael Bennett vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) ***

G1 Climax 25 Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura ****1/2

Overall Rating: 8.0


*My Top 10 G1 25 Matches*

1. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shinsuke Nakamura (8/16) ****1/2
2. Katsuyori Shibata vs Kota Ibushi (7/29) ****
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs AJ Styles (8/14) ****
4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kazuchika Okada (8/15) ***3/4
5. Kota Ibushi vs AJ Styles (7/26) ***1/2
6. Hirooki Goto vs Tomohiro Ishii (8/9) ***1/2
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Katsuyori Shibata (8/8) ***1/2
8. Tomoaki Honma vs Michael Elgin (8/1) ***1/2
9. Tomohiro Ishii vs Michael Elgin (8/15) ***1/2
10. Kazuchika Okada vs Tomohiro Ishii (8/7) ***1/2


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

*--- MichiPro 2015.8.29 "Trial & Error" ----*
By some miracle, a Michinoku Pro event actually aired and became visible to the international-human eye thanks to my Puroresu brother; NJPW Gaijin Eric. So I'm all over it especially as I may of been praying to see the final two matches. Here is my review of the show!


*1. Ken45° & Mineo Fujita (ZERO1) vs Kinya Oyanagi & Bitman (HKW)*
So right off the bat, as someone starving for MichiPro content, Bitman & Fujita isn't exactly what I want to be seeing. This was a pretty odd match with some glaring flaws, the biggest one being Bitman, he sells like a plank of wood, has terrible timing and even botches a tagging someone in. Mineo Fujita has a Danshoku-Dino level obsession with molesting his opponents, Oyanagi breaks out his super-slick technical ability which is always a pleasure to watch, but undoes that by eating shit while attempting a spring-board attack, which to Ken45°'s credit, he throws him out of the ring, laughs at him for messing up and giving the opposition an advantage. Botches are reality and it was smoothed out pretty well.

Mineo Fujita takes a leg-splitting fall from the top rope after Oyanagi shakes the ropes near another corner (cringe) and then Fujita spends to finishing minutes desperately and ridiculously trying to force a spot in which he is stuck upside own on a turn-buckle, you can literally watch him dying a slow death in the background as he tries so fucking hard to push, crawl and climb himself upside-down and backwards up the turn-buckle. JUST LET IT GO!! It didn't come naturally or organically, he may as well of just stood up, sat backwards on the turn-buckles and lowered himself down for all the good he did. Fucking Stupid. I would of much rather seen Ken45° vs Kinya Oyanagi do their thing again in a singles match.

So this was a bit of a mess, but something you should probably see for the botches and Mineo fucking Fujita trying to scale the turn-buckle, also, Oyanagi's sweet transitions (not including the one going from the top rope to the mat.)

*2. Yappe-man #1 , Yappe-man #2 & Yappe-man #3 vs Kesen Numajiro, Eagles Mask & Mio Shirai*
This is Mio Shirai's Michinoku Pro farewell match as she is retiring this year. Team Yappe come out in Shaolin-inspired entrance attire and music. This is a pretty simple match, Eagles Mask's skit is funny as he deliberately botches and tries to call the match in-ring, to organise spots very obviously and to no success, like trying to work out running the ropes with with Yappe-man #1 and both messing up. Mio Shirai boots Yappe-man 3 in the face annnnnd Numajiro, the humblest champion ever just pokes about when he is needed to retain the balance of power for his team. there isn't a lot to say, it's a very light, comedic encounter.

*3. Manuel Majoli (ICW), Daichi Sasaki & Ayumu Gunji vs The Great Sasuke, Syu Brahman & Kei Brahman*
Mu no Taiyo madness! The first 10 minutes of this is Sasuke and the Brahman's fucking about in the crowd, terrorizing children, performing miracles on people and once blessed, the Brahman Brothers liberally distribute the holy water to the crowd, eventually the match is under-way and sees Sasuke launching his "energy balls" at Majoli who dodges or blocks them all they then have a slow-paced-ground-based matt battle until Sasuke's continual kipping down into a cross-legged, mystical position forced Majoli to call it a day and tag out. Sasuke considers himself the victory for outlasting Majoli and tags out also.

From here was get the brawling Brahmans with some faster-paced NEW PHASE action, buckets of water, road signs, kendo sticks, bowling balls and suitcases are all in use. Sasuke sticks with Majoli and the Brahman's take on NEW PHASE, there is a lot going on in here Sasaki has some good moments, jumping a Brahman as he tried to shake hands with Gunji as they then knock the other Mu no Taiyo members off the apron and trash talk the original Brahman like young thugs to boos from the crowd and also busting out a call, launching exploder suplex, Majoli also hits a running Shooting Star Press out of nowhere which is pretty shocking, just throwing himself backwards and Gunji launches himself into the ceiling for a huge springboard dropkick. Mini Sasuke gets in of the action, falling short with a cartwheeling elbow and headbutting Sasaki in the groin. It's an entertaining encounter, as always, with maybe even a bit of a surprising finish

_-- Fujita "Jr." Hayato comes out to talk to the fans about his recovery and stays at ringside to support his fellow BAD BOY faction-mates.--_

*4. Taro Nohashi vs Manjimaru*
Now here we fuckin' go. The two premium matches of the show the "Summer Vacation Special Matches". This one features two full-speed ahead, hard-hitting maniacs going to war. The MichiPro "Ishii & Shibata" (Well, OTHER Shibata, since Hayato is here too). But these guys really just methodically punish each other, the entire first half of the match is submission holds, with Manjimaru trying to tear Nohashi's arm off, the tension builds between the two as they exchange holds peaking in ferocity with a sick looking head-scissors that seems like Manjimaru's head is about to snap off, leaving Manjimaru scrambling for the ropes, being put through another submission with a transition into a very close near fall, almost catching Manjimaru out.

It's at the time, that the elbows, lariats, headbutts and Nohashis start flying, as if the bell just rung and the match began and it doesn't let up both men start going to war, hitting some massive shots, brutal piledrivers, deadly lariats, reckless falling & diving headbutts. Nohashi hits a awesome Tiger Suplex, that due to his small stature, leaves Manjimaru to eat all of it to full effect, Manjimaru sets up a sickening vertical brain buster that'll get you moving in your seat, there's a break-neck-speed Crucifix Bomb, Manjimaru's neck compacting reverse/inverted/belly-to-belly Gotch-style Piledriver. Everything looks brutal and anything looks like it could end the match and these guys just keep dishing it out and taking it.

It's a very slow build, especially for two guys like this, but is a very punishing, brutal and methodical Chess game that grows into a "fire at will" war, really picking up in the second-half. Premium match #1 delivers and separates itself from the rest of the card so far.

*5. Rui Hyugaji vs Takeshi Minamino*
So this one was a bit strange, the last match went for 20 minutes, this one goes for like 9. As soon as Hyugaji enters the ring, he jumps Minamino and is just full of beans all match, bouncing all over the place, getting big air on dives and just being all over Minamino who slings some big hits to slow him down, using a chair on the outside, a suplex on the entrance ramp, throwing punches, anything he can do to stop his momentum, it's a pretty fast and loose brawl with a good looking finish to end it, in very short time which everyone is shocked by.

*~~~ Overall ~~~*
This show only goes for 2 hours, so its an easy watch, especially with such a variety of unique talent, but really, you'll be watching this for one match, Taro Nohashi vs Manjimaru and since it's so short, you may as well check out the main event too. Or just check out the whole show and see what's going on. It's not like there is a huge selection of 2015 MichiPro to watch.


----------



## LilOlMe

Does anyone have a link to this match?:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazayuki Fujita (NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 06/05/04)

Heard good things about it, but it's not on NJPW World and I can't find it anywhere else.

Also, does anyone else agree that it's a good match?


----------



## seabs

*http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?6b598ld3p32o5g3*


----------



## Brock

Anyone have a recommended list of matches to watch from this year's G1?

I have the whole tournament, but i just havn't got time atm to watch all 19 days from top to bottom.


----------



## Corey

Brock said:


> Anyone have a recommended list of matches to watch from this year's G1?
> 
> I have the whole tournament, but i just havn't got time atm to watch all 19 days from top to bottom.


Why yes, yes I do. My rankings:

1. Styles vs. Tanahashi - Day 17 - **** 3/4
2. Okada vs. Nakamura - Day 18 - **** 1/4
3. Goto vs. Ishii - Day 14 - ****
4. Tanahashi vs. Naito - Day 5 - ****
5. Honma vs. Ishii - Day 16 - ****
6. Nakamura vs. Ishii - Day 8- ****
7. Honma vs. Elgin - Day 8 - ****
8. Okada vs. Goto - Day 8 - *** 3/4
9. Naito vs. Ibushi - Day 11 - *** 3/4
10. Elgin vs. Goto - Day 16 - *** 3/4
11. Okada vs. Nagata - Day 16 - *** 3/4
12. Nakamura vs. Goto - Day 10 - *** 1/2+
13. Tanahashi vs. Makabe - Day 15 - *** 1/2+
14. Goto vs. Kojima - Day 12 - *** 1/2
15. Styles vs. Shibata - Day 1 - *** 1/2
16. Styles vs. Ibushi - Day 5 - *** 1/2
17. Nagata vs. Anderson - Day 8 - *** 1/2
18. Tanahashi vs. Gallows - Day 11 - *** 1/2
19. Okada vs. Elgin - Day 2 - *** 1/4
20. Styles vs. Yano - Day 3 - *** 1/4
21. Elgin vs. Kojima - Day 4 - *** 1/4

Also be sure to watch Shibata vs. Ibushi. Pretty cool match but I didn't know how to tack a rating onto it. Tanahashi vs. Shibata is another one that didn't make my list but many others enjoyed more than me. Tanahahsi vs. Ibushi and the finals were both bogged down by no-selling imo. Certainly watch for yourself though.


----------



## Brock

(Y)

Cheers. It does appear that this year's isn't near as good as G1 24. 

Still, Tanahashi/Shiabata, Ishii/Goto and Tanahashi/Styles are matches I do really want to watch. Okada/Nakamura too.


----------



## Corey

Brock said:


> (Y)
> 
> Cheers. It does appear that this year's isn't near as good as G1 24.
> 
> Still, Tanahashi/Shiabata, Ishii/Goto and Tanahashi/Styles are matches I do really want to watch. Okada/Nakamura too.


Yeah probably not. There was a lot of people who didn't like the new structure but for me it was a lot easier to follow. Much easier for me to come home from work and watch 4-5 tournament matches instead of watching an entire 3 hour show with 8 or 9 of them.

It's not actually from the G1, but be sure to watch KUSHIDA vs. Ricochet from the Finals show as well. Great match.


----------



## Brock

Yup, watched the Super Juniors Finals. Great match, Kushida's selling did bother me if I'm honest, the way he was selling like a God to start with, then just sort of forgot. Still one of the best matches of the year though.

But even that wasn't as good as last year's Juniors final imo.


----------



## Corey

Brock said:


> Yup, watched the Super Juniors Finals. Great match, Kushida's selling did bother me if I'm honest, the way he was selling like a God to start with, then just sort of forgot. Still one of the best matches of the year though.
> 
> But even that wasn't as good as last year's Juniors final imo.


I think you're thinking of KUSHIDA vs. O'Reilly, right? I'm referring to KUSHIDA vs. Ricochet from the G1 Finals show this year for the IWGP Jr. Title. 

Either way, both are great.


----------



## Brock

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I think you're thinking of KUSHIDA vs. O'Reilly, right? I'm referring to KUSHIDA vs. Ricochet from the G1 Finals show this year for the IWGP Jr. Title.
> 
> Either way, both are great.


:doh

Yes I am lol. On my phone so im just skim reading. Yeah erm thanks, I'll check out KUSHIDA/Ricochet too.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

KUSHIDA/Ricochet rematch after a whole year was amazing! I posted a review somewhere here. But their original match from 2014 Super Juniors finals was better ***** 5 stars.


----------



## Groovemachine

Nice to see a Michinoku Pro review! I'm so behind. I had no idea Fujita Jr Hayato was injured?! Do we know how long he's going to be out?


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Sendai Girls 7/30*

Meiko Satomura vs Arisa Nakajima ***


*Dragon Gate: Scandal Gate 2015 in Tokyo 8/6*

Losing Unit Disbands 3-Way Elimination Match: Millennials (T-Hawk, Eita & Flamita) vs Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Naruki Doi & Cyber Kong) ***1/4


*AJPW Summer Explosion 2015 Day 2 8/16*

AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Akebono (c) vs Zeus **3/4


*NOAH Summer Navigation 2015 Day 14 8/22*

No Mercy (Takashi Sugiura & Daisuke Harada) vs Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Taichi) **1/4


*DDT Ryogoku Peter Pan 2015 - With Love from DDT 8/23*

Dark Match, King of Dark Championship: Gota Ihashi (c) vs "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa * FUN
Konosuke Takeshita vs Tetsuya Endo **1/2
Genichiro Tenryu, Sanshiro Takagi & Saki Akai vs Shuji Ishikawa, Kazusada Higuchi & Meiko Satomura *3/4
KO-D Tag Team Championship: Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) (c) vs Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki ***1/4
Dramatic Dream Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs HARASHIMA ***1/4
KO-D Openweight Championship: KUDO (c) vs Yukio Sakaguchi **1/4


*STARDOM 5*STAR GP 2015 Night 1 8/23*

Io Shirai vs Mayu Iwatani ***1/4


*AJPW Summer Explosion 2015 Day 6 8/29*

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs Último Dragón **1/2
AJPW World Tag Team Championship: Xceed (Go Shiozaki & Kento Miyahara) (c) vs Wild Burning (Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori) ***1/2


----------



## LilOlMe

*Naito/Ibushi vs. Shibata/Makabe from Road to Destruction 9/11 was a lot of fun. The quickness with which Shibata got up after Naito was toying with him was great, as were the forearms. Those were the quickest ones I've ever seen Shibata deliver.

Naito was just annoying af, and [email protected] his own teammate before the match even started.


*I agree with others who have said that Tonga/Hall vs. Okada/Sakuraba was surprisingly enjoyable.


*Ishii looked like he legitimately injured his knee during his tag. What was weird was that no one seemed to notice or care. It was on a simple DDT move from Honma, which shouldn't hurt the knee, so I definitely don't think that it was selling. No one went after the knee afterward either. He kept favoring it and seemed in a lot of pain. Made me really nervous when he went on the top of the rope with it anyway.


*Heads up: NJPWWorld has announced that they will air the 9/20 & 9/22 Road to Destruction shows as well.

Here are the original cards for 9/20 & 9/22:
http://www.njpw.co.jp/english/match/card.php?e=1033
http://www.njpw.co.jp/english/match/card.php?e=1034

I have a feeling that the cards will change around some, since the Makabe/Ibushi feud isn't really promoted on these cards.


----------



## LilOlMe

What do you guys think about Kazusada Higuchi from DDT?

He only started wrestling professionally last year, but the other day I was listening to someone rave about him. 

They said to mark their words, that he would be one of the next big stars in Japan. Has all of the tools already, though he's just started.

Do you guys agree with him having that potential? I looked him up, and he has a sumo background, and has a good "serious business" look.


Also, on Cagematch, someone wrote this:


> I'd strongly recommend watching him vs. Yukio Sakaguchi in the King of DDT 2015 tournament, which showcases both of them exceptionally well.


Do you guys agree that that's worth watching?


----------



## flag sabbath

Cherry-picking my way through the last 3 months of RealHero's uploads, beginning with BJW in Sapporo on 30/6, which is enhanced no end by an electric crowd.... 

*Tenryu & Kawakami vs Kazuki & Kamitani:* Barely mobile pensioner Tenryu is still a grade A shit-kicker & his presence clearly motivates the youngsters to cut loose ****1/4*

*Sekimoto, Tanaka & Suguira vs HARASHIMA, Okabayashi & Hino:* Holy balls, how the hell did this epic demolition derby creep under the radar? There's a great gif to be had of Tanaka & Sekimoto dropping 8,000 elbows onto an out-hossed HARASHIMA. Beyond that, everyone winds up with lobster chests from some of the meanest chops you'll ever see, and Yuji Hino emerges as the uber beast *****1/4*


----------



## flag sabbath

More BJW summertime stiffness building up to Ryogokutan. The first is from Fukuoka on 5/7 & the last two good ol' K-Hall on 22/6....

*Sekimoto & Kawakami vs Okabayashi & Kamitani:* Gotta love a style in which bodyslams & shoulderblocks still matter. Very good tag match with the obvious fall guy fighting for his life til the death ****1/2*

*Los Hashimotos vs Takaiwa & Maruyama:* Kazuki & Daichi bring out the nasty in Takaiwa and Korakuen loves it. Injury prone Daichi is looking sharp as fuck here ****1/4*

*Sekimoto & The Twin Towers vs Okabayashi, Kawakami & Kamitani:* Kamitani is such a great underdog in this environment, although I worry for his sake that he'll never outgrow the role. He predictably takes a proper pasting here, while Kohei & Shuji keep Okabayashi at bay for Sekimoto ****3/4*


----------



## flag sabbath

So BJW Ryogokutan (20/7) is basically a two match show, despite some gushing reviews..... 

*Kanemoto & Takaiwa vs Los Hashimotos:* The vets dominate in style, treating the youngsters like punks, until a late flurry from Daichi & Kazuki, which quickly descends into some flagrant no selling. Disappointing ***3/4*

*Kawakami & Soya vs Kamitani & Hama:* Sound was way out of sync, but it looked decent enough ***3/4*

*Sato & Ishikawa vs Kodaka & Miyamoto:* These guys work brilliantly together. The Yankii boys are there to take a horrific beating & the Towers are only too happy to oblige. Throw in a fiery comeback & credible near falls both ways and you're in tag team heaven ******

*Kobayashi vs Ito (20 Items Deathmatch):* God these two are a mess. I can't imagine the life & mentality of a full time deathmatch wrestler. This is a bizarre parade of call backs to 20 years worth of BJ spectacles (minus toothless piranhas & a drugged up crocodile). It's inevitably plunder heavy & what little wrestling gets a look in is frankly dreadful. Most strange, given the barbed wire, nails, kenzans, syringe etc. etc. is the relative lack of crimson ****

*Sekimoto vs Okabayashi:* This is a bona-fide clash of the titans in the tradition of 90s AJPW. They keep it simple and hit extremely hard - Okabayashi gets a bloodied nose from the opening lock up ffs. By the end it's pure attrition. Gnarly *****1/4*


----------



## cablegeddon

Anyone know what the song is at the end of the Dr Keith podcasts @ wrestlingobserver.com? It's that upbeat J-pop song with a guitar solo at the end. I've been searching for it but found nothing.


----------



## flag sabbath

Some DDT stars (I wrote some words, but my browser disappeared them)....

*King Of DDT (23/6):*

Sakaguchi vs Higuchi ****1/2*
Sasaki vs Takeshita ***3/4*
KUDO vs Urano vs Ohka ****3/4*
King Of DDT Final ****3/4*

*Road to Ryogoku (19/7):*

Akito vs Honda (Fall Into The Hell) ****3/4*
Sekimoto, Okabayashi & Kamitani vs Ibushi ******
Sakaguchi vs Irie ****1/4*


----------



## LilOlMe

From a recent Tanahashi podcast interview:


> All credit to Chris Charlton @reasonjp author of Lion's Pride (The first English book on the history of NJPW) @lionspridebook
> 
> It seems Tana finally snagged Taguchi as a guest, there's a look ahead to #njkopw Monday, and thoughts on the U.K. trip.
> 
> Tana is pissed b/c his DVR messed up and he couldn't record Kamen Rider Ghost while he was in the UK. #podcastoff
> 
> RPW trip was Tana's third, first was alone, second with Liger, this year 8
> people on the trip. #podcastoff
> 
> Liger/Styles:crew want to see it here. Comment on Liger able to beat Styles is unbelievable in Japan, England is 'another world' #podcastoff
> 
> First RPW day was Okada/Gedo v Tana/Liger. Came out separate and Liger came out last to a monster reaction #podcastoff
> 
> Tanahashi: 'liger understands, can communicate w/UK fans better (than me)' re: Liger's time in Manchester in the '80s.
> 
> Liger has a profile on the NJPW subscriber site. Tana says it's the 1st real extensive interview he's done since becoming liger #podcastoff
> 
> One tidbit from that Liger interview- he has huge difficulty hearing #podcastoff
> 
> Tana puts over Liger's strength, especially his legs- saw a pic of Liger (as Keiichi Yamada) barbell squatting that was insane. #podcastoff
> 
> Tana then puts over his own strength, natch. He benches 190kg, a goal since he would train w/Muto who did the same. #podcastoff
> 
> There's a discussion about fan chants in the UK, and surprise at how fans behaved broadly the same as in the US.. #podcastoff
> 
> Tana says the RPW fans were like ROh ones chanting Na-ka-mu-ra, but would chant O.. Ka-da.
> 
> Tana says lines for Okada and Nakamura signings at RPW blew his away, admits to being jealous. #podcastoff
> 
> *Tana: 'this fan wearing the same brand sneakers as me, we talked about them a bit- then the fucker goes in Nakamura's line!' #podcastoff*
> 
> Tana puts over Will Ospreay: 'he's the British Ibushi' @WillOspreay #podcastoff
> 
> Tana: 'Kushida/o'Reilly was excellent. Kushida might podcast about it himself' #podcastoff
> 
> staffer talk about RPW show possibly going on world is met with awkward 'ahh, ooh,'s of either 'no you wont' or 'we can't say'. #podcastoff
> 
> Tana left his iPod in Narita airport and only realized when he got on the bus. #podcastoff
> 
> He was embarrassed to call the airport so he called the office, made them do it #heel #podcastoff
> 
> Praise for Naito's promo work, him being in the unique position to make the Dome main event briefcase gimmick important #podcastoff
> 
> Tana: 'we haven't had an anti-establishment figure like Naito for ages. This legit embittered character- only he can do that'. #podcastoff
> 
> Tana refers to Naito's promo about what Tanahashi says goes. 'What can I say, it's true'. #podcastoff
> 
> Bit pseudo kayfabe discussion of who Naito's mystery backup at #njkopw is, 'not necessarily a Los Ingobernables member'. cough, Ibushi
> 
> Tana delights in describing Martin Kirby: 'they have cute wrestlers, too!' Transitions, says it was a rare chance to see 'local' UK talent
> 
> Talk about Naito beating on the cameraman angle from Destruction. Wasn't a TV Asahi guy,allegedly not up to speed on the thing. #podcastoff
> 
> While admitting it's unlikely rn in his ace role, Tana says he'd like a proper 'say anything, do anything' heel run. #podcastoff
> 
> Tana likes Sydal. He talks about his unique stretch routine, and puts over his heart. #podcastoff
> 
> Taguchi does an in-character run-in on the show and is genuinely quite funny. Says he wants Sydal/Omega to be... A draw.
> 
> Tana: 'Sydal's young, only 32. About the same as Kenny maybe? How old is he?' Taguchi: 'I'd say... Between 30 and 50'. #podcastoff
> 
> Talk about how the crop of foreign juniors is a good thing for BOSJ next year. Tana again floats Ospreay as someone in that mix #podcastoff
> 
> Taguchi the pun master, then makes a dirty joke on Ospreay (Osu=male in biological talk, pu-re usually refers to sex stuff/fetishism)
> 
> Talk on Taguchi's comedy character-could push him further from Junior belt contention. Taguchi: 'it's high risk, no return'. #podcastoff
> 
> Taguchi calls the YLs his 'young "oh my"s' @JayWhiteNZ @THEdavidfinlay #podcastoff
> 
> Tana, On Yoshi Hashi v Honma: 'this is the company giving Yoshi Hashi a huge chance' #podcastoff
> 
> The Yoshi Hashi singles opportunity has come from his receptions during G1, and good attendance from PR appearances. #podcastoff
> 
> They float the idea of a Tana/Taguchi pairing during the tag league. #podcastoff
> 
> Tana says he wanted to team w/Taguchi during the 'funky weapon' days as 'funky sexy'. "I wasn't sexy enough" #podcastoff
> 
> Taguchi: 'I think the company would say no (to us teaming)'. Tana: 'the company does everything I say!' #podcastoff
> 
> Tana on the three man vice grip on IWGP title: 'Nakamura isn't in that loop, and there's nobody on the level of us four. It can't be helped'
> 
> Tana: 'Naito wants to be in that mix, that's what motivates him, which is great. ' #podcastoff
> 
> Few plugs and #podcastoff ends. Good episode, some genuine lulz.




__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/651627611911663617

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/651626508889382912

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/651628212594671616

lmao at the bolded.

lol at the DVR problems. Just like us. Firstworldproblems.

I liked Tanahashi playing into Naito's comments. For those who don't know, here's what Naito said recently:



__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/648351233153994752

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/648351584397623296

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/648351912425709569

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/648352132391788544

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/648355751203770370

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/648389533805899780
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some random quotes from other recent interviews:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/650956251665330176

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/649083901093134336

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/649082953893412864

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Does anyone have any recommended Yukio Sakaguchi DDT matches? Again, easily findable on Vevo, Dailymotion, etc.? 

I read some people praising him, and then I read up on his background, and he seems like he would be an intriguing wrestler.

Thanks!


Btw, antoniomare, I watched that Sekimoto/Ibushi match and enjoyed it. Thank you!


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW DESTRUCTION 2015 in OKAYAMA (9/23)*

Katsuyori Shibata, Sho Tanaka, Yohei Komatsu & Yuji Nagata vs Tetsuya Naito, Manabu Nakanishi, David Finlay & Jay White **

Jushin Thunder Liger & Máscara Dorada vs reDRagon **

*NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Steve Anthony (c) vs Tiger Mask IV *1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Matt Sydal vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tama Tonga) **

*IWGP Tag Team Championship*
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) **1/2

Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma, Captain New Japan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Alex Shelley vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero & Beretta) *3/4

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano) vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Cody Hall) *1/2

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
KUSHIDA (c) vs Kenny Omega ***

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Togi Makabe (c) vs Kota Ibushi ***1/4

Overall Rating: 4.5


*NJPW DESTRUCTION 2015 in KOBE (9/27)*

Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka vs Jay White & David Finlay *1/2

Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs Manabu Nakanishi, Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson *1/2

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Máscara Dorada vs CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero & Beretta) **

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Matt Sydal vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Kenny Omega) **1/4

Katsuyori Shibata vs Tetsuya Naito ***

Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Bullet Club (AJ Styles, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) **1/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
reDRagon (c) vs Time Splitters ***1/2

Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contendership
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bad Luck Fale ***1/4

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Hirooki Goto (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.5


----------



## amhlilhaus

Lol at naito. I think hes found his calling


----------



## darkclaudio

NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2015
Sumo Hall

1. Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs David Finlay, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu *1/2
2. Tomoaki Honma vs YOSHI-HASHI ***
3. Captain New Japan, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Kota Ibushi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata **
4. *IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Baretta) *3/4
5. *IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kenny Omega (c) vs Matt Sydal **3/4
6. Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson **1/2
7. *NEVER Openweight Championship Match*: Togi Makabe (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii ***
8. IWGP Heavyweight Championship #1 Contendership Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4
9. *IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match*: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs AJ Styles ***1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2015 (10/12)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & Máscara Dorada vs Juice Robinson, Yohei Komatsu, Sho Tanaka, Jay White & David Finlay **

Tomoaki Honma vs YOSHI-HASHI ***

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata, Kota Ibushi & Captain New Japan **

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship*
reDRagon (c) vs RPG Vice *3/4

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship*
Kenny Omega (c) vs Matt Sydal ***1/4

Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Bad Luck Fale) *1/2

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Togi Makabe (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii ***

Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title Contendership
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito ***

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship*
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs AJ Styles ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.75


----------



## flag sabbath

*Sekimoto vs Sato (Zero1, 2/8):* Methodical stiffness and brute force with selling so convincing it makes every blow count. A masterclass in strong style ******


----------



## Concrete

*Tiger Mask II vs. La Fiera (AJPW 8/26/84):*****
_These sort of international pairings are novel at worst, almost magical at best.

When I thought I knew wrestling La Fiera changed everything. Okay, that’s extreme. That being said, La Fiera performs at an exceptionally high level in this bout against a rather young Misawa. I wouldn’t say Tiger Mask II was bad but there was definitely a stiffness to him that he would obviously later shake off. In 1984 though, La Fiera needs to put this thing on his back a bit. La Fiera gets maybe the scariest amount of height I have seen on a monkey flip. It was literally impossible for me to not scream. His bumping is so next level throughout the bout. Fiera doesn’t stop at bumping though and brings a crazy level of charisma into the match as well as some good high impact offense. There is a throw around the middle of the match that is particularly splendid. _


----------



## flag sabbath

*DDT Peter Pan 2015*

*Tanahashi vs HARASHIMA:* Not a terrible match by any means, but nothing special either. When SHIMA gets his leg worked over for a good spell, you just know his comebacks are going to be suspect. Add in a mildly disgruntled, post-G1Tana on autopilot & the disappointment is a shoo-in ****1/4*

*Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Ibushi & Sasaki:* Sekimoto is quietly racking up a Roddy-level body of work this year. This one almost fell victim to a semi-casual crowd whose enthusiasm had peaked earlier on at the prospect of an Aja Kong dance-off. But the second half exploded into a furious struggle for the gold ******

*KUDO vs Sakaguchi:* DDT gets a gold star for elevating fresh talent the right way, although I'm not sure Sakaguchi was the right man for this particular spot. He's neither over enough to justify the push nor charismatic enough to take full advantage. This was super stiff & technically tight, but the combination of silence & polite applause did as much damage ***3/4*


----------



## flag sabbath

Post-Peter Pan DDT title defences! 

*Extreme title - Antonio Honda (c) vs Yasu Urano (Four Corners Four Items, 13/9):* Honda & the deliriously creative Extreme strap were made for each other. That said, this one was all a bit silly & uninspired, lacking the outlandish absurdity of his PP Blindfold Bra Tiger Trap outing with Akito *N/R*

*KO-D tag titles - Kota Ibushi & Daisuke Sasaki (c) vs Konnosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo (13/9):* Given that the Happy Motel boys upset Ibushi & Omega for the belts last year, another changing of the guards was very much on the cards here. I initially thought the match had peaked before the finish, but they found fifth gear & rocketed along a thrilling home stretch ******

*KO-D six man titles - Shigehiro Irie, Keisuke Ishii & Soma Takao (c) vs Ken Ohka, Danshoku Dino & Super Sasadango Machine (27/9):* #OhkaEmpire is on the rise, but there's no fucking way they're beating TDFs. Right? Korakuen LOVES this crazy shit ****1/2*

*KO-D openweight title - Yukio Sakaguchi (c) vs Daisuke Sasaki (27/9):* A decent first defence for Sakaguchi, despite familiar puro issues with a leg workover quietly getting swept under the canvas. The fans aren't buying Sasaki as singles main event material early on, but it's a credit to both guys & the DDT booking philosophy that they're eventually gripped by his desperate attempts to sneak one ****1/4*


----------



## mk92071

So I've watched around 20 Volk Han matches in the last few months, and the RINGS worked shoot style is by far my favorite thing to watch in wrestling right now. So any shoot style recommendations outside of Volk Han? I just really dig the non-cooperativeness, sense of urgency, and the rope break/down points work perfectly. 

Just taking a moment to talk about how awesome the point system in RINGS is. Whenever I'm watched a 'fight' and one of the competitors is out of breaks/downs, the match hits an unreal amount of suspense. It makes the near falls matter because even though a flurry of strikes will just knock somebody down and it won't win a fight, it still changes the landscape of the fight. So when I see Volk get up and have no more breaks left, I can feel the tension. I fucking love it.

But any worked shoot recommendations will be appreciated (especially RINGS)!


----------



## JIM2000

mk92071 said:


> So I've watched around 20 Volk Han matches in the last few months, and the RINGS worked shoot style is by far my favorite thing to watch in wrestling right now. So any shoot style recommendations outside of Volk Han? I just really dig the non-cooperativeness, sense of urgency, and the rope break/down points work perfectly.
> 
> Just taking a moment to talk about how awesome the point system in RINGS is. Whenever I'm watched a 'fight' and one of the competitors is out of breaks/downs, the match hits an unreal amount of suspense. It makes the near falls matter because even though a flurry of strikes will just knock somebody down and it won't win a fight, it still changes the landscape of the fight. So when I see Volk get up and have no more breaks left, I can feel the tension. I fucking love it.
> 
> But any worked shoot recommendations will be appreciated (especially RINGS)!


The Daisuke Ikeda vs Yuki Ishikawa rivalry is great, but puts a main focus in strikes. Tamura is pretty awesome too, check out his matches with Yoshihisa Yamamoto. And if you want some older stuff, like UWF, Fujiwara and Akira Maeda are your choices.

Some useful matches dates:
Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF II 8/13/89)
Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 10/30/96)
Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda (FUTEN 24/4/05) 
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 21/9/1998)


----------



## mk92071

JIM2000 said:


> The Daisuke Ikeda vs Yuki Ishikawa rivalry is great, but puts a main focus in strikes. Tamura is pretty awesome too, check out his matches with Yoshihisa Yamamoto. And if you want some older stuff, like UWF, Fujiwara and Akira Maeda are your choices.
> 
> Some useful matches dates:
> Akira Maeda vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (UWF II 8/13/89)
> Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka vs Daisuke Ikeda & Takeshi Ono (BattlARTS 10/30/96)
> Yuki Ishikawa v Daisuke Ikeda (FUTEN 24/4/05)
> Kiyoshi Tamura vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto (RINGS 21/9/1998)


Thanks dude. I've only scratched the surface of Tamura's work (some UWFi and his series with Volk Han) so I'll check out his series with Yamamoto. I'll also check out your other recs, but I'm personally not that big on Maeda. Especially knowing that RINGS was a vanity project for Maeda to make him look good. Same with Takada UWFi.


----------



## Ozzi MichiFan

Alright, I'm at it again, here is a trailer for some of my upcoming uploads from the Big Mouth LOUD promotion.

For those unaware, Big Mouth LOUD is the company that Katsuyori Shibata (and Kazunari Murakami) left NJPW for back in 2005. They, along with Akira Maeda and many others sought to preserve the hard-hitting, aggressive and authentic style of Puroresu in the face of NJPW's slow gravitation towards being a more sports entertainment influenced company. The revolution was short-lived however resulting in only 8 shows before going under and being reborn as another short-lived promotion; UWAI STATION. But regardless, they still produced two amazing DVD sets featuring most of their matches that I am now able to share with you all.

Prepare to enter the age of aggression and with the company motto being "be mad with attack", get ready to witness some of the most hard-hitting, head-scratching & heart-stopping action featuring; Shibata, Ishii, Kojima, Styles, Choshu, Fujiwara, Otsuka, Murakami, Usuda and many, many more!

Upcoming upload list:
_1.Osamu Kido vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
2. Daisuke Ikeda vs Katsumi Usuda
3. Hiroyuki Ito vs Tomohiro Ishii
4. Riki Choshu & Takashi Uwano vs Buck Quartermain & Steve Madison
5. Enson Inoue vs Gerard Gordeau
6. Alexander Otsuka vs Yuki Ishikawa
7. Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazunari Murakami 
8. Don Arakawa vs Osamu Kido
9. Manabu Hara vs Munenori Sawa
10. Katsumi Usuda vs Masanobu Kurisu
11. KAZMA & Kengo Mashimo vs Hiroyuki Ito & Yuki Ishikawa
12. Akitoshi Saito vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara
13. AJ Styles vs Petey Williams
14. Enson Inoue vs Kazunari Murakami
15. Katsuyori Shibata vs Satoshi Kojima_

*Channel link:*
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNOfKmK5nZIurQ8fUk26GcA


----------



## ZEROVampire

*Dragon Gate: Dangerous Gate 2015 (8/16)*

Kzy, El Lindaman & U-T vs Shachihoko BOY, Kotoka & Drastik Boy *3/4

Yosuke❤Santa Maria & Ken'ichiro Arai vs NOSAWA Rongai & "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa 1/2*

*Open the Brave Gate Championship* - 3 Way Elimination Match
Akira Tozawa (c) vs Punch Tominaga vs Super Shisa **

Dia.HEARTS (BxB Hulk & Masaaki Mochizuki) vs Dragon Kid & Flamita ***1/4

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship*
CIMA, Gamma & Don Fujii (c) vs T-Hawk, Eita & Big R Shimizu ***1/2

Losing Unit Disbands Survival Elimination Match
Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!, Jimmy Kanda & Mr. Quu Quu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin) vs MAD BLANKEY (YAMATO, Naruki Doi, Cyber Kong, K-ness & Mondai Ryu) **1/2

*Open the Dream Gate Championship*
Masato Yoshino (c) vs Shingo Takagi ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.5


*Dragon Gate: The Gate of Destiny 2015 (11/1)*

Dark Match: Yosuke❤Santa Maria & U-T vs Super Shisa & Shachihoko BOY *1/2

Kzy, Big R Shimizu & Drastik Boy vs Over Generation (Eita, El Lindaman & Kaito Ishida) **1/4

Over Generation (Punch Tominaga & Takehiro Yamamura) vs VerserK (Cyber Kong & Mondai Ryu) *1/2

Dia.HEARTS (Dragon Kid & Flamita) vs Jimmyz (Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! & Jimmy Kanda) *3/4

*Open the Brave Gate Championship* - 3 Way Elimination Match
Akira Tozawa (c) vs Naoki Tanizaki vs Kotoka **

*Open the Triangle Gate Championship*
CIMA, Gamma & Don Fujii (c) vs Jimmyz (Jimmy Susumu, Ryo "Jimmy" Saito & Jimmy K-ness JKS) **1/2

*Open the Twin Gate Championship*
VerserK (YAMATO & Naruki Doi) vs Monster Express (Masato Yoshino & T-Hawk) ***1/2

*Open the Dream Gate Championship*
Shingo Takagi (c) vs Masaaki Mochizuki ****1/4

Overall Rating: 7.25


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW Power Struggle 2015 (11/7)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Máscara Dorada vs David Finlay, Jay White, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu *1/4

Togi Makabe, Captain New Japan & Juice Robinson vs Bullet Club (Doc Gallows, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) *1/2

Hirooki Goto vs EVIL *3/4

reDRagon & Time Splitters vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Chase Owens, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) **

Super Jr. Tag Team Tournament 2015 - Final
RPG Vice vs Matt Sydal & Ricochet ***

Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Bad Luck Fale) vs CHAOS (Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) **

*NEVER Openweight Championship*
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tomoaki Honma ***1/2+

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs Kazuchika Okada & Kazushi Sakuraba ***

*IWGP Intercontinental Championship*
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Karl Anderson **1/2

Overall Rating: 4.25


----------



## Air Guitar Tana

Tag League Bracket


----------



## Fighter Daron

Tanahashi & Elgin? WTF?!


----------



## Corey

The Addicition in New Japan, huh? No one saw that coming. Block B is STACKED.


----------



## Rah

Concrete said:


> *Tiger Mask II vs. La Fiera (AJPW 8/26/84):*****
> _These sort of international pairings are novel at worst, almost magical at best.
> 
> When I thought I knew wrestling La Fiera changed everything. Okay, that’s extreme. That being said, La Fiera performs at an exceptionally high level in this bout against a rather young Misawa. I wouldn’t say Tiger Mask II was bad but there was definitely a stiffness to him that he would obviously later shake off. In 1984 though, La Fiera needs to put this thing on his back a bit. La Fiera gets maybe the scariest amount of height I have seen on a monkey flip. It was literally impossible for me to not scream. His bumping is so next level throughout the bout. Fiera doesn’t stop at bumping though and brings a crazy level of charisma into the match as well as some good high impact offense. There is a throw around the middle of the match that is particularly splendid. _


1) People need more La Fiera

2) People need more Tiger Mask vs luchadores 


mk92071 said:


> So I've watched around 20 Volk Han matches in the last few months, and the RINGS worked shoot style is by far my favorite thing to watch in wrestling right now. So any shoot style recommendations outside of Volk Han? I just really dig the non-cooperativeness, sense of urgency, and the rope break/down points work perfectly.
> 
> Just taking a moment to talk about how awesome the point system in RINGS is. Whenever I'm watched a 'fight' and one of the competitors is out of breaks/downs, the match hits an unreal amount of suspense. It makes the near falls matter because even though a flurry of strikes will just knock somebody down and it won't win a fight, it still changes the landscape of the fight. So when I see Volk get up and have no more breaks left, I can feel the tension. I fucking love it.
> 
> But any worked shoot recommendations will be appreciated (especially RINGS)!


I'm more a UWF fan, so this may be a slightly different take on shoot than you're used to:

Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano - best sub-10 minute match ever, (best shoot match ever?)
Super Vader Vs Kiyoshi Tamura 
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka II (RINGS 27/06/1998)
Wayne Shamrock vs. Naoki Sano (PWFG 5/19/91)
UWF 13.08.88 - Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Nobuhiko Takada 
Suzuki vs Nakano, UWF 2/27/90
Minoru Suzuki vs Kiyoshi Tamura (UWF 21/05/89)

I like my shoot where guys just punch the shit out of each other. Matwork is cool and stuff, but nothing beats hatred. Give Fujiwara/Yamazaki (24/07/89) or Fujiwara/Maeda (09/02/90) a try for more stuff oriented around the mat from UWF. 

Try some of Tamura's RINGS matches, too. Han 2x, Kohsaka 2x & Yammamato are the matches people rave about, but they're pretty much all grand.


----------



## JIM2000

Rah said:


> Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano - best sub-10 minute match ever, (best shoot match ever?)


Really great, but it doesn't beat Hashimoto v Zangiev as the greatest sub-10 match ever IMO.


----------



## #SauceIt

Not sure if this is the right place to ask .. but .. Does anyone have a link to the 2 latest episodes of NJPW on AXS? ... Don't get it on TV over here


----------



## Leon Knuckles

*NJPW POWER STRUGGLE 2015 - OSAKA PREFECTURAL GYMNASIUM - 2015 NOVEMBER 7 REVIEW*









SINGLES MATCH
Hirooki Goto vs EVIL
***3/4

EIGHT MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
BULLET CLUB (Young Bucks & Kenny Omega) & Chase Owens vs reDRagon & Time Splitters
****









2015 SUPER JR TAG TOURNAMENT FINAL MATCH
Roppongi Vice vs Ricochet & Matt Sydal
****1/2









NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Tomoaki Honma
****1/2









TAG TEAM MATCH
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuyori Shibata vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Kazushi Sakuraba) 
***3/4









IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs Karl Anderson
****1/4

AWESOME SHOW! HONMA WAS MVP OF THE NIGHT.


----------



## SMetalWorld

*So, I Watched NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 (My second NJPW show ever)... My Thoughts...*

This is was my second show ever watching NJPW entirely, and so, I thought the whole show was pretty average. There were really good to excellent stuff but there are stuff that I really disliked. 

The first show was the G1 First Day and I didn't like it which I gave it a 3/10 but for Wrestle Kingdom, I gave it around 6/10. 

I'll run down the matches and my, honest, thought about them: 

reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson) vs. Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & KUSHIDA): This match was pure rubbish because it's a clusterfuck of spotfest which I, honestly, dislike. All the wrestlers look alike and everyone just wrestles the exact same way. I cannot tell one from the other only except the color of their pants. All the wrestlers have the same damn height, as well. This is the kinda stuff that I dislike about Indie wrestling. It's too spotty for its own good and all of the wrestlers are jumping around like they've got some sugar rush. 

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) & Jeff Jarrett (w/Karen Jarrett & Scott D'Amore) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Tomoaki Honma: Another tag... whatever, who cares! There's Jeff Jarrett so, thumbs down. 

Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton Benjamin & Takashi Iizuka) vs. TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Shane Haste), Naomichi Marufuji & Toru Yano: Another forgettable tag team match... move on. Hey, at least, Sheltom Benjamin is in this match... that's quite nice. 

So, the first 3 matches are rubbish but thankfully, things do pick up. 

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Minoru Suzuki: This match was very good and both wrestlers look different and the match is stiff as hell. I did enjoy the different stipulation here with the UWFI Rules. The winner has to make his opponent get knocked out or tap out. I loved the aggressiveness the two and the dislocating of the shoulder looked painful. The finish was a bit meh but enjoyable match, nevertheless. No spots but it feels like a wrestling match here. 

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe: NOW THIS MATCH KICKED ASS!!! This is what I'm looking for. It started slow but once it got going, it really was an amazing match of pure strength and the two guys were so equal. I did feel sorry for Ishii with his injured shoulder and whatnot. I wanted him to win but that damn stiff clothesline and the double stomp to the neck, I think... the angle wasn't too clear, has put him away. There were no pointless spots but two really strong men trying to kick each other's ass and this is the stuff that I love to watch. It's the best match of the first half. A definite ****1/2. 

Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega: Now, this is pure shit! This match was too damn long for its worth and it was just an ugly contest. It was kinda cool seeing Kenny Omega's heel tactics but that's pretty much it. The match was pretty boring and there was no flow. 

BULLET CLUB (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (w/Amber Gallows) (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata: Okay, so this is the kinda matches that I totally dislike in the Indie or the Japanese scene. You see these two monstrous guys getting taken out by bunch of kicks from smaller ones. The last part of the match made Doc Gallows look like an idiot. This is another trashy match that I disliked. 

So, the last three matches are pretty damn good to excellent and starting off with... 

AJ Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito: Now, this is very good and that's because of AJ Styles, of course. Is it me or does Tetsuya Naito reminds you of Dolph Ziggler? Quite honestly, I'm not that big of a fan of Dolph. The last spot in which AJ reverses a Frankenstiener into Styles Clash was pretty awesome and I loved how they made that move so devastating. However, there's a part of me that I won't be much of a fan of Naito. The first match I watched with him involved that was against Fale and that match sucked. So, yeah... he won't be in my favorites anytime soon. 

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi: And on the contrary side, Shinsuke Nakamura is awesome. He's actually one of the few guys from NJPW that looks and feels different. He is such a unique individual that strikes with you. I've started to get into this guy and he is one hell of a performer with a lot of charisma. The match was very good and I love how his opponent trying to copy him. The German suplex from the ringside, above the ropes, and inside the ring was brilliant. The Shining Wizard coming out of nowhere was such a good finish. This is the match of the night, definitely. On one note, I did watch a 2014 match of him and Finn Balor and that was a fun fun match. I don't know which event was it but it was a fun match that told a good story. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada: This match was a pretty mixed bag for me. It started really, really horrible that made me more concerned for me losing on an app game on my tablet before it picked up. I was, literally, yelling: "DO SOMETHING!!!" It was such a slow, slow match in the beginning which made me yawn in frustration but once Tanahashi made that Frog Splash from the turnbuckle to the outside, the match FINALLY picked up. However, there were moments that were pretty sloppy which made meh about it but still it was an enjoyable match. Another problem is the Frog Splash spamming for me. There was the tombstone counter and then, he does a frog splash on his back... he turns him around and does another frog splash and in the end, he does 2 other frog splashes to end the match. I thought, that was a little bit too much. It's like a Cena AA spam match which I totally hate. So, it was good for what it is but honestly, it didn't follow up the Shinsuke Nakamura that well. Comparing the two feels like night and day. 

This was my rundown on the matches but there are several things that I've noticed. On every match, there was always either chest slapping back and forth, forearm hitting the head back and forth, or even just face slapping back and forth or some variation which was a bit excessive. We get that in WWE quite a lot but at least, that's like one or two matches when you have the YAY!!! BOO!!! Spot and that at times, during the main event or some special match. Another thing that I've noticed, almost every wrestler has a German suplex variation whether it’s a straight up German suplex or a full-nelson German suplex and that also got old for me. 

Overall, the PPV was a mixed bag. There are really shitty matches but the ones are good are really, really great. Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada are the best matches for me. They were stiff, hard-hitting, unpredictability, and pure awesomeness. The final score from is 6/10. If it weren't for those awful tag matches, this PPV would've been around 8 or 9. I could say this... it's better than G1 Day 1 event which was horrible.

I'm still trying to get into NJPW but there are things that I totally dislike. From Cagematch.net, there are way TOO many tag matches and it feels as bad as WWE's tag matches, in my opinion.


----------



## kolgrimowski

Hey guys, do you know where can i see matches from NOAH Global League 2015 ?


----------



## Leon Knuckles

#SauceIt said:


> Not sure if this is the right place to ask .. but .. Does anyone have a link to the 2 latest episodes of NJPW on AXS? ... Don't get it on TV over here


dx-tv and watchwrestling uploaded everything.


----------



## cablegeddon

Question to Dragon Gate fans: Who has the coolest entrance and/or pose in Dragon Gate?


----------



## LilOlMe

kolgrimowski said:


> Hey guys, do you know where can i see matches from NOAH Global League 2015 ?


http://www.voicesofwrestling.com/fo...id=584c267f4d08270c9739d5a6dd7536b4&start=120

The most recent show is linked to on the page I just posted. Go back through the thread for older NOAH Global League '15 matches.

That thread is great for recent Puro stuff.


----------



## mk92071

It should be posted here, IVP is having a 40% off sale with the code BLACKFRIDAY.

I'm picking up the Puro Sampler ($.25) and the 6 disk Volk Han set that'll end up costing about $10 once you take 40% off.

Anything else I should get? There probably won't be a sale this good for a year.


----------



## Zatiel

cablegeddon said:


> Question to Dragon Gate fans: Who has the coolest entrance and/or pose in Dragon Gate?


A lot of good theme music, but not really any special entrances like Goldust or Undertaker. I'm partial to Shingo's entrance.


----------



## Chloe

Attention NJPW/Puro fans!

I am currently pushing for NJPW and by extension Puro wrestling in general to get a shared section with Lucha Underground as they are the two companies that have the most demand for discussion apart from WWE. This may be a way to get more real wrestling fans into NJPW/Puro and create a type of buzz that creates even more discussion for an art form we love so much. Join the movement today and become part of something that may start out as small but in the end will turn out as great.

Sincerely,
Yoda

:yoda

The petition - http://www.wrestlingforum.com/rants...on-5000-sigs-needed-december-31st-2016-a.html


----------



## Fighter Daron

Zatiel said:


> not really any special entrances like Goldust or Undertaker.


Excuse me, sir, but, how in the blue hell are these two entrances compared?


----------



## cablegeddon

Zatiel said:


> A lot of good theme music, but not really any special entrances like Goldust or Undertaker. I'm partial to Shingo's entrance.


Alright. I was hoping for some cool pose like the rainmaker pose or Tana's "1 in a 100 years". Especially since Dragon Gate is catering to that younger girl audience. 

Or just some wacky stuff like Nakamura's antics. 



Fighter Daron said:


> Excuse me, sir, but, how in the blue hell are these two entrances compared?


They're spectacles, they're "produced", so stop bothering us.


----------



## RichardSype

*fantastic site this is exactly what I washoping to find*

I absolutely enjoy your blog and find almost all of your post's to be just what I'm looking for I would like to give thanks for the efforts you have put in writing this blog I am hoping the same high-grade website post from you in the upcoming also Actually your creative writing skills has encouraged me to get my own blog now Actually the blogging is spreading its wings quickly Your article is a great example of it When I am not searching the internet for this I am usually checking out elitesportsadvisor com/about-us/]nfl week 3 betting lines


----------



## ZEROVampire

Meiko Satomura vs Mayu Iwatani from STARDOM Goddesses of STARDOM 11/15 was a really great fight. Very Stiff ***1/2


----------



## Anguyen92

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu vs. HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka from DDT.

I've been really only getting into watching Japanese wrestling for like a few months now (mainly just NJPW stuff) and for some reason, I decided to look at this match as a curio to see how Tanahashi is like in a different promotion. I mean I always wanted to see a tag match in NJPW that has a good amount of the heat and excitement of that big Benoit/Jericho vs HHH/Austin Raw match in 2001, but I just could not really find that sort of match, this year, in NJPW.

All of a sudden, I heard about the DDT match through 411mania and decided to watch it and it was darn close to what I was really looking for. The crowd was not letting down at all and was very vocal throughout the match and it was nice to see Tanahashi as the definite heel and working well in that role (isolating his opponent and stuff, not letting him make the big tag, etc.) and had some pretty exciting closing stuff.

I was pretty happy with the watch.


----------



## AT&T Stadium

I watched Akiyama/Misawa vs. Kawada/Taue from 12/6/96 after not watching much 90's AJPW in the past year or so. I hadn't realized how shit wrestling is now until watching this. Everything now (even in NJPW) is illogical moving from spot-to-spot. Of course this varies to different degrees as NJPW is much less of an offender in comparison to PWG, ROH, WWE. Of course there are also some great matches that are completely logical but for the most part wrestling is not good now.


----------



## Cactus

* NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling 2015
*

*David Finlay, Jay White, Juice Robinson, Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu vs Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask*
There was no question who would be winning this. The team of the young lions looked ruthless rushing Liger at the start and they show a lot of promise (Finlay especially). I'm not sure if Taguchi vs Robinson would be an mindlessly enjoyable bout or the stuff of nightmares just based on their interactions here. Butt bumps everywhere.
★★½

*
Tomoaki Honma vs YOSHI-HASHI*
YOSHI-HASHI has improved since the days where I would watch NJPW religiously and Homna is charismatic as ever. Solid match.
★★½

*
Captain New Japan, Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Kota Ibushi vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata*
I expected this to be better considering the talent involved. Enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable. This certainly teased my appetite for a Nagata/Shibata match though.
★★½

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match:
Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly © vs Beretta & Rocky Romero*
I'm a big fan of Rocky Romero's shtick. He comes across as such a dickhead. Barreta looked out of place teaming with him. Inoffensive juniors match.
★★½

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match:
Kenny Omega © vs Matt Sydal*
This is my first time seeing Matt Sydal since his Evan Bourne days and I've forgotten what a great talent he is. He's insanely athletic who's not afraid to take a hit and is a great babyface, although that could be enhanced how great of heel Omega is. His cartoonish-in-a-good way anime villain personality got under the crowd's skin and had them rooting for Sydal every time he had an opening. I'm also glad to see that Omega has seemed to of dropped the 'Hadouken' from his arsenal as it's one of the dumbest things I've seen in a serious pro-wrestling match.
★★★½

*Bad Luck Fale, Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson vs Kazushi Sakuraba, Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano*
The idea of Nakamura vs Anderson didn't appeal to me before this, but this match changed my mind. Charismatic sprint that came out and did everything that it set out to do; to further hype up a Nakamura vs Anderson match.
★★★

*NEVER Openweight Title Match:
Togi Makabe © vs Tomohiro Ishii*
A very good 'you can hit harder than that, punk' type of match. If you have ever seen an Ishii match before, you know what I'm getting at. Some frighteningly stiff shots in this, and the visual of these guys sagging over when they want to show off how harder they can be hit but physically can't stand anymore was great. The slug-off on the top rope was particularly enticing.
★★★½
*
IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Match:
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito*
Naito's new heel persona has freshened things up in NJPW. He's no longer Tanahashi 2.0 and his new heel persona is great. He wrestles at his own pace and he is constantly stalling and nonchalantly taunting Tana and the crowd. It's a very old school approach, but Naito makes it work in 2015. The interference worked and it stopped this Tanahashi match from becoming too formulaic, a problem I have with a lot of his bigger matches. I'm intrigued to see what these guys can do in a main event spot for the Championship. They would certainly tear the roof down!
★★★¾

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match:
Kazuchika Okada © vs AJ Styles*
This was solid yet forgettable until Okada hit the first Rainmaker. Nothing was terrible, just nothing really stuck out either. I sometimes think these matches go the distance because it's the big main event and because they can. Once the finishing stretch started, things got exciting. Many near-falls and reversals but ultimately, even that out worn it's welcome. It's a good match for sure, it's just that it is a long match and there are better 30 minute matches out there that you could be watching instead of this. 
★★★

*Overall:*
Solid show. The undercard is average enough, but things start to pick up once you reach the 5th match. There's been better NJPW shows, but there isn't a bad match on here and it's an enjoyable watch.


----------



## Cactus

*Makato Hashi vs Rui Hyugaji (Futen, 5/30/2010) *
I only know of Rui Hyugaji as the guy who pulled out of the UK Michinoku Pro shows due to an injury a few years back and today I found out that I missed out and that he's pretty fucking good. He's a young lion with something to prove and he rushes Hashi at the start of the bell with a barrage of slaps. These guys tee off on each other and they cram all that into a great little sub-ten minute match. There isn't much of a ground game here and it's more focused on stand-up strikes and flash suplexes, so I'd say it's a great start for someone who wants to get accustomed to shoot style, but finds the idea of watching a match mostly fought on the ground a bit daunting. 
*★★★¾*

*Daisuke Ikeda vs Takeshi Ono (Futen, 9/26/2010)*
Carrying on the trend of short matches, here we have a brutal offering that doesn't even touch the five minute mark. I remember seeing Ono in BattlARTs as he was the only wrestler who wore MMA gloves and he loved throwing sloppy yet effective bombs. He throws plenty here and he eats a headbutt that even made me wince. A hidden gem that deserves a shoutout whenever the best short matches are discussed. 
*★★★★*


----------



## Obfuscation

Just about every Styles vs Okada match is overlong & not worth the investment. They know how to work a finishing stretch, but then again, what talent(s) in New Japan doesn't? The Climax match has been the only one I'd actively return to, b/c it was done at a brisk pace, just long enough for a main event to feel fulfilling of the slot, and played off of previous spots in the two underwhelming matches prior. Okada going deep isn't always a good decision. Tana can keep him above water, most others cannot.


----------



## BuzzKillington

AT&T Stadium said:


> I watched Akiyama/Misawa vs. Kawada/Taue from 12/6/96 after not watching much 90's AJPW in the past year or so. I hadn't realized how shit wrestling is now until watching this. Everything now (even in NJPW) is illogical moving from spot-to-spot. Of course this varies to different degrees as NJPW is much less of an offender in comparison to PWG, ROH, WWE. Of course there are also some great matches that are completely logical but for the most part wrestling is not good now.


There are guys who wrestle in EVOLVE who wrestle with a very logical progression, namely Gulak and Thatcher. But they're seen as too "boring" by many. :justsayin


----------



## AT&T Stadium

Pretty sure I've never seen either. Thatcher has wrestled in PWG, right? I haven't watched a PWG show since 2013, though. Would seek him out there if possible but in that environment, it's possible that he wrestles a silly style like everybody else there.

edit: I'm sure many would think The Four Pillars of Heaven are boring af nowadays. Sad  Fucking Gods of wrestling:


----------



## BillThompson

Thatcher and Gulak wrestle a striped down catch-as-catch can, shoot, World of Sport style. They can, and have, done the other stuff but their main style is pretty much strictly grappling mixed with strikes.


----------



## Cactus

*Tokyo Gurentai Tokyo Dream 2015 ~ NOSAWA Rongai 20th Anniversary Show

Alexander Otsuka, Hideki Suzuki & Takuya Kai vs Kotaro Nasu, Ryo Kawamura & Tomohiko Hashimoto*
Otsuka's German was ace, but the no-selling of it just felt hokey.
★★½

*Tokyo Intercontinental Tag Team Title Match
Chikara & Mitsuo Momota © vs Kikutaro & Stalker Ichikawa*
The comedy aspects of this match were entertaining, but everything else sucked.
★½

*FUJITA vs Seiya Sanada*
Sanada possesses flawless execution and has a great look and although I didn't find myself getting behind him, the crowd certainly did. This had a solid finishing stretch, with FUJITA busting out some cool cradles and a cringe-inducing second rope tombstone.
★★¾
*
Kazunari Murakami & Minoru Suzuki vs Suguru Miyatake & Yoshihiro Takayama*
This met my expectations and then some. Everyone had a key role and they all played their parts well. Takayama is out looking for retribution against MiSu and even ends up beating his own tag partner who insists on being tagged in. That very same tag partner is completely blanked by Suzuki when Suzuki wants a piece of Takayama who wasn't even in the match at the time. It's very funny stuff and the comedy was tasteful and well placed. The match flawlessly transitions from comical to serious, as Miyatake eventually fires up and it seems like he almost has a fighting chance against Suzuki. A sleeper MOTYC for sure.
★★★★

*Tokyo World Heavyweight Title Match
MAZADA © vs Masaaki Mochizuki*
Solid yet unspectacular match with a surprising flash finish.
★★½

*Dory Funk Jr., Great Kabuki, Masakatsu Funaki & Mil Mascaras vs CIMA, Kaz Hayashi, NOSAWA Rongai & Yoshiaki Fujiwara*
I watched this out of sheer curiosity and I expected to hate this, but it was actually very good considering how old some the wrestlers are. Three members of one team are all over 70! The only person who shouldn't of been in this match was Dory Funk Jr. His 'matwork' at the start was so slow and business exposing, but thankfully that doesn't last long and his only contributions after that is scaring off the opposing team with his whip. The younger team managed to garner a lot of heat for ganging up on Dory and Kabuki. This was thoroughly entertaining and it almost felt bittersweet seeing these legends of puroresu in a ring, knowing that their careers are coming to an end.
★★★¼

*Overall:*
This show is easy enough to sit through, with it's run time not even reaching the two hour mark, but check out Takayama/Miyatake vs Murakami/Suzuki and the main event if you fancy some puro nostalgia if the rest of the card doesn't appeal to you.


----------



## Obfuscation

More MiSu and Big Tak interactions are always good. Hmm. Speaking of, forgot I've let their GHC Championship match slip by me. Was watching the build for it and I never followed up. Odd.


----------



## AT&T Stadium

Haven't heard anything from Big Tak in a couple of years...kind of assume he retired . <3 him though.



> Just about every Styles vs Okada match is overlong & not worth the investment. They know how to work a finishing stretch, but then again, what talent(s) in New Japan doesn't? The Climax match has been the only one I'd actively return to, b/c it was done at a brisk pace, just long enough for a main event to feel fulfilling of the slot, and played off of previous spots in the two underwhelming matches prior. Okada going deep isn't always a good decision. Tana can keep him above water, most others cannot.


I love both of these guys but I agree. These two don't mix well together. I saw Meltzer gave their title change ****3/4. I watched and wasn't impressed.


----------



## Lazyking

Meltz is always gonna over hype puro which is why I don't take his ratings seriously.


----------



## Obfuscation

Ya, Meltz is marking harder than all of us w/these matches. Even someone like me, who loves the promotion and the roster a great deal, I'm still not up in arms about EVERY match between the well known names that he is.


----------



## LilOlMe

Some random stuff:

Goto was interviewed on NJPW World. Here are some translations.

Read from bottom up:


> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> Nogami "Is Shibata your best friend, then?"
> Goto "Nobody knows me better than Shiba-chan. He might know me better than my own family."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> Goto "I still have the kickpads Shiba-chan gave me. I don't wear them anymore, because...I can't. I'm too thick for them."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> Nogami "And you still love drinking with him?"
> Goto "Yeah, he's lots of fun."
> (2/2) (#ThatsOurGoto)
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> Goto "Juice [Robinson] is lots of fun to drink with."
> Nogami "Can he speak Japanese?"
> Goto "No."
> Nogami "Can you speak English?"
> Goto "No." (1/2)
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> From the new #NJPWworld vid series (idea: JUSTICE Nogami). Nogami's spent most of it asking Goto about Shibata: he knows what viewers want!
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> @D_TaPla I'm about 7 min. in so far, and they've spent nearly 3/4 of that talking about Shibata ^^'
> 
> 
> chris charlton ‏@reasonjp Dec 21
> 
> In his 2000 debut profile, Shibata listed Goto as his rival- while Goto was a student and hadn't stepped in an NJ ring. Nice story.
> 
> 
> chris charlton ‏@reasonjp Dec 21
> 
> Sit down w/Goto on World seems to be really good. Enjoyed the docs they put out before WK9, but as cheap productions these are great.
> 
> 
> chris charlton ‏@reasonjp Dec 21
> 
> Even Goto was kept out the loop when Shibata returned in 2012, Shibata dropped hints to him the day before but never said outright.
> 5 retweets 6 likes
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 20
> 
> @D_TaPla Goto says he's sick of hospital food, wants MEAT. Shibata promises he'll buy him a big, juicy steak when he gets better.
> View conversation
> 1 retweet 4 likes
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 20
> 
> @D_TaPla Shibata visits Goto, who's in the hospital after breaking his jaw (2014 G1). Shibata dotes over Goto as they talk using signboards.



Also, apparently Shibata was on some show (I read that he's doing a voiceover for a racy anime, so I think that's what he was promoting). 

Apparently:


> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 21
> 
> @D_TaPla @artbynash @peskyyy From article:
> "When Takahashi (lady on right) gazed seductively at Shibata, he blushed & turned away."
Click to expand...

lol at that last pic. It's amusing that the dude with the "killer" image can be made to blush so easily.


Okada, sort of doing a 180 on the "no marriage" thing:


> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 7
> 
> (LRT)
> What do you want to accomplish next year?
> Okada "Get married. I want my life outside the ring to be just as fulfilling."


That confirms that "Okada not allowed to get married per his contract" rumor was just a translation misunderstanding. He did say that they told him not to, but I find it interesting that he's openly talking about doing so now anyway.

I've long felt that he has a gf, but just was not talking about it. A la Tana never mentioning that he was married with kids, until he felt secure enough with his position to do so.

Japan's weird.


Random:


> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide Dec 16
> 
> @D_TaPla Nagata-san even says Kojima used to write in to Weekly Pro, begging for more interviews and featured articles XD


:lol


This is much more adorable if you actually see the video, but:




















It was on the 12/18/2015 show. 

Some kid had the Los Ingobernables! hat and shirt on. He wanted Naito to fist bump him so badly. I think that you could tell that Naito was thinking about maybe not doing it because he didn't want to break character, but the kid did the eye thing, and so Naito just couldn't help himself, lol. The audience cheered and some people were like "awww." 

Naito did the eye thing with him, and then couldn't contain his own smile. Really cute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Watched a lot of stuff at once, so stuff is tending to blur together, but I remember thinking that:

Tanahashi/Elgin/Shibata/Goto vs. Okada/Ishii/Yoshi-Hashi/Sakuraba match on 12/9/2015 was a lot of fun, 

Same with Tanahashi/Shibata/Kushida/Robinson vs. Okada/Ishii/Yoshi-Hashi/Gedo [Elimination Match] on 12/18/2015. That was the best Juice Robinson ever looked. Shibata's selling was incredible in this match, if I'm remembering the right match. And lastly, Kushida's counter to Okada's flying elbow was sooo damn fabulous and smooth.

Shibata/Tanahashi vs. Ishii/Okada on 12/19/2015 was good too, but IIRC, I l think the Tana/Okada face-offs were better in the other matches. This was good for the Shibata vs. Ishii stuff.

Taguchi vs. Nakamura on 12/18 was surprisingly good. Thought I might just skip it, but it was actually a well worked match.


----------



## LilOlMe

Part 2 of Goto's interview on NJPW World. Read from the bottom up:



> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "Knowing that, I feel some pressure to change - do something, anything to leave my mark."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> They close w/talk about Goto being in his 30s, which is the physical prime & career peak of any wrestler.
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "They notice everything I do, copy everything I say. So I have to watch my mouth, behave myself...I should get started. Today."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto doesn't watch his language or behave in front of his kids, which he's trying to change. Starting...nnnow.
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "By the end, she's going 'Yeah, I guess I love daddy.' Total tsundere, right?" (2/2)
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "She'll tell me to my face, 'I hate you!' But if someone asks her why she hates me, she'll start off 'I don't hate him, BUT..." (1/2)
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "She used to watch my matches and ask me 'Why're they being mean to daddy?' Now she's so strong-willed & tsundere."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto has 2 kids: a daughter (5yrs) and son (2yrs). His daughter knows daddy wrestles, but isn't interested...
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "The story of our IC feud is a good one, too. Me, facing someone I've considered a rival since high school, fighting over 1yr."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto "I didn't have a lion logo tee, but I did own a Riki Choshu shirt. I wanted to be like him; brash, independent, total opposite of me."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> Goto's known Nakamura since high school. His 1st impression of him: "Tall guy, wore a wrestling tee (NJPW lion logo shirt)."
> 
> 
> E. Key Oide ‏@e_key_oide 3h3 hours ago
> 
> So the 2nd part of JUSTICE x Goto's video series on #NJPWworld went up. I'll share a few of the interesting bits.


----------



## Corey

The ROH shows that take place in Japan next year have been named Honor Rising: Japan 2016 and will take place 2/19 and 2/20, both at Korakuen Hall.

(Y) to all of that.


----------



## Cactus

* NJPW Wrestle Kingdom In Tokyo Dome*

*El Samurai, Masanobu Fuchi & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Akira Raijin, Kikutaro & Nobutaka Araya*
There's nothing here minus the comedy spots, which would of worked much better in a more intimate venue.
★½

*Gedo & Jado vs MAZADA & NOSAWA Rongai*
This went on way too long for an undercard match. NOSAWA and MAZADA were great as fiery brawlers and that slow-motion Tombstone counter was very cool.
★★

*Buchanan, D-Lo Brown & Travis Tomko vs Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano*
Yet another match that would of benefited from a smaller crowd. This would of felt right at home in front of a hot Korakuen audience.
★★

*Giant Bernard, RO'Z, Suwama & TARU vs Manabu Nakanishi, Naofumi Yamamoto, Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka*
VooDoo Murder's control segment was great (I particularly liked the axe kick to the balls spot) and it was fuel for Yamamoto's comeback until he ended up botching his desperation move, but the crowd didn't seem to care as the guy he tagged was one Riki Choshu. Even in his older age, Choshu's still got him and had the crowd popping big for his lariats.
★★★

*Jushin Thunder Liger, Milano Collection AT, Minoru, Shuji Kondo & YASSHI vs Kaz Hayashi, Koji Kanemoto, TAKA Michinoku, Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue*
This is almost always worked at a fast pace and has many cool spots, but this would be much better if they paid more attention to selling and all that jazz.
★★¾

*Shinsuke Nakamura vs Toshiaki Kawada*
The mat-work here is fantastic. It shows a struggle, but it's accessible enough that someone who isn't a fan of shoot style would still enjoy themselves. Kawada is a lot more reserved than he usually is, but all that changes when Nakamura refuses to break an armbar when Kawada gets to the ropes. After this, Kawada finally starts bringing the hate and both guys take some stiff shots and suplexes. It's a shame the no-selling headdrop spots come off as a tad silly, but you're still getting Nakamura vs Kawada, so you can't really complain, can you?
★★★★

*Triple Crown Title Match:
Minoru Suzuki © vs Yuji Nagata*
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
*
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: 
Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs Taiyo Kea*
I was not expecting this many head drops in a Tanahashi match! This is the first time I've been impressed by Taiyo Kea. He may be lacking in charisma, but he sure can dish out some brutal looking offense. Tanahashi takes it like the champ he is and fires back when he can find an opening. This matched benefited everyone. Kea looked like a bad ass in defeat on one of the biggest stages in his career, and Tanahashi looked like the ace that NJPW want him to be.
★★★★

*Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono*
I was dreading to sit through this as I wasn't expecting it to be good and I was right. Chono is way past it. Not much here, minus a touching tribute to Hashimoto at the end of the match. This had no business main eventing. 
★★¼


----------



## Fighter Daron

You liked that Tanahashi/Kea match? It bored me to tears, maybe that's because Taiyo Kea fucking sucks :lol


----------



## Cactus

Fighter Daron said:


> You liked that Tanahashi/Kea match? It bored me to tears, maybe that's because Taiyo Kea fucking sucks :lol


I'm no Kea fan; I've seen him a handful of other times and I struggle to think what my opinion on him is. He's always been 'there'. Nothing standout about him at all, but here he busted out some cool moves in the WK match, although I do think Tana's selling of them may of enhanced them.


----------



## ddan

*Dragon Gate – The Final Gate 2015*
El Lindaman, Takehiro Yamamura, Kaito Ishida vs. Don Fujii, Yosuke♡Santa Maria, Nosawa Rongai - **
Jimmy Kness J.K.S., Jimmy Kanda vs. Kzy, U-T - **1/2
Kotoka vs. Eita - ***1/2
YAMATO, Naruki Doi vs. Gamma, Punch Tominaga - ****
Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa, T-Hawk vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid, Big R Shimizu vs. Naoki Tanizaki, Cyber Kong, Mondai Ryu vs. Ryo “Jimmy “ Saito, Jimmy Susumu, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! - ***1/2
Shingo Takagi vs. CIMA - ****1/2


----------



## ZEROVampire

*DDT #OkhaEmpire Produces "Muscle Mates 2015" 11/7*

HARASHIMA & Ken Ohka vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yohei Komatsu ***1/4

*Dragon Gate: Fastastic Gate 12/6*

Open the Triangle Gate Championship: Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino & T-Hawk) vs VerserK (Shingo Takagi, YAMATO & Naruki Doi) ***1/2

*Dragon Gate: Fantastic Fate 12/16*

Masaaki Mochizuki vs Yosuke❤Santa Maria ***1/4

*BJW Death Vegas 12/20*

Daisuke Sekimoto & Suwama vs Twin Towers (Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato) **1/4

*NOAH Destiny 2015 12/23*

GHC Tag Team Championship: K.E.S (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) (c) vs Big in USA (Chris Hero & Colt Cabana) ***
GHC Heavyweight Championship: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji ***1/2

*STARDOM Year End Climax 2015 - Final Battle 12/23*

World of STARDOM Championship: Meiko Satomura (c) vs Io Shirai ****

*Dragon Gate: The Final Gate 2015 12/27*

Don Fujii, Yosuke❤Santa Maria & NOSAWA Rongai vs Over Generation (El Lindaman, Takehiro Yamamura & Kaito Ishida) **
Jimmyz (Jimmy K-ness JKS & Jimmy Kanda) vs Kzy & U-T *1/2
Coliseum 2015 - Unlimited 10 Minute Round Rules Match: "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa vs Masakatsu Funaki N/R
Pro Wrestling Rules Match: "Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa vs Masakatsu Funaki N/R
Open the Brave Gate Championship: Kotoka (c) vs Eita **
Open the Twin Gate Championship: VerserK (YAMATO & Naruki Doi) vs Over Generation (Gamma & Punch Tominaga) ***1/4
Open the Triangle Gate Championship - 4 Way Elimination Match: Monster Express (Masato Yoshino, Akira Tozawa & T-Hawk) vs Dia.HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Dragon Kid & Big R Shimizu) vs Jimmyz (Ryo "Jimmy" Saito, Jimmy Susumu & Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!!) vs VerserK (Mondai Ryu, Cyber Kong & Naoki Tanizaki) **1/2
Open the Dream Gate Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs CIMA ***1/4


----------



## Leon Knuckles

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 10 - TOKYO DOME - 2016 JANUARY 3 REVIEW :mark: :mark: :mark:

NEW JAPAN RUMBLE
N/A - Did not watch

IWGP JR HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
FATAL FOURWAY TAG TEAM MATCH
Young Bucks vs vs RPG Vice vs Aerial Dogfight vs reDRagon (c)
****1/4

NEVER OPENWEIGHT 6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (VACANT)
SIX-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
Bullet Club vs Briscoe Brothers and Toru Yano
***3/4

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES MATCH
Michael Elgin vs Jay Lethal (c)
****1/4

IWGP JR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES MATCH
Kushida vs Kenny Omega (c)
****1/4

IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
TAG TEAM MATCH
Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson (c)
****1/2

SINGLES MATCH
Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto
****1/2

NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES MATCH
Katsuyori Shibata VS Tomohiro Ishii (c) 
*****

IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES MATCH
AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura (c) 
*****

IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES MATCH
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kazuchika Okada (c)
****3/4

This was a damn good wrestling event. All but one matche were rated 4 or more stars. And 

two five-star matches. God bless!


----------



## Air Guitar Tana

Top 10 AJ Styles matches in NJPW

1. vs Minoru Suzuki - G1 24 Day 7 - This is the match that truly cemented him as big time player
2. vs Shinsuke Nakamura - WK 10 - Very recent, but lived up to the insane expectations
3. vs Kazuchika Okada - Dominion - Best match between these two guys with an insane finishing sequence
4. vs Hiroshi Tanahashai - G1 25 Day 16 - Best match between these two, you even had young lions going wild for the finish
5. vs Tetsuya Naito - G1 24 Day 4 - This is a forgotten match, but unbelievably good heel work by AJ
6. vs Kota Ibushi - G1 25 - Awesome match, very close to spotfest but these two are so good together
7. vs Kazuchika Okada - G1 24 - Great heel work
8. vs Katsuyori Shibata - G1 25 - This was a dream match for me, when it was over i felt slightly disappointed, but with Shibata's injury they did try their best to have great match
9. vs Kota Ibushi - Invasion Attack - Meltzer loved it for some reason. I mean it was really good, but close to 5 star good. Just imo. But these two rocked the house and felt like the first sign NJPW moving away from Big 3 for main even slots
10. vs Lance Archer - G1 24 - Another forgotten match. Close to 4 stars, but incredible work by AJ to give Archer the best match of his career


----------



## ZEROVampire

NJPW WRESTLE KINGDOM 10
(January 4, 2016) - Tokyo Dome

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
reDRagon (c) vs The Young Bucks vs RPG Vice vs Matt Sydal & Ricochet **3/4

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) vs Toru Yano & The Briscoes **

ROH World Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs Michael Elgin **

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Kenny Omega (c) vs KUSHIDA ***1/4

IWGP Tag Team Championship
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows (c) vs Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma ***

Tetsuya Naito vs Hirooki Goto **1/2

NEVER Openweight Championship
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata ***1/2

IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs AJ Styles ****

IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi *****

Overall Rating: 9/10

PPV of the year.


----------



## ddan

*NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 *
reDRagon vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet vs. RPG Vice vs. The Young Bucks - ***3/4
Bullet Club vs. The Briscoes & Toru Yano - **1/2
Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin - **3/4
Kenny Omega vs. KUSHIDA - ****
Bullet Club vs. Great Bash Heel - ***1/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito - ***1/4
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata - ****1/2
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles - *****
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi - *****


----------



## Corey

The NJPW & CMLL Fantasticamania cards have been released. It's worth noting that Nakamura is on all of them. http://puroresuspirit.net/2016/01/njpw-event-cards-for-january-february-2016/

No major matches with New Japan implications as expected, mainly just a lot of exhibitions or CMLL title matches.


----------



## Lazyking

I wouldn't expect Nakamura to leave until the New Beginning shows.... he'll likely face Omega for the IC title.


----------



## TheChoppingMachine

The Fantasticamania line-up :mark:



> LUCHA DE MAESTROS: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Virus


:swanson


----------



## ddan

*NOAH Destiny 2015*
Hitoshi Kumano & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Kaito Kiyomiya & Yoshihiro Takayama - **1/4
Captain NOAH, Genba Hirayanagi & Quiet Storm vs. Akitoshi Saito, Mitsuhiro Kitamiya & Mohammed Yone - **
Hajime Ohara vs. Kenou - ***1/2
Go Shiozaki vs. Maybach Taniguchi - ***1/4
Takashi Iizuka vs. Takashi Sugiura - **
Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shelton Benjamin - ****
Momo No Seishun Tag vs. Suzuki-Gun - ***1/2
Taichi vs. Taiji Ishimori - ****1/4
Killer Elite Squad vs. Chris Hero & Colt Cabana - ****
Minoru Suzuki vs. Naomichi Marafuji - ***3/4


----------



## ZEROVampire

*AJPW 2016 New Years 2 Days - Day 1 1/2*

Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) vs Takao Omori & Zeus ***
AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Jun Akiyama (c) vs Suwama ***1/2

*DDT New Year Lottery Special! All Seats 2000 ¥ Show!! 2016 1/3*

KO-D Openweight Championship: Isami Kodaka (c) vs Konosuke Takeshita ***1/2

*BJW 1/4*

Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi) vs Seiya Sanada & Yoshihisa Uto **1/4

*NJPW New Year Dash!! 2016 1/5*

Bullet Club (AJ Styles & Kenny Omega) vs CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI) **1/2


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Nakamura gonna job to Omega. :banderas


----------



## AT&T Stadium

Leon Knuckles said:


> Nakamura gonna job to Omega. :banderas


The match has potential to be epic . Can't wait to see this.



> The NJPW & CMLL Fantasticamania cards have been released. It's worth noting that Nakamura is on all of them.


Meltzer had noted that Shinsuke was staying for "a few months". Has this changed?


----------



## Corey

AT&T Stadium said:


> Meltzer had noted that Shinsuke was staying for "a few months". Has this changed?


Not as far as I know. I just posted that so no one would think he'd be showing up in the 'E soon. I imagine he drops the IC Title to Omega at New Beginning and then he's out soon after.


----------



## AT&T Stadium

Makes sense. It'd be nice to see him stay until Invasion Attack and do the J.O.B. to Okada on his way out :banderas

edit: that'd mean he'd have to win the NJC and I don't see that happening. idk. Make Okada vs. Shinsuke happen one more time!!!


----------



## flag sabbath

AT&T Stadium said:


> Makes sense. It'd be nice to see him stay until Invasion Attack and do the J.O.B. to Okada on his way out :banderas
> 
> edit: that'd mean he'd have to win the NJC and I don't see that happening. idk. Make Okada vs. Shinsuke happen one more time!!!


NJ Cup winner can choose which strap to go after, so there are ways to make Okada vs Shinskay happen, but....


----------



## NastyYaffa

Title matches for the New Beginning shows announced:


























































I wonder who Omega will face for the IC Title... :hmm: Is Ibushi still injured?


----------



## Obfuscation

Goto w/a random World Championship shot, lol.

Good for BUSHI getting a Junior Heavyweight Championship shot. Kind of wished it didn't come so soon off of the KUSH win, b/c Los Ingobernables don't need to be losing any more big matches. That's Gedo booking at its finest. Tag Championship is something we all know the result on, but I loved the WK match so hopes the rematch is just as fun.

Bored of the constant three ways for the Junior Tag Championship. Doesn't help they're rarely ever any good. Usually way too long and average. Wished it was either reDRagon getting a rematch or the real prize, Bucks vs Sydal/Ricochet.

And dear god if Gedo gives the same booking to Shibata vs Ishii that he did last year w/Makabe vs Ishii. Don't recycle stories, dude.


----------



## Vårmakos

Goto pinned Okada during G1. It isn't random at all.

Is the IC title vacant now?


----------



## Obfuscation

Tell me that when Goto matters.


----------



## NastyYaffa

Vårmakos said:


> Goto pinned Okada during G1. It isn't random at all.
> 
> Is the IC title vacant now?


Yep, NJPW vacated it. Kenny Omega is gonna face some guy for it at New Beginning. 

Also here's some news about Nakamura:

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/686832456394080257

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/686842447914086401


----------



## Vårmakos

Could it be Yoshitatsu? Whoever it is I'm hoping Omega wins.


----------



## Corey

Wow, they just up and vacated it. Shoulda kept it on Goto to begin with then!

How about Fale getting his 3rd go round at the NEVER 6-Man titles? :lol

What if Omega faced TANAHASHI? That's a damn good sounding main event.


----------



## Obfuscation

Doubtful they want Tana to lose another big championship match in a row.


----------



## TripleG

2/11 in Osaka
* IWGP Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto = Well, he did beat Nakamura for the IC Title last year, he beat Okada in the G1 tourney, and was the winner in the only non-title match at WK10. I guess there is some logic to it and the match could be really good. 

* IWGP Jr. Tag Titles: The Young Bucks (c's) vs. reDRagon vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet = Are the Jr Tag Teams sick of having the same matches over and over again? Seriously. 

* NEVER Title: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii = Rematch! But I want to see it again because they'll knock the shit out of each other and it'll be fun to watch. 

* NEVER 6-Man Titles: The Briscoes & Toru Yano (c's) vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi = Rematch! And...I don't care as much, but might be OK. I don't know how in the hell they can get enough 3 man teams together to support these belts, to say nothing for the two other tag divisions they showcase. 

2/14 in Niigata
* For the vacated IWGP Intercontinental Title: Kenny Omega vs. X (mystery opponent) = Oh I thought Nakamura would drop the belt before leaving. That's a shame. Wonder who Omega will face....hmmm. 

* IWGP Jr. Title: KUSHIDA (c) vs. BUSHI = This should be fun. 

* IWGP Tag Titles: Great Bash Heel (c's) vs. Gallows & Gun = Another rematch! We already got the big title change and I know Gallows and Gun aren't taking the belts back, so there isn't much reason to check this one out. 

I remember the cards to last year's shows being much stronger. These are just...meh. Very rematch heavy.


----------



## Corey

I think I've only seen BUSHI wrestle like once. Interested to see what he can do with KUSHIDA. Always up for more variety in the singles junior division.



TripleG said:


> I remember the cards to last year's shows being much stronger. These are just...meh. Very rematch heavy.


Pretty typical for the New Beginning shows to feature Wrestle Kingdom rematches (although the name is a bit ironic, being said). I thought last year's shows were a bit disapointing, especially Nakamura vs. Nagata.

Tanahashi feels like the only logical opponent for Omega unless they go heel vs. heel with Naito. I wouldn't be surprised if Gedo went into panic mode and put the IC Title on Tanahashi immediately though. Only other outside the park options seem like Elgin or Ibushi, but I don't think Ibushi is anywhere near healthy yet.


----------



## Obfuscation

Gedo getting ready to book Jado vs Omega b/c he won the Rumble and to try and "stick it" to Nakamura.


----------



## Deadman's Hand

*So, who's watching Dragon Gate right now?*


----------



## LilOlMe

Jack Evans 187 said:


> I think I've only seen BUSHI wrestle like once. Interested to see what he can do with KUSHIDA. Always up for more variety in the singles junior division.


He was impressive in the Los Ingobernables match at New Years Dash. Made me excited for the match against Kushida.

New Years Dash was a great show, btw. The Omega turn got all of the talk, but the whole show was a fun watch.

Richochet/Sydal vs. Young Lions was just as good and high energy as I thought it'd be, & the Ingobernables tag was surprisingly fun.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

New Years Dash was basically all tag matches. Is it worth checking out?


----------



## LilOlMe

Leon Knuckles said:


> New Years Dash was basically all tag matches. Is it worth checking out?


I just said yes above.

It's a more fun and breezy watch than WK, and some of the matches were really quite great.

Also, lol @ Cheeseburger being over as hell there.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Cheeseburger is over everywhere! :drose


----------



## Japanese Puroresu

Deadman's Hand said:


> *So, who's watching Dragon Gate right now?*


Always watch Dragon Gate, forever.


----------



## Corey

So yeah, echo LilOlMe's thoughts on New Year's Dash. Really fun breeze of a show and the crowd was great all night. 

Los Ingobernables vs. Tanahashi, Elgin, & Dorada - *** 1/4 (MOTN but the finish felt kinda weak)
Styles & Omega vs. Nakamura & YOSHI-HASHI - *** 1/4 (EPIC postmatch stuff)
NEVER 6-Man Titles: Briscoes & Yano vs. Fale & Young Bucks - *** 1/4 (rock solid stuff)

Lethal vs. Juice Robinson was good on the undercard as well.


----------



## Arkham258

Did njpwworld remove the English broadcast of Wrestle Kingdom 10? Seems like no matter which link I use it's Japanese commentary now.


----------



## Corey

Did New Japan World broadcast any of the Fantasticamania cards or is just the ones this weekend? Hadn't seen any of them pop up online yet so I was curious.


----------



## LilOlMe

Arkham258 said:


> Did njpwworld remove the English broadcast of Wrestle Kingdom 10? Seems like no matter which link I use it's Japanese commentary now.


Here's the link to the English commentary:
http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00361_2_1



Jack Evans 187 said:


> Did New Japan World broadcast any of the Fantasticamania cards or is just the ones this weekend? Hadn't seen any of them pop up online yet so I was curious.


Just Jan 22-Jan 24.


----------



## Obfuscation

Need to watch Fantasticamania. You want to talk about the breezy New Japan shows on the year other than various Korakuen shows, these are it. Crowds are awesome w/how much they eat up seeing the CMLL talents. Virus is on these cards too. Really into that.

Side note: seriously, why are build up tag matches in this company undersold? they're always a lot of fun. _(even tag championship matches often never get their due)_ New Year's Dash being a strong show was hardly a surprise, but nice to see it get put over.


----------



## Vårmakos

:lmao


----------



## Obfuscation

Half a second I thought that was a gimmick from DDT.

It could get over.


----------



## LilOlMe

Check out the Los Ingornerbales stuff from the 1/22/2016 show. Just lol. The stuff with Naito and the commentator really had me laughing, especially Naito coming out again later in the night during Bushi's match.

That Naito/Commentator stuff was so pitch perfect. Also liked the touch of Naito making the Spanish ring announcer take foreeeever with his probably effusive praise.

Ohhh, and Okada played off that mat botch during his entrance on the 1/23 show perfectly. It's so funny, because I was just thinking "that's unusual for him to touch a fan's hand", and then he had that happen right after. It probably threw off his usual routine or something, lol.

Anywho, the shows have all been really fun. Good call, Obfuscation.


----------



## Obfuscation

All of this Naito goodness. :mark:

pull the trigger, Gedo.


----------



## Deadman's Hand

*If Naito isn't the one who takes the belt off of Okada, I will be pissed.*


----------



## Concrete

*Aja Kong & Bison Kimura vs. Bull Nakano & Grizzly Iwamoto (AJW 8/18/90):*****
_This match will go down as one of the most crazy/bizarre matches I have seen in my life. It resembles something between a World Star video that the pot heads from high school post on Facebook and a good old fashion stiff as fudge Japanese pro grappling match. The two stars of the bout are Kong and Nakano who will demolish the smaller opponents when they’re in but the real heat comes from their collisions. They create a real King of Monsters feel which I greatly appreciate as Kong throws her body into Nakano and Bull throws them feet. 

Now, let’s get into the batshit insanity. The weapon use here goes beyond my expectations of pro wrestling. The way they use chairs to bludgeon each other…my lord, the violence. The randomly tossed in police baton may be my favorite part of the match that doesn’t play a massive role. Where does it come from? Why? I have no idea and I’m okay with it. The kendo sticks though…they don’t hold back. Between the smaller women looking like they may have permanently scrambled brains and Bull shrugging off absolutely sick sounding shots they bring an element that conveys the hierarchy as well as being absolutely ballistic. The one thing holding this thing down is probably it feeling a little long and not really having much more of a purpose after a while. _​
Another one of those bouts where I would kinda rather say GREAT versus **** cause it kind of feels a broader match than stars seem to hit on for me. I don't know. I'm thinking too much about it clearly.


----------



## Corey

So Nakamura held a press conference to relinquish the IC Title today. He had some pretty interesting things to say too, courtesy of Puroresu Spirit:



> Shinsuke Nakamura held a press to formally address his decision to leave New Japan. To get the main point out of the way first. Nakamura did not specifically address as to where he is indeed going. (Even though the rumors highly suggest WWE and he will not know that answer as definite until he passes the physical as well).
> 
> *Nakamura stated that he has been troubled with the lack of determination in New Japan for the last two years now. He feels that he has been in a rut of sorts and has exhausted every avenue and height that he could possibly reach within the promotion.* This is completely his decision as he wants to continue growing as a professional wrestler and to find new sense of feeling as he competes in a ring. It should also be noted that he has the utmost respect for all that New Japan has done for him, but at the same time he needs to do what he feels is the best decision for himself as well.
> 
> To end the press conference, Nakamura officially relinquished the IWGP Intercontinental belt to the Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi. Respect was shown between the two as Sugabayashi stated that he accepts and wishes Nakamura the best of luck in whatever he does in the future.
> 
> Nakamura still has two events left in which is scheduled to compete on 1/29 and 1/30. The show on the 30th seeing the main event as his final send-off match.


I wonder if the losses of AJ & Shinskay will force them to take more risks or simply vary the directions in the booking?


----------



## BuzzKillington

Obfuscation said:


> All of this Naito goodness. :mark:
> 
> pull the trigger, Gedo.


When is there next big show in Osaka? That's where they need to have him take the title off Okada, the heat would be unreal.


----------



## Sick Graps-V2

WWE should have signed Togi Makabe too since he has the GOAT English promo skills.


----------



## Stinger Fan

Just a quick question, will NJPW have English commentary on all their shows from here on out or only on select shows throughout the year?


----------



## Corey

Stinger Fan said:


> Just a quick question, will NJPW have English commentary on all their shows from here on out or only on select shows throughout the year?


It's typically just the really big shows (Wrestle Kingdom may be the only one, honestly) where they provide an alternate English commentary option. Several people online have dubbed their own commentary into shows though. People like Striker or Kevin Kelly will probably only do it once or twice a year.


----------



## Obfuscation

They did it twice last year. Wrestle Kingdom & King of Pro Wrestling. Chances are, they'll probably want to use it more in 2016, as the English speaking fanbase continues to grow. While one has passed, I'd assume those two are all but guaranteed as we move forward.

It's possible w/JR being signed by AXS to be the new play by play man for the TV show, that he'll be doing live commentary on bigger shows if they think of the decision. Doesn't have to be there in person, but they can provide a live feed to go w/the shows as they air.


----------



## Corey

Meltzer (and others) are reporting that Will Ospreay has been signed by New Japan and will be a part of Best of Super Juniors in May!

:mark: :mark: :mark:


----------



## Obfuscation

Meh. 

Granted, New Japan can usually tone the shit down/or get the most out of those who suck. Still, apathetic. Meltzer's hard on for the guy over the past week is p. lol.


----------



## Corey

Here's the rest of the cards for the New Beginning shows.



> *New Japan Pro Wrestling “THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA”, 2/11/2016 [Thu] 17:00 @ EDION Arena Osaka​*
> (1) David Finlay Jr. vs. Jay White
> (2) Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV
> (3) Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
> (4) Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI vs. Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson & KUSHIDA
> 
> (5) *NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Championship Match:* [1st Champions] Toru Yano, Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. [Challengers] Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga
> ~ 2nd title defense.
> 
> (6)* IWGP Junior Tag Championship 3WAY Match:* [44th Champions] Matt & Nick Jackson vs. [Challengers] Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. [Challengers] Ricochet & Matt Sydal
> ~ 1st title defense.
> 
> (7) *NEVER Openweight Championship Match:* [10th Champion] Katsuyori Shibata vs. [Challenger] Tomohiro Ishii
> ~ 1st title defense.
> 
> (8) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
> 
> (9)* IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:* [63rd Champion] Kazuchika Okada vs. [Challenger] Hirooki Goto
> ~ 3rd title defense.


INGOBERNABLES vs. Elgin, KUSHIDA, & CJP looks rock solid. Good card overall aside from yet another multi-team Junior Tag Title match.



> *New Japan Pro Wrestling “THE NEW BEGINNING in NIIGATA”, 2/14/2016 [Sun] 16:00 @ Aore Nagaoka in Niigata​*
> (1) Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Captain New Japan vs. Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Cody Hall
> (2) Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Gedo
> (3) Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay Jr.
> (4) Michael Elgin & Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito & EVIL
> (5) Toru Yano, Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga
> (6) Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson vs. Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
> 
> (7) *IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:* [73rd Champion] KUSHIDA vs. [Challenger] BUSHI
> ~ 1st title degense.
> 
> (8) *IWGP Tag Championship Match:* [69th Champions] Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. [Challengers] Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
> ~ 1st title defense.
> 
> (9) *IWGP Intercontinental Championship Decision Match:* Kenny Omega vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
> ~ Winner becomes the 13th generation champion.


They're running the exact same 6-man with The Briscoes? :lol Makes no sense. More Elgin/Naito interaction... wonder if they're building to something there? Top three matches look quality.

And another show has popped up on the schedule. Seems to be some kind of NJPW vs. NOAH show, or maybe these guys are freelance on here?



> *LION’S GATE, 2/25/2016 [Thu] 19:00 @ Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo​*
> (1) *Takumi Honjo’s Debut Match:* Takumi Honjo vs. Shuhei Taniguchi
> (2) Teruaki Kanemitsu & Hirai Kawato vs. Hitoshi Kumano & Kaito Kiyomiya
> (3) David Finlay Jr. vs. Taiji Ishimori
> (4) Jay White vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
> (5) Manabu Nakanishi vs. Quiet Storm
> (6) Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Captain NOAH & Genba Hirayanagi
> (7) Juice Robinson vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
> (8) Yuji Nagata vs. Mitsuhiro Kitamiya


Looks interesting. I'm always up for more wrestling.


----------



## Obfuscation

Wow they really gave Omega a match vs Tana. Now I legit can't see him being champion atm. I'll be stunned if Tana loses two big championship matches in a row.

Naito getting all this Elgin stuff. Gedo, you really want me to not watch, don't you? Ugh. This better be Feb filler and he moves back up the card following.


----------



## Vårmakos

Lion's Gate is basically New Japan/NOAH's version of NXT (or what NXT originally was anyway).


----------



## Obfuscation

It's a fun looking card. Liking Finlay Jr. vs Ishimori, Ogawa vs White, & JUICE vs Nakajima, on paper.


----------



## LilOlMe

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/694084724239634432

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/694555479612063744

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/694484591537582080


Shibata recording an anime:











He's the voice of the tiger (apparently the main character's ex-boyfriend):


----------



## LilOlMe

Takaaki Kidani is the President of Bushiroad, which owns NJPW.

He had this to say:
*"I'm starting to think I should be worried every time I hear a Japanese wrestler's taking English classes."

*Says that money was never raised in any discussions with Nakamura, which was a sign he wanted to go, whatever NJ's offer. 

*When asked about new stars at the top of NJ, he says he doesn't get involved in creative, but likes Naito and sees Shibata's popularity, esp. with female fans.

*Last 2 to 3 years saw 15% growth in NJ's business. Made over 10% profit last year, which is good for a business. $27.5 mil revenue, almost $3 mil profit.

*Says being that Kitamura is already in his 30s, he wants him to debut ASAP and thinks he could be in the G1 tournament next year.

*Says because the floor seats all sold out, WK could actually be more profitable than last year, despite lower attendance.

*Had 35,000 NJPW World subscriptions at the end of the 2015, which is an increase of 15% since the G1 Climax Tournament. It's up 75% from what they had in January. 

*Says he aims for 50,000 by the next G1 Tournament. His ultimate goal is 100,000 because he believes that NJPW has a minumum of 150,000 unique live attendees each year.

Now I see how he came to the 100k numbers, and it looks like people were mistaken when they said that he predicted 100k for last year. I found old articles from December 2014 which state this:


> New Japan's president said their realistic goal for the service's first year was 30,000 subscribers so it's off to a good start.


Seems like he was right on target, and maybe 100k was just what he was talking about in the long-run.


----------



## LilOlMe

Interview with Shibata:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695165575257980929

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695165753859792897

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695165956520177664

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695166314168487937

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695166767618871296

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695167068849594370

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/695167387688050688
Interesting about KENTA and Nakamura. Love that Shibata is staying put, but lol @ still not committing to NJPW. Nice to see his freelance status confirmed.

I wonder who he is talking about when he says some people in the company don't seem to want to step up. Any guesses?


----------



## Corey

I wouldn't be surprised if he's talking about Ibushi, who won't sign with them because of his ties to DDT.


----------



## NakNak

Interested in the Hideo/Nakamura heat...
And yeah, I think that Ibushi will not get a proper push until he commits more with NJPW
Even Shibata, as a freelancer, feels more commited to NJ than Kota

BTW, Shibata seems like a stand up guy of what I read from the interview. Respect.


----------



## LilOlMe

I'm sure you guys are right about Ibushi. I noticed that when Ibushi commented to that magazine about his convo with Nakamura, he was just like "I got the message", rather than saying anything that would indicate that his feelings have changed. It's actually admirable his loyalty, even though he has every reason to leave DDT. 

Has Ibushi ever spoken publicly about this?

As for KENTA, Shibata's friends with him, so Shibata would definitely know what he's talking about here. 

I'm sure that they'll be able to put aside their issues if they have to work together in NXT.


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Looking forward to Ibushi, Omega, and Shibata getting major pushes this year.


----------



## LilOlMe

Some more from Shibata from another interview, I think:


__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/693322924086808576

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/693330840445530112


Okada at 16 in Mexico training. Behind the scenes footage:






He looks the same now, and he always had great height. When I saw him at ROH live I said he didn't seem as tall to me as on tv, but now I'm thinking that maybe looking down toward someone has that effect.

Pretty interesting that he already had this pretty seemingly high profile tv presentation of him even back then (it's not some dinky handheld camera or anything). Guess he was always seen as a prospect in Japan.

I think that he says that it's his debut match at the 5:28 mark.


----------



## Deadman's Hand

*So this is a thing:*


----------



## BuzzKillington

Deadman's Hand said:


> *So this is a thing:*


For the sake of my opinion on Ishii, I have to unsee this shit right now.


----------



## flag sabbath

Fucking thing cuts out right before he backdrops her.


----------



## LilOlMe

That is the most unlikely leading man ever. :lol


For posterity sake, here is a thread which introduces new viewers to the New Japan wrestlers' personalities (+ matches).


The latest NOAH show is now on DM. I heard that the matches were good, but the crowd was dead, which took away from the event.


@Corey, I saw your comment about selling in the MOTY thread. I was curious about your thoughts on the Naito/AJ Styles match from WK9. When I was watching it I was thinking of you. Like "yes, Naito kept selling the leg!" lol. Thought it was an underrated match, though there did seem to be a bit of discomfort/awkwardness between the two of them. Nothing major, though. 

Loved Naito's rollup when AJ was trying to face plant him. That was slick as hell.

And the way Naito sold the impending doom of the Styles Clash was seared into my memory from when I first saw it.


ETA: I had to edit this post because I wrote "@JackEvans187" at first. :side:


----------



## Corey

LilOlMe said:


> @Corey, I saw your comment about selling in the MOTY thread. I was curious about your thoughts on the Naito/AJ Styles match from WK9. When I was watching it I was thinking of you. Like "yes, Naito kept selling the leg!" lol. Thought it was an underrated match, though there did seem to be a bit of discomfort/awkwardness between the two of them. Nothing major, though.
> 
> Loved Naito's rollup when AJ was trying to face plant him. That was sick as hell.
> 
> And the way Naito sold the impending doom of the Styles Clash was seared into my memory from when I first saw it.
> 
> 
> ETA: I had to edit this post because I wrote "@JackEvans187" at first. :side:


Hahaha. Gonna take time for you to adjust as well, huh? I've only seen the match once and it was right after the PPV aired. I can only remember the finish and that I gave it a *** 1/2. So yeah... that's all I've got. :lol I can still remember the double main event vividly though.

Downloaded the NOAH show last night. Watched Shelton vs. that newer guy and the crowd had ZERO reaction whatsoever. Like Shelton was whipping the dogshit out of him and they didn't care in the slightest. Not a good sign of things to come I guess.


----------



## LilOlMe

Marufuji put in work:



















Apparently he worked like a savage on the house show tour, and opened Sugiura up brutally (ff to 9:45):






Those cracks make me cringe. Ever since, Sugiura's chest has been like red meat to Marufuji, and he opened him up at the show again.




Corey said:


> Downloaded the NOAH show last night. Watched Shelton vs. that newer guy and the crowd had ZERO reaction whatsoever. Like Shelton was whipping the dogshit out of him and they didn't care in the slightest. Not a good sign of things to come I guess.


Yes, people complained about the crowd during that match especially.


----------



## Vårmakos

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/697707374539177984
NAITO'S SHOOTING


----------



## LilOlMe

Vårmakos said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/697707374539177984
> NAITO'S SHOOTING


lmao, he's kind of right, given the history of NJPW with "quitters." But Gedo is making the smart, logical, long-term decision, rather than being ruled by emotion. That's a testament to his maturity. A lot of people wouldn't.

Plus, it helps that he's friends with Nakamura.

Loving the "give no shits" honesty of Naito. He's been like that a lot lately.
@Corey, oh, ok, at your message. Feel stupid @'ing you just to say that, but I don't think I can rep you yet.


Could someone give me their star ratings for the 2/11 New Beginning? Interested in the last 6 matches. Don't spoil anything, please.


----------



## Corey

LilOlMe said:


> @Corey, oh, ok, at your message. Feel stupid @'ing you just to say that, but I don't think I can rep you yet.
> 
> Could someone give me their star ratings for the 2/11 New Beginning? Interested in the last 6 matches. Don't spoil anything, please.


I already gave you most, but I'll use this as an outlet to give some short spoiler free thoughts.

Elgin, KUSHIDA, & Juice Robinson vs. LOS INGOBERNABLES - ** 1/2

NEVER 6-Man Titles: Yano & The Briscoes (c) vs. Fale, Tonga, & Yujiro - ** 3/4 (Solid match and I like how the Briscoes have looked in New Japan. Wish this could've gotten more time)

Jr. Tag Titles: Young Bucks (c) vs. reDRagon vs. Sydal & Ricochet - *** 1/4 (Fun match. Nothing over the top, but once you watch you'll probably wonder why one of the teams were even involved in the match. Complete afterthought. A hilarious moment with Cody Hall though) 

NEVER Title: Shibata (c) vs. Ishii - **** 1/4 (See my post in the MOTYC thread. Really, really awesome stuff)

Tanahashi & Great Bash Heel vs. Omega, Gallows, & Anderson - *** (I don't remember much at all from this other than Karl Anderson being in the best shape of his career. Dude looks great and Tanahashi/Omega is gonna be awesome)

IWGP Title: Okada (c) vs. Goto - *** 1/4 (Pretty underwhelming. Not much happens in the first half and the crowd really doesn't know how to react to Goto. At least they fucking LOVE Okada though.  Their G1 match last year was much better)


----------



## Corey

Some more spoiler free thoughts and stars. New Beginning in Niigata was better overall because the last three matches were all really good. Nothing special in Elgin/White vs. Naito & EVIL and also the NEVER 6-Man Title rematch.

Goto, Shibata, & Juice vs. Okada, Ishii, & Yoshi-Hashi - *** (I'm not really sure what they're doing with Goto here, but it seems to be be leading to something big happening somewhere. Match picks up big time when Juice inserts his high energy offense into the last few minutes. Lovin that guy right now)

IWGP Jr. Title: KUSHIDA (c) vs. BUSHI - *** 1/2 (Memorable match. Solid work from both guys and a hot finishing stretch)

IWGP Tag Titles: Makabe & Honma (c) vs. Gallows & Anderson - *** 3/4 (MAN did I like this one. Their WK match was good stuff, but this was even better. Great iso on Honma and just a lot of fun as a whole)

IWGP Intercontinental Title: Tanahashi vs. Omega - **** 1/4 (Fuckin A I had a great time watching this. If you want a lengthy(ish) review with some spoilers, go here: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/57135145-post163.html)


----------



## ddan

*NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2016*
David Finlay vs. Jay White - **1/2
Gedo, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jushin Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask - **
TenKoji vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata - **1/2
Juice Robinson, KUSHIDA & Michael Elgin vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon - **3/4
The Briscoes & Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi - **1/4
The Young Bucks vs. reDRagon vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet - ***1/2
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tomohiro Ishii - ****1/2
Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson & Kenny Omega vs. Great Bash Heel & Hiroshi Tanahashi - ***
Kazuchika Okada vs. Hirooki Goto - ***1/2

*NJPW New Beginning in Niigata 2016*
Cpt. New Japan, Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. The Young Bucks & Cody Hall - **1/4
Gedo & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. reDRagon - **3/4
David Finlay, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata vs. TenKoji, Matt Sydal & Ricochet - **1/2
EVIL & Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay White & Michael Elgin - **1/2
Bullet Club vs. The Briscoes & Toru Yano - **
Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hirooki Goto, Juice Robinson &Katsuyori Shibata - ***1/4
KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI - ***3/4
Great Bash Heel vs. Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson - ***1/2
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenny Omega - ****1/4


----------



## LilOlMe

> enuhito(English) ‏@enuhito_eng Feb 16
> 
> Kenny Omega has revealed he got offer from WWE for 3 times last year.
> 
> But he stays in NJPW because he has one thing left here. It's Ibushi.
> 103 retweets 117 likes


Uh oh:


> enuhito(English) ‏@enuhito_eng 16h16 hours ago
> 
> Kazuchika Okada said "I didn't think Nakamura goes to WWE. What about me going to WWE? Never say never. But I don't go. NJPW needs me."'


"Never say never" is less decisive than people used to characterize him sounding as. I had arguments with people here saying that I could definitely see him going.

Looks like the owner got the message. From the Observer:


> Owner Takaaki Kidani said they are going to offer Kazuchika Okada a five-year contract, from April 2016 to April 2021, unheard of historically, because they want to build around him and make sure he doesn’t go to WWE. He also said the company has earmarked a $2 million marketing budget to make Okada a mainstream star. Kidani said that they are going to have to offer longer contracts to the top stars.


This is exactly what I said would have to happen, and what they should've done long ago with Okada, quite frankly.


----------



## Cactus

*Best of Terry Funk - Classics from Japan DVD*

*Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, 11/6/1976)*
Be warned, this is a slow paced match, so it's not for everyone. The slower parts of the match consist of Funk and Jumbo trading arm holds. There's always a struggle going on and Funk has no problem throwing out some strikes and nasty chops to get out of a tricky predicament. You feel rewarded when the match picks up and every suplex feels like a big deal. Jumbo might be green at this point, but he pulls out a gorgeous sunset flip during the finale of the first fall. This match features a genius ending involving Funk's giving out on him at just the right time. I won't spoil it for you, but it's very worth checking out. Just great old-school wrestling. ★★★★

*Terry Funk vs Abdullah The Butcher (AJPW, 18/7/1976)*
This is a master class on selling and putting over your opponent and their offense as a major threat by Terry Funk. A messy bloodbath, although there's not too much here other than Abby opening up Funk's ear. I'm fine with the non-finish as it sets up for the great tag series between Sheik and Abby against the Funks. It also made Abby look like a monster and Terry as a courageous anti-hero to the audience. ★★★

*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs Nick Bockwinkel & Jim Brunzell (AJPW, 9/12/1980)*
Bockwinkel seems like I guy I ought to check out more of. Him and Blair work great as unit and I thought it was a nice touch that they both acted displeased when ever a Funk got out of their grasp. This is a rather standard match of it's time until Terry and Bock start trading blows. There's some great strikes in here, particularly Blair's dropkick, which might be one of the best ones I've ever seen. This all leads to a great Terry Funk face-in-peril segment until he gets the tag and the match wraps up, perhaps too prematurely. ★★★¼

*Terry Funk vs Stan Hansen (AJPW, 11/9/1982)*
A fiery brawl between two of the greatest of all time and they make the little things matter. For example, during a punch-off (there's many great punches in this, although that should come as no surprise to anyone who's seen either man before) Hansen ends the exchange by kicking at Funk's swinging hand. Hansen takes control early on and drops some knees to the neck of Funk and he starts withering on the floor and this puts the crowd firmly behind Terry. Everything eventually falls apart and a ref ends up eating a nasty Western Lariat. It's a damn shame we don't see brawls like these anymore. ★★★★½

*Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr. vs Stan Hansen & Terry Gordy (AJPW, 31/8/1983)*
This is Terry's 'retirement' match and this has one of the loudest crowds I have ever heard. You know you have a hot crowd when they are going apeshit for Dory Funk Jr. of all people! The match starts off with Dory being worked over by the heels. They mostly keep him immobilized with an armbar and strikes. Dory's gets the crowd pops big whenever he gets in a lucky jab. Terry was sublime in this, egging his brother on and pacing up and down the apron when he's not tagged in and throwing some great punches and doing a marvelous selljob of his leg when he is the legal man. Yet another hellish brawl that we need more of in today's wrestling. ★★★★½

*Final Thoughts:*
If you like Terry Funk or old-school wrestling, this deserves to be in your collection. No ifs or buts.


----------



## Corey

Cactus said:


> *Best of Terry Funk - Classics from Japan DVD*
> 
> *Terry Funk vs Jumbo Tsuruta (AJPW, 11/6/1976)*
> Be warned, this is a slow paced match, so it's not for everyone. The slower parts of the match consist of Funk and Jumbo trading arm holds. There's always a struggle going on and Funk has no problem throwing out some strikes and nasty chops to get out of a tricky predicament. You feel rewarded when the match picks up and every suplex feels like a big deal. Jumbo might be green at this point, but he pulls out a gorgeous sunset flip during the finale of the first fall. This match features a genius ending involving Funk's giving out on him at just the right time. I won't spoil it for you, but it's very worth checking out. Just great old-school wrestling. ★★★★



Seeing how much you liked that, you should check out this match sometime if you're still in the old school mood. It's pretty great too from what I remember and from a similar time frame.


----------



## NakNak

*NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka & Niigata 2016 thoughts*

-The Bullet Club vs Yano/Briscoes matches were pure fun for me. Dumb fun, but whatever, I love YANO-TO-RU :lol *FUN*

-Jay White vs David Finlay was pretty good for being an opener between 2 young lions. I see a lot of future with White, he looks like a star in the making. He looked great with Michael Elgin against Tetsuya Naito & EVIL too. Speaking of, the match they had with BUSHI against KUSHIDA, Elgin & Juice Robinson was a very entertaining trios match.***** for all of those matches. And fucking Naito messing up with the commentary team :lol 

-KUSHIDA vs BUSHI was one of the best matches of this weekend, I have read mixed reviews, but I loved this match. It deserves a solid ****3/4*. KUSHIDA is just awesome and BUSHI suprised me a lot, his character work is rock solid.

-reDRagon vs Gedo/Sakuraba was good, but very short, I can't give a star ranting to this...I can say this: I want a singles match between Sakuraba & Kyle.

-Okada vs Goto gets a ****3/4* and the tag match from Niigata gets a ****1/2*. Goto's character work was interesting and Okada's cocky persona was pretty cool. Interesting storyline this CHAOS thing. I'm intrigued.

-Anderson, Gallows & Omega vs Tana, Honma & Makabe gets a ****1/4* and Omega/Tanahashi gets a ******. The first match was a solid way to develop Kenny's mean side and Omega/Tanahashi was a very, very good match, with solid booking, it didn't had any stupid thing that I could be angry with. It's a match that I consider at least a *MOTM (Match of the month) contender*, and who knows, it could be a *MOTY (not THE MOTY, mind you)*

Couldn't care less about Shibata/Ishii, too much for me, it was ridiculous in a bad way (the suplex spot and things like that, Ishii was great when he wasn't this over the top, and I love Shibata, except in this feud) and GBH vs BizCliz bothered me, that spot when Honma is attacked with the chair is very visible, I couldn't buy that the ref didn't saw it, HE CLEARLY SAW IT.


----------



## Cactus

Corey said:


> Seeing how much you liked that, you should check out this match sometime if you're still in the old school mood. It's pretty great too from what I remember and from a similar time frame.


Funnily enough, this match was on a Harley Race set I'm currently watching...

Jumbo showed that he had some potential to be a main player. He got the crowd behind him and could throw some sweet arm drags and flying knees. Race could work a mean facelock, adjusting his grip as he sees fit which kept things fresher for long (although they did eventually out-wear their welcome). The final moments of each fall features some neat exchanges that are full of drama. Technically-sound wrestling that lacks personality. ★★★¼


----------



## Rah

I don't think Jumbo's that green in 1976. He's new to wrestling, sure, but he got "it" pretty much straight out the gate, for the most part. There's instances where he doesn't show much "psychology" (for lack of an actual definable term) or understanding for the placement of his moves but he's still doing that in his later career, anyway. In their revenge match four years on, Tsuruta hits a nasty piledriver on Funk midway through the match that Funk has to shrug off as they've got another 15 minutes on the clock. It's pretty stupid, but that's Jumbo. Hell, I shouldn't really fault him, it's AJPW's house style. I've made mention elsewhere but, outside of a couple names, 80s AJPW style is really not for me. They got into a groove in the 90s, duh, but even then I think some things get too much of a pass.

Enough negativity, though. Jumbo/Funk is one of the best matches I've ever seen and, at worst, the best teacher/student narrative ever created. It's beautiful, beautiful wrestling and Tsuruta more than brought his own in trying to surpass not just any teacher, but a wrestler I, and many, see as the best ever.


----------



## LilOlMe

Oops. Hasn't been held yet. 

Well, I'll still say if anyone sees the Suguira vs. Nakajima NOAH match that's coming up, please leave ratings here without giving spoilers. Thanks.


----------



## ZEROVampire

*ZERO1 1/1*

Ikuto Hidaka, Yuko Miyamoto & Isami Kodaka vs Shinjiro Otani, Koji Kanemoto & Tatsuhito Taikawa **1/4
Daisuke Sekimoto & Kohei Sato vs Ryoji Sai & Yuji Okabayashi **1/2
ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship: Hideki Suzuki (c) vs Masato Tanaka **

*WRESTLE-1 2016 Tour Sunrise Day 1 1/10*

WRESTLE-1 Championship: Manabu Soya (c) vs Yuji Hino **1/2

*STARDOM 5th Anniversary Show 1/17*

World of STARDOM Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs Kairi Hojo ***1/2

*NJPW/CMLL FantasticaMania 1/24*

Campeonato Nacional de Peso Ligero: Dragon Lee (c) vs Kamaitachi ***1/2

*BJW 1/24*

Strong World Heavyweight Championship: Yuji Okabayashi vs Ryota Hama ***1/2

*NOAH Great Voyage 2016 in Yokohama 1/31*

GHC Tag Team Championship: K.E.S (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Mohammed Yone **
Minoru Suzuki vs Go Shiozaki **1/2
GHC Heavyweight Championship: Naomichi Marufuji (c) vs Takashi Sugiura ***1/4

*DDT Sweet Dreams 2016 1/31*

KO-D Openweight Championship: Isami Kodaka (c) vs Masa Takanashi ***1/4+

*Dragon Gate: Truth Gate 2016 Day 2 2/4*

Losing Unit Disbands Elimination Match: Monster Express (Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino, T-Hawk & Shachihoko BOY) vs Dia. HEARTS (Masaaki Mochizuki, Drago Kid, Kzy & Big R Shimizu) vs VerserK (Shingo Takagi, YAMATO, Naruki Doi & Kotoka) ***1/4

*WRESTLE-1 2016 Tour W-Impact Day 1 2/10*

WRESTLE-1 Championship: Yuji Hino (c) vs Minoru Tanaka ***1/4

*NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka (2/11)*

David Finlay vs Jay White **1/4
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV & Ryusuke Taguchi vs CHAOS (Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo) *3/4
TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi **
Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson & KUSHIDA vs Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI) **1/4
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: The Briscoes & Toru Yano (c) vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) *1/2
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (c) vs reDRagon vs Ricochet & Matt Sydal ***
NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii ****
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) **1/2
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Hirooki Goto ***1/2

*NJPW The New Beginning in Niigata (2/14)*

Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mas IV & Captain New Japan vs Bullet Club (Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & Cody Hall) *1/4
reDRagon vs CHAOS (Kazushi Sakuraba & Gedo) *3/4
Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi & David Finlay **
Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito & EVIL) vs Michael Elgin & Jay White **1/4
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga) vs Toru Yano & The Briscoes *1/4
Hirooki Goto, Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) **3/4
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) vs BUSHI ***1/4
IWGP Tag Team Championship: GBH (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) vs Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) **3/4
IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Kenny Omega vs Hiroshi Tanahashi ***1/2

*NJPW/ROH Honor Rising: Japan Day 1 (2/19)*

Jushin Thunder Liger & Matt Sydal vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Dalton Castle **
Delirious vs Gedo 1/4*
Frankie Kazarian vs KUSHIDA **
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, Tomoaki Honma & Moose vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall) *
reDragon & Katsuyori Shibata vs The Elite (The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega) **3/4
Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs The Briscoes **
Jay Lethal & Tetsuya Naito vs CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI) **1/4
ROH World TV Championship: Roderick Strong (c) vs Tomohiro Ishii ***

*NOAH The Second Navigation 2016 Day 12 2/24*

Minoru Suzuki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima ***1/2

*DDT Into the Fight 2/28*

KO-D Openweight Title #1 Contendership: Shigehiro Irie vs HARASHIMA ***1/2


----------



## Brock

Going back to my Kawada/Misawa viewing, and i'm up to this point atm.

*Toshiaki Kawada vs. Mitsuharu Misawa (06.03.1994) (Hightlights in Slow Motion)*

x42fwup
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4...a-06-03-1994-hightlights-in-slow-motion_sport

Thought i'd share this. It's highlights/slow motion cuts of their most famous match. It's like a celebration
of the match, and i do love that theme.


----------



## darkclaudio

NOAH Destiny 2015 23/12/2015
Ota Ward Gymnasium

-Special Singles Match: Kenou vs Hajime Ohara ***
-Special Singles Match: Go Shiozaki vs Maybach Taniguchi **
-Special Singles Match: Takashi Sugiura vs Takashi Iizuka 1/2*
-Special Singles Match: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Shelton Benjamin **1/2
-*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match*: Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge (c) vs TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado ***
-*GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match*: Taichi (c) vs Taiji Ishimori ***1/2 (MOTN)
-*GHC Tag Team Championship Match*: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs Chris Hero & Colt Cabana ***1/4
-*GHC Heavyweight Championship Match*: Minoru Suzuki (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji ***1/2

BJW 30/12/2015
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

-Seiya Sanada & Kazumi Kikuta vs Atsushi Maruyama & Yoshihisa Uto *3/4
-Kohei Sato, Shuji Ishikawa & Yuko Miyamoto vs Hideki Suzuki, Kazuki Hashimoto & Daichi Hashimoto ***
-*BJW Tag Team Championship Match*: Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Ryota Hama & Hideyoshi Kamitani ***1/2


----------



## Cactus

*NJPW Invasion Attack 2016*​
*Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Juice Robinson & Ryusuke Taguchi*
Juice being thrown out of the ring was Shawn Michaels at Summerslam 2005 level of overselling. A standard squash match. ½★

*Kazushi Sakuraba, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata *
The crowd were hot during this, but the in-ring stuff was rather average. The only aspects that stuck out from a workrate perspective was YOSHI-HASHI's hope spot and the Backdrop Driver, because who doesn't enjoy seeing someone dropped on their head? ★★½

*Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii vs BUSHI & EVIL*
Much stiffer than your typical undercard match, that's for sure. Goto looked like a badass heel. He was booed by the crowd so he upped the violence up to 11. Really good match that caught me by surprise. ★★★½

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match:
Matt Sydal & Ricochet © vs Beretta & Rocky Romero*
Wrestled at an insanely fast pace and featuring many impressive feats of athleticism, this match's downfall is that it all feels vanilla and there isn't much personality to it. I simply wasn't given a reason to care. Everything I hate about junior wrestling. ★★½

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match:
KUSHIDA © vs Will Ospreay *
I expected this to be good, but not this good! This is more 'seasoned champion faces plucky underdog' rather that 'evil foreigner faces hero champion' like I initially thought it would. KUSHIDA targets the arm and that becomes the focal point of the match. Ospreay can't bust out a lot of his moves with one arm, so he has to modify them, including one instance where whips out a no hand handstand. It's utterly insane. The arm work is consistent and I was so engrossed in the match during the finishing stretch. This deserves to be talked about in the same breath as other junior classics. Everything I love about juniors wrestling. ★★★★½

*NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title Match:
Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson © vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu*
Starts off as a wild Attitude Era-styled brawl that descends into a standard paint-by-numbers tag match. I love that Elgin trashcan superkick spot, even if it looked obviously set-up. ★★¾

*NEVER Openweight Title Match:
Katsuyori Shibata © vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan*
I've dumped on Tenzan before, but it's nice to see him get his moment here and a final chance to shine as I imagine he won't be around much longer. Those headbutts made me wince. ★★★¼

*IWGP Tag Team Title Match: 
Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma © vs Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa*
Pretty eh stuff. The gaijins didn't have much chemistry together as a whole. Tanga Loa did nothing to impress me and Tonga doesn't seem comfortable wrestling this high up on the card. Notable moments include Homna getting murdered by a nasty German and then proceeding to bust out some headbutts straight after. That crazy bastard.
★★¼ 

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match:
Kazuchika Okada © vs Tetsuya Naito*
A historic match with plenty of great stuff littered throughout, but I can't sit there and say that I wasn't bored out my ass during the first 10-15 minutes of the match. This is made by the utterly unique crowd dynamic, the fun outside brawling segments and the shock ending.
★★★¼


----------



## Nj psychology

I'm pretty new to this forum but im not new to puro,id like to post my comments on some matches.
Last night i've watched NJPW Invasion Attack 2016 ,i got to say Kushida vs Ospreay is a match that makes everybody love in ring psychology for any kind of wrestling fan.Im tend to prefer the perfect balance between high flying ,agility ,selling and psychology and this match was GREAT
Shibata vs Tenzan tough match ,i would have liked more minutes for the match .btw between veterans i still think Kojima should be used for major matches.
I appreciate Sydal and Ricochet 's effort to change a little bit of their style in NJPW(DG didnt required so much stop and gos),even if sometimes i can still watch fast paced stuff what i most appreciate as i said ,it's the perfect balance between different styles without losing a solid realistic match as it was for Kushida vs Ospreay


----------



## Leon Knuckles

NJPW Invasion Attack 2016

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match
RPG Vice vs Ricochet/Sydal (c)
****1/2

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA (c)
****

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
Tetsuya Naito vs Kazuchika Okada (c)
****

Good PPV. :dance


----------



## ZEROVampire

*AJPW Excite Series (2/12)*

AJPW Unified Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Zeus vs Kento Miyahara ***1/2

*Dragon Gate: Champion Gate in Osaka Day 1 (3/5)*

Open the Brave Gate Championship: Kotoka vs Yosuke❤Santa Maria **1/2
Open the Triangle Gate Championship: Akira Tozawa, Masato Yoshino & T-Hawk (c) vs Sumo Fuji, Ryo "Sumo" Saito & Genki Horiguchi S.U.M.Ooo **1/2

*Dragon Gate: Champion Gate in Osaka Day 2 (3/6)*

Open the Dream Gate Championship: Jimmy Susumu (c) vs Shingo Takagi **1/2

*BJW Ikkitousen Strong Climb 2016 Day 1 (3/6)*

Block B: Hideki Suzuki vs Shinobu **1/2
Block B: Shuji Ishikawa vs Yuji Okabayashi ***1/4
Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto vs Seiya Sanada ***
Block A: Hideyoshi Kamitani vs Kohei Sato **1/4

*AJPW Dream Power Series Day 1 (3/12)*

Jun Akiyama, Zeus & The Bodyguard vs Yuji Okabayashi, Daisuke Sekimoto & Daichi Hashimoto ***

*NJPW Road to Invasion Attack Day 1 (3/19)*

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Michael Elgin vs The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) **1/4
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto) vs Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI) **1/2
NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs Satoshi Kojima ***1/2

*NOAH Great Voyage in Korakuen (3/19)*

GHC Heavyweight Championship: Takashi Sugiura (c) vs Katsuhiko Nakajima ***1/2+

*DDT Judgement 2016 - 19th Anniversary Show (3/21)*

KO-D Tag Team Championship: Happy Motels (Konosuke Takeshita & Tetsuya Endo) (c) vs Daisuke Sasaki & Shuji Ishikawa ***
KO-D Openweight Championship: Isami Kodaka (c) vs HARASHIMA ***

*Suzuki-gun Produce: We Are Suzuki-gun 2 (3/27)*

Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Sugiura) vs Naomichi Marufuji & Go Shiozaki **1/2

*Sendai Girls (4/8)*

Sendai Girls World Championship: Meiko Satomura (c) vs Aja Kong ***1/4

*BJW Count Up Hokkaido 2016 Vol. 1 - Ikkitousen Strong Climb 2016 Day 10 (4/9)*

Block B: Yuji Okabayashi vs Ryota Hama ***1/4
Block B: Shuji Ishikawa vs Hideki Suzuki **3/4

*NJPW Invasion Attack (4/10)*

Ryusuke Taguchi & Juice Robinson vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) 3/4*
Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Jushin Thunder Liger vs CHAOS (Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI) **
CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto) vs Los Ingobernables de Japón (EVIL & BUSHI) **1/2
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Ricochet & Matt Sydal (c) vs RPG Vice **3/4
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: KUSHIDA (c) vs Will Ospreay ***1/2
NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship: The Elite (Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu *3/4
NEVER Openweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **3/4
IWGP Tag Team Championship: GBH (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) (c) vs Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Roa) *1/2
IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs Tetsuya Naito ***1/4

*AJPW Champion Carnival Day 8 (4/24)*

Champion Carnival, Final: Daisuke Sekimoto vs Zeus ***3/4

*BJW Endless Survivor 2016 (5/5)*

Daisuke Sekimoto & James Raideen vs Daichi Hashimoto & Jun Akiyama **1/4
BJW Strong Heavyweight Championship: Yuji Okabayashi (c) vs Shuji Ishikawa ***1/2
BJW Death Match Heavyweight Championship, Fluorescent Light Tubes & 4 Corner Board Death Match: Ryuji Ito (c) vs Masaya Takahashi **1/2

*STARDOM Gold May (5/15)*

World of STARDOM Championship: Io Shirai (c) vs Mayu Iwatani ***1/4


----------



## HOJO

*STARDOM Gold May 2016(5/15/16)*

*Eimi Nishina, Haruka Kato & Starlight Kid vs. Alex Lee, Azumi & Kaori Yoneyama: * **1/4*
*Hiroyo Matsumoto vs. Maki Natsumi:* **1/2*
*Hiromi Mimura, Jungle Kyouna & Momo Watanabe vs. Oedo-Tai (Diosa Atenea, Kagetsu & Kyoko Kimura):* ****
*Alpha Female vs. Queen Maya:* ***
*Wonder of Stardom Championship - Santana Garrett © vs. Kairi Hojo:* **1/2* 
*World of Stardom Championship - Io Shirai © vs. Mayu Iwatani:* *****1/4*


----------



## Cactus

* NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2016*
*Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Juice Robinson & Captain New Japan*
Nothing to talk about here. An utterly nothing match. ½★

*Gedo, Kazushi Sakuraba, Will Ospreay & YOSHI-HASHI vs David Finlay, Jay White, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask*
I have high hopes for Finlay. Guy looks full of fire and it added a lot to the match. This is worth watching to see Finlay/Ospreay going at it, albeit briefly. A singles match between them with certainly have the potential to steal the show. ★★½

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match: 
Beretta & Rocky Romero © vs Matt Sydal & Ricochet*
Sydal's brief face-in-peril segment was neat and there was a few spots that stuck out during the course of this match, but there wasn't that much else here. A stale and plodding juniors tag match that you've seen done to death in New Japan. ★½

*NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Title Match:
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin & Yoshitatsu © vs Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson*
I loved Big Mike's power counters, they looked very fluid. Omega & co. were great at being dickhead heels. It's rather campy, but it works. Fun stuff. I have high hopes for the match that was announced after this match being a great spectacle. ★★★

*IWGP Tag Team Title Match: 
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa © vs Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma*
After being let down by their last match, I admit I didn't give this much my full attention. It didn't seem like I was missing much. The chase sequences here looked like they belonged in a silent comedy. ★★

*NEVER Openweight Title Match:
Katsuyori Shibata © vs Yuji Nagata*
I got everything I wanted here. A psychology-lacking match that more than made up for it with hard strikes and buckets of charisma, and a feel-good moment to cap it off. ★★★¼

*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match:
KUSHIDA © vs Jushin Thunder Liger*
For a man that has his face covered, Jushin Liger sure knows how to express emotions. The arm work here actually played into the match and even though we all knew that leg submission wasn't going to win the match, these guys knew how to make that throwaway attempt for drama fun. What's stopping this from being a MOTYC is that I thought the finish stretch wrapped things up a tad too quickly.
★★★¾

*EVIL vs Hirooki Goto*
Goto is never going to be a exceptional worker, but if he can keep upping the violence in his matches like he has at the last two PPVs, then his matches are going to be a lot easier to digest. ★★½

*Kazuchika Okada vs SANADA*
Entertaining back-and-forth match with overly contrived counters and reversals. Fun, nothing more than that. SANADA's plancha is a thing of beauty that needs to be seen to be believed. ★★★ 

*IWGP Heavyweight Title Match:
Tetsuya Naito © vs Tomohiro Ishii *
This didn't suck during the first 15 minutes so that's an achievement in off itself for an IWGP Heavyweight match. Worked much more traditionally for an Ishii match (excluding the interference, of course), this had a great finish stretch. It did out wear it's welcome, but a handful of the near-finishes were so convincing that I'll let that slide. ★★★¾


----------



## PulseGlazer

Who would be considered the more thorough, objective reviewers ITT?


----------



## HOJO

*Here are some streaming-related updates:*
*Pro Wrestling WAVE has launched their own streaming service called WAVE Network*. I don't have it so I don't know how it works, you can get it for 800yen/month with a free 1 month trial. Here's a link to it if you're interested - http://pro-w-wave.com/wave_network/

The next piece, *STARDOM World is moving away from Youtube*. Here's the official state from their English social media accounts(they can't be arsed with their website)









Just one more thing: *The link to the live-streamed puro has changed from Taima to PSP-TV*. The new official link is http://www.psp-tv.com/r/PoD an this is the schedule(excluding replays. Yo can check for those on the sites of the networks that show these) from now until the end of June:
*May 31st* – AJPW Super Power Series at Korakuen @ 9am EST / 2pm BST 
*June 2nd* – DDT Audience 2016 @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 3rd* – NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XXIII: Day 11 @ 5am EST / 10am GMT 
*June 5th* – NJPW Best of the Super Jr. XXIII: Day 12 @ 2:30am EST / 7:30am GMT 
*June 6th* – Dragon Gate King of Gate @ 10:15am EST / 3:15pm GMT 
*June 7th* – BJW at Korakuen Hall @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 7th* – AJPW presents AJ Phoenix vol. 3 @ 11am EST / 4pm GMT 
*June 11th* – Dragomania XI @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 11th* – OZ Academy Take Back @ 11am EST / 4pm GMT 
*June 13th* – Dragon Gate King of Gate @ 6am EST / 11am GMT 
*June 14th* – Kenta Kobashi Produce: Fortune Dream 3 @ 5am EST / 10am GMT 
*June 16th* – Michinoku Pro at Korakuen Hall @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 18th* – We Are SUZUKI GUN 3 @ 5:30am EST / 10:30am GMT 
*June 19th* – Lucha Libre World Cup 2016 @ 7am EST / 12pm GMT 
*June 19th* – NOAH Emerald Spirits 2016 @ 10:30am EST / 3:30pm GMT 
*June 21st* – DDT King of DDT 2016 OSAKA @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 23rd* – Stardom Shining Stars 2016 @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 24th* – Dragon Gate King of Gate @ 10am EST / 3pm GMT 
*June 25th* – Wrestle-1 at Korakuen Hall @ 6am EST / 11am GMT 
*June 25th* – AJPW Dynamite Series 2016 at Hokkaido @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 26th* – DDT King of DDT 2016 TOKYO @ 12am EST / 5am GMT 
*June 26th* – Dragon Gate King of Gate @ 9am EST / 2pm GMT 
*June 30th* – AJPW Dynamite Series 2016: Day 1 @ 6am EST / 11am GMT


----------



## Liger!Liger!

Ospreay/Ricochet uploaded in NJPW's channel here


----------



## parko99

Does Jeff Lynch still sell DVDs? If so, how do I contact him? And background on the guy would be helpful


----------



## cablegeddon

Big surprise! Cornette hates Kenny Omega


----------



## Corey

*NJPW Invasion Attack 2016

**IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
*Matt Sydal & Ricochet (c) vs. Roppongi Vice - *** 3/4

*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
*KUSHIDA (c) vs. Will Ospreay - *** 3/4

*NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
*Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, & Yoshi Tatsu - ** 1/4

*NEVER Openweight Championship 
*Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - ** 3/4

*IWGP Tag Team Championship
*Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (c) vs. Tama Tonga & Tongaroa - ** 1/4

*IWGP Heavyweight Championship
*Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito - ****


- Watched highlights of the first three matches and then started with the junior tag, which I thought was great. I really wish they ran more of these traditional tags in the division instead of the 3 and 4 ways, because the crowd was definitely into this and everyone performed really well. It allows you to get more familiar with the individual wrestlers too. Loved Trent's selling of his ribs late in the match, especially when he hit the dudebuster with just one arm laced.

- KUSHIDA vs. Ospreay was great but I didn't love it as much as everyone else did (which was weird). Ospreay's selling was really good, but everyone seemed to be REALLY hung up on that and it didn't strike me as anything that out of the ordinary because I've seen him sell an arm injury like that and he's done the no hands handspring off the ropes before. But hey, more power to the people that loved it and probably saw him wrestle for the first time.

- Didn't care for the 6 man at all, which is again weird because I've usually liked what the ELITE has done this year. Just way too much going and too many shenaOxiOxiOxiOxins with the hair spray or whatever the hell it is that they use (aerosol?). Thought the beginning stuff was kinda stupid too.

- Shibata/Tenzan was fine considering Tenzan's limitations. He hit some nasty headbutts but that's pretty much all it was with some repetition. Shibata had a far better outing with Kojima earlier in the year that I don't even know if other people watched. 

- Tag Title match was pretty boring for a while. They hit a bit of a hotstreak late, but then it just kept going and I was pretty meh on the Guerrillas of Destiny. I still don't even know what Camacho's actual name is in the company. :lol Loa? Roa? One word? Two words? Who knows. Their double team moves were pretty basic. At least throw a twist or a toss in there somewhere.

- Loved the main event, as I said in the MOTYC thread. They've got great chemistry and both guys brought their best work. Okada thwarting off EVIL & BUSHI late in the match was pretty damn cool looking as well.​


----------



## Leon Knuckles

NJPW Dominion 2016

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Rematch
Will Ospreay vs KUSHIDA (c)
****3/4
This was simply awesome. I am really impressed with Ospreay. Is there anything he can't do? Just shy of 5 stars.

NEVER Openweight Championship Rematch
Katsuyori Shibata vs Yuji Nagata (c)
****1/4
Loved the hard hitting action. I marked out!

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Michael Elgin vs Kenny Omega (c)
*****
This was the best ladder match I have ever seen in my life. Just perfect - even with all the fuckery.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Rematch
Kazuchika Okada vs Tetsuya Naito (c)
****
It really was a great match, but you cannot compete with the previous spectacle.

Dominion was a GOAT PPV, holy shit, I'm still marking out! :mark:


----------



## Len Hughes Presents

Leon Knuckles said:


> IWGP Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
> Michael Elgin vs Kenny Omega (c)
> *****
> This was the best ladder match I have ever seen in my life. Just perfect - even with all the fuckery.


A little too much fuckery for me. How did Elgin free himself of the handcuffs? Dumb luck?


----------



## Leon Knuckles

Davy Jones said:


> A little too much fuckery for me. How did Elgin free himself of the handcuffs? Dumb luck?


Brute strength?


----------



## Len Hughes Presents

Leon Knuckles said:


> Brute strength?


Fair enough.


----------



## NastyYaffa

> #‎KUSHIDA‬ comments on possibly going to ‪#‎WWE‬
> 
> ‪#‎IWGP‬ Junior Heavyweight champion KUSHIDA spoke with Sports Illustrated recently about various topics. Here are the highlights.
> 
> On possibly going to WWE: Yes. I still remember Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan at ‪#‎WrestleMania‬. I was maybe ten years old, and I cried when Hulk Hogan lost. Pro wrestling is not moves–it is human. It’s not work–it’s heart.
> 
> Six years ago, I did not have a visa. I really appreciate the fans in America, and thank you very much to the ‪#‎ROH‬ fans. I hope to go to ROH and WWE and measure up against those wrestlers and fight in that ring. Every day, I’m training, training, training. Sometimes, dreams do not come true. But this time, my dreams have come true. I’m so happy, and I want to come back to the U.S.
> 
> On his dream matches: I hope my next matches are with Roderick Strong, Jay Lethal, Adam Cole and a legend in Jushin “Thunder” Liger. *Four years ago, I became IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team champion, which is a former title of Daniel Bryan [Editor’s note: Bryan wrestled as American Dragon in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and was one-half of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team champions with Christopher Daniels–known, at the time, as Curry Man] in 2004.
> 
> My greatest wish would be to wrestle Daniel Bryan, but since he is retired, I would love to sit down and talk Japanese wrestling with him. I would also like to wrestle Great Muta and Ricky Steamboat.*


KUSHIDA/Bryan would've been so, so, so good :mj2


----------



## antoniomare007

Strong BJ vs The Big Guns - AJPW Tag Titles
http://rutube.ru/video/c5c5d3bae9f164973df56319edfe8e7c/

Audio gets REALLY out of sync at the 8 minute mark (like 3-4 minutes into the match) :mj2

A little too long considering Bodyguard and Zeus were in charge of the control section, they weren't able to make the crowd care as much as they should. It was kinda weird seeing the invading team be the babyfaces in this but given the talent involved it and that it was Korakuen it made sense. They turned the corner about half way through the match when they decided to just throw bombs. I like how they didn't went full retard and use the break ups intelligently. Damn good match and the right finish


----------



## The High King

I have read and heard from other sources that Jim ross is doing comms on NJPW.
Where are these shows available to view? I normally get my content via a torrent but come without commentary.


----------



## Corey

The High King said:


> I have read and heard from other sources that Jim ross is doing comms on NJPW.
> Where are these shows available to view? I normally get my content via a torrent but come without commentary.


He does commentary for the NJPW on AXS TV show. They just air stuff from a year ago with English commentary.


----------



## The High King

Corey said:


> He does commentary for the NJPW on AXS TV show. They just air stuff from a year ago with English commentary.


thanks corey


----------



## The High King

just watched my first ever axs show, and ross and matthews improve things with commentary but watching wrestlers like doc gallows and ibushi wrestle from last year whilst they are now in wwe makes it a little redundant.

On the topic of current njpw, what is the next main card and when is it on?


----------



## Corey

The High King said:


> On the topic of current njpw, what is the next main card and when is it on?


The G1 starts on July 18th and runs for a month straight. I guess you could say the next big show would be the day of the Finals, which would be August 14th.


----------



## The High King

Corey said:


> The G1 starts on July 18th and runs for a month straight. I guess you could say the next big show would be the day of the Finals, which would be August 14th.


cheers, just seen the blocks and it looks awesome


----------



## Daniel97

From the Uk and I have been watching a few njpw matches on daily motion. Is their a shop online where you can buy DVDs in English commentary or a place you can watch their shows. Thanks


----------



## Len Hughes Presents

Daniel97 said:


> From the Uk and I have been watching a few njpw matches on daily motion. Is their a shop online where you can buy DVDs in English commentary or a place you can watch their shows. Thanks


http://njpwworld.com


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 1 7/18*

Katsuyori Shibata, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs Tomoaki Honma, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan **1/4

Satoshi Kojima & Juice Robinson vs Toru Yano & Katsuhiko Nakajima **

CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo) vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi) *3/4

Yuji Nagata, Michael Elgin & David Finlay vs Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI) **

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Tomohiro Ishii ***1/2

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Togi Makabe vs Tama Tonga *3/4

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hirooki Goto vs Bad Luck Fale **

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs SANADA ***1/2

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Kazuchika Okada vs Naomichi Marufuji ***1/2 _*MOTN - MOTT*_

Overall Rating: 7.0


*NJPW Super-J Cup 2016 Day 1 7/20*

First Round: Matt Sydal vs Kaji Tomato **1/2
First Round: Kenoh vs Gurukun Mask ***
First Round: Taichi vs Yuma Aoyagi *3/4
First Round: Jushin Thunder Liger vs Eita **1/2
First Round: Will Ospreay vs Titán **1/2
First Round: Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs BUSHI *1/2
First Round: Ryusuke Taguchi vs Daisuke Harada ***
First Round: KUSHIDA vs Taiji Ishimori ***1/4


----------



## cablegeddon

one of the most underrated wrestling songs

NBA on NBC<


----------



## ZEROVampire

*NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 2 7/22*

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Manabu Nakanishi vs Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Captain New Japan *1/4

Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & Naomichi Marufuji vs Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi) *1/2

Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV *

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs Los Ingobernables de Japón (SANADA & BUSHI) **

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Toru Yano vs Katsuhiko Nakajima 3/4*

G1 Climax 26 Block B: YOSHI-HASHI vs Kenny Omega ***

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Michael Elgin vs EVIL **1/4

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Yuji Nagata vs Tetsuya Naito **3/4

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Katsuyori Shibata vs Tomoaki Honma ***

Overall Rating: 5.0


*NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 3 7/23*

Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask IV vs KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Captain New Japan *1/4

Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & YOSHI-HASHI **

CHAOS (Toru Yano & Gedo) vs Bullet Club (Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi) *3/4

Michael Elgin, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi vs Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI) **

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs Tama Tonga **1/4

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Tomohiro Ishii vs Hirooki Goto **1/2

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Naomichi Marufuji vs Bad Luck Fale **1/2

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Kazuchika Okada vs SANADA ***

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Togi Makabe ***1/4

Overall Rating: 5.0


*NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 4 7/24*

David Finlay vs Juice Robinson *1/4

Los Ingobernables de Japón (SANADA & BUSHI) vs Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi *1/2

Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Captain New Japan **

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Gedo & Naomichi Marufuji vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/4

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Tomoaki Honma vs YOSHI-HASHI ***

G1 Climax 26 Block B: EVIL vs Yuji Nagata **1/4

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Kenny Omega vs Toru Yano *1/4

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Katsuyori Shibata ***

G1 Climax 26 Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs Michael Elgin ***1/2

Overall Rating: 6.0


*NJPW G1 Climax 26 Day 5 7/25*

YOSHI-HASHI vs David Finlay *1/2

Michael Elgin, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask IV & Juice Robinson vs Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger & Manabu Nakanishi **

Bullet Club (Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi) vs Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan *1/4

Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL & BUSHI) vs Toru Yano, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Gedo *3/4

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Bad Luck Fale vs Tomohiro Ishii **3/4

G1 Climax 26 Block A: SANADA vs Togi Makabe **

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Naomichi Marufuji vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan **1/2

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tama Tonga **

G1 Climax 26 Block A: Hirooki Goto vs Kazuchika Okada **3/4

Overall Rating: 3.75


----------



## Dead Seabed

Currently torrenting 27 gigs of Hayabusa - The Phoenix Never Dies Special Edition. Brb sometime during 2023 when it downloads.


----------



## Pizzamorg

So looking around as to where to jump back into NJPW I got the sense that I could pretty much just jump in anywhere and so I decided to start with Wrestle Kingdom 9 as it seems this was really the beginning of NJPW breaking out, this would seem to fit with the fact that so many of their top guys from 14/15 were in WWE by 2016. 

If this goes well, I might be willing to take suggestions of going further back to more unknown territory outside of Japan if anyone has any years in mind (and content I’d actually be able to locate [and not in some pixellated, compressed, mess on YouTube either]). 

As a total NJPW noob and the fact that this show is old news I’m not gonna even attempt to review the show, I’m just gonna ring off what I took away from it. 

Firstly, it’s good to know that the NJPW refs are just as garbage as the ones in WWE. Cheating in plain view of the ref while the ref just watches and does nothing? Check. Refs being brushed by the wrestlers and hitting the ground like they got run over? Check. And a new one I haven’t consciously noticed in WWE before, the ref obviously slowing his count down when I guess a wrestler missed his queue to kick out. JR didn’t help either, loudly drawing attention to these things when I might have otherwise missed it. 

Possibly my favourite match on the card was Styles/Naito. Given that it was effectively a bragging rights match, as apposed to a title match, they put on possibly the most epic and hard fought contest of the night. That Avalanche Styles Clash out of nowhere for the finish was so epic. You can see based on this just how diluted the WWE version of Styles is and he’s still excellent there. Styles makes being a dick and hurting people into something truly beautiful and it’s all the more better in NJPW which seem to allow stiffer strikers and crazier bumps. Not to give it all to Styles though, as between this match and Naito's match for their IC Title at WK11, I’m thinking I’m becoming a fan. The dude bumps like a lunatic, sells so well and tells such a great story. His offence is so hard hitting, yet so technical and refined looking. 

Well other than the main event, which was truly epic, even without understanding the promo package which made it look like a memorial to a dead Tanahashi. I had no idea Okada was comparatively so young, he’s a living legend. 

Wow without knowing what was being said, some of that promo video package for Nakamura/Ibushi sure was weird, haha. Why was Ibushi swearing and then shown wrestling a sex doll??? Since I only know of Nakamura from NXT, outside of a few YouTube videos, it’s quite strange for me to see him portrayed as a career ending asshole in combat but willing to give a nod of respect when it’s over??? Especially after he was introduced as a badass combination of Micheal Jackson and Freddy Mercury. Quirky flamboyance though is something Japan seems love from heels. I liked the way this match just broke down into a brawl, it’s just a shame that the replays spoiled so much of the magic by showing the tricks behind it. 

While I know this is the beginning of Omega’s rise to mega stardom he was mostly a little bitch in his match with Taguchi and everyone knows how much I hate scoundrels coming out on top. At least he made Taguchi look damn good for it. I’ve only seen him wrestle a couple of times but I like the juxtaposition I’ve seen between that goofy ass gimmick on the outside and the fact that the dude is actually a bit of a badass once you get him in between the ropes (or when he’s soaring over the top of them). 

I hear Gallows and Anderson were hot shit during their Bullet Club days which is hard to imagine for me who only knows them from their garbage 2016 WWE run. Honestly didn’t take much away from them in their loss to Shibata/Goto outside of how out of shape they look. 

So what is next from here, New Beginning in Osaka? Then is it Sendai and then Invasion Attack? I’m guessing I won’t have English commentary again now for a while. Not that I’ll miss it really, given it was Matt Striker and JR, the commentary really wasn’t all that great here. It is nice though to have a bridge for the language barriers.


----------



## Corey

@Pizzamorg you're probably not gonna have anymore English commentary until maybe the G1 Final or King of Pro Wrestling in October.  Totally fine place to start where you're at now. Styles/Tanahashi from New Beginning is a personal favorite of mine. I believe that's the one that sort of has a WWE-style main event feel to it and that caught me off guard. Ibushi/Honma is popular from that show too. 

New Beginning in Sendai was a pretty weak show imo but Honma/Ishii is a highly touted matchup. Nakamura/Nagata was forgettable for me. 

After those two shows, don't skip the New Japan Cup. It's a tournament to determine who will be in the main event of Invasion Attack. The finals of that is a great match and there's another edition of Shibata vs. Goto that I'm sure you'll enjoy. (Y)


----------



## Pizzamorg

Corey said:


> @Pizzamorg you're probably not gonna have anymore English commentary until maybe the G1 Final or King of Pro Wrestling in October.  Totally fine place to start where you're at now. Styles/Tanahashi from New Beginning is a personal favorite of mine. I believe that's the one that sort of has a WWE-style main event feel to it and that caught me off guard. Ibushi/Honma is popular from that show too.
> 
> New Beginning in Sendai was a pretty weak show imo but Honma/Ishii is a highly touted matchup. Nakamura/Nagata was forgettable for me.
> 
> After those two shows, don't skip the New Japan Cup. It's a tournament to determine who will be in the main event of Invasion Attack. The finals of that is a great match and there's another edition of Shibata vs. Goto that I'm sure you'll enjoy. (Y)


I was actually contemplating skipping the New Japan Cup just because the matches are all over the place on NJPW World and since it's all in JApanese trying to work out the logistics of it is a nightmare. Have you got links to the specific parts I should watch on World?


----------



## Corey

Pizzamorg said:


> I was actually contemplating skipping the New Japan Cup just because the matches are all over the place on NJPW World and since it's all in JApanese trying to work out the logistics of it is a nightmare. Have you got links to the specific parts I should watch on World?


I'm not actually a NJPW World subscriber, but this is what you should watch going off of memory:

1st Round, March 5th - Naito v. Anderson (it might be entitled eight game or something)
2nd Round, March 8th - Shibata vs. Goto (it's the main event or 8th game I guess? or online here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j5v4k )
March 15th: Ibushi vs. Naito Semi's (4th game) and Goto vs. Ibushi Finals (8th game)


----------



## Pizzamorg

Corey said:


> I'm not actually a NJPW World subscriber, but this is what you should watch going off of memory:
> 
> 1st Round, March 5th - Naito v. Anderson (it might be entitled eight game or something)
> 2nd Round, March 8th - Shibata vs. Goto (it's the main event or 8th game I guess? or online here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j5v4k )
> March 15th: Ibushi vs. Naito Semi's (4th game) and Goto vs. Ibushi Finals (8th game)


How do you watch it without? Naughtily?


----------



## Corey

Pizzamorg said:


> How do you watch it without? Naughtily?


Haha, I download the torrents.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Corey said:


> Haha, I download the torrents.


From XWT?


----------



## Corey

Pizzamorg said:


> From XWT?


Yessir


----------



## The High King

2 great looking cards coming in Feb.


----------



## Daniel97

Could someone tell me the best ROH shows from 2015 & 2016 please. Thank you


----------



## Corey

Daniel97 said:


> Could someone tell me the best ROH shows from 2015 & 2016 please. Thank you


Strange thread to ask in.  Try this one next time: http://www.wrestlingforum.com/other-wrestling/575679-roh-sbg-discussion-thread.html 

But here ya go:

Winter Warriors Tour: Atlanta
13th Anniversary Show (outside of the main event which was overbooked as hell)
Conquest Tour: Hopkins
War of the Worlds Night 1
Final Battle 2015

Conquest Tour: Philly
Supercard of Honor X Night 2
Death Before Dishonor XIV
All Star Extravaganza VIII
Final Battle 2016


----------



## meele

Random question: does any of you know who was doing those epic ring introductions at WK9, basically singing the names of the wrestlers? Because seriously, it was such gold, I kept replaing the entrances only to listen to it. Freaking majestic.


----------



## Pizzamorg

So I just checked out New Beginning in Osaka. Same as before, no point reviewing the whole show but I will just ring off what I took away from the show and my overwhelming feelings are negative ones. About the only matches involving people I gave a shit about were just rematches from WK9, sometimes the results changed sometimes they didn’t but it never felt like it mattered either way and I’ve heard people talking about the “incredible emotion” of the Japanese commentary but all I heard was them shouting “HI!” non stop for six hours. 

Taguchi and Omega have good synergy in the ring but I wanted to see Taguchi out for vengeance after he effectively got robbed in a handicap match at WK9. I didn’t want to see a match built around Taguchi and Omega raping each other with flags and trying to pull each others tights down. That Three Man Tombstone on the chair was a pretty badass finish, though. This match also made realise I have no clue whatsoever what the rules are for Japanese wrestling matches. Given what happened last time, shouldn’t the Young Bucks be banned from ringside or at least monitored or does this run under the same dumb rules as WWE for this stuff? Talking of DQs, at first Omega was using the flag while the ref was distracted which would make sense under my understanding of pro wrestling rules but then Taguchi went on a rampage with it, including ramming it into Omega’s ass in plain view of the ref, who proceeded to do nothing. It’s okay to use foreign objects if you’re a face? Then later in the match when Omega wouldn’t listen to the ref’s instructions he booted him in the face. Wuuuuut. 

Meanwhile Gallows and Anderson are so fucking boring, they seem to have so much energy yet it never translates to a sense of urgency or immediacy and despite the amount of double team combos they do, I never feel the two of them have much synergy as a team in the ring. I also just don’t really understand why all of NJPW’s matches need to go on for so damn long, I mean if the story requires it go ahead but forcing a sense of epic is only going to make things sluggish. This match felt like it went on for an eternity and it could have easily been wrapped up in fifteen minutes with entrances. 

Tanahashi/Styles for the IWGP Heavy Weight Title was great… if you skipped straight to the last ten minutes, anyway The first twenty or so minutes are very flat and dull with Tanahashi and Styles wrestling a very workmanlike match, in my opinion. Maybe if I had better appreciation for their past feuds this would mean more to me but as an outsider I found the action very flat and dull. Or at least as flat and dull as a match can be with Styles in it. 

But then everything changes, for the better, when Tanahashi uses his finishing move out of the ring to effectively take on the entire Bullet Club single handedly, busting himself open in the process. I have to wonder if this was some kind of work as they built the injury into the match moving forwards from there like it belonged there. Tanahashi isn’t the most exciting dude in the ring but even basic moves look lit as fuck when you’re pissing blood all over the place from your face and it also accentuated the brutality of Styles offence in the process too. Hollow Point into the Bloody Sunday into the Styles Clash (or is it Crush here?) while Tanahashi is bleeding everywhere, to finish the match? Yes fucking please. That is how you win a title. How badass do the Bullet Club look now with Styles and his small army all covered in gold? 

Are they planting seeds here for an Omega/Styles feud or am I just reading too much into their interactions?


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

You're reading too much into it.  It could have been something tho...


----------



## Eliko




----------



## SWITCHBLADE

Shibata vs. Ospreay at New Beginning in Osaka will (officially) be for the Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship.








:mark::mark::mark:mark::mark:


----------



## maxninepower

Eng-sub :'/


----------



## SWITCHBLADE

maxninepower said:


> Eng-sub :'/


7/10 Not as good as @RuthlessAggrEvan and his English subbed videos.


----------



## RuthlessAggrEvan

Rainmaka! said:


> 7/10 Not as good as @RuthlessAggrEvan and his English subbed videos.


Thanks. I was pretty mad that NJPW gave me that copyright strike and got those videos taken down, but I guess it's okay if NJPW's really willing to do it on their own.


----------



## The High King

Ricochet has sights set on NJPW now contract with LU is up

http://www.topropepress.com/news/42087/ricochet-no-longer-contract-lucha-underground/


----------



## volde

How does his current (or previous I guess?) contract work? He was competing in NJPW so what would essentially change?


----------



## Pizzamorg

Went onto NJPW World to tune into Sapporo when I got distracted and started watching a bunch of other matches, one of which was Goto's match against Omega in the G1 Climax Finals.

The whole angle about Omega going into this match injured less than twenty four hours after his last match is silly. I know these kinds of things are a staple of pro wrestling storytelling but in kayfabe, it really doesn’t make any sense. It also takes a long time to adjust to NJPW’s approach to selling, with all of its Shounen Jump storytelling, as Omega uses nothing but “pure will and fighting spirit” to race through several fast paced, high flying, high risk sequences just fine before remembering the knee and doing a bit of theatrical selling for a while before racing into a bunch of other sequences just fine again. I guess in a weird way, you could argue that this is much more logical storytelling than how selling is often done elsewhere, as no wrestler seems to ever think about downplaying the damage and instead just places a giant bullseye on where they are hurt. 

Outside of all that though, the match is... an interesting one... Omega basically worked all the spots and then Goto would occasionally remind you he was in the match by either delivering a bone rattling stiff strike or breaking into an elaborate and imaginative sequence seemingly from nowhere. The way these guys flowed from sequence to sequence while keeping up the intensity and immediacy despite the length of the match was really impressive. There was a steady series of breathtaking near falls without it just feeling like spam and I loved the sequence to close the match off with.

I also went back to Wrestle Kingdom 11 to watch the Goto/Shibata match I haven’t seen, on the recommendation of the commentators during Sapporo.

It is a great match, to be fair. I don’t know anything about Shibata other than the murmurs about how dangerously stiff he is and how alarming it is if a guy is accused of being dangerously stiff in a company built around what, to us westerners, always seems like dangerously stiff wrestling. It certainly is evidenced here, some of those shots Goto takes… I’m wincing. 

I thought the match itself, was great. I am enjoying more and more the weird blend of more convincing combat but more fantasy focused storytelling, the way Shibata meditates the pain away mid match like some Jedi while Goto does that Jutsu thing and taps into his Samurai Spirit to power himself up. It sounds stupid out loud but in the moment it’s awesome. I just loved the way the two men would continuously fight through high impact moves to deliver even bigger high impact moves, constantly topping one another and refusing to go down until their bodies physically gave out. 

The only point of the match where it fell down for me a little was when Shibata lost his temper, took out the paper ref and the ref just kinda got up and looked annoyed. I get that it’s a Championship Match so a certain amount of leniency is sometimes used, whether that is right or not, but in kayfabe such dissension to an Official shouldn’t go unpunished. 

The more I learn about NJPW, the more I go back to watch matches from Wrestle Kingdom 11, the more I appreciate it. Up and down the card every match I’ve watched I’ve enjoyed. Omega/Okada is my match of the year so far, cliche or not. Cody/Robinson is a seriously underrated contest from that card. Then there was Naito/Tanahashi tearing the house down and now this. All match of the year contenders and we're only in February!


----------



## RKing85

volde said:


> How does his current (or previous I guess?) contract work? He was competing in NJPW so what would essentially change?


Lucha Underground had first dibs on his dates. He could only work NJPW dates if he didn't have Lucha dates.


----------



## Pizzamorg

To be honest, I generally skip all of the Road To shows for NJPW because while I appreciate they do establish feuds and all of that I don’t really care for their “chuck everyone into massive tag matches” approach to everything outside of their PPVs. Not to mention the daily rate they are pumped out at is a nightmare for me, I just don’t have time to watch all these shows. I watched Tag Six though as they added in over the top rope elimination rules (why, I’m not really sure, as they haven’t done this elsewhere?) but oh well. 

More importantly the show had English commentary so I watched in hope I would gleam some insight into the fall out from Sapporo. Oddly, as I learnt here, in terms of fall out… there wasn’t a lot. I know NJPW is wrestling driven, not story or character driven like many other promotions but I dunno, I kinda expected some reference to past events here but most matches were completely absent of that. It was still quite logically booked moving forwards, though, I suppose. Unless I’m mistaken, this show is only four days away from the actual New Beginning show and despite what WWE does, you shouldn’t play all your cards days before your PPV. That Shibata Ospreay match is gonna be killah. I also hope they do more with Suzuki as the more I watch him and the more I learn about him, the dude is LEGIT.

Talking of the main talking point – Okada’s leg, I’m still not sure how I feel about his selling. I know a lot of people hated his selling at Sapporo but I didn’t mind it, in the context of NJPW’s anime booking I thought it was quite organic. Honestly, much like Okada’s match with Omega, the more I think about the match with Suzuki and the more I talk about the match, the fonder of the match I become. Yeah the pay off means the match doesn’t need to be nearly as long as it is and Okada’s Roman Reign’s style booking was bullshitty but both aspects I have grown to realise are kinda part of the parcel of a NJPW Main Event. They make them epics, even when they really don’t need to be as long as they are and the whole fighting spirit aspect of their booking quite often betrays the entire match they work up to that point as they like those intense rush grand finishes. So with that all in context, the match really isn’t as horrible as I felt like it was the first time around. I still don’t think it was nearly as good as Goto and Robinson’s match earlier in the night (my favourite match of the month so far through any promotion I watch) but still solid.

However now he’s got the injury, had it worked for a solid thirty minutes, it doesn’t really make sense for him to even be in a match in the first place, let alone anything else. I mean in Sapporo, his title and his pride were on the line, but he has nothing to gain by winning this match since he effectively destroyed Suzuki at the end with the Rainmaker in Sapporo but he has everything to lose if he stays in this match and lets Suzuki to continue to damage that leg so every time Suzuki put him in some kind of submission or started torturing his leg I was like… just tap, man. Some of the spots he works in this match simply shouldn’t have been there and at times it just feels like Okada either can’t be bothered to sell the leg or is annoyed that he has to sell the leg which makes you wonder why they even have this angle if that is the case.


----------



## Pizzamorg

So while I wait for the next NJPW event I have gone back to watching NJPW 2015 in my bid to catch up on recent NJPW history with my next watch being a bunch of matches from that year’s New Japan Cup “Final Show”. Once again, like previously said, I ain’t gonna do some in depth analysis as I’m not qualified in any way to do so and have no illusion otherwise, I’m just gonna just down my feelings on stuff as I go. 

I started with with Makabe vs Goto and when I watched the match without any context the first time, the problems with the match (IE its rushed pace and honestly pretty crappy finish) kinda made sense to me, Goto would be wrestling again that night in the final of the New Japan Cup and you obviously want to save yourself for that match, so I figured they were just trying to get this match out of the way to get Goto to the finals. But then when the next match happens, Naito v Ibushi, that theory is completely thrown in the bin because Naito/Ibushi absolutely leave it all in the ring (what. a. match). I’m guessing Makabe/Goto just marks one of the few genuinely bad NJPW matches I’ve watched… GOTO, NO! 

And that final? That may well be the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a perfect match this side of my last viewing of Okada/Omega. Top to bottom, I adored this match. The contrasting styles and the showcase of pure wrestling brilliance with all the crazy bumps and breathtaking sequences, the way the sequences flowed perfectly into one seamless package of bliss and told such an epic, emotional, tale which saw more character growth than your average episode of TV. The epic, big fight, feel. Oh and the commentary (dunno what the fuck they are saying but I FEEL it along with ever beat in the ring). Never much cared for Ibushi in the CWC but watching his match against Naito and then his match against Goto, I feel like I just watched a GOAT grow before my very eyes. Is this where they started using Goto as the guy to generate big matches and then put the other person over because I am glad they stuck with that, this match was UUUUUUGH! 

So after this it is Invasion Attack, Dontaku and then their ROH crossover show, right? Is it worth watching that ROH crossover as someone who doesn’t follow ROH? If I don’t watch those shows, is it straight to Dominion?


----------



## Miguel De Juan

Anime booking? Okada is not booked like Reigns at all. Okada is actually over. People weep during his matches. Okada sold it is jut that he refused to give up.

I have seen AJPW's 90s main events which feature guys getting dropped on their heads repeatedly. 

NJPW is just doing what companies used to do when guys like Bruno, Hogan, and Flair were long time faces of companies. You keep them strong so they draw. Losing matches loses your ability to draw. Mistico/Caristico is no longer a draw because he got jobbed out in WWE and AAA. He loses way too much now to be a draw. 

That is why I like this promotion despite its undercard weaknesses in the tag division. Cena is the most protected guy in WWE and he is on the way out. 

Top guys needs to win and when they lose it must matter. Okada long term is going to either tap to Suzuki or be pinned by Omega. He is engaging in long battle and being worn down. Naito is ultimately being set up main event the next dome show against Omega. Naito beat Tanahashi and is booked strongly.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Yeah all the fighting spirit business is pure live action shounen jump.


----------



## Pizzamorg

Next stop on NJPW 2015 tour was that year’s Invasion Attack. Like it seems with most shows, after reading around online, at least half the card is random tag matches that can be skipped but sadly even when we get to the *key* matches, there is certain amount left to be desired. 

The one match I cannot fault was Omega’s match against Máscara Dorada. That was top draw stuff and the match of the night for me.

I also quite enjoyed Gallows and Anderson’s match against The Kingdom. Even if Gallows almost kills Tevan towards the end there and the fact that Bullet Club lost due to creepy Maria Kanellis shenanigans was…. not good. 

No, the biggest problem with the key matches is how much the main event let me down. It was WWE levels of bad booking, Ibushi effectively got no significant offence in for the whole match (making all that work in the Cup seem pointless) but once he hits the Last Ride and then goes for that Phoenix Splash Omega feels the need to cause a distraction clearly concerned Styles is gonna lose as he never stepped in at any other point. But why does he feel that way? 

That is what I hate about NJPW finishes, they always make the 30+ minutes up to the final five or so feel completely pointless. Guy takes a solid half hour of punishment, getting his ass beaten around every corner of the ring, looks at his watch and realises the show is coming to an end, hits a signature move and wins the match anyway. We see this happen time and time again.

Who are these matches for, what do I take away from this? That Ibushi is actually strong despite getting his ass beaten around the ring because his signature moves are so powerful he can put away Styles at near 100% with two moves? But then doesn’t that make Styles a bitch? You just make both guys look weak and waste our time. It was just dumb. It just felt like a massive “fuck you”. 

The match was really scrappy, as far as NJPW goes, too. I dunno whether their communication broke down or something but there were a few sequences and spots that were really quite off, luckily they clued on towards the end and stopped showing us replays of the mistakes (why does wrestling do this?). 

All about Okada laying him the fuck out at the end, though.


----------



## Brock

*Jushin 'Thunder' Liger vs. Great Sasuke (Super J Cup 1994)*

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/colum...t-sasuke-super-j-cup-1994-a.html#post65995793

Review up in the columns section  Thought it may interest peeps who frequent this section






Anyone know what match it is in this video between Liger/Tiger Mask when Liger is in black? No sure I've seen a couple of moves on this video, did all these come from the 90's?


----------

