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Post by microstatistics on Jan 6, 2018 6:12:07 GMT -5
My pick for the best match since the 90s. Near perfect pacing with genius individual spots, awesome character work, great comedy and high end storytelling. Not to mention insanely entertaining. A match that defines pro wrestling for me. Top 10 contender.
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Post by microstatistics on Sept 8, 2018 2:41:47 GMT -5
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Post by elliott on Sept 8, 2018 23:37:39 GMT -5
Everytime I have tried to watch this, I've been interrupted by something and been pulled away. I promise you its been a priority for a while and that I will make sure to watch it within the next 24 hours. Anjoh vs Sano to for that matter.
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Post by philschneider on Sept 9, 2018 10:09:20 GMT -5
Seconded
Inoue as ineffectual schmuck is one of my favorite wrestling characters. Here he is in his ultimate challenge. Inoue is perfect as the lovable heel loser getting his improbable big match. It starts with Inoue (who has visable indentations from his reading glasses) jumping Akiyama at the bell and hitting a big suplex and a roll up. Akiyama is established as a guy who can get upset quickly and the crowd buys the near fall. Akiyama locks on the choke, and you also buy Inoue going down quickly. Inoue then spends the next couple of minutes with some awesome stalling, and then some really great eye rakes. When Akiyama responds to the eye rakes with rakes of his own, the crowd starts booing him unmercifully. Akiyama is great as a guy who can't deal with the crowd booing him. There is a point where he just decides "fuck it, you want to boo, boo this" and just murders Inoue, including a calf branding into the steel barricade. Inoue is working as a guy with a limited number of options, he can't go toe to toe with Akyama, and he can't out quick him, out wrestle him, or out power him. He needs to either catch Akyama in a mistake or outsmart him. The rolls ups, and the stalling fit into that, and he keeps getting near falls by tricking Akiyama into almost getting counted out. Including a great figure four on the ramp which he just held it until the last possible second and sprints into the ring. Near the end Akiyama is just killing Inoue, but Masao won't go down. It isn't no-selling because he is so tough, it is more like he knows this is his only shot and despite all of his flaws wants to die on his sword. Not a ton of cool moves or fancy sequences, but still the best match of the year.
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Post by elliott on Sept 9, 2018 13:55:57 GMT -5
Yeah, this is great. I mean, the company style isn't something I'm a fan of so there are little things sprinkled throughout that I didn't love, but that has more to do with how Japanese wrestling evolved over the years and NOAH itself than this match. With that out of the way, my overwhelming takeaway was that this was a brilliant match full of really interesting ideas and that were well executed and developed into a really fun AND great match. Some great matches are exhausting to watch. This is a total blast. This has terrific character work and storytelling by both guys. I wish 2000s Japanese wrestling was more like this. Everyone should watch it. Great stuff. Thanks Micro for putting this over so big!
Oh right. Thirded. Definitely absolutely thirded. Strong contender for the list. If I have 5 matches from 2000s Japan make my list this will definitely be one of them.
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Post by microstatistics on Sept 10, 2018 3:10:43 GMT -5
Glad you liked it and yeah this is definitely one of the more purely fun great matches. Also I agree, I wish more people tried to wrestle like that. That's I like the Toru Yano comedy matches from current NJPW. Atleast he tries something different from the standard heavyweight formula and against elite workers (Styles, Suzuki), it produces great matches.
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Post by elliott on Sept 10, 2018 3:24:06 GMT -5
A lot of what makes this match standout is Inoue's performance definitely, but it isn't possible without Akiyama's and specifically Akiyama being great. This more than anything makes me want to watch more Akiyama vs Not Top Guys matches.
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Post by microstatistics on Sept 12, 2018 21:40:44 GMT -5
Agree, Akiyama is probably the best Japanese wrestler since 2000 and it's in large part thanks to matches vs. lesser guys.
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