Naomichi Marufuji vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa (NOAH - 12/9/2001)

I ended up liking this more than ever. Excellent offensive performance by Takaiwa. His crowbar style worked well because everything looked pretty devastating. His heel stuff was really good too. The holds on the mat were also really snug. Really tight and focused first half. I thought they escalated a bit too suddenly because out of nowhere bombs were flying left and right but the selling remained solid. I can see people hating Marufuji's knee selling here but it worked for me because it was pretty consistent and he sold it like the injury was actively hampering him from setting up big spots or capitalizing on an advantage. There is a really great spot later on when in between the carnage Takaiwa grabs a sharpshooter and goes for a submission, continuing the leg psychology. Though the lack of crowd reaction at that spot diminishes it but I guess that's what happens when you condition your audience to only react to the big stuff.

This is probably my oddest pick. But this really is a case of two negatives make a positive. While their strengths match, their weaknesses complement each other and the whole thing ends up working wonderfully.