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Post by jml on Jun 23, 2018 19:38:45 GMT -5
Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA for the GHC Heavyweight Title (NOAH Autumn Navigation 10/29/06 Budokan Hall Tokyo, Japan)
I've come to grips that I will forever love this match and I don't care what anyone says. It's one of my favorite matches of all time, flaws and all. Here's what I wrote on PWO years ago when I rewatched for the first time when I getting back to watch wrestling again.
"I recently watched this match to see if it held up for me back when I saw in 06 and it held up well. I know the criticism of the match is that there are too many overkill spots but the background going into that match is interesting.
Noah clearly had a youth movement going in 06 and Marufuji was the guy at the head of it at the moment but Morishima was the guy that was being groomed long term. Jun Akiyama was in the middle of a disappointing GHC Title reign and putting the belt seemed to be the right thing to do. Plus, they wanted to get Marufuji over into America to defend the title as he did with Nigel McGuiness.
So, you have KENTA as Marufuji's 1st opponent in Japan cause KENTA beat Marufuji earlier in the year in a GHC Junior title defense. Superstar Sleeze talks about the show drawing poorly but that's because the undercard of this show was pretty bad for a standard Budokan Hall show and it was billed as a one match show - Marufuji vs KENTA. Noah had some great shows leading up to this but Misawa dropped the ball on this show by not giving them support.
Two perceived juniors fighting for the Heavyweight crown in Budokan Hall sounds absurd but dammit they had to do overkill to get everybody's attention that show.
KENTA's midsection work on Marufuji was great including the double knees to the chest and the Falcon Arrow from the apron to the floor. The only stuff that is bad are suplex spots which look ridiculous and the the botched Go 2 Sleep when Marufuji comes off the top. I just chalk it up as them being inexperienced and trying to do too much but if you're try to do that, you have to go for it in the spot they were in. They both knew it was their one shot cause Misawa put the belt on himself after that but the match was good overall."
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Post by superstarsleeze on Jul 29, 2018 19:25:24 GMT -5
I absolutely hate this match but hey different strokes for different folks. More power to anyone who votes for this. GHC Heavyweight Champion Naomichi Marufuji vs KENTA - Budokan 10/29/06 HOLY OVERKILL, BATMAN! This match was like a bad progressive rock album (I know that's redundant  ). Sacrificing hooks for more notes at lightning speeds. Sacrificing meaningful transitions for inane time changes. You could probably have constructed 4 or 5 great matches around some of the spots in this match. They easily could have built a classic match around the dueling body part work at the outset of the match, Marufuji establishes why he is the champion countering KENTA at every turn and taking the lead with a DDT onto the apron. He works the neck well to contain the lightning fast KENTA. Any time KENTA gets spunky, he elbows him in the neck, but one time KENTA sneaks in a roundhouse kick. KENTA work on the ribs/abs of Marufuji is really excellent and probably the best continuous portion of the match. So that was one match that could have been great. Then Marufuji hits a springboard dropkick to send KENTA to the outside. KENTA whiffs on a kick and straddles the railing. Marufuji decided to his and KENTA's life in his own hands with an Asai Moonsault that busts KENTA's nose open hardway and nearly decapitates himself on the railing. They could have been built an entire match around this hook with each struggling to overcome the injures from this high risk move. It shows how much the Heavyweight Title means to two Junior Heavyweights. Instead, a minute later they keep going balls to the wall. I am not taking anything away from their toughness because I would be running for the locker room if I was either one of these guys, but fuck talk about killing the severity of legitimately scary spot. Shit like Marufuji ramming KENTA's head into the post only for KENTA to catch him mid-air with an Ace Crusher was just like what the hell is point of all this. Or KENTA slapping Marufuji and now Marufuji has all this energy to run the ropes and lariat KENTA. It was like I was playing my brother in a video game and finally hit an L1 enough to make my guy run to the ropes to avoid his strikes. I can play my brother in Here Comes The Pain for 35 minutes and have a great time, but I am pretty sure no one else wants to watch that. In another spot that I think they could have built a match around was KENTA sending Marufuji to the floor on a sliced bread attempt. If Marufuji had been kicking his ass for 10-15 minutes and KENTA finally hits this tide-turning move that would have been a great Wow moment, Instead some shit happened involving the ramp where nobody took a move, Another sequence that could have been the hook to a match was the apron struggle with KENTA hitting a Steiner Screwdriver off the apron. It is high-risk transition that could lead to a sweet heat segment and eventual hot comeback. Marufuji does a great job writhing in pain and when KENTA comes over the top with a double stomp, Marufuji is really good at making me feel for him. Before you know it Marufuji has hit a Sliced Bread as a transition move. Did I mention this was after KENTA hit his Exploding Knee (his secondary finish)? Shaking my head. In a hilarious moment, they are just suplexing each other. KENTA does not have a good grip and lets go and Marufuji just suplexes himself. Fuck this match. They hit a bunch of huge bombs and start running ropes really fast and hit some kicks and Spanish Fly and a Cradle Piledriver gives Marufuji. I don't give a fuck. The fact that this only drew 11.5k (lowest to date in NOAH history) mean about 5.5k did not either. It is too bad I am not a promoter because I now have a great template for my next 4-5 main events. Every match is a collection of spots. In this match, the spots did not connect nor did they mean anything. They had some really nifty spots, they had some overwrought spots and they had some pathetic spots. Spots don't make a match. I can forgive a match that is 20 minutes of a spot-a-thon, but at 35 minutes you are wasting my time. Don't waste my time. Worst match I have watched for this project. |
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Post by fxnj on Jul 1, 2023 8:49:26 GMT -5
This was a match that blew my mind on first viewing but then quickly fell out of favor as the issues were just too much to ignore. Now, after having had my share of being disappointed by soulless NJPW main events praised as the best thing ever, I can come back to this and see how it's maybe not that bad. Those first 15 minutes or so are actually kind of great. Innovative sequences of junior offense adapted to the heavyweight style, focused bodypart work that doesn't feel like time killing, and violent strike exchanges demonstrating impressive technique. The guardrail spot felt like the turning point for the match becoming more spot-focused, which was disappointing, but it's nice that at least they don't completely drop the work on Marufuji's mid-section. It's still not my favorite style by any stretch and them moving from spot to spot as quickly as they do stops most of it from having as big an impact as it should, but the sheer brutality on display and skill in successfully doing these sequences kept the match interesting. Bonus points as well for having tribute spots that were built to work within the match and don't feel like cringe cosplay. No annoying "drink in the moment" or Epic Elbow Exchange sequences either.
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Post by elliott on Sept 27, 2023 13:49:52 GMT -5
It's very long and it felt very long!
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). Sacrificing hooks for more notes at lightning speeds. Sacrificing meaningful transitions for inane time changes. You could probably have constructed 4 or 5 great matches around some of the spots in this match. They easily could have built a classic match around the dueling body part work at the outset of the match, Marufuji establishes why he is the champion countering KENTA at every turn and taking the lead with a DDT onto the apron. He works the neck well to contain the lightning fast KENTA. Any time KENTA gets spunky, he elbows him in the neck, but one time KENTA sneaks in a roundhouse kick. KENTA work on the ribs/abs of Marufuji is really excellent and probably the best continuous portion of the match. So that was one match that could have been great.