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Are you bored AND a fan of the professional wrestling? Fear not, I have the solution! Every day I will link to a highlighted match from Japan along with a bonus bout, and provide some background details. Note that these are match downloads rather than streams. I'm going to focus on matches that aren't super-famous so that even long-time puroresu dorks have a chance to see something new. Please provide your thoughts as we go along. Match of the Day Masakatsu Funaki vs Tatsuo Nakano, UWFi July 24, 1989 http://theditch.us/FunakivsNakano7-24-89.avi Background: UWFi was a shoot-style promotion that helped lead to various MMA promotions like PRIDE in the 1990s. Most of the UWFi crew were trained in the New Japan dojo, so they had a firm grasp of both legit grappling and working a realistic match. Masa Funaki's elite athletic ability and phenomenal looks made him a guaranteed star, which included an extended comeback run in pro wrestling after his MMA career ended. Nakano... how do I phrase this... is neither an elite athlete nor a good-looking human. It's a stark contrast. Why you should watch it: It's really intense and heated, and possibly the best match under 10 minutes long in Japanese history. Some really badass moves are mixed in with the stiffness and hate. Bonus Match Dick Murdoch vs Killer Karl Kox, No DQ Match, All Japan December 9, 1976 http://theditch.biz/MurdochVsKillerKarlKox12-9-76.avi Background: "Captain Redneck" Dick Murdoch had many tours in Japan. Although there's a lot about him that is reminiscent of Dusty Rhodes, he was miles ahead of Dusty for in-ring work, combining a lot of technical skill with tons of personality. Meanwhile, Kox is one of those guys that history has largely forgotten, and was a rock-solid old-school wrestler. They were both pioneers of the brainbuster, which come into play towards the end. Why you should watch it: BAH GAWD THIS IS A SLOBBERKNOCKER. Seriously, it's an absolute master class of building a match around punches. We become somewhat inured to the worked punch from watching a lot of modern WWE-style generic punches, so here is the real deal. Also neat to see a young Kyohei Wada was the ref with the '70s hair.
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Apr 11, 2020 19:28
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 14:25 |
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Funaki/Nakano was brutal. They were truly beating the poo poo out of each other, and it had a great structure for a 9 minute fight. Nakano's face got brutalized. Murdoch/Kox was a little slow in the beginning for my taste but once it gets going it is awesome and nasty. Good picks to start, Ditch. Looking forward to the thread.
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Apr 11, 2020 20:25
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Yeah, I loved the second half of Murdoch/Kox, but was in love with Funaki/Nakano from the start of the handshake attempt/opening bell Thank you Ditch
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Apr 11, 2020 20:26
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Here's Phil Schneider and Eric Ritz on the Murdoch/Kox match, as well: https://segundacaida.blogspot.com/2015/01/1976-match-of-year.html
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Apr 11, 2020 20:49
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Oh my god Funaki / Nakano was exactly what I hoped it would be - is UWF / UWFi generally like this? 'Cause I think I'm in love. Gonna echo the "once it got going, it. got. good." crowd on the Kox / Murdoch match. Looking forward to tomorrow, thank you Ditch.
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Apr 11, 2020 21:05
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Match of the Day: Saw this years ago and it's as awesome as remember it, starting off with one of the most badass ways to reject Bonus Match: You'd think the guy with KKK as his initials would be the self-proclaimed klansman, but I digress. Not really familiar with 70s NWA style, but I'm guessing that it's also a style where every move has purpose, and there are very few signatures. Or you just throw all that out the window and just punch each other in the head for the next 20 minutes so that one of you can eventually hit the brainbuster for the victory. Color always make straight up fights all the better.
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Apr 11, 2020 22:04
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UWFi is one of my biggest blindspots when it comes to puro history so I'm glad this thread exists. Funaki/Nakano was rad as hell.
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Apr 11, 2020 22:08
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Thank you, Ditch, these are the eras and companies I'm reading up on more. Dick was the only guy I knew coming into these two matches. Funaki/Nakano was spectacular. For being 9 minutes, it felt like these two went 20. I love the style of trunks/kickpad combo that Funaki has, always loved that style in Pancrase. I think Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch's attires are in tribute to that style. Funaki has the obvious star look, but Nakano was not loving around. He completely won me over at around the 3:40-ish mark where he just blew out two bloody snot rockets like a loving bad rear end. The slam Funaki does at the end is incredible. Completely unfair how handsome Funaki and Suzuki were around this time. Dick/Kox was a hoot. Love a good brawl. Don't really think I've ever seen a match just built around punches like this. There was an exchange early on where they were just delivering a masterclass of punches. Second half of the match didn't disappoint either and Murdoch knew how to bleed, man. I'm such a sucker for a worker who can throw a good punch. Just a goddamn war like Funaki/Nakano. They also hit some crisp rear end brainbusters.
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Apr 11, 2020 22:15
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I've watched Funaki/Nakano probably a dozen times and it always owns. VIOLENCE~
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Apr 11, 2020 22:15
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Benne posted:UWFi is one of my biggest blindspots when it comes to puro history so I'm glad this thread exists. Funaki/Nakano was rad as hell. Yeah, I only really know them from the NJPW invasion angle, which was pretty much booked like the the WWF v. WCW one.
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Apr 11, 2020 22:44
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Great thread. I'd love to see some Big Mouth Loud matches because since RealHero's gdrive stuff was taken down, my puro watching has decreased dramatically. Hero/Claudio vs Go/Taniguchi super macho dude fucked around with this message at 23:19 on Apr 11, 2020 |
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Apr 11, 2020 23:14
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Nakano/Funaki is like the platonic ideal of professional wrestling matches
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Apr 12, 2020 03:40
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Murdoch vs Kox is so loving good. Seriously, anybody skimming this looking for a match, or reading it later in the thread after Ditch has posted a few more - watch this match
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Apr 12, 2020 03:50
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Nakano/Funaki ruled. stopping the match to check his bleeding and Nakano just blows his nose, spraying blood everywhere, jesus christ
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Apr 12, 2020 05:54
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I'm going to become a wrestler just so I can use that move at 10;50 as a finisher. Cool as poo poo.
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Apr 12, 2020 06:08
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Holy gently caress that Nakano/Funaki match was loving amazing, just a wild ride from start to finish. Thanks Ditch, this rules.
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Apr 13, 2020 01:55
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The crowd is so loving hot for Nakano it really made the match so much better than it needed to be.
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Apr 13, 2020 02:23
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Couldn't quite get into Kox/Murdoch unfortunately. I appreciated what they were doing but it just didn't really grab me.
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Apr 13, 2020 02:35
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Yesterday got away from me. No worries on the handful of "meh" reactions to Murdoch vs Kox. That's why it was the bonus. Match of the Day Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki, New Japan November 1, 1990 http://theditch.us/1990-11-01ChonoMutohvsHaseSasaki.avi Background: For the tag titles! This was a big match for these burgeoning New Japan heavyweights that would help carry the promotion through the '90s. For several years we saw them in secondary roles, either partnering with established veterans or challenging them as underdogs. Now, the slightly-more-established Mutoh & Chono are the big dogs against the upstart HaseKen tandem. Why you should watch it: Solid action that's well ahead of what we were seeing in the U.S. at the time, great storytelling and tag match structure, big finish; hell yeah! One of the better IWGP tag title matches ever. Bonus Match Winners of the first match vs Shiro Koshinaka & Takashi Iizuka, New Japan December 13, 1990 http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?f6rp6upzbsgjiyd Background: The subsequent title match is a fitting follow-up. Koshinaka and Iizuka are even bigger underdogs than HaseKen were the month before, so this plays out along a similar theme. Understandably less famous than the other match, but it deserved more attention than it got. Why you should watch it: "Wait, is that the same Iizuka?!" you might ask. Yes! The madman was once a clean-cut babyface technician. This has another red-hot finishing run. Keep an eye out for maybe the most dickish pinfall breakup ever.
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Apr 13, 2020 20:17
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Discovering Iizuka's 90s stuff is quite the trip if you only knew him as the senile grandpa in Suzuki-gun
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Apr 13, 2020 22:30
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The finish to that second match is exquisite and both matches slapped.
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Apr 13, 2020 23:00
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Match of the Day: -jeez, those are some glorious mullets -must have been really athletic for 1990 with the way both teams sprint and tag in & out quickly (TWO cartwheel elbows to the corner), must've been choshu's influence -sasaki comes off like a STAR here, FORCEFULLY throwing the opponent to the ground to get the hot tag, and being a suplex, lariat, & powerslam machine in general -one cutoff i appreciated was chono's diving kick from the top rope to protect a dragon suplex pin -breezy watch and yeah, a high-tier finishing run Bonus Match: -GREAT giant swing -so is that a botched spot at about 13 minutes in? can't really tell why tiger would allow that -LOVE koshinaka going to the top rope and then immediately dropping down to do a regular dropkick to break up a submission -okay, it happened again at 16:35 but at least __Hase__ made a big clap to at least attempt to mimic the sound of a tag being made -such pioneering gluteus maximus offense from koshinaka -really iconic pin breakup spot, huh, that was smoooooooth -NASTY rear end backdrop, drat -wow, an iizuka chant -good lord, how does that finish NOT injure your shoulder and arm Takuan made some gifs of both matches when he did his history of NJPW thread, you should probably check them out after watching them
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Apr 13, 2020 23:20
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Coaaab posted:-sasaki comes off like a STAR here, FORCEFULLY throwing the opponent to the ground to get the hot tag this spot loving ruled, i don't think i've ever seen an on-the-ropes counter so simple but so effective like that
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Apr 14, 2020 06:19
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Match of the Day Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, NOAH February 17, 2002 http://theditch.biz/LigerWataruVsKikuchiKanemaru.avi Background: New Japan invades! Budokan Hall is red-hot for this. Why you should watch it: Kanemaru and Inoue show more intensity than average, Kikuchi has his best performance in years, and Liger is Liger. Not a spot-filled spectacular, but a really enjoyable grudge match. Interpromotional stuff got way more heat at this point, and it adds so much. Bonus Match Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, NOAH April 7, 2002 http://www.mediafire.com/?0pmx18p8yr2qp0v Background: The first one worked, so Liger gets to come back with a huge upgrade as a partner. Why you should watch it: Liger and Tanaka are RUDO-TASTIC, the crowd still hates them, and Kikuchi is at his best as a determined underdog.
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Apr 14, 2020 17:51
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Match of the Day: I think it was you that recommended to watch this era of NOAH because of the NJPW invasion and seeing Liger work heel. Kanemaru became one of my favorites because of this match, I went on a binge of all his other matches and it was a lot of fun
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Apr 14, 2020 21:06
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Match of the Day: -yesss, liger being a dickhead -this wataru inoue guy is also a dickhead, no-selling kikuchi's elbows and illegally stomping on kikuchi's head while liger has him in a half-crab -GREAT cutoff where kikuchi starts smashing elbows into inoue's face to get out of a submission but then liger illegally waltzes in, stomps on kikuchi to interrupt his comeback, and finally shoves down the ref that's telling him to get back to his corner -NICE closed-fist punch from inoue to kanemaru -GODDAMN kikuchi staring down liger while he puts his foot to kikuchi's face -HA the one-foot pin -like kanemaru using the ropes for leverage on the near pinfall, the noah team's willing to play dirty too -the opening minutes were really hot, but now team njpw is sticking to restholds, and the crowd reacts accordingly -ah spoke too soon, after the hot tag, kikuchi is really giving team njpw all the receipts they can handle -HA kanemaru's cheap shot on liger in front of the ref -liger got him back for it though -BRUTAL finish, that match was tons of fun -Extra fun post-match (announcer was losing his voice!) to set up... Bonus Match: -nice to immediately continue from where we left off -liger's juji gatame on kikuchi as revenge for the last match -oh god, now liger and the ref are pulling each other up by the collar -xbox-themed ring and turnbuckle pads, halo ring apron -minoru tanaka being a smug prick -another one-foot pin -liger got kanemaru back again for the cheap shot from last match -tanaka got in his cheap shot, too -love kikuchi's big elbow comebacks in both matches -funny cheap shot from kanemaru as a small measure of revenge from earlier -kanemaru trying to rip open liger's mask, the crowd is BEGGING for it -liger straight up chokes kanemaru in revenge -liger kicked out at 1, he mad now -oof at that brainbuster trade -some height on that backflip by tanaka, not many doing that in 2002 -really good follow up match, tanaka is such a preener -  at liger kicking through that wooden background set used for post-match interviewsenjoying the variety in matches so far, keep it up ditch
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Apr 15, 2020 01:22
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I'm a little behind. I just watched the Funaki/Nakano match. I've never really watched any UWF/UWFi but I loved this. Any recommendations on what else to watch?
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Apr 15, 2020 01:37
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mariooncrack posted:I'm a little behind. I just watched the Funaki/Nakano match. this channel has every uwfi show in history go nuts https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPdm0fZtzlXs4fQIZda_uew/featured
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Apr 15, 2020 01:48
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Smoking Crow posted:this channel has every uwfi show in history go nuts 
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Apr 15, 2020 12:04
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Matches of the Day (note: I removed the URL tags, but you can download from the links) Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii, New Japan November 12, 2011 http://theditch.us/NagataVsIshii11-12-11.mp4 Background: I suspect I do not need to introduce you to Ishii, who turned a corner and became one of the best wrestlers in the world in 2014. He spent years paying his dues and rarely got opportunities to do his thing. Starting in 2006 he would EXPLODE whenever he got in the ring with Nagata, and in the process he got the inconsistent Nagata to fire up. Why you should watch it: They had some singles matches in years past, most recently (at this point) in 2010. That match was hampered by a dead crowd, and could have been shorter. In contrast, this match gets the crowd hyped and crams a ton of action (and some hardway blood) into a less than 10 minute window. Is Ishii ready to slay his dragon yet? Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii, New Japan August 8, 2014 http://theditch.us/NagataVsIshii8-8-2014.mp4 Background: At this point in 2014, Ishii was surprising nobody. He was a threat to any heavyweight, and turning out killer matches one after another. Yet he still had that chip on his shoulder about Nagata... Why you should watch it: These two trading blows is always a good time. If you watch much puro, you'll see that most exchanges are formulaic and can get predictable. The way they mix things up and use single strikes as late-match turning points is what sets them apart.
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Apr 15, 2020 17:48
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Ditch. Thank you.
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Apr 15, 2020 17:50
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Thanks for posting this, watched the Tatsuo Nakano vs Masakatsu Funaki and talked about it on the latest Rudocast episode. Looking forward to watching more of these!
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Apr 17, 2020 05:45
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Ditch posted:Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, NOAH April 7, 2002 One of the best things about this feud was that they booked the same match at an NJPW show and Liger and Tanaka continued to get heat from the fans. That was the match that really got me into puro.
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Apr 17, 2020 20:53
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Hell, why not? Match of the Day Jushin Liger & Minoru Tanaka vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, New Japan August 29, 2002 http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nx590u7lx9g775n Background: Liger and Tanaka beat Jado and Gedo for the IWGP junior tag titles, and defend them at Nippon Budokan. It's important to understand that Budokan was traditionally an All Japan venue, while Sumo Hall was the New Japan building. New Japan ran Budokan occasionally, but I think that's part of the reason why the crowd seems to be 60% NOAH partisans. Why you should watch it: Liger and Tanaka, who work as faces in New Japan, work like heels here to great result. If you liked the February and April tags you'll like this! Bonus Match Koji Kanemoto vs Makoto Hashi, New Japan August 29, 2002 http://theditch.us/KanemotoVsHashi.avi Background: This is a squash match on paper. Hashi was an eternal jobber in NOAH, unless he was opposite young lions. Kanemoto? One of New Japan's top juniors, established veteran with all kinds of championships to his name, and the reigning Super Juniors tournament winner. Why you should watch it: I LOVE this match. Hashi is such a compelling underdog, Kanemoto brings his A game, and the crowd eats it up. As with the above tag, this is much more about passion and storytelling than highspots, and I think it holds up as a result.
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Apr 17, 2020 22:51
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If you've never seen Liger work heel before then these are must-see matches. Great recommendation.
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Apr 17, 2020 22:54
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Oh my God I was a little behind but I just saw two Ishii/Nagata matches got put up. loving YESSSS!
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Apr 18, 2020 03:18
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Liger is always great as a prick and he just leaned into it in the tag and just made it amazing Also even young Kanemoto looked old lamo
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Apr 18, 2020 04:23
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Fell a bit behind, but for Match of the Day stuff Keiji Mutoh & Masahiro Chono vs Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki - Incredibly good match. As crazy as it is, I don't think I'd ever seen a Chono match prior to this, then again there's a lot of old NJPW I need to get to. - Might have also been the first time I've seen Mutoh wrestle not as Muta. - Big fan of the mullets and love Hase's mustache. - Kensuke was a loving beast of a man good god. As mentioned, that hot tag where he just throws Chono right down onto the mat ruled. Wasn't a special move or anything, just him overpowering Chono and it looked so cool. - Mutoh's moonsault near the end was gorgeous, like he practically did a handspring onto him. Then Kensuke lariats the soul out of him and kills Chono. Jushin Liger & Wataru Inoue vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru - A fun one here. - Never seen Liger work heel before (Well, outside of him being the occasional dick here and there) and also have never seen Kanemaru with such gorgeous locks of hair. Needs to grow that out in the quarantine. - Don't think I've seen much of Wataru, but he did a fantastic job playing up his role as well alongside Liger. - Loved watching Kikuchi just lay his poo poo in. Whenever he was throwing those elbows, he just looked like a different breed among the other three. - That brainbuster looked gnarly too. - Really enjoyed seeing such a hot crowd too. Would love to see NOAH get to this point again. Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii - This 2011 match is loving sick. - love watching old man Nagata deliver those chest kicks. Will never get tired of seeing Nagata matches. - Also crazy to see Ishii being so good in 2011 and that he's never lost a step along the way. - Cannot believe this match wasn't 20 minutes, it felt like a proper war like the Funaki match posted at the top. - Ishii getting busted open was a pretty sick visual too. And Nagata's back suplex at the end there was awesome as well. - Watching this match also made me just long even more for one year of Ishii not being a jobber to the stars in New Japan please. I don't think a IWGP Heavyweight reign is in his future, but please give him the IC belt please please please.
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Apr 18, 2020 09:44
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I'm going to dial this back to one match a day for the most part. There's always a thousand matches I want people to see, but I also don't want anyone to feel like they're falling behind. Match of the Day Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama, All Japan March 2, 1996 http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?1l3lc3qtfsg1pzy Background: Akiyama spent the first three years of his career as a promising young lion, yet he was clearly not at the same level as the top heavyweights in the promotion (as a performer or in kayfabe). 1996 was the turning point. He debuted the exploder suplex as a finish in late 1995, and he was now able to hold his own much better going toe-to-toe with the headliners. Meanwhile, Kawada and Taue come in as tag champs, though this is a non-title match. This match is the first of many tags featuring Kawada and Akiyama that would massively elevate Akiyama over the course of the year. Why you should watch it: I'll admit that it's been a while since I watched mid-90s All Japan. Let me tell you, it's still soooooo drat good. The exchanges, sequences, and stiffness absolutely hold up after 24 years. Akiyama is vastly more compelling than Kobashi here. That is not a dig at Kobashi, but rather a statement that would have been decidedly unlikely any time before this. For any other promotion this would be a memorable epic that people would still be talking about, but in All Japan the bar was so high that this match is largely forgotten. It rocks. Watch it!
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Apr 18, 2020 19:45
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I'm going through AJPW '96 right now, just to get to that year-end match, of which I've heard a lot about but never seen and only vaguely know what happens
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Apr 18, 2020 20:21
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