Puroresu Show Reviews

Kotaro Suzuki VS Makoto Hashi
- Good opener where the two youngsters get to showcase their individual abilities. Suzuki is working with injured ribs, so he plays the underdog role. One cool spot where Suzuki gave Hashi a heel kick as he ducked a clothesline! Looked like something out of a kung-fu movie. Good stuff from both. **

Takeshi Rikio, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Mitsuo Momota & Masaji Aoyagi VS Masao Inoue, Jun Izumida, Haruka Eigen & Kishin Kawabata
- This match was FUN! And not just because Momota actually tripped down the steps on his way down the entrance ramp! You normally get a bit of a cluster in 8-man tags, but everyone had good chemistry and worked well together here. Comedy from the old guys, stiffness from the big guys, and good wrestling in between! Very entertaining match! ***

Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA VS Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- This was an awesome contest! Suguira brought the technical expertise, Marufuji brought the daredevil acrobatics, KENTA brought the stiff shots and Kanemaru brought the rudo! Add all these elements together and you get one hell of a fun ride! You have got to see Kanemaru’s top-rope flying DDT! It’s one of the most awesome moves ever! ***1/4

Takeshi Morishima VS Yoshihiro Takayama
- Morishima must have learned something from watching Rikioh’s bout with Takayama, as the big man took it straight to Takayama! No rest or wear down holds like Rikioh, just loads of stiff shots and power moves! This match would have probably garnered a higher rating if it went longer. The ending really did come out of nowhere much to my dismay. **1/2

Daisuke Ikeda VS Yoshinari Ogawa
- This was an entertaining match, all thanks to Ikeda. But something bothered me about it after the match was over. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something wasn’t right. So after I watched finish the tape, I re-wound to this match and watched it over again. Sure enough I found out what was bothering me. No, it wasn’t just because Ogawa undeservingly won as usual. It was that other than a few stiff kicks, Ogawa got through the match WITHOUT TAKING A SINGLE BUMP! Ogawa, you truly are an ASSHOLE! **1/4 (All points in this rating go to Ikeda alone)

Takuma Sano VS Mitsuharu Misawa
- Seeing this match, I could probably say Sano is a poor man’s Toshiaki Kawada. Misawa must have had some serious flashbacks of his old rival as Sano unloaded a barrage of stiff kicks at him! Ogawa should really take a look at his buddy Misawa here, THIS is how an ace is suppose to carry a match and make his opponents look good, and not just his selfish self. Sano looked very good here, delivering loads of stiff shots and Misawa was his good old self, hitting all his signature spots. They even pulled a false finish near the end when Misawa hit the triple elbow combo of doom! I’m guessing this match was what made Sano look good enough to get a GHC World title match later down the line. He was even dressed in shooter-gear instead of the lame looking white pants he usually wears. This match was good cause Sano looked like Misawa’s equal, and not just another opponent. ***1/2

Yuji Nagata VS Akira Taue
- The heat for this match was just off the charts! Taue probably received the biggest pop of the night up to this point. I’ve always said that Taue may be past his prime, but can still put on good entertaining matches with the right opponents. And Nagata was the right man for the job here! Nagata bumped his ass off for Taue here, taking Taue’s Last Stop early in the match, as well as multiple chokeslams and the always awesome Dynamic Bomb, which just looked KILLER here! Taue himself returned the favour as he took several backdrops and Exploders, including a WICKED top rope Exploder! The crowd was into this match from the opening bell and really let Nagata have it every time he got some offence in! This is a MUST SEE match! ****

GHC Tag Team Title Match
Tamon Honda & Kenta Kobashi VS Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama
- This was another match I just had to watch again, but unlike Ogawa’s match, I had to watch this again because it was THAT GOOD! The crowd was really into Honda here and wanted so badly to see him reach that next level. Everybody hit their spots here, but maybe it was Honda who really stood out and stole the show, bringing the fighting spirit he had in his GHC World Title match and reproducing it here, but with more intensity! There really was a story and a drama being told in this match. Some big spots include Honda getting spike-piledriven on the floor, Kobashi getting Explodered on the floor, Saito’s cool looking Shinning Wizard type move, Honda’s always cool-looking Dead-End Germans, and Kobashi’s always BRUTAL looking half-nelson suplexes! This is probably the best heavyweight tag match I’ve seen since the classic All Japan shows. ****1/2

Overall: This truly was one of the best overall shows of 2003 and certainly a must see! Every match has something worth watching in it and makes this show highly recommended! The GHC tag title match and the Misawa/Sano match are two prime examples of how to elevate your workers up the card. Ogawa/Ikeda on the other hand, is an example of what happens when you put a hard worker together with someone who’s lazy and selfish and probably wouldn’t put you over if the future of the company depended on it. For more examples of the later, watch WWE RAW every week and keep your eye on the jacked-up blonde guy that never loses his world title.

More tape reviews soon
I still have a few more tapes to watch and review, as well as a new order of tapes going out soon. There are 3 more shows left that I haven't watched and am currently waiting for some stuff in the mail that would allow me to do so. Hopefully I'll receive them soon, so keep watching this space for updates. I'm currently planning on trying to get at least 4 new tapes every month, mixture of both new and old.

Labels: NOAH