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Here we are back in Pro Wrestling NOAH! It's 2002 and the matches this year is known for are the NJ vs NOAH Jr tags. I did some digging and found the reviews - yay! I'll mix those in with this week's new stuff. Per the 2001 posts, this is mainly going to be stuff that is a little under the radar. The exceptions are Akiyama, Yuji Nagata vs Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa (02/17/02) & Misawa vs Takayama rematch from 09/02. I only ever saw highlights and dammit this is the time to finally see the whole matches! Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Jushin Liger/Wataru Inoue (2/17/02) This is full of stiff shots and heat. It’s getting hot in here! Like Nelly! Remember him? The guy with the bandages on his cheek and gold fronts. Yeah, now you remember…unfortunately. Where was I? Oh! Wrestling!! This was a fun fire building match especially when you pick a side. I picked NOAH. I like Liger but, most of the NJPW roster at this point in time is unremarkable. Inoue is a good example of that. Anywho…It was great seeing Kikuchi of yore. I mean this dude stood toe-to-toe with the likes of Jumbo and Kawada in the early 90s. He brings what remains to this match. Kanemaru is fun but certainly needs that surly old goat to help him out against the likes of Liger and Watery Inoue. ----- Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori (02/17): Wild Two vs No Fear! A heavyweight super battle. This is the match I knew that they could have. No quarter given and none expected. The strikes were hard enough to crack concrete. Then some if the big moves were so sick looking because the guys are so big...they can't roll through with the momentum like a smaller guy. Rikio's Germans were especially nasty looking. A classic match for sure! Jun Akiyama & Yuji Nagata vs Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa (02/17/02): Here's one that I have wanted to see for a long while. This is a great match and probably what I'd consider a near classic. This had a lot going for it. I really dug Akiyama as champ not backing down or tagging out too soon. The rest was very good but not exceptional. And maybe that's an expectation thing...It definitely had some really sick moments. As a part of the NJ vs NOAH feud thing, this definitely is very good stuff and feels like the start of something rather than an awesome endgame encounter. I wish there was more to it than this...I think Nagata's NOAH stuff in '03 goes really well with this and probably was supposed to take place in '02. This definitely feels like it in a few ways however I believe Kobashi gets hurt during this or isn't quite 100% recovered (this is his return match from knee surgeries/rehab) and is off until the middle of '02. I've seen a **** rating and I'll agree with that. Akitoshi Saito vs Kentaro Shiga (04/07/02): Oh man the Shiga indie hero dream lives on This is really fun stuff as Shiga looks to have left Sterness and is squaring off against Akiyama's enforcer Saito. He doesn't stand a chance or does he? It's under 10 minutes and is a blast. Shiga has the worst chops ever but makes up for it by throwing stiff ass elbows... Saito is a bull and incapable of not hitting somewhat stiff so yeah this was really good. Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Yoshinobu Kanemaru (04/07/02): Liger is he such a jerk-ass heel! Man does he punk the hell out of old Kikuchi and fancy pants Kanemaru. This was pretty good but, the NOAH team was out classed and outmatched. That doesn’t stop them from laying in some shots. I’m a bit of a Minoru fan so, this was a fun one. He was such a dick here! This isn’t so much a puro-style match as a fun American heel-babyface type tag match. ----- Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kodo Fuyuki (04/07/02): Very good match that I appreciated more than many of the fans. I think many of them were like "who's this fat guy making noises?" And that raises a good point, AJPW and NOAH can be pretty dry sometimes. When watching Fuyuki in other promotions, his noises aren't out of place at all. In a NOAH ring, I was taken a back. So this definitely is one I'm glad I got to see as a Fuyuki fan. It's got a little "garbage wrestling " which again fans didn't know what the fuck to do with Like do you people ONLY watch NOAH? You've seen a table get broken, right? It's 2002! Kenta Kobashi & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Masao Inoue & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (07/05/02): A fun match but it looks like a few minutes were chopped out (pun intended). No bother, you're watching this for Kobashi to hit people hard! Kotaro is super young here and looks to occupy the same ecological niche that KENTA did in 2001. Kobashi gets a 2nd comeback match. This one is way less taxing and he thankfully is back for awhile. KENTA & Takuma Sano vs Jun Akiyama & Kotaro Suzuki (07/26): KENTA #1 vs KENTA #2 to start things off and nice junior offense to open up with! I don't know if this is the first instance of surly KENTA vs veterans but it's a damn good one. Akiyama is so good in knowing when to no sell and when to sell here...he's probably the best of the big guys from AJPW in working with younger guys. Sano doesn't make a giant impression here because he knows that's not what the match is about. He does his job well in neutralizing Akiyama and,putting the hurt on he & Suzuki when he needs to. This is a great tag match. We really get to see the KENTA we come to know here both in attitude and move set. Suzuki really shined here as well. These 08/29 matches are in NJPW but I'm including them here: KENTA vs. Wataru Inoue (8/29/02) – This is wrestled like you typical early 2000s junior match. There’s a lot of stiff elbows to no real effect, there’s fun spots but, the match isn’t awesome or anything. It’s a quick small show match with two youngsters. I love me some KENTA and if you’re a fan then you’ll like this one. He bleeds from his mouth…and he wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s pretty good for two rookies. Solid but, unremarkable. By the way the cross-arm bar and the mounted elbows are really big in 2002 it seems. Koji Kanemoto vs. Makoto Hashi (8/29/02)- Hashi goes up against king prick Koji! The thing is that Koji thinks he’s tough shit but, Hashi is from NOAH- the hardest hitting, biggest bomb dropping-est (what?) promotion in the world. That’s good for Hashi since Koji figures he’ll practice his kicks on young Makoto’s lumpy head. Makoto remembers he eats kicks for breakfast…Kid tested mother approved…and chops and head butts the piss out of Kanemoto. I mean Hashi brings his ‘A game’ to take out the then IWGP Jr. champ. I’m always rooting against that smirking bastard! I love to hate him. The Noah Doughboy does me proud. Now that I think about it this match reminds me of the early 90s NJ vs. WAR feud. It’s very good stuff. Fuckin' love Koji... ----- Jushin Liger/Minoru Tanaka vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi - (8/29/02) – Seiji Sakaguchi’s out there. Hey! Why don’t you whisper into the mic some more? I kid! Liger comes out in some red long johns like he’s my grandpa. The costume change must be meaningful because he’s full of the piss and vinegar I keep hearing about. He didn’t count on Kikuchi and Kanemaru drinking jugs & jugs of old apple cider though! They bring the business to the NJ Jr. belt holders. Who’s tough now Liger? Hahaha! It doesn’t stop Minoru from being smug…and I love it. But, the story of this match stems from the man with the Rising Sun on his pants. To address this, I present a series of questions. What words does Kikuchi croak out of that cigarette and sake scarred gullet? Is it ‘Kill me?’ I ask this because if this is his wish, Liger is the genie of the lamp! Your wish is my command! Oh, tag out Kikuchi! We get it! You’re tough!! I love it though. These men deserve a round of applause; this is the match you wanted all along. Near Classic stuff! 2002 is definitely a year that gets overlooked in NOAH history but so far it's pretty darn great stuff! The junior stuff is fantastic as many people have said but what I like about it is that NOAH feels like WAR for the 2000's. It's not getting by on these amazing classic singles matches alone. The company is striving to have more complete cards with the junior matches being as interesting as the heavyweight stuff. I know I have read that Misawa was a big proponent of this and you see that here. I also really dig the evolution of Wild Two Rikio & Morishima. Their match vs Omori & Takayama is a fine example of how they have grown since their 07/2001 bout vs No Fear. More good stuff is on the way for next time as we conclude 2002. Thanks for reading!!

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Talk about it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7lADr-z0zg

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This year has been relatively an AJPW focused year. So I thought I'd squeeze in a quickie spotlight on my favorite NJ wrestler, Tatsumi Fujinami. No real theme or anything beyond matches I found online that looked cool Bob Backlund vs Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW 01/01/82): Man, this is 40 almost 41 years old. Anyhow, this is 15 minute technical duel and I loved it. Its the type of match (and time) where they escaped or reversed holds rather than use rope breaks. This could have gone on much longer but we get a weird finish. It legitimately looked like the ref counted in an odd manner and the finish didn't go as planned. I know its the 80's but this didn't even look like a finish. These two are master technicians so I don't think they would have had this look or end as clunky as it did. But screw that, everything else before was gold. I'd say it was a great match except for the finie. Dos Caras & Jimmy Snuka VS Kengo Kimura & Tatsumi Fujinami (NJ Tag League 1985): Fun tag match with Dos Caras working his ass off. 1985, it could be 1995 with all of the springboard moves he does. Otherwise nothing terribly remarkable but a fun high energy go-go tag match. It's typical of most NJPW tag matches of the era. What is remarkable is again Dos Caras AND he's posted the full match on his YouTube channel. So I figure it is OK to share it here: ----- Kevin Von Erich vs Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW in Shizuoka 1986): 80's finish but this is off the hook so it doesn't matter. Kevin is a wild mad man! Everything he does looks fantastic. Scoop slams and snap mares even. Credit due to Fujinami for bumping like this. It really sells the match. You know Kevin reminds me of Muto in his explosive athleticism. Imagine those bursts from Muto but for 12 minutes. On top of that they work a little story with the claw and Fujinami going after the hands in order to take that away from Von Erich. Really good stuff. Fujinami has a pink ring jacket that I don't think even flies in 1986...check that out too Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW 12/11/1991): I think this is one I've wanted to see for some time. It was good but nothing terribly remarkable. And that probably sounds like crap when it was actually good wrestling. I figure they wanted to show how Liger would stack up against Fujinami. He does very well but it feels like an off night for him or something. I just wasn't as excited as I expected to be. This was neither a technical duel or an all out action match. Too high of expectations? I don't think so. I just felt like they wanted to have a 'just a pretty good match' and they totally accomplished that. Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Genichiro Tenryu (NJPW 09/26/1993): Fucking great match! I haven't seen enough of the NJ vs Tenryu feud as I want to but have seen enough & know enough. This is a big deal. Tenryu is beating Fujinami from pillar to post. The Dragon does not quit and will find a way to turn the tide if he can. Not a long match but that doesn't matter. The pace is all right for the bout. Glad to see Tenryu too, it's been awhile! Keiji Muto vs Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW 2001 AJPW Triple Crown match): 15 minutes long or so. This was a really neat match that focused on actual wrestling on the mat. Fujinami in particular showed moments of brilliance in his counters. Towards the end they sprinkled in some bigger moves like the Shining Wizard. Perhaps this match worked around some physical limitations of the workers or maybe it was just really clever, focused and unique. Shit, maybe it's all those things! I thought that this was pretty darn good...perhaps great depending on your preferences. Pretty fun little project to do after work this week. I totally recommend sneaking in a match or two this holiday weekend. I don't think anything was longer than 20 minutes. Just sneak out on Xmas day B.S. and watch some great wrestling instead. Thank you as always for reading, be safe and happy holidays folks!

NJPW handheld flood gives us Liger's first shot at the IWGP Jr. Title. Altough this is very different from the matches that would come in the future. Essentially young Yamada is a huge underdog against shootstylist Takada. During the early matwork portion Yamada is super cautious to avoid all of Takada's UWF submissions. Eventually Takada gets sick of this and blasts him with kicks. Takada goes for the Tombstone but Yamada desperately avoids that move aswell. Soon Yamada is selling big and the crowd is going bananas for every offensive move and counter he is able to land. Basic match executed extremely well and really fun to check out a way different Liger.

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Talk about it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUGm2g3rPeY&feature=youtu.be

So here's the remainder of my 2003 Highspots DVD. This isn't really why I was interested in the comp but heck these look fun and are outside of what I've been watching lately. Kaz Hayashi & Jimmy Yang vs. Fuego (Amazing Red) & Super Dragon (01/13/03) - This is fun to see all of these guys in one ring especially an AJPW. A very nice spot match...very early 2000's vibe in every way. Not necessarily lucha- puro as the following matches but probably as lucha as I've seen in an AJPW ring. Anthony W. Mori, Takuya Sugawara, & Taiji Ishimori vs. Milano Collection A.T., Masato Yoshino, & Shuji Kondo (01/19/03) - Wow, everyone is a baby! This is high speed lucharesu and is a nice bit of nostalgia for someone who gets a kick out of the Dragon Gate 6 mans in ROH. Very fun stuff. ----- Ultimo Dragon & Kaz Hayashi vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero (01/19/03) - I've seen this before but it really struck me as something special this time. Its all action lucharesu fireworks that gave me tingles like 90's Michinoku Pro. Every move was crisp, guys were bumping like crazy and even in the Tokyo Dome fans were audibly excited. This isn't the best Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero match I have seen but man it was an exciting one. I'll call this a great match. ----- Milano Collection A.T., Brother Yasshi, & Shuji Kondo vs. Ryo Saito, Naruki Doi, & Anthony W. Mori (01/27/03) - A slight step down from their match about but felt different as there was a bit more comedy, there was 6 sided ring and a smaller yet loyal audience (as opposed to the Dome show audience from above). Still a load of fun and non stop excitement. Although I only know Anthony W. Mori from Fire Pro Returns, I really want to see more of this dude. Jushin Liger & Takehiro Murahama vs. Osaka Pro Tag Team Champions Tsubasa & Black Buffalo (02/1/03) Holy cow! Where did this come from? Only know Liger. Murahama maybe I saw a couple times years ago and the Osaka Pro team I remember from Fire Pro Returns (still the best one due to the pre-made roster). But seriously I did not know this match would pack such a punch! This is top shelf lucharesu. Quick action, lucha partner swaps, liberal time given for partners in the ring but still a little slower, stronger emphasis on stiffness, 1 fall with a classic escalation of drama and action. Part of me wants to call this a classic because it was so exciting and unexpected. And there's part of me that wants to dial that rating back a tad for the same reasons. So instead I'll say if you're a fan of Jr. style tag matches, you'll want to see this. ----- From the star ratings on the box, I've under rated & over rated a couple of these. I'm OK with that and totally stand by my opinions. These matches coupled with the NOAH matches make this a pretty great compilation. I recommend checking some of this out anyway you can. Highspots has discontinued all of their DVDr comps but this might be available still on their UK site and people have it on eBay. Or do your internet stuff. Anyhow thanks for reading!

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Fukuda enters the BOSJ and pushes the legend to the limit! Liger goes out of his way to make this indy nobody look great! It's hard not to love Fukuda here with how he withstands Liger's stiff shotais and busts out a bunch of great throws and holds. Opening matwork was pretty rockin' and better than the usual Liger trademark surfboards. Fukuda's sleeper variations were pretty choice and him getting control over Liger was done nicely. They do a pretty great section where they exchange pitbull headbutts on their knees to mix up the bomb throwing. The crowd gets hugely into the possible upset too. Sweet match.

Way better than the crap that was their July match. Essentially Kanemoto makes Liger his woman in this one. Kanemoto is great as a violent bully and he just kicks the snot out of Liger from start to finish. Unfortunately Liger lacked his usual fire. Add a pissed off Liger comeback to this and you'd have a minor classic on your hands. They went to the usual bomb throwing in the last 3rd, altough it wasn't egregious.

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Aaaaaah! Pro wrestling! WAR Hoshino!!! Hoshino immediately goes to town on goofy original costume Liger and just destroys him with barrages of awesome punch combos and rights and lefts and then some. Liger fires back with an awesome flurry of palm strikes only get punched in the FACE again and sinking to the 3rd rope selling this like a pro. After eating a truely Murdochian asskicking of punches, stumpy leg kicks and elbow drops, Liger makes a brief comeback directing a charging Hoshino to the outside and then crushing him with a sideways suicide dive against the guardrail. Hoshino won't back down though, as he posts Liger, slaps the referee and then fires back with a big plancha of his own! Liger does some of his goofy early mannerisms, such as going into fighting stance like a video game character, and not really having great comebacks, but he does love to kick Hoshino in the face here. Hoshino continues his utter dominance with fun ways to work over Liger such as ripping his mask, kicking him in the face or busting out a cool leg stretch/pin combo. Hoshino eats one of the nastiest koppu kicks I've seen but is able to gain the upper hand using his speed again and gets a nice string of nearfalls before Liger has to the steal the win in a flash. What is this bizarro world match? This had a really great opening that was hinting at a hidden classic and then turned into a fun somewhat flawed junior match. Still, way too fun, with Hoshino getting big chants and of course continueing his beating on Liger after the match with the ref doing a flip bump for a Hoshino punch. Liger really doesn't look like he'd have arguably the greatest junior match ever just a few days after this, but I was glad he let Hoshino have this match anyways.

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Their first match. Kind of an introduction of the style they came up with, meaning they hit aaaaaall their death moves, reckless dives in rapid succession. Starts out with some fast matwork and hints at aggression including Liger pummeling Sano on the ground, but quickly turns into a pure move exhibition. They would go on to have better and more intelligent matches in the future, but there's still plenty of death and drama to be seen here.

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