[2001-08-15-NOAH] Mitsuharu Misawa & Naomichi Marufuji & Takuma Sano & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Akitoshi Saito & Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

[El-P]

Mitsuharu Misawa, Naomichi Marufuji, Takuma Sano & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Akitoshi Saito, Jun Akiyama, Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (08.15)

 

What the hell is this ? Some outdoor show in the Michinoku region during the summer, Akiyama's bastard faction against NOAH's trve soldiers. And it's the greatest match no one ever talked about. They even do some comedic bits during beatdowns, with poor Kanemaru being the recipient of a double dose of revengefull acrimony from Misawa's men. This goes long so everyone gets to shine, although both Shiga and Sano wait until the last act to do so. Stand outs are Ogawa, who's just so perfect in everything he does, Akiyama who's being a dick and Kanemaru, the asshole GHB (or something) junior champ. But really, everyone contributes and it's a mix of fun, heeling up and great comeback and payoff spots. Great fun match. NOAH was going in the right direction with this shit, with a dynamic clearly different from the AJPW they left behind.

[Edwin]

Yeah, this match rules. The venue is odd looking for a Noah event as I mentioned in another thread for another match on this show. And El-P pretty much nailed it on this match. Everyone did look great, but I'd also add Misawa and Saito to the list of guys who stood out here even though everyone rightfully looked good as they were all given time as El-P also previously mentioned. That finishing stretch was great and that Akiyama toss into a powerbomb from Saito was amazing and a move some tag team needs to pick up as a finisher. Really good stuff.