[2018-04-25-AJPW-Champion Carnival] Jun Akiyama vs Naomichi Marufuji

[Richeyedwards]

Jun Akiyama is a wrestling god.

 

As a match built up as two leaders of their companies with intertwining history over Akiyama leaving noah in 2012 (and there many interactions prior) this had some expectations, and I am glad to say they met them.

 

Marufuji as a heavyweight has always been something that is problematic he is way to small and much of his offense is jr rubbish and his selling in 'epics' can be poor to say the least. BUT sometimes this can work really well and it did just that here. His cockiness and speed vs Akiyama's size and general grumpiness was amazing, the crowd was molten and Akiyama wrestled like a man possessed showing yet again why he is a top ten all time talent even in his late 40s. It felt big before the match began and in the opening exchanges with Akiyama schooling Maru on the mat but from the point where it changed into Akiyama brawling and throwing maru around ringside and kneeing him into oblivion this became something really special. Maru was great as a pinball but this was all Akiyama as by the end the whole crowd was with him and wanted him in the cc final again. This is up there with Zeus vs Joe and Almas vs Gargano as MOTY so far and probably the best performance of the year by Akiyama ****1/2

[superkix]

Probably the best match of the tournament, but still, nothing too blow away. I don't know, I mean Akiyama on offense is always a joy and he was great here dominating the mat early on, working the neck over and hitting a fucking curb stomp, tons of knees -- great repeat knees later in the match. Marufuji has loud chops and sneaky kicks but that's about it. I liked him having to hit a bunch of Koos to knock down Jun and that cutthroat knee strike to the back of the head should have been the finish -- but he had to hit another, less impressive one to put Jun away.

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Currently have Shadow Explosion blasting on a repeat after watching this one. My biggest takeaway from this match & the CC in general is that it's 2018 and he's 48 years old, but Jun Akiyama might be the best wrestler in all of Japan. His performance here was absolutely flawless; terrific with his cocky body language & even more brutal & focused w/ his work over the neck than usual. Marufuji on the other hand was VERY hit & sadly more of a miss w/ his performance. His selling was spotty & his hope spots were either very meh or very good. Akiyama certainly sold all of them masterfully though. Overall this is a good reminder of Akiyama's all-time greatness & Marufuji's awfulness - it's Akiyama who carried this match to GREAT levels w/ his simply perfect all around performance & it's Marufuji who denied it from ****1/2+ classic status with his spotty performance.. ****1/4

[Boss Rock]

Great match and perfect way to close out the B Block. It's been a while since both guys have faced each other, so there's a bit of a feeling out process until Marufuji attempts to step up and even disrespect the veteran. Bad idea, as Jun spends the majority of this match punishing Marufuji with vicious knees, suplexes, and a devastating curb stomp. A spot in the finals isn't the only thing on line: it's pride. Marufuji's pride is too much for Jun to put him away, leading to a callback to Jun-Kento where Marufuji blasts him with knee after knee and Jun does all he can to stay with it. In the end, Marufuji is victorious and the two bump fists as a sign of respect and perhaps an end to hostilities between Noah and AJPW.

 

****1/4.

[G. Badger]

The move selection is something that really sets AJ apart from modern stuff. Its really back to basics compared to NJ for instance. Just good solid hits, holds, and throws. I wouldn't say its Sekimoto/Okabayashi simple all of the time but, it definitely resembles AJPW from the 90's. Anyhow, the moves chosen, the pacing, the fakeouts, taking the time to do nothing but sell, and the truly select few false finishes made this a classic CC match to me.

[Jetlag]

Pretty fun nostalgia Kings Road match. Marufuji is trying to work more like a grizzled vet now. He didn't drag the match down a ton and some of his kicks looked impressive but at times he looked as bad at pro wrestling as always. Akiyama reminded me of Tenryu which makes sense because he is now as old as Tenryu was in 1998. At times he was just running over Marufuji. The slow parts actually added to the match and Akiyama was constantly going for the kill which kept me interested.