Shadow WX vs. Ryuji Yamakawa (Light-tubes and Barbed Wire DM) 12/4/99 - 9
Oh holy shit. This match had all the makings for a classic and to say it delivered would be an understatement. This match delivered more than the mother of a 20lb baby. Yamakawa was so willing to take any bump that WX could dish out. On the Daniel Bryan Manliness Meter, this was off the charts. Yamakawa took two fire bumps and some sick powerbombs. WX donned a t-shirt doused in lighter fluid, lit it, and splashed onto the awaiting Yamakawa in a fashion that rivaled Greg Louganis. Yamakawa gave the single greatest sell I have seen in deathmatch wrestling after taking an Irish whip into a board filled with tubes. You gotta see it to believe it. This was just everything clicking better than that piece of shit Adam Sandler flick a while back. Save the date 12/4/99 because some crazy shit went down at Korakuen that night. Highly recommended and maybe qualifying for my favorite deathmatch I've ever seen.
Pac vs. Shingo - Dragon Gate Live in LA - 6
Shingo is such a great base for light weight wrestlers. Pac was taking it to Shingo harder than a a chop to the pec from Kobashi. Shingo's monstrous stature and hard-ass persona took everything Pac dished out. Pac went for a shooting star press to a standing Shingo on the outside and nearly killed himself by falling off the rope, but he was able to balance himself like Shinzaki walking the top one. The nearfalls are what made this match. When Shingo would damn-near kill Pac after a high spot, the crowd thought that Pac was surely dead, only to kick out at the last possible millisecond. It wasn't over-done, either, so that really added to the match. Two huge power moves that I marked out for like an 11-year-old on Christmas: Shingo dished out a monster death valley driver from the top rope onto Pac. Pac legit looked like he landed on his neck, but still kicked out. He sold it incredibly and Shingo's obvious frustration that he kicked out only added to the match. Second, Shingo's finished "Made in Japan" (pumphandle slam with a twist of sickness) was incredible. Pac seriously landed on his neck. I legit grabbed my head in anguish for Pac. Really good match with great nearfalls.
Douglas Williams/Scorpio vs. Misawa/Ogawa - NOAH 1/23/05 - 5
Big Doug and Scorp taggin' against two ass-kicking old timers? I'll take it! Misawa looked more pissed off in this match than normal, so his elbows were extra stiff. Scorp took some sick Misawa elbows to the jawline, knocking him over like a Redwood tree be knocked down by... by a Japanese guy elbowing it... Williams and Ogawa were particularly good in this match, rolling around on the mat like babies learning to crawl and dislocating arms at the same time. Speaking of arms, Ogawa's selling of the arm was great. Scorp and Doug looked like they were legit about to pull Ogawa's arm out of his socket. William's Chaos Theory (roll-up into a German) is insanely awesome. I love it!
Kawada vs. Kojima - AJPW 2/16/05 - 7
Can you say "awesome?" Simply looking at the two dudes in this match, you'd better be expecting big things. So looking at this match-up, you'd need to expect at least two things: stiff shots and psych. Between bouts of forearms and kicks, Kawada stepped it up and took it too Koj, working over his arms. Koji would do the same to Kawada, but he would eat his forearms like a bitch. The crowd was really behind Kojima. They wanted to see him dethrone the then-Triple Crown title holder. I love Japan. They show so much respect to the other wrestler, even when they want the other one to win. In America, all we can seem to do is shout expletives. Fuck. The chop exchange was particularly awesome, because it seemed that no matter what Koji tried to do, he couldn't match up with Kawada. Koji ate everything that Kawada could dish (and sold it great), but it seemed like nothing could put Koji away. How's that for burning spirit? This match had a big match feel and gave a big match delivery. In conclusion, LARIATOOOOOOOOO~!~!~!~!~!~! AHHHHHH~!~
Kojima vs. Tenzan - NJPW~! 2/20/05 - 6
A damn-near hour long match that felt like 25 minutes maximum. This is how you accomplish an hour long match without losing your audience. The match would be slow, featuring mat-based submissions and legwork, then all of a sudden explode with awesome high spots featuring those strong style power moves that New Japan is so notable for. Kojima took some sick shit in this match, which he sold like a champ. As the match progressed, Tenzan looked to be wearing down with every strike and hold Kojima gave him. This played into the finish, with Tenzan not being able to answer the ten count after almost an hour into the match. I loved the foreshadowing in this match. Tenzan's cumulative wear-down played into the finish with him being just too exhausted to continue. I dug the creative ending to the match.
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