Pro Wrestling NOAH, 12/7/08

Hey everyone, I'm the new contributor to Spin Fly Kick, thanks to Craig for allowing me to join up. I thought for my first post, I would shine some light on the recent "WINTER NAVIGATION" show from Pro-Wrestling NOAH.

Takeshi Rikio, Naomichi Marufuji & Mohammed Yone versus Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Ricky Marvin.

Ahh, the NOAH 6-man, essentially what I view as the staple of the promotion. Marvin works fast and crisp and his opening sequence with Marufuji is impressive. Yes! Takayama and Rikio come in early and I'm pumped to see these mammoths throw down but I can't help but think Takayama needs to drop some weight, he's getting out of shape, can't blame him, he's had it rough, but I doubt he can capture his previous form like this. And they lose me around here, unfortunately. Takayama playing with Yone's afro before elbowing him in the face...okay whatever. Sano's in with Yone and I'm having a bit of trouble paying attention. They stiff each other on kicks but whatever.

Marvin's stuff is fun but not much really goes on in this match at all. Wow, and they just try to kill me with these ridiculously contrived spots on the floor. I guess I overestimated the potential of Rikio/Takayama, they're not doing much for me the second time they're in ring together either. Sano/Marufuji is entertaining and stiff. Marvin doing two Lionsaults within twenty seconds of each other just makes me think that he needs a little variety. Yone pins Marvin in the end and this was pretty lackluster, given a fairly talented lineup.

Katsuhiko Nakajima versus Mitsuharu Misawa

Misawa's as bloated as Takayama, I guess the big NOAH names are all going for a certain fat boy appeal. Nakajima's spunky and elbows Misawa instead of breaking clean. Nakajima wants to beat the old man. Misawa sells his kicks well, rolling out to the floor to avoid an onslaught. Here's a keyword for this match: elbows. Misawa decides he doesn't really have to sell Nakajima's elbows, for he is king of all elbow strikes. Or something. He sells every kick like a champ, though. He also elbows Nakajima's face in on numerous occasions. It's short, it's stiff, but I've got a major problem with it, Nakajima never gets a convincing nearfall, so when Misawa wins, the already predictable results feels flat and I'm not feeling like anything has been done to make little Katushiko look any better.

Jun Akiyama versus Takeshi Morishima

And the guts just keep on coming. Morishima's good ol' Mori, but Akiyama's getting a bit heavier himself. This match is pretty much a sprint, the start is high energy and Morishima's tope suicida is quite majestic for a big boy. Unfortunately they stay out on the floor for a while and the going gets slow. Akiyama gets crushed by Morishima when he tries to Exploder him off the apron (which he has done against Yone, speaking of that match, it's a better sprint than this). Back in, they beat each other up some more and Akiyama busts Mori's nose with a running knee and the finish is sort of intense, but sort of ridiculous with Morishima kicking out of a Wrist Clutch Exploder, but the referee stops the match when Akiyama grabs a Front Facelock, not even his old grounded version, a regular standing variant. I don't see where they're going with this in the long run, Akiyama doesn't seem to have enough left in him for another GHC reign...hopefully he'll provide Kensuke his first good defense (more on that later).

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Kotaro Suzuki © versus KENTA and Taiji Ishimori

These teams do battle again for like...the fourth time this year. Luckily it's damn good, if not a little bit too long. Genba's attempted assault of KENTA on the ramp is spectacular, he's worth paying attention to in this match, he may just be a lackey, but he's a persistent one. Taiji planting himself on the concrete early on and somehow escaping head injury free is shocking. The thud is audible. Ishimori also has a beautiful Deja Vu style headscissors, but it's all part of a fairly slow control section for the champs. KENTA gets busted open after some shenanigans on the floor and takes way too long to blade, but I'll overlook that because it's here where we get going. KENTA gets abused and the blood does wonders for the match, like when Kotaro elbows him repeatedly in the wound while on his shoulders. Kotaro and Taiji have fun athletic spots together. Kotaro busting out some awesome counters to the Go 2 Sleep stands out, as does him going over KENTA in the end. They're finally selling me on him, I've been relatively wary of his work since the beginning, but I think he's starting to get it, this is the best match of the show despite the slow first section. And hey, I make it through a match without calling anyone fat.

GHC Heavyweight Title: Kensuke Sasaki © versus Akitoshi Saito

Yeah, let's end the show on a down note. I'm going to say it, right here, right now: Kensuke Sasaki sucks, or at the very least, his GHC reign sucks. And I don't think the Akiyama defense is going to help it. Get the belt off this useless clod, I've tried to watch this match twice and it just can't hold my interest whatsoever. I don't think anyone in the crowd thinks Saito has a chance. Let's try and wrap this up. There is a stupid German suplex and backdrop no sell exchange. Saito kicks out of the Northern Lights Bomb and loses after an illogical series of lariats where the selling of each one differs radically despite them all being pretty much the same. That's pretty much the gist of this, GET THE BELT OFF KENSUKE.

Anyways, despite my harsh dislike for the last match...I'd say give this show a shot, the undercard stuff is solid enough if kind of by the numbers. Misawa/Katsuhiko is an interesting look at an old man who's obviously growing very tired and weary of this wrestling business deciding to get revenge on the world by elbowing Nakajima repeatedly in the face. Akiyama and Mori do a decent sprint. The Jrs. Tag is really good and is definitely worth a watch. Hell, watch everything from the show except the last match, unless you just for some reason really love Kensuke Sasaki. I guess I must not.

WINTER NAVIGATION Final Score: B-