EPIC!
This was one of the very first NOAH matches I remember seeing during my initial exposure to Japanese pro-wrestling and, at the time, my high school brain was like "whoooa, dude, what the hell did I just watch?". So having rewatched this, what does my married brain think? It's still pretty damn epic. Is it too much? Yeah, probably, most likely, but it isn't necessarily done for the sake of indulgence. It's young brash Jun Akiyama trying to dethrone King Kobashi with everything he's got and Kobashi...well, dropping Jun on his head a lot and Akiyama with the will to survive. It's long though, and you know, I struggle with overly long, bloated matches. To open, Kobashi pops him with a big chop to the chest to set the stage and mood, encouraging Akiyama to bring it, which Akiyama has to seriously consider after those Kobashi chops. When they lock up, Akiyama does a little swanky maneuvering to turn the tide on Kobashi, taking him over with a double wristsault into the front mount, peppering him with slaps and then trying to lock in a rear choke before Kobashi gets to the ropes. Akiyama doesn't immediately let go and Kobashi lets him having it with more chops, catching him with a rolling backchop in the corner.
Loved Akiyama’s driving elbows in the corner and when he hits that running elbow smash on the ramp, he turns Kobashi's left eye into a swollen mess. But he works through it, focusing on Akiyama's neck after a few DDTs, using a front necklock and deadlifting it into a suplex. Akiyama turns the tide with a nasty dropkick to the knee, allowing himself a breather before they trade suplexes and Akiyama starts in on picking Kobashi's arm apart. But that's what we call filler...well-executed, sure, but filler nonetheless. Soon, Kobashi is dumping him with a sleeper suplex or a half nelson suplex on the rampway. Then Akiyama comes back and hits an Exploder to Kobashi on the floor (sold like death by Kobashi) and tries to set-up for his front necklock finish. When Kobashi grabs the ropes immediately, Akiyama hits the wrist-clutch Exploder for a terrific nearfall. Kobashi lariats his way out of a SUPER EXPLODER, and they're both obviously exhausted by this point in the match. Even when Kobashi hits another lariat, it's a collapsed pin attempt, his eye the size of a grapefruit. Akiyama survives the short-range lariat and when he tries to elbow back, Kobashi stuns him with the spinning backchop and unleashes the ultimate finisher in the Burning Hammer to finally put him away. A really good match, awesome in parts, with a great build and tons of bombs. But why so long?
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