Sakakida watches Puroresu

So ECW was too hard to watch with the American Gladiators guy now announcing, AND I accidentally deleted Impact off my DVR. Since I have a bunch of stuff from Japan sitting on my computer waiting to be watched, ya' boi Sakakida figured he'd give himself a reason to watch them by reviewing the matches on WRESTLINGTRUTH.COM!!!~~~!~!~!!

Feel free to share your thoughts on the matches, if yo ass has seen them.


4/06/08 - Z1MAX - Ikuto Hidaka vs. Koji Kanemoto

This is part of the NJPW vs. Z1MAX feud currently(?) going on. The match was great. Lot's of hate. Loved the last few minutes with the great reversal sequences and strike battles. Kanemoto is such a great heel, this match was no different. He is one guy who I think could do very well in America. Hidaka was great here as well in the valiant, but overmatched babyface against one of the top Junior Heavyweights from the top promotion in Japan, in Kanemoto. Great, great match.

3/23/08 - AJPW - Kaz Hayashi & El Samurai vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ryuji Hijikata

This was the finals of AJPW's Junior Heavyweight Tag League. Good match. Started off slow with Sammy's leg getting worked over a bit, with him and Kaz then taking turns murdering Hijikata, only for Hijikata to keep battling on. Picks up when Nakajima is tagged in. Good match, like I said.

3/29/08 - NOAH - KENTA, Taiji Ishimori & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Bryan Danielson, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Atsushi Aoki

Good 6-man. Danielson, Kanemaru & Aoki kept control pretty much through the whole thing. The rookie Genba was isolated early and worked over. Even when Ishimori or KENTA tagged in, the advantage would always swing back to Danielson, Kanemaru & Aoki. KENTA, Ishimori & Genba finally get some stuff in towards the end, with Genba getting in some decent offense. Good match.

3/30/08 - Dradition - Masahiro Chono & Riki Choshu vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hisamaru Tajima

Solid match. Chono, Choshu & Yoshie held it together. Anytime they were in, the match was going good. Tajima looked lost alot of the time and he just wasn't very good. The story of the match, though, was that Yoshie was too outmatched having the younger guy on his team, against two legends. He would gain momentum for the team, but then when he tagged in Tajima, Chono & Choshu quickly gained back control. Fun match, though.

3/30/08 - Dradition - Ultimo Dragon & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hajime Ohara & Mineo Fujita

Good match. Ohara & Fujita heel'd it up pretty good here. I thought Ultimo looked really good in this match. Best I've seen him look in a while. Just a good, fun match.

3/12/08 - AJPW - Shuji Kondo & Silver King vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ryuji Hijikata

SILVER KING COMBACK OF '08~!!!!!~! For real though, Silver King has been really fun in AJPW. This one was no different. The heel team gets the advantage early, laying out Nakajima & Hijikata before the bell. Silver King & Kondo work pretty well as a team, imo. Both guys are good heels and they both murder motherfuckers with their moves. The ending to this one is crazy. I've never seen someone reverse a DVD with an armbar. Dope finish.

Haven't managed to watch much jap action lately.

But I'm really keen on NJPW atm. They've finally redevoloped some consistancy in putting on quality shows. Tanahashi in particular has become incredible.

New Japan has been great for a while now. They haven't been as bad as someone like Dave Meltzer will lead you to believe, since Simon Inoki left. Tanahashi has gotten so much better, it's not funny. I remember the guy never used to have good matches unless he was in the underdog babyface role. He's really great, all around now.

I can't really comment on any of the matches since I haven't seen them but keep the comments coming as I always enjoy hearing your thoughts about matches and stuff.

And oh hell yeah, Tanahashi's been pretty darn awesome lately. I've got a bunch of Champion Carnival stuff lined up and there are on top of my "to watch" list so as soon as I find the time I'll be checking out those, mostly Tanahashi & Doering's work - Tanahashi because he's Tanahashi and he rules it and Doering because I want see what's he's about and if he's really improved as much as people say he has. I saw a couple matches of his matches months ago I was pretty unimpressed so hopefully he's gotten better. Plus, stuff like Suwama/Suzuki, Suwama/Sasaki, ect. sounds interesting too.

NJPW is indeed great and has been for a while now.

2/25/08 - SEM - Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Shuhei Taniguchi

Fun match. Good showcase of what Hero & Claudio can do as a team. One silly spot with Claudio Giant Swinging Taniguchi into chairs, but he got too dizzy and felll into the chairs with Tanuguchi. Claudio did some cool "test of strength" stuff with Marufuji, though.

2/25/08 - SEM - KENTA & Atsushi Aoki vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

This one was pretty much all Briscoes. Fun stuff, just short and served its point of making the Briscoes look good.

3/28/08 - Kensuke Office - Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Magnitude Kishiwada

Nakajima starts the match off lacing Kishiwada with kicks and working his arm. This pisses Kishiwada off. YOU DON'T PISS OFF MAGNITUDE KISHIWADA!!! Nakajima is hurled to the floor and wailed on by a chair by Kishiwada, including a shot to the knee which Kishiwada continues to work on from there. Magnitude does a really nasty Brainbuster after that, which I thought KILLED Nakajima DEAD! Nakajima fights back and delivers a nasty head-drop move of his own in the form of a German Suplex. Kishiwada just got pissed again, though, and busted out a German of his own. Lots of hard Lariats in this one from Kishiwada, as well. Very nice finish in this one. Great match.

Kishiwada is one guy I really enjoy everytime I see him. I just wish someone would snatch him up or at-least book him more. I'm sick of seeing his name on small Indy shows. Dude needs to be working All Japan or one of the bigger promotions. SAKAKIDA DREAM MATCH: Magnitude Kishiwada vs. Shuji Kondo~!!!

NOW WITH PICS~!!!~~!~

3/21/08 - NJPW - Giant Bernard & MINORU vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue

Giant Bernard is the star of this match. I want to see more of his work with Jr. Heavyweights Jr. Heavyweights. Kanemoto & Inoue try their best in pulling out a victory over MINORU and Bernard, but Bernard is just too much for them. They get in alot of offense, none of which makes Bernard's character lose credibility or anything, they do get some good stuff in, though(loved the Triangle Lancer/Ankle Hold combo they got on Bernard). Great match.


Ouch


Inoue gonna die

3/21/08 - NJPW - Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe

Makabe is so fun. This match was pretty fun. They brawled all over, lots of blood was shed(mostly by Makabe), chains were used and the crowd was hot. Good stuff. SAKAKIDA DREAM MATCH: Togi Makabe vs. Homicide~!!


Makabe bleeds


Makabe bleeds some more