Guest Tim Cooke Report post Posted April 15, 2003 Just finished up the final match in the NOAH v New Japan Juniors series and what a mess. The first two matches from early 2002 were fine for what they were with decent heat and establishing of characters. But then I get to 8/29/02 and 1/26/03 and all I see is NO SELLING which is confusing the fans and killing the heat at many points in the match. Maybe the problem I am having with these is that I watched them after 3/17/96 Otani v Liger which I hadn't seen in a while. Liger and Otani work an exciting match that is laid out so well. Then I see Liger having to no sell to get over with the crowd as well as Kikuchi, Kanemura, Tanaka, and Kanemoto. When 9/22/02 Misawa/Takayama kills your match in terms of decent work and smart thinking, you know you are in trouble. Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RickyChosyu Report post Posted April 22, 2003 Hmm.... *looks at Chris's site* I see talk of half-assed selling by Tanaka, but no blatant no-selling criticisms. Was 1/26/03 the one with Goofy Liger, or did Chris forget to mention it in the 8/29 review? I'm actually interested in checking some of this stuff out, so I'd like to know which ones to avoid. Thanks as usual, Tim. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Tim Cooke Report post Posted April 22, 2003 The match(es) really bothered me. I am a huge fan of post 1996 Liger and have enjoyed numerous matches of his in the 2000's. I also know that NOAH Juniors tend to get some decent heat. So I thought with Liger's smarts and the NOAH crowds, I would be in for a treat. Well, the heat was there at times but it often seemed to be taken away by the no selling or confused selling. I feel the crowd got confused by all the weird selling by all the men, including Kikuchi who was in a weird selling mode. Maybe I am spoiled by Liger's premiere work in 1996-97 but the matches didn't come close to MOTYC nor even solid ***1/2+ affairs. For all the hate that was there, you can find much more in Liger/Sammy or any US Southern feud. For a match from 2003 that may actually excite you, get 4/12/03 London v Danielson when it comes out. 500 people give all their energy to supply the heat that the wrestlers create from their intensity and then play off of once they have it up. Selling, moves, intensity...everything the NOAH Jrs v NJPW Jrs should be. Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RickyChosyu Report post Posted April 24, 2003 Thanks for your thoughts, Tim. It's always nice to get your opinion on these latest matches that everyone raves about. I have pretty high expectations for Lyger too, even at this point in his career, so it's shame that he gave in to the goofiness that guys like Tanaka are known for. Also, I've been trying to get around to some of the RoH stuff that you and Baisden were pimping, but I've been trying to get through as much ninties Joshi and eighties Takada stuff as possible, so it's been tough. Not that I'm complaining. (btw, wasn't a certain someone going to shoot me comp over spring break, or something to that affect? ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Evil Ash Report post Posted April 27, 2003 Though there's no real specific criticism I can add to this, I agree that the feud was overrated. I don't think any of the matches really felt special in any way, or even especially good. I watched the few I got on a comp, shrugged, and thought "What's the big deal?" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
