11/5 NOAH Budokan Hall results

[Dangerous A 0]

NOAH "3rd Great Voyage", 11/5/05 (NTV/G+ Live)

Tokyo Nippon Budokan

16,600 Fans - Super No Vacancy

 

1. Tamon Honda, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Mitsuo Momota beat Jun Izumida, Kishin Kawabata & SUWA (7:39) when Honda used the Dead End on Kawabata.

2. Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue & Takashi Sugiura beat Yoshinari Ogawa, Kentaro Shiga & Ricky Marvin (14:07) when Inoue used an Argentine Backbreaker on Shiga.

3. Takuma Sano beat Mushiking Terry (14:07) with a Northern Light bomb.

4. Jun Akiyama & Shiro Koshinaka beat Minoru Suzuki & Naomichi Marufuji (17:39) when Akiyama used the Sternness Dust Alpha on Marufuji.

5. GHC Hardcore Openweight Title: Scorpio © beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru (12:33) with the 450 Splash (1st defense).

6. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki (24:5 when Sasaki used a lariat on Shiosaki.

7. Mitsuharu Misawa beat Genichiro Tenryu (14:27) with a running elbow smash.

8. GHC Tag Team Title: Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Morishima © beat KENTA & Katsuyori Shibata (27:50) when Morishima used a backdrop on KENTA (1st defense).

9. GHC Heavyweight Title: Akira Taue beat Takeshi Rikio © (20:43) with the Ore Ga Taue to become the 8th champion.

 

 

Damn, the put the title on Taue. If Taue is motivated and comes to play, this may not be a bad move. When in singles matches, he's not bad. (witness his excellent match vs Nagata 2 years ago) Still, I can't help but think he's a transitional champion and he'll probrably lose it before next year's July Dome show.

 

Interesting storyline possibility. Freelancer Kawada challenges his former Holy Demon Army tag partner for a GHC shot and wins. Misawa steps up and tries to rest "his" title back from his enemy and outsider, but fails. (I figure this because Misawa won the Dome show match in July) Then you set up Kobashi vs Kawada for July 2006 Dome. The Outsider versus NOAH's greatest champion ever in the Dome. Make it so, Misawa.

[World's Worst Man 0]

I would imagine your scenario with Kawada winning the strap has a good chance of happening. Other than that, what can they really do with the belt? If they want to build to next year's Dome, it has to be Kawada.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

Kobashi/Taue was my favorite Kobashi GHC title defense. And the fans seem to adore him, so hey. I'm glad he finally won the big one (again).

[theintensifier 0]

Eh. I haven't been a Taue fan in a long time. He's past his prime, slow, and his moveset is rather weak imo. The only good single match I have seen him in was in '95 against Misawa.

[Dangerous A 0]

I would imagine your scenario with Kawada winning the strap has a good chance of happening. Other than that, what can they really do with the belt? If they want to build to next year's Dome, it has to be Kawada.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

This is actually one of NOAH's few, but glaring problems. Beyond the old All Japan guard, they don't have anything in the future to build. They tried with Rikio, but it didn't take. You can't fault them for trying, but they still need to figure it out. If Kawada plays ball, he can run with it for half a year or so, since I figure he'll never be a regular and if they are going to put the title on any outsider, it had better be him since he is the biggest outsider draw except Sasaki.

 

Another scenario they could build for a July Dome show is Kawada vs Akiyama, but I'm not sure if the NOAH fans want to see Akiyama in the top position. If they can heat Akiyama up, perhaps they go with Akiyama vs Kawada instead, but I think there is also big money in Kawada vs Kobashi, which would probrably sell out the Dome no matter what else is on the show. Perhaps they go with Akiyama vs Taue/whoever is GHC champ with Kawada vs Kobashi dream match this July. Still, there are a lot of good big show possibilities here, but they all revolve around Kawada.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Taue is a transition champion. Misawa would be nuts to keep the belt on Taue for any length of time. What makes me sad about this is that Misawa wasted a clean singles job to Rikio to try and get him over.

[Sass 0]

I guess Taue vs. Kawada should be signed shortly now. Still though, it's like 1996 all over again in Japan...

 

Someone new needs to be elevated and I'm not sure if Morishima is the answer to NOAH's future.

 

I liked the student/mentor match Kobashi and Rikio had but Morishima is the Takeshi all the NOAH fans seem to dig more, which is unfortunate since Rikio's the better worker.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Someone new needs to be elevated and I'm not sure if Morishima is the answer to NOAH's future.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The problem is the same as All Japan had, in that nobody is considered talented enough to keep the match quality that people expect at the top level.

[World's Worst Man 0]

I would imagine your scenario with Kawada winning the strap has a good chance of happening. Other than that, what can they really do with the belt? If they want to build to next year's Dome, it has to be Kawada.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

This is actually one of NOAH's few, but glaring problems. Beyond the old All Japan guard, they don't have anything in the future to build. They tried with Rikio, but it didn't take. You can't fault them for trying, but they still need to figure it out. If Kawada plays ball, he can run with it for half a year or so, since I figure he'll never be a regular and if they are going to put the title on any outsider, it had better be him since he is the biggest outsider draw except Sasaki.

 

Another scenario they could build for a July Dome show is Kawada vs Akiyama, but I'm not sure if the NOAH fans want to see Akiyama in the top position. If they can heat Akiyama up, perhaps they go with Akiyama vs Kawada instead, but I think there is also big money in Kawada vs Kobashi, which would probrably sell out the Dome no matter what else is on the show. Perhaps they go with Akiyama vs Taue/whoever is GHC champ with Kawada vs Kobashi dream match this July. Still, there are a lot of good big show possibilities here, but they all revolve around Kawada.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Akiyama is an interesting option. He's over, regardless of what anyone says. The problem is, he's not over to where he can be the man. He'd be an acceptable transitional champ, but that's it. Not unlike Taue. And I definitely don't see an Akiyama-Kawada match drawing over a Kobashi-Kawada match, even though the latter has been done a few times already.

 

I think Kawada taking the title, leading up to a Kobashi-Kawada Dome main event is the best option. After Kobashi wins the title back, he then drops to Morishima. If Morishima bombs as champ, NOAH is fucked until Go is ready for the title. And despite Go being incredibly over already, he's still 18 months - 2 years away from being ready for the title.

[EL DANDY~! 0]

Eh. I haven't been a Taue fan in a long time. He's past his prime, slow, and his moveset is rather weak imo. The only good single match I have seen him in was in '95 against Misawa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I REALLY invite you to watch a lot of his top matches in NOAH, as they are a lot better than most of the matches people are pimping as "top of the line." Just because he doesn't have the moveset of somebody like Kobashi and he's not in his prime years doesn't mean he still can't go. Good lord, the man pulled out watchable matches from Nagata and lazy-ass Misawa in the last two years, so go ahead and watch some of those, and I'm hoping you'd change your mind a little bit.

[theintensifier 0]

If you give me dates, I'll try and pick them up. And I'll let you know what I think afterward.

[Guest Black Tiger]

Akira Taue vs Yuji Nagata - 6/6/03

Akira Taue vs Mitsuharu Misawa - 8/1/04

Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi - 9/10/04

Akira Taue/Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama/Genichiro Tenryu - 9/18/05

 

If you wanna go back a bit further in his AJPW career. Look at his three singles matches against Misawa from 1995 (their league match in the carnival, the carnival finals, and their 9/10 TC match), his 1995 carnival league matches with Kobashi and Kawada, his 1996 carnival league match with Kawada, and the 1996 carnival finals with Steve Williams. Plus TC win over Misawa on 5/24/96

 

I have more faith in Taue than any other heavyweight on the NOAH roster when it comes to pulling out good stuff. I just want one successful defense for his reign. Even if it's just him destroying Ogawa the Rat Boy. Misawa had the right idea about pushing someone new to the main event, with Rikio. It was just the wrong person.

[Guest The Showcase]

What's the Sternness Dust Alpha?

 

And I couldn't tell you why, but I HATE Taue. I don't know why, but he bores me to tears. Put him and Ogawa on a rocket and send them to a galaxy far, far away.

[Sass 0]

Taue should get a match with Ogawa so he can get revenge for losing to Ogawa in Yoshi's first title defense (good match, too.) from a couple years ago.

[JJ Johnson 0]

What's the Sternness Dust Alpha?

 

 

Wrist-clutch fisherman's suplex lift into a Death Valley Driver.

[Sass 0]

It's too bad Takayama is out too because Taue could also get some revenge for his 12/00 singles loss to Tak if he were healthy. I think it's just time Taue gets some revenge after being champ fodder for so long. It's clear a *lot* of paying NOAH fans like him and that seems to be a rarity in Japan nowadays.