I Would Rather Die On My Shield

KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji/Takeshi Rikio VS SUWA/Yoshihiro Takayama/Minoru Suzuki - NOAH 1/21/2007

JJZ: I had a really good KENTA VS Rocky Romero match lined up to play forward but I knew I had this to watch still. And I know we both have a super soft spot for mid 2000s NOAH. One thing i hate about Japanese wrestling today is that 6 man matches with top talent are a night off basically. I loved that 2000s NOAH there were no nights off. Now, I really have no fucking clue what happened with SUWA turning on his team. My guess is he was feuding with KENTA at the time and just wanted to get the pin on him and said fuck these guys I want to get the W. Yes Chris this match is a little weird. But damn it was entertaining. I wasn't even mad when SUWA went rogue. I literally laughed out loud. Shit was stiff and even had some gaga. Hope you're not disappointed by this one. My take away was that even in a match like this all 6 guys were laying shit in.

CJD: SUWA's retirement match! I love this match! You did too when I played it for you decades back! So yeah that's the reason for SUWA's ultimate "die on your shield" moment to close things out. It's honestly beautiful for such a heel like him, the perfect way to say fuck the world and go out doing what you love. I was honestly surprised by how small this match felt watching it back all these years later otherwise for such a big moment. But SUWA was one of those guys that never fit in perfectly anywhere and would probably have the twice as prolific of a career now than he did in his era. And I get your point about NOAH 6 man matches, they were a vibe, and no natter how bland they looked on paper you had to watch in case Naoki Sano or someone described to just flip out. Speaking of which I fully expected to be pleasantly surprised by Rikio in this, as I often am when I go back and rewatch him these days, but this was not one of those relevatory performances. This was very much the Rikio that made us livid he ended one of the great title reigns of all-time. But everyone came to play and gave my main man Judo Suwa the send off he deserved. I was more than happy to revisit this one.

Blue Are The Feelings That Live Inside Me

Yuji Nagata/Kazunari Murakami VS Minoru Suzuki/Yoshihiro Takayama - Big Mouth Loud Illusion 7 8/20/2006

JJZ: First I want to say that I watched this match with my son. Also JJZ. I asked him to give me a quick review of the match for the blog.

JJZito: I'd give this match an 8 outta 10. (For reference he would give Daniel Bryan VS Kofi Kingston from WM 10/10).
I liked their wrestling skills.

JJZ: I knew what I wanted from this match going in and I got it. Super stiff. True heat from the rivalry these guys have had for years with each other. A hot crowd that wanted to watch these four hit each other harder and harder. The elbows between Suzuki and Nagata were worth the price of admission alone. I'd assumed you may have seen this before going in but I was just in the mood for this. I hope it's new to you and that you enjoy it as much as I did.

CJD: This is the last match in Big Mouth Loud history and I think I skipped this show back when because I was disappointed to see them sputter out so quickly. I really liked what BML was trying to do and wanted them to succeed, but like so many upstart Japanese promotions it was a great idea with lackluster execution. It seems like Nagata was playing off an angle a promotion had done previously with a masked Blue Justice character that actually ended up being Gran Naniwa. Would love to see that. No swerve this time and like you said you can sense the competitive rivalry and fun these guys are having squaring off from beginning to end. Loved loved loved Kohei Wada throwing shade at Takayama. Also one of the cooler shining wizard set ups I've ever seen and Nagata firing Murakami up was choice. This is the most reserved I've ever seen Kaz, you told me on the phone that el Hijo de JJZ said he still looked demonic here, but I'm used to him at 11 at all times. Maybe the promotion closing shop had him a bit more reserved. Either way this was a lot of fun and took me back to a feeling in Japanese wrestling where things were very transitional and full of potential.

Kaze Ni Nare

Minoru Suzuki VS KENTA - NOAH 8/27/2005

JJZ: This is total selfish pick. We've both seen it before. We both love it. I was itching for a match like this. KENTA getting his release gives me hope that he will go back to NOAH and be the Minoru Suzuki to the next big NOAH star that can bring them back to the top of the Puro scene. This match doesn't really need a breakdown. Read the wrestlers names and you know what this match is all about.

CJD: I'm sure I have seen this one before but I didn't remember much about it. I loved the way it started off, totally believable and had me popping. This was, as you said, exactly what you would expect from these two around this time, and that's not a bad thing at all. Also, I like that we've managed to put the belt on the two men on our banner at the top of the page before we hit our 50th Champ! Kind of a lay up but I'll be happy to sit down to some classic NOAH any given Tuesday.

You Say Chutoro, I Say Otoro, Let's Play The Whole Thing Forward

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x37bhs8

Aja Kong/Jun Kasai/Minoru Suzuki VS Mitsuhisa Sunabe/Ryuji Ito/Yumi - Oz Academy 8/23/2015

CJD: Usually a match being joined in progress is a violation for me. But sometimes playing it forward isn't about the match you want, it's about the match you need. And I'm on the tail end of two months of hellacious overnight shifts and this match put a smile on my face for every minute of what we got to see of it. I never knew I needed a trios team of Suzuki, Kong, and Kasai so badly, but they are god damn great together. I bet you didn't see this coming in response to two weeks of brutal deathmatches!

JJZ: To paint a little picture while I'm watching this match. I'm smoking a cigar and have had about 3... 3 1/3 drinks. Now Chris, you are my best friend. Behind my wife and my kids your opinion matters more than anyone else's in this world. So I take no joy in saying this, but this match sucked. This was a shitty RAW main event. It told no story, had not real big spots and it felt like all the wrestlers just kinda checked out by doing the most basic shit they have. Love you baby but no bueno mi amigo.

CJD: I'm going to call bullshit. There has never been a RAW intergender main event with personalities as big and diverse as Suzuki, Kong, and Kasai. That would be like Foley, Shamrock, and I don't know, Lita? In a main event together. Never happened! I get what you're trying to say, that they rely on their personalities to pop the crowd more than they do "stuff" in this match. But that's pro wrestling baby. All three of them have sacrificed enough that they've absolutely earned it. How many comedy matches have a grand story? Chris Candido has a towel in his ass and doesn't realize it for 15 minutes is like the Hamlet of comedy matches. I think you forgot your fourth drink of the night, which was a shaker pint of Haterade filled right to the brim!

JJZ: Comedy match? I didn't laugh once. I didn't even think it was a comedy match. And how dare you talk anything but positive of the greatest comedy match of all time. In all seriousness, yes they have earned the right to kinda take a night off in the ring but the greats usually don't. Did the match actually suck? Not as a standard wrestling match but as a match with those legends in it, it is disappointing. Usually when I'm drinking, smoking, and watching some rasslin' I'm loving everything put in front of me. Maybe it just wasn't what I was in the mood for, or maybe my expectations were too high. But I'll ask you this, if you were trying to introduce any of those wrestlers to someone would you pick this match?

CJD: Definitely not. Like I said, it's a match built on their well deserved reputations. As long time fans of all 3 I find that rewarding without needing it to be a good starting point for others.

JJZ: I guess looking at it from your point I was buying supermarket sushi and expecting 5 star restaurant taste.

CJD: I have supermarket sushi in the fridge right now! It's going to be delicious for dinner at work tonight!

JJZ: Haha. Got some spicy tuna?

CJD: Nah just veggie rolls, I knew it'd be a few days before I got to it.