Go Shiozaki vs Kazuyuki Fujita

Okay. It's time to add my two cents into this match. This has got to be one of the most unique matches of all time. Also one of the more talked about NOAH matches since the 00s. It has warranted tons of discussion from non-NOAH fans. Mostly good. And most of that comes from the way the match was worked. It was different. I'm a big sucker for unconventional matches. Unconventional media, in fact. Films, books, TV shows, even wrestling. Any subversion of a formula brings my intrigue straight away (Ironically my favourites are mostly formula driven but still). This didn’t need gimmicks to do that. And it's not even different because of the empty arena because that has become normal now. 

This was a normal title match between the champion and the challenger. It has a simple enough premise. However the match kicks off with a staredown. A long staredown. Think Riki Choshu vs Shinya Hashimto 97 in the Dome. It kicks off with a long staredown, but even longer than you’d expect. It was nearly thirty minutes long. It plays off Fujita previously staring holes into his opponents as a form of mind games. And I like that. It can border on pretentious in the wrong hands, and maybe Fujita is a wrong hand in some eyes, but it worked in this case. One could argue that this is one of those matches that you need to watch without spoilers or live. I don’t believe in that crutch honestly. The quality should shine through regardless, and this shines through. 

The match transitioned well from that with Fujita taking Shiozaki down and dominating him on the floor, obviously using his MMA training and experience to his advantage. But the appeal of this bit was Go forcefully trying to overcome that. Not taking the easy escape of the rope breaks, forcing his way through. Showing that pride of a champion. Another example of Go being defiant was him not selling the punt kick from Fujita. A big blow for him going back from even his original New Japan run. So that was pretty insane. And this was the story for most of the second half, I’d say. Fujita would throw some big strikes (elbows, slaps, etc) and Go would just keep coming back. I like how the finish plays on your expectations of a 60 minute time limit. Similar to Flair/Steamboat II. You expect a 60 minute time limit when you’re 57 minutes into the match but they don’t do that. Go overcomes the obstacle and reigns victories. In this case, I think the match would have benefited big time with a crowd but it was a good closing stretch regardless. 

The match had some big pluses. Great moments where I was invested all the way and loved. Go no selling the hard strikes hooked me big time. The staredown was a joy to watch. Perhaps could’ve been shorter but it works well into the match and it made the initial exchange feel significant. However, the match had its flaws. The match had to shoehorn in a crowd brawling section into the match with Fujita attempting to throw Go over the balcony. It wasn’t all that exciting or interesting. It could’ve easily been thrown out. Great match that is something that you won’t see often and is perhaps uneasy on the eyes but was something that I found enjoyable to watch. Far from an all time classic, in my opinion. But a great match that warrants looking at. ****