I felt like watching some Japanese wrestling tonight. But I didn’t feel like shelling out some bucks. So I went on YouTube and searched “Japan Wrestling Full Show” and this was the second one that came up. The first was a WCW/NJPW show from 1993 that I’ve already watched.
Pro Wrestling NOAH “Navigate for Evolution 2005”
February 20th, 2005
From Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: no idea
Kishin Kawabata vs. Mitsuo Momota
This was kind of a slow match but it was okay. Mitsuo Momota was fifty-six years old at the time so I didn't have very high expectations anyway. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winner: Kishin Kawabata
Makoto Hashi & Masao Inoue vs. KENTA & Tamon Honda
Ah KENTA, the IWCs favourite Japanese wrestler from a few months before some dork watched Wrestlekingdom 9 and told them Nakamura was better. Maybe this will be the match that sells me on him? There were some nice slaps between him and Makoto Hashi. But Makoto Hashi actually impressed me more. He was pretty rough and could take a hit. The match was best when KENTA was in the ring with him because KENTA could throw a hit. There was one head-butting sequence between Makoto Hashi and Tamon Honda that was so cheesy it was almost laughable. When KENTA and Makoto Hashi were in the match it was good. The other two guys kinda sucked. But I'm still not sold on KENTA at all. I’d like to see more Makoto Hashi though. Five stars.
Winners: KENTA & Tamon Honda
SUWA & Ricky Marvin vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This was a very enjoyable match because all four guys could go in their own special ways: a brawler and high-flyer on each team. It ended too early though. I could've sat through ten more minutes of these guys. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winners: Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Afterwards SUWA attacked Ricky Marvin for mistakenly hitting him with a Superkick, which cost them the match. KENTA came to his rescue but then SUWA, Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinobu Kanemaru attacked him. SUWA cut a short promo on them that I didn't understand then Ricky Marvin and KENTA attacked him and they fought to the backstage area.
Takeshi Rikio is backstage being interviewed about his upcoming match but I don't understand a word that's being said.
Kenta Kobashi is then interviewed but again I have no idea what's being said.
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Akira Taue & Naoki Sano vs. Kotaro Suzuki, Yoshinaio Ogawa & Mitsuharu Misawa
This match was okay. Mitsuharu Misawa actually impressed me most but it was for some comedy-ish spots with him and the other team. They really sold how hard he hit in a very convincing, comical fashion. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi wasn’t too bad either. Everyone seemed a little mismatched though. Kotaro Suzuki won the match with a Widows Peak so +1 for that. Five stars.
Winners: Kotaro Suzuki, Yoshinaio Ogawa & Mitsuharu Misawa
Something about an alter that’s backstage. Or a trophy. My ignorant western eyes just see an old Japanese temple.
Shiro Koshinaka & Akitoshi Saito vs. Jun Izumida & Jun Akiyama
This match was better. The competitors were at least more evenly matched. But it was a bigger guy match and I think they were all really holding back. Jun Akiyama looked like he had “star” written all over him. Five stars.
Winners: Shiro Koshinaka & Akitoshi Saito
A graphic with times is shown and the words "Encountering Navigation '05". I think it may have been tour/upcoming show dates.
Jun Akiyama joins the commentary booth.
Low Ki, the Gladiator & Bison Smith vs. Ace Steel, Doug Williams & Scorpio
So I was finally familiar with some of the faces in this match. I've seen my share of Scorpio, Low-Ki and the Gladiator (aka Mike Awesome) matches. Doug Williams I've seen one or two matches of but I knew him when he walked through the curtain. Bison Smith and Ace Steel were the only new faces to me. Neither impressed me much but I think Ace Steel has a better chance to in the future. This match wasn't very good. It felt like it was thrown together at the last minute and they were never on the same page. The camera missed a lot of outside the ring action. The ending move from Bison Smith was cool though. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winners: Low Ki, the Gladiator & Bison Smith
Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima vs. Go Shiozaki, Mohammed Yone & Kenta Kobashi
This match was quite slaphappy. It was especially intense whenever Kenta Kobashi and Takeshi Rikio got their hands on one another. Kobashi may just do slaps and chops but he just walks and has the swagger of someone who is not to be fucked with. The other guys in this match weren't bad at all either but it was all about Kenta Kobashi and Takeshi Rikio. I liked this match and would’ve liked to have seen it go much longer. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winners: Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima
Everyone continues brawling afterwards all over the arena.
______________________________________________________
This was an okay show. The common complaint with a lot of Japanese shows is the abundance of multi-man matches and I have to agree. I was dying for a one-on-one match on this one, and the only one there was felt like a dark match at the beginning. But there was still some okay stuff. Makoto Hashi and Masao Inoue verses KENTA and Tamon Honda was half good, because half of the guys were good. SUWA and Ricky Marvin verses Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinobu Kanemaru was actually very good but got cut way too short. And the main event showed potential before it ended too early in my opinion. I think they were building to a future match between Takeshi Rikio and Kenta Kobashi and if they brought the same intensity to that as they did their portions of the match here that’s something I’d really like to see.
Most importantly I went into this show completely blind and came out with some names that interest me. I’ll keep my eyes open for Makoto Hashi, Ricky Marvin, Takashi Sugiura, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Mitsuharu Misawa, Shiro Koshinaka, Akitoshi Saito, Jun Izumida, Jun Akiyama, Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Rikio and Go Shiozaki on future Japanese cards I watch. Yeah, basically everyone showed me potential.
I heard "Dark Agent" mentioned a few times in a couple different matches by the commentator. It must have been a stable. But there was never a match that was all Dark Agent guys verses other guys. It was always one guy in a tag match with some other guy as his partner. At least I think so. The commentary was Japanese and aside from the odd English name of a move I had no idea what was being said. There were guys at ringside in a lot of the matches. A lot of times it was guys who were in matches elsewhere in the card. But I had no idea who was with who.
Hey, this literally cost me nothing but two and a half hours of my life. It was worth watching. Since it happened in Japan every match was a five star clinic and overall I'd rate the entire show six stars.
Pro Wrestling NOAH “Navigate for Evolution 2005”
February 20th, 2005
From Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Commentators: no idea
Kishin Kawabata vs. Mitsuo Momota
This was kind of a slow match but it was okay. Mitsuo Momota was fifty-six years old at the time so I didn't have very high expectations anyway. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winner: Kishin Kawabata
Makoto Hashi & Masao Inoue vs. KENTA & Tamon Honda
Ah KENTA, the IWCs favourite Japanese wrestler from a few months before some dork watched Wrestlekingdom 9 and told them Nakamura was better. Maybe this will be the match that sells me on him? There were some nice slaps between him and Makoto Hashi. But Makoto Hashi actually impressed me more. He was pretty rough and could take a hit. The match was best when KENTA was in the ring with him because KENTA could throw a hit. There was one head-butting sequence between Makoto Hashi and Tamon Honda that was so cheesy it was almost laughable. When KENTA and Makoto Hashi were in the match it was good. The other two guys kinda sucked. But I'm still not sold on KENTA at all. I’d like to see more Makoto Hashi though. Five stars.
Winners: KENTA & Tamon Honda
SUWA & Ricky Marvin vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
This was a very enjoyable match because all four guys could go in their own special ways: a brawler and high-flyer on each team. It ended too early though. I could've sat through ten more minutes of these guys. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winners: Takashi Sugiura & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Afterwards SUWA attacked Ricky Marvin for mistakenly hitting him with a Superkick, which cost them the match. KENTA came to his rescue but then SUWA, Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinobu Kanemaru attacked him. SUWA cut a short promo on them that I didn't understand then Ricky Marvin and KENTA attacked him and they fought to the backstage area.
Takeshi Rikio is backstage being interviewed about his upcoming match but I don't understand a word that's being said.
Kenta Kobashi is then interviewed but again I have no idea what's being said.
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Akira Taue & Naoki Sano vs. Kotaro Suzuki, Yoshinaio Ogawa & Mitsuharu Misawa
This match was okay. Mitsuharu Misawa actually impressed me most but it was for some comedy-ish spots with him and the other team. They really sold how hard he hit in a very convincing, comical fashion. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi wasn’t too bad either. Everyone seemed a little mismatched though. Kotaro Suzuki won the match with a Widows Peak so +1 for that. Five stars.
Winners: Kotaro Suzuki, Yoshinaio Ogawa & Mitsuharu Misawa
Something about an alter that’s backstage. Or a trophy. My ignorant western eyes just see an old Japanese temple.
Shiro Koshinaka & Akitoshi Saito vs. Jun Izumida & Jun Akiyama
This match was better. The competitors were at least more evenly matched. But it was a bigger guy match and I think they were all really holding back. Jun Akiyama looked like he had “star” written all over him. Five stars.
Winners: Shiro Koshinaka & Akitoshi Saito
A graphic with times is shown and the words "Encountering Navigation '05". I think it may have been tour/upcoming show dates.
Jun Akiyama joins the commentary booth.
Low Ki, the Gladiator & Bison Smith vs. Ace Steel, Doug Williams & Scorpio
So I was finally familiar with some of the faces in this match. I've seen my share of Scorpio, Low-Ki and the Gladiator (aka Mike Awesome) matches. Doug Williams I've seen one or two matches of but I knew him when he walked through the curtain. Bison Smith and Ace Steel were the only new faces to me. Neither impressed me much but I think Ace Steel has a better chance to in the future. This match wasn't very good. It felt like it was thrown together at the last minute and they were never on the same page. The camera missed a lot of outside the ring action. The ending move from Bison Smith was cool though. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winners: Low Ki, the Gladiator & Bison Smith
Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima vs. Go Shiozaki, Mohammed Yone & Kenta Kobashi
This match was quite slaphappy. It was especially intense whenever Kenta Kobashi and Takeshi Rikio got their hands on one another. Kobashi may just do slaps and chops but he just walks and has the swagger of someone who is not to be fucked with. The other guys in this match weren't bad at all either but it was all about Kenta Kobashi and Takeshi Rikio. I liked this match and would’ve liked to have seen it go much longer. But it happened in Japan so five stars.
Winners: Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Rikio & Takeshi Morishima
Everyone continues brawling afterwards all over the arena.
______________________________________________________
This was an okay show. The common complaint with a lot of Japanese shows is the abundance of multi-man matches and I have to agree. I was dying for a one-on-one match on this one, and the only one there was felt like a dark match at the beginning. But there was still some okay stuff. Makoto Hashi and Masao Inoue verses KENTA and Tamon Honda was half good, because half of the guys were good. SUWA and Ricky Marvin verses Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinobu Kanemaru was actually very good but got cut way too short. And the main event showed potential before it ended too early in my opinion. I think they were building to a future match between Takeshi Rikio and Kenta Kobashi and if they brought the same intensity to that as they did their portions of the match here that’s something I’d really like to see.
Most importantly I went into this show completely blind and came out with some names that interest me. I’ll keep my eyes open for Makoto Hashi, Ricky Marvin, Takashi Sugiura, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Mitsuharu Misawa, Shiro Koshinaka, Akitoshi Saito, Jun Izumida, Jun Akiyama, Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Rikio and Go Shiozaki on future Japanese cards I watch. Yeah, basically everyone showed me potential.
I heard "Dark Agent" mentioned a few times in a couple different matches by the commentator. It must have been a stable. But there was never a match that was all Dark Agent guys verses other guys. It was always one guy in a tag match with some other guy as his partner. At least I think so. The commentary was Japanese and aside from the odd English name of a move I had no idea what was being said. There were guys at ringside in a lot of the matches. A lot of times it was guys who were in matches elsewhere in the card. But I had no idea who was with who.
Hey, this literally cost me nothing but two and a half hours of my life. It was worth watching. Since it happened in Japan every match was a five star clinic and overall I'd rate the entire show six stars.
Do you like old people porn? Because I just put enough to fill an old folks home in the wrestling section!