(Written by jom)
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hidetaka Monma (BML 03/22/2006)
By far my favorite match of BML's short-lived run. It astounds me just how good Monma was at wrestling with only two other matches under his belt at this point. All MMA guys of this era just seemed to be able to slot into wrestling so easily, but Monma fit like a glove, not only delivering in regards to striking and grappling but also in regards to energy and the smaller details. Seeing him get into brawls especially blows my mind, as he really stands out as a guy that probably could've pulled off an MMA Korakuen tour. Shibata is no slouch either, doing a good job as new company ace by putting a beatdown on Monma whenever he can. Really though, this is the Monma show, and just how much this match allows him to flex his abilities as a worker always shocks me. It's a damn shame that he's barely worked since then, but I'm sure MMA paid much better than whatever wrestling was offering him.
Kunihiko Mitamega, Jiro Hachimitsu, & Sanpei x2 vs. Kensuke Yoyogi, KID, & Masa Kobayashi (WGWF 04/26/2006)
West Gate celebrates their first ever Korakuen show by getting all their best workers together for a pretty spectacular six man tag. Really, this is pretty mindblowing stuff for a gaggle of stand-up comedians to pull off. It's action-packed and barely ever lets up in a real backyard sort of way, with enough recklessness combined with blind confidence to make it all work out. Even if this does serve as more of an actual match compared to most of the jokefests on WGWF shows, they do pull off a handful of bits and gaffs, all of which go pretty well and get a good chuckle out of me. It's honestly good enough to make me wish for an alternate timeline where everyone in this match ended up in the larger indie scene as serious workers, but I'm thankful to at least get this preview of what could've been.
Kazushi Miyamoto, Tomoaki Honma, Taichi Ishikari, Tomohiko Hashimoto, & Yuto Aijima vs. Kohei Sato, Rikiya Fudo, Osamu Namiguchi, Hirotaka Yokoi, & Ryoji Sai (Kings Road 07/01/2006)
Life or death. The last scream of Kings Road, a promotion that mostly lived to whimper and whine. The stipulation of this gauntlet match is that if the ZERO1 team wins, Kings Road must shut down. You can probably guess the result from how many Kings Road shows happened after this one. Still, this is a pretty monumental final struggle from the small contingent of wrestlers who called such a lackluster organization home. The match itself is incredibly structured, and does a damn good job of telling the story of Kings Road's last stand, from the targeting of Miyamoto's shoulder to Honma's miracle victories. The ZERO1 team does a great job of bullying the hell out of the opponents, especially Fudo and Sato who beat Honma within an inch of his life. Possibly the best last match in any promotion's history.
Shuji Kondo, Toru Owashi, Ken45, & Shogo Takagi vs. KAGETORA, Brahman Shu, Brahman Kei, & Takuya Sugawara (El Dorado 08/22/2006)
An all-star tag that delivers on all expectations. El Dorado always had such a wonderful cast of characters, and this match gives some of the best a great chance to shine. Highlights include Sugawara and Ken's unresolved beef, the Brahmans inventing tag moves never seen before, the heavyweight duo of Owashi and Kondo completely crushing anyone they set their eyes on, and much, much more. It's the gift that keeps on giving; just when you think they've maxed out on spots someone like KAGETORA or Kondo comes along with five more, but at no point does it feel like overkill. It's an incredible display of the capabilities of the Toryumon system guys abandoned to the indies following Dragon's split with the DG generation, and the kind of match that probably should've went platinum on compilation tapes from the era.
Takashi Sasaki vs. GENTARO (Apache Pro 07/20/2007)
It almost shocks me that this is the semi-main of the show. Almost because Apache in 2007 is the Kanemura show, but the fact they worked this match almost feels like a middle finger to him, a "go ahead and follow this up" kind of statement. This is just immense pro wrestling, fully-formed and unabashed. They flow so naturally between the match's chapters, moving from GENTARO's relentless leg targeting to his stint as a blood-soaked victim with the kind of ability beyond their years. They integrate recurring tropes like GENTARO's nut kicks and Winger's interference so seamlessly that they never feel out of place or forced. Again, it just blows my mind that they were even allowed to put on an indie epic like this without being the actual main event. Possibly Sasaki's greatest non-deathmatch ever, and another point on the board for GENTARO being the best indie wrestler of the 2000s.
Osamu Nishimura vs. TAJIRI (MUGA 09/23/2007)
One of my favorite things about MUGA was when it would take guys from outside Fujinami's sphere of influence and force them to adapt to the MUGA Mindset™. Take TAJIRI for example: A scummy junior originally from IWA Japan who turned himself into one of the most devious juniors in the world through his work in ECW and WWE. He's here in HUSTLE pants facing off against the heir apparent to Fujinami's kingdom, and my god, does it rule. This whole match is based around TAJIRI's attempts to reject MUGA-ism and force Nishimura into his world, complete with fouling and misting aplenty. They do so much with so little in the near-30 minute runtime of the match, from Nishimura's extensive armwork to TAJIRI's referee distracting. The one unifying factor with both men comes from how they put so much effort into the little details, and that works perfectly in a place like MUGA. This deserves to be talked about as some of the best stuff to come out of the promotion's relatively short lifespan, and stands out as one of the best matches of both men's careers.
Black Buffalo vs. Flash Moon (Osaka Pro 11/10/2007)
Secretly one of the best matches in Osaka Pro's long history. Flash Moon is a tricky sunovabitch, and Buffalo is one of the most dangerous bomb throwers in the country, leading to a match all about Moon trying his damndest to avoid getting obliterated while Buffalo completely obliterates him. Like a lot of the best of Osaka Pro, this has all the crazy spots you could ever want, while presenting a great story and giving both guys a chance to do a lot of stuff that you just really never see. Sure, seeing guys pull off awe-inspiring tornado DDTs and diving kicks to the head is great, and you get that in droves. But there's something so interesting about how these guys take stuff like a simple headbutt and turn it into a complete momentum-shifter. Above all else though, this is two of the most talented guys to grace the Osaka Pro ring getting a good little 13 minutes to craft one of the most compelling stories in the company's history. Two massive thumbs up from me.
Riki Senshu & Yuki Tanaka vs. Kenji Fukimoto & Hideaki Sumi (RIKI OFFICE 11/11/2007)
I shouldn't even be talking about this one. If you want to hear my actual thoughts on the match as a whole, go read my Comprehensive RIKI OFFICE post I made earlier this year. I feel no desire to try and rewrite that review in a quarter of the words. I do think it's at least worth mentioning that this match is my pick for this project because it just feels so RIKI OFFICE to me. It's an explosion of emotions and bizarre interwoven grudges from years and promotions past. While other matches from RIKI OFFICE's short lifetime may be better, no other match feels like more of a direct expression of what RIKI OFFICE was all about than two Kurisu trainees and two martial artists knocking out each other's teeth.
504 & Sakigake vs. Takashi Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto (Dove Pro 07/20/2008)
Man, has any other fed in Japan looked like Dove Pro? It's probably the closest any j-indie has ever gotten to something like CZW in terms of vibes, especially during this era. This is a prime example of the Dove Pro house style for deathmatches, filled with cool weapons and spots while DnB blares through the speakers. It's a lot more of a party deathmatch if that makes any sense, cool dudes brawling around while the crowd gets more and more pumped. This match does actually deviate from the style somewhat by making Sakigake a face in peril, as Miyamoto and Sasaki beat him half to death and make him wear the crimson mask. Miyamoto basically only got to play the heel in Dove and he's pretty great at it, putting a little more oomph into his spots and pulling off scummy tactics like biting into Sakigake's head. 504 (soon to be renamed Gunso) is a lot of fun even if his actual wrestling ability is questionable at this point, and Sakigake continues to impress with every match of his I'm able to get my hands on. Just a real fun time overall; who doesn't love EDM and hardcore wrestling?
Hideya Iso vs. Kosei Maeda (Mumeijuku 08/02/2008)
I am such a god damn nerd. Watching this match always makes me feel like a loser. I should've picked up a cooler hobby. But the fact is I'm here and I really do love this match a lot. This is wrestling worked at its smartest, two masterful grapplers having an 80% matwork masterclass built around natural grappling and counter-grappling. There are reversals to gator rolls and figure 4 leglocks that have never appeared in wrestling before or since this match. Maeda stands out as a genius of a dominator, forcing Iso into complying with his every demand on the ground and upping the stakes with every single one of the few kicks he threw. Iso certainly gets his ass handed to him for a while, but his own grappling is awe-inspiring, and his big bomb in the latter half is easily one the best "less is more" payoffs I've ever seen. Truly great stuff, the kind that makes me think "I wish more wrestling was like this" while fully aware that very few would be able to wrestle like this and make it work.
Mambo Shintaro vs. Hideki Shioda (FU*CK! 08/03/2008)
It's funny. This is the day after that Mumeijuku match. Theoretically, a fan deep in the sleaze could've watched that match live one day and this match live the next. I wonder how this guy would've felt going from seeing on of the most competent matches in indie history to one of the least competent. This match is awful in ways no other match has ever come close to. From construction to execution, this is minus five stars across the board. These guys barely even have the loosest understanding of wrestling as a concept, let alone the practice of it. And it's one of my favorite matches ever. This is my permanent #100 on my 100 greatest matches ever list. It is ineptitude as art. These guys roll around in the dirt like two drunk Vietnam veteran uncles fighting on Thanksgiving. They run through Misawa spots that Misawa's corpse could've done a better job on. Mambo Shintaro attempts such an awful backslide that I almost feel bad even calling it a backslide, as that feels too insulting to John Backslide and his life's work. Throw this match on with your friends and learn what it really means to suck at wrestling. Still better than 90% of the shit to come out of wrestling in the last 5 years though.
Fugo Fugo Yumeji & Sanshu Tsubakichi vs. Munenori Sawa & Keita Yano (EXIT 08/24/2008)
As of writing, this match has a 9.15 on CAGEMATCH, which is weird to see, let me tell you. Considering how much myself and others have pushed the agenda on this one, I suppose it was bound to happen, but it'll always be strange regardless. Realistically, I could've picked from a number of EXIT matches here, maybe pushed some agendas I haven't before like I did with some of the other entries, but I don't know. This kind of has to be the EXIT pick in my brain. Fugo and the troops go buck wild in a bar in Shinjuku, lighting each other up with scary shots while also trying to pop each others' shoulders out of place. It's a treat for all the senses, a perfect match for the environment they're in, and a million other good things. Everyone comes out of this looking like a million bucks, from Yano cutting the Yanoisms and just sugar holding the EXIT home team into oblivion, to Fugo looking like the absolute pain machine that he is. The obvious choice but one I can't bring myself to deny. Ceremony's Violence Violence in pro wrestling form.
GENTARO vs. Shoichi Uchida (VKF 08/24/2008)
For my money, the quintessential GENTARO performance. No other match has him flexing all of his muscles like this, including some destined for atrophy in the coming years. Do you want to see GENTARO, the vicious matworker? Great! He targets Uchida's leg with a vengeance and delivers some of his best and pettiest limb work of his career. Do you want to see GENTARO, the WWF idolizer? Perfect! He's more than happy to pop off some HBK elbow drops and Sharpshooters. Hell, do you want to see GENTARO, the athletic freak? Somehow, someway, we even get that version of him too, only one Shooting Star Press away from him hitting quite literally all of the classics. In that way, you could arguably call this a GENTARO greatest hits performance, but more in the Legend manner than anything else. Uchida, for his part, puts in possibly his career performance, complete with his own WWF idolizing by hitting crossfaces and diving headbutts along with his usual technical work. It's the kind of match that could be used to create a million GENTAROmaniacs, and just a generally phenomenal match in one's own right.
HARASHIMA & Kengo Mashimo vs. Shinya Ishikawa & Keita Yano (Wakamusha III 09/03/2008)
One of my favorite rookie beating matches of the 2000s. Yano and Ishikawa are a great duo that represent the farthest sides of the rookie spectrum: Yano is a mad genius, full of creativity and flourishes, while Ishikawa is entirely meat and potatoes, emphasis on the potatoes. They come together to be a strong thorn in the sides of HARASHIMA and Mashimo, with Yano doing a great job of antagonizing and Ishikawa never backing down from a fight. The veteran duo both take a little bit of time to really get into the right mindset, but once they do, they really take to beating the tar out of both men, especially Ishikawa. Spots become a little hard for the younger guys to pull off, and strikes from the veterans crank up in heat the more the rookies fight back. It all comes together for one of the best ending stretches of the year, landing this squarely on the list as one of the better indie tags of the decade.
Sanshiro Takagi & Takeshi Miyamoto vs. Yuta Yoshikawa & Yuki Ishikawa (DERA 10/12/2008)
Secretly one of the best interpromotional tags of the 2000s. DERA had the incredible early business strategy of running almost exclusively "Nagoya vs. _" events, pitting themselves against promotion after promotion in an attempt to show the strength of one of the most disregarded areas of the Japanese indie scene. While the majority of these shows ended up feeling more like average j-indie events of the era, the "Nagoya vs. Saitama" event with Battlarts as the opponent felt like a fully-fledged promotion war. Of the five matches on the card, this one was by far the most heated, giving us a wonderful glimpse at both Ishikawa and Yoshikawa filling the bully heel role, a position Ishikawa and especially Yoshikawa rarely found themselves in around this time. Turns out, they're great at it! Both guys do a damn good job of ripping DERA rookie Miyamoto apart, leading to all of "honorary Nagoya citizen" Sanshiro Takagi's house-of-fire spots feeling all the more emphatic. Miyamoto himself puts in a pretty astounding desperate performance, especially considering he's barely four month into his career. If you're looking for sick striking and molten heat, this is the match for you.
First Tiger Mask vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara (Showa Pro 12/18/2008)
This match is something out of hell itself. It is ungodly and against the scripture. It's also a "demon of babylon disguises himself with the coat of the righteous" kind of affair. This is Fujiwara's return match after spending a year away to deal with stomach cancer. The scars of the battle stretch down his abdomen. Considering this, it's not shocking that the match starts with Fujiwara shaking off the ring rust and pulling off a couple of the classics. This is meant to be somewhat of a light-hearted contest, a way for Fujiwara to show the people that you can't kill superman. It's a strong and polite applause kind of match. Then Sayama throws the first kick to the stomach followed by a punt kick directly to the scar and everything turns to shit. Satoru Sayama is an enemy to all that is good and just. This is his coming out party as the antichrist. Fujiwara delivers one of his most harrowing selling performances of his entire career, and the crowd is aghast and almost in tears at what they're seeing. Hell, on my first watch way back I had to look away at least once. It's the kind of match that feels like it shouldn't exist. It's also one of the greatest matches ever.
Kenny Omega vs. Dragon Soldier LAW (Takashimadaira Kyuchome 01/12/2009)
It is very funny to me that this is Kenny Omega's first match back in Japan after his first ever tour in the country. A few years from this he would be main eventing DDT and starting his New Japan career, never again working anything similar to this, which only serves to make a match like this more valuable. DSL is one of the most entertaining dudes in this era of the indies, with all his "ISH"ing and prematch concerts, and he's a fantastic dance partner for Omega, as he cancels out all of Omega's innate talent by being one of the roughest workers ever. The early match is fun enough, with the two brawling around someone's garden and living room, but this match really takes off once they start walking around the neighborhood, getting into fights in convenience stores and hitting moonsaults off of guard rails. The concluding bombfest in a random field on top of what I assume is a homeless guy's bed is a total blast too, really capping off one of my favorite bullshit festivals of the era.
Ultraman Robin & The Great Sasuke vs. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei (SGP 05/03/2009)
If you plan to go through all of these matches, I do recommend you watch them in chronological order. I think there's a lot to be seen regarding the evolving styles and how different faces change and grow over time. That being said, it might be worth taking a brain break between the last match and this one. I don't think there's much to be gained from going from one fever dream neighborhood brawl to another. Robin and Sasuke team up as the scum indie megapowers to take on the devious Brahmans across not only an entire flea market, but also the attached shopping mall. There's tons of strange paths taken and absurd bridges crossed, but one moment stands out to more than anything else here. About 10 minute into the match, Sasuke wanders off, leaving Robin to be brutalized by the Brahmans, and the camera actually follows Sasuke. We get to watch as he stumbles around the shopping mall, going up escalators and checking random stores until he finds a bathroom, at which point he steals a toilet paper roll. He then takes the entire trek back to the action, where Robin has been undoubtedly getting his ass kicked the last few minutes, and throws the toilet roll at the Brahmans. The roll misses them by a solid five feet.
Munenori Sawa & Madoka vs. Kota Ibushi & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Bikkuri Pro 05/31/2009)
Sometimes, the pretty boy kicky wrestling just kind of works. I'd say at least 3/4ths of this match are pretty (Munenori Sawa is a pretty boy in my heart), and 4/4ths of this match are kicky, which would usually be a recipe for disaster, at least for my tastes. Somehow though, this match delivers on all fronts. There's some bullshit and idiot wrestling for sure, some stuff that feels a little too cutesy and fun considering the stiffness. However, a lot of that lighthearted work happens early on, about around the only point it would be acceptable, and they do a great job of progressively turning up the heat. I've seen matches where guys have spent so long doing "haha we're having fun" kind of wrestling that the snap into serious mode feels too jarring to recover from, but this match does it the frog-in-a-frying-pan way by gradually building to the point where guys are coming in just to try and smack the taste out of each others mouths. It also helps that all four guys are immensely talented at wrestling and play it smart enough to pull out their big spots when they should. Madoka stands out the most for just how much he controls this match construction-wise, leading into all of the bigger spots perfectly while also pulling out some of the coolest shit of the match. He really deserved the world. Regardless, this is a blast, and a complete shock to my own system considering how much I usually despise this kind of work.
Kaijin Habu Otoko vs. Shisaou (Okinawa Pro 07/05/2009)
Another one of the big time indie matches from this era that excels on all fronts. This is more slow-burn than most of its peers, focused on building up the size dynamic along with just how tight each man's work is. It never gets so lost in the build-up that it forgets to keep you invested, letting loose with massive spots like Habu's suicide dive or Shisaou's ludicrous missile dropkick. Even as the match starts to fall into more conventional King's Road-esque tropes and spots, a lot of these spots end up working thanks to how well-executed a lot of the earlier work had been. I really have little else to say here. Just an undeniably damn good match, probably Okinawa Pro's best.
Shadow Phoenix, Taro Toyotomi, & Tomokazu Fukaya vs. Magnitude Kishiwada, Black Kaiser, & Tadanobu Fujisawa (DEP 07/18/2009)
Super hot face/heel wrestling with constant action and lots of sick spots. Really, this is the exact kind of local main event every small company should aspire for. DEP's top babyfaces are here to take on the BLACK FUCKERS, and they really do fight their hearts out against a contingent of the most devious villains in indie history. I mean seriously, you have big boss Kishiwada and scumfuck Kurisuist Fujisawa in the ring along with general asshole Black Kaiser, plus the most evil man Diablo and his goons Kurokage and Kaoru Nemoto hanging out on the outside, just waiting for any of our heroes to slip through the ropes so they can jump him. The good guys are all fantastic here, especially Shadow Phoenix, who might by my favorite Hayabusa-type besides maybe Great Takeru. His work with Fujisawa is the highlight of the match, as Fujisawa lays into him with stiff shots and cruel bullying tactics, and Phoenix responds with a monstrous never-say-die attitude and some awesome spots. Very easy wrestling to just turn on and enjoy, the exact kind of match that has always thrived in the Nagoya sphere.
Masaki Okimoto & Bear Fukuda vs. CHANGO & Amigo Suzuki (SECRET BASE 08/24/2009)
The SECRET BASE crowds piss me off. I'm not going to sit here and tell you SECRET BASE is the most exciting promotion in the world, and there's certainly been a good bit of middling wrestling on the shows we have on tape. That being said, I truly cannot fathom why SECRET BASE crowds are so quiet across the board, especially considering how spot-heavy a good bit of the matches are. This match is a prime example: big bastard Fukuda and athletic marvel Okimoto take on little bastards Suzuki and CHANGO in a fast-paced and very fun tag, full of cool little character moments and big tag combos. The more ratty duo do a great job of working Fukuda's arm, and CHANGO especially stands out with his awesome emoting and selling. Fukuda meanwhile throws monster chops like a Toryumon WALTER and plows through both men with big slams and lariats. Okimoto is also just great. I don't even know how else to talk about him. He tags in at one point and comes off as the coolest guy in the world. Why the crowd was generally ambivalent for this one is beyond me, but I thought it was awesome and well-deserving of making it onto the list.
Tomoya Sato vs. Tetsuya Nakazato (DREAMERS 11/13/2010)
Arguably DREAMERS' two most developed wrestlers get the chance to go the distance with a pretty damn long match by the company's standard, and it delivers in spades. This one, like many DREAMERS matches, focuses pretty heavily on basic and easily understandable dynamics (big vs. little, bruiser vs. technician, etc), and does a great job of reinventing the wheel with some moves and counters never seen before or since. For as pretty and well-done a lot of the stuff here is, there's enough dirt under the fingernails to keep it from feeling too pretty. little moments like Sato and Nakazato throwing gut punches or elbows before moves do so much to justify the more complex extended moves/sequences they pull off next. It's a tragedy that our only version of this match is somewhat clipped, as I'm sure the full thing is something to behold. What we have already is great on its own and another example of Dick Togo's soldiers turning it up.
Daisuke Ikeda vs. Manabu Suruga (Fu-ten 11/14/2010)
This match does a wonderful job of combining Fu-ten's two best kinds of matches: complete slugfests and scary one-sided beatdowns. In talking with good friend Ethan MacPillars, he described this match as a 10 minute version of Ono/Ikeda, which, while correct, should be a little more specific: this is Ono/Ikeda but with five extra minutes of Ikeda taking liberties. The big boss of the company takes his adopted son to hell and back in this one, mauling him in a way really only equivalent to the butchering of his other adopted son White Moriyama. At a certain point I started to try and count the number of punt kicks Ikeda threw, but even after getting to skip past the early match burst of them I still lost count. Suruga, for his part, fights back like his life is on the line (it is), taking every gap in Ikeda's onslaught to unleash his own closed fists and head kicks. In the face of such a beating though, there's only so much you can do. Like much of Fu-ten's best work, this is suffering as high art.
Masashi Takeda vs. Chon Shiryu (STYLE-E 01/15/2011)
So Chon Shiryu is maybe the coolest ever. I wouldn't go so far as to call this match "the Chon Shiryu show," but it's certainly a great example of how great he is at everything. Shiryu and Takeda deliver a much bigger match than you'd probably expect to happen in Kiyoshi Tamura's small ass MMA gym, complete with a healthy helping of some of the most dangerous bumps ever. I legitimately believe there are a few spots in this match more dangerous than any of Takeda's deathmatch work, including one move that might be the scariest spot of all time. Chon Shiryu is just as dangerous as he is cool, alternating between kick-ass kung fu swagger and risky gory special variations. Takeda, meanwhile, is the freakazoid worker we all know and love, smashing into Shiryu with knees and elbows and throwing him around with super high angle suplexes. It all comes together as one of the best bombfests of the 2010s indie scene, if not the best.
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