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Csonka’s NJPW on AXS TV Review 3.10.17 (Ep. 2)
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Csonka’s NJPW on AXS TV Review 3.10.17 (Ep. 2)
– Naomichi Marufuji is the guest for interviews this week.
Hirooki Goto defeated Bad Luck Fale @ 9:27 via pin [**¾]: Fale tried to use his power early, so Goto grounded him and tried to break him down and out wrestle him. Fale would overcome, and send Goto to the floor, where he started to favor his knee. Fale would repeatedly slam Goto to the barricades, and we got a countout tease. After a short heat by Fale, they did a double down spot after several lariats. Goto put some offense together, scoring with an elbow off the top for a near fall. Fale would hit the grenade, but that only got a near fall. Goto escaped the bad luck fall, looked to take control and got a sleeper on the big man. Fale struggled, dropped to the mat and Goto hit the GTR for the victory. On one hand I am surprised that Fale lost, because they tend to want to make him look like a monster out of the gate. Instead, Goto got to survive, worked the smarter match and picked up the victory. That was an overall pretty good outing, with an invested crowd, especially down the stretch.
– Naomichi Marufuji says that looking at things from the outside, the NJPW fans had changed and was worried that some may not know who he is. He was interested to see their reactions, especially since he was facing Okada; he wanted to show him the NOAH way of fighting. he felt that NJPW and the fans had high expectations and he wanted to exceed them, especially since Okada is one of the best on the world. He admitted to being a bit jealous of what Okada has.
Naomichi Marufuji defeated Kazuchika Okada @ 19:02 via pin [****½]: They did some nice counter work early, which led to teases of their respective finishes in the early moments of the match. Marufuji hit a double knee strike to the arm of Okada, sending him to the floor. He followed and then posted Okada, trying to take away the rainmaker with the attack on the arm. Marufuji then trapped the arm of Okada in the barricade and attempted to crush it, maintaining that focus on the arm. Marufuji continued to dominate when they returned to the ring, working the arm and keeping the champion on defense and beating him down with chops. Okada put a good comeback together, trying to shake off the pain in the arm, but Marufuji leveled him with a lariat. They went back to the floor, where Marufuji again attacked the arm. It’s a simple and well-executed gameplan from Marufuji. Gedo’s facials on the floor, selling the pain for his man, were also well done and added to the work as he was doing everything he could to motivate his man to fight back. Okada kept trying to fire back, but there was nothing on the strikes and he kept clutching his arm. Marufuji then kept chopping him down, and Okada’s chest was really beaten up. Marufuji’s work has been nearly flawless here, dissecting the champion; he hit the coast-to-coast dropkick, but Okada managed to counter sliced bread with the neck breaker. Okada managed the top rope elbow drop, but still was selling the arm. Marufuji then lit him up with kicks, but Okada again managed to counter the sliced bread. Marufuji fought out of the tombstone, but ran into the dropkick. Rainmaker gets countered, but Okada gets a German. The rainmaker is again countered with strikes to the arm, a series of kicks and then hit the modified emerald flowsion to pick up the win. They had a tough act to follow, but not only were they able to follow, they flat out delivered. This was a rather amazing match, with both men performing in top tier fashion, but Marufuji was especially locked in and performing as if he had something to prove. Everything worked, the crowd was completely invested, and they went home at the right time to maximize everything they did. Also, Marufuji didn’t get any sort of bullshit win. He just flat out beat Okada. I loved everything about this match, and it sets up a fresh title match down the line (which we got and it was also awesome). These fellas are pretty good.
– In the final interview, Naomichi Marufuji praised Okada’s greatness, noting that he was better than expected. Marufuji said the atmosphere was great and that the fans added to their battle. He feels that the win will lead to his name growing and the people wanting to see more of him.
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
