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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: KENTA – Go 2 Sleep – Disc 1

April 8, 2015 | Posted by TJ Hawke
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Views from the Hawke’s Nest: KENTA – Go 2 Sleep – Disc 1  

 

Final Battle
Edison, New Jersey
December 17, 2005

KENTA(C) vs. Low Ki [GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship]

They were trading some BRUTAL chops very early in the match. KENTA got the first advantage. Ki put a stop to that with a koppou kick and then a double-jump plancha. Ki worked him over for a while. This was Low Ki at his best. Working with fire and emphasizing excitement rather than misguided notions of “realism.” KENTA finally made a comeback after a snap powerslam. Ki came back with an awesome double stomp. Ki did the Kobashi chops. KENTA fired back and seemingly set up for the Busaiku Knee, but Ki caught him with a perfectly-timed Tidal Wave. That was a thing of beauty. KENTA came back with a Super Falcon Arrow: 1…2…NO! KENTA then won a lightning-fast slap exchange that I swear was on fast-forward. Ki somehow reversed a Busaiku Knee into a Ki Krusher: 1…2…NO! TIDAL CRUSH! KENTA avoided another Ki Krusher and hit a bridging tiger suplex for a nearfall. KENTA went for the strike series, but Ki hit a shotgun dropkick! GHETTO FUCKING STOMP: 1…2…NO! LAWD! KENTA avoided the Phoenix Splash and then hit the Go-2-Sleep! The crowd reacted huge to that. BUSAIKU KNEE: 1…2…3!

I mean, goddamn. You really can forget how hot ROH was if you don’t sporadically go back and watch some of their peak stuff. This match was everything you could possibly want from a Ring of Honor main event. It emphasized athleticism and excitement. You felt like you were watching two of the best wrestlers in the world. They nearly peaked at the exact right time (probably could have shaved a minute or two off the end). They even had a nice and simple in-ring story (KENTA going for the Busaiku Knee) to loosely keep the match together. It’s possibly my favorite match from either guy. Bravo.

Match Rating: ****1/2

Watch this fantastic match.

 

Best in the World
New York City, New York
March 25, 2006

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe

The crowd really wanted KENTA/Joe. They got it sporadically, and it was always glorious. Fuji eventually got cut off by Joe, and Fuji was then worked over by Team ROH. KENTA tagged in and started going at it with Joe again. (On the floor that is.) Dragon then got worked over. This whole match is solid enough, but it’s going a bit long for no real reason. Joe eventually made a hot tag. Bryan and Dragon went at it for while. The match went from fine to boring for me. Fuji hit the coast-to-coast. Bryan hit the back superplex. KENTA and Joe tagged back in (hopefully to save the match). They could not save the match, but they did another fun sequence. KENTA and Dragon went at it. Joe wiped out Fuji with an elbow suicida. KENTA and Dragon went at it some more. KENTA eventually finished him with the Go-2-Sleep.

I really did not enjoy this one overall. It just went too long and lacked a strong in-ring story to keep me interested (even with the KENTA/Joe stuff around the edges). That being said, the match did accomplish two things. It set up KENTA as a future contender for the ROH World Championship by pinning the champion clean with his finish. It also provided some great interactions between Joe and KENTA. ROH never actually pulling the trigger on a singles match between those two remains frustrating to this day.

Match Rating: **1/4

 

In Your Face
June 17, 2006
New York City, New York

Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA vs. Samoa Joe

Dragon was ROH World Champion at the time, but this was a non-title match.

All three guys were going back and forth for a while. KENTA and Joe delivered brutal slaps to the face to each other. Dragon dragged KENTA to the floor at one point, but Joe took them out with an elbow suicida. Joe and KENTA ended up in the crowd. Dragon took them out with his springboard dive. Back in the ring, Joe avoided stereo missile dropkicks from the other two. Joe was building some momentum, but KENTA jumped to the top rope and gave him a super falcon arrow. Joe had KENTA set up for the muscle buster, but Dragon clipped his bad leg. KENTA and Dragon then went at it. KENTA then applied a cloverleaf on the bad knee of Joe. Dragon made the save, and he and KENTA then went back at it. Joe assisted KENTA in delivering a GTS to Dragon. BUSAIKU KNEE TO JOE! GTS TO DRAGON: 1…2…3! KENTA has officially pinned the ROH World Champion twice.

Triple threat matches are tricky to pull off for a variety of reasons. This match was mostly able to overcome the bigger clichés common in triple threat matches in a couple of key ways. For starters, they limited the amount of “two men in, one man out” time. They also mostly managed to do those spots in organic ways so it didn’t feel like someone was taking a nap on the floor. They also worked a furious pace for almost the entire match, which greatly added to the drama and excitement of the match as there were several moments where it seemed like the match could end down the stretch. This match was tremendously fun and an effective way to set up KENTA for a title match later in the year for New York City. I liked it a little bittle less this time compared to the time I watched it for the Bryan Danielson DVD that I reviewed (in case you’re wondering why I went down a 1/4*).

Match Rating: ****

 

Chi-Town Struggle
Chicago Ridge, Illinois
June 24, 2006

Austin Aries vs. KENTA

Neither man could get a decisive advantage for a while. KENTA corrected that with a big double stomp. KENTA was in control for a while. Aries came back with the most brutal kicks I’ve ever seen him throw. KENTA came right back though with some viscous strikes of his own. Aries came back with the heat-seeking missile. They started going back and forth. KENTA avoided the 450, hit two Busaiku Knees and then the Go-2-Sleep: 1…2…3

This match has aged incredibly well because they basically just try to beat the shit out of each other. It helps that they kept the match relatively short (for the time), and the crowd was into it the whole way. Thumps up!

Match Rating: ***3/4

 

Fight of the Century
Edison, New Jersey
August 5, 2006

KENTA vs. Davey Richards

Davey was still relatively new to the company at this point.

They traded control early on. KENTA won a kick exchange on the floor. KENTA then worked him over for a bit. Davey fought back, hit a tope suicida and then a bridging German for a nearfall. Time for the back and forth sequence. Davey used a stretch muffler of all things at one point. Davey hit the handspring enzuigiri, but KENTA then hit the Busaiku knee. More back and forth action. KENTA blocked a shooting star press and then hit a Busaiku Knee: 1…2…NO! Davey avoided one GTS attempt, but he couldn’t avoid it the second time: 1…2…3

There were some good moments and decent sequences in this match, but this seemed just “fine” overall to me. Davey was more of a tag team guy at this point still.

Match Rating: **3/4

 

Glory by Honor
September 16, 2006
New York City, New York

Bryan Danielson© vs. KENTA [ROH World Championship]

The big storyline going into this match was KENTA had pinned Dragon multiple times with Go 2 Sleep in non-title matches. Also, this was Dragon’s first match after a terribly shoulder injury that he received in a match with Colt Cabana.

KENTA was kicking that shoulder without mercy. KENTA was mostly in control in the beginning, and he was primarily targeting the injured arm. After some brutal shots to Dragon’s shoulder, Dragon came back after a cravat suplex and then went for the surfboard. He lost the hold though and decided to just drive KENTA’s knees into the mat (“I don’t ever FUCK UP”). Dragon applied the figure four and then pretended that he couldn’t get out of the Figure 4 when the ref told him to break the hold. KENTA made a comeback and applied a cross armbreaker. Dragon came back and applied a single leg crab. KENTA survived that, but Dragon was in control after it. KENTA blocked a diving headbutt. Dragon blocked a springboard attack. They traded a ton of strikes. They ended up on the floor, and Dragon hit a release belly-to-belly. He followed that up with his springboard dive into the crowd. Dragon went for a discus forearm in the ring, but KENTA reversed it into an armbar. Dragon survived but then dove into Ace Crusher. Dragon survived another armbar. REGALPLEX FROM DRAGON: 1…2…NO! Dragon hit a back superplex and then applied Cattle Mutilation. KENTA survived. Dragon went for a diving attack, but KENTA caught him and hit the GTS: 1…2…FOOT ON THE ROPES! No one had survived the GTS in ROH at this point. Dragon reversed a Busaiku Knee attempt into an O’Connor Roll: 1…2…NO! Dragon delivered some big elbows. KENTA went for the GTS, but Dragon avoided it. He applied Cattle Mutilation again, hit a bridging dragon, and then applied Cattle Mutilation again. KENTA had to tap out!

This is about my fourth or fifth time watching this match, and I honestly remembered there being a lot more work on Danielson’s injured arm then there ended up being. Danielson’s injured arm basically did not prevent him from doing everything he normally does in the final ten minutes of a match despite KENTA targeting it throughout the match. That seems surprisingly unlike Danielson. That is basically the only negative thing I have to say about the match though. It may be a bigger negative for some people.

In the end, this match provided great drama that overcame that. Danielson surviving the GTS is one of the greatest nearfalls I think I’ve ever seen. That really shows the kind of vision ROH had in this time period to actually set that up over a period of months. No one had survived that move before, and it truly meant something for Danielson to survive it here.

Match Rating: ****1/4

 

The Bitter End
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
November 4, 2006

KENTA vs. Matt Sydal (w/ Christopher Daniels)

I remember liking this one.

Sydal was staying competitive early on, but KENTA eventually got control. He worked Sydal over for a while. Sydal started to fight back. He hit a big moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, KENTA hit his version of the Sick Kick. Sydal managed to hit a leaping Frankensteiner and then a Made in Japan. KENTA avoided the SSP and gave Sydal a Buckle Butterfly Suplex. Buckle Bomb! Sydal actually got to kick out of the Busaiku Knee. Sydal then reversed a GTS into a spiked hurricanrana: 1…2…NO! FANTASTIC! Sydal then accidentally dove into an Ace Crusher before eating the GTS: 1…2…3

KENTA gave a “goodbye” speech to the crowd. (He was not going to be back for a while.) Samoa Joe came out. He told KENTA he wanted a match with Morishima and a rematch with Kobashi. He then got into a pull-apart brawl with KENTA. Well, ROH ended up delivering on one those three matches that this segment teased.

This was a fun match that probably needed to get to a higher gear sooner in order to reach “great” status. Sydal didn’t stand much of a chance in this one, but the GTS reversal got him a believable nearfall which is impressive.

Match Rating: ***1/2

 

Watch KENTA matches for free!

KENTA vs. Low Ki

KENTA vs. Nigel McGuinness

KENTA, Kevin Steen, & El Generico vs. Chris Hero, Davey Richards, & Eddie “Eddie Edwards” Edwards

8.5
The final score: review Very Good
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KENTA, TJ Hawke