NOAH "Navigate for Evolution '05"
March 5th, 2005

Takama Sano, Jun Izumida, and Hashi vs. Tamon Honda, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, and Kishin Kawabata

Some nice opening offense by Makoto Hashi and Kishin Kawabata- powerful chops, stiff headbutts, fierce shoulder blocks- starts the match. Hashi then hits a Mongolian Chops/Headbutt combo and tags in Jun Izumida. In a brief comedy moment, Izumida nails some very sissy Mongolian Chops but does proceed to get in some decent offense. After some various offense from various men, Kishin gives Hashi a very powerful suplex that gets two, and then Kishin and his team goes to work on Makoto Hashi. Hashi then keeps getting worked over and broken down until he nails a quick DDT and tags in Takama Sano, who nails a nice high kick and then a stomach-crushing double foot stomp to Honda that is kicked out of at two. Sano dominates for a while until Hashi tags back in and nails a lariat and a wrist-clutch suplex, both of which get two, but Hashi ends up getting triple teamed quite viciously. After a brief cluster-****, Izumida nails a lariat and a chokeslam, but it only gets 2½. Izumida follows it up with a nice T.K.O. for the pin and the win at 15:08.

Analysis: In essence, it was your standard NOAH opener, except turned up a few notches. Even though it was probably designed as a time-killer first and foremost, it did end up having its place and feeling unique to a degree. The finish was also good, and nothing felt truly boring during the entirety of the match. Although it did look readily apparent that everyone involved was simply giving their standard stuff, their "standard stuff" ended up being good enough to place this match above the level of "basic, mostly meaningless time-killer" and into "decent, standard-but-still-o.k. opener". **¾

Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Sugiura, and SUWA vs. KENTA, Ricky Marvin, and Low Ki

The second SUWA steps into the ring, KENTA attacks him, leading to a big 'ole cluster-**** that leads into a bunch of awesome aerial moves including a double dropkick, a diving splash, Ki's diving shoulder club, and a twisting moonsault to the outside. Very cool, and the epitome of a "crazy junior cluster-****" opening spot. KENTA's team then goes to work on Kanemaru, including hoisting him into a Tree-of-Woe position and doing not one, but two triple dropkicks right to his face. Kanemaru gathers his wits long enough to nail a dropkick and tag in SUWA, who puts the hurting on Low Ki for a bit until the inevitable stiff chop exchange. KENTA and Sugiura then exchange some elbows which leads to a nice belly-to-belly suplex and then a good facelock/dropkick combo by KENTA and Marvin to Kanemaru. Marvin nails a cool flipping senton for 2, only to get a hard kick in the face. Marvin's future doesn't get any brighter as he soon is subjected to SUWA's brutal diving elbow drop-to-the-crotch move. Very ouch inducing because, once again, SUWA's elbow really did land only centimeters away from Marvin's crotch, and Marvin sells it like it really did hit. Marvin is even quickly cut down after getting a brief second wind. After a bit of provocation, KENTA goes ballistic on Takashi Sugiura, to a point that SUWA and Kanemaru have to run in and pry KENTA off of their teammate. Afterwards, Sugiura seems to be either legit knocked out or selling it very well. The two-on-three advantage works well for KENTA's team, but SUWA eventually finds a way to pull out a win and pins Marvin at 17:43 following a lifting double underhook reverse facebuster.

Analysis: It seemed from the very beginning that everyone had their working shoes on, which was good. This wasn't a technical marvel, though: simply a bunch of juniors doing a bunch of impressive junior stuff. It would be wrong of me to classify this as a spot-fest, though, as everyone involved did do a fair amount of actual wrestling, even though the actual wrestling was only a few steps above passable. While being relative good, it also helped excite the crowd and compliment nicely the heavyweight three-man tag match before it. In the end, if anything, it carefully straddled the line between good junior tag and spot-fest, with mostly positive results. ***

Bison Smith, The Gladiator, and Ace Steel vs. Akira Taue, Yoshinari Ogawa, and Go Shiosaki

Go and Smith start with some very intimidating and stiff stuff. Ogawa actually holds his own against Gladiator until Taue tags in and hits a flurry of stiff offense and then a DDT for 2. After a bit, Taue drags Ace Steel onto the ramp and piledrives him on it in a very brutal spot. Ace then continues to get pummeled, but kicks out of a few near falls. In a slightly funny moment, Bison does a simple pin break up but is actually booed very heavily, so he simply shrugs and says "What?" Steel continues to get the hell beat out of him until he tags in Bison Smith, who cleans house until Taue tags in. Bison battles out of a chokeslam attempt and nails an iron claw chokeslam, which did look a bit sloppy although it wasn't apparent who was to blame. After some nice action that includes a few near falls, The Gladiator nails an incredible, and incredibly sick, German suplex which is sold very well by Shiosaki. Gladiator then gets triple-teamed, complete with a moonsault, but his partners save his hide and soon a cluster-**** breaks out, then another triple teaming spot, then another cluster-****. Ace Steel eventually nails a nice springboard tornado DDT on Shiosaki that gets the win at 15:35.

Analysis: Even though it wasn't "good", technically speaking, I still found it entertaining for what it was. The flow was at a good pace, even though the psychology was pretty much stiff shots, big moves, rest holds, repeat. Yet given all who were involved, that kinda ended up being a good thing. Everyone got in their spots, and while I know many of the men involved could've easily done better, I was still relatively pleased with the entire match. But, like the first match, it was realistically only a few levels above filler. **½

Scorpio and Doug Williams vs. Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue

Inoue and Saito have on some cool entrance masks, just felt like noting that. A big brawl starts this one out, then basic submissions. Scorpio/Inoue work in some good spots and moves. Saito is eventually grounded with a less-than-legal low blow and Williams is in control after tagging in. Saito keeps getting worn down with submissions, but a gutwrench suplex and a top rope flipping legdrop only gets 2. Saito keeps getting worked down and beaten up until he mounts a comeback, allowing Inoue to tag in and quickly clean house. In a cool moment, Saito levels Williams with lariats in the corner, only to dodge a splash that sends Scorpio right into his partner, so Saito goes with the flow and lariats Scorpio's back a bunch of times. In another nice spot, Williams picks up Saito, Scorpio launches off of Saito's back and into Inoue with a diving headbutt, then Williams does a run and rolls, sending Saito right into his partner. Williams and Scorpio continue to hold the lead and eventually win it when Williams hits a German Suplex and Scorpio follows it up with a 450 Splash at 17:17 to get the win. Post-match, everyone shakes hands in a nice display of sportsmanship.

Analysis: An o.k. match that honestly felt pretty one-side through most of it. The big spots weren't particularly eye-catching, and, while everything was solid, I never really was all that interested. I did like the finish, though, but I distinctly remember thinking I could've fast-forwarded to the finish and not miss much. Nothing to write home about at all, but also solid and good enough to make it a decent filler. That's all it really was, though-filler. And it shows. **¼

GHC Hardcore Openweight Championship Match: Mohammed Yone vs. Naomichi Marufuji (c)

For those unfamiliar with this particular belt, the Hardcore Openweight (sometimes mistakenly referred to as simply "Hardcore") Title has a few stipulations: mainly, a title change can take place in the result of a count out, disqualification, pinfall, submission, or lasting longer than fifteen minutes with the champion. That said, this is the first time I've seen Yone in his afro and freaky pants look. He looks like the meanest Asian Disco Man I've ever seen.

Some stiff elbows start off the match followed by a brain-scrambling backdrop by Marufuji, who follows that up with a very ego-killing backhanded ***** slap of mild discomfort. This is the catalyst for a much stiffer exchange of slaps until Marufuji counters, only to get drilled with a lariat that folds him over like an accordion. Marufuji returns with some good knee/upper leg work, including a good spot where Yone is put into a tree-of-woe position so Marufuji can use his leg as a punching bag. Naomichi then symbols for his corner-to-corner dropkick, but Yone frees himself and sends Marufuji to the outside and then launches Naomichi into the ringpost in very dominating fashion. Back in-ring, a top-rope legdrop gets 2½. After a few more high-impact moves, Yone actually breaks his own pin attempt just so he can continue to kick Marufuji's ass. The battle spills onto the ring apron where, in a highlight of the night and the blow away spot of the match, Marufuji gives Yone the Shirunai from the apron! Yone, to his credit, manages to get back inside the ring at the count of eighteen, only to eat a slingshot dropkick right to his head, but one he kicks out of at 2¾. After some superkicks, Naomichi sets up Yone for the Avalanche Shirunai. Yone counters into a backdrop, only for Marufuji to land on his feet and hit a superkick, but gets leveled with two spinning kicks to the back of his head by Yone. Yone then nails the Muscle Buster and wins it at 12:36! Post match, Yone poses with his new championship, the fans chant his name, and he is handed some flowers as he goes up the ramp.

Analysis: A very nice match with a very good finish. Everything was built up well, if not a bit bland at times. Even the unique rules of the belt, which could've been a hamper, actually worked in this match's favor: Yone wanted the championship, but his pride came into conflict mid-match and it ended up nearly costing him. Marufuji proved he was a fitting champion, even in defeat, and Yone proved that people with afro's and weird pants can be credible champions as long as they can kick your ass, which Yone definitely proved with his stiff kicks, near falls that he kicked out of, and the very painful Muscle Buster. In the end, Marufuji came up short in a match he could've won and almost did while Yone fought through hell and a Shirunai to win a match he very well deserved. ***¼

Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Mitsuharu Misawa and Kotaro Suzuki

Suzuki and Takaiwa brawl to start out the match, with Kotaro hitting some good high-flying stuff including a fluid twisting splash to the outside. Takaiwa and Shinjiro Otani then begin dissecting and brutalizing Suzuki after some brief tag-ins, complete with three dropkicks to Kotaro's face while he was in a tree-of-woe position. Ouch. Suzuki looks to be gaining steam for a bit, but a low blow ends that prematurely. Suzuki then tries his best to win an elbow exchange, but again gets grounded. Otani and Takaiwa keep taking turns handing poor Suzuki his ass, including a viscous backdrop, but Otani's cocky pin only gets 2. Suzuki nails some quick desperation offense and tags in Misawa to massive cheers. Misawa cleans house, of course, and nails a Tiger Suplex followed by a fantastic top-rope dropkick that gets a lot of air and impact considering who was doing the move. To his credit, Otani fires back with a Dragon Suplex that drops Misawa right on his head before tagging in Takaiwa, who nails a couple moves for a 2 count and then a very nice Death Valley Driver before tagging his partner back in. Otani uses some dirty tactics to get a lead before tagging Takaiwa back in, but Misawa nails the Tiger Driver for 2½. Suzuki tags in and does some very impressive junior counters before latching in a submission that is quickly broken up by Otani, only for Otani to take a Tiger Feint Kick. Suzuki focusing on the illegal man comes back to haunt him as Takaiwa nails a vicious brainbuster. In an ode to "the move" made famous by Misawa and his arch-rival Toshiaki Kawada, Suzuki and Takaiwa go up top, and Suzuki's hurricanrana attempt is countered "in that way", but right when it looks like Takaiwa is going to launch off, Suzuki pops back up and hurricanrana's him anyway to a good pop and a near fall that gets 2¾. In another awesome moment, Suzuki turns a top-rope Black Tiger Bomb attempt by Takaiwa into a hurricanrana, and the second Takaiwa gets up he's leveled with a Misawa elbow. Otani the sneaky devil then launches off the top rope and catches Misawa off-guard with a dropkick, but Suzuki takes out Otani with a dropkick of his own. After a great near fall, Suzuki argues with the ref, only to run at Takaiwa and taste a lariat that flips him end-over-end. After a very brutal Death Valley Driver, Takaiwa nails two powerbombs, turns Suzuki over, and nails another brutal Death Valley Driver, one that Suzuki does not kick out of as Takaiwa wins it for his team at 18:02.

Analysis: Very emotional at times, and the last five minutes were an absolute blast, but even a bit basic psychology still made it a good match and a strong showing from all involved. Misawa proved he wasn't too old or washed up with some big moves, Suzuki did his best with some high-flying moves and counters while still fighting through repeated ass whippings, Otani played the dastardly heel very well, and Takaiwa made it apparent that he's great at demolishing NOAH's junior division by any means necessary. It wasn't bland at all, and it did feel very unique…it's just that while a lot of things went into making this match good, nothing really made it stand out as a great tag match. I did like what I saw, though, and I did end up thoroughly enjoying the entire thing. ***¼

Genichiro Tenryu and Minoru Suzuki vs. Jun Akiyama and Takeshi Morishima

Pretty much your standard stuff for all involved starts out the match: stare downs, chain wrestling a bit, stiff shots. Akiyama cockily pins Tenryu, and then scrapes his boot against the side of Tenryu's face before tagging out. Tenryu, however, still wants a piece of Akiyama and clubs him in the back, leading to them brawling on the outside which consequently leads into a big cluster-****. Back in-ring, some back-and-forth offense leads to Suzuki tagging in, but now Akiyama gets pissed, charges across the ring, and takes out Tenryu, which leads to another great cluster-**** spot. Tenryu and Suzuki bring down Morishima with some less-than-honorable double team offense, including a spiked Piledriver. Both Morishima and Tenryu get in some offense on each other, but Morishima still falls prey to more double-teaming until he nails a spinebuster on Minoru and tags in Akiyama, who immediately makes Suzuki taste some knee and then an Exploder! Tenryu tries to break up the pin, so Jun gets up before Tenryu can do that and begins punching and kneeing him, leading into a knee from the top rope. After Suzuki has his sleeper hold broken up by Akiyama, he tags in Tenryu only to turn around and blindside Akiyama with a big boot and then a sleeper on the outside. In-ring, Morishima capitalizes on the momentary confusion with a lariat and then a Lou Thez press for 2½. Genichiro Tenryu then nails a great brainbuster on Morishima and then a lariat, which gets 2¾, followed by an even sicker lariat for the win at 14:30.

Analysis: A match that was very frantic, fast-paced, and emotional at times, while slow and methodical at others. In a rare occurrence, the various cluster-****s actually added to the match. Everyone seemed very energetic, and everyone played their parts well. For some reason, it actually felt a bit short, if not slightly anti-climatic. It was still good, though, and a solid seventh match leading to the big main event. ***

G.H.C. Heavyweight Title Match: Kenta Kobashi (C) vs. Takeshi Rikio

It should be noted that an absurd amount of streamers are thrown for both men when their names are called. Right out of the gate Rikio ***** slaps Kobashi very stiffly. Then, of course, both men stiff each other like crazy, and Rikio actually nails one of Kobashi's signature moves: the spinning neck chop. Kobashi sells it like gold, too: painful as hell and very surprising. Rikio then nails a dropkick and Kobashi rolls outside to ponder how he went wrong, but Rikio scrambles those thoughts with a baseball slide. Rikio dominates on the outside, including a great powerbomb that lifts Kobashi up from the outside and deposits him on the ring apron with a sick thud. In-ring, Kobashi turns a powerbomb into a hurricanrana in a cool moment and then synchs in a sleeper, only for Rikio to battle out of it and drag Kobashi back outside and on the apron. Rikio tries a powerbomb but is backdropped, only to get right back up, try a powerbomb again, and get backdropped again. Rikio is laid into with chops, but over powers Kobashi with a shoulder block that only gets 2. Kobashi then powers out of a grounded submission, only to get a dropkick to his back. Rikio climbs the ropes, but Kobashi gets up and nails a superplex! The two men roll outside and Kobashi begins to gain a dominating lead, and back in-ring a clean neck chops gets 2½. Kobashi then wears down Rikio with a few submissions, and, back on the apron, Kobashi nails a legdrop to the back of Rikio's head. Rikio tries to mount an offense but is once again broken down with chops, even though a stiff elbow only gets 2½. Rikio once again almost brings Kobashi down, but again falls before the insanely stiff chops Kobashi is known for.

Kobashi then hauls Rikio into a corner and nails an unrelenting amount of machine gun chops. After rewinding and playing it back slow-mo, Kobashi nailed exactly thirty chops in right about as many seconds. Ouch. Rikio then reverses an irish whip, nails a lariat, and hits a crossbody for only a one count, but levels Kobashi with another lariat when he pops back up. Rikio then nails a backdrop-to-STO- type move for 2, but Kobashi knocks Rikio to the outside, knocks him back down when Rikio gets up on the apron, and then launches off with a very crisp flying crossbody to Rikio on the outside and later a diving shoulder block off the apron. Back in-ring, when Rikio resists a Half Nelson Suplex, Kobashi simply chops the back of Rikio's neck, sets him up again, and then kills him with a brutal Half Nelson Suplex. The referee even waves his hand in front of Rikio's face to make sure he's coherent. Kobashi then drags Rikio onto the entrance ramp once again, but Rikio fights out of another Half Nelson Suplex attempt and fires back with a brutal suplex of his own to Kobashi, and then suplexes Kobashi back inside the ring. A big powerbomb by Rikio gets 2½. Kobashi battles back after countering a Muso attempt and once again nearly kills Rikio with another Half Nelson Suplex. Kobashi then nails the Burning Lariat, but Rikio kicks out at 2¾! Kobashi hits a Moonsault!! Once again, Rikio manages to kick out! Rikio then tries to fight back but gets blasted with another Burning Lariat, but again he kicks out. Kobashi then tries for the Wrist-Clutch Burning Hammer, but Rikio counters and actually nails a Half Nelson Suplex to Kobashi! The fans are now openly chanting "Ri-Ki-O!"

Rikio then ducks a Burning Lariat and nails a lariat of his own and then a powerbomb, but now Kobashi kicks out. Rikio hits the Muso!! Kobashi kicks out yet again! Rikio tries the Muso again, but instead throws Kobashi over his shoulder in an absurdly stiff neck bump. Rikio nails the Muso once again! Kobashi doesn't kick out!! Rikio gets the victory and dethrones Kobashi at 27:11!!! The fans go absolutely wild. Post-match, Rikio tries to shake Kobashi's hand, but Kobashi won't have any of that…and instead hugs him, which sends Rikio right over the edge and he begins to openly cry. After a short interview, the fans start a massive "Ri-Ki-O" chant. As the new G.H.C. Champion makes his way up the ramp, he's handed a bouquet of flowers and a bunch of streamers are released from the rafters as the show comes to an end.

Analysis: I want to say Kobashi made Rikio a star this night, but that's not true. Rikio and Kobashi made Rikio a star this night. Not only did he dethrone Kobashi and ended Kenta's stellar thirteen-month reign as champion, he went through nearly everything Kobashi could throw at him and still prevailed, making him a damn credible champion and, at least for now, what seemed like a terrific champion. Many have said Rikio has been a tad disappointing as a champ, but, in this match, he proved himself in many ways. I was completely swept up in the tidal wave of emotion. The psychology was nothing short of great, either: Rikio knew he had to hit hard, and hit fast, because not only could Kobashi outlast him in stamina, but if Rikio let even the slightest opportunity for Kobashi to capitalize, he'd find himself in a big heaping amount of trouble. Kenta, on the other hand, knew he had to use his brains even more so than his strength, since while Rikio arguably had him beat in strength, Kobashi was the veteran and knew exactly how he could bring Rikio down. To his credit, Kenta put up a very valiant effort and not only stood up to Rikio's overwhelming power, for a while he beat him at his own game and even used Rikio's power against him a few times. The psychology was sound, the flow was picture perfect, and the emotion was through the charts, off the charts, and then exploded the charts. Whoever you are, you need to see this match, if only to judge for yourself. Me, though? I loved the **** out of this thing. ****¼

Final Thoughts: I'm very, very tempted to say stop reading my review and buy this D.V.D. right now. Everything was solid, and nothing was below watchable. The first seven matches, even though they were all either two-man tags or three-man tags, were all nice, although nothing really broke the mold. As said before, I completely fell in love with Kobashi/Rikio. Again, if you buy this DVD only for this match, I don't think you'll be disappointed in the least. What you're looking at is seven solid matches of variable quality with nothing dropping below passable, with one main event that needs to be seen. In retrospect, this was the first full Japanese show I ever saw. It's not a coincidence that I'm hooked now. If you're thinking about purchasing this D.V.D., purchase it. If you're not sure about this D.V.D., you should still probably purchase it. If you don't know a single thing about Japanese wrestling or Pro Wrestling NOAH at all, you should purchase it. Of all my modest collection, this is my favorite show.

Which is why, in the end, seven nice matches and one awesome match earns Pro Wrestling NOAH's "Navigate for Evolution '05" March 5th, 2005 event one of my highest ratings- ***¾.

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