Views from Hawke’s Nest: Free AJPW Matches Part 1

Goldberg vs. Satoshi Kojima from 2002

Goldberg was mighty over and received the usual “Goldberg!” chants. Kojima’s fans then chanted for him.  Goldberg overpowered Kojima early on. Goldberg got a leglock out of nowhere! The crowd popped big. Kojima struggled and struggled until he finally made the ropes. Big reaction for Kojima surviving. Goldberg hit a pumphandle slam. Goldberg delivered some knees, but Kojima hit a running forearm. Goldberg popped right up and hit a mafia kick.  Goldberg called for the Jackhammer, but Kojima blocked it. Goldberg then hit a spinning neckbreaker: 1…2…3

This was pretty much a total squash, but the match was a lot of fun (and worth watching) mostly because of how hot the crowd is.
Match Rating: Goldberg Squash

Goldberg vs. Taiyō Kea from 2002

This match happened the night after Goldberg squashed Kojima. Kea had no success early on. So far it looks like the Kojima match had a lot more energy. Goldberg punched him in the face, and Kea then fell to the floor.  Goldberg got the leglock, but Kea almost immediately got to the ropes. Kea came back with a series of strikes. Goldberg hit a pumphandle suplex.  Kea came back with more strikes. Goldberg came back with a palm strike and a spinebuster: 1…2…3

This was a less fun version of Goldberg’s squash of Satoshi Kojima.
Match Rating: Goldberg Squash

Road Warrior Animal, Gran Hamada, & Robert Gibson vs. TAKA Michinoku, Jamal, & Bull Buchannon from 2004

This match apparently happened. In real life. Jamal is of course the late Umaga. The match started with TAKA and Hamada after a ridiculous cock tease of TAKA and Animal squaring off. Buchannon and Gibson tagged in. Buchannon got the advantage. Gibson tagged out to Animal. Jamal tagged in. Umaga won that battle. TAKA went for a diving crossbody, but Animal caught him and hit a powerslam. Gibson started to work over TAKA. Eventually, TAKA made a comeback, and Gran Hamada then got worked over. He was worked over for a while. Hamada eventually hit TAKA with a tornado DDT. Gibson made a hot tag. Oddly, Hamada tagged back in and hit Buchannon with a hurricanrana. The match broke down. Buchannon eventually hit Hamada with a saito suplex and a SCISSORS KICK: 1…2…3.

This is real life.
Match Rating: **3/4

The Great Muta vs. Yoshihiro Takayama from 2009

This match was for Muta’s AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.  Muta spat some mist in the air once the bell rang, but Takayama immediately took control of the match.  They ended up in the floor, and Muta was able to use the barricade and an unprotected chair shot to the head to get the advantage back.  Muta choked him with a piece of camera cable.  Back in the ring, Muta locked in a STF.  Takayama mad ethe ropes, but we then saw that he got busted open.  Muta locked in a Figure Four leglock.  Takayama struggled, but he managed to make the ropes.  Takayama came back with a Yakuza kick.  Muta went and got another chair, but Takayama just booted him in the face. Takayama then gave him and unprotected chair shot to the head.  Muta got busted open as well.  Takayama then choked home with some rope.  Takayama brought him back to the ring and tried to open up the head wound some more.  Takayama hit a butterfly suplex and then locked in a cross armbreaker.  Muta managed to spray the mist into Takayama’s face to break the hold.  Muta followed that with a trio of Shining Wizards: 1…2…NO! Muta then hit a moonsault: 1…2…NO!  Takayama came back with a series of running strikes.  Takayama blocked another mist attempt and hit a bridging German suplex: 1…2…3! New champ!

A cynical man would say these two took a lot of short cuts to get through this match.  Even though these two are getting up there in the age department, I’ve seen each of these men put in some solid efforts over the last couple of years (Takayama’s match with KENTA immediately comes to mind).  However, this match did not grip me much, and the crowd didn’t seem too invested.  Their only big reaction was to the actual title change.  You can definitely skip this match and not feel too bad.
Match Rating: ***

Minoru Suzuki vs. Masakatsu Funaki from 2010

This was a cage match. I’m not sure if there was a story behind the cage being used.  They went for some submissions early on. Suzuki almost got a cross armbreaker.  Funaki took him down and rained down headbutts.  Funaki got a leglock. Suzuki’s forehead was busted open.  Suzuki managed to get to his feet and send Funaki into the cage. Funaki was busted open.  Suzuki gave him a Yakuza kick into the cage. Suzuki was in control  for a while until Funaki came back with a koppou kick.  Funaki got a triangle choke. Suzuki fought back and hit a running punt to Funaki’s back.  Suzuki locked in an armbar. Funaki’s head was a bloody mess. Suzuki then locked in a sleeper. Funaki came back with a pair of saito suplexes and a sleeper of his own. Suzuki escaped.  They traded some Yakuza kicks. They then traded some slaps.  Funaki eventually took him down with a slap.  More slaps were traded.  Suzuki knocked Funaki down and hit a Bakutari Sliding Kick. Suzuki locked in another sleeper. Funaki escaped and hit a Trouble in Paradise.  Funaki delivered some more slaps.  Funaki delivered another koppou kick, and Suzuki seemed to be down permanently.  Suzuki struggled to his feet only to eat more slaps from Funaki. Funaki then delivered a KO knee strike. Suzuki passed out, and the ref called for the bell. Funaki won.

This was a real fun match. Suzuki and Funaki both worked to their strengths (beating the shit out of each other in a believable way) to tell a story. The blood was used effectively, and the cage, while not a prominent part of the match, was used efficiently. I definitely recommend checking this out, especially if you are not familiar with either man.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Yuji Nagata from 2012

So much man in one match. They did some tests of strengths. Then, they did an airing of the grievances. Hashtag Festivus. Eventually, Nagata ended up on the floor, and Sekimoto hit a suicide dive. Back in the ring, Nagata was able to get an advantage by going after Sekimoto’s left leg. Nagata also delivered many kicks after he got control of the match. Sekimoto was able to make a comeback, and he got a nearfall with a missile dropkick. Sekimoto got another nearfall with a powerbomb, and he then transitioned into a STF. Nagata struggled a lot, but he eventually made it to the ropes.  Nagata came back with a Yakuza and an exploder. Fighting spirit from Sekimoto. LARIATO! They traded forearms. Sekimoto then hit a gamengiri and a Superfly Splash: 1…2…NO! Sekimoto got a nearfall with a big lariat. Sekimoto then hit a deadlift, bridging German: 1…2…NO! Nagata avoided a second one and hit a spinning heel kick. Nagata hit a running knee in the corner and a saito suplex: 1…2…NO! They traded forearms. Slaps. Nagatao hit a rebound German, a gamengiri, and a saito suplex: 1…2…3!

So much man. If the crowd was remotely alive for this, this had the makings of a classic. Instead, it’s just a match that I really enjoyed but others may not get into. Sekimoto
Match Rating: ***1/2

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Suwama from 2012

Sekimoto carried a sword to the ring with him. Because he is Sekimoto.  Sekimoto hit a back suplex and then a tope suicida. Sekimoto worked Suwama over after that. I just realized this is my first Suwama match. Suwama eventually caught Sekimoto by the neck and tossed him to the mat. Suwama was in control for a bit. Sekimoto was eventually able to dump Suwama to the floor. They then battled on the floor. Suwama used a chair to get the advantage. He tried to win by countout, but Sekimoto made it back into the ring in time. Suwama then proceeded to work him over. Sekimo couldn’t get anything going for a while, but he eventually hit a middle rope dropkick and a vertical suplex. Suwama came back with a Cena shoulder tackle and a belly-to-belly suplex. Sekimoto came back with a superplex. Sekimoto then hit a gamengiri and a lariat: 1…2…NO! Sekimot got another nearfall with a deadlift, bridging German: 1…2…NO! Suwama came back with a saito suplex for a nearfall. Suwama hit a release German, but Sekimoto showed FIGHTING SPIRT! Suwama hit a lariat and another saito suplex: 1…2…NO! Suwama got another lariat: 1…2…NO! Suwama then killed Sekimoto with a Last Ride: 1…2…3

This match is about twenty minutes long, and it definitely feels at least that long. The middle portion of the match was not that interesting, but they managed to get the crowd to buy on a number of nearfalls down the stretch. I’ve honestly never seen Suwama before, and I was not all that impressed by him here. Sekimoto remains the man, however.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.

The 411: What a collection of matches! AJPW has a lot of cool stuff on their Youtube channel, and I definitely recommend that you search around their channel. I know the first three matches are not what you think of when you of AJPW, but I couldn't resist sharing them with you. Trust me, their channel probably has even weirder stuff on it (mostly the matches with BIG DADDY V).
Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]