Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, from Pro Wrestling NOAH Departure 2004

Dave Meltzer, the Roger Ebert of wrestling reviews, gave this match five stars and I’m still trying to figure out why. I’ll not call this a lazy effort due to how many times they drop each other on their heads, but where both have been a part of matches where these elements have been built up to through the story being conveyed, it feels here like compensation for not having a coherent story; you’d never know Akiyama was the heel unless you followed NOAH storylines. It’s downright parodical of main event matches by the end. Watch their 1998 encounter instead.

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