READER COURTESY: This review was approximately 6 pages on Google Docs.
“It used to be better.” – The Lapsed Fan Pro Wrestling Podcast
Note:
The Lapsed Timeline is now being migrated from Voices of Wrestling to Pro Wrestling Ponderings. With that migration comes some changes that greatly excite me, allowing for potential directions and advocacy spotlights that would’ve otherwise just been pipe-dreams.
With this kicking off “The Lapsed Migration,” it marks that the timeline is starting over and will be done in proper chronological order going forward. There are gems throughout the underground in 2001 that previously went uncovered – they will now be added as the timeline prior to February 23, 2002 gets properly reconfigured. Everything that can possibly be covered to get the full context going into that historic date will be included.
For this summer through early next year, the plan is every review will be posted on the 20th anniversary date of the event it covers; for coverage of footage from multiple events, the aim will be for the 20th anniversary of the primary or highlight footage of that review. That means that the Ring of Honor coverage will not be migrated over until February 23, 2022.
Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of a very historic time in pro wrestling history – the birth of ROH, the move to PPV for AJPW, and the first-ever main roster split in what was still known as the WWF. There will be so many other 20th anniversaries of what was such a loaded 2002 in hindsight for the professional wrestling industry. While the Monday Night War had concluded a year prior, the business kept finding ways to remain newsworthy, getting its newsletter media and the fans who hadn’t abandoned ship buzzing on a weekly basis.
And I can’t wait to reflect back on it all 20 years later… including the former World Wrestling Federation.
But before we get to that, we have the years 2000 and 2001 to migrate over and fill in any noticeable holes for. This time, all existing reviews will be thoroughly combed through for proper spelling and grammar, as well as the kind of formatting that is up to my standard.
Most importantly, every review on The Lapsed Timeline (including these ones being migrated over) will have a charity spotlight – a concept inspired by “The Nostalgia Critic” Doug Walker. These spotlights may sometimes also serve as forms of advocacy, potentially causing discomfort in readers.
Please keep in mind as “The Lapsed Migration” begins, that the goal will never be to shame any of you; on the contrary, the hope is to enlighten you, to help open your hearts and minds, and to reflect on the various ways in which all of us can help those in more vulnerable and/or less fortunate positions, then spring it into action.
I want to thank Voices of Wrestling for the exposure throughout 2020, and now look forward to The Lapsed Timeline being in its natural home that is Pro Wrestling Ponderings.
This is The Lapsed Timeline.
The following review was originally posted on July 21, 2020, and has been properly formatted with spelling and grammar errors corrected.
The following transcript from summer 2000 is courtesy the NOAH’s Arkive blog – http://puroprogramtranslations.blogspot.com/2018/02/noah-green-guide-to-history-of-pro.html
“As you all already know, I, Mitsuharu Misawa, have resigned as an officer of All Japan Pro Wrestling. I have also given my notice that I will not be re-signing my contract as a wrestler. In other words, I am leaving All Japan.
For about one year, I have tried my best as President to continue the legend of AJPW, however, I feel there is a disconnect between AJPW and the type of wrestling that I want to do in the future. In order to stick to my wrestling ideals, and not to destroy the AJPW that Baba-san created, I have decided to leave.
Regarding my next step, I will be creating a new promotion with the roster that has joined me here today. To the media, staff and fans, I, along with the rest of the roster, apologize for the trouble and worry we may have created. We are planning to do our best from the start. We appreciate your continued support, thank you.” – Mitsuharu Misawa
Throughout the 2000s, there was no promotion in all of puroresu that drew the box-office appeal and critical acclaim to the level of Pro Wrestling NOAH. Led by Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Jun Akiyama, the in-ring performances were the stuff of legend, with major stars that had proven themselves to varying degrees as draws throughout the 1990s.
But as interesting as NOAH would be throughout the decade, its birth is arguably the most interesting part of its legacy. Unfortunately, I am not the best person to provide such a history lesson. But after deep searching, I’m happy to have found some history that inexplicably slipped through the cracks for me [in the early summer of 2020.]
As someone who’s not a puroresu expert, the best that I can do here before diving in is to provide resources from those who are well-versed on NOAH’s birth. I encourage everyone here that is not familiar with this game-changing moment in pro wrestling history to not only look at the blog that was attached above, but to read the Wrestling Observer Newsletters beginning with the issue dated May 15, 2000. Readers can subscribe at F4W Online.
There are two parties that did provide some coverage of the 20th anniversary. Firstly, there’s the coverage provided by Voices of Wrestling on the June 18, 2020 edition of its weekly flagship podcast, with the discussion lasting approximately half an hour, digging into the company’s birth and history. The time stamp is 2:04:34.
But for a bit deeper, perhaps more substantial dive, here are nearly 40 minutes provided by Post Wrestling as well! Embedded below is the May 31, 2020 edition of the Post Puroresu podcast looking at the company’s birth and history. The time stamp is 51:02.
I can best be described as the epitome of a “casual fan” when it comes to NOAH and puroresu in general. So why is this kicking off the journey? There are multiple reasons.
- When it comes to the phrase that “it used to be better,” there is absolutely no doubt that Pro Wrestling NOAH is one of the very first wrestling promotions that springs to mind.
- The flagship of this journey will be The Lapsed ROHbot, and in order to get a full texture and appreciation of ROH’s zenith that’s to come, Pro Wrestling NOAH has to begin the journey, serving as another acclaimed promotion at the same time, and also because of how significant NOAH would turn out to be for ROH’s creative peak.
- In addition to the other underground federations that are a part of this journey, NOAH featured many ROH talents from top stars to curtain-jerkers over the years. A big part of this journey is to chronicle a significant portion of those stars’ careers.
- Lastly, why wouldn’t a promotion that was as en vogue as NOAH throughout the 2000s be included on this journey?
Without further adieu, making the assumption that all of you took the time to get educated on NOAH’s birth, the time has come to go further back in time, long before the idea of ROH entered anyone’s mind.
This is The Lapsed Navigation.
We begin not with an event review, but the headlining matches from NOAH’s debut weekend. There will be a time that entire events get spotlighted; as for now, buckle up, as these are both historically important matches.
Before getting into the actual matches, here are some interesting newsletter tidbits:
“The group put tickets on sale for its first three shows, 8/5, 8/6 and 8/19 at Differ Ariake, a 2,000-seat building, on 7/15. All three shows were sold out within 45 minutes. There were 200 fans that camped out the night before tickets were put on sale to get the best seats. The description of the atmosphere reminded people of when the second UWF was formed in 1988 and tickets would sellout immediately (similar to WWF TV tapings and major market house shows of late)” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated July 24, 2000)
“The NOAH show was a huge success as an event, as fans sensed the debut show would eventually be looked upon as an historical event in Japanese mat history, the biggest chance for a new company to become a full-time major league promotion since the debut shows of All Japan and New Japan in 1972.
Tickets for both shows sold out in minutes. The event itself wasn’t profitable, since ticket were scaled far too inexpensively, leading to incredible scalper demand at the event. The promotion itself spent $100,000, which was more than the live gate of the first show, for a giant screen set up in the parking lot to handle some of the overflow as another 1,300 fans were watching outside the building along with the 1,800 selling out the building. Scalper business outside the building was said to be the craziest in the history of Japanese wrestling, as the $60 ringside seats were going for $2,700 and just to get a standing room ticket in the building was going for $800 and all merchandise was sold out.” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated August 14, 2000)
A new company that benefited from a mass exodus and quickly sold out its first events, leading to outrageous secondary market demand. Sound familiar?
Our first match is the debut show’s main event, pitting an all-time great tandem from AJPW’s Burning faction against two other “Pillars” of the 1990s.
The following content is also available to stream on DDT Universe.
The First Main Event in Pro Wrestling NOAH History
2/3 Falls Match
Jun Akiyama & Kenta Kobashi vs. Akira Taue & Mitsuharu Misawa
NOAH Departure 2000 Pt. 1
August 5, 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
PPV air date August 12, 2000
It should be noted that Kobashi was the AJPW Triple Crown Champion when he jumped ship, leaving it behind without ever losing it. The winners of this match headline tomorrow in singles competition.
Kobashi steals the show early with one strike on Taue to save Akiyama, then dropping Misawa head-first with a Wrist Clutch Sleeper Suplex, earning the first fall quickly as Akiyama also dropped the company founder with a DDT and locked on a Dragon Sleeper. Kobashi is just absolute fucking magic, getting so much drama out of so little.
Misawa takes a minute to regain himself, for some reason starting the second fall as the legal man still. Akiyama immediately goes after him but Misawa makes a great comeback to damage Akiyama, allowing Taue to get tagged in finally. Once Kobashi gets in, I have a nice nostalgia kick when Taue hits a Booker T signature, the arm twist with hook kick.
The drama picks up in the second, lengthier fall when Akiyama ate a chokeslam from Taue on the apron ramp, leaving Kobashi none too pleased as he couldn’t save his partner. I really appreciate that when Taue hits a top rope splash on the obviously damaged Akiyama, Kobashi interrupts the count rather than have Akiyama kick out of it. That goes a long way in protecting big moves.
Akiyama makes a comeback when he turns another chokeslam attempt from Taue into an arm drag, leading to a mildly hot tag for Kobashi. After a brief exchange, Taue blocks Kobashi with a knee strike and Misawa tags in. After blocking the same suplex from before and cutting off Akiyama, he tags in Taue and the match mildly breaks down as Akiyama refuses to get chokeslammed onto the floor, but eats it in the ring a minute later.
Big signature moves get traded to the crowd’s approval, ending with Akiyama having control and putting down Taue with the Wrist Clutch Exploder Suplex, Burning winning 2-0. That was the proper booking here to test if Akiyama would get over among the other “Pillars” in this match, and doesn’t hurt either member of Taue or Misawa in any way. I’m definitely looking forward to Akiyama vs. Kobashi coming out of this, especially since Akiyama technically got both pins for his team, while Kobashi clearly did the most damage to win their first fall.
And after their handshake, Akiyama decides to just give Kobashi a Backdrop Driver. Now I’m even more interested in seeing a pissed-off Kobashi. While Akiyama is clearly getting the boost here, it’s still Kobashi left alone in the ring to close out the evening with the crowd, indicating he’s the flagship star for now as he should be, having vacated the AJPW Triple Crown Championship to jump ship earlier in the summer.
Rating: ***1/2
The following content is also available to stream on DDT Universe.
Jun Akiyama vs. Kenta Kobashi
NOAH Departure 2000 Pt. 2
August 6, 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
PPV air date August 19, 2000
The opening sequence is hot, both blocking blows but still delivering others before Akiyama takes a powder to regroup. MInutes later, Kobashi goes outside to draw Akiyama, putting down his partner from the previous night with a Powerbomb on the floor. Oh, how lovely it is to watch a federation that does a 20-count to allow for proper drama and selling.
After a crossface submission on Akiyama, Kobashi then targets his neck with various submissions and a Half Nelson Suplex. The damage is enough to sabotage Akiyama’s comeback attempt until he dropkicks Kobashi’s taped right knee. That’s an obvious strategy after Kobashi reportedly came back early from fucking double-knee surgery. (Who knows if that was kayfabed a bit like what apparently happens annually nowadays with Hiroshi Tanahashi.)
Akiyama keeps up the attack with a Scorpion Death Lock, STF, and ankle lock, and Kobashi’s selling to try getting a rope break is brilliant. Akiyama makes the mistake of going for the Scorpion Death Lock again though as Kobashi rolls over, only to still get leg-locked. When they reach the ropes, Akiyama throws in some extra dirty stomps to Kobashi’s right knee for good measure. This storytelling is so tremendous even without it being super dramatic.
Akiyama mistakenly goes for a bear hug, allowing Kobashi to hit a spike DDT and Sleeper Suplex. Kobashi’s Powerbomb nearly gets turned into a roll-through near-fall for Akiyama, so he hits another Half Nelson Suplex for another near-fall. Akiyama can’t bridge on a German Suplex, so Kobashi immediately goes for the Kimura Lock and then uses his leg to unsuccessfully block Akiyama from a rope break.
They have a hot sequence with signatures being hit, resulting in another hot near-fall after Kobashi’s lariat with his bandaged right arm. Multiple exploder suplexes can’t keep Kobashi down, so after hitting another one, Akiyama instead goes for the Dragon Sleeper, getting the shocking submission victory! Akiyama beats the shit out of some students that try to make him immediately break the hold, and he’s the king of the world now: he got the victories over the three “Pillars” that jumped over from AJPW, including the former Triple Crown Champion that was never beaten for it!
While this isn’t a great, all-time dramatic match, it didn’t need to be. Instead, this established a new main-eventer for the company to hopefully hitch the wagon to as Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa were starting to break down. That’s far more important than having an acclaimed barn-burner, a lesson that modern federations would be wise to learn from. In addition, I cannot wait for the inevitable rematch(es) between these two, for Kobashi to try reclaiming his position as the top dog. This was a humbling defeat for him to eat, but in hindsight, should’ve been seen as more than plausible. Even though Akiyama had failed in all four of his attempts to become the AJPW Triple Crown Champion, he beat Misawa clean six months before this at Budokan Hall.
There’s a full-circle storytelling to this result as well: Akiyama’s debut match 8 years earlier? A defeat to Kobashi.
Rating: ***¾
Pro Wrestling NOAH couldn’t have kicked off with a more logical direction on top. As mentioned, the inevitable Akiyama vs. Kobashi rematch could be one for the ages, hopefully delivering the first epic for this company and migrating over the majestic legacy that these wrestlers exuded throughout the 1990s and early 2000 in AJPW.
Next time on The Lapsed Timeline, we stay here with The Lapsed Navigation, and jump right to that huge Akiyama vs. Kobashi battle, as we look at the triple main event of Great Voyage 2000. Can the three matches live up to such a “triple main event” distinction that I have given it, or will only one or two of those matches live up to that kind of hype, which turned out to be the case just one week prior to NOAH’s debut weekend at Fully Loaded 2000?
With the reviewing part of this column done, there’s one last thing to address. While there will be times in which something is so clearly obvious to spotlight in correspondence, there will be other times when that isn’t quite the case. In this case, it’s the latter, so this will be the first time that the charity spotlight focuses on the region of the wrestling content that’s been covered.
When a parent loses a child, it can be said that they have encountered a crossroads. To suffer such a traumatic, devastating loss can be the end of life itself for a parent, or it can be the inspiration to help those in a similar situation. The following organization is a shining example of turning such a dark, painful chapter into an opportunity that brightens the lives of children who have been dealt unfathomable cards.
Today’s charity spotlight:
Shine On! Kids
https://sokids.org/
Twitter – Facebook – Instagram – YouTube
Created in July 2006 as The Tyler Foundation by Mark and Kim Ferris, this organization was born to honor their infant son Tyler, who passed away at a Tokyo hospital after battling leukemia. Aiming to help families of children enduring pediatric illnesses, this charity provides support systems for the children patients, as well as their families and medical staff; such services include a therapy dog program, Beads of Courage, and Camp Courage for Survivors.
“The Tyler Foundation was incorporated as a Non-Profit Organization under the laws of Japan in July 2006.The creation of the organization was inspired by the smiles and courage of Mark and Kim Ferris’s son Tyler, who spent much of his short life battling a very difficult-to-cure kind of leukemia at a hospital in Tokyo. After they lost Tyler, they realized there were many ways to take Tyler’s struggles and their experience and create something positive for families going through what they had endured.
When Kim and Mark Ferris started the Tyler Foundation, it really was about a family’s personal struggles and inspiration. But it has grown into something so much more than that.
Today the organization has touched the lives of thousands and thousands of children, parents, siblings, and medical staff all over Japan through its programs. Today, it is about those children—their courage, their smiles, their stories.
When the organization received official Nintei NPO certification from the Japanese government in 2012, the Tyler Foundation became Shine On! Kids and its mission was expanded to support ALL children who are very sick in hospital.
Shine On! Kids is about helping children face life with confidence, smiles, hope, and courage. It’s about helping kids in Japan with cancer and other serious illnesses truly Shine On!”