(Almost) 5-Star Match Reviews: AJ Styles vs. Naomichi Marufuji – NOAH Destination 2024

Many people consider AJ Styles to be one of the best wrestlers active right now, if not the best. He has wrestled a veritable who’s who of big names over the decades: The Undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Kazuchika Okada, Roman Reigns, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Rey Mysterio, Shinsuke Nakamura, Will Ospreay, Kenny Omega, the list goes on.

But there’s one wrestler that he hadn’t faced before, one who might not be on many people’s shortlist of GOATs but one who has been a mainstay in wrestling for over 25 years. One who was so transformative during his prime that he has countless wrestlers around the world outright stealing from him in one of the biggest examples of ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’ in the wrestling business. That wrestler’s name is Naomichi Marufuji, and he was handpicked to face AJ Styles in Styles’ first match for a Japanese wrestling company in ten years.

It’s often said that a good way to judge wrestler’s skill is the ability to wrestle against any opponent. Styles, who is often likened to Ric Flair or Shawn Michaels, is said to be so good at wrestling that he can have an entertaining match with a broomstick. But could Styles live up to this stellar reputation and deliver on a worthwhile main-event in front of an audience that hadn’t seen him in years?

The Story

This match was seen as a big deal for a number of reasons: Styles’ prior Japanese experience had largely been limited to New Japan where he was a big deal so him coming to another company came as a surprise to some. Then again, what was even more surprising was that this match came through a working relationship between NOAH and WWE, which is something few people could’ve ever expected to happen until about a year ago. WWE had sent Shinsuke Nakamura to work The Great Muta’s final match in 2023 and it seems like WWE under Triple H is taking a less restrictive approach to talent exchanges. And since New Japan has a working relationship with AEW then there was no way that Styles would go over there.

But instead of having him wrestle someone younger, NOAH booked Styles against one of their most tenured stars. Naomichi Marufuji is perhaps the most underappreciated wrestler of the 21^st century. From the moment he started wrestling he had immense pressure put on him by virtue of being Mitsuharu Misawa’s protégé. Since he was much smaller than his mentor and thus lacked much of the credibility of other heavyweights, Marufuji compensated by being an artistic innovator. He created plenty of clever moves that had never been seen before. Instead of out-hitting his opponents in standing strike exchanges he sprinted around the ring and used the element of surprise whenever possible. He popularized the notion of hitting dropkicks from a springboard, the rebound misdirection clothesline, and spamming superkicks/thrust kicks countless times in a single match. In other words, if you have a favorite wrestler then there’s a good chance that Marufuji is that wrestler’s favorite.

So how would Styles fare against such an opponent? Styles had been in WWE for many years and NOAH’s style is much more physical and less theatrical. If there was ever a test to see how dynamic Styles was, it was Marufuji. But could he thrive in this new environment or would any flaws be exposed?

The Match

This took place on July 13, 2024. It was rated ****3/4 out of five by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

They lock-up and Marufuji headlocks Styles. Styles shoots him off the ropes but Marufuji rolls down before Styles can tackle him. A criss-cross ends with some chops from Styles, but when he goes for an Irish whip Marufuji handsprings into a dropkick. Styles fights out of an armlock, headlocks Marufuji, and keeps it applied despite Marufuji trying to roll him onto his shoulders. Marufuji gets to the ropes and lands a basic arm throw followed by an armdrag into an armlock. Styles fights out and lands a standing dropkick of his own, leading to a stalemate.

After a short pause Marufuji works over Styles’ arm with some shoulderbreakers and hammerlocks. He follows with some knees to Styles’ left arm (not sure why he doesn’t work the right one since that one’s more important) but Styles fights out with a stiff calf kick. Styles follows with a leg breaker and some elbows to the leg using the left arm, which I guess shows that Maru’s armwork didn’t do all that much to him to begin with.

Marufuji punches his way out of a leglock so Styles lands a leglace. Styles follows with a standing knee crusher. Marufuji goes for his usual handspring Irish whip escape but this time his knee buckles which allows Styles to land a basement forearm smash for a two-count. Styles follows with a backbreaker and, despite Marufuji’s resistance, lands a snap suplex for another two-count. Marufuji blocks a corner charge but eats an elbow. Styles attempts a springboard elbow but Marufuji dropkicks the ropes to send Styles to the floor.

Marufuji gets enough time to recover and hits back with corner chops and Kawada kicks. He follows with a kick combo and avoids a corner strike. Styles hits back and goes off the ropes but Marufuji blindsides him with a misdirection clothesline. That’s followed by a running foot stomp and a hook kick for a near-fall. Marufuji tries a suplex but Styles resists and escapes. Marufuji tries a kick but Styles dodges and lands a snap suplex into a corner. Styles recovers and tries a springboard but lands on the apron. He goes for a kick but Marufuji catches his foot and trips him down. Styles crawls back up to the apron but Marufuji lands a springboard dropkick that sends Styles back to the floor.

Styles drives Marufuji into the ringside barricade but when he tries to send Marufuji back into the ring Marufuji bounces off the apron and hits a short-arm clothesline. They fight at ringside until Styles hits a Phenomenal Forearm using the barricade. Styles tries to capitalize but Marufuji lands a thrust kick out of nowhere and follows with a standing Shiranui over the barricade.

Back in the ring, Marufuji lands an arm-trap bicycle knee to the back of Styles’ neck for a two-count. Styles blocks another Shiranui, catches Marufuji on his shoulders, and lands an ushigoroshi for another near-fall. They brawl in a corner until Marufuji attempts a Spanish Fly, only for Styles to fight out and lands a Rack Bomb for another close near-fall. They get up and Styles blocks a corner charge and ends up on the apron. He teases a springboard and Marufuji instinctively goes for a dropkick but Styles has him scouted and baits him into landing on his back. Styles goes for a springboard 450 Splash…and connects with Marufuji’s knees. Both men hurt themselves badly.

A strike exchange brings both men to their feet. They trade chops and forearms until Styles sends Marufuji into a corner. Marufuji blocks a charge with a kick combo. Styles counters with a KENTA martial arts rush. That doesn’t work on Marufuji for good reason and Marufuji hits a spinkick. Styles answers with a Pélé kick. Both men go down.

Styles blocks another misdirection clothesline and locks in a Calf Crusher. Marufuji endures the pain and rolls into a kimura. Each time Styles tries rolling towards the ropes Marufuji keeps him grounded in place. Styles gets a ropebreak and dodges some other moves so Marufuji lands a hook kick and a bicycle knee. Styles cusses him out so Marufuji answers with more kicks and knees for a two-count. Styles blocks another Shiranui and goes for his Phenomenal DDT. Marufuji blocks it and does a suplex shove into a thrust kick. Shiranui connects but only gets two. Marufuji teases a Pole Shift. Styles blocks and goes for the Clash. Marufuji kicks out while hanging upside down, grabs Styles’ wrist, and goes for a sunset flip. Styles counters into a powerbomb followed by a successful Styles Clash. One, two, and three! Styles beats Marufuji!

Winner after 25:27: AJ Styles

You can watch the full match here.

Review

For a match between two guys north of forty with broken, weathered bodies and their primes far behind them this was lots of fun. Neither man really showed his age here (Styles looked absolutely jacked) and most of the wrestling action was solid if not a bit subdued. If we were to compare this to a historic standard – i.e. what these men were capable of in the past – then it would be easy to conclude that this is far from their best work. But given how many injuries and how much wear-and-tear both men have endured then this was more than solid. This definitely lived up to the hype as a dream match, though I wouldn’t call this anything truly outstanding or historically special by any means.

The match checked most boxes for what one would expect of a somewhat cold match built around a first-time encounter between two of the most respected and admired in-ring workers of the 21^st century. Both wrestlers complemented each other and worked together well. The action flowed smoothly from spot to spot and sequence to sequence. Throughout the match there was this sense that either man could win. Each man adopted his own strategy that worked for a while but failed to slow the other down. But most importantly, this was one of the most competitive and unpredictable matches of the year. Styles and Marufuji kept audiences guessing throughout the match by breaking move chains and making sudden interruptions in sequences. That has always been one of Marufuji’s biggest strengths as a wrestler: he knows how to make sudden changes in a match to the point that he can never be telegraphed in what he’s doing. So if you’re watching him wrestle and want to skip ahead, doing so risks missing something important because he can turn the match around in the span of five or ten seconds.

And this wasn’t some kind of big flippy MOVEZ match, either. There was this inherent sense of struggle as both men had something to prove here. Marufuji tried out-striking and out-wrestling Styles who was bigger both physically and in terms of star power. He came close a few times but Styles had an answer for him at every turn. And while the match had some slow points – none of Styles’ moves aside from the Clash and the Calf Slicer were credible match-enders and served as bland near-fall fodder – there was plenty of downtime that made sense because both guys were throwing everything they had at each other. They struck the right balance: the crazier hard-hitting moments were juxtaposed with both guys selling limbs on the mat, getting breathers, and slowing down until they had enough strength to move forward. As a result the match never felt rushed or bogged down, which in turn made those 25 minutes pass by quickly and smoothly.

Final Rating: ****1/4

For a match that had no TV build and was promoted almost exclusively online and through the news this was fun and entertaining. Styles looked incredible and Marufuji looked immortal (seriously, man doesn’t look like he has aged since at least 2016 when he had some barn-burners opposite Okada in New Japan). Though they didn’t break any new ground here this was much better than I thought it would be and speaks volumes to how skilled both of these men are.

While there are much better matches out there featuring AJ Styles and Naomichi Marufuji, their first-ever encounter here was more than solid and definitely worth watching. What makes it so special is that watching them wrestle you wouldn’t get the impression that Styles is 47 years old and Marufuji has been wrestling more or less nonstop since 1998 and has had a plethora of injuries, including a neck injury in 2010 that permanently messed up his right arm. With how these guys moved, wrestled, and worked around any limitations of their own or any limitations brought about by stylistic differences or lack of previous contact, it’s no wonder that these two are still so highly regarded by diehard wrestling fans.

Thanks for reading.