5-Star Match Reviews: NOAH Destiny 2005 – 20th Anniversary Review

A bit late on this one but it’s still relevant given Pro-Wrestling NOAH’s anniversary celebrations.

Twenty years ago Pro Wrestling NOAH held their second Tokyo Dome show. It was another sign of NOAH’s time at the top of the Japanese wrestling landscape. And if some fans are to be believed, this show was the best PPV/premium event all year, given that it was voted Best Major Show by the Wrestling Observer’s audience. You can take that distinction for what you will but there’s still something to be gleamed from this show two decades later.

It was NOAH’s second event in the hallowed Tokyo Dome and at this time cracks were starting to form. Unlike last year’s Departure show which was both a critical and commercial success, Destiny was only a critical success. Despite its positive reception NOAH ultimately lost the equivalent of $100,000.00 on the event. Departure had a more linear progression, culminating in the heavyweight title dream match everyone wanted to see. Meanwhile, Destiny had a more mixed card, as we will see below. It was clearly a gamble of a show and it didn’t really pay off, either in the short term or long-term. But for now, let’s see how the matches themselves hold up.

NOAH Destiny 2005
July 18, 2005, Tokyo Dome
Attendance: 62,000

Match 1: Masashi Aoyagi, SUWA and Takashi Sugiura vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Mitsuo Momota and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi

Background: This is a generic opening six-man with a mix of rookies, veterans, and other people not already involved in major feuds. Aoyagi is a midcarder, SUWA is a dickish heel who’d go on to have a hidden gem of a match with KENTA in September, and Sugiura is a Kurt Angle cosplayer who’d become a massive star in the years ahead. Momota is the son of the Father of Puroresu Rikidozan, Kikuchi is a junior heavyweight mainstay from All Japan, and Nakajima is Kensuke Sasaki’s protégé.

The Match: Nakajima and SUWA start things off. SUWA knocks him down and fires off snot rockets. Nakajima answers with roundhouse kicks. His partners take out SUWA’s allies leading to a corner conveyor belt spot. Sugiura breaks up a pin after a diving splash from Kikuchi. Sugiura tags in and goes strike for strike with Kikuchi. Momota tags in and runs through a basic sequence getting near-falls. Nakajima tags in and kicks Sugiura hard, including one to the back of the head, for two. Nakajima ducks a lariat and lands a gorgeous bridging German for another near-fall.

Aoyagi tags in and lands stiff strikes of his own. SUWA’s back in and does some basic slams. Sugiura’s back in and has another strike battle. Nakajima walks into a big boot, and then Sugiura and SUWA land a Dudleyz-style diving headbutt to the groin. SUWA distracts the ref. Aoyagi ax kicks Nakajima’s crotch. Nakajima eats more kicks but kicks out at two, which pops the crowd. Nakajima ducks a spinkick and lands one of his own and tags Momota, who lands a backdrop. Two-count. Aoyagi escapes a powerbomb. Momota tags Kikuchi and Aoyagi tags SUWA. Kikuchi lands a German but SUWA’s partners save him. Kikuchi lands a Blue Thunder Bomb-like move. Close near-fall. All six wrestlers start hitting big moves on each other until Nakajima dropkicks SUWA into a corner. He whips SUWA into Momota but SUWA dropkicks Momota and flapjacks Nakajima. Kikuchi powers out of a Tigerbomb but eats a clothesline followed by a double underhook facebuster from SUWA. There’s the match.

Winners after 9:32: Masashi Aoyagi, SUWA and Takashi Sugiura

Review: **1/2 Solid opener with simple moves and smooth flow. Everyone looked good. Even during the craziest moments things never got too out of hand. The best people involved were SUWA, who used his limited time in the spotlight to be as obnoxious and detestable heel as possible, and Nakajima, who played the role of the rookie babyface well enough. Not a bad match by any means, but don’t expect NOAH to open a show with a high-stakes match. For a show like this expect things to be quick and easy to and the start and the more important matches to take place later.

Match 2: Muhammad Yone and Takeshi Morishima vs. Burning (Go Shiozaki and Tamon Honda)

Background: Burning is Kenta Kobashi’s stable, Honda is Kobashi’s right-hand man (following their surprisingly great singles match in Kobashi’s first GHC title defense in April 2003), and Shiozaki is Kobashi’s 18-year-old protégé. Meanwhile Morishima is a big beast with a Bray Wyatt-type body who used to tag with the other Takeshi (more on him later) as NOAH’s top rookie heavyweight tag team. As for Muhammad Yone, he’s a junior with a big afro whose finisher is the actual Kinniku Buster/Muscle Buster, the very move made famous in the Kinnikuman manga/anime. That move was so ridiculous and dangerous (put someone’s neck into your shoulder upside down and drop to your ass, see how quickly that person’s neck gets jammed) but of course someone in Japan would use it as a finisher.

The Match: Shiozaki blindsides Burning with a running dropkick and hits a plancha onto Morishima on the floor. Yone suplexes Honda as Shiozaki tries another dropkick, only for Morishima to lariat him out of the air. An awkward interaction leads to a sloppy takedown from Morishima. Nasty cobra twist by Morishima plus a running leg drop from Yone. Yone with a neck crank into a headscissor hold. Morishima bulldozes Shiozaki to keep him down as Yone goes after Honda. Yone attempts a sandwich combo but Shiozaki dodges so Morishima ends up squishing Yone. Shiozaki lands a backdrop and tags Honda. Honda goes for double standing chokeholds on both opponents, fights them both off, and backdrops both guys. Yone stops a modified sleeper, lands a German on Morishima and helps Shiozaki dropkick Morishima from the top rope. Shiozaki lands a running strike barrage and a great German of his own. Shiozaki misses a moonsault so Yone tags in and lands corner kicks. A second-rope leg drop gets two. Shiozaki counters into a Kobashi rolling cradle for a near-fall of his own. Shiozaki connects with his next moonsault but Morishima breaks up the pin. Morishima backdrops Honda on the interference and lands an uranage on Shiozaki. Yone lands a running lariat for two. He and Morishima land a doomsday outside crescent kick. Honda makes the save. Morishima disposes of Honda as Yone lands the Kinniku Buster for the pin.

Winners after 8:26: Muhammad Yone and Takeshi Morishima

Review: *** Fun tag match that was all action and no filler. It flew by and had a basic story. It had plenty of interference, cut-offs, double-teams, and interesting interactions. The spotlights was on Shiozaki and he shined as brightly as possible, showing promise on offense and taking a ton of punishment on defense. It was an ideal match for the undercard and didn’t go longer than necessary.

Match 3: Dark Agents (Akitoshi Saito, Kishin Kawabata and Masao Inoue) and Shiro Koshinaka vs. Akira Taue, Haruka Eigen, Jun Izumida and Takuma Sano

Background: Dark Agents was Saito’s stable after he broke away from Jun Akiyama’s Sternness stable. There’s a very on-the-nose darkness/death theme about how all of them wrestle and present themselves. On the other side is a collection of babyfaces. Izumida is the only one who didn’t hit his career peak in the 1990s and is, IIRC, a lifelong midcarder. Meanwhile the rest of them were either junior or heavyweight mainstays for most of the prior decade. The saddest thing about this is Taue, a big star and something of an unsung hero of the 1990s, is relegated to this nondescript multiman match on the undercard.

The Match: Taue starts with Koshinaka and plays the hits. Comedy ensues as the Dark Agents take turns hitting hip attacks on Taue. Sano tags in but gets overpowered as Saito tags in. He and Sano trade shoulder tackles and forearms until Saito lands a kneelift and a delayed vertical suplex. Koshinaka lands a running hip attack but the ref gives him lip instead of counting the pin.

In come Kawabata and Eigen and Eigen lands chops. Kawabata falls down for some reason and Eigen tags Izumida. Kawabata reverses an arm wringer and tags Inoue, but Izumida quickly drags Kawabata to his corner after some uppercuts and tags Taue, who does a classic slapstick wind-up slap. He lands a DDT for a one-count and tags Sano, who lands some kicks and applies lies a single leg crab until Kawabata reaches the ropes. Eigen tags in and lands some chops then whips Kawabata into a corner but then gets rolled up for a two-count. Taue’s next and he lands a high kick and a lariat for a two-count. Kawabata fights out of a corner and tags Saito, who lands a lariat of his own for two. Taue gets quadruple-teamed but Sano saves him from being pinned. Taue gets revenge by getting his team to quadruple-team Saito and Sano gets a two-count on Saito off a diving dropkick. Sano continues his onslaught with a diving foot stomp for a two-count but Saito fights through the pain and wheel kicks Saito before tagging in Inoue.

Inoue gets spinkicked and tries to make a comeback but Sano backdrops him. Izumida tags in and lands a falling head-butt. He goes for a big slam but Inoue fights out with a jumping hip attack and tags Koshinaka, who hits some corner clotheslines. Izumida lands more head-butts and a martial arts sweep for two. Mayhem ensues as everyone gets into the ring as Taue chokeslams Koshinaka and Sano foot stomps him for a two-count. Izumida gets distracted by Kawabata and knocks him into a corner and then turns around to wind up for a big move on the legal man Koshinaka. But Kawabata attacks Izumida from behind. Koshinaka rolls Izumida into a small package for the pin.

Winners after 11:56: Dark Agents (Akitoshi Saito, Kishin Kawabata and Masao Inoue)

Review: ** Meh, generic and uninspiring. Skip to the better stuff.

Match 4: Mushiking Terry vs. Mushiking Joker

Background: So this was an afternoon event on a national holiday called Ocean Day, which meant that there would be lots of kids in attendance. So some dude that looks like Harry Potter and an anime protagonist had a love child comes out to cut a quick promo to introduce his charge: Mushiking Terry, a masked wrestler played by Kotaro Suzuki, a.k.a. NOAH’s firstborn. Then another guy comes out in a dollar store Halloween costume cackling as he introduces the other man in this match: Mushiking Joker, a similarly-dressed masked wrestler but with a darker color scheme played by Ricky Marvin.

The Match: Flippy stuff to get things going. Terry dives to the floor thirty seconds in. Joker escapes a chinlock via jawbreaker. Lots of quick counters and sudden dives. Joker cycles through holds as we get plenty of camera cuts to a bunch of kids trying to get enthusiastic about this. Terry with a headscissor counter and some spinkicks. Running Frankensteiner gets Terry a two-count. Joker locks in a counter crossface out of nowhere. Joker lands a diving neckbreaker from the top rope and a diving spear for two. a modified Michinoku Driver also gets two. Terry counters another finisher attempt with a victory roll for a near-fall. Then he lands a 619 into a European clutch into a bridging half-and-half suplex for the three-count.

Winner 7:59: Mushiking Terry

Review: **3/4 Paint-by-numbers lucha-style spotfest with two guys that knew how to work that style. Nothing special, nothing offensive, just there.

Match 5: GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship match: Yoshinobu Kanemaru [c] vs. KENTA

Background: Kanemaru was NOAH’s de facto junior heavyweight ace, having won the title from Jushin Liger at the previous year’s Departure show. He was also one half of the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, having won those titles alongside Takeshi Sugiura a month before this show. And the team he beat to win those titles? KENTA & Marufuji. But while Marufuji was being pushed upwards to the heavyweight division, KENTA was being groomed as the next junior ace.

The Match: Explosive strike exchange to kick things off. After a stalemate we get some chain grappling and some matwork. A corner whip reversal sequence ends with Kanemaru flying backwards with a crossbody but KENTA dodges. Kanemaru appears to land badly and hurt his arm, which KENTA exploits right away because he knows what wrestling is. Kanemaru tries fighting out but KENTA lands a diving hurricanrana and goes back to the arm. Kanemaru’s doing a great job of blurring the line between real and scripted with his arm selling while KENTA really sells himself as a badass. Again Kanemaru tries fighting out but KENTA shuts him back down. a suplex reversal turns into an armbar from KENTA but Kanemaru gets a ropebreak. Then they struggle in a corner. KENTA attempts a superplex but Kanemaru counters into a Deep Impact diving DDT. Then another from the apron to the floor.

Back in the ring Kanemaru works the neck with a headscissor hold until KENTA gets a ropebreak. Kanemaru drives him throat-first into the ringside barricade and then applies a sleeper. Ropebreak once again. Kanemaru follows with a basement dropkick in the tree of woe. A camel clutch becomes a sleeper and then a back suplex. Kanemaru tries another diving DDT. KENTA boots his arm. They charge each other. Kanemaru blocks, charges, and runs into a powerslam. KENTA lands a kick combo, a corner yakuza kick, and a springboard dropkick to the back of Kanemaru’s head. two-count. another series of stiff kicks. KENTA dives off the top rope but Kanemaru turns that into a powerbomb. Two-count. Frog splash. Two-count. Deep Impact. 2.9-count. Diving moonsault misses. KENTA lands a Fisherman buster. Both men collapse.

A bridging German suplex gets KENTA a two-count. he drops a knee on Kanemaru’s face and then removes his kneepad. He goes for a diving kneedrop but Kanemaru gets a boot up. Kanemaru goes for another diving DDT. KENTA catches him on his shoulders. Go 2 – no, Brainbus – no, bridging Tiger suplex. Two-count. KENTA with a martial arts blitz. He charges for the Busaiku Knee. Kanemaru dropkicks his knee and lands a Brainbuster. KENTA no-sells and connects with the knee. Both guys go down again.

They fight to their feet and trade drunken elbows. Kanemaru wins another exchange and lands another Brainbuster for two. moonsault connects. Also two. another Brainbuster. And another two-count. Kanemaru attempts a top-rope Deep Impact. KENTA counters with a diving Fisherman buster. Bucklebomb by KENTA. He tries again. Kanemaru floats over into a press. KENTA answers with a Ligerbomb. Two-count. another martial arts blitz. Kanemaru sidesteps to avoid the knee and gets a roll-up. Two-count. KENTA lands a short-range running knee. Kanemaru hulks up. KENTA lands it again. two-count. Go 2 Sleep connects. Kanemaru lands by the ropes. The split second it takes KENTA to move him away gives Kanemaru time to kick out. One more standing strike combo. KENTA charges the ropes…and caves Kanemaru’s face in with a Busaiku Knee. One, two, three! KENTA wins his first singles championship.

Winner and NEW GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion after 20:31: KENTA

Review: ****3/4 Save for a bit of dry filler in the middle you’re in for nothing but mayhem here. These guys worked a fast-paced, exciting, and competitive match. Both guys tore into each other with everything they had: high-angle suplexes, incredible counters, split-second kickouts and a bevy of heaving bombs that made this feel like a war. You could go into this cold and still enjoy the match to its fullest based entirely on the bell-to-bell action. Though the early limbwork didn’t play into the finish all that much it did add a sense of drama to that earlier portion by making it seem like Kanemaru was fighting through legitimate injury…and considering how hard KENTA kicked people he may as well have been. And the best part is that the match only went about twenty minutes yet it flew by. Easily the best thing on the show so far, but as we’ll see soon there’s something that’ll eclipse this match and then some.

“On July 18, 2005, at NOAH’s second Tokyo Dome event, I challenged Kanemaru for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. On my fourth attempt, I finally achieved my long-cherished dream of winning that title for the first time. Winning my first championship at the Tokyo Dome event—I wish I could go back and tell the baseball-loving boy I once was.” – KENTA in his autobiography

Match 6: GHC Tag Team Championship match: Minoru Suzuki and Naomichi Marufuji [c] vs. Jun Akiyama and Makoto Hashi

Background: Makoto Hashi was one of the trainees to join AJPW right before the NOAH Exodus and was trained by none other than Jun Akiyama himself. Meanwhile, Marufuji was moving up the ladder from junior to full-fledged heavyweight and thus needed to rub elbows with heavyweights. However, splitting from KENTA left Marufuji without a regular partner, but it wasn’t long before he found on in Minoru Suzuki. At the time Suzuki’s usual tag partner (and very close friend) Yoshihiro Takayama was sidelined following a stroke. But it was Takayama who told Suzuki that he should seek out mismatch situations because, per Suzuki’s 2015 book, “mismatches would be fun”. And so here we are.

The Match: Hashi has his head all bandaged up. The bell rings and Hashi goes after both opponents but then Marufuji dropkicks his head. Hashi lariats Marufuji off the apron and dives onto him from the top rope to the floor. He gets a two-count and tags Akiyama but then Maru tags Suzuki. Their first exchange ends with a clean break; their second one…doesn’t. Akiyama gets aggressive and both guys struggle to land Irish whips. Marufuji tags in and lands stiff chops to Akiyama’s chest, only for Akiyama to walk forward. Marufuji goes for more attacks but Akiyama boots him and tags Hashi, who lands a double ax handle for two. Hashi works Maru over in a corner until Maru lands a spinkick. Hashi avoids a tag but Suzuki distracts him long enough for Maru to sunset flip over the ropes for a powerbomb. Hashi resists with all his might but Suzuki breaks his grasp on the ropes. The powerbomb connects, sending Hashi onto the ringside mats.

With Hashi dealt with for the time being, the champions go after Akiyama, dragging him up the entrance ramp. Akiyama fights them both one-on-two until Suzuki DDTs him. With Akiyama left for dead Hashi struggles back into the ring, getting in at eighteen and then kicking out of a cover. Marufuji covers again and this time Suzuki tries adding his weight to it but the referee stops him. Suzuki tags in and applies a camel clutch as Akiyama slowly makes his way back to the ring. Hashi’s bandages are removed as Marufuji dropkicks him while still trapped in Suzuki’s hold. Suzuki bullies Hashi but Hashi hulks up so Suzuki blasts him with kneelifts and palm strikes. Then Marufuji tags in and the champs place Hashi through the ropes, each takes one arm, and they take turns kicking his sternum. These guys are doing a great job of playing heel, even if the crowd isn’t actively booing them.

Marufuji applies a cobra clutch but Hashi escapes and briefly fights off another two-on-one situation. Hashi takes another beating as Marufuji lands a frog splash for two. Hashi counters a suplex and goes to tag Akiyama but Marufuji holds him back. Hashi breaks free and gets the hot tag. The champs try to double-team him but he counters their shenanigans, causing Marufuji to dive onto Suzuki on the floor. A flash counter exchange ends with Marufuji dropkicking Akiyama’s face. Then Suzuki tags in and the two heavyweights trade strikes. Back-and-forth they go with slaps. Then Hashi tags in and wants to go blow-for-blow with Suzuki. He fails. But then he traps Suzuki’s leg and goes for a suplex. Suzuki counters into an octopus hold. Akiyama makes the save. Hashi escapes another double-team via enzuigiri. Both guys tag out. Marufuji lands a corner splash on Akiyama but then runs into a big back body drop. A folding powerbomb by Akiyama gets two so he locks in his King Crab Lock guillotine choke. Suzuki escapes from Hashi to free his partner. Hashi goes after Suzuki and lands an inverted DDT on the apron. Meanwhile Akiyama blocks a super Frankensteiner and dives but Maru dropkicks his stomach. Akiyama blocks a Shiranui. Maru attempts a perfect inside cradle. Akiyama counters with a knee strike to the head and lands his Exploder suplex. Hashi tags in and lands a diving head-butt. He covers but the ref never saw the tag. So they repeat the spot for a two-count. Hashi lands a corner wheel kick and a Blue Thunder Bomb but Suzuki breaks up the pin. Lariat by Hashi. Followed by a cradle Fisherman driver. Two-count. Hashi attempts a super back suplex. Maru lands on his feet while Hashi hurts his head a bit. Marufuji lands a pele kick and a Shiranui while Akiyama and Suzuki brawl ringside. Marufuji attempts a diving Spanish Fly. Akiyama turns it into a super back suplex. Hashi lands a diving head-butt. Suzuki makes the save. Things break down into chaos as all four men fight. Marufuji hits a Shiranui on Akiyama using Suzuki to step up. Hashi tries fighting the champs again. He ends up eating a Gotch-style piledriver and a dropkick to the head. One, two, Akiyama saves him. The champs double-team him one more time. Suzuki applies a sleeper on Akiyama through the ropes as Marufuji lands a super Shiranui on Hashi to get the pin and the win.

Winners and STILL GHC Tag Team Champions after 24:55: Minoru Suzuki and Naomichi Marufuji

Review: ****1/4 Apparently many native fans didn’t like Marufuji teaming with Suzuki but I think outside fans would enjoy it if this match was any indication. This was delightfully fun with Suzuki embracing his inner dickhead and Marufuji doing his best to play heel for the clearly babyface Hashi. Everyone involved had solid chemistry. Akiyama looked to be more than happy playing a supporting role to let his boy Hashi shine while the champs beat his ass at every turn. I loved the creativity of the spots used by Maru and Suzuki throughout the match, especially how they isolated Hashi and picked him apart like buzzards. As good as it was it still went a bit too long and meandered at times. Still, the native fans alleging that Marufuji was, according to his book, “uninteresting” when teaming with Suzuki must’ve been out of their minds because here he showed he could make cruiserweight daredevilry – something that almost always pigeonholes a wrestler into being babyface – into something heelish, which is no small feat. Solid match all around.

Match 7: GHC Heavyweight Championship match: Takeshi Rikio [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Background: Oh boy, Takeshi Rikio, the poster child for failed experiments in pro-wrestling. Rikio was one of the so-called New Four Heavenly Kings who were meant to carry NOAH into the future, the others being Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji, and KENTA. Of the four of them Rikio was considered by many to be the least talented and technically gifted. And of the four he was also considered the least popular. Yet NOAH saw him as this plucky, never-say-die babyface with a sumo background and thought he would be the guy to beat Kenta Kobashi for the title. So they tried to build him up – with mixed success, at best – and eventually Rikio fulfilled that destiny and won the world title. Alas, poor Rikio wasn’t even on the same planet as Kobashi, much less in the same atmosphere. He was a power guy but didn’t have Kobashi’s charisma and ability to draw from the fans’ energy. And despite passable attempts to build him strongly NOAH failed to really make him into an ace-type wrestler. As a result when he beat Kobashi it was seen as the upset of the decade. Things would only get worse from there as Rikio would have mediocre title defenses at best, as seen with this match against a still-far-from-his-later peak Hiroshi Tanahashi

The Match: Tanahashi is wrestling heel. Basic hold exchange to start. Tanahashi lands a crossbody for one but Rikio uses his power to knock his opponent down. We get some basic headlocks, takedowns, and corner whips for the next little bit. Tanahashi charges but runs into a bearhug but then counters it into a small package for two. They brawl to ringside. Tanahashi gets back in and dropkicks Rikio to the barricade. Rikio shoots him off the ropes but Tana counters with a flying forearm and a senton combo for two. Tanahashi applies one sleeper which ends in a ropebreak and his next one is countered into a back suplex. Tana bounces off the ropes but Rikio stops him in place with slaps. The crowd finally wakes up as Rikio applies Tanahashi’s dragon sleeper. Rikio follows with two corner clotheslines and a top-rope crossbody for two. a Jackhammer suplex gets Rikio another two-count so he lands a bucklebomb. Rikio tries a super back suplex but Tanahashi escapes and lands a crossbody of his own. Tanahashi dropkicks Rikio to ringside and dives through the ropes with a suicide dive. On the replay its clear that Tanahashi barely touches Rikio so he does the move again and this time gets full connection.

Back in the ring Tanahashi lands a diving shotgun dropkick and triple Germans for two. Rikio fights out of a dragon suplex so Tana locks him in a dragon sleeper. Tanahashi misses an enzuigiri but makes up for it with a roll-up that gets two. Tana tries a running small package. Rikio powers into a powerslam attempt. Tana slides out, slaps Rikio hard, and lands a slingblade. He charges again but this time Rikio lands a lariat. Both men get up and Rikio wails on Tanahashi with slaps. A powerbomb gets Rikio a two-count so he teases his Muso finisher but Tanahashi counters into a cradle. Two-count. Rikio tackles Tanahashi and launches him into a corner. A palm strike barrage ends with a lariat and another two-count. Muso connects. One, two, three! Rikio retains.

Winner and STILL GHC Heavyweight Champion after 17:11: Takeshi Rikio

Review: *** Passable as a singles match but disappointing as a world title match. Rikio was solid enough in his role as the powerhouse that threw people around but in no way did he give off main-eventer aura. Even as he hit his techniques properly he just came across as bland and generic. Tanahashi, on the other hand, did a bit more of the heavy lifting by trying to play heel. But he didn’t go far enough. There wasn’t enough depth to the performance to really make the crowd care about Rikio. And then the finishing sequence came out of nowhere leading to a marked lack of excitement towards the end. But if you like seeing a big guy champion throw his little guy challenger around without selling all that much then this should satisfy you, I guess.

Match 8: Dream Match #1: Genichiro Tenryu vs. Yoshinari Ogawa

Background: Genichiro Tenryu is one of the most important figures in modern Japanese wrestling. He was a star in All Japan all throughout the 1980s but left in 1990 following a complicated dispute with Giant Baba. He went on to found Super World of Sports and later Wrestling Association R/Wrestling and Romance (WAR), both of which were “rebellious” promotions that added to the “dilution” of the wrestling landscape in the 1990s. After a decade away from Baba and the Royal Road, Tenryu returned to AJPW following the NOAH Exodus. His involvement in post-Exodus AJPW helped stabilize the company’s business and keep them alive. Once that happened Tenryu became a freelancer, which led to this match in which he faced one of his protégés. Ogawa was a scrawny mat grappling specialist who was too small to be a heavyweight but too big to be a proper junior heavyweight. And yet his experience with amateur grappling made him into a reliable undercard wrestler, to the point that, in 1998, Misawa would handpick him as his new regular tag partner. Together they’d have some great tag matches built around their oddball pairing nature. Oh, and this pencil-thin wrestler nicknamed “Rat Boy” is also a former GHC World Champion, having beaten Jun Akiyama in four minutes.

The Match: Ogawa declines a handshake and then we get some clean breaks. Ogawa offers a handshake but then cheapshots Tenryu, only to eat a stiff chop. Ogawa plays cat-and-mouse and shows off his technical skill but Tenryu regains control with a punch to the face. Tenryu headlocks Ogawa but Ogawa escapes and dropkicks the knee. Ogawa works the leg with a rinpost Figure-4 and stretches that leg using the ropes. Tenryu hits back with a strike combo but Ogawa hits cheapshots to the face. Ogawa lands a DDT and applies an underhook lock but Tenryu reaches the ropes. Tenryu brushes off Ogawa’s legwork with an enzuigiri and then does his own underhook lock. Ogawa headscissors Tenryu over the ropes and to the floor and then grabs a table. He tries to backdrop Tenryu into it but Tenryu escapes and lands a lariat in the ring for two. a suplex gets Tenryu a two-count. Ogawa escapes a powerbomb, lands an enzuigiri, and hits several turnbuckle smashes. Ogawa lands a Backdrop and then kicks Tenryu’s head the same way Tenryu had done many times in the match up to that point. bridging Backdrop for two by Ogawa. Strike exchange. Lariat by Tenryu. 53 Sai Snap Brainbuster by Tenryu. Two-count. Another lariat by Tenryu. There’s the three-count.

Winner after 10:27: Genichiro Tenryu

Review: **1/4 Pedestrian but disappointing. Tenryu showed his age while Ogawa never stood a chance. It was more a case of Tenryu drawing with his name and not his skills while Ogawa was basically a warm body. It had some moments of decent heat but at no point did Ogawa stand a chance of winning. It was basically meant to be a nostalgia match to give Tenryu – a man who meant A LOT to Japanese pro-wrestling – a simple and easy night out of respect for what he had done. Not a bad match by any means but a bit too easy and not worthy of having its position above the world championship match.

Match 9: Dream Match #2: Kenta Kobashi vs. Kensuke Sasaki

Oh, HELL YES!

Kenta Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki – two hard-hitting beef boys – smacking each other as hard as possible. What else do you need?

Background: Once Kobashi lost the GHC Heavyweight title NOAH looked to find something for him to do. He had surpassed ace status and moved onto elder statesman position and so NOAH looked to find opponents for him to face as a means of growing NOAH’s exposure. For years there were stories that Kobashi would be facing Bob Sapp, but by 2005 Sapp’s importance to both wrestling and MMA was starting to wane. In response, after plenty of discussion NOAH settled on Kobashi facing Sasaki, which was announced three days before the show. Kobashi and Sasaki never so much as spoke ahead of the match (they had met at a train station one time years earlier) and the only communication they had with each other was some “no comment” statements to the media at a pre-event press conference.

The Match: The crowd is incredible loud for this match…which is a big accomplishment given the Tokyo Dome’s bad acoustics and its tendency to swallow sound. The two wrestlers lock up and – BACKDROP! Sasaki Backdrops Kobashi. Kobashi fights back. Chop exchange. Kobashi Backdrops Sasaki. Sasaki bounces up and lands a running lariat. Both men roll to ringside on opposite sides. We get this awesome visual of both men staring daggers at each other across the ring. Loud applause all around. Back in the ring they do the Greco-Roman knuckle lock test of strength. Sasaki wins but then Kobashi powers him to the ropes and lands his Burning Sword downward chop. More chop variations. Two-count for Kobashi. Kobashi applies a facelock, drags Sasaki to the apron, and hits jumping downward chops to the neck. Then Kobashi hits a DDT on the ringside mats and dives, bad knees and all, from the ring onto Sasaki with a plancha.

In the ring Kobashi lands another chop and a front chancery but Sasaki powers out and begins a corner chop/lariat combo. Top-rope Frankensteiner by Sasaki followed by a diving lariat. Two-count. Kobashi escapes to ringside so Sasaki climbs another corner and dives onto him. Back in the ring Sasaki gets a two-count and then lands a corner clothesline/running bulldog combo. One-count.

And now the fun begins.

Sasaki kicks Kobashi’s gut. Kobashi no-sells.

Another kick. Kobashi hulks up.

Kobashi lands a chop. Sasaki no-sells it. Two more chops. Sasaki demands more. And so it begins:

CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! Standing ovation! Both men go down!

Kobashi gets up first and charges but runs into a powerslam. Sasaki goes to the top rope. Kobashi cuts him off and lands a superplex. Sasaki bounces up again and charges for another lariat. Kobashi ducks and lands a half-nelson. Then another. Sasaki rolls to the apron. Kobashi tries the Ric Flair apron suplex spot. Sasaki resists so Kobashi chops him down. Kobashi reaches down to attack Sasaki with chops. Sasaki catches him and lands a Northern Lights bomb from the apron to the floor!

Sasaki’s wife Akira Hokuto looks on from the audience worried as both men stir ringside. The referee begins his count. Sasaki gets in first. The ref gets to fifteen. Kobashi touches the apron. Sixteen. Kobashi falls back down. Nineteen. He gets up. Then he makes back in. photo finish. Sasaki hooks one arm for a Tiger Suplex. Kobashi reaches out to the ropes. But Sasaki out-powers him. Bridging Tiger Suplex connects. Kobashi kicks out. LARIATO! Kobashi kicks out again. Sasaki tries a one-shoulder Tornado Bomb. Kobashi escapes and hits a lariat. Both men go down.

Sasaki gets up first and hits a judo throw into a Strangle hold armbar. Kobashi gets a ropebreak. Sasaki charges off the ropes again. This time Kobashi lands a neck chop. Sasaki no-sells and tries another NLB. Kobahsi blocks and hits a Brainbuster. Sasaki no-sells and drills him with a NLB anyway. Kobashi gets up. Both men collide with lariats and go back down. This is absolutely nuts.

Sasaki gets up first and lands an enzui lariat in a corner. He charges again. Kobashi counters with a sleeper hold into a sleeper suplex. Burning Lariat. Two-count. diving moonsault. Two-count. Sasaki tries one more lariat. Kobashi blocks and hits five murderous discus chops to the neck. Then he lands a running lariat. One, two, and three! Kobashi wins.

Winner after 23:38: Kenta Kobashi

Review: ***** Twenty years later this match is still absolutely bonkers. It’s one of the manliest gladiatorial fights to ever take place in a wrestling ring. The drama was off the charts. The chemistry between both guys was incredible for a first-time-ever encounter. They kept it simple by just hitting each other as hard as they could with their biggest hits and just built the drama off of that. And the knife-edge chop festival inside is one of the craziest, most ludicrous things ever seen in wrestling. It was both serious and over-the-top yet it fit the story, the setting, and the very concept of NOAH’s vision of wrestling – big bodies clashing in dramatic ways, perfectly.

“Although Kensuke is the same age as me, we had little contact, having only bumped into each other by chance at Yokohama Station once. By that time, “first encounters” were becoming limited. Moreover, the stage was set for July 18 at Tokyo Dome. When I heard from the company that the match was confirmed, I was certain, “This will be a card everyone wants to see,” even before knowing what kind of match it would be or how my opponent would approach it.

That prediction turned out to be correct. As you all remember, it was a clash of a total of 200 chops. Beyond the competition, pushing beyond physical and mental limits, it was driven by the feeling of “Can I back down here?” I unleashed chops. When I later watched the video, I couldn’t help but laugh at how wild the exchanges were.” – Kenta Kobashi, Tokyo Sports Special Career Retrospective, July 26, 2023

This was and still is an absolute banger that holds up incredibly well, even after two decades. It never really jumped the shark, even with the chop battle. The highest risk spots weren’t the most egregious things I’ve ever seen. These guys just took the concept of who was the tougher man and gave it their own unique spin. The result is something truly special. Seek out and save this match as soon as possible.

Match 10: Dream Match #3: Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada XXI – the Final Confrontation

Background: It doesn’t get any bigger than this. Misawa and Kawada had been apart for five years. After NOAH formed Kawada stayed with All Japan and became AJPW’s ace by default. Despite having several injuries he finally had a long run as Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion; alas that was overshadowed by Kobashi’s reign which lasted around the same time. Kawada, in his own words, didn’t want All Japan to disappear forever so he stayed behind to protect that company and all he had built since 1982. After the NOAH Exodus the relationship between NOAH and AJPW remained, unsurprisingly, strained, for many years and the tension didn’t ease until around 2004 once Keiji Muto took over. Muto was open to working with Misawa which led to the Green Machine wrestling for AJPW in 2004 in a match against Satoshi Kojima. In return Muto appeared for NOAH in Departure against Misawa in a dream tag match. Then once Kawada lost the Triple Crown to Kojima in February 2005 he, too, reached elder statesman position and wanted to wind down his career. But before he could really finish things up he wanted to tie up loose ends…which included one last match with his longtime rival.

The Match: Genichiro Tenryu joins the ringside commentary team to add credibility to this contest. For some reason Kawada’s new tights make his legs look skinnier, which doesn’t help a guy with his body shape. Some clean breaks to start. Kawada dodges some early elbows. Things get heated with a chop/elbow exchange. Running high kick from Kawada. running elbow from Misawa. Kawada fires back and drops Misawa with a sick hook kick.

Kawada stomps on Misawa’s head and locks in a half crab and then a bow-and-arrow. Kawada lands middle kicks but Misawa hits back with elbows. Big running elbow from Misawa followed by a Tiger Driver. A frog splash also gets two so Misawa applies a facelock. Kawada escapes and we get another heated exchange that makes it look like a “real fight” could break out at any moment. Misawa’s elbows to the back of Kawada’s head cause Kawada to unleash hell with slaps, stomps, and kicks. Kawada rips off some ringside mats and teases a powerbomb. Misawa resists. Stepkicks by Kawada. Misawa no-sells, hits elbows, and lands a Tiger Driver on the exposed floor.

In the ring Misawa gets a two-count so he dropkicks Kawada’s face. Kawada blocks a Tiger Suplex so Misawa locks in a sleeper but Kawada rolls to the ropes. Misawa attempts a corner whip but Kawada slinks down before reaching his destination. But this is bait. Misawa charges into a corner but Kawada boots him. Misawa gets right back up and hits an elbow. Kawada answers with a sick gamengiri kick right to the cheek. Another corner yakuza kick by Kawada followed by an angry kick-and-knee flurry reminiscent of their 1990s battles. The fight ends up on the apron. Kawada blocks a Tiger Driver on the apron and falls to the floor. Misawa charges for an elbow but, just like in 6-3-94, Kawada elbows Misawa out of the air.

They brawl up the entrance ramp until Kawada slams Misawa on the entrance ramp. Misawa blocks a powerbomb on the ramp so Kawada lands another gamengiri and then lands his powerbomb. But Kawada doesn’t want to win via count-out so he drags Misawa back to the ring and covers for two. nasty kick combo followed by a lariat. Two-count. he tries another powerbomb and more stepkicks. Misawa no-sells. Kawada hits back with elbows and even does some combination attacks Misawa used in his previous matches. Misawa eats everything he has and goes for a rolling elbow. Kawada hits first with a big kick. Suplex into a Stretch Plum. Two-count. Kawada follows with two release Germans. Misawa fires up and hits an elbow but his German gets blocked. More stiff brawling and another gamengiri. Sheerdrop Brainbuster. Misawa kicks out. Folding Powerbomb. Misawa kicks out. Running kick to the face. Misawa ducks it only for Kawada to punt his spine. then Kawada hits the GANSO BOMB! And of course Misawa kicks out. Another powerbomb attempt. Misawa counters with a Frankensteiner. Kawada tries another gamengiri but this time Misawa elbows Kawada’s leg. Running elbow smash. Two-count. Kawada blocks another attack so Misawa hits a gorgeous rolling elbow. Misawa tries the Emerald Flowsion twice, fails, and connects the third time…for two. Kawada blocks a Tiger Driver so Misawa hits a rolling kick, a release Tiger suplex, and a snap Tiger Driver ’91. Two-count. Misawa hits another elbow combo and gets a one-count. Calf kick/elbow smash exchange. Running elbow smash. Two-count. more elbow smashes from Misawa. Kawada continues to walk forward drunk-legged. Misawa keeps going and going and going with elbows until he lands one more running elbow to get the three-count. And so ends the storied rivalry between Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada.

Winner after 27:04: Mitsuharu Misawa

Review: **** Solid but quite a bit under par given the high standard these two men are used to. That’s to be expected: both of them are WAY past their primes, much older, and far more injury-ridden. It wasn’t reasonable to expect that they’d turn the clock back to 1994 or 1995 but what we got was still solid enough. It was stiff as hell, dramatic, and filled with callbacks to their previous encounters. It was hard-hitting and had some moments of sheer craziness, especially with that Tiger Driver onto the concrete. Such high risk was perfectly on-brand for Misawa versus Kawada, though I think that spot should’ve been saved for a bit later since something that dramatic was reduced to a mere transitional spot here. As for the rest of the match it was more brawling and hardnosed aggression with little scientific wrestling or limbwork. It lacked a bit of that classical psychological depth but they made up for that by building the match’s story around “what will it take to put this guy down?”, which they did incredibly well. The only reason it isn’t rated higher is because it went too long, which caused plenty of repetition of the same sequences and had plenty of dead air between exciting exchanges. Had they shaved off at least five minutes this could’ve been better, especially since the match peaked early and the final exchange was a bit underwhelming compared to their previous encounters.

Summary: Destiny 2005 is almost as good as Departure 2004 but falls short in some ways. NOAH’s 2004 show had the ideal structure: start off with the comedy/lower card/less important matches and conclude with the most important stuff. This show differed in that it made the present/future come off as less important than the past. On one hand that was to be expected: there was no way in hell that Takeshi Rikio and 2005-era Hiroshi Tanahashi could main-event over Kobashi/Sasaki, Misawa/Kawada, or even Tenryu/Ogawa. It was a matter of existing and established star power mattering more than building for the future in order to fill the venue, but the card’s order told an important story. Contrast this to Departure which ended with the world title headlining the show as it should have. Even though Kobashi and Akiyama were both AJPW creations the title they fought over in their battle symbolized NOAH’s present and future; here at Destiny the same GHC title was lost in the shuffle ahead of some dream matches, one of which was a ten-minute nothing affair that was only so high up the card because Tenryu was there.

That aside, though, this show was still very entertaining once we passed the opening four matches. Kanemaru/KENTA was fast-paced and exciting. The heavyweight tag match was full of surprises. Misawa and Kawada closed their storybook rivalry as best they could under the circumstances. And Kobashi/Sasaki, simplistic as it was, was one of the best matches of the entire decade. All of this on a single show makes it more than worth the four-hour time investment.

You can watch the entire show here.

Thanks for reading.