KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Makoto Hashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

[7.0] "Overrated in my opinion. The beginning of the match is great. The rest is still good because many big moves and heavy bumps are given and we can't deny that at all. However, I've been pretty confused on how the match kept going. The crowd was into it and helped a lot, but the overall performance is not that fantastic. I felt that Kanemaru was everywhere and maybe too much and too often. Hashi looked fine, Kenta and Marufuji just got beat up, and only poorly contributed. Don't get me wrong, they are still great and did a lot of big moves. The match isn't bad, but it has nothing special to me."

[10.0] "I never took much notice of Makoto Hashi, the previous match was just good, and forgettable, but he was brilliant here, as were the rest of the wrestlers. This is the best NOAH match up to this point in history."

[9.0] "Fantastic tag match. High energy great action between all 4 men this is a must watch. The match itself is fantastic but what really makes it is the atmosphere in the Budokan and the commentary. One of the best tags Ive ever seen 4.5/5"

[8.0] "This match has some completely insane moments in the first half, especially Marufuji's, but the pace drops in the middle, and as frantic as the climax is, I still find the beginning more interesting (****1/4)"

[7.0] "Decent match that just barely manages not to be a great one. Some flaws in its first half and its a bit slower paced at the start, although there are some explosive moments to be found. Second half is great. I felt like everyone got a chance to shine and there were quite alot of nasty bumps taken by everyone involved."

[9.0] "One of NOAH's best tags. There's a good bit of heat in the first half, but even the lull points of the match are still hard-hitting. These guys just knock the shit out of each other and it rules. At least one full point of this score comes from that insane snap elbow drop Marufuji did. That finish was insane."

[9.0] "God this rocked so hard. First half is pretty slow and filled with mostly pointless limbwork on Hashi which he doesn't sell at all, but as soon as we reach the 15 minute mark, for 10 straight minutes, this becomes one of the most incredible tag matches I've ever seen. Literally just blisteringly fast action, about 100 fucking near falls, crowd going berserk, it's basically near perfect spotfest type shit with everyone hitting their shit and it was amazing. Sure maybe the near falls were a bit too excessive, but that didn't stop me from believing at least 2 of them. The finish is also fire too, as Kenta attempts to surgically remove Hashi's head from his body after he had already survived everything else him and Marufuji threw at him, and delivers a combination of some of the most brutal head kicks ove ever seen to finally put him down. Absolutely loved this, and if it wasn't for the slow middle section of this match, then I think this would be recognised as one of the best tag matches of the 2000s without a doubt. ****3/4"

[9.0] "The second half was incredible but man the first one was embarrassing. We got an apron Front Slam... what the damn did I see? Anyway also the ending was a bit strange, after both team survived every kind of Brainbuster and Falcon Arrow head kick and one two three. Very good but not flawless. ****1/2"

[7.0] "My feelings on this match are incredibly mixed. It had all the makings of a classic - a frantic energy, tonnes of high spots and near falls, a crowd that was on the edge of their seat - but there are issues. So firstly, there are some jaw dropping sequences in this match. Marufuji and Kanemaru I thought worked especially well together, so fluid and dynamic. Every man had a highlight heel of spots here, to be honest. My main problem is that I guess it falls into the typical territory of a NOAH 2000 Jrs match - a lot of planned out spots that look great but don't flow cohesively together. This match also triggered a couple of my pet peeves. Marufuji can do the coolest moves you have ever seen but can't do a proper Irish whip. Also, KENTA pretty much got murdered in this match and his back should have been barely functional but I'm not sure if I saw him even attempt to sell it. In fact, I can't remember any selling other than the generic tiredness sell you see in spot fests. Furthermore, KENTA kicked out of way too many big moves. The opposing team destroyed his back as I mentioned, and hit KENTA with both their finishers just for him to kick out. Speaking of kickouts, this also became over-bearing. Especially since it was very obvious when someone was going to break-up the pin. KENTA picking up the win with no signs of a bad back really rubs me the wrong way. Overall, this is a potential classic that is ultimately pegged down for me due to a lack of fundamentals and an overindulgence of flashy stuff. I know some people will be unbothered by my issues with the match, so if you wanna see cool spots go right ahead. (3.75*)"

[10.0] "By far, one of the best junior Heavyweight matches I have ever seen. End to end action, which is amazing for a 25 minute match. This is the first match I've ever seen, to my knowledge, involving Hashi and he keeps up with the other three well. Hard to pick a top performer, but have to give it to Kenta who picks up the victory. Kanemaru a close second with some incredible moves and top rope antics toward the middle of the match. Will be tough to defeat this one."

[10.0] "At least 4.75 stars, maybe 5 stars. I need to watch this again when I'm more focused but holy shit is this good. One of the best jr tags ever, everyone here is outstanding. Makoto Hashi is criminally underrated. KENTA is at his best here, being so great at taking a beating and giving one right back. None of the things Marufuji do make any sense, like how does someone do that' And Kanemaru is a mastermind, he's so so smart and so so fast. You should watch this soon."

[8.0] "Their previous match in March was great, but the rematch here managed to top it by quite a lot. The rivalry between both teams was made clear as both teams faced off in the ring only a minute into the match and constantly took cheap shots at their opponents on the apron all match long. All 4 men were very energetic, which made for a lot of exciting sequences. Hashi's power displays with his strikes and power moves were great, Kanemaru's high flying and striking was quite strong, Kenta's general striking (especially his kicks, of course) was great as always, and Marufuji's high flying and general acrobatic skills were awesome as always. My favourite single spot was when Marufuji hit an amazing senton to the outside after jumping from the middle rope to the top rope, all with perfect balance. When it comes to my favourite actual moment, there's just too many; practically the entire final 1/3rd is a highlight reel. There were a lot of nearfalls in the final 10 minutes, and all of them looked very convincing, making the match extra exciting because it felt like it could end at any moment. I can understand someone else thinking that the various pin attempts and pin breakups were overkill, but to me they just kept adding to the ever-growing amount of tension the match had already accrued which, in turn, just kept the excitement levels going higher and higher, with the crowd getting louder and louder with each consecutive near fall and big spot. The finish was awesome, as Kenta unloaded a massive number of VERY stiff kicks into Hashi's skull before finally getting the pin and the victory. What an awesome match. My only minor issue is that the match was a little too slow in that 2nd 1/5th, but apart from that I thought the match built up fantastically until it became an all-out sprint for the entire final 10 minutes. Just a fantastic match and a perfect reflection of what Kenta and Marufuji are capable of as a team. Kanemaru and Hashi were of course great as well, but it was the champs that helped push the match to be as incredible as it was. ****1/4"

[9.0] "Plain and simple: One of the best tag team matches of the decade. The drama and offensive maneuvers were about as good as it gets, with all four men producing a story that combined impeccable timing with heart-stopping chaos. KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji made for one of the best tag teams of the past 20 years, and Makoto Hashi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru were every bit their equal in terms of packing a punch. I was a bit bothered by Hashi no-selling the brilliant leg work by KENTA and Marufuji after it was a focal point of the early parts of this match, as well as Kanemaru seemingly no-selling of the Tornado DDT across the top, but those were my only complaints about this match. The action and storytelling began as soon as the opening bell sounded and never relented. And those first few moments were absolutely captivating. Throw in one of the best closing sequences of any tag team match I've ever seen, as well as a Busaiku Device for the ages, and this is easily a 9 out of 10 for me. 4. 5 stars, and I flirt with the idea of 4. 75."

[10.0] "Tremendous tag team match. Loved the beginning with both teams hitting cheap shots on each other. Red hot intensity right out of the gates. Fun interactions in the first couple minutes with KENTA and Hashi kicking the hell out of each other, while Marufuji and Kanemaru showcased their crazy athleticism. Everyone played their roles perfectly and got more than enough time to shine. KENTA brought his stiff strikes and world class technique, Marufuji had incredible precision with his high flying, Kanemaru gave one of the best performances in his career with his athleticism and energy, and Hashi was outstanding with his own strikes and power moves. One of the best spots in the match happens during the first half, with Marufuji hitting a gorgeous senton to the outside after jumping from rope to rope. KENTA and Hashi were great FIP's for their teams and once the final 10 minutes began it was non-stop action. Both teams looked world class in each sequence, constantly increasing the tension and getting the crowd invested. It would take a long time to list all the remarkable spots. Marufuji hitting a brutal looking dropkick from halfway across the ring was jaw-dropping. Awesome finish with Marufuji and Kanemaru doing spots on the outside while KENTA almost kicked Hashi's head off his several kicks. One of NOAH's best Junior tag matches. Equal in quality to KENTA & Ishimori/Marufuji & Ibushi from 2007. *****"

[10.0] "I thought I was gonna land on a nine when they went in real heavy on the false finishes, but KENTA's final barrage of kicks pushed me right over the line. Fantastic match where KENTA definitely looked like the star, big props to Makoto as well for doing a particularly great job."

[8.0] "The first defense of the jr tag titles was worked a little slower than the match to crown the champs even if this went only a minute longer. There were parts of this that were better, the performance of Hashi was above anything in the first match he was good taking a beating in a heat segment and on offence and great with his selling and gave a sense of delaying the inevitable in the closing stretch as he fought to survive. But in other ways this was a lot weaker, for as good as Hashi was with both guys the paring of marufuji and Kanemaru was pretty bad. They brought out the worst in each other in the two segments they had together. weak, highly choreographed looking spots and messing up a few of them later on. Hashi would not do that shit with Marufuji and so when they were in together maru looked so much better. As a match it did not flow as well as the complete balls to the wall that the first match was but was by no means a bad match but just one that suffered from one of the possible pairings being a poor one. Thankfully due to the two heat segments being on KENTA and Hashi it was not a pairing that saw a lot of the 25 minute run time. For a first defense it was against a fairly major established team and the finality of the finish helped show that Kentfuji were the leaders of the jr tag division. With Budokan rocking as it did for every NOAH show I have seen there (has there ever been a quiet NOAH Budokan crowd? ) this match did speed along and felt nothing like 25 minutes which is much to its positive. Not as good as the crowning the champions match but not too far off ***3/4"

[10.0] "Great match that really snuck up on me. Naomichi Marufuji's swanton to the outside on both Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Makoto Hashi was fantastic. The ending was brutal and told an interesting arch of Kenta going from the guy who gets pummeled early on to the one who overcomes in the end. Every time I watch a Marufuji match, I am utterly amazed at his precision. At one point, he hit a diving dropkick onto Hashi while the man was face down on the mat. Marufuji found the right spot to make it look devastating as hell. Kanemaru fits right in as the mastermind of the heel team, using his quickness and aggressiveness to match Marufuji and Kenta's every move while also directing the bigger Hashi as a sort of Frankenstein. Jun Akiyama watching from the bleachers and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in Hashi/Kanemaru's corner were great sidelines as well. Really enjoyed the ending in which it broke down to Marufuji and Kanemaru on the outside, Hashi and Kenta in the ring. Kanemaru and Marufuji are such an essential pair, coming off their beginnings in the same young lion class of AJPW. I believe that Marufuji cornered Misawa and Kanemaru cornered Kobashi in their classic from 6/11/1999. With their stories established, they let the lesser known Hashi and Kenta shine here in 2003. Cool stuff, go out of your way to watch this one."

[8.0] "Really exciting match. Excellent closing stretch that felt like the entire match - in a good way I mean. They just hit big bombs after big bombs and it was pretty damn awesome. Hashi was probably my favourite shockingly but he really shined, brought loads of energy to the match, as did the others, and came across great here. Kanemaru did a great job of hitting his big impact moves and had good timing. KENTAFuji had great chemistry as a duo here too. ****"

[9.0] "The KENTA/Marufuji reign goes on. This was excellent Jr tag team wrestling, the match started hot with KENTA and Hashi throwing stiff as fuck strikes, and then Marufuji slowed it down to work on Hashi's leg, but was soon forgotten about. Things really picked up in the second half though as things broke down into a chaotic spot fest with bodies flying and fighting everywhere. The ending was crazy as Kanemaru was just a mad man who wouldn't stay down until eventually KENTA pummeled Hashi with enough stiff kicks to the head for the win, ****1/2."

[6.0] "Some great spots here & there, a really hot finishing stretch. KENTA once again showed some flashes of greatness here, as his performance in this was really good. Marufuji once again didn't really do anything for me, and when he was in the ring, the match just wasn't good. Overall a pretty good spotfest, but not great. **3/4"

[9.0] "Wow, this might be one of the greatest spotfest's of all-time. If you are bothered by contrived spots and sporadic illogical action you will probably dislike this encounter, but I personally loved it. The crowd goes insane during the second part of the match, the strike exchanges involving KENTA are great, as are the high-spots involving the other wrestlers. The match isn't perfect by any means (definitely 2 minutes too long), but it is FUN."

[9.0] "This match is beautiful. This match featured raw, unbridled emotion from everyone involved…it really felt like all four would do anything to win. This is a fitting Junior Heavyweight classic. While I'm unsure of how widely-known this match is, I'd consider it a grave error in judgment if people look over such a wonderful match. For one thing, this match proves the repeated dominance of the Naomichi Marufuji and KENTA tandem. Better yet, this match was perfectly-paced, and I loved the fact that it got so much time to develop. This is a prime example of why NOAH has had (and still has, to a degree) such a good Junior Heavyweight division: NOAH puts faith into this division by giving Junior Heavyweight matches ample time, while the Junior Heavyweights repay that faith with brilliant, enthralling, crowd-pleasing, jaw-droppingly excellent matches like this. This was one of the best matches of the night."

[10.0] "Just watched this match for the first time. What can I say? Incredible from start to finish. The action was non-stop jaw dropping, the commentary was superb (albeit in Japanese obviously, but you could feel the excitement). The crowd was red hot. A lot of the sequences were mind blowing. The finish was a fitting and brutal end to an amazing explosive contest. How this didn't get 5 starts from Meltzer I'll never know..."