Best of Japan 2000-2009: AKIRA vs. Koji Kanemoto, NJPW 2/20/00

AKIRA vs. Koji Kanemoto, NJPW 2/20/00

I knew something was gonna give. The work was too good, they were kicking and stomping each other too hard. And then in the lamest Shyamalan twist possible, it turns out that Kanemoto has BIONIC KNEES! AKIRA is stomping away at them (and AKIRA is a guy with some great stomps), tearing Kanemoto's kneepad off, stomping some more and Kanemoto is feeling it. He hit knees on a moonsault, and AKIRA started after that poor knee of his and didn't let up. Kanemoto is screaming and clutching his knee...and then, it turns out, kicking at his knee makes him STRONGER! Suddenly he's begging for AKIRA to stomp on his knee, even turning it and adjusting it so AKIRA can stomp on every single part of it. All those joints and muscle fibers, he wants every one of 'em stompled! Stomping on that super vulnerable and easily injured part of the body would seriously cripple most humans, but it gives Kanemoto ENERGY! So AKIRA keeps stomping, and Kanemoto keeps getting stronger, and everything about it is the dumbest thing ever. And then it doesn't matter as Kanemoto gets shoved into the ref, dropkicked (brutal dropkick with insane height from AKIRA) and dragon suplexed for the loss anyway. Wah wah.

It's quite a shame, as 80+% of this match is really great. Really the first 6 minutes are totally awesome. Kanemoto and AKIRA go at it like Wild Dogs (or erm Mad Dogs I suppose) with Kanemoto dishing nasty leg kicks and ripping AKIRA's forehead appliqué off (with AKIRA screaming like in a dubbed Shaw Bros. flick) and hits a beastly corkscrew moonsault. AKIRA is a great heel in this and really puts over the knee work well. It started falling apart on AKIRA's comeback, as the match had been all Kanemoto, and then he (sorta) hit knees on a moonsault, then AKIRA got up, hit a bodyslam and then a big splash and was fully in control. A missed moonsault and bodyslam seemed a little too light to get Kanemoto selling just as much as AKIRA up to that point, who had taken a 5 minute beating at that point.

It's too bad the structure went from hot to questionable to laughable, as the actual execution from both guys was top notch.



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