All Time MOTY List Head to Head 2001: Akiyama vs. Honda VS. Santo vs. La Parka

Jun Akiyama vs. Tamon Honda NOAH 9/5/01

PAS: The Hondasance happened in 2003, but I guess we were all too distracted by 9/11 to realize how awesome he was in 2001. There was a really cool mini-tourney which built up to this match, and this was a great GHC title match. One thing that NOAH really added to the All Japan formula match was cool matwork and submissions, and that was the focus of this match. Honda was an olympic wrestler, and really well versed at escape predicaments from the ground. Akiyama attempts some stuff early and gets flummoxed. He ended up DDTing Honda on the ramp and spending the next couple of minutes yanking on his giant water head. Honda is able to take over by taking Jun's back, and when Akiyama blocked a choke, Honda yanked him up and over with his gorgeous german suplex. We go into a cool finish run with Akiyama attempting to lock in a front choke, while Honda tries for STF variations. Loved that it took three tries for Akiyama to finally drop him with the choke. I didn't love the DDT on the apron stuff, and could have used some Olympic Hells, but this was a great example of what Honda could deliver.

ER: Honda really was one of those good wrestlers who everybody ignored until that was impossible to do. Mid 90s Honda isn't great and doesn't share a lot of similarities with early 2000s Honda. He worked as an almost fast junior in '94-'96, with very little grappling, hardly any suplexes, weird lockjaw comeback faces, and way too many headbutts that ranged from so-so to kind of cool. I think people wrote him off somewhere during this run and it took us a few years to realize he'd blossomed into a deadlift suplex god. Phil is right about NOAH matches getting to stretch out a bit more with matwork, and it's probably not a coincidence that Honda really came into his own at NOAH's inception. The grappling in this was really cool, and I love how Honda knows how to utilize his freaky body, bridging into rolling clutches and using his legs to add leverage to chokes. I love all the STFs and rolling Olympic Hell variations we got in the match, with the side triangle choke being especially sick. Every sub of Honda's looked like a finish. But I also like Akiyama playing dirty and spiking Honda on his head, then working that giant dome over with a can opener and a headscissors. Akiyama can be a real dick, but this really ramps up when Akiyama starts with the exploders. "Oh, suplexes? Sure, we can do that," Honda agrees, and starts dropping Akiyama with increasingly unstoppable throws. The home stretch is filled with some great nearfalls, as Akiyama starts lands a strong jumping knee to Honda's chin that drops him hard, and the exploders start landing Honda more and more vertically, and after an extremely close kickout, Honda is put away with a sub in the middle.

Hijo del Santo vs. La Parka Review


Verdict:

PAS: This is close. The Santo match was awesome but marred with a stinko ending. I loved this but maybe wanted another moment or two at the end.

ER: I think this had selling issues that weren't an issue in the lucha bloodbath, and the finish to that lucha match doesn't bother me. Akiyama seemed like he was getting up too easily after some of Honda's nastiest stuff, and that's what drops this below that legendary bloodbath for me. Champ retains.