Best of KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji 2002-2003

I didn’t really plan on purchasing this tape, or indeed doing a review of it. Incoming right now I’ve got a 10 DVD set from AJPW’s 90’s heyday (which I am positively salivating over) and five ROH DVD’s (New Frontiers through to Escape From New York) as I look to catch up on my favourite wrestling promotion. But I picked this up on the cheap and it’s got some great stuff on it. This is an RFVideo comp tape, basically featuring a bundle of KENTAfuji matches from 2003. They were great then, they’ve both gotten better since (especially KENTA) but the line-up is decent. Joining NOAH’s premier junior double act are the likes of Jushin Liger, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Juventud Guerrera, Takashi Sugiura, Makoto Hashi, Ricky Marvin and more, so lets get started.

SIDENOTE – Before I even start, I just checked the Universal Uproar website and the first two matches have been announced. Colt Cabana vs Nigel McGuiness should be fun, their ROH stuff certainly has been. The other match? Kenta Kobashi/Go Shiozaki vs Jun Akiyama/Doug Williams. Are you f*cking kidding me? I was ecstatic when it was just Kobashi. Now they’ve booked Akiyama as well? Jun Akiyama is the f*cking man! I cannot believe I’ll be going to a show featuring BOTH Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama. Alex Shane I love you.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Takashi Sugiura

06/06/2003 – I’d suggest this should be a fine way to start. There’s a lot of talent in this, as indeed there is in every match on this tape. Visual and sound quality is really awesome on this by the way.

Kanemaru doesn’t wait for the bell or introductions, beating on Marufuji on the floor as Kenta and Sugiura trade strikes in the ring. Kenta floors Kanemaru with a Yakuza kick and after that everyone regroups. Sugiura and Kenta take to the ring legally for the first time and take it to the mat. Marufuji and Kanemaru come in and immediately the pace picks up ending in duelling dropkicks. Fuji goes for a cross armbreaker but Kanemaru escapes it by standing on his face. Sugiura slows Naomichi down with a tight chinlock. Marufuji only glances Sugiura with a dropkick in the corner and gets blasted with forearms as a result. Kenta returns and brings a barrage of kicks in the corner for 2. Sugiura absolutely powers out of a chinlock, giving Kenta a big spinebuster. Kanemaru in with a baseball slide kick, and he gets 2 from a top rope splash. Kenta rapidly tags out to flee a brainbuster attempt, and Marufuji hits a nice dropkick. He goes for a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron but Sugiura holds the ropes. Takashi crashes Marufuji into the guardrails, and Kanemaru follows that with a camel clutch. All four guys pile in and KENTAfuji hit Poetry In Motion on both opponents. Superkick on Kanemaru, but he blocks the Shiranui. Marufuji takes him to the top and Kanemaru has to block more Shiranui attempts before Sugiura makes the save with a big spear. Kenta eats a spear as well, and Sugiura absolutely mauls him for 2. Sugiura springboards right into a jumping enzi from Kenta and the momentum switches. Tornado guillotine from Kenta, and a springboard dropkick for 2. He breaks out a fisherman buster and a German suplex, but they don’t get the job done either. JUMPING KNEE STRIKE from Sugiura and Kenta is DOWN. Botched flying rana on Kanemaru for 2. Sugiura gives him a German and Kanemaru comes off the ropes with the jumping DDT for 2. TOP ROPE JUMPING DDT…KENTA KICKS OUT AGAIN! BRAINBUSTAAAAA! You better believe Kenta doesn’t try kicking out again. 15:35 is the time.

Rating - *** - A nice introduction, both to the tape, and to what the talent’s capabilities are. It wasn’t a particularly special match, some of it being messy, and by and large it was nothing more than a spotfest, but it’s basically fun. Lots of striking, some neat spots, and Kanemaru almost killing KENTA at the end was a great finish.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA/Kotaro Suzuki vs Jushin Liger/Takehiro Murahama/Ricky Marvin

06/29/2003 – Marufuji and KENTA are joined by the other exciting young NOAH cruiser, Kotaro Suzuki, who like them is a pretty special talent in his own right (although at this point he was still rather raw and spotty). Liger should need no introduction, since he rules all the Junior Heavyweight world. Lots of people love Ricky Marvin. He’s an import from Mexico, handsome chap and all, but I think he’s way overrated. Sometimes he’s good, sometimes he’s sloppy and prone to mistakes. NOAH love him though. This will be my first time seeing Murahama I think.

Marvin and Suzuki start after extensive team talks. Jumping headscissors from Ricky sends Suzuki outside, and Marvin flips around teasing a dive. Murahama comes in and demands to face Kenta so they can stiff each other. A dragon screw from Murahama ends that exchange, and it’s time for Marufuji and Liger. Shotei ducked…superkick from Marufuji. Palm strike to the neck from Liger but Fuji blocks a brainbuster. Murahama hits a dropkick and Marvin follows that up with a slingshot hilo. Marufuji with a dropkick of his own on the Mexican. Kotaro dropkicks Marvin to the floor, then suplexes him back inside from the apron. Surprisingly, it’s Marufuji that tries to slow the pace and isolate Marvin, and he doesn’t succeed. Murahama holds him on the floor and Liger runs into a baseball slide. Marufuji gets left laying by a violent powerbomb and Liger decides it’s time to school him with a vicious abdominal stretch. Cross armbreaker applied by Murahama, but Marufuji escapes and one-up’s Liger by powerbombing his partner. Kenta throws Takehiro into the railings whilst Naomichi occupies his partners and the referee. Figure 4/grounded headscissors combo by KENTAfuji behind the ref’s back. Suzuki tries to slap Murahama about and gets lumps kicked out of him. B*TCHSLAP SHOTEI by Liger! Marvin dives in with a frog splash for no real reason. Suzuki floors Liger with a missile dropkick and tags Marufuji. He goes to the top with the legend and crotches him over the ropes. Superplex on Liger for 2, before Marvin and Murahama break it. Naomichi rides a German suplex…Liger blocks a superkick…SHOTEIII! Marvin comes in and almost sneaks a quick pin on Marufuji before getting dropkicked in the side of the head. Springboard missile dropkick from Kenta for 2 as the match starts to break down. Back suplex/knee drop combo on Marvin. Double handspring elbow by Ricky, and in comes Murahama with a barrage of kicks for Kenta. Fisherman’s buster on Murahama for 2. Suzuki comes in after a flatliner by Kenta with a gorgeous top rope crossbody. He headscissors Murahama into the turnbuckles and dishes out a 619. Everyone bundles in with strikes and it’s Murahama with a nearfall on Suzuki at the end of it. BRAINBUSTER for 2. A SECOND BRAINBUSTAAAA! Suzuki can’t take anymore! 16:31 and he is counted down.

Rating - *** - Better than the first match on the tape, but with the talent involved there’s a better match in them. What this match could’ve really done with was another five minutes or so because there just wasn’t enough time for all six (well, five and Ricky Marvin) to really show how talented they are. There were some cool exchanges between Liger/Marufuji and Murahama/KENTA, and just like the first match on the compilation, I enjoyed the ‘I shall brainbuster you to death’ finish, but in the end this was a little high on spots and a little low on substance.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Tsuyoshi Kikuchi/Mitsuo Momota

07/06/2003 – Into July 2003 we go, and this is the first round of a tournament to crown Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champions in NOAH. Marufuji and KENTA are confronted with two old-timers in somewhat different states. The days of Kikuchi hanging with the likes of Kobashi, Misawa, Kawada, Tsuruta and the like in great AJPW tags are long gone, but he’s still a decent goer in the junior division for NOAH. Momota on the other hand, is pretty much restricted to comedy skits and lame matches sadly.

Momota starts with the brash young Marufuji, but Kenta jumps him from behind. Neckbreakers for the younger team before Kikuchi knocks Marufuji down with a jumping heel kick. Momota takes Kenta down with a DDT. PESCADO from Kikuchi…MOMOTA WITH THE ELBOW SUICIDA! Marufuji tries to trade shots with Kikuchi but he’s destined to lose out there and does so. Kenta tags in and out-kicks the veteran for 2. He hangs him in the tree of woe to absolutely kick lumps out of him, and Marufuji takes advantage too with a double jump dropkick. Fuji with a Boston crab, more to taunt Momota on the apron than to hurt Kikuchi though. Kikuchi headbutts Kenta down and gets the tag. Momota with chops for Kenta, and he starts no-selling the trademark brutal kicks from him too. In the end it takes a double team choke in the corner to slow down Momota. Kenta takes him to the outside and throws him into the railings as Marufuji and Kikuchi elbow each other in the face repeatedly. Back in the ring Momota starts firing up again…KENTA KICKS HIM IN THE HEAD! Still he makes the tag and Kikuchi comes in hot with…more elbows and jumping heel kicks. SPIDER BELLY TO BELLY SUPERPLEX…but Kenta gets up and gives him a jumping enzi. He hits the fisherman buster for 2. Marufuji gets involved and it’s a distraction for Kenta to hit a springboard dropkick. Backdrop driver from Momota on Marufuji, and Kikuchi follows it with a bridging German. A second back drop from Momota gets 2. He blocks a super rana attempt…TORNADO DDT! POWERBOMB…BUT KENTA SAVES! Baseball slide kick from Marufuji, and he follows up Kenta’s falcon arrow with a frog splash. Momota refuses to say die though. SHIRANUUUIIII! That puts the miserable old git away with 15:04 on the clock.

Rating - *** - Considering one team was made up of old guys who really aren’t at their best anymore, that was surprisingly decent. For a KENTAfuji tag, it was different as well, as the youngsters heeled it up somewhat, especially against the ridiculously popular Mitsuo Momota. The old-guys comebacks and offensive flurries, if a little limited, were well-timed and really popped the fans. Good, enjoyable match.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Jushin Liger/Takehiro Murahama

07/16/2003 – This is the final of the same tournament as the last match, meaning the winners will be walking away as GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champions. Obviously we’ve already seen Liger and Murahama in the 6-man earlier. Will the match be any better now we’ve removed the weakest members of both teams?

Murahama and Kenta start, but it’s only with the aid of a Liger distraction that Murahama is able to get the first kick in. Liger tags and demands Marufuji to face him. SHOTEIIIIII sends Fuji to the floor! Murahama skips in dishing out more strikes then engages in a tasty headbutt duel. Kenta in and it breaks down into their first kick duel of the match. Murahama with a crossface chickenwing then a Fujiwara armbar as we cross five minutes. Kenta misses a pescado…KICK DUEL ON THE FLOOR! Liger and Marufuji are fighting on the other side AS KENTA SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA’S INTO THE CROWD! SPRINGBOARD MOONSAULT INTO THE FRONT ROW FROM MARUFUJI! Lunatic dives are awesome. Kenta brings Takehiro back to tree of woe him for a series of kicks. Fuji slows everything down by chinlocking Murahama and keeping him on the mat. Eventually Murahama blasts Kenta to the outside the flies out after him with a RUNNING SOMERSAULT PLANCHA! Liger tags and gets 2 with a frog splash. It seems he’s particularly cranky as he almost powerbombs Kenta through the mat. Mexican surfboard applied as Murahama keeps Marufuji at bay. Camel clutch next, complete with Takehiro’s kick-boxing strikes to the chest. Murahama goes to work on Kenta’s legs, probably to reduce the effect of his powerful kicking. Then Liger continues his work on the midsection with an abdominal stretch. Kenta rallies back though and he and Murahama catch each other with duelling roundhouse kicks and both go down. Liger cuts short the tag attempt with another Shotei then a fisherman buster for 2. Kenta with the tornado guillotine then a springboard guillotine that finally does let him make a tag. Liger and Marufuji run some awesome near miss stuff that ends in yet another SHOTEI! Liger blocks a super rana attempt but dives off into a dropkick. Marufuji goes for a flying headscissors but Liger counters that with a powerbomb. LIGERBOMB GETS 2! ROLLING BRAINBUSTERS…STILL 2! To the ropes, but Fuji blocks a top rope brainbuster. He finds the mark with a superkick but Liger charges back with a palm strike to block the Shiranui. Murahama goes for a spinning heel kick on Kenta and gets powerbombed. He responds with a big reverse heel kick then a JUMPING brainbuster for 2. Judo throw into a front hammerlock on Kenta, who is screaming in pain until he makes the ropes. Marufuji tags in but Liger blocks a Van Terminator attempt with a capo kick. Murahama blocks a Shiranui and scores with HEAD KICKS! BUSAIKU KNEE ON LIGER! DOOMSDAY BUSAIKU ON MURAHAMA! Fuji with a SHOOTING STAR PRESS! This marathon of craziness is over at 24:37. Kenta and Marufuji take the belts.

Rating - ****1/2 - Simply a phenomenal Jr. Heavyweight tag team match there. Both teams on offence were incredible. It wasn’t your standard heel/face dynamic, more like both teams fighting with great intensity, tenacity and determination, then isolating and destroying an opponent to get the win. Amidst all that there was a sea of incredible highspots and false-finishes to enjoy. Literally the last five minutes was packed with fine sequences that had you believing it was the finishing flurry. I can’t believe the Doomsday Busaiku wasn’t the finish, and I can’t believe that Marufuji even managed to come up with something that could follow such an incredible spot by breaking out the SSP.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi

09/12/2003 - Now Marufuji and KENTA are in the role of defending champions against Kanemaru and the man of 86 thousand diving headbutts – Makoto Hashi. For some reason Harley Race is on commentary meaning the action is being called in English. Harley is duller than dirt and bores me to tears before the match starts. The Japanese commentator doing the English work is a moron. I prefer hearing the Japanese.

Harley is talking about how dangerous streamers are. Oh boy the mute button looks awful tempting. Kenta and Hashi trade big kicks from the bell. Makoto tries to withstand Kenta’s striking power but eventually goes down. Fuji and Kanemaru fly all over the place then go for dropkicks at the same time. Marufuji slows it down with an armbar then brings Kenta back. Hashi again tries to strike with him and goes through a barrage of kicks then floors him with Mongolian chops. Marufuji takes him down and works over the leg. Inverted surfboard applied on Hashi as his mentor Jun Akiyama watches. Fuji dropkicks his exposed knee in the ropes. Mongolian chop off the second rope by Hashi and he gets enough space to tag out. Kanemaru slings Kenta into the railings then targets Naomichi. Kenta back with a flurry of kicks in the corner. Tornado guillotine blocked and Hashi hits an INVERTED DDT ON THE APRON! Kanemaru takes Kenta now and gives him a BODY SLAM OFF THE RAMP! Back inside where the challengers take it in turn to Boston crab Kenta in the ropes. Kanemaru makes it worse with a running basement dropkick for 2. Hashi takes him outside for a backbreaker then a DIVING HEADBUTT! Yoshi Boston crabs Kenta again in the middle of the ring. Finally he manages to kick away at Hashi then tag out to Marufuji. Both challengers get laid out on the floor…DOUBLE JUMP SOMERSAULT PLANCHA!

He takes Makoto and gets 2 with the drop toehold/basement dropkick combo. Triangle choke now – clearly we’re forgetting about the legwork from earlier. Hashi floors Marufuji with a lariat and gets out. Kanemaru blocks the super rana and hits a split-legged moonsault. Shiranui blocked and he almost wins it by putting his feet in the ropes. Pele kick by Fuji…but Kanemaru drops Kenta on his head with a German. MOONSAULT SCORES for 2. BUSAIKU KNEE TO COUNTER THE SECOND ROPE DDT! Kanemaru blocks more kicks with a dragon screw. HEAD DROP T-BONE from Hashi. FROG SPLASH/DIVING HEADBUTT COMBO but Marufuji saves. Kenta drops Hashi with a fisherman buster then a falcon arrow. Top rope basement dropkick by Fuji…top rope knee drop by Kenta! KANEMARU BRAINBUSTER ON FUJI! Hashi hits Kenta with an inverted DDT…AS MARUFUJI HITS A SHIRANUI ON THE FLOOR! Hashi with a Goriman’s Driver for 2. He goes for a back superplex but Marufuji pulls him away…DOOMSDAY BUSAIKU! KANEMARU SAVES! Kenta with a Busaiku knee into a cross armbreaker, then a Tiger suplex for 2. Kanemaru returns and he EATS BUSAIKU! SHIRANUUUIIII! KENTA KICK FLURRY ON HASHI! He’s dead at 25:41.

Rating - ****1/2 - Even better than the Liger/Murahama tag, even with the hideous commentary. It was more formulaic than the tournament final but the isolation/beat down on KENTA was simply tremendous and the flurry of offence at the end was awe-inspiring. Hashi managed to control his urge to do as many diving headbutts as he can manage, and aside from all the leg-working on him that went nowhere, there’s really not a lot to find wrong with it.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA/Kotaro Suzuki vs Juventud Guerrera/Ricky Marvin/Richard Slinger

10/24/2002 – Inexplicably we’re going back to 2002 now for another 6-man. I guess this is probably included to prepare us for the Fuji/KENTA vs Juvi/Marvin tag later on the tape. Richard Slinger sucks by the way. I can’t remember which one but his dad is one of the famous US gaijins from the 80s/90s – that’s the only reason he’s got a job. At this point in time I believe Guerrera was chasing Marufuji for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title.

Suzuki and Slinger start and it appears Richard is trying to ground the quicker opponent with mat-based holds. They botch a hiptoss spot and both go for dropkicks at the same time. Marvin and Guerrera get all b*tchy so all six end up staring down. Juvi jumps Kenta from behind but he dropkicks both the Mexicans anyway. Marvin with a handspring elbow on KENTAfuji, followed with a springboard crossbody by Guerrera. Duelling Mexican fake-out dives gets a deserving nice pop for some decent action. Marufuji/Slinger now and the Jr. Heavyweight champ gets 2 with a dropkick. Ricky hits a springboard dropkick then goes after Naomichi’s legs. Drop toehold/basement dropkick combo by Marvin, before Juvi joins him for a double running dropkick to the head. Guerrera tries to prove he’s a shooter by working a series of submission holds but ends up in a anklelock from Fuji. Kotaro tags and he follows Marufuji’s lead by staying on Juvi’s leg. Kenta gives it a few kicks and backs those up with a leg grapevine. Suzuki gets 2 after a dropkick on Richard. Slinger back with a piledriver but Kotaro kicks out. On the floor Juvi superkicks Suzuki into the front row. Suzuki gets dropped on the guardrail for Marvin to hit a LEG DROP OFF THE APRON! All the evil foreigners stomp on Suzuki…so all the Japs come in and stomp on Guerrera. The Juice winds up dominating Kotaro though. Suzuki eventually hits a satellite headscissors and a tilta-whirl backbreaker before getting the hot tag to Marufuji. Juvi blocks a super rana but takes a dropkick in the stomach. Misawa-style missile dropkick for 2. Slinger in with a diving reverse elbow at 15 minutes. Kenta springboards in with a missile dropkick but Slinger counters right back with a jawbreaker and a belly to belly throw. Tornado guillotine followed by a diving body press from Kenta. DUELLING KICKS TO THE HEAD…both men down. Suzuki and Marvin in with Ricky connecting on a top rope moonsault press. Leapfrog bulldog from Kotaro, then a 619 for 2. Slinger puts him in a tree of woe for simultaneous bottom rope 619’s from Marvin and Guerrera. HANDSPRING SWINGING DDT by Marvin then a TWISTING DOUBLE JUMP MOONSAULT! The Mexicans and Slinger take it in 18:39.

Rating - *** - It never got overly exciting, which is rare for a NOAH juniors match, but it got enough time to be fairly enjoyable. Slinger sucks and Suzuki looked rather green but some of the heel team stuff by Guerrera and Marvin was a lot of fun. Unfortunately at this point in time Marufuji was the best worker of these six by some distance and, as the big star of the match, he had to spend most of it on the apron.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA/Kotaro Suzuki/Mitsuo Momota vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Takashi Sugiura/Makoto Hashi/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi

09/06/2003 – 8-man juniors action provides our penultimate contest on the compilation. Both teams have a cool dynamic with two guys in their prime (Marufuji/KENTA vs Kanemaru/Sugiura), one for the future (Suzuki vs Hashi) and an older gentleman to round them out (Momota vs Kikuchi). On paper they’re pretty evenly matched. I assume this is to build to the KENTAfuji vs Kanemaru/Hashi Jr Heavyweight Tag Title defence which we saw earlier and takes place a week earlier.

Everyone shows respect to Momota before the bell, and when that comes it’s Suzuki/Kikuchi. Kotaro with a handspring elbow on Kikuchi and Kanemaru which leads to an 8-man brawl. Kikuchi German suplexes Suzuki on his head for 2. CORKSCREW PESCADO by Suzuki. Momota in and Kikuchi shows him no mercy with the big elbow strikes. Hashi tags but Mitsuo gives him a few slaps and brings Kenta in. Duelling strikes between those two, then a respectful stand-off. Kanemaru and Marufuji show off another fast-paced exchange where neither man really gets an advantage until Fuji dropkicks. Slingshot hilo from Kanemaru for 2. Sugiura chinlocks him and shouts down all the screaming girlies to my amusement. Suzuki hits a somersault senton on Hashi and tries to isolate him with a rear chinlock. Momota in with a swinging neckbreaker. On the floor Marufuji and Kenta try to do more damage and end up kicking Sugiura into the front row when he tries to help his partner. Grounded headscissors by Kenta which Kanemaru has to break up. In the end Hashi puts a few strikes together on Suzuki and manages to tag out. They all take poor Kotaro into the crowd and give him a right shoeing. Sugiura is swinging chairs in all the mayhem as well. MOONSAULT from Kanemaru for 2. Makoto with a diving headbutt on Suzuki whilst he’s in a tree of woe. Takashi Sugiura Boston crab’s the youngster whilst his partners rumble with everyone else. Kikuchi with a series of rolling suplexes for 2, then a horse collar stretch. Marufuji gets the tag but it takes him a while to get the advantage on Kanemaru who goes all flippy. Super rana blocked into the jumping DDT. SPEAR from Sugiura then a weird fireman’s carry facebuster for 2. Kenta tags but Sugiura spears him into the corner then muscles him down. ROLLING GERMANS by Kikuchi and Takashi. Momota makes the save after that. 619 from Suzuki to Hashi at 20 minutes. WRIST CLUTCH T-BONE gets Hashi a 2. Suzuki counters an inverted DDT with one of his own as this breaks down entirely. Marufuji goes for the Shiranui but now Makoto uses the inverted DDT to block that. TOP ROPE TRIOS OFFENCE by Kikuchi, Kanemaru and Hashi, then a BRAINBUSTER for Marufuji. GORIMAN’S DRIVER and Hashi pins Naomichi at 23:32.

Rating - *** - Worst match on the tape but it’s still fairly decent. It was just a little too long and boring in places, but there’s still enough highspots and fun dotted around to drag it up to a good standard. That big win for Makoto Hashi would earn him that Jr. Heavyweight Title shot a week later. The main problem was it was never really too exciting, and after the thrills of the two Jr. Heavyweight Tag Title matches earlier, the weaknesses really showed.

Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Juventud Guerrera/Ricky Marvin

11/01/2003 – The final match on the tape is the KENTAfuji combination defending the Jr. Tag belts against the Mexican duo of Juvi Guerrera and Ricky Marvin. For some reason Marvin comes out to Rey Mysterio’s WWE music, dressed up like Rey too. In the 6-man we saw earlier these four had some fun exchanges so hopefully this match will have more of the same.

Team Mexico heel it up from the outset, throwing their shirts at the champs then attacking them before the bell. DOUBLE JUMP PLANCHAAAAAA from Marvin! Leapfrog powerbomb on Kenta into a double 619 for 2. Kenta comes back throwing kicks then dumps Guerrera with a brainbuster. Marufuji wipes Ricky out with a superkick as Kenta dives into a crossbody on the Juice. Duelling sunset flips by the champs…countered to duelling dropkicks by challengers! Wild opening sequence right there. Juvi and Kenta do some more speedy stuff too. Marvin with a handspring elbow on Marufuji who fires back with a shotei. Bow and arrow stretch applied but Kenta is quick to break it. Facelift dropkick from Marvin, but he gets caught going for a second one and Kenta crotches him against the ringpost. Guerrera tries to intervene and he gets crotched as well. Ricky is isolated by the champions who have him cut off from his corner. Slingshot knee/elbow double team gets 2. Kenta starts kicking again but Marvin catches his boot in an ANKLELOCK! Awesome counter, made even better as Guerrera flies in with a springboard dropkick. Double basement dropkick almost caves in Kenta’s skull for 2. Regal Stretch by Marvin, switched to a Rings of Saturn. Juvi goes for a powerbomb but Kenta counters with a hurricanrana which leads to a nearfalls flurry. LAST RITES from Guerrera, into a dragon sleeper as Marvin keeps Naomichi out of the ring. The Mexicans nail Poetry In Motion, then Marvin busts out the rolling Mexican surfboard. Kenta does his best to kick Marvin’s head off but it’s NO SOLD and Ricky takes Kobayashi down again. Grounded blockbuster for 2. Kenta finally hits a powerslam and gets enough space to tag out.

Springboard lucha armdrag by Marufuji, complete with dropkick on Juvi as well! SPRINGBOARD RANA OFF THE APRON FROM MARVIN! Kenta has to be done, but Marufuji takes Marvin upstairs. JUVI WITH A SUPER RANA OFF MARVIN’S SHOULDERS! MOONSAULT NAILED BY MARVIN FOR 2! Guerrera hits a tilta-whirl DDT then a helicopter bomb for 2. Shiranui…COUNTERED WITH THE JUVI DRIVER! 450 SPLASH SCORES…KENTA SAVES! Kenta murderises Guerrera with kicks and gets 2. Tornado guillotine into a springboard dropkick, followed by ROLLING Michinoku Drivers. Running rana right into a cross armbreaker as Marufuji keeps Ricky out of the ring…but the Juice finds the ropes. KICK DUEL but both guys are feeling almost 25 minutes at such a frenetic pace. SATELLITE HEADSCISSORS OFF THE APRON ON MARUFUJI! SPRINGBOARD RANA ON KENTA! JUVI DRIVER FOR 2! Kenta blocks a second Juvi Driver…BUSAIKU KNEE! Marvin superkicks Marufuji but he kicks out again. TOP ROPE QUEBRADA for 2. Marufuji goes for the super rana but as usual it’s blocked…AND MARVIN COMES OUT WITH A SPRINGBOARD SUPER RANA! BOTTOM ROPE 619…but Fuji gets the shoulder up! DOOMSDAY BUSAIKU MISSES…DUELLING MEXICAN ROLL-UPS FOR 2! Another Poetry In Motion on Marufuji…SPRINGBOARD DOOMSDAY RANA! Marvin goes up top again but gets crotched as Kenta BUSAIKU KNEES Juvi again. FUJI WITH A FLUX CAPACITOR! Marvin is pinned at 28:59

Rating - ****1/2 - Honestly that was one of the finest tag matches I’ve ever seen. Granted it was spotty but to break out crazy sh*t like that non-stop for almost 30 minutes was just unreal. There were a few communication errors and messy spots as well which just about managed to drag it down but still a great effort by all four. How the WWE have f*cked up with Juvi Guerrera I don’t know…he’s easily as good as Rey Mysterio. Hell, sign Ricky Marvin as well then have them feud with London and Spanky permanently. Best Marvin match ever by the way. Normally I’m not his biggest fan but this was all awesome. Get your hands on this tape for this match alone…

Tape Rating - **** - If you can stomach four hours of the NOAH Juniors style then this is a great tape. Lots of solid tag action, along with three bonafide MOTYC’s for 2003. Even if you don’t think Marufuji and KENTA are one of the best teams around, it’s surely hard to dispute that they’re one of the most entertaining tandems. The Liger/Murahama, Kanemaru/Hashi and Guerrera/Marvin matches are simply tremendous. Normally when reviewing a comp tape for a single talent or tag team you tend to find the matches get a little repetitive and similar (see my Best Of Ultimo Dragon review for instance) but there was enough variety in each match to keep it interesting. Considering I got this for a quid in a clearance sale I’m really delighted with this purchase. Pick it up if you can…but I urge you to get it from a pirate and screw RFVideo out of the money just like I did. Take that Feinstein!

Top 3 Matches

3) Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Jushin Liger/Takehiro Murahama (****1/2)

2) Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Makoto Hashi (****1/2)

1) Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA vs Juventud Guerrera/Ricky Marvin (****1/2)