Akira Nogami (aka just AKIRA) is a guy with a bit of a strange career. He debuted for New Japan in the mid-'80s and floated in and out of prominence for the better part of 20 years, having odd spells of pushes and popularity before drifting into the background due to injuries or other reasons. He was a small heavyweight and a big junior, but only ever held the IWGP belt once in his career and seemed to have an obvious ceiling. He spent the majority of the '90s solidly in the shadows of giants like Liger, Ohtani and even Ultimo and Samurai. A technically gifted worker on the mat, with personality and ring-smarts, by the time the 2000s rolled around he was a respected veteran who saw a resurgence in popularity. It is unusual for someone to hit their peak 17 years into their career, but AKIRA was that guy. Here I will revisit some matches from 3 different periods of his career – the early '90s, his resurgence in the early '00s, and his later freelance years in the '10s.
Fujinami/Nogami vs Ishikawa/Kitahara, 14/12/92
Nice under the radar match that happened on the mid card of the show that also had the infamous Muta Scale match. The New Japan vs WAR feud was so, so great. I mean Nogani’s showing here a classic example of a guy who is technically proficient but (at the time) toothless, getting elevated by the inter-promotional hatred. He’s the lowest ranked guy and gets worked over during a FIP section, but everyone here is good. Ishikawa in particular is a heat machine, dude get booed every time he tags in. The WAR guys work well as a unit and are a constantly running interference to keep the NJ team on the back-foot. Lots of bad feelings and the final minutes get really hot as everything breaks down – Nogami is back in after getting worked over, Fujinami is a badass, and Ishikawa has the NERVE to use the Dragon Sleeper. The outcome was never really in doubt but this feud is always worth a revisit.
Hashimoto/Mutoh/Nogami vs Tenryu/Ishikawa/Hara, 5/2/93
God damn is Hashimoto vs Tenryu one of the all-time great wrestling feuds, even the pre-match showdown here between them is epic. Mutoh didn’t really dip his toe much into this war with WAR, and the crowd are clearly pumped for his involvement and he is super over and fired up. He is a not a guy you think of for throwing hands or hate-filled battles, but he brings enough energy and personality that he adds to the match. There is one section where all the New Japan guys gang up on Tenryu and it is glorious after how much of a shit weasel he was at the start. This is a thread to talk about Nogami, and even though he is clearly the loss post again he is still really fired up and brings it. Tenryu vs lower ranked guys is a constant, and Nogami had some fire in his belly. There is this great moment towards the end as Tenryu powerbombs Nogami and cockily covers him with one foot, only for Hashimoto to blast him in the chops with a roundhouse kick. Final minutes were a bit one sided, I guess there were only so many times Hash and Mutoh could prolong the inevitable, but it’s not long after the bell that Tenryu and Hash are going at it again. Is Hashmoto the most badass wrestler ever? I am pretty sure he is the most badass wrestler ever. Oh yeah this is a thread about someone else.
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