Featured image by @NAPP0Nx_x_x
Damn, another great NOAH match this year. This was a thirty minute time limit draw that paced itself incredibly well. Suzuki and Nakajima spend the first half of the match struggling on the mat which is an area that Suzuki excels at. His training under Billy Robinson allows him to spend a lengthy amount of time on the mat making things look good and struggled for without going overly flashy. Despite this, I’d say there’s a decent element of killing time to approach the draw here but nothing too annoying. Things start picking up when Nakajima starts laying in his signature kicks and takes the action to the outside. Nakajima targets Suzuki’s leg and Suzuki does a good job selling it on the outset and then returning to it at key moments down the finishing stretch. Love the steady escalation as both men start to feel the pressure of the time limit. Their strikes get more desperate, their movements more frantic. Even as the bell rings, both men go into overdrive struggling to grab what might be the decisive pinfall. Really great singles match to further NOAH’s momentum forward after the recent buyout.
