KENTA / Hideo Itami and Naomichi Marufuji vs. WAVE (Mitsuharu Misawa and Yoshinari Ogawa) for the GHC Tag Team Championship, from Pro Wrestling NOAH Encountering Navigation 2004 Night Fourteen

You’d think a match like this, young upstarts bending the rules to keep pace with multi-time former world champions, would coast on the natural chemistry provided by the athletes, but in the biggest and most pleasant surprise since my first good veggie burger, Ogawa stole the show. Misawa’s towel boy clowns around like he’s Hulk Hogan, then thumbs someone in the eye when they get something going, and in a fed as strait-laced as NOAH, that gets a few belly laughs without losing the drama that comes with their title bouts. An underrated bout in a great year for wrestling.

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