[WON HOF] The Gordy List: Jun Akiyama

[Larry Rydell]

1. Was he ever regarded as the best draw in the
world?

 

Jun Akiyama rarely, if ever, worked outside of his native Japan.

 

Was he ever regarded as the best draw in his
country or his promotion?
 

Akiyama had three runs as Pro Wrestling NOAH's GHC Heavyweight Champion, reigns that saw attendance stagnate and decline in comparison to the title runs of Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi.  He was also All Japan Triple Crown Champion during a period that saw All Japan struggle to sell 1,000 tickets in Korakuen Hall.

2. Was he an international draw, national draw
and/or regional draw?
 

Akiyama was positioned as one of NOAH's "top stars" from 2000 to his departure in 2012 and is currently the "match maker" and President of All Japan Pro Wrestling.

3. How many years did he have as a top draw?

 

12 years, give or take.

4. Was he ever regarded as the best worker in the
world? Was he ever regarded as the best worker in
his country or in his promotion?
 

Akiyama was widely regarded between 1995 thru 1999 as the "next big thing" in All Japan, but was never able to establish himself as a superior worker in comparison to Misawa, Kawada, or Kobashi. 

 

This has been blamed on factors ranging from simply not having "it" to Mike Lorefice's claims that Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, and Taue spent too long leading Akiyama through matches instead of letting Akiyama call the match on his own and thus develop his own style and develop his own ability to carry inferior opponents to quality matches.

 

Akiyama was never regarded as the best worker in his own promotion, own country, or overall in the world.

5. Was he ever the best worker in his class (sex or
weight)? Was he ever one of the top workers in his
class?
 

See above. Akiyama was widely regarded as a "good" to "excellent" worker but has never been able to eclipse the "Four Gods of Heaven" or his New Japan compatriots from the same generation as a worker.

 

His "Burning" tag team with Kenta Kobashi is usually regarded as the best tag team in the world during 1998-99, though Kobashi was regarded as the one carrying the team during that run.

 

6. How many years did he have as a top worker?

 

Akiyama was regarded as a good to great worker between 1995 thru his June 14, 2009 neck injury.
 

7. Was he a good worker before his prime? Was he a good worker after his prime?

 

Akiyama was considered the best "young lion" fromn 1995 thru 2000, when he ascended to main event status.  His work since return from injury in 2009 has been more circumspect.  It's usually agreed that Takao Omori did the carrying in their 6/15/15 Triple Crown match.

8. Did he have a large body of excellent matches?
Did he have a excellent matches against a variety of
opponents?
 

Akiyama has a very large body of All Japan World Tag Team title matches and Triple Crown title matches which were rated 4*** by the Wrestling Observer and by others. 

 

In almost all of those matches, however, he was carried by his opponents and tag partners, usually Misawa, Kobashi, and Steve Williams (on the tag opponent side).

 

His best singles matches all involved the same men and Toshiaki Kawada.

9. Did he ever anchor his promotion(s)?

 

Akiyama had three runs as GHC Champion, and during his first two reigns saw attendance decline to the point where they had to take the title off of him in fluky fashion to junior heavyweights (an undeserving Yoshinari Ogawa and the far more deserving Naomichi Marufuji) in order to let Akiyama "save face" with the fans.

 

His third GHC run occurred after NOAH had lost TV, while his Triple Crown title run played to empty arenas and a half-empty Korakuen Hall.

10. Was he effective when pushed at the top of
cards?
 

See above.  Attendance either stagnated or declined during his title reigns.  Fans simply never took to him the way they did to Misawa or Kobashi.

11. Was he valuable to his promotion before his
prime? Was he still valuable to his promotion after
his prime?
 

There was probably more money made during his "Young Lion" phase when fans would pay to see him 'struggle' and 'learn' than during his actual time period as a main eventer (2001-2009).

12. Did he have an impact on a number of strong
promotional runs?
 

His tag runs with "Burning" in 1998-2000 were notable for the decline in All Japan's non-Tokyo business, outside of Ariake Colosseum and Nippon Budokan, NOAH had stagnant crowds at their non-Tokyo house shows.

13. Was he involved in a number of memorable
rivalries, feuds or storylines?
 

The Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kawada/Taue rivalry is usually regarded as one of the best tag feuds of the 1990s, while he was involved in many memorable Champion Carnival and Triple Crown matches as he tried to "suprass" the Four Gods.  His GHC title defenses are held in less regard.

14. Was he effective working on the mic, working
storylines or working angles?
 

Akiyama was very charismatic, especially after he scored his first singles pinfall over Misawa in 2000.

 

His heel runs in NOAH were also notable for the charisma he displayed and crowd reactions he earned.

15. Did he play his role(s) effectively during his
career?
 

He was effective as either a "young superstar" or "cocky veteran heel" getting good crowd reactions.

16. What titles and tournaments did he win? What was
the importance of the reigns?
 

Three time GHC champion, One time Triple Crown champion, multiple World Tag Team and GHC Tag title reigns.

17. Did he win many honors and awards?
 

1993 WON Rookie of the Year, Tag Team of the Year (3 times) with Misawa and Kobashi, 1996 and 2004 WON Match of the Year (Misawa/Akiyama vs. Ace/Williams and vs. Kenta Kobashi

 

Tokyo Sports Best Newcomer, Fighting Spirit, Technique Award, Best Tag Team, and Best Match (vs. Kobashi 2004) Awards.

18. Did he get mainstream exposure due to his
wrestling fame? Did he get a heavily featured by the
wrestling media?
 

Akiyama has made appearances on various Japanese variety and talk shows, but has not transcended his sport to gain celebrity outside of wrestling.

19. Was he a top tag team wrestler?
 

He's regarded as one of the top tag team wrestlers of the late 1990s.

20. Was he innovative?
 

Invented the Blue Thunder Driver, Diamond Dust and Exploder '98/wrist-clutch Exploder
 

21. Was he influential?
 

There are no notable wrestlers who cite Akiyama as one of their inspirations.

22. Did he make the people and workers around him
better?
 

See above.  Akiyama was usually regarded as being incapable of taking lesser opponents and carrying them to quality matches, unlike Misawa and Kawada.

23. Did he do what was best for the promotion? Did
he show a commitment to wrestling?

 

Akiyama was personally responsible for booking his second GHC title run and was criticized for a "weird" list of challengers, most notably Bison Smith and Minoru Suzuki. 

 

Special thanks to "The Z" for pointing out he also booked a title defense against eternal jobber Masao Inoue, and proceeded to give him tons of offense instead of squashing him like a bug in 30 seconds.

24. Is there any reason to believe that he was
better or worse than he appeared?
 

Akiyama never demonstrated being a better wrestler than he usually was, if anything, he can probably be criticized for beginning to mail it in on occasion after 2005.

Edited October 7, 2014 by Larry Rydell

[OSJ]

Nice work, Larry. Poor Jun is in the unenviable position of being Richie Ashburn in comparison to Willie, Mickey, and the Duke. A funny career to be sure, the fans liked him, they liked him a lot, they just didn't buy him as being on the level of his colleagues and nothing that I've seen indicates that they were wrong. Far better as a tag-team wrestler, but unfortunately, always the #2 guy on the team. Let's make a spot for him in the Hall of the Very Good and call it done.

[GOTNW]

Akiyama not being able to carry inferior workers? Takao Omori carrying him? This looks like a troll post.

[Jiji]

I stopped watching puroresu religiously around early '06 but Akiyama was always carrying Hashi and the like to good-to-great tag matches and singles in the first half of the noughties. To say he couldn't make inferior workers better sounds like somebody watched his big AJPW matches and the GHC matches and nothing else. I'd also disagree that he was always having to be carried in the big AJPW tag matches from what I've seen.

 

I think he wrestled a far more sustainable style than Kobashi and at times was a smarter wrestler than Kobashi. I'm not sure if he's hall of fame worthy or not and I'm not likely to be the best to ask because he was my second favourite wrestler after I started watching Japanese wrestling, so I'm going to be more biased than most, but I think some of the above comments are bit too harsh.

[OSJ]

Being fourth in a field of four is not actually a bad thing when the other three are arguably in the top ten all-time. I think the Richie Ashburn comparison is pretty apt. In a vacuum Asburn would look outstanding, unfortunately, he had the bad timing to play at the same time as three players who were much better. I think Jun was a helluva wrestler, he pales when compared to Kawada & Misawa, but who doesn't? The most damning thing in his case is that despite years of being pushed as "the next big thing" when he was given the ball he dropped it with a resounding "thud".

 

I think that comparisons with Sting are pretty apt in a lot of respects, though I think Sting is a superior candidate, due more to longevity than anything else. The fact remains that despite years of conditioning the audience to accept him as "the One", and despite how much people liked him, it just didn't happen. To continue the Sting analogy, it's pretty hard to find a guy that's more likeable than Steve Borden, he just comes across as a nice dude. I'm Jun had the same vibe with Japanese fans, problem is when he was "the One", they came dressed as empty chairs. I'm not going to buy the "business was bad all over" stuff, if a champ is compelling enough, people will come to see him do his thing regardless of how bad business is. When we look at the all important component of putting meat in the seats, Jun fails to make the cut.

[The Z]

Akiyama had a great GHC title defense against Masao Inoue of all people! Masao Inoue!!

[Go2Sleep]

On one hand, it kinda sucks for someone as good as Akiyama to have to live in the shadow 3 legit all-time greats, but on the other hand, it's hard to imagine his career body of work would have been nearly as strong without them being around.

[GOTNW]

"if a champ is compelling enough, people will come to see him do his thing regardless of how bad business is."

When did Akiyama not draw as champion? He drew well enough even in All Japan. Akiyama not drawing is a shallow statement. Hashimoto was the biggest puro star of the 90s and him and Kawada couldn't sell out a Budokan. Business declines. Dismissing it is ignorant.

[OSJ]

Ignorant? Son, I've forgotten more about the wrestling biz than you are ever likely to know. Please refer to questions #9 & #10 on Larry's Gordy List.

 

Now I'll try and spell this out real slowly so that it doesn't fly over your head... A great champion/attraction will pop business in the worst of times, a merely good or average performer will not. It is demonstrable that Jun was not an exceptional champion, and it really doesn't matter how furiously you masturbate to youtube clips of his matches, he simply did not pop business when he was in position to do so. Babbling about one show with Kawada and Hash doesn't mean a thing; do you understand the concept of "sample size"? An aberration is not statistically significant.

[GOTNW]

Oh great, more conceited bullshit. What makes you feel so superior? Is it because you read Scott Keith's blog or that you used insider terms in 1996? Because acting like you are wrestling jesus sure seems easier than actually responding to an argument.

Akiyama was never pushed as an ace. By the time NOAH's decline finalized they had already conditioned their audience to view him as a second rate guy by not protecting him nearly as much as they did Misawa and Kobashi. He was never put in a position to pop the business. But when he was on top he drew much better than anyone NOAH actually tried to push.

So-I ask again-when did Akiyama not draw as champion? Was it in 2011-2012 when All Japan was doing New Japan Sumo Hall numbers with him on top? Please point to some facts and cut promos on someone else.

[The Comedian]

Wow this got ugly fast...

 

 

"Hard to believe, Harry"

[OSJ]

GOTNW:

 

I did respond and pointed to Larry's list wherein he points out diminishing attendance during Jun's title runs. This is information that I'm sure you have access to and acting like this is some sort of hoax is a rather lame ploy on your part. Scott Keith? That the best you've got? I was writing about wrestling when Scott was still in high school. I hardly think of myself as "wrestling jesus", but the fact remains that I do not suffer fools gladly and when you choose to start throwing invective as opposed to conducting a polite conversation, I have absolutely no problem firing right back.

 

My central point, which any rational person would agree with remains, whether business is in a down cycle or not, an exceptional performer will pop business. A merely very good performer will not. The evidence to consider in Jun's case is quite clear, he was a very good performer who by himself was not enough of a draw to pop business. That's hardly calling him chopped liver, "exceptional" means exactly that, an exception. We're talking Londos, Hogan, Austin and a handful of others who merit that distinction. That your favorite wrestler is not in that strata is just the way it is. By itself that hardly means that he's not HOF worthy, (he's not, but there are a number of other considerations to look at as well, but drawing money (at least the way I look at it) counts for about 40% of the answer as to whether or not someone is HOF -worthy.)

 

Now, you can respond politely as I have or you can attempt to cut a promo on me. I wouldn't recommend the latter course of action as you're out of your depth.

[jumbojustice]

9. Did he ever anchor his promotion(s)?

 

Akiyama had three runs as GHC Champion, and during his first two reigns saw attendance decline to the point where they had to take the title off of him in fluky fashion to junior heavyweights (an undeserving Yoshinari Ogawa and the far more deserving Naomichi Marufuji) in order to let Akiyama "save face" with the fans.

 

His third GHC run occurred after NOAH had lost TV, while his Triple Crown title run played to empty arenas and a half-empty Korakuen Hall.

 

I can't say I really follow the logic of this point. Business may not have been great during Akiyama's title reigns, but I don't think that was the reason he dropped the title - I mean, if you're concerned about attendance, why would you take the title off Akiyama and put it on Yoshinari Ogawa of all people???

 

Similarly, if the goal was for Akiyama to save face, why would he be losing in fluke fashion to clearly lower-ranked guys? That makes no sense. I think Akiyama's title reigns (and specifically the ways they ended) where just the products of bad booking. Which I suppose might reflect back on Akiyama anyway, since I understand he was involved in booking his own reigns. I think he was just too generous to his opponents with the way he booked himself, personally.

 

In general, I think Akiyama's "failings" were more due to bad booking - both in AJPW and NOAH - more so than any lack of talent or charisma. Of course, that still does count as a knock against him - we have to judge things the way they occurred in the real world, and not some hypothetical fantasy-booking world. But it is worth considering.

 

I also disagree with some other points on the list. For example, there was a definitely a point in the mid-to-late 2000s where Akiyama was dogging it at times, but I thought the consensus on his work post-Misawa's death was that he's been consistently good or very good, especially for an older worker with so much mileage. To be fair, though, I haven't seen or heard much about him since he jumped to All Japan - maybe someone else can comment on how good he's been since the jump? Also, him being unable to elevate inferior workers seems clearly false.

[GOTNW]

 

I did respond and pointed to Larry's list wherein he points out diminishing attendance during Jun's title runs. This is information that I'm sure you have access to and acting like this is some sort of hoax is a rather lame ploy on your part.

"Larry's list" is bollocks as I have previously pointed out. Akiyama drew fine. In fact he drew fine enough that they (Akiyama and Misawa) felt they could do whatever the fuck they wanted which included giving Yoshinari Ogawa a reign just for being cool backstage and having killer tights (and I love Ogawa). When Marufuji failed as a draw Misawa immediately made himself the champion. When Morishima failed as a draw they immediately put the belt on Sasaki. There were no significant declines during his first two reigns as champion-his first reign saw him main event NOAH's first Budokan show (and the fact he did so shows they didn't exactly doubt his drawing power) and draw a strong number against Vader, his second reign had several successful Budokan shows-one of which was against Masao Inoue the greatest pro wrestling draw in history. His third reign had a 12K or so Budokan win and an insignificant defence that occurred only because of NOAH's TV situation. His triple crown reign had several well filled Ryogoku shows. What am I missing? Where are the huge declines?

 

 

My central point, which any rational person would agree with remains, whether business is in a down cycle or not, an exceptional performer will pop business. A merely very good performer will not. The evidence to consider in Jun's case is quite clear, he was a very good performer who by himself was not enough of a draw to pop business. That's hardly calling him chopped liver, "exceptional" means exactly that, an exception. We're talking Londos, Hogan, Austin and a handful of others who merit that distinction. That your favorite wrestler is not in that strata is just the way it is. By itself that hardly means that he's not HOF worthy, (he's not, but there are a number of other considerations to look at as well, but drawing money (at least the way I look at it) counts for about 40% of the answer as to whether or not someone is HOF -worthy.)

Just because someone is an exceptional performer doesn't mean they will pop the business. There is no direct correlation between someone's pro wrestling ability and drawing. One's talent can definitely play a factor in a business shift but it doesn't have to. Also having a certain guy pop the business requires investing in said guy. And NOAH's business was never based on growing as much as it was sustaining the crowd that had fleed from All Japan. I don't care about a wrestling Hall Of Fame enough to argue whether or not someone should be in it because it's uhm.....pro wrestling. I will argue that Jun Akiyama is a great performer.  I'm not going to pretend he's a cultural icon but realistically, NONE of the All Japan guys except Baba were. Not Jumbo, Not Misawa. They achieved much more fame than Jun but also came in a much better time and place and got much better treatment. In my opinion they were also better performers-but that doesn't subtract from Jun's qualities.

 

I hardly think of myself as "wrestling jesus", but the fact remains that I do not suffer fools gladly and when you choose to start throwing invective as opposed to conducting a polite conversation, I have absolutely no problem firing right back.

Some feel the need to go into "weeaboo jerks off to youtube" mode when someone challenges their opinion which is all I ever do. I don't get it but whatever. If you take such great insult on a petty word like "ignorant" and are ready to cut a promo over something so silly every time you come across something like that then modifying my ignore preferences is probably the right decision. Debate is my default mode and I won't launch impolite personal attacks out of nowhere.

[Jimbo]

I don't understand how Akiyama wasn't a draw, or the notion that business was so bad during his first run, that they had to get the belt off of him asap. I'm just looking at the numbers for his first four GHC title matches, and everything looks fine.

 

I think it's evident that the Ogawa loss just simply ruined him. That, and the fact that he never got that big title win over Kobashi just made his later reigns feel empty.

[Go2Sleep]

I think one thing that really kept Akiyama from being a true ace was Kobashi's longevity disrupting Akiyama's natural career arc. If Kobashi was worked back down the card a la Misawa from 02-06, that was the perfect time for a long run on top for Akiyama. Despite the injuries, Kobashi re-invented his style and was still as over as ever during that time frame. It looked pretty obvious that the long term plan for NOAH at the outset was to start with Misawa on top to get attention, but quickly pass the torch to Akiyama (which he did in their GHC HW title match). Then in 2002 they realized Kobashi was their most over guy and had something left in the tank so they abandoned the Akiyama plan. My guess is Ogawa got the transitional champ role partially as a thank you, and partially so they didn't have to retcon Akiyama/Misawa in case Kobashi broke down again. Because looking back, it seems kinda strange for Misawa to do a torch-passing match with Kobashi after he did two of them with Akiyama in the previous three years (one in AJ, one in NOAH).

 

Not saying that Kobashi didn't deserve that run because it was a great one, but by the time it was over, the ship had sailed for Akiyama. Their last chance to salvage it was in early 05 with a decisive win over Kobashi, but they went with Rikioh, and welp...

[Spritenaut 32]

Supposedly, Akiyama was supposed to end Kobashi's reign at the dome show in '04 and they called an audible the day of the show.  Meltzer even reported the title change the day before the show.  Oops.

 

Regarding Akiyama drawing so bad that "they" had to take the belt off him, wasn't he booking NOAH by the time he dropped the belt to Marufuji?  Fairly sure he had started booking by '06, so it was essentially his decision to take the belt off himself.

[Clayton Jones]

 

His best singles matches all involved the same men and Toshiaki Kawada.

And Katsuyori Shibata, Makoto Hashi, Masao Inoue, Hiroshi Tenzan, Osamu Nishimura, Kohei Suwama, Akira Taue, KENTA, Vader, Naomichi Marufuji, Minoru Suzuki...

Yep a very repetitive list who all clearly carried Akiyama by the hand.