Prediction: AJ Styles vs Naomichi Marufuji | My Ultimate Dream Match
Man. On July 13th we're getting AJ Styles vs Naomichi Marufuji at Pro Wrestling NOAH's "Destination" PPV at the legendary Nippon Budokan Hall.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro + Why This Match Is Special To Me
2:11 - Why This Is My Ultimate Dream Match
3:58 - Why Most Westerners Don't Know Marufuji + His Influence
5:07 - AJ Styles's influence on Pro Wrestling
6:16 - How Long I Wanted This Match
6:50 - My Prediction. Why I Think AJ Styles Is Winning.
7:50 - Closing Thoughts + Meeting AJ & Marufuji
Y'all gotta walk witt me like a Sheek Louch album for this one. I've been a fan of these two since the early / mid 2000s. I was a child in middle school back then. There wasn't a soul I could talk to about these two. We were literal children, no one was watching wrestling if it wasn't WWE Raw or Smackdown. TNA? NOAH? Please. Heads ain't even watch Velocity or Heat.
So I'd follow these two on TV (for AJ Styles) and YouTube highlights (for Marufuji) for YEARS. I've wanted this match since at least 2007. I NEVER EVER thought it would happen. Marufuji has been with NOAH for pretty much his whole career. He wrestled matches for TNA (IMPACT), Ring of Honor, NJPW and AJPW, but he's always been a NOAH guy. Which more or less renders him invisible to 99% of the US population. Most westerners at best only know of NJPW. So imagine growing up AS A CHILD being a fan of someone no one knows exists, and can't even watch him on TV.
AJ, I've been a fan of his since 2004, when I saw him in TNA's first King of the Mountain match. It was slightly "easier" to be a fan of his (even though most didn't know him), because you COULD watch him on TV. Especially when TNA got the SpikeTV deal. Then of course, the world finally saw what I saw when he joined WWE in 2016.
Every wrestling fan has their "what if!?" or "dream" matches. THIS has been my ULTIMATE DREAM MATCH since I was 13-14 years old. I always viewed these two as equals. The amount of roads they paved for wrestlers today is endless. I'm conservative with this #, but I'd wager at least 47% of pro wrestlers today take a page from their books, knowingly or not. I've been fortunate to meet AJ & Marufuji over the years, and converse with them on my fandom of their work & influence on pro wrestling.
My pick for this is AJ Styles, solely because he's the bigger name. But I couldn't care less who wins. I'm getting the match I wanted my whole life. I'm looking forward to the world LEARNING WHO TF NAOMICHI MARUFUJI IS.
If you read all of this, I'll give you a virtual fist bump. No one in the entire city of Philadelphia, PA wants this match more than me. I promise you. If this is the last match I get to watch, I'm totally fine with that. Well, let's hope it's not, but you get the point.
#AJStyles #NaomichiMarufuji