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Simon Watches AJPW - 1990s; ELBOOOOOOOOWWWWWW
Topic Started: Jul 20 2009, 03:25 AM (6,032 Views)
Big Tuna
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi vs. Stan Hansen/Giant Baba, 3/5/1994
I have never seen this before. There's a very clear divide between youth and experience here, as the old guys do things like Baba keeping it slow and on the mat, and Hansen keeping it slow with him dishing out brutal strikes, as opposed to Misawa and Kobashi doing big moves and strikes as a fast pace with quick tags. It starts off somewhat slow, but by the end, shit is ON FIRE WITH AWESOME FLAMES. A bunch of great exchanges, as Baba begins to unload with big moves in a row in hopes of beating Misawa, which really does put him over as being 100% the Ace. There's a great Kobashi Machine Gun Chops vs. Baba Head Chops exchange as well. Misawa pins Baba clean to win. The special treat is the infamous and yet rare ALL JAPAN SLO-MO REPLAYS!!!!!!! These are awesome and show how fucking brutal everything was. Good match.
***3/4
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Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, 4/11/1994
Non-title, since it's the Champion's Carnival tournament. I've had this on my computer for a while, and am now getting around to watching it. It's Misawa/Kawada, so you know it's at least good. They actually start slow and have like 5 minutes of matwork. There's an AWFUL clip here that's incredibly obvious. Kawada again blows a Powerbomb early on when he hasn't done enough damage. They work the usual theme that Kawada can't beat Misawa and that PISSES HIM OFF~! It's Misawa/Kawada, so there's obviously a super awesome finishing run with a really hot crowd. Near the end, they throw in the new idea that Misawa is having trouble putting Kawada away this time, and it goes to a draw with 24 minutes shown of a 30 minute match. Good shit.
****1/4[
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue [AJPW Unified Tag Team Championship], 5/21/1994
This both serves as another chapter in the tag feud, as well as build to Misawa vs. Kawada for the Triple Crown on 6/3/94. You might have heard of that one. Misawa/Kobashi won their last match because of isolating Kawada's knee, so the Holy Demon Army sticks to making quick tags to avoid that. Meanwhile, Misawa still is the Ace, and is trying to help Kobashi get his big win. They do a lot of stuff building off 12/3/93, such as Kobashi being more confident in himself after pinning Kawada and thusly not screwing up as much. The best part of the build off the last match is Kawada taking an evil amount of pleasure in them destroying Kobashi's knee like they did to him in the last match. And good christ, do they destroy Kobashi's knee. We also get the absolute joy of Misawa coming in to clean house, and totally wrecking everyone's shit. The Misawa/Kawada sections here make you want to see their singles match more than you already should. The story keeps being Kobashi's knee, as while he's hurt, he can't make saves, which leads to Misawa being hurt in turn and not being able to make saves. Vicious cycle and shit. The false finishes were really really good here for the most part, and you got a sense that Misawa probably would have been pinned at a point if Kobashi didn't save. Some of the false finishes/kickouts got a bit ridiculous near the end, but they were mostly very well done. Kobashi manages to pin Taue mostly on his own, without Misawa having to KO him beforehand, again showing his growth. Very good match, but at 40 minutes or so and without being an all-time classic, I hardly ever re-watch it.
****1/4
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Mitsuharu Misawa [c] vs. Toshiaki Kawada [Triple Crown Championship], 6/3/1994
This is commonly referred to as the greatest match of all time.

I disagree, but I'll say it's the best, or at least my favorite Japanese singles match of all time.

Five years ago, there was a match between Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu for the Triple Crown. Tsuruta was Misawa's mentor for a long time, and Tenryu was Kawada's. They were also tag partners, who split and feuded over the Triple Crown, much like then. On that night, Tenryu managed to finally overcome Jumbo with a combo of a big Enzuiguri, Lariat, and 2 Powerbombs. Kawada has also failed to beat Misawa in part because he didn't pace his big moves. The way everything goes down here makes you feel like all their other matches were just practice for this match, because everything just went off so perfectly. Kawada begins to work the face, but as soon as he lands in a brutal blow, the next thing Misawa does when he gets up is go after Kawada's leg that got hurt in the 12/3/93 tag. Misawa's usually able to rebound well from brief limbwork, and this time, Kawada can do that. Misawa actually BLEEDS OUT THE FUCKING EAR, which is all kinds of badass. No wonder he fucking died of brain damage/spinal cord injuries. Kawada gets desperate at a point, and PUNCHES MISAWA RIGHT IN THE FACE! The way the match is laid out and built to that point along with history, you completely buy Kawada's 2nd Powerbomb as the end, but it's not. And you still buy it on repeat viewings. Or fuck, I do. You should too.

The finishing portion with Misawa regaining himself on the floor because of how spent Kawada is and them having an absolutely EPIC~ staredown is the best comeback in Japanese wrestling history, imo. The way Misawa comes back with a shitton of fire and the intensity of his strikes is...well, let's put it like this. Misawa coming back from Kawada's kicks to the face in the corner when gets back in is his form of pulling the strap down here. Jesus, this match rules. Everyone should see it. Misawa retains with the Tiger Driver '91, and is the complete unquestioned Ace.
*****
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama/Tsuyuchi Kikuchi vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masanobu Fuchi, 6/30/1994
We're JIP here. They hit all the classic notes of killing the rookie and beating up Kikuchi for being small, and Misawa being team savior. There's a really cool stereo plus one dive sequence early on, before these notes are all hit. It's a good quality trios match, until Misawa punks out Kawada once again, and Kawada fucking snaps on Kikuchi. He demolishes his head and face with straight soccer kicks and a massive punt to the temple, and Kikuchi is basically dead. Misawa tries to interfere, and Kawada gets a measure of revenge by completely laying out Misawa as well. Akiyama makes an AWESOME save, but gets taken out as well, and another Backdrop from Fuchi pins the corpse.
***1/2-3/4
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Steve Williams/Johnny Ace [AJPW Unified Tag Team Championship], 7/22/1994
The first appearance of Ace on the list so far. This doubles as a big tag title match and build for Misawa/Williams in 6 days. Ace is the one who has to prove himself here, but it also continues the theme of Kobashi growing up. The story is basically that of a lot of the Kobashi/Misawa vs. HDA tags, but with Ace/Williams in the place of M/K. Ace needs to prove himself to everyone, and steps up big most of the time, but still sometimes needs his big buddy to help him out. Takes a while to get going, but the finishing run is damn fine. Misawa pins Ace with a Flying Forearm Smash to retain.
***3/4
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I totally forgot about this, probably because Johnny Ace made me not want to watch anymore.

Mitsuharu Misawa [c] vs. Steve Williams [Triple Crown Championship], 7/28/1994
Dr. Death goes back to his beginnings after failing to out-gun and out-strike Misawa in the fall of 1993 when they fought. That means he keeps it on the mat and grounds Misawa, and more importantly, REFUSES to strike with him. Misawa can't really go with him on the mat due to the power advantage, so he keeps getting annoyed. So much in wanting to get it going to his style, that he tries the killer Running Elbow too early and runs right into a big Double A Spinebuster. From there, it's basically Misawa being The Fucking Man and taking huge punishment and dishing out killer elbows and awesome TOPE SUICIDAAAAAAAAA~, etc. Williams also does a Tope Suicida HOLY FUCKTITS! Basically, Williams doesn't let Misawa do any of his big moves and begins to fucking unload on him. By the time Misawa can kind of get going, he's been pretty much brutalized, and stumbles into a Backdrop Driver. He tries to FIGHTING SPIRIT~ up, but collapses through the ropes in one of his signature epic sells. Misawa's desperate fighting as if for his life in the ring is awesome. One more Backdrop Driver ends the epic title reign at a little over 23 months. Awesome match.
****1/4-1/2
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Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi, 3/26/1995
This is part of the Champion's Carnival round robin tournament, and mentor vs. protege. Kobashi throws a ton of firepower at Misawa early on with his amazing chops, big headdrops and shit, but Misawa weathers the storm, and then begins to unload as well. Kobashi was not strong enough to endure like Misawa did though, and begins to fade out. Misawa hits the Tiger Suplex '85 to win. Good match, but basically just a lot of strikes and moves with a loose story.
***3/4

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada, 4/1995

No date, but part of the same tournament. This is famous or KAWADA BREAKING MISAWA'S ORBITAL BONE WITH A KICK in the first 30 seconds, and then Misawa wrestling him to a 30 minute draw with a broken orbital bone. It's more of a peaks and valleys kind of Misawa vs. Kawada match, and they do the best they can working with the injury, but at points, it's kind of just two dudes throwing out big moves.
***1/4

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Jun Akiyama, 4/1995

More of the tournament! Very fun rookie vs. Ace match, with Akiyama getting a lot of good stuff in, but Misawa easily regaining control due to small mistakes. Epic elbows as usual. Misawa got this awesome Indian Deathlock/Butterfly Hold combo to make Jun submit.
***1/4
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Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, 4/12/1995
Carnival league match. Taue keeps ducking and dodging elbows early on and tries to work the arm to cut off Misawa's big elbows. He can't do much more than just slow Misawa down though, so he tries to attack the eye that got hurt by Kawada, Taue's best friend, so Misawa starts coming with elbows, and his AWESOME Elbow Suicida dive. Misawa starts throwing out huge elbows an a Tiger Driver to get Taue away from his eye, and thn tries to ground Taue to keep his eye safe. Misawa really wants it not to go long and Taue starts countering Misawa's desperate attempts into big power moves to take over, and keeps attacking the eye. They move into a totally awesome finishing run, and they tease the idea that the Chokeslam off the apron COULD beat Misawa, but he keeps blocking it. It goes to a 30 minute draw, and Misawa's barely hanging on, but Taue can't actually pin him within 30 minutes. Great match.
****

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue [1995 Champions Carnival Finals], 4/15/1995

AWESOME MATCH. Misawa counters Snake Eyes early on after the damage it did on 4/12, and Taue keeps blocking elbows. He gets the first big move in with a MOTHERFUCKING TOPE SUICIDA FROM TAUE. To give some perspective, this is a guy who uses a lot of power offense and his brain more than anything. So imagine, like...I don't know, Triple H or Orton running and doing a Tope. Nobody would expect it, and Misawa doesn't either. Misawa comes back and starts fucking hammering Taue, until he just goes for it and grabs at the eye. He digs his heel into the eye and is generally a brutal motherfucker. He does it more to distract Misawa than work the eye and fuck, the action and shit here is amazing. Misawa's probably the best promotional Ace ever, solely because guys like Flair, H, Cena, Hogan, all get caught up in their formula for good or bad, but Misawa ALWAYS changes his shit up. Taue finally hits the NODAWA OTASHI: MURDER, DEATH, KILL~ (Chokeslam off the apron to the floor). However, he can't capitalize as he can't get Misawa's dead weight into the ring, and then Misawa rolls back out, and finally, Misawa gets his foot on the ropes once Taue brings him back in. Taue gets frustrated with Misawa not dying (lol wait 14 years?), and starts just assaulting the eye non-stop. Misawa keeps pushing through though, and Taue's exhausted his arsenal, and Misawa keeps drilling him with elbows. Taue kicks out of a Tiger Suplex, but Misawa gets another Tiger Suplex right after to win.
****1/2
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I stopped this because we got to a match that I'd seen like 10 million times by that point, and then I forgot about it. But last night, we had a discussion about G.O.A.T. candidates, and I wanted to revisit this to determine where exactly the dude ranks. Top 4 for sure, and probably not better than Flair or Benoit, but possibly better than Eddie. We shall see.

Also, I'm going to watch other non-Misawa stuff and put it in the 90s list to add some depth. Plus this way it means the list isn't just waiting for Biggie to finish ECW 1999 and WCW 1995.

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi [c] vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue [AJPW Unified Tag Team Championship], 6/9/1995
This is on the short list for greatest matches ever. I went through a period as a teenager of thinking this was the greatest match ever. I feel about this now how I feel about The Sopranos. It's unquestionably great and has a ton of depth to it and innovative stuff, but it doesn't touch me the way my other favorite match of all time does. Benoit/Jericho vs. 2MPT is thus The Wire in this scenario, I guess. Anyways, right, it's unquestionably great. Kawada hates Misawa and keeps up with the cheap shots. Kobashi has a bad leg, and Misawa has a broken orbital bone. So Kawada and Taue are vicious on both body parts. The usual theme of Kobashi trying to prove himself as a top guy is there, and Misawa has to keep bailing him out because of the bad leg. Kawada treats Kobashi like a total piece of shit, and his cheap shots manage to get the champions riled up, forcing them to make mistakes so that their injuries can be worked on. Before that happens though, there's the usual formula domination by the faces. Some cool spots and counters and then Kobashi has his leg worked on. Kawada gets especially violent, since him going after the leg is more about revenge than anything. Misawa has his awesome hot tag and is able to control them both in one on one situations, being the Ace, but then when they target his face, he goes down. For once, Misawa is the hurt one. Kobashi tries to save him, but his leg keeps getting attacked when he tries. And the cut offs get increasingly violent. The amazing selling of Kobashi, violence of Kawada and Taue, and general Misawa-ness of Misawa creates this beautiful foreboding feeling of impending doom around the middle of the match. Taue has the all time greatest cut-off spot ever, AS HE CHOKESLAMS MISAWA DOWN ONTO KOBASHI'S INJURED LEG! Kobashi eventually tags back in, and sells like the motherfucker. There's some down time here, which isn't their fault so much as that the opening and closing runs were just so much better than the middle. Finishing run is an all-time great one. Misawa tries to hand Kobashi the win like he did the last few times this match happened, but his knee is too hurt. So Misawa has to go for it, but is in a 2 on 1. AND TAUE CHOKESLAMS MISAWA OFF THE APRON HOLY SHIT! Misawa is pretty much out of it, and now moves into the category of a guy trying desperately to avoid certain defeat. Kobashi tries to save, but cannot stand. Kawada destroys Misawa with some stuff, AND PINS MISAWA WITH THE POWERBOMB!
****3/4

Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Satoru Asako vs. Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Tamon Honda, 6/30/1995

This got 5 stars from Meltzer, despite only being like 14 minutes and joined in progress. I have not seen it ever. It's good, but it's kind of just a routine match for the first half. Asako doesn't do much of note. Honda has a few cool things, but is a while away from what he'd go on to do. Kawada is in for most of this, so like 80% of it is Misawa/Kawada, which is on the short list for best match up in pro wrestling history, and Kawada/Kobashi, which is also great. They keep a really great pace in the second half and have tons of cool counters and shit. Honda gets beat with a Dragon Suplex by Kobashi.
***
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Jumbo Tsuruta/Tiger Mask II vs. Genichiro Tenryu/Samson Fuyuki, 1/14/1990
TM2 is Misawa, of course, which makes that team pretty interesting given what went down in a few months. Tenryu vs. Jumbo is full of hate and aggression, and a really fantastic pairing. Misawa as TM at this point seems like he's just going through the motions and waiting to unmask finally, so he and Fuyuki are basically useless and just getting in the way of Jumbo vs. Tenryu. Both main eventers rule as well when beating the shit out of the kids. Still, too much downtime between cool stuff. Jumbo beats Fuyuki with a Half Crab.
**1/2

Tenryu comes out for the title match against Jumbo, AND STAN HANSEN ATTACKS HIM FROM BEHIND ON THE FLOOR! WHAT IS THIS?! THIS NEVER HAPPENS. HANSEN WHIPS HIM WITH THE BULLROPE AND HITS THE LARIAT! FUCK YEAH! Jumbo runs out and Hansen bails out and signals for the title.

Jumbo Tsuruta [c] vs. Genichiro Tenryu [AJPW Triple Crown Championship], 4/19/1990
So yeah, Tenryu is hurt going in. Tenryu sells head damage and does it super super well. Jumbo immediately tries to end it, but Tenryu is desperate and won't allow it, and hits his own finish within a minute to get space. He gets back up and tries to slow it down so he can recover. Jumbo does eventually take over and targets the head. Tenryu has comebacks, but can't overcome the injury and Jumbo's Backdrop Hold ends it.
***

Tiger Mask II/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yoshiaki Yatsu/Samson Fuyuki, 5/14/1990

This isn't even that good, it's just important. Fuyuki and Yatsu are huge assholes to the kids, and as a result, TIGER MASK II TAKES OFF HIS MASK AND IT'S MISAWA! He starts brawling now and using more elbows and less bullshit Tiger Mask II offense. Kawada joins in and they easily destroy the older guys. Misawa beats Fuyuki with a German Suplex.
**1/4
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Akira Taue vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi/The Great Kabuki, 5/26/1990
This is another match that is more important than great. The young guys all do well, Fuchi is a dick, Jumbo rules, etc. Kabuki is still useless. Anyways, a brawl breaks out between Misawa and Fuchi in the middle. Jumbo tries to get involved to calm it down, AND MISAWA DROPS JUMBO WITH AN ELBOW! They take cheap shots at each other for the rest of the match, and this is pretty goddamned important. Drags a little in the middle, and Misawa beats Fuchi with the Tiger Suplex.
**1/2
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Stan Hansen vs. Steve Williams [#1 Contender's Match], 6/5/1990
HANSEN AS BABYFACE! I liked this, but it was too long for what they tried. They tried a big brawl where nobody controlled, but after like 5 minutes, they began to go in circles. It picked up a lot in the final minutes, and they had some really good exchanges. Hansen wins with the Lariat.
**3/4

Jumbo Tsuruta [c] vs. Terry Gordy [AJPW Triple Crown Championship], 6/5/1990

This is another match that can be rightfully accused of killing time in the first two-thirds before a great finishing fun, which is unfortunate. Because it is a really really awesome final 5 or so minutes. Nasty Lariats, back drops, and Powerbombs. Gordy wins with a surprise DDT in a HUGE upset.
**1/2

Steve Williams vs. Kenta Kobashi, 6/8/1990

This will eventually be a huge pairing, but this is their first match and Kobashi is but a rookie. Williams treats Kobashi like shit, and he has a TON of fire, but lacks the firepower on offense to really do much back to Dr. Death. Kobashi takes customary huge bumps and loses to the Backdrop Driver.
**3/4

Terry Gordy [c] vs. Stan Hansen [AJPW Triple Crown Championship], 6/8/1990

Yet again in June 1990, it's a fun match that isn't great. Really violent and stiff, but not much in the way of a story, and too much downtime in the middle. Cool finishing run, and Hansen wins the belt with a Lariat.
**3/4

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, 6/8/1990

This does not let me down. Really important and classic match. Story is the classic Ace vs. Young Gun story, with the young gun proving he belongs in the main event and the Ace getting more and more pissed and surprised as the match goes on. Misawa has a ton of awesome and intense spots to catch Jumbo off guard, like leaping off the apron at him when he tries to take a breather, and Jumbo's facials are the best. Misawa continues to get the best of Jumbo whenever they trade holds, strikes, counters, anything. Awesome nearfalls too. Jumbo counters a Back Suplex into a Crossbody, but Misawa kicks out and rolls over into his own pin for the gigantic upset! This is pretty clearly the best done "passing of the torch" match ever and a masterclass on how to create a new Ace.
****1/4
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Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue/Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Tsuyuchi Kikuchi, 8/18/1990
MMMM. Taue is now on Jumbo's side, so Kawada hates him for this betrayal. Misawa vs. Jumbo gets most of the build, since they have a rematch coming up. Kawada vs. Taue is a focus, and then everyone beats up on Kikuchi for being small. Fuchi is a huge asshole. Kikuchi is the greatest little spark plug. Lots of great exchanges to establish hierarchy, like Kawada getting smoked by Jumbo but Misawa holding his own. And yeah, it's all really fast and crisp and has a super hot crowd. Tons of stuff with Jumbo getting more pissed off at the disrespectful young punks. A little down time in the middle is the only real flaw here. Kikuchi has great nearfalls against Taue at the end, but falls to the Backdrop. This isn't an all time great, but it is the blueprint for some all time great matches.
***1/4
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Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Kenta Kobashi, 8/31/1990
Great stuff, although not epic at all. It's more Jumbo treating a rookie like shit and making an example out of him going into the rematch with Misawa. Jumbo probably could have beaten Kobashi in 5 minutes, but he prolongs it to send a message, and it allows Kobashi to fight back and show some fire and shit. When Jumbo survives the onslaught, it's because Kobashi lacks the offensive firepower as a rookie to put the Ace away. Jumbo KILLS him with a Lariat and then hits the Backdrop Hold to win.
***

The Fantastics vs. Joe Malenko/Tsuyuchi Kikichi, 9/1/1990

AWESOME! This is joined in progress, but we still get 12 minutes of it. THE FANTASTICS WORK HEEL! AND OF COURSE, BEING THE MOTHERFUCKING FANTASTICS, THEY RULE AT THAT TOO. Kikuchi takes some disgusting bumps and is the greatest underdog ever. This is the best Bobby Fulton performance ever, as he has a great pair of dives and some great matwork at points, and for once, The Fantastics look like a team of equals. But yeah, this is Kikuchi's match. Malenko shows good signs, but is clearly the 4th best guy in this. Some beautiful counters and reversals here that are at least 10 years ahead of their time. Kikuchi kicks out of tons of stuff, but is increasingly more dead. Fulton hits a Flying Knee Drop and Rogers follows with a Flying Splash for the win.
***1/2

Stan Hansen [c] vs. Steve Williams [AJPW Triple Crown Championship], 9/1/1990

Wild wild awesome brawl. No downtime here, unlike the June match. They are ballsy enough to accidentally invent the Chris Benoit baseball slide dropkick off the apron spot. There isn't much of a story, but they beat the piss and shit out of each other for 10-15 minutes. They both do a great job selling fatigue at the end too, which is great. GREAT Finish also! Hansen misses the Lariat, and Dr. Death tries a Powerslam, BUT STAN HANSEN ROLLS THROUGH INTO A CRADLE TO WIN!
***

Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Mitshuaru Misawa, 9/1/1990

All time classic here. After losing once, Jumbo has some of the greatest facials of all time. He doubts his place and is desperate to remain on top of the company. Misawa is starting to grow into the Ace as he uses more elbows and strikes than he did in the first match. The first match was about Misawa proving he CAN beat Jumbo but it was still sort of a fluke roll up type deal. Here, they're treated mostly as equals. That being said, it's not a perfect match. It takes a while to get going. But when they get going, there's not many matches better on a raw storytelling level. Jumbo is more aggressive than ever, because he has to be if he wants to keep his spot. Some incredible nearfalls and counters at the end. It becomes apparent that Misawa will not win tonight, but he's proven that some day, he WILL be the Ace, leading to Jumbo's best facials ever as he both acknowledges that victory is coming tonight but while looking at a sign of his own mortality. Jumbo wins with a second Backdrop Hold.
****1/4
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Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue, 9/30/1990
This is an incredibly ballsy booking move, giving a 45 minute draw to a tag match with three guys who are brand new to main events. Taue especially is pretty green, but doesn't totally embarrass himself. They get a lot out of Jumbo vs. Misawa, but also give focus to the secondary storyline of Kawada vs. Taue. Misawa is also kind of a bully to Taue, and they get real violent with the traitor. Jumbo sells a ton for the kids, and the focus is thusly on Taue trying to prove himself as worthy of being the new partner of Jumbo. Again, it's not perfect because the kids are still learning. Taue especially doesn't have the kind of firepower or mat skills you need for 45 minutes. The peaks and valleys style of the match was sometimes logical and sometimes jarring. Jumbo gets an AWESOME hot tag at the end, and yeah. Time limit expires before anything can happen. This got over the main feud, the secondary feud, put Taue over a ton, and put over Kawada a lot too for having him get so much in on Jumbo.
****

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Masanobu Fuchi, 10/4/1990

While Taue was a young gun, Fuchi is a cranky old vet like Jumbo, so this is totally different. Not as epic, but still a ton of fun. Loads of cheating and general being an asshole from Fuchi. Slaps, eye gouges, choking, using the ropes, spitting, etc. I love the Misawa/Kawada dynamic. It's a lot like Misawa/Kobashi where he's trying to help out his friend who's lower on the totem pole, but Kawada wants to be just as good as Misawa, so he tries to get all tough and shit with Jumbo. He holds his own, but just isn't as good as his friend yet. They beat the fuck out of Kawada's knee, and he sells like a champ. Great finishing run. The multitude of tags in the AJPW tag style means you can always expect a tag so it feels like any pairing could be the end of the match. Kawada beats Fuchi with a Powerbomb for his first big pin as Misawa's #2.
***1/2
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Miracle Violence Connection vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada, 10/7/1990
This is JIP, but we get 15 minutes of it, so I'll count it. It's also the first time the kids have fought any of the monster foreigners. Gordy and Dr. Death are huge asshole bullies to Kawada, and it's great. They slap the shit out of him and throw him around like he's nothing, and it leads to really fiery Kawada hope spots. Misawa has a great hot tag, but Kawada gets back in. He can't match power and is beat by a Powerbomb from Gordy.
***

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue/Masanobu Fuchi, 10/19/1990

This gets 30 minutes and everyone and every feud gets to shine. This is the stuff of legend that All Japan's reputation in the 1990s is built upon. Kobashi is low man and gets brutalized the most, which is where Fuchi can shine. Kawada shows fire and attitude like nobody else, Misawa is Misawa, Taue also gets brutalized, and Jumbo is still indignant at these young punks. Taue/Kawada and Misawa/Jumbo keep cheap shotting each other. They do a masterful job bringing up the pace and the final 10 minutes is incredible. Jumbo gets Kobashi all alone as the lowest guy, and wins with the Backdrop Hold.
***3/4
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The Master and Ruler Of The World

Miracle Violence Connection vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue, 11/25/1990
This is good. The MVC gets to be gigantic bullies again to Taue, and Jumbo shows a lot of fire protecting his protege. Taue also shows fire, although for him that's throwing sumo slaps and maybe a Lariat or two. Point is, he has the spirit, but not the ability yet. He does take some big bumps though. It does take a bit to get going though and they kind of held back before the last 5 minutes. Not perfect, but lots of fun. They get to the obvious result of Gordy's Powerbomb beating Taue, but the finishing run did a great job of putting it in doubt.
**3/4

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Miracle Violence Connection, 12/1/1990

This rules, again! Great storytelling as Gordy and Williams treat Kawada with more regard after the first match these teams had, not treating him like a piece of shit anymore and taking him seriously. They still don't treat it as seriously as they should, and thusly, they can't maintain ant control. Kawada and Williams have really awesome and tight matwork to start. Misawa picks up the pace and this is much more of an even match. Nobody really can take control until they take cheap shots and cheat against Kawada. They have a really brutal control seg there, and then Misawa gets back in. His leg gets hurt, so he tags out and Kawada has an awesome run. He kicks out of Gordy's Powerbomb now and then Misawa barely saves him form the pin off a Tandem Powerbomb. He fights back, but Gordy blocks a kick and gets a pure leverage pin for the win.
***1/2
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The Master and Ruler Of The World

Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada vs. Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue, 12/7/1990
Hey, this is great. No way! Lots of that HATE. Misawa and Jumbo, Kawada and Taue, as usual. They expand a little more on the other pairings, with Kawada's desperation to beat Jumbo like his buddy did, and Misawa's casual disdain for Taue. There's some great facials Misawa makes when Taue tries to man up, and he's all like "Get outta my fucking face" and rocks him with forearms. This is more of a classic tag formula than AJPW usually goes into, as Misawa injures Jumbo with a elbow on the floor so they isolate Taue and stretch and abuse him. Jumbo gets in with a great hot tag, and then Taue gets in. The final minutes are Kawada vs. Taue, and Misawa and Jumbo keep getting involved and cheap shotting each other. Kawada wins with a Powerbomb on Taue.
***1/2

Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue, 1/15/1991

HATE. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE. They have an outright brawl into the crowd, which is SO rare for All Japan, and they even bleed. TAUE DOES AN AWKWARD TOPE SUICIDA! They both get really nasty with their strikes too and whip chairs into each other's faces. Taue brutalizes Kawada's knee, and his selling is top notch. He can't use his kicks to destroy Taue like usual at the end so Kawada hits a DISGUSTING Northern Lariat that looks like he just runs and punches Taue in the back of the head as hard as he can, and that gets the win.
****
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Jumbo Tsuruta/Akira Taue/Masanobu Fuchi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa/Toshiaki Kawada/Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, 1/27/1991
KIKUCHI'S BACK IN SIX MANS! YEAH! He gets the absolute dog shit beaten and stretched out of him. Otherwise, the usual themes are there and deliver big time. Misawa vs. Jumbo and Kawada vs. Taue. Kawada and Misawa still treat Taue like a piece of shit traitor and cheap shot him all the time, but now he's more willing to return in kind. You can tell they're improving at the style too, since it's great immediately and not with the filling of time like in the 1990 stuff. Fuchi doesn't get to shine since the young group is working sort of heel tonight, injuring Jumbo, and isolating Taue. And yeah, they really beat the fuck out of Taue. He does have some AMAZING body blow combinations, but he's best as an old cranky asshole. Jumbo is a total fucking beast when he gets back in. Kawada gets stuck in at the end after trying and failing to man up on Jumbo, AND TAUE FINALLY PINS KAWADA WITH A POWERBOMB!
****

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Akira Taue, 1/26/1991

This wasn't much, considering it's all of like 8 minutes. No idea why, but that's what it is. They did stuff and what not, and Misawa debuts the Tiger Driver '91 just because he's all like, "man, fuck an Akira Taue" for the win.
**3/4


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