Superstar Sleeze

AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels - NWA 53rd Anniversary Show 10/13/01 Christopher Daniels with short spiky blond hair. Wild! Never seen that before. AJ Styles has repeatedly said this is the match that put him on the map. I think Nitro had a little bit to do with that. He says that this got him the deal to go to Australia with Jarrett and then ultimately end up in TNA. Basic 90s workrate influenced spotfest complete with nearfall barrage at the end to applause. Just two guys doing all they can to get noticed and throwing out all their moves willy-nilly. It was pretty fun for what it was worth. AJ's springboard shooting star press to the floor was INSANE!!! HOLY SHIT! You could tell AJ clearly had something this early because when it came to hit strikes, do highspots, sell, bump and just basic movement he was already great. He just had not put all the pieces together, but he clearly had all the pieces. Daniels was fine. To me he was always be in that tier below your AJs, Kis, Joes, and Bryans, he is good, but never really all that great on his own. The finish involving Styles' manager made it feel like you were watching pro wrestling after a spotfest. Daniels hits Angels Wings, but is distracted by the manager (who was actually a pretty decent promo, surprised he did not get picked up) and then tripped by the manager into Styles Clash. Felt like a good tryout match and that's what it was ultimately and glad AJ got signed because of it. ***

IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuyuki Fujita vs Yuji Nagata - NJPW 6/6/01 I love asshole shooters in pro wrestling. On paper, Fujita should be my favorite wrestler ever. Loved him in the Tanahashi match, but I have really never found a really great Fujita match. Again this disappointed. It just did not have that energy you get usually when a shooter is in the ring. It just felt like a very decent MMA match. I liked Nagata getting the early back drop driver and Fujita hitting an uppercut to the abdomen so he could take a breather, but then it was back to the clinch again and again. Lots of blocked shots. Lots of choke, cross armbreaker attempts. I liked Nagata countering the rear naked choke by using an inverted Indian deathlock with his body as the fulcrum and his legs as the lever. Very cool. Nagata gets a head drop German and Fujita just pops up and throws him down with a slam. Fujita gets an arm triangle and clearly Nagata taps, but ref ignore and pulls Fujita off by the hair when he makes the ropes. Fujita gets some punches that don't look great hits a barrage of knees to a prone Nagata to win by knockout. Akiyama was there and shook Nagata's hand to set up Nagata/Akiyama presumably, but then Nagata jobs weird. Good but not great pseudo-MMA match. INOKI BOMA-BA-YE~! ***

ICW Champion Low-Ki vs Amazing Red - ICW 9/14/01 Just three days after 9/11 in NYC, this match takes place, which is just very strange to think about. AWESOME OPENING SEQUENCE! HOLY SHIT! It was like an action movie sequence come to life. I loved how explosive and quick it was. Low Ki looked like he was going to stomp the hell out of Red, but the kid was too quick and evasive. Once he caught with that kick , Red sold and bumped his ass of and Low Ki beat the living shit out of him. Really strong opening. Liked Red's comeback starting with a tornado DDT, good impact and Red had some nice punches and chops. For an Indy Rey Rey, Red was pretty good. DragonRana by Red gets a Holy Shit chant as it deserves. Red hits Infra-Red off the top but basically lands flush on Low-Ki's hard head and sells his own leg. Nice use of rope breaks on these big falls like the Infra-Red and Ki Krusher, way to protect the finish. Really contrived ending with Low Ki taking forever to set up the Ki Krusher from the top rope for the win. Highly recommended to watch for the first 5-6 minutes. ***1/2

Low Ki vs Tajiri - ICW 1/26/01 "What was that? Green Tea? Wasabi?" "I think it is green mist." The crack announce team calling this one. Oh Lord! Wicked short, not much time to develop. Disappointing. Low Ki seemed more into this, which is to be expected he is the young gun trying to make a name for himself. Diving Misawa elbow from him which I had not seen before, plus a really nice butterfly suplex right into the butterfly stretch. Weird moment where Tajiri blasts him in the head with a kick right off the bat and slowly downgrades to lesser strikes should have built to the bigger strike. Tajiri was content to slap Low Ki in the back of the head, but there was no fired up comeback from Low Ki. Tajiri wins with a brainbuster. No reason to watch this.

ICW Champion Low-Ki vs Eddie Guerrero - ICW 11/30/01 This was during that short spell between WWF runs in 2001-02 where Eddie was working in the indies. Total dream match and very excited to see this exists. Not a total classic, but definitely a great match. It is not great because of Eddie's character work, which is pretty minimal, but Eddie really delivers a strong performance based on mechanics and fundamentals. The opening matwork is so explosive. I had forgotten what I loved about Eddie as a mechanic, it just the snap, pop and explosion on very basic stuff like a snapmare or a fireman's carry. Low Ki has tremendous balance and coordination. The opening stuff is all about proving Low Ki can hang with Eddie. Eddie was over huge with the crowd and thus there was none of that heel charisma. Low Ki was pretty over too. The middle part of the match was just Eddie stretching the hell out of Ki, Gory Special and a nasty Texas Cloverleaf. I loved Eddie the counterwrestler in this match. For ever Ki hope spot (usually a kick), Eddie had a counter, Mexican Surfboard, STF or double brainbusters. Hell, Eddie got in on the head drop trened with a nasty back drop driver. He even outsmarted Low Ki on the rana from the top by holding onto the ropes. It was an excellent counterwrestler, veteran performance. Ki to his credit just kept coming and coming looking for those openings to land his kicks. The finish was Eddie missing a frogsplash and then Ki missing the Phoenix Splash only for Ki to roll up Eddie for three. Kinda lame finish but protects everyone. Eddie outshone Ki and it was all based on technical mechanical work. Ki looked very athletic, but cant say he did one thing to make me go Wow, which is unusual as I am big Low Ki fan. Eddie was just killing it as this counterwrestling genius. I thought the match lacked a strong hook besides it was OMG EDDIE VS KI~! I thought it progressed nicely to the finish. Felt like a really good first match in the series with maybe Eddie getting frustrated and turning heel leading to the classics. As is great technical Eddie performance, but leaves you wanting more. ***3/4

American Dragon vs William Regal - MCW 05/05/01 Regal was the current commissioner on WWF TV and was doing a courtesy shot for Memphis TV and does the usual big star degrades young rookie and crowd. Says Bryan has a helluva career ahead of him, prophetic. Bryan stands up to him. Really fun, short technical arrogant veteran vs plucky energetic rookie. Great technical exchanges early, big bump to the outside transitions into a more violent affair (Regal really starts cranking away) into a wicked hot finish stretch. Definitely check this out for some prime Regal and Bryan. ***1/2

Low-Ki vs American Dragon - ECWA Super 8 Finals '01 Daniel Bryan in red karate pants coming out to Offspring is quite the sight. Short, but action-packed match. Felt a bit compressed and they were putting very thing together quickly like the tests of strength into a strike exchange into a dive happened really fast. Bryan's leg work on Low-Ki was awesome and during that stretch Ki sold it well. Even this early on, Bryan had really good offense that was varied on the mat and with strikes. I really like all of Low-Ki's karate kicks to the back of the head and thought he still sold the leg well. The Phoenix Splash to the outside was HOLY SHIT AWESOME! Pretty much after that they just threw a bunch of bombs for four minutes, but both have great offense. Dragon catching Ki when he went for Tidal Wave into a Dragon Suplex and then into Cattle Mutilation was a sickkkk sequence. Dragon actually looks like he has this won after winning a strike exchange with some vicious elbows, but Ki catches him with a knee on a Roaring Elbow attempt, quickly hoists him into the Ki Krusher and the Dragon Clutch gets quick tapout. Really enjoyed this, thought it had a little bit of everything. Loved the urgency down the stretch. Especially Ki wasting no time to hit Ki Krusher and then Dragon Clutch. Love that quick bursts. Little all over the place and definitely tried to squeeze as much as they could in like 10-12 minutes. Tons of fun, both were already awesome wrestlers at this point. ***3/4

I have watched 10/98 and was blown away on re-watch, but did not have time to write up a review. So I am going to rewatch that again tonight. This is the last major Misawa/Kobashi match that I have not seen before. AJPW Triple Crown Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 6/11/99 Misawa comes into this match the newly minted champion defeating Vader for the title at the Baba Memorial Dome Show (last really great Vader singles match). Since their last meeting in October of 1998, Misawa had lost the titles to Kawada in the infamous Ganso Bomb/Kawada's arm breaks match and Kobashi lost in the Champion Carnival Finals of '99 to Vader. Kobashi is 0-4 in Triple Crown match against Misawa at this point. A decidedly slower build to this 43 minute epic sees Kobashi start off with a quick flying cross armbreaker before settling into a headlock sequence. If you are going to go long, I prefer the slower, NWA-style build they opt for and in addition Kobashi is taking a much more conservative approach. After losing 4 times, I think he realizes him taking chances had cost him so if he could wear Misawa down to set up his bombs he would have a better chance. Kobashi works his way into a hammerlock targeting the arm, which all Misawa opponent know is the bets strategy. I like the teasing of the headrops here, but with nobody landing any. They do some really nice tests of strength here, which I always enjoy as a way to show each competitor's manliness. Misawa is nominal in control and Kobashi invites him into a strike exchange, which is an interesting strategy. Against pretty much anybody else, Kobashi and his chop would have a definitive edge, but Misawa with his elbow is his equal If not his superior. Kobashi does win the strike exchange with a blistering barrage of spinning back chops. That first one was particularly nasty. Kobashi begins work on Misawa's midsection using his knee lift as the primary weapon. He gives Misawa a little too much room to breathe and he fires back with an elbow and Kobashi ends up on the outside. Now this has been where a lot of the turning points in the previous matches have happened. Lo and behold, Kobashi catches him in a power slam off the apron. No Misawa diving head first into a steel railing, but it will do. Kobashi goes for a move off the apron, but when Misawa starts to back sass him with some elbows, he grabs his wrist and JUMPS FROM THE APRON TO THE RAILING WRAPPING MISAWA'S ARM AROUND THE GUARDRAIL!!! OH! That's the turning point. The match actually gets really interesting here and actually had the potential to be the most interesting match of the series in my opinion. It seemed like it was asking the question "What if Misawa did not have his elbow to make the comeback?". Kobashi destroyed the arm, ramming into hard objects, nice hammerlock DDTs, GREAT heat on the cross armbreaker (sold very well by Misawa). Misawa trying to mount a comeback with only kicks was great. Misawa busted up Kobashi's mouth with one of those kicks to the face. Only for Kobashi to start dumping him on his head to set up a Nagata-style armbreaker. Misawa finally stuns Kobashi enough by a wicked kick to the face. Kobashi sells like he has been knocked loopy outside. Misawa is still in a pretty bad way. Outside, he cements his advantage by elbowing Kobashi's bad leg and suplexing him off the apron (successfully doing what he intended to do at 10/97). Then he hits his diving elbow. I don't mind these one-off uses of the elbow and he is selling pretty big. Misawa runs through his stuff: missile dropkick, flying bodypress and then on the Tiger Driver, he releases very quickly because his arm is shot. I love it. He has made most of his comeback through kicks, but when it came time to polish off Kobashi he couldn't. Then he makes a strange decision on the surface. He goes for a Tiger Driver off the apron. Seems silly after not being able to hit the first one properly, but that move was the key to winning 10/98 so if he does hit it, it would seal victory. Showing that Misawa felt he needed a home run now or never. Kobashi backdrops Misawa onto the apron. He goes for the Half-Nelson Suplex, but Misawa blocks, but on second attempt Misawa eats it. This is actually when my intrigue was piqued. Misawa had to make the first comeback completely without elbows, what was going to happen here. Kobashi went through dumping Misawa on his head a bunch (the powerbomb, powerbomb hotshot was pretty cool), the moonsault was sweet, I LOVED THE CALLBACK TO 7/29/93 with Misawa as Kobashi & Kobashi as Hansen. Whats Misawa's second greatest defensive move after his elbow, well it is the Misawa-rana out of the powerbomb and that's what he nails on the floor sending Kobashi crashing into railing. Misawa creates a lot of space here, but is in a really bad way. Kobashi is actually the next to hit a move being a jumping high knee in the corner. Misawa stakes his defensive position in the corner. He ducks the lariat. Hits a German. Awesome! Kobashi charges again, Misawa gets double elbows up on the lariat arm (1/20/97, but this time needs two elbows). At this point the match loses its luster for me, Misawa makes his typical comeback elbows included. It just became so routine. I really thought arm work that completely destroyed Misawa's elbow was novel. We had seen Misawa fight through the pain, which I love but making that comeback with kicks was great. The Kobashi finish run was nice and Misawa transition to the real finish run was great, but at the end it became very All Japan same-y. That Tiger Driver '91 was nasty. Cant believe Kobashi kicked out. Nice flash Kobashi hope spot with the sleeper suplex. It was elbows, head drops and Emerald Flowsion. It was awesome, nothing that had not been seen before (well I guess Emerald Flowsion was new, but I was never impressed by that much). First 15 minutes are well-worked NWA-style championship match that I think sets the table as each competitor as an equal and Kobashi trying to be more conservative in setting up for the win. Loved the transition off the apron into the arm work, great drama with both arm-based submission. Misawa making a "no-elbow" comeback was very cool. Thought the half-nelson suplex transition and Kobashi run was tons of fun (7/29/93 callback popped me huge). The Misawa transition to comeback was again very interesting, but the finish run was same 'ol same 'ol even if it was a great fireworks display. I would say this is the fourth best Misawa/Kobashi match, but one that should get praised more and discussed more. ****1/2

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi AJPW 10/21/97 Since winning the title from Kobashi in January of 97, Misawa has been on tear defeating each of the other Pillars in Budokan defenses and top gaijin, Dr. Death. The only blip was his loss to archnemesis Toshiaki Kawada in the Champions Carnival (came after a grueling match with Kobashi). It only made sense to make a rematch at the 25th Anniversary show at the Budokan featuring two biggest stars in All Japan. I have read a handful of reviews of this rather untalked about match and I have a generally different take on it. I have read great bomb throwing match, power vs speed and explanation on how this continues the progress of Kobashi, some call it slow and plodding. My feel for the match is this your Clash of the Titans match. I think it does not have some stereotypical Clash of the Titans elements like tests of strength and no-sold shoulder tackles. This match that is very macro and very macho in focus. It has a lot of selling off big moves and generally just milking spots. Also there is a lot of charging at your opponent and not giving an inch. This something Kobashi excels at better than any wrestler in history. I would say in the other matches Misawa let Kobashi be Kobashi in his match, but this time we got a Kobashi match with Misawa in it. Obviously, this is also a rematch of perhaps the great match of all time, so there will be some letdown. I do think this is a significant step down. Some say it is still match of the year candidate (read: ****1/2), I disagree because I think the match is very routine in the first half and surprisingly lacks urgency. I think the back half and the general testosterone fueled chest beating make it a great match, but I dont think it is a classic. I said the first half was routine and lacked urgency. Do I dare say it was boring? I think it was actually. We start with Kobashi dumping Misawa on his head and then half nelson suplex. Opens like 95 match and like 95 match Koashi goes for powerbomb on floor, but Misawa-rana. Pretty routine Misawa, not much urgency. They sit in a hold. Diving elbow. Front facelock a little more struggle, but still not much drama. Kobashi tries to suplex him to floor. Misawa floats over elbows injured knee. Kobashi falls on top of him. Kobashi gets the high ground and flying bodypress off top onto floor. That was cool. Pretty routine Kobashi, cool on Irish Whip when Misawa put on brakes to elbow him, Kobashi followed up quickly with a lariat (a learning from 1/20/97). Kobashi sits in holds. Then Kobashi hits half nelson suplex on the floor at about 15 minute mark to wake me and the crowd up. Kobashi rolls him in and gets two. DDT. PowerbombMisawa-rana. Kickout and chops Misawa in neck. Powerbomb ->2. Goes for powerbomb again, but Misawa back drops out. Roaring Elbow puts Misawa in drivers seat. Diving elbow from top rope. Lots of selling, not much drama or heat. No Tiger Driver settles for Buterrly suplex and flying bodypress for two. Misawa gets Tiger Driver. Swings and misses with elbows and Kobashi drops him on his head with a German. This is Kobashis strategy going forward. Nasty powerbomb into the turncukles. Hits not one, but two Half Nelson Suplexes. Goes for moonsault with fist pump, Misawa gets up. So Kobashi throws him down with a Powerbomb and then moonsault but only two. There is a lot of macho redundancy that you are just going to pound your submission with the same moves. Just very Neanderthal by both men. Kobashi misses lariat charge in corner. Misawa elbow and then sleeper suplex. Puts Misawa in control. Kobashi just runs right into elbow. Thats when it really dawned on me how this felt like a Clash of the Titans. Just two Alpha males, bulls, gorillas, rams pick your masculine animal just colliding. No brains, all brawn. Fight Breaks Out! Kobashi runs into another elbow. The pig-headness is very endearing in its own Kobashi way. Misawa collapses to his knees. The selling feels very epic, but the match just does not feel that way to me. They run right at each other and collide. Alright that was a pretty badass spot. Level the playing field. Kobashi misses two lariats. Misawa hits a Dragon Suplex and Roaring Elbow! Tiger Driver gets two. Blowaway elbow, the move that him the titles in January. Chops and elbow exchange and Kobashi wins with Lariat. They are just throwing shit out there. Kobashi keeps coming and is relentless unlike before. Which is where I can see the progression argument, he is not staying down AND still mounting offense. Roaring Elbow sends him down. Misawa definitely struggling more to put Kobashi away at every turn he is throwing chops and still seems to be hanging around. Kobashi poised twice to hit a lariat and eats elbow twice. Misawa only gets two. Great defensive performance from Misawa. More chops to the bitter end. I watched this late last night, but reading reviews I came across a comment to check out the female Kobashi fan in the front row during the finish stretch. Her reactions definitely made it better for me. She goes through a roller coaster of emotions, jubilation when he hits a Lariat, hope as he covers, disappointment when Misawa elbows him, fear when he hits the TIGER DRIVER 91!!! The face that says it all when he gets pinned. You got to see it. I can see the argument for progression that Kobashi was definitely more active in the finish stretch (chops & lariats) and Misawa was definitely doing more excellent counterpunching. Definitely has the feel of a Clash of the Titans in the way they sold and just that caveman beat your opponent into submission and just big, dumb wrestling. I did not feel like there was an interesting hook. Thought the first 15 minutes was pretty pedestrian. I had fun in the back half and thought it was great, but too little too late to call this a MOTYC. To me it is a great match and a unique match in their series. ****

Years ago I would have said Starrcade (probably the match I've watched the most ever), SB III and GAB. Seen GAB twice recently and was blown away how good layout and pacing was. Just an incredibly gripping story. Likes Strap match a lot on rewatch liked violence and tenuous control segment where VAder was in control but anymore Sting had a lot of great hope spots. Starrcade 92 was the great rope a dope match and feel good ending. GAB, SB III, Starrcade 92 with all at ****3/4 or better.

Lol...at least someone still clued him in that they won't be main eventing so he could save some face. Rough week for Foley.

Good job fxnj pointing out the female Kobashi fan in the front row. I watched this late last night and did not see it. Going back and watching the last three minutes or so was great, The joy ofo Kobashi hitting a desperation lariat, the urging for him to avoid the TD '91 and how scared she is when Misawa hits and finally that face she makes when the pinfall is counted. Pure gold. Someone should make that into a meme.

I am with Matt. Foley being considered a "creep" around women has been around for about a decade now. Ever since Melina at least, if not before. I am of the personal opinion he means well, but I can see it the other way too. That was the strangest conversation I have ever read. The way Foley reprimanded him (the guy was NOT even out of line! He did not swear. He was not angry. He just stated his case!), and then told he was going to bed. Foley acted like he knew the person personally. It was such a strange tone. There was a weird kayfabe element that Foley somehow was booking the show, but I guess that could be covered by Foley does have some stroke (been watching a lot of late 90s stuff recently) so if Foley were to present matches to a McMahon or someone else in charge he may be listened to. It was the tone that was just so strange. On top of that, it was not even a particularly scandalous or revealing conversation. It was just two smart marks arguing over booking and who to push! Just one of the smart marks happened to be Mick Foley.

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa AJPW 1/20/97 A lot has changed in the last 15 months, namely, Kenta Kobashi is the Triple Crown Champion having won it from Akira Taue in the middle of 1996. Misawa had dropped the title to Taue. Baba used Taue like he would a gaijin as the transitional champion between two major native stars. Kobashi main evented the October Anniversary show going to a draw with Kawada. Thus the hierarchy had become Kobashi and Kawada are equals (60 minute draws in 95 & 96) and that Misawa was superior to Kawada. Until Kobashi beats Misawa one on one in a singles match, Misawa will be considered his better. So even though Misawa is coming in the challenger, no one should mistake Kobashi for the favorite, he is the definitive underdog to Misawa The Ace. The basic narrative of the match is that Misawa is the challenger so he is going to start hot. Kobashi has learned from his mistakes of October 95 is much more focused (midsection, arm). However, each man makes pivotal mistakes in the match that create meaningful momentum shifts and lots of drama surround dueling arm psychology (Misawas elbow & Kobashis lariat have been compromised). First 15 minutes: Misawa gets off to a fast start because he is the challenger. He lands his diving elbow. Misawa is on point and wants to win back HIS titles. Misawa goes for a quick Tiger Driver. Kobashi does not let the match get away from him and scramble. He manages a DDT. Misawa powders and grabs neck. Back in and Kobashi hits some lethal spinning back chops. Brutal. He works over Misawas midsection; thats different. Punches to midsection, shoulderblocks, front suplex and ab stretch. Misawa getting an elbow here and there but Kobashi is cutting off by going to the midsection. More focused. Kobashi Irish whips Misawa, dumb move basically creating separation for Misawa. Misawa puts on brakes and elbows him. Small mistakes against Misawa matter. Misawa is able to get a surfboard. Good control, but feeds into Kobashis strength. Misawa mule kicks out once Kobashi reverses. Kobashi comes running at him with a shoulder block and elbowed out of the sky. Another dunderhead move by Kobashi this time macho pride gets the best of him. Small mistakes will cost you against Misawa. You need wrestle a nearly perfect match. Misawa karate kick and Kobashis powders. Misawa waits for him and gets butterfly suplex. Misawa in command grabs facelocks. Starts kicking Kobashi but doing more to fire him up. Great sequence where both men are unleashing strikes and it feels like a pivotal moment like whoever wins this exchange will take a big lead. Misawa wins and Kobashi ends up on the floor. At this point, Misawa is sticking to the game plan of slow & steady wins the race and after a couple Kobashi mistakes. It seems like a routine finish. Misawa goes for his diving elbow again (ruh roh say all seasoned wrestling fans), but he ends up flipping over on apron. He kicks Kobashi into guardrail and then DIVESEATS STEEL!!! OW! That look like it hurt! Misawa comes up clutching his arm as Kobashi takes the high ground. Kobashi made some serious mistakes, but Misawa made the biggest in the first 15 minutes! Just like that the entire complexion of the match changes. Second 10 minutes: Big lariat takes Misawa off apron. Big Misawa chants. Kobashi rolls Misawa in the ring to pin him, but only gets two. Barely lifts a shoulder. In one ten minute stretch, Kobashi works like the best Taue and Misawa in one awesome package. Focused with great counterwrestling! Misawa throws a weak elbow to show his elbow is hurt. Big knee from Kobashi crashing into the bad elbow and then a dropkick too the elbow. Then just ramming the elbow into hard objects. Great armwork that is laserfocused. Misawa is throwing elbows no effect. All three of Kobashis arm submissons are well set up. First Half Nelson suplex set up by all arm work leads to an armbar with lots of heat. Then Kobashi counters an elbow into a Fujiwara armbar. When Misawa blocks a German and charges Kobashi counters that into a cross armbreaker. Misawa tries a spin kick and Kobashi catches and throws and dumps him on his head. Laserfoucsed like Taue and excellent transition of Misawas offense into arm-related offense for his own purposes like Misawa would do. FANTASTIC Kobashi control segment! Third Ten Minutes: KOBASHI goes for the kill shot: a LARIAT. Misawa gets up a lucky elbow that cripples Kobashis arm in one blow. He rolls to outside. Misawa hits a corkscrew plancha to outside that wipes up Kobashi. Misawa cant use the elbow might as well use whole body. Blocks Kobashi Lariat with double elbow. OW! Release German right on his skull! Then Tiger Driver, but in too much pain to get a proper cover. He goes up top for an elbow but Kobashi Lariats him out of the sky. Kobashi writhes in pain before covering. Kobashi selling his ass off. Powerbomb and the Orange Crush. Neither get him the duke. Kobashi is frustrated and in a lot of pain. Lariat blocked, but Misawa just rolls to outside. Kobashi stalks prey and is wounded himself. Powerbomb on apron NO MISAWA-RANA! Huge spot! Kobashi sells. Very critical stretch here. Misawa finally is able to make in roads by getting a desperation elbow to Kobashis arm that basically levels the playing field. However, Misawa is having a hard time capitalizing and when he goes for a high risk move (diving elbow from top) Kobashi makes him pay, but now he cant capitalize. It all comes down to the apron spot. Kobashi, bad arm, tries a powerbomb off the apron which would have been the home run shot, but a timely Misawa counter pretty much seals Kobashi's fate. Last 5 minutes. Misawa elbows. Shitty German due to bad arm. One Roaring Elbow, Two Roaring Elbows, Third One NO Lariaoto! Kobashin in pain. Dumps Misawa on head with headdrop German. It is on! Misawa ducks low and headbutts him in abs when he comes in charging. Roaring elbow to back of head. Tiger Suplex gets two. TIGER DRIVER 91~! ONLY GETS TWO! Kobashi chants. Kobashi clubs Misawa from knees and lunges again, but has nothing behind them. On third one, Misawa gets a Sleeper SUPLEX! AND Blowaway Elbow gives Misawa the win! Stone cold classic. Everyone and their mother knows that. Selling by both men was off the charts great. Offense was incredible. Excellent transitions between segments. Every move had consequence and everything had a purpose. Love the story of ramping up mistakes. First it is small stuff like charging at your opponent with a shoulder block then it is diving from the apron into the steel railing and then it is the hurricanarana off the apron! The dueling arm psychology was tremendous especially when you have Misawas elbow and Kobashis lariat in play. Loved the inability to follow up down the stretch due to their injuries. Basically it came down to two things, Misawa got a lucky elbow that landed in just the right place to render Kobashis arm useless. Kobashi was running away with the match. When Kobashi had re-established himself, he went for that high risk move (powerbomb off the apron) thats how you have to beat Misawa with big time high risk moves and he paid for it. The last five minutes is pretty great you have to kill me before you beat me stuff that All Japan does well. Kobashi looks great in a loss and Misawa proves that when Triple Crown is on the line he will stop at nothing to retain and he just always has a little extra. Greatest match of all time? No, I dont think so. Lock for top ten of 90s All Japan and pretty easy Top 25 match of all time. If someone has it as their greatest match of all time, I have no problem with that. *****

Hogan ultimately had to win the belt back. I love Luger's title victory as a hope spot in the larger story. I think a quick cutoff (Hogan victory) is way better for the narrative. WCW gets a fleeting victory but needs Sting. If Luger gets a two month reign dilutes Hogan/Sting. However the quick switch ends the slog of NWO's Reign of Terror and gives a glimmer of hope. Luger is collateral damage but serves a greater purpose. The slight change I would make in the aftermath to salvage Luger is move the Outsiders to a Luger/Giant program (get that Big Sexy/Giant program) and accelerate Scott Steiner's heel turn.

Those are such lame Mickey Mouse belts. I liked the Outsiders squash MAtch.

Notice how most of those are singles. The multi-man tags getting so heavily pimped but are empty spotfests. That's what I associate DG with. Perhaps singles is the way to go.

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi AJPW 10/25/95 The first major Misawa vs Kobashi match for the Triple Crown takes place at the big October Anniversary show at the Budokan. This matchup would go on to main event two of the next three October Anniversary shows at the Budokan. This would only be Kobashis third title shot of his career (Doc in Sept of 94 and Kawada hour draw in Jan of 95) while Misawa was in his second reign as champion. At the time of this match Misawa and Kobashi were still the lead babyface tag team of All Japan, though by the beginning of 96, Kobashi would graduate to leading his own team while Misawa would take Akiyama under his wing. The match is wrestled very much in the vein of two tag team partners vying for the most coveted prize in the promotion. I know some people criticize that Kobashi never fully shed his plucky underdog persona, but I think this match represents that last matchup of young Kobashi. Kobashi is always going to be a vibrant, energetic and emotional performer, but this feels like the last time he felt like a junior to the other Pillars. It was his coming of age match. The story of the match is slow and steady wins the race. Kobashi comes out like gangbusters. He knows Misawa is coming with an elbow and throws him face first into the mat. Great spot to show Kobashis familiarity with Misawa as his tag partner. Hitting a suplex into a powerbomb where Misawa lands back first on Kobashis leg. OW! That had to hurt both of them. Misawa rolls to the outside and is selling his back. Powerbomb on the floor well thats not going to help the back. I love when a match starts off red hot like this. Kobashi as Misawas tag partner knows how damn good he is and wants a quick win. Bodyslam->Fist Pump->But Misawa rolls too far away for moonsault. BOOOOOOOOOOOO! Kobashi starts hitting leg drops to the back of the beck, but misses one from second rope. I like that as a way for Misawa to get some time to recovery. Misawa comes in and tries to use his trusty elbow to turn the tide. Kobashi actually goes for a cross armbreaker and work over the arm. Misawa elbows Kobashis arm. Here we see the youth of Kobashi and something we will have to see if he improves upon that is his focus. He totally departs from the arm in order to go back to his comfort zone of power offense: surfboard and sleepers. It is conservative and plays to his strength. In a lot of ways the first half of the match feels like it is worked in reverse, finish run, limb psychology, opening holds. I think it tells the story of a young hotshot that is reverting back to a conservative approach. Misawa is just waiting and waiting. Kobashi goes high risk by going to the apron and Misawa hits an elbow. From here it is pretty standard, but awesome Misawa. Elbows from all corners of the ring, Tiger Driver, flying bodypress. But we see what will plague Misawa in this match. Lack of killer instinct something he never has a problem with in the past. The first Tiger Suplex is downright gentle and more of a pinning combination. The second one he chucks Kobashi right on the back of his head. When Kobashi gets back in the ring, Misawa does not know what to do next and all of sudden Kobashi gets a drop toehold and a leg drop to the back of the neck. Misawa takes a suplex on his head and then Kobashi just hurls his body at Misawa knocking him hard back into the turnbuckles. Misawa is down in a heap clutching his neck and shoulder. Awesome, awesome selling by Misawa and the crowd picks up on that it might be the end. Kobashis finish run is awesome with powerbombs galore, moonsault and a second moonsault while Misawa is trying to get up that pops me HUGE! I love shit like that and Kobashis selling for it was great. Kobashi goes for a third powerbomb, but Misawa-rana and ROARING ELBOW~! Again, Misawa cant put Kobashi away. He is elbowing and elbowing, but Kobashi just keeps coming forward. I love how Kobashi keeps ducking into the body trying to get throws and Misawa will beat him off with elbows. One time Kobashi does upend Misawa, but it is too little too late. Eventually Misawa realizes that his tag team partner has too much heart to stay down and has to use the Tiger Driver 91 right on his freaking head to put him down. Not a perfect match, definitely some parts that dragged, the middle of Kobashis opening control and the finish took longer than necessary. Overall, great first match in the series. Kobashi came out looking elite in the loss. Hot opening, lost the lead, but came back through guts and willpower and just came up short but it was not due lack of effort or heart. Definitely showed he needed to be more focused and disciplined and that his power and strength would not be enough to beat the Mighty Misawa alone. Misawa is living proof slow and steady wins the race. Weathers the early onslaught and sticks to the game plan. Great selling of the back and later the neck. Really great selling down the stretch to put Kobashi over as a threat. I thought his offense built appropriately from I dont want to hurt the kid to Fuck it, my titles are more important than you so I am going to drop you on your head. ****1/2

Weird that the first Nitro I ever saw was the apex of the promotion that I loved more than any other promotion. I still remember vividly the finish with Luger fending off the Outsiders and Macho Man, racking Hogan with a huge pop and how Randy Anderson did the double ring the bell. Such a great moment! I'm a huge Luger mark BUT Hogan definitely carried the match especially after the commercial break with hard chops and lots of good trash talk. Popped huge for the kick out out of the leg drop because I just remember the missed leg drop. Great feel good moment, so much childhood nostalgia, one of my fondest memories.

I liked this segment as a slow burn. I wish JoJo said he knew what he wanted but couldn't give it to him so this is the next best thing and Sting declines. Just that little detail would have helped a lot.

I had no idea about the fuck up and laughed pretty hard. Kudos to commentary team for putting this over as a huge defection.

This is first full length show I ever watched. I first saw wrestling the week before but the show was half over. Total sucker for Bischoff/Hogan promos. Bischoff's "I love you all" bit always cracks me up. My understanding of the Hall thing is that if Hogan beat Luger that would have been the main event instead of a Hogan/Luger rematch.

Oh definitely. I think Cena/Bryan is overrated (really should re-watch) and that Punk/Brock is a great David & Goliath match, but is missing that next level transcendent greatness. Tanahashi/Okada builds really well on the previous three matches and has really interesting, unique hooks.

Monstah rating for 8/6/00! I gave it 4. Did you watch the 8/5/00 tag Misawa/TAUE vs Kobashi/Akiyama that sets up 8/6/00?

Lol so true. Why couldn't he watch AJPW and Crockett tapes with his girlfriend?