[1993-03-03-AJPW-Excite Series] Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Akira Taue & Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

I'm not sure this match or the Taue match would show up in a list of Misawa's top 100 matches of all time. That said, this and the Taue match are must-haves on any Misawa career comp, not because they're among the best matches of his career, but because he is showcased so well. Here, he works the mat well, interacts well with everyone on the other side and is also the most over guy in the match. He really does look like the best wrestler in the world.

 

The match is really Misawa, Kawada and Kikuchi stretching guys for the most part until Taue says enough is enough and gets really aggressive to turn the tide for his team. This is where I do have to agree with the stuff that has been said many times before me of which I've always been skeptical -- Taue was still developing into someone good at this point. He is perfectly fine in getting the big picture across and advancing the match, but he's not great at switching gears. Akiyama and Taue are a weird comparison, but for what they both needed to be doing in this match, Akiyama was better than Taue.

 

As a comp to the other six-man so far on this set, that one is ahead of this one. It was tighter with more focus, and the themes like guys standing off the other team on pin/submission attempts are more consistent from start to finish. This isn't a disappointing match, but it's not as focused as the 1/8 match.

 

The finish is good, with Kawada and Taue brawling on the outside and Misawa pinning Akiyama with a double underhook suplex into a bridge (I'm terrible with move names). The match is laid out well, but it doesn't really jump to the next level because Misawa, Kawada and Kikuchi are too far above the other guys. The turns and alliance switches in the coming months definitely helped even things out.

[Ditch]

double underhook suplex into a bridge (I'm terrible with move names).

I'm guessing it was the tiger suplex: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML3SsIWVCvI

[Loss]

Ah, yes, it was a Tiger Suplex.

 

I actually did YouTube it and watched the Tiger Suplex 85 clip. I didn't realize the Tiger Suplex and the Tiger Suplex 85 are different.

[Ditch]

The '85 version only got used about 10 times. And unlike the rest of his moveset I don't recall it being ripped off by anyone.

[KB8]

I actually liked this more than the January six-man, and while I agree with Loss in that this is a good Misawa showcase, I thought it was Kawada that looked like the best in the world (I'm only two months and four days into this, but right now I'd say Kawada and Tenryu are at the top of a hypothetical WOTY list). Everything seemed to really pick up and hit another gear whenever he got in there, especially when he was abusing Akiyama. Misawa comes across as a born leader while Kawada seems like the most vicious "second in command" possible. Felt like it was only a matter of time before he got tired playing second fiddle and wanted to run things his way. Misawa didn't kick enough guys in the spleen.

 

Kawada as Nicky Santoro to Misaswa's Sam Rothstein probably isn't a good analogy, but it was the first one that came to mind.

[rainmakerrtv]

The '85 version only got used about 10 times. And unlike the rest of his moveset I don't recall it being ripped off by anyone.

What is the difference between the Tiger Suplex '85 and the Tequila Sunrise suplex.

[FLIK]

Tequila sunrise you have one arm chicken winged and the other in a half nelson. Tiger 85 you still have the one arm in the helf nelson but the other arm is around the chest underneath the armpit.

 

Tiger 85 to be honest kinda looks stupid so I can see why it never caught on.

[jdw]

I'm thinking the TS '85 was hard to control, in the sense of landing without hurting someone. He brought it back... then slid away from it into the other half nelsony stuff.

 

John

[Kevin Ridge]

The teams were one sided and Jun didn’t really feel like a natural partner of Taue at this point in his career. Was okay but Taue needed a stronger guy on his side to make a more competitive match. Jumbo was missing.

[PeteF3]

Workmanlike for the most part, but very little of this was compelling until Taue got in towards the end and we got a pretty hot closing stretch. Kikuchi is great, Akiyama is promising, and Ogawa is there--but the difference in tone when those three are in and when the other three are in is palpable. Jumbo is still an elephant in the room looming over these matches, and the void is hard to ignore. This was perfectly okay but I'm ready for the Kawada turn. It's time to move on from this formula.

[WingedEagle]

Akiyama gets a chance to look good against Misawa early, but he quickly tags Taue who is then paired with Kawada. Ogawa/Kikuchi always feels like real equals here and while I'd like to see them have some kind of 3rd from the top, extended singles match, I understand that that's not exactly how Baba did things. Akiyama kills Kikuchi with a lariat which sets up Taue working him over on the floor to great heat, which continues back inside as Taue may not be at the Misawa/Kawada level in the ring, but he's right there at projecting his character. Misawa really had such great rotation on his dropkick. Awesome stiff kick from Kawada to Akiyama after a bodyslam. Taue goes to power bomb Kikuchi, but stops to cut off a saving Misawa with a kick to the throat in a really well timed spot. Misawa's team then rebounds and take turns running through Taue before Akiyama & Ogawa break up a facelock. Akiyama gets a near fall on Misawa with a northern lights in his big spot, then a German as well, but but Misawa flips back from a tiger suplex and puts him away with a couple tiger drivers while the others are tied up. Just another relatively insignificant, but great outing from the best crew in the world. These guys are just so awesome and these matches structured every time out to give each participant a few meaningful moments.

 

****1/4

[soup23]

I liked this better than the January 6 man too. This also really showed how some evening of the sides needs to happen as no matter how much I love Akiyama and Ogawa, at this point in time they were no match for Misawa or even Kawada for that matter. Akiyama and Ogawa got some chances to shine and it was refreshing to see them mixing it up with people that will become long term rivals. I keep having to tell myself that Akiyama is only 6 months in at this point which is incredible. Good stuff continuing AJPW run through 1993. ***1/2

[garretta]

I thought that this was above average; nothing too spectacular, but definitely enjoyable.

 

Was it just me, or did the sides seem to change in the middle, with Taue's group (particularly Ogawa and Akiyama) going face and Misawa's becoming more aggressive? A total paradigm shift like that could have been a real shot in the arm to this feud.

 

Both Ogawa and Akiyama took impressive beatings, and Akiyama continues to show that he belongs in the same ring with the elite of All-Japan, even if he's not quite at their level yet. It's a good indication of how much Baba thinks of him that he gets a nearfall on Misawa at least once in every six-man I've seen with the two of them in it so far.

 

It's not that Taue's incapable of being a group leader, but he needs a strong number two, and who better qualified to be that man than the other side's number two? It'll be interesting to see Kawada against Misawa and Kobashi on a more-or-less permanent basis moving forward.