[1993-11-24-AJPW-Real World Tag League] Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs Steve Williams & Big Bossman

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Really good action! Bossman adapted to All Japan really well without changing too much. The crowd also popped for his offense. Makes for an interesting comparison to DiBiase.

[Ditch]

I wonder how much of Bossman being good was novelty factor and how much was ability. Would he have been interesting after an extended stay? He clearly had a lot more agility and hustle than his size would have you expect.

[stunning_grover]

I think that Bossman being good was more of a novelty factor thing. I think he wasn't as good as DiBiase in All Japan was that year (and 1993 DiBiase obviously wasn't as good as 1987 DiBiase).

[Kevin Ridge]

This was really good from what is shown. Boss Man is wearing his WWF outfit and even brings along the nightstick. But in the ring he fits into the AJPW style. I liked him assisting Williams with the Oklahoma Stampede. Williams showing off the strength by lifting up Kobashi while they are on the top rope and then using a overhead belly to belly suplex. Boss Man looked way better than DiBiase. I would have liked to seen more of Boss Man in AJPW.

[PeteF3]

Okay, I've only seen the tag title change on this set and a singles match against Jun Akiyama out of '93 AJPW DiBiase, but Boss Man here completely fucking blows him out of the water. His punches look good, he works well with Doc (love that double-powerslam), he bumps his ass off, and he goes up for some fairly advanced offense like Kobashi's rolling cradle and Misawa's closing German. He even whacks Misawa with the nightstick at one point, which was fun to see because it was so incongruous with the '90s AJPW style. He had other fun matches in his first tour, like a singles match against Kobashi (not high-end by Kenta's standards but a perfectly acceptable match) and actually a really fun 2-minute rush job against Mighty Inoue that's like the '90s All-Japan equivalent of a syndie squash. "Novelty," okay, but considering he was a sub for the scratched Gordy the crowds had every reason to shit on him or at least be skeptical. As it is, he and Doc had the potential be a stronger team than Doc/Gordy, though I think to be a serious contender with the company he'd have to start wearing regulation gear. I just can't see a guy in a prison guard outfit ever challenging for the Triple Crown. Anyway, this match is a fucking blast and BBM more than pulls his weight. He could have been something with All-Japan, but with the WCW work we got out of him, it's not exactly the crime of the century that he didn't make it back after this, either.

[Jetlag]

Damn good finishing run here. So many great spots. Bossman goes at it with Misawa like no other, having no problem going "epic" while in his cartoonish police outfit. Loved him catching a flying Misawa with a punch, getting absolutely nailed by an elbow to the back of the head when Misawa counters the enzuigiri, and that assisted Oklahoma Stampede was one of the cooler double team stops I've seen in a while. Good lord that looked nasty. Williams and Bossman make a great team and Misawa/Bossman is an awesome weird matchup. I also really liked Misawa selling Bossmans punches.

[garretta]

Yes, Bossman was the story here, although Doc looked excellent in his own right. The double Stampede spot is a better doubleteam than we ever got out of the MVC, and outfit aside, Bossman looks more at home in All-Japan than he did his last few years in the WWF. Once the DiBiase feud was over, he simply wasn't the same (though the Nailz program might have been something if Kelly hadn't decided to choke the life out of Vince instead).

 

Could Bossman have been a contender as is? I think so. First of all, Ray was too damn big not to wear some type of shirt, so the regulation trunks and boots simply weren't a realistic option. I think he'd have gone back to Big Bubba Rogers eventually to avoid Vince's lawyers, but he'd have been either one or the other; I don't see him simply being Ray Traylor, wrestler. Under the circumstances, maybe it's better that he stayed stateside, even if he floundered a bit and got caught up in some of the most ridiculous angles I've ever heard about (and have no desire whatsoever to see, thank you very much).

 

Credit also to Misawa for selling Bossman's offense as if he was the next looming threat; he made the punches in particular look like knockout blows. I might not have used the nightstick if I'd been in Bossman's place, but we've seen plenty of other foreign object spots in Japan before, and it's not like they were happening in every other AJPW match at the time. Bossman also trusted Misawa and Kobashi enough to allow them to throw him around a bit, which was nice to see. It's kind of a shame that he had to do the job, but he's an outsider and they're starting to push Doc hard, so that's understandable.

 

I hope we see more of Doc and Bossman as a team over the next month and change; I'm fairly sure they won't win the tournament, but I'd like to see them against other native teams to shake things up a bit.

[soup23]

Really good match with Bossman working like a mad man against both Misawa and Kobashi and doing some fun stuff like using his night stick. Misawa and Doc squaring off is always entertaining at this point and Misawa in particular looks spry for this series. I had a blast watching this match at 1:00 AM. ***3/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Dr. Death & Big Bossman - AJPW 11/24/93 Real World Tag League

Who says the Four Corners are NOT versatile? They work full-blown Southern tag style with a double face in peril like they have been working it their whole lives. Hell, they even busted out a Rock N Roll Double Dropkick at the end of this match. Mitsu Morton and Kenta Gibson would have gotten over huge in Greenville, SC.  Bossman looks absurd in an All Japan ring with his prison guard outfit and night stick. Misawa vs Bossman is the All Japan Triple Crown Title defense you never knew you needed until you watched this. Anyone who has followed Bossman closely knows he would fit in 90s All Japan like a glove. He was filling in for Terry Gordy who had been out for quite some time due to drug related issues. Bossman was a great pick up as he is a similar wrestler. He is an athletic hoss who is a big bumper with a damn good punch. All Japan was the perfect haven for the Mid-South athletic hoss.

Bossman got himself over huge with the Japanese crowd. It was a bit of a slow start for him, but after that first uppercut on Misawa and the way Misawa sold it like money, the Japanese crowd was all over him. Even the slightest heel tactics will get the Japanese up in arms because they are so used to everyone playing it straight. So closed fists, double teaming in the corner and dumping Misawa to the outside only to hit him with a nightstick had the crowd wanting Bossman's ass. Misawa looked so comfortable working the Southern Style tag. All the tropes were there and Misawa was selling it all so well. He took the Bossman stradle sold it, waited and got nailed by the signature uppercut. I know Bossman had some matches in All Japan on an early tour in October but Misawa was feeding like a champ. Bossman's uppercut really got over. Another really good Bossman sequence was right at the beginning. It looked straight out of 2019. Bossman does his signature powder runs around the post to come back in but Kobashi followed him and it becomes a foot race into a really cool dropdown sequence that I recommend everyone checking it out. 

Kobashi took the first FIP and Misawa took the second. After that the action really heated up. This became something really special in the finish stretch. Bossman/Doc looked so damn good that you started believing they would actually win. The Uppercut/Back Drop Driver combo was HUGE! The Double Oklahoma Stampede was also MASSIVE! I really started to bite on the finishes even though you knew the Natives were heavy favorites. I was really surprised how much offense the gaijin team got. Misawa hit some big nasty elbows. There was one to the back of the neck of Bossman that he sold like he shot in the back. Wicked good! I liked Misawa dropkicking Bossman and then Kobashi blasting him with a Lariat. The Double Dropkick towards the end had me marking out! Then they did a Suplex/Frogsplash combo that was awesome! Beautiful German Suplex wins it for our heroes! 

More Bossman & Dr. Death Please! I will be watching their match against Holy Demon Army and looking forward to it. It is too bad Bossman went to WCW, I get it travelling to Japan cant be easy but selfishly I would have loved to see Bossman stay in All Japan for a couple years would have produced some damn good shit. Misawa & Kobashi gelled with Bossman and the Southern style really well. A huge feather in Misawa & Kobashi's cap to all the naysayers that they could only work one way. ****1/4