[1992-03-31-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is one of my favorite matchups ever, so my hopes are always high when these two lock up. This is a good match, and by most standards, it would be considered very good. But expectation is the creator of disappointment and this is probably my least favorite match that I've seen them have. That doesn't mean it's bad, just that it seems to be lacking. Taue hadn't started improving yet. Kawada was already great, but I would argue that he got better over time too. In their 1/91 match, which I LOVE, they were able to keep things interesting by using blood and chairs. It was really a hate-filled match. This is an intense match, and Kawada looks awesome, but it never really kicks up a notch.

 

For the things I like about the match, it has a nice slow build and Taue takes a hell of a beating. It's a good showcase for Kawada, who gets to roll out pretty much all of his signature spots and look good doing it. But it's not as competitive as it probably should have been. Taue gets in some offense too, but not nearly as much as Kawada. Down the final stretch, they do create some genuine doubt over the outcome, and Taue gets more offense and there are some really nice close calls. Taue even pulls off a win. But Taue pulling off a win after Kawada being so dominant is a little weird.

 

I enjoyed it, but there was better to come between these two.

[Tim Evans]

Wow I guess i'm different cause I loved the match and one of my favorite's I"ve seen so far. Taue jumping Kawada before the bell set the mood. I thought he looked real good here and Kawada was brutal as always. Really liked the finish and nice to see Taue win one.

[shoe]

I thought this was pretty damn good. Pretty stiff exciting bout.

[Kevin Ridge]

Thought this was good too but the middle part did seem a miss after the heated beginning when Taue attacks before the bell. First few minutes were great as they use the announce table a couple times. Then back in the ring they return to wrestling on the mat. Just didn't seem to fit after the start they had. It gets great again the last few minutes with some close pin falls. Think if the middle had been a bit better I would rated this much higher. Still enjoyed it though.

[Zenjo]

Quick start as the man in red jumps his future partner. They had a strong rivalry going in the early 90's that I'm looking forward to seeing it on the 90 and 91 sets. They kept a fast paced going, yet it didn't quite engage me until the high level closing stretch. Kawada was the stronger figher but Taue just seemed to want it that bit more. With a flurry of chokeslams he scored the upset.

[MikeCampbell]

I'd rate this below their Carnival matches from '93 and '95 (although I'd have to have another sit down with former), but this is a worthy addition to the Kawada vs. Taue cannon. Taue pulling out a tope suicida shocked the hell out of me, and I loved the spot where Taue charged himself right into the ganmengiri. Taue had some good shots here, but once they started teaming up and Taue started following Kawada's lead and was just wanting to beat the piss out of people, he got exponentially better.

[WingedEagle]

We start hot just like Kawada vs. Kobashi, with Taue attacking Kawada in the aisle and following with a tope and nodowa on the floor. These two never disappoint, its really just a matter of how epic its going to be. Kawada's offense is naturally stiff and crisp, working to finish with the power bomb. Taue gets what feels like an upset after a pair of nodowas.

 

****

[PeteF3]

This looked like it was on its way to being another crazy brawl judging by the opening flurry, with Taue doing a great job of laying waste to Kawada before the bell. We don't get that, as the action sort of dies down from there. It's a good match, but they've had better and it didn't quite live up to the initial promise. The finishing stretch is one of my favorites of any AJPW singles match so far, though. Kawada countering the Golden Arm Bomber into a Fujiwara armbar into a Taue lariat was just a fantastic sequence, and Kawada kicking out of the subsequent Arm Bomber just icing on the cake. Taue's more familiar nodowa is starting to take some prominence.

[xlynwoodx]

Good match. The streamers flying in while Taue hits a tope was a cool visual. I think my favorite thing was Kawada reversing Taue's abdominal stretch into his own, I rewound that four or five times. It's the little things.

[garretta]

Considering the hot beginning this one had, we got quite the war of attrition here, with each man trying to wear the other down or make him submit. Kawada was put over as hugely as possible in a losing effort, as by my count he kicked out of no less than four Golden Arm Bombers before the fifth finally put him away.

 

I enjoyed the battles we got over submission holds such as the sleeper and the abdominal stretch. These two guys have each other well-scouted after so many encounters as part of the Misawa/Jumbo situation, and it shows here.

 

This puts a capper on a huge month for Taue following his and Jumbo's win over the MVC for the All-Japan tag titles. Taue may still be behind guys like Misawa and Jumbo, but big wins like this are closing the gap by leaps and bounds. The question is, can he keep the momentum going as '92 rolls on?

[dawho5]

Didn't care for the middle portion as much as the beginning and the end.  It almost seems like Baba had that 1,4 vs. 2,3 idea in mind before Jumbo was out of the picture.  Just Taue was a closer 4 who could conceivably put Kawada away on his own with enough of a run (like in this match) towards the end.