[1995-03-26-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

The '93 and '96 singles matches between Misawa and Kobashi have really disappointed me. I enjoyed Kawada/Kobashi and Misawa/Kawada both way more. But this was different. This is an incredibly stiff match with tons of great moves, and at this point, it's my favorite match I've seen between the two of them. I think I said regarding the 03/96 match that there are things Misawa and Kobashi can do that won't happen in a match with Kawada, and this is proof of that. Where I think this match is better is that they go all out and they tighten up the layout. It's 22 minutes of bomb throwing with both guys showing all their cards, and it's a great, mid-range MOTYC. To this point, it's my favorite All Japan match of the year.

[Tim Evans]

I gotta agree with Loss. This was pretty good. Not really a lot of downtime or many resholds. Just brutal forearms and chops.

[PeteF3]

This told pretty much the same story as the Taue match--lots of parity for the first 2/3, then the higher-ranked guy pulls away--but with more advanced offense and counterwrestling. There's some stiffness and hate here, but since these guys are partners tempers are generally held more in check than in the Taue bout. Great match--I haven't seen the '97 stuff yet but this strikes me as the best between these two to this point.

[Ditch]

Just re-watched this and really enjoyed it. I thought the story of Kobashi controlling and refusing to 'accept' a Misawa control segment in return was really well done. He just kept coming back, and after getting a couple nearfalls in, he was able to block Misawa's attempts at even the low-end bombs. Plus we get Kobashi busting out a huge suplex post-moonsault and a 'rare' finisher to put this over the top. Soooo much better than the title match in October.

[JKWebb]

#264 - placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-300-251/2/

 

This match rules. Kobashi comes out with a sense of urgency working with high intensity. He's throwing relentless chops at Misawa. There's a kick to the chin he dishes out that is BRUTAL. Loved the spot where Kobashi is able to block the mighty Misawa elbows, and churns out some devastating neck strikes. Another great spot is Misawa firing out of the corner with some of the deadliest elbows I've seen him throw. This match is worked so damn stiff. I think it might be my fourth favorite match of theirs behind the GOAT contenders of 01/20/1997 and 03/01/2003. I'd also have it below 10/31/1998. I'm sure there are some I have not seen yet.

[ohtani's jacket]

#264

 

This was an excellent match. It was similar to the 3/93 Kawada vs. Misawa bout but without the animosity. It was just as physical, but instead of being raw and gritty they went their preferred route with a lot of big moves. They never went overboard, which they had a penchant for doing later on. It was a Carnival bout to the end, meaning that it teetered on finishing as a draw if Misawa couldn't put Kobashi away rather than any sort of miraculous upset, but it was rock solid storytelling and a great performance from both men. Much better than their 10/95 bout.

[Zenjo]

This is just the type of bout I want to see in the Carny group stages. Not a balls to the wall Triple Crown epic. But a focused, purposeful, high quality encounter. Physical and high workrate from the off. It was nice to have the crowd on board throughout. It was evenly fought with plenty of stiff strikes and power moves. A precursor to their classics of the late 90's. Of course the man in green and white pulled away eventually. The final move was cool as Misawa busted out a rare suplay. Great to see all these conclusive finishes. It's pretty crazy to think how many better singles matches they had than this actually, because it was really good stuff.

[Jetlag]

Wow, what? I thought this was boring as hell. The least of their matches so far. It was largely a strike based match, which is always nice, but the lay out - Kobashi dominating and getting nearfalls - felt dry at this point and they didn't really do anything to flesh out their ideas here, as opposed to the 93 encounter. It had a few good spots, but so do all of their matches, and for the rest of this there was nothing that hooked me in.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - AJPW 3/26/95

The following is a 2012 review from my re-watch of the 1995 Champions Carnival. It is important to note that Stan Hansen is the Triple Crown Champion at this point not Misawa. It is easy to forget as they were using Hansen as a transition champion from Kawada to Misawa. Kobashi just lost a hard fought battle to Taue. 

Kobashi will look to get himself back on track against his tag team partner while Misawa will be looking to prove he is the Undisputed Ace of All Japan. I was surprised at how vicious Kobashi was towards Misawa. (2020 Martin: Kobashi came to play. This was no exhibition. He wanted the
"W" and was chopping Misawa hard). Even after Kawada left Misawa for Taue, Misawa always seemed to wrestle Kawada diplomatically. Going into this match, I expected Kobashi and Misawa grapple until it got to a boiling point and then they went balls to walls. Instead, Kobashi came out to prove a point and he made it loud and clear with his thunderous chops on Misawa’s chest.

 

Misawa and Kobashi work well together because Kobashi wants to do a ton of shit and Misawa wants to take a lot of shit until he gets to make his extended comeback. (2020 Martin: I still agree with that assessment) Kobashi’s opening shine segment is fun with lots of good moves and plays to both men strengths. Cool spot at the beginning with Misawa doing a monkey flip out of the corner as a hope spot because I had not seen that before. Misawa, of course, goes to his trusty elbows when in doubt. 

There is this fuckin wild sequence out of a surfboard that just has to be seen to be fully appreciated. (2020 Martin: Nothing has changed. I was going to rave about that sequence but 2012 Martin beat me to it! Awesome stuff!) A great instance of Misawa selling is when Kobashi roundhouse kicks in him the gut and he begins to cough. (2020 Martin: I missed that! I know the kicks but I missed the cough.) This is a great exhibition for how stiff and violent the strikes in All Japan can be as Misawa delivers some great Fuck You Elbows and Kobashi with Burning Lariats. (2020 Martin: Those Lariats are not quite Burning yet, but those Elbows were wicked) Kobashi begins to pour it on with Backdrop Driver and German Suplex, powerbomb and moonsault triggering “Mi-Saw-wah” chants and a loud pop on the kickout from the moonsault. (2020 Martin: Misawa took a lot of head drops in this match. I have not been keeping count but I would say there were more here than in 93/94.) I was shocked to as I expected a foot on the ropes rather than a straight kickout. (2020 Martin: I agree. I think this shows the gap between Kobashi & Misawa. Kobashi hit Misawa with all his best moves and still couldnt put him away. However if he did hit the Moonsault against Taue you think he could have won. It is goo to have that doubt in the fans' minds.) Things are looking bleak for Misawa as he rolls out and trying to extend the match. ROARING ELBOW~! From Misawa regains control for Misawa. (2020 Martin: I would not use a Tilde Bang there. This match lacks the awesome Nodowa off the Apron spot. All Japan was so great at "Tide Turner" moment. There's none here. Misawa catches Kobashi with two elbows and a Tiger Suplex and then that's when the end becomes nigh. Not big enough in my opinion). Tiger suplex, frog splash get near falls and trigger “Ko-Bashi” chants. I do not know if it was a split crowd or if they just respected the hell out of both men. Kobashi does his dramatic crawl away but a Tiger Driver followed by a Sleeper Suplex finishes off Kobashi. (2020 Martin: Was this the debut of the move? I have watched 93/94 pretty extensively and never seen it. I know Misawa would settle on Emerald Flowsion as his ultimate finisher but was the Sleeper Suplex supposed to compete with the Dynamic Bomb?)               

This is a great match to get a feel for the All Japan style if you are a first timer. There is pretty of fantastic sequences full of heated strikes and big bombs. (2020 Martin: I agree with this is a very solid, typical All Japan match with stiffness that knocks you to your knees, big bombs, well-paced and a very dramatic home stretch.) Kobashi comes off once again as a wrestler on the cusp of making it big, but doesn’t have enough to put away one of the big guns. Misawa does a good job giving Kobashi a lot before making a typical great comeback although a bit shorter than his usual (2020 Martin: I noticed that too). I greatly preferred Kobashi/Taue for the interesting story and heated struggle. Some people really liked this, but to me this falls into the category typically great "fall out of bed All Japan" match. ****

[Calvin]

I love that these tournaments force the wrestlers to be more efficient, but sometimes you get matches like this one where it's tons of action that feels a little uninspired because it's not laid out or built up to in a gripping manner. Of course this is much more good than bad because it's these two stringing together fun, hard-hitting sequences, but you know -- we've seen much better from these two.

***1/4