[1994-04-11-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Kenta Kobashi vs Jun Akiyama

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Definitely a good match, but something kept it from getting to the next level. Kobashi just came off the Hansen win and gave an awful lot to Akiyama. I prefer the Kawada matches, as Akiyama gets a few hope spots and looks good, but Kawada leaves and clearly looks like the better guy. I do like how the moonsault is being put over strong in this Carnival, though.

[Childs]

This almost felt like a juniors match with the athleticism and the even-steven exchanges early. I guess it's a tribute to Kobashi that he could have a good match in this style the night after a heavyweight war with Hansen. But I can't say this was what I wanted to see from him in the middle of the Carny as a follow-up to his big Hansen win.

[Kevin Ridge]

Audio for the crowd was a bit weird as they seemed very silent and they there was a noticeable change in the volume for them. This felt different after watching the Hansen match but it was still good. I figure this match would be in Kobashi's favor but it's pretty even between the two for a while with Jun getting alot of offense in.

[Exposer]

It seemed Akiyama was a little lost at times in the beginning but this picked up a bit towards the end. This was very good but Kobashi came out with a pretty definitive victory.

[soup23]

Was not crazy about this and I did see it more as Kobashi looking weakened rather than Akiyama stepping up. Finishing run was good though and moonsault has been pushed as a proven finisher.

[PeteF3]

I liked this, though not as much as the other Akiyama matches in the Carnival. I didn't mind Kobashi giving up so much--in a real-life sense this had the classic "trap game" written all over it after the euphoric rush of the big win over Hansen, so it makes sense for Kobashi to be "down" somewhat, and it continues the story of Akiyama's ascent.

[Zenjo]

Interesting to see Kobashi as the senior wrestler in a match at this point in time. It wasn't a role he was comfortable with yet as Akiyama was kind of stealing his act here. Some decent action, but with zero chance of an upset there was a low ceiling.