[1990-08-18-AJPW-Summer Action Series II] Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Akira Taue & Masa Fuchi

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Childs]

Another great six-man as the Misawa-Jumbo feud revved up. I like Kikuchi as much as or more than Kobashi in these. He could make anybody look like a killer with the way he ate offense, and he and Jumbo made one of the great big man vs. little man match-ups in wrestling. The Misawa- Jumbo interactions were pretty fierce too as they tuned up for their singles rematch. Misawa hit Jumbo with a slap from hell at one point to get him off Kikuchi. And they had a great ground-and-pound exchange. This one truly doesn't get a huge amount of hype among amid all the great Misawa-Jumbo six-mans, though it did get 4-1/2 stars from Meltzer. It's a testament to the depth of the series that something this good was "just another match."

[jdw]

I often use to toss the "roll out of bed" comment at these: they could roll out of bed and have a match like this that would be legendary if it happened on US TV, but for these guys it was par for the course. Some were better, some were a shade below, but a lot of them were really good.

 

If there's a major problem with them is that we say variations of this same six man tag team TV main event a lot of times over the course of 5/90 - 10/92. The way the Yearbooks have come out kind of masks that: folks weren't "bored" of the match up watching the 1992 Yearbook because it was the first exposure to the feud in the Yearbook setting. Then the 1990 stuff is fresh because it essentially is Origin Story material to our super heroes. I wonder how people will respond to the 1991 stuff. In terms of quality and variety, it might be the best year of it since Jumbo is back on top as The Champ, we get the Kawada-Taue feud really hated up, we get Kawada challenging Jumbo in a big match, Ogawa gets added more often to the mix as another foil for Kikuchi, Kobashi increasingly comes into his own, and we get a slightly different "high point" to the Jumbo-Misawa dynamic than in a singles. But it's going to be the "third year" folks in the Yearbooks will see. I really look forward to people's comments.

 

John

[Childs]

I've seen most of the Jumbo-Misawa six-man tags multiple times, and I've never gotten bored with them. Actually, as a group, I might find them more rewatchable than any other "class" of All-Japan matches. They were so good at shifting the focus among various match-ups while always cutting a hell of a pace.

[Loss]

This was a great six-man tag! Misawa getting the best of Jumbo seems to have led to everyone stepping up their games in different ways. Kawada takes it to Jumbo pretty aggressively and even on the opposite side, Taue is the one that secures the win for his team. But this is a great coming out party for Kikuchi. He gets over big with the crowd for taking the fight to Jumbo, even when he's clearly overmatched. Jumbo getting frustrated with all of these punks coming after him is glorious. Misawa and Kawada are throwing everything at him, and when Kikuchi starts doing the same, he finally snaps and takes his head off with a big boot. Kikuchi is over strong enough that by the end of this match, he gets two really close calls on Taue, a guy who is much bigger than him with more seniority. Taue finally beats him after an atomic drop/belly-to-back suplex combo, but he couldn't do it easily. Everyone looks really good in this, as roles are still being established and this is all very fresh.

[jdw]

I've seen most of the Jumbo-Misawa six-man tags multiple times, and I've never gotten bored with them. Actually, as a group, I might find them more rewatchable than any other "class" of All-Japan matches. They were so good at shifting the focus among various match-ups while always cutting a hell of a pace.

I got bored at times after two straight years of it. There often was a predictable nature of who would get pinned, in the sense of knowing it's just not going to end with this guy in trouble:

 

"We're in deep into the run to the finish, Misawa just tagged in Kikuchi to face a hurt Jumbo which means Kikuchi this will get turned around in a minute or two and Jumbo will pin Kikuchi... hey now, everyone is outside the ring except for Jumbo and Kikuchi... backdrop... that's it."

 

Lots of pro wrestling is predictable, and you kind of go with it. The six-mans and other non-big tags month after month did. There were times when they changed things up in 1992, or there was an extra passion to it, or they surprised you. There were around 20 non-big six-mans and tags between the two sides, and I just can't say that all of them were fresh or compelling. That's from someone who loves the match up, and pretty much anytime I put in one of those matches gets a smile on my face. But I can't sell it as a series where, if you watch every available match in the rivalry between the two side, you're going to find everything awesome, or even solid, and not get a little bored at times.

 

John

[Childs]

I've seen most of the Jumbo-Misawa six-man tags multiple times, and I've never gotten bored with them. Actually, as a group, I might find them more rewatchable than any other "class" of All-Japan matches. They were so good at shifting the focus among various match-ups while always cutting a hell of a pace.

I got bored at times after two straight years of it. There often was a predictable nature of who would get pinned, in the sense of knowing it's just not going to end with this guy in trouble:

 

"We're in deep into the run to the finish, Misawa just tagged in Kikuchi to face a hurt Jumbo which means Kikuchi this will get turned around in a minute or two and Jumbo will pin Kikuchi... hey now, everyone is outside the ring except for Jumbo and Kikuchi... backdrop... that's it."

 

Lots of pro wrestling is predictable, and you kind of go with it. The six-mans and other non-big tags month after month did. There were times when they changed things up in 1992, or there was an extra passion to it, or they surprised you. There were around 20 non-big six-mans and tags between the two sides, and I just can't say that all of them were fresh or compelling. That's from someone who loves the match up, and pretty much anytime I put in one of those matches gets a smile on my face. But I can't sell it as a series where, if you watch every available match in the rivalry between the two side, you're going to find everything awesome, or even solid, and not get a little bored at times.

 

John

 

Watching them on the yearbooks probably eliminates some of that because you're only getting the top-shelf matches, and there's such a variety of stuff in between. It's been a long time since I've watched a whole year of All Japan in a continuous push, but the effect is certainly different.

[PeteF3]

This wasn't quite as good as the first 6-man tag, but it's a hell of a match nonetheless. It's also the first truly "'90s" AJPW 6-man that we'd see a lot more of. Other than Kawada's weird-in-retrospect color of tights, it's pretty much indistinguishable from them. Everyone looks good here but this is really Kikuchi's match all the way--he's great as the gutsy fighter, great as FIP (obviously), and great down the stretch getting in some really hot, credible near-falls on Taue before succumbing.

[shoe]

This was tremendous. For me, it finally looks like Misawa is his own man. He isn't Tiger Mask anymore. That clothesline from Taue that Kikuchi ate made me grasp out loud. I totally loved (going racist here) the godzilla spots that Jumbo and Kikuchi did with one another was great. Kikuchi eats another nasty clothes line. The finish was great, and the crowd is going ape shit. Just an awesome match.

[soup23]

God what a great match. I don't know where to start on the standout performers but Kikuchi rode the momentum from the Fuchi match and exemplified it here taking a man sized ass whooping but not staying down to the delight of the crowd. Some of the lariats and overall strikes in this match were vicious as this felt like a generational blood feud. Taue showed more agression than what we have seen so far also and I was kind of surprised at how well he looked in this match. Misawa vs. Jumbo again brought pure hate with each other and I loved their interactions. Pretty telling in a match when Fuchi and Kawada are my least favorites and they were damn good to. I will still contend that Jumbo vs. Misawa from 6/8/90 is one of the best matches so far this year but this is my #2 All Japan match so far and a great new discovery for me.

[Kevin Ridge]

Taue with the big clothesline on Kikuchi. Fuchi tagged out early after the start. He’s taking a break on the apron. Kawada loses the slap battle to Jumbo. Kikuchi ends in Jumbo’s team corner. Fuchi smartly positioned him for the single leg lock and was able to get a good view if Misawa/Kawada tried to break it up. Jumbo levels Kikuchi with clothesline. Misawa unleashing the forearms to everyone. Lots of quick tags towards the end. Finish was great between Taue and Kikuchi. Lots of close falls. Taue hasn’t got the proper finisher yet though. Excellent match.

[Zenjo]

I guess they were doing these matches at most house shows so they established a smooth formula. It was all blood and thunder for the first 10m. By 20m it had really worn out it's welcome. Ideally it would have been sub 15m but at least it didn't go on for an eternity like later matches of this type. This was solid overall but the 6 man tag format is ultimately very limiting on what you can do compared with tags and singles. There has to keep being high workrate and highlights all the time because it's inherently a meaningless match underneath and there's the constant battle to disguise that. 6 mans have their place as set up or just holding matches. It's a lot easier for the boys halfway through a long tour if they aren't having to have 15m of in ring time every night. But 6 mans as great matches? Absolutely not in my eyes.

 

Over time I've come to realise that the best matches are the big matches. The ones with titles on the line, a blowoff to a big feud, matches that mean something. I don't mean they have to be the main event, they can be midcard matches if it's an important match for the wrestlers involved. The overated ones are the build up or random matches, and that's what 6 mans nearly always are. They're not special and don't mean anything beyond the night. The AJ tag from 5/90 was an exception to this but that's very rare. Even at it's best it can't compare to the quality and satisfaction that a strong AJ singles match brings.

 

Six mans are a good way to mask deficiencies. Wrestlers can just tag in, do a few moves and tag out. I can't tell you the amount of wrestlers who have been entertaining in protected tag environments and then looked desparately lacking in the singles arena where there's no place to hide anymore. But the format also prevents strong workers from fully displaying all their skills, and that's what you need for the great matches.

[garretta]

Six-mans are ways to put together as many different combinations of wrestlers as possible in the context of one match. Vince McMahon offered that explanation of multi-man tags on an early Coliseum Video, and it's a good way of looking at matches like this. Seeing the double and sometimes triple-teaming of all three guys on one team against one of the opposite team is its own special thrill that a singles match can't provide. Plus, multi-mans can break down into chaos a lot more easily than a singles match and provide action all over the arena, not just in the ring. I think those are all good things. Maybe not meaningful in the sense that a title match is, but they can be more entertaining depending on how and when they're done.

 

In this case, All-Japan wanted to make money off of Misawa/Jumbo without having to kill the matchup by running it too often, so matches like these are a nice little compromise. They have the added effect out of making front-line stars out of guys like Kikuchi, who may not be up to having one-on-one matches with people like Jumbo, but can certainly give him a run for his money in short bursts until he eventually learns enough to be Jumbo's equal. He was the star of this match with his fighting spirit in the face of an obvious skill disadvantage. As time goes on and he enters more bouts like this, he'll (hopefully) learn enough and become "big" enough in the fans' eyes that they'll accept a singles series between him and Jumbo.

 

Most of you already know what I just posted above, no doubt, but we'd do well to remind ourselves of stuff like this when we sit down to watch these matches. They have far-reaching meaning if one chooses to look for and embrace it. Well, most of the time anyway; those random six-mans on Superstars that Vince used to put on just to give as many guys as possible some face time stretch credibility a tad.

 

This particular match was a lot more chaotic than the first one we saw, but the main rivalry (Misawa/Jumbo) has progressed, and their friends have also seen plenty of each other, so matches like this should be more chaotic. It's hard to pinpoint individual spots in matches like these, but the crowd seemed red hot when Misawa and Jumbo faced off, and of course Kikuchi stole the show, as I said earlier. Not an all-time classic, but certainly a great way to spend a half hour.

[drew wardlaw]

I might have liked this one more than the May match. Wow, everyone played their roles so great here. Kawada being young and brash attacking the veterans, Kikuchi the gutsy junior trying to hang and getting destroyed, Misawa feels like the leader of the team and the crowd loves him. taue looks really good here, the young guy on the old guys team. Fuchi and Jumbo are the old pissed off veterans. Lots of chaotic brawling surrounding the main match towards the end, and again, there's some cool shots where the match is taking place in the ring, while everyone else fights around the outside. Just and awesome, awesome match.

[JKWebb]

I loved this match! Kikuchi just would not stay down, and it was fantastic. The lariats in this match were BRUTAL. Most everyone has talked about the Misawa/Jumbo hate, which is awesome, but I also loved the Kawada and Jumbo chemistry here. This match made me want to see more Jumbo and Kawada right away. I'm really looking forward to the rest of AJPW in 1990 as I move forward here, I really want to skip other things to continue with it at this point, but I'm still going chronologically. Taue looked really vicious at times, and I loved the brawling surrounding the main match towards the end as well. As Drew said, just an awesome awesome match.

[Jetlag]

Man, where did all the great 6 man tags go? They don't seem terribly hard to do. Just throw a couple guys in who can go while keeping things logical, maybe one or two to give the match some backstory, and let them go at it. Kikuchi takes a big beating including getting manhandled and kicked in the face by Jumbo, Kawada and Taue have a standout interaction, and Misawa gets to look like a world beater whenever he's in. The Jumbo/Kikuchi interactions are especially compelling because Jumbo can believably finish Kikuchi off in 30 seconds. The white hot finish speaks for itself. These days people associate multiman tags with excessive spots and action, but they had the crowd flipping out over a powerslam or dropkick. Quality shit from the AJ crew.

[dawho5]

I counted Kikuchi getting murdered 3 times by Jumbo and once by Taue. I also liked Kawada's revenge lariat on Taue shortly after the one Taue targeted Kikuchi with. Kikuchi getting his showcase at the end was incredible.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Masa Fuchi - AJPW 8/18/90

 

These six-mans have so much action it is hard for me to remember it all so breaking this in two parts. Yes, to those who read my long reviews, I write those all from memory! I don't take one note. I find it is a good exercise in strengthening memory capabilities.

 

First ten minutes: Taue MURDERS Kikuchi with a clothesline. I love Taue, but sometimes his strikes lacks the viciousness of his counterparts. That was awesome! Usually I get annoyed when size differences aren't respected. But I think in 1990 Japan, Kawada needed to mow down Taue and suplex him. He looks like a junior heavyweight so this establishes him as a big boy. Kawada/Jumbo is just gold. Kawada taking it to him as he getting through the ropes. Whiffing on the spin heel kick and Jumbo just assaulting him and that massive bodyslam. Kawada's sell off the slap is amazing. Pure Kawada! Misawa vs Jumbo is electric. Misawa with some MISAWA ELBOWS~! Jumbo blocks elbow in corner, great struggle, Kawada attacks Jumbo. I know the young guys are over, but they act quite heelish in all this. Jumbo vs Kawada again is awesome. Kawada gets the advantage on Taue, but that doesn't last long once Kikuchi gets in there. Kikuchi gets sent into railing by Taue and is in a single leg crab. im guess we are going into a long heat segment on Kikuchi.

 

Second Ten Minutes: Not as long as I expected about five minutes. Working on Kikuchis back. Great selling and hope spots from Kikuchi. Jumbo just beats him down. Boston Crab. Deep! Jumbo being a dick so Misawa slaps him. Fuchi bodyslams Kikuchi out in the crowd on parquet floor. Nice hope spot from Kikuchi with the springboard clothesline on Taue. Taue with that huge dropkick. Taue looks amazing here. Taue keeps missing elbows here comes Misawa. Throws me off everytime he goes for the crossbody instead of the spinning lariat. Spin heel kick knocks Taue into Jumbo and now it is ON! ELBOWS ARE FLYING! Misawa gets Jumbo down and then DECKS everyone on the apron. Double dropkick by Kikuchi & Kawada to Jumbo. Misawa goes to ground & pound Jumbo and Kawada and Kikuchi dropkick Taue and Fuchi off apron. Awesome sequence! Jumbo and Misawa struggle. Sentons by Kawada and Misawa. Kikuchi tries to control Jumbo but gets decked by an elbow. Kikuchi does get a Boston Crab on Fuchi! Misawa beats up Fuchi. Misawa and Jumbo again but Jumbo gets the big boot. Kikuchi tries to save. Jumbo gets the big knee and sends in Fuchi.

 

Final Minutes: Kawada sends Fuchi into Taue on a missile dropkick. Triple team Taue in the corner. Kawada takes it to Jumbo! Devolves into the little man vs the big man as Kikuchi tries to put Taue away with the fisherman's suplex and backslide, but eventually Taue gets a hold of him with the powerslam and then atomic drop/back suplex combo that looks straight out of 2017. Kikuchi's buddies cant get to him in time.

 

Important match finalize the sides. Establish Kawada as Misawa's lieutenant taking it to Jumbo and Taue as Jumbo's looking awesome and getting the pinfall. Fuchi didn't do much. Kikuchi is pretty good in the Kobashi role. He is a bit more undersized so a bit more naturally sympathetic but also less likely to do damage. Jumbo and MIsawa was just hot. Jumbo vs Kawada was great stuff. I didn't think there was anything extraordinary about the match just solid pro wrestling that sets up for the future. ***3/4

[WingedEagle]

Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Taue, Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Masa Fuchi - AJPW 8/18/90

 

These six-mans have so much action it is hard for me to remember it all so breaking this in two parts. Yes, to those who read my long reviews, I write those all from memory! I don't take one note. I find it is a good exercise in strengthening memory capabilities.

 

 

 

That is absolutely insane!

[JKWebb]

Yes, I agree. THAT is incredible.

[superkix]

What I love about these six-mans is that everyone has a role to play, and for the most part, they play it so well. Here, we've got Misawa as the crowd-favorite, Kawada as the baby-faced aggressor pissing off Jumbo, and Kikuchi taking a hell of a beating but not staying down. On the other side, Taue is the gangling bruiser, coming in off a tag and immediately lariating the shit out of Kikuchi. Fuchi is his usual grumpster self but I thought Jumbo was really awesome here, taking a lot from the youngsters but also dishing it out in stiff fashion. Kawada isn't scared to go hard in the paint against Jumbo but he pays for it. Jumbo busts Kikuchi open with an elbow late in the match and this after nearly beheading him with a lariat but I loved Kikuchi toward the end, desperately clubbing away at Jumbo to save Misawa and his final exchange with Taue where he managed a few hot nearfalls before taking the fall. Really fun match with lots of fire throughout.

[WrestlingFan]

I don't have the words, the match is freaking awesome. It's my favourite All Japan match of the year so far. The crowd is very hot. Kikuchi is for me the MVP, he's just so good at taking a beating, especially one from Jumbo. I'm glad that Taue makes the pin. Loved every minute.

[Chess Knight]

These All Japan tags are never gonna have quite the chaos level of some of the joshi stuff or your inter-promotional murder fests, but rewatching some of these again I really don't think they bring any less heat than those do. There's still such a wild nature to everything and this particular feud definitely has heated up by this point to feel more personal - with all the cheap shots that go with it - instead of just a 'series of matches.' I can't imagine Misawa wrestling this frantically against another the way he did here especially vs. Jumbo, as an example. There's also quite no other sound like an All Japan crowd elevating. It gives me such a specific feel. The Kawada vs. Jumbo bits were gold, with Kawada quickly picking himself up once he realised Jumbo was in and then beelining for him before getting shut down. He just makes Jumbo so annoyed and I am probably going to go nuts watching their 1992 singles matches again one of these days. At least Kawada fares better against Jumbo than Kikuchi, who even gets invited to attack Jumbo around the 15 minute mark and you can guess how that went. An earlier bit had Jumbo locking in a Boston crab on Kikuchi before Misawa comes in and slaps him right in the FUCKING face and people I lost it. Fuchi also lets Kikuchi eat a lot of shit too and they actually start the match with some piss and vinegar (I did watch their July match and its really good but I didn't bother talking about it). I don't have much to say about Taue specifically in the match but trust that he brought the violence. Misawa's team actually had tried to put him out near the end while keeping Jumbo and Fuchi away, but unfortunately for them it meant leaving Kikuchi alone with Taue, which didn't quite work out despite the junior's best efforts. I preferred the 5/26/90 tag but this will still rank among my 25 best matches of the year.