1990s All Japan

[jdw]

 

The reason for the large amount of recruiting? It's rather obvious, and TV had very little to do with it. In fact, the irony is that it was quite the opposite.

 

 

Look at the quality of the AJW 1988 and 89 classes and then 1990 onwards. While they aired in prime time, they'd advertise the tryouts along the bottom of the screen. The number of girls they had trying out was significantly higher in the mid-80s than in the 90s and the quality of the girls chosen was higher. New Japan's best talent came on the back of Inoki being a big TV draw in the 70s and New Japan's popularity in the early 80s. Baba seemed to prefer guys from an amateur background or from judo or sumo, but TV was a factor and I think the promotions should have worked harder at keeping earlier timeslots or at getting them back.

 

 

If you'd rather not be selective in editing, here's what I said in full on recruitment:

 

I think what we actually saw was a large amount of recruitment in pro wrestling from the late 80s into the early 90s. Some of it shows up in New Japan. Less in All Japan. The rest... well...

 

The reason for the large amount of recruiting? It's rather obvious, and TV had very little to do with it. In fact, the irony is that it was quite the opposite.

 

 

If you want to focus on AJW, by all means go for it. We know Joshi hit a wall, though there is some irony on the company re-peaking in the early-to-mid 90s with wrestlers who really didn't get over in the better time slot days other than Bull. The rest all got over, and drew a hell of a lot of money, after 1987.

 

As far as across the board recruiting in pro wrestling, we saw a rather big spike after TV audiences declines, which eventually led to NTV and TV Asahi moving All Japan and New Japan to later hours. Why? There were more promotions, and despite the shitty times, pro wrestling was actually more popular in drawing than it had been in salad days of the JWA or AJPW+NJPW in the 70s and early 80s. The talent that UWF 2.0, UWFi, PWFG, Universal, Michinoku, FMW, etc drew really didn't have a lot to do with those promotions being on TV in primtime drawing 20+ ratings.

 

All Japan's recruiting was shitty because it always had been shitty. It just never was something Baba was terribly good at, nor seemed terribly interested in casting out a big net.

 

As for New Japan, their recruiting in the 90s, long after their hot TV days, was pretty damn solid. They kicked out a number of quality heavies, and far more juniors than they had previously. They had booking issues later in the decade, Inoki lost his mind with the shooty shit, and they destroyed the company's anchor wrestler. It's hard for me to put a ton of blame on guys like Tenzan and Kojima on how they turned out when it really was the company going to shit. Hell, even Nakanishi was showing promise 2.5 years into his career before the company screwed him up.

 

As far as New Japan and/or All Japan fighting to keep and/or get those time slots back, do you honestly think that said, "Please give up a midnight slot and keep us there"? Or that Baba wanted his time slot cut in half eventually?

 

Viewership didn't warrant a primetime slot. Then for whatever reason, for All Japan it didn't warrant a full hour. It's a bit like saying Firefly should have fought harder to stay on Fox: the ratings sucked, and the network wasn't going to give it time to turn around. There are times you can fight, and there are times when you'll lose anyway.

 

John

[dawho5]

Misawa vs. Kawada 4/2/97 CC

 

Fucking wow. This match ruled on so many levels. They didn't work it like a 30 minute draw at any point during the match despite the 90%+ chance that it was going that direction due to it being a 30 minute time limit. At one point during the big Misawa nearfall section near the end, I really got this feeling that Kawada was going to put together something big for the end. I knew from the match length he wasn't, but the way they worked the match had me looking for the big Kawada run that put Misawa away for the first time. The last 8 minutes of the match are absolutely amazing. Every time I think All Japan has found a way to work a draw that can't be topped, they manage to do it. I think one aspect of the Misawa comeback that I, at the very least, have been sleeping on so far is the way he times his counters (frankensteiner to powerbomb attempt, etc.). He always seems to do this RIGHT where the opponent has this massive wave of momentum and if this bomb doesn't put him away, the next one is sure to. It gives him just enough time to regroup and take a few big bombs before landing a few elbows to give him the necessary breathing room.

[dawho5]

Fairly famous trifecta here.

 

Misawa vs. Kobashi 4/19/97 CC Final #1

 

Misawa, Kobashi and Kawada tied, and Kawada got the lucky draw. I liked how this match went, with Kobashi getting aggressive early to try and put the ace away. He teases a few big moves before Misawa sends him to the floor after an elbow to cut off a flying shoulder and hits a Ricky Marvin plancha. This match had Misawa throwing every rope-variation I have seen him do besides that second turnbuckle 360 kick. Kobashi goes back on offense and after several great nearfalls and a very well-placed sleeper that kills Misawa, Kobashi hits a....Russian legsweep and covers. I don't think he gets that you have to build the nearfalls UP to keep the momentum of the match moving forward. Misawa is back in control and hits more of his high flying stuff. Kobashi goes back on offense after a missed diving elbow from Misawa. Misawa elbows a lariat after some hot nearfalls. Misawa looks like he's going to put this one to bed, but Kobashi hits a lariat to a charging Misawa to bring things back his way. Kobashi has a powerbomb nearfall that the fans sort of react to, seems like the jig is up. In a stroke of genius, an orange crush is fought over, then hit for a really big nearfall. And then Kobashi goes for a cover after a...dropkick. Look, I get the idea of desperation pinning attempts towards time limit. But this is Misawa and you're trying to pin him after a dropkick? Zero reaction. Misawa blocks a lariat and Kobashi goes for the pin again. This one makes far more sense than the dropkick, but that finish could have been far, far better.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 4/19/97 CC Final #2

 

Boy does Misawa get his ass handed to him here. He gets in some elbows and makes Kawada work a bit for it, but it ends up going powerbomb, stretch plum, powerbomb, stretch plum, powerbomb, 3. Kawada looks like he just swallowed the most bitter pill anyone ever had to swallow afterwards. I guess if the first time I pinned my archrival in a singles match came under those circumstances, I'd probably feel about the same.

 

Kobashi vs. Kawada 4/19/97 CC Final #3

 

Oh man, words cannot describe how awesome this match is. Kawada goes back after the right arm of Kobashi that Misawa hurt. Kobashi goes after Kawada's left leg. Wouldn't be Kawada vs. Kobashi without some leg work. Kawada, fresh off his own battle with his own pride, punches Kobashi in the face while he's trying to put on a figure four. This is impressive as psychology given the character of Kenta Kobashi. That was a fucking CHALLENGE motherfucker! Kobashi wins the strike exchange, but forgets the leg, which comes into play later. Kobashi tries an early powerbomb and Kawada goes right back to the arm. Kobashi hits a lariat and momentarily looks to be going to the leg until Kawada starts kicking him in the face. That motherfucker wants to play again, this time Kawada gets dumped on his head with a German but again the leg is forgotten. Kobashi hits some very big nearfalls, misses a lariat and hits an enzuilariat. He wants the lariat but Kawada hits a gamengiri! They are both down for a bit, Kawada hits a dangerous backdrop that Kobashi tries to fight through but eats another gamengiri. Bet he's regretting not working the leg earlier. Kawada puts on the most brutal stretch plum I've seen. Kawada works up to a powerbomb...see how that works Kobashi, he worked UP to his big nearfall instead of hitting it, then going back to a suplex. Back to the match, Kawada has this great "are you shitting me?" look on his face after the powerbomb kickout. The crowd is nuclear also. Kawada hits an abisegiri, Kobashi won't go down. Another abisegiri, still not going down. Gamengiri!!! 3! I love how Kawada played into Kobashi's pride (especially after not pinning Misawa in match 1) to keep the leg fresh for later, all while keeping pressure up on the arm to throw Kobashi's game off. Then in the end, Kobashi refusing to fall over (in addition to the earlier lack of legwork) ends up getting him kicked in the head enough for the 3. Great, great stuff.

[dawho5]

Kawada/Taue/Omori vs. Kobashi/Ace/Patriot 5/18/97

 

This match seemed to have two purposes. First was to give the idea that Ace and Taue don't like one another. Second was to give Patriot, Ace and Omori a chance to show their stuff in a fairly high profile matchup. Omori isn't much in his first stretch in the match but brings his game up as he goes. Ace and Patriot deliver up until patriot leaves the cover early on the 3 count. Dude, really? Fun tag match, did what it was supposed to do.

[dawho5]

Akiyama vs. Misawa 5/27/97

 

Akiyama gets quite a few nice nearfalls on Misawa. There are a few times where he really has him on the ropes. Misawa comes back, but Misawa is still scrappy even kicking out of a tigerdriver. A second puts him away. Good stuff from both, and the crowd is really behind Akiyama. Akiyama does nosell a German towards the end, but I'll ignore it mostly.

 

Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 5/27/97 for the World Tag Titles

 

This is JIP to the finishing stretch. It's good back-and-forth with all four delivering. Ace vs. Taue is highlighted. The crowd is really, really hot. Finish is good, but I could use less of the Kobashi double fist "spirit" crap.

[dawho5]

Misawa vs. Kawada 6/6/97 for the Triple Crown

 

This match was incredible in the opening and middle parts. Great exchanges (I think these two do the best job of keeping them intense but not overdone) and Kawada working over the right arm after Misawa hurt it blocking a gamengiri were the highlights. The finishing sequence is intense, but Kawada does 4 dangerous backdrops in a short time, follows them with a brainbuster and puts on a variation of a triangle hold. That's death right there. Anyway, Misawa gets out of that, takes another dangerous backdrop that he nosells and goes back on offense. That's fucking ridiculous. I did like the change n strategy by kawada, choosing not to pin but attack the neck via submission to put Misawa away. Then they screw up the finish with the ref stopping his 3 count even though it doesn't look like Kawada moves after an elbow. So Misawa uses a German for a 3 right away. Put a good ending on it, that's a classic. As it is, it's great in parts and excessive in others.

 

Misawa vs. Taue 7/25/97 for the Triple Crown

 

Taue dominates this from the start. So much so that I'm not sure Misawa did enough at the end to put him away. Also, the sheer amount of punishment Misawa takes is pretty brutal. Taue looks great here.

 

Okay, so, is Misawa booked a tad too strong? No, at this point it's gone beyond that. But I suppose he had to be brought up to a point well above the other 3 to stay ace. Either way, bleh.

[dawho5]

Kobashi/Smith/Ace vs. Misawa/Akiyama/Asako 8/22/97

 

Fun 8 minutes of chaos on the tail end of a 6 man. Akiyama looks golden. Asako, as always, brings the can-do attitude against bigger opponents. Ace holds his own again. After a certain point he got really good. Kobashi and Akiyama have some damn good exchanges.

 

Kobashi vs. Hase 8/25/97

 

This match did not have a big history of competition between the two. Nor was it part of a major story. It was just a really well-worked, fun to watch wrestling match. And I loved it. Hase starts on Kobashi's arm, moves to the leg and never lets it get too stale. Kobashi and Hase do some excellent matwork. The chop exchanges are great and tend to favor Kobashi. Giant swing contest! Hase keeps going back to the leg for near-fall submissions and cut-offs late. Hase hits some awesome suplexes. Kobashi hits some of his big stuff. Really, really fun match and well worth watching.

 

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Williams/Albright 8/25/97 World Tag Titles

 

So have I mentioned at all that Williams and Albright are big and like to toss people around a lot? Because that's pretty much how this goes. It's all kinds of fun to watch Misawa and Akiyama try to slay not one, but two monsters. They don't, but the effort was really, really worth the watch.

[fxnj]

Cool that you're enjoying the late 90's stuff. The narrative usually goes that the promotion went downhill around 1995 or 1996, but they were still producing plenty of great stuff up to the NOAH split.

 

Misawa/Kawada 6/97 is actually a favorite of mine and I don't mind the no-selling at all. It fits right in with the tense, bomb-throwing match they were working, getting across how desperate both guys were to maintain control.

 

I think Misawa getting booked like he was was the natural side-effect of the repetetive booking the promotion had forced itself into. Someone said "Akiyama alone wasn't enough," but the late 90's were actually the point where the promotion realized that and started doing things like pushing Takayama, Omori, Kea, etc. to add some depth to the cards. It's just that none of them were ready yet to put on the kind of TC matches fans were accustomed to, so they had to keep running Misawa vs. Kobashi, Kawada, Taue. The only way to do that without sending the message that the other 3 just weren't good enough would be to sell Misawa as having evolved into this inhuman superman in the kind of punishment he could endure.

[dawho5]

I would agree with that 100%. They had themselves trapped in a corner where Misawa would either have to cease being the ace and have a level playing field with the other 3 until others could be groomed, or what happened would have to happen. Which leads me to:

 

Misawa vs. Akiyama 9/6/97for the Triple Crown

 

Akiyama gets 2 minutes or so longer than the previous match to wrestle Misawa. He does a bit more damage, works the leg early and goes to it late to slow Misawa down. It doesn't work, the crowd still loves the plucky kid for trying even though they knew (just like anyone else would looking at the names) who was winning. It seemed like a minor step up for Akiyama, and if Misawa comes across as a little too harsh, well, he is superman now. A mere mortal like Akiyama can't get too close or that doesn't work.

 

Misawa/Kawada/Hase vs. Kobashi/Taue/Akiyama

 

This is another match like Kobashi vs. Hase. No real big stories being furthered here besides the Kobashi vs. Kawada and Akiyama vs. Kawada (which was awesome) stuff. You get lots of fun wrestling from matchups you don't see too often. And some nifty double teams from Misawa/Kawada and Kobashi/Taue. This was incredibly enjoyable and some of the stuff was absolutely awesome.

[dawho5]

Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 10/11/97

 

Slow start, then Kobashi's heavily taped leg comes into play. Well, even without the tape there's a 95% chance of legwork in a Kawada vs. Kobashi match of any sort. Once there is an injury involved it is for sure. They play up the Ace vs. Taue match in the finishing run, which is pretty good on it's own.

 

Taue vs. Ace 10/21/97

 

15 minute match, but well-worked. Taue gets the lion's share of the early offense. Good exchanges throughout and both hit big stuff, with Taue doing (I think) the reverse nodowa with the opponent landing on his face for the first time. Given it's similarity to an Ace crusher in the impact, it's pretty cool that Taue used that after Ace hit his finisher. Really liking Ace's post-1995 work. Once he started teaming with Doc it seemed like he picked it up more than a few notches.

[WingedEagle]

 

I think Misawa getting booked like he was was the natural side-effect of the repetetive booking the promotion had forced itself into. Someone said "Akiyama alone wasn't enough," but the late 90's were actually the point where the promotion realized that and started doing things like pushing Takayama, Omori, Kea, etc. to add some depth to the cards. It's just that none of them were ready yet to put on the kind of TC matches fans were accustomed to, so they had to keep running Misawa vs. Kobashi, Kawada, Taue. The only way to do that without sending the message that the other 3 just weren't good enough would be to sell Misawa as having evolved into this inhuman superman in the kind of punishment he could endure.

 

Do we have any idea how this was addressed in commentary as the matches and style were progressing?

[dawho5]

Kobashi vs. Misawa 10/21/97

 

Let's get this out of the way. Yes, there were a lot of head drops. Not many were nosold. Kobashi did his spirit thing way too often. Misawa took way too much punishment. However, that is par for the course at this point and I'm willing to look past that to the way the match plays out around all of that. And it's really, really good. Kobashi hits Misawa with everything including the kitchen sink, but Misawa sticks it out and makes the improbable comeback. In the early stages of the 20+ minute closing stretch, Kobashi takes on the "submit Misawa instead of pin him" strategy and busts out some really great submissions. I hope they book those segments progressively later in the match at some point where it becomes a real threat to Misawa that a guy like Kobashi could, 25 or 30 minutes into the match all of a sudden start really working the neck or back or injured arm or leg for a win over Misawa. They probably won't, but I can dream.

[dawho5]

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Johnny Smith/Wolf Hawkfield 11/17/97 RWTL

 

Wolf Hawkfield proves to be a decent to good wrestler when it comes to execution. His instincts seem off, but the crowd seems unfamiliar with him and he is likely new to the promotion. Johnny Smith is all kinds of fun. He's got a really diverse offense that seems different from anyone else I've seen come through All Japan in the 90s. Also, the crowd really likes him. In fact, they love this team of gaijin who manage to hang with Misawa/Akiyama right up til the end. Misawa gets booed for breaking up a submission. Fuck yes. Can Misawa and Akiyama put the plucky Smith away while keeping Wolf away from breaking up their big pins? Honestly, the finish was great and the crowd was really really into it. Hawkfield busting out the bearhug into an overhead belly to belly was pretty damn sweet.

 

Holy Demon Army vs. Shinzaki/Hayabusa

 

Wow does this crowd love them some Hayabusa and Shinzaki. Kawada and Taue play their roles as dickish heels to perfection. Hayabusa's 450 gets a holy crap big pop, as do most of his flying spots. The setup job Taue and Kawada do on the rope walk is so amazing. Shinzaki setting up his praying powerbomb and Taue kicking him in the face is so sweet. Shinzaki hits that powerbomb after some help from Hayabusa and the crowd is freaking nuclear when Kawada kicks out. Kawada hits a big revenge powerbomb for the 3. Damn fun match. Loving the new faces and how they spice up the product a bit.

[Ditch]

RWTL '97 at first glance was kinda 'there', but over a long period we got more and more matches released in full that are really fun and (in a few instances) high-end.

[dawho5]

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Kobashi/Ace 11/23/97 RWTL

 

THIS was an incredible wrestling match. Johnny Ace shows up big time, and you know the other 3 can go. Akiyama has to save Misawa from an Ace crusher that started with him seated on the top turnbuckle. Then Akiyama and Misawa do that sweet, lucha flavored German to German double team out of the corner. Ace makes things interesting afterwards, really pushing Misawa. Misawa has a tigerdriver hooked up just after 29 minutes. Akiyama has Kobashi locked up outside. He hits it in time, but will Ace kick out? If it's true that people didn't think much of this RWTL, I doubt many gave it a real chance. Great fucking match.

 

Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 11/27/97

 

8 minutes of good stuff. Kawada works on Kobashi's leg and Kobashi hits a dragon screw. Because, you know, it's Kobashi vs. Kawada. Good finishing run, not quite the fever pitch the above match had but still not bad.

 

I have to say, after Hansen and Doc are mostly out of the picture, Ace has emerged as a really good #1 gaijin, almost to their level even.

[dawho5]

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Shinzaki/Hayabusa 11/27/97 RWTL

 

Kawada/Taue were much better opponents for Shinzaki. Misawa is far too nice and lets Shinzaki do the shit that always pisses me off about him. Shinzaki, regardless of whether or not it fits the way the match has gone, is going to use every one of his signature spots. Hayabusa blows a few spots, but the stuff he hits, especially towards the end, is really sweet. Team FMW hits a pair of dives to set up a 450 and a phoenix splash near the end. Guess who wins.

 

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Holy demon Army 11/28/97 RWTL

 

This is great. No, it's not 12/6/96 great, but I still loved it. Akiyama gets massacred early and Misawa ends up taking a beating at the hands of Taue and Kawada. Akiyama comes back into the match with a bit of offense before the Holy demon Army exploit their earlier damage. Misawa comes in on fucking FIRE and destroys both Taue and Kawada. They turn it around on Akiyama and Taue takes Misawa outside for a floor DDT. That allows Kawada to put Akiyama away with a 3 after the stretch plum. One thing I loved here was Kawada doing a delayed vertical suplex on Akiyana after his back had been beaten the crap out of, then covering Akiyama in a way that he could stare right at Misawa.

[dawho5]

Holy Demon Army vs. Misawa/Akiyama 12/5/97 RWTL Finals

 

This was really good. They play off of the Akiyama back injury the week earlier. Kawada and Misawa have great exchanges. Kawada and Akiyama have all kinds of tension. Misawa gets to be THE MAN after a Holy Demon Army beatdown on Akiyama's back. They play off the finish of the week-earlier match for a big nearfall. Then for the finish, Misawa watches from the apron as Akiyama is pinned following a jumping front kick to the face. Admittedly, not the move you would expect to put someone away, but that was weird that Misawa did nothing.

 

Kobashi/Ace vs. Holy Demon Army 1/25/98 Tag Titles

 

Kawada and Taue have never beaten Kobashi/Ace, best they have done is a draw. Ace and Taue still don't like each other at all. Kawada and Kobashi have some great exchanges. Kawada and Taue work over Ace's arm after he hits it on a guard rail. Then they target Kobashi's leg. That starts even in the first exchange with Kawada and Kobashi just kicking each other in the leg over and over again because neither will back down. Then later Taue goes back to it and they work a Kobashi in peril segment off of it. Great sequence with an apron nodowa tease, then Kobashi gets some help so he tries an apron powerbomb, but Kawada's not letting that happen to his buddy Taue. Kawada helps Taue seal the deal on the apron nodowa, which effectively kills Kobashi. Finishing run is good, with Taue getting frustrated at Kobashi not staying down and Ace always coming back in just in time to save him. Finally, they give Ace the Kobashi/Akiyama treatment from the big tags so Taue can put Kobashi away. Kobashi never stops fighting, but a top turnbuckle high front kick puts him away. They are really pushing Taue's kick as lethal now.

 

1997 went by fast. Some fun stuff, some additions to the style I don't care for. But those are usually saved for big matches, not the RWTL stuff, so it's not too overly bad. Also, Shinzaki being entertaining for one match was nice. Hayabusa in AJPW was a fun addition to the tag matches when he would fly in at the right moments or hit his big spots late. Definitely a big year for Ace and Akiyama. Finally saw some Johnny Smith stuff, looking forward to more of that. Oh yeah, in 1998 VADER shows up. I know it's old Vader but I could care less about that. It's fucking Vader.Still liking a lot of what I see.

[Ditch]

Taue won several high-profile matches with the Dynamic Kick around that time, including vs Misawa at CC '98. Not sure *why*...

[dawho5]

Wondering if they weren't trying to make it a big strike he could win a match with when necessary, a la Kobashi's lariat, Misawa's run elbow/rolling elbow, Kawada's gamengiri/abisegiri.

 

Misawa vs. Akiyama 1/26/98 Triple Crown

 

Shorter match than the last but Akiyama pushes Misawa harder. He puts together several nice runs of big moves (pedigree -> enzui diving elbow -> 2 Germans rolled into a blue thunder is one example) for big nearfalls. Crowd really eats it up and Misawa debuts the emerald frosion to really put the kid away.

 

Kobashi/Ace/Smith vs. Misawa/Akiyama/Kea 2/14/98

 

Last 10 minutes roughly. Ace looks to be feuding with Misawa, and it definitely works. Kobashi hits a vertical suplex on Akiyamafrom what looks to be a DDT type lockup. Big chaotic finish with Team Global Energy (Kobashi's team) coming out on top after Ace hits a cobra clutch suplex on Akiyama. Kea doesn't do too badly, making the little offense he had televised look at least passable.

[dawho5]

Kawada vs. Akiyama 98 CC

 

Akiyama brings the pain early after an exploder. Kawada hits a dangerous backdrop and starts working over the back of the neck. Akiyama has a big run where he puts Kawada in a stretch plum and tries to pin him (back to their round robin match in the RWTL). Kawada gladly returns the favor before giving Akiyama a brainbuster back as well, but getting the 3 instead of a late kickout.

 

Kawada vs. Misawa 3/29/98 CC

 

Big exchanges throughout this one. Kawada hits a brainbuster before 3 minutes is up and proceeds to tear up the back of Misawa's neck. Misawa gets a short comeback in before Kawada starts working over his back. Misawa works over the leg a bit before hitting his big not-quite-finisher offense. Kawada hits the back of the neck hard again, but can't powerbomb Misawa, which after all the work on the back of the neck and back would do it. Misawa hits multiple tigerdrivers and suplexes, plus a few nasty elbows that don't put Kawada away. And, there's the 30 minute draw right at the gamengiri comeback starter. Crowd seemed mixed, they didn't seem to buy into a lot of the pinfall attempts before 25 minutes and popped more for moves than anything. Almost like they knew.

[dawho5]

Kobashi vs. Akiyama 98 CC

 

Akiyama has had his share of success against big names, but a singles match with Kobashi? They work pretty even for the early part, with Kobashi working over Akiyama's back once he gets a clear advantage. Akiyama catches Kobashi on top and hits a dragon screw before working over Kobashi's leg. They do a nice sequence of finishers and teases, with Akiyama never ignoring the leg. Akiyama cuts off a late (29 minutes or so) lariat with a low dropkick. Kobashi's not done by a long shot, but Akiyama just keeps kicking at the leg from one knee to keep Kobashi from being able to bring him to his feet as the bell rings. I liked the desperation by Akiyama once he knew Kobashi had him with one more big move, so he stalled Kobashi using the earlier leg assault to slow him down enough to survive. A few more head drops than were really necessary for Kobashi to put away Akiyama, but he's the king of overdoing all the things that All Japan in the late 90s got a bad rap for. Don't get me wrong, I love the way he wrestles in so many ways, just he gets excessive. I will say that earlier in this match, they have another awesome sequence out of a knucklelock. Kobashi could really work the simple stuff well for as much as he liked to go over the top on things.

[dawho5]

Kobashi/Akiyama vs. Takayama/Kakihara

 

Akiyama has a great shoot-based mat sequence with Kakihara. The All Japan guys make the UWFi guys' strikes look really good. Akiyama and Kakihara get in each others' face. Takayama gets a flash KO on illegal man Akiyama. Kobashi hits a lariat out of nowhere to win. Lots of fun though.

 

Misawa vs. Akiyama 4/18/98 CC Finals

 

Akiyama goes after the leg early as it's been worked on during the CC. Misawa hits a tigerdriver within a minute anyway for a good nearfall. Akiyama catches Misawa with a dragon screw from the top to go on offense and work...bet you can't guess...the leg. Misawa gets back in it when Akiyama tries to manufacture a top turnbuckle dragon screw and takes a missile dropkick instead. Misawa's nearfalls are silent. Even the tigerdriver gets no response other than claps when Akiyama kicks out. Weird. Looks like an audible is called and the go back to Akiyama nearfalls which brings the crowd right back up. Then they fight over a tigerdriver enough so the crowd pops. Big running elbow puts Akiyama away. Akiyama went back to the leg during his exploder setups, so I won't call it a waste. I do like how Akiyama is putting together lots of different sequences on Misawa to get the exploder instead of going right for it.

[dawho5]

Several markout matches for me tonight. Fuck yes!

 

Akiyama vs. Hase 5/1/98

 

At the TOKYO DOME! That place is huge and it's packed. Akiyama and Hase spend the first 12 minutes working old school tie-ups that get nowhere and then taking it to the MAT. These two doing 10 minutes of back and forth matwork is amazing. Hase seems to get the better of it by a little. Big exchanges follow, with Hase and Akiyama exchanging exploders and uranages. Hase wants to put Akiyama away with a sasorigatame, but Akiyama is just as determined to come back with a figure 4 and they really really work the hell out of that figure 4. Hase gets some super hot nearfalls. Akiyama gets a few big nearfalls. Wrist clutch exploder finishes for Akiayma, great match.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 5/1/98 Triple Crown

 

This was not their best match. But then, even post-95, most Kawada vs. Misawa matches are amazing when compared to most wrestling matches you will see. Kawada works every possible angle here. He goes after Misawa's injured leg from the CC and tries to finish with a figure 4 like he did on Taue during the tourney. Then Misawa injures his arm blocking a gamengiri, his elbow arm. Kawada attacks that. Misawa still gets some super nearfalls in on Kawada and never stops elbowing, because he's Misawa. They build Kawada's finishing sequence absolutely perfect. The final 3 or 4 minutes of this match are wrestling at it's finest. Once Kawada gets the 3, I immediately mark the fuck out. I LOVE in the postmatch where Kawada has this combination of tired as hell, shocked and relieved written all over his face. Then they cut to the locker room where a bunch of other AJPW guys are toasting Kawada and he's got this look on his face like everything that just happened is just now setting in fully. Man, I am such a sucker for loving this stuff, but I don't care.

 

 

[dawho5]

The referee for today's post will be...Wadaaa Kyoheiii

 

(In case you didn't know, the correct response is, "KYOHEI!!!")

 

Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 6/5/98 Tag Titles

 

This is a really fun tag. Kawada and Kobashi start off with a great exchange. Ace ends up in peril shortly after, then we get Kobashi and Ace working over the knee of....Taue? Nice changeup there. Turns out, Taue's grasp of the little things really makes this work. Kawada's not happy about the goings on, gets into a tiff with Kobashi and takes a lariat for his trouble. He's out of the picture for a while. Taue has an incredible figure 4 sequence with Kobashi. The finishing sequence is all kinds of hot, but we don't really get to see Kobashi vs. Kawada a lot during it, Wonder why that could be.

 

Kawada vs. Kobashi 6/12/98 Triple Crown

 

Oh yeah, this might be why. So they work the mat for a while. And it's awesome. Then they to a chop exchange and neither one can get any kind of control until the 18-20 minute timeframe. By that point, they are both pretty well gone. Kobashi gets the first big nearfall. Then Kawada goes on a similar run to the way he finished Misawa. That doesn't get the 3, so he tries a third powerbomb only to exhaust himself not getting it. Kobashi takes charge, but Kawada is fighting every step of the way. Finish is all kinds of incredible with kobashi determined to get the three one certain way and Kawada just as determined to prevent it. My favorite part was Kawada taking a lariat, staggering around like a drunk on the attempted nosell and then getting a desperation gamengiri to land as Kobashi walks into it. They took it easy on the suplex nosells and not too many head drops. Just lots and lots of "you will NOT get any momentum going while I can still do anything about it" from both.

[dawho5]

Kobashi vs. Kakihara 7/15/98

 

Kobashi makes Kakihara's strikes look rwally dangerous, considering he sells most of them. Gives Kakihara the mat for the most part as well. Kobashi's pro wrestling suplexes and things of that nature mess Kakihara up and weaken him enough for a lariat to put him away. Fun clash of styles match.

 

Akiyama vs. Mossman 7/18/98

 

Mossman comes out of the gate hot and tries to take it to Akiyama. Some of it works out, but I think teasing the exploder pissed Akiyama off. Akiyama hits an exploder, a double arm DDT and a brainbuster for the win.

 

Kobashi/Ace/Hase vs. Albright/Takayama/Kakihara 7/18/98

 

I really need to see Hase in his prime. Great, great performer and technician. Kakihara is impressing me as well. Hase giant swings Takayama, which is all kinds of awesome. Good mat exchanges, some miscommunication with Takayama and Ace provides awkwardness. Besides that, Ace is good. Takayama at this point is not the Takayama you come to know later, but shows flashes of it. Abright is kinda awkward but brings the big suplexes. Fun finishing run, big finishing move.