1990s All Japan

[BigBadMick]

Just wanted to say I'm keen to watch some of this soon and this will be a superb companion to spur me on. Thanks.

[dawho5]

Good luck on the early ones. Way too much play by play and not enough attention to detail.

 

Kobashi/Akiyama/Shiga vs. Ace/Barton/Mossman(Kea) 8/29/99

 

Shiga plays a great sympathetic babyface. Barton is above average at his worst and pretty damn good at best. Mossman is...well, uninspiring unless he's taking a beating. One day I'm sure he'll learn how to involve the audience in his offense. Kobashi vs. Ace is a fun dynamic after they finished teaming. Shiga gets a rare win with a swinging DDT variation.

 

Misawa vs. Takayama 9/4/99

 

Takayama again starts to bring the stiffness that makes his offense work. Misawa makes him look good. They hit each other a lot and the match is fun. Guess who wins.

 

Kobashi/Akiyama/Shiga vs. Takayama/Omori/Fuchi 10/9/99

 

So Fuchi fucking rocks. Don't know if I've mentioned that. Omori steps things up and looks good against Akiyama. Shiga is again a great sympathetic babyface, especially against Takayama. Fun 6 man with Takayama pinning Shiga, then a brawl erupting after he cocks off to Kobashi.

 

Burning vs. the Untouchables © 10/23/99 Tag Titles

 

So this here match....this really surprised me. It's like a version of 6/9/95 or 12/6/96, but with Kobashi and Akiyama in the Holy Demon Army role and Ogawa as Akiyama/Kobashi. And it's not quite up to the level of the above matches, but it's really, really, really fucking good if not just above great. Heat is off the charts for the finishing run. Also, Akiyama times his kickout of an Ogawa tigerdriver absolutely dead-on to 2.999999 and the crowd goes freaking nuts.

 

Burning © vs. No Fear 10/30/99 Tag Titles

 

Kobashi doesn't stop glaring at No Fear from the time he sees them. Even during intros, he just leans on the rope glaring at No Fear. No Fear lives up to their name and uses dirty tactics to get the upper hand on Kobashi, then just beta the snot out of him. Then Kobashi snaps. Akiyama has to help the ref pull him off of Takayama in the corner after about the 8th spinning neck chop, and the first few were laid in there good. No Fear doesn't learn and uses this to get the upper hand on Akiyama. Kobashi eventually gets the tag, appears to have some momentum, then No Fear once again go to work. Kobashi has finally had enough and hits a few lariats on Takayama for the win. You know, No Fear is starting to get good. Omori seems like he's finally getting the right balance of hitting hard and cheap heat for his 1980s American heel style. Takayama is great as the big, immovable (and a little immobile) ass-kicker. And it helps that Burning put them over pretty damn good.

[dawho5]

Misawa © vs. Vader 10/30/99 Triple Crown

 

Vader is a lot more apprehensive at first. Then he hits 3 big Germans to make sure Misawa isn't as much of a threat and settles into his offense. Misawa evens the score with 2 Germans and the bombs just keep coming. It's almost as good as the Tokyo Dome match, but not quite there.

 

Misawa/Ogawa vs. Vader/Smith 99 RWTL

 

So Ogawa vs. Vader is all kinds of fun. Ogawa scores a knockdown on the big man. Vader German suplexes Ogawa all the way across the ring. Then he squashes him like the puny little rat-boy he is. But Ogawa is a fighter and won't stay down. Vader is PISSED and beats the everloving shit out of him in the corner. Misawa manages to drag Ogawa back to the corner for a tag, but Vader can handle him, too. Ending run declines a little in quality as the corwd really isn't behind Smith vs. Ogawa and Ogawa repeats himself a couple of times. But the Vader vs. Ogawa stuff was amazing.

[dawho5]

Burning vs. Untouchables 11/20/99 RWTL

 

So you get the Akiyama heat segment followed by the Ogawa heat segment, then the big finishing run. All well-executed and Ogawa sells his beating like a champ. Still not as good as either of their tag title bouts earlier in the year. But a fun tag match with a hot finish is still a good watch.

 

Kobashi/Akiyama/Shiga vs. Vader/Smith/Kea 11/27/99

 

JIP to the part where Vader is destroying skinny little Shiga. Because that's just ridiculously awesome. Shiga gets a great, gutsy kickout of a Vader splash (the visual is just horrifying). Crazy 6-man finishing sequence ensues, with Kobashi getting some good offense in on Vader. Kea gets a bit cocky with the ever-spunky Shiga and gets rolled up on a Hawaiian Ace crusher or whatever the Hell he calls it for 3. Kea's offense still does not look overly credible, but he may have injured his knee trying. So at least it's not a question of effort on his part, which in this case is both a good and a painful thing.

 

Seems like Vader wrestling Japanese junior heavyweights is incredibly entertaining. He squashes them like bugs and gives them just enough offense for them to look good for being able to put a dent in the big man. Also, I think it's good to see more than just the big four plus Akiyama, Hansen and Ace. Regardless of how good they are, there is only so much they are going to really do, and after 7 or 8 years of intense rivalries most of it has been done. Probably why the Vader matches seem so freakin awesome, besides the fact that Vader is an incredible worker.

[dawho5]

Hansen/Taue vs. Burning 12/3/99 RWTL Finals

 

HOLY SHIT is the crowd insanely amped for this. Intros haven't started and they are at Kawada vs. Misawa 6/3/94 levels. Hansen/Taue are the massive favorites here. So much so that when Akiyama uses a very Stan Hansen tactic against Hansen he gets booed. And every time Akiyama or Kobashi breaks up a pin the boos just get louder. There is this sublime part of the finishing stretch where Akiyama just took a nodowa on the floor and Taue has him hooked for one in the ring. Crowd is going nuts as it is, but Akiyama is desperately grabbing for the ropes. Taue kicks his hand off, but Akiyama is adamant about not being chokeslammed and scrambles over again. Crowd is losing it as Hansen elbows Akiyama's arms off the ropes, nodowa happens and Akiyama KICKS OUT AT 2.999999 for the most ridiculously nuclear nearfall I've ever seen. Honestly, the crowd makes this match more than any of the wrestlers. And that's saying something with these four in the ring. Post match is pretty sweet too.

 

Kobashi vs. Omori 1/9/2000

 

So Omori brings his A++++++ game here. He's so very great as the underdog in this match. I mean, he's still dickish and everything, but he's clearly the underdog. He and Kobashi work a nice suplex fight that goes nowhere leading to Omori actually suplexing Kobashi (!!!) after an exchange. Omori gets some good nearfalls. Kobashi hits a powerbomb into a half nelson that Omori kicks out of to massive crowd reaction. Crowd goes into full on support of Omori as he pluckily works to an axe bomber that Kobashi (rare for him) delivers on the kickout, waiting til the last moment. Kobashi and Omori miss their running lariats until Kobashi doesn't miss. Kobashi hits the burning lariat for the 3. Way, way better than I would have expected going in. Omori's selling was pretty spot on too.

[Ditch]

Omori really stepped up over the course of a few months, but his innate mediocrity caught up eventually.

[dawho5]

Misawa/Akiyama vs. Vader/Taue 1/17/00

 

This match is to set up Vader vs. Akiyama a week later. Taue and Misawa play their parts well as always, Akiyama gets his hope spots in and it's a fun match.

 

Kawada vs. Kobashi 1/17/00

 

This is Kawada's return match after an injury. The match plays out in an odd way, where Kawada looks like the underdog at first, going after Kobashi strong early and running into big offense after a bit. Then it switches back and forth at least once before the finishing run. Then during the finishing run Kawada puts on the jujigatame, then hits a backdrop and a gamengiri, both nosold by Kobashi, who blocks a second gamengiri and doesn't sell the arm at all, which is the whole point of the late match jujigatame. Double lariat, Kobashi gets the advantage and ends up hitting a burning lariat for the 3. Kawada's selling was good. Despite the confusion on who was supposed to be the underdog, early and mid-match was pretty good. Kobashi's bad tendencies killed the finish for me.

 

Akiyama vs. Vader© 1/23/00 Triple Crown

 

Akiyama is hot out of the gate and the fans are digging it. Me too. Vader turns things around in a particularly brutal way. Kyohei Wada refuses to count Akiyama out AND stops Vader from using a chair on him, earning him a chant. Referees putting themselves in harm's way to enforce the rules in that visible a fashion is pretty rare (and it is even more rare that it turns out to be good). Akiyama takes a big beating in the ring but won't stay down. Big comeback with a few exploder nearfalls. Finish is good, but if Vader's gonna do repeat moves I wish he'd stick to big splashes and not what he did.

[dawho5]

Vader vs. Kawada 2/17/00

 

So much to put in here...firstly, Kawada has lost a lot of heat in the last year. Could be the injuries and the time it took for the singles win over Misawa, could be a combination. Kobashi is a definite #2 guy to Misawa now. Which is something that irks me more than a little. Moving on from that, this match is completely different from any of the other big 5 against Vader. One of the reasons I LOVE watching Kawada wrestle is that he tailors his matches to the opponent. He doesn't come out and wrestle Toshiaki Kawada's match against every opponent. He wrestles in response to the opponent's style and bearing. case in point, when Kawada faces aggressive wrestlers he will very often stall early to goad them into mistakes. He doesn't do that kinda stuff against Misawa. He definitely does against Vader though. Then he straight-up brawls with him on Vader's level. What is really cool is Vader gives Kawada's strikes a ton of respect. Stuff like this match is why I never get tired of watching Kawada wrestle. It's nowhere near as epic as Kobashi vs. Vader and Misawa vs. Vader. But I still love every minute of it.

 

Misawa vs. Akiyama 2/27/00

 

So Akiyama puts on the match of his life here. Misawa is still Misawa all the way through, but what makes this match is Jun Akiyama. If you haven't watched this match, it's a definite must-see. By the end, the crowd is so very, very into this match. It's such a shame Akiyama never really had a classmate or two just below his level even. What he could have become in terms of overness and using that to promote smart wrestling would have been fun to see.

[Graham Crackers]

Misawa vs. Akiyama 2/27/00

 

So Akiyama puts on the match of his life here. Misawa is still Misawa all the way through, but what makes this match is Jun Akiyama. If you haven't watched this match, it's a definite must-see. By the end, the crowd is so very, very into this match. It's such a shame Akiyama never really had a classmate or two just below his level even. What he could have become in terms of overness and using that to promote smart wrestling would have been fun to see.

That's actually one of my favorite Misawa performances. I can't think of many matches after his first title reign where he looked that vulnerable. He was even moaning in pain like he was Ric Flair.

[dawho5]

I don't know. Misawa showed signs of mortality from mid 98 on after he got pinned by Kawada. I'm not taking anything away from what he did in the match. I just felt that the match was very much about how far Akiyama had come in the time since he last faced Misawa in singles competition.

 

Kobashi vs. Vader © 2/27/00 Triple Crown

 

I thought the Champions Carnival final from 99 was a better match, but this was still a good watch. Kobashi comes in with taped up ribs. To wrestle Vader. Is it just me or does Kobashi really enjoy putting targets on himself and playing them up? Anyway, Vader eventually goes to the ribs to cut off Kobashi offense, surprise of surprises. Then, inexplicably, Kobashi hits a moonsault late match with very little selling or slowdown from that particular impact. This next part has not a whole lot to do with this match.

 

I'm starting to think Loss' description of Kobashi in relation to Kurt Angle is not too far from the mark. To be sure, he's incredible at making low level submissions into huge sequences in matches. He throws great strikes and he's incredible at selling when he feels like it. He's great at drawing fans in with his facial expressions and emotion. And you have to respect his effort and how he always had something in the tank. But the guy struggles with some basic aspects of finishing sequences when he doesn't have somebody leading him through them. And he takes his "fighting spirit" nonsense to ridiculous levels at times. Also, he made the genius decision that it was necessary to drop Akiyama on his head with not one, but 3 half nelson suplexes to wear him down in 1998. He really struggled (at least during his All Japan days) a lot of the time with being the senior guy in a match. Probably came from being the underdog to Misawa/Kawada/Taue for so long that it became natural for him to wrestle that way, and may have had an effect on his sense of when and how much.

 

Okay, back to my non-rambling stuff about the matches I watched tonight.

 

Akiyama vs. Shiga 3/11/00

 

Shiga tries to attack Akiyama's injured arm. Akiyama chokes Shiga out, ref revives him, Shiga gets a few more hope spots and then Akiyama cranks a headlock hard enough the ref stops it. Shiga weighing half what Akiyama does is what makes this match. Little guy never has a chance but he attacks with everything he's got and the crowd loves him for it.

 

Kawada/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kobashi/Shiga 3/11/00

 

Should probably re-check the date on this one, this probably belongs in the early 90s. Nope, Fuchi wants a piece of Misawa and Kobashi in 2000. Kawada has good exchanges with both of the guys on the other team you would expect him to. Taue beats up Kikuchi pretty good and sells his elbows nice. Misawa and Kobashi kick the crap out of Fuchi (and Taue to an extent). Fuchi gets the crowd behind him (it is Korakuen efter all) by giving everything he's got even when he's at a huge disadvantage. Oh and he cockily beats up on Kikuchi just because he can. That's fun stuff right there.

 

 

[dawho5]

No Fear vs. Kobashi/Shiga 3/24/00

 

So the only real reason to watch this is Shiga. No Fear phones in 90% of their performance. Kobashi appears pretty disinterested through most of it. There's some good Kobashi vs. Takayama stuff, but otherwise you are watching this match for Shiga's struggle against those bullies Takayama and Omori.

 

Akiyama vs. Omori 3/26/00 CC

 

Why, All Japan, why? I have never missed Giant Baba as much as I do after watching that. It's not long, just....I think whoever booked this was watching way too much American wrestling.

 

Misawa vs. Kawada 3/31/00 CC

 

Okay, this is possibly the best sprint of all time. Clocks in at about 15 and a half minutes and they manage to cram pretty much every signature spot in there in a meaningful way. It's far from their best, but it's absolutely incredible for 2000.

 

And now I'm gonna go off on another tangent. I've tried real hard to look for a weakness as far as Misawa is concerned. All I can really come up with is...nothing. Yeah, maybe he's not as outwardly emotional as you'd like a wrestler to be. He's not supposed to be. The thing that defines his greatness, to me, is that he is so comfortable and secure in his position that he always seems to hit the right notes for whoever he's facing and what the match is supposed to be saying. If the match is about his opponent, Misawa seems to disappear into the background and give the exact impression of his opponent that the match was meant to. On the rare occasion the match is about him, Misawa will deliver in spades. The matches that stand out here are the big comeback tag matches where his partner gets a beating put on him and Misawa has to drag the match back from the dead. And does so emphatically. Another one that comes to mind is when Kawada chokes him out illegally and Kobashi gently rolls Misawa to the floor. Once Misawa is back on the apron, there is a short time for tension to build until Misawa lets everyone watching know that it is not a good idea to piss him off. Matches like that are few and far between, but they leave an impression. In closing, I'm telling you what you probably already know. Misawa is fucking great.

[MikeCampbell]

Why, All Japan, why? I have never missed Giant Baba as much as I do after watching that. It's not long, just....I think whoever booked this was watching way too much American wrestling.

 

 

The best I've been able to figure is that the idea was to start some sort of push for Omori, after he'd largely been wasted during the previous decade. And/or to establish that Jun wasn't a main event player quite yet.

[dawho5]

I don't know, it seemed like they were already pushing Omori. Maybe they wanted to save face for Akiyama the way they did it. It was one of those "flash KO" kind of deals. He had just beaten Misawa so I doubt he was being demoted back to midcard.

 

Kobashi vs. Smith 4/10/00 CC

 

Seems kinda one-sided, but it isn't. The build is a matwork clinic and I love it. I'm starting to see the change in Kobashi. He's actually carrying himself like an ace now. More calm until it's time to be intense than intense all the time. Liking that a lot. Finishing one has one small flaw which I will address later. Otherwise, this match is pretty damn good. Kobashi does a pretty good job of making Smith look like a threat but not killing his own dominance in terms of card position.

 

Kobashi vs. Misawa 2000 CC

 

So if that last match was really good, this match was great. Kobashi in his more "ace" persona vs. Misawa is a fun dynamic. Everything is pretty equaled out in the way they wrestle it and the finishing run is all kinds of hot.

 

Kobashi vs. Omori 4/15/00 CC Finals

 

Omori again brings his A++++ game against Kobashi in the big match. Omori is outmatched early and goes to the injured leg. Kobashi's fiery comeback is really, really fun to watch. Big finishing sequence with a super-hot crowd and the least annoying Kobashi bad habit match of the 3.

 

The thing that knocks each one of these matches (Omori match the least) down is the half nelson. People really got on Marufuji for the overuse of the superkick as a turnaround in the early 2000s as I recall. Don't remember seeing people up in arms over the flagrant Kobashi use of the half nelson the same way. It's hard for me to get past that in a lot of matches. At the very least in the Omori match he uses it as a big nearfall and a setup for a lariat. That's more what a big head drop suplex ought to be used for.

 

 

[dawho5]

Kobashi© vs. Takayama 5/26/00 Triple Crown

 

This was something that All Japan did right in 2000 for sure. Takayama's early aggression deals enough damage that the crowd buys into him as a serious contender where not much else would. It only helps that he later goes to work on Kobashi's lariat arm and forces Kobashi to use his off hand on chops, making it far more likely Takayama can actually pull this off before Kobashi gets enough damage in to finish him. He doesn't, but I agree with the idea that wrestling is as much about the journey as the destination. You know what, fuck that. Takayama has the crowd fully behind him by the end of the match, which is actually a far better destination than you would have thought the match could reach going in.

 

Holy Demon Army vs. Ace/Barton 6/9/00

 

This is part of a one night tournament to find new tag champs. As such it is a sprint, and a darn good one at that. Ace makes a really good go of trying to get one over on Kawada and Taue, but they are not known for being easy targets. Big slugfest ensues with Ace trying to will his team to victory in a chaotic brawl.

 

Untouchables vs. No Fear 6/9/00

 

JIP and Misawa is giving lots of offense to these two. Ogawa hits a fair amount of good offense, but No Fear manage to isolate Ogawa and Omori catches him with an axe bomber for 3. I fail to understand the big push angle they gave these guys. Takayama is coming around, but to this point he hadn't been anything spectacular. Omori can be really good, but he can also barely show up. In reality, Omori is way more cheap heat than he is substance. Takayama at least brings something to the table when it comes time to work. Post-Baba AJPW makes you really appreciate how well he actually booked things.

 

A few more matches to go and All Japan ceases to be the All Japan I've come to know.

[dawho5]

Boy, pre-split All Japan ended kinda....iffy.

 

Holy Demon Army vs. No Fear

 

No Fear target a shoulder injury Taue picked up in the earlier match. Kawada leads a big comeback and eventually pins Omori after a...bodyscissors sleeper? I guess, it's only Omori. Maybe I just don't get the big push for Omori, but it seems like a huge waste. If every success he has involves cheating or somebody getting injured or just a happenstance advantage, is it really a push even? He throws a nice axe bomber and has some good stuff to throw into nearfalls, but up until that point of the match he's average or worse. Not sure why, but two dangerous backdrops and a gamengiri net Kawada a 2 count on Omori during the nearfall sequence.

 

Kobashi/Shiga vs. Akiyama/Kea

 

Akiyama must have had some beef with Kobashi before this match. Kobashi is back in 100% Spirit mode, which kind of kills this for me. As well as the mid match half nelsons. Shiga plays the never-say-die role he was born for well enough to salvage the match.

 

So that's it. Except for one more thing. I've talked about 3 of the 4 Pillars. I think Akira Taue is the least appreciated so I saved him for last. Yes, he was far more physically limited and awkward than the other 3 (and Akiyama). And his strikes looked weak in comparison. But him knowing that and working around/through/with those limitations as the match demanded was one of the things that made him great to watch. If anything it forced him to be a very intelligent worker, very focused on how and why he was doing things. Pre-95 his offense was lacking, but he was so good at the small stuff like selling, facial expressions, and making simple submissions look vicious that he made up for it. He was the best of the big four at making a late nearfall look great by kicking out at the last possible moment (followed by Kobashi in that regard). I would put him right up there with Misawa and Kawada in terms of consistencty of performance post-95 also. And he really upped the ante with his big kicks (enzuigiri, jumping front kick) when he needed to. I think that to appreciate Akira Taue you have to be able to look at how much he does with far less than Kawada, Misawa, Kobashi and Akiyama bring to the table. He's nowhere near their athleticism or striking ability of the rest. He manages to not only hang with them in 99% of the matches, but actually adds to the match in meaningful ways. There aren't too many pro wrestlers who could have done that when you look at the accomplishments of his contemporaries.

 

And finally, thanks to all who read this. And to those who chimed in and helped me see things I might have missed. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Also, huge thanks to Ditch, without whom I'd never have seen a lot of the less hyped AJPW matches. Some of which actually trumped the matches they were building to. And fxnj I have to thank for that disturbing behind the scenes look after Kobashi vs. Misawa. That still gives me the willies.

[blackholesun]

Boy, pre-split All Japan ended kinda....iffy.

 

Holy Demon Army vs. No Fear

 

No Fear target a shoulder injury Taue picked up in the earlier match. Kawada leads a big comeback and eventually pins Omori after a...bodyscissors sleeper? I guess, it's only Omori. Maybe I just don't get the big push for Omori, but it seems like a huge waste. If every success he has involves cheating or somebody getting injured or just a happenstance advantage, is it really a push even? He throws a nice axe bomber and has some good stuff to throw into nearfalls, but up until that point of the match he's average or worse. Not sure why, but two dangerous backdrops and a gamengiri net Kawada a 2 count on Omori during the nearfall sequence.

 

Kobashi/Shiga vs. Akiyama/Kea

 

Akiyama must have had some beef with Kobashi before this match. Kobashi is back in 100% Spirit mode, which kind of kills this for me. As well as the mid match half nelsons. Shiga plays the never-say-die role he was born for well enough to salvage the match.

 

So that's it. Except for one more thing. I've talked about 3 of the 4 Pillars. I think Akira Taue is the least appreciated so I saved him for last. Yes, he was far more physically limited and awkward than the other 3 (and Akiyama). And his strikes looked weak in comparison. But him knowing that and working around/through/with those limitations as the match demanded was one of the things that made him great to watch. If anything it forced him to be a very intelligent worker, very focused on how and why he was doing things. Pre-95 his offense was lacking, but he was so good at the small stuff like selling, facial expressions, and making simple submissions look vicious that he made up for it. He was the best of the big four at making a late nearfall look great by kicking out at the last possible moment (followed by Kobashi in that regard). I would put him right up there with Misawa and Kawada in terms of consistencty of performance post-95 also. And he really upped the ante with his big kicks (enzuigiri, jumping front kick) when he needed to. I think that to appreciate Akira Taue you have to be able to look at how much he does with far less than Kawada, Misawa, Kobashi and Akiyama bring to the table. He's nowhere near their athleticism or striking ability of the rest. He manages to not only hang with them in 99% of the matches, but actually adds to the match in meaningful ways. There aren't too many pro wrestlers who could have done that when you look at the accomplishments of his contemporaries.

 

And finally, thanks to all who read this. And to those who chimed in and helped me see things I might have missed. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did. Also, huge thanks to Ditch, without whom I'd never have seen a lot of the less hyped AJPW matches. Some of which actually trumped the matches they were building to. And fxnj I have to thank for that disturbing behind the scenes look after Kobashi vs. Misawa. That still gives me the willies.

This has been an awesome read and I can't wait to work my through these matches myself. Do you plan on posting a top 10/20 AJPW matches of the 90's list at all because I'd be interested to hear your thoughts? Plus do you plan on covering 90's NJPW or even 80'S AJPW in a similar fashion in the near future? Could be a fun read.

[Ditch]

I have to say thanks for doing this. Having watched everything in very haphazard/piecemeal fashion, it's nice to see how someone reacts watching things in sequence. And that most of the small stuff I like has been holding up.

[dawho5]

90s NJPW would get old really fast for both me and anyone reading. I held back quite a bit on the Kobashi bashing because it wasn't something that came up every match. Same with Omori. Also, negativity isn't something I put a lot of value in, so I just try to stay away from that stuff. But with 90s NJPW I'd run into a lot of things I dislike in a majority of the matches. I can see it going downhill fast. I can see doing 80s AJPW at some point. Right now I was gonna do Ditch's 2000-2009 puro stuff and then revisit some of the favorites to maybe do a top 20 or 30 AJPW 90s list afterwards.

[fxnj]

Thanks a lot for doing this. I made a similar journey a few years back, but I didn't really have the same attention for the little details back then. It was fun seeing these matches reviewed from a fresh perspective and reliving that journey.

 

One thing I noticed was that early on you skipped a few very highly pimped matches (9/90 Misawa/Jumbo, 5/92 All Asia Tag Titles), but then got a lot more comprehensive with seeing all the little gem matches later in the decade. Was that just a matter of being more familiar with the earlier part of the decade than the latter half?

[soup23]

Great read dawho5. You blew through this quickly and it was fun to read.

[dawho5]

It was more Ditch pointing me to his chronological website. After I had access to all of that I wanted to hit all of it, because it would fill in the details going into big matches. I'm gonna go back and hit all the early 90s stuff too, just to fill in the blanks. One day I will get to the AWA stuff I teased myself with the first 8 matches of. Bobby Heenan the worker is fun, the High Fliers are freakin awesome, but it's gonna be months before I get to any of it.

[Petey]

Thanks for this. I've only seen a small handful of 90's AJPW matches but always enjoyed them. Reading this helped me better appreciate them. Great stuff.