[2000-02-17-AJPW-Excite Series] Vader vs Toshiaki Kawada

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

All Japan Triple Crown Champion Vader vs Toshiaki Kawada - All Japan 2/17/00

Man, six years ago, I thought this match was the shit. Now, it felt like it was being wrestled in slow motion and surprisingly light. Kawada's strike looked so chumpy especially whenever he tried to imitate the Vader punches. Vader's offense and selling are still top notch, but his movement thus his bumping has gone to shit. It is too bad that this match did not happen in 1993/4 as this could have been an all-time classic. Kawada evades Vader early on, which frustrates Vader, who tries to corner him, but ends up taking several boots to the face and being suplexed. A Vader eye poke transitions the match into the favor of the Mastodon. I love when a bully resorts to such cheating. Vader hits his body attack and a headbutt on the floor. Much like Kobashi's moonsault, Kawada does his best to avoid Vader's Vaderbomb, but eventually he has to take it, but kicks out. Kawada mounts a comeback with kicks and Vader sells the stretch plum better than anyone has since 1992 with his great verbal selling. The Vader body attack restores his advantage and he pours on his offense with a powerbomb and back drop driver. Kawada blocks the chokeslam. Vader swings a wild bear paw that finds his mark that finally puts Kawada on jelly legs and Vader murders him with a clothesline to successfully defend his titles.

It is a perfectly fine match but there is not anything really that special about it. Kawada is trying to fight from underneath against the Mastodon, but Vader proves to be too much to handle. Will Kobashi be able to wrest the titles for from The Man They Call Vader? ***

[Graham Crackers]

Good match but it's more like a fun TV match than the epic that Kawada vs Vader looks like on paper.

[Jetlag]

I think the problem of this was the layout. I came into this wanting to see Kawada selling and making awesome comebacks against Vader but instead he took most of the matcha and it kind of made Vader look old and slow. Of course, there's nothing wrong with Kawada kicking the crap out of someone and, and Vader when he was throwing hands did look like Vader. This gets Vader vs. Kawada good in the last couple minutes where they obliterate each other. Cool match which feels a bit like a missed opportunity considering it's their only encounter.

[WingedEagle]

Nothing much to add here -- it was not memorably, the layout was poor and the action outside the ring was really a stall, which is pretty inexcusable for this crew. Still, its Vader and Kawada and even when mailing it in its stiff and acceptable.

 

***

[soup23]

A tentative start that culminates in Kawada getting a kick in and then beating the shit out of Vader. Kawada’s variety of his attack is super to watch here mixing up kicks, knees, punches, slaps, etc. Vader regroups on the outside and Kawada follows him to lay in more punishment. A neat moment with a young KENTA in his red track suit looking on at all of this. Vader is able to hit a body splash and then suplexes Kawada onto the railing. Kawada sells a headbutt beautifully as he goes flying into the crowd stands off of it. Vader does his Vader offense for a few moments before Kawada is able to hit a front face kick to turn the tide again. Kawada struggling to get the stretch plum on really gets over how big Vader is overall. Vader comes back with a powerbomb and back body drop that is new for him where he follows Kawada to the mat for a pin attempt. One more flurry of Kawada kicks that Vader is able to escape from and he is able to pick up a big victory with a lariat. Kawada is having a rough go since returning from injury. Very good match. ***1/2

[Loss]

What? I LOVED this match. This is one of the better Kawada performances I've ever seen, and that's no small statement. He is pretty relentless in how he takes it to Vader in the opening minutes -- just a nonstop barrage of offense. When he takes him off his feet and starts punching him in the face, it starts to feel like he's taking out his aggression over his losing streak more than he is trying to win the title. There's also so many cool details here, like how he has so many of Vader's signature moves well scouted. So many of the counters I've never seen, like running to the middle rope and holding on to his leg so he can't do the splash from the middle rope and ducking to avoid his full body splash. Kawada wrestles like a guy that has done his homework and has a strategy to just keep striking and kicking as rapidly and frequently as possible. Unfortunately, five strikes for Kawada is the equivalent of one for Vader, so he can counter pretty effectively with far less output, and he's able to fight back. I love the spot where Kawada gets Vader out on his feet into the ropes with all the rapid fire kicks, but he exhausts himself so much from doing it that he can't capitalize. Kawada's downtrodden streak continues for now, as does Vader's Triple Crown reign, but I thought this was a pretty great match, to the point I'm shocked people were low on it. ****1/4

[Matt D]

On some level it's vaguely disingenuous that I keep going to the atypical Japan matches. On the other, I know what I like and what I don't. I liked this.

 

I hadn't seen much post 98-Vader. I'm not sure I've seen any post-98 Kawada. What stood out to me the most here was how thoroughly and deeply the match gets over Vader as a threat. From what I DO know of Kawada, pre-or-post this match, the fact that he'd all but Memphis stall to start things off was crazy. He avoids the lock up so many times that Vader screams at the ref in frustration. When Kawada starts the kicks, Vader's enraged enough that he keeps missing his punches, all culminating in the back drop driver, the cross-arm breaker attempt, and ultimately an early advantage for Kawada that the fans go nuts for. Kawada's dangerous enough in general but when he comes in with a strategy, even a monster has to tremble. The fact that he feels like he has to come in with a strategy like this just gets over Vader as all the more dangerous.

 

They keep up that sense of struggle through the attempt at the arm-breaker, with Vader having to get to the ropes, and then with the big blows that stagger Vader in the corner. The fact that Vader has to resort to comeback with an eyepoke (and this is already after he had to make it to the ropes) in turn, gets over the damage Kawada was doing to him. The fact that it doesn't even get him the advantage just has me hyped for the first real blow that Vader does land. Kawada had almost lost the advantage when he stopped attacking and went for the kill on the cross arm breaker (thus allowing distance and that eyepoke). He ultimately loses it when he goes for too early a pin which lets Vader toss him off and roll out. Yes, Kawada keeps up on the advantage on the outside, but he tries for too much momentum and runs into a huge, impactful feeling (both in execution and in meaning) Vader Attack.

 

That's a transition point and leads to Vader just mauling him in the seats. Kawada's extremely giving here, basically pinballing for every touch from Vader. This ends up back in the ring with a Vader Bomb (splash) off the second rope. Well and good, but maybe too early, because he spends a chunk of the rest of the match trying to hit it again. I probably would have liked to see that reversed, with him missing it early (but maybe staying on offense) and then hitting it later for a more meaningful near-fall? I guess at this point in AJPW, multiple finishers was the expectation. It felt a little premature though, especially because he never landed it again and because it was the root of Kawada's hope spot and comeback. It felt a little off to me. In general, I thought Vader's little control section here was a little lackluster, but some of that was how they had established that Vader was extremely dangerous. Maybe if he had hit some more devastating stuff, that would have unbalanced the match since everything he did was presented as a killshot? Maybe you can't just sit on a guy for a while in AJPW in 2000 even if it would have helped the pacing of the match?

 

Kawada did come back with a series of kicks and a stretch plum. So much struggle here. I'm not even sure Vader had to do much work. He's so massive that Kawada was straining just to wrap the hold around him. This leads to another cross-arm breaker attempt and Kawada unleashing more shots, including a ton of low kicks. That five to one ratio is in effect though as one clothesline drops him, allowing both wrestlers to sell the damage of the match (which made it feel longer and bigger than it actually was at this point.). They segue into the finish at this point, with Vader hitting a power bomb (and there'd been relatively few big moves like that in the match up until now) and then an awesome almost-bridging back suplex. He can't land the choke slam though, and they're putting so much resistance into this that it feels like a war. Eventually, the ratio catches up to Kawada and the inevitable happens: despite a flurry of kicks, Vader hits just one more clothesline and gets the pin.

 

This is the most nuanced I've seen Vader in his career, I think. Kawada was extremely giving in presenting him as a threat, but the way that Vader sold in the corner or embraced the threat of the cross-arm breaker, or sold his late match exhaustion... that's a Vader I'm not sure I'm used to, and they hit the balance between him being a monster and him being vulnerable so very well. That was a team effort. If either guy was less giving or came up short in the delivery, I don't think it would work as well as it did. I do think that the Vader control sequence in the middle should have been a little flipped, with the hope spots coming on earlier Vader Bomb (being the corner splash) attempts and with him just grounding Kawada to fill time better. In general though, there was a lot to like here. What a great way to get 45 year old Vader over as a monster while still making him realistically and dramatically vulnerable.

[AstroBoy]

I thought it was good but found a disconnect in that Kawada's onslaught never made Vader feel particularly vulnerable. Now if the point was to get Vader over as a monster then that's great, but if the point was to make me think Vader was reeling from the attack of Kawada then I just didn't get that vibe. For how much offense Kawada took I just never sensed Vader was really in danger and I think it gave me a going through the motions feeling. The work itself is good and I agree that Kawada's scouting and counters to Vader were smart and well-integrated. His furious kick rally at the end of the match was fantastic and desperate. Earlier in the match Vader is just killing him with hellacious clubbing blows in the corner. I don't think anything could live up to the dream of what these two COULD do in a perfect match against each other but this was not a disappointment either.

[Laney]

I thought this was a very good match. Kawada was really fired up in this one and really took it to Vader. There's a great moment here where Kawada is just barraging Vader with kicks, Vader is out on his feet, and then is finally taken down with a jumping enziguri. It was kind of surprising to see Vader fighting from underneath for most of this match, but they put together an entertaining match regardless.

 

****

[Mattsdmf]

This was a hossier version of a David vs Goliath match IMO. I really liked how Kawada was unsure at first and then exploded in a barrage of offense on Vader as if he really had no choice. I also liked Vaders selling in how he struggled to keep Kawada from locking in the armbar but when he did, the scream Vader let out was very realistic and his scrambling for the ropes. This was a nice breezy match to watch and was quite refreshing.

[ohtani's jacket]

It's hard to imagine a more average Kawada vs. Vader match than this. Vader looked terrible in this. I don't think it's a coincidence that his best match thus far has been a tag match. The layout didn't do him any favours, but at no point did he look menacing. The beginning of the bout felt like a throwback to the UWF-i, but instead of looking like he could rip someone's head off, Vader looked old and slow. Would have been better if it had been shorter with stiffer bomb throwing. I'm almost tempted to watch Vader vs. Shamrock again to see which was the better bout.

[Moonsault Marvin]

I really liked the beginning with the multitude of kicks by Kawada and his attempt to get the cross armbreaker, but it began to drag after Vader took over on offense. Vader no longer looks intimidating, so things like Kawada getting headbutted into the row of seats look like overselling even if it would have worked effectively years earlier. This ended up somewhere between average to good, but not what it could have been with a better in-shape Vader.

[G. Badger]

This is probably the best singles match Vader had in AJ...that I've seen. Haven't seen the 5-2 Misawa match. (Edit: just watched 5-2-99, that was pretty good stuff)

 

A really stiff slug-out. It was kind of what wanted in Vader's infamous 1990 match against Hansen.

 

Awesome strikes & both guys sold the stuff very well. Geez...it's probably not that hard to do considering the blows being dealt. Kawada showed himself superior to his peers by getting so much out of Vader and structuring the match so it told a believable yet suspenseful story.

 

Vader isn't a slouch but because of his size it's up to his opponent create the tension & drama. Having a match with him is like going up against a steam shovel, so what are you, his opponent, going to do to make it something special? Misawa & Kobashi do fine, Taue fails but, Kawada truly excels.

 

It was just a smart match that peaked at the best time and one of Vader's best in Japan.

[Tim Evans]

I thought this was fine. Vader brings the slow but nice looking strike and Kawada's kicks brings down Vader a couple times. They even go into the crowd which seems rare in all Japan except for Abby matches. Vader does look old and he almost kills kawada landing on him in the finish but this was one of his better All japan matches that i've seen so far. Kawada has good chemistry with him like he did with Hansen.

[G. Badger]

One of my favorite moments of all time is when Vader had Kawada in the corner. He systematically knocks the crap out of K with his patented forearm shots. Like 10 a row from the right, one punch to the gut from the left, and as our man is falling...a quick left and a even quicker brain rattling right. Awesome stuff

[tbrett]

I thought this was a good performance by both competitors but they didn't draw me in here. I liked it but didn't think it was anything special.

 

***