[2000-02-27-AJPW-Excite Series] Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama

[Moonsault Marvin]

Misawa had seemed off so far in 2000, but he was back and fully engaged here. Akiyama found so many ways to work the neck, with those apron spots being completely devastating and the great holds with the leg around the neck. Misawa is sometimes criticized for being overly stoic, but he had such great facial expressions both when locking Akiyama in holds and when he was selling. This match kept building and building and seemed as either could win, but Akiyama deservedly got his big win. Amazing match. *****

[Rah]

Despite not seeing any Akiyama matches from earlier in his career, I still had exceptionally high expectations for this. Despite that, however, this match lived up and surpassed anything I could have honestly expected. Every move here has a purpose, and nothing is wasted or filler outside of their respective target spots. Akiyama, especially, works Misawa’s neck like the god of wrestling and is relentless in his barrage of heavy-hitting work. Misawa, of course, is no slouch, either, and delivers a great foil in the moments of Akiyama not being in control. Almost surprisingly, for myself, at least, this was Akiyama’s shining ground and he worked so unbelievably great here. Like I’ve stated, I’ve not watched much of his non-contemporary work, and this may be testament to this, but I cannot think of a match in which Akiyama delivers a performance anywhere near as good as this. He works his control spots superbly, and is a great seller for Misawa’s own comebacks and controls.

[TravJ1979]

This is the last match I watched for February because I knew from previous viewings that it was going to be a treat. Definite MOTYC here.

[Shrike02]

I knew I'd have to rate this a full 5* as I genuinely marked out for three of the great spots and couldn't find any flaws in the narrative structure once I re-watched it. As others have said, Misawa's selling in particular was sublime, Akiyama's offence was superb, and on and on it goes. I can't imagine this not being the MOTY, and by default it will eventually rank really high for me in a MOTD list.

[drew wardlaw]

I was shocked at how little offense Misawa got in this. I was going in expecting a hard fought back and forth match with Akiyama pulling out a victory in the end. Instead, this was Akiyama thoroughly beating Misawa and the outcome was never really in doubt. Misawas face at the beginning and his body language throughout the match are what put it over the top for me, even beyond his neck selling. Just the battle wary eyes and body of the guy, the uneasiness he shows as the match goes on, the desperation flurry of offense at the end. Even as hes going through his high impact offense during the finishing run, you get the sense that his big moves just arent enough anymore. Incredible stuff.

[superkix]

The relentlessness in which Akiyama comes at Misawa and stays on him throughout is incredible. I loved the opening stretch building to Misawa's apron elbow, with Misawa especially looking spry and energized. He's got to make sure Akiyama's ready for the challenge so he throws him a few snug lovetap elbows. Akiyama's neckwork after Misawa crashes and burns on the guardrail was extensive and brutal, with the apron Exploder and awesome neck cranks. Misawa's selling is terrific too, and Akiyama doesn't let him build too much momentum, dropping kicking him out of the ring and escalating the attack on the neck. I love how Misawa's veteran comeback toward the end starts with him busting open Akiyama's nose with a nasty knee drop to the face. But Akiyama won't lay down for him and I thought the fighting spirit Exploders were the perfect transition point heading into the finishing stretch. Fantastic match.

[Stiva]

I'm not able to add much more than anyone else but one of my favourite things in wrestling is watching a guy get made in a big moment and this might be the best version of that match you can have. In kayfabe terms, Jun is just a machine; he has the bit between his teeth and even when Misawa won't stay down, he doesn't stop, digs even deeper and comes up clutch when he had to. A month earlier, he failed with Vader and now he's toppled THE guy and nobody can deny him. An incredible match with no wasted moments.

[klhare]

The finish here really is incredible. Misawa falling victim to a quick exploder, having the spirit to get up right away but foolishly run into another one, and then just not get up for the third despite his best efforts was one hell of a visual. Fantastic match that was epic yet compact and didn't overstay its welcome.

 

*****

[cactus]

This is how you groom a guy for a run at the top. Misawa is quickly becoming the grumpy Misawa that we all know and love. His best days are behind him, but he isn't about to let a young whippersnapper like Akiyama take his spot easily. He can still throw a mean elbow and an Emerald Flowsion will still put anyone away providing Misawa is able to hit it.

Akiyama takes control after a leg sweep sends Misawa colliding jaw first into the barricade and Akiyama sets his sights on working over Misawa's head to set him up for an Exploder suplex or a Brainbuster. Akiyama wasn't the most interesting once he locked on a chinlock, but Misawa quickly shows us how to work a hold and keep it entertaining for the crowd by wrenching the cocky upstart in his stepover facelock. 

The last minutes are absolutely magical. Although this entire match could be described as a sprint, they really take things to 11 during the later stages of the match. Misawa pops right up after a couple of Exploders and Akiyama is forced to bring something new to the table. The 90's might be over and the glory days of AJPW are quickly coming to an end, but this deserves to be talked about when discussing any of the big King's Road classics. 

★★★★¾

[fxnj]

Some background on this match: The commentator mentions that Akiyama had made Kobashi a promise that he'd beat Misawa here so that they'd fight each other for the Triple Crown later. No idea what became of that. Also, Akiyama landed a top rope exploder to Misawa in an untelevised match during CC 97, which started the neck injury angle and led to it become a big target in all his big matches after that. Hence, I sort of got a feeling here of things coming full circle.

It sounds cynical to say the best match of the decade and by extension the best match so far of the 21st century happened only 2 months in. But fuck it, that's what this is. Perfect performance from both guys, perfect layout, perfect production, and perfect usage of an epic storyline going back nearly a decade.

The opening is perfect tension building. The Greco-Roman lock-ups look awesome and feel like they play off both guys' amateur experience. Misawa digging into his juniors offense and Akiyama doing the Jumbo high knee were nice touches as well to conjure up images of Jumbo/Misawa from 10 years before this. Match really gets going when Akiyama starts working on Misawa's neck, and it's an early example of what an incredible offensive wrestler he was/is. Nasty looking neck cranks and even a routine spot like the apron knee looked wince-worthy.

Misawa also delivers masterful selling with how he contorts his face and groans in a very realistic manner. I nearly cried just watching Akiyama elbow him in the corner. It makes me wonder how much was legit as he seemed to have lost some selling ability once the NOAH split happened. The bumps he took on the apron and on the outside were also killer. The close-up of him after the apron exploder and then him getting up to reveal a cut on his side gave me chills. As far as "young guy beats old guy" matches go, it is really interesting how they balance making you want to see the young guy win but also making you think about the hell the old guy has put himself through and make you feel sorry for him.

All of Misawa's offense was damn awesome as well. Going back a bit, I love Misawa's initial offensive run and the surliness of him grinding a headlock right on Akiyama's cheekbone before trying to elbow him into oblivion. The dropkick aimed square at Akiyama's face that was one of Misawa's first offensive moves after Akiyama's big run was the perfect choice. I really loved the struggle over him getting the Tiger Driver and how the commentator speculated whether he'd go for the '91 or the regular version. I felt like him being too prideful to use the TD '91 was really what did him in, since Akiyama had just enough left to score some fighting spirit exploders and create some space.

I admit I kind of got deja vu from the usage of fighting spirit in the stretch run given how overused similar moments were as lazy transitions in NOAH, but I'd say this and the 1998 Kobashi/Akiyama TC match are probably the best examples you'll find of the trope between the build to it and the selling. Anyway, that shot of Akiyama rising up after hitting those exploders is one of my favorites in all of wrestling and never ceases to give goosebumps. It looks like something you'd get in a movie if you had some genius director carefully controlling the production conditions, except it was just a spontaneous moment in a live match, making it even better. They do just enough near falls after that to build anticipation for Akiyama's win without going overboard and the end really feels like it's made Akiyama into a top tier guy after years of questionable booking.