[2000-07-23-AJPW-Summer Action Series] Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Stan Hansen & Maunakea Mossman

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Genichiro Tenryu & Toshiaki Kawada vs Stan Hansen & Taiyo Kea - Budokan 7/23/00

This is the first main event at the Budokan in post-split All Japan and it is bitchin' as all hell. It is clearly not a sustainable given 3/4 of the participants' age (it is also 3/4 of the participants from that amazing 1988 Real World Tag League match) and the fact Kea never really made a mark otherwise. However, as a one-off this was really spectacular. Up front, I had never seen a Kea match, but have heard of him and of course I have the other three all in my top 20 greatest of all time.

Honestly, at first given how Kea moved, his posture and moves he struck me as a bigger version of Low-Ki. At first, there was something insincere about him. It felt like he was going through the motions whereas Hansen who could barely move just felt like a crazed bear that wanted murder his old rival Tenryu and Tenryu was just as incensed having seen Hansen for the first time since about 1990. Their sections together just seemed so much grittier than Kea's kick exchange with Kawada. Tenryu gets the tag and first thing he does make a beeline for Hansen, who is not even legal. Later on in the match, on the outside, Hansen is beating the pissed out of Tenryu up against the post and Hanse whacks his hand on the post. Not to be deterred, he keeps throwing hands and hits his hand again on the post and sells better than anyone else in the match. Stan Hansen is just so good. As good as Hansen was, he was so limited it was hard for him to make an impression. Tenryu on the other hand just came off as so explosive in all his exchanges with everyone. That is not usually a word I used to describe Tenryu.

It looks like Kawada and Tenryu are going to make short work of the injured Hansen, but Hansen is able to knee Kawada in the head. Kea hits a DDT and boots Kawada over the railing. It is time for Kawada and Kea to shine. Kawada played a great face in peril especially since it seemed like he was about to be showed up by Tenryu. Kawada works hard in this segment to make Hansen/Kea team earn it. When he gets into a slugfest with Hansen, he does his great sell of an elbow where he kinda staggers back and looks like he is about to fall on his ass. That is Kawada I know and love. Kea and Kawada have a great mat exchange over a cross armbreaker. It was really gritty and I dug Kea's slaps. Kea really proved himself to me in that sequence. For this match, he was on their level. Kea gets a TKO stunner (the Hawaii Five-O?) for 2, but Kawada hits his spinning heel kick to tag in Tenryu.

Tenryu punches Kea, enziguiri and a wicked lariat follow. O Hell Yeah! It starts to break down and Kea hits a monster German on Tenryu who was trying to hold onto the ropes to save himself. Kawada saves Tenryu from that Hawaii Five-O thingy. Melee ensues. Hansen lariats Tenryu -> Kawada jumping kick to Hansen. Kawada goes back to apron just break up Kea's pin, which was a little awkward. Kawada hits a wicked back drop driver to no pop for 2. Tenryu heads off Hansen and they brawl to outisde. Kawada goes for a running corner powerbomb, but then just decides to plant him right there. It was nasty.

I dug this match a lot. The fact that Tenryu had not been in All Japan since 1990 his interactions with Hansen really added to the beginning. Then Kawada/Kea kicked some ass in the middle. The finish was chaotic and entertaining. They used the headdrops to set up or be the finish of the match. I don't if there is any other Kea worth watching, but on this night he hung with best of them. ****

[Ditch]

When watching this, the context is so crucial. Hansen, who did turn in a good performance in the RWTL 1999 final, was essentially shot as a performer. Mossman/Kea was good but looked like a disappointment relative to other AJ Dojo products. Having a Hansen/Mossman team in July 2000 is not a recipe for a good match, let alone a Japanese MOTYC, but that's what we get. It helps that they're up against Tenryu and Kawada, but it takes two to tango.

 

Hell of a war, the career match for Mossman/Kea, the last hurrah for Hansen, and a really vital moment for All Japan's survival. If they didn't quickly do something to bounce back from losing Misawa et al., they would have become a glorified indy in no time.

 

LOCK for my ballot.

[drokk]

When watching this, the context is so crucial.

 

I really, really hope this is true. I just watched this and I get the sense that watching it in a vaccuum is not the best course of action. It's not even that I don't like the match, I just find it very average, and this is coming from someone that loves themselves some grumpy Tenryu and Hansen.

 

Where I'll have it - Bottom quarter, but this will definitely be at the top of the re-watch list.

[dawho5]

This is the first time I have seen this. Mossman/Kea seems to have figured out how to make his strikes look like they mean it. And he's showing a ton of fire, which is nice. I have this feeling most of the people watching these matches are familiar with the other 3. Right off the bat Hansen and Tenryu are eyeing each other up like they want to get it on before the intros. And once Tenryu is tagged in he goes straight for illegal man Hansen. Awesomeness ensues and the brawl is on. Kawada disregarding Mossman's offense with one counts is a little on the iffy side, but the crowd seems to not buy into it either so it works. Finishing run is marred by some blown spots on double teams, but crowd is still hot and the match is still very, very good.

[Graham Crackers]

Akiyama vs Misawa felt like an important match. It felt like the changing of the guard. Kobashi vs Takayama felt important because it felt so competitive and made Takayama look like he belonged on top for the first time. Unfortunately that kind of emotion was missing in every other match I saw from the first half of the year. Then comes this match right after the split. This match gives us Hansen vs Tenryu, former tag partners and rivals who haven't wrestled each other in more than a decade. Well, they seem to hate each other now and that's good for us. This match also has Kawada and Mossman attempting to exert themselves as the top dog and next big thing respectively. The new AJPW looks to be full of promise here. Instead this is more like the last time All Japan would look like All Japan as it's identity was about to enter a seemingly constant state of flux. There were a few great AJPW matches after this but we never got another match like Misawa vs Akiyama or even like this one.

[Steenalized]

I said on twitter while watching this match that Kea is "just there." That's actually really unfair to him, he puts in a good, energetic performance. Hansen gets one last great match, Tenryu gets to be his ornery self, and Kawada looks like the big dog for All Japan. I don't know what was different, but it sounded like all the guys were mic'd up for the match, especially Hansen. The audible grunts added a little bit extra to the match. Even stiff-legged, saw dust knees Hansen is a guy I wouldn't want to tangle with. Kea getting up after Kawada's big backdrop driver is how it should be done. Yeah he popped up, but his legs are shot and the ropes help him. Could've used more Tenryu-Hansen brawling, but that's all I want in life. Sick powerbomb to end it. ****1/4.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I underrated this match a bit on first watch. I felt the struggle more the second time around. Nobody was taking anything lying down. They were coming each other at full force. Just when you thought one team got the advantage there was a momentum shift, but it was always felt earned. Finally Kawada was in peril, but he modulated selling and this is why Kawada is damn near the best wrestler of all time. Few grasp the degree of selling as well as Kawada especially in these days of pop-up/possum comebacks by Cena and Ziggler. Kawada earns his comebacks and has gritty struggles before he hits the spin kick to wipe out Mossman. Tenryu and Hansen going at it was awesome to see one last time before Hansen retired. Hansen is a nut. He actually chopped the steel ring post. That's dedication! I liked finish run with everyone hitting finishers until Kawada crushed Kea with a nasty powerbomb. This will make the top half, good shit that set the tone that All Japan could survive the mass defection. Kawada is my puroresu wrestler of the year in 2000 in a year that was absolutely stacked with great matches. ****1/4

[WingedEagle]

This was like the '98 Finals only if Jordan played for Chicago and Utah. You've got Tenryu and Hansen representing the old guard, clearly not at their peaks but simply wanting it more and finding ways to win, or in this case put on a stellar match. Hansen is a classic babyface here, smashing his hand on the post when Tenryu bails and then selling it like a wounded dog the rest of the way. Meanwhile Tenryu is a master in the post, using his punches, chops and grittiness to wear down the old timer and teach young Kea a lesson. Its a real joy to watch Tenryu and Hansen beat the crap out of each other at this stage of their careers. Crazy to think Tenryu still had years and classics left in him. Kea really given a chance to shine here, hitting all his big moves on the legends and withstanding their onslaught. For a while. Eventually the legends team isolates and puts him down for good, but between Hansen's hand and the job Tenryu & Kawada did making Kea look like be belonged on their level this vastly exceed expectations.

 

Ballpark guess is this could end up around mid-ballot, but we'll see how the decade shakes out.

 

****

[soup23]

I agree with the sentiment that this is a very good tag as a standalone that is raised up a level giving the stakes that were raised with All Japan having to show that it could still be sustainable in the wake of the mass exodus. We get a neat snapshot into Kawada being an ace character, Kea stepping up in his first big chance, Tenryu returning after 10 years to the promotion and the ol cowboy riding around Budokan one last time. It was a slugfest but also had a story within that of Kawada getting worked over and Tenryu/Hansen having some excellent interactions with each other in the early going as the old cranky veterans ready to rip each other a part. I don’t know how Kea will hold up throughout the decade but he was strong here and gave a resilient effort taking tons of punishment before eventually eating the loss to Kawada. ****1/4 (8.5)

[AstroBoy]

All action especially the brilliant tussles between old Hansen and Tenryu. The striking exchange between Kea and Tenryu mid-match was also fantastic and showed flashes of Kea hanging at that level and proving himself as an aspiring top dog. The interactions between every combination are intense and have the right mixture of stiffness and struggle. The crowd is electric especially for Hansen/Tenryu. Really strong match with Kea hanging tough and putting in a good showing before falling to the powerbomb.

 

****

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a shitload of fun. All Japan sure has upped the stiffness since the split. Watching Tenryu and Hansen reignite their rivalry was a blast. I find their late 80s matches disappointing but it's still a match-up with a tremendous amount of chemistry. Mossman was pretty game, which you'd have to be if you were going to survive being in there with three legends the calibre of Hansen, Tenryu, and Kawada.

[superkix]

I enjoyed this quite a bit, from Mossman's energy, to Hansen's chopping the shit out of the ringpost, to Tenryu's lumpy-ness, and Kawada being the real highlight of this match by not giving a damn. Mossman was a good punching bag for him and that final powerbomb was really cool. Hansen's presence alone will always add a couple of points and I thought he was pretty compelling here up against Tenryu.