Akira Taue

[Grimmas]

Discuss here.

[dawho5]

His run in the 2000s was incredible. Smart wrestler who knew his limitations and used them to his advantage as often as not. Once 95 came, his offense caught up with all the intangibles and he became a really incredible worker. He did well in tags and small matches, but Taue really shined in big matches. Here's some stuff worth watching from the 90s.

 

Hansen vs. Taue 7/31/92
Kawada vs. Taue 4/13/93
Kawada/Taue vs. Williams/Gordy 5/20/93
Hansen vs. Taue 4/11/94
Holy Demon Army vs. Hansen/Baba 12/17/94
Misawa/Kobashi/Asako vs. Kawada/Taue/Honda 6/30/95
Kobashi vs. Taue 7/24/95
Taue vs. Kawada 3/31/96
Taue vs. Williams 4/20/96
Kawada vs. Taue 6/7/96 - some great interaction, match gets really dull in the middle
Taue vs. Kobashi 7/24/96
Holy Demon Army vs. Williams/Ace 11/18/96
Akiyama vs. Taue 1/20/97
Akiyama vs. Taue 3/29/97
Kawada/Taue/Omori vs. Kobashi/Ace/Patriot 5/18/97
Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 5/27/97
Misawa/Kawada/Hase vs. Kobashi/Taue/Akiyama 9/15/97
Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 10/11/97
Taue vs. Ace 10/21/97
Holy Demon Army vs. Shinzaki/Hayabusa 11/23/97
Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 11/27/97
Kobashi/Ace vs. Holy Demon Army 1/25/98
Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Ace 6/5/98
Holy Demon Army vs. Kakihara/Takayama 7/19/98
Taue/Izumida vs. Albright/Takayama 7/24/98
Kobashi/Ace vs. Taue/Honda 8/23/98
Holy Demon Army vs. Kobashi/Kea 8/29/98
Taue vs. Kobashi 9/11/98
Holy Demon Army vs. Burning 10/11/98
Holy Demon Army vs. Takayama/Kakihara 10/31/98
Holy Demon Army vs. Misawa/Shinzaki 1/15/99
Taue vs. Vader 3/6/99
Kawada/Kobashi vs. Misawa/Taue 6/4/99 - must see
Misawa/Akiyama vs. Vader/Taue 1/17/00
Kawada/Taue/Fuchi vs. Misawa/Kobashi/Shiga 3/11/00
Holy Demon Army vs. Ace/Barton 6/9/00

[Ditch]

Taue turned a corner in 1995. He still ruled a lot in the first half of the decade. Watch him control like 70% of the January '91 bout with Kawada. Watch him as a very effective underdog on 9/30/90, or in the overlooked series of tags with Jumbo against Hansen & Spivey. His selling was the centerpiece of the 5/22/92 6-man, which is possibly the best 6-man since 4/20/91. Which he was also in. THEN you get '95-'96 peak Taue, and from '97 on you could still count on at least one great performance a year and several very good ones. It's a hell of a resume. He only seems to fall short in comparison to the crème-de-la-crème that AJ's dojo produced.

 

Taue vs Hashimoto is an interesting discussion, as is Taue vs Akiyama. Hell, I'd probably put Taue ahead of Liger.

[Grimmas]

Although he may not be the best of the All Japan guys, he is my favourite. I'll do a 1990's All Japan re-watch before we vote, so we'll see how high he can go.

 

Early prediction 25-50.

[Timbo Slice]

Don't think Taue really "turned a corner" in 1995 so much as he was just given a chance to shine. Loved his stuff teaming with Jumbo, and even with Kawada/Misawa being at the forefront of their early tag feuds, he still has a ton of parts to his matches where he showed he was great.

 

As epic as the Kawada matches were with Misawa, Taue's work against Misawa was just as good, if not better in some ways. For his "limitations," he knew how to work them into matches that were as smart as anyone else could.

 

Best Nagata match ever. Possibly the best Kobashi GHC defense, although the Ogawa match is my favorite. I'll defend his 30-minute draw with Misawa before the Kobashi match, as well.

 

I will have him in my Top 25.

[MJH]

"The Four Pillars" really ought to be three; if it's four, the fourth is Jumbo, not Taue.

 

Taue had a strong move-set (by '95, the apron nodowa was an important addition), to where someone who really oughtn't have portrayed a powerful ass-kicker did so with relative aplomb. It also allowed him to be quite the sprint worker, all things considered, and indeed most of his best matches outside of the usual suspects were sprints based around said strong move-set (see the aforementioned, though I feel somewhat overrated) Nagata match, or indeed any match he had with Misawa from '96 on. I forget whether it's the '95 or '96 match with Kobashi (I want to say the '96 one), where his strengths are really apparent; the opening half is pretty "meh", but when Taue takes over and starts rolling out the bombs and Kobashi's fighting from underneath it turns into a really strong match. His role in the '96 Tag Final was perfect because all he had to do was interfere whenever Kawada got under the kosh, and kick ass. Obviously the '95 Carnival Final is a bona-fide classic, though that's mostly down to Misawa and Taue's role in the match was, let's be honest, quite hard to fuck-up (which isn't a discredit to him - he was super throughout the tournament (fuck '91/2, the '95 match is his best vs. Kawada and, unusually, based around Taue as underdog until the finishing run)). That said, Taue was, at worst, on the precipice of being great, and able to hang with the three truly great workers around him, and if only for body of work, where he certainly played his part aptly, he has to be Top 50...

 

Re: Ditch, I'd definitely put Hashimoto over Taue. The only advantage for Taue is the big spots/offence, and I can't envision Hash being in '90s AJ for too long before he finds something suitable for where Taue had the apron nodowa. With Liger my gut says Liger (I mean there's no question who's the more talented), but... I've found most notable Liger matches (vs. Sano, vs. Sammy, vs. Ohtani...) terribly disappointing.

[funkdoc]

the four corners thing is about all of them being part of the same generation, i always thought

[Timbo Slice]

It is. He's just saying Taue wasn't worthy of being a part of the group.

 

Anyone thinking Misawa carried Taue to those matches in '95 has blinders on. This is my common point when it comes to Taue and other wrestlers of his ilk: Because of who he worked with, he's always considered as someone who was carried to greatness. That's as big a misconception as there can be in professional wrestling. That's like saying the Nagata match was because of Nagata. Or the Kobashi TC match was because of Kobashi. No way am I going to believe that. I'll totally agree with the sentiment of who's better in a match, but that doesn't automatically mean the other guy was carried or could be replaced easily with someone else.

[NintendoLogic]

He's also responsible for the best singles match of Johnny Ace's career.

 

I'd conservatively put him in my top 25, with top 20 a strong possibility.

[MJH]

I never said he was "carried" by Misawa, but rather that Taue's role was easier (and he played it very well), and that Misawa's had the more difficult role and gave a better performance (it's one of the more revered of his career). Though I agree that anyone saying Nagata "carried" the match in '03 is clearly wrong - it's very much a Taue match to anyone at all familiar with him (i.e. a sprint based around his bombs, which Misawa cottoned onto being an ideal, easy way to work opposite Taue from the '96 TC match onwards). Absolutely one of the best strengths of Taue is that he knew what he did well, he knew what his weaknesses were, and he knew how to emphasise the former and minimise the latter.

[fxnj]

the four corners thing is about all of them being part of the same generation, i always thought

I'm pretty sure "four corners" is a weird mistranslation of the Japanese promotional name for that era, Shitennou (Four Heavenly Kings).

[benjaminkicks]

Is it like total blasphemy that I'm probably going to put Taue ahead of both Kobashi and Misawa?

 

Maybe I'm just a smarky asshole who prefers heels, or maybe I'm a total contrarian (both are very possible), but I've always enjoyed the work of Taue (and Kawada) over Misawa and Kobashi.

[Dylan Waco]

I just rewatched the Finals of the 96 tag league for the first time in a while. Usually what grips me about the match is the dynamic between Kawada/Misawa and Akiyama's role as sacrificial lamb/glorified young boy trying to save the god king in the face of the Demon Army. But this time around I was really blown away by Taue's performance to the point where I think he was clearly the best guy in the match if you adjust for the fact that it was a match that was less "about" him than anyone else.

 

One of the big knocks on Taue is that his offense doesn't look as hurty as other people and/or it looks awkward. It's funny because here I thought his offense looked more on point than anyone else's. Not that the other guys looked bad, but there were flubs or minor timing issues with the others, including a really egregious one with Kawada and Misawa. Taue by contast delivered his stuff dead on, and his timing was pretty much perfect.

 

In terms of role playing, I don't think you will see many performances in the history of wrestling better than Taue's here. As the big man asskicker he is just great in this match. His body language, mannerisms, facial expressions, et. all fit with the role he has as Kawada's strong arm man. The build and delivery of the nodowa off the apron to Akiyama is incredible largely because of the way Taue sells the act itself. Down the stretch he is equally great running interference for Kawada, cheerleading for him, reacting to Akiyama clinging to his leg, et.

 

The way he sold the singular impact of being rocked by shots in this was great to, and I honestly thought his selling was better than anyone elses. I have never been a big fan of the pop up selling after head drops, which both Misawa and Kawada do in this match. To be fair both guys dot it as well as is possible, but I much prefer the way Taue reacts to what he eats here, than the delayed reaction approach. He also deserves credit for some really well executed, timed, and delivered cut off spots.

 

It's one match, but it does make me want to go back and watch a bunch of Taue. I was going to have him really high anyhow, but if he stands out of the pack like this in a match this great, I could have him astronomically high.

[jdw]

He's terrific in the match, and in the post match in how he responds to Kawada after the win.

 

Kawada's strong arm man is a good way to put it. There the point late in the match where Kawada (character rather than worker) is lost over being able to put away Misawa, tag out to Taue having more confidence in him. We all often project character onto performance that's often not there, but Kawada's expression does pretty much say it, as does how he does the tag.

 

On the flip, the cheerleading is there: when Kawada has Misawa on the ropes and looks to put him away, Taue is doing some of the best "on the apron" style stuff you seen in All Japan in that era in rooting / pulling for his teammate to get the job done.

 

1995 Taue was a big leap. 1996 Taue was at times even better once he won the TC in having a certain air/confidence level in his work. Broken record on this: Baba blew it by having Kobashi win the title. There was just a bit more to be mined from Taue being at this level.

 

* * * * *

 

That said, there were also times where things didn't click.

 

Taue and Kawada had a lot of matches against each other that clicked, be they when they were rivals or teammates, or when Taue was pre-great~! or when Taue got really-great. The 6/96 TC match doesn't quite click, and was wildly disappointing given it was the one time that Budokan was *theirs* to lay it all on the line. Been a while since I've watched it, but it wasn't sharper that most recent time than it was back in 1996. I've always said there's a moment down the stretch where is seemed the plan was suppose to go West, Taue went East, Kawada had a look/pause that said "Uh..." before deferring to East. Considering the length of the match, how it went once they went East, generally what happened up to that point, it always felt like going East came at least 4 minutes early leaving all that West stuff on the cutting room floor.

[Jimmy Redman]

I am all aboard on Team Taue and I haven't even got to 1995 yet.

 

I honestly think people who talk about the "Three Pillars" or think Taue was just along for the ride are insane. I have no idea what they're watching. Taue is fucking awesome and is clearly contributing to these matches. I could well end up ranking Taue 4th out of the Pillars, but it will be by a matter of degrees and not because I don't think Taue is on their level.

 

I love the big bastard. Another one of my inherent weaknesses is for big, stretched out, goofy looking giants. Taue looks like the son of Baba, and I mean that in the best possible way. I love his size and how he can just amble over and chop people, but then turn around and get into the AJ-style dropping of bombs. He's great in these long AJ epics, great at brawling, and also just so great at working sprints. And for such a big guy, he's surprisingly sympathetic when it's his turn to actually get beaten on. He's also a total dick and that is always great.

 

He had the most watchable match I've ever seen Marufuji have, which earns points with me.

 

I want to get to his 1995 before I really decide where to put him, but he will be going high.

[JerryvonKramer]

Where I think Taue is "not on the level" of the other three is in the Base rating on my scale. Where the others are clear 9/10s or 10/10s, Taue is at best a 7/10. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a list of great matches and performance in those matches as long as your arm, but that's where I think the talk comes from. I'm probably just stating the obvious.

 

I think Taue is more obviously likable, on a human level, than Misawa or Kawada, which is why I reckon so many people feel so well disposed towards him. "Son of Baba" sounds about right. I'd be surprised if Taue finishes outside the top 20 of the combined final list. He will v. likely be in my own top 20.

[Jimmy Redman]

Yeah, and I think it's a good example of where our criteria are different, because what you see as Base Stats just don't mean all that much to me, as I've often said already.

 

You've said you have Hase over Taue, and I have Hase nowhere near Taue, and I think that is largely down to the Base part.

[JerryvonKramer]

Did I say that? I don't actually think Hase can finish over Taue, isn't mathematically possible.

[Jimmy Redman]

At this point, I feel I can say without much hesitation that I think Hase is a better wrestler than Akira Taue. So it will be interesting for sure to see where he will finish for me in the GWE 100.

 

Plus I remember you saying at some point that you'd be going pretty high with Hase. So I guess I just assumed you'd rank him over Taue.

 

EDIT: No here it is:

I don't know if I'll be the highest voter on him, but I can't see how he's not going to rank above Taue for me, and given how many great matches Taue was in, I can see him finishing outside the top 30. Which means Hase is likely going to be top 20.

From the Hase thread.

[Matt D]

That was before Captain Mike evolved into IRS.

[JerryvonKramer]

Yeah pretty much, that's me saying I think his core skills are better than Taue's -- so are Barry Windham's by the way -- but output is a key metric for a reason.

 

Taue will be a 10 for great matches and at least an 6-8 in four other categories. So even if he gets 0 in Base, which he won't, he's looking at a minimum of a 34-42, add on the 6-7 he'll get on base and he's probably getting a score that puts him over the likes of Randy Savage, Bret Hart, and Eddie. Taue might realistically finish top ten for me.

[Loss]

Taue-Hase is a real struggle for me because I do think Hase is the better worker, but I don't think there's any justification for ranking him above Taue. Taue did more with his toolkit than Hase did with his more expansive toolkit, and I don't even mean that as a slight on Hase.

[JerryvonKramer]

I don't really think there's any argument against that Loss.

 

I actually wonder if there's be something to a Hase / Windham comparison. Both guys seem like the total package in terms of toolkit for me but don't have the output to make them truly top tier.

[ohtani's jacket]

I don't see how Taue was good enough mechanically to be in anyone's top 10. A big part of his charm was is awkwardness, and how he overcame his limitations with time and even smoothed them out in some cases. It seems to me that there are too many workers out there with great mechanics and a high output. Taue/Hase/Windham is like arguing who places where in the 35-25 range.

[Boss Rock]

On the strength of his tag work alone Taue is a top 10 contender to me. It's his singles work I need to revisit as he never quite had the resume the other Pillars did. But I think that '06 match with Marufuji shows just how much he ruled.