Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue

[goodhelmet]

My #1 tag team of all time.

[WingedEagle]

YEAH!

[Karl]

An awesome ,awesome team. Had pretty much everything. An absolutely lock for my top 5.

[JazeUSA]

suggestions on matches to view of them?

[soup23]

vs. Kobashi/Misawa 12/3/93

vs. Kobashi/Misawa 6/9/95

Vs. Misawa/Akiyama 7/9/96

vs. Misawa/Akiyama 12/6/96

vs. Kobashi/Ace 6/5/98

vs. Takayama/Omori 6/9/00

[Timbo Slice]

Also the 6/1/93 vs. Kobashi/Misawa and the 5/21/94. If you're interested in them, they also have two 60-minute matches on 1/24/95 and 10/15/95.

 

If they aren't my #1, I'm gonna be very surprised, but they're Top 5 easy for me right now.

[dawho5]

I would say watch every tag they had against Misawa/Akiyama from 96 in order. The narrative is what made 96 for me.

[Loss]

For people who are interested in peaks and valleys, some ***-***1/2 matches they had might be worth pulling out too. Let's pull their 1/7/99 match against Kobashi-Akiyama into the conversation. Let's pull their June match with No Fear in as well.

[WingedEagle]

5/21/94 isn't 6/9/95 or 12/6/96. But it was the first big AJPW match I saw and the one that hooked me. If you're new to their game you won't regret jumping in then. If you want to be comprehensive, start with 6/1/93 and 12/3/93 beforehand.

[dawho5]

For watching them work with lesser opponents, the RWTL match in 98 against Hayabusa/Shinzaki is surprisingly watchable. I think that was the year they wrestled Takayama/Kakihara also.

[MJH]

I love MX/R'n'R as much as the next guy (well, maybe), but the best All Japan tags are on a different level altogether. Misawa/Kobashi were the better team when they were together, but Kawada/Taue being together thrice as long and having the Misawa/Akiyama tags, even the Kobashi/Akiyama tags, etc swings it comfortable their way. 12/93 and 5/94 are perhaps more important for this poll than the later ones, too: the structural similarities/comparisons are much more evident, and then of course in how they take those forms and take them to a different level. For me, the only argument for anyone else in the top spot is "well, they weren't really a tag team"...

[JazeUSA]

vs. Kobashi/Misawa 12/3/93

vs. Kobashi/Misawa 6/9/95

Vs. Misawa/Akiyama 7/9/96

vs. Misawa/Akiyama 12/6/96

vs. Kobashi/Ace 6/5/98

vs. Takayama/Omori 6/9/00

vs. Kobashi/Misawa 12/3/93

vs. Kobashi/Misawa 6/9/95

pretty awesome I must admit

[WingedEagle]

vs. Misawa/Kobashi 5/21/94 is a personal favorite as it extended the 12/3/93 formula (debate the merits if you must), but this was the first AJPW classic I saw and absolutely hooked me. I think its a must watch before checking out 6/3/94, 6/9/95 of 12/6/96.

[DylanZero]

Like most others here they're my working #1, and pretty comfortably at that.

[Loss]

Just curious what puts them above Misawa & Kobashi for everyone. Is it just the difference in output since Misawa would later change partners a couple of times? Or is it more tied to how they worked as a team? What are their best matches against teams other than Misawa & ___ ?

[AndyLFC]

suggestions on matches to view of them?

 

Check out Kawada/Taue v Kobashi/Akiyama 3/96 - it's a lot of fun and worth it for the Kawada/Akiyama exchanges alone.

[El-P]

Greatest team ever ? Yeah ? Yes.

[JerryvonKramer]

Came across this last night, thought it was pretty cool:

 

[TheU_2001]

Came across this last night, thought it was pretty cool:

 

 

This is freaking awesome. I ranked them very high in my top tag teams for GWE, but now looking back I regret not putting them at #1. I'm happy with my #1 choice, but I should've put the Holy Demon Army there. Instead I had them a spot or two lower I think. Still though, one of if not the greatest team ever.