[1999-08-25-AJPW-Summer Action Series II] Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

My main man Yoshinari Ogawa can’t take Omori off his feet, so he pokes him in the eye to make it happen. Awesome. I thought this match built really well and was a good showcase for Ogawa. I prefer his slimy side, but once they started working him over, he became more sympathetic than usual, and I liked him trying to navigate his way through a match against such a dominant tag team and two guys who were much bigger than him. This was really good, especially in the final few minutes. Misawa got the pin, but really had to earn it and was pushed to the limit. Ogawa added a lot to this just because he’s so different from everyone else in All Japan who is going out of their way to be a tough guy.

[Tim Evans]

I really enjoyed this match. It wasn't worked in the usual All Japan style as you had some emotion and even Ogawa played to the crowd. Nice double team moves by Omori and Takayama. Loved Misawa and Takayama trying to one up each other with stiff forearms. Fun match.

[Zenjo]

It's so refreshing to see some new natives in an AJ main event. The dynamics of the two teams were also interesting. On one side you had company ace Misawa teaming with resourceful underdog Ogawa. Whereas No Fear was just the sort of duo that would be competing for the tag titles in a US promotion. Two up and coming competitors who weren't yet ready in singles, but presented a formidable threat as a unit. They worked over Ogawa when they could catch him in a nice FIP segment. Against Mitsy they came off second best in most of the strike exchanges. Don't fuck with the forearms. Generally good quality and it connected with the crowd. On the downside No Fear were lacking polish and the contest ran a few minutes longer than was ideal. The new champions now held every single belt in the promotion between them.

[soup23]

My favorite discovery of the stuff I watched in prep for the set. No Fear has a big win under their belt so they start off the match showing..... NO Fear. I especially loved the added dickish strikes Takayama would throw Misawa's way. Ogawa gets targeted throughout the match and is seen as the weak link without a doubt. The finishing stretch was exciting and even in defeat, this match shows how elevated up the cards No Fear was becoming. The Takayama vs. Misawa match was ok but disappointing given the level of hate they showed here. **** 1/4

[tim]

Finishing up the rest of disc 20 which I skipped when I started watching again. Damn good match here. Cool dynamics with the two new, hard hitting natives and the team of the ace and the underdog. Yakayam and Omori worked much more as a team throughout the match than Misawa and Ogawa but Misawa is still the strongest guy in there. Nice FIP on Ogawa which features some good hope spots where Ogawa manages to fight off both guys before getting taken down again. Ending is great with Misawa blasting both Omori and Takayama and then with Ogawa's assistance keeping away Takayama, pounds Omori with big moves until he's finally put away.

[PeteF3]

This was really enjoyable--in particular I liked how much urgency No Fear showed whenever Misawa was in. It was basically a handicap match whenever he was legal. Misawa was being criticized at this time for putting together good main events but not being a good "big picture" booker...but the rise of No Fear seems pretty well-put-together to me. Omori is pretty far ahead of Takayama as an all-around performer at this point and looks really good and valiant in defeat.

[Jetlag]

2 stories in 1 with Ogawa trying to hang with the big dudes and No Fear trying to keep Misawa at bay. Largely strike based match which I dug a lot because you had 4 guys who can throw strikes. So instead of suplexes you get guys pounding eachother with elbows, kicks, lariats and punches. This match largely works because No Fear's stuff feels fresher and you get fun moments such as Misawa selling Takayama's knee to the body, or Omori swatting everyone with lariats. Agree about the great finishing sequence as Takayama's interference backfires and Omori looks strong in defeat as he is able to survive for a while without his partner.