[1999-10-09-AJPW-October Giant Series] Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori & Masa Fuchi

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

This is a fantastic six-man tag. Akiyama is just awesome in this, both as an aggressor and in selling the attack from No Fear and Fuchi. Everything looks so crisp and I love the pacing of this and the aggression of the heel side. Fuchi is a great tag team partner for No Fear since everyone on that side is such an asshole. Kobashi puts on The Kobashi Show, but he’s freakin’ great at it. It’s cool to see Fuchi still had it this late too. This doesn’t really build to an exciting finish like the best six-man tags do, but it’s awfully decisive and it’s hard to complain about that.

[Tim Evans]

I wouldn't say this was fantastic but it was decent. Liked the Kobashi/Takayama and southern heel Omori parts the best.

[Zenjo]

An accurate representation of a minor TV taping main event from the time period. Far from essential, yet always watchable and had it's moments. Take it or leave it. 25m in total with about 70% aired. The structure was fairly lax and unfocused. Hardly any stretch at all considering the length. Shiga has a terrible body for pro wrestling. Far too thin to absorb the thousands of bumps. I did leave wanting to see The Burning vs No Fear in a tag bout, and will get my wish soon enough.

[soup23]

Thankful for some hateful AJPW action to get the year back on track. Fuchi is so good at emerging out of the corner of his little world a few times a year to have a breakout performance. Him paired with No Fear was perfect as they pushed a helpful pace. Burning as the faces also won't back down from a fight. Kobashi is making a strong play for WOTY considering how the rest of the year plays out. ***3/4

[PeteF3]

After that rash of segments, a good AJPW 6-man is like a nice warm shower. So is seeing Fuchi again, after another long absence. He fits in with No Fear in every way. I wouldn't call this a great match or anything as it's just sort of a meandering collection of guys tagging in and out, but it was fun and fundamentally solid--in 1999, that counts for a lot. Like a lesser version of the Bret-Benoit match we just saw. Finish isn't good and despite AJPW's best efforts no one is buying Takayama using a leg drop as a finisher, but it was good solid work up until then that I could have watched for longer.