[1999-10-30-AJPW-October Giant Series] Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Kobashi loses his temper over Takayama striking him and goes on a tear on him in the corner in an awesome moment, to the point that Akiyama and the referee have to restrain him. In a cool moment, while he’s being restrained, Omori sneaks in a dropkick to Kobashi and also hits Akiyama from behind to neutralize both while Takayama struggles to make a tag. It’s that take-charge layout that’s really cool and does as much to elevate these guys as any match result would. This gives them a few minutes to work over Akiyama, and Takayama gets a receipt on Kobashi by knocking him to the floor from the apron. Kobashi tags in and gets destroyed too. This isn’t really a one-sided match or anything, but I’m a little shocked at how strong they’re being put over, almost like a homegrown version of Hansen-Gordy or Doc-Gordy in terms of their aggression and dominance. There was a Takayama nearfall on Kobashi that I completely bought near the end of this, right before Kobashi finished him off. This was great.

[Tim Evans]

Takayama is just so awkward in everything he does. Him being in All japan amuzes me to no end. This was good thanks to Kobashi. When he was sick of the shit, he just went off and got the job done.

[Zenjo]

Got off to a hot start-o. The pace and intensity never let up throughout its 15m duration. They had the crowd all the way, which often wasn't the case in the late 90's. A keen rivalry was put across. For the first time I can recall Kobashi was in the role of angry veteran fighting off disrespectful younger opponents. It was great seeing this new dynamic as he entered the second decade of his career. No Fear both stepped up to the plate with strong performances. Akiyama capably took a background role for this one. In the end Kenta won after putting the opposition over strong. I was surprised by how good this was in all aspects. Excellent match. The best I've seen from Takayama and Omori in the 90's.

[tim]

Wow, this match ruled! Off the charts from the very start. Great swings in momentum, great intensity, awesome performances from everyone. The ref and Akiyama having to forcibly keep Kobashi from killing Omori was the best. Perfect length for the style they worked.

[G. Badger]

I hadn’t heard too much chatter about this match until the 1999 Yearbook. It’s certainly one of those matches an AJPW junkie wants to see just in case it’s an overlooked gem. Well, this is an overlooked gem for sure! Takayama is just about on par with the blonde haired bastard from the 2000s. Omori is just a beefier version of the ass kicker from 95-96 that was giving guys a run for their money. So, to give a summary- This was heated and intense. NO FEAR showed they belonged by handing Burning’s ass to them. Takayama was especially brutal. It’s as we’ve come to expect just, a few years earlier that he’s given credit for. It’s a quick match for AJ standards but, it delivers just how you want it to. Highly Recommended

[PeteF3]

This match was set up by an actual angle, where No Fear laid out Burning after a 6-man tag match the night after their tag title win, leading to this non-title match being turned into a title match. Hard to remember the last time AJPW had one of its major belts defended in such a quick turnaround like this. Anyway, this leads to a pissed off Kobashi, and it leads to, yes, a better match than the tag title change. This was heated and hateful and suspenseful and dickish and all kinds of things that made this match, like its setup, different from a typical AJPW title match. Business had been tanking under Misawa's booking but even if they didn't draw, his handling and push of No Fear has been a high watermark for him. One of the better AJPW matches of the year.

[Jetlag]

Really entertaining match which is made by NO FEAR stepping up and putting the boots to those BURNING pretty boys. No Fear were really coming into their own at this point and they did a good job here roughing up and cutting off BURNING in a lean match that was basically a sprint by All Japan standards. Takayama was starting to feel it in 1999 and he looked awesome running through everyone with massive knees and strikes. Dug the use of the AXE BOMBER~! Add a couple fun moments of Kobashi going angry bear and NO FEAR getting credible nearfalls and you have a really cool little match.