Toshiaki Kawada

[TRMD]

This was wrestling love at first site. I had never seen Kawada wrestle until last month when I watched Kawada/Fuchi v Nagata/Izuka. I thought that match was very good, but one guy stood out substantially to me. Kawada.

 

I ran into Kawada again when I was doing my Stan Hansen viewing. Their match was certifiably great to me. And once again, Kawada really stood out. I decided I had to watch more of him, because he was too god damn awesome to be ignored. I've FINALLY got around to watching 3 matches. i picked these 3 because a poster in the Kawada GWE thread said that his best years were 94 to mid 95.

 

 

Kawada v Misawa 4/11/94

 

Good match completely held down by Misawa. He had the crowd behind him 100%. Kawada was giving him the ass whooping of a life time. And he showed exactly zero fire or sense of urgency for 99% of the match. Kawada was great though. Vicious, but at the same time very methodical. He showed tons of urgency. Brilliant spot for me when Misawa kicks out of and the second he does Kawada goes right back to the Crab. Kawada seemed like he needed this win badly, and Misawa was sleep walking. Although, he did sell the whooping fairly well. Overall, Kawada was great in this.

 

*Maybe I'm missing something on Misawa? What is his character like at this point? Was there a reason he acted so bored in this?

 

 

Kawada v Akiyama 3/21/95

 

Very Good Match. Akiyama legitimately showed more fire in the first 2 seconds of the match than Misawa did in all 32 minutes of the match prior. Great pace to this one. Akiyama's fire never dwindled and Kawada controlled brilliantly. Gave an completely devastating looking One Leg Crab in this one. I almost felt bad for Akiyama. Loved the ending in this one. A breeze to sit through. 16 minutes absolutely well spent and another great performance from Kawada.

 

 

Kawada v Kobashi 4/13/95

 

Holy Shit. This was an Epic. Amazing Performances from both men..but I think Kobashi takes the cake in this one. Every single action in this match felt so important. Each move was a battle in itself, as neither guy was going to make any submission or suplex even relatively easy to be done. Both guys absolutely destroyed each others knees. Tiny negative that there was really no long term limping or anything, but when a match is this great, I can deal with it. So much fire and passion. Intensity was A+. It got a little bit spot oriented at the end, but it made complete sense because it was obvious neither guy was gonna lay down. Brilliant Performance from both men. Brilliant Match.

 

*If I was to give star ratings, it would be damn close if not the full 5 stars.

 

I'm more than willing to take suggestions on more matches. Preferably singles, because I know when I get into the Holy Demon Army I'll be trapped in a worm hole of greatness that I won't want to get out of.

[Tim Cooke]

Misawa was legit hurt in the 1994 Champions Carnival. Since he was already in the tournament and the tournament was meticulously booked as these things are in Japan, they kept him in. He was scheduled to go to a 30:00 draw with Misawa, which they did but Misawa couldn't do much and it's one of the worse Misawa/Kawada matches to go with 6/97, 7/99, and 7/05.

[NintendoLogic]

It was the 1995 Carnival Misawa was injured in (specifically, he broke his orbital bone). He had to pull out of the 1994 Carnival due to an injury, but that was a work. Baba didn't want Misawa winning that year, but he also didn't want him doing any jobs.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I like 7/05 for what it was: a Big Dome nostalgia match, a great Best Hits of Misawa vs Kawada match. It really should have been Misawa's retirement match, a near perfect way to send him off.

 

Also I am not a huge watch everything in chronological order nut, but All Japan is the one exception. It really should be watched in order. When I first got into it, I jumped around and really liked what I saw. I thought it was the greatest shit ever. Then I watched it order and it became greatest shit ever times infinity.

[fxnj]

I think the worst Misawa/Kawada match would easily go to their CC 1997 final, which is just total bullshit booking. 7/05 is actually my pick for their most underrated match and a serious singles MOTYC for 2005. I think it's pretty amazing that they were able to recapture their pre-split magic given how beat up they were and long it had been since their match before that.

[Tim Cooke]

It was the 1995 Carnival Misawa was injured in (specifically, he broke his orbital bone). He had to pull out of the 1994 Carnival due to an injury, but that was a work. Baba didn't want Misawa winning that year, but he also didn't want him doing any jobs.

 

Yea, that's right. Forgot 94 was a work.

[Benbeeach]

For what it's worth, stoic is Misawas's MO. He's the ace, it's the rest of the 4 corners and Akiyama have to get up for him, not vice versa. It's one of his more unique traits as a worker, he's able to elicit and garner such a strong reaction, while essentially looking like he's been unceremoniously roused from his 3 O' clock nap. The more you watch, the less you'll think it's a bad thing. Makes the few times Misawa does show genuine, overt, expressive fire, all the more special. He's a machine, super wrestler without all the extra. Misawa wears green. You don't want to see him when he's angry . . . and his tights are pulled up

[dawho5]

Yeah I can point you at a match where Kawada gets Misawa riled up. Spoiler: it does not in any way go well for Kawada.