All Japan Excite Series #12

[JerryvonKramer]

http://placetobenation.com/all-japan-excite-series-12/



Parv and Steven tackle four more matches from 90s All Japan:

10/25/95 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Gary Albright
04/20/96 - Steve Williams vs Akira Taue
05/23/96 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue
06/07/96 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace

[PeteF3]

I like Albright as a worker more than most--there are singles matches with Nobuhiko Takada and Misawa where I thought he was the better worker of the two. And when he gets to where he's suplexing motherfuckers, he's fun. But I *knew* that match wasn't going to impress Parv.

 

As your pal jdw put it in his AJPW '90s Ballot way back in the day--it's probably not *really* the 20th best or 19th best AJPW match of the '90s, but if you were putting a comp together, you'd want to include this match over a random usual-suspects tag that may technically be a bit better, just because AJPW gets very samey and Albright is different. That's assuming you see it as a **** match, of course.

[dawho5]

As far as your tag list goes you forgot one big duo. Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers were an amazing tag team and I think get forgotten in the great tag team discussion far too often. I would agree the Albright/Kawada match should be viewed more as a testament to Kawada's ability to work with alternative styles as well as he did. I enjoyed that match a lot and thought Albright was at least an intelligent worker despite his limitations and positioned himself for Kawada's big spots well enough. Taue was the #3 guy behind Kawada at this point in time. Kobashi doesn't pass Taue until sometime in 1997 in my opinion, mostly due to Taue taking the title in 1996 and Kobashi still working his way up post-Misawa to the big January 97 match. This match was also the first time Taue headlined a major card without Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi around. Very big moment for him, as pointed out t me after I watched it. Hansen was starting to decline by this point. Putting him on a team with Williams would have been counterproductive because Hansen teams tended to be Hansen-dominated. Williams was the new #1 gaijin and needed to be the #1 guy on his own team in the eyes of the fans. Steven was correct about Misawa's role in tags. He was there to tease his next big matchup and give the rub to whoever he was tagging with.

 

Another great listen and I'm sad that you skipped the 4/20/96 six man because I would have loved to hear Parv and Steven's reactions to how Kawada treats Akiyama. It ties directly into Akiyama "having something to prove" in the 5/23 match. Also, the spot where Misawa comes in in the 5/23 match and clears Taue out of the ring so Akiyama can be alone with Kawada and gives him the "get it done" gesture is awesome.

[pol]

I really enjoyed that Albright match when working my way through the 90s stuff. Was a really nice change of pace from the standard AJPW style. I felt there was a strong undertone of "these UWFi guys called everyone else fake, and now Kawada's going to beat one of them at his own game" to it. I always enjoy the rare spots in 90s AJPW where a new outside guy would get injected into the mix and allow the pillars to show a little bit of range. Hase/Kobashi is another good example.

[pol]

I rewatched Kawada/Albright. While this is definitely not a shoot style match, maybe it requires a little understanding of shoot style psychology to appreciate fully? The idea is that any submission hold from Albright can potentially end the match, and end it fast. The crowd reacts to them accordingly, as does Kawada by selling the hell out of holds - like your standard leglock - that are generally pretty mundane and unthreatening in pro style. Look at Kawada's facials and desperation to reach the ropes when Albright catches him in a hold early - he almost never shows that much vulnerability while selling period, let alone in the opening minutes of a match!

 

I think Steven is right to label this as the AJPW style battling the UWFi style in an attempt to prove which is the strongest, but there's also an element of Kawada trying to show that he can hang in Albright's world. As I said in the previous post, the UWFi made a habit of calling pro-style promotions fake. By showing he can apply elements of the UWFi style into his own game (really in a very facile fashion, but it was enough for AJPW's audience), Kawada is saying "I can do that too, I just don't wanna!" I think this, as well as the general excitement of an interpromotional match, is why the fans were so into it despite, as Parv said, Kawada usually being the heel; here he's Their Guy defending the honour of the AJPW style. The times he counters out of Albright's holds into his own are significant, especially the finish, where he counters out of Albright's armbar into his own - beating Albright at his own game. It's worth bearing in mind that submission finishes were incredibly rare in 90s AJPW to the point where you can probably call out most of the submission finishes in main events from memory. That the armbar went on to become a signature move for Kawada is further indication of the significance of that spot.

[Grimmas]

Thanks for the analysis. I think Parv can come around on that match with more context.

[Childs]

I like Albright as a worker more than most--there are singles matches with Nobuhiko Takada and Misawa where I thought he was the better worker of the two. And when he gets to where he's suplexing motherfuckers, he's fun. But I *knew* that match wasn't going to impress Parv.

 

As your pal jdw put it in his AJPW '90s Ballot way back in the day--it's probably not *really* the 20th best or 19th best AJPW match of the '90s, but if you were putting a comp together, you'd want to include this match over a random usual-suspects tag that may technically be a bit better, just because AJPW gets very samey and Albright is different. That's assuming you see it as a **** match, of course.

 

I'm with you and also enjoy Albright's squashes in UWFI. I'll always find a place in my heart for a giant, ornery guy with a mullet and a scar on his face who murdered fools with suplexes. I would never put Gary over as a great or even good worker but didn't particularly like the sniggering over him on the podcast; fat or not, he could've ripped Nikita Koloff's spine out and fed it to him.

[JerryvonKramer]

I may have to watch the bout again, but I actually watched it TWICE for the show, because the first time I had to take a call and it took me out of it. So I watched the whole thing again.

 

But on first impressions, I thought it was easily the worst match we've reviewed for this show, and by some distance. I was quite aware of the context going in too, which is why I was surprised by how conventional the match was. That is not to say that I thought it was bad, just entirely unremarkable. I feel like I've seen Worldwide or Saturday Night matches from the early 90s much more notable than this. But just my take. I'm totally fine not being with the crowd on this one.

[JerryvonKramer]

Ratings:

 

 

 

 

 

10/25/95 - Toshiaki Kawada vs Gary Albright

 

Parv: **1/2

Steve: ****

 

04/20/96 - Steve Williams vs Akira Taue

 

Parv: ****

Steve: ****1/4

 

05/23/96 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue

 

Parv: ****1/2

Steve: ****1/4

 

06/07/96 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Steve Williams & Johnny Ace

 

Parv: ***3/4

Steve: ***3/4

 

 

 

 

AJ Excite should return with some force over the next couple of weeks as we have a power run towards the finish line. Six shows left.