JerryvonKramer Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 http://placetobenation.com/all-japan-excite-series-15/ Steven and Parv discuss two of the best matches of all time. 12/06/96 - Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue 01/20/97 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi 06/06/97 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada 10/21/97 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBadMick Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 Holy shit! Really pumping them out now boys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 Holy shit! Really pumping them out now boys! Getting close to gwe deadline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 Excited to listen to this one. Random thought: the elbow to the guard rail in Misawa/Kobashi 1/20/97 is imo the best and most memorable transition of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Microstatistics Posted March 5, 2016 Report Share Posted March 5, 2016 Agree that Kobashi's performance in 1/20/1997 is a contender for greatest ever individual performance in a pro wrestling match. I was curious about your thoughts regarding Misawa's arm selling in the final stretch of the match. That was one thing that had always bothered me about the match because I thought he used the bad arm for throwing elbows too many times so I used to have it around **** 3/4. But on rewatch a few months, I noticed his subtle selling of the pain every time he threw a rolling elbow (crumbling in the corner from the pain, his arm going limp on his side) was a thing of beauty and also fit his character so I bumped it up to *****. And really Kobashi's performance and the rest of the match is too good for it not to be five star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradhindsight Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 http://placetobenation.com/all-japan-excite-series-15/ Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pol Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 Something I noticed after rewatching 1/20/97: for a 40+ minute match in a promotion known for epic stretch runs, there's really a small number of true near-falls (in the sense of "we're really trying to convince you this could be the finish"). Misawa's elbow to Kobashi's lariat arm, followed by them both collapsing selling their respective limbs, is an all-time great moment. The Frankensteiner off the apron is a great transition too. Just incredible transitions all over the place in this match. I had issues with Misawa kinda forgetting the elbow selling towards the end in the past, but I didn't this time, as it seemed clear that the story is Misawa slowly recovering the use of his greatest weapon in order to put Kobashi away. After the extended assault on Misawa's arm following the elbow to the guard rail, Kobashi never really works the arm again. His strategy falls apart as he becomes more focused on simply staying in the match. In fact I don't think he gets another extended section of control after that point. So it makes sense for Misawa to slowly regain the use of the elbow. My biggest issue with the match is the 15 minutes before the elbow to the guard rail spot. It's 15 minutes of good, engaging work, but it really doesn't mean anything at all in the broader scope of the match. I think they could have cut that section in half without really losing anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 Are you guys gonna review the Misawa vs Vader match from the Giant Baba Memorial show on 99'? People tend to rate the rematch from October higher but I would love to hear your thoughts on both matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 Are you guys gonna review the Misawa vs Vader match from the Giant Baba Memorial show on 99'? People tend to rate the rematch from October higher but I would love to hear your thoughts on both matches. It's not on the list, but we will be throwing on some extras to make the last two shows 5 match shows. There is a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawho5 Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 I'm surprised you guys skipped the 1997 CC "finals" where it went round robin right in sequence on the same card between Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada. There is some really good stuff in those matches and the booking of them is pretty damn interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 I'm surprised you guys skipped the 1997 CC "finals" where it went round robin right in sequence on the same card between Kobashi, Misawa and Kawada. There is some really good stuff in those matches and the booking of them is pretty damn interesting. When you limit AJPW in the 90's to only 72 matches, things have to get cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAC Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 As a lover of 90's AJPW, I continue to enjoy this podcast series. If you gentlemen are open to going on with the series after the GWE poll, you should go back to 1990 and go through the decade again, covering some of the other lesser-but-still excellent matches. There's still quite a number of really good and important matches out there that, if not all-time classics, are hidden gems worthy of being rediscovered. I'm going to re-watch the 6/6/97 match. I think you guys may have been a little harsh on it. While not a blow-away classic, I always thought it was still a very good match. I wonder if it suffered from elevated expectations. Also, it's placement in the middle of three of the all-time greatest ever matches pretty well guaranteed that it would pale in comparison. Keep up the good work! EDIT: Also, the brainbuster-->triangle hold combination that you said seemed weird... wasn't that a tribute or callback to the finish of the Hashimoto v. Takada IWGP title match from the previous year? With the difference being that, unlike Takada, Misawa is able to make it to the ropes to force a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Me and Steven still need to discuss this. I think he wanted to watch girl wrestlers or go forward into 00s Noah. I was probably leaning more on the side of just ending the series. However, AJ had a lot of weird and wonderful and random workers move through it over the years, so I would not be against doing a few shows of completely random picks. Maybe we could take 2-3 each. Naturally this would lead to a lot of Bossman and Tenta picks from Steven but I can live with that, especially as I'd get some revenge by making him watch Tor Kamata matches and then admitting that Kamata was probably better than Bossman. Show #16 is due later tonight and we will discuss options. I think I have a little idea, but let's see what Grimmas says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Jerry, why not mix it up? Dabble in some Joshi, NOAH, other stuff. I'd listen to a podcast reviewing random matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Well, here's what I just sent Steven: 1. Random RWTL match (Parv's pick) 2. Random fat guy match (Steven's pick) 3. Joshi classic 4. Noah classic Maybe add a fifth category (fan request?) That seems like it might be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAC Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 If you two are thinking of moving on to do a joshi match review or a NOAH match review, I'd vote for the former. I'm not sure how many would support me in that, but I tend to like All Japan Women more than NOAH. I'd gladly listen to some random picks episodes if that's on offer. Maybe even a listeners' request show? The other thing to think about is--assuming you haven't planned on going past 1999--covering the key matches in the first few months of 2000 prior to the split. There's at least one episode worth of interesting viewing in that period, and it takes you to the natural conclusion of that era of All Japan. Looking forward to episode #16! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Steven's pick!!!!! Bring on the fat, the minis and LA PARK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Steven's pick!!!!! Bring on the fat, the minis and LA PARK! Wait wait wait wait, did Baba ever book LA Park or minis? AJPW only come on now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Steven's pick!!!!! Bring on the fat, the minis and LA PARK! Wait wait wait wait, did Baba ever book LA Park or minis? AJPW only come on now. booo... misinterpreted. Well bring on the FAT! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Wait.... LA PARK!!http://www.profightdb.com/wrestlers/l-a-park-645.html?prom_id=37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Well, here's what I just sent Steven: 1. Random RWTL match (Parv's pick) 2. Random fat guy match (Steven's pick) 3. Joshi classic 4. Noah classic Maybe add a fifth category (fan request?) That seems like it might be fun. I'd include some modern action from time to time. Generally not your cup of tea but if you can stomach a random modern WWE or NJ match it could be fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Well, here's what I just sent Steven: 1. Random RWTL match (Parv's pick) 2. Random fat guy match (Steven's pick) 3. Joshi classic 4. Noah classic Maybe add a fifth category (fan request?) That seems like it might be fun. I'd include some modern action from time to time. Generally not your cup of tea but if you can stomach a random modern WWE or NJ match it could be fun. Parv wants to keep the name, so AJ focused. 1) Steven's Pick 2) Parv's Pick 3) Going forward (AJ & NOAH) 4) AJW Steven & Parv's pick will be AJ, NOAH or AJW.. or the rare Kawada in NJPW match. That's my vote. Lots of room for modern AJPW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Why does the name have to change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I like having the picks only from "AJPW booked and owned by Giant Baba" .... Heh heh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimmas Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I like having the picks only from "AJPW booked and owned by Giant Baba" .... Heh heh I think post death is fair. Lots of great Tenryu, Kawada and Mutoh to come. Plus I like the Jamal run and today is pretty good with Akiyama as the star. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.