NO FEAR: An AJPW Primer

[Ma Stump Puller]

Introduction

NO FEAR were one of the biggest tag teams during the downturn years of AJPW (1998-2000) and functioned as a platform for the mostly bland leopard-print Takao Omori and UWF-I export Yoshihiro Takayama to get their profile raised as they were pushed up the card. The original version of them was actually a trio alongside Gary Albright, whom would be booted out soon afterwards; they'd later become once again a trio when eternal undercarder Satoru Asako was lumped in with them (through he was so forgettable that even major wrestling databases don't even bother to acknowledge the guy as apart of the group). They were pretty much low-card lads for a while (doing worse than the team with GIANT KIMALA, so you know they stunk) and reserved for beating the likes of Masao Inoue over and over again until being pushed up, namely to get the belts off Hayabusa and co whom were leaving to go back to FMW. This thread is generally made to provide a microscope to some of their best stuff for beginner watchers, as well as why and how.

The important thing to also mention at this point is that AJPW matches tended to be paced differently during the latter half of the 90's: most matches were shorter (some even sub-15 minutes: a main event featuring Vader and Steve Williams against the duo went sub-10!) and this most definitely applies to the majority of NO FEAR's matches, featuring a increased pace and focus on a wider spectrum of finishes beyond traditional big bombs into bigger bombs until someone stopped moving, mostly because that style had wrecked the Four Pillars over years of wear and tear. Sometimes basic submissions could take big wins after a while, sometimes smaller bombs were needed to get the job done; which you definitely also see from their matches. What you get, therefore, is a different pace and style out of NO FEAR's matches generally, which is always a plus.

I'm going to bring up 5 critical matches from their two year (well one year and a half, technically) stint that are the most essential for people unfamiliar with the pair. AJPW is where I'm referencing because I know that field way more than anything afterwards.

 

Gary Albright, Giant Kimala & Jun Izumida vs. Masahito Kakihara, Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama (RWTL 14.11.1998)

I kinda have to add this on because it's the beginning of the group: it's their very first match as a actual legit team. The dynamics are obviously still needing work, but this is still essential watching as defining their style: rough and VERY stiff. Taka and Omori do not hold anything back here and some of the strikes are outright reckless at times. Of course this features the underrated Violence Master Jun Izumida himself, who thrives on that kind of stuff. As such, we also get some good work between him and the trio, featuring some big spots out of the lad. It's nothing where I'd say it's a hidden gem or anything, but as a foundation for what else is to come, there's really nothing else that'll do the job better. Most of NO FEAR's style is articulated strongly here alongside a lot of extra beef, all willing to throw some big shots or take some back. 

If you can get past Giant Kimala being....well Giant Kimala, you'll probably enjoy this a fair bit.

 

Hayabusa & Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama (Super Power Series 04.06.1999)

NO FEAR's first big title win, and it's a pretty top notch match. This is firmly established early as a speed v power outing, with Hayabusa and co throwing out the spots alongside a nasty and focused heel duo who ground them down with rough strikes and good teamwork. AJPW Hayabusa tends to be really inconsistent, leaning from ok to fantastic: at times he seems not to really bother and coast off the very basics of what he can do. Thankfully he doesn't do that here, and Shinzaki is able to add in his own stuff alongside a willing Omori to great effect. This is their longest match on here (about 27 minutes) but it most assuredly doesn't feel that way despite a slow start. It's a good showcase of how NO FEAR work alongside a faster paced team and can't just rely on big beefy exchanges between the usual heavyweights. The lead to the finish in particular is where the really good work comes out from, with a lot of laser-focused attention on building suspense until one last push nabs it for the heel duo.

 

Kenta Kobashi & Kentaro Shiga vs. Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama (Summer Action Series 04.07.1999)

I really could put any "Kobashi vs these two" on here because all of them are super solid matches, but I wanted to add only this one in particular because it's a personal favourite. Kobashi plays the big heavyweight of the match while Shiga is the weaker underdog that mostly bumps and sells until Kobashi saves the day.....is how you'd think this goes, but nope! Kobashi comes in here with a facemask due to a busted nose, and NO FEAR don't even waste time on starting sequences, polite technical work, instead Omori just goes into raking his face whenever he's in trouble, slapping on dirty facelocks to bend and wrench the injury, fist drops, knees to the head, etc. It's basic heel psychology, but it's done so well by the duo as they just go full shitheel mode with nearly every move being based around Kobashi's nose. Every cut-off to a comeback is via the nose, any continued work is turbo-racing to that nose like there's a magnet in it, not even bothering with subtleties.  

The great thing here is that Shiga: the usual punching bag of these kind of matches: has to go full offence mode, which I think Omori and co sell fantastically despite Shiga not always looking very good in terms of making his stuff look actually impactful. The build to that throughout as Shiga gets shoved around, smacked with a chair and generally eats complete shit is top notch heel work as they continually cut him off until the gas runs dry. Pair that alongside Takayama just easing into his role as the vicious brute enforcer with his knees and boots with Kobashi giving a great performance as this angry-ace who just can't stay in the game like he normally could to run through these two and you have, in my opinion, one of the top mid-card bouts of the year that builds and builds to a neat bow of a match. It helps that the main match of this event (a weird half-assed Holy Demon Army performance) was pretty crappy anyway. 

 

Bart Gunn & Johnny Ace vs. Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama (Summer Action Series 23.07.1999)

This is also for the (other) tag belts, held by the Movement duo after defeating Burning in a upset. This is added mainly because it's a very rare case of NO FEAR being outright babyfaces: the crowd aren't cheering Ace and co and they tend to reel back the heel antics to backup themselves as babyface natives. Omori gets wrecked early with a powerbomb/cutter, a suplex to the outside and a back suplex there as well to boot. Omori is the guy who sells and bumps for the duo while Taka tries his very best to save him with his boots and kicks. The comebacks are worked up to really well with Omori's selling and Ace's general ability to be immensely unlikeable, paired off with them using a lot of annoying interference to keep the advantage. Takayama has a SUPER loud comeback sequence that I think is one of the first signs of him being a major success: his ability to feed off the crowd's energy with huge dropkicks and tons of speed for a man of his mass and size looked awesome in action. Bart Gunn is a weak link? Absolutely, which makes this even better given how well everyone works around his limitations. 

NO FEAR pull off some great double-team work here as well, even pulling from the Brainbusters at one point with a assisted top rope piledriver. They get to a really hot finish that has the crowd really on the side of the bruisers as they nab the win. This workrate wise isn't great: there's some sloppy moments and a outright bad botch near the end: but I think this settles into a strongly paced match focused around selling and momentum switching. I think Ace deserves his flowers as well for being the heater of his duo and actually doing the important sequences mostly. Either way, if you wanna see how these two work a main event babyface match, check this out.

 

Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama (Super Power Series 09.06.2000)

Sometimes you just have to go with the best. For me, this is most definitely it. This was apart of a one day tournament to decide the new champs of the tag belts after Vader and co couldn't defend them (the official reason to my knowledge was never disclosed but best guess is injuries, which is what they play it off as Misawa "breaking" Vader's arm during a mostly unaired house match) and the first few match were decent enough. However, a wrench had been thrown in the works as Taue had bumped badly for a Doomsday Device spot from Movement: landing badly on his shoulder, he was basically out for the rest of the match getting taped up, with him being significantly limited to mostly one arm. As such, the NO FEAR lads have to somewhat improvise with what they are given. What they do is fantastic: isolate the injured Taue and have Takayama take up his role as the annoying inference guy, consistently running in to stop Kawada even getting in. Kawada despite this gets in after they keep baiting him by tormenting his injured buddy, allowing them to do some big damage themselves with the numbers game.

What really works here is how NO FEAR make this whole protracted control segment feel fresh and not at all dragged out. When Demon Army FINALLY get their shit together, it doesn't even last long before they get cut-off and back as the underdogs. Despite their rep, the duo are able to play convincing powerhouses slowly chopping down the elder trees bit by bit. Last sub-5 minutes are some utterly fantastic sequences as even Taue goes "fuck it" and starts just going as hard as he possibly can, which Omori and co play up really well. The finish is rather unconventional but it works for how desperate the whole second half feels, going literally right down to the smallest of moves that manages to take the win. It's a perfect example of these two on the main stage with everything to play for just going at it at the peak of them as a threat. Yes, the Demon Army are as great as always, but I think the newer guys fight for a worthy position alongside them here. If you can watch one match out of the five, see this one.

 

Conclusion

One thing to make clear is that these are not the ONLY great matches these two have had: I haven't even gone into the Burning and Untouchables feuds or some of their underrated stuff against the Kimala/Izumida duo or just generally good matches across the board that could've made it on here. I wanted to make this as simplistic as possible given all of these matches require no prior watching or context. NOAH also has them run for a good while and get some great performances out of fairly mediocre talent (Rikio) but that's a story for another day. 

I hope this has helped ever so slightly in your viewing opinions of these two, because while Omori is generally pretty hit and miss overall, his NO FEAR stuff is by far his most consistent he's ever been: either that's his natural ability as a tag guy or Takayama being around is up to you.