[1999-09-18-AJPW-Fan Appreciation Day] Haruka Eigen, Jun Akiyama & Tamon Honda vs Hiroshi Hase, Jun Izumida & Mitsuo Momota

[Ma Stump Puller]

Why was this so good and WHY was Momota carrying so hard? This is a pretty awesome match with some wild pairings we don't normally see, which helps a lot. Hase and Akiyama are the obvious stand-out quality workers here and make sure to throw in a lot of smooth, just great to watch wrestling, including just all-out amateur sprawling between the two for a good few minutes. That said, I think Eigen and Momota do add some top quality to this with their antics: Eigen being cheeky with tons of cheap shots and Momota just outright running into the flames with strike exchanges against Akiyama...and winning, somehow? Sure, the lads are limited and can't really do a whole lot beyond comedy and basic wrestling, but they know how to play to a crowd and get in some rightfully good reactions, especially when Momota (after Hase beats down Akiyama with a superplex and a Uranage in a similarly solid sequence between the two) goes nuts and pulls out a big dive to the outside, which got the pop of the whole night by far. Dude nails it as well right on the nose, insane pop. 

The weak links are probably Izumida and Honda, namely because these two were delegated to the rest spot guys who just hit a lot of strikes that don't require much cardio whatsoever, which is a shame because I love Izumida and Honda has shown he can work strong matches when he's motivated to do so, but the two just kinda fall to the wayside as decent hands but really don't try to add anything super interesting when they are in the driver's seat, so it's a lot of punch/kick and sitting in holds for their stuff. Akiyama practically concedes to Momota's vast power by the end by having to resort to a quick roll-up after failing to land his Exploder on the vet, which gets the win.

This isn't a incredible match, but one based around giving the fans some great interactions: Akiyama against Momota as the main feud of the match doesn't SOUND good but it actually kicks ass; I think in terms of emotional reactions Momota really drags Akiyama to one of his more pronounced showings: not just a Kobashi-lite bit where he's the sidekick of a far bigger face getting beat down but his own unique character, his arrogance against Momota and how that just motivates the typically easy-going goofy uncle into a rage that turns him from a joke into a stubborn threat are all done so well despite the low-stakes on display. He's most definitely the star of this match given what he throws himself under, and it's definitely a highlight of his career as the crowd tries to will him to a victory somehow despite the odds. There's some downtime where the match definitely drags away from that but when it gets to the great pairings it's just on a whole other level. Not as good as Momota/Liger or Momota/SAWA but definitely worth a watch.