a dedicated thread to posting awesome matches from wrestling history

Ok as it goes on it is obvious the Cham is face and kawada is heel. Kawada looks stiff as shit with the kicks.

There weren't any face and heel roles in AJPW, at least not like in the US. The storyline, which was typical for all the top guys, was that Kawada used to be Misawa's right hand man but now he's broken away on his own and needs to prove he's the better wrestler.

Misawa is the undisputed top guy in AJPW at the time, so you could say he's the clear face, but Kawada is the underdog fighting to prove himself and beat Misawa for the title, which is as babyface as it gets. His in ring style is more heelish than Misawa's though.

I'm sure these aren't exactly original thoughts but here goes:

These guys must have looked superhuman compared to American wrestling at the time. Spring Stampede would have just happened, and Owen-Bret at WM10 and I just cant see them comparing.

I really liked it. Of course I did. They threw some fucking bombs at each other. It seems like the template Angle started to bring and then the ROH 2004 types popularised all came from here.

Fucking finisher kick outs though maaaaan. Kawada was robbed, and there wasn't much build at the end, I guess Kawada just run out of gas which gave Misawa opportunity to pounce. Fuck me he won a trophy that was bigger than him and like five belts?* Wrong guy won imo.

Also, not a big thing but i love the suit and tie audience. So quiant.

*how do you deal with not having commentary to follow? There was a lot of headlocks and 'both wrestlers lie down selling' here and that was ok here but I think it this has been part of what has held me back.

yeah the commentary thing can be a problem at times I find. if i'm not in the right mood then i really struggle to get past it. otoh when i am in the right mood it can focus my attention massively on the story being told in the ring with no distractions, which is a fun way to watch

as for Kawada not winning this one, I can't remember if that's a commonly held view or not. they certainly used to take their sweet time when it came to having their top star take a loss; the whole point about the Misawa/Kawada feud was that Kawada just could NOT beat the guy no matter what he did.

a great story for sure, but it was also what led to them and others like Kenta Kobashi throwing increasingly dangerous bombs over the course of the decade (and even inventing new super-dangerous bombs for the purpose!) which of course would eventually lead to retirements and in-ring deaths and probable brain damage and all that. it's cool tho cause it's not like anyone tries to ape this style of wrestling today...

Is there anywhere good to read about it? Wiki is too much 'this happened and then this happened' without any explanation, and im never going to pay for meltzer.

there's quite a lot of blogs and stuff quite high up on google for 90s AJPW, of varying quality ofc

http://internetisinamerica.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/misawa-vs-kawada-060394-20-years-later.html

that one is specifically about the match, i haven't read beyond the opening para or two but it gives some background to how things started between Misawa and Kawada

https://puroresuspirit.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/wrestling-heavenly-road-1990s-ajpw/

this one is a pretty decent overview of the period i think

tytytyty

Japanese commentary has never been a distraction for me, and even without understanding anything (other than the names of the moves) you can following the story of the match by listening to the cadence and excitement in their voices. I think the emotion of the call, when done right, knows no language barrier.

Here is a good overview of the Misawa vs Kawada feud, right up to and including the AJPW/NOAH split:

http://www.ichibanpuroresu.com/kawadamisawa.html

I think that people who call this match the best ever tend to think that Kawada should have won.

The fact that he didn't win only helped build the drama for matches like the June 1995 Misawa/Kobashi vs Taue/Kawada tag title match, which BTW is my all-time favourite match and not something that will be surpassed anytime soon, IMO.

yeaaah that's the article I was looking for earlier, really great stuff

i recently remembered reading in powerslam magazine as a teen that ajw in the mid-90s was the best wrestling ever, so i decided to check some out. if gnarly borderline-sadistic intensity is your thing, this is a must-see

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0fIGg4mIUY

That was an amazing match. I've also heard all the good stuff about 90's AJW, but have seen very little outside of some Manami Toyota matches.

This thread got quiet all of a sudden. Let's fix that with one of the rowdiest Japanese crowds ever:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14srq4_the-can-am-express-c-vs-kobashi-kikuchi-ajpw-05-25-92_sport

This is a fairly famous match (WON match of the year 1992) but is now overlooked somewhat IMO, probably because the non-Kobashi people in the match never meant much outside of a few years in the 90's. They're all good workers but not the people who usually top end of year lists.

The match is for the AJPW All-Asia tag titles, and the crowd is rabid for Kikuchi especially (the match takes place in his hometown). Did I mention that the crowd goes APESHIT for everything?

Mike Awesome vs Masato Tanaka - Heatwave '98
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x50s8r_5-star-match-mike-awesome-vs-masato_sport

I saw these two in Queens a couple of years later

Haven't watched yet cause I cancelled my subscription but I feel like this is the thread for it regardless - apparently WWE has unearthed a thoroughly decent quality video of THE LAST BATTLE OF ATLANTA (!!!!!!!!!!!) and put it on the Network now. Cool! I will probably torrent it soon

19 years ago today on May 22, 2001 at the Sapporo Green Dome, Hayabusa won the WEW Title from Tetsuhiro Kuroda in a Exploding Barricade Death Match with Kodo Fuyuki as the referee. This was an awesome match that concluded their 6 month feud and the last time FMW looked healthy. pic.twitter.com/IChVBvjo83

— Bret (@BAHUFMW) May 22, 2020

I mean, I feel that this is technically a match. A wrestlers vs. house match. One of my friends randomly sent this to me yesterday, and they don't even watch NJPW

道具を使わずに己の肉体だけで家をひたすら解体する新日本プロレスのレスラーたち。橋本真也・獣神サンダーライガー・野上彰・天山広吉・金本浩二・小島聡@retoro_mode pic.twitter.com/cNdDD86WkR

— JUNK (@XMbHWFpbX) January 10, 2021