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[1991-04-18-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue


Loss

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  • 2 months later...

Another great match between these two. The hate isn't quite as over the top as it was in January, but it's not far behind. 15+ minutes is really the perfect length match for where the feud was at this point in time. Lousy finish, but everything up until then was so great that I'm not really bothered by it. Kawada is always Kawada, but Taue really put on a strong performance in this one.

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I feel like this feud was undersold in a lot of the earlier-generation talk about '90s All-Japan, which tended to dismiss pre-1995 Taue. Here, they were able to work a great, intense match that was totally different from their January brawl. It featured more of a traditional slow build from holds to big moves. But I loved the little touches of hate, like Taue punching Kawada in the kidney to stave off his early armwork and Kawada scraping his boot across Taue's face when he had him locked on the mat. I had always thought of Kawada's interest in submissions as coming later, but he really showcased the armbar here. And as always, he landed some beautiful momentum-shifting kicks. I didn't mind the ending. I guess it was a bit abrupt after some great nearfalls, but at least they put over the potency of Taue's finisher. So yeah, Kawada-Taue almost never misfired. It should be held up as one of the promotion's great rivalries.

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Yep... no doubt I undersold the feud by talking over and over and over about how the feud ended on a handshake before they started teaming. Also talked a lot about how Kawada brought out something in Taue that was lacking in Taue's other match ups.

 

Dave also wrote up their matches positively in the WON:

 

01/20/91 Kawada vs. Taue ****1/4

05/05/91 Kawada vs. Taue ***3/4

07/28/91 Kawada vs. Taue ***1/4

04/05/92 Taue vs. Kawada (Carny) ****1/4

09/27/92 Kawada vs. Taue ****

04/18/93 Kawada vs. Taue (Carny) ****1/2

 

That's back before he was handing out snowflakes left and right. He liked the match up a lot. It just got supplanted by Misawa-Kawada and Misawa-Kobashi.

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I said "a lot of the earlier-generation talk." I'm aware that you pimped their matches in various places. But I'm also quite certain that when I got up to speed on the promotion (long after the fact) I did not read a lot about Kawada-Taue being one of the great All-Japan rivalries of the decade. I'm merely saying that at this point, I think it was.

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I guess my talking of it as a great rivalry over the years kind of got subsumed in people's minds by tying it as a element of the Jumbo & Co. vs Misawa & Co. feud, as with Fuchi-Kikuchi (which was a similar and slightly longer element/feud within the Jumbo & Co. vs Misawa & Co. feud). I think even in the Yearbooks I've tried to talk about it being more than Jumbo-Misawa, and probably even blocked out out somewhere as:

 

* Jumbo vs Misawa

* EVERYONE vs Jumbo

* Kawada vs Taue

* Fuchi vs Kikuchi

* Kikuchi vs Ogawa

 

And that Kobashi was the one person in the feud that didn't really have a peer/near-peer to pair off with. He wants to prove himself against Jumbo, and to a degree Taue. But it's not quite the same in terms of rivalry as the other four clear elements.

 

John

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Kobashi needed someone to work with. Everyone singled out Jumbo. Kawada singled out Taue as well. If it's Misawa & Kawada & Kobashi vs Jumbo & Taue & Fuchi, what's Kobashi's plan? In turn, Fuchi is going to have a tough time heeling it up with Kawada, and Misawa's the top guy on that side picking his spots. It sort of falls to Kobashi to get heeled on. Plus... Kobashi loved that shit. :)

 

John

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  • 3 weeks later...

Blood, a ref bump, AND a countout?? With what's to come in the tag title match later on, it's like AJPW stepped into a booking time warp. Not a complaint, just an observation. I really like the arm work in the middle portion here, with a bunch of "near-falls" based around submissions rather than 2.9 wrestling. It's yet another out-of-the-box element for AJPW at this time and is a strong point of difference compared to their January match. Kawada is able to weather a power bomb on the floor, but a Golden Arm Bomber on the same does him in. Still not a fan of Taue's finish at this point and while I get the idea, the power bomb on the floor looked far more devastating.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Wave by the fans before the match start was a sight. Cool armbar takedown by Kawada to start. Taue gets the anger going first with the strikes and Kawada’s responds by busting him open. Was really good though below January match. Count out finish seems out of place for AJPW at this point but I was fine with it as Taue hit Kawada with his finisher on the floor. Kawada gets stretchered out and it had me wanting to see these guys fight again.

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  • 2 months later...

Two great matches in 1991 for these two guys and I think I liked this one slightly more than the january match because what it lacked minimally in violence it made up for in some sick arm work by Kawada and leg work by Taue. I also thought the finish was done real well and made Taue look really strong coming out.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I enjoyed this even more than last time out. Like then Taue bled, although not as heavily this time. Kawada's knee was also a focal point. Had a lively feel to it with the feud growing ever more intense. Very well structured match with an exciting stretch. Kawada wanted to powerbomb Taue on the concrete, but it was he who took the hard bump that ended the match. Countouts didn't used to be done this well back in the 80's.

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  • 3 months later...

Kawada and Taue are hungry for top billing and they demonstrate that in spades in this encounter. It may be the two second bananas going at it, but they know a victory over the other could secure future matches against the opposing team captains or the Triple Crown. The match encapsulates that tension with wrestlers working hard to secure the victory and throwing caution to wind. They were both willing to take shortcuts and throw big bombs even if meant they risked losing it all. This match and the last both surprised me in how they were worked. This one was a throwback to the 80s. You had the intense matwork, blood, ref bumps and a countout finish and I loved it. The opening matwork is some of the best you will see in 90s All Japan and seemed sensible for the smaller Kawada to keep Taue contained with gnarly submissions. We see once Taue gets free how much of a power advantage he has over Kawada. Kawada is not above taking any measure necessary as he scrapes his boot across the forehead to disengage from Taue's figure-four on the arm in the process cutting Taue open. Now Taue is hot and he proceeds to sumo slap Kawada until they fall out of the ring ending with Taue executing a kneecrusher on the guardrail. I always loved that All Japan spot. Taue's leg work is pretty spot-on and Kawada keeps the struggle alive. They roll out of the ring Taue hits a powerbomb, but waits too long to capitalize allowing Kawada to hot a jumping kick. In a display of superb storytelling, he tenaciously goes after the arm. However, in order to get more leverage on the taller Taue, he is shoved off the ring ropes by Taue. They hit the home stretch each getting nearfalls, Kawada hits his spinkick knocking Taue into the ref. Kawada is able to hit his powerbomb, but the groggy ref is a bit late and he only gets two. They end up on the floor with Kawada looking to put the nail in the coffin with a powerbomb on the floor, but Taue hits the Nodowa on the floor for the countout victory.

 

I loved how scrappy Kawada was in all of this. He was just going from broke and throwing everything he had at the bigger Taue. Taue, for his part, was no slouch and was definitely timing his spots well and looked really invested in the match. The transitions were pretty top notch and the dueling arm/leg work was pretty great. It was a showcase for how effective a simpler style AJPW match could be. It also one of the better usages of the countout finishes. As Zenjo pointed out, Kawada high-risk offense finally bit him in the ass and it got over Taue's finish as a devastating move.

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  • 1 year later...

The major story in this match is, of course, Taue's finisher. Big props to Kawada for taking not one, but two brutal bumps right on the back of his head, first from the powerbomb, then from the move at the finish. I guarantee you that you wouldn't see any bumps like that today; no promotion would dare take the concussion risk. As it was, Kawada looked a little more glassy-eyed than he would have if he was just acting.

 

Other than that, I liked the work on Taue's arm and Kawada's knee respectively. It was the bad knee that helped to cost Kawada his match against Jumbo, and here we see Taue attacking it ferociously as well. I'm sure that it will be a major focus of Jumbo and company as this feud progresses in all its many forms. I thought Kawada making Taue bleed was a nice touch as well; this match was hardly a brawl, but there's a rivalry between these two, so small expressions of hatred are always welcome.

 

So what's next for Kawada? He came up short against Jumbo, and now Taue's made him leave on a stretcher. Is he still a reliable number two for the Misawa side, or will someone else have to step up? I can't wait to find out as this year progresses.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 9 months later...

Taue really coming into his own in 91. I get why they didn't go full-bore hate because Misawa-Jumbo was coming up and they had to go "different". What they did worked really well and still got across the hate. I do like how they managed to do things this differently and still put on a good match based on their rivalry.

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  • 5 months later...

I loved this match. These two have such fantastic chemistry together and I love that Kawada brings out Taue's shitkicker scrappiness. Kawada is the bigger shitbag of the two, whipping Taue around by the arm to maintain arm control and when Taue tries to work the arm, Kawada bleeds him with nasty boot scrapes to the face and adds insult to injury with those dirty little kicks of his. Watching Taue bulldoze Kawada with sumo slaps and fall out of the ring was a definite highlight of the match. Taue takes advantage of the outside element, suplexing and powerbombing Kawada on the floor, or lariating him over the guardrail. Kawada's so good at peppering his selling with subtle nuances, like flailing in the single leg crab, but his in-ring awareness is also on point, as he's able to counter the chokeslam attempt with the armbar, bringing it back to his opening armwork. He's able to catch Taue with a back kick that knocks Taue into the ref, and when he hits the powerbomb pin, the ref is slow to make the count. In the end, Taue wins by countout after chokeslamming Kawada...on the floor. Of course.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1991-04-18-AJPW-Championship Carnival] Toshiaki Kawada vs Akira Taue
  • 9 months later...

Really smartly worked match that shows how these two smartened up to working meaningful singles exchanges. We start with a nice struggle over a basic lockup/headlock before Kawada starts wrenching Taue's arm in interesting ways, really making you buy that armlock as a takedown rather than "I won't let go". I love the way Taue would use his long legs to make Kawada eat his boots and knees repeatedly like the lanky prick that he is. This threatens to get pretty epic when Kawada starts working over Taue's bloody face with nasty kicks but a cleverly worked transition to Taue on offense happens - great spot where Kawada trips Taue to the outside when he goes for his sumo rush only to eat a move on the floor. The legwork on Kawada ended up being filler but was intense enough with Kawada trying to kick his way out of submissions. Unexpected tactics from Kawada when he wrenches Taue's arm some more shortly before a controversial finish happens. Kawada going for some retaliation by countering with a powerbomb on the floor on his own only to fall victim to Taue's less elaborate techniques was a cool way to keep the feud exciting. Very good to excellent match that would be a standout on any card that didn't have a Jumbo/Misawa singles match.

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  • 11 months later...

Kawada can do no wrong, but it's great to see Taue get a good showing here too. Kawada starts the match by going after Taue's arm. He swings the gangly one around by his arm and it's a painful sight. After getting juice from Kawada's kicks, Taue has the crowd in his corner and mounts an impressive comeback using a sumo rush. I really liked the small ref bump, with Kawada missing out on getting the 3 count after the ref is temporarily taken out by accidental kick being thrown in his direction. Kawada ends up taking the lost after being dunked onto concrete and taking the countout loss. Non-clean finishes were rare in All Japan during this period and they made it work here. 

★★★★

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