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[1999-06-04-AJPW-Super Power Series] Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada


Loss

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  • 2 months later...

The bizarro world tag. The action was good, just as you'd expect, but I don't think they did enough to get over the oddness of the matchmaking. I know Misawa and Kobashi are big rivals by this point, but seeing them go right into the action like this is just another match bugged me. So technically good, but no sense of this being anything special, which it should have been. It is still one of the top matches of the year just because Misawa and Kobashi go after each other so aggressively. And I love Taue proving himself to be a reliable partner, true to his tradition with Jumbo and Kawada, even while eating the fall in the end. I could rattle off flaws, but that's only because these guys set such a high standard for themselves. So when they don't blow me away, it seems like a disappointment, even if we're getting a great match in the process. Kawada is still good in the ring but I think Kobashi has surpassed him in the pecking order by this point.

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  • 2 months later...

This doesn't have the narrative or dynamic that take the better AJPW to the next level, or even action on QUITE the same level, but this was still really great. The bizarro pairing was cool I thought and Kawada and Kobashi actually worked great as a team. Loved their transition into controlling Misawa and the end was really worked great too. They really gelled as a team. Another great team moment of theirs was raining down repeated leg drops and knee drops on Misawa which the crowd responded huge for and really hot them behind Misawa. The early Kawada/Taue and Kawada/Misawa segments were great and really heated.

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  • 2 months later...

I have always found it humorous that this was one of the first AJ matches Ditch saw as it could really throw you off. I have always appreciated this match for its novelty as a one off and for the Misawa vs. Kobashi feud continuing. Taue and Kawada had no problem firing off on one another either. Taue takes the pinfall here at the end and this was a great match with Kobashi/Kawada making a good makeshift tag team. ****

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  • 5 months later...

When I selected the chapter I actually thought it was going to be Misawa/Kobashi vs Kawada/Taue. My brain had autocorrected the match listing!

 

The main aim was to build up the TC match, but it worked better as a reunion of sorts. I dug the one-upsmanship dynamic between the two K's. What a deadly combination they were. The contest got off to a strong start. A bit too strong in retrospect. The middle section was Misawa in peril. The stretch suffered as too many big moves had gone before. Having a half nelson suplex on the floor halfway through was pure overkill. So towards the end the level didn't escalate and was trending downwards rather than up. There was still lots of quality action and it was a very good contest. With these legends the bar is set sky high. Nice moment as the Four Corners took the fans applause afterwards.

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  • 1 year later...

Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 6/4/99

 

Yes, you read that right! The first time the Four Corners had been in the same ring in 3.5 years and the last time ever (there may have been some six-mans, but last time as a foursome). Misawa is defending the Triple Crown against Kobashi in a week so this a buildup to that. Kobashi is currently 0-4 against Misawa in Triple Crown matches. Kawada has won his last two against Misawa. Taue is Taue, the best number two in history.

 

To me this is a great house show match. Don't kill yourself before the huge Budokan show in a week. They have it in cruise control, but for the Four Corners that's a higher level than most, The beginning is a ring around the rosie with each pairing being highlighted and each wrestler having a time to shine. Important to note, Misawa won his segment against Kobashi, but lost his to Kawada. We end up with Misawa/Kobashi and a big elbow Misawa tags out to Kobashi and we get a nice Taue control segment on Kobashi. Misawa looks for the early kill with a Tiger Driver. Kawada intercedes. They eventually overwhelm Misaa with spinning back chops, kicks and Half Nelson Suplex in the ring and then on the floor cements their advantage. Kobashi/Kawada work really well together. Kinda disappointed we did not get more of them together. I like Kawada selling his bad arm on elbows and then just turning to kicks to the head. Kobashi/Kawada are using very conservative but effective offense (lots of strikes to the head). When Kobashi goes for the Dragon Suplex, Misawa freaks out and elbows out and tags Taue. Taue really starts cranking and it is his time to shine. NODOWA CITY~! Really fun stretch sequence with my favorite spot being the Taue powerbomb on Koashi and Misawa frogsplash combo. Kobashi was the ragdoll and Kawada played savior. They wanted the Elbow/Nodowa combo, but Kobashi broke free and hit the Burning Lariat on Misawa. Then Kawada and Kobashi overwhelmed the isolated Taue until Kobashi hit the Burning Lariat for the win.

 

Just a great fall out of the bed match, everyone played their role to a tee, Misawa was the Ace, Taue was the MVP and Kobashi/Kawada were the well-oiled machine. As with most All Japan tags, it is a game of isolation, first Misawa is isolated then Kobashi and finally Taue and it showed that better teamwork won the day. Kobashi gets his wins, but individual battles still felt like Misawa was the Man. ****

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  • 8 months later...

I thought this was a total blast, maybe a bigger fan of it than anyone else here. I think the most compelling facet of this oddball matchup is that it takes almost any sense of predictability away. Even in a great Four Corners tag there are spots you can call when they happen, and you don't really get that at all here, even though both teams mesh surprisingly well. Seeing Misawa and Taue pull off double-teams together just feels fresher, as does seeing Kobashi and Kawada doing their sandwich-style double-teams and making saves for each other. Another MOTYC and Japan feels really hot all around at the moment.

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  • GSR changed the title to [1999-06-04-AJPW-Super Power Series] Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue vs Kenta Kobashi & Toshiaki Kawada

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