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[1990-05-26-AJPW-Super Power Series] Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki & Masa Fuchi


Loss

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  • 1 month later...

It's very strange to hear Misawa's entrance music without the crowd chanting "MI-SA-WA" along with it. The first Misawa & Co vs Jumbo & Co six-man to be broadcast on TV. Taue is with Misawa and Kobashi, which is interesting. Misawa is still wrestling a lot like Tiger Mask, so while the crowd is drawn to him and he clearly looks like a guy about to be a superstar, he hasn't evolved very much yet. Early in the match, Jumbo lands punches at everyone on the opposing team's apron, and Misawa gets his payback later, which seems to catch Jumbo in a rough way, as he is laid out for a few minutes. Fuchi goes to tag him and seems surprised that he isn't there, so Kabuki ends up coming in. When Jumbo recovers, he's not interested in waiting for a tag. He's interested in going after Misawa. The two end up having a pull-apart brawl in the middle of the match that Jumbo seems to have gotten the worst of. Great stuff! When they're finally settled, Jumbo ends up lunging for him again and they have to be pulled apart once again!

 

As a backdrop to all of this, Jumbo's team works over Kobashi's knee after Fuchi drops Kobashi knee first on a ringside table. And Misawa giving Jumbo a dose of his own medicine inspires the confidence in Kobashi to rise to the occasion as well. Jumbo nearly takes Kobashi's head off with a lariat, and he kicks out. The shock on Jumbo's face, which he seems to be trying to hide, totally makes that moment. A sea change is happening, and the crowd responds in kind.

 

Excellent match that excited me to see Misawa vs Jumbo on June 8. The line has been drawn in the sand between Jumbo and Misawa, they each have their allies, and All Japan has been reborn!

 

As much as I praised this, I barely covered the great things about this, both as a match and a moment.

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We have our second shoot angle in the span of a week as Misawa & Jumbo do a quasi-reenactment of the Choshu/Maeda shoot kick and the Hansen/Tenryu NOBODY POTATOES ME pull-aparts. Most of the great AJPW 6-man tropes are here: Jumbo being grumpy, Kobashi getting his knee dropped on a table, Fuchi tearing people's limbs up (though Kabuki takes more of that role here), and the hot run of near-falls. The only jarring thing is seeing Taue on Misawa's side. I suppose Baba hadn't quite finalized who was going to be with whom just yet. Taue is booked rather strongly here himself, getting his own moments of standing up to Jumbo and being in on the closing stretch. Misawa gets the pin on Fuchi with the tiger suplex and even though Fuchi is the clear #3 man on the team the victory seems like a major upset for Misawa's side.

 

#2 MOTY at this point. A huge breath of fresh air that All-Japan needed after a lackluster opening quarter.

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This is phenomenal. While Misawa taking off the mask 12 days earlier is more commonly referenced, this is the perfect intro to 6-8-90 for all the reasons mentioned. You've got young Kobashi with his fire & facials and young Taue as surly as ever even if he doesn't have to shave yet. Misawa is still essentially wrestling as Tiger Mask, but now with a real hatred for Jumbo that the mid-match brawl and his infrequent elbows bring out. Jumbo sells the first elbow outside on the floor for so long that every subsequent one, including at ringside on 6-8, are clearly a big deal even before it becomes the strike of the decade.

 

I don't know why this is less heralded than later iterations or if I've simply missed the praise, but this was a thrill.

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Yeah... this pretty much has always been heralded and set out as the start of the feud. It's a much beloved match.

 

"There are many six-man tags that got ****1/2+ from the famous 05/26/90 Misawa & Taue & Kobashi vs. Tsuruta & Kabuki & Fuchi match (which "started" the Jumbo & Co. vs. Misawa & Co. feud) on through 1993."

-Pimping Post

 

John

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Yeah... this pretty much has always been heralded and set out as the start of the feud. It's a much beloved match.

 

"There are many six-man tags that got ****1/2+ from the famous 05/26/90 Misawa & Taue & Kobashi vs. Tsuruta & Kabuki & Fuchi match (which "started" the Jumbo & Co. vs. Misawa & Co. feud) on through 1993."

-Pimping Post

 

John

Nice, I definitely didn't realize this was essentially the first big 6 man of the era. Pretty special and definitely neat seeing Taue on the other side. I'd like to say I rate this above others in the series because I knew it was what kicked things off, but that won't hold water now.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Freaking awesome match where you can feel the hate and the tide turning. Misawa is wearing green, Kobashi is wearing orange and finally All Japan feels fresh and relevant again. Everything from the Jumbo elbows to everyone on the apron, to the pull apart to him and Misawa, to work on Kobashi's knee, to Misawa getting a clean win really propelled this feud. This also is my first glimpse at Taue at this time and he seemed more polished than I would have imagined. Definitely top 5 for the year for me right now.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Misawa wearing the green tights now and teaming with Taue. Misawa tags Jumbo good when he is on the apron. He takes a bit to right himself but when he does he is pissed off. He charges across the ring after Misawa who himself is ready to fight back. They are easily the focal point right now as their teammates are trying to get them to calm down. Jumbo with some full impact bodyslams. Rest of the guys in match step up as it goes on. Really enjoyed this one. Much needed pick me up for AJPW for this year.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Real top of the range 6 man tag. And when it comes to 6 mans I am very hard to please.

 

It's amazing how Misawa went from being an underachieving midcarder into a main event star overnight. The 1st half was all about setting up him vs Jumbo, which they did a superb job of. They even had to be pulled apart by teamates. They then went on and had a really good match afterwards. Kobashi was an astonishing rookie and had the underdog role down. Taue was also on top of his game. Kabuki was lame but you can't have everything I guess.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I enjoyed the hell out of this. Jumbo seems to be playing a different role from where he was at the start of the Yearbook and is definitely a lot more heelish here. Love that he can't wait to make a tag to get at Misawa and they have two mid-match pull aparts just to settle everything down. Is this the only time Taue ever teams with Misawa and Kobashi? Seems weird for them to be on the same side. But yeah, this is a fantastic match.

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  • 1 month later...

Loved every second of this. This was something I was waiting for but wasn't quite getting it from AJ this year. Now that Misawa's out of the mask, I'm looking forward to seeing his feud with Jumbo play out now. I've never seen stuff chronologically between the two of them. Great match, though Misawa annoyed me a little by jumping in for long periods of time when he should have been standing on the apron. Either way, one of my favorites on the set so far...

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  • 8 months later...
  • 1 year later...

Fantastic end-to-end action from all six men. They all wanted a piece of each other, and it showed. I've never seen a major pull-apart in the middle of a match before, but after reading the threads, I know what they were going for, and it worked beautifully; I can't wait to see the first Misawa/Jumbo singles match. Or the next six-man for that matter, as both men have picked a solid group of allies (which I know will rotate as time goes on).

 

I can already see the difference in energy level from just a couple of weeks before, and I'm only viewing selected matches, not full televised cards and arena shows like some of you have. I appreciate the history lessons in some of the posts that help to explain the funk that AJPW was in at the beginning of the year, but it's over now for sure.

 

I really can't rate this over the superb Hogan/Hansen or Vader/Hansen brawls, but number three on my Japan match of the year list with those two in front isn't a bad place to be.

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  • 1 year later...

Kabuki and co continuing to wrestle around the pull a parts in the middle is such an awesome touch, I thought that was so great. This is a pretty emotional match, seeing this as the start everything that carries the company through the decade. Just a great dynamic of old veterans vs youngsters. You can really feel the youth and speed starting to get the best of the veterans, but they respond with punishing offense to keep them in line. Taue looks really good here and makes himself stand out here. I really like the rolls being played here, Misawa seems like the leader, Taue the muscle, Kobashi to take the beating. Yeah, great match.

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  • 2 months later...

Outside of what has already been discussed, I loved the exchanges between Kobashi and Jumbo. Jumbo looked like he was really beating down Kobashi. It looked very painful, and Kobashi was selling it well. I absolutely loved this match, and it's definitely in the top 3 of the year at this point for me.

 

Just coming back to note that this match hit the list (Top 500 90s) at #323 here:

 

http://placetobenation.com/countdown-top-500-matches-of-the-90s-350-301/2/

 

It didn't stay in my top 3 of the year, but I still remember loving it.

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  • 5 months later...

#323

 

I feel like I have a pretty firm grasp on the Jumbo vs. Misawa six-mans I liked best. This feels like an appetizer for the Jumbo/Misawa Budokan match rather than a great six man in and of itself, but I watched it for fun more than anything else. Misawa was amazingly athletic in 1990 and Kobashi did a great job of playing FIP in between all of the Jumbo and Misawa scuffling.

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  • 1 month later...

Formative match that does a great job setting up what's to come. Kobashi gets clobbered, Jumbo and pals are mean bastards who will make fools out of themselves, Taue shows off all his fun sumo spots, and Misawa gets to look like the coolest dude on the planet. Watching Misawa transform from a solid junior into this badass super athlete that just cleans house and sets everything on fire with his sheer ability is amazing. Jumbo can't be praised enough for his selflessness as he is constantly feeding and just taking every chance to get elbowed in the face. The intense Jumbo/Misawa scuffles were off the charts and the kind of stuff that is sorely missing from current wrestling.

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  • 4 months later...

Jumbo Tsuruta/Great Kabuki/Masa Fuchi vs Mitsuharu Misawa/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi - AJPW 5/26/90

 

The Elbow Heard Round The World! Love this match so much! Mid-match pull apart brawl and basically running an angle mid-match. Great feel and very chaotic.

 

Jumbo takes a cheapshot at Misawa when he is on the apron. Stay in your lane, kid. Misawa gets tagged in and starts throwing knees (weird seeing Misawa throw knees instead of elbows). JUMBO LARIAT RIPS HIS HEAD OFF! Misawa get his receipt by BLASTING Jumbo with The Elbow Heard Round The World! Jumbo does a great job selling it outside. I love Kabuki tending to him. Fuchi who is getting his ass kicked has a great reaction with his "What the fuck happened to Jumbo?" face. Then Jumbo gets tagged in and makes a beeline for Misawa. It is an insane heated pull apart brawl between the two. I love the idea of running an angle mid-match.

 

After that they settle into the match and it is killer. Jumbo is selling his head on the apron. Kobashi is getting the tar beaten out of him by everyone. First it is ripping the arm off of Kobashi and then Fuchi switches to the knee with a kneecrusher on the table. I did not like that the babyfaces were not that great at tag strategy. They kept tagging Kobashi in when he was not healed. They also did not do a great job cutting off the ring and at least giving Kobashi a fighting chance. That being said I really like the Kobashi & Misawa pairing. Misawa needed to be presented on Jumbo's level so they needed that guy to really build sympathy through selling that was Kobashi.

 

Loved Taue in this! Dropkicks were amazing as were the Sumo slaps. He looked like a totally game changer. Everytime he was tagged in, the tide turned in the favor of the young generation. As opposed to Kobashi, who as soon as he got tagged just got wrecked. It was a nice juxtaposition. The weirdest part of this match by far was watching Taue and Jumbo go at it. It just seemed so wrong.

 

Have always loved Jumbo's bodyslams, but those bodyslams on Kobashi were just death. Misawa & Taue doing their best RnR Express impression with the double dropkicks to everybody was just awesome. That spinning heel kick from Misawa was insane. Misawa was really good at kicks at one point. Of course, Kobashi misses his missile dropkick and gets clobbered with a lariat. Great sequence. ROLLING CRADLE! Kobashi getting some love. Finish sequence is just so hot and novel at the time. Total fireworks spectacle with frequent tags and a ton of offense. It felt incredible modern, but what makes this different is by doing it in a tag match it feels organic. Because the frequent tags means people are getting rest and therefore the pace can be kept up especially in a six man tag. The double dropkick to Jumbo at the end is great. Jumbo mowing down Misawa with a lariat on the Tiger Driver attempt was glorious. So chippy. TIGER SUPLEX!!! Gets it for the young guns!

 

Three important things here are 1. Kobashi FIP which really establishes Kobashi's major role in the feud and really who Kenta Koashi is as some people argue he never progressed from this stage and even as a champion would have a tendency to slip back into this character. 2. The incredible pacing and offense at the end which was a hallmark of the AJPW tags throughout the 90s that led to so many of the best matches of all time. 3. Most importantly, the Elbow Heard Round The World angle, which was both chaotic and exciting and hot as hell, but established Misawa as someone Jumbo needs to take seriously. Then deal would be sealed on June 8, 1990. It all starts here! ****1/4

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Just had a hankering to rewatch this match. The crowd absolutely explode anytime one of the 'kids' take it to Jumbo. The brawl between Jumbo and Misawa is heated as hell, it's nice they sold it by halting the match. I wasn't hugely into this until the last 5-10 minutes, but it really picks up a frenetic pace by then with some awesome sequences. **** 1/4

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  • 9 months later...
A total blast with everyone playing their respective roles so well. On team Jumbo, you had the cantankerous captain himself, Grampa Fuchi destroying limbs, and crazy Uncle Kabuki doing...a little bit of everything. On the other side, the young gate-rattlers: the babyface fire of young Kobashi, the "too cool for school" 'tude of middle child Misawa, and the gangly big brother power of Taue. When Kobashi comes in, he's red-hot, blasting Fuchi with a sweet top rope dropkick and poking the hornet's nest with Jumbo. Jumbo lays him out with the jumping knee and takes out all the kids on the apron, pissing off middle child Misawa, who wants in there so bad and when he does, he gets lariated the fuck down. The stern dad vs. disrespectful teen dynamic between Misawa and Jumbo was terrific, and even when they were quarreling somewhere the ring, I liked that the other guys were still trying to wrestle the match. Kobashi's arm gets bullied for awhile, with Fuchi being especially relentless and awesome, targeting arms and legs both, wrecking Kenta's knee on the timekeeper's table. Love Jumbo waving off Kobashi's dropkick to pummel him with knees and boots. Misawa and Taue take over after teaming up on Tsuruta with a double dropkick. Misawa gets to show off his Tiger Mask offense with Taue knocking bodies around. Kobashi gets a little revenge on gramps the end, picking up a great nearfall off a German suplex hold on Fuchi. When Misawa tries to finish Fuchi off with the Tiger Driver, Jumbo creams him with a lariat. But, alas, youth prevails and Misawa's able to pin Fuchi with the tiger suplex hold.
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  • GSR changed the title to [1990-05-26-AJPW-Super Power Series] Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi & Akira Taue vs Jumbo Tsuruta & Great Kabuki & Masa Fuchi

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