Misawa 5 Star Bouts Volume 2
Welcome to the second dose of Misawa five star goodness. First time out we saw perhaps the finest match of all time as Misawa defended the Triple Crown against Kawada, and two of the finest tag bouts ever to boot. In the second instalment, Kenta Kobashi steps out of Misawa’s shadow and makes a huge star of himself in his own right. This means we get Misawa vs Kobashi a staggering three times on this tape…that can only be a good thing. There’s also another Misawa/Kawada match, more classic AJPW tag action (with Jun Akiyama, then Yoshinari Ogawa filling the roles of Misawa’s sidekick)…prepare for lots more marking out, head drops and all out puro awesomeness.
Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue
By the end of Volume 1 Kobashi had decided he didn’t want to be Misawa’s sidekick anymore. Jun Akiyama stepped into the role, and now he has to carry his end as once again Misawa prepares to go into battle with Kawada and Taue. This is 1996 if anyone’s curious.
JIP with Kawada holding Akiyama in a sleeper. Back suplex breaks that and Akiyama tags Misawa in. Cyclone clothesline connects, before he has to kick Taue out of the ring. Kicks from Kawada…kicks from Misawa...short kicks from Kawada…ELBOWS FROM MISAWA. He hits another elbow strike…ENZIGURIIIIII from Kawada knocks him down. Taue in and be brings the disrespect with a boot grind to the face. Snake-eyes keeps Misawa down. He takes Misawa onto the apron and wants to chokeslam him, but Misawa blocks. DIVING ELBOW from Akiyama. He takes Taue inside and hits more elbows, then gets 2 with a northern lights suplex. Snake-eyes on Taue, then a dropkick to the back for 2. He goes for a chinlock and keeps Taue down with that. Misawa tagged again and he hits a perfect missile dropkick. Spinning back suplex follows that up, and he goes right to a facelock. Akiyama in again, and they hit some double team strikes on Taue. High knee on Taue…EXPLODER SUPLEX! Kawada in and he gets a lariat. FROG SPLASH from Misawa…for 2. He sets up for the Tiger Driver but Kawada puts a stop to that with a lariat. German suplex from Taue, and he quickly tags out. Kawada knee drops Misawa…ELBOW OFF THE TOP FROM TAUE! Kawada goes for a powerbomb, but it gets countered with a hurricanrana. Yakuza kick from Kawada, then an overhead kick to block a German. Elbow from Misawa…HEAD DROP GERMAN SUPLEX…KAWADA KICKS OUT AT 2! TIGER DRIVER…TAUE SAVES BEFORE THE THREE! Akiyama in and they take it turns to elbow the crap out of Akira. MISAWA WITH A GERMAN ON KAWADA…AKIYAMA WITH A GERMAN ON KAWADA…and both Kawada and Taue are out on the floor.
Misawa retrieves Kawada…AND GIVES HIM ANOTHER TIGER DRIVER! Again Kawada kicks out before the three. He wants a dragon suplex, but Taue saves with a running neckbreaker. Akiyama gets crotched over the top rope by Taue…CHOKESLAM OFF THE APRON!! Taue is alone with Misawa, and he boots him square in the face. He goes for a powerbomb, but Misawa rolls him up with a hurricanrana for 2. Taue hits some knee smashes…Misawa goes for a diving elbow…AND TAUE MOVES ASIDE! He wants a chokeslam, but Misawa blocks. Taue dropkicks him to the floor...TOPE CONNECTS! Taue drags Misawa onto the apron, but again he gets elbowed rather than succeeding with a chokeslam.
Kawada DESTROYS Misawa with a flurry of kicks. He goes for a back suplex, but Misawa blocks. Kawada ducks a roaring elbow attempt…HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX! POWERBOMB…MISAWA KICKS OUT AT 2! Taue takes over on Misawa – CHOKESLAM! SIT OUT POWERBOMB…AKIYAMA SAVES! Kawada and Taue decide to teach him a lesson with a HEAD DROP/BACK SUPLEX COMBO! TAUE WITH A HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX ON MISAWA…NO SOLD! NO SOLD DEAR GOD…AND MISAWA ELBOWS TAUE DOWN! Kawada in, but Misawa blocks his enzi attempt…SO HE GETS A CAPO KICK INSTEAD! Akiyama takes a kicking as well but tries to fight back SO GETS DUMPED ON HIS HEAD WITH A BACK SUPLEX! Kawada wants to give Misawa another powerbomb, but Misawa back drops out of it. CHOKESLAM FROM TAUE! ENZI FROM KAWADA…MISAWA STILL KICKS OUT! POWERBOMB SCORES AGAIN…AND MISAWA REFUSES TO BE PINNED! Kawada muscles Misawa up again…AND DELIVERS ANOTHER HUGE POWERBOMB! Misawa FINALLY stays down for the count at 21:09 shown.
Rating - ****1/2 – It’s fun because it’s brutal folks. There’s quite a few errors in this – like a few non-legal man pins etc. It’s the kind of thing I turn a blind eye to when watching American wrestling, but at this level, I expect a little more. Akiyama is also rather worthless in this match, useful only for taking an absolute sh*tkicking from both Kawada and Taue. So why so high? Because these four men just annihilate each other for well over 20 minutes…and it gets to the point where you can’t help but admire the guts. Fantastic climax as well, as Kawada has to damn near kill Misawa to finally put him away. Cracking way to kick off the tape.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi
So for the first time in these compilations it’s Misawa vs Kobashi. The really REALLY good Misawa/Kobashi matches are later on in this tape, so this one’s on here just to wet your appetite (I’ll tell you now it’s clipped up).
We JIP again which sucks. Misawa drills Kobashi with elbows before they decide it’s better to just blast each other with Yakuza kicks. More elbows from Misawa send Kobashi to the floor. Rope flip fakeout, but Kobashi grabs his foot. Misawa fights free…AND KOBASHI AVOIDS THE DIVING ELBOW OFF THE APRON! Misawa got nothing but guardrail on that one. Misawa somehow drags himself back onto the apron…SO KOBASHI LARIATS HIM TO THE FLOOR! Kobashi sends Misawa shoulder first into the guardrail…then continues the assault on the arm by slamming it over the railings. Onto the apron, he slams the arm over the turnbuckle bolt. Next it’s the ropes as Kobashi has obviously decided to take Misawa’s arm on a tour of ringside. CLIIIIIIIP to Misawa attempting to fight back, but hitting an elbow with his injured arm, then dropping to his knees in pain. Kobashi flees to the outside, so Misawa gives him a baseball slide THEN A CORKSCREW PESCADO! Back in the ring he scores with his cyclone clothesline, which of course takes it’s toll on the arm. Misawa blocks a lariat…THEN SCORES WITH A HEAD DROP GERMAN SUPLEX! TIGER DRIVER…FOR 2! Misawa goes to the top for his missile dropkick…BUT KOBASHI NAILS HIM IN MID-AIR WITH A LARIAT!
Duelling ‘MI-SA-WA’ and ‘KO-BA-SHI’ chants…AS KOBASHI GIVES MISAWA A DIVING POWERBOMB…MISAWA KICKS OUT! Kobashi drops the leg across the back of the head for such insolence. Misawa lifted into the air…FALCON ARROW FOR 2! LARIATOOOO but Misawa got the arms up to absorb some of the impact. Kobashi leads a semi-conscious Misawa onto the apron. He wants to powerbomb him…BUT IT’S COUNTERED INTO A HURRICANRANA AND BOTH MEN CRASH TO THE FLOOR! Somehow they manage to get themselves back into the ring after that. Misawa gives Kobashi a German suplex, but he’s too beat up to bring his usual violence to that move. ROARING ELBOW packs more of a punch and Kobashi is reeling. Misawa goes for it again but Kobashi fires back with a lariat. Misawa with some elbows…KOBASHI WITH A HEAD DROP GERMAN! Roaring elbow to the back of the head from Misawa. He pulls Kobashi off the ropes and NAILS a Tiger suplex. Kobashi goes for a spinning chop but Misawa ducks…HEAD DROP TIGER DRIVER…KOBASHI KICKS OUT! He even has it in him to lariat Misawa even though he’s on his knees. Misawa ducks a third lariat attempt…AND DROPS KOBASHI ON HIS HEAD WITH A DRAGON SUPLEX! RUNNING ELBOW finishes Kobashi at 22:34 shown.
Rating - **** - The clipping at the start, and the lack of arm-selling from Misawa as the match climaxed mean this one maxes out at 4*. However, don’t let that you put you off, this is a fantastic match. I’d love to see the full version of this by the way. This one has totally wet my appetite for more Misawa/Kobashi…and there’ll be more later.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada
Yep…look who’s going at it again. The years roll by and still these two are vying to be the top dog in AJPW. We saw on the first tape what they’re capable of, and now they’re looking to add another match to their unforgettable legacy.
Unfortunately we JIP again with Misawa synching in a facelock, which Kawada breaks by making the ropes. Misawa looks for the Tiger Driver but no dice – HEAD DROP GERMAN SUPLEX…NO SOLD! Kawada takes an elbow but no sells that as well, then elbows Misawa in the face. A lariat knocks Misawa down for 2. Spinning heel kick sends Misawa into the corner, and Kawada drives knees into his face. Kawada has a powerbomb countered but kicks Misawa down anyway. Again he tries the powerbomb…AND HE SCORES THIS TIME…2 COUNT! Misawa ducks an enzi…Kawada ducks a roaring elbow…Misawa takes a HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX! To the outside and Kawada POWERBOMBS MISAWA ON THE FLOOR! In the ring Kawada peppers Misawa with short kicks and elbows, but finally gets thrown to the ground after Misawa blocks a reverse heel kick. Enziguri from Misawa floors the Triple Crown challenger. TIGER DRIVER SCORES! Misawa to the top and he looks for the diving elbow – BLOCKED WITH A JUMPING ENZI KICK! A second enzi takes Misawa down again…HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX. Kawada lifts Misawa up again, then tries to kill him with ANOTHER HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX! Stretch plum locked in! No submission, so Kawada covers for 2.
Kawada again tries the powerbomb, but he doesn’t have the strength and both men go down. Misawa finally manages to back drop Kawada, so he gets a lariat for that…THEN DROPPED ON HIS HEAD AGAIN! KAWADA FOLLOWS WITH A BRAINBUSTER! He goes for a triangle choke, but Misawa eventually gets his foot on the ropes. HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX…NO SOLD…MISAWA WITH AN ELBOW! Kawada blocks more elbows, but has an enzi attempt blocked, then gets dropkicked in the chest. Misawa drags Kawada up and gives him a Tiger suplex. German from Misawa…no sold…GERMAN FROM MISAWA! He runs at Kawada…JUMPING ENZI! Misawa blocks a Yakuza kick and scores with the roaring elbow. TIGER SUPLEX leaves Kawada reeling against the ropes. Bridging German suplex gets 2. Misawa wants to hit another elbow but Kawada is dead on his feet. PSYCHE! He chops and elbows Misawa…ELBOOOOOOOOWS FROM MISAWA…FOR 2!! Bridging German puts Kawada away at 21:14 shown.
Rating - **** - The worst Misawa/Kawada match I’ve seen…and it’s still this good. Kawada’s performance is particularly limited, as he barely strays away from an offence of back drop drivers, powerbombs and enziguris for the whole match. I get the point that they’ve been rivals for so long he’s just trying to destroy Misawa with head drop madness, but could he not have at least tried a different suplex or something? It tells a great story (Kawada trying to kill Misawa – but Misawa being tough enough to survive and win), but I can think of better ways to get where they were going…and it’s not a patch on other Misawa/Kawada classics.
Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue
Hmmm…no sound for this one, which should be unique. By unique I mean…not as good. No screamy excited Japanese commentators? That’s never good! No idea whether that’ll make it harder to review or not. Guess I’ll find out! This is 1997…
JIP-eroo with Taue PILEDRIVING Misawa! He takes Misawa to the apron…YAKUZA KICK DUEL! Misawa kicks Taue to the floor…AND SCORES WITH A CANNONBALL SENTON! Taue avoids a dropkick from Akiyama, but he’s a plucky bastard and knocks him down with a lariat. Taue muscles him into the corner and tags in Kawada…who promptly gets put into a cross armbreaker. He counters into one of his own, then an armbar. Jun’s hair, by the way, is absolutely ridiculous. Kawada kicks him in the leg, but Akiyama catches him trying to do it for a second time and grabs the boot. REVERSE HEEL KICK knocks Akiyama down anyway. Judo throw grounds him again, but Akiyama gets right back up and delivers a dragon screw. Taue tagged, and he comes in with a drop suplex. Sharpshooter from Akira, and he has Akiyama in the middle of the ring. Misawa breaks it, and Kawada charges across the ring to give him a big boot. Boston crab from Kawada on Akiyama now, as it’s Taue’s turn to boot Misawa in the face. Taue takes Akiyama to the outside and scoop slams him on the floor…wow Akiyama’s beating is particularly brutal in this one. He gets sent back in for another kicking from Kawada, but still kicks out of the ensuing pinfall. Shortarm lariats from Taue, and when Akiyama thinks of a counter, Taue SPIKES him with a DDT. Akiyama is too dead to even run the ropes, but once again kicks out before the 3. Desperation dropkick to the knee, but Taue tags out quickly and Kawada cuts off the tag. More kicks to the increasingly injured back from Kawada, then a boot to the face. Akiyama blocks a second out of nowhere…AND MAKES THE TAG!
Misawa in and he blocks a reverse heel kick attempt. Taue prevents a Tiger Driver…POWERBOMB COUNTERED INTO A RANA! He elbows Taue by way of avoiding a chokeslam…TIGER DRIVER ON KAWADA FOR 2! ELBOOOOW sends Taue to the floor. Misawa up top to hit the FROG SPLASH on Kawada for 2. Kawada blocks a German and enzi kicks Misawa. Tag to Taue, who floors Misawa with a dropkick. Diving elbow countered with a facebuster…HEAD DROP GERMAN FROM TAUE…NO SOLD BY MISAWA! Jun Akiyama in again and he’s still selling that back, but still manages a high knee. He goes for a northern lights but is too injured, so Taue kicks him then tags out. Kawada kicks from Kawada…NO SOLD?? Akiyama can’t do that can he? EXPLOOOOOOODER ON KAWADA! Dropkick…ANOTHER EXPLODER SUPLEX ON KAWADA…TAUE HAS TO SAVE! Taue in…AND MISAWA GIVES HIM THE TIGER DRIVER! Akiyama grabs him…AND IT’S TIME FOR ANOTHER EXPLODER! You the MAN Jun! Akiyama with a German on Kawada…MISAWA WITH A GERMAN ON KAWADA. Taue and Kawada both narrowly escape Tiger Drivers…CHOKESLAM from Taue. He throws Misawa into Akiyama, but together they manage to knock him down. Akiyama to the top for a DIVING ELBOW TO THE NECK! Kawada has to save Taue after a bridging German suplex. Taue kicks Misawa down…GERMAN ON AKIYAMA! Kawada in again and he goes back to the injured back with knee drops…THEN NAILS A HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX! POWERBOMB NAILED and Misawa has to save. Dragon sleeper on Akiyama whilst Misawa is down on the floor (with a young boy yelling at him). LARIAT FROM KAWADA…AKIYAMA KICKS OUT! Taue in and he hits a belly to belly then the SITOUT POWERBOMB! Kawada and Taue look for a powerbomb/chokeslam combo on Misawa…BUT HE COUNTERS WITH A RANA! CHOKESLAM ON AKIYAMA…NO SOLD…EXPLODER FROM AKIYAMA! Taue is somehow back up…CHOKESLAM…JUMPING YAKUZA KICK OF TOTAL VIOLENT DEATH…you’d better believe Akiyama is done at 21:25 shown.
Rating - ****1/2 – Jun Akiyama…for now you are my king. Fantastic performance from Akiyama, as they really hammed up his typical role as the whipping boy for Team Misawa…before he went nuts and starting hitting exploders on everything in sight. All of this was amidst a wonderful sell job on the back. I didn’t like the finish too much, and Misawa barely figured in the match at all. Still, lots of fun, and this is the match where Akiyama took his place as one of my wrestling heroes…because his hair is silly, he gets treated like a little b*tch and still hits EXPLOOOOOOOOODEEEEEERS!
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi
So now it’s Kobashi holding the Triple Crown (having beaten Kawada for them belty things), and Misawa challenging. Excited about this one? You should be.
They run a few misses and strikes, before Kobashi scores the first nearfall by catching Misawa in a powerslam. Armbar from Kobashi, before he stomps away on the arm, singling it out early as a point of offence. To the hammerlock, before he hooks Misawa into a hammerlock Russian legsweep for 2. Surfboard from Kobashi, and they have a huge struggle as Misawa looks to fight free. Flipping inverted dropkick thingy from Misawa finally breaks it, but he promptly gets wiped out by a shoulder tackle. Stalling vertical suplex gets Kobashi a 2. Kobashi chops the neck…and that degenerates into a stiff ass strike exchange. SPINNING NECK CHOPS from Kobashi drop Misawa again. Kobashi heaves Misawa to the top, but Misawa elbows him off. MISSILE DROPKICK as Misawa finally gets some offence in, but he takes another shoulder block. Jumping front kick from Misawa sends Kobashi to the floor. He misses a pescado but lands on his feet then elbows Kobashi down. CORKSCREW PESCADO connects this time! Kobashi goes back inside, and Misawa rocks him with a somersault senton off the top rope. Cyclone clothesline puts him down for 2. Jumping Stunner from Misawa for 2…interesting move. Misawa keeps Kobashi on the mat with the Rings Of Saturn, but Kobashi makes the ropes. Kobashi to the floor – Misawa rolls the ropes and looks for the diving elbow…BUT KOBASHI MEETS HIM WITH A DROPKICK! Kobashi drags Misawa over the guardrail and drops his HUGE (seriously, Kobashi is a brick sh*thouse) leg across the neck. He does the same with the ring ropes. HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX. He hails him back up…HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEX! MISAWA KICKS OUT AT 2! He cranks on a facelock as we cross the 20 minute mark. HEAD DROP GERMAN…Misawa no sells, but then gets taken down with a sleeper. Kobashi goes for a powerbomb, which Misawa tries to rana out of…ELEVATED CRAB FROM KOBASHI! He has dominated Misawa for most of this match…
Misawa goes for a springboard reverse elbow, and almost gets caught in a half nelson suplex. ENZIGURI from Misawa…ROOOAAARIIIIING ELBOOOOOW from Misawa! Kobashi heads to the apron, and Misawa elbows him to the floor for the ELBOW SUICIDA! Misawa to the top rope – DIVING ELBOW floors Kobashi again. Kobashi escapes a Tiger Driver attempt so gets GERMAN SUPLEXED ON HIS HEAD. HE NO SELLS…SO MISAWA ELBOWS THE F*CK OUT OF HIM! TIGER DRIVER…FOR 2! FROG SPLASH from Misawa gets 2. He flies off the top again, but both men wipe each other out with clotheslines, and they both stay down. Misawa goes for a monkey flip but Kobashi dumps him on the turnbuckles. HEAD DROP HALF NELSON SUPLEX FROM KOBASHI! POWERBOMB INTO THE TURNBUCKLES! DDT…HEAD DROP DRAGON SUPLEX! MISAWA STILL KICKS OUT! Misawa goes for the roaring elbow – BUT TAKES A LARIAT! FALCON ARROW FROM KOBASHI…AGAIN ONLY 2! Misawa blocks the Burning Hammer, but gets shunted to the top rope. Again he escapes the Burning Hammer…LARIATOOOO from Kobashi gets 2. What does he have to do people? He drops Misawa with another DDT, and looks like he’s running out of ideas. To the top rope – LEG DROP TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! 2 COUNT AGAIN! He wants another powerbomb into the buckles, but Misawa is blocking…HURRICANRANA INTO THE TURNBUCKLES FROM MISAWA! They slug it out on the apron BEFORE MISAWA TIGER DRIVERS KOBASHI OFF IT TO THE FLOOR! OH THE INSANITY! They trade some weary looking strikes, before Misawa drops somersault leg drops across Kobashi’s head. HEAD DROP TIGER DRIVER! HOLY SH*********T!!! KOBASHI KICKS OUT…WHAT THE F*CK!! Both men to their feet – LARIAT FROM KOBASHI! ELBOWS FROM MISAWA…ROARING ELBOW AGAIN FOR 2. He pulls Kobashi away from the ropes for the TIGER SUPLEX…KOBASHI STILL KICKS OUT! RUNNING ELBOW…Kobashi kicks out. ELBOW STRIKE FLURRY…KOBASHI IS PINNED! Misawa regains the Triple Crown at 43:25.
Rating - ***** - Wonderful story, as Kobashi picked Misawa apart for 35 minutes, ending in the head drop flurry around that point. Misawa survived that storm, and Kobashi was on the way down from that point. The violence of this match was just unreal, and unlike the Misawa/Kawada match earlier – so varied. Not just head drop back suplexes…all different kinds of suplexes. The head drop Tiger Driver…the Tiger Driver off the apron. Plus…damn near 45 minutes! These are big men, and to go that long that easily is no mean feat.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi
Just in case you somehow missed the last one. This time Kobashi is the challenger for Misawa’s Triple Crown. Again we get entrances so I get to hear Misawa’s irritatingly catchy entrance music. Can they go better than that last epic? Let’s find out!
Kobashi goes right for a cross armbreaker, and Misawa makes the ropes and bails. Kobashi works a tight side headlock, and Misawa has to battle to the ropes again. Misawa attempts an elbow but gets NECK CHOPS, before Kobashi goes back to the headlock. He tries it again but gets a shoulder tackle then an armdrag. They trade arm holds next, still very much in the feeling out process. Hammerlock from Kobashi, before they fight over wristlocks. More strike near misses before they trade surfboards. Misawa drops an elbow to the back as we close in on 10 minutes. Dropkick from Misawa gets 2, then he locks on a rear chinlock. A big elbow floors Kobashi, then he gets another 2 count with a gutwrench suplex. Elbow/chop exchange…NECK CHOPS…BIG ELBOWS…KOBASHI FLOORS MISAWA WITH SPINNING NECK CHOPS! Gutbuster from Kobashi gets him a 2. Boston crab applied, but Misawa is too close to the ropes. STALLING FRONT SUPLEX from Kobashi gets 2. Cyclone clothesline from Misawa, then a senton splash. He kicks Kobashi to the floor…rope roll…he goes for the diving elbow – KOBASHI COUNTERS IT WITH A POWERSLAM! He tries to powerbomb Misawa on the apron, but Misawa blocks. Kobashi grabs the arm, AND DIVES OFF THE APRON TO SLAM IT OVER THE GUARDRAIL! He wraps Misawa’s arm in the railing then boots him in the back of the head. He drives the arm over the turnbuckle bolt as well, and Misawa is in a heap on the floor. Hammerlock DDT scores twice, before Misawa gets put into a shortarm scissors. He blocks a half nelson suplex attempt, so Kobashi rolls him into the cross armbreaker. Misawa makes the ropes and tries to fight back with kicks. HEAD DROP GERMAN FROM KOBASHI…MISAWA NO SELLS…HEAD DROP GERMAN NUMBER 2 FROM KOBASHI! Armbar applied with some sick torque, as Kobashi’s nose starts pouring blood, I assume from one of those kicks.
DDT out of nowhere from Misawa, then an enziguri to buy him still more time. Kobashi looks to suplex Misawa off the apron to the floor…but Misawa lands on his feet. KOBASHI GETS HEAD DROP BACK SUPLEXED TO THE FLOOR! Misawa climbs back into the ring – ELBOW SUICIDA! Kobashi is thrown back inside as Misawa goes to the top for the missile dropkick. Misawa upstairs again for the FROG SPLASH. Kobashi back drops out of the Tiger Driver once…HALF a Tiger Driver from Misawa – he couldn’t hit it properly because of the injured arm. Psychology kicks so much ass. He drags Kobashi onto the apron, but Kobashi again back drops out of a Tiger Driver attempt and sends Misawa to the floor. HEAD DROP HALF NELSON SUPLEX ON THE FLOOR! WHY ISN’T MISAWA DEAD? Inside Kobashi gets 2 with a bridging German suplex. POWERBOMB FROM KOBASHI…ALLEY OOP OVER THE ROPES FROM KOBASH! FALCON ARROW SCORES…ONLY FOR 2! He goes to the top rope…MOOOOONSAAAAAAUUULT!! MISAWA STILL KICKS OUT! Misawa ducks a lariat so takes a clubbing blow to the back of the head instead. Kobashi places him on the top rope…but Misawa blocks the Burning Hammer. NECK CHOPS…LARIAT OFF THE TOP…FOR 2! On the floor, Kobashi has to scatter the photographers so he can go for a powerbomb. He heaves Misawa up – BUT IT’S COUNTERED INTO A RANA WHICH SENDS KOBASHI INTO THE RAILINGS! Into the ring again, where Misawa ducks a lariat…AND HITS A GERMAN! Kobashi no sells but injures his own arm trying to follow up on the no sell. Misawa starts throwing elbows at the arm…TIGER SUPLEX GETS 2! A running elbow knocks Kobashi down, but Misawa barely has the energy to get up himself. Kobashi is still blocking the Tiger Driver, so Misawa somersault leg drops him in the back of the head…HEAD DROP TIGER DRIVER!! KOBASHI KICKS OUT! Kobashi ducks an elbow…HEAD DROP COBRA CLUTCH SUPLEX! LARIATOOOOOOO…MISAWA KICKS OUT! He looks for more lariats but Misawa peppers him with elbows…ROOOOOAAAARING ELBOOOOOW knocks Kobashi down again. Misawa to the top for a corkscrew senton. HALF NELSON SUPLEX…KOBASHI KICKS OUT AGAIN! NECK CHOPS FROM KOBASHI…ELBOWS FROM MISAWA…EMERALD FUSION!!! Misawa wins at 43:37.
Rating - ***** - This gets my vote for greatest match…ever, even ahead of Misawa/Kawada from Volume 1 (although it’s close). All the excellence of the previous Misawa/Kobashi match, the fantastic arm work from the first Misawa/Kobashi match on the tape, and finally an amazing finish to round it off. 44 minutes of damn near perfect wrestling people. This is one of those matches you just have to see to believe.
Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama
By this point Akiyama has realised he’s far too talented, and far too cool to waste his career taking Misawa’s beatings in tag matches before Misawa grabs the glory (or he gets knocked the f*ck out and pinned by Akira Taue)…so he’s left Misawa as well. Replacing him is Ogawa…who is nowhere near as good as any of Misawa’s previous partners. In fact, Ogawa is still teaming with Misawa in NOAH in 2004 as I write this, proving that at least he knows that unlike Kawada, Kobashi and Akiyama before him, he isn’t talented enough to get over on his own. This is late 1999…and everyone in this match would depart to Misawa’s new Pro Wrestling NOAH in June 2000.
JIP with Akiyama tagging in Kobashi, who orders little b*tch Ogawa to tag in Misawa. He obliges because…who is he to stand up to Kobashi? Kobashi fires a few chops in on Misawa…who doesn’t seem to notice. Dropkick sends Kobashi to the outside. Misawa rolls the ropes AND AKIYAMA KNEES HIM OFF THE APRON FROM BEHIND! YES…GO AKIYAMA! Misawa manages to lay out both members of the opposition, and Ogawa finally does something with a back suplex on Akiyama. ELBOW SUICIDA ON KOBASHI! Kobashi tries to whip Misawa into the railings, but Ogawa whips Misawa back into an elbow on Kobashi – that was cool. CLIIIIIIP to Ogawa climbing up Kobashi to put him in a sleeper hold. Akiyama with a high knee on Ogawa, before clamping on a front facelock. Misawa is tagged in and he trades elbows with Akiyama…naturally winning and flooring him. Facelock from Misawa, before he tags in Ogawa to punch Akiyama then put him in a chinlock. To the floor and Akiyama does his best to break the railings, using Ogawa’s body as a battering ram. DDT ON THE FLOOR and Ogawa is a mess. Kobashi in and he chops Ogawa down for 2. Stalling vertical suplex gets 2 as well, before he puts the hapless Ogawa into a Boston crab. Akiyama knee drops the back of the head for extra punishment. Akiyama is tagged back and he almost gets pinned out of nowhere with a sunset flip. Akiyama catapults him into a Kobashi elbow, then drills him for 2 with a Blue Thunder Driver.
To the floor again where Kobashi whips Misawa into the rails. Russian legsweep on Ogawa for 2. PUMPHANDLE POWERBOMB gets 2 before Misawa saves. Ogawa rakes the eyes and hits a jawbreaker, which allows Misawa to lay Kobashi out with an elbow then tag in. DIVING ELBOW OFF THE TOP! Cyclone clothesline floors Kobashi again…TIGER DRIVER…AKIYAMA SAVES! Misawa dispatches him then goes to the top for the FROG SPLASH! Kobashi locks in a Tazmission…HEAD DROP TAZMISSIONPLEX! Double arm DDT from Akiyama…DIVING ELBOW OFF THE TOP…FOR 2! Misawa blocks an exploder, and Ogawa kicks him in the back. Swinging neckbreaker on Akiyama, then an enzi on Kobashi. Swinging DDT on Akiyama, then a back suplex gets 2 before Kobashi saves. Ogawa works way too much of a sports entertainment style for this environment. Jawbreaker on Akiyama, then he drop toeholds him down for Misawa to hit an elbow drop. Misawa with a German on Akiyama…followed by an Ogawa back drop for 2. OGAWA TIGER DRIVERS AKIYAMA…FOR 2! You scrawny little thief! Akiyama blocks another back drop, but gets another jawbreaker (does Ogawa only have 2 moves of his own?). EXPLOOOODEEEEER FROM AKIYAMA! Kobashi and Misawa are the legal men again, and Misawa knocks Kobashi down with an enziguri. TIGER DRIVER…FOR 2. Misawa to the top for a diving clothesline. ROARING ELBOW scores. TIGER SUPLEX ALSO SCORES, but Kobashi still kicks out. Kobashi blocks Emerald Fusion…and we go to commercials? WHAT! I don’t care about Japanese Yahoo damnit! ‘Dooo yooooouu a-Yahoo-a?’. Kobashi is in one of these adverts! Oh, we’re back…NECK CHOPS…HEAD DROP GERMAN FROM KOBASHI…MISAWA NO SELLS…HEAD DROP HALF NELSON SUPLEX! Ogawa runs in and back drops Kobashi, so Akiyama sends him to the floor. LARIATOOOOO from Kobashi…but Misawa kicks out. He hits another LARIAT, but Ogawa saves this time. Akiyama knees Misawa in the back…Kobashi lariats Misawa in the back. BUUUUURNING HAMMER!!! Kobashi pins Misawa! I lost the time thanks to commercials.
Rating - **** - Does ‘Yoshinari’ mean ‘little b*tch’ in Japanese? Ogawa actually sucks! I mean, some of that wasn’t his fault, he’s in there to take a pasting to keep Misawa over, whilst giving Kobashi a win. However, even when he’s on offence, he seems to have only 2 moves, and he wrestles like a little guy clean out of OVW or something. I imagine in the WWF he’d actually be a really exciting wrestler, but this is AJPW, and his sports-entertainment punches and sunset flips get him nothing here. Still, it’s a decent match, plus Akiyama rocks the house. Only time in these Misawa compilations we see him take the Burning Hammer as well…
Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Giant Baba vs Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue/Masa Fuchi
Waaaaay back to 1994, as we get a retro trip to round out the comps. Baba by this point is pretty old, and will look it in this believe me. Obviously this is another way to keep that Misawa/Kobashi/Kawada/Taue feud going (thereby the Misawa/Kawada feud going) without doing another one of those tags.
JIP with Misawa holding Fuchi in a front facelock, which Taue breaks with a big boot. Fuchi hangs Misawa in a tree of woe then does nothing with it and tags in Kawada. He gets 2 with a lariat. Taue mounts the ropes and we get a BACK SUPLEX/CHOKESLAM combo for 2. STRETCH PLUM on Miswa, and Kobashi tries to break it, but gets back suplexed by Fuchi. He finally does it at the second attempt…SIMULTANEOUS POWERBOMBS FROM KAWADA AND TAUE! Misawa and Kobashi were the victims there. Fuchi tags in and covers Misawa for 2. Misawa blocks a back suplex and drops Fuchi with elbows. Baba in and he chops Fuchi down. Big boot floors him again, before he throws Kawada to the floor. Taue has the same fate, before he stretches Fuchi over his knee as Misawa and Kobashi trap Kawada and Taue in sleepers. Kawada hits a big lariat on Baba in the corner, then Taue gives him a CHOKESLAM for 2. Kawada applies the Stretch Plum (after a snapmare which made poor Baba look painfully old). Kobashi finally saves to huge applause. Baba knees Kawada in the stomach then tags in Kobashi. Violent chopfest…ENDS WITH NECK CHOPS FROM KAWADA! KOBASHI GETS UP AND NECK CHOPS BACK! Massive palm strike lays out Kobashi, and in comes Taue. Snake eyes is the first move he breaks out to no-one’s surprise. To the floor where he exposes some concrete AND DDT’S KOBASHI ONTO IT! Fuchi in to give Kobashi a back suplex. He whips Kobashi into a Kawada lariat…then into the TAUE CHOKESLAM! Back suplex throw from Taue (who looks positively spritely compared to Baba at this stage in his career). Kawada in with the TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER…for 2. Fuchi puts Kobashi in the camel clutch then tags Taue back in. Big lariats from Taue get 2, as does a Samoan drop.
Kawada in with a flurry of shortarm chops, but they don’t put Kobashi away either. Kawada looks for the high kick in the corner, but Kobashi blocks. Big boot from Kawada, but Kobashi hits a lariat and tags in Misawa. ELBOWS for everyone, then a spinning back suplex for 2. Kawada blocks a German attempt…Kawada kicks…elbows from Misawa…ENZI FROM KAWADA! Taue in and drops Misawa with a DDT for 2. Facebusters from Taue, then an atomic drop. MISAWA NO SELLS AND ELBOWS HIM DOWN! Baba in…FACEBUSTER ON TAUE! Fuchi runs in and rakes Baba’s eyes, which enables Taue to suplex him for 2. Baba with a boot on Taue…and he gets 2 with a running clothesline. Kobashi tagged and he UNLOADS chops on Taue…WHO WON’T GO DOWN! High knee from Kobashi, then a rope climb DDT for 2. Taue back drops to escape a piledriver attempt, then takes Kobashi over with a powerslam. Fuchi in with a Thesz press for 2. Disrespectful face treading gets him a ‘Fuchi’ chant from the fans…oh those crazy Japs. Standing switches…ROLLING CRADLE from Kobashi…for 2. To the top rope but he has to fight Kawada off. Diving shoulder tackle from Kobashi, before he goes back upstairs…LEG DROP TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! Taue has to save Fuchi there, and he gets dumped out by Baba for that. Kobashi is climbing again…MOONSAULT! Fuchi is pinned at 20:56.
Rating - *** - The worst match on both tapes, which makes it a shame to end them with it, but it’s still a lot of fun. Misawa is barely involved, and that’s a shame, but the idea of keeping him apart from Kawada to build the feud necessitated that. The Kobashi/Kawada and Misawa/Kawada clashes when they did occur were money though. Baba looked a long way past it by this stage, and if you really want to see him work, I recommend dipping into the past (earliest I’ve seen is a couple of 70’s matches). It’s a little too old school for my taste, but he was a talented big man worker back in the day. Fuchi, meanwhile, added nothing.
Tape Rating - **** - Not quite as good as the first one, as there’s more clipping and overall the matches aren’t as good. However, it does have two legit all time classics in the two 5* Misawa/Kobashi matches, and it’s hard to argue with that. Everything is great at worst (bar the final match)…plus there’s a couple of fun Akiyama cameos.
Top 3 Matches
3) Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama vs Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (****1/2) (the 2nd one)
2) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (*****) (the 1st one)
1) Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi (*****) (the 2nd one)