Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi vs. Jumbo/Fuchi/Taue (AJPW 4/20/1991)

Second.

While I think the '90 six-man was the best of the series, this one is absolutely fantastic in its own right. Misawa hangs back a bit in this and it's on the long side, but there's still tons of action and Taue and Kawada deliver star-making performances with their unbridled hatred and aggression. Kawada flipping off Taue has to be one of my favorite moments in all of wrestling.

Two of the things I like best in wrestling are in-ring explorations of hierarchy/power levels/whatever goofy term you want to use and in-ring explorations of long-running relationships between individuals and teams. This match is bursting at the seams with both, on top of being 50 minutes of these six guys going at it. When exactly this match takes place helps a lot, being that it's still early enough in the feud(s) that everything feels fresh but far enough into it that people like Taue and Kobashi have shown significant growth and aren't pushovers for their older opponents. Where this takes place is a big help too because Korakuen is all about it. On paper this reads like everything I'd love in wrestling and it's all that and more in execution. I'm not certain that it'll make my top ten but outside of my surefire picks nothing stands a better chance.

This match will not be on my list. Yes, is a great six-man tag. Yes, every character matters and delivers. Yes, the crowd was hot throughout all of it. And hell yeah, Kawada was the mvp of the match and his rivalry with Taue peaked here. But man it's just unnecessarily long. Don't get me wrong, I don't have any problems with long or short matches per se, I have problems with how the workers use their time in the match, and here I see a lot of phases and moments that they simply could have reduced (for example, Kawada's FIP segment). With only 25-30 minutes, this could have been the MOTY and a strong top 100 contender for me, but as much as I love it it's just a great six-man tag team match with too many minutes. And that's not enough in this project. *** 3/4.

This match could be seen as being long for the sake of being long but I disagree. The first section of the match set the table with everyone in and out. The second act was about elevating all of the pillars up to be in the stratosphere of Jumbo and Misawa and that felt like it happened. Taue showed a lot of vulnerability as well ass-kick-itude. The final stretch brought it all together, especially with Fuchi getting more involved and trading some great strikes with Kawada. It was hard to know who would win but Misawa getting the pin on Taue felt like a great exclamation point. Top notch work and I would say the best of the trios matches I have seen in this re-watch and honestly my acting # 1. But I have miles to go before I sleep.