Mitsuharu Misawa v Toshiaki Kawada - (AJPW - 7/24/1995)

This is were Kawada should have won. I'll rewatch it soon, I remember it as the second best of their rivalry too.

Fourth. Their 3 best match and a epic match. usual violent realistic execution by both. simple structure kawada is working smart not trying to be in a strikes exchange knowing he will lose. and just ultimately had enough of misawa closing all his comebacks and being ultra focused and dominate. he just destroys misawa with powerbombs and gets real close and cant get the job done so loses temper and gets desperate when he realizes he cant win. misawa gets desperate as well sensing danger and if he cant use the arm he just kicks kawada in the face. and in the end its 93 all over again with kawada desperately kicking outand being mercylessely murder with tiger suplexes for being valiant and heroic almost brave. the last tiger suplex is so brutal kawada gets drilled and murdered. both gets desperate especially kawada realizing hes getting destroyed and tries to somehow buy sometime to recover but his body gives out. misawa has almost nothing left and uses his arm with a final knockout elbow that koes kawada dead in center. great focus of body part escalation selling and awesome execution with kawada ramming misawa head in the ring all shots are KO level violent and brutal. All time classic top 50 easily.

Scorching Hot Take: This Match is better than 6/3/94. 6/3/94 is Kawada giving his all to best Misawa in a fair fight. It is a competitive workrate-oriented match. In 1995, Kawada throws all sportsmanship out the window and goes full heel. He is hunting that hurt eye and is just ruthless throughout. It is the better match because babyface/heel dynamics are more pronounced this feels more heated and like a fight. Also Misawa needed to win this for the feel good moment. Kawada had gone too far on 6/9/95 with his jealousy he needed to get his comeuppance.

AJPW Triple Crown Champion Mitsuharu Misawa vs Toshiaki Kawada - AJPW 7/24/95



Based on the first ten minutes, I think this is on pace to be better than 6/3/94. There's really not much need to review. It is self-evident once you watch it. They do an excellent scouting routine early and they are working a ferocious clip. No one is fucking around. I liked Misawa blocking the Jumping High Kick to the face. You see on one of the German reversals that Misawa clutches his face and not soon after Kawada CRUSHES his face with a big boot. KOPPOU KICK~! I popped huge for that. This match is built around Kawada breaking Misawa's face in the Carny about 4 months prior. Kawada is merciless attacking the face. I love how he is elbowing the neck and then all of sudden changes gears and goes high. There are some fucking great Kawada Kicks where he really rears back and rifles Misawa in the face. Misawa sold this onslaught well. I would say Misawa feels more in danger of losing than any other Singles match (even moreso than the Doc loss). Kawada is relentless. Just when I think they may be going over board with Misawa taking too much of an asskicking, he blocks some kicks with his elbows and then starts firing back. I love how Misawa has to earn that comeback. there is a lot of tussling before Misawa SMOKES him with the Roaring Elbow. Misawa always has a puncher's chance and Kawada sold this blow wickedly. Lots of classic Kawada selling: Cant run the ropes, stumbling & fumbling until he falls on his ass, great stuff. Misawa is folding him in half with German. But cant land the Tiger Driver. Misawa went from looking he was getting blown out to routing Kawada. The Elbow bails him out again. As the ten minutes come to a close, they do Misawa's Facelock, the Facelock does not have the heat of 1992 and it is a dead in the water move...come to think of the match has not had much heat, but it more minimalist, body part focused. They transition to Kawada by doing one of All Japan's favorite transitions one guy holds onto the ropes for dear life to avoid the Suplex and then lets go and SMOKES the other guy in the face with a strike. Kawada hits two MEATY Lariats after this that are just wicked to take command.



Yeah this is better than 6/3/94, there are so many nice little touches from Kawada that make this stand out from a traditional King's Road match. In one case, it is how the ref sells it. Kawada guzzles Misawa up quickly and goes for a chinlock/sleeper, but the ref urgently breaks it up and freaks out. Making you believe Kawada was choking Misawa. The crowd booed. It was all thanks to the ref. Kudos to him. Another bout of frustration saw Kawada mount Misawa and just rain down punches on his face. I wish we got a better camera angle on that, but it was things like that made this so much more heated. 6/3/94 was the ultimate King's Road match, this feels more personal and like there is more hatred in it. I LOVED the droptoehold and RIFLE KICK to the bad eye that was sick. The twin DANGERRRRROUSSSSSSSSSSSSS Back Drop Drivers was a great climax to that. I liked Kawada going for the Powerbomb, being thwarted and going for Stretch Plum instead. Two great Powerbombs ensued look at the drive in his legs on the second one. I loved how when Misawa ever connected with any offense, Kawada would either kick him in the face or drop him on his head. It just looked like Misawa had no prayer. I should mention those two heated moments, the choke and full mount punches came after especially frustrating nearfalls(two Dangerous Back Drop Driver and two powerbombs). You could see the momentum start to shift to Misawa as Kawada was running out of gas and Misawa's elbows were really starting to land. Kawada whiffing on the Jumping High Kick was the first signal to me that the end of was nigh for the challenger. Misawa OBLITERATES him with an Elbow and just goes Full Head Drop Mode with devastating German and Tiger Suplexes. Kawada comes up swinging with two big closed fists as he makes his Last Stand. Misawa headbutts the abdomen! I love it! Elbow and ROARING ELBOW~! Kawada is fucked. It takes two more massive Tiger Suplexes but it is all over for Kawada.



6/3/94 with the Tiger Driver '91 finish did not give them much room to grow outside of a Kawada victory here. I think that's one of the main reasons 6/3/94 is more fondly remembered is the finish is more epic. Baba's booking in 6/9/95 really heeled Kawada in my eyes. He went from competitive archrival of Misawa to fucking asshole consumed by jealousy stopping at nothing to win. You dont want Kawada to win this match because he is a prick. Misawa needed to win this match because of that. I wonder if Kawada winning at 6/3/94 and Misawa winning the comeback match in 95 which then causes Kawada to lose his mind and go full heel trying to injure Misawa in their '96 match would have been the best arc. Baba's booking has been analyzed to death regardless 6/3/94 and 7/24/95 are fucking amazing. I am more confident in who I am as a reviewer to say this is the better than 6/3/94. To me 6/3/94 is the ultimate workrate wet dream match. There is so much more to wrestling than workrate and I think this match does a better job capturing the personal animosity between these two and just how unhinged Kawada had become. *****

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I hadn't watched this match until recently I think. If I watched it before it was forever ago. I sort of agree with Sleeze's take on this. I still REALLY love 6/3/94, but it is never really a match I WANT to watch. This is much more a match that demands my attention. It is tough to say which match is "better". Before this year's ballot I will probably force myself to watch them together.

I wouldn’t consider this to be their best match but it doesn’t need to be to be a great match. I loved that Kawada was quite dominant for a while, especially with the powerbomb nearfalls. This made Misawa’s comeback more impressive and his win with the rolling elbow felt like a gutshot.