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Post by fxnj on Feb 13, 2019 12:13:49 GMT -5
This is most famous for the ganso bomb, but the stuff before that is some really good slow building heavyweight action. Kawada uses a similar strategy to what got him his dome win with him repeatedly cutting off Misawa’s comebacks. The first 10 or so minutes of this before Kawada’s arm injury stands up pretty well with the first 10 minutes of any other Misawa/Kawada match. The ganso bomb itself is, of course, ridiculous and creates a feeling of a possible death that few other matches achieve. This is also notable for being the first time Kawada beat Misawa when he wasn’t significantly hurt going into match, though probably even more notable for that surreal image after the match of Kawada accepting the victory while having one arm wrapped in a brace made out of the tag rope and an ice park. In a way, this is the match where the gods who have dominated the promotion for the past decade finally show their mortality. There’s also the famous story of this being the last match Baba saw, which essentially makes this the last match of Baba’s AJPW. Maybe doesn’t get by on work alone as the arm injury does screw things a bit (Misawa going back on offense after the injury by casually no-selling a German is easily the worst transition in their series) but the context surrounding it all pushes it into consideration.
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Post by bossrock on Mar 27, 2019 20:55:32 GMT -5
Second.
This might actually be my second Kawada-Misawa match (although I really need to re-watch the '92 match) after 6/3/94. While their '97 and '98 matches seemed to lose the plot with a lack of structure and instead just threw things at the wall to see what stuck, there's a much greater sense of escalation. Kawada first focuses on Misawa's leg to slow him down and while the damage is done, Misawa in desperation mode is still very dangerous. So Kawada then switches to the stretch plum and his trademark headkicks to try and knock Misawa out. Both guys do a great job driving home the desperation but in an amazing role-reversal, Kawada finds himself just one step ahead of Misawa. While understandably more famous for the ganso bomb spot, it's still an incredible match that steered a legendary rivalry back on course after it sort of lost its way.
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Post by fxnj on Apr 4, 2019 2:48:34 GMT -5
Completely disagree on 97 and 98 matches lacking structure.
97 is the most action packed of their series, but there's a reason for that. Kawada is coming in off the career highs of winning the Tag League by pinning Misawa and then pinning him again to win the Carnival. He comes into the Triple Crown match confident he's already proven he's the better the man, and he sets out to leave no doubt about that. As a result, he's really aggressive in trying to finish Misawa ASAP, refuses to respect any of Misawa's offense, and even goes for submissions to really try to make a statement. It's an awesome character performance from Kawada and Misawa's selling is great as well.
98 is about as far from a spot fest as you can get. Misawa is wrestling the match with injuries in just about every joint in his body, and he's amazing in selling the injuries throughout the match. For example, watch for him selling his knees after landing from flying moves or elbows after landing combinations of them. Kawada has a clear strategy of cutting off Misawa's momentum by targeting his injuries throughout the match. It's a really well put together and unique match in making Kawada's win feel like an inevitability, while also serving as a sort of meditation on what Misawa's run as champ had done to his body.
As for this match, I just rewatched it and I'm really impressed. I was already pretty high on it, but it actually exceeded my expectations. Kawada's strategy builds on his success in the 98 match as he again attempts to cut Misawa off by going after his leg, except this time Misawa is a little better off but still not in the same condition as he was in their earlier bouts. I'd always had the 97 match as the most brutal of their rivalry, but this really gives it a run for its money. Misawa doesn't shy away from unloading on Kawada with knockout elbows, and Kawada freely kicks Misawa's head like it's a soccer ball. Misawa's selling and overall performance is awesome here. He's almost in NOAH mode, in that he's not as spry as he once was and his body is hurting him, but he's not going down without a fight. That transition I mentioned in the OP with Misawa coming back after eating a brutal german suplex actually works pretty well with how the match was worked up to that point. Also, Misawa does sell the suplex by holding his head and looks pretty battered anyway. I'd always thought Kawada's arm injury hurt the match, but this time it felt like it actually added to the spectacle and him wrestling with the injury is just an incredible feat in itself. There's a sense of both guys pushing their bodies to absolute limit. The ganso bomb is really more of a cherry on top of it all than it is the main course.
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Post by microstatistics on Jun 20, 2023 19:55:22 GMT -5
I rewatched this on a whim despite hating it upon a recent viewing. I ended up doing a complete 180 and I would actually put it on par with 6/3/1994. There was a clear progression here and no wasted moments as Kawada systematically attacked the knee to open up the head while Misawa tried in vain to blitz him away. Even a broken arm couldn't stymie Kawada, a complete role reversal from the middle portion of the decade. The spot where Misawa collapsed onto the referee felt like an all-time poignant moment, signifying the inevitable demise. The only two times Kawada was clearly bested was when he slipped back into his ego-fueled old ways of going strike-for-strike, which is great storytelling.
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Post by elliott on Sept 17, 2023 23:33:27 GMT -5
Never a fan of this one. I always thought it was funny that the ganso bomb wasn't the finish.
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