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Zen Arcade Reviews: Downloadapalooza!~! Vol. 2

July 5, 2013 | Posted by Jake St-Pierre
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Zen Arcade Reviews: Downloadapalooza!~! Vol. 2  

The first edition of Downloadapalooza was done a year and a half ago on the Oratory Forums, and it was a very, very bad review. So if you think I suck now, you probably would have considered murder then.

Jack Evans vs. Teddy Hart
PWS – 3-22-08. According to Steve Corino, Teddy Hart is insane and “a shoot retard.” That about sums Ted Hart up, I’d say.

A bunch of scientific wrestling early ends in a GENERIC INDY STANDOFF!~! Hart puts in a modfied triangle choke, but Jack gets to the ropes and bails to rest for a few seconds. Jack tries to stay on top of the bigger Teddy, but Teddy snapmares Jack on his head to get out of a sleeper predicament. Jack keeps on his attack with his agility and speed, and counters a cartwheel into a Michinoku Driver for 2. Teddy comes right back with a reverse Silver Slice and a SICK BACKDROP FLIPPED INTO A SIT OUT POWERBOMB! I don’t think that could logically work on any other wrestler that wasn’t Jack Evans. Jack flails out at 2. Teddy fires off a couple of knees and DROPS JACK ON HIS FACE WITH AN ARM CAPTURE ROLL OF THE DICE! I do not care how devoid this is of story, watching people kill Jack Evans is one of the guiltiest pleasures I’ve got in wrestling. A Hart SSP finds knees, much to the delight of this rabid crowd. Jack keeps it going with a back handspring into a reverse DDT! Jesus. He goes up top but a 630 EATS Teddy Hart’s knees. Teddy goes up top now and hits a corkscrew senton with WAY too many degrees to count. Jack starts coming back and comes down with a standing Phoenix Splash! Teddy stops his momentum with two huge tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. He pulls off a Gory Special into a sitout powerbomb…for a nearfall! Teddy throws the half-dead Jack and GETS SERIOUS HANGTIME ON AN ASAI MOONSAULT! Teddy tries to throw Jack into the apron, but Jack bounces off the apron and comes down with a corkscrew dive! 450 FROM THE GUARDRAIL! That gets two. Jack starts building up momentum in the ring until Teddy cuts a dive off with a mid-air dropkick! TEDDY MURDERS JACK WITH AN ARM CAPTURE PILEDRIVER! Jack barely finds the ropes! As MOVEZ!~! as this is, to their credit neither Teddy nor Jack are no-selling anything. That’s a feather in their cap. BUTTERFLY CANADIAN DESTROYER! JACK FINDS THE ROPES AGAIN! My God, they’re actually trying to tell a story here. JACK HITS A REVERSE RANA! A Spaghetti Legged Evans HITS A CORKSCREW SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP~! Jack desperately tries to make his way up to beat the ref’s count, and makes it in just in time to beat Teddy Hart by countout in 21 minutes. That finish sucked. ***1/4 If you’re some kind of wrestling purist, shut up right now because you’re going to hate me for the next few minutes. This by-and-large is 21 minutes of MOVEZ~! I usually don’t use tired, outdated internet cliches to describe matches, but that’s the only way I can describe this. I’m still stunned on how little transition there was between the crazy moves. There was no story to speak of until the last few minutes, where Jack took some of the most ridiculous moves I’ve ever seen and still found a way to get out of them. He didn’t even kick out of them…he just found the ropes, and we saw Teddy get increasingly more frustrated every time Jack found them. It’s unfortunate that the finish was a fucking countout, because we might have gotten a very violent grand finale of Jack Evans dying, but such is wrestling I guess. So yeah, if you’re one of those guys that can’t get into anything that doesn’t involve anyone from New Japan or something, don’t watch this. It’s a spotfest by every definition of the word (even though they tried for psychology at the end), but son of a bitch it was fun just for the sheer mindless of it all.

Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue
June 9th, 1995. This is called the greatest tag match (and greatest match in some circles) of all time on a regular basis, and on paper you can see why. When the worst talent in the match is Akira Taue, you’ve got something good. I’ve yet to see this either, nor have I seen their other critically acclaimed match from…1993?

Kobashi and Taue start off, and the crowd is pumped. Kobashi fires off a couple of chops and Taue responds with a high kick, but they’re at a stalemate after another Taue kick is blocked. Kawada tags in and BOOTS Misawa off of the apron as Kobashi whips him into the ropes. Kawada just don’t care, but Misawa tags in and shit is on. Misawa blocks a HIIIGGGHHH KICCCKKKAAAA, but Kobashi eats one off the apron after a killer sequence between Kawada and Misawa. Taue tags in and eats an elbow from Misawa and a shoulderblock from Kobashi. Kobashi and Misawa are in firm control of Taue now as Kobashi snaps off a brainbuster for a casual 2 count. Taue bails out of the ring, and Kobashi follows him down with a dive! Kawada tries to jump Misawa, but he eats an elbow! Tope Suicida from Misawa! Taue moves out of the way of a diving shoulderblock and here comes Kawada! Kawada attacks Kobashi’s taped leg and the leg buckles on Kobashi after he tries to boot Kawada in the face.

Kawada just exposed a huge weakness, and he wastes no time in going after it. He takes turns with Taue now, methodically picking Kobashi apart by his leg. Misawa gets the tag and starts trying to clean house, but he’s sent out of the ring and now he’s in trouble. Kawada GOES WILD WITH STIFF KICKS TO A CORNERED MISAWA! Misawa starts powering up and goes to town on Kawada with forearms! Taue comes in and stifles him, but here comes Kobashi! The sequence is stopped when Kawada takes Kobashi’s leg out. STIFF STRIKES BETWEEN MISAWA AND KAWADA! Kobashi jumps on Taue, but Taue curb stomps his leg! HE THROWS MISAWA ONTO KOBASHI’S BAD LEG! DOUBLE KNEES OFF OF THE TOP TO THE LEG FROM KAWADA! Wow, what a match and I don’t think we’re even halfway through. Superb, superb psychology so far.

Kobashi rolls to the outside in blistering pain as the young boys tend to him, while Misawa is worked over by Kawada and Taue in the ring. Misawa blisters Kawada with a forearm, but he’s dropped with a lariat as Kobashi gets in the ring! Kobashi can barely get off a chop because of his leg, which allows Akira Taue to take him outside the ring. Kawada nails a Jack-Knife Powerbomb! That only gets two, but Kobashi still powers his way back in! LARIAT TO TAUE! PUNCHES TO KAWADA! DOUBLE LARIAT! Kawada gets back up, but eats an enzuigiri! Kobashi legally tags in and the trade leg kicks! Kobashi drops Kawada with a barrage of chops to the head, but Kawada fires right back with a leg lariat and a tag to Taue. Taue hits a few chops to the head of Kobashi, who fires back with a jumping neckbreaker! Misawa comes in and a double Tiger Driver gets 2, so here comes Kawada! Kawada kicks Kobashi off of the top rope and leaves him laying, but he tags into Misawa, who nails a roaring elbow! Roaring elbow to Kawada! TIGER DRIVER TO TAUE! Taue kicks out at just one. DOUBLE SLEEPERS BY KOBASHI AND MISAWA! Kawada boots himself out and DROPS MISAWA ON HIS DAMN HEAD WITH A BACKDROP DRIVER! KOBASHI SHOULDERBLOCKS KAWADA OFF OF THE APRON!

Kobashi tags in and nails a German Suplex on Taue for a nearfall! Kobashi goes up top, only for Kawada to take out his leg, throw him down, and get the tag. Kobashi counters a Backdrop Driver and nails a Back Suplex, and MISAWA COMES DOWN WITH A FROG SPLASH! MOONSAULT FROM KOBASHI! NEARFALL! HEAD DROP GERMAN BY MISAWA ONTO KAWADA! TIGER SUPLEX! NEARFALL~! TIGER DRIVER~! AKIRA TAUE SAVES! CHOKESLAM BY TAUE! CAPO KICK RIGHT TO MISAWA’S JAW!! TAUE CHOKESLAMS MISAWA OUT TO THE FLOOR!~! Yeah, this is worth the hype…holy shit. Kawada looks for a powerbomb, but Kobashi desperately crawls to Misawa to save him…but TAUE CHOKESLAMS HIM! POWERBOMB ON MISAWA! NEARFALL! Kobashi agains tries to save his partner from some Kawada stomps, but Taue comes in to help AND KILL KOBASHI WITH AN ASSISTED BACKDROP DRIVER~! MISAWA KILLS TAUE WITH A ROARING ELBOW! ENZUIGIRI ON MISAWA FROM KAWADA! AGAIN MISAWA KICKS OUT! Jesus, this is exhausting. BACKDROP DRIVER ON MISAWA! ANOTHER NEARFALL~! ONE MORE ENZUIGIRI! POWERBOMB OF DEATH!~! Kawada pins Mitsuharu Misawa in a classic 43 minutes. Wow. ***** If the scale went higher, this would go higher…it’s as simple as that. This may very well be the best tag match to ever be wrestled and it was worth the 43 minute duration. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime effort, containing some of the most exhilirating action you could hope to see. The psychology of Kenta Kobashi’s knee was immaculate. It played a part in some crucial moments and allowed for both Kawada and Taue to go to that when they were in trouble. It helped them win the match, because a full-formed Kobashi may have beaten them with all the opportunities he had to save the match. However, those opportunities were never realized because of his injury. That’s something you can see past the language barrier, and it puts this match on the top shelf of the greatest matches of all time. So for all you people who dislike puro because you can’t understand the language, this is a match that renders your reservations irrelevant; the psychology, intensity, and frankly the art of this match is something you don’t need English commentary for. Every single minute meant something, whether it dealt with Kobashi’s knee injury in the early moments or the frantic rush to the finish. Even in the slow moments, nothing dragged because it all had a purpose. That’s what wrestling is, and that’s why we fans still love it. This match is worth the hyperbole I’m heaping on it. It’s a classic.

Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit
From Unforgiven 2002. This match was made because Angle got angry at Benoit laughing at Angle taking a Stink Face from Rikishi, so Angle got back by holding Benoit down during a Stinkface. Yep. Paul Heyman booked that.

We start with your usual awesome Benoit-Angle chain wrestling. They go through a good sequence of counters until Kurt bails after a Crossface attempt. The crowd gives them a round of applause, and they give face reactions to both Angle and the Crippler. Angle gets the upperhand and controls Benoit on the mat with a bodyscissors. Benoit doesn’t take shit for long and starts targeting Kurt’s shoulder for the Crossface. Benoit desparately tries to knee out of a belly-to-belly suplex, but Angle can play that game and hits the suplex anyway. Both get up before the 10 count, and they trade German Suplexes to a huge pop from Los Angeles. Benoit counters an Angle Slam INTO A GERMAN THAT RAGDOLLS ANGLE ONTO HIS FACE! Jesus H. Christ. Benoit looks for the headbutt, but ANGLE JUMPS UP FOR A BELY-TO-BELLY SUPERPLEX! Angle counters a bridge into an Ankle Lock, but Benoit boots him out of it. Tombstone positions are impressively traded until Benoit comes out on top with a mean shoulderbreaker! DIVING HEADBUTT! NEARFALL! CROSSFACE! ANKLE PUTS IN THE ANKLE LOCK WHILE STILL IN THE CROSSFACE! ANGLE COUNTERS ALL THE WAY! BENOIT COUNTERS BACK INTO THE CROSSFACE! ANGLE COUNTERS BACK! BENOIT GETS THE ROPES! ANGLE PUTS IN A CROSSFACE! Benoit counters and uses the ropes to pin Angle in 13 minutes. ***3/4 Barring the extremely disappointing finish, this was a fantastic technical battle, as per the course for these two. They went in there with ill will, but not enough to turn things into a brawl. They were pissed at each other and had something to prove. It just kind of sucks that it had to have a fucked finish. The last 3 minutes of counters were just so good and they didn’t have to prostitute finishers or overdo nearfalls to accomplish their goal. This would be a higher rating if the finish didn’t blow, but it doesn’t exactly taint the 12 minutes of work before it, which was great.

WWE Title: Kurt Angle (c) vs. Chris Benoit
From Royal Rumble 2003. This is a much-ballyhooed match, and I haven’t seen it in years, so I’m coming in half-blind. Angle comes out with Haas & Benjamin, who are young as hell here. They both turned out to be first-rate cunts, as it turned out.

Team Angle goes after Benoit like a pack of dogs, and are subsequently ejected before the bell even rings. Benoit looks for a Sharpshooter early, but Angle bails quickly. Upon re-entry, Benoit targets Angle’s braced knee, which Angle seems to be faking if the build had anything to say about it. Angle doesn’t give much up and hits a Snap Suplex for 2. Benoit hits a Northern Lariat and a Kitchen Sink for a passing 2 count. Benoit takes Angle out to the apron and DDT’S HIM ON THE RING FRAME! Angle took a mean bump there, and is nearly down for the count. Since it’s early in the match, Angle is able to move out of the way of a headbutt. Angle nearly pulls off an Angle Slam, but Benoit slides out and slaps on the Sharpshooter. Angle gets to the ropes, but the damage is done for now. Angle hits a flash Belly-to-Belly and tosses Chris out to buy himself some time. Angle heads out to put some more damage on Benoit. Angle grapevines a rear chinlock, and foils a Benoit come back with another Belly-to-Belly. Benoit starts rallying back and both he and Angle PLASTER each other with a lariat for the same time, thus transitioning into a double-down. Benoit builds up a head of steam with a couple Germans, but Angle counters to one of his own! Benoit counters and pulls off the Hat Trick. Benoit goes for a headbutt, but ANGLE JUMPS UP FOR A BIG SUPERPLEX! BENOIT COUNTERS AN ANGLE SLAM INTO A CROSSFACE! TRANSITIONED INTO AN ANKLE LOCK! KURT COUNTERS INTO AN ANKLE LOCK! BENOIT COUNTERS INTO A CROSSFACE! Kurt nearly gets out, but finds himself back in it! Angle tries to roll through and COUNTERS INTO AN ANGLE SLAM! BENOIT KICKS OUT! The straps are down and it’s Ankle Lock time. Benoit NEARLY GETS THE WIN WITH A CRADLE! ANGLE GOES FACEFIRST ON A GERMAN! DIVING HEADBUTT ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE RING TO THE BACK OF ANGLE’S HEAD! ANGLE KICKS OUT! Benoit looks for a Crossface again, but ALLEY OOPS BENOIT ON THE TOP TURNBUCKLE! ANGLE SLAM! BENOIT POWERS OUT AGAIN! CROSSFACE FROM BENOIT…COUNTERED INTO AN ANKLE LOCK! BENOIT COUNTERS…BUT ANGLE LOCKS IT RIGHT BACK IN! Holy shit this match is fantastic. ANGLE GRAPEVINES! Benoit taps in 20 minutes. ****3/4 Now Unforgiven was a great match, but THIS is the definitive Benoit-Angle match. That is, if you’re able to still watch Benoit wrestle. If you are, check this out, because it’s one of his greatest matches and it holds up over time. The rousing standing ovation he gets is as bittersweet as it gets, but it was deserved. He went into the match with everything he possibly could and nearly won many a time, but couldn’t quite pull it off. Angle was just the better man, but it wasn’t one of Angle’s defining performances; it was one of Benoit’s. It’s a simple story of determination and it’s one of the best matches WWE put on in the 2000’s. It’s a shame Benoit’s heinous actions put a mark on it, but if you’re able to still look at him professionally with some semblance of respect, then track it down. If not, I don’t blame you. It’s still just as great as it was ten years ago.

X-Division Title: AJ Styles (c) vs. Samoa Joe
From Turning Point 2005. This is the good shit. They had an absolute barnburner at Sacrifice earlier that year and that’s not even their best match, according to most!

Styles comes out like a house on fire, nailing a snap suplex. AJ PLASTERS Joe with a dropkick! Jeeesus. They start trading blows and JOE BRAINS AJ WITH A BARRAGE OF SOCCER KICKS~! Holy God. Davey Richards ain’t got shit on Samoa Joe. AJ battles back and lands on the apron during a plancha, but Joe kicks his feet out from under him! He swings AJ INTO THE GUARDRAIL! Jeez, Joe was a damn monster. AJ keeps trying for some flash comebacks, but Joe thwarts him at every turn, and gets a two count off of a mean senton. AJ grabs Joe’s foot during a facewash, but Joe totally bitchslaps him and CONNECTS with a facewash! Okay, now I see where the hype for this one comes from. AJ is so fucked that he has a hard time getting back into the ring, so Joe has his way with the Phenomenal One until AJ nails a Pele! AJ springboards right into a Powerbomb! AJ nearly counters out of the pinfall, but Joe locks in a Boston Crab. AJ dumps Joe out of the ring, who eats it on the ring frame. BEAUTIFUL FOSBURY FLOP FROM STYLES! SPRINGBOARD ELBOW TO THE BACK OF JOE’S HEAD! Joe kicks out. AJ flips out of a German Suplex and hits a Moonsault into a Reverse DDT! Joe kicks out again. AJ POWERBOMBS JOE! JOE KICKS OUT! JOE DECAPITATES AJ WITH A LARIAT BUT AJ KICKS OUT AT ONE! Joe DROPS AJ with a nasty Tiger Driver! AJ STYLES GIVES NO FUCKS! That’s how you no-sell stuff…let it build. Unbelievable stuff through and through. AJ fires off 2 Pele Kicks! AJ goes for a Musclebuster, but Joe gets him up for a Super Musclebuster. No dice. STYLES CLASH FROM AJ~! JOE KICKS OUT!~! JOE COUNTERS A ROLL UP INTO THE COQUINA CLUTCH!~! AJ IS CLOSE TO THE ROPES…BUT HE PASSES OUT! Samoa Joe wins the title in 19 minutes. ***** I loved this match the first time I saw it, but amazingly it was so much better the second time I watched it. It’s the fastest 19 minutes you’ll ever see, and if you’ve seen the match, you might feel like agreeing. The story was simple; AJ was pissed that Joe dishonored the unwritten X-Division code of honor by murdering Christopher Daniels, so he showed a surprising amount of aggression to avenge that. Joe’s dominance still proved to be too much, even though AJ caught a wild second wind during the closing moments of the contest. I think this is the best match in TNA history, even over that iconic three-way from Unbreakable, if only because of the story this told. Both are five star quality, but this one entertained me ever so slightly more. I can’t think of a better match that the company ever put on. This was outstanding in every facet.

WWF World Tag Team Titles: Edge & Christian (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz
From Summerslam 2000. I’m sure we’ve all seen this at least once.

Upon the Hardy’s entrance, everything breaks down. Jeff eats a chair in mid-Poetry in Motion. Edge brings in a ladder, but Bubba smacks him in the face with it. Bubba climbs the ladder early, but the Hardy’s recover and double powerbomb him to the mat. Bubba DROPS CHRISTIAN FROM A LADDER WITH A BUBBA BOMB! Jeff goes up the ladder himself and FALLS RIGHT ON ANOTHER LADDER! MATT GOES JOEY MERCURY’D! Bubba comes in and cleans house with a ladder of his own…WASSUPPP to Edge…D’VON…GET THE TABLES! Christian is the victim of a 3D through a table! The Dudleys have some time to kill, so they’re stacking up some tables on the outside. That’s not going to come into play. Bubba EATS a chairshot from Edge, who turns right into a Twist of Fate from Matt Hardy. Hardy nails a leg drop from the ladder, and JEFF HOPS OVER IT FOR A LEGDROP OF HIS OWN! Matt sandwiches Edge in the ladder and DROPS CHRISTIAN ON TOP OF HIM! Jeff sets Bubba on a table on the outside, and MISSES THE BIG SWANTON AND DESTROYS HIMSELF! Matt starts climbing for the belts, as does D-Von, but Edge and Christian stop that pretty quickly. Bubba Ray is the only one standing, so he obviously goes for the belts…until Edge & Christian PUSH THE LADDER AND SEND BUBBA GOING THROUGH THE TABLES HE STACKED ON THE OUTSIDE! As contrived as that spot is, it’s always so fun to watch. Edge and Christian now start up for the belts, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Here comes Lita! Lita pushes the ladder down! Matt gets up and Lita cheers him on the get the belts. D-VON PUSHES HIM OFF BACKWARDS THROUGH TWO TABLES ON THE OUTSIDE! EDGE SPEARS LITA! Yikes, Lita whacked the back of her head on the ladder. D-Von and Jeff fight on top the ladders for the belts, but the ladder is knocked out from under them! D-Von falls, and the champs knock Jeff off. Edge & Christian get the belts in 15 minutes. ****1/2 This one holds up with time no matter how many times I watch it. From Jeff’s missed Swanton to the huge stacked tables bump that Bubba did, the risks these guys took are marvelous. Sure, most of us are desensetized to most of it considering the overkill various promotions put us through with ladder matches, but you still have to appreciate the way all six beat the holy hell out of eachother just to make the fans happy. It’s still fantastic stuff 13 years later.

Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Doug Furnas & Dan Kroffat
AJPW – May 25th, 1992. When I got my first ever puro compilation, the guy I got it from advised me to check this match out first. Once I did, I fell in love with it. Granted, I haven’t seen it in years, but I distinctly remember one of the hottest crowds of all time. Let’s see if the action holds up.

Kroffat tries to go chop-for-chop with Kobashi early on, but even in 1992 that was a stupid thing to do. Kobashi sends Kroffat on his head with a shoulderblock to follow a hard Irish Whip. Furnas comes in for a double shoulderblock, and boy was he jacked. Kikuchi tags in and fires off two dropkicks, one for each partner, and the crowd ERUPTS. If I remember correctly, this was in Kikuchi’s hometown. Kroffat comes back with a spinning wheel kick, but he eats a lariat shortly thereafter…and so does Furnas! Furnas TOSSES Kikuchi out of the ring with a Gorilla Press, and TOSSES HIM ONTO A TABLE INSIDE THE GUARDRAIL! The crowd isn’t exactly very pleased with that. Furnas puts on a DISGUSTING Boston Crab that puts the Liontamer to shame. Kobashi tries to break it, but Furnas no-sells…which earns Furnas a STIFFER shot in return! Kobashi leg drops Kroffat to break a Bow and Arrow, but Furnas tags right back in…only to eat a dropkick from Kikuchi! Tag to Kobashi! He comes in like a house on fire, but the numbers game overwhelms him until he hits Furnas with a Backdrop Driver! Kroffat heels it up big time when he stops Kobashi’s comeback in its track, and the crowd lets him know. Kobashi gets the tag back in to Kikuchi, who DIVES DOWN FOR A HEADBUTT! PERFECTPLEX! Kroffat shitcans Kobashi and looks for a Tiger Driver (which the crowd HATES, ya know, ’cause of Misawa and all) but instead they opt for a Doomsday Device! The crowd goes NUCLEAR when Kikuchi powers out. COBRA CLUTCH FROM KROFFAT! KOBASHI BREAKS IT! KOBASHI DDT’S FURNAS ON THE FLOOR! DOOMSDAY DROPKICK BY KIKUCHI AND KOBASHI! BACKDROP MOONSAULT BY KIKUCHI FOR A NEARFALL! HURRICANRANA FROM FURNAS…BUT KIKUCHI DIVES TO BREAK THE PINFALL! KOBASHI MISSES A MOONSAULT! TURNING CRADLE FROM KROFFAT GETS TWO! DOUBLE ARMED DDT SCORES…FOR TWO! MOONSAULT SCORES! Kikuchi and Kobashi win in a very thrilling 20 minutes. ****1/2 I have trouble calling this a five star match, because the match was a little short for my liking. Other than that minor nitpick, everything about this was tremendous. The support for Tsuyoshi Kikuchi was out of this world, and literally everything he did garnered massive response from the audience. Wrestling fans not familiar with Japan probably hear about how quiet and reserved the Japanese crowds are, but there was none of that here. It might be the most American crowd I’ve ever seen in Japan. They booed the everloving hell out of Kroffat and Furnas, and were rowdier than I’ve ever heard for Kikuchi and Kobashi. The last 4 minutes were scorching hot, and had it lasted a tad longer (with a better build), this would be five stars without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not like 1/2 of a snowflake makes a significant difference anyway; this is a timeless tag match with monstrous heat, and it’s still one of my favorite puro matches.

Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi
AJPW – October 31st, 1998. Oh yeah, this is the good shit.

They fight over a headlock in the beginning moments until Kobashi gives a clean break. Kobashi catches a leapfrog and drives Misawa down for an early 2 count. He goes straight to work on Misawa’s left arm. Misawa eventually gets up and tries to shake the feeling back into his arm, but he doesn’t stay vertical for long. Kobashi tries for a Crossface Chickenwing, but settles for a Russian Legsweep. Kobashi makes Misawa pay for countering a resthold with multiple knees and a stalling suplex for 2. Misawa says ‘fuck you’ to a barrage of chops to his neck, but Kobashi shakes off his forearms like a son of a bitch, dropping him with two spinning back chops. Every time Misawa tries to counter something, Kobashi just stops it dead in its tracks in the most vicious way he can. Misawa forearms Kobashi off of the top rope and shitcans him, but misses a pescado when Kobashi moves. Misawa instead opts to drop him the hard-way and wait until he gets up for a corkscrew pescado!

This allows for Misawa to take real control for the first time, connecting with a spinning lariat that keeps Kobashi down for 2. He follows that up by stretching Kobashi on the mat. Kobashi again finds himself on the floor, but it’s he who gets the upperhand when Misawa eats a dropkick on the way down. Kobashi brings Misawa to the apron and drops a leg on Misawa’s neck, which lay on the second rope. Kobashi DROPS Misawa with two consecutive backdrop drivers, which only gets a nearfall. Misawa pops right up after a German…but finds himself in a sleeper hold, to stall any momentum he could have built up. Misawa tries to counter a powerbomb with a rana, but finds himself in a modified crab! He finds the ropes eventually. This match is building so well. Misawa finally gets momentum with a diving dropkick and a ROARING ELBOW THAT KNOCKS KOBASHI SILLY!

Misawa shitcans Kobashi again and follows with the ELBOW SUICIDA! Back in the ring, a diving elbow scores for a 2 count. Kobashi dives right into an elbow AND THE TIGER DRIVER SCORES! Kobashi powers out at 2. Misawa dives down with a beautiful Frog Splash for another 2 count! Kobashi catches a diving Misawa with some kind of lariat coming down! Misawa looks for double knees in the corner, but Kobashi counters to a Snake Eyes and A HALF NELSON SUPLEX! BUCKLE BOMB FROM KOBASHI! SPIKE DDT! HEAD DROP DRAGON SUPLEX! MISAWA KICKS OUT! Kobashi counters a Roaring Elbow with a lariat and HE HITS ORANGE CRUSH! MISAWA KICKS OUT! Misawa elbows out of a Burning Hammer and counters another one, BUT EATS A LARIAT! MISAWA KICKS OUT~! He drops Misawa with another DDT.

Kobashi hits a standing leg drop and goes up FOR A DIVING LEG DROP TO THE BACK OF MISAWA’S HEAD! Misawa elbows Kobashi’s arm mid-lariat and HURRICANRANAS HIM HEADFIRST INTO THE TURNBUCKLE! Kobashi still recovers first in an awesome bit of psychology, but MISAWA FUCKING MURDERS HIM WITH A TIGER DRIVER FROM THE APRON TO THE FLOOR~! Now that’s a bump…Jesus Christ. Kobashi and Misawa eventually lumber back into the ring, and Kobashi is having a rough time coming to. They both eventually get up and trade fatigued strikes, but Misawa gains the upperhand. MISAWA MURDERS KOBASHI WITH A HEAD DROP TIGER DRIVER! KOBASHI KICKS OUT!~! KOBASHI COUNTERS A RUNNING ELBOW WITH A BURNING LARIAT! MISAWA GETS A SHOULDER UP! That’s a good bit of psychology too, as Misawa finished Kobashi off with a running elbow in their 1997 classic. Kobashi is so gone that he needs the ref to help him up, AND MISAWA DROPS HIM WITH A ROARING ELBOW! KOBASHI KICKS OUT AGAIN! TIGER SUPLEX BY MISAWA…BUT KOBASHI ROLLS OUT~! RUNNING ELBOW SCORES THIS TIME! BUT KOBASHI KICKS OUT AGAIN!~! Jesus H. MISAWA DROPS KOBASHI WITH STIFF ELBOWS! KOBASHI STAYS DOWN! That’s it for Kobashi in 43 minutes. ***** If they hadn’t absolutely torn the house down and worn each other out for 43 minutes, I would HATE that finish. But it fit with an splendid story that–like the tag match earlier–doesn’t take an understanding of the Japanese language to comprehend. They built so beautifully to the finish that you were on the edge of your seat by the climax of the match. Misawa was absolutely destroyed for upwards of 20-30 minutes, but he had the wear-with-all and stamina to outlast Kobashi and connect with bigger moves, ultimately draining the bigger man until he couldn’t power out of ridiculous moves anymore. There’s a reason these two are heralded as a couple of the greatest wrestlers to ever do it. If you can believe it, they TOP themselves the next year in a match for the Triple Crown. Another classic in a long line of them for the two aces of 1990’s AJPW.

The 411: Get all of this. If you haven't dipped into the world of All Japan Pro Wrestling, take it from me, it's worth it. You probably won't be able to watch match after match in quick succession because they're so epic, but there are better matches out there than what I reviewed here. I also urge you to check out the Styles/Joe match because I think it's just poetry in motion how it's performed. Everything I reviewed is worth a watch obviously...I just did this to pass the time between ROH iPPV's and PWG shows.
411 Elite Award
Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]  legend

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