The Furious Flashbacks – AJPW Champions Carnival 1995 Part One

The Furious Flashbacks – AJPW Champions Carnival 1995 Part One

Because anything mid-90’s All Japan just rocks the party

Disc one of THREE! Rock N’ Roll. We open with the standard introducing the participants bit. I’m already pretty psyched by the time Kobashi jogs out there but he’s followed by Taue, Misawa, Hansen and Kawada. SOLD!

March 21st 1995 (and subsequent dates). We’re in Tokyo, Japan.

Stan Hansen v Takao Omori

Oh dear. I predict a massacre. Hansen won the Champion’s Carnival in 1992 and 1993. ’94 saw Kawada step up and be the first of the new generation to win the tournament. Hansen is still a contender this year but he has to deal with the new generation with Misawa, Kawada, Taue & Kobashi in his way. Omori gets way more offence than I expected for a guy who’s essentially in this thing to make up the numbers. He basically attacks Hansen repeatedly until he does enough damage to piss Stan off and then its one way traffic. He only hits a DDT before finishing with the lariat because that’s all he needs to do. That’s booking that Ring of Honor could learn from. Sometimes your newcomer and undercard guy doesn’t need to last 15 minutes against a main eventer and kick out of an assortment of moves before eventually losing. *. Pretty bland opener and sets Omori off with a predictable loss.

Doug Furnas v Mitsuhara Misawa

Having got a look at Hansen we move on to Misawa, arguably the other main favourite. Hansen is the Triple Crown champion but Misawa is the ace of AJPW and isn’t far off his second run with the belts, which would last a year. Furnas goes after Misawa from the start and it’s weird seeing Misawa give a shit about the selling and trying to put someone over. I’m so used to seeing him just go through the motions before mounting a comeback and squashing some midcarder. I still love him though. I have a serious man-crush on Misawa. Furnas makes the mistake of going after a striking duel, which gets him elbowed, a lot. Flying lariat connects and Misawa has effectively taken over. He’s never afraid to hit his opponent extremely hard and spin kicks Furnas in the face drawing my first “OOOOOH” of the tape. Doug decides he won’t let himself get crushed though and comes back with a belly to belly but the follow up rana gets him planted with a powerbomb. Misawa has seen that move way too many times to get caught with it this early. They fuck up a missed elbow/dropkick spot. Oops. Doug makes amends with a release German although Misawa jumped before he started the suplex. Oh dear. Communication issues methinks! Furnas avoids the Tiger Driver twice but ends up getting nailed with some elbows. Misawa then finishes with a Figure Four/neck crank combo, which is a new one on me. Crowd is all “um, what?” *1/2. Suffered badly from timing issues between the two guys. Seeing as Misawa was pretty much the baddest motherfucker on the planet in 1995 I figure that’s Doug’s fault.

Jun Akiyama v Toshiaki Kawada

And now the tournament gets officially underway! Akiyama jumps Kawada ahead of the bell signalling his intent. Kawada isn’t happy but gets wiped out again and Akiyama adds a pescado. Akiyama even has the coleus to no sell a run into the rail and wipe out Kawada again! Holy shit. He’s going to get his head kicked in very soon! Akiyama tries to assault Kawada coming back in so Kawada casually kicks him in the side of the head. Akiyama tries to go toe to toe so Kawada BITCHSLAPS HIM and kicks him SO hard under the chin that he might be legitimately unconscious. Kawada adds a kick to the spine WHICH IS FUCKING NO SOLD! Akiyama takes another one and pops back up so Kawada lays in the chops. Akiyama searches for his second wind after getting the first one beaten out of him. Kawada promptly kicks him square in the chest. NO SOLD! TWO MORE! He’s still standing. Scratch that! Another kick drops him. Kawada uses that kick like a fucking jab. Only he gets fancy with a spin kick and Akiyama catches his leg and immediately takes over. Akiyama has had a major showing here already. He tries, bless him, to suplex Kawada on the floor but that’s countered. And as Akiyama wouldn’t let him back in without a beating earlier Kawada makes a point of kicking the crap out of Akiyama when he tries to re-enter the squared circle. Half crab with moderate crank. Akiyama tries to kick Kawada off but Kawada just shrugs those off so Akiyama is forced into the ropes. Abdominal stretch and that has SERIOUS fucking crank to it. Kawada gives up on that so he can plant Akiyama’s head and then stretch both his arms over the top. He really is a complete bastard. Akiyama is trying so hard to play the punk kid role here but Kawada is just treating him like a total bitch. Probably because of the punkish nature of Akiyama’s early assault. Every kick seems a little more brutal that it needs to be. Which is super. Akiyama catches Kawada with a judo throw and a Northern lights gets 2. And that’s a genuine near fall that pops the crowd big time. That’s what Akiyama has done so well here. He’s a threat! GERMAN SUPLEX! Kawada heavy neck bumps it and the crowd goes MENTAL for ages afterwards. They’re buzzing at the possibility of a huge Akiyama upset here. Kawada is staggered but he knows better than to get caught in the Exploder. Wait, counter, EXPLOIDAAAAAAAAA! ONE-TWO-THRE….NOOOO! You get the feeling that was Akiyama’s only chance but the crowd are still buzzing as Kawada fires back. STRETCH PLUM! Akiyama survives but Kawada leisurely kicks him in the face and sets up a powerbomb BUT Akiyama went to the eyes in mid air. He still takes the move but Kawada has to check his vision and can’t pin. Sneaky from Akiyama. Kawada, half blind and fully pissed off, levels Akiyama with a lariat and follows up with a release powerbomb for 2. Crowd is surprised at the kick out. STRETCH PLUM! This is Kawada being a real prick because he wants Akiyama to quit. He wants to belittle him for his effort and upstart behaviour. And Akiyama quits. Hehe. Awesome. ****. Great match. Both guys played their roles to perfection. The striking in the early going was tremendous and the psychology down the stretch was fun. I feel bad for Akiyama being forced into submission after being such a punk but that’s Kawada for ya! If you’re a punk against Kawada you’d better be prepared to back it up!

Kenta Kobashi v Akira Taue

Kobashi’s chops are still awesome. Even 14 years ago. Only back then he was mobile with it. Taue, just to fuck with him, out wrestles Kobashi out of the lock up and kicks him in the side of the head. Taue tries to chop at Kobashi, which gets him chopped A LOT. CHOP TO THE NECK! High knees! There are some things, in wrestling, you probably shouldn’t do and one of them is start a chop war with Kenta Kobashi. Because you’re just asking for trouble. Aside from that early slip up Taue is ON HIS FUCKIN’ GAME here. He tags Kobashi with frequent kicks out of nowhere and grounds the more muscular man with a superior mat game. It’s just that every time he unloads with a chop Kobashi kills him for it. You’d think he’d just stop! Kobashi gets personal by aiming his chops at Taue’s bad neck and that serves to rev up Taue BUT if they’re trading chops there’s only one winner. Taue should probably know that. Even when he attempts a sumo style Kobashi just chops him back down. It barely resembles a match at this point and more like a contest to see who can do the most damage to their opponent with strikes. They just stand there and take the abuse…like men! And Taue is STILL trying to trade on chops! Has he lost his fucking mind? He gets a better idea and big boots Kobashi in the head. Interesting to note, fans of workrate, that only one wrestling move has taken place so far. A delayed suplex from Kobashi. The entire rest of the match is just kicks and chops. Just as I type that Taue breaks out a butterfly suplex for 2. Throwing Kobashi around seems more effective than trading with him. He finds more joy in a Savage Elbow. Well, probably not the height or distance Randy got on it. Remembering that Kobashi targeted his neck Taue goes after Kobashi’s bad leg. And the fans know what body parts are hurt on what guy already! So they react appropriately. Kobashi chops him in the neck again and we now have ourselves a WAR! WAR: it’s fantastic. Kobashi with a lariat and a jumping DDT. This is now gathering momentum and has moved beyond the struggle in the early going. CHOP RUSH! NODOWA…BLOCKED…TIGER SUPL…BLOCKED…NODOWA OTOSHI! That gets 2. BITCHSLAP! Taue is taking over. POWERBOMB…for 2. Because he got the first big move of the match in there’s a feeling the ball is now in Taue’s court. Kobashi is having to panic and fight his way out of getting hurt again. The crowd is really getting into this as well. They’re into Taue BIG TIME. Kobashi misses the moonsault, which further fucks up his bad knee. Taue bails and suckers Kobashi out to fight him on the floor. Now we have a mistake each. There’s no way Kobashi and his bad knee want to be around all that hard metal. But that’s not his biggest problem. That’s coming right up – NODOWA OFF THE FUCKIN’ APRON!! That was not a particularly well protected bump either. Shall we say. Taue doesn’t want the count out win, which is how we do it in the Far East. He wants the pin to be sure. Kobashi is now totally fucked and has no chance but kicks out of the first pin just to tell Taue he’ll need more than that to finish this. Kobashi swats away attempting some chops but Taue is much fresher and ducks. NODOWA OTOSHI! Kobashi knows he’s fucked and roles out of the ring to avoid a pin. So Taue, ever the kind hearted gent, follows out and POWERBOMBS HIM ON THE FLOOR!! That’s TWO HUGE back bumps on the floor for Kobashi. He’s totally fucked. And the crowd is chanting for Taue! Bastards! Kobashi manages a single chop to keep Taue from killing him off. But Taue responds with a slap and Kobashi just crumples. He’s fucked. Kobashi fights to avoids the Nodowa but he can’t stop it. NODOWA OTOSHI! Kobashi is still moving so Taue adds in the DYNAMIC BOMB for the pin. ****1/4. Fucking brilliant. Marginally better than Kawada-Akiyama as no one was the underdog. It was a straight up war. But Taue, after the early chop-fest, played the smarter game and hit the bigger moves. Kobashi missed his. Taue wins!

24th March.

Dan Kroffat v Doug Furnas

These guys are tag partners. You might recognise them from the WWF where Kroffat wrestled under the name “Phil LaFon”. Their huge reputation that the WWF harped on about was based mostly on their work in AJPW. Furnas pulls Kroffat’s tights down in a comedy spot. Kroffat accepts a handshake as apology and hits a lariat out of it. And they’re partners. You he doesn’t even like! Dan Kroffat would lariat your grandmother and go to bed with a smile on his face. Kroffat, once he’s in control, is the only winner here. He has a larger moveset, the experience advantage and is mentally better prepared. Furnas is far more powerful but that doesn’t mean squat. Especially when they’re so close in that respect. Crowd enjoys the counter wrestling. Especially when Furnas pulls out a biggy in the corner and switches on Kroffat into a release German suplex. Misawa kicked out easily but he didn’t land on his head. Furnas gets the upset win! 12.14 was the time but that’s not all on this tape. **. Oh and it seems that the power advantage DOES mean squat. Apologies.

Takao Omori v Jun Akiyama

So Omori gets to be the bitch again. This time for rising star Akiyama. After all Akiyama went toe to toe with Kawada last time out. Omori has so far in his career won the All Asia Tag titles and that was only because he was tagging with…Jun Akiyama. That’s right, tag team partners collide here. Given the people he hung around with it’s hard to see how Omori managed to fuck up his career. He kept getting farmed out elsewhere (indeed he competed in the 1996 Royal Rumble) and pissed off Misawa in 2000, which was a bad time to be doing so. Here he’s just…there. Akiyama gives him a lot more than Hansen did making Omori look like he might even win on count out. Omori then chinlocks the match to death. Hmm, I think we have a reason why he didn’t become a big star. Omori does differentiate his style from a lot of the other guys though because he uses the ropes. There wasn’t much light heavyweight style in AJPW so his missile dropkick and Savage Elbow (with actual height and distance) impress. But then Akiyama just grabs him and hits a head drop German suplex. And the crowd pop much louder. They just don’t like you, dude, sorry. Northern Lights gets 2. The writing is on the wall. Akiyama has mounted his comeback. Lariat scores. Jumping knee sets up the Blue Thunder for 2. Omori is just getting pasted with one move after another. Exploder is enough to finish. **. 10 minutes of Omori heat and 90 seconds of Akiyama comeback. Not the best of matches but Akiyama’s violent and brief comeback was fun.

Johnny Ace v Danny Spivey

This is Spivey’s last tour with AJPW. In June he became Waylon Mercy and then got retired by an errant Kevin Nash powerbomb. Johnny Ace is the WWE’s head of talent relations and was with AJPW from 1990 until 2000. He opted for Japan over the NWA. Which in retrospect was probably a decent idea. Nothing doing here as it’s just clips although the ending is quite the shocker as Ace wins it with a moonsault. I guess he was breaking out the excitement for the Carnival.

Mitsuhara Misawa/Stan Hansen/Kenta Kobashi v Giant Baba/Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue

Kobashi & Taue renew acquaintances to start this and it’s as good as the stuff they did in their excellent singles match. And there’s only one way to top that – MISAWA V KAWADA! They do some familiarity stuff that’s totally awesome. Kawada decides he won’t be treated like a bitch in front of Baba and no sells his way into a bunch of kicks. Unfortunately for him Misawa kicks back. TIGER DRIVER and Taue is in to save almost before Kawada hits the mat. Baba-Hansen to finish the trifecta of match up’s. It’s worth it just to see the crowd “EEEE-YAH” along with Hansen’s elbow drops. The wrestling is pretty ugly though. Shohei is a 35 year veteran by this point so you know he’s not terribly mobile. You’ll notice he never got bumped down to the comedy opening match! That’s what happens when you own the company. In case you’re out there reading and haven’t seen Baba. He’s a little different for a Japanese competitor. Standing at 6’ 11” and weighing in at 330lbs he looks freakishly big. Of course in the WWE he’d just look normal. Of course here he’s well into his 50’s and broken down. Hansen starts bullying Kawada and setting him up for abuse from Kobashi. And that’s basically where Kobashi got the lariat from. Which is kinda cool compared to the Western way of doing things where a wrestler just start using a new move with no rhyme or reason behind it. The only psychology I can think behind a new move being used in the WWE in the last decade or so was John Cena using the STFU because he needed a submission hold to win a submission match. Kobashi gets a nice test of strength sequence with Baba and just as he’s winning it the ropes break it up. That would have been huge for Kobashi to beat Baba in a test of strength. They really didn’t take advantage of Baba when he was on the decline enough. Back to Misawa-Kawada because that’s always awesome and this time Misawa totally no sells and leave Kawada lying. In comes Kobashi – CHOP RUSH! Hansen in and he powerbombs Kawada for 2. Misawa back in to facelock Kawada and this is very definitely a heat segment with Kawada getting worn down by all three opponents. BACKDROP SUPLEX! MISAWA JUST GOT DROPPED ON HIS HEAD! And with that one move the complexion of the match completely changes.

Meanwhile Kobashi has an interesting story going with Baba in this one where he’s constantly trying to get the better of the owner. Trading chops, no selling Baba’s head chop and looking for cheeky roll up’s that the big man isn’t used to being placed in. So Baba sends in Kawada to teach him a lesson. Misawa takes exception to that and sneaks in to German suplex Kawada. There are so many rivalries at play here that someone like Kawada can’t afford to turn his back on the other corner or risk something like that happening. Especially if he’s being a dick…which he was! Baba comes in to hand out his own justice on Kobashi and piledrives him for 2. They finally remember that Taue has Kobashi’s number and send him in to deal with the upstart. Seeing Taue this mobile is frightening. I forgot he used to doing flying kicks and shit like that. Now we’re very much into heat on Kobashi, which makes sense because he’s the weak link on his team. Let’s face it; no one else on that team is taking a job. Hansen is the champion and Misawa his main contender. Baba also gives Kobashi an extended beating, which he should take as a compliment! Baba is that annoyed by Kobashi’s insolence that he’s gone in there longer than usual. Taue back in but Kobashi catches him with a powerslam and Misawa adds in a frogsplash while he’s down. Misawa is doing a lot of smart stuff. Hansen comes in but Taue is back up with the NODOWA! Kawada in and he goes for a powerbomb but Kobashi goes and breaks it up with a chop to the neck. NO SOLD. SPINNING CHOP TO THE NECK! That’s sold! Misawa-Kawada again and Kawada switches in the corner for the straight kick to the face. He wants to powerbomb Misawa and get one over on his old rival. Misawa blocks a kick so Kawada switches to a lariat. I could watch these guys wrestle ALL FUCKIN’ DAY. Baba in and Misawa dutifully bumps around on minimal contact and safely plants Baba with a flat back suplex. Yessir Mr Baba, I’m the one to carry your prestigious Triple Crown title. Not like that bastard Kenta Kobashi! KOBASHI IN TO MOONSAULT BABA! SEE! This completely breaks down as the referee loses control. Kawada protects Baba and then the referee helps him pin Hansen! What the hell? I know he owns the company but COME ON!

Misawa evens it up with a diving elbow smash on Baba. HANSEN HITS THE LARIAT! Baba has his long limbs save him as he grabs the rope. Kawada gets the tag and the crowd is just electric for this. They take it in turns to rough up Hansen as a receipt for the other team’s abuse of their big man. Taue even jabs at Misawa on the apron to foreshadow their huge rivalry that really emerges before the end of this tournament. Misawa shows off a slingshot pescado but he lands it elbow first into Kawada’s head. Hansen bails to DDT Kawada on the floor and Baba strolls around to ensure no further shenanigans. Hansen is all FUCK YOU, OLD MAN. Baba slaps him about so Kobashi has to go and save. I love this shit. This is a war. Kawada spots Misawa walking around ringside and gives him a receipt by hitting the exact same slingshot pescado with leading elbow that Misawa used. These guys are nuts? Who dives over the top rope and angles themselves downwards towards the floor head first? TIGER DRIVER ON MISAWA!!! Kawada, you go too far sir. Taue in – NODOWA OTOSHI. Hansen is clearly in a mean mood now and hobbles in there to just fuck Taue up. Whatta ya mean I gotta tag? Fuck you ref! PUNCH, PUNCH, PUNCH. Misawa & Kobashi combine to dump Taue on his head. Like you need both of those guys to execute a head drop move. Kobashi starts chopping the shit out of Taue. POWERBOMB…for 2. He wants revenge for that singles loss. Hansen in – ANOTHER POWERBOMB…for 2. Baba casually makes the save on that one. Why is he allowed to just walk around in the ring? Get him out of there, ref! Kawada looks angry for some reason. LARIAT TO HANSEN’S EAR!!! What the fuck? Misawa is all “I’ll sort that fuck out”. ELBOWS! BACKDROP SUPLEX! Kobashi is in – spinning backfist! German suplex! They’re royally fucking up Kawada now. This is his second spell of heat. The only guy to absorb that much punishment. And he’s STILL back up. Takes it up top for the superplex and tags out to Baba. This time Kobashi sells for Baba because he’s so worn down. Kobashi comes back with a slam and some legdrops. MOONSAULT! Misawa prevents the save but Baba kicks out. Misawa then falls off the top rope, which has to be the worst I think I’ve ever seen him fuck up. He immediately starts selling the ankle to try and cover for it. Taue tags in and Misawa takes out his frustration at failure on Taue’s face with his elbow. Taue tries to no sell Hansen, which gets him some really stiff forearms. Kawada in with a DEATHWISH. He stiff kicks Hansen in the jaw. Not as stiff as the one to Akiyama earlier mind you. That would be total suicide. Luckily for him Hansen is so rattled he doesn’t retaliate. Time is running short by this point on the 60 minute time limit.

Misawa wants the Tiger Driver on Taue but Kawada saves. Baba just ambles in to clothesline Misawa and that sets up the NODOWA OTOSHI but Kobashi saves and rightly protests that Baba is just FUCKING STANDING THERE IN THE RING. DYNAMIC BOMB!!! Kobashi saves again and BRAINBUSTERS TAUE. Baba lays out Misawa though so both the legal guys are down. Almost out of time and Taue is nearer to his corner than Misawa so tags Kawada. Who at this late stage hits a HANDSPRING BACK ELBOW to set up a SICK BRAINBUSTER. Hansen is forced to save because Misawa isn’t kicking out of that. He landed that on his neck. Kawada is a sick, sick man. And the time limit expires! 60 minute draw. ****. I love this company. The various ongoing feuds contained within the match played out but didn’t quite conclude, which leaves them open for a later date. Of course some feuds (Misawa-Kawada for example) are open forever. There’s no end.

The 411: Superb first disc, of three, which sees all the major All Japan megastars of the mid-late 90’s in action. The combinations produce three great matches. Kobashi-Taue especially, which showcases why this was Taue’s tournament. He was wrestling smart matches and looking like a star.
Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]