YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT, THEY ARE THE GREATEST
As I’d hoped, last week’s column generated a little discussion about whether or not Misawa vs. Kawada is indeed the Greatest Feud of All Time. Iain Burnside and Alex Lucard are among those who remain unconvinced. There is an ongoing discussion on the subject on our forums.
There are a few reasons why I feel that this feud is the Best Ever, among them are longevity, real-life crossover, sold out buildings, historical importance, and the focus of this week’s column:
MATCH QUALITY
No other rivalry, ever, in any style of wrestling, in any promotion, in any country in the world, has produced as many truly great matches as Misawa vs. Kawada. Here is my lazily compiled and almost certainly incomplete list of the consensus four-star-or-higher matches that the two have faced each other in:
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (10/21/92): Their legendary feud begins, as Misawa gives his tag team partner first crack at taking the Triple Crown Title that Misawa had taken from Stan Hansen in August ’92. The Triple Crown is All Japan’s version of the World Heavyweight Title.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3/27/93): This is not a Triple Crown match. It was part of the prestigious annual Champions Carnival tournament.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (6/1/93): Misawa was injured for this Tag Title match, but Kawada took up the slack and then some.
Kawada, Taue & Ogawa vs. Misawa, Kobashi & Akiyama (7/2/93): A contender for Best Six Man Tag Match Ever.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (7/29/93): Their second Triple Crown match is emotionally and physically intense. Many All Japan fans consider 1993 to be the stiffest year in the history of wrestling, and the exploding rivalry between Misawa and Kawada is a big part of the reason why.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Akira Taue & Jun Akiyama (12/3/93): This Real World Tag League tournament match was a true classic. Like many of the matches listed here, it is a superb example of what people mean when they talk about the importance of ring psychology and story telling in Pro Wrestling.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (5/21/94) The match starts out with a nice satisfying build… which leads to about twenty non-stop minutes of them pulling out one huge move after another.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/3/94): A legitimate five star classic and my personal pick for Best Match Ever.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (1/24/95): A 60-minute World Tag Team titles match that only slows down during some of Taue’s segments.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (4/6/95): This is a Champions Carnival tournament match. About thirty seconds in, Kawada legitimately fractures Misawa’s orbital socket, and they still keep going hard for half an hour!
Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (6/9/95): In my opinion, there are only two real candidates for the title of Best Men’s Tag Match of All Time. This is one of them. Obviously, it’s a true classic.
Misawa, Kobashi & Asako vs. Kawada, Taue & Honda (6/30/95): Another great AJPW six-man bout. Misawa and Kawada make everyone else look better just by being in the ring with them.
Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Kenta Kobashi (10/15/95): Want to experience 60 minutes flying by like nothing? Watch this classic Tag Title time limit draw.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (7/24/95): They just beat the crap out of each other non-stop throughout this wonderful Triple Crown match, but it is often underrated because people can’t help but compare it to their 6/3/94 masterpiece.
Misawa & Kobashi vs. Kawada & Taue (12/9/95): The first true finals match in the history of the Real World Tag Team Tournament was one of their more lacklustre encounters, most people only rank it around four stars or so.
Mitsuharu Misawa/Jun Akiyama-Toshiaki Kawada/Akira Taue (5/23/96): This match is more about telling Akiyama’s story than about furthering Misawa and Kawada’s rivalry, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t beat each other to a pulp.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (7/9/96): Another chapter in the defining feud of All Japan in 1996. Akiyama took Kobashi’s place as Misawa’s second, and spent the year trying to prove that he belonged in that role.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (11/29/96): This RWTL tournament match is mostly remembered for the contributions it makes to the sublime storyline of their legendary finals match.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (Real World Tag League finals, 12/6/96): Yet another legitimate five star bout, and my other candidate for Best Men’s Tag Match Ever. Like 6/3/94 and 6/9/95, it’s even better when you have experienced the build-up and understand the background.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3/30/97): This very exciting Champions Carnival league match ended in a thirty-minute draw.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (6/6/97): This Triple Crown title match was contested during the peak of All Japan’s “Head Dropping” phase, which means that it features a number of truly sick bumps.
Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada (Real World Tag League finals, 12/5/97) Another great tag bout, but not one of their absolute best.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (3/29/98) This Champions Carnival tournament match would be remembered among their classics if there had been a clear winner. It’s a great match anyway.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (5/1/98): Misawa was operating at way less than 100 per cent for this match, due to injuries, but it is still an amazing encounter.
Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Toshiaki Kawada (1/22/99): This match is most famous for Kawada nearly killing Misawa with an unprotected Piledriver. The Ganso Bomb, as it has come to be known, is one of the single sickest bumps in Pro Wrestling history. The rest of the match is pretty good, too. In fact, this might be my favourite Misawa vs. Kawada singles match, even though I wouldn’t consider it their best one.
Their penultimate singles match was contested on March 31, 2000, as Misawa was in the process of starting up Pro Wrestling NOAH. It is generally considered their worst bout by far and a huge disappointment, with a consensus rating of only three and three quarter stars. BOOOOO! The fact that people were disappointed by this only highlights how great their rivalry is. Expectations are that they should at least hit four and a half stars every time out.
Are Misawa and Kawada still capable of putting on a five star classic? Most people don’t think so. Looking at the above list of 24 great matches over eight years, plus one minor let-down contested five years ago, I’m waiting on tenterhooks to see if they can prove us wrong this July.
THANKS FOR READING!
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Big Andy’s ROH column, and Daniels’ superb take on the ECW PPV.
