5-STAR RE-WATCHES: PILLARS edition!

AJPW 05/22/92: Akira Taue, Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada

This is probably my favorite of the 6-man tags these fellas had against each other throughout the years. All of the segments in this one rule big time (Misawa FIP, Kawada FIP, Taue getting his ass kicked by the babyfaces, finishing stretch) & the heels vs. babyfaces dynamic is pretty damn amazing. All three heels deliver great performances, but Jumbo in particular is the biggest dick he can in this one - just constantly coming in & breaking holds by the babyfaces, stomping & beating the crap out of them. Might be my favorite performance of his. Kawada was also terrific w/ his usual Kawada-badassery - great selling & work on the offense by the man. Loved the moment when he went to double team Taue on the corner first w/ Kobashi & then w/ Misawa as the ref was arguing with Jumbo & Fuchi; he made the dicks taste their own medicine. ****3/4

AJPW 05/25/92: Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas vs. Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi

One of the best crowds of all-time - seriously that shot of Kikuchi hitting a couple of leg lariats & the crowd jumping up from their seats is legendary. There isn't much to say about this one that hasn't been said yet, but it's indeed one of those matches where everything just CLICKED w/ Kikuchi's amazing underdog performance, the fans being crazy for him, Kobashi's explosive kick-heavy hot tags & the nasty work on top by The Can-Am's. One of the best crowds of all-time, one of the best matches of all-time. *****

AJPW 12/03/93: Akira Taue & Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa

Kobashi is a really, really great FIP; love how he got out of the situation too by going after Kawada's bum knee - that first kick to the knee popped me (& the crowd) big time. Misawa coming in & elbowing the crap out of Kawada was awesome & then Taue coming in and just throwing Misawa & Kobashi around was even more awesome, but what truly puts this over the top as a true classic is the story of that damn knee of Kawada's - he sells it perfectly throughout, and it creates for some great, great drama. Basically everyone played their roles to perfection, but Kawada was on that one level above the rest w/ his all-timer performance. Classic tag match. *****